TheLemuroid's Blog

Anime Relations: Macross Δ, Koutetsujou no Kabaneri, Bakuon!!, Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu, Uchuu Patrol Luluco

Think of this as a snapshot of my anime list ranked by current score based on the first 2-3 episodes. Episode counts are out of the number that have been released at the time of this writing.

Nijiro Days
Episodes Watched: 14/15
Status: Favoured

Technically a leftover from Winter and not a first impression. I adore this show because it is an honest to goodness romantic comedy. A lot of anime that call themselves romcoms are just harem shows with no payoff *cough*Nisekoi*cough*. The few that aren't tend to be regarded as the best and this is no exception. For starters, the main cast is four couples with good chemistry and most of the interaction is between the male friends. They resemble a hetero version of the cast of Free except their sport is wingmanning for the hopeless romantic of the group.

Space Patrol Luluco
Episodes Watched: 3/4
Status: Favoured

A short by the low budget branch of Studio Trigger that brought us Inferno Cop and Ninja Slayer comes what is probably the best show out of that studio. Unlike the previous two, this show has more animation and possible budget. It's like a Trigger version of Panty and Stocking without the dirty humour.

Bakuon
Episodes Watched: 2/4
Status: Favoured

K-On with Motorcycles. The show does a good job of acclimating the viewer to the crazy humour and also does a good job of portraying fandom. This is the type of hobby focused SOL comedy where the hobby doesn't really matter. The first episode has a great scene where two girls are bonding over their mutual love of motorcycles but then it quickly turns to hate over difference in taste. The best comedy this season not counting Luluco.

I would be caught up but I'm waiting for our Anime club.

Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress
Episodes Watched: 2/2
Status: Favoured

Tetsuo Araki and Studio Wit took it upon themselves to one-up Attack on Titan with an original anime series about metal-as-fuck zombies and trains set in a fantasy version of Japan's industrial revolution. Everyone expects it to be an AoT ripoff but it is already superior. The character designs feel like 80s anime continued to today and the art is movie quality. I initially complained about the MC being more of a symbol than a character but that might be more appropriate for this story. His character does seem to come out at moments like the Bro Fist at the beginning of episode 2.

Re:Zero
Episodes Watched: 4/4
Status: Favoured

It's the same concept as All You Need is Kill and The Edge of Tomorrow but in a fantasy world setting. Best suspense/mystery of the season that does a fantastic job of building up a tense atmosphere and choreographing fight scenes. My main problem with it the show that I have trouble buying the MC whose personality and physical combat ability contradicts his background. They also write the MC to be genre aware but is slow to understand what is going on with his story when it proceeds to follow the genre they are pretending to subvert.

Macross Delta
Episodes Watched: 4/4
Status: Favoured

Idols fighting the space zombie plague with pop music. It isn't really the same show as previous Macross series but it's hype and I like the main characters.

Mayoiga
Episodes Watched: 3/4
Status: Favoured

Best party show of the season by the author of Another about 31 unique special snowflakes who choose to live with each other in a village off the grid. The fun of the show is watching a bunch of characters designed to be hated get whats coming to them. It does a good job of keeping you guessing who is simply naive and who is actually dangerous.

Haifuri (High School Fleet)
Episodes Watched: 3/3
Status: Favoured

Similar to shows like Girls und Panzer, this a military action show about moe girls commanding a naval vessel in post-global warming Japan. 2nd best suspense/mystery show of the season in spite of its moe aesthetic.

Flying Witch
Episodes Watched: 2/3
Status: Favoured

Best comfy SOL of the season. Beautiful artwork and brilliant subtle comedy in the 1st episode. The 2nd episode wasn't as funny so I hope it can keep up the humour from Episode 1.

Sansha Sanyou
Episodes Watched: 3/3
Status: Favoured

Best character focused SOL of the season and the most underrated anime this season. The MC might be my favourite character this season the show does a good job of putting you in her socially awkward headspace.

This is also the debut role for the VA playing the lead characters which is a bit refreshing after being able to pick out every major VA in the industry.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 4: Diamond Is Unbreakable
Episodes Watched: 2/4
Status: Favoured

I have heard that they get really creative with Stands in this part and it is where they really start to shine. A lot darker in tone than expected in spite of the more vibrant colour palette.

Boku no Hero Academia
Episodes Watched: 2/4
Status: Watching

Like most run longing shounen series, the introductory arc was fantastic but I don't see it keeping it up. I have been semi-spoiled enough to know that the message of this intro arc is rendered moot by what follows. It will probably still be a good battle shounen and it won't overstay its welcome with a 13 episode run.

Kiznaiver
Episodes Watched: 2/3
Status: Watching

Trigger's full production 2deep4u series written by Mari Okada who, for better or worse, is known as the Queen of Melodrama. Episode 2 featured literal forced drama.

Twin Star Exorcists
Episodes Watched: 3/3
Status: Watching

A bit average but a solid shounen with lots of unironic chuuni charm to it. It would have been right at home in the late 90s.

Kuromukuro
Episodes Watched: 3/3
Status: Watching

For some reason P.A. Works for their 15th Anniversary series decided to run with a director and staff that had never worked with the studio before and produce a mecha show that is unlike any of their other work. It has the charming characters expected from a P.A. Works show and it's in a sci-fi mecha setting so it's worth keeping up with.

Shounen Maid
Episodes Watched: 1/2
Status: On-Hold

No, this is nothing like Super Lovers. It's meant as more of a cute shota with nothing gay or sexual about it. The first episode was surprisingly emotional and heartwarming. It's not for me right now but I recommend it to shoujo fans. I might pick it up after its done.

Kuma Miko
Episodes Watched: 1/4
Status: On-Hold

More pedophilia jokes than I was expecting. It could be funny, it could be cute, or I might just drop it like Gugure! Kokkuri-san because it isn't the type of comedy I'm into.

The Asterisk War S2
Episodes Watched: 4/4
Status: Watching

Unlike the 1st season which was mostly bad, this one has managed to yo-yo between competent and bad. The battle in the 1st episode of the season was the best one in the series. The 2nd episode introduces the worst girl with the worst voice. The 3rd episode is the best overall in the series because we get some real character development and a tense cliffhanger. This is again ruined in the 4th episode by MC hidden powers BS but we at least get hyped up for Sayaka/Kirin vs the two androids.

The flashbacks in the 3rd episode show us the relationship between Sayaka and Ayato while possibly foreshadowing a conflict with Ayato's sister (I might be giving the author more credit than deserved). Better late than never to start fleshing out the characters and plot. I guess the LN novel fans were right about it getting better by the 4th volume or so.

Anne Happy
Episodes Watched: 1/3
Status: Dropped

The inferior Sansha Sanyou where 3 moe girls are best friends just because.

Onigiri
Episodes Watched: 2/2
Status: Dropped

It's not bad. I actually enjoyed it and there are worse ways to kill 3 minutes but it also doesn't offer a lot.

Joker Game
Episodes Watched: 2/3
Status: Dropped

Biggest disappointment of the season.

Big Order
Episodes Watched: 2/2
Status: Watching

The creators of Future Diary bring you the spiritual sequel to Future Diary while simultaneously ripping off Geass, Stands, and Madoka Magica style wish granting. I use the term ripping off instead of paying homage to because the show lacks cohesion between the mechanics they are ripping off from those superior shows. The MC lost me when he used his Geass-ripoff to force Yuno-ripoff to become his wife even though she hates him and wants to kill him.

I'm watching it for the same reason I watched Future Diary. It's a cast full of unique special snowflakes put in situations so edgy that it becomes campy.

Hundred
Episodes Watched: 1/4
Status: Watching Reluctantly

This is the Generic LN HS Magical Combat anime this season. It's a testament to how good a season this is that this is the only one I know of. Also being a sci-fi, possibly mecha, setting does not make it any less of a magical combat series. The first episode relies on cheap trap humour but I have been spoiled that the trap is actually a girl. What would you call that? A double trap?

The only reason it isn't dropped is because I want to see the reveal in episode 2.

Cerberus
Episodes Watched: 1/4
Status: Dropped

The MC looks and acts like an unironic Dark Flame Master. The story is a ripoff of Naruto and generic 90s fantasy. What really did it for me was a jarring scene when the MC was playing with some thief kids running on rooftops that was drawn with bad perspective.

Endride
Episodes Watched: 1/4
Status: Insta-Dropped

The only reason I watched it is to catch up with our Anime club. The only other reason to watch it would be to study what a 1/10 series looks like. I can guarantee it is a cheap game tie-in.

Super Lovers
Episodes Watched: 0/3
Status: Insta-Dropped

"I went into Super Lovers hoping to see a grown man having sex with a little boy and I was not disappointed" ~BestGuyEver

Pheonix Wright
Episodes Watched: 0/4
Status: Insta-Dropped

I Didn't even giving it a chance because it is a video game adaptation and most reviewers expressed their disappointed in it early in the season.

A short list of good anime for Halloween compiled after sifting through a bunch of click bait list videos on Youtube.

Horror/Thriller

• Boogiepop Phantom
  
• Jigoku Shoujo
  
• Magnetic Rose (from Memories film collection)
  
• Mononoke
  
• Monster
  
• Paranoia Agent
  

Fun

• Soul Eater
  
• High School of the Dead
  
• Ghost Stories Dub
  
• Hellsing Abridged
  

Film

• Vampire Hunter D
  
• Kara no Kyoukai
  

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.

Anime Relations: Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry, Gakusen Toshi Asterisk

At the start of Fall 2015 we were treated to a couple of LN adaptations of magical battle high school anime: Asterisk War and Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry. The premise of these two shows is about as generic as an anime can get nowadays. This was not helped by the fact that these two shows aired 5 hours apart from each other with their first episodes appearing almost identical.


Translation:

• Unusual school setting
  
• Oujo-sama heroine
  
• Sees her panties while changing
  
• Penalty for peeping will be your life!
  
• This leads to a duel
  
• MC is a sword user
  
• So is the heroine
  
• Heroine is fire-based
  
• Cinders
  

Source

The tricky part is that in spite of their similarities Rakudai's first episode was superior in every way to Asterisk War and is one of my favourites so far this season. It didn't suffer from the same levels of info dumping, death by terminology, or tired fan service tropes typical of the genre (the "walking in while she's changing" scene being the only one). Rakudai's fight scene was better choreographed and hinted at future fights being more tactical. Better still, the MC and female lead had good romantic chemistry which is rare for a genre that normally relies on harem building. On the other hand, Asterisk War played out all of these genre cliches and came off as very generic.

[I plan on expanding on these points]