05-31-12, 6:22 PM
April-May Summary
Anime Relations: Aquarion Evol, Fate/Zero 2nd Season, Hyouka, Jormungand, Uchuu Kyoudai, Tasogare Otome x Amnesia, Nazo no Kanojo X, Eureka Seven AO, Sakamichi no Apollon, Tsuritama, Lupin the Third: Mine Fujiko to Iu Onna
Well, time to give my thoughts on the anime that I've been keeping up with this season.
Dusk Maiden of Amnesia: I never liked the manga, and for good reason. The characters are extremely bland and irritating. The mystery is hyped up to be awesome, but more often that not, it’s a letdown. What little atmosphere there was in the manga was lost in the anime transition. And seriously, is that any way to treat a 12-year old boy?
Accel World: A lot of people think this anime is great. I call it extremely generic. The characters have as much charisma as a piece of paper, and as much shit as I give to Fate/Zero for having boring conversations with no style to it, this anime is even worse. Because of the concepts concerned with linking and such, there are no mouths to move when dialogue occurs, making the characters more soulless than the trains in Thomas the Tank Engine. Oh, and did I mention that Hiroyuki Yoshino is writing the series? To be fair, it's based off of a light novel, but I've learned long ago to avoid that guy's touch when he's behind the writer's chair.
Fate/Zero: I never read the novels before. It’s probably much better than watching this anime. Although the story is solid, the transition from written medium to visual medium isn’t done well. Thankfully, now that we’re nearing the conclusion, the characters have become more interesting, stuff actually happens, and hopefully, Rider/Waver get more screen time.
Jormungand: I never would have watched this if so many people didn’t bring it to my attention. People have been comparing it to Black Lagoon, one of the greatest action exploitation anime ever. It honestly has none of its style, interesting characters, or relationships. While Koko is enjoyably crazy and some of the villains can be fun, most of it is surprisingly dull. The animation doesn’t flow too well, the action is great, but not very stylish, and honestly, I could use more meaningful character interaction like the bullet in the ass conversation.
Lupin III: I never watched any Lupin but the Miyazaki movie, but you don’t need to, as this anime is a prequel. I have a soft spot for exploitation-style products, and while it has a few dull episodes, when it delivers, it delivers well. I also like how this show gets that nudity has to be stylish in order to work, and even when it’s gratuitous, it never feels out of place. But the biggest fun is reading the Tenka Seiha blog and laughing at how he misses the point of this masterpiece. (Note: Tenka Seiha is a great anime blog that hates anime so you don’t have to. Read it)
Tsuritama: Kenji Nakamura’s fishing anime is one of the more visually interesting anime ever. With rich characters, great development, and the mechanics of fishing actually being interesting to listen to, it’s a wonderful experience of a story. While I’m not as enthused with it as I once was, it’s still a great watch for Noitamina fans.
Eureka Seven Ao: I wasn’t a fan of the first series, so I wasn’t very interested in seeing this. However, I can safely say that this is what Guilty Crown should have been. The characters aren’t exactly memorable, but they’re pretty good. I like how the main is actually treated like a kid, and E7’s ambitions are still apparent. Also, I like how I don’t need to have seen the first series in order to understand anything, given the different cast, setting, etc. Definitely more enjoyable than the first series.
Kids On The Slope: Hands down one of the most flawless anime I’ve seen in a long time. Despite being a nine-volume manga, Watanabe has done a great job of hiding that fact. Plus, Yoko Kanno’s soundtrack is just awesome and implemented in the anime exactly when it needs to be. Every moment of this anime is practically a love letter to jazz, from the romance stories to the actual jazz playings themselves.
Hyouka: This one is a bit of a surprise concerning how much I like it, but the visuals are just great and the character interaction is fun, especially when you have the male equivalent of Daria as your main character. Whilst the mysteries themselves are pretty lackluster, the way they’re explained and solved are so good that the episodes themselves never feel like a chore to watch. Even Episode 6, which was pretty lackluster.
Mysterious Girlfriend X: I haven’t caught up to the show yet, and wouldn’t have watched it on my own because the manga creeped me out, but it is much better in anime form. The animation is really good, and whilst the male is pretty bland, the director has done a good enough job to the point that not only does this fact not bother me, I think he actually turned the bland male into a plus. Guess once you work on Doraemon, your success is secured.
Space Bros: Only on Episode 2, so I’m not giving any good thoughts on this yet, but it’s a good show, done by the same director of Mysterious Girlfriend X. It’s adapted from a manga that won the Shojokukan manga award, so it’s definitely a winner. One problem I heard about the show is that it progresses really slowly, so careful with that.
Aquarion Evol: Well this anime was a surprise. It’s a sequel to a lackluster dramatic anime that I’ve never seen and is written by Mari Okada. And it's just my kind of over-the-top entertainment. Yes, it’s plot-holed, stupid, and cheesy as hell, but so is Future Diary and Code Geass, and I like those. Plus, the sex metaphors. They don’t let up and always make me laugh. It does get dramatic later on, but surprisingly, that just enhanced its greatness.
Dusk Maiden of Amnesia: I never liked the manga, and for good reason. The characters are extremely bland and irritating. The mystery is hyped up to be awesome, but more often that not, it’s a letdown. What little atmosphere there was in the manga was lost in the anime transition. And seriously, is that any way to treat a 12-year old boy?
Accel World: A lot of people think this anime is great. I call it extremely generic. The characters have as much charisma as a piece of paper, and as much shit as I give to Fate/Zero for having boring conversations with no style to it, this anime is even worse. Because of the concepts concerned with linking and such, there are no mouths to move when dialogue occurs, making the characters more soulless than the trains in Thomas the Tank Engine. Oh, and did I mention that Hiroyuki Yoshino is writing the series? To be fair, it's based off of a light novel, but I've learned long ago to avoid that guy's touch when he's behind the writer's chair.
Fate/Zero: I never read the novels before. It’s probably much better than watching this anime. Although the story is solid, the transition from written medium to visual medium isn’t done well. Thankfully, now that we’re nearing the conclusion, the characters have become more interesting, stuff actually happens, and hopefully, Rider/Waver get more screen time.
Jormungand: I never would have watched this if so many people didn’t bring it to my attention. People have been comparing it to Black Lagoon, one of the greatest action exploitation anime ever. It honestly has none of its style, interesting characters, or relationships. While Koko is enjoyably crazy and some of the villains can be fun, most of it is surprisingly dull. The animation doesn’t flow too well, the action is great, but not very stylish, and honestly, I could use more meaningful character interaction like the bullet in the ass conversation.
Lupin III: I never watched any Lupin but the Miyazaki movie, but you don’t need to, as this anime is a prequel. I have a soft spot for exploitation-style products, and while it has a few dull episodes, when it delivers, it delivers well. I also like how this show gets that nudity has to be stylish in order to work, and even when it’s gratuitous, it never feels out of place. But the biggest fun is reading the Tenka Seiha blog and laughing at how he misses the point of this masterpiece. (Note: Tenka Seiha is a great anime blog that hates anime so you don’t have to. Read it)
Tsuritama: Kenji Nakamura’s fishing anime is one of the more visually interesting anime ever. With rich characters, great development, and the mechanics of fishing actually being interesting to listen to, it’s a wonderful experience of a story. While I’m not as enthused with it as I once was, it’s still a great watch for Noitamina fans.
Eureka Seven Ao: I wasn’t a fan of the first series, so I wasn’t very interested in seeing this. However, I can safely say that this is what Guilty Crown should have been. The characters aren’t exactly memorable, but they’re pretty good. I like how the main is actually treated like a kid, and E7’s ambitions are still apparent. Also, I like how I don’t need to have seen the first series in order to understand anything, given the different cast, setting, etc. Definitely more enjoyable than the first series.
Kids On The Slope: Hands down one of the most flawless anime I’ve seen in a long time. Despite being a nine-volume manga, Watanabe has done a great job of hiding that fact. Plus, Yoko Kanno’s soundtrack is just awesome and implemented in the anime exactly when it needs to be. Every moment of this anime is practically a love letter to jazz, from the romance stories to the actual jazz playings themselves.
Hyouka: This one is a bit of a surprise concerning how much I like it, but the visuals are just great and the character interaction is fun, especially when you have the male equivalent of Daria as your main character. Whilst the mysteries themselves are pretty lackluster, the way they’re explained and solved are so good that the episodes themselves never feel like a chore to watch. Even Episode 6, which was pretty lackluster.
Mysterious Girlfriend X: I haven’t caught up to the show yet, and wouldn’t have watched it on my own because the manga creeped me out, but it is much better in anime form. The animation is really good, and whilst the male is pretty bland, the director has done a good enough job to the point that not only does this fact not bother me, I think he actually turned the bland male into a plus. Guess once you work on Doraemon, your success is secured.
Space Bros: Only on Episode 2, so I’m not giving any good thoughts on this yet, but it’s a good show, done by the same director of Mysterious Girlfriend X. It’s adapted from a manga that won the Shojokukan manga award, so it’s definitely a winner. One problem I heard about the show is that it progresses really slowly, so careful with that.
Aquarion Evol: Well this anime was a surprise. It’s a sequel to a lackluster dramatic anime that I’ve never seen and is written by Mari Okada. And it's just my kind of over-the-top entertainment. Yes, it’s plot-holed, stupid, and cheesy as hell, but so is Future Diary and Code Geass, and I like those. Plus, the sex metaphors. They don’t let up and always make me laugh. It does get dramatic later on, but surprisingly, that just enhanced its greatness.
Posted by Flawfinder | 05-31-12, 6:22 PM | 1 comments