| Kyousou Giga (TV) It's hard to try and describe this without sounding trite, as a lot of the simple words are flat-out useless. You have your beautiful art, your amazing animation, your intriguing characters, your chaotic plot... And that can just as easily be written as having intriguing art, chaotic animation, beautiful characters and amazing plot, or any other variation you can think of. All of the pieces were there for an experience that shouldn't be forgotten... Yet it's not just about the pieces, but how well they get put together that counts. And in that, Kyousou Giga falls on the short side of the equation. There are characters that go nowhere and a plot that comes from out of nowhere. Not even the ONAs, whether the original or the 2012, supplied any answers to those and instead just left us with more questions. So while the main storyline has plenty of closure, there are far too many dangling plot points for me to be truly satisfied. It is a mess? Yeah, it is. Yet it is an entertaining mess that still hits most of its marks. Score: 7/10 Recommendation level: When you want to go on a trippy journey yet need to remain sober. On-deck: A rather belated Spring 2016 rundown sometime this week. |
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| Finished two this week. The first one is a fairly good series from the early 2000's Tantei Gakuen Q (AKA Detective Academy Q ) was well put together and acted out. The stories were interesting and pretty well thought out. The clues were always there if you looked for them and the thinking behind the solutions was consistent with what the clues told you. The animation was good for the time that the series came out and remained consistent through out the series. The characters continued to develop within the series and the story line was steady as well. There was some questions there never did get answered, but overall when it ended the majority of the plot mysteries were resolved. Overall I gave this one an 8/8.5 (MAL/AniDb) and enjoyed it a lot. Recommended for viewing if you like detective/mystery series. The second one was Lucky☆Star and I really had to work at finishing this one. I'm probably going to get hammered for this, but I found the main characters to be for the most part highly annoying. While there were some sweet and tender moments in the series, they were few and far between. The story-line was next to non-existent, which is not surprising as the series is based on a 4-panel comic-strip. Unfortunately, I have seen others that were based on these that were much better put together (ie - Azumanga Daioh). The artwork was marginal although it was consistent through out the series. It seemed like the VA's went out of their way to find the most annoying voice characterizations to use for their characters and it was like listening to some one drag their fingernails across a chalkboard to listen to it. This was one that I probably came closest to dropping halfway through, but I kept watching in the hope that it would get better. Those hopes were dashed on the rocks at the bottom of the seaside cliff. Overall I gave this a solid 4 (MAL & AniDb), but only because of the moments mentioned above. Recommended for viewing... sure, why not, someone might like it after all. Just not me. |
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| Kokoro ga Sakebitagatterunda. While this anime might not have done anything exceptionally well, the overall mix is simply great. Animation and art-style are one of the strongest points. Especially the art-style. Some of the background are simply amazing (and the rest is only a bit weaker), characters design, while not the most amazing one nor the most unique, is quite refreshing, and overall quality is top-notch. Soundtrack is IMO even better than animation. It's great through out the whole movie, but it reached its peek at the final song of their musical (you can listen to it here). If it wasn't enough characters are also very good part of this anime. While not everyone gets the amount of screen time we (the viewers) would like them to get, the two main characters, Naruse Jun and Sakagami Takumi, have it enough to get real character development. Naruse transformation felt really well made, and Sakagami's support for her also looked really good. Heck, even some supportive cast got some development :-) The weakest part, but in no mean weak, is the story. It's fairly predictive but at the same time damn enjoyable :-) Score: 9/10 Recommendation level: Absolutely. Planetarian: Chiisana Hoshi no Yume When I started watching I did not know what to expect. What I got in the end was a really touching story set in post-apocalyptical world. Technical aspects are really good for this short anime. Especially the art-style makes a strong impression - one can almost feel the hopelessness of this world. The sound department is solid good - nothing really outstanding nor terribad. The strongest part are characters and the story. While watching Yumemi one can almost feel how eagerly she awaits customers to visit the planetarium. And knowing the state of the world one can only feel sad about it. The story is quite simple and has somehow predictable ending, but nonetheless the feels are strong in this one. Score: 8/10 Recommendation level: Quite unexpected journey to Feeladelphia. On-deck: Futari wa Precure (I really hope I can finish it next week :-)). |
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| Yeah, this wasn't very late at all... SPRING 2016 FINAL TIER LISTING SS-Tier * null S-Tier * Flying Witch: To call this one magical would be both an understatement and an obvious move. From the characters to the environment, from the music to the world as a whole, from the effective yet simple humor to the wonder and amazement of what some are fortunate to consider everyday life, this was a treat in every aspect. If there are any faults for me to find, it is because I reached down deep and started nitpicking. * Tanaka-kun wa Itsumo Kedaruge: Anime Of The Season.From Best Girl Shiraishi to Best Guy Oota, from the great cast of side characters to my own spirit animal in Tanaka himself, from the simple yet brilliant art to the down-to-earth humor... There are so many reasons to gush about this title that it is exhausting to even try and list them all. Maybe I just need a nap first... A-Tier * Boku no Hero Academia: Fun, intriguing, and with one excellent protagonist that made me want to cheer every chance I had, the only thing I can really think that was wrong with it was that it ended too soon. Hopefully the follow-up seasons will give us more to work with. * High School Fleet: With great characters and an interesting plot, not to mention the best use of CG so far this year Girls und Flotte could have climbed higher in the rankings if it hadn't been for the elephant in the room. Or, in this case, the rabid mind-controlling hamsters. That made it get a full-point deduction all by itself. * Joker Game: This one drew an inside straight. From the era to the premise, I had absolutely no problem with this at all. Sadly, the commentariat does not agree with me. A return to the spy stories of old, the only thing it could have done better would be to give the viewer a harder hook to hold onto the characters. * Shounen Maid: A really cute shoujo comedy, it is unfortunate that the elitists brushed this off as being mere fujoshibait and shipping fuel. Between the well-crafted humor, the heart-warming stories of family, and the beautiful art, this was capable of cleaning up the awards for me. B-Tier * Bakuon!!: What would normally be a C-Tier title, but it got a significant bump from one particular factor. Some say the only thing faster than her is a particle in the Large Hadron Colliider, and and that she can play Bolero using only a throttle cable. All we know is that she's not The Stig, but she is The Stig's Japanese understudy! * Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon Crystal Crystal Season III: A marked improvement over the first season in every aspect but one, this is exactly what I had envisioned when I first heard about the Sailor Moon remake. And if they turn round and adapt StarS just like this, I will be even happier. * Bungou Stray Dogs: On the plus side, it had some neat characters and a great suite of character concepts. On the dowside, it had a rather derivative plot and some awkward writing. But it was at least entertaining enough to maintain this tier level. C-Tier * Pan de Peace: A cute little short about a group of bread fanatics, it is sad to say that this was the best pure CGDCT title of the season. * Sansha Sanyou: Unlike Anne Happy, it wasn't crippled by a coherent plot. Unfortunately, it was crippled by a sequence of repetitive situations, a lack of chemistry between the mains, and side characters that made less sense than normal. At least it gave us some decent animation moments. D-Tier * 12-sai.: Chicchana Mune no Tokimeki: What should have been an adorable little romance turned out to be an excessively embarrassing endurance exercise. The four mains ere adorkable enough, but the side characters were what shot it in the foot. Repeatedly. * Anne Happy: While it had the better character interactions of the cute-girls-doing-cute-things titles, its sad attempts at a coherent plot were nothing but an embarrassment. If it had merely been an episodic feel-good show, it probably would have been better received. F-Tier * Kuma Miko: It is truly sad to see how far this had fallen. While the excessive sexual harassment of Machi was due cause to drop the score all by itself, the final two episodes took what was once a decent anime and drowned it in the nearest river. * Mayoiga: I've heard all the defenses of this title. That it was an intentionally unintentional comedy. That it was a satire. That it was a witty commentary on Japanese culture. All of them are full of crap. This was the worst anime to air in the last year. No characterization, same-face syndrome all over the place, a plot out of 'shroom trip, and a situation so inane that it made the sixth season of Lost look like a friggin' masterpiece. This is nothing more than a pathetic failure on every aspect of creation, and the staff should be embarrassed they ever worked on this project. I would choose forced lobotomization rather than a rewatch of this pile of dreck. In fact, I'd perform my own lobotomy rather than deal with it ever again. Unplaced/Ongoing * Kuromukuro * Macross Delta |
| Outlaw Star Honestly, I kept sitting here comparing Outlaw Star to Cowboy Bebop. It's widely known as a space western, just like Bebop. It came out in 1998, just like Bebop. It was born from Sunrise just like Bebop, albeit from different studios within the company. Unfortunately, all the equal comparisons stop there. The art is more reminiscent of an 80s OVA than a late-90s TV title with character designs and animation to match, lacking the clean lines and smooth frames of Bebop. The characters are fairly simplistic and straightforward, without the depth of field and development found in Bebop. The story is really kinda awkward and relies more on conveniences and happenstance than good writing. The worldbuilding is all over the place, combining ill-explained mysticism with ill-explained science fiction in a way that made me want to simply turn off my brain so I could just enjoy things. It was still fun, engaging, and capable of turning out the occasional epic moment of badassery. Unfortunately, it was nothing more than that in the end. Score: 7/10 Recommendation level: It's worth the effort. On-deck: Kiznaiver |
| @OffColfax You should try Re:Zero from Spring 2016 season :-) As for Outlaw Star and Cowboy Bebop, I watched Outlaw Star first and decided to watch Cowboy Bebop mostly because it was top recommendation for Outlaw Star :-) (mostly, because one of my friends, whenever we talked about anime, was asking "Did you managed to finally watch Cowboy Bebop?" :-P). Kiznaiver is a really good anime, but had potential to be much greater if it only was a longer series. |
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| I had no time to post here last week, so this one will be a bit longer :-) Futari wa Precure (Pretty Cure) Finally managed to finish it last week. And now I'm at a loss how to score this anime. On the one hand it has quite many things I really love. Animation quality in some parts is really amazing (you can see it for yourself in the opening, especially the part that starts at 0:32). Opening song is great (already added to my favourite list) and the cast is loveable (not only the main one, but supportive too - small spoiler ahead - there is one scene where Nagisa is using force against her younger brother and he asks dad for help; dad goes to them only to correct Nagisa's stance :D - if he is not the best father ever, then I don't know who is ;-)). On the other hand there are things that are not so good. The 3D parts of the animation did not aged well and does not look as great as the 2D parts. Although it has one of the best cast of characters I've seen, the main story they go trough is very simple and underwhelming. Surprisingly the so called side stories (e.g. romance for both main characters) are really good. But maybe I'm just only biased because we live in the post-Madoka era and I expected more from the main story? Score: 7/10 Recommendation level: Worth giving a try. A-Ko The Versus (Project A-ko: Uncivil Wars) I was planing to watch it right after "Project A-ko" but got distracted (again) by other anime :-) There is no continuity between this and "Project A-ko". The only common thing are the main characters, the rest is vastly different. A-ko and B-ko are no longer rivals (enemies) but friends (with a bit of rivalry) that work together. C-ko is the only daughter of the chairman of some really big corporation and, by some twisted fate, the key to universe destruction. It was not as great as the "Project A-ko" but I did enjoy watching it. The only real complain I have is that it was too short and some character development or story progression felt rushed. Score: 7/10 Recommendation level: Only if you liked "Project A-ko". Battle Athletess Daiundoukai (Battle Athletes Victory) I really liked the OVA version of this series so I was really excited to watch the TV version. And until the last few episodes it was much better that OVA. Animation quality was a bit weaker but still really good. Opening song was much, much better (and catchy as hell - you can listen to it here). Characters were also better as they had more time for characterisation and development. Even the story, while still quite simple, was really well presented and was highly enjoyable to watch. Then what went wrong? The story in the last few episodes. It took unexpected (and unnecessary) twist and turned from a bit of improbable but highly enjoyable to simply ridiculous one. I understand that they wanted to wrap up the whole story, but unfortunately it did not worked well. Score: 8/10 Recommendation level: Maybe. If you like first few episodes stick with it, if not don't, it won't get better. Ginban Kaleidoscope (Skating Rink Kaleidoscope) Although it's tagged as Sports anime it's not about sport. Or more precisely sport is not the main focus. The main story is the development of romantic relationship between Tazusa and Pete. And as for romance anime it does its job perfectly. Characters are great (I love Tazusa's twisted personality :-P) and the development of romance is slow but clearly visible. We (the viewers) know what the characters feel for each other much sooner than Tazusa and Pete. Then why I did not gave it a higher score? Well, the animation quality is good at best. It has some really good parts, but the reused frames are highly noticeable. Score: 8/10 Recommendation level: Yes, if you looking for good romance anime. Houkago no Pleiades (Wish Upon the Pleiades) I was looking for something short to watch, and was going to watch the ONA version of this, but WingKing convinced me to watch the TV version (and it's available on Crunchyroll :-)). First of all, if you do not have some knowledge in astrophysics (like what supernova, red shift, Schwarzschild radius or Hawking radiation are) you would not understand many aspects of this anime. I knew all the terms so I was pleasantly surprised they used it correctly in this anime. As for the anime itself it's clear it was an attempt to make a classical Mahou-Shoujo anime in the post-Madoka era. And while at its core it is very classical Mahou-Shoujo, it also has few aspects introduced by Madoka (not everything is happy-go-lucky). As for the technical aspects, it's hard to find something really bad. Animation for most of the time is really good (even the 3D parts, but not all of them), soundtrack is very good, characters have enough time for really good characterisation and the story is quite simple, yet really enjoyable to watch. Score: 8/10 (includes +1 for correct use of astrophysics and quantum physics terms) Recommendation level: For mahou-shoujo fans or if you know some astrophysics and/or quantum physics. On-deck: Juuni Kokuki (The Twelve Kingdoms) - I expect to finish it within two weeks |
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| Kiznaiver A group of students get together in an intimate way... And not in that way, you perverts. This is most easily described as Trigger being Trigger. Their distinctive art and animation style is everywhere, from the character designs to the background art to the frenetic opening credits. I'm always left with the feeling that I will never need to sit through a show that is a visual disappointment whenever I see the Trigger logo, and Kiznaiver was no different. Storywise, on the other hand, Kiznaiver had a few significant problems. While the character development was satisfactory, the writing as a whole was not. From the seemingly constant exposition to a reveal that was less suspenseful than a falling rock, Kiznaiver's plot was far from sufficient. It managed to be entertaining despite itself, but it fell to far too many of the failings common in so many recent anime original stories. Score: 7/10 Recommendation level: Turn-your-brain-off enjoyment. On-deck: I'm clearing my PTW list of specials, OVAs, and movies this week. Included will be Wonderful Days, Apocalypse Zero, Amazing Nurse Nanako, A-Channel+smile, and Only Yesterday. |
| Casshern Sins Actually just watched it through twice. Just to make sure I didn't miss anything. I really enjoyed it, and I found a multitude of messages, ideas, thoughts were stimulated in my noggin. All art is subjective. This is my kind I guess. |
| There is a deepness in the sky. So high, so low, so many things to know. |
| Netoge no Yome wa Onnanoko ja Nai to Omotta? That's the one where the guy plays MMORPGs and realizes his guild is actually all girls and he has an in-game wife who is hopelessly addicted to the game and calls him by his game name in real life. It's funny 'cuz it's totally true, having been through that in one of my past lives and knowing actual people who have distorted reality like that. The main drawback is that it suffers a bit from harem-ness so character depth isn't that good, and there's a bunch of "eyes up here" fanservice where they just show the girls' chest areas for no reason while they are talking. |
| It was a while since I posted here, but I got distracted (as usual :-P). For a week I was busy playing FF6 (thanks @WingKing :-)), then for next two weeks I was watching only Juuni Kokuki :-) Juuni Kokuki (The Twelve Kingdoms) Now this is what I call an anime with great characters. The start was somehow slow, but it got much better later and when the final episodes approached I was really hoping that there is some sequel (which, unfortunately, there is not). The story follows Nakajima Youko, a 16-year old girl living peacefully in modern day Japan. She tries to match everyone's expectations and only do things other people expect her to do. But by doing so she does not live a happy life. She does not have any close friends, nor does her relationship with her parents is any deep. Then one day a mysterious man appears before her, pledge his loyalty to her and claims that she is the new Queen of some kingdom. It's still unknown to her, but at that moment her life started to change (for good and for better). As I stated above, characters are the strongest part of this anime. Youko transformation from insecure, indecisive and shy girl into confident, strong and righteous Queen is brilliantly executed. Side characters are really well established and their traits (both good and bad) are really well presented. Those characters are thrown into a bit of predictable and not the most unique story, but it's executed so well, that it does not matter that much. Soundtrack is also strong part of this anime. While there might not be a single tune that stand outs from the rest (the closest one would be opening), the soundtrack used during the series is really, really good. Some scenes have much higher impact just because right background music was used. And finally the weakest part - animation quality. Don't take me wrong, there are a lot of scenes with amazing animation. But there are also scenes with below average quality (especially noticeable when watching in 1080p). If the animation was better I would probably gave this anime a perfect 10/10. Score: 9/10 Recommendation level: Transferred into fantasy world in glorious HD :-) Shakugan no Shana Movie Once I finished Juuni Kokuki I was looking for something short to watch and so I found this one on my PTW list. As for the movie, it was enjoyable to watch. All technical aspects are the same as in the TV series with the exception of story as it's chanaged a bit (and from what I read, it's more faithful to the source material). If you watched the TV series you would know almost exactly what would happen. Score: 7/10 Recommendation level: Re-cap for first few episodes of the TV series. Dragon Half Recommended by @WingKing in his Short anime spotlight :-) Oh man, I have really hard time to remember when was the last time I laughed that loud while watching anime. While the first episode is only good in that aspect, the second one is simply hilarious. Animation and sound are decent, and the story is almost no-existent. The only complain I have after watching it, is that it's damn too short :-) There should be more episodes. Score: 8/10 Recommendation level: If you want to laugh really loud. On-deck: Gall Force (I already watch the first movie and was certain that I would watch the other two before writing this review; will post the review for all three once I watch the other two) Oh, I forgot to mention, Juuni Kokuki (The Twelve Kingdoms) was my 400th completed anime :-) |
mozgowSep 11, 2016 11:51 PM
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mozgow said: Dragon Half Recommended by @WingKing in his Short anime spotlight :-) Oh man, I have really hard time to remember when was the last time I laughed that loud while watching anime. While the first episode is only good in that aspect, the second one is simply hilarious. Animation and sound are decent, and the story is almost no-existent. The only complain I have after watching it, is that it's damn too short :-) There should be more episodes. Score: 8/10 Recommendation level: If you want to laugh really loud. I've looked and looked everywhere in the hopes that they would continue this one along with Tokumu Sentai Shinesman and Yousei Hime Ren. Both hilarious, but all three unfinished. They even promised to finish Elf Princess Rane, but never followed through with that promise. :-( |
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| I hope @OffColfax did not abandon us in this thread, as it was always interesting to read his short reviews. Gall Force 1: Eternal Story It was really interesting to watch, but nothing more. Let's start with the good parts. First, the story. Apparently set in the distant past, where two races are fighting for domination over our corner of the Milky Way. Both sides realize that there will be no winner in this war and so decided to create the third race (as a mix of both races) in the 9th System on the terraformed planet Chaos. While it's not the most unique one, it's still executed pretty well. But there are also noticeable flaws: the movie is too short to tell such complex story and it felt rushed as hell. Secondly, characters. While none of the characters had enough screen time to really shine, all of them had enough characterization to be well established in the setting of the story. And as for the story, it would work much better for them if it was an OVA series and not movie. Now moving to the not so good parts. Animation is not the best quality of the 80s'. That year (1986) studio Ghibli showed us with Tenkuu no Shiro Laputa (Castle in the Sky) how good an animation in the 80s' could be. In Gall Force there are some reused frames and noticeable desynchronization between lips movement and voice (dunno if it's more animation flaw or voice acting flaw). And finally the soundtrack. Most of the 80's era anime has gotten us used to a brilliant soundtrack. While this one is not that bad, it's neither really good. Score: 7/10 Recommendation level: If you want to kill some time with anime, and has nothing better to watch. Gall Force 2: Destruction The story in the prequel has a conclusive end, so I was curious how could they make a continuation. Well, they just used an earlier point in the prequel's story story as the start for this one. Comparing this one to the previous, almost everything is the same. Same animation quality (not bad, but neither good), intriguing story (the threat of destruction of the planet where the new race is living), good characters (one from the prequel and new ones) and a better soundtrack. Score: 7/10 Recommendation level: Only if you liked the prequel. Gall Force 3: Stardust War Third and final instalment in the story of two races fighting to their mutual destruction. As our heroines from the previous movie realize that there will be no winner in this war, and that both races will destroy each other, they make the final attempt to stop the war. This one was much better that the previous two movies, but not enough to give it a higher score. Once again it would work better if it was longer (at least half an hour longer). Score: 7/10 Recommendation level: Most likely only if you liked the previous two movies. Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu (Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-) I was one of the not so many people who have been watching it right from the start, before all that hype happened. Natsuki Subaru, a high-school student and a NEET (as he describes himself), is suddenly transported into fantasy world. As he wanders through the city, he meets beautiful half-elf heroine, Satella. Thinking that he is the destined hero of this world, he tries to start his adventure by helping Satella gets something that was stolen from her. But nothing went as he expected, as he was killed without realizing what or who killed him. But instead of staying dead, he wake ups before some Appa vendor. While I was watching first half of first episode (1A) I thought that it would be yet another transferred into fantasy world anime, that might turn out to be really good. But then the second half happened (1B) and everything went crazy. Return by Death (as Subaru named his ability) is something I haven't seen in anime yet (but I've seen it in a movie called "Edge of Tomorrow" and this was my first thought about how the story will progress). Unfortunately most of the watchers do not realize the burden it bears to Subaru. They simply say that if anything bad happens he would just die (or kill himself) and would fix things. While it might be true for bad events, it's terrible for the good ones. After the reset he will be the only one to remember the good things that happened. All the progress he would make in relationship with other people will be gone. And to make things even worse, he can't say about his powers to anyone (it's often compared to Steins;Gate, but Okabe had Kurisu, and Subaru is alone in this). But it wouldn't be such a amazing story without equally amazing characters. Subaru is one of the most realistic characters in any "transferred into fantasy world" anime. At first he acts as he is destined to be a hero in this new world (which might be actually be true, but not in the way he thinks). Then, when things do not go his way, is angry and does not act rationally. And finally, after accepting that he is not the hero, he starts to act as he should right from the start. His transformation is the most realistic one I've seen in any anime. But Subaru is not the only one character that is amazing. There is another one equally great (if not better) - Rem. At first she is not someone you would like. But as the story progress it's clear she also has some issues with her past, her sister and herself. And once all this is done she starts to change thanks to Subaru. While her transformation is not as amazing as Subaru's, it's still great to see. And there's a bunch of supportive characters who got enough characterization to really feel for them (to mention only Wilhelm and his wife Theresia or Beatrice). Every single one has enough time to left the feel of uniqueness. Finally moving to the technical aspects. Animation and art style are simply great. While there are obviously some issues with that (CGI background characters) there are also quite many amazing animation sequences (e.g. the fight with Elsa). I was going to write something about soundtrack and voice acting but I do not know where to start. It has the best OP and ED song of the season (and most likely the year) and the background music used in some scenes is simply amazing. The voice actors did absolutely stellar job portraying the characters (especially the one voicing Betelgeuse). Score: 10/10 Recommendation level: Absolutely. On-deck: Most likely the rest of Gall Force and then I will try to catch up with the seasonals (I'm three weeks behind with half of the anime I started watching this season). |
mozgowSep 19, 2016 9:48 PM
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| Watched Hibike Euphonium last week and it was just what I wanted. Often times I'm pretty bored with shows that are just "sensational", but this was the basics, an actual show. Kyoani could do it if they wanted to, but some of their more respectable efforts like Free felt like it pandered to the meme crowd too hard. This was definitely an improvement. Only had problems with the fast pacing. Would definitely watch 50 eps of this. |
mozgow said: I hope @OffColfax did not abandon us in this thread, as it was always interesting to read his short reviews. Don't worry, Moz. I haven't completely abandoned you folks here... I just haven't been able to do much writing recently. Between the medication interactions turning me into a zombie on a moment's notice, dealing with a rather odd version of ataxia where I basically can't remain standing still without toppling over, fighting with three different state agencies plus two county agencies plus my own social worker, my brain just doesn't want to do much right now. I have brief moments where I'm more lucid and start to write something out, but I blank out fairly quickly and just go back to looking at pretty pictures. Sometimes I can manage three paragraphs at a time... and sometimes I can barely make a smart-ass comment without losing my interest. And that's just scary. Because I damn well pride myself on smart-ass comments. Plus the size of my review backlog is pretty damn intimidating. From classics like Project A-Ko and Cyber City Oedo 808 to experimental films like Ai and Kanojo no Dokushinshatachi ni Yotte Hadaka ni Sareta Seifuku no Shojo Kenkyuu, from movies like Only Yesterday and Wonderful Days to popular series like Witch Craft Works and Nekomonogatari: Kuro, it's not going to be an easy task to review them all. So I'm thinking I'll just hold off until the end-of-season write-up and kick back in from there. |
| I'll just list the last 5 series I completed (the last this just this evening) and fill in my reviews of it later. 1) Iron Man: Rise of Technovore it's pretty much like any US super-hero movie. A little miscommunication, a little arrogance, an unstoppable foe, etc. A fluff piece. Pretty boring if you ask me. 2) Metropolis This is the 2001 version. As from the DVD cover it is a Osamu Tezuka written and drawn anime. As I'm watching it, it's not a movie that flows very well. Lot of disjointed scenes, lot of plot holes. I couldn't rate it very high. I gave it a 7 just because it Tezuka and I like his art style. It's basically a future world where man and robots live and work together and one man wants to rule them all by creating the perfect robot. As with man playing God, the creation decides that man is flawed and needs to be eliminated because of this. 3) Amaama to Inazuma This is the the feel good anime of the summer season. If you didn't like the series, then you have a lump a coal where you heart should be. It's about relationships, family and food. You could almost call it a cooking show because the author of the series creates traditional Japanese dishes that anyone could make. If you read the manga, the recipes are at the end of the chapter. This isn't anywhere close to "Shokugeki no Soma". It's just the making of comfort foods. Yes, I already made the Dry Curry. Yum!! There is a slight romance undertone going one, but it's very one-way. In fact, the main male character is unaware of the crush the female main character has on him because he's focused on raising his daughter. Even their friends see what going on, but aren't pushing it. A very good watch. I hope for season 2..3..4, etc. because the manga is still being produced. 4) Senki Zesshou Symphogear G: In the Distance, That Day, When the Star Became Music... Specials This is just a chibi fluff piece. I wouldn't bother with it unless you like the Symphogear series (like I do). 5) Lupin III (2015) I know, it took a while. I finally finished it. This was the Lupin I liked. It reminded me so much of the original series. The artwork, the storylines..and all set in Italy. :D They introduced Rebecca as Lupin's wife. I liked her. She added that chemistry umph! She could be needed push that the Lupin series needed to be Fujiko's rival. I do hope in upcoming series the write her in. A highly recommended series if you don't follow Lupin III yet. |
Dodecahedron-O24Sep 20, 2016 5:50 AM
| What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about? |
| @OffColfax I hope you will get better soon. In the meantime, I will keep this thread going for as long as I can :-) OffColfax said: Plus the size of my review backlog is pretty damn intimidating. From classics like Project A-Ko and Cyber City Oedo 808 to experimental films like Ai and Kanojo no Dokushinshatachi ni Yotte Hadaka ni Sareta Seifuku no Shojo Kenkyuu, from movies like Only Yesterday and Wonderful Days to popular series like Witch Craft Works and Nekomonogatari: Kuro, it's not going to be an easy task to review them all. So I'm thinking I'll just hold off until the end-of-season write-up and kick back in from there. I know what you mean :-) It took me an hour and a half to write my last post. And the problem was not what to write, but how. What words to use so it would look and sound good :-) |
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| I watched the movie Lupin III: Episode 0 "First Contact" and I must say, I liked it. Again, it's very typical Lupin III, even if it's 14 years old. It is the "origin" about how all the member of Lupin's gang met, including Zenigata. In my eyes, Zenigata is just as much a part of the Lupin gang. The story is told from Jigen's POV. I'll say that there is a lot plot twists and holes to make you question if Jigen is telling the truth or not. Anyways, it's a great little Lupin romp with all the bells and whistles. I gave it an 8/10 just because of the absurdity that is Lupin. |
| What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about? |
| Rhea Gall Force The Solnoid race is long dead, annihilated along with their enemies in the final battle at Sigma Narse. But their descendants survive on Earth, and have now inherited the sad destiny predicted so many years before. The technical quality of this series is mixed. When the creator were trying, it's easily the top quality of the late '80s, early '90s. But when they were not.... it's decent at most. Lips desynchronized with the sound are the most noticeable problem. But for the other aspects it's really, really good. The story is quite simple, yet entertaining to watch. Character, while not the best one, have just enough characterization to care for them. Score: 7/10 Recommendation level: Probably only if you liked the prequels. Gall Force: Chikyuu Shou (Gall Force: Earth Chapter) This is, in my opinion, the best chapter of the Gall Force story. They had 3, 50 minutes long OVAs to tell the story, and they used that time properly. The pacing is all right (there are still small problems) and there are only minor shortcuts (or plot-holes). The rest is the same as in previous one. Despite having much better story, it was not enough for me to give it a higher score. Score: 7/10 Recommendation level: If you watched all the prequels, you will stick with this one too. Gall Force: Shin Seiki Hen (Gall Force: New Era) For whole first episode and most of the second one, it had the best story. Perfect pacing, no plot-holes and really interesting too. But then they made so many mistakes, it was really painful to watch. If not for those mistakes, I wouldn't hesitate to give it a higher score. Score: 7/10 Recommendation level: If you went that far, why not finish the story? On-deck: Catching up with the seasonals. Once I manage to do so, I'll post short reviews for all of them :-) |
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| Finished Macross Δ. I'll make this a short review. I would call this one of the more painful Macross' to watch. It seemed it was all over the place. The second female of the love triangle (a staple in the franchise) was the least developed characters. The MC did pick the girl at the end and they flew off together. Now I'm nervous how they will do the next series. Don't worry, it might be a few years down the road. |
| What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about? |
| So I figure I'll take care of this one sooner than usual... Summer 2016 Overview F-Tier
D-Tier
C-Tier
B-Tier
A-Tier
S-Tier
S-TIER AND ANIME OF THE SEASON
On-deck for Fall:
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OffColfax said: So I figure I'll take care of this one sooner than usual... Summer 2016 Overview F-Tier Battery: I had wanted to like this show at the end of the season. And for 9 episodes, it managed to meet my expectations. Sadly the final episodes collapsed into a complete mess. The script fell apart, the characters went flat, the voice actors seemingly got bored, and even the animation (not exactly Battery's strongest suit in the first place) went from bland to worse. Add to that the non-ending that cut off all the action right in the middle of the action, and it all totals up to the disappointment of the season. Agreed. I basically fell apart at the end. I didn't know where it was going after the first exhibition game. This was one time all the talking of the characters led to no conclusion. I'm getting tired of the emotionless, genius, know-it-all character. The kind who will tell their coach off. A person like this would have been benched in the US for being a smart-ass. Let's not forget that in the beginning of the series it had him holding his pitching shoulder a lot, like he had a injury. This was never resolved. This is one time I don't want a second season. Let this series just die. D-Tier Yes, there were a lot of similarities, some similar personalities, but it's not D-Tier level. I would give it at least a B just on the ground the path they are taking is different than what μ's did. Of course it took the last 3 episodes to find that path. I did like a lot of the music. Their music style was different in that they harmonized more than μ's did. That made it better, to my ear.Love Live! Sunshine!!: For all its fans repeated denials, this is far far too much a carbon copy of the first installment. Same failing-school setup, same character interactions, same character archetypes, same scenario, same get-the-girls-together problems... Some of the minor details may have changed, but the larger picture is the same. And for someone who severely disliked the way the first LL! started, that was far from a recipe to get me to like Sunshine!!. But I won't be ashamed to admit I'm going to get that St. Snow song for my own collection. A-Tier Amaama to Inazuma: The first of the Light titles of the season, this is pretty much just an Usagi Drop Light. A dad reconnects with his daughter after the death of his wife, learning how to cook and provide meals to her rather than just food. Fairly formulaic in setup, it has a few saving graces. The characters are pretty well written and the food was fairly drool-worthy, but you could set your watch to the regular schedule that they went into the kitchen. Yep. But there was a lot more going on underneath. This was just, hopefully, the first season and a season two is not far behind (I can wait 6-8 months). The manga is still going on and things get a little more interesting. Macross Δ: Ah, yes... the ancient, the venerable, the what-the-hell-are-you-doing-this-time title many of us know and love. With a suite of idols that are much better than the Sunshine girls in every aspect, full-blown earworms of songs from start to finish, catchy openings and endings for both cours, and the usual excellent combat animation and worldbuilding we've come to expect from the franchise. The big significant problems come from one of the sloppier love triangles in recent memory as well as occasionally derpy character animation and a nearly-religious fascination with wind. Still an excellent entry in the franchise that had me as giddy as a schoolboy whenever the opening came on. Orange: A beautiful drama from start to finish, Orange rarely failed to deliver. While its problems were fairly apparent between the poorly explained plot twist (which still had better logic than Steins;Gate) and the (quite frankly overblown by its critics) animation mistakes, they were clearly overridden by what it did right. The characters were just about right, with the easy conversation of long friends clearly apparent. The art was stunningly beautiful at times, which makes me even more interested in their offering for next season. And the resolution kept me wondering all the way until the end. There was a bit of clumsiness in some areas, but Orange had all the zest of a successful anime. You're being kind making Macross Delta an A-Tier. That was one mess from beginning to end. Yes, the MC got the girl we were all expecting. The main plot changed midway through the series. To much was focused on the non-needed things. I was one CF in the last half. I was only redeemed by the veritech fighters. As for Orange, I'm not a complete fan of time-traveling story-lines since the Big 2 (Marvel and DC) pretty much messed it up for me. The "black hole in the Bermuda Triangle" was really stretching it, IMO. How did they get those letters there and knew it would get to their alternate world counterparts? It left me with more questions than answers. Let's not forget the artwork took a nosedive in the last third of the season. It should at most be a B-Tier. S-TIER AND ANIME OF THE SEASON Amanchu! was written before the Aria franchise, FYI. ;) I can't add anymore to this except I wish the club president (the tsundere red-head, wasn't so violent to her twin brother. That bugged me to no end. I was waiting for him to just belt her one.Amanchu!: Sheer absolute beauty all the way through, this is the worthy and stunning successor to Aria. Of the entire season, this was the single title with the best art and best animation throughout with nearly every frame worth turning into desktop wallpapers. And the beautiful art was supplemented by GONTITI's incredible soundtrack, as the acoustic guitar duo turned in a fingerstyle masterwork. The characters, albeit simple, were incredibly well written, and had a great chemistry between them. And while the coming-of-age story didn't have grand difficulties or heavy conflicts, it was still done with as much precision as a buddy-check. The only problem with Amanchu! and the only thing that kept this out of the rare SS-Tier was the over-reliance on the reaction faces. Those are meant to enhance a scene, not for regularly walking around with them plastered on every character. Another A-Tier I'd add to this list is ReLife. I know I said I'm not keen on time travel, this isn't a time travel story even though it gives off the feel. I had issues that it was rush and the last two episodes were rewritten, but the plot was kept the same. The twist at the end was semi-unexpected. This is definite in need of a second season, but don't release all the episodes at once. The characters were interesting, especially the two MCs and were developed nicely. |
| What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about? |
| Fullmetal Alchemist I had a weird urge to spend the time between seasons on starting one of the most mentioned series in the fan base. It wasn't a bad series. Some of the plot twists were very well written indeed, and a number of entire episodes would even be considered excellent by any measure. On the whole, it wasn't a great series by any stretch of the imagination. All of the protagonists were rather bland and uninteresting (I assume they get better during the canon Brotherhood series.) while some of the antagonists came across as much rounder individuals, and that is the reverse of the way things normally go. The art was plain and boring, even for a 2003 entry. The music, unmemorable. The scenery and the world, not impressive at all. And while many episodes were amazing, some of the rest felt completely senseless to the point where the series could have been cut down to 36 episodes and nothing of importance would have been lost. And the final plot twist made absolutely zero sense whatsoever, changing what should have been an amazing ending to something that should have never happened. With all of those problems heavy in my mind, I would normally be hating on an anime. Yet I can't really do so here in part because it succeeded in the most important metric of them all: it kept me coming back for more. I don't normally devour 50+ episodes in six days, but there was something about FMA that made it all somehow work. It wasn't quite a turn-off-your-brain enjoyment either, in part because the plot twists just kept on coming, but nevertheless enjoyable in spite of its problems rather than because of its positives. Score: 7/10 Recommendation level: Ask me some time next year after I hit Brotherhood. Then I'll be able to peg this closer. Nejimaki Seirei Senki: Tenkyou no Alderamin So with the big one out of the way, it was time to explore a title that was frequently mentioned during last season's offerings. And the contrast between the writing of Alderamin and FMA was startling. Every major character was well-written and nicely explored. Every episode was on point and capable, where even the flashback sequence was important to the character development. And what wasn't directly explained was simple enough that it could be obviously inferred from what was going on during the series. From the great characters to the intriguing plot, this was a fantasy warfare title that was actually worthy. And that is a very different change from the usual generic light novel adaptation that we've been seeing. It didn't have all too many significant issues at all... except for the sourcebait ending, that is. If they hadn't included the final scene that makes it brutally obvious that the source continues beyond what they were able to adapt, then I would have made this the third 9/10 rating that Summer season had earned from me. Unfortunately, this pet peeve of mine is just too damn strong. (Also worse, there is no way for me to be able to explore the source as the light novel translations have stalled and the manga adaptation translation is well behind the anime. So more frustration for me, as it was one of the rare anime that made me want to look into the source material. Alas...) Score: 8/10 Recommendation level: People who want a good light novel adaptation for a change. And for people that want a good fantasy warfare anime for a change. On-deck: Banner of the Stars |
| Seikai no Senki Three years after Crest of the Stars, Banner continues roughly where its prequel left off... and does a better job at it. This series is one of the great space operas of anime, and it shows. From the worldbuilding to the action, from the characters to the dialogue, Banner continues to build on everything that Crest did right. Of course, a significant part of that would be the deepening relationship between Jinto and Lafiel while setting it in contrast against the rest of the military. Another part would be that the series is much more focused on the actions and interactions of the crew rather than being spread across multiple planets, stations, and random encounters, which made for a much better story. The art and animation were fairly average for a 2000 title: not amazing, but not horrendous either. (A couple of nice Itano circuses made for a pleasant surprise, though.) Most of the other technical aspects were also rather unremarkable, with no standout moments that stick with you after the final episode. The character design, on the other hand, is where I encounter my only real negative. The look and feel of the various minor Abh characters made them almost indistinguishable from each other. Even the voice actors sounded similar, and that adds an added layer of confusion that is entirely unnecessary and avoidable. Still, Banner is an improvement overall to Crest. And I assume that the remaining 12 episodes will continue to be just as good. Score: 8/10 Recommendation level: Everyone who loves space anime. Mahou Shoujo? Naria☆Girls There are times when Japan's innovative streak will produce something incredible and amazing. This is far from one of those times. This is an insult to humanity as a collective whole. The digital art was horrendous. The character design was inane. The script was bad enough to have been written by a pre-schooler. I'm not sure if the director was non-existent or merely drunk the full run, as the actresses acted as if they didn't even bother to follow what script there was for the entire first half of each episode. And who the hell comes up with an elaborate transformation sequence that has the characters come out of it wearing the exact same outfit as when they began?!? Time after time, this was pure and undiluted dreck. Every aspect, every moment, every line, every scene led to a greater and more consistent failure than before. If it was possible to give this a lower score, I would gladly take that opportunity. Sadly, dreck is the lowest my scale can go. Score: 1/10 Recommendation level: Run. Run away. As fast as you can, run away from this in utter fear and complete terror. SoniAni: Super Sonico The Animation All in all... not that bad, really. I expected to come into this and hate it. Listening to various female anime fans, SoniAni was supposed to be a pile of vapid nothingness. And yet it wasn't quite that far down on the list. Don't get me wrong. There were a lot of things wrong with this. The characters were either vapid, weird, or pure wish fulfillment, going through more costume changes than they did character development. The animation was frequently non-existent with a heavy use of unneeded still pans. Most of the episodes were pretty much unnecessary all the way around (Groping tentacle sea monster, anyone? Yeah. 'Nuff said.), and were poorly written on top of that. Yet not everything was bad. The art was pleasant enough, with a few early backgrounds being pure eyecandy. Sonico herself was just flawed enough to keep from being too perfect for words. A couple of episodes were on the good side of decent. And as a music title, the songs were an appropriate focus for most of those good episodes. I won't hate SoniAni. Not by a long chalk. I am, after all, firmly in the target demographic for this one. But I'm not going to turn around and say that it is a good anime, either. Score: 6/10 Recommendation level: Not really, no. On-deck: Seikimatsu Occult Gakuin |
| Seikimatsu Occult Gakuin This is definitely one of those Tale Of Two Anime types of things. When Occult Academy wanted to be great, it could be pretty good. It came with some interesting worldbuilding straight out of the box, frequent moments of beautiful art, a couple of really interesting characters, and more than just a basic grasp of actual interpersonal relationships as the long friendship between Maya and Ami felt a very real and tangible thing. And the main plot line was imaginative and capable of carrying its own weight. Unfortunately, when it didn't really care about being great, it could be really crappy. Far too many characters were just there to fill out certain tropes, particularly in the person of Kozue as the ditzy and clumsy glasses girl. The whole thing with the vice-principal was inexplicably awful. And the frequently inane side-plot scenarios started to make me wonder if I hadn't stumbled on a remake of Ghost Stories by accident. Ultimately, it all boils down to a great big meh. There are worse things in the world than spending time with a meh title, mind you. But in the end, it's a score that I generally give to titles that are too forgettable to bother with. Score: 5/10 Recommendation level: Pass it by. Bananya This was the biggest meme of Summer... And as with all memes about a title "saving anime", I found it lacking. Lacking in what? Everything. This was so devoid of content that it becomes impossible to actually review. Characters? Nothing special. Plot? Non-existent. Art? Bland. Animation? Meh. Sound design? Meh. Voice work? It was like watching an old Mutual of Omaha nature documentary while on quaaludes. Even the cuteness had a weird saccharine feel to it. Of all the shorts that anime has produced, this has to be the most bland of them all. The only thing that saved it from being in my dreck category was that it was patently inoffensive on top of being bland. Score: 5/10 Recommendation level: Meh. Kishin Houkou Demonbane Of all the various adaptations for parts of the Cthulhu Mythos, I used to think that the SyFy Channel's The Dunwitch Horror was the worst of them all. Now I look back at those carefree days with fond memories of my own naivety. This was almost a complete waste of time. From the awful art filled with the myriad stench of lost souls and abandoned styles, to the character design best left sleeping under oceans deep. From the plot that had more plot holes than a fishman has scales to the insidious ecchi moments that appear like the mirage of your fleeting sanity... Yeah, no. This isn't worth it. On almost every level, this is not worth it. The script was a brutal hackjob, sewing together concepts that had no business touching the other. The episode plan somehow found room to squeeze a beech episode, an onsen episode, and a cruise ship episode inside the same 20-minute span, complete with the degradation of quality that you would expect. And the thinly-veiled excuse to draw scantily-clad barely-pubescent girls was as weak as it was stereotypical. If it sounds like I would rather suggest that someone sacrifice their waifu to the Elder Gods and bring about the destruction of mankind upon this world than watch even a single episode of this anime... Well. yeah. That's exactly what I'm saying. Unless, that is, you are already a fan of the Mythos. For there is one thing that this anime does do disturbingly well, and that is to embrace the entire Cthulhu Mythos from top to bottom. Hidden obscure references are absolutely everywhere to be found, to the point where the particular fansub group added extra footage to the end of each episode in order to give extensive translator's notes for every single piece of it. (May the souls of Shinsen-Subs be eaten first by great Cthulhu in reward for their grand work, for great is their honor.) That way, even people who wouldn't know a shoggoth from a Mi-Yo could still follow along without getting terribly lost. Sadly, that was the only positive thing. Apparently, the source visual novel is much better and had even more extensive research into the Mythos. I just wish whoever had thought up this anime had done a better job at writing an advertisement for it than this eldritch abomination from beyond the stars. Score: 3/10 Recommendation level: Ia! Ia! Cthulhu ftaghn! On-deck: Konosuba |
| A few brief words, as I've seen far too much anime since my last report. Strait Jacket: A rogue tactical sorcerer versus what happens when magic goes bad. Good enough, really. I think it could have used a full series, though. 7/10 Relic Armor Legiciam: I have no idea what happened. They explained it, but it wasn't good enough to remember. 5/10 Mahou Shoujo? Naria Girls: Shit. No script worth a damn. No animation worth a damn. (This) Anime was a mistake. 1/10 Uchuu Patrol Luluco: Trigger being Trigger. Filled with references to their other titles, as well as an older Gainax shoutout, this was fun as hell. Messy, but fun. 7/10 Masho-iro Symphony: The Color Of Lovers: Traditional boys-move-to-girls- school harem. Could have been much worse, really. The girls were at least well-rounded... 7/10 Hiyakoi: Short girl meets tall boy. A 3-episode short OVA that needed a lot more meat to it to be satisfying. 6/10 Dogs: Bullets and Carnage: Four episodes, four main characters, four stories. Wonderful setting, great action, mediocre characters. 7/10 One Punch Man: Sakuga for days. Amazing animation, great sound, incredibly fun... It's just too bad the characters are flat. 7/10 Chougikuu Seiki Orguss 02: A lot better than the first series. Much more focused, and capable of telling the story without getting too distracted. 7/10 |
| Recently watched stuff: Koto no Ha no Niwa - Saw it at the local cinema. Gorgeous artwork but when it reached the end I really felt like i had only watched half a movie (which is true given its 45 minute running time). Anyways, it was a treat to watch on the big screen. Karen Senki - Lots of action and lots of missed potential. This series wasn't a telling of a story as much as it was glimpses at one. Bit of a disappointment. |
| Yondemasu yo, Azazel-san (TV) A sadistic detective, a gaggle of demons, and weirdness across the board? What could possibly go wrong... When I watched the OVA back in September, I enjoyed the raunchy comedy and oddball scenarios. While those were still present in the TV series, they were watered down far too much for my taste. And unnecessarily so, as the comedy in the OVA was no worse than in other televised lewd comedies. So when you neuter the strongest point of a title, it doesn't exactly bode well for the run. What replaced the emphasis on comedy was an attempt at plot. Note that I didn't say it was a success at plot, as they blundered through scenario after scenario. The writing as a whole was simply sub-standard and almost shamefully bad. On the character front, only Rinko was decently rounded with the rest just falling on their faces. What could have been a good series became just flat-out blah. Score: 5/10 Recommendation level: Meh. Kekkai Sensen Normally, the city goes straight to hell. This time, hell went to the city. This is frantic, fun, colorful, loud, and exciting. Lots of action, plenty of movement, an interesting take on the whole merging-of-worlds trope, and more than just a bit of simple chaos keep things moving quite well. If there is one thing I can definitely say about this show, it is that it is wonderfully entertaining. And they managed to shoehorn in some intriguing social reflection, which was more than welcome in an anime such as this. But it definitely is not great. The chaotic nature of the series tends to turn things into a blur of images and events with only a tenuous thread tying the early episodes to the end. The characters are far too frantic to hold still for development, with no real motivations behind their actions aside from just doing whatever is in front of them. And while the finale was exciting and well-done, it was never exactly clear as to why it had to happen in the first place. This is an anime that is good not for what it does well, but instead that it manages to keep people's attention focused despite all of its problems. Score: 7/10 Recommendation level: A popcorn title. |
| Shingetsutan Tsukihime It has long been a meme in the anime community that this does not actually exist. After actually sitting down and watching it, this is probably one of the most accurate memes ever created. The story was bland where it was supposed to be exciting, and impenetrable even in the middle of a far-too-uncommon moment of exposition. The art was boring and uninspired, even for a 2003 title. The characters are flat, generic, and with no perceivable motivation anywhere to be found. Everything that they thought they were doing right was what they flat-out missed out on completely. Not since RDG: Red Data Girl have I seen a title that didn't even bother to show up. There wasn't even enough present in this anime for it to be bad. Tsukihime's only notable feature is that it has absolutely zero notable features in the first place. Score: 5/10 Recommendation level: THIS SPACE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK Nodame Cantabile: Paris-hen Noda and Chiaki take their act to the City of Lights, with more of the same magic yet a bit too much of the different. While the first season was a well-done yet simple music anime, the second season wasn't quite capable of matching up to its predecessor. Part of the visuals were a step up with the backdrop of Paris taking the role of concertmaster for the entire run, while the awkwardly-rendered CGI-enhanced music scenes struck all the wrong notes. The new side characters were almost as useless as a broken string, bringing very little to the series except for merely being present. Tanya, the Russian pianist, was particularly out of tune with the rest of the mood. A major difference between the two seasons would be the focus. The first season focused on Nodame herself, bringing her native talent on the piano to the fore while creatively harnessing her flighty tendencies and bizarre instincts. The second season, on the other hand, focuses more on Chiaki's drive to become a renowned symphony conductor. This change in focus was one of the major points that kept the series on-track, maintaining the Nodame Cantabile feeling while still feeling fresh and new. Score: 7/10 Recommendation level: Music lovers. On-deck: MAL entry #900 with Paranoia Agent |
| Paranoia Agent 900th Completed MAL Entry This is one of those titles that is hard to pin down. On the one hand, it is full of all the usual Satoshi Kon trademarks. Everything you think you know at the start of an episode can be turned on its head before the end of that same episode. Turns, twists, headfakes, and straight-up obfuscation are ready to appear with just about every scene. As the plot continues through, it rarely gives a moment of relaxation as you go directly from one question directly to another. On the other hand, the ending is... the same thing as the beginning, but only much more so. Staring with episode 9, Kon seems to run out of ideas for a while and rehashes concepts that had already been fully played out in the first episodes. In the 10th episode, one of the main protagonists takes on the personality quirks of an early suspect for absolutely no discernible reason and remains that way until the final credits. In the 11th episode, the two major protagonists sit down and actually explain the basic thrust of the plot directly. And in the two final episodes, all attempts at logic get thrown out the window as one of the strangest penultimate battles takes place. Seeing that we're talking about an anime, that means this pretty much pegged the weird-shit-o-meter... Paranoia Agent started off as an amazing idea. Focusing on little aspects of Japanese society, from their communal nature to the habits of the police department, from the concept of chuunibyou to the social acceptance of suicide, and revels in those quirks and eccentricities native to the islands. Regretfully, it just couldn't stand up under its own weight and fell apart long before its confusing and confused finale. Normally, that would mean an awful score from me. Yet this time, I give much less emphasis on the ending than usual as the first eight episodes were that much stronger. Score: 7/10 Recommendation level: Whiskey. Lots and lots of whiskey. And a notebook. On-deck: Dirty Pair |
| With the season finally wrapped up, here's my rundown of the seasonals I watched: Ajin 2nd season: Ajin continued to be top quality in its second season. This season was faster paced, with less "Nagai trying to hide and ignore reality" which is a good thing. Satou remains a fantasticly fun villain and we got to see a lot more Ajin and IBMs. The various plans and counters were decently thought out and never felt cheap. Possibly the only thing that could have used some polish was the very end, as at first it appears Satou loses his memory after the battle but in the final scene seems to be his old self again. Brave Witches: I liked the original Strike Witches so I was totally on board with watching a spinoff of another team of animal-themed witches with mecha-legs fighting alien geometry. Sadly this series failed to capture my attention like the original. The new characters simply weren't very interesting (many of them getting next to no screen time or development), the action rarely felt intense, and the Neuroi didn't seem overly intimidating or all that interested in actually winning a war other than 1 or 2 specific episodes. There was also an overuse of consipicous CGI. It was expected on the Neuroi, since they're weird shaped constructs, but it was really off-putting when they'd shift over to having the witches computer animated during parts of certain battles. There wasn't even all that much fanservice in this one to at least save it on that alone, which is shocking in a series in which women aren't allowed to wear pants. Bubuki Buranki season 2: Decent action and a much faster pace than the first season, although the terrible American team still annoys me (though surprisingly less than Azuma's irritating sister). Overall it was a fun watch but I was a little dissapointed in the final battle with the various Buranki vs. the giant Buranki god; I just felt they could have done a lot more with combining Buranki and using other body parts as weapons. The biggest problem though was the final episode, which was a 1 year time skip epilogue that was dull, unfulfilling, and felt fairly unbelievable. I think it would have been better to extend the final battle and then do a longer time skip in the last half of the final episode. Drifters: I liked this one. Good action, fun characters, and an interesting premise of grabbing various historical figures to fight it out for control of a standard fantasy world. I only wish we got to see more of the additional characters like the Japanese WWII pilot or the cowboys. Hopefully they deliver a second season. Flip Flappers: I don't know how I feel about this. On the one hand it was a wild ride through various bizarre worlds which was lots of fun. On the other it often felt highly disjointed (multiple times throughout the series I felt like I missed an episode) until the last few episodes, which delivered a fairly cohesive plotline at the cost of not doing fun and interesting things. Why can't we have both? If they could have combined the two at the same time this would be AOTS but they only seemed to be able to handle one or the other, landing this squarely in the middle of the road. The final confrontation felt like a huge tease, as I kept expecting to see some good action from the new transformations or some kind of combined power attack from Cocona and her friends and the various other factions; instead it was a bland "I run through the godlike being with the power of my newfound confidence" scene. Even revisiting the various bosses from other worlds was disappointing, as most fights tended toward either running away from all the attacks or curbstomping the previously intimidating foes. Keijo!!!!!: I did not expect this to be so good. Did anyone? What looks on the surface like your standard brainless ecchi show was instead full of ridiculously hilarious over-the-top moves that parodied other popular anime, outrageous puns, and actually taking a pervy pasttime as a serious sport with grueling training, strategy, and sportsmanship. Mahou Shoujo Ikusei Keikaku: A bloody battle royal between magical girls. A lot of people compare this to Madoka based on the concept alone, but I think that's a poor comparison since they're very different in their approaches. It's like comparing the Cold War with Vietnam. While Madoka slowly reveals its dark side and is far more psychological, this doesn't try to hide what it is from the first episode. Overall I thought it was decent, if predictable. The girls were all very unique and different, and some of their powers were pretty cool. While most deaths were broadcast a mile away, some still hit you hard. My major complaints are that we never get to see anything regarding the magical world and Fav's defeat doesn't feel satisfying, and also that the main character literally does nothing the entire series. She's effectively a glorified cameraman who we're forced to hang out with when we could be watching way more interesting characters, which makes her inevitable "win" feel all the more forced and unsatisfying. Nanbaka: Fun and colorful, with good characters both among the inmates and guards, although it has a hard time deciding if it wants to be a full comedy or brooding action series. Honestly I wish they'd just stick with the comedy as that's when the show shines and is worth watching, especially as comedy anime in general can really fall flat with the differences in humor across cultures. Meanwhile there are thousands of other options if I'm looking for a "brooding loner hero with a tragic past" anime. I enjoyed this enough that I'll be watching season 2. Regalia - The Three Sacred Stars: Oh boy. This show had a rough time of it, starting with the previous season's shows but being put on hiatus after only a few episodes and then returning to finish up this season. It started out promising enough, with cute girls piloting giant robots and the battles, if straightforward, were at least engaging and had impact. At the beginning I was disappointed when it was placed on hold. Had I known what would become of it I would have preferred it be left abandoned. Once it came back it stopped trying completely. I suspect the creators simply were trying to complete something they were (contractually?) obligated to do but simply didn't care. Every episode became more of a slog to get through. The characters were flat, the action lacked any intensity or tension, the villain and plot were uninspired, and the sound quality was some of the worst I've ever heard (though that was at least consistent even among the early episodes). I was honestly relieved when it ended, and can't fathom why I stuck with it when I've dropped shows for less. Stay away from this pile. Shuumatsu no Izetta: Another pretty good one with a few flaws. This show will stick with me for a long time simply as an example of how to do a first episode. Man that was a good start. Moving past that, the action scenes where Izetta would flip tanks with her mind, chuck ariplanes into bunkers, and filet armored units with swords and lances while dodging machine gun and anit-air fire were entirely badass and amazingly animated. There was also just enough intrigue to keep things interesting without upsetting the pace (though not enough if you''re specifically looking for a political or espionage thriller). The show only suffered when they'd slow down for SoL and Yuri-bait scenes, of which there were unfortunately too many, though not enough to ruin the show. The only other issue I have is the ending, which felt a little disapointing and cheap as they opted to go with an ill-fitting happy "everyones alive and doing ok" ending that was simultaneously annoyingly vague with the details of Izetta's final condition. Soul Buster: I knew going in this would suffer for having a 12 minute length, and I was right. It's a fairly standard battle anime in which ancient warriors are summoned from cards. It's like a weird mix of Yu-Gi-Oh and Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Girls. It might have been passable if it was full length so it would have time to tell a full season story or at least if they would have sped things up to compensate for the compressed time, but it seems no one told them they'd only have half the time to get through things so it just kind of ends abruptly at a point that feels like if would be mid-season for other shows. If they do a second season we might be able to see what would have happened in a full season, but I don't think it's really worth it. Even ignoring the shortened format it was mediocre at best. Continuing Hunter x Hunter 2011, roughly halfway through and enjoying it. Going forward I think I'll limit my seasonals more so I can focus on my backlog. I'm thinkg 5-7 new shows tops, which will let me dedicate 7-9 episodes a week toward older shows. |
Desert_GuyJan 18, 2017 9:56 AM
| It was a while since I last wrote here (more than three months :O) and my backlog of reviews to write is quite long :-P I'll try to write at least one each day for next couple of days. So without further ado, here are first reviews from my backlog :-) Orange What would you do if you had a chance to change something in your past? Would you do it or rather not? If yes, then what it would be? That's the kind of anime Orange is. The MC gets a letter from someone claiming to be her 10 years from the future, with future events she should change to avoid regret in the future. A long time ago I read first few chapters of the manga, so I knew beforehand what it was going to be about. I did not finished it, so the ending was still new to me. And after finishing it I have a bit of mixed feelings. On one hand it has gorgeous backgrounds, very good art-style and animation, one of the best soundtracks of the season (OP and ED are simply great) and interesting cast of characters. On the other hand said characters does not have enough time to shine as the could, and most of them have very limited development (if any). Although the concept for the story is really interesting, the execution is not the best one. Some topics are dragged too much, while other are rushed a bit. That said this is not a bad anime. I fact it's a very good one. But it really had potential to be much better. Score: 8/10 Recommendation level: For those wishing to change the past. Amaama to Inazuma (Sweetness & Lightning) Raising a child is probable the hardest job. Doing so when your spouse dies is even harder. Inuzuka Kouhei tries his hardest to raise Tsumugi after his wife died. Once chance meeting with Iida Kotori, a student at the school he's teaching, changes it for once-of-a-kind experience. Slice of Life series are probably the hardest to review as it's hard to express in words what you feel while watching it. Amaama to Inazuma is heartwarming, comfy and relaxing at the same time. Animation is not the best one you could imagine but it perfect for this kind of anime. Soundtrack is not the strongest selling point, but voice acting is on another level. Tsumugi seiyū did a really great work portraying 3-year-old child (and she's only 11-year-old herself O_o). The best part of this anime are of course characters. Tsumugi is probably the best one, but her father and Kotori are also great. Kouhei feels like a real father that struggles to take care of his daughter, and Kotori feels like a teenager with some insecurities common for her age. The story is mostly episodic with occasional connections between episodes, but it works for the theme of this anime. Score: 8/10 Recommendation level: Not only for cooking fans. Amanchu! Moving to a new place can be stressing. Making new friends and even more stress. And it's even harder if you're a teenager. That's probably how Ooki Futaba felt when she moved to new place. But by a luck (or lack of thereof) she meets Kohinata Hikari, a very energetic gril who will change her life forever. This was my SoL anime of the Summer 2016 season. For me it's the spiritual successor to Aria (to no surprise, as both have the same mangaka). It was the most relaxing this I watched in a while (Amaama to Inazuma was really good at relaxing too, but Amanchu! was simply better :-)). Animation wise is not that amazing but backgrounds are simply gorgeous (look for scenery porn in Google). Same goes for the soundtrack. It's not the best ever made, but it does its job. On the other hand OP and ED are great - one of the best of the season, if not the best. The story is really simple, yet entertaining and enjoyable to watch (a had a good dose of laugh while watching it). The best part of this anime are the characters and their interactions. Quiet and shy Futaba, energetic and easy-going Hikari, a bit unusual twins duo and laid back teacher. Each of these characters have some good traits and some strange quirks. Each feels like a real person and not just drawings. And each have just enough time for you to start liking them. Score: 9/10 (includes +1 for extremely high enjoyment) Recommendation level: A must for Aria fans, a should for everyone else. |
mozgowJan 1, 2017 8:31 AM
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| Watched Gundam Thunderbolt movie. Not really different from the ONA eps, except I don't think the teaser scenes for S2 were in that. FA Gundam vs Psycho Zaku is still amazing, amputation stuff is still gross. Kind of wish Sunrise would adapt one of their complete Gundam stuff instead and maybe an OVA around Zeta or AUs for a change. Teaser scenes for Zeong, though. Can't wait. |
| As promised, another short reviews :-) Kono Bijutsubu ni wa Mondai ga Aru! (This Art Club Has a Problem!) Being in a club is not easy. Especially when the club's president is lazy beyond imagination and the other member loves only 2D-girls (and somehow did not join manga club). Usami Mizuki tries to make the best out of her time in the club, but it's not an easy task... Art-style and animation are simply great in this anime. Nice character designs and very high animation quality are the most noticeable things in it. Soundtrack, for most of the time, is really good, but there are few times where it is even great. The story is character-driven, so there is hardly any continuous plot (there are some recurring characters), but as expected from such anime, characters are very good. Usami is the rational-one in the gang, and have a very one-sided crush on Uchimaki. Uchimaki, as mentioned earlier, loves only 2D-girls and has no interest in 3D-girls, and as a result is hopelessly clueless about Usami feelings. The President (his real name is unknown) goes to club only to sleep there and there is also Collette - a very energetic kōhai that joins the club. Watching interactions of those four characters (and some supporting ones) is a constant source of laugh. Score: 8/10 Recommendation level: If you want to laugh a lot. Re:Petit kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu (Re:ZERO PETIT) Second series of the shorts for Re:Zero. As the main series is often cruel and depressing, this one is only for the laughs. Score: 7/10 Recommendation level: To be watch alongside Re:Zero. Nejimaki Seirei Senki: Tenkyou no Alderamin (Alderamin on the Sky) This might not be the best anime ever made, but it's damn enjoyable to watch. The art-style is typical for modern 3D-animation but animation quality is very, very high. Action sequences are well choreographed and animated, and some backgrounds looks simply amazing. Soundtrack is also very good, and more often than not strengthen the impact of shown scenes. Characters are also one of the strongest points of this anime. The cast is quite unique, have enough time to get some characterization and development. Of course the main duo have the most spotlight, but the supportive cast is not left is well characterized and gets some development (e.g. Nanaqu Dal). The only bad thing is that there won't be second season... Score: 9/10 Recommendation level: Yes, but the story is not finished and there is no official translation of the LN. |
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| This comment almost went into the "OMG!! Do NOT watch that anime!!" discussion, but it seemed more relevant here. Betterman When I first heard of this anime (and I don't remember where or when) someone had recommended it to me as being really good. When I read the description provided here and at AniDB, I thought it had to be better than it sounded. I was wrong... it was worse! It's genres include: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Horror, Mecha, Mystery, Psychological, Sci-Fi, Shounen. Let's take them in stride. Action - yes, there is action. Not very well scripted, but action. Usually the main characters arrive almost to late to participate in the action, but the action had occurred. When they did arrive in time to jump in. they were almost sidekicks to the fights between Betterman and his most recent opponent. Adventure - if you mean getting to go to mysterious and foreboding locations around southeast and central Asia, then yes, there is adventure. Otherwise, you're better off to stay home and sleep late. Comedy - while there are a few chuckles throughout the series, they are few and far between and mostly concerning the stupid antics of the main character on his powered skateboard playing a video game while in traffic. Drama - I've seen more drama in a 30 minute episode of "Days of our Lives", than in the 26 episodes that this slog-fest contained. Unless boredom is the new drama, in which case there's tons of it. Horror - This one is technically correct, if genetically engineered wasps, giant tapeworms, and flowers growing out of dead people scare you. If they just creep you out, then not so much horror as creepy. Mecha - Yep, by golly they do have mechas. The original Zakus from Mobile Suit Gundam: 0079 were better drawn and more capable than the Neuronoids used in this series. But, the series has mechas. Mystery - Only mystery I found was "Why am I watching this whole series?!?" Psychological - Guess they meant "You don't have to be crazy to watch this series, but it helps." Sci-Fi - Series takes place sometime in the near future and deals with genetically engineered creatures and attempts to create a better human. So, yeah, Sci-Fi. Hey, if the SyFy channel can claim that wrestling is Science Fiction, then the fact that this series is in the future and deals with sciencey things is a shoe-in. Shounen - shounen is aimed at a young male audience. The age group is primarily intended for boys between the ages of 8 to 18. Make it 8 to 12 and you will get your best audience. Old enough to think this series actually meets all the genres listed for it, young enough to still believe. After 12, they will probably go watch Bleach or Nutaro. While watching this I was thinking the animation, art work and audio was pretty good for a series done in the early to mid 80's and the quality didn't bother me to much. Then I found out that it aired in 1999 and I was aghast. This came from the same studio that put out series like Outlaw Star, Crest of the Stars, and most of the earlier Gundam series. All of which had a much higher animation quality and production values even though all of them were aired earlier than this series was. Overall this series sucked. I would rather re-watch "Mars of Destruction" 26 times than re-watch a single episode of this series. The only reason I watched the whole series is that I kept hoping things would get better. Regretfully, they did not. Final grade: 3/10 (MAL): 3/10 (AniDB) Someone might like this series, I did not. |
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| Post season wrap-up, plus I finally finished Hunter x Hunter (2011) and was able to knock out another backlog title in the off-week. First the seasonals: Akiba's Trip: Overall it was a fun and silly ride. I'm still not 100% on the main villain's motivations, but this was never a deep and complex anime. Pure turn-your-brain-off fun, and it does it well. elDLIVE: Of all my picks this season, this was the low mark. It did get much better after ep 3, but it still never got great. I'd have a hard time even saying it got good. Mostly it got adequate. I don't even remember any of their names off hand. Any time the MC displayed any amount of growth he'd go right back to self-doubt by the end of the episode or even the very next scene. And this series is guilty of one of my sci-fi pet peeves - everywhere we look we're surrounded by dozens of interesting alien species capable of interstellar travel with huge galactic organizations, but we're just going to follow around a handful of humans. Even worse in this case, everything takes place in a single town. I kind of understand why it happens in live-action tv and movies, but there's no excuse in an animated medium. Anything non-human is background noise with maybe 3 lines of dialogue over the course of the series (with the sole exception of Chips, the cute mascot character), no exploration of these creatures or even the humans' interaction with them is shown. A couple of the supporting characters we're told are non-human, but unsurprisingly they are 100% identical to humans, with the exception of being stronger without the unappealing muscle mass that would come with that strength. Demi-chan wa Kataritai: A nice SoL comedy about monster girls where they're noticeably less monstrous that refrains from turning them into fap material. I really looked forward to this one each week and enjoyed each of the characters. Gabriel DropOut: 2 demons and 2 angels study abroad on Earth and all fail at being what they are. Kind of fun, but nothing gut-busting. I honestly felt bad for Satania more than anything. Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon: I liked this a lot more than I thought I would. This might have been my pick of the season as to which I looked forward to the most each week. Really catchy opening and ending themes to boot - one of the few series whose op and ed I never skipped. Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! 2: Another good season of Konosuba, albeit a short one. I liked the change of scenery that traveling to the spring town brought and taking down 2 more generals through insane and reckless tactics was pure Konosuba style. I also really liked the lich's story and may steal that for my D&D game in a few years when my players don't remember this. Nanbaka 2017: Really torn here. I liked Nanbaka as a comedy, and the start of this season looked like they were heading back that way, but by the time episode 2 rolled around they were firmly in grimdark action and tragic backstory mode, with no end in sight. Worst of all, they ended the season right when they're about to encounter the big bad they hyped for the entirety of this season, guaranteeing people will come back for season 3 even if they lost some interest just to see the arc end. I know I will, even though I felt really let down. Unless S3 really turns things around I don't think I'll come back for a 4th no matter what sneaky tricks they pull. Now the backlogs: Hunter X Hunter (2011): It was a long ride, but definitely worth it. This series definitely deserves the praise it gets. My only real complaint is how long it takes to really get interesting. The Hunter's exam arc takes way too long IMO and you don't really get pulled in until around 50 episodes when the auction/spider arc is in full swing. Other than that, the battles are strategic and excellent, the characters grow and opponents feel genuinely menacing unlike so many other shounen series. I would highly recommend this title. Girls Bravo: God damn it. This was just awful. I should have dropped this but I just kept going. I just wanted something light and breezy to chug through between seasons. A simple ecchi harem, why not? This should be the poster child for all the hate this genre gets. There's so much wrong with this that this is going to get long, so I apologize in advance. Every character is awful in every way. Yukinari is dull and pathetic beyond measure and his trademark allergy is only brought up a couple of times. By the time he discovers he's cured in like ep 22 you've likely forgotten he was ever allergic to women in the first place. Miharu is sickeningly naive and clueless. Koyomi might as well not even be there as she adds nothing. Tomoka can die in a fire due to how tremendously grating everything about her is ("I NEVER STOP YELLING ANYTHING EVER!!!!"). Kirie is maybe ok by the time the show ends but only because they turn her from a constant abusive bitch into the center of a secondary unwanted harem and its kind of nice to see her take some abuse. Fukuyama is a complete monster and until the last couple episodes is pretty much the only villain in the show. He's like Montana Max. And yet he's probably the best character in the show. He's the only one to get any real development, and about halfway through starts to come around. By the end of it he's practically the hero. If you only watch the second season you might think he should be the MC and wonder why everyone hates him so much because you'd have missed the rapist evil millionaire from S1. I don't have anything really bad to say about Lisa & the bodyguards or Maharu as they play relatively minor roles and don't seem to be entirely awful. 90% of this anime is filler. Nothing matters from one episode to the next, and anything of interest or consequence rarely occurs. There's even an entire episode somewhere in the middle where we follow a completely unknown character who decides he wants to be a superhero who keeps things clean. No reason, limited interaction with any of the characters, and other than a half-second scene later in the series he's never heard from again. If anyone wanted to watch this I'd tell them to watch the first episode of season 1 and the last episode of season 2, and make up the rest in their heads. Filling the space with whatever generic stereotyped misadventures come to mind is better than anything this series does with your time. Heck, if you watch ep 1 & 24 alone you might even think this was a decent, if not good, anime. In ep 1 you get some uncensored nipples and standard wacky hijinx, and ep 24 has everyone coming together to fight a gauntlet to save Miharu (and the fight scene between Kirie and the Special Forces lady is actually really well done). Also of note, those are the only 2 episodes in which Seiren, the undetectable planet sitting right next to Earth with a 90% female population, is visited. It's too bad the post-credits scene reminds you of how terrible the rest of the show was. Speaking of Seiren, that's another thing that bothered me about this anime: wasted potential. First, you've got a few characters with severe phobias/alleriges of either the opposite or same sex, which could be explored and utilized for more than a total of 4 jokes. More importantly though, is this other world with a huge population disparity. Why is it invisible/unreachable from Earth, yet Earth is clearly visible and reachable via magic powers or specific devices from Seiren? Why is the population so skewed? What are the ramifications of this situation? Is there a population crisis? Do they reproduce through other means? What kind of social and relationship differences are there with so few males? Are they coveted breeding stock treated like slaves, or like kings? The one thing that would be certain is that monogamous relationships would not work at all. Unfortunately, such questions would only matter in an anime that gave a damn and didn't just want to use it as an excuse for desperate girls to want unappealing guys. Stay far away from this. If you've already seen it, please warn your friends. |
Desert_GuyApr 11, 2017 9:16 AM
| Time for a post-season wrap-up! Clockwork Planet: TL;DR: Huge disappointment, do not recommend. Nothing bothers me more than wasted potential. It's one thing to have a shallow story with annoying characters with unbelievable abilities and no tension, but when you have such an interesting and unique setting and concept that you toss away with it just seems like a tragic loss. And such is Clockwork Planet. I wonder what a halfway decent writer could have done with a setting where people had to evacuate to a planet entirely built from clockwork gears? Here we unfortunately watch a couple of MCs with android followers demonstrate super abilities that utterly shatter any suspension of disbelief you might have. Seriously, Marie can fix thousands of gears in under 10 seconds by jumping in the air and throwing screwdrivers at them and then have time to wonder what she'll do with the 4 extra seconds she'll have; Naoto can pinpoint a single misaligned gear miles below the surface and has a seemingly deeper understanding of the effects of electromagnetism on gears and how to demagnetize metal than Marie (the super-genius), and yet we're led to believe he can't fix a simple clock and is floundering in school. The Y-series androids are simply flat and boring, yet ridiculously OP. The two cyborg mercenaries are actually the shining points of characters here, especially after one gets their brain uploaded into a military power armor and the other into a sex bot; but maybe it's just that the other characters are so bad that these seem good by comparison. Dungeon ni Deai wo Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darou ka Gaiden: Sword Oratoria: I enjoyed the original and figured this would be worth a watch. As a fan of the original I'd say it was, as you get to see some events from a different point of view and some of Ais's Familia are fun, plus you get more teamwork in dungeon diving here rather than the mostly solo runs of the original. The only problem I had was the new character Lefiya was pretty uninspired. She felt like a female Bel and it felt like another round of following a weaker person trying to catch up to Ais. There's nothing amazing here but it's not bad either - definitely middle of the road. Granblue Fantasy: Anime adaptation of an RPG. Having never played the game I had no preconceptions, which IMO honestly tends to work out better with cross-media adaptations. It was standard fantasy fare that didn't make any major missteps. I thought the artwork, especially in the details of armor and other objects was well done. I'd certainly watch a second season. The only complaint I have is with the last couple episodes. The second to last was just a parade of other characters from the game that hadn't been introduced all going around being awesome on their own, which would have been a fine teaser for a second season if they were part of another crew or something with similar goals, but the very last episode was completely out of left field. It gender-swapped the main character and had a crew made entirely of the female characters from the show having a beach vacation completely divorced from the actual storyline. It felt like an OVA or special and should have been presented as such. Renai Boukun: Overall a bit of a let-down. It started off interesting enough but just lost steam as it went on. It wasn't awful at any point but just felt a bit repetitive. I wouldn't turn anyone away but you'd need some really specific criteria to have me think of this as a recommendation. Shingeki no Kyojin season 2: A good second season from Attack on Titan. I wish they would have made it back to the secret village they were trying to take Eren to before it ended. Hopefully we won't have to wait another 3 years or so for season 3. Zero kara Hajimeru Mahou no Sho: One of my favorites from this season. A well-rounded cast with good chemistry in a fantasy world. I'd love another season. Highly recommended. Continuing into summer: Re:Creators: Probably my favorite of this season and it's still ongoing. An interesting premise with a wide cast of varied characters, and a cool opening theme to boot. Will keep watching. Now onto the backlog, I was able to clear several older OVAs and shorter series. Some good, some bad: Black Rock Shooter: Great action scenes with a lot of emotional drama. I wasn't sure what the connection between the regular girls and the fighting girls were at first and thought it was just a metaphor for their mental struggles but then it was explained near the end, which I'm not sure made much more sense. Throughout most of the show I just wanted to yell at the characters to sit down and talk to each other. Not a bad show overall, though the comments on every video made me hate people a little. Cosplay Complex: Meh. Really just an excuse to watch girls dress up. No explanation given for the tiny transforming fairies. There were a couple funny bits but the 3rd (final) episode tried to introduce some kind of villain/rival and deeper storyline for no reason. There are better ways to get your jollies and no other reason to watch this. Demi-chan wa Kataritai: Demi-chan no Natsuyasumi: This wasn't on my backlog but was airing so I figured I'd watch it now. A special episode of Demi-chan that was very much like the rest of the series. Enjoyable. Dragon Half: An older short OVA series that I found pretty funny if simple. I liked it but I could understand someone not getting into it. FLCL: Well I finally got around to watching Fooly Cooly. I definitely wanted to see this before the new TV adaptation comes out. Honestly, I have no idea what I feel about it. There were some funny bits and the animation was great, but overall I just didn't get into it. I know it's supposed to be just way out there but I dunno. I'll see what changes when the new version comes out at least. Photon: The Idiot Adventures: Another older short OVA series. Also pretty funny but with a more structured story. Not a bad watch. Shinmai Maou no Testament Burst: I watched the first season and was starting to watch this one when it was released but put it on the backlog to wait for the uncensored version - because honestly what else are you watching it for? Unfortunately I found it disappointing in many ways. While the first one kept the ecchi going along with a progressing storyline and battles throughout the season, this one decides to spend the first 3 eps on nothing but borederline hentai and then suddenly shift into an dull, generic battle tournament without any exciting fights. Practically every fight is a curbstomp for one side or the other and there's no reason to care about most of the factions. To make matters worse, the amount of ecchi scenes plummets post ep 4 to be near non-existent, when that's the entire point of the series. At the end the ultimate power is easily defeated and winds up never feeling threatening at all. |
| Almost to the end of the season and a couple shows have just finished but a few are still going, but I finished a couple backlog titles and figured I'd talk a little about them. ID-0: This series had only just aired the previous season but I didn't pick it up at the time. I'm glad I did because it was definitely worth it. Sadly it is criminally underrated so someone trying to decide whether to watch or not may be turned away by the score, which is a shame. It shares its kind of cel-shaded CGI animation style with Bubuki Buranki, as they were developed by the same studio. The story and characters were all interesting and fun. Seriously, I don't think there was a single member of the crew that didn't stand out in some way (well, maybe the captain's daughter, but that may be a side effect of her being the only character without an I-machine so she's somewhat left out of many of the scenes). The story was engaging and had a couple nice twists, and it didn't feel rushed or drawn out at any point, which is really good in a 12 episode anime. Even the technology regarding the I-machines and warp travel seemed well thought out with realistic safeguards, considerations, and consequences. I'd highly recommend this series to anyone with any interest in sci-fi. Tokyo Ghoul: Just finished both seasons and both OVAs. Overall I thought it was decent. The action and animation were well done, though I can understand the criticism it gets. Knowing nothing of the manga even I could tell it was rushed like crazy and many characters weren't fleshed out well. While it's only slightly irritating in that regard as an anime, I can imagine it would be unbearable to a fan of the manga. Aside from pacing issues I think it's solid though. I'd put this in the middle of the road. Won't turn anyone away but probably won't be my first recommendation. |
| @Noraf46 Finally, someone who appreciates ID-0. It's not the best anime ever made, but it should have a MAL score way above 7. When it finished airing it had a score of 6.85 and now it has only 6.83. And as you wrote, some people would not even consider watching it because of the low score. |
mozgowSep 24, 2017 8:57 AM
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| @mozgow I can't help but think a lot of people were turned away because of the animation style. I've seen people dismiss shows with non-traditional animation, which is a shame because they miss some really good stories, like ID-0, Ajin, or Sidonia no Kishi. What's really baffling about the low score is that every single review on MAL rates it an 8 or 9. I even skimmed the episode discussions and couldn't really find much of anything I would consider negative criticism. |
| With The Reflection finally ending, it's time for a post-season wrap-up. But first, a title I just completed from my backlog. The Legend of Black Heaven: A late 90s comedy anime about a middle-aged ex-rock star who gets recruited by an alien military to fuel their superweapon with his unique sound. This is the kind of absurd humor that's hard to find outside of anime. I liked it but it would have been nice to have more tracks considering it's about music and the 2 songs they use are both pretty good. I'd recommend this just because the premise alone is fun to describe. And now the seasonals. Centaur no Nayami: I wound up dropping this after episode 10, and honestly I had been considering dropping it around 8, but I was also thinking I could just chug through a few more episodes to the end to mark it as completed. In the end though I figured it didn’t really matter and I wasn’t looking forward to these episodes each week. The show started out ok, but as it went on it just became tiring. None of the primary characters are all that interesting or fun. The show tries to explain the “science” behind the races and show a more serious side of such differing peoples trying to live together, but I’m not sure that’s really a good thing. We’re already on board to watch catpeople, centaurs, angels, mermaids, etc. all hang around together, we don’t really need you to try and make it plausible. Additionally you wind up with scenes like numerous government organizations spying on a single foreign exchange student thinking she may be a sleeper agent, which feels really out of place in a SoL school anime and isn’t played for comedy which might have made more sense. You also wind up with an entire episode following some random successful frogman who was taken from his xenophobic tribe that winds up not mattering at all. If you want a demihuman SoL I’d recommend the vastly superior Demi-chan. Hajimete no Gal: I enjoyed this a bit. It seems like it’s going to be a simple ecchi anime at first glance, and there are a couple gratuitous panty and cleavage shots but not as much as you’d expect. Really it’s a surprising rom-com if anything. I liked most of the characters, though the pedo friend I think they took too far. At first I didn’t mind him because he’d just say a kind of creepy thing and then the response from his friends would usually be a funny one-liner to shut him down, but as the series went on he’d have more disturbing thoughts, say obviously messed up things, or actually move in on a little girl and the negative responses toned down to where it was almost like they just tolerated it. Anyway, aside from pedobear I liked it. Isekai wa Smartphone to Tomo ni.: This anime should have been titled “Wish Fulfillment: My life as a Mary Sue.” I haven’t seen such a low level of danger in a series since Dog Days. The MC literally has a direct line to God and can master every type of magic instantly. Nothing poses a threat to him in the least, whether it’s a magic-immune golem, a dragon, a demi-god spirit, or an army of thousands of unstoppable undead; all are instantly overcome with no effort at all. On top of that, everyone who meets him falls head over heels in love with him. Every nobleman offers him their daughter, all women want to marry him, and every guy respects him and wants to be his friend. Of course, with every woman falling in love with him at first sight this might at least make for some messy love dodecahedron shenanigans, but conveniently as God points out polygamy is the norm in this world so no problem there. In fact, one of his fiances points out she’s totally fine with him having 20 wives because it would be a sign of his manliness and the main group of girls even has a meeting about marrying him and outright tell him they’re all ok with it. I kept watching it expecting him to come across something at least a little dangerous or for something to happen, and the show didn’t do anything along the way to upset me to the point that I’d drop it before then, but as it got to the last couple of episodes I realized there would be no obstacle and the “bending over backwards to make the guy happy” went into overdrive and I realized I had been sucked into someone else’s dream. Knight's & Magic: A man who loves mechs is reincarnated in a world where magic powers huge suits of robotic armor. This is another one that I liked but it had a couple of flaws. Again it seemed like almost nothing was a challenge to the MC until the very end when an enemy engineer invented aircraft and a dragon mech, but his excitement over every new mech they fought or built was infectious. I’d probably recommend it for anyone that likes mecha anime and I’d watch another season, but it would be nice if the tension was dialed up a bit. Made in Abyss: I’d have to say this was my AOTS, and I really hope we get another season so we can make it to the bottom layer. The art and lore was interesting and they did a great job making the abyss both foreboding and alluring. My only complaint is that I felt like they blew through a couple levels too quickly, but that might simply be because I wanted more of this show. Highly recommended. Princess Principal: Another great series this season that I looked forward to every week. Who would have thought cute girls being spies would actually be a quality show? It had enough twists to keep things interesting without getting convoluted, which I think can be difficult to balance in the espionage genre. Cool theme song as well, which is always a nice bonus. The Reflection: Stan Lee attempts to meld anime and superhero comics. The art style reflected a more comic book feel, which while some might appreciate I feel many might be turned away. The animation though was fairly choppy which isn’t good even if you like the art. I feel like the animation got a bit smoother as it went on, especially if you compare the incredibly stutter pilot with the mostly smooth finale. If you can get past the visuals you get a respectable story out of it. It feels more like a contemporary supers story like Heroes, where you’ve got a few random supers getting caught up in a single villain’s plot for their own reasons rather than having some kind of established team. Re:Creators: This was a continuation from the previous season and was quite good. The music, animation, and characters were all top notch, and the premise was pretty cool. I looked forward to this one each week and would highly recommend. Shoukoku no Altair: This is continuing into next season, so I’m still watching. Decent political espionage and military strategy in a faux middle eastern and Mediterranean setting, which you don’t see a ton of. |
Desert_GuyOct 10, 2017 6:35 AM
| Series I finished recently: Teekyu 9 - Blink and it'll be gone in a flash. Which may actually be a blessing. Same high speed nonsense as always. Thank god the conversations I have in bars here don't go that fast. ...Yes, I liked this show. Isekai Shokudou This one I enjoyed. Lots of characters are introduced and it got to the point where I could only remember a bit about each one...and usually not their names. I did have to check with a friend to find out if "natto spaghetti" is for real. ;-) |
deguyNov 4, 2017 5:38 AM
| Just completed Hyper Police, a 90s anime with furry- err, I mean, "monster" bounty hunters hunting other monsters who hurt people, and then turn them into the human police for reward money. So the title's a little misleading I guess. Apparently the human and monster worlds merged, and humans now seem to be a minority but are a protected class and monsters are second-class citizens. I'm not sure how or why that worked out, and you're only even given that much information in the last couple episodes anyway. There's no overarching plot going on, and only a few things seemd to carry over from one episode to the next. There's also a weird "no-time skip" for lack of a better word where Sakura goes from just meeting a guy to being married with 3 5-year old kids in the time between 2 episodes, yet no one has aged and no events have transpired in the meantime. It's never addressed but it's just "Bam! sudden children!" It's too bad because I think if it would have had more structure it could have been much better. Occasionally a few interesting bits of human-monster relations are brought up and some character moments seem like they could lead to something a bit more interesting, but things kind of have to return to status quo by episode's end like an old sitcom, and thus are abandoned. Personal gripe is that the dubbed VA was largely annoying (pretty sure Fawn and Po had the same voice but one was whispered instead of shouted) with only a few voices being OK. Unfortunately I couldn't find a subbed version. Overall this series was pretty meh. It wasn't overtly terrible, but there wasn't a lot of good in it either. Only recommended for someone searching for the rare furry anime. |
Noraf46 said: There's also a weird "no-time skip" for lack of a better word where Sakura goes from just meeting a guy to being married with 3 5-year old kids in the time between 2 episodes, yet no one has aged and no events have transpired in the meantime. It's never addressed but it's just "Bam! sudden children!" They were a few months old pups, not years old human children, and they specifically mentioned how that usually happens after the mating season, lol. Well, maybe not in the dub. I'm watching it myself, just finished the cat god temple/homeless shelter episode, and I rather like it. Fun adventure series with some sweet romance and interesting, mature themes in what looks like a world that has successfully survived some kind of apocalypse. |
| @orp I guess I must've missed that part. That at least makes a bit more sense if they're only a few months old. I liked the homeless shelter episode. I lenjoyed the episodes that dove into more of the society and struggles of the people. I also really liked the 2 parter where they were bodyguards for the diplomat. If there had been more of those types of episodes I would have had a better opinion of the show. So were you able to find a sub? |
| @Noraf46 I started rewatching it when I found the LIME sub on my old HDD. But it looks like there're some working torrents on the new nyaa, probably some other places as well. |
| A couple weeks ago I finished Blood Lad, a short (10 eps) action-comedy about a lazy boss vampire in the demon world trying to resurrect a human girl who accidentally wandered in from the human world. Overall I enjoyed the humor and the characters, but the length really hurt it. It just kind of ended abruptly right when things started moving toward a resolution. It didn't even feel like an ending, just that there weren't any more episodes. I actually had to double check against MAL that there only were 10 episodes and that I just wasn't able to find the last few. I had hoped the OVA would have at least tried to tack on a rushed ending of some sort but it was just a throwaway extended fight scene against some never-before-seen team of vampire hunters. Overall it was an enjoyable time but you're going to end up disappointed and wanting more. Hard to say whether the fun outweighs the disappointment, but at least it's not a heavy time investment if you decide to watch. |
| Just finished Ikemen Sengoku: Toki wo Kakeru ga Koi wa Hajimaranai. I read that this was based on an otome game. Fine. The show was kind of cute. Some of the gags were worth a few chuckles. But I got lazy and didn't bother keeping track of who was who thanks fo the long time gaps between when I watched episodes. So some of the gags lost their touch because I wasn't sure if they were based on game content or historical content. Anyways, it wasn't art and it wasn't great but it was a decent piece of fluff to kill time with. |
| As the new season starts gearing up, it's time for the post season wrap-up. Luckily I didn't pick up any titles that turned out to be duds. Shoukoku no Altair: A holdover from last season. A historical war drama set in a fictional Turkish & Mediterranean region. It was generally entertaining with a number of diverse characters, and the only complaint I could really leverage against it would be that at times it skims over some conflicts with a short narrative of what happened. I understand they had to condense a lot of things to fit so many skirmishes and political shifting into so few episodes, but when that's what you're here for it can feel a little disappointing. Still, what is shown is interesting. I'd like another season for closure and to bring the fight to the Empire, but I doubt we'll get it. Infini-T Force: An anime using video game cutscene-style CGI featuring a mashup of classic anime heroes. The animation didn't bother me at all and the story was decent if simple, though near the end it sort of felt like it dragged on a bit. I think this could have gotten away with cutting 2-4 episodes and might have felt more tense and fast-paced in a good way from it. I think the biggest issue came from the new original characters, particularly the heroine who spent far too much screentime being completely unlikable. The fight scenes and watching some iconic characters interacting with each other were the main draw here, and luckily made up for the series other shortcomings. Inuyashiki: The weird yet fascinating cyborg grandpa anime is either my AoTS or at least a close second. The only blemish on it would be that they spent too much time with Shishigami and tried to make him sympathetic or misunderstood after showing him brutally murdering loads of families, animals, and small children, which didn't work for obvious reasons. After the 3rd or 4th "watch a sociopath murder people" episode in a row I just kept waiting for Inuyashiki to show up and do something. Still, a great and truly unique anime well worth the time. Juuni Taisen: A battle royale anime about zodiac-themed killers that each possess some kind of superhuman ability (though a few were clearly vastly superior to most of the others). It knows what it is and doesn't try to be more. I would have liked to know more about the organization behind the battle, how they were so omnipotent and what the limits of their wish-granting powers were. If you're into this style of anime you'll like it, but I don't think it does anything intriguing enough to convert someone who doesn't. Kekkai Sensen & Beyond: More craziness in Hellsalem's Lot. I think this season did a lot more with fleshing out some of the cast than the first season did, but didn't do as much with exploring the lore of the city itself, so there's a bit of a trade-off. Still, seeing as a viewer likely would have seen the original already I think it was welcome to learn more about people like Chain and K.K. who didn't get much exposure the first time around. If we're lucky enough to get another helping next year or whenever I'll be more than happy. Kujira no Kora wa Sajou ni Utau: Short-lived people with telekinesis live on a stone ship in an ocean of sand. This is my other contender for AoTS, and I really hope this comes back so we can watch the Mud Whale escape its ocean prison and find out more about what's really going on with the other nations. I'd highly recommend this to anyone who missed it this season. Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou: 2 girls navigate a ruined city in a war-torn post apocalyptic world. Despite the subject matter, this was a surprisingly laid back and relaxing anime, which was a bit surprising but I didn't mind once I was watching. The only thing that kind of bothered me was how nonchalant people were when coming across the few other survivors and how willing they were to just move along on their own, which seemed counter to my expectations in that scenario, and I don't know what to make of the ending. I also watched Black Clover, but that will be continuing on for 2 or 3 more seasons, and it appears Garo: Vanishing Line is also continuing on for at least one more. From the backlog, I managed to complete both seasons of Boku no Hero Academia so that I'll be ready when S3 comes out in the Spring, and I was not disappointed. This anime is a lot of fun and the episodes seemed to be over almost too quickly. |
Desert_GuyJan 5, 2018 7:37 AM
| It's been more that a year since my last review here... @OffColfax also does not write here anymore... So to start this anew, here are two anime I watched this year. Murder Princess In the kingdom of Forland, a coup d'etat occurs which leads to the death of the King. In the last moments of his life, the King sends his second child, Princess Alita Forland to escape. Unfortunately, while fleeing, a life and death situation between Alita and the bloodthirsty bounty hunter Falis causes the two of them to switch bodies. I don't know about you, but I often find some really good anime by pure luck. I needed something to watch on the train (four-hour travel time) and so I picked this one. Based on the above synopsis, I expected it to be good/enjoyable anime. Just the right thing to spend the time on the train. And, boy oh boy, I was surprised how good it was. First of all, animation quality is much higher than I would expect from this kind of anime. Of course that are better and worse parts, but animation sequences are really well animated. I your planing to watch this, watch the highest quality you can get. Secondly, very good OP and ED songs (you can listen for yourself here and here), and great soundtrack used during action sequences (too bad it's not used more often). Thirdly, interesting cast of characters. Bounty hunter Falis using princess Alita body is the most badass princess I've ever seen in anime. And the reactions from "bad guys" are hilarious to watch. Dominikov and Armstrong, Falis' sidekicks, might be archetypical characters for "gentle giant" and "Mr. exposition", but nonetheless are still interesting to watch. On the contrary, Alita using Falis body is probably the most plain character I've ever seen. Even twin androids are more interesting than her. The story is not the best one, but I still consider it to be a good one. Most of the twist are predictable, but there were few I did not expect. Score: 8/10 Recommendation level: Princess in white dress slaying monsters. Hanayamata Naru Sekiya is an average 14-year-old girl with average intelligence, average athleticism, and average talents. She once had hopes that starting high school would change all that. Her average student life changes when she meets a blonde girl dancing on top of a gate to a shrine. Naru assumes the girl is a fairy, but it turns out she's just a regular girl, too. But it also just so happens that she's a transfer student named Hana from America who fell in love with yosakoi, a type of dance, and came to Japan with the intention to start her own club! Frankly, I don't know how to start this review. I really enjoyed this anime but there were some noticeable flaws... But let's start with the good parts. Animation quality is overall good. It's typical for the period it was released (2014) and do not stand out from the crowd of other anime from that era. On the other hand OP and ED are very good and even catchy (you can listen for yourself here and here). OP song is used as in-anime background music for the dance. The main cast fits the roles for genki (Hana), shy (Naru), tsundere (Yaya), megane (Machi) and quiet (Tami) character archetypes. And once the main cast is assembled, it works really well. I can't complain much about the story, which is typical for CGDCT, but I wish there was more to it. And now the flaws (or flaw). Even though Hana is American, she speaks perfect Japanese, without slightest accent. I could live with that if she wasn't using Japanese when talking with her parents. I would even not complain (much) if it was Engrish. But the biggest flaw, I can't live with, is the fact that her parents speaks almost perfect Japanese. They American, for goodness' sake! They might (and probably should) know some Japanese, but it shouldn't be this good. And they would never use it when talking with their child. I might be nitpicking about the English, but it really broke the immersion for me. Score: 7/10 (+1 for enjoyment; -1 for English) Recommendation level: CGDCT, what else? On-deck: Nothing yet. Once I have more time, something from Summer 2017 that I did not finish yet. |
mozgowJan 17, 2018 7:02 AM
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