Update: 3,000 views/Fruits Basket Video Review

      Hey everybody! I am happy to announce that the Reviewing Modern Media blog has received 3,000 + views! That might not seem like much, and it's not really, but I'm an optimist, so we're gonna take any chance we can to celebrate. :) Plus, 3,000 is a benchmark! And that means that we have received a thousand views in the last month, which is a bit more of an accomplishment (of course, I probably attributed to a good chunk of those myself). ;)

     Also, there is a new video review up on the YouTube channel! Another reason to celebrate! Yay!

     Drumroll please!

     Tada!

     It's Fruit's Basket! I hope you enjoy it! :D

Note: To access the written review go here.

Anime Review: Sweetness and Lightning

Note: To read my first impression of this anime go here. To watch a video version of this review go here.

Anime Review: Sweetness and Lightning (or Amaana to Inazuma)

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Genres: Drama, slice of life, FOOOODD!!!!

General Set-up: Kohei Inuzuka tries to be the best single father he can and raise his daughter Tsumugi to the best of his ability. However, Tsumugi misses out on a lot of opportunities without a mother. One of these is the blessing of wholesome and delicious home-cooked meals. This changes when Kohei and Tsumugi meet a girl who goes to the school where Kohei teaches. Iida Kotori is the daughter of a well-known cook, who also owns a restaurant. Because her mother is often absent due to television appearances Kotori is lonely. She invites the Inuzuka family to eat meals with her in the restaurant as they discover the wonders of the culinary craft.

Characters: Kohei is a bit bland, in my opinion. It is really obvious that he cares about his daughter and he tries his best with her. Once he discovers cooking he comes to enjoy it, but not much is revealed about himself before the start of the anime. Tsumugi is just starting preschool. She is a rambunctious and expressive tyke who loves to meet up with friends. It is interesting to see how the passing of her mother affects her from time to time. Kotori is somewhat of a foodie. She grew up on her mother’s delicious cooking, but has some reserves about making food herself. Instead she prefers to be the taste tester. That is not to say that she does not help with food preparation - she does, but avoids anything that involves a knife.

Plot: Did I mention this was a slice of life? It is. And that’s not a bad thing! Each episode features a new dish that Kohei and company attempt to make. This does not mean that you can watch the episodes out of order. They do follow a linear plot line and the story gradually progresses. There is just less of an overarching plot, and more of a depiction of the character’s day-to-day lives.

Ending: The show comes to a good stopping point, but leaves room to grow. Since it is a slice of life anime it doesn’t have as distinct of a conclusion as some shows.

Things to Watch For: All clear here!

Sights and Sounds: The animation is not as smooth and detailed as some I have seen, but it gets the job done. Emphasis is put on the food, with numerous shots of the preparation process, not to mention plenty of other mouthwatering visuals.

Other media: This anime is based off of an ongoing manga by the same name.

Fillers: There are no fillers in this show.

Length: Sweetness and Lightning is 12 episodes long.

Where to Watch: You can watch this anime on Crunchyroll.

Update: Bleach review video

     So.... funny story about this video. This is a review that I filmed in 2016, but simply forgot to post. I really was planning on uploading it - there are some clips from this review in our 2016 blooper video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Duwg6...) - I just never did.

     So here it is (finally)! I hope you enjoy it. :)