Ranked #3924

Sengoku Collection

Sengoku Collection is probably one of spring 2012’s most underrated series. The very few promotional pictures and videos and the synopsis had the title overshadowed by other highly budgeted series of the season. Despite that, after watching the first episode, I could say Sengoku Collection has a potential [to follow Mawaru Penguindrum's footprints]. It quite exceeded my expectations and, yeah, Brain’s Base got me hooked again.

ART:
The art style is the same to that of Brain’s Base’s previous anime Mawaru Penguindrum. Pastel colors, simple scribble-like backdrops, and cartoonish character designs of the prior anime work well with the light, carefree mood of the new series. And despite having a new director at the helm, you’d still notice quite a handful of symbolisms in the background (e.g. wall graffiti, wall clock, and the omnipresent flower imprint).
My only criticism is that compared to Mawaru Penguindrum, Sengoku Collection has a lot less details—especially in the background. And it would really be better if they lower their "moe-meter". It could get get irky at times.

SOUND:
Good sounds, really. Lighthearted music matches well with the carefree aura of the visuals. There was no dead air and the voice acting was really good. The conversations between the characters are very smooth and engaging, and you’d clearly hear how emotions conveyed by the characters are expressed by the seiyuus.

DIALOGUE:
As mentioned before, dialogue was suave and engaging. Everything felt natural. The choice of words and how every response is expressed gradually establishes depth—and eventually creates a better understanding of the characters’ personality.

STORY:
I can’t really think of how a social networking site could actually be made into a story. So for me, coming up with an anime of Sengoku Collection is quite a feat already.
Anyway, the series progresses with a very comprehensible pace. Characters are introduced in a logical way. By that, I mean, names didn’t just go popping out almost everywhere.
Aside from that, there was an adequate allotment of time to slowly develop the personality of the protagonists. I especially liked how they showed the characters’ persona subliminally. I mean, their qualities are expressed through how they act and not by conspicuously having the characters say “tsundere”, “loli” or anything similar.
The story progresses slowly but smoothly. Even better, there weren’t minute-long fillers or plainly said, minutes of scenarios that are not at all necessary for the development of the story.
However, it hasn't shown anything intriguing yet. And so far, all I've been seeing is moe, yeah, moe.

***

Overall, Sengoku Collection—as I see it—is in good hands with Brain’s Base at the helm. This series has quite some potentials and perhaps, this title might be the one to succeed Mawaru Penguindrum’s reign during the last season.
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