- Gekijouban: FAIRY TAIL – DRAGON CRY
The improved animation (compared to the parent series) is offset by the worse character artwork and massive pacing hit watching it where it supposedly takes place (post-episode 285) causes. Content-wise it’s effectively a generic battle shounen filler movie.
- Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata Fine
The franchise‘s conclusion begins by almost entirely sidelining the harem aspects to focus on Megumi and how her comments regarding the game mirror her real-life relationship with Aki… only to have the entire thing derailed by a completely unrelated dramatic development about a third of the way through which inexplicably reintroduces the harem elements. They had a natural ending right there only to go and water down and delay it via contrived drama. Why?
- Goblin Slayer -Goblin’s crowN-
It starts out with a 25-minute recap of the first season (focusing on the violence and rape; which is an odd choice considering the initial reaction to that season was mostly split between ‘the first episode is nothing like the rest of the series’ and ‘the series is nothing but rape’). Such baffling production decisions. As for the new content, the quality level ends up slightly worse the prequel… assuming you go in expecting a double-length TV episode rather than a movie. If you go in actually expecting a movie it will probably end up mostly disappointing.
- HUMAN LOST
While inspired by No Longer Human and including some of its major plot points, this movie changes far too much to be considered an adaptation (so best to just forget about that if you haven’t already). It’s an action-drama now and a gorgeous work of desolation and futility… though I feel the giant monster and final fight in the ‘void’ were overkill.
- BURN ✠HE WITCH
Taking place in the same universe as Bleach, being set in a completely different location (one with more of a Harry Potter vibe to it), this movie focuses entirely on the franchise’s magic system rather than item-based or physical combat. It starts off well enough with crisp artwork, fluid combat animation, and mostly decent characters. The problem is with one particular character: Balgo. He’s awful and has no reason to exist beyond being awful and causing some of the most contrived plot developments I’ve recently had the misfortune of being exposed to.
- Sora no Aosa o Shiru Hito yo
While the movie works decently enough as a music-themed relationship drama for about 3/4ths of its runtime (leavened by ample comic relief), the vaguely Anohana-like supernatural elements don’t really add anything. It doesn’t have much of an ending either, with events being resolved in the most arbitrary manner possible and an epilogue taking the form of still images embedded in the credit roll.