November 18th, 2015
Mdipoint Fall 2015
Anime Relations: Fairy Tail (2014), Taimadou Gakuen 35 Shiken Shoutai, Heavy Object, K: Return of Kings, Garo: Guren no Tsuki, Subete ga F ni Naru, Owari no Seraph: Nagoya Kessen-hen, Sakurako-san no Ashimoto ni wa Shitai ga Umatteiru, One Punch Man, Noragami Aragoto, Soukyuu no Fafner: Dead Aggressor - Exodus Part 2, Utawarerumono: Itsuwari no Kamen, Kidou Senshi Gundam: Tekketsu no Orphans, Comet Lucifer
At the halfway point, my feelings towards this season's anime is sorting itself out. These are not my final feelings as there are several I know will move once the main plot line kicks in (ie: Garo)
Sorting this season's anime so far:
The Good:
One Punch Man, The Perfect Insider, Heavy Object, Noragami - Aragato, K - Return of Kings, Fanfner - Exodus 2, Fairy Tail, Seraph of the End 2, Utawarerumono
The Worth Watching:
Gundam - Iron-Blooded Orphans, Comet Lucifer, Beautiful Bones, Anti-Magic Academy - 35th Test Platoon, Garo - Crimson Moon
The Moderately Entertaining:
Naruto - Filler, Kagewani, Shinmei Maou no Testament - Burst, Asterisk War, Chivalry of a Failed Knight, World Trigger - Filler
The Falling:
Aria the Scarlett Ammo AA,
On the Brink:
Shomin Sample
Gone:
Valkyrie Drive - Mermaid
Sorting this season's anime so far:
The Good:
One Punch Man, The Perfect Insider, Heavy Object, Noragami - Aragato, K - Return of Kings, Fanfner - Exodus 2, Fairy Tail, Seraph of the End 2, Utawarerumono
The Worth Watching:
Gundam - Iron-Blooded Orphans, Comet Lucifer, Beautiful Bones, Anti-Magic Academy - 35th Test Platoon, Garo - Crimson Moon
The Moderately Entertaining:
Naruto - Filler, Kagewani, Shinmei Maou no Testament - Burst, Asterisk War, Chivalry of a Failed Knight, World Trigger - Filler
The Falling:
Aria the Scarlett Ammo AA,
On the Brink:
Shomin Sample
Gone:
Valkyrie Drive - Mermaid
Posted by grond | Nov 18, 2015 3:29 AM | 0 comments
June 21st, 2014
Summer 2014
Anime Relations: Mushishi, Naruto: Shippuuden, Psycho-Pass, Sidonia no Kishi, Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei, Black Bullet, Nobunaga the Fool, Tokyo ESP, Gokukoku no Brynhildr, Kantai Collection: KanColle, Sword Art Online II, Fairy Tail (2014), Akame ga Kill!, Tokyo Ghoul, Blade & Soul, Aldnoah.Zero, M3: Sono Kuroki Hagane, Zankyou no Terror, Shirogane no Ishi: Argevollen
Spring is coming to a close and I was in the mood to do a quick rundown of the old season and list what seems interesting for the new.
Overview:
Spring started with me being excited about the renewing of Fairy Tail and Mushi-shi. Only one series really stood out, but none ended up being horrible either.
The Best:
Sidonia no Kishi - When I first added it to my list prior to the season, I thought it was going to be just another mecha series. After the 1st episode, I thought the artwork looked a lot like Blame! and Biomega. So I looked it up and they were done by the same author. The first episode was excellent, the CGI artwork was a little odd, but fits his art style very well. I loved Tsutomu Nihei's previous works, but had stopped after the last one I read, but before Knights of Sidonia was started and never knew a new one had come out. A lot of people have commented that it reminds them of Attack on Titan, even though unknown monsters attacking humans is not exactly an original premise and that Knights of Sidonia was created 5-6 months before Attack on Titan's first manga was released. KoS's story and monsters are much more believable and the setting very realistic, meanwhile the monsters and weapons in AoT are absurd. Don't get me wrong, AoT is awesome, and it is a commentary on the humans fighting the titans rather than the fight against the titans, but KoS is a much more fleshed out story. Also of interest is Tsutomu's manga Abara, which also has Gauna and may be a prequel to KoS. After rereading it, the gauna are very similar and nothing contradicts it taking place prior to humans being forced to leave earth by the Gauna.
The Good:
Fairy Tail - I am glad it restarted up again. Lots of fun and it started right where it left off. The only difference, being Gageel's artwork is different. He looks much younger and closer to Natsu's age, rather than looking 3-5 years older in the previous series.
Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei - I wasn't expecting a lot from this one, so it does get extra points for being better than expected. I love the show putting out the idea, that in the "cookie cutter" expectations of human societies, we tend to overlook the people whom are very talented but do not exactly fit the mold we are looking for. I've been complaining about it for years, especially in American Education. The downside of it, is the main character's sister, who is the ultimate cookie cutter character. She is the perfect Moe type personality, the perfect student, the most talented student and perfectly fits the mold the school is looking for. But, her artwork is kind of non-descript and has no distinguishing features other than cute, and she serves absolutely no purpose to the story. Sure, she gives the main character a reason to mingle with the elite students at the school, but after that, everything she does could have been done by another character. She is so perfect you want to vomit, yet so meaningless you are confused as to why she is there.
The Muddled Middle (in order of day of week aired):
Gokukoku Brynhildr - Somewhat interesting, even if it is full of stereotypical Moe characters. The plot is interesting and the story entertaining.
Nobunaga the Fool - The butchering of the histories and personalities of the characters, nearly all of whom are ripped from European and Asian history, makes me wonder if the creators were high on the day they came up with the story? The ending was pretty bizarre and made little sense. It''s as if they realized that if they were confusing history buffs throughout the story, they might as well confuse everyone at the end. If it wasn't for the good action and mecha, I would write this one off as trash.
Black Bullet - I was worried it was going to turn into a Poke-Loli anime and it has gotten pretty darn close to it at points, but it is entertaining and that is all that counts.
M3: Sono Kuroki Hagane - I picked this one up late, not sure why I missed it since it is a Mecha anime. Kind of reminds me a bit of a mix between Darker than Black and 11 Eyes. A darker anime that is pretty entertaining.
Naruto - Filler finally ended this season, but as we all know, every canon episode just gets you closer to more filler.
Blade and Soul - This was interesting because of the artwork and that it is based off an existing MMORPG rather than an anime about a fictional MMORPG.
Mushishi - I always liked mushishi because of the zen feel about it. It's a relaxing show compared to the unmitigated violence and deranged female characters found in most anime I watch.
SUMMER 2014: Other than SAO II, I don't have any major expectations for this season.
These are the ones I intend to watch this season:
CONTINUING - Naruto, Fairy Tail, Mahouka and M3
New (in order of release):
Tokyo Ghoul - I like Horror, so why not.
Shirogane no Ishi Argevollen - Mecha
Sword Art Online II - I really enjoyed the 1st series, so I will watch the sequel.
Aldnoah Zero - Seems like an interesting Sci-Fi series.
Akame ga Kill! - Seems dark and full of action.
Zankyou no Terror - Another that seems interesting.
Tokyo ESP - Might be interesting, might suck. I might check it out.
Kantai Collection - I love history and warships. Of course I will check it out, but I don't have high expectations. May end up as a unending dialog between ships/girls, or a Moe-fest of ships/girls doing cutesy girly things. In either case, I won't be watching it long.
Hesitant:
Psycho Pass - I loved the original release. If it was the new series, I'd be all over it. If all it is is adding a few minutes here and there, why bother?
Overview:
Spring started with me being excited about the renewing of Fairy Tail and Mushi-shi. Only one series really stood out, but none ended up being horrible either.
The Best:
Sidonia no Kishi - When I first added it to my list prior to the season, I thought it was going to be just another mecha series. After the 1st episode, I thought the artwork looked a lot like Blame! and Biomega. So I looked it up and they were done by the same author. The first episode was excellent, the CGI artwork was a little odd, but fits his art style very well. I loved Tsutomu Nihei's previous works, but had stopped after the last one I read, but before Knights of Sidonia was started and never knew a new one had come out. A lot of people have commented that it reminds them of Attack on Titan, even though unknown monsters attacking humans is not exactly an original premise and that Knights of Sidonia was created 5-6 months before Attack on Titan's first manga was released. KoS's story and monsters are much more believable and the setting very realistic, meanwhile the monsters and weapons in AoT are absurd. Don't get me wrong, AoT is awesome, and it is a commentary on the humans fighting the titans rather than the fight against the titans, but KoS is a much more fleshed out story. Also of interest is Tsutomu's manga Abara, which also has Gauna and may be a prequel to KoS. After rereading it, the gauna are very similar and nothing contradicts it taking place prior to humans being forced to leave earth by the Gauna.
The Good:
Fairy Tail - I am glad it restarted up again. Lots of fun and it started right where it left off. The only difference, being Gageel's artwork is different. He looks much younger and closer to Natsu's age, rather than looking 3-5 years older in the previous series.
Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei - I wasn't expecting a lot from this one, so it does get extra points for being better than expected. I love the show putting out the idea, that in the "cookie cutter" expectations of human societies, we tend to overlook the people whom are very talented but do not exactly fit the mold we are looking for. I've been complaining about it for years, especially in American Education. The downside of it, is the main character's sister, who is the ultimate cookie cutter character. She is the perfect Moe type personality, the perfect student, the most talented student and perfectly fits the mold the school is looking for. But, her artwork is kind of non-descript and has no distinguishing features other than cute, and she serves absolutely no purpose to the story. Sure, she gives the main character a reason to mingle with the elite students at the school, but after that, everything she does could have been done by another character. She is so perfect you want to vomit, yet so meaningless you are confused as to why she is there.
The Muddled Middle (in order of day of week aired):
Gokukoku Brynhildr - Somewhat interesting, even if it is full of stereotypical Moe characters. The plot is interesting and the story entertaining.
Nobunaga the Fool - The butchering of the histories and personalities of the characters, nearly all of whom are ripped from European and Asian history, makes me wonder if the creators were high on the day they came up with the story? The ending was pretty bizarre and made little sense. It''s as if they realized that if they were confusing history buffs throughout the story, they might as well confuse everyone at the end. If it wasn't for the good action and mecha, I would write this one off as trash.
Black Bullet - I was worried it was going to turn into a Poke-Loli anime and it has gotten pretty darn close to it at points, but it is entertaining and that is all that counts.
M3: Sono Kuroki Hagane - I picked this one up late, not sure why I missed it since it is a Mecha anime. Kind of reminds me a bit of a mix between Darker than Black and 11 Eyes. A darker anime that is pretty entertaining.
Naruto - Filler finally ended this season, but as we all know, every canon episode just gets you closer to more filler.
Blade and Soul - This was interesting because of the artwork and that it is based off an existing MMORPG rather than an anime about a fictional MMORPG.
Mushishi - I always liked mushishi because of the zen feel about it. It's a relaxing show compared to the unmitigated violence and deranged female characters found in most anime I watch.
SUMMER 2014: Other than SAO II, I don't have any major expectations for this season.
These are the ones I intend to watch this season:
CONTINUING - Naruto, Fairy Tail, Mahouka and M3
New (in order of release):
Tokyo Ghoul - I like Horror, so why not.
Shirogane no Ishi Argevollen - Mecha
Sword Art Online II - I really enjoyed the 1st series, so I will watch the sequel.
Aldnoah Zero - Seems like an interesting Sci-Fi series.
Akame ga Kill! - Seems dark and full of action.
Zankyou no Terror - Another that seems interesting.
Tokyo ESP - Might be interesting, might suck. I might check it out.
Kantai Collection - I love history and warships. Of course I will check it out, but I don't have high expectations. May end up as a unending dialog between ships/girls, or a Moe-fest of ships/girls doing cutesy girly things. In either case, I won't be watching it long.
Hesitant:
Psycho Pass - I loved the original release. If it was the new series, I'd be all over it. If all it is is adding a few minutes here and there, why bother?
Posted by grond | Jun 21, 2014 1:17 PM | 0 comments