Author: AidanAK47

2015 Summary

by AidanAK47, posted in Yearly Summaries

2015 from what I have been hearing has been a good year for music and games but that’s not what we are assessing here. The true question is, was it a good year for anime? In truth it may depend on your tastes and this year was divisive to say the least. The best anime tended to be love it or hate it affairs but at least there was some interesting things at work. Personally I consider it the year of strong starts with weak finishes. There were plenty of anime whose first episodes held light of a new potential greats but it never quite managed to reach that level.

So Aidan, what made you late this time you ask?(You likely didn’t ask but please, humor me) Well when gearing up to write this summary I came to the shocking conclusion that I just plain forgot to watch some standout titles this year. Putting them on the backlog while I get though my ever expanding pile of steam games. It would be a shame to leave up potential candidates for the top ten simply because I neglected to watch them. That said there were sacrifices, I never got around to watching “Arslan Senki” after all. I also still remain halfway through Jojo stardust crusaders. So I ask for mercy should your favorite show not end up on the list below and keep in mind that top tens are ridiculously arbitrary. I don’t even consider the order to have any meaning as plenty of these can change places. I would say the list below is just ten interesting anime this year listed in no particular order.

So without further ado, the 2015 summary.

 

Worst series

Chaos Dragon: Sekiryuu Seneki

I could have went the easy route and stuck something like Punchline or Lances du Mask but anime such as these you just expect to be bad. When I ask myself on just what this year really made me regret anticipating it was most certainly this. Bad anime which are expected to be bad don’t hurt anyone but a bad anime that could have been something great is something to mourn. Chaos Dragon was based on a tabletop role playing session which featured three of the best writers in the industry. It could have been a great experiment to see what improv storytelling these people could dream up. Sadly by based on, they mean they took the setting and characters and pretty much nothing else. For someone seemed to think that they could make a better story and proceed to turn the thing into a Akame no Kill knockoff with poor pacing, inconsistent animation with bad CGI and a plot that just doesn’t make sense. It could have been something great but sadly now it never will be.

Worst First episode

K Return of Kings

Sometimes during the first impressions of an anime seas I feel like a judge on one of those music talent shows. I watch acts come and go till eventually I get some cocky person so convinced that they will blow me away with their performance. In the end they present a sub-par no effort show and yet still hold a ego more obnoxious than my own. Well that’s this show’s first episode for me. A story that’s making no effort to explain itself to the viewer, fanservice that has no idea which target market to aim for, dialogue so obtuse that it might as well be replaced with foghorns for what little it provides and visual so shaded under a blue gradient that just annoys without end once noticed. Was I interested in seeing what the rest of the show had to offer? No, no I was not.

Best Opening

Death Parade

One would think that a show about life and death would have a much more somber piece for its opening animation. But Death Parade threw that all out the window and decided to have an opening with the cast getting together and having a great time. Tonally the opening is a complete opposite of the show with its peppy catchy tune and fast beat that can make you tap along. Accompanied but visuals of dancing and messing around, it really hard to skip when you turn on a episode. A complete contrast to the grim subject matter of the series but perhaps that’s the point. The business of death need not be a somber one and if you are getting sent to either heaven or hell, at least you can be sent off with a party.

Biggest disappointment

Subete ga F ni Naru: The Perfect Insider

Death Parade was also a disappointment but it didn’t quite let me down as bad as Subete did. Personally, I love the murder mystery genre and wish I had more anime to sate that thirst. Plenty have tried the mystery angle but often resorted to stories that require little thought and are mainly spectacle. Then here comes Subete promising me exactly what I wanted and getting me fully on board for an exciting tale. However Subete ultimately played its cards too early and left the majority of the series attempting to stretch out the paper thin plot to fit the runtime. Enduring its tedium rewards watchers with a conclusion that’s obvious, nonsensical and overall pretentious. So once again I sit with an itch for some great murder mystery and wondering if I should replay Umineko no naku koro ni when it is released on steam.

Most pleasant surprise

Gakkou Gurashi!

Gakkou was a show that truly surprised me, not because of the shows hidden nature as I was already clued into that aspect, but rather how well directed it was. On all accounts Gakkou lives and dies on a gimmick, that being Moe slice of life mixed with a zombie apocalypse. Both are tired concepts yet this show managed to make both feel fresh by using the discrepancy between the genres. It has a rather predictable ending and one or two unnecessary filler episodes however it makes up for its shortcomings through some fantastic execution.

Best animation studio

Lerche

This was a pretty good year for Lerche, having a pretty consistent track record throughout the year with at least an interesting or entertaining show each season. Monster musume remains one of the most enjoyable harems I have seen in years and Gakkou was a pleasant surprise. Even Ronpa was at least an interesting experiment and Assassination classroom is a fun show. As a studio my opinion of them has gone up as they managed to not only adapt source material well but elevate it. (With the exception of Ronpa which disregarded it completely.) I look forward to their future projects and I hope they can keep up the good work.

Best Guilty Pleasure

Shimoneta to Iu Gainen ga Sonzai Shinai Taikutsu na Sekai

Monster Musume also deserves a mention for doing something different with the tired old fanservice harem but Shimoneta wins with just pure vile creativity. Taking place in a dystopian society that embodies censorship taken to its logical extreme, you could think that this is a commentary on the nature of repression. However whatever commentary Shimoneta provides is either in your face or accidental. No, the real goal of Shimoneta is to make as many sex jokes as humanly possible. The story manages to break expectations as things happen like the shows most boring Mary Sue character becoming the primary show stealer and the utter ludicrous as one episode features a tutorial on how to make a homemade onahole. It does have its weaknesses such as a villain introduced in its later episodes but manages to entertain regardless.

Best animation

One Punch Man

A no brainer without doubt. Fate/unlimited bladeworks second half did air this year but its splendor did not match its first series. Even if it did I think I would give the award to One Punch Man regardless as the animation here truly had heart and passion. The final bout in the final episode is worty of this title alone but the series managed to keep a relatively high quality of animation throughout with some of the best talent in the industry working on it. The result is a jaw dropping portfolio of visual glory, even if there were times were the art lacked consistency. There are those who truly dislike this show but I think few would discredit its animated feats.

Worst character

Magata Shiki

Let me say this, teenagers are irritating creatures. At one point we were all one and chances are you hated the person you were then. Because teenage years are when you think you have figured out the world and believe that you are somehow special in some unspecified way. There are those of us who outgrew this phase and learned to deal with simple truth. The only way to get acknowledgement for being special is to prove you are special through hard work and dedication. Some never outgrew this however and that brings me to Magata Shiki. Magata is the teenage mindset on full display. She thinks she’s figured out life, thinks she is special and therefore makes some of the most idiotic decisions possible. The problem is that the series treats her like she is special, that her mindset is new and oh so deep. No one attempts to challenge her mindset or more importantly, point out how utterly juvenile it is. Magata Shiki is the result of what happens when you isolate a egotistical teenager and allow them to fester in their own flawed logic. The result is an ignorant child who is under the impression that they are a genius. Even if the show demands to see her as some visionary philosopher, she remains proof that just because someone is smart, does not mean they are wise.

Best character

Saitama

With the soaring popularity of One Punch Man, Saitama is becoming a bit of an anime icon. With fanart of him taking on Superman and Batman, as well as a Fallout 4 parody. All that’s really needed for his popularity to skyrocket is an English dub, which should come any day now. But what exactly makes Saitama’s character so special. Well it could be because if his very nature being a parody of the overpowered Shounen protagonist or his personality that walks the tightrope between badass and goofy. Previously only handled by Eikichi Onizuka. But personally I believe his loveabity comes from the fact that dispute his overwhelming power, Saitama’s greatest challenges are the everyday tasks everyone needs to face. Where all is his power is worthless. Non the less it will always be fun to see him respond to the greatest threats to humanity with bored disinterest.

Top 10 anime of the year

10: Kekkai Sensen(Blood Blockade Battlefront)

Remember when I said it was a love it or hate it year? Well this anime is the representative of that view. To those of you who disagree with my number one pick, let it be known that I know how you feel. For Kekkai Sensen was that anime for me. On a technical level I can see how Kekkai can be a good show. I can even see greatness and creatively in its premise and some episodes. Yet despite all this I find it quite mediocre. Kekkai Sensen is very much style over substance and if you are looking for something with a deep plot I suggest looking elsewhere. The plot is a thinly tied thread that goes through a series of episodic adventures introducing characters and then proceeding to use them for absolutely nothing. All to end with an underwhelming conclusion which is open for a potential sequel. This anime holds the number ten spot for one reason, because I know there are those who could truly love this show. Particularly if you are a big fan of Durarara this will be right up your alley. I give it this spot because I admit it has merit for others, just none for me.

9: Death Parade

In my review I stated that Death Parade is a show that is half great. I still stand by that though in retrospect I may have been a bit harsh on it. The premise of Death Parade is deliciously novel and filled to the brim with potential. Half the series capitalized on that potential. The other half didn’t. Regardless this series truly did have some fantastic moments and should Madhouse take up the unlikely chance of creating a sequel I would be on board for a second visit to Quindecim. If we were given a sequel that took the best parts of this series and made the entire season of that then it would certainly make it into the top five.

8: Gate: Jieitai Kanochi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri

In any story when humanity meets beings from another world, we are generally the technologically inferior. Gate is here to shown that we humans have made some impressive killing machines and if faced with a RPG fantasy world we will certainly give them a run for their money. I will be the first to admit that gate isn’t perfect. It’s comedy is bad, the pacing is a slow burn with no real climax in sight and its missing something to truly make it great. But the story does work with some great ideas and how it deals with the issues that arise with the appearance of another world. Countries hungry to mine it for resources, the difference in political structures, the technological gape in power, culture shock…there are a lot of great things to work with here and the story does make some use of it. It will be the conclusion of the second season that ultimately decides the quality of the show so for now I believe this spot is earned.

7: Ushio to Tora

In truth Ushio to Tora never surpassed exceptions or provided anything besides what was promised. But it did deliver on what was promised. A fun Shounen adventure about a boy and his demon tiger. This title will have viewers filled with that nostalgic feeling previously brought by the likes of Dragonball or Yu Yu Hakuso. Bundled together with an opening that never fails to get me in the mood for some Shounen battle action. It’s a pity the show itself never quite lives up to the battle scale presented in the opening but even that is reminiscent of old style Shounen. This anime managed to keep me constantly entertained throughout and prevented it from getting stale by changing up the formula before it runs out of steam. It’s the anime of yesteryear, today!

6: Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works second season

Yes, I am well aware that my old bias is at work here but it would betray my love for the franchise to not have this here. At least take solace in the fact that it is not in the top five and I certainly would be willing to put it lower. This season was much weaker than the first and suffered from too much filler and a dragged pacing. That said it did have a great conclusion, it still is the best adaption of the route to date and its still a beautiful series to look at. I just pray that Ufotable can bring the brilliance of Heavens feel out with the film without the weaknesses displayed in this second season.

5: Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru. Zoku

In the middle of this list seems an appropriate place for this as the story did deal with characters being in the middle of someone else’s conflict. SNAFU didn’t quite excel its previous season, instead providing more of the same which in SNAFUs case is not a bad thing. In a medium filled with rosy depictions of school life and all its wonders, SNAFU is the show to tell it like it is and present a more realistic depiction of school life. The protagonists brand of cynicism never gets old though the fact that he has a harem is always a mystery. In guise of school events, SNAFU shows you many future troubles that those of us in the workforce are all too familiar with. In particular the school planning meetings are so true to life that it’s rather scary. That said this season was bogged down a bit with a ongoing plot about the characters relationships that borders on over melodramatic. That and a ending which is sort of cliffhanger that outright demands a third season.

4: Kidou Senshi Gundam: Tekketsu no Orphans

Mari Okada and Gundam is a match that would make anyone raise an eyebrow, yet it has produced one of the better Gundams in recent years. I would hesitate to call myself a Gundam fan, quite the opposite actually. But Orphans has a quality that I like a lot. There’s something engrossing about a bunch of underdog slaves revolting and becoming a significant power. Perhaps it’s because the politics of this series gas been put more to the background or simplified. I was never fond of Gundams nature to get too caught up in politics and even less so when it starts preaching about how war is bad. Orphans does have cartoonist aspects to it and a love triangle it would be better without but makes up for it with some fine Mecha action and a glorious soundtrack.Wherever you stand on this, at least we can argee its better than Reconguista.

3: Junketsu no Maria(Maria the virgin witch)

A while back I remember doing a first episode impression on Junketsu no Maria and being surprised at how good it was. So I made a note to watch it some time later and went on. Now with writing this summary I thought it was the perfect time to go back and watch it. I thought I might find it to be something worthwhile. What I was astonished to find was an absolute gem of an anime. I didn’t just like this anime, I loved it. The moral quandaries, setting, themes, really this anime was everything I originally expected from Young Blackjack. So much so that I regret not blogging it when it was airing. The parallels to Joan of Arc are pretty obvious.The villains have great character arcs and I love how it shows the dangers of blind faith as well as the negatives of refuting god without picking a clear side. That’s this shows strength, there isn’t a good or evil here. Maria may stop war temporarily but she’s called into question plenty about whether what she’s doing is truly helping in the long run. Of course the show isn’t without negatives, the ending for one is suitable but very cheesy. It does tie up all the loose ends of the series nicely though so that there is no need for a sequel. The art can have a few hiccups now and then and I feel that one character wasn’t really given the time to make use of his full potential. There’s plenty of sex jokes as well and Maria is pretty much mocked for her virginity all the time. But in my time watching this show made me remember just why I love anime so much.

2: Gakkou Gurashi!

Breathing life into two overdone genres is already worthy of merit. Being genuinely good is all the better. Gakkou is just a really well done series that exemplifies that a good idea can become a great one with creative direction and smart adaption. The balancing act between soft Moe fluff and grim zombie apocalypse is a recipe that doesn’t always work but when it does, it heightens the effect of both. Watching Gakkou is akin to watching puppies play in a house slowly getting filled with toxic gas. You know the tragedy is coming and the tension carries throughout the series as you wait for it all to come tumbling down. In the hands of another it would be an unremarkable series but here it happens to be one of the most visually arresting things I have seen all year.

1: One Punch Man

Was there any doubt? One Punch Man is one of the most impressive feats of animation made in recent times. The comedy of each episode just makes you smile and Saitama is a loveable goofy superhuman who can turn any threat into a joke. It’s a series that genuinely has more action in the show than it does in the opening. I do admit that this show isn’t for everyone. Truly it’s something that thrives on its cool factor. It doesn’t present any considerable deconstruction of Shounen tropes and its storyline does hit the same beats of a threat showing up each episode for Saitama to one punch it to death. However if One Punch Man is to your tastes then you are bound to love it. If not, at least you saw a display of some of the best animation the industry has to offer.

Boku dake ga Inai Machi – 06

by AidanAK47, posted in Boku dake ga Inai Machi, Currently Watching:

Before I begin to talk about this episode, let me soapbox a little about the English title for this series. The English title for this series is ERASED and I really dislike it. It has a rather lazy feel to it and sounds like it was designed to be noticeable instead of having any connection to the story itself. After all this story is not about Satoru trying to erase his past but rather change it for the better. You could argue it could stand for Satoru erasing the current present but that stretching it. The English translation of “Boku dake ga Inai Machi” is “The Town Where Only I am Missing” which is obviously referencing Hinazuki’s essay from episode 2. I feel that’s a better title than ERASED but I understand that it’s not very marketable. So what could be a better title? I am hardly the best at naming things but maybe something like say “String Theory”? There is a theory that could relate to time travel known as Cosmic String Theory and the nature of things being made up of strings instead of particles does seem to match the stories themes of connections to the past and people. However I am absolutely no physicist so the above could be completely misunderstood. I just feel that there could be a better English title for this, even if I struggle to find one. If any of you have a good name, feel free to put it in the comments below.

Well that’s enough of that. First the good news, Airi is not dead! She was saved from the fire thanks to the timely intervention of Satoru and..the manager. I guess it’s nice to show that he’s not a complete villain by having him rescue Airi and even letting Satoru go. But his timing is a little convenient. I can buy Satoru arriving on time but the manager also happening to be around is very suspicious. I mean was he staking out her house just in case? He shows up right on time just to take all the credit and we do know he has a connection to our red eyed glasses friend. Perhaps his timing wasn’t just coincidence? But well maybe he’s just a creepy stalker. After that Satoru is now accused of arson and murder, and Airi is determined to help him no matter what. Which is rather unfortunate considering the episodes end. Airi still proves herself an excellent character, telling Satoru to not get discouraged and see thing through till the end.

We have a new suspect to the list, hinted by the red eyes that seem to appear on various people. Sachiko’s co-worker and freelancer investigator. I am not sure what to make of this guy yet. He’s suspicious in how he was the final person Sachiko talked to about finding out who was responsible for the murders. He’s a likely person to rat her out to the murderer. Or murderers in this case. I am fairly certain that this case is the work of multiple people. That being the reason why the red eyed glasses man’s name wasn’t in the list of suspects on Sachikos friends computer. Our glasses man looks to be the one to cover things up but he doesn’t resemble the abductor featured in episode 1. There could be two or three people involved in this, and I am still betting the teacher in the past is one of them.

Things couldn’t look worse, Satoru is in handcuffs and getting escorted to prison. This episode actually looked to foreshadow this as we have Satoru earlier helping kids fix a paper plane which bring a resemblance to Yukki. And of course we have onlookers immediately assume that he could be a potential pedophile. That’s the problem with being a man sometimes, if you act remotely nice to a kid then people automatically assume you are a pedophile. Of course, we have certain individuals to thank for that social prejudice, don’t we? It does bring a parallel though, as Yukki was branded just the same. He also see him recognising the red eyed glasses man amount the police and there’s a familiar blue butterfly that seems to signal another time travel trip.

Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu – 05

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu

Congratulations Yakumo. You finally discovered your spark for Rakugo. And all you needed to do was dress up like a woman to do it. This may harken back to what his master said, his Rakugo is too perfect. So this play put on by Rakugo performers was really the thing he needed. By dressing him up like a woman they placed him in a vulnerable position, so much so that he was getting cold feet beforehand. Sukeroku’s advice was the turning point to make Yakumo recognize the audience. I believe that before Yakumo treated his Rakugo as a job, systematically reading his lines without taking the audience into account. With this play they stripped him bare and forced him to pay attention to the eyes watching him. With that we have Yakumo awakened, hitting his Stride at the finale of the play where we see the man we saw at the beginning of the series. Even bringing out the characteristic pipe he will use in his future performances.

Though what amuses me is just how oddly sexual his realization was. Throughout the performance Yakumo was constantly remarking at people watching him, and his remarks sound much like those of an exhibitionist. Coming from someone so disinterested in relationships it’s a rather odd, but it does make sense that his Rakugo would improve from this as it was often commented that he would work well with racy stuff. You could argue that this could be a sign of him “coming out of the closet” so to speak but I would disagree. What seemed to really excited Yakumo was the feeling of control he had over the audience. He did comment on how he could change their focus just by a simple movement. It’s funny to put this in a positive way but I believe Yakumo has learned the joy of manipulation.

Miyokichi and Yakumo’s relationship remains a mysterious attraction. Miyokichi’s desire for him looks genuine but I believe she is aware that he’s rather reluctant. So her advances are forceful, often pushing Yakumo to be with her. Yakumo’s feelings seem a lot more subdued. I believe he cares for her but not on the level she desires. The fact that he’s willing to open up to her about his insecurities and not to Sukeroku shows that he does hold her close. I am having trouble discerning if he’s really sexually attracted to her as while Miyokichis advances are pushed on him, he’s hardly putting up much of a fight. It’s possible that he does desire her but he puts Rakugo above those feelings. Maybe Miyokichi is aware of that and making him get out of his own way? Either way it does seem like Yakumo finds women bothersome, which only makes him all the more popular. Though I don’t think that’s a case for him being homosexual as he seems equally apathetic about men. Besides Sukeroku, Yakumo doesn’t look to have many acquaintances. From my deduction, I would say he prefers solitude in his life which is mindset I can certainly relate to.

Schwarzesmarken – 05

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Schwarzesmarken

For something that definitely feels rushed, this was a pretty good episode for Schwarzesmarken. I really cannot emphasize enough at how much of a shame it is that this series looks to be cut down to fit into a single cour. If given a two cour run I think Schwarzesmarken could really shine but sadly unlike its predecessors it is saddled with one. But well at least we get to enjoy the setting and political status this world has to offer. We have a conflict as the West German pilots try to pick a fight with the East German pilots. I have never been to fond of these kinds of characters who seem to exist to provide conflict. Such as those thugs that are in every anime that go after any pretty girl in the street so our hero can jump in and look good. It seems like a complex issue, as east Germans hate west German because they feel they sold out and are taking it easy while they are holding of the BETA hordes. Whereas the West Germans dislike the East because of their dystopian society and previous failures in major operations. Basically they think that East Germany makes West Germany look bad but there are likely other factors. Luckily the fight is broken up by the west German commander, showing that not all west Germans are one dimensional stereotypes.

The battles between TSFs and BETA are still a excellent sight and I admit that I started to feel the exhilaration I once felt while reading the visual novels. Some moments if dodgy CGI but otherwise it’s quite excellent. We got some good exposition on just how America handles BETA which is interesting. The Americans like to play it safe and focus on long range bombardment as their TSFs are not suited to close range combat. Fun little fact from the VN, American TSFs are mainly designed with the focus of taking out other TSFs, not BETA. Which might give some light to where their priorities are. America got off rather light when it comes to the BETA war, mainly because when a BETA hive landed in Canada they decided to nuke Canada halfway to hell to ensure BETA didn’t reach America. But of course there inexperience with fighting BETA shows when their plan is destroyed once a horde of BETA show up outside of their defense line. Giving the 666 squad a perfect reason to jump in and save the day. Then everyone is almost killed by the reason which affects every war’s outcome, an idiotic commander. Looks like Gretal was under pressure to distinguish the squad in battle to give the Militia the upper hand over the Stasi. Really wish they established this beforehand instead of having Irisdina throw it out like an afterthought.

Now that Commander isn’t too keen on helping the Americans and is determined to let them die out of pure spite. So we have a short wait till Gretal comes around and tells him to go to hell. Again it feels like we missed a huge chuck of character development we were supposed to have at this point and the pacing makes the suicide mission seem not as difficult as they made it out to be. One thing I must applaud is how menacing they made the fort class BETA look. In the VN these guys were not all that treating but here they really are a dominating presence. So the day is saved and our heroes are free to go home and get screwed over by the Stasi, who look to be cooking up something nasty.

New Manga Spotlight – Platina End, LIttLE 13, Somali to Mori no Kami-sama, Mahou Shoujo Suzune Magica and Shounen Shoujo

by AidanAK47, posted in Manga Experiment, New Manga Spotlights

Platina End

The story tells of a human and an angel, and centers around Mirai Kakehashi, a boy who “does not seek out hope in order to live.”

From the creators of death note and Bakuman we have Platina end. You can certainly see parallels to death note straight away. A supernatural being gives power to a high school student which happens to operate under certain rules. It’s not quite the same however as this leads into a battle royale scenario between people with different powers. The powers have interesting uses, such as an arrow that makes someone fall in love with you for 33 days. This does come up short when compared to death note however, mainly in the protagonist and antagonist. The protagonist did have an interesting contrast to Light as he’s someone who desires a normal life when Light was bored with normal life but other than that he’s rather bland and boring. Even more so after a rather drastic change in motivation. The antagonist is a bit too silly and lacks the charisma of L.  One particular aspect I like is the angel who wishes for the protagonists happiness by any means necessary. So she’s often encouraging him to abuse his power for his own benefit and disregards morality entirely. This story has the potential to go somewhere quite interesting but I admit that right now it’s a bit of a poor man’s Death Note.

 

LIttLE 13

Only one chapter so far and not even a synopsis. This story involves a girl in a middle age era who disguises herself as a boy so she can work as a servant for a strange couple. While there she finds an odd man in a pig mask in the basement and befriends him. In exchange the man saves her from a terrible fate by essentially killing people who intended her harm. As it turns out this odd man possesses supernatural powers and claims to be a demon. It a bit soon to see where this story is going but I love the mature feel of it and the character of Jack looks to be an interesting one. The artstyle is brilliant as you can see from the cover above. What I am most interested in this story is how this odd person called jack interacts with our protagonist as he seems to have a highly abnormal morality.

 

Somali to Mori no Kami-sama

A golem discovers an abandoned child one day in the forest. Together the pair set out to find more humans while travelling across a strange fantasy world.

Two chapters so far. This is a very heartwarming tale as a forest golem helps a little girl get back together with humans in a world filled with monsters. The thing is that this world is very dangerous for a human as the monsters are all fairly interested in eating humans so the wood golem needs to prevent others from finding out she is human while searching for humans. The girl is fairly navie and innocent and what really sells the story is her interaction with the stoic wood golem. There is a sweet feeling when the normally overly logical golem let’s out his emotions and shows he cares for the little girl. The art is also fantastic, dealing with various imaginative character designs and environments. It has the potential to be a really great read.

 

Mahou Shoujo Suzune Magica

A middle-schooler who gallantly sleeps in, Suzune. Though she always goes about with a bright smile, there’s another side to her. That is, she’s a magical girl assassin. What will be the fate of the four magical girls she ambushes…?! The first chapter of the spinoff that asks about the existence of “magical girls,” and the goodness and evil residing within oneself!

This is hardly the first Madoka spinoff. Plenty have tried to make use of Madoka’s universe to present new stories but none have matched what Madoka put forward. In particular The innocent Malice’s story got so silly that it read like bad fanfiction. However here looks like it’s actually attempting to present something unique with the premise. Suzune is a magical girl whom has taken up the role of assassinating magical girls. For reasons that those of us who have seen the series can likely guess. The best way to explain the story is that it’s like Madoka Magica from Homura’s perspective. We have a group of magical girls whom Suzune has decided to systematically kill and them not understanding Suzunes motives. It’s a story that feels true to its source material in presentation and writing. Of course I am not saying it’s better but if you are itching for more Madoka this might help you scratch it.

 

Shounen Shoujo (AKATSUKI Akira)

A boy sees all names and faces scribbled out, and later finds out that this is a lethal illness. But he is actually happy that it makes him special, because he hates surrounding world which lacks any individuality. But then he finds a girl who has the same condition. And now he needs to kill her in order to remain unique…

Two chapters so far and is from the author of the monogatari series and a artist by the name of Akatsuki Akira. Personally I am not a fan of Nisio Isin but I must admit that he’s got a interesting start with this one. It may be that due to the nature of manga that his usual style of blaring out pointless dialogue has been cut down to a minimum and I see it as a plus. What makes this story is just how messed up the the characters are. Our main protagonist is so desperate to be a unique flower that upon being told he is suffering from a new unknown disease his first reaction is pure joy. Neither him or the female protagonist talk like children but they are pretty interesting in their own messed up ways. However I dislike that the first chapter essentially gave away the ending of this particular story and well Nisio Isin stories always tended to leave me wanting. However I am interested to see how this goes despite knowing the ending.

Boku dake ga Inai Machi – 05

by AidanAK47, posted in Boku dake ga Inai Machi, Currently Watching:

When it rains it pours and Boku dake isn’t pulling any punches. Hinazuki is gone and the only hint of her we see is what looks to be her dead body in front of her parents, one of whom is panicking. With this we have two possibilities. Either they happened upon Hinazuka’s dead body or her mother went too far with a beating and accidentally killed her. Her later actions seem to point to the latter as she throws out the gloves Hinazuki was knitting for Satoru with a dark sneer. It seems that Satoru’s efforts in the past didn’t bear much fruit, though it did delay Hinazuka’s death. He looks to be taking hope in that fact while I personally am more pessimistic about it.

We have our long awaited return to the future and Satoru is right back where he started. Satoru has escaped the police for now and tried to hide out at his manager’s place. It was pretty obvious what was going on when the camera showed a painting of the last supper. Though we have Airi show up to save him after with her saying Hinazukis favorite phrase. Her reasons for helping Satoru are strange to say the least. I understand Japanese culture is different in these matters but it’s really hard to take something seriously when a man loses his job, wife and livelihood all over a misunderstanding about shoplifting a chocolate bar. I mean it’s pretty clear he didn’t do it as he’s a grown adult with a job, the very notion that he would need to shoplift a chocolate bar is absolutely ludicrous. But the smart route to this problem would be to write it off as a mistake, buy the bar and be on their merry way.

I am sorry Airi, you are great but you dad had plenty of ways he could have handled that better without sacrificing his pride. I truly pity the Japanese if something so rudimentary is enough to ruin your life. Strange back story aside, it’s nice to see Airi stand on Satoru’s side. It was especially satisfying to seeing her Punch out the manager for trying to rat Satoru out to the police yet again. This manager really has it out for him, maybe because he happens to have a crush on Airi or maybe because he has a connection to the killer. We briefly see him talking to a man whom the camera is very reluctant to show us his face. All we really know about this man is that he’s clearly in a position of power and obviously connected with the murder and serial kidnappings. There’s a big chance that more than one person is to blame for these incidents and whoever they are I wish they would stop killing off all the best female characters of the series.

Valkyria Chronicles Video Game Review 80/100

by AidanAK47, posted in Game Reviews

This is a game that you truly don’t know what to think of until you play it. It’s a strange blend of third person shooting and real time strategy which is set in a World War 2 style world. It’s a very odd game but perhaps what’s stranger is just how much fun I had with it. For this review I was playing the Steam version of Valkyria Chronicles and it is a very impressive port indeed. Performance may vary but on my laptop it ran beautifully and best of all, I was never on a loading screen longer than a second. I feel if the loading times were longer it would worsen the whole experience as they do come up often but this game played lightning fast and for a JRPG that’s a massive plus.

The plot follows the exploits of Welkin Gunther who is thrown into the war once the empire attack his home town in order to take control of a precious resource mined by the countries called Ragnite. Together with his sister and a local bakery girl, they join the Military and work to drive out the Empire from the country of Gallia. The story of this game is actually really good. It manages to touch on racism and concentration camps without getting too dark. As well as the old horrors of war and political underhandedness. In looking are the story and the beats it hits I would say that Valkyia Chronicles would boast a very strong story. Well at least it would…if the writing was not god awful. I pity the English dub actors, they really tried and considering what they were given I think they did a great job but some of these lines just make me shake my head. The dialogue has a large amount of heavy handed preaching and utter cheese. In a way I would say this style of writing is a bit too “anime” What do I mean? Well it’s rife with anime clichés and mannerisms. The characters are not natural, they tend to have over exaggerated characterizations and quirks.

Now you get to enlist a number of people to your squad though they are mostly given one note personalities and are absent from the main storyline. Instead the story focuses on a small group within your squad. Welkin, Alicia, Isara, Rosie and Largo. Welkin is the leader and is a guy obsessed with nature, often talking about bugs and flora. You would be forgiven if you took one look at Alicia’s design and figured her to be a tsundere. She does have the trademark ponytails after all and at first she looks to fit right into the mold. However Alicia isn’t a tsundere, I was pretty surprised to see her handle her emotions well. She’s logical and well grounded though her primary role in the story is to be a love interest. There is a small subplot with her and a powerful weapon but its brushed off quick. Isara is the blandest of the group, she has very little to her. I was worried when the story made it a point to specifically address that she was none blood related to Welkin but luckily the two have no romantic events. You can assume the love each platonic and that’s just fine by me. Overall she acts as a representative of the oppressed race of people known as “Darcsen” and as the squads tank mechanic. Rosie is a singer and her character arc is simple. To learn to not be a racist bigot. Rosie hates Darcsens and is especially hostile to Isara. This is due to an event in her past that really doesn’t make much sense. As she goes through the story it’s mainly about her warming up to Isara and coming to terms that Darcsens are no different from anyone else. If she had better reasoning for her racism I would find her tale quite poignant but it can come across far too heavy handed at times. Finally Largo is the father figure of the team who has some strange fascination with vegetables. Not much to say about him besides his history with the commanding officer.

What makes the story much more of a drag is the games insistence to ask you if you want to watch each and every cut-scene. Every time you watch a cut-scene you are brought back into a book menu, where is need to select the next cut-scene and play it. You do this for every cut-scene in the game. It’s really odd as there are cut-scenes that continue without prompted but the majority require you to constantly agree to watch a cut-scene. The effort required for this is minimal and it doesn’t take long to load up the cut-scenes but it is a pacing breaker. In regards to user interface, its primary through menus. There is no hub world or over world and you essentially handle plot progression and equipment through menus. Leveling is not done through fighting in battle. Instead you earn experience after a mission and you can choose to spend it to unlock orders or level up a class. Individuals units do not level up, instead you level up a class and anyone in that class gets a stat boost. Weapons work in a similar fashion, you buy upgrades for a class weapon and everyone is equipped with it. The upgrades start very liner and later branch off slightly to allow you to focus on a certain aspect like firepower or accuracy. It’s not all that much but it gives a small bit of customization. You can also equip weapons manually to your units but you likely will never need to. Your units also have things called potential which grant they special bonuses in certain circumstances. They act as small character traits as well and can help endear you to characters. Such as Jane the shocktooper who gets a attack bonus sometimes because she’s a Sadist. The bonuses don’t make too much of a difference but its a nice quirk, even if it can prove to be detrimental at times. As units can have troublesome potentials, like the humanitarian girl who will sometimes refuse to shoot people even if you order her to.

This may sound negative so far but let me get to the meat of this game, the gameplay. Valkyria Chronicles has a phenomenal battle system called BLiTZ (short for Battle of Live Tactical Zones) that strangely reminds me of a old great game boy advance game called Advance Wars. You are given a top down perspective of the battlefield, seen enemies and your units. When you select a unit you are brought down to a third person perspective were you are given a meter to show how far you can move and a chance to shoot/heal. Despite how it looks, this isn’t a third person shooter. You may move and aim but whether your shots hit or not and how much damage they deal is dependent on stats you are given five classes. Scout, Shock troopers, snipers, lancers and engineers along with two tanks you get. Scouts can cover the most distance and are the most versatile units. But can be taken down quickly if faced with stronger units. Shocktoopers are the main assault force, lacking the movement of scouts but making up with firepower and defense. Snipers start off unreliable but with upgraded accuracy they can be one of the most useful units in the game. The have limited ammo but can kill anything besides tanks with a well placed headshot. Lancers are primarily anti-tank units, practically essential for a balanced team. The engineer is the weak link of the bunch but can be really useful for restocking both the sniper and lancers ammo and when paired up with a tank they can make it unstoppable. There isn’t a single useless class and the mechanics behind them make for some great strategic play. While moving on your turn, enemy units can shoot at you which can prove to be troublesome. However you can make use of this too and it prevents units like scouts from just walking headfirst up to people and shooting them in the face. I remember being surrounded by all sides with tanks and just saying “screw it” and rolling my tank straight into the enemy base and using volleys to blast every enemy solider out of it. And then sending in my scout to take out the last unit and capture the base, winning the mission. I remember moving my favorite sniper on to a hill, hiding in the grass and proceeding to pick off every solider in the field with a series of satisfying head shots as the computer proceeds completely unaware of my god of death on the hill. It’s moments like this that make Valkyria a fantastic game.

The graphics engine makes use of a style which gives the game a drawn look with the border of the screen being in sketch form and the center giving a watercolour aesthetic. It can be quite fantastic at times especially when you walk into smoke and everything suddenly looks like it was sketched on a page. Though the environments don’t quite show off what it can do as many of the environments are rather bland. It’s the cut-scenes that really benefit from this style. The graphics are not really impressive and the funny thing is that there is remastered version coming to ps4 that really doesn’t look too much different. Music is suitable though not too memorable. Valkyria Chronicles is a game I didn’t think I would enjoy as much as I did. It’s about 25 hours long and I was practically addicted to it. I had some truly great fun playing this game and I am most interested in the sequels. Sega, bring those games to steam so you can shut up and take my money.

Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu – 04

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu

Well it seems like I have to eat my words as Yakumo is quite the ladies man. Which is odd when he clearly doesn’t have any interest in interacting with women. Yakumo has a fruitful love life despite his apathy towards love in general. Yakumo and Sukeroku’s relationship has certainly gotten more easygoing as the two work off each other like the odd couple. Yakumo is the more sensible of the two but it seems that his perfectionist tendencies are working against him. Rakugo is a fairly improvisational art and Yakumo performs it too perfectly. In what I can see, Yakumo’s Rakugo doesn’t feel natural, you can see his “acting” in it. Compared to how he will preform in the future, it’s a lot stiffer and too precise.

Ultimately Yakumo just needs to loosen up and find his way of Rakugo. Perhaps a stepping stone to that is this geisha girl whom has taken a large interest in Yakumo. This same girl looks to catch Sukeroku’s attention as well so the predictable outcome would be a love triangle. I believe that Shouwa Genroku is not the kind of show to take the easy route like that when it comes to storytelling and such a development would be rather futile when we could already guess as to who the victor is. I am fairly certain this woman is the mother of the girl from the first episode, and she clearly stated that she was Yotarous daughter. Of course perhaps this relationship is more complicated than one would think? Perhaps this girl was not actually Sukeroku daughter? Or to be truly outlandish, perhaps they were both her mother’s lovers?

As an episode, things were a bit slow as a majority of the time was devoted to Sukeroku’s Rakugo. I really respect the shows insistence to rarely visually represent the story the characters are telling. They allow Rakugo to be show how it’s meant to be shown, with only the performer’s voice and mannerisms to go off. It must be quite the challenge for the voice actors and animators, having so much dependant on subtle movements and mannerisms. The rest of the episode was devoted to the geisha girl coming on to Yakumo. It’s debatable whether she is doing this out of her own interest or if the Rakugo master put her up to it in order to help Yakumo’s Rakugo grow. Regardless I believe there is some genuine attraction she has for him, mainly in seeing her blush and openly state how different he was from other men. It’s amusing in how the she likes him because he doesn’t look at her with desire but that in turn makes her desire him. This could be a matter of wanting what you can’t get or genuine love but whatever it is will likely throw a wrench into Yakumo and Sukeroku’s Rakugo.

Schwarzesmarken – 04

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Schwarzesmarken

This episode starts with a groan as we meet a new member of the cast, that being Theodor’s sister who on first sight hugs with with the ever so traditional “Onii-chan!” The sister does bring some good developments to the table, namely the machination the Stasi has in store for her, but I really wish the didn’t resort to an old caricature. We even have some back story for Theodor which pretty much only confirms that yes, Lise is Theodor’s step sister and non blood related so she’s perfectly fine for being pushed into the boy’s harem. I understand that harems are essentially series tradition for Muv Luv (The first entry of the series was a pure by the numbers harem after all) but Schwarzesmarken at least has kept that particular element at bay and I would like it to stay that way. The last thing a do or die setting like this needs is harem hijinks. As far as Lise’s standing as a spy she certainly is suspicious. She clearly seems to be feigning amnesia over the period she spent with the Stasi and doesn’t seem too pleased with Therdors approval of Irisdina. Her reaction is a bit too serious to write off as simple jealousy. There’s also that rather delayed response from her when Katia was about to get ambushed by BETA. I am willing to bet that she was weighing her option of letting Katia die to BETA assault. Whatever the Stasi has planned it seems to be working as Therdor looks reluctant to entertain the possibility of Lise being a spy. He may say otherwise to Katia but that felt like he was just putting her at ease.

So with a new member added to the cast this looks like a good time for the team to have some R&R and use the new character to flesh out the other members of the squad. At least that would be the wise move but sadly the plot disagrees and sends them out to a major offense against the BETA. It really seems like there could be plenty of things to expand upon before jumping into a major plot arc. Such as Katia’s awkward position of no longer acting as a replacement for Theodors sister. A large amount of Theodors dedication to protecting Katia was due to her resemblance to his sister and now that his actual sister has shown up it puts Katia in a more perilous state as when push comes to shove he will save his sister before saving her. Plus the whole complicated feelings humbug with dear Therdor senpai not noticing her anymore. However that is written off quickly and now we are in a big offensive quite literally straight out of nowhere. A combined effort by the UN and countries of the world to prevent BETA from crossing too far west from Europe. Our big issue here is when Gretel starts giving out unreasonable orders due to a desire to distinguish the east German task force in order to win political favor. However no one seems to hold them in high regard as artillery is fired without regarding them being in the line of fire and at episode’s end it looks like even the west Germans despise them. A little hypocritical considering that east Germany is the one thing keeping the BETA at bay but with the Stasi and whatnot, they are hardly beyond reproach. All of this has the potential to be quite interesting but the fatal flaw remains. We the audience lack emotional attachment to the characters. Why is Gretal looking for political favor? Why is anyone here fighting at all? Why did Irisdina tell a racist joke before going into battle? And most importantly of all, why should we even care if these people live or die?

Boku dake ga Inai Machi – 04

by AidanAK47, posted in Boku dake ga Inai Machi, Currently Watching:

There certainly is a layer of dread from this episodes beginning as we see happy events unfold. Things are looking up, history is changing, Kayo is finally getting out of an abusive relationship with her mother and finding happiness. But much like Satoru is feeling, there is a unease at these developments. Things are going too perfectly, it’s all working out a little too well. But most importantly, Satoru is getting the feeling that he may indeed be retreading his old steps. Despite Kayo not minding, Satoru clings to her more often. Walking with her to school, practically dogging her every step. Because much like Satoru, we feel the exact same uncertainty. The death flags are getting tripped and we are all waiting for the wham moment. Then just when you think it might be alright, Kayo disappears and never returns.

Its lucky that Satoru happens to have a great mom. Sachiko may have just become a fan favourite with this episode as she happened to defuse Kayos mother with relative ease. She’s cool and caring in a motherly way which is a big turnaround from her first appearance, where you could easily mistake her for a deadbeat parent. But much like the cruelty of this episode we have the knowledge that in the future she is fated to be stabbed to death in Satoru’s apartment. Why must we build an attachment to characters destined to die? The strength of this series rains but this episode may be the start of things feeling a little bit rushed. While not necessarily detrimental, this episode felt fast at points.

Yuki’s soundtrack also happens to be distracting me at some points as well as there are tracks which are a far too overpowering and melodramatic for the visuals. It was rather aggravating to hear a loud violin as Satoru ran home after believing everything was set right. A moment like that calls for something more subdued, not an orchestral symphony like he defeated the demon king. But that aside the mystery deepens as Satoru seems to have effected the day that Kayo was abducted, in other words something Satoru did caused the murderer to change his mind. Or our murderer may have powers similar to that of Satoru’s. On the night we have a montage of all the adult characters, Kayos mother in particular suspiciously not being at home. I am still hedging my bets on the teacher but this mystery may have more layers to it that I first thought.