Akuma no riddle

I am having mixed thoughts about this.

Plot: 6/10

I really wanted to like the story. Honestly. It had plenty of potential to succeed, but unfortunately, the anime was hindered by too many stupid plot twists, a rather 'cliche' setting, and an overall very disappointing ending. I can tell that the show is trying to be profound and philosophical, and while it was interesting for the first few episodes and relevant to the episodic nature of each episode, it slowly became somewhat of a joke.

The riddles which previously held meaning in letting me dechiper the characters' motives became extremely relevant. And for that I am sad and disappointed. There's a large amount of foreshadowing in Akuma no riddle, but the sin is that non of these little 'hints' even mattered because it did not contribute to the ending AT ALL! So much potential, wasted. And to add insult to injury, despite it being a show revolving around death and killing, there sure is very little of it. Knife? The main character was more likely to die by strangulation than by bullet wounds or knife wounds.

Characters: 6.5/10

There is too little known about the characters. And there are alot of plot holes, and i mean A LOT. Why is Haru being targeted by people of the same clan if she wasn't part of the main family; aka. the heir? That's just one of the many questions that will be rolling around in your head after finishing the last episodes.

Other than being there to move the plot forward, the other assassins are pretty much useless. You could have replaced them and not even blinked an eye. Tokaku could have been switched out with any one of these characters and voila, the show would have had the same outcome/ending. It pretty much says alot about the importance of characters here.

Animation and OSTs: 9/10

The fights scenes are splendid to watch and the characters are all animated beautifully. Sharp features, the way the characters killer intent were shown through the eyes was just wonderful. Another thing the anime had going for it was the music. Twelve different endings for twelve different characters. The way the music managed to make me scared or excited is also a plus point. It's too bad the cons outweigh the pros.

Recommendation: 1/5

Some forgettable characters and a very unsatisfying ending. Unless you like animes wherein the main character cannot be killed (she fell of a building for pete's sake) and are just there to appreciate the amazing character visuals, I advise that you not watch this.

Thoughts: Selector Spread Wixoss (contains spoilers)

So this post will round up my feelings for the second season of Selector, while trying to digest all the revelations made by the last episode.

It was a pretty amazing and satisfying ending for the characters. For the fans, maybe not so much. There is still too much left unknown by the anime, especially since Spread occasionally broke its own rules thus causing confusion. I think the creators of the show did a great job for what it was worth. Stuffing all that into 12 episodes must not have been a easy feat.

Its hard to believe all this spawned from a card game isn't it?

The title is actually a bloody reference to the whole show. Can you believe it? Mind blowing actually. As if the revelation of the real meaning of LRIG wasn't mind blowing enough in the first season.

'Selector' actually refers to the ability to select, or in simpler terms, make a choice. The girl in the white room, Mayu, had no options to choose and thus, born out of jealousy she names the girls 'selectors'. Pretty nifty thing to do if you ask me.

Wixoss makes a lot more sense when you think about the whole thing. Pronounced 'We-cross' I think it actually refers to the birth of an eternal girl, where the LRIG and the selector trade places. Again, when you think about the title of the anime, it feels like a veil has been lifted. I was literally wowed by this. Seriously. First LRIG and now this?? Whoever made this anime deserves to get the award for this.

Speaking of the anime (it looks like i went off track), there were definitely MORE yuri moments. Ulith and Akira? Yeah, the sexual tension between them is fucking insane (pardon my french) and I got some similar vibes from Yuki (Iona) and Ruko as well. Not to mention the appearance of Midoriko HOLY SHIT that girl deserves a damn award for being able to find Hitoe. Again. That's dedication if I ever saw it.

On the other hand, i think that while they handled the ending for Yuzuki, Mayu and Chiyori well, the rest of the characters were sort of left hanging. How did Iona get back to her own body? I mean, if she was 'between' two cards/bodies, and was able to enter back, wouldn't it mean that some other LRIG could do the same thing? Yeah, they kind of glossed over that part.

My favorite characters this time were surprisingly, Chiyori and Eldora. The playfulness of the two plus their amazing dynamic was just pure gold to watch. Despite rooting for Ruko and Tama, i couldn't help but hope that Chiyori managed to fulfill her wishes too.

The ending was satisfying and sort of bitter sweet. But the overall message was nice. I liked the positive vibes, especially with Ruko's monologue and the appearance of Tama at the last end. Other people may have been upset that it didn't end up like they expected (namely in tears and tragedy with a smidge of angst) but i thought it was pretty great. I'm glad I started this series. I now have something to obesses over. Good job creators.

Rewatch value is there for the second season. First, maybe not so much. Bah, who cares I'll be coming back to rewatch it anyway.