January 1st, 2016
7 Days of Anime (#7): My Definitive Ranking of 2015 Animes Per Season
Anime Relations: Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru. Zoku, Death Parade, Akagami no Shirayuki-hime, Noragami Aragoto
MY DEFINITIVE RANKING OF 2015 ANIME SHOWS PER SEASON
Instead of doing a top anime list this year, I decided to give a detailed ranking of 2015 shows I saw per season. I watched fifty six (56) titles this year which I think are just the right number of shows for a casual anime watcher
I personally think Fall was the strongest season due to the strength of sequels and spinoffs where we got gems like Noragami Aragoto, the new Gundam, Lupin and Owarimonogatari. Well, original series like One Punch Man and Concrete Revolutio also steal this one for doing great for whatever they can. In the meantime, it was followed by Winter because of the carryovers and some new shows which tried to be experimental (Death Parade). Spring, on the other hand, was just fine given that there are no real bad shows (Plastic Memories, however, is a snore) and Summer boasts diversity of titles but lacks the punch of the other three seasons I mentioned. At least, it has Akagami no Shirayuki-hime, Rokka No Yuusha and Shimoneta.
All in all, 2015 is a fine year in anime but most of these shows lack ambition. The idea is there such as the case of Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches and Plastic Memories but for some reasons, the execution was not able to fully explore those.
Okay. Let's now start! The ranking goes as follows: the seasons are arranged according to what I think is the strongest to weakest. The same goes with the shows under those.
FALL 2015
1. Noragami Aragoto
2. Concrete Revolutio
3. Mobile Gundam Suit: Iron Blooded Orphans
4. Lupin III (2015)
5. One Punch Man
6. StarMyu
7. Owarimonogatari
8. Kagewani
9. Sakurako-san
10. Young Black Jack
11. The Perfect Insider
12. Shingeki Junior High
13. Comet Lucifer
14. Osomatsu-kun
15. Heavy Object
WINTER 2015
1. Death Parade
2. Garo: The Animation
3. Parasyte
4. Kuroko no Basuke Season 3
5. Shirobako
6. Maria, The Virgin Witch
7. Log Horizon Season 2
8. Assassination Classroom
9. Akatsuki No Yona
10. Yuri Kuma Arashi
11. Kamisama Hajimemashita 2
12. Tokyo Ghoul Root A
13. Your Lie in April
14. Durarara!! Shou
SPRING 2015
1. OreGairu, Season 2
2. Sound Euphonium
3. Punch Line
4. Kekkai Sensen
5. Yamada-kun and the Seven Witch
6. DanMachi
7. Shokugeki no Souma
8. Ore Monogatari
9. The Disappearance of Yuki-Nagato
10. Nisekoi:
11. Fate Stay Night: UBW
12. Plastic Memories
SUMMER 2015
1. Akagami no Shirayuki-hime
2. Rokka No Yuusha
3. Shimoneta
4. School Live!
5. Gatchaman Crowds insight
6. Hetalia, Sixth Season
7. Gangsta.
8. Charlotte
9. Monster Musume
10. Joukamachi no Dandelion
11. Prison School
12. Classroom Crisis
13. Ranpo Kitan
14. God Eater
15. Chaos Dragon
Posted by samui26 | Jan 1, 2016 7:56 PM | 0 comments
December 30th, 2015
7 Days of Anime (#6): My Favorites for Fall 2015
Anime Relations: Lupin III (2015), One Punch Man, Starmyu, Noragami Aragoto, Concrete Revolutio: Choujin Gensou, Owarimonogatari, Kidou Senshi Gundam: Tekketsu no Orphans
MY FAVORITES FOR FALL 2015
With Seven Days of Anime Project coming to a close, I cannot help but feel glad as I genuinely liked seven offerings this Fall. I personally felt that this season is the best this year given the consistency of the titles it presented though most of these are sequels of already established series. Well, we still have One Punch Man and Concrete Revolutio as good original shows which aired this season, isn't it?
7. OWARIMONOGATARI
Now that Owarimonogatari has finished airing, I had mixed reactions to this show overall. On the plus side, Owarimonogatari managed me to be entertained even if it is now the nth entry to the Monogatari franchise mainly thanks to Sodachi and Ougi. The visuals remain quirky as Shaft can be and the musical score is on point as always. On the other hand, I felt sad that I had to place it here because the second half was not able to sustain the excellence of the first half. It was frustrating that Shinobu Mail is supposed to be a more important arc as it connects to Kizumonogatari only to be marred by the franchise’s worn antics that had me irritated over time. Yet I can confidently say that Owarimonogatari is a welcome addition to the entertaining Monogatari franchise.
6. HIGH SCHOOL STAR MUSICAL (Starmyu)
I am pretty sure that everyone who might be reading this right now gave a puzzled look as I placed a fujoshi series in my favorites this Fall. To add some fuel to the flame, Starmyu is a freakin’ teen idol show to boot! Okay. I need to give some explanation here. Do you remember Tsuritama? Yes. That anime about fishing? The reason I am putting Starmyu as my favorite and well ahead of Owarimonagatari is because it gave me the same set of fun and light atmosphere which Tsuritama had throughout its run. It is funny, quirky and emotional with its set of emotions given in moderation. While the plot is nothing special, this show had me emotionally invested with its quirky but relatively developed characters and convincing drama towards the last third of the show. I cannot help but root for the Team Otori’s dream of performing in the Ayanagi Festival and what a poignant event that was when it happened! On a less serious note, I can also never get over with the random insert music videos, shipping opportunities Starmyu gave to its fanbase and the cheese it presented in its early episodes. Do not be fooled with the nondescript first episode as this series gets seriously better through time. With its first volume BD sales almost at par with One Punch Man, count me excited for the second season.
5. ONE PUNCH MAN
Is One Punch Man overhyped? Yes. Is this overrated? Yes, but not as worse as haters claim. This one has the most justifications as to why it became a crowd favorite out of the breakout titles in 2015 and will surely appear in many year-end lists for its awesome animation and for its reminder how straightforward satires can also be entertaining. It has a very simple plot that it pulls for all the time but the jokes can get repetitive. Much has been said with One Punch Man’s ultra-fluid animation but I will address one of its issues that is the quality of fights in this series was diluted by overuse of camera zooms and explosions.
One Punch Man can also be emotionally compelling as we have seen the excellence of episodes 8 and 9 yet it stayed too much to its panacea that is only enjoyable due to the visuals. In the end, if you are someone who watches anime simply for the sake of animation, this one is for you.
4. LUPIN III (2015)
The atmosphere of this ongoing installment is right in the middle of your typical Lupin gag episodes and the Fujiko Mine spinoff. It can be brainless fun if it wants to (the first episode) but it can be dead serious when it needs to (Lupin decoding the dying message of Rebecca’s former beau and its surreal visual presentation). What separate this installment from others is it utilizes recurring characters and the absence of dumb Detective Zenigata. Also, it is refreshing to see an anime that is not set in Japan. Plus, that cool artwork which mixes the 1970's look of the series while applying 2015's animation techniques! My only beef with its characters is that it seemed to carry over the traits of Goemon who is as interesting as watching paint dry.
3. MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM: IRON BLOODED ORPHANS
Probably the most polarizing series at the moment as it has the bloggers divided as to those who seriously love it and to those who loathe it to bones because of the series composer Mari Okada. Do I love it? Yes. I love it to bits as Iron Blooded Orphans is one of the few series that make ballsy efforts to develop all of its characters while moving the plot. The fight scenes, while few, are totally having ‘edge-in-your-seats-quality’ and this series portrays the hardships of these kids and they are forced to grow in these terrible circumstances. In addition, we are not given overpowered Gundams (no power beams!) this time but machines that are beatable even the protagonist is operating it. Well, to be fair, I wished that this series would be at least be faster because of the slow pacing (just bring Kudelia to Earth darn it!) and careful presentation of its out of the world ideas that really offend others (the harem thing and its effect to young kid’s mental image of marriage to be specific).
2. CONCRETE REVOLUTIO
It looks like this series has gone a lot before it ended right as my second pick for this season. Judging from first episode alone, this was not the anime I really wanted for its abrasive art and animation, its very jarring time skips coupled with its Japanese way of stating eras and the less than good Baccano! style of presentation. Yet my instinct told me not to drop this even when the MAL community seemed to hate it and it paid off. Little by little, the time skips made sense, we were introduced to characters that played role to the show’s biggest moments and we were shown the reasons why Jiro left the Superhero Department for all the justifiable reasons. By the time it reached episode 9, I was now already incurably hooked trying to put all the pieces of the puzzles and was given by arguably one the best finales this 2015. Hats off for being the best new show this season, Concrete Revolutio!
1. NORAGAMI ARAGOTO
Now that I already mentioned my thoughts about wanting this over the first season, I guess it’s my time to have an assessment of this show on its own. If Iron Blooded Orphans fizzle as the number of episode count increases and Concrete Revolutio’s first episode was a real mess, Noragami wins because of consistency in general. There were no signs of dropping in terms of the quality of visuals and storytelling from episode one until the last one. There were also no bad episodes yet some are greater than others given that these are the emotional peaks of their respective arcs. Controversial opinion time: The Ebisu God Arc is much better than the Bishamon Arc for my taste. The latter one made me convinced that Aragoto is miles better than its prequel but the former has the brevity to tackle the intricacies of how the gods’ sense of justice work in the heaven, fleshing the heck out of Yato’s character and for its really great execution to make us care for the clumsy batman, I mean, god Ebisu. If you had an arc as grand as this and the story still didn’t go all over the place, it is a sure win in my book.
Dishonorable Mentions: Comet Lucifer for boiling down as a show for kleptomaniac mechas (talk about wasted potential) and The Perfect Insider for A-1 Pictures’ lifeless presentation of an otherwise fine mystery series.
Posted by samui26 | Dec 30, 2015 6:10 AM | 0 comments
December 29th, 2015
7 Days of Anime (#5): An Open Letter to the Mystery Genre
Anime Relations: Rokka no Yuusha, Ranpo Kitan: Game of Laplace, Subete ga F ni Naru, Sakurako-san no Ashimoto ni wa Shitai ga Umatteiru, Owarimonogatari
An Open Letter to the Mystery Genre
The mystery genre normally produces intellectual series and is probably one of the most difficult to make. That is due to the fact there should be a proper build-up of events which connect to each other and a healthy dose of red herrings must be present to fool the audience who decodes the mystery while not getting annoyed with the final twist. Moreover, the thing in secret must retain its enigma throughout the run of the show, otherwise, your viewer will only be bored. In this entry, let us reminisce in a while to give my opinion as to what went wrong to the mystery genre this year.
The Absurdly Smart Protagonist Who Just Knows Everything
Ironically, Rokka No Yuusha and Owarimonogatari featured the most human leads as long as the mystery component is concerned this year. Other 2015 leads from this genre are virtually unbeatable with no flaw that could have at least hindered them to unravel the events surrounding a case. Ranpo Kitan: Game of Laplace has Akechi Koguro who is a seventeen year old detective that was portrayed as smarter than all of the police combined, Sakurako-san has the titular lead that is likable but possesses deep knowledge outside her profession and The Perfect Insider has your multi-awarded professor Souhei Saikawa who spouts pretentious philosophy which coincidentally solves the murder. If shounen is littered with your main lead who has limitless power ups, this one plagues the mystery genre. That alone loses the steam of these shows as the audience already knows that the whodunit case will be solved in the most ridiculous manner given the protagonist's insane knowledge and it is just a matter of when.
Lack of a Proper Build Up
Give more time for the audience to decode the mysteries like what Rokka no Yuusha did. While not excellent in any stretch, at least it had the guts to present all the possible events and pieces of evidence that have happened surrounding the mystery of that locked forest. Many mystery series this year just presented the basic information of a certain case and had the characters thinking for about five minutes, then bam! The case was now solved and the audience was entirely clueless as to how it was done until he was spoonfed by details he hasn’t seen earlier or the mistake in his analysis due to red herrings. Ranpo Kitan used more red herrings than information that will help the audience decode what happened. Red herrings, if given in adequate amounts, make a series really smart but too much of this annoys the audience. Hence, it felt like many were cheated by the time the credits rolled.
Agonizingly Slow Pacing
On the other hand, there are mystery series which aired this year that took too much time in world-building that it forgot that these are just one cour shows. As a result? These shows became partly boring and partly satisfying. Owarimonogatari, while evenly paced for most of the time, was criminally slow in the second half. Rokka No Yuusha did not reveal its true until episode five albeit the first four episodes were enjoyable in itself. Sakurako-san only revealed its true plot in the last episode. However, the biggest culprit this year is the Perfect Insider which looked like a dull slice of life series if we are going make a judgment in its earlier episodes and wasted much of its time with pretentious philosophy of the leads. While this kind of pacing gives the vibe it wants to portray, the audience is now probably bored in watching your show halfway. If it is labelled as mystery, a no nonsense approach like what Hyouka and Un-Go did is more advisable to take. You don’t have to spend episodes for a proper build up. Present the case as early as possible then start presenting events that will lead to the leads (and the audience) solving it.
Posted by samui26 | Dec 29, 2015 6:36 AM | 0 comments
December 28th, 2015
7 Days of Anime (#4): The Sequels That Made 2015
Anime Relations: Durarara!!x2 Shou, Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru. Zoku, Kuroko no Basket 3rd Season, Nagato Yuki-chan no Shoushitsu, Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works 2nd Season, Noragami Aragoto
The Sequels That Made 2015
Under normal scenarios, a sequel is only at par with the original series at best and downright worse at worst. That stigma left some feeling stagnant with Mushishi Zoku Shou even if it exuded the quality of the original series but is justly applicable to Psycho Pass 2 which destroyed whatever goodwill the original series has. Generally, it is due to the studio’s aim to comply with the status quo so the original series’ charm has worn off. Psycho Pass 2 is an exception for the fact that it tried to do so much only to stumble later in its ideals.
Yet something unusual happened this year aside from the prevalence of strong Fall 2014 titles. I did not realize it until someone in my MAL comment section pointed out that big elephant in the room: this year marks sequels are stronger than their respective originals.
It began with the final season of Kuroko no Basuke actually improving the flaws of the second season. These ridiculously powerful characters are humanized, Akashi proved to be a good antagonist and this show actually cared for the side characters being tossed aside for the last two seasons. To be fair, the final installment of this fantasy basketball series has still some pacing issues especially in the Kaijo-Seirin match but had the guts to present the chaotic Teiko Middle School Arc and how their relationship grew apart despite Kuroko's desperate attempts to save that back then.
The supremacy of the sequels over original shows this year peaked with OreGairu’s emotional follow-up to its already excellent 2013 prequel. I always knew that this anime is an exception to the rule of “LN Anime Sucks!” but I was not prepared by the changes this series made from its artwork to the drama it brought to us this year. OreGairu Zoku has been a master of subtle body language where the characters amplified their emotions just by making gestures along with their words. I won’t call it realistic as these kids had too many social issues to tackle but the way it scrutinizes those issues are eerily real. Plus, that eighth episode is just the most cathartic scene I have witnessed from 2015 animes.
Lastly, there is Noragami Aragoto which I was really reluctant to watch given my lukewarm response to the first season. I put it under my 'I'll watch it for the sake of watching it' but every episode got better than the last one with no signs of dropping in terms of quality. While the emotional peak of this series is the Bishamon Arc, the second arc showed just how intellectually capable and enjoyable it could be. This is how a shounen be done as no moments in this series are wasted to the power of nakama, tasteless jokes and overly long fight scenes. This show proved that you could still thrive on a well worn premise and produce poignant and thrilling moments. Aragoto also had the intricacy to discuss Japenese folklore while still being accessible to the mainstream audience.
On the flip side, this year also reminded us as to why nostalgia is not always the best feeling to hold on when it comes to continuations or alternate spinoffs of already excellent original series. I literally fell asleep with the rendition of The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan whose the titular name is the only resemblance to goodness of the Haruhi Suzumiya series. Not even Kyon's sardonic remarks can save a borefest like that. Yet it is not the worst offender of those follow ups which failed big time in chasing the glory of its prequels for this year.
Durarara!! Shou and Fate Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works Season 2 might be the reasons why I did not remember the sheer goodness of sequels this year. I was a fan of both Durarara!! and the Fate franchise so I was actually in frenzy when I heard that these two will have its continuation. Then as the episode count increases, I cannot help wondering that it was so much better if these didn’t air at all especially with Durarara!!’s case.
While not perfect in its first season, that show was actually able to capture the wackiness of Ikebukuro with these characters. I can still remember the first season’s Eureka moment when Mikado brought the power of numbers for his escape against his pursuers. Celty’s just as enigmatic as lovely she can be and Shizuo is just magnetic whenever he shows in the screen. Well, Izaya is Izaya and he is still counts as one of the greatest anime characters of all time. So the announcement of Durarara!! sequel really made the waves in the anime community. Then we got this.
With Durarara!! Shou? I guess the animation studio is partially at fault because the animation’s one of 2015’s worst. Deeper than that, the original characters are a downgrade of their former selves and it actually ended just when things are beginning to get interesting. Instead of chasing the main plot lines of the first season left, it just keeps on adding and adding side characters whose importance to the show is only known to the hardcore fans. Sure, we might get what we wanted after five years but this is a disservice (especially to our poor Shizu-chan and Celty).
In the case of Fate Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works, I am sure that the first half was grounded and was evenly paced. While the fight scenes are few, these are visually orgasmic. Shiro is also not much of a white knight sexist here while being just as annoying as in the original series but is ultimately tolerable. Rin might just be the greatest gift from the Fate series for her no nonsense attitude and her status as the epitome of the tsunderes.
Ufotable did whatever it can to make this show as aesthetically great but I guess they adapted this too faithfully when the cracks showed itself in the terrible second half. Instead of moving the plot, our main leads actually talked and talked for over five episodes until the majority of its viewers notice that they are dragging the plot with those repetitive scenes. The last three episodes were also too convoluted for logic (just how Archer appeared in time to save Shiro, how convenient). The last episode is just as good as other last episodes could be but I’d be darned to say that I was really disappointed with the adaptation.
Honorable Mentions: Non Non Biyori, Working S3, Gatchaman Crowds insight.
Posted by samui26 | Dec 28, 2015 1:10 AM | 3 comments
December 26th, 2015
7 Days of Anime (#2): The Ecchi Anime TriUnity of Summer 2015
Anime Relations: Shimoneta to Iu Gainen ga Sonzai Shinai Taikutsu na Sekai, Prison School, Monster Musume no Iru Nichijou
The Ecchi Anime TriUnity of Summer 2015
While the summer season lacked new titles that shook the top 100 of MAL, it makes up for being one of the most diverse in recent memory. If you want romance, you have Akagami no Shirayukihime. If you want some drama and action, Charlotte and Gangsta might be able to satisfy your need. Castle Town Dandelion and Actually I Am… may tickle your funny bones. Yet what struck me the most is that it had the guts to present three original ecchi shows with high production values backed by major studios as opposed to your typically low budgeted ones. Man, these are discussion-worthy too.
PRISON SCHOOL
Probably the second highest rated summer 2015 anime in MAL (and the most polarizing, mind you), Prison School took femdom to the next level. The premise? There were five boys who were caught peeping in the girl’s bathroom and as a punishment, they were treated as prisoners in their own school for a month subject to the monitoring of the Underground Student Council.
Fans claim that this is a dark comedy so casual watchers should have no issue on why these characters were like that or how these scenes were portrayed but I winced too many times on how the council treated these boys over a relatively light offense. Sure, that was fueled out of the President’s disdain over her father’s bad habit of having porno materials in his office but her resolve was too much even if that was just done for the laughs. I wanted to drop Prison School because it was really not my cup of tea but there was something addictive in it that I actually finished it while saying “It is not that bad”.
Prison School is not for everyone given that it borders on glorifying BDSM, man-shaming and schadenfreude. If there is one thing I give credit to this anime is it knows that its premise was dumb so it really went over the top in its execution. From the artwork (darn, these girls look so beautiful) to the comedic scenes, it was undoubtedly Prison School even if the jokes fall flat and it produced more cringe than laughs. Gakuto, in particular, will always be remembered to those who finished it for both good and bad reasons (Seriously, you defecated in your classroom just to record the sound of a fart?!). The last two episodes were so raunchy that these bordered on pornography (a well-produced one by the way) and this anime was not ashamed of it.
So speaking of shameless ecchi… let’s proceed with the second entry.
MONSTER MUSUME
Despite its lighthearted nature, Monster Musume is not for someone who has faint resolve. If you don’t keep your guard up with this show, you are really going to be swept away by some weird fetishes brought by these voluptuous monster girls. That’s the main shock of anime though. For others? This adhered to every other tropes in an ecchi universe. Is this a harem? Check. Are the girls and the MC put in ridiculous situations to suggest sexual scenes? Check. Is this a comedy? Check.
So what made this anime ahead from its peers? I guess the thoughtful execution won me over despite my general hatred over the genre. There was never a moment in Monster Musume that suggested ‘there is a bigger plot that needs to be resolved’ or ‘someone is pulling behind the strings’ and it never went full serious in its run. It existed for these characters to be subjected in ecchi scenes (Suu is the best girl) and for the laughs which it mostly delivered. This is a NSFW anime though. I immediately turned off my portable tablet during its first minute because of that infamous scene as I was in public transportation vehicle that time. That made my watching experience really hard though as you have to watch it alone then some weird thoughts pop in your mind and you cannot judge it that objectively.
SHIMONETA: A Boring World Where the Concept of Dirty Jokes Doesn’t Exist
Then for my most favorite ecchi flavored anime last summer, Shimoneta takes a premise where the Japanese society makes watching, reading or muttering any form of obscenity a crime. While Prison School focused with the over the top scenarios and Monster Musume capitalized by-the-number ecchi scenes, this one is literally a pornography on words and it (somehow) explored what happens when these people who do not know dirty jokes were exposed to a sexually arousing situation. Well, the second reason is a bit pretentious but I cannot deny that this show did not tame itself in presenting its ideas.
Bizarre is the word I associate with Shimoneta from its dialogue to its brand of comedy. You can never accuse it for being boring as it was always loud and was always bombarding the viewers with erotic wordplays. I remembered laughing really hard for Anna’s descent from pure to lunatic just because she was kissed. On the flip side, do you still remember Anna’s cookie which was made from her bodily fluid? Ecchi shows usually do not give me much reaction but that scene made me utter my disgust and that was a good thing. Yes. The jokes in this show bordered on being really funny for being absurd and being gross for the same reason.
Yet why did I like it? Regardless of your opinion with Shimoneta, this anime has a central plot that it did not forget through the course of its run with a grandiose finale. This anime was paced evenly too given its nature. Most, if not all, scenes contribute to the larger plot and no moment was wasted just to showcase the ridiculous contrivance of a typical ecchi show.
The characters are also likeable too. I will never forget the Blue Tundra in a while because of her unshakable resolve to make her (noble?) cause come into fruition and those erotic word plays! Well, Anna could use what is remaining of her sanity if Shimoneta was lucky enough to have a second season though.
Posted by samui26 | Dec 26, 2015 6:26 AM | 9 comments
December 25th, 2015
7 Days of Anime: An Introduction
Anime Relations: Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso
I am pretty sure this one does not need much of an introduction since many anime bloggers are doing the Twelve Days of Anime since God knows when. Yet what I need to explain is why did I start just now. I have two reasons:
1. Well, I was supposed to start writing on the 14th but a storm ravaged much of the internet connection in our place.
2. I had to think of a way where I can make these posts still seemingly relevant despite I started on the day where the bloggers decide their last entry for the Twelve Days of Anime. Hence, I was able to come up with an idea of writing something in a daily basis until December 31. So do the math and it's just a whole week.
If there is someone who actually reads this blog post, then I hope you can forgive me and let's start the 7 Days of Anime with this entry.
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Aside from One Punch Man, I think there's no other anime in 2015 which generated much buzz as what Your Lie in April did. Currently sitting at #14 in the top anime list of MAL, everyone agrees with its visually pretty artwork and its good choice of musical score. What is left for debate until now is its quality as an anime.
You will rarely find someone who does not have a strong opinion in this show. Some say that Your Lie in April gave them the strongest feels since Clannad After Story but also a fair number of people also mentioned that this is just emotionally manipulative and uses bullying for the sake of comedy. I still believe that it executed what it can properly but the fundamental mistake of this anime lies within its treatment of a kid who has a deep psychological trauma and its flat comedic value.
Scenes involving Kousei's struggles to play the piano again lies between really touching for some and disturbing for others. I mean, there's this kid who has a strong fear of doing something and he wants to conquer it. So what did they do? Force him to play the piano in a musical contest without prior preparation. Great way to treat a psychological condition Your Lie in April. If that is in real life, I presume Kousei would have suffered now from mental breakdown from traumas filing one after another.
The comedy is awful too as it relied too much with tired slapstick which involves well, physically harming Kousei. Schadenfreude when used properly produces laughs as what Baka and Test did. In this case, this was just cringe worthy. Not to mention that these comedic scenes are inserted after moving dramatic moments which made some of the watching experience really jarring.
Yet when Your Lie in April hits its stride, it really excelled. The drama between the characters was done well and it is understandable why many adore this show so much. Kousei and Kaori are strong leads which leaves the impossibility of not cheering for the both of them. The final piano performance of Kousei might as well be one of the defining moments of 2015 for its emotional impact and the ending is just as bittersweet as drama animes could be. Someone has to have a heart of stone to feel nothing in this show's best moments. That is, if you tolerated or brushed its noticeable flaws.
1. Well, I was supposed to start writing on the 14th but a storm ravaged much of the internet connection in our place.
2. I had to think of a way where I can make these posts still seemingly relevant despite I started on the day where the bloggers decide their last entry for the Twelve Days of Anime. Hence, I was able to come up with an idea of writing something in a daily basis until December 31. So do the math and it's just a whole week.
If there is someone who actually reads this blog post, then I hope you can forgive me and let's start the 7 Days of Anime with this entry.
THE POLARITY OF YOUR LIE IN APRIL
Aside from One Punch Man, I think there's no other anime in 2015 which generated much buzz as what Your Lie in April did. Currently sitting at #14 in the top anime list of MAL, everyone agrees with its visually pretty artwork and its good choice of musical score. What is left for debate until now is its quality as an anime.
You will rarely find someone who does not have a strong opinion in this show. Some say that Your Lie in April gave them the strongest feels since Clannad After Story but also a fair number of people also mentioned that this is just emotionally manipulative and uses bullying for the sake of comedy. I still believe that it executed what it can properly but the fundamental mistake of this anime lies within its treatment of a kid who has a deep psychological trauma and its flat comedic value.
Scenes involving Kousei's struggles to play the piano again lies between really touching for some and disturbing for others. I mean, there's this kid who has a strong fear of doing something and he wants to conquer it. So what did they do? Force him to play the piano in a musical contest without prior preparation. Great way to treat a psychological condition Your Lie in April. If that is in real life, I presume Kousei would have suffered now from mental breakdown from traumas filing one after another.
The comedy is awful too as it relied too much with tired slapstick which involves well, physically harming Kousei. Schadenfreude when used properly produces laughs as what Baka and Test did. In this case, this was just cringe worthy. Not to mention that these comedic scenes are inserted after moving dramatic moments which made some of the watching experience really jarring.
Yet when Your Lie in April hits its stride, it really excelled. The drama between the characters was done well and it is understandable why many adore this show so much. Kousei and Kaori are strong leads which leaves the impossibility of not cheering for the both of them. The final piano performance of Kousei might as well be one of the defining moments of 2015 for its emotional impact and the ending is just as bittersweet as drama animes could be. Someone has to have a heart of stone to feel nothing in this show's best moments. That is, if you tolerated or brushed its noticeable flaws.
Posted by samui26 | Dec 25, 2015 7:37 AM | 1 comments