Fujimoto Tatsuki 17-26

This is how you do the most you can with short form stories folks, form of art many adults don't understand perfected by someone so young. Every story serves the larger theme of love. Love is either explored in many different angles or used as a backdrop to having fun. Those eight episodes despite being incredibly creative and somewhat crazy give you a complex picture of such a pretty thing. Love here draws out amazing emotions, but even if in a tragic story it never is worth regretting. The amount of messages told through stories about love should be evidence enough that each episode is trulygreat at efficient use of time. There is love for others that leads to resisting evil societal norms, motivational story about how trying is the most important part in getting what you want no matter how unlikely, the idea of music and love bridging the divide between people, love transcending the nature of your body, love as a drive for growth and art. It shows how weird/disabled people can be pushed to evil by lack of understanding, paranoia and fear of 'normal' ones and how love can help them. There are also works focused on emotions. The blind passion of love, brightening a sad boring life by love. Fujimoto has the soul of a romantic and it is great to witness. There is only one weaker story and it still explores the theme well and is cute. The rest is very good and two I would even call perfect. Those stories are filled with fun. Characters are enjoyable and full of emotion, episodes creative and diverse. You can have the fantastical in one and the grounded in the other. It all is reinforced by great production. Shorts look great, are colourful and have great scenes. Animation is pretty, sound design good and music works wonders sometimes. Visual aspects often reinforce the story or emotions in a perfect way as do voice actors which were wonderful in their acting. The range from dramatic to fun and many other performances in between was great to hear. Will this be a 9/10 for you? I don't know. You can get much better stories than those, but here you will witness the limit of what can be done with such a short run time. I never saw any other work get so close to short form perfection.

As is wont to do in an anthology collection made up of old one-shots made pre-Chainsaw Man, there are some shorts that are better than others. I think some sell themselves on style, some have strong enough backbones to carry the show, some do a little of both, some... quite frankly don't really do either and end up flopping. For what it's worth, I enjoyed the majority of them and would watch a TV show/movie form instead of the one episode if that hypothetically came to fruition. I wrote down notes after each episode so I'm just gonna paste those here: Episode 1 - A Couple Clucking Chickens WereStill Kickin' in the Schoolyard: Intriguing set-up for a longer series but idk if it had the time to establish the dynamics between any characters to the point that I cared. The "chickens" part worked for the role in the story it played, I guess, but I was expecting more comedy out of it. They use it as a gag/surprise reveal and then it's quickly done away with so we can keep moving into where the story needs to be. I guess this is the limitations of a one-shot at play because I'd totally watch a whole season of this but, like, given the 15ish minutes this story gets, I don't think it had the time to get me emotionally invested. It does pretty much exactly enough to establish the 3 main characters, get its point across, and that's it. You can see the potential already (idk if these are in order from the first one Fujimoto submitted to the last, I presume so considering the first 4 were collected in Fujimoto 17-21 and the latter 4 in 22-26) but I don't think it serves to be as good of a one-shot as it is an intriguing look into Fujimoto's past and what he'd end up making. Still great though. Score - 8/10 Episode 2 - Sasaki Stopped a Bullet: Wow, this one kinda sucked. It just felt like the direction was... wrong. Even for the 15 minutes they had, it felt like they were stalling for time and speaking super slowly. It's just some virgin loser talking to another virgin loser (ironically given the plot of the story, someone who could be considered a version of him from a different future) and then he Stops a Bullet It's not like I want the teacher to be forced to have sex with the shooter but, like, I don't exactly want Sasaki to have sex with her either. He's pretty pathetic and his only redeeming quality is "muh father died". The plot is solved through contrivances and Joseph Joestar-level bullshittery. That's pretty much what this short could be described as. It's like if Joseph Joestar had a tenth of his charisma and it went on for 15 minutes. None of the characters were likeable, I guess it had a decent message but boy, do I never want to watch this again Score - 3/10 Episode 3 - Love Is Blind: I thought E2 was kinda Shaft-pilled but that was probably a coincidence/something that pervades Lapin Track because THIS is Monogatari-pilled (apparently the director for this episode worked under Shinbo and Ikuhara which... yup that sure does track). The direction (although I'm not surprised the same person [I don't just mean Fujimoto, but the actual scriptwriter] WROTE the script) is really the only notable part of this episode. It's (relatively) significantly shorter and the entire plot is MC-kun is determined on confessing his love to the detriment of everything else which could be fun... if he wasn't also a coward about it. The dichotomy was frustrating more than funny. The last-minute plot twist was kind of funny though. It also feels less thematically rich. For everything I thought this did better than Sasaki (more engaging protagonist, better direction [although I think this is the biggest example of vision vs. budget]), I think Sasaki had something to say Love is Blind was entertaining enough but I think Fujimoto definitely could've gone back to the drawing board to make this better. If I ever watch this again, it'll be solely for the direction. Score - 6/10 Episode 4 - Shikaku: I think this is easily the best one of the first half/17-21 I was pretty happy with how the story played out. Unlike E1, I didn't think there were really any "wasted" story elements. While it has the shortcomings of being a 15ish minute long one-shot, given the constraints, it's pretty good. It tells a story with the most engaging characters so far, they must be conserving their budget for the more action-focused ones because it's back to looking pretty decent, it's another one where I'd read a whole series about this. Fun gore, if nothing else, the difference in aspect ratio makes it stand out, the characters were fun, I liked the plot, good short Score - 9/10 Episode 5 - Mermaid Rhapsody: Oops, this one is also awesome. Idk if it'd make a good whole series but I'd definitely watch a movie of it. It's a touching romance, I felt he did more with the "human and thing that eats humans" dynamic here than the first episode. He manages to set up why the mermaids and humans have a tense dynamic, why the mermaids are more fine with Toshihide, the romance (and fear) between him and Shiju, given the length of a standard anime episode, he did a very admirable job. That's really all I have to say. I guess E2 and 3 just got the short end of the stick budget-wise because this one also looked fine. I think I prefer Shikaku a little more based on my personal preferences in the anime I watch but Mermaid Rhapsody is also really good. Score - 9/10 Episode 6 - Woke-Up-as-a-Girl Syndrome: I think this one had my favorite style. E3 was very Monogatari-esque but as a result, it kind of stuck out and to be honest, the budget wasn't all there. This one looked gorgeous and like it had its own stamp and style. It also happens to be the shortest, clocking in at 10-11 minutes. It tells a simple story of someone... waking up as a girl and his gender identity and struggles as a result. I'm not trans so it doesn't personally connect with me/hit home but I thought for the time it had, it was a well-told story. It passes the "I'd watch a longer version of this" test. My biggest complaint is how rape-oriented it was. Nobody ever GETS raped but a not-insignificant portion of the story is dedicated to calling the MC (who shares the same name as the one from Mermaid Rhapsody, which I am not a fan of) a perv or the delinquent bullies trying to get a slice of the freshly minted girl pie or a certain someone else trying to. Other than that, I think this one is my favorite so far. Score - 9/10 Episode 7 - Nayuta of the Prophecy: Sorry, this one low-key kinda sucked. E2 at least had... interesting direction, one of the weaker points of E5 (who has the same director as this episode) is that the direction is just... competent. There's no real style or panache in the same way E3 or E6 had. This one has a sort of washed-out or grainy style but that's about it. Honestly, given she's named after a Chainsaw Man character, I was just kinda wishing Ryu Nakayama was doing this episode as a sort of pseudo-redemption Do you know how godawful and boring this episode had to be to make me go "boy, I sure wish public enemy number 1 Ryu Nakayama was directing this because at least I'd FEEL something" Nayuta is a total brat. Her way of speaking is QuIrKy and she only speaks in dark dangerous stuff like "chaos lava genocide carnage!" which gets really annoying really fast I'm sorry and I get that Nayuta might be able to change but honestly, I was rooting for the military to just go "fuck you" and shoot both her and Kenji down. She is objectively a threat and Kenji's not even sure if she's NOT going to snap and kill everyone. She does nothing but cause problems for Kenji, I couldn't help but dislike her. If you compare her to Power or Chainsaw Man Nayuta, you can clearly see how he's grown as a writer because they are much better in similar roles. Score - 2/10 Episode 8 - Sisters: I'll give it the benefit of the doubt that I watched this whole series in one day, it's off the back of the worst episode in the show, and I'd actually already read this one, but I wasn't a big fan. Really, it just reads like Look Back but, naturally, if it were worse. It's got a very pseudo-incestual, kinda gross tint to it since the whole plot is "grrrr, my little sister who has a huge idolization complex around me painted me naked and it's hung up for everyone to see so I'm gonna get her back!" Like, I get what it's trying to say and this isn't the worst episode in the series but it's also nowhere near the best. I'd say it's fifth, arguably sixth since I'd rather watch Love is Blind again even if I think that is HARD carried by the director. Score - 7/10 IMO: Woke-Up-as-a-Girl Syndrome Shikaku Mermaid Rhapsody A Couple Clucking Chickens Were Still Kickin' in the Schoolyard Sisters (that being said, I have no real desire to watch any more of this, this one works fine as a one-shot imo, a movie would've been too much for me) Love is Blind (this one's kinda weird because I think this one could totally work if it were written a little better, I would totally watch a show with the same plot if it had the same director) Sasaki Stopped a Bullet Nayuta of the Prophecy I think the bottom 2 are really the only ones I don't have any interest in ever seeing again If you're a fan of Tatsuki Fujimoto, you should definitely check this show out Even if you aren't, there'll probably be something interesting among the 8 one-shots, this is a show worth checking out

here's a brief summary of everybody's Fujimoto journey: postmodern sceptic to shortsighted enjoyer to mystic believer to everything regreter to regrounded monke, cleansed down to the desire for a banana after experiencing the most incomprehensible, vile, crass but thoughtful ideas & narratives that's the magic of Fujimoto's writing - his ability to shift effortlessly between comedy and heartbreak, juggle pain & sorrow with dry humor is quite unmatched. his stories remind us that joy and sorrow often come from the same place, and that's what makes them unforgettable you can clearly see where he developed his knack for jacobean absurdity, rug-pulls, dark humor & emotional damage. these shortstories were just precursor to what would eventually become one of the most prolific run in the modern anime/manga industry a couple clucking chickens were still kickin' in the schoolyard: 4.5/5 has stellar animation, editing & direction. the battle sequences were eye candy. starts with an absurd premise but by the end you might possibly be soft sobbing sasaki stopped a bullet: 3/5 the weakest from this batch. nothing too extravagant but has some profound ideas one might concoct afternoon a mushroom trip or a big fat bowl or if you're just someone who has mastered levitation love is blind: 4/5 low-key the best directed, very experimental which totally favoured the galactic levels of priorities shown by our protagonist. neat encapsulation of anxiety. Ibuki is the male tsundere of this year shikaku: 3.5/5 this one is a gore fest. shikaku is a ditsy, chaotic version of makima, isn't she? or atleast a prototype with all the eye gouging from the mafia activity. a budget little makima indeed Ill add the 2nd half after i watch it tomorrow ✌️

For anyone on the fence, please just watch this show. I think it was absolutely brilliant, but even if you don't agree, it's not very staggering a time investment and also offers a look into Tatsuki Fujimoto's past. Keep in mind that, I never really got around to reading the he original manga, so I am an anime only. So, getting to the meat of my first ever review, this show was just absolutely great. I usually always love these kinds of series where each episode is from a different studio/director and this show does that wonderfully. For most episodes, it's clear to see thatdifferent people worked on it; but the constant was production quality and the sheer artistic talent that showed through. The music was also very well done and really enjoyable. All throughout, there was great art, some really good shots, and loads of well-animated sequences; at no point did it feels cheap. And, in terms of the actual stories, from having wacthed every single one of his works that have been adapted to anime form, it's very clear to see how differently Tatsuki Fujimoto thinks, and has thought since a young age, from the average person. The premises of his stories themselves may not ALWAYS be very unique (though they very often are) but the direction he takes those stories and the way he chooses to tell them are incredibly unique and interesting. This show is a very interesting look into his psyche. My only really serious critique is that: the dub voice acting was plain horrible. It felt grating to my ears. And the dialogue was so altered as well. Like I switched on the Japanese subs midway through Ep 7 and the og dialogue was 1000x better compared to the corny-ass dub I was listening to. Overall Show Rating: 8.5/10 [SPOILERS] Individual Episode Ratings: Ep1: 8/10 love the execution of a time tested trope; it's a simple story, but very well done and very well thought out as well(mostly unrelated rant upcoming)** Ep2: 7.5/10 good, but corny. Good message and very interesting concept. Ep3: 7/10 just a funny little short Ep4: 8/10 Cringe in the beautiful Fujimoto way. We've seen this kind of thing alot before, but this is still well done Ep5: 5/10 weak link of the show + the bad VA really shines. It's just not very compelling. It tries to do so many things and brings up so many plot points, but doesn't really properly execute any of them. Ep6: 9/10 by far my favourite, great artstyle and art, very good art direction, great music, and impressive episode overall for it's short runtime. The bad dub also kind of played into it's more favour. I just can't get over how well they use colours and how colourful this episode is. I also love the ending song. Ep7: 9/10 really accurate portrayal of how a kid thinks and how she would feel if she was in a situation like this, where everyone hated her already when she was born. Also, I heard someone saying that she could be a symbol for neuro divergent people, but I'm not too sure about that(was the opening shot in the same alley as the one in CSM?) Ep8: 9/10 very Look Back esque. Obviously the art was great and also the story itself was an interesting dissection of how sibling rivalries like this can play out and how people who introduce you to a craft can start to harbour resentment for you if you outdo them. **[MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE GAME "Detroit: Become Human" AND EP1 UPCOMING] [spoiler] I especially appreciate what the first episode does because it's twist essentially just does the opposite of the twist at the end of Detroit Become Human. See, what happens in the relevant part of Detroit Become Human is, that Kara — basically an android maid — gains consciousness and saves Alice — a little kid — from her abusive father. After this, they become runaways and Kara has to risk herself being rounded up with other rogue androids in order to steal food and provide shelter to Alice. But, near the end of the game, it's revealed that Alice was actually also an android and that Kara actually knew this fact. What this essentially does is, invalidate all the effort Kara went through for Alice, even though all her needs could have basically been turned off with just the press of a button, but also, much much more importantly, it invalidates the genuinely beautiful message that an android can act as a mother and raise a human child. What Ep1 of this show does is exactly the opposite of that, as the opening and ending lines clearly already state. [/spoiler] PS: I had to write all this twice because I accidentally deleted it all the first time literally after I'd finished writing the whole thing. PPS: I left out a lot of parts that I decided later that I wanted to add in and thus deleted the og review to repost it now.

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