Hitsugi no Chaika
Short Synopsis: Our lead character
The genre of a boy and a girl who fight monsters using magic is very crowded. Though this one is the best incarnation in quite a while. A big difference between this show and its contemporaries is that it puts restrictions on the magic: it’s difficult to cast and you can actually see the characters struggle, rather than things being a matter of whoever having the biggest power level winning, and also using that for quite some funny jokes. It also cares for continuity (if a table gets destroyed, you have to pay for it later). It’s got the basics down. Then there are the characters, who actually are quite likable and down to earth, plus enough room for development. AND OH MY GOD IT HAS A BROTHER AND A SISTER WHO DON’T HAVE THE HOTS FOR EACH OTHER! STOP THE PRESSES, IT’S A MIRACLE!
OP: This song just doesn’t work…
ED: Not bad, there is some nice art inbetween this.
Potential: 85%
No Game No Life
Short Synopsis: Our lead character ends up in a world of games.
Basically Dog Days without the dogs or cats, this show is about a world in which all disputes have to be solved through games. The show looks great, the characters are interesting to watch. This one actually has potential. It’s not perfect, though. The big issue here is that the creators aren’t good at showing how their games progress. The main characters are supposed to be invincible, but all we see throughout the episode is them pulling Deus ex Machina winning powers out of their asses. Also, for a NEET with a communication disorder the male lead is surprisingly good at bantering, a skill that requires exactly that. It’s difficult for this series to really make me suspend my disbelief, but then again I am not the target audience for this show. It’s obvious that this is a gamer’s wet dream, an actual show where games become reality. However, what makes this show special is that it doesn’t entirely glorify NEETs. When you read between the lines, it’s clear that these two NEET are social failures and that this series really is about escapism. That’s not something you get out of every NEET-series.
ED: Nice eye candy.
Potential: 75%
Black Bullet
Short Synopsis: Our lead character fights monsters with magic.
Ooh, Black Bullet actually shows that the creators of the anime put in effort: the soundtrack is great, it has a few small details that were quite funny, the acting is nice. It’s just a shame that when you look past that and into the big picture, you’ll start to see problems. For this show, I have no idea what is going to make it worth watching in the long run. It’s just a show about killing big monsters with superpowers. The characters show no hints of upcoming development, there is no mystery, there is nothing that really makes you hungry for more, beyond this boring dead parents plot thread, but it’s all just so inconsequential.
OP: An actually good opening, surprising.
Potential: 65%
Psgels for NGNL, if they follow the source material it should be explained about his communication and bantering in the next episode. I won’t go into specifics because of spoilers, but he is not as good at talking as he appears.
Other than Jojo I’m hyped for No Game No Life, seems rare these days I find something stimulating, or interesting. Anyways as for the ep. I think he cheated on the poker, so that’s not Dues Ex, neither is being amazing at chess, as for communication, I don’t think that has anything to do with being a NEET necessarily.
This season seems small on the goodness scale, but all three of these are definitely shows I’ll be watching.
“OH MY GOD IT HAS A BROTHER AND A SISTER WHO DON’T HAVE THE HOTS FOR EACH OTHER! STOP THE PRESSES, IT’S A MIRACLE!”
I laughed when you said that.
“OH MY GOD IT HAS A BROTHER AND A SISTER WHO DON’T HAVE THE HOTS FOR EACH OTHER! STOP THE PRESSES, IT’S A MIRACLE!”
Well.. in the manga, from the very start,is said that both are NOT blood related. SO there´s no real incest so is not popular /sarcasm
“AND OH MY GOD IT HAS A BROTHER AND A SISTER WHO DON’T HAVE THE HOTS FOR EACH OTHER! STOP THE PRESSES, IT’S A MIRACLE!”
Let’s just say they cut a lot this first episode.
In real life, sibling incest is usually the result of at least one and usually both siblings being abused by parents or other kin, although occasionally it’s the result of physical abuse plus neglect of teaching any rules of human society.
I helped at a summer camp that had a week with jeopardized kids from the local system. One of them was a little boy who’d been raped and abused by a relative, taught that sex was the only way to relate to people, and then had become unsafe to be around his younger siblings because he kept trying to rape them in imitation. He was little, but he was trying to come onto adult staffers. Constantly. You could not hug him or give him any physical affection, and you had to keep relations cool for his own psychological health without being unfriendly or giving him the idea it was his fault.
It was not cute. It was not moe. It did make you want to find and kill the older members of his family.
Yes, incest plots are objectionable.
I don’t get the Japanese thing with incest. Incest is not remotely moe. EVen pseudo-incest (where they set up later that they aren’t REALLY related) is still icky, cause they’ve grown up through formative years BELIEVING they are related, so, come on. Ick FActor high.
I just don’t get it.
I’m also going to chime in and say that I checked out the first chapter of the manga adaptation of Chaika and the sister was straddling the brother as he laid in bed, it’s an unmiracle.
Oh, psgels. If you only know what to come for NGNL, I think you wouldn’t rate the series that high.
Should I drop it early?
In the end after see the second chapter of Blade and soul seems to be the best of the season XD.
They didn’t do Black Bullet’s first episode very well, IMO. While it does follow the LN for the most part, it doesn’t really hint at what kind of series BB is and makes it seem like a “monster a week” show when it is something completely different.
The brisk pace is probably good, though. Assuming that it doesn’t randomly slow down or go in a different direction than the manga/novel, we should see the true story as soon as episode 3.
I read that Sora guy from NGNL having such good communication skills as a consequence of him feeling more “at home” and confident in this game world where he knows he has the power to control things (which is exactly what he lacked in real world). Also, he’s manipulative, emotionless and cynical, a textbook sociopath. Could be that his reclusion was fuelled by boredom and rejection of humanity as much as it was by lack of confidence.
I had mixed feelings about BLACK BULLET. I liked the opening and the weird villain, that set-up. Then the strange little chick showed up. It had irritating points. But I think I’m gonna stick it out a bit to see how it goes. It partially grabbed me, but not fully. Though it looked great and sounded good, I still felt like I was not grabbed altogether.