Like the majority, I also stumbled upon Danmachi, swayed by the title. Although my first impression of it was another generic fantasy harem with plenty of fanservice. However, there existed a subtle distinction: a consistent drive for improvement, setting it apart from the rest. From Storytelling to Cinematography, every single element improved gradually. And it all shone cohesively in S4, Achieving feats that seemed impossible in earlier seasons.

The very first change came from the plotline, where the focus shifted from the politics among familias to survival. Picking up where S4 P1 left, Bell & Ryu found themselves on the deep floors after getting dragged by that snake monster(can’t recall the name) and barely escaping the Juggernaut. The atmosphere was quite brutal and gruesome as they had no hope of making it through the White Palace (37th floor). Despite being emotionally distraught, Ryu decided she would at least help Bell to make it out alive. Generally, we see OP protagonist fall into an extremely dire situation and lose all means of staying alive, then miraculously making it back with some kind of hidden power or any other way which at times defies common sense and if there is another person (typically potential love interest) with him/her, they end up becoming a sole spectator. But here on this one, death lurks just around the corner for both Bell & Ryu when they can hardly breathe. Bell can’t protect Ryu and Ryu can’t save Bell but they can push forward by forming a somewhat cooperative relationship. I will elaborate on this part later in the character section. On the other hand, we have the allied famillia party struggling against the 25th floor boss. Seeing-sawing between gaining the upper hand and losing, here we get to see some of the most anticipated character developments. Not only Welf & Lilli but also side characters like Aisha, Mikoto, and Haruhime got a fair share of the spotlight. For the allied famillia party, their battle against the 25th floor boss was probably the culmination of their adventure, everything afterward didn’t hit that hard. However, one aspect of this series I was partly dissatisfied with was the lack of nerve-wracking moments involving other side characters which was brilliantly carried out in this part. Besides the main nail-biter of S4 started right after the boss fight, that is Bell & Ryu’s treacherous venture.

If you ask me the best thing about S4, I will probably say the world-building. I was always grumbling about how they were cutting corners on a crucial element of the fantasy genre. The white palace and The great fall floors kinda reminded me of Made in Abyss albeit it was far from being that detailed. While the white palace didn’t live up to its notorious expectations (excluding the colosseum) as initially told, there was still a considerable amount of suspense compared to the prior seasons. Another problem I had with Danmachi was the pacing (especially S2). At times it felt like they were dragging the arc for no good reason while on some occasions the arc was over before I could grasp the plotline. However, the pacing was right on track this time. From exploring the floors to fleshing out characters, they took their sweet time and it worked out perfectly.

Let’s talk about character development while we are at it. I don’t know if it's JC staff or the LN but the reluctance in giving out proper characterization is insane. Introducing new characters when the main characters barely got any spotlight. From S1-S3 it suffered terribly because of this stupidity. I was getting déjà vu when Marie first appeared but hopefully, they didn’t repeat this feat. On the other hand, most of the characters present in their party were fairly characterized. Despite that Bell, Welf & Ryu stand out distinctly. Although I couldn’t quite resonate with Welf’s ambition and circumstances, largely due to brushing off his development at S1. As for Bell & Ryu, they are the stars of S4, more precisely Ryu.

Bell & Ryu symbolized the idealist hero and the realist jerk respectively. While Bell was positive about making it to the surface with both of them and eventually surviving. Ryu on the contrary, was seeking redemption for her past atrocities. But then at episode 9 which was so far, arguably the best episode of the series, we get to delve into her past where she implicitly killed her companions, which has haunted her ever since. Subsequently, Bell expresses his admiration towards Ryu, telling him he always saw her as a hero of justice. Ironically this sentiment overlapped with one of her deceased comrades, that is to believe in her justice and follow her heart.

On the other hand, there was also Ryu’s passionate feelings towards Bell. Honestly, this is the first time in a fantasy/isekai show where I am genuinely rooting for a girl. It wasn’t rushed nor did they use the rescue trope to make her fond of Bell. Trivial things like the embarrassment of drinking from the same cup, wholesome pinkie promise, warming up beside each other, and opening up her heart it was those subtle feelings that did the trick. And to wrap it up with a confession like “You’re human worthy of respect”, it couldn’t be any better. She is no doubt the best character of Danmachi unless Ais gets a more compelling character arc than her.

JC Staff always had their eyes on Danmachi and S4 was no different. The animation was consistent throughout the series lets ignore the floor boss CGI whereas cinematography during the 25th floor boss fight reached peak. Not to mention the dark and eerie atmosphere of the white palace always kept me at the edge of my seat, you get the feeling something ominous is going to happen soon. Intercutting between Bell and Hestia familia also added complexity and created a sense of suspense which significantly boosted the viewer experience.

And the seiyuu? Idk if it was a coincidence but my favorite male seiyuu (tsugu san) and female seiyuu (hayamin) just happen to be the VA of Bell and Ryu. So even if I am being biased they really nailed it. The op Shiko by Hayamin and the ed Kirikizu by Sajou no Hana flawlessly portrayed the pessimistic Ryu and optimistic Bell. Though I listened to the op a few times, the ed didn’t impress me that much.

Finally, Danmachi is improving by leaps and bounds every season and I have a feeling it will only get better. Though this season might be a disaster for those who enjoyed the goofy and whimsical atmosphere it initially had.

And I repeat RYU IS THE BEST GIRL.

Kubo san won't let me be invisible is just your run of the mill high school romcom. On a second thought, it offers much more than your average romcom. This show usually portrays the daily interaction of our main duo Junta Shiraishi and Nagisa Kubo. Those who have watched Takagi san might experience a bit of deja vu since Kubo san resembles quite a lot from Takagi san. However, unlike Takagi-san, which felt somewhat repetitive in its first two seasons, "Kubo-san" keeps things fresh and engaging throughout. Each encounter between Shiraishi and Kubo felt heartwarming and left me yearning for more. Anyway let's skip the boring talk

Junta Shiraishi is your typical romcom protagonist, introverted and shy, doesn't have good looks and good grades, and sits on the last row. However, what makes him slightly more interesting than other characters is his invisibility charm. Although he isn't totally invisible, he gets overlooked quite often by pretty much everyone except for his own family and Kubo family. However, unlike other dense protagonists, he understands Kubo san's feelings to some extent and deliberately makes his way out of awkward circumstances. Regardless of the fact that he is overlooked as far as people consider him a beckoning cat, he still yearns for friends and youth.

Nagisa Kubo is also your "not easily found but typical" female lead who is almost a perfect girl in pretty much every way and loved by everyone (why she is all by herself most of the time is still a mystery tho). She is Shiraishi's classroom neighbor and loves to pull out little pranks every now and then. While those pranks aren't very comedic but never miss the chance to leave a refreshing feeling in your chest. Even though she is quite bold and somewhat bullies Shiraishi, she is just a fragile and simple girl going through her adolescence to her sister Akina.

Kubo san anime doesn't do anything groundbreaking, just another iyashikei. They are talking about psychological tests, measuring each other's height, exchanging their jackets, and whatnot. This may sound dull but they are taking each step at a time, depicting their relationship from square one (ahem not really square one but covered a lot of parts). I particularly loved the fact that Kubo's affection towards Shiraishi grew from simple curiosity about a random guy. The very first interaction between them was indeed a hectic one where Shiraishi was dumbfounded that someone intentionally talked to him and Kubo san was being fascinated with his replies. Eventually, Kubo san began to interact with him more, subsequently developing feelings for him. While this may seem bland and flavorless, this is just how unreasonable love can be. Kind-hearted, sharing some interests and philosophies, looks and grades who gives a shit about those crap? All that matters is you are having fun, so does your desired one. Moreover, Kubo san anime isn't only limited to school. They are constantly exploring the relationships outside the campus. While the fanservice of Akina was completely unnecessary, she did play a significant role in flourishing Nagisa's feelings towards Shiraishi which gave birth to some cutesy moments. (Bonus: we also got to see little Nagisa because of her)

Putting aside the plot and storyline, the production quality is top-notch here. While the quality took a turn for the worse after the hiatus, it was still much more than what I would call great. The background visuals remained consistent throughout the show, even going uphill every now and then (especially at ep9). They used very soft colors that soothed the eyes. Not to mention those pouty faces and chibi arts here and there definitely added liveliness to the show. Shiraishi's mob character art goes very well with his invisible trait. Other characters like Saki, Akina, Tamao also had vibrant art. In addition, the precisely timed soundtracks boosted the enjoyment rate. There isn't anything to talk about voice acting when seiyuus like Kana Hanazawa, Sora Amamiya, Miku Itou are working in the same project. I didn't skip both the opening and ending even once throughout the 12 episodes. In fact, the opening resonates with the show's essence more than it seems, there isn't any explicit romance going between them, the warm feelings just came out of nowhere and no one really cares about them. They just want one thing, and that is to stop time and indulge themselves in those sweet moments forever.
~Jikan yo tomare sukoshi dake~ (sorry I can't write japanese XD)

So if you are looking for intense drama, character depth, and notable side characters with substantial chemistry, then I suggest staying away from Kubo san won't let me be invisible as much as you can. But if you want to enjoy an easygoing and laid-back romcom, and don't care much about character depth or anything else, then you should definitely give it a shot. I have seen a lot of people saying there is next to zero progression which is something I have to disagree with. It's just Shiraishi got more development than Kubo san which typically happens the other way around. Also, you wouldn't want to miss Kubo san's adorable chibi faces, would you?

I was never an admirer of the romance genre before entering the anime world. Upon watching a sprinkling of romances I harbored a doubt like "Okay after an intense drama, they finally confessed to each other and started dating/got married BUT where is the aftermath? Is everything else a smoothing sail once you have taken the big step?"
Such questions always remained like how are they going to cope with everything and their perspective on this point. While a handful of shows dealt with it maturely, there are tons of shows which failed do so and decided to go with whatever outcome. And that's where Kaguya sama movie hit hard. Being in a relationship certainly affects one's life severely. More so when the relationship is between the prodigy Kaguya Shinomiya and the son of an impecunious family Miyuki Shirogane. On the outside, they were like apples and oranges but beneath the thick mask, they were detested by themselves; always striving to turn over a new leaf.

Kaguya Sama Movie The First Kiss that Never Ends begins with the anime's stronghold comedy genre which is a very love is war-ish way to start. After Kaguya and Miyuki luxuriate their first kiss albeit only for a night, they were stroke down to the harsh reality once again. Consequently, Kaguya's different personas collide with each other resulting in the resurrection of ice Kaguya. The emergence of Ice Kaguya which is more of her real self and the self she loathed the most, was a bolt out of the blue as Miyuki was desperately trying to confront Kaguya. In the beginning, the Ice Kaguya who was perceived as the distant and sadist type was in pursuit of a general thumb rule, that is to force Miyuki to take the initiative. The mental state of a girl in love can be so fickle and irrational, she might be immersed in a trance for eternity, tender feelings of love may become as suffocating and cumbersome as they can be, yet it is challenging as hell to express your desires, thus fondness becomes haughtiness. On top of that, Miyuki's obliviousness to Kaguya's subtle hints did nothing but add fuel to the fire.

Despite that, she couldn't stop her little mind games, eventually to the point where Miyuki lost his consciousness due to excessive stress, also known as extreme lovesickness. Now time for a self-reflection lesson, what if you can discern your troublesome and nasty personality but can neither abandon it nor shoulder it? What if you isolate yourself from others in order to refrain from hurting others, just to realize you are wreaking much more havoc by doing so? Yes, that is the mental state of Kaguya Shinomiya. Although she was making amends, she fell in love and became more open, more amiable, that tragic past is still a burden she must shoulder all the way to the distant, uncertain future and subject herself to its daunting from time to time. But even so, the current Kaguya is the by-product of all those elemental reactions. Whenever you fall for someone, undoubtedly you don't like every aspect of that person, But if that person were to cherish even the worst aspect of a persona, isn't that the quintessential person for you, who will hold you dear, cherish every moment you spend together?

Moving on to Miyuki, I know a lot of people will disagree with me but I found Miyuki's thought process more identical. From the swamp-cleaning incident, Miyuki developed an extreme obsession with Kaguya, impelling his whole high school life to be revolved around her. What is left for him to do? Throwing away his timid self and disguising himself with a nonexistential brave and confident persona, ultimately becoming a man who can stand toe to toe with her. Subsequently selected the president, and accomplished his absolute goal yet there is still discontent in his heart. It is the lingering regret of being unable to make her fall for him with his true self, the feeling of not experiencing anything despite being presented with a generic french kiss. But what else can be done? Even though Kaguya indirectly told her it pains her to see him suffer and insisted him to take it easy, Miyuki is as persistent as ever. He is on an entirely different dimension than Kaguya, barely catching up to her despite trying two or three times more. He is too fragile to be an easygoing type.

And that's exactly where the contrasting personalities confront each other. From a subjective point of view, I believe both of them are fine. To love is to devote oneself to the other, to seek out your own pleasure by ensuring your partner's happiness. That all can be achieved only by completely blending with your partner. The more intimate they are, the less they can hope to be misinterpreted. However what if your destined one is on a whole other height, a near perfect being sought by everyone? Can you expect her to look at you let alone share a relationship together? That feat can be gained by polishing yourself and erasing all your weaknesses albeit on the surface level. Constantly fearing when she might slip out of the grasp. Both of these perspectives depend on how you perceive the term 'love'. Love isn't all about extravagance, kissing and elegantly dressed dates. As long as there is a mutual affection that is not bounded by anything, you can experience it ordinarily without any hurdles.

From an objective view, these perspectives may seem senseless and irrational but isn't love the most stupid and the most wonderful thing at the same time? It is most likely the case when its about high school love. They wander through their own fantasy world, overcome their own hurdles, worry about their own little silly things, take vital steps and envision their own future together. The crucial part is to accept each other including all the flaws. As well as believe in oneself and stick to your ideals while respecting the other party.

In summary, Kaguya Sama Movie is simply phenomenal. It doesn't try to be special since it was one from the very beginning. It provided me with arguably the best drama I have seen in a while. While it concluded on a positive note with the main couple, the progression between Ishigami and Iino was gravely ignored. Not only did they butchered the stairs scene, but they also skipped Tsubame's Christmas party chapters and to add salt to the wound they even showed a flashback of the guest room scene. I hope they won't miss it the next season. Hayasaka was as adorable as ever, despite being my least favorite cast Chika managed to spice things up with her comedic charm. The seiyuus knew what they were doing but I can't help but feel that Aoi Koga just ascended to a new level. I had my faith in A-1 pics as always but they have a bad habit of exceeding my expectations. They managed quality animation throughout the show and cast additional seasonals in places like the hospital scene and the date at the end. However Kaguya Sama was always my number one from the comedic aspect but I think they fell short in this sequel. Of course it was above average but the timing of throwing the comedy was slightly off the mark. Hope they will sort it out in the future. In a word, Kaguya-sama: Love is War -The First Kiss That Never Ends Movie is the epitome of the drama and the romance genre which will increase its influence for quite some time. I had very high expectations for Kaguya same movie and it certainly did meet all the criteria but would have been delighted if they had decided to make a series instead.

Anyway, this is my second review. Since I am not proficient with my words, some things might sound weird and contradicting so I sincerely apologize for it. Thanks for your patience.

[This review contains mild spoilers]
Even in my friend circle there are some who will run away if they hear the name "Harem". There are a lot of shows which had a great premise and were going to bang but completely fell apart just because of this particular genre. Well some of them managed to somehow cumulate the story and deliver a bland outcome. So a lot of people consider it as a cursed genre BUT quintessential may prove wrong what I just said. So let's skip the boring talk.

Storyline

Yeah, it's that typical rom-com plot. Futaro Uesugi is a studious guy who doesn't care about anything else but studying. But upon meeting his love interests his philosophy about life changed. Except his love interests don't pop up after the 100th chapter, no childhood friend, no neighborhood friend, no foreign friend, no "We are just friends" friend. All five sisters were introduced in the first ep. So their father is rich af but couldn't find a tutor in the entire Japanese empire. So he asked Futaro, the top student in their grade to tutor them (trust me its so original). But you just wouldn't sit tight when your father put a barricade on your freedom, would you? Thus begins the tom and jerry chase between futaro and the quintuplets just to find out how deeply they got tangled in each other's life. To be completely honest, throughout the journey I often forgot I was skimming through a harem manga. It just emphasizes the family and their growth too much while also sprinkling such wholesome romance moments from time to time. From hating each other to becoming your special someone, it felt neither rushed nor slow. Not like your typical school romcom shows where they just waste the first 10 eps and then there’s already a winner before you can even connect the dots. Its not like those shows where the main girl falls for the boy because he is kind, because he once said hundreds of years ago "You can do it. Believe in yourself. Never give up. I am always by your side" because its graduation time and duh you can't graduate without a girlfriend so just pick the girl from vol 1 cover, because its a romance show so you have to choose someone doesn’t matter if it makes sense or not. He takes his sweet time with every single girl. Tho every sister didn't get the same amount of screen time and development but every single of those sweet and bitter memories made this journey so heartwarming. You won't see any useless fan service, nothing unrelated to the actual story. I will probably spoil things if I add any more detail.

Characters

Imo this is the best part of QQ. What makes this so delicate is that they are not classmates or besto friendos. They are sisters(well you can already see that in the title lol). From chasing each other to kissing, futaro's character develops as steadily as it could be. By confronting both absurd and harsh situations with the quintuplets, he was sometimes taught that life isn't so relaxing as it seems, he sometimes burst into anger, laughter and sadness, and sometimes the quintuplets were taught that life won't always go the same, the precious bond the quintuplets share might fall apart in the future. Futaro Uesugi on the other hand is not your everyday romcom mc. Instead of wasting time by thinking like"Oh no is she in love with me? What if she confesses to me?" he actually studied like a freak, prepared notes for the quintuplets, thought about how to respond to their feelings and came to the best possible answer. The character's personalities will be all over the place at the beginning but as the story continues you will experience the depth of their characteristics. The oldest and the most mature sister isn't the ideal sis you think she is, the hot-tempered and strict sis is actually really adorable, the introvert and the smart one really have it rough, the always loud, stupid and energetic type sister has the best behind the scenes build up and last but not the least our big eater is someone you will definitely love. They were complimentary to each other. Even if you remove one of them from just a single arc, I bet the story will fall apart. Throughout the story, you might feel hatred towards some sisters but you will certainly not be able to overlook their contribution to the story. And what amuses me the most is that regardless of the character they will always end up teaching you something valuable, even the side characters. Surely not like those shows where you won't even notice some characters until they confess. And then when the main girl runs away and those girls say "follow your heart, she went that way(you traitor)" and then start crying.

Art

Since I haven't read that much manga, I can't evaluate the art properly but it looked pretty decent to me, I felt comfortable while reading. Not to mention the art really did contain true emotions. But its nothing that special.

About the Ending

Look there's currently a war going on in Ukraine. So I don't think I need to start another one on my profile. But I think the ending totally depends on your perspective. Frankly, I enjoyed the ending and fully support the relationship between futaro and the bride. I don't have any complaints but I am not 100% satisfied either. I know I am contradicting myself but this is just how it is. Imo the ending had much more depth and significance than it looked.

Enjoyment

I don't think there was even a single manga panel that I didn't enjoy. I am satisfied with the pacing but it's just when something enormously good ends it's just this feeling that if only there were a few more chapters. For instance, futaro gave his answer on the last day of the school festival. If he had given this answer on graduation day then we might have gotten a few more chaps. But it might have also affected the quality of the story. I actually watched the movie first so when the movie ended in the theatre and the ending song was going on, everyone was leaving the theatre but I was completely moved by what did I just saw and I realized my vision got kinda blurry too.
So that's it. If this review has helped to pique your interest in the quint just a bit then please do check it out. Lastly, this is my first time writing a review. So I might have just discouraged a poor soul who wanted to read the quint. What I did was just summarize my thoughts about this show. Just like Miku started with her cooking even though she had 0 confidence and now she is a master chef. I also challenged myself today. Let's see if I can reach where Miku is already waiting. If you didn't like it. The dislike button is always here. Hit it really hard. And Thank you very much for reading it so far though you might have just skipped the review and come to see the scores lol.