Categories
February 7th, 2012
Fall 2011 Anime Season Final Impressions
Anime Relations: Mirai Nikki, Maji de Watashi ni Koi Shinasai!, Ben-To, Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai, Guilty Crown, Un-Go
What I enjoyed in the Fall 2011 season.
FIRST THE RANKING!:
1. Mirai Nikki (when the season ended) - 9.5/10
2. Ben-To - 8.5/10
3. Un-go - 8.25/10
4 .Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukenai - 7.75/10
5. Guilty Crown (When the season ended) - 7.25/10
6. Majikoi - 4/10
Yeah..... IMO not a very good season. D:
Mirai Nikki was a surprise hit for me. I only read the first 3 volumes of the manga, so I had experience beforehand, but still, I was amazed how the concept was tackled and the psychological battles that came with it. And the concept reminds me of Higashi no Eden, which made me super hyped for it. Still, it borders along the illogical and unpsychological in some episodes, but a minor complaint. :/
And Yuno’s freaking awesome. no questions asked.
Ben-to..... is weird. Funny, weird, EPIC BATTLES ABOUT FOOD, people literally risking getting beat up for a half priced ben-to, stupid nicknames...... Yeah. Basically, an anime about food. That's has to do with brawling. I really don't know how to explain. But I loved it. The battle scenes were awesome, the plot was surprisingly deep, and made me laugh my ass off at some points. It's just an awesome anime. There could've been more character develpoment, but I really didn’t expect that from a 12 episode series. Overall, favorite of Fall 2011.
And plus, All I have to say is this: BEST. CONCEPT. EVAR!
Un-go has a crappy first and second episode, and almost literally made me want to drop it for something better. Thankfully, I didn't, because the rest of the episodes BLOWED MY MIND. LITERALLY. The cases were that good, although I still don't get the random Bentendo thing. Seriously, it just came randomly as a plot device. But since I'm a sucker for detective anime, I have to give it a high score, despite the unbelievably of it. And the characters were kinda bland imo. I should’ve gone with Detective Conan, but whatever. The search for more awesome detective anime continues!!!!!!
Haganai (Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukenai) is, what can I say, a generic harem anime, no doubt about it. Generic plotline, generic art (IMO), generic concept, and (seemingly) generic character designs. But the characters changed it from the random generic with no plot harem slice of life anime into an anime where you can actually hate and love the characters. I love Sena. I hate Yozora because she hates on Sena. I love Kobato because of her cuteness. I hate Maria because she's annoying (call me a hater, go ahead). I love Rika because she's so funny. And I totally forgot about the trap until now. Overall, the characters made it change from the generic anime it was heading to in the first episodes of the series. So points +2.
Still, I can’t get past this one scene: that Yozora’s actually Kodaka’s childhood friend. She makes it so FREAKING obvious in the anime, and as all generic harem plotlines go, she HAS to be his childhood friend. But no....... Kodaka doesn’t notice until Yozora cuts her hair short. Just..... *facepalm* How dense can a guy get???
And of course, Rika’s the best perverted girl there is, and who could forget the random UNIVERSE!!! everytime Sena’s upset?:P
Guilty Crown, I admit, was my most hyped of the season, and I wasn't disappointed, for the first 3 episodes at least. The sad music, awesome action, amazing art...... What's NOT to like?
Well, the story's a mess, the characters are kinda generic, their actions defy logic, I didn't know WTF was going on, meaningless explosions, etc. I could go on and on, but I'll just save it for Winter 2012 blog post. :P
Note: read the synopsis first!!!!! Just click on this and there ya go.
Majikoi (or Maji de Watashi ni Koishinasai!)SUCKS. It had a lot of potential. the first episode starts off with a bang, and although I didn’t know WTF was going on, the cool fights and awesome strategy reeled me in for the ride.
The second episode? I’m treated to LOADS OF SLICE OF LIFE STUFF. It basically shattered my expectations right there. What I was expecting was an awesome shonen, not a generic harem show! Haganai fills that gap. >:(
Needless to say, that isn’t necessarily bad, it was just surprising. But it doesn’t help that the second episode is boring. The only reason I remember the second episode is because of how disappointed I was in it. It felt like a generic harem slice of life show.
And it doesn’t help that the next 3-4 episodes or so focuses on the relationship of the main character guy (Yamato),whose supposed to be a “genius tactician,” and the 4-5 girls in his harem. All those episodes were kinda bland and it basically sucked, although some were mildly funny. By the time the fighting arc came in, I was tired of all that “I love the main character, so I must do anything for him!!!!” stuff.
To make this even more of a generic slice of life harem show, there’s excessive fanservice in some of the episodes, which is censored. I really can’t believe them. ok, it’s adapted from an eroge, i know, but still. Can they at LEAST try to tone the fanservice down a little and instead focus more on the story or at the very least, a little character development other than “Oh, I love Yamato because [insert vague, stupid reason here] and you can’t have him!” There’s literally an episode where all the girls vying to see whose going to go with Yamato to somewhere (I’ve completely forgotten the details now) while the supporting guy characters question the situation.
Me: *facepalm*
What the hell happened to all that action in the first episode???
My prayers are answered towards the end of the series. It’s gets more action-packed at the end, but to me it was SURPRISINGLY BORING!!!! And it was illogical, too. Basically, here’s the motivation for the girls: ‘I love Yamato so I must save him!!!!” Yeah, messed up logic.
And the story was stupidly flawed. It talked about Japan being a flawed country, and Yamato’s dad leaving Japan. At that point, I expected Yamato’s backstory. the verdict? Disappointment.
And remember the epic fight I talked about earlier? Well, that was part of a school event, something called the “Kawakami Conflict,” which is basically a large scale war between classes, similar to Baka Test’s Summoner Wars. Anyways, the school seemed like an interesting concept alone. i wouldn’t have minded if it focused around Yamato and his harem friends fooling around in school. That sounds like a fun concept alone.
But no. The school’s basically ignored, the Kawakami Conflict is only used for one episode, and I’m VERY disappointed. Awesome potential, down the drain as fast as humanly possible! I dunno if that was a problem with the original VN itself, or the anime. Regardless, wasted potential.
The girls also fall into the “generic archetype” category. basically, a shy type, a perverted type, a tsundere (actually 2 tsunderes, if I remember correctly), an outgoing girl, and a strong, lesbian-like girl. Character development? NONE! But their lust for Yamato slowly escalates during the course of the series.
Oh yeah, I’ve totally forgotten about the music, but the Op is really catchy, tbh. The BGM I never noticed and the ending is..... meh. The seiyuu did an average job, not bad but not groundbreaking either, although all I can hear is squealing and whining over which girl wants Yamato.
If I can give credit for the series, there are only 4 things:
1. Good concept for a school. BUT NO USE OF IT MAKES IT WASTED POTENTIAL
2. Made me laugh at some points (Only because it’s so stupid.)
3. Catchy OP
4. Great first episode
Verdict: 4/10.
TOP 5 OP AND/OR ENDINGS THIS SEASON:
1. My Dearest - SuperCell - Guilty Crown Opening
It’s Supercell. And I love Supercell. <3 Need I say more?
2. U-n-d-e-r--standing!! - Aki Misato - Maji de Watashi ni Koishinasai! Opening
See what I mean by “catchy?” I remember this song now, even though the anime sucked. It’s just so full of energy and the beat is so catchy!!!
3. Watashi no Ki-Mo-Chi - Marina Inoue - Boku wa tomodachi ga Sukenai Ending
I was about to put the Guilty Crown ending, but I though that was cheating, so I decided to put this instead. Reminds me of Don’t Say Lazy for some reason. XD
4. Live for Life ~Ookami-tachi no Yoru~ - Aimi - Ben-To Opening
It’s also a great (and catchy) opening. the opening was also visually striking when i first saw this for some reason. :/
Blood Teller - Faylan - Mirai Nikki Op 1
LOVE THE ENGLISH AT THE BEGINNING!!!! And I love how she sings, it brings a slightly eerie feeling into it.
Ok, that’s basically it. This is all my impressions from the Fall 2011 season. Overall, even though it’s my very first anime season as an otaku, it wasn’t a good one. Mirai Nikki, as it’s turning out right now, going into the depths of illogical and stupid. And Guilty Crown........ *facepalm*
Ben-To was great, and my favorite of Fall 2011, although not the best anime I’ve ever seen. Haganai, being one of the very first harems I’ve watched, was really funny and not groundbreaking but still good regardless. Un-go..... was a mess at the beginning but amazing at the end. It was hard to score that one. And Majikoi SUCKS.
That is all. See ya around!
FIRST THE RANKING!:
1. Mirai Nikki (when the season ended) - 9.5/10
2. Ben-To - 8.5/10
3. Un-go - 8.25/10
4 .Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukenai - 7.75/10
5. Guilty Crown (When the season ended) - 7.25/10
6. Majikoi - 4/10
Yeah..... IMO not a very good season. D:
Mirai Nikki was a surprise hit for me. I only read the first 3 volumes of the manga, so I had experience beforehand, but still, I was amazed how the concept was tackled and the psychological battles that came with it. And the concept reminds me of Higashi no Eden, which made me super hyped for it. Still, it borders along the illogical and unpsychological in some episodes, but a minor complaint. :/
And Yuno’s freaking awesome. no questions asked.
Ben-to..... is weird. Funny, weird, EPIC BATTLES ABOUT FOOD, people literally risking getting beat up for a half priced ben-to, stupid nicknames...... Yeah. Basically, an anime about food. That's has to do with brawling. I really don't know how to explain. But I loved it. The battle scenes were awesome, the plot was surprisingly deep, and made me laugh my ass off at some points. It's just an awesome anime. There could've been more character develpoment, but I really didn’t expect that from a 12 episode series. Overall, favorite of Fall 2011.
And plus, All I have to say is this: BEST. CONCEPT. EVAR!
Un-go has a crappy first and second episode, and almost literally made me want to drop it for something better. Thankfully, I didn't, because the rest of the episodes BLOWED MY MIND. LITERALLY. The cases were that good, although I still don't get the random Bentendo thing. Seriously, it just came randomly as a plot device. But since I'm a sucker for detective anime, I have to give it a high score, despite the unbelievably of it. And the characters were kinda bland imo. I should’ve gone with Detective Conan, but whatever. The search for more awesome detective anime continues!!!!!!
Haganai (Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukenai) is, what can I say, a generic harem anime, no doubt about it. Generic plotline, generic art (IMO), generic concept, and (seemingly) generic character designs. But the characters changed it from the random generic with no plot harem slice of life anime into an anime where you can actually hate and love the characters. I love Sena. I hate Yozora because she hates on Sena. I love Kobato because of her cuteness. I hate Maria because she's annoying (call me a hater, go ahead). I love Rika because she's so funny. And I totally forgot about the trap until now. Overall, the characters made it change from the generic anime it was heading to in the first episodes of the series. So points +2.
Still, I can’t get past this one scene: that Yozora’s actually Kodaka’s childhood friend. She makes it so FREAKING obvious in the anime, and as all generic harem plotlines go, she HAS to be his childhood friend. But no....... Kodaka doesn’t notice until Yozora cuts her hair short. Just..... *facepalm* How dense can a guy get???
And of course, Rika’s the best perverted girl there is, and who could forget the random UNIVERSE!!! everytime Sena’s upset?:P
Guilty Crown, I admit, was my most hyped of the season, and I wasn't disappointed, for the first 3 episodes at least. The sad music, awesome action, amazing art...... What's NOT to like?
Well, the story's a mess, the characters are kinda generic, their actions defy logic, I didn't know WTF was going on, meaningless explosions, etc. I could go on and on, but I'll just save it for Winter 2012 blog post. :P
Note: read the synopsis first!!!!! Just click on this and there ya go.
Majikoi (or Maji de Watashi ni Koishinasai!)SUCKS. It had a lot of potential. the first episode starts off with a bang, and although I didn’t know WTF was going on, the cool fights and awesome strategy reeled me in for the ride.
The second episode? I’m treated to LOADS OF SLICE OF LIFE STUFF. It basically shattered my expectations right there. What I was expecting was an awesome shonen, not a generic harem show! Haganai fills that gap. >:(
Needless to say, that isn’t necessarily bad, it was just surprising. But it doesn’t help that the second episode is boring. The only reason I remember the second episode is because of how disappointed I was in it. It felt like a generic harem slice of life show.
And it doesn’t help that the next 3-4 episodes or so focuses on the relationship of the main character guy (Yamato),whose supposed to be a “genius tactician,” and the 4-5 girls in his harem. All those episodes were kinda bland and it basically sucked, although some were mildly funny. By the time the fighting arc came in, I was tired of all that “I love the main character, so I must do anything for him!!!!” stuff.
To make this even more of a generic slice of life harem show, there’s excessive fanservice in some of the episodes, which is censored. I really can’t believe them. ok, it’s adapted from an eroge, i know, but still. Can they at LEAST try to tone the fanservice down a little and instead focus more on the story or at the very least, a little character development other than “Oh, I love Yamato because [insert vague, stupid reason here] and you can’t have him!” There’s literally an episode where all the girls vying to see whose going to go with Yamato to somewhere (I’ve completely forgotten the details now) while the supporting guy characters question the situation.
Me: *facepalm*
What the hell happened to all that action in the first episode???
My prayers are answered towards the end of the series. It’s gets more action-packed at the end, but to me it was SURPRISINGLY BORING!!!! And it was illogical, too. Basically, here’s the motivation for the girls: ‘I love Yamato so I must save him!!!!” Yeah, messed up logic.
And the story was stupidly flawed. It talked about Japan being a flawed country, and Yamato’s dad leaving Japan. At that point, I expected Yamato’s backstory. the verdict? Disappointment.
And remember the epic fight I talked about earlier? Well, that was part of a school event, something called the “Kawakami Conflict,” which is basically a large scale war between classes, similar to Baka Test’s Summoner Wars. Anyways, the school seemed like an interesting concept alone. i wouldn’t have minded if it focused around Yamato and his harem friends fooling around in school. That sounds like a fun concept alone.
But no. The school’s basically ignored, the Kawakami Conflict is only used for one episode, and I’m VERY disappointed. Awesome potential, down the drain as fast as humanly possible! I dunno if that was a problem with the original VN itself, or the anime. Regardless, wasted potential.
The girls also fall into the “generic archetype” category. basically, a shy type, a perverted type, a tsundere (actually 2 tsunderes, if I remember correctly), an outgoing girl, and a strong, lesbian-like girl. Character development? NONE! But their lust for Yamato slowly escalates during the course of the series.
Oh yeah, I’ve totally forgotten about the music, but the Op is really catchy, tbh. The BGM I never noticed and the ending is..... meh. The seiyuu did an average job, not bad but not groundbreaking either, although all I can hear is squealing and whining over which girl wants Yamato.
If I can give credit for the series, there are only 4 things:
1. Good concept for a school. BUT NO USE OF IT MAKES IT WASTED POTENTIAL
2. Made me laugh at some points (Only because it’s so stupid.)
3. Catchy OP
4. Great first episode
Verdict: 4/10.
TOP 5 OP AND/OR ENDINGS THIS SEASON:
1. My Dearest - SuperCell - Guilty Crown Opening
It’s Supercell. And I love Supercell. <3 Need I say more?
2. U-n-d-e-r--standing!! - Aki Misato - Maji de Watashi ni Koishinasai! Opening
See what I mean by “catchy?” I remember this song now, even though the anime sucked. It’s just so full of energy and the beat is so catchy!!!
3. Watashi no Ki-Mo-Chi - Marina Inoue - Boku wa tomodachi ga Sukenai Ending
I was about to put the Guilty Crown ending, but I though that was cheating, so I decided to put this instead. Reminds me of Don’t Say Lazy for some reason. XD
4. Live for Life ~Ookami-tachi no Yoru~ - Aimi - Ben-To Opening
It’s also a great (and catchy) opening. the opening was also visually striking when i first saw this for some reason. :/
Blood Teller - Faylan - Mirai Nikki Op 1
LOVE THE ENGLISH AT THE BEGINNING!!!! And I love how she sings, it brings a slightly eerie feeling into it.
Ok, that’s basically it. This is all my impressions from the Fall 2011 season. Overall, even though it’s my very first anime season as an otaku, it wasn’t a good one. Mirai Nikki, as it’s turning out right now, going into the depths of illogical and stupid. And Guilty Crown........ *facepalm*
Ben-To was great, and my favorite of Fall 2011, although not the best anime I’ve ever seen. Haganai, being one of the very first harems I’ve watched, was really funny and not groundbreaking but still good regardless. Un-go..... was a mess at the beginning but amazing at the end. It was hard to score that one. And Majikoi SUCKS.
That is all. See ya around!
Posted by Kurano | Feb 7, 2012 9:36 PM | 0 comments