It’s a common premise: you have a series that’s about a bunch of high school girls and you follow their daily lives; it’s that simple. It’s far from my preferred genre though, and I find myself bored with most of them. There are, however, exceptions. Having the guy who directed all of the Aria series behind this also helps.
The cast does need a bit of time to warm up (especially if you haven’t watched the prequel OVAs), but for me, this was one major step above the usual series in this genre. For one: it spends a lot of time on fleshing out and developing its characters. Every episode is dedicated to showing different sides of the cast, or having them develop as a character. This is all very subtly done, ad the characters themselves are all very believably acted, with some very impressive and fluid animation that remains very consistent throughout the entire series.
Sato Junichi also uses this one trick that also worked really well with Aria: well written dialogue and voice overs, containing subtle morals that all of the characters can relate to. It again works very well, and all of this leads to a very heart-warming series with a genuine cast of characters.
It’s definitely a series that needs to grow on you, because the characters definitely do not show themselves off right from the start. This does lead to a few annoyances that you just need to sit through, like a really big crybaby, or a character who does nothing but whistle. Plus Sato Junichi’s habit to go with the weirdest looking cats imaginable.
Nevertheless, if you’re looking for a heart-warming slice of life series then this is a very solid choice. This is very relaxing and heart-warming, and it’s short and to the point with only 12 episodes and 4 ovas.
| Storytelling: | 8/10 – It’s slice of life, yet things happen here. Excellent at creating a heart-warming atmosphere. |
| Characters: | 9/10 – Well developed in a short time, excellent acting, although you do need to get used to the cast. |
| Production-Values: | 8/10 – Lots of animation, fluid and consistent, and a very good soundtrack. |
| Setting: | 8/10 – The town in which this all takes place is actually very detailed and fleshed out. |
Suggestions:
– Aria the Animation
– Windy Tales
– Hitohira
Most studios tend to favor a particular type of series. Sunrise loves mecha, JC Staff often goes with young moe girls, Bee-Train is crazy about series that involve partnerships, Studio Deen has its bishies, Madhouse is there for the dark avant-garde type shows and Hal Film Maker is often into slice of life. Bones though… their shows all are completely different from each other. The only common thread that I can find is that their shows often have action, but that can be said about 50% of all the other studios as well. It’s really one of their strengths, on top of how much effort they nearly always put in their execution. And with this, I bring you Kurau Phantom Memories, a show that is among their top 5 best attempts.
Kurau Phantom Memories follows people with superpowers, but instead of trying to be the epic of the year, it is very much character oriented. It’s as much about the use of superpowers in a corporate society as it is about womanhood. Perhaps the latter is an even bigger theme. And as a result, the creators absolutely nailed the characterization of the lead female character. She’s incredibly well developed, and even though this show can get pretty dark at times, she’s portrayed with an incredible amount of warmth. This show is especially brilliant at balancing its heart-warming and cold-hearted nature with each other, with some magnificent results.
The rest of the cast is also very well written. Characters all act naturally and the main side characters all are significantly developed into interesting characters throughout the series. The side characters that only appear on one or two episodes before leaving meanwhile do a very good job on fleshing out the world of the series, and even they are multi-dimensional as soon as their airtime ends.
The production values play an interesting role here. The animation is perticularly well directed, and even though this show doesn’t have the budget to keep its art consistent, it does know when and where to put effort into its fluidity, leading to some truly excellent and dynamic scenes, on places where it counts. The soundtrack is also just fantastic. It’s not large, but nearly every track that’s there is a feast for the ears and does a brilliant job at enhancing the atmosphere.
The acting does border cheese at times though. The dialogue often is very inspired, but at other times the characters don’t get further beyond uttering each other’s names a number of times. Despite these issues though, ti’s got a strong plot with some real moral dilemmas and situations that really aim to get the best out of the characters.
I’m really not sure what happened to Bakuman, but it has turned into a complete soap opera, always turning from worst case scenario to other worst case scenario. I especially dislike how immature Moritaka handled when he came down with his injury. The balance in this show seemed lost: the first season moved too slow, but this season delivers its plot twists too fast.
#14 (16) – Kimi to Boku – (7,75/10)
Kimi to Boku’s big problem is the yellow-haired kid. In every single episode, this squirt finds new ways to annoy me. It’s a good thing that most episodes manage to deliver some good drama around some other character, otherwise I would have dropped this long ago, but this remains a test of patience.
#13 (8) – Mirai Nikki – (7,75/10)
Mirai Nikki at this point is still missing something in its characterization. It’s definitely fun, but at the moment its complete lack of subtlety is taking away a bit of the tension. I know that it aims to be like that, but for that it’s just not crazy enough to make up for that. I’m still missing something with this series.
#12 (13) – Phi Brain – (7,75/10)
This show is weird. It makes no sense whatsoever and every episode features some sort of weird thing that just defies all kinds of logic. But it’s fun. The puzzles in this show are always entertaining, and the drama around it also is surprisingly good.
#11 (6) – Ben-To – (8/10)
I’m a bit torn about this show at the moment. On one hand, this show is just hilarious and without a doubt the best comedy of the season. On the other hand however, it had one particular episode that was really bad, and went against a lot of what this show avoided so well up to that point. In particular the penis jokes have been too abused t this point. So that’s why I’m going to give it a safe rating at the moment, and if it can pull itself back up, then that’s only a good result.
#10 (14) – Kyoukai Senjou no Horzion – (8,25/10)
Thee is a ton of magic-babble in this series, but that’s also what makes it interesting. The premise and culture behind this series are very creative and while hard to follow, it’s definitely consistently interesting. And then there is the fact that everyone’s boobs are enormous and the male main character seems to think that groping them is a form of bonding. What the hell?
#9 (17) – Nurarihyon no Mago – (8,25/10)
Hunter X Hunter so far has been better than the first series in terms of pacing (scenes flow much smoothly into each other), and worse in terms of acting (most of the voice actors lack subtlety). It’s shown that it can deliver on the heavy scenes though, so everything is still possible at this moment.
#7 (10) – Tamayura ~ Hitotose – (8,25/10)
This series turned out to be excellent slice of life. It’s not dull enough for nothing to happen, and every episode feels inspired. The voice acting is excellent, the animation really brings the characters alive, and on top of that the setting also feels vibrant.
#6 (7) – Fate/Zero – (8,25/10)
This show has been steadily building up its story, and it’s gradually getting better and better to make up for its rather slow pacing. The themes of chivalry get slowly more and more meaning, and more and more characters start to get interesting. There still are some characters that need some work, like the Caster duo and Saber herself, but there is still plenty of time left with such a steady pacing.
#5 (5) – Last Exile ~ Ginkyou no Fam – (8,25/10)
In this month, Last Exile wasn’t exactly the most consistent series. There were time where it was a little too childish and panderish. The points where it delivered however, it REALLY DELIVERED, with absolutely gorgeous artwork, a fantastic atmosphere, and characters that are very easy to relate to. Especially Giselda stole the show in the latest episode.
#4 (3) – Chihayafuru – (8,5/10)
It’s a simple concept, but this series has really nailed its execution. This month introduced all of the side characters, and they’re all important to the main characters, rather than just being some token characters. The acting still is wonderful, and the Karuta matches are actually starting to get more interesting with each episode, thanks to the passion that the characters put in it.
#3 (2) – Hyouge Mono – (8,75/10)
Overall this has been a very consistent series: consistently interesting, consistently silly, and consistently developing its plot. Things still are moving at a steady, albeit slow pace, and it still is a joy to watch this show even after 30 episodes.
#2 (4) – Un-Go – (8,75/10)
Out of all the new shows this Autumn Season, this is definitely the one that stood out. It has fantastic storytelling, combining terrific episodic stories perfectly together with a continuous storyline, and it makes sure to deliver every single week. The pacing is very addictive, the stories are really interesting, the mystery is excellent, and it doesn’t waste a single minute. I complained about the characters before, but even they turned out to be really interesting to watch.
#1 (1) – Mawaru Penguion Drum – (9/10)
Penguin Drum at the moment is really building towards its home stretch. This month was full of plot twists and character development. The direction still is really excellent, which makes every episode a joy to watch.]]>