The master page at Reverse Thieves contains links to a number of interesting reviews for the 2012 Secret Santa. Few are going to agree with me, but I appreciate how by and large authors put some effort into the job.
Noda ... often finds herself lacking in talent
Excuse me, what is this you are smoking?
That aside, he or she liked the surrealism episode in particular. It was great, but was it the greatest? Although I rate GA much higher than Hidamari, Yunocci's delirium in S1.05 was quite on par with Kisaragi's, maybe even better. Generally, the review is not complimentary enough, unlike own notes.
What makes this show so enjoyable, you might ask well it tends to be that the main character is a total jerk to the villains, who by and large are decent hard-working individuals who happen to look like the monsters your standard sentai hero would fight, be that squid-monster, ancient mummy, or blue-wolf creature.
Seriously, the role {sub-|in-}version is the main highlight? Is this really what you think? Not even Kayoko? BTW, I found Sunred's bullying repulsive, overall. It becomes downright disgusting S2.05 when he steals Vamp's bicycle (yes, yes, I know about the finale's epiphany).
Now sadly there is a major downside to this show, the animation.
Having fallen into the same trap, this is something I can forgive.
There are, of course, a few differences; for one, Ayato is not a chronically depressed loser like Shinji Ikari in Evangelion, ...
That was the point at which I knew that I could live with that review.
It makes a note of designs; coincidentially the discs contain an interview with the designer.
Overall, fairly entertaining, professional, but hamstrung by the lack of time. Not "phoned in", mind. But rushed. And of course the attempts to second-guess Izubuchi ("desperate need to be Evangelion") form the mold that the review cannot escape. See how I second-guess him as rushing for the Secret Santa deadline, not letting himself to give Rax the thought it needed. Problem?
Interestingly enough, the reset ending is apparently okay by Evan. Hehe.
Mike Ferreira, Haibane Renmei:
To say Haibane Renmei is a masterpiece would be selling the series short. It is, without a doubt, one of the most incredible animated titles this reviewer had the pleasure of watching.
Mike is known at Ani-nouto as a jaded reviewer, so I was a little apprehensive. But he can know the greatest anime of all time when Secret Santa smacks him in the face with it, that much is proven now. "Difficult issues are given clarity through a combination of brilliant imagery and thoughtful dialogue" works as a capsule, too.
I wasn’t happy that there wasn’t a proper epilogue for all the characters. “And then the war ended” That was terrible dialogue I have to hear from this series.
Oh. My. God. Someone gave him the series without The Episode That Does Not Exist? This is just super awesome. But beyond the "lol trolled" part, I think the review does not explain why The 08th is the best military classic this side of Banner of The Stars, which is a pity. Also, he's not on the "AINA SUCKS" bandwagon.
When industry becomes central to society, corporations need to be untouchable in order to maintain the quality of life that is being built.
Not the worst angle, don't you think? At least he's not found something deeply raaaaaacist.
Intermediate Otaku, The Idolm@ster TV:
This means that this review is not just my first Secret Santa, but also my first ever review on this blog.
Okay, go on, my body is lady.
BTW, I'm not one to keep with the idea how the background is oh-so-essential, e.g. only true otaku can enjoy Lucky Star and whatnot. But here, the biggest sense of the opening scene in IM@S TV is how you see Haruka riding her bicycle and know instantaneously that everything will be all right. This is something I.O. just cannot possibly sense... Or can he? In any case he didn't mention it. Not that it's a fault with the review, just a backgrounder.
From this point the show is very easy to summarize. You basically follow these idols and get at least an episode dedicated to each of them to basically try to emotionally connect you to them as they rise towards stardom.
Very basically, indeed. Fortunately, the retelling nature of the review brings us eventually to the meat of the series later.
This part of the show, with their debut of this unit on TV in episode 6, marked my turning point for the show. Up until that point, I found the show not just boring, but in a way, incredibly depressing, seeing these teenage girls just come into work and sort of just wait for a chance at fame. It was really eating away at me. With Ryuuguu Komachi’s debut though, the tone of the show entirely changed for me, and I liked every episode after that.
Wow. As an aside, I did not even pay any attention to RK in the 06 entry.
This arc had the scene that hit me the most in the series, which is when we see Haruka Amami, the normal one, visit Chihaya’s house for the first time [...]
You know, the things that earnest reviews can do accidentally are just this amazing.
Generally, the simple tone and common sense, yet insightful, observations is what makes this review. I am talking about the discussion of A-1's animation style and habits, mainly, not so much the conventional, even dogmatic, rejection of idols. Still, thanks to some idol group in Mouretsu OP, not all is lost here as well.
QUICK UPDATE: THAT reviewed IM@S too.