Oct 23, 2015 11:09 PM
Fall 2015 First Impressions
We have hit the 3 episode mark of the new season so I wanted to give some quick thoughts about everything I have watched. I am not going to explain the plot synopsis of each show since you can look those up yourself. The shows are sorted by sub release order.
Lance N Masques
Episodes Watched: 3
Status: Watching
This show makes me uncomfortable but it's not bad enough to drop yet. The designs make all the main characters look like squishy 12 year olds. The first episode charmed me with the MC's White Knight Syndrome and goofy combat scene but all that was quickly swapped out to build a relationship with the female lead. Too bad she is a 6 year old loli.
Heavy Object
Episodes Watched: 4
Status: Watching for the bad writing
I came in expecting bad writing and was not disappointed. The early volumes of Toaru Majutsu no Index were sloppily written and this anime is based on a LN series written by the same author before that. The premise alone shows that he didn't know anything about military strategy or technology. The story is told almost exclusively through expository dialogue including the action scenes. The MC ogles the female lead at the most inappropriate times such as when their lives are in immediate danger. Finally, he is made out to be special for doing what any infantry unit should be doing in this setting.
Kagewani
Episodes Watched: 3
Status: Watching
A short series of spooky stories featuring well known monsters like The Loch Ness Monster and The Abominable Snowman. It is fairly episodic but hints at a central narrative about the MC who is investigating these monster stories. The cardboard cutout art style and low budget animation is unappealing but forgivable because the stories are decent.
Young Black Jack
Episodes Watched: 3
Status: Watching
It's a decent episodic medical drama set during the Vietnam War. Hazama struggles with choosing between finishing medical school and obtain a proper license and applying his skills to save the lives in front of him. This is further aggravated by the debts he needs to pay off and the lack of available doctors during the war. There is less dramatic tension for those familiar with Black Jack since we already know which path he chooses. I wish his personality wasn't so similar to the original Black Jack so that it had more room to change over the course of the series.
What is the deal with the Fursona in Episode 2?
Gakusen Toshi Asterisk
Episodes Watched: 4
Status: Watching
Generic magical academy battle harem LN story with a killer OST. Most shows like this lose steam after the 1st arc, which just ended, but fans claim that it will get better from now on. The plot so far is so generic that I have trouble remembering what was going on by time the next episode airs.
Owarimonogatari
Episodes Watched: 3
Status: Favoured
The final season of the Monogatari franchise. The arcs so far are self contained enough for a newcomer to watch without worrying about missing context. I am confused about what happened to Shinobu since they replaced her with Ougi as Araragi's sidekick. I'm not really complaining about the change.
Utawarerumono: Itsuwari no Kamen
Episodes Watched: 3
Status: Favoured
The first episode established a bit of mystery before building a comfy atmosphere while two main characters get to know each other. The chemistry between the two felt natural and featured playful banter on the level of Spice and Wolf. The show's weakest point is its action scenes which retained too much of the slow pacing that worked so well for character building. The episodes so far resemble the beginnings of a JRPG where the focus has been on introducing the fantasy setting and characters in the main party.
This is the 2nd series of Utawarerumono but it's not a direct sequel. All that will be missed from the original series are small callbacks and Easter eggs.
Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry
Episodes Watched: 4
Status: Favoured
Generic magical academy battle harem LN premise with solid execution. It isn't perfect but it is a good example of why an anime should not be judged solely on its premise. There are several times when it nearly falls into typical tropes of the genre but manages to side step them by adding in a little originality. This show feels like a reward for having slogged through so many generic magical academy battle harems from the last few years.
At it's best, the show features cute romance, original humour, a balanced likable main cast, and well choreographed battles. Episode 3 in particular, had action scenes featuring hype music and better animation than deserved. The MC's social status, physical specialization, and high risk ability make him oddly similar to Rock Lee, Naruto's best underdog character. At it's worst, there are some forced ecchi scenes and the dialogue meant to drive character development and romantic chemistry can be heavy handed.
I loved the first couple episodes enough to read the first volume of the LN and the equivalent of the manga which cover the episodes watched. The manga is a near perfect adaptation of the LN while the anime takes some liberties for saving time. Not only do I not mind the differences but I prefer them in most cases.
Shingeki! Kyojin Chuugakkou
Episodes Watched: 3
Status: Watching reluctantly
The joke is that the cast of Attack on Titan is a bunch of Chibis that go to junior high school with the Titans. Nobody dies because the Titans only eat their bentos. Their are some clever references to the actual series but the joke got old before the end of the first episode. I would have dropped it if I wasn't watching it in club.
Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans
Episodes Watched: 3
Status: Watching
This is immediately better than any of the modern Gundams for not being a Gundam Wing clone and not being part of the Seed universe. It hammer home, perhaps a little too much, that the main cast of teens aren't like those in the previous Gundams: civilians thrust into the battlefield while whining about the futility of war. Specifically, the two main characters are battle hardened child soldiers that kill without hesitation. However, there is a strong chance that the series will dive back into the usual "futility of war" themes by using the princess character modeled after Relena Peacecraft from Gundam Wing.
There is no good reason for shirtless Gundam piloting except for fan service. How hard would it be to make custom pilot uniforms with holes for the neural interface ports?
Concrete Revolutio: Choujin Gensou
Episodes Watched: 3
Status: Watching
You can immediately tell that this series was produced by Studio Bones from the bright colour palette and Soul Eater aesthetic. The story is told through a dual narrative similar to Watchmen where each episode focuses on a specific character and flash forwards to show the future consequences of their present day actions. The brief glimpses of the future world show that everything has gone wrong and the characters have undergone dramatic personality changes. How they manage to tie these two narratives together can be what makes or breaks this series.
The ED is straight out of MTV's Oddities. It's cool but doesn't fit with the rest of the show's aesthetic.
Comet Lucifer
Episodes Watched: 3
Status: Dropped
The art is reminiscent of Eureka 7 and the plot of the first episode had Laputa vibes that set the show up for a run of the Hero's Journey. Unfortunately, the writing wasn't very good. Everything was so heavily plot driven that we lost out on character development and the conflicts with the villains felt forced.
One Punch Man
Episodes Watched: 3
Status: Favoured
The hypest anime of the season. It features the combined efforts of big names from the anime industry and several well known voice actor cameos for the villains. I call them cameos instead of roles because the villains don't last for very long. The main joke of the series runs the risk of turning stale but they are managing to keep it fresh by introducing supporting characters and world building.
Komori-san wa Kotowarenai!
Episodes Watched: 2
Status: Dropped
It's a short show about nothing featuring a tall girl who finds it difficult to turn down people's requests. I wonder what her reaction would be if someone asked her out on a d-d-date.
Osomatsu-san
Episodes Watched: 3
Status: Dropped but recommend
The show can be best described as anime sketch comedy similar to MAD TV. Each episode presents a bunch of short sketches featuring the main cast of characters but are otherwise unrelated with no central narrative. The sketches vary wildly with different kinds of comedy. Most of it is either misunderstandings from how hard it is to tell the brothers apart, the brothers being cruel to each other, or random Japanese weirdness. Episode 1 was a brilliant parody of modern anime and can be seen as a single sketch lasting the entire episode.
Tantei Team KZ Jiken Note
Episodes Watched: 3
Status: Watching
A short series that seems to be targeted at a younger audience with themes about friendship and teamwork which I enjoy. The group of middle schoolers, except for the new girl, know how to work together and utilize their individual talents. My biggest concern is that it might be one of those forever shows.
Sakurako-san no Ashimoto ni wa Shitai ga Umatteiru
Episodes Watched: 3
Status: Favoured
The premise reads like Bones (the TV show) and the art is reminiscent of Hyouka but once you get past those surface features it turns out to be a Sherlock Holmes clone. That alone is awesome. The focus on anatomical forensics is something that we have seen a lot of in western cop shows but goes largely unrepresented in anime. The biggest strike against it is that the cops are too compliant when it comes to letting two civilian teens solve murder cases.
Taimadou Gakuen 35 Shiken Shoutai
Episodes Watched: 3
Status: Watching
Another magical academy battle LN. The male lead is likable but the female lead, who the story seems to be focusing on, is an edgy Sasuke-like avenger. What sets this one apart is it's darker atmosphere and the fact that they fight against criminal witches instead of other students in a school tournament.
Episode 3 ruins everything by attempting to do harem romantic comedy when the main girl doesn't fit the role and by introducing a generic school tournament complete with a dickish rival team captain. I can only hope that the tournament gets interrupted by an attack on the school.
Subete ga F ni Naru: The Perfect Insider
Episodes Watched: 3
Status: Watching reluctantly
Everybody seems to like this but I have no idea why. This show managed to make me hate every single character especially the male and female leads. They are supposed to be geniuses of some sort but only come off as obnoxiously pretentious. I hope that they are doing this intentionally. Episode 3 introduces us into the main plot which is a locked room murder mystery.
Ore ga Ojousama Gakkou ni Shomin Sample Toshite Gets♥Sareta Ken
Episodes Watched: 3
Status: Watching
Silly harem comedy. I'm disappointed that the muscle fetish gag was forgotten about after the beginning of the first episode and that they seem to be missing the bitchy oujo-sama with the haughty laugh character. Seriously, that is my favourite oujo-sama character and its missing from a show all about oujo-samas. The maid kind of makes up for this by being a character defined by her silent contempt for the MC.
Shinmai Maou no Testament Burst
Episodes Watched: 3
Status: Watching while looking over my shoulder
2nd season gets an upgrade in production values but when you look past the visuals (harder than it sounds with all that PLOT) then the show is more of the same from the previous season. There is nothing wrong with that and the softcore hentai scenes are still hilarious.
Garo: Guren no Tsuki
Episodes Watched: 2
Status: Dropped
It's presented as an episodic kids cartoon. The story doesn't flow logically and the animation can only be described as cheap. Hard to believe this is the same studio that made Garo: Honoo no Kokuin. I dropped it after the first episode but a friend convinced me to keep going. Episode 2 did not change my mind.
Owari no Seraph: Nagoya Kessen-hen
Episodes Watched: 2
Status: Watching
The previous season of this show set the bar really low but so far this season looks alright. The story so far is generic training and leveling up but the characters seem more mature than before. I'm waiting for the writing to go terribly wrong.
Anitore! EX
Episodes Watched: 2
Status: Watching and going to Hell
It's a series of short exercise videos presented by moe girls. I'm not even doing the exercises.
Hidan no Aria AA
Episodes Watched: 2
Status: Watching
I just want Hidan no Aria S2 instead we get a spinoff conceptually similar to Soul Eater NOT. Nothing wrong so far and including Aria as a main character is the correct choice for this sort of spinoff. It does seem a bit weird that the female MC is building a female harem. [Seinfeld]Not that there's anything wrong with that.[/Seinfeld]
Valkyrie Drive: Mermaid
Episodes Watched: 1
Status: Insta-dropped
Take all the cringe-worthy rapey lesbian aspects of Cross Ange and remove the redeeming qualities. I couldn't even make it through the first episode but it might be fun to watch with friends for a laugh.
Lance N Masques
Episodes Watched: 3
Status: Watching
This show makes me uncomfortable but it's not bad enough to drop yet. The designs make all the main characters look like squishy 12 year olds. The first episode charmed me with the MC's White Knight Syndrome and goofy combat scene but all that was quickly swapped out to build a relationship with the female lead. Too bad she is a 6 year old loli.
Heavy Object
Episodes Watched: 4
Status: Watching for the bad writing
I came in expecting bad writing and was not disappointed. The early volumes of Toaru Majutsu no Index were sloppily written and this anime is based on a LN series written by the same author before that. The premise alone shows that he didn't know anything about military strategy or technology. The story is told almost exclusively through expository dialogue including the action scenes. The MC ogles the female lead at the most inappropriate times such as when their lives are in immediate danger. Finally, he is made out to be special for doing what any infantry unit should be doing in this setting.
Kagewani
Episodes Watched: 3
Status: Watching
A short series of spooky stories featuring well known monsters like The Loch Ness Monster and The Abominable Snowman. It is fairly episodic but hints at a central narrative about the MC who is investigating these monster stories. The cardboard cutout art style and low budget animation is unappealing but forgivable because the stories are decent.
Young Black Jack
Episodes Watched: 3
Status: Watching
It's a decent episodic medical drama set during the Vietnam War. Hazama struggles with choosing between finishing medical school and obtain a proper license and applying his skills to save the lives in front of him. This is further aggravated by the debts he needs to pay off and the lack of available doctors during the war. There is less dramatic tension for those familiar with Black Jack since we already know which path he chooses. I wish his personality wasn't so similar to the original Black Jack so that it had more room to change over the course of the series.
What is the deal with the Fursona in Episode 2?
Gakusen Toshi Asterisk
Episodes Watched: 4
Status: Watching
Generic magical academy battle harem LN story with a killer OST. Most shows like this lose steam after the 1st arc, which just ended, but fans claim that it will get better from now on. The plot so far is so generic that I have trouble remembering what was going on by time the next episode airs.
Owarimonogatari
Episodes Watched: 3
Status: Favoured
The final season of the Monogatari franchise. The arcs so far are self contained enough for a newcomer to watch without worrying about missing context. I am confused about what happened to Shinobu since they replaced her with Ougi as Araragi's sidekick. I'm not really complaining about the change.
Utawarerumono: Itsuwari no Kamen
Episodes Watched: 3
Status: Favoured
The first episode established a bit of mystery before building a comfy atmosphere while two main characters get to know each other. The chemistry between the two felt natural and featured playful banter on the level of Spice and Wolf. The show's weakest point is its action scenes which retained too much of the slow pacing that worked so well for character building. The episodes so far resemble the beginnings of a JRPG where the focus has been on introducing the fantasy setting and characters in the main party.
This is the 2nd series of Utawarerumono but it's not a direct sequel. All that will be missed from the original series are small callbacks and Easter eggs.
Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry
Episodes Watched: 4
Status: Favoured
Generic magical academy battle harem LN premise with solid execution. It isn't perfect but it is a good example of why an anime should not be judged solely on its premise. There are several times when it nearly falls into typical tropes of the genre but manages to side step them by adding in a little originality. This show feels like a reward for having slogged through so many generic magical academy battle harems from the last few years.
At it's best, the show features cute romance, original humour, a balanced likable main cast, and well choreographed battles. Episode 3 in particular, had action scenes featuring hype music and better animation than deserved. The MC's social status, physical specialization, and high risk ability make him oddly similar to Rock Lee, Naruto's best underdog character. At it's worst, there are some forced ecchi scenes and the dialogue meant to drive character development and romantic chemistry can be heavy handed.
I loved the first couple episodes enough to read the first volume of the LN and the equivalent of the manga which cover the episodes watched. The manga is a near perfect adaptation of the LN while the anime takes some liberties for saving time. Not only do I not mind the differences but I prefer them in most cases.
Shingeki! Kyojin Chuugakkou
Episodes Watched: 3
Status: Watching reluctantly
The joke is that the cast of Attack on Titan is a bunch of Chibis that go to junior high school with the Titans. Nobody dies because the Titans only eat their bentos. Their are some clever references to the actual series but the joke got old before the end of the first episode. I would have dropped it if I wasn't watching it in club.
Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans
Episodes Watched: 3
Status: Watching
This is immediately better than any of the modern Gundams for not being a Gundam Wing clone and not being part of the Seed universe. It hammer home, perhaps a little too much, that the main cast of teens aren't like those in the previous Gundams: civilians thrust into the battlefield while whining about the futility of war. Specifically, the two main characters are battle hardened child soldiers that kill without hesitation. However, there is a strong chance that the series will dive back into the usual "futility of war" themes by using the princess character modeled after Relena Peacecraft from Gundam Wing.
There is no good reason for shirtless Gundam piloting except for fan service. How hard would it be to make custom pilot uniforms with holes for the neural interface ports?
Concrete Revolutio: Choujin Gensou
Episodes Watched: 3
Status: Watching
You can immediately tell that this series was produced by Studio Bones from the bright colour palette and Soul Eater aesthetic. The story is told through a dual narrative similar to Watchmen where each episode focuses on a specific character and flash forwards to show the future consequences of their present day actions. The brief glimpses of the future world show that everything has gone wrong and the characters have undergone dramatic personality changes. How they manage to tie these two narratives together can be what makes or breaks this series.
The ED is straight out of MTV's Oddities. It's cool but doesn't fit with the rest of the show's aesthetic.
Comet Lucifer
Episodes Watched: 3
Status: Dropped
The art is reminiscent of Eureka 7 and the plot of the first episode had Laputa vibes that set the show up for a run of the Hero's Journey. Unfortunately, the writing wasn't very good. Everything was so heavily plot driven that we lost out on character development and the conflicts with the villains felt forced.
One Punch Man
Episodes Watched: 3
Status: Favoured
The hypest anime of the season. It features the combined efforts of big names from the anime industry and several well known voice actor cameos for the villains. I call them cameos instead of roles because the villains don't last for very long. The main joke of the series runs the risk of turning stale but they are managing to keep it fresh by introducing supporting characters and world building.
Komori-san wa Kotowarenai!
Episodes Watched: 2
Status: Dropped
It's a short show about nothing featuring a tall girl who finds it difficult to turn down people's requests. I wonder what her reaction would be if someone asked her out on a d-d-date.
Osomatsu-san
Episodes Watched: 3
Status: Dropped but recommend
The show can be best described as anime sketch comedy similar to MAD TV. Each episode presents a bunch of short sketches featuring the main cast of characters but are otherwise unrelated with no central narrative. The sketches vary wildly with different kinds of comedy. Most of it is either misunderstandings from how hard it is to tell the brothers apart, the brothers being cruel to each other, or random Japanese weirdness. Episode 1 was a brilliant parody of modern anime and can be seen as a single sketch lasting the entire episode.
Tantei Team KZ Jiken Note
Episodes Watched: 3
Status: Watching
A short series that seems to be targeted at a younger audience with themes about friendship and teamwork which I enjoy. The group of middle schoolers, except for the new girl, know how to work together and utilize their individual talents. My biggest concern is that it might be one of those forever shows.
Sakurako-san no Ashimoto ni wa Shitai ga Umatteiru
Episodes Watched: 3
Status: Favoured
The premise reads like Bones (the TV show) and the art is reminiscent of Hyouka but once you get past those surface features it turns out to be a Sherlock Holmes clone. That alone is awesome. The focus on anatomical forensics is something that we have seen a lot of in western cop shows but goes largely unrepresented in anime. The biggest strike against it is that the cops are too compliant when it comes to letting two civilian teens solve murder cases.
Taimadou Gakuen 35 Shiken Shoutai
Episodes Watched: 3
Status: Watching
Another magical academy battle LN. The male lead is likable but the female lead, who the story seems to be focusing on, is an edgy Sasuke-like avenger. What sets this one apart is it's darker atmosphere and the fact that they fight against criminal witches instead of other students in a school tournament.
Episode 3 ruins everything by attempting to do harem romantic comedy when the main girl doesn't fit the role and by introducing a generic school tournament complete with a dickish rival team captain. I can only hope that the tournament gets interrupted by an attack on the school.
Subete ga F ni Naru: The Perfect Insider
Episodes Watched: 3
Status: Watching reluctantly
Everybody seems to like this but I have no idea why. This show managed to make me hate every single character especially the male and female leads. They are supposed to be geniuses of some sort but only come off as obnoxiously pretentious. I hope that they are doing this intentionally. Episode 3 introduces us into the main plot which is a locked room murder mystery.
Ore ga Ojousama Gakkou ni Shomin Sample Toshite Gets♥Sareta Ken
Episodes Watched: 3
Status: Watching
Silly harem comedy. I'm disappointed that the muscle fetish gag was forgotten about after the beginning of the first episode and that they seem to be missing the bitchy oujo-sama with the haughty laugh character. Seriously, that is my favourite oujo-sama character and its missing from a show all about oujo-samas. The maid kind of makes up for this by being a character defined by her silent contempt for the MC.
Shinmai Maou no Testament Burst
Episodes Watched: 3
Status: Watching while looking over my shoulder
2nd season gets an upgrade in production values but when you look past the visuals (harder than it sounds with all that PLOT) then the show is more of the same from the previous season. There is nothing wrong with that and the softcore hentai scenes are still hilarious.
Garo: Guren no Tsuki
Episodes Watched: 2
Status: Dropped
It's presented as an episodic kids cartoon. The story doesn't flow logically and the animation can only be described as cheap. Hard to believe this is the same studio that made Garo: Honoo no Kokuin. I dropped it after the first episode but a friend convinced me to keep going. Episode 2 did not change my mind.
Owari no Seraph: Nagoya Kessen-hen
Episodes Watched: 2
Status: Watching
The previous season of this show set the bar really low but so far this season looks alright. The story so far is generic training and leveling up but the characters seem more mature than before. I'm waiting for the writing to go terribly wrong.
Anitore! EX
Episodes Watched: 2
Status: Watching and going to Hell
It's a series of short exercise videos presented by moe girls. I'm not even doing the exercises.
Hidan no Aria AA
Episodes Watched: 2
Status: Watching
I just want Hidan no Aria S2 instead we get a spinoff conceptually similar to Soul Eater NOT. Nothing wrong so far and including Aria as a main character is the correct choice for this sort of spinoff. It does seem a bit weird that the female MC is building a female harem. [Seinfeld]Not that there's anything wrong with that.[/Seinfeld]
Valkyrie Drive: Mermaid
Episodes Watched: 1
Status: Insta-dropped
Take all the cringe-worthy rapey lesbian aspects of Cross Ange and remove the redeeming qualities. I couldn't even make it through the first episode but it might be fun to watch with friends for a laugh.
Posted by
TheLemuroid
| Oct 23, 2015 11:09 PM |
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