Holy crap. So yeah, last week Un-Go already delivered my favorite episode of all of the new series of the Autumn Season. This week, it surpassed itself. Now this is storytelling!
This episode… it just turned everything about the previous episode upside-down. This episode was brilliantly written and delivered some amazing twists, in the same quick fire delivery of the previous number of episodes. This is also what I love about Science Fiction: there are so many different angles at which you can look at the evolution of technology. This show here is yet another completely new look at it.
On top of combining its plot with its philosophy, this episode also had those nice details, like the talking fridge that reminds you of eating more healthy foods as a poke towards those modern useless programs that exist today.
I also disagree that Un-Go’s pacing is too fast, like what happened to C. The differences between the two are subtle, but if this keeps up, Un-Go is going to end up much better. The thing with C was that it tried to flesh out its characters and develop them, while at the same time telling an epic story about money. Un-Go however is entirely focused on its storytelling and presenting its ideas and theories. It’s in essence a collection of stories, told by its characters and every single line and scene has its purpose. The result is a show with a flat cast, but an amazing sense of pacing, storytelling, twists and setting.
Oh, and on a final note: the music was on fire in this episode. More of this, please!
Rating: *** (Awesome)]]>
Author: psgels
Chihayafuru – 05
The great thing about this series is that it doesn’t leave you hanging at all. This episode fulfilled all of the things it promised last week: we got to see why Arata went away from Karuta, and more importantly how he changed and what he had turned into. the characters actually immediately went to visit him. This also shows that this series doesn’t necessarily need to have a karuta match in every episode, and that it can also deliver in these kinds of episodes.
The real key in this episode was the moment in which Arata was chasing the train on his bike. It’s nothing new, but that point revealed a lot about what he turned into. Before that he kept hiding into this emo shell of his, but it all came together when he couldn’t keep up with the train and it turned out that he was very ashamed of his own inability to get over his grandfather’s death.
I like how these first five episodes didn’t dilute themselves with too many side-characters, but instead really focused on the three leads. It lead to some wonderful drama, and this feels like a good point to introduce them. They will really be necessary to keep the Karuta matches interesting, because seeing nothing but Chihaya’s style over and over for 26 episodes will very likely just get boring. The side characters will be key in spicing up the rest of the series, although they also need to know when to give the stage to the main trio, because the fact remains that these kids are really, really well portrayed.
Rating: ** (Excellent)]]>
Tamayura ~ Hitotose – 05
It’s not like Tamayura is the perfect slice of life series. there are the characters who sometimes are a bit annoying, and I also really dislike how it draws its cats. I think that this is a trend that started with Azumanga Daioh, but I really wish that anime would draw cats like… actual cats, rather than just blobs. The other extreme of this is of course Kimi to Boku, which does have normal looking cats, only they serve no purpose whatsoever in the series.
However, when I think that only half a year, I tried to give shows like A-Channel and Yuruyuri a chance, I really have to praise this show for avoiding their pitfalls and instead of immediately losing all inspiration and turning into a slew of unfunny repeated lesbian and boob jokes, this one stays true to itself and continues to develop its characters. The same goes for Kimi to Boku, by the way.
This episode it was the turn for Fu’s mother and childhood friend. It is a very nice touch for her mother to be a former biker, and I’m glad that the creators took their time to show a bit of her as well. In any case, this probably means that we’ll have two or three more character-focused episodes (Kou, Kaoru, and possibly Sayomi). After that, it’s the point where this show can really set itself apart… hopefully.
In any case, The atmosphere still works: it’s this light-hearted kind of mood that doesn’t get broken even with Norie ranting at her fullest. That is what I believe holds this series above Kimi to Boku. Both shows are very solid slice of life, but Kimi to Boku just tends to break its mood whenever the yellow-haired guy opens his mouth. Kimi to Boku on the other hand has a more creative flow with its drama. It’s ironic, but the more these shows go on, the more similarities I find…
Rating: * (Good)]]>
Mirai Nikki – 04
Okay, so now there are diaries who can turn people into zombies.
This episode pretty much continued the trend of this series and lapsed Yuno further into her psychotic tendencies. It perhaps wasn’t the best episode so far, but it still was entertaining. It’s a shame that it’s almost impossible to not get spoiled about Yuno, though. The suspense in this episode probably would have worked a lot better if it was unknown what exactly she was.
Now, I do wonder why Twelfth chose a moment in which four diary holders were at the same place at the same time to try and kill even his superior. My guess is that there is some sort of time limitation to his hypnosis diary and that he can only use the servants once or something.
Also, we’re only at episode 4 of 26, but I do hope that this show will take its time to show a bit more about all of the different characters, and who they are. At the moment, I’m still missing something from them, and they could have been a bit more fleshed out at this point, compared to other shows.
Rating: * (Good)]]>
Phi Brain – 05
Well, in any case it’s clear that Sunrise put most of its staff this season on Gundam and Horizon. That’s the only explanation of why the animation is already rushed at this stage. Especially considering how Persona with its staff issues looks even better. This episode was full of distorted faces.
In any case, I’m still curious as to how this series is planning to make sense of all that’s going on. This episode added a special club-house for the four geniuses with free food included to the mix, along with a scooter WHO CAN CATCH UP TO A FREAKING PLANE. The above-mentioned animation also lead to a bit of awkward acting here and there.
I will say this, though: this show is working on the emotional level. This episode was meant to explore Daimon’s trauma of losing his parents… and it actually worked. It used its side-characters well to keep the flow o the episode going, and present interesting puzzles that were all based on some kind of mechanical premise. The creators also actually used a cliche well in their advantage: in anime, characters are either great or terrible cooks, so I already rolled my eyes when the characters brought up Nonoha’s terrible cookies. And in the end this just turned out to be part of Damon’s trauma.
In a way I feel sorry for Kaito to have everyone push expectations and tasks onto him even though he’s just a teenager at this point. In a way the red-haired guy is the perfect antidote for him, because he can take these expectations away from him. Apparently he was sent to study in england abroad on his own against his consent.
Rating: * (Good)]]>
Ben-To – 04
Okay. So this episode had fanservice. Heck, there was more fanservice than compared to most moe shows.
Thank god this show knows what it’s doing, though. The fanservice in this episode thankfully 1) was creative and 2) didn’t reduce its female characters to morons. There were times when it went a bit too far like with the incest jokes, but this episode made me laugh quite a few times thanks to the great characterization of this show.
There are also these weird characters like that girl whose eyes we never see, and who looks like an important character, yet has nothing to do with the story. Or take Ume Shiraume, who has absolutely nothing to do with fighting over lunches, but makes the rest of this show hilarious with her antics. With the way that Shaga was introduced in this episode I expected this stereotypical love interest who walks over everyone, and yet she was actually no match for both Shiraume and Yarizui. Combined with good acting around this parts lead to a well fleshed out character within the episode she was introduced in, even though she started as a big stereotype. It really is the big difference between this show and just about all other moe shows for me: the acting nearly always seems either too bland or too forced to me. Here, the characters have their over the top concepts, like obsessive stalker, deadpan and tomboy, and yet manage to give enough sides to them to have them move away from these stereotypes.
And on top of that I have to praise David Production for animating great fight scenes over and over. It’s not like they have a lot of budget, but the sense of timing in these battles is just impeccable. The rituals before and after each battle (quietly waiting for the discounts to be handed out, and collecting the spoils of war) also work really well with it.
I have been criticized of treating some of the moe shows like Mayo Chiki, Utapri, Sofuteni and Idolmaster too harsh, when they’re supposed to be light entertainment. but the thing is, for entertainment, I sure as heck wasn’t getting entertained by these series that all just look like each other and feel half-hearted in their execution. These criteria are of course different for everyone, and if you enjoy them: good for you. But when I watch a show that focuses on entertainment, I really want to watch something that actively tries to be as entertaining as possible (not just in the way of Majikoi of having one entertaining episode… only to be followed by a ton of boring stuff where you feel like hardly any effort was spent on it). I found these series earlier this year with shows as Level E and Dororon Enma-kun, and now I’ve found another with Ben-To. It’s only got 12 episodes, so let’s see if it can keep this pacing up all the way.
Rating: ** (Excellent)]]>
Fate/Zero – 05
Um, people. If an entry of my is delayed, It just means that I’m busy with this thing called life. I really try to update fast, but there are times when I’ll be busy with either work or friends. It doesn’t mean that I’ve dropped something, just because I’m late with it.
Now that that’s out of the way, this was a definite improvement over the previous episode due to all of the characters involved. Aside from the Caster-Duo, all of the major master-servant pairs were involved here in this episode, which fits this series much more compared to the previous episode’s duel with lots of talking. There was a lot of stuff that everyone had to take into account, and everyone arrived at the battlefield with a different agenda, and a completely different battle plan. If the rest of the battles are like this the we’re really in for an awesome show.
I’m probably not the only one in this, but the one who really stood out for me was Rider. His chivalry along with his air of just not caring to be careful really stood out. Apart from that I also like Kirei and Kiritsugu, as they seem to know what they’re doing the most. There are a few characters who are still a bit too one-sided at the moment, like Caster’s master and Lancer’s master also needs a bit more attention. I also find it a bit of a pity that Saber is being pushed in the underdog category. That just doesn’t fit this series where the themes as chivalry are huge.
I also have to praise Ufo-Table for their great work on the CG. I mean, it has the bad luck that it airs in a season with both Last Exile and Guilty Crown, but if those two weren’t there it would without a doubt had the best visuals of the season.
Rating: ** (Excellent)]]>
October Summary
#29 (new) – Chibi Devi – (2,25/10) – For me, this was the worst show of the season. Ridiculously cheaply made, really bad jokes, really bad acting and based on a very flimsy premise. Dropped.
#28 (new) – Maken-Ki – (3,75/10) – Maken-Ki is stupid fanservice with a lot of boobs, panties and fighting. Dropped.
#27 (new) – Mashiro Iro Symphony – (4,25/10) – With this series, Manglobe has exited my top 10 of favorite studios. Blacksmith and TWGOK were one thing, but this was just bad in every way aside from perhaps good inbetween animation. The drama is cheesy, the characters are one sided and stereotypes, and there’s nothing interesting about it whatsoever.
#26 (36) – Shakugan no Shana – (5/10) – After watching the first episode of the third season, I am glad that I didn’t continue with it. It’s good to see that this series is evolving, but the direction in which it evolved was rather questionable. The twist around Yuuji in particular is such a cheese ball of a twist, especially considering the cast of this series. Dropped
#25 (24) – Digimon Xros Wars – (5,25/10) – What surprised me the most about this installment of the Xros Wars saga is how incredibly hyperactive the new male lead is. Overall, Digimon Xros Wars is a show who downplays itself because it probably thinks that kids are idiots. It’s a huge change with the original Digimon series, but change alone isn’t always good.
#24 (new) – Maji de Watashi ni Koi ni Shinasai – (5,75/10) – Now this was fun! Or at least, that’s what I thought after the first episode. The first episode made no sense, but it was over the top and every character was having fun in his or her role. And then the second episode came and things got really dull. and then the third and fourth episode came and this show degenerated into nothing but fanservice and dull repeated harem antics. This is what you get when you want to open with a bang, but have no intentions of putting in any other effort at entertaining your audience beyond it.
#23 (new) – Sengoku Paradise: Kiwami – (6/10) – This one is good…. for about one laugh. If you’re really bored you might want to give it a chance, but in the end it’s not really worth it compared to the other comedies this season.
#22 (new) – C3 – (6/10) – I like diverse shows. However, that doesn’t mean that I automatically consider any show that has it good. A very nasty example of this is C3: this set up would have been nice, if only the acting wasn’t so abysmally bad, it didn’t feel like the Shaft of three years ago, it didn’t force its drama and plot twists, and it wasn’t so damn cliched. These characters are in no way fun to watch. They’re incredibly stupid stereotypes with superpowers.
#21 (new) – Mobile Suit Gundam AGE – (6,5/10) – At this point, I’ve gotten tired of Gundam shows, so I have very little patience for them. At this point I see too much potential for this show to become a boring repetition of random battles. The first episode just had too many things that made me tired of this genre. Wake me up if it does turn out to be different. Dropped
#20 (new) – Guilty Crown – (7/10) – This one turned out to be the big disappointment of this season. It has an excellent pedigree, and yet it hardly takes any chances or risks. It’s full of cliches and characters who don’t know what they want to be. The female lead in particular is bad for doing absolutely nothing within the span of the first three episodes. The animation looks gorgeous, but even that turned out half-assed with the third episode.
#19 (new) – Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai – (7,25/10) – In the end, I decided to drop this show. I just don’t get what’s so good about it. The only thing that I liked about the first three episode was that it has very solid dialogue. Beyond that though, it’s just another harem with too many cliches, forced characters and uninteresting drama.
#18 (new) – Sekai-Ichi Hatsukoi – (7,5/10) – I dropped this show. The biggest reason for this is lack of time though, but at the same time I also have to say that while the comedy in this show is nice and the characterization is good, I’d rather watch a show about actual gay people, rather than angsty bishies who keep raping each other.
#17 (15) – Nurarihyon no Mago – (7,75/10) – Agh, this is my problem with most shounen series: how long did it take again for this story to take off? It’s been forty episodes, and Rikuo is put into yet another training arc that bogs down the story. Also, the entire set-up of this arc bugs me: it’s well directed, but when Rikuo created his Parade of 100 demons, I expected him to do this for the sake of creating a small army. What the past episodes have been doing is take random characters away from the others, and throwing them in predictable one-on-one or two-on-one battles. The big problem is that they tended to end with a very predictable save at the last possible moment that could have been seen from miles away. How much more of this build-up and random battles against waves of uninteresting enemies until things get interesting here?
#16 (new) – Kimi to Boku – (7,75/10) – This one has potential. It has this boring atmosphere that at first sight seems like an instant failure, but then it comes and turns that atmosphere around again. The characters all have their moments that get on my nerves, thoug, but none are as bad as the blond kid. Will he ever shut up?
#15 (new) – Persona 4 The Animation – (7,75/10)
Persona has the potential to become great as it goes on. Its premise can get really good in terms of character development if handled well. At the moment it’s still a bit too stuck in its own formula to really take off, though. There is little time given to flesh out the characters, which is why the parts where they show their inner secrets lack the impact they could have had.
#14 (new) – Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon – (7,75/10)
This series’ biggest asset is its creativity. It’s set in an original world and the cast of characters is HUGE and very colourful. The overall plot feels a bit random and silly, but it’s definitely building up to something. The character designs themselves are abysmal, there are some definitely annoying characters and a lot of time is spent on just goofing off, but there’s some definite potential here.
#13 (new) – Phi Brain – (7,75/10)
This is a rather silly show about puzzles. In particular the antagonists make really weird decisions and have really strange motivations, but it’s worth it to see what kind of puzzles the creators come with, and the overall cast is eccentric, yet fun to watch. There is a very real chance for this show to become TOO eccentric, though. The key will be good variety in the puzzles from this point on.
#12 (17) – Shinryaku!? Ika-Musume – (8/10)
Overall Squid Girl’s second season has been a little step down compared to the frist season, but for comedy sequels’ standards it isn’t much of a step. The animation has gotten slightly worse, and some stories are too forced, but there still are a bunch of really hilarious stories. It needs to keep this up, because getting worse from this point isn’t an option.
#11 (9) – Bakuman – (8/10)
I do have to say that Bakuman is currently the best Shounen Jump series out there. Unlike Gintama and Sket Dance it isn’t throwing a bunch of random stories around in the hope that it’ll get lucky and strike gold, while unlike Nurarihyon no Mago it isn’t breaking up the flow with constant training arcs. The second season does have fixed some of its pacing issues, but on the other hand it’s not yet Hunter X Hunter material, and things have been rather monotonous.
#10 (new) – Tamayura ~ Hitotose – (8/10)
The two big slice of life series are both very, very different, but they’ve got one similarity: they depend on characters with annoying sides, and they somehow make it work. For me, Tamayura does it the best of the two at this point. It’s really well animated, and it actually uses photos really well to flesh out its cast. The drama around it isn’t random, but tells a lot about the characters. Some parts like the whistling and the shota fangirls can get annoying, though.
#9 (new) – Hunter X Hunter – (8,25/10)
Here is the thing with this new season: it’s much faster than the first season. That has advantages and disadvantages. The story flows more, it’s easier to get into and as the result a lot of very interesting stuff has already happened in just four episodes. Now, the thing remains that this show skips a lot of time to flesh out the characters because of this. Out of all adaptations that feel rushed this season, this one actually does its best to hide it so far, but the real test for this show will be the point where the characters will actually show themselves off. Will these be as great as well? Right now, the only parts that really are worse than the first season are the music, and some of the voice acting.
#8 (new) – Mirai Nikki – (8,25/10)
Mirai Nikki is over the top suspense, and it realizes that. The characters are fun and well acted together, there’s a good whiff of romance without overdoing it, and the first three episodes have been very entertaining with a pretty good atmosphere.
#7 (new) – Fate/Zero – (8,25/10)
Fate/Zero stands out as the most solid series of the season. I refuse to watch Fate/Stay Night but this was completely different and much more interesting (and heck, we’re talking about actual adults this time). My big complaint about it is that it’s a bit boring with its exposition. There are long scenes of characters just standing in one place and do nothing but talking, and characters stop in the middle of fights to explain their moves. That breaks flow.
#6 (new) – Ben-To – (8,25/10)
What makes Ben-To so addictive is its direction. It has definite harem elements, but tis delivery is fresh and interesting. The jokes all work great, the timing of this show is perfect, and even when it’s not funny, the characters are interesting and well acted, rather than most other moe shows that have just boring characters. On top of that the fights are a lot of fun to watch, and the premise of fighting over half-priced lunches just kicks ass.
#5 (new) – Last Exile – Ginkyou no Fam – (8,5/10)
If you’re planning to watch this series, I have one message for you: watch up to the second episode. Both episodes are completely different in tone. The first episode is rather childish, where the second is very serious. It actually manages to blend the two together very well and most importantly it knows when to ditch its silliness. What really impressed me is how much the creators put into the setting. This show is full of creativity and the world it’s played in actually feels alive.
#4 (new) – Chihayafuru – (8,5/10)
This show has the best characters of the new season. They’re really well animated, very dynamic (showing both their young and old versions in full details really helps!), plus the karuta matches were really made exciting. The big challenge for this show is making the karuta matches this way. It’s a very simple game, so keeping up this pace will be a challenge.
#3 (new) – Un-Go – (8,5/10)
I really like the storytelling in this series. This show knows that it’s Noitamina and tries to stuff as much into its episodes as possible. The result is that it’s really fast paced, but not in a bad way. Episodes do require a second watch-through in order to get everything, but for me that’s not a bad thing at all. My only gripe is that the cast of characters is rather flat.
#2 (4) – Hyouge Mono – (8,75/10)
This month was all about character development. Naturally this was a great chance for the cast to shine, in a very weird arc that completely ditched the warfare in favor of esthetics. This is Bee-Train though, so I’m really looking forward to what they have planned for the ending.
#1 (1) – Mawaru Penguin Drum – (9,25/10)
Penguin Drum has definitely changed this month. I think that it’s for the better. It’s both become hilarious and the character development is really kicking in. It keeps finding new ways of showing symbolism and toying with its storyline. And yet, amidst the chaos, nothing is just thrown in at random. It would be awesome if the final third will be able to live up to the potential that has been built up so far.]]>
Hunter X Hunter – 05
Something bugged me about this episode, but I really couldn’t put my finger on what it was, so I actually ended up rewatching parts of the original series to find out (this took place on episode 8, by the way, to get a frame of reference). This episode actually made this part play out LONGER than the original TV-series did. In any case, after watching it, I really knew what bugged me: the acting.
With this, I’m mostly referring to the parts about Hisoka. The general scenario was the same, but how the characters acted just made this episode in the first season better. The problem lies with both Leorio and Hisoka hamming it up a bit too much, plus some really weird rearrangements in the battles (Hisoka’s teleportation powers, for example). The overall result of this is that in the first season, Hisoka really had this air around him of being a menace. Here he looks a bit too when he speaks every single line of his with extreme passion. It makes him much more of a generic villain at this point. I mean, heck, he looked like he was about to get an orgasm when he grabbed Gon.
Strangely enough this is not the product of this show going too fast like what I first feared. It really is just the acting. There were also these strange points like how Gon didn’t find it strange that Hisoka just grabbed Leorio and walked off, but that’s just inconsequential nit-picking. I do have to say that I still liked this episode, and especially the first half, along with the use of the Frog and the laxative (which was something that the first season couldn’t use).
Also, in terms of the big picture: every single episode here has been significantly different. We go from the sea to moral questions to quiet build-up to running to fighting monsters, in just five episodes. I can really not remember any other shounen that was as diverse as this one within just 5 episodes.
What I also love about this show: everyone is equal. There isn’t the usual crap of “you need to fight guy X before you can fight his boss before you can fight his boss before you can fight his boss before you can fight his boss, ad infinitum”. Everyone here is on the same ground, trying to pass the Hunter exam, and there is none of the usual hierarchical business that shounens usually use to pad out their lengths beyond all forms of patience.
Rating: * (Good)]]>
Last Exile – Ginyoku no Fam – 03
Now that every show has put out three episodes, I think I’ve found my three favorites of the season so far: Un-Go, Chihayafuru and Last Exile. Un-Go for its storytelling, Chihayafuru for its characters, and this series for its setting.
Because seriously man, is there any limit to the creativity here? Compared to this show, Un-Go seems like a collection of cliches. The background art isn’t just gorgeous here, it’s full of all kinds of original ideas and the architecture in this series is some of the best I’ve seen in years. What’s most important though: the setting here feels alive.
This episode really convinced me that the creators know what they’re doing. On top of showing the main characters mourn about what happened, they also show how the people who live in the same city deal with the recent attacks. The ritual of letting balloons fly upward with candles underneath it was also a really nice touch, but also the way in which the debris of last episode was salvaged was a great addition.
I also have to say kudos to the characters for bringing this all out. This episode showed that the creators know when to be serious and when to be light-hearted. There was not a hint of the creators wanting to downplay the loss of Turan’s family, while at the same time they also didn’t try to make it melodramatic or way too angsty for its own sake.
Good Gonzo, it’s great to see you back again!
Rating: ** (Excellent)]]>