Some Quick First Impressions: Dive!!, Saiyuuki Reload Blast and Konbini Kareshi

Dive!!

Short Synopsis: A boy’s local diving club is given a chance to aim for the Olympics.

This series has a very…happy vibe. Not sure how to put it but something about the dialogue has an artificial positivity to it. Still I appreciate the effort to have a story here as opposed to just having 13 episodes of manservice. Though the manservice is here, have no doubt about that. In fact I am not normally one to normally point this out but the protagonists interest in his senpai seems to border on homosexual here. Thing is I don’t quite know if it’s intentional or not. I mean they spend time showing his complete disinterest in his girlfriend and being bothered that his senpai found out about his girlfriend. The signals here make it seem to be going in that direction. If so i say go for it and don’t try to back out by dressing it up as camaraderie. Also I am not fond of the way they add a water effect to the character’s skin. Makes it look like the protagonists are made out of water and it’s off putting. I can’t say I have much interest in this as don’t really care about diving and the story so far just doesn’t really catch me.

Potential: 30%

Mario: One thing that really irks me about this series is how they set a very unrealistic and over the top goal here. Aim for Tokyo Olympics? Gosh. Remember those guys train in a local club? I mean, the whole prospect isn’t entirely impossible; but as a fellow who studied sports in uni, I can’t let it slide easily. High-performance sport is something they have to work hard, sweat, tears and blood to gain it, not some opportunity that open to them, thus I feel that the show so far is way too easy on its characters; although I’ll wait until next week to hear what the female coach has to propose. Other than that, although I’m fairly alright with the whole diving sports treatment, the main guy’s idol is wayyyy too perfect to feel like a normal human. The animation for those divings is overall solid, but characters as a whole still leave a lot to be desired. Not the best show for this noitaminA slot, but well it’s passable.

Potential: 40%

 

Saiyuuki Reload Blast

Short Synopsis:  A group of men travel across the country fighting demons.

I don’t know what it is but this is also an anime with a source from a bygone era. In this case it’s a sequel to a series that originally aired in 2004 which in turn was a sequel to a show that aired in 2003 which in turn was a sequel to an anime which aired in 2000. Can’t really say why it seemed to deserve a fourth sequel now as there was nothing in this episode that really sold me on it. In fact if this is the fourth sequel to the series it must be rather disheartening to see the characters be such one note stereotypes. Normally when your anime reaches the one hundred episode mark it’s time to get the endgame started but this seems no closer to a conclusion than from where it started. Now I am a fan of seeing demons get shot in that face, I play doom after all. But this just seems to have nothing really to offer. It’s clear the story is going nowhere and the plot is already rather dated. I don’t think many will be willing to check this one out seeing as you need to get through 3 prequels first.

Potential: 10%

 

Mario: Inspired obviously from Journey to the West with updated, throw-up overdesigned “cool” characters, who fight demons with “cool” weapons and mutters ridiculously “cool” lines. Yeah so right in the beginning the quartet doesn’t impress me at all. And it’s going to be a hard sell for me since the series is about their journey quest to fight demons so I have to care about those four. Furthermore, the actions feel so disorienting, I don’t get all the quick panning shots and blood splattering to the camera at all. As far as this first story goes it’s functional but it also leaves a lot to be desired. All the side characters are one-note for once, and I have a problem with how they treat the poor insane woman (not in term how they physically treat her, but more about her roles in this story since they’re all over the place). Make no mistake, this an action-packed road trip style-over substance one, so if you’re a fan of action, or you like the endless banters from those four then by all mean keep watching it. I will go back to my usual slice of life fix.

Potential: 10%

 

Konbini Kareshi

Short Synopsis: Young love around a convenience store.

Man, I suddenly have an inexplicable craving to get on a plane to Japan and shop in a Japanese convenience store…is likely what the creators of this anime want you to think. Pretty blatant product placement here but that aside this unfortunately is one of those anime that is completely outside my interests. The more anime mirrors reality then the less I want to watch it. Speaking purely objectively I don’t think there’s anything I would consider bad though the character designs seem on the bland side. Particularly the male character designs as they have the stereotypical tall long necked bishi look. As for personality I can’t say I find anyone here particularly unique or likeable. On top of that this feels like a shoujo romance story with all the “will they won’t they” and generally unwillingness to commit. From my standpoint it feels like a very dull show but once again this isn’t my kind of show.

Potential: 20%

Mario:  This show ends up being a mixed bag for me. On one hand, it has many elements that I greatly enjoy, but then other factors just actively push me away from the show. Since what this show loves to do most is to pair up, I will pair its pros and cons to strengthen my point. First, the character designs are attractive all around, but they are just way too perfect, moreover look much older than their age that most of the time I have an impression that I was looking at some fake models than actual characters. The music has some memorable moments, but other aural parts like dialogues feel unnatural. I find myself mildly care to the main’s romance, but when there’s going to be 4 or 5 pairs like that (revolving around a convenience store no less) my mind just stop caring. And, one thing that I love the most from this series; when two characters have a conversation but they don’t show the characters conversing, they show montages of their activities instead – great visual storytelling that focus on small, observant details, but then it all goes to waste since the show cares much more about romance and hooking up than developing their characters. Frankly, if the character designs are more “humble” I would give it another chance, but since they already look like supermodels AKA THE PERFECT HUMAN SPECIES that most of the time stare blankly and smile creepily, I believe I’ve reached my limits.

Potential: 40%