Flawfinder's Blog

Anime Relations: Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse, Sword Art Online, Kokoro Connect, Kingdom, Campione! Matsurowanu Kamigami to Kamigoroshi no Maou, Moyashimon Returns, Natsuyuki Rendezvous

Okay, this Spring Season really gave me a lot of shows to watch. So many that I couldn’t watch some stuff that I’ve heard was really good. For example, I haven’t caught up to Mysterious Girlfriend X. And I don’t have time to watch AKB0048. I can’t even spare time for Accel World just to make fun of it (although really, I could easily skim the episodes and get what’s supposed to go on, because it’s fucking generic as shit). With that said, hopefully the summer season is crap, so I can catch up on those while watching some really good and really bad anime. Let’s see.

Kingdom- This series is the earliest to start. It’s about two war orphans who want to prove themselves on the battlefield and is apparently an adaptation of a manga that nobody really knows about. Given that Studio Pierrot is behind it, it’s probably going to be a standard Shonen series that won’t even get subbed.

Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse- I’ve never heard of the Muv Luv adult game before I saw this anime, but apparently, it had a “last part” that was much better than sex, and a spin-off VN was made based on that last part. This anime is based on that novel. It could be good, but the director is Takayuki Inagaki, the guy who directed Rosario+Vampire, so I don’t know. The team behind Total Eclipse is closely involved with it, but so was the team behind Last Airbender, and look how that went.

Campione- A harem love comedy plus magic battles. That’s the first sentence on the MyAnimeList summary of this damn show. Add the fact that it’s directed by the guy who did Inukami and Sekirei and I’m done.

Love, Election, and Chocolate- Might be my guilty pleasure of the season. It’s mostly the same people behind OreImo and Haganai, and I did like the second one. I’m also a fan of Yuuichi Nakamura, so seeing him voice the male lead of this is promising. Basically, whether I like this show depends on his relationship with the females.

Kokoro Connect- A bodyswap comedy anime that seems to be more melancholic than comedy. It has two directors, with Shin Oonuma (the main director whenever Silver Link is concerned) being the head director while this other guy is the actual director. Seems sort of like the two guys behind Megatokyo, doesn’t it? Anyways, I don’t know what to expect of this. I haven’t read the novels either, so it could go either way.

Humanity Has Declined- I don’t really know what this series is about. However, I do Seiji Kishi is the director. As long as it’s comedy, the guy is pretty talented. He sucks at everything else though. So whether I like this series depends on how much comedy is in it.

Dakara Boku wa, H ga Dekinai- No, I don’t know its English name. Also, I read a bit of the manga. It’s just standard ecchi crap focused on a bland guy who lost his lust due to a magical girl. It’s also by the same people behind Yosuga No Sora, the most boring softcore porno anime I’ve ever seen. And it’s produced by Feel, the studio that brought us Da Capo and all that other bad moe crap. I’m out on this one.

One of Them Is My Younger Sister- Uh, no. No, no, no. The title alone should shoo you away, but the fact that the staff is absolute crap (director of Kiss x Sis, writer of Myself; Yourself, etc.) is all I need.

Estetica of a Rogue Hero- Produced by Arms, whose only good anime is Genshiken (which I haven’t seen) and whose other works consist of porn. And not good ones either. Although judging by what I’ve seen of the manga, it might be fitting they’re the studio behind it. Because nothing attracts you to an anime more than explicit rape.

Joshiraku- Group of girls talking to each other. I guess it could be funny and the staff is talented, but it’s going to have put some Hyouka-style visuals for me to keep interested, as Fate/Zero and Lucky Star have proven that talking heads absolutely suck.

Chouyaku Hyakuninisshu: Uta Koi- I really need the English name for this. Anyways, I don’t know jack about folk-tale anime. Go look at Star Crossed blog or something if you want to know about it.

Binbou-gami Ga! – According to Scamp (whose post on this is funny, FYI), this is an anime I should be looking forward to. Directed by Yoichi Fujita who did every Gintama episode after Episode 99 and based on a funny manga that I never read, Binbougami ga is about a lucky girl and a goddess who wants to suck her luck out of her. Eh, I’ll give it a go. I did love Daily Lives of Highschool Boys after all.

Arcana Famiglia- An otome game adaptation directed by Chiaki Kon, director of Higurashi, Umineko, some BL stuff I don’t know, and the latter two Nodame Cantabile series. It’s about a girl who interacts with the handsome male members of a committee called Arcana Famiglia. If you’re a fan of this genre, you might like it. I don’t think I will be.

Aruvu Rezuru: Mechanized Fairies- An anime created due to a contest between new authors. Its premise is basically a cyber battle sci-fi involving a boy and his sister-in-law. Would be excited if the producers weren’t Zexcs, one of the worst studios I’ve seen. Tatsuya Yoshihara is also a newbie at directing, so tough on this one.

Tari Tari- I wasn’t a fan of Hanasaku Iroha, but since Mari Okada is not on board, maybe the characters and drama will be better. It’s written and directed by the guy who directed the Professor Layton movie, and is about five girls going through adolescence. I’m not the biggest PA Works fan, but you never know.

Chitose Get You!!- 4-koma adaptation with weak premise? Pass.

Oda Nobunaga’s Ambition- Japan, you have made plenty of these anime. And every time, you suck all that’s interesting out of the idea. And Madhouse, what are you doing? Seriously, just give me Saber. I guarantee that she was handled much better than this anime is going to handle genderswapped famous character.

Rinne No Lagrange 2- Do not care about this series. I watched a bit of the first season and it just reminded me of Sky Girls.

Yuri Yuri 2- Not actual name, but fuck it. Don’t care.

Horizon II- No.

Dog Days II- God no.

Ebiten- Everything about this just screams generic. It also seems to be an ONA rather than an actual series. I’m sorry, but making the girls otaku is not enough for me to watch this. Get Yuuichi Nakamura in there and maybe we’ll talk.

Sword Art Online- An adaptation of a very popular LN series written by the same guy who did Accel World, this could be either good or bad. A friend of mine really likes it, but he also likes Accel World, so I took his advice with slight hope. Everything about this, from the staff to the premise looks like it can go either way. I’ll probably watch it, because even if it fails, it might be fun to mock, like Accel World.

Moyashimon Returns: Currently watching the first series. It’s pretty good. Same staff is returning for this one. Bring it on.

Natsuyuki Rendezvous: The other Noitamina series. Since I plan to watch all the Noitamina series, including the shitty ones, I’ll probably watch it. Nevertheless, it doesn’t look my kind of thing. I never read the manga, but it seems to be a standard drama. Produced by Dogakobo, the guys who brought us all the Koihime Musou crap. Director is decent though (although Yozakura Quartet was crap).

Huh, looks like there are quite a few shows I’m looking forward to watching. Am I ever going to get the time to watch Garzey’s Wing or Nodame Cantabile?

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.