Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
LuxuriousHeart
This anime is very relaxing to current events. If you know, you know. While tackling a serious subject, like censorship, they manage to have light hearted and funny moments, and they squeeze in a well written romance. The cast was actually likable, while being believably flawed. This was a great anime!
Except, the censorship. It's ironic, isn't it? The premise of this anime is that censorship is bad, and that we must fight against it, yet this anime was censored. The censorship of this anime was not only disgusting morally, but it also made parts of the anime confusing. I actually had to read in order threads to understand certain plot points. That's a failure of the anime. It's such a shame because the cast is great, the premise is great, and the writing (that wasn't censored) was good.…
Read at the sourceMaskedhero_420
everything else about the show is palpable. the context of the library wars, the conflicting ideologies producing this type of war to begin with and the consequences of a society full of literary censorship. the BIGGEST problem I see in this show is the persona of the MC and how it devalues the nature of the story going on around here. while library wars is meant to encapsulate the circumstances surrounding a society fighting over censorship of texts, all this gets completely lost upon us when the motivating factor for the MC's decision to join the defense force is a romantic one and a self centered one rather than a noble one. she wants the officer who saved her and her book to notice her. more so than protecting the value of books, this MC is only interested in garnering the attention of…
Read at the sourceDaxtotheMax
If Ray Bradbury had an anime.
The concept is fun, pitting two sides against each other on the side of censorship or preservation, hence a "Library War". To think that books would cause a war, right? With shooting and bullets and guns and boot camp. Even with "war", it keeps a semi-light hearted tone, it's kind of hard to describe but to me "stringy" sounds good. It doesn't get gritty or bloody and it's not a rom-com, but it has slapstick moments, an in-betweener, I suppose.
It's been said before with a handful of anime (I know Kuroko's Basketball had this problem) but it applies here as well. Every episode starts with a recap of the synopsis (basically what I already told you) and then the OP and then a recap of the episode before it, which in this day and age we can just skip it but it…
Read at the sourceSun_Rodriguez
Looking for military-themed anime I found this one, and it caught my attention; It was anything but what I expected, and I'm glad it turned out just the way it was. The best way to compare this anime is with the famous book Fahrenheit 451, but Japan style and I must say it works. The story is entertaining, it has dramatic moments, some comedy, the characters are deep enough to understand why they act and think the way they do. So I recommend it, I just have to add that it is better to watch it for the anti-censorship plot than for the romance, since although the romance is there, it is the least important and is not as present as other themes.
As a bonus, I suggest that for it to feel like a satisfying conclusion, you'll really have to see the movie, a sequel that delivers what one as a v…
Read at the sourceAnimeEnjoyer420
Summary: Toshokan Sensou is an unfortunate case of a solid premise (what if libraries had their own militaries to fight off censorship?) wasted on uninspired material and a scattershot approach to genre that causes the tone of the series to careen wildly from one scene to the next. The pieces of a good show can sometimes be found here, but it's ultimately a disappointment that never capitalizes on the ideas that it has.
Positives:
+ Intriguing premise. Though it never really makes the most of it, the sight of people in military fatigues doing book readings for children at the local library before fighting off jackbooted government thugs trying to do Fahrenheit 451 to their Clifford the Big Red Dog books is admirably goofy and unique.
+ Some good side characters. In particular, Shibasaki…
Read at the source-Lupa-
I had a lot of hope for this anime, but after watching it I felt very disappointed. The premise of the story was very interesting and unusual, so it was a little amazing how they still managed to fit so many cliches and predictable moments into the plotline.
What I disliked the most about this anime was the main character, Kasahara. As the first female member of the pseudo-military library task force, she had the potential to be a really strong, interesting character. Instead she is incompetent, impulsive, naive, uneducated, disrespected, and frequently ends up in situations where she has to be rescued by her male counterparts. Around episode 11 or 12 her character starts to become more mature and capable, but that is when the anime ends. If they were going to write her character the way…
Read at the sourceAgent_Redacted
Library War is an anime that takes censorship to another level. Library Defense Force?! Lmao, I wonder how this anime will turn out to be with such a silly concept.
Turns out that it was fun. Library War threw away my low expectations for it like the most nonchalant way of disowning a child ever. It's... Subarashi. My Ferrero Rocher I recently bought from a store near my house tasted better because of this show. Literally changing it from the taste of an ice cube into the taste of happiness that I am still not infected by Coronavirus.
Aside from the fact that Library War's quality looks like something from the 90s. The story was pretty captivating. I really enjoyed this show. Though the biggest flaw of it is the fact that it felt very fast paced.
-But according to people, the movie w…
Read at the sourcemouthpiece
Yet another case where a show tries to lure you with its intriguing premise, only to offer you a more than simple presentation and a basic shoujo story. 90% of the people who decided to watch the show was because of the description.
“Many books are banned and libraries now have armies in order to protect them.”
Don’t you just want to find out what this is all about? Doesn’t it sound familiar to Fahrenheit 451? Isn’t it relevant to the recent Act Japan voted in order to censor several works of fiction? Isn’t this a social-political heavy story around law-given liberties?
And the answer is no, it isn’t; it is just an excuse to place the main characters in a situation where they need to team together for the same goal. The whole premise is handled very lightly, it is hardly exploited beyond…
Read at the sourceArakakiLaurant
Toshokan Sensou seems like the kind of anime you want to watch just because of the premise: the story of the first woman to join a military force specialized in fighting against censorship. Sounds incredible, right? Well, sadly it fails to justify the idiosyncratic politics that frames the whole setting, as well to present any meaningful insight of such complex themes. Does that mean the show sucks? Not exactly. While the simplistic nature of the setting can be underwhelming, it's a completely functional field for the true crop of the story grows: the characters.
Ultimately, Toshokan Sensou is a coming of age. Kasahara Iku must not only overcome her immaturity towards her professional stance, but also with matters of the heart - as well a little plot involving her parents disapproval of h…
Read at the sourceDiana_Sofia
I really enjoyed the series, although I don't think it can be recommended to everyone. The idea, although not unique, is handled in a very special way. It's a combination of slice of life and romance, with a few action and comedy moments.
The main idea, - of two factions fighting and having legal permission to do so, - does seem a bit unrealistic. The pacing is really slow in the beginning. I had to wait for 4 episodes to finally get invested in the characters and the overall plot. But the rest of the series, including the movie, were worth it.
Characters are just great, in my opinion. To some they may appear average, but let's be honest: real people are like that too. And we see a lot of positive development which is very inspiring. At least it was to me. Of course, primarily it goes for…
Read at the sourceephemerry
Toshokan Sensou, or Library Wars, its English name on Crunchyroll, is beautiful monotony. As many of you already know, Production I.G. is known for animating very pretty things.
• I.G. collaborated with GAINAX for the End of Evangelion and other very successful projects. You may be thinking, well duh, Luna. Get to the point! The point is: The actual director of this series, Takayuki Hamana, apart from the studio, hasn't worked on much.
• This isn't always something that ruins a series. I mean, he did direct Beast Player Erin… which was a very concrete world-building series, but dry on all other aspects, like on character building.
• Library Wars suffers from the same issues, where the technical aspects are solid, but the characters, aside from the main two, don't get enough screen tim…
Read at the sourceGamerPrincess
I am reviewing this anime after watching it twice and reading the manga about 10+ times. So, I started with the anime. I was looking for a good anime with a tsundere type character and a decent romance line. This caught my eye mainly by the reviews on myanimelist. So I watched it and it began to intrigue me. It never pulled me fully in but it did introduce me to the manga which made me OBSESSED!
I get it, manga will always usually reign supreme as it doesn't have the restrictions anime do. However, there were some key elements from the manga that were really ignored in the anime. In the manga there are certain actions that pull the main two characters together and really get you rooting for them. This anime had that but not in the same way. Some bits felt a bit rushed and the whole relat…
Read at the sourceS_Yellow
Usually my reviews are a catalog of what I didn’t like in a series but, I don’t think I can love this anime more. First of all there’s none of the bad anime cliches I’ve grown to loathe over the years in it. Sure Iku Kasahara does her fair share of yelling about what’s right and just in this world, but most of the time that’s shut down by the other characters who remind her (and us the viewer) that the real world is more shades of grey than black or white. It’s not outrageous cyber punk nor is it rife with needless fanservice. It features characters that feel real with real world problems and emotions. It has action, comedy, heart and tense drama in a perfect blend. It’s like the perfect anime. And the characters are adults with realistic character designs, something of a rarity these days…
Read at the sourceggultra2764
Set in the near-future, Library War is focused on the members of the Library Team Defense Force, a military organization created by local governments in defiance of a censorship bill where the country's military has authority to confiscate and destroy books considered "harmful" to Japanese society. The title's main focus is on new recruit Iku Kasahara, who learns of the challenges that go into the fight against censorship with the defense force and putting up with the rigid training of her instructor Atsushi Dojo.
To a good extent, Library War is focused on the regular operations of the Library Team Defense Force as they handle different censorship cases against government military forces and supporters of the censorship policies they enforce. The premise of the series will seem quite sim…
Read at the sourceCaraniel
Likeable characters, lulzy concept and excellent animation.
PLOT: I watched Toshokan Sensou back when it was airing and remember being very entertained by it. It’s all very light and fluffy as the series focuses on the characters rather than dwelling on the whole censorship war that is the setting. Basically the premise is that this is a world were censorship of books and the media is a big issue and two factions are perfectly willing to spill blood over books and freedom of the press. Its in this climate that Kasahara Iku decides to join the Library Task Force to follow in the footsteps of her ‘Prince’ who saves her and her favourite book when she was younger…..yeah I know it sounds rubbish, but believe me Toshokan Sensou is really entertaining!
I got major Full Metal Panic vibes from…
Read at the sourcemrsLEE
At first the story and plot seems a bit ridiculous. I mean, it’s not every day you encounter a story about library war. However, as you watch it, you will surely understand the weight of the plot and what message it’s trying to give to the viewer. It shows how important it is for us to be informed and gain knowledge from books, magazines, internet, newspapers, tv shows, movies, and anime/manga. Without it, all of us would be kept in the dark of what really is happening to the world. But more importantly, it shows that we should fight for it. Having rules doesn’t necessarily that it is the right thing to follow. Considering human beings by nature has a very different way of perceiving things. But what’s important is to fight for what you believe in which what the story is trying to tell us.…
Read at the sourcePyrokenesist
This anime is quite unique, but not bad my any stretch. The storyline is most likely to most unique thing about it, followed by the characters. The art and sound are pretty typical.
Story: Something that could definitely happen in America, probably already started happening, but on a much more technological level. The seizing of Historical documents that portray the government unfavorably, because if you don't know your history, it's bound to repeat itself? Yes. A government military is created to hopefully stop this
Art: Pretty Typical, much like Nodame Cantabile, or Lovely Complex, not incredibly round eyes or flashy colors, but enough to get the story across.
Sound: Decent. All there is to say.
Character: Characters exceed above all. The character, the main being...a tomboy? Eh, not…
Read at the sourceanimefreak0007
WARNING THE FOLLOWING REVIEW IS BASED SOLELY OF THE OPINION OF ONE PERSON. PLEASE DO NOT LET THIS PERSON'S OPINION EFFECT WHETHER OR NOT YOU WOULD VIEW THIS ANIME.
Toshokan Sensou or Library Wars in English is a Japanese anime rated PG-13.It aired in the spring of 2008 and is mainly a genre of action and comedy. Library Wars may make you think about boring, but this anime is far from it.
The story takes place in 2019 where the Media Enhancement Act censor all forms of media they feel is corrupt. To protect the libraries and people a second organization called the Library Corps was formed with military Task Force. The story revolves around Kasahara, Lt. Doujou, Shibaski, and the rest of the people in the Kantou Base Library Corp. The story is one of the most original as I have never read n…
Read at the sourceBishounen_Hunter
Hello Everyone! If you are a little sick and tired of the regular run-of-the-mill, clichéd anime shows out there, then boy do I have a gem of an anime to recommend to you guys! Toshokan Sensou or Library Wars is the perfect solution to break up that anime monotony. It's an intelligently written, 12 episode series that's got a small cast so you don’t have to wrack your brains trying to remember 42 million characters. It's got comedy, action, romance and even some political intrigue! It's done by Studio IG, the same people who animated the Ghost in the Shell series. So visually it's very nice, I recommend watching it in HD if you can. Eventho it's about a war don't expect heavy duty blood and gore, like I said this show is more comedy and romance with it's moments of high action and gunfire.…
Read at the sourceAnimeTroll1088
Story: The premise of the story is really strange when you first read the summary. Libraries in the year 2019 have become militarized battle zones between the pro censorship group / against censorship group. You may first think this is really unrealistic but in the 21st century censorship is still a big problem around the globe. Books/movies/and other forms of media are deliberately censored/ blacklisted by governments. Aside from that the show is a cliched romantic comedy. Since it is a 12 episode series it felt kinda rushed as well but it is expected. If you think about it, this series would most likely be banned in many countries lol. Armed resistance against censorship.......... not very far from reality.
Art: I loved the chibi artwork. It was very cute xP. Although the animation was…
Read at the source
