Kashaun McGhee

The doc has highs and lows, but it feels more like an advertisement for Netflix (who do have an amazing selection of anime) rather than someone's authentic first look and overview into the world of anime. It's not good, but it's not this abomination that deserves to be condemned. The interviews between all the anime creatives is obviously the best parts of the doc, along with some of the editing choices, and I do stress *some* of them. Alex's initial response to anime and her wanting to know more about the medium and Japanese culture as a whole mirrors nearly everyone's initial feelings and reaction towards really getting into anime, but falls flat as the film keeps going as she doesn't follow up her own storyline with anything, leaving it at a "Anime is by the misfits, for the misfits" message that's been forced down our throats for years at this point. As a side note, her calling anime edgy isn't the greatest representation of the medium, especially when her selection of anime (the most popular Netflix Originals) is limited to darker, more mature shows. Yet, intermittent in shows like 7 Seeds and B: The Beginning, Alex decides to talk about Aggretsuko; a Netflix Original that's only edgy because of the death metal breakdowns that happen a lot on each episode, for comedic purposes. Other than that, the show has a cutesy aesthetic that never really breaks, and clever writing that just so happens to work really well. All in all, the doc is messy. It's weird, lopsided, and can sometimes seem a bit misinformed about its subject matter. But it comes from a place of passion and pure intrigue for the medium and provides a solid commentary on why the world needs anime, so for that, we have to give it props.