Category: Series which were Dropped

Uchuu Kyoudai – 41

by psgels, posted in Uchuu Kyoudai

Damn you Space Brothers and your cliff-hangers! Seriously, it’s been a while since I’ve watched such addictive ones. You can see them from miles ahed, but just keep hoping that the show will extend a little bit further, or that by some stroke of miracle there is a double episode this week or something. One point of criticism though: if you want to retain tension, don’t name your episodes “80 minutes left to live”. Just sayin’…

And seriously, how little of Mutta has there been during the past two weeks. He only appeared at the end of the episode for a very small, but very significant role. I really like how he instantly realized that Hibito would try to make his way out of the cave. We also saw a completely different Mutta than usual. For the past two weeks, all silliness has been removed from this series. Normally this is like signing a series’ death warrant. Here though, it fleshes out the characters even more. This episode still had me at the edge of my seat from start to finish.

What I also really like about this episode… they revealed that Brian Jay had an older brother. I’m not sure whether it’s my memory being buggy again, or whether they really saved that revelation for this episode. But still: 30 seconds was enough to create yet another really interesting character in this series. As if the series didn’t already have enough of them!
Rating: 6/8 (Awesome)

Magi – 14

by psgels, posted in Magi

Magi uses its three main characters in an interesting way: episodes in which all three of them are active are quite rare. First they all travelled separately, then Aladdin lost consciousness for an entire month. It’s quite interesting, actually.

Now, as for this episode… the politics… Alibaba sure came with some ridiculous ideas. It was definitely creative, though and I have to say that I did not expect this. If the rest of this series will focus on turning Balbadd into a democracy and the challenges that come into its way, it’s going to make for a pretty interesting conclusion.

Having said that though, there is one thing I realized this episode: Magi is a series based on middle eastern folklore, based on modern ideals. The slavery already was one hint for this: sure, it’s something terrible and all, but back in those days people just found it normal, and were more preoccupied with their own survival. Then this episode with Alibaba’s sudden decision to turn an entire monarchy into a republic overnight. It is that this series suddenly revealed that there are other republics in this world, but still: it just does scream “freedom! equality for all”. Idealistic and inspiring indeed, but historically accurate? Err… Not to mention breaking off an arranged marriage in those days. I’m not saying that this was bad or anything, though it did catch my attention.
Rating: 4/8 (Good)

Uchuu Kyoudai – 40

by psgels, posted in Uchuu Kyoudai

I had been spoiled about the cliff-hanger of this episode (seriously, try to keep things like that out of the shoutbox; you know who you are…), but neverthelesss. : what an episode. And to think: this airs on sunday morning. Think of all the traumatized kids here. I mean, nobody died yet, but still, this was heavy stuff here. Also, an entire episode in which Mutta didn’t appear.

Here, you can really see the benefit of realism. You have series in which characters have all their bones in their bodies broken, limbs cut off, or cough up blood like crazy. But in this series, you really fear for the characters’ lives due to how meticulous it has been in portraying its characters: they feel real, making any danger to them so much more tangible. Especially since this episode also was a big chunk of atmosphere of Hibito trying to save both himself and his partner, all the while that this episode kept dropping hints that his oxygen tank was about to burst.

And it did, while both of them were still far from being saved. Heck, how long is Hibito going to be able to survive like this? And this brings me back to an awful feeling that I’ve had since this series took so much time into building up Hibito’s launch. I originally thought that something would just go wrong there, but heck. Are the creators seriously planning to kill off Hibito? Holy crap man. I mean, I can see the creators actually go through with that with all of the build-up they’ve done!

And I’m already going to give a warning for next week: really try to keep spoilers to a minimum there. Something tells me that that is an episode you do not want to be spoiled about…
Rating: 6/8 (Awesome)

Magi – 13

by psgels, posted in Magi

The creators really splurged the budget on this episode. I remember the previous prime-time series that A-1 pictures did: Ao no Exorcist. And when you compare those two series, I really have to say that Magi is a huge improvement. The action here was so much better than what Ao no Exorcist showed me: the art was messy, yet fluid. Not to mention the awesome camera angles. Yes, this show definitely made the wait during the new year time-skip worth it.

The interesting thing also is that Abhmad is completely weak and unsuited for fighting. That’s not something you see often in a fighting series like this, and it had a nice side-effect: this episode was full of action, but as soon as the focus went to Abhmad the action toned down, Alibaba became powerless and instead we got to see a much more personal conflict. I quite liked seeing him being pushed into a corner like that.

This series also has a new OP. I don’t really like the song, but I do like how much the creators managed to stuff into it. I think that that also strikes the animation of this episode: it had a ton of detail stuffed into it, both the character-designs and the backgrounds. There were a lot of shots with huge crowds, and still the creators managed to keep up a pretty good framerate.
Rating: 5.5/8 (Excellent)

Uchuu Kyoudai – 39

by psgels, posted in Uchuu Kyoudai

We’re only eight episodes into the year, and I’ve already found a very big contender for the best OP of 2013. Holy crap, the new OP for this series is amazing. When it finished it took me about half a minute before I managed to control my self to stop laughing.

Beyond that, we’ve finally arrived at the final quarter of Uchuu Kyoudai. It was a delight as usual to watch, but the most interesting were two of the developments that happened in it. Most importantly, the cliff-hanger in which Hibito accidentally raced off a cliff and will very likely be in a lot of trouble for the next episodes. My guess will be that the next few episodes will focus on this, while Mutta and the others prepare for their trip to space. But then?

You see, the thing is that Mutta still is quite far from being an astronaut. Sure, he’ll get there, but we’re a few years further down the line before he gets to move into space. The creators will probably show some conclusion about Azuma, but are the creators really going to skip a year around that point? Would be awesome for the character-development.

Meanwhile, I loved Nasuda’s analogy about the kanji for “Person”. Not just its direct meaning, but also how it got used afterwards. That lead to some very fluid animation afterwards, by the way, when Murasaki came and shook everyone’s hand. The lecture that followed later in the episode also was just hilarious. In any case: this episode confirmed that this series will set a very high standard for the rest of the series this year to follow.
Rating: 5.5/8 (Excellent)

K Review – 79/100

by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews, K



Sometimes this happens: the point where I’ve nearly written off a series, and then it pulls something that drastically changes my opinion of it. For a long time, I was just planning to write my review of K with the base of “gorgeous, but unambitious and boring”. Then the final episode turned out to be the best of the entire series and a second season got announced. Now it suddenly is a solid show that devotes a bit too much time to building up.

The thing with K at first sight was that even though it seemed really ambitious at first sight, the story delved into some very simple murder mystery, alongside a war between two different clans. It never really went beyond that and it also did not try to spice things up much, aside from some gorgeous visuals and action scenes. It had some talk about seven different kings that for a long time didn’t really go anywhere other than explaining why some people in the world are ridiculously powerful. It just did not make sense with the mindset that this would be just a 13-episode series.

But yeah, it all turned out to be just build-up. With the way this series is, I would not recommend it on its own, but it set a solid base for its second season. A big problem with a lot of this series was that there also was hardly any character development. The final few episodes finally also brought that in. Doable for a series with 26 episodes, but not for one with 13.

Oh about the animation by the way: K wins the award of the best animation of the season, or at least the biggest production values can be found here with tons of smooth animation, realistic character movements and well coordinated fight scenes. It’s also got a pretty good soundtrack. My only complaint is that the creators like to abuse lighting effects, to the point where every short has some sort of obnoxious filter over it.

So yeah, I’ll be checking out the second season. Then we’ll know whether the build-up in this series was actually worth it.

Storytelling: 8/10 – Good build-up, just forgets to deliver through most of its airtime…
Characters: 7.5/10 – The characters stay rather bland through most the airtime. Emphasis on “Most”, because they do come together in the finale.
Production-Values: 9/10 – Gorgeous animation, nice soundtrack.
Setting: 7/10 – Doesn’t really do much with its setting and the seven kings backstory feels a bit empty.

Suggestions:
– Durarara
– Heat Guy J
– Karas

Sword Art Online Review – 72,5/100

by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews, Sword Art Online



Um yeah. Sword Art Online. While it doesn’t beat Guilty Crown as “trainwreck of the year” for me, it still is a show I had very mixed feelings about. In order to explain why, I’m going to have to diverge a bit from my normal spoiler policy, though. I won’t outright spoil things, but I do have to say things about the plot progression here and what happens at certain stages. Because Sword Art Online has for me been the prime example of jumping the shark for the past half year.

Like Guilty Crown, SAO is what happens if you focus your series way too much around your male lead. Thankfully, Kirito is an actual character. A bland one, but an actual character, rather than a plot device. It’s nearly everything around him that’s a plot device instead though. The first half of the series however thankfully has enough to make up for it.

I mean the setting behind this show is fascinating: you’ve got an MMORPG that traps its own players. Wonderful! The despair of the people who are trapped inside it for an incredibly long time was great. A unique culture evolved that was really interesting to watch. Add that to great fight animation and a great climax, and you’ve got a very solid story. For the first half.

The show’s problems already shine through in the first half, but not bad enough. By far the worst issue I had was the harem element. Picture this: you’re on an mmorpg server. The females are in a big minority. And yet, nearly all of them end up falling for Kirito, the lead. He’s the first who truly cares about them when he meets them, he’s the first who makes them feel comfortable, even though he’s a completely antisocial guy. Yeah, this is wish fulfillment that is pretty thinly veiled. Kirito’s sole salvation here is that he actually ends up in a very good couple, and that the chemistry between him and the female lead actually works. The lead female is strong, and they complement each other quite well. The combination between action and romance works out quite well as the first half goes on and gets to its climax.

So yeah, the second half… it took about two episodes for me to completely give up hope on this series afterwards. That arc is just so inherently wrong on so many levels, it’s hard to know where to really start.

But imagine this: the bland male lead is happy in a couple. Then the female lead gets kidnapped for an entire season, and he starts flirting with his cousin (who he grew up with believing her to be his sister), leading to a completely pointless romantic quasi-incest subplot that doesn’t really go anywhere. Seriously, nearly the entire second half of this series is dedicated to just that, rather than the much more interesting other things aobut this series.

The second half is also littered with plotholes that this show just pulls right out of its ass, just to be more convenient and make the plot go as intended. It’s just too spoilery to go into details, but items appear from out of nowhere, the games in this series are riddled with design decisions that just boggle my mind, characters act irrational for no reason, and half the time this show doesn’t know whether it’s in a virtual world or not, which gets really annoying. Oh and the villain there. He’s one of the most stereotypical evil villains I’ve seen in a long while.

Thankfully this is an A-1 production, so the graphics look good and the fight animation is very creative. Yuki Kajiura behind the soundtrack is also solid, although with this series she really starts to reveal that she has run out of inspiration and that all of her music is just starting to sound the same.

Sword Art Online gets a lot of love. I don’t think that it deserves that. Sword Art Online also gets a lot of hate. And I also don’t think it deserves that either. Sure, its second half is pretty bad and all, but it does have its things to make up for it. Its setting has its traces of brilliance, and the first half was pretty solid there. Nevertheless. There’s better out there. It’s just too flawed to really recommend. The only thing I’m really angry at this series for is how it disrespects its female lead in its second half. That’s the one thing that I really find unforgivable. Apart from that the second half is just bad storytelling. Nothing more, nothing less.

Storytelling: 6.5/10 – Good build-up, but waaaay too many plot devices.
Characters: 6.5/10 – There are some interesting characters here, and the lead couple is quite good in the first half. This show completely disrespects the female lead in its second half by having her kidnapped, making her do nothing and have the male lead head off to a pointless incest subplot.
Production-Values: 8,5/10 – Great animation. It’s overall a very solid looking show at the very least.
Setting: 7.5/10 – The show gets some points for being interesting and having some really nice ideas. It loses points for not making any sense. Especially in its second half.

Suggestions:
– .Hack//Sign
– .Hack//Roots
– Amatsuki

Uchuu Kyoudai – 38

by psgels, posted in Uchuu Kyoudai

This episode… the creators actually succeeded in making it feel so unreal. The whole point of this episode was to let everything sink in, but really: if you skipped 20 episodes and just went to this episode, the outcome wouldn’t surprise you in the slightest. This show just succeeded in making me incredibly happy that all of them managed to make it. That is SO hard to do.

One thing I do hope is that one of the future episodes will explain why Mutta got hired. I mean, we have enough hints: he’s incredibly perceptive, he holds people together, he’s very social, he’s Hibito’s older brother, but I wonder what sealed the deal. This episode showed that it can answer questions that it asked months ago with Ya-san’s little comment.

And after all this time, the humour of this series still is rock-solid. I loved how the creators used Apo in the middle of that nerve-wrekcing speech that Mutta had to give in front of the press. But also Ya-san’s comments about Serika were hilarious. It has never been explicitly said that other people knew about Mutta’s crush, even though it’s obvious. This just was the perfect time to show this. “Now the entire country knows!”
Rating: 6/8 (Awesome)

Magi – 12

by psgels, posted in Magi

There may not have been any action, but for me this was one of the most solid episodes of Magi so far. I like how a prime time series sets its action apart for one week to focus on its politics, and especially Alibaba’s part in this episode was very interesting to follow: he’s nowhere near ready yet, yet now he’s forced to do something in order to prevent an all-out war that could potentially slaughter hundreds of civillians, making the country even more vulnerable for the Kou empire to pick off.

By the way, I’m also glad that I’m finally noticing some arabic influences in the series’ soundtrack. This is just me and my memory, though. I could have sworn that this had been done earlier, but it’s still good because I remember complaining about how not-arabic the OP and ED for this show are.

I also liked Kassim here, how he forced so much out of Alibaba. He knows what he wants, yet he is so obviously manipulated by the Kou empire. With this I’m also much happier with that idiot king there, who thankfully got more depth than just being evil for the sake of being evil.
Rating: 5.5/8 (Excellent)

Magi – 11

by psgels, posted in Magi

A-1 really grabbed some good animators for this episode. The fight that showed the conclusion of last week’s episode had some really solid animation there. It lacked the emotional impact that last week had because it was just there to resolve things and wrap things up, and introduce this new tsundere princess character who is bound to be important later on. And it was good to look at. The soundtrack was also better than ever.

Then this episode came with its world building, that did make the impact I was looking for. So far the slavery has been fairly simple: it’s evil. This episode put some more depth to it by explaining why there was so much slavery in Balbadd to begin with, with the use simple macroeconomics. It’s definitely the start, but I’m still looking for this show to go further in exploring its characters like this.

This definitely was a good start, but I’m still missing something from Magi. I mean, it has the development of its characters, but it’s not enough as of yet. I can’t put my finger exactly on what I’m missing though, but this episode had a bit of it.
Rating: 5/8 (Great)