Category: Other:

Some Quick First Impressions – Sunoharasou no Kanrinin-san, Harukana Receive and Chio-chan no Tsuugakuro

by SuperMario, posted in Some Quick First Impressions

Sunoharasou no Kanrinin-san

Short Synopsis: A young boy travels to a new city and moves in with four women, one of whom has some pretty big tits and shit.

Wooper’s “review”:

I watched less than a minute of this before turning it off. The character animation looked like the popsicle stick episode of Kare Kano, and the story turned left onto Wish Fulfillment Avenue within seconds of its opening scene. This is a show for people who need to see their very specific fetishes reflected on screen, and don’t care how cheaply they’re portrayed. If that’s you, then please watch this trash so I don’t have to.

Potential: Check out Banana Fish instead

Mario’s review:

Boy, even with me, who is fond of slice of life shows, couldn’t find anything remotely interesting regarding this. This first episode had only two things going on: that this kid is a boy despite looks (and behaves) like a girl, and his boarding house caretaker has a massive bouncing boob. There’s no story to begin with, but the fan-service fares so much worse, uncomfortably so. You see, not only she waked the kid up by putting her chest to his face, she determines to wash his back naked and lets him touch her chest. Aahh! The show looks bland and other characters have some sort of fetish, not in the good way. This is just a huge waste of time.

Potential: 0%

 

Harukana Receive

Short Synopsis: A high school girl moves in with her cousin for summer vacation and learns to play beach volleyball.

Wooper’s review:

The best word to describe this show is “mediocre.” It’s a disappointment in most departments, but not a failure. Some examples: the character movements are stiff, but consistent throughout the episode. The girls’ personalities are simple, but effective for a sports series. The music doesn’t make any waves on a compositional level, but it has a coastal flavor that fits the beach volleyball theme. Harukana Receive epitomizes the bar that all anime should reach before setting their sights any higher. It even features a few quiet slice-of-life moments near the end that make it a bit more than just a sports series. In a season full of zero-effort productions and soulless cash grabs, this show is just good enough to merit a second look (but only if you’re a fan of the genre).

Potential: 25%

Mario’s review:

We have the second cute girl playing sports anime this season, and this one wasn’t half bad, all things considered. It isn’t anything stellar by any stretch but it does its job on selling the appeal of the sports and introduce characters we can get behind. Although aware of beach volleyball as far back as I can remember, I don’t really know much about it. So on that front this show does make me feel a bit interested and I particular like it when they frame the sport as partnership instead of team or single sports. Second, the two main girls are the exact opposite so their differences bounce off each other well, and having complex about height is something I feel as reasonable. The main story, however, is formulaic as we can all figure out that what this story is gonna head. The new girl will learn the sport, drag her partner to some sort of tournament and they will play against these girls in the final. I would love to be proven wrong on this.

Potential: 20%

 

Chio-chan no Tsuugakuro

Short Synopsis: A girl takes an enthusiastic shortcut to school.

Aidan’s review:

Now this is just fun. I admit that as far as humor goes I didn’t really laugh but more found the events on screen amusing but it was still quite the enjoyable watch. The main character is hella relatable at least for a gaming side to me and even I had the awkward moment where you thought someone was waving at you but turned out they were signaling to someone behind you. Either way I love the contrast of Chio’s social insecurity contrasted with her ridiculous means of going to school and dealing with situations. This is a girl that wants a normal life and yet goes to absurd levels to preserve it. It’s certainly fun, though not sure why we needed those boob bouncing animation and sound effect. Might be because the author of the manga is a genuine hentai artist which isn’t quite as rare as you might think. Anyway this looks to be a fun weekly dose of madness but it’s going to have a hell of a competitor once Grand Blue starts airing.

Potential: 70%

Mario’s review:

Chio-chan is a show with one simple premise: Chio’s misadventures on her way to school, which arguably is more suitable for shorts than a full-fledge 1 cour series. But if this premiere is any indication, I think we’re up for a good fun here. This episode walks a fine line between bizzare and relatability, boasted by the absurd situations she faces herself in, Chio’s colorful, silly yet rich inner voice and the unpredictability both in how the story progresses and in Chio’s mindset herself. These two skits paint two different aspect of her (her game nerdy side and her social anxiety side), and the tone and style in general remind me a bit of Nichijou, which is one of my favorite comedy anime. The animation is fairly basic, and not all the jokes land, most notably the bouncing boobs that just gets pale fast. Still, as someone who was dreaming the same goddamn things (what if something extraordinary happened on my way to school) in my junior years, this pretty much lands within my territory here.

Potential: 70%

Hisone to Masotan (2018 Spring) Review – 73/100

by SuperMario, posted in Anime Reviews, Hisone to Masotan, Reviews by SuperMario

Coming off as one of my most anticipated anime out of this last Spring Season, based solely on staffs involved alone – after all, an original anime written by Mari Okada and produced by Bones (which I regarded as one of the best anime studio working right now) – I can’t help but feel let down towards how HisoMaso progresses and wraps up. It’s a show with many highlights, mind you, as I consider the production as one of the best of the year so far: simple yet expressive character designs, stunning backgrounds and crisp animation. All you could ask for really. It has some interesting ideas, but that precisely pains me even more that the world-building just doesn’t support the ideas HisoMaso has.

To begin with, let’s address my main issues regarding this production. Unlike other anime shows which bring themselves down by treading the same tired path, HisoMaso is a show with many fresh concepts. I would applaud anyone who can think of the idea of them inside the dragons and piloting (note: not riding) as a military fighter jet. It’s a wonderful and whimsical mix concept that fit into the easy-going tone and the simple character designs. In fact, the first few episodes still carry this concept forward due to the fact that it never takes itself seriously. That’s when the issue arises when we need something more substantial when the appeal wears out, and it becomes increasingly frustrated to see the plot progresses without any backup. As an example, the show introduces the whole “ritual” concerning the whole giant dragon which “wakes up” every 82 years. It opens a whole new can of worms regarding the whole village who dedicated themselves solely for this event and even the process of it all. Equally under-developed and underwhelmed is the anastomosis bit, which for me is the prime example of creating conflicts solely for the sake if conflicts. As it stands, HisoMaso often feels like a first draft on a novel, many wonderful ideas but all of them are half-baked because the creators just don’t spend enough time to think this through.

The half-baked approach spread into the characters themselves. These girls have many quirks that distinct them to the rest of the cast, but at the end of the day there simply isn’t much development for them, or the development feel calculated and forced. Take Kinutsugai and Hitomi, the D-pilots who appear at the poster and the ED, HisoMaso just doesn’t know what to do with them. Same thing regarding the dragons, which feel more like mascots. The main lead Hisone embraces what could be the worst tendency of HisoMaso’s attempt of developing characters. Like the show, she tends to tell us out loud what her issues are, and like the show she tends to make rather weird decisions. Many of her conflicts are raised and solved within an episode, as a result the development doesn’t feel earned.

Speaking about making weird decisions, I can’t still put my fingers on the central message of HisoMaso. In some ways, Mari Osada underlines the struggles of working women in Japanese society, as they have to choose between career and family. Having Hisone and Hoshino fall in love that could potentially cause negative impact on piloting the dragons is part of that strategy. But how do they deal with it? By having the entire army unit work on “make them fall in love then crush their love apart”. That’s mean-spirited to the point of stupidity. On that note, they didn’t resolve the love’s conflict thoroughly either. Second, HisoMaso marks the relationship between the dragons and their pilots, as we see in how Hoshino struggling as she considers herself “a pilot” – not dragon caretaker; and we see the theme reflected by the titular characters. But the problem with its is the way Hisone regards her dragon. She considers Masotan as someone who see the specialness in her, and piloting dragon is something that make her worthwhile, as a result in episode 3 we have something as obscure as her demanding Masotan to “take responsibility” because he picked her. That level of dependence repeats later on, when Hisone argues with another girl solely about a boy. This questionable treatment to women is unacceptable, especially with a show about adult women written by an adult woman. As a result, HisoMaso become the first show from 2018 that receive a minus (-) mark from me.

But what HisoMaso makes up for the under-cooked story is the sheer power of visual presentation. Everything looks great, the characters are on the simple design, but that’s exactly why the studio can go wild on their facial expressions and characters movement. What it’s lack from the character depth is replaced by their mannerism, in which each character moves differently and has different tones. The background designs are simply gorgeous with bright color palette, and the animation are crisp and a feast to an eye. If you don’t mind the lack of deeper layer, HisoMaso’s aesthetic alone would serve as a visual treat. Indeed, at top of my mind only the recent FLCL’s production is on the same level with this show for the first half of this 2018 calendar year.

So yeah, HisoMaso is a show with many highs and lows. Its visual strength is amongst the best of the industry right now, and it’s an easy watch all around with some emotional resonance. The lack of a well thought-out world, however, hurts the show since it’s crumble as it moves along. It’s still a show worth checking out, but don’t delve too deeply into it.

Some Quick First Impressions – Back Street Girls, Shichisei no Subaru and Banana Fish

by SuperMario, posted in Some Quick First Impressions

Back Street Girls

Short Synopsis: Yakuza boss turns 3 yakuza underlings into popular idol girls

Lenlo’s Review:

I have to say, Microsoft Powerpoint has come a long way since the early 90’s. I was so confused by this series, I legitimately stopped to check if I hadn’t paused it or something at one point. Turns out, no, it just has less frames than a weekly manga chapter. Seeing that though, I decided to try something. I went and read the manga. And you know what? This anime is just fan-colored panels slapped into a powerpoint presentation. Like seriously. This is adapted almost 1 for 1 from the manga. I was so surprised I skipped straight past anger, bargaining and depression and went straight to acceptance. Seriously though, just read the manga. It will be faster. And if you have to have the voices, just treat is as an audio book or something. Slap it on your kindle. You’ll probably have a better experience.

Potential: 0%

Aidan’s review:

Now, I don’t consider myself an expert on animation production but just this once let me offer a piece of advice. If you are going to create an anime of a manga then maybe you should…I don’t know…animate it? I swear to god this was literally a slideshow of the manga on screen, absolutely bare minimum effort required to technically classify this as animation. No, this is as one reddit user put it, moving manga. Well at least I can feel safe in know they series won’t be taking any talent away from JC Staffs other anime this season. So the presentation isn’t doing the show any favors which causes the jokes to fall flatter than they should. I like the general idea of this story but overall it’s just the same joke repeated over and over. I wouldn’t bother with this one.

Potential: 0%

 

Shichisei no Subaru

Short Synopsis: a group of childhood friends come to terms with the loss of one member, in RPG

Aidan’s review:

Wow this game sounds terrible. You really can tell the author hasn’t really much experience with MMOs or just doesn’t really care about fleshing it out to a point of being believable. I mean one of the party has the power to see into the future…how the hell would that work mechanically? Also a boss that literally deletes your character if you happen to die to it? Who in their right mind would design a boss like that, literally no one would risk it unless it had some game breaking reward. Well I guess hackers would just cheat it but I guess hackers don’t exist in this world. But allow me to be blunt and say I hate this anime, I hate it very much. There is bad anime but then there are anime which are like a personal insult to me for seeing something so lazily written with nothing really thought out just makes me furious. This is a story where the author wants to put his drama down without thinking out any of the aspects to make it feasible. The plot points are so agonisingly obvious that I can map out the character love pentagram just from the first episode alone. This story is clearly gunning for a mixture of Anohana and Sword Art Online and does neither to any level of satisfaction. For the RPG aspects are ludicrous and the drama so forced that I want to grab the writer by the neck and scream in his face “Learn how to goddamn write you stupid ass HACK!” So yes, quite unpleasant. I may be as uncouth to say it made me rather hot and bothered. Well, pip pip, tally ho, fuck this show.

Potential: May this show burn in hell and apologise to writers everywhere

Lenlo’s Review:

So… are we entirely sure the UI and town/backgrounds wasn’t lifted wholesale from SAO? Is this made by the same people? Am I being punked? To be serious for a moment though, this series has issues. I really can’t add anything onto what Aidan said except this: The most fun/entertaining part of Subaru was listening to Aidan as he watched it. Really, the thing I look forward to most each season is the possibility of something like this that just drives him up a wall. If you don’t care about things making logical sense, of laying down and following set rules, you might get some fun out of this. I don’t expect the drama to be all that great, its very melodrama-ey and simply not as well crafted as Anohana was. I actually think the ridiculousness of the MMO aspect takes away from what is basically a rehash of Anohana’s mostly grounded (excluding the ghost) story of coming to terms with loss. But the twist at the end was unexpected and kinda makes you wonder where its going to go. Consider my interest peaked enough to hear how it goes, but expecting the worst. Also, someone help me convince Aidan to watch it through the season.

Potential: 15%

Mario’s review:

Well, people are right to suggest that Shichisei is a mixture of Anohana in a Sword Art Online RPG settings, even the characters resemble the cast in Anohana, let alone the twist that brings us to the present day. It does run through many forced developments and strain credulity a bit, like the love interest bit and WHAT THE HELL? THEY ARE PRIMARY SCHOOL’S KIDS. But at the same times I’m not lying when I say this twist does grab me and I want to see how they deal with it in future events. The characters, then, will have to shoulder all the emotional weight, and as far as this first episode goes, NO, they still aren’t fleshed out beyond their established traits yet. It might get frustrated later on, but for now, I’m mildly interested to see what comes next. I’d say that the best way to know if the series works for you is to see how’s your response regarding that plot’s turn. I don’t mind another Anohana-inspired drama if it’s done right.

Potential: 40%

 

Banana Fish

Short Synopsis: A young gang leader becomes embroiled in a drug-related plot and befriends a Japanese reporter.

Mario’s review:

No question about it, Banana Fish is kool and stylish. From the NY settings to this mafia feud to the compelling characters, Banana Fish grabs you in the first moment and never leaves you.The story so far is fast-pace and thrilling, without ever sacrifice the characters’ motivation and they provide just enough information for us to process. For only the first episode, Ash proves to be an interesting lead, confident, sharp but has enough ‘weakness’ to make him believable. I’m not too fond on the other lead, Eiji though. So far he’s dragging the show down and that yaoi tone is so obvious it’s rather distracting. It helps that the production is sublime: many striking shots and the animated sequences at the bar are simply stunning, and the memorable soundtrack with the gritty backdrop make this the best-looking and stylish show we’ve seen so far this season, and that Banana Fish, whatever it is, will prove to be a wild ride for our Ash and Eiji. Sign me in for this wild ride.

Potential: 80%

Wooper’s review

Now this is more like it. Banana Fish feels like it was assembled by a creative team that actually gave a shit about the material they were handed. Check out the graffiti and the sunlit streets that bring its stylized version of New York to life. Listen to the show’s musical palette, which moves seamlessly between genres to feature bass, boom bap, electronic, and even metal (there’s only one dud in the bunch, during Ash and Dino’s first conversation, but it’s quickly forgotten). Most of all, check out the godlike fight scene in the billiards bar near the end of the episode, which lends credibility to the idea that these characters play hard and live harder. There’s no question that MAPPA delivered with this episode, but the manga’s tendency to forego establishing panels bled into the anime’s sense of speed, which hurts its score a little bit. Once the initial conflict between Ash and Arthur/Marvin dies down, hopefully the show will stop and smell the roses for a bit, but with 110 chapters to adapt in just 20-something episodes, we may be stuck on fast forward for the majority of the series. Still, this was a very exciting premiere. Everybody go watch Banana Fish!

Potential: 75%

Some Quick First Impressions – Chuukan Kanriroku Tonegawa, Yume Oukoku to Nemureru 100 Nin no Ouji-sama and Isekai Maou to Shoukan Shoujo no Dorei Majutsu

by SuperMario, posted in Some Quick First Impressions

Chuukan Kanriroku Tonegawa

Short Synopsis: The right hand man at a financial consulting firm struggles with mundane tasks while designing a death game for his boss.

Lenlo’s Review:

Ah Kaiji, how I had missed you. For those not in the know, Tonegawa is basically a prequel/side story to the Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor series. The best gambling anime out there. If you like Kakegurui, then Kaiji will knock your socks off. I would also almost make it mandatory, or at least recommended, watching for Tonegawa as it basically covers the entire first 3 minute recap. It’s fantastic. As for Tonegawa, well… it’s alright. Looks like it’s going to be a middle-management wordplay comedy instead of Kaiji’s high stakes gambling. That’s disappointing. There is also the fact that, because of Kaiji, we know that Tonegawa survives his series intact. In addition everything, from the sound effects to the art, seem… off from the original series. I can’t place it, but its stuck in my head. Regardless, Tonegawa will live or die by its ability to adapt. If it sticks with this middle-management comedy routine, it’s going to crash and burn. If it flips to something else, it may just survive. We shall see.

Potential: 30%

Wooper’s review:

This is a Kaiji spinoff, right? Right. So where is Fumihiko Tachiki as my solemn narrator? Where are the sinister “zawa zawa”s that I remember from the first season? I don’t want to say this series betrayed my expectations, because it’s clearly going for something new here, but I certainly didn’t expect such iconic elements of the original production to change. Maybe change is a good thing, though. Tonegawa is a straight-up comedy rather than the pulse-pounding thriller that Kaiji was, so the hammy narration might gel with the middle management hijinks after another episode or two. I’ll be giving it that chance, because I like the original series, and because Tonegawa’s performance as a world-weary death game designer offers plenty of potential for laughs. The suit-related gags in this episode weren’t too strong, but I believe that Madhouse will squeeze whatever black comedy they can from the source material. Plus, Fukumoto’s art style is glorious as always.

Potential: 40%

 

Yume Oukoku to Nemureru 100 Nin no Ouji-sama

Short Synopsis: A woman must embrace her destiny of awakening 100 princes after being transported to another world.

Lenlo’s Review:

Ah the good ol isekai harem series. A staple of every season it seems like. Hope your ready for info-dumps, because your in for one probably every episode most likely. The only thing 100 Sleeping Princes has going for it is the age of its heroine. Instead of being the generic high schooler, we have… presumably a young out of college office worker. That’s really the only thing this series has that separates it from any other standard isekai fair. Aside from that, the designs are standard, the characters are standard, everything about 100 Sleeping Princes screams bog standard to me. Simply not worth your time, your prince is in another castle.

Potential: 0%

Mario’s review:

Think of a generic reverse-harem isekai and you pretty much have a good idea about this show. 100 Sleeping Princes embraces all these tired tropes: main heroine who already has super-power (and amnesia), sleeping boys around wherever she goes, and the mascot who basically info-dumping us all the things we need to know. All those make this episode a predictable and harmless ride. It doesn’t help that the production doesn’t have anything above-average to offer, nor can the characters carry the show. There’s a fair bit of chemistry between the two princes, but it’s obvious that this is an excuse for amping up as many cute boys in distress as it could. Look, if you want make a reverse-harem show, just don’t grant your girl any special ability. Your typical isekai garbage.

Potential: 0%

 

Isekai Maou to Shoukan Shoujo no Dorei Majutsu

Short Synopsis: a shut-in gamer is summoned into his game world, becomes a powerful character with 2 beast girls as his slaves

Aidan’s review:

So I heard that the author of this series wrote another series which was a political war/strategy LN series called Altina the Sword Princess which seems to be fairly well written. You may notice that it was not that series which got an anime adaption. Sigh…alright to be fair I actually somewhat enjoyed watching this. Oh believe me it’s it garbage but it’s the kind of garbage that makes for easy watching. Though it is very shameless with heavy boob bouncing animation and a first episode where the main character molests a catgirl. The one thing that makes it enjoyable is the discrepancy between the characters thoughts and his actions. But my original comments from the season preview very much stand, this is second hand Overlord. So if you want a version of Overlord that doesn’t take itself too seriously and has a boatload of fanservice then this is the show for you. Otherwise I say just back away slowly. Oh, and catgirl, you are not my Rem. Faker.

Potential: 10%

Lenlo’s Review:

Alright, so let me see, going off of just the OP we have a red haired Darkness, our token slightly tanned girl, big boobed elf girl, and two scantily clad jailbait animal girls. All of whom I presume will somehow get enslaved to our lead otaku isekai demon lord and get their own creepy molestation scene. What is this, a budget Overlord? I thought Overlord was a budget Overlord, what even is this? As Aidan said the only remotely interesting thing about this is the “fake it till you make it” attitude of our lead, which reminds me of the 40k Ciaphas Cain novels, if Cain wasn’t a smart-mouthed Imperial Commissar with a wit of gold. Suffice to say if your watching this for the fan-service, cut out the middleman and just go watch hentai. If you want a decent Isekai story, I guess go watch Overlord? Either way, this isn’t worth your time. Oh and as Aidan said, #NotMyRem

Potential: 0%

Some Quick First Impressions – Island, Hanebado! and Senjuushi

by SuperMario, posted in Some Quick First Impressions

Island

Short Synopsis: A man stranded on an island full of cute girls claims to be from the future.

Lenlo’s Review:

Well I can see how ISLAND might appeal to some people. After all the first two scenes are A) Erotic wordplay about “breaking” and B) The classic trip and fall into your main love interest, but this time it’s directly into his crotch. Face first. Truly, ISLAND is a bastion of culture. Yeah, there are small hints about some kind of murder storyline. Some kind of detective drama. But let’s be real here, this is a fanservice delivery system. If Studio feel learned how to weaponise the genre, this would be their Tsar bomb. If your into fan-service and B-plots designed to deliver that fan-service, ISLAND may be for you. For everyone else, I give it a 1-in-a-million shot at being anything resembling decent. It’s a shame to, because we have irrefutable proof that Studio feel knows how to make good anime. They just choose not to sometimes.

Potential: 0.00001%

Mario’s review:

Let’s me just recap the story just so we have an idea how half-baked it is. We have a guy who literally a blank page, who both suffers amnesia (!), but “remembers” enough key events to advance the plot at will (!!). He meets various girls (!!!) and the first thing he remember about them is boob and kiss (!!!!). This is obviously a VN type of story where the main guy has no personality whatsoever and the girls are loud and cliche. It doesn’t help that the fanservice is off-putting and the conversations are generic. There’s some hints of a darker storyline which all the mysteries and killing stuff, but so far it’s hard to invest to any of that because the pacing is all over the place. That insert song in the end might pull some viewers in but for me it’s just a generic J-pop song. Uninteresting characters with too much fan-servicey and not enough plot would sum this one up nicely.

Potential: 10%

 

Hanebado!

Short Synopsis: The remaining members of a badminton club struggle to keep their group together.

Mario’s review:

How appropriate that we have a sport anime that kick off the season in a middle of football frenzy and Wimbledon, and it’s a competent one to boost. Conventional plot aside, Hanebado has all the ingredients of a solid sport drama, from adequate character developments to outright impressive badminton choreography. These two main girls have clear motivations and struggles, but what I enjoy the most is the way the show display characters’ feeling through subtle expressions (this reminds me a lot of KyoAni works). Yeah, that main girl can be unbearable sometimes but she comes from a place I can totally understand. As a person who used to practice tennis day and night, I come up with that question a lot: Why do I keep playing the sport. As noted, the animation is impressive. It’s one of the few shows where I can say it resembles the sport in real life, but I’m not sure if they can keep up that impressive visual for the rest of its run. Other concern is that I’m not certain if it can finish the story in one cour, because I just don’t want to invest in a story that just stop when everything just gets interesting.

Potential: 60%

Wooper’s review:

This is one of the anime that most interested me based on promotional footage, because the badminton matches looked great. Now that I’ve seen the first episode, though, I realize that the rest of the production doesn’t have that level of polish. That goes for story, characters, visual direction, and most disappointingly of all, music. Hanebado’s soundtrack sounds like the result of putting every Joe Hisaishi score into a blender, taking two sips, and throwing the rest away. And that’s honestly a shame, because with good visuals for the competitive scenes and a distinctive sound for the rest of the show, we might have had a contender on our hands. Instead, the average character writing (featuring transparent stand-ins for the concepts of “talent” and “hard work”) shines through at every possible opportunity, making their relationships and arguments feel artificial. The idea that two rivals will have to become friends and work to improve their club isn’t wowing me, either. Hanebado still gets a light recommendation from me for the athletic animation and the fun OP, but don’t expect the world from this series.

Potential: 40%

 

Senjuushi

Short Synopsis: Rifles are Boys.

Lenlo’s Review:

Sigh Why do I do this to myself? Why does Japan do this to me? To anyone? Welcome to “Ancient-guns-as-cute-boys-doing-cute-things” the anime. I swear if this becomes a genre, i’m just done. There are so many things wrong here. I would need this entire post to explain my problems with Senjuushi. That’s not going to happen. I already made that mistake with Touken Ranbu. And at least Touken Ranbu had the decency to look as flashy as Fate/Zero or Fate/Unlimited Blade Works. At least from it I got some visual stimulus! From Senjuushi all I get is a dozen of the exact same male face with different hair colors, scaled to different sizes. Nope. I’m out. Bye.

Potential: 0%

Mario’s review:
Just after last year with Touken Ranbu where hot boys are the incarnations of famous swords, Senjuushi basically borrows the idea with them boys as an embodiment of famous matchlock firearms, in a musketeer fashion. The mashup of all the different setting periods is actually the most amusing factor this show provides. Throughout this episode, more than dozen of male characters introduced and I’ll be damned if I remember any of those faces. Make no mistake, this show is an advertisement for those boys and I suppose this show will make several missions as an excuse for those boys teaming up and squeeze out every drop of charisma out of them. Avoid this show at all costs.

Potential: 0%

Summer Season 2018 Preview

by AidanAK47, posted in Seasonal Previews

Like a backup singer coming on to do an encore, the summer season rolls in to leave us rather underwhelmed. Not to say there isn’t anything here as there are certainly two or three that I consider quite important, but after that Spring season any follow up is bound to disappoint. Some shows may have tripped along the finish line but it was a season bound to be remembered with quite a few shows that stood out. The summer season has some potential but I feel like it will be good R&R for those of us that fell behind on shows from the last season.

Usual rules still apply, I check out whatever source material I can and see what we might be in for. Poll is below where you can vote for the shows you would like to get covered this season, though take note that even if you vote Attack on Titan season 3 to the top, I am still not covering it. Maybe someone else will but I sure am not going to.

This poll is no longer accepting votes

What will you be watching this fall?
VoteResults

Thanks to Wooper and Mario for contributing to the blurbs and for gathering the images. You know what you are here for so let’s get things started.

 

 

The sequels/Shorts I don’t care about

Ani ni Tsukeru Kusuri wa Nai! 2 (short)

Aru Zombie Shoujo no Sainan (ONA)

Baki (ONA)

Gintama.: Shirogane no Tamashii-hen 2 (sequel)

Free! Dive to the Future (sequel)

Joshiochi! 2-kai kara Onna no Ko ga… Kudattekita (short)

Marvel Future Avengers 2nd Season (sequel)

One Room 2nd Season (sequel)

Overlord III (sequel)

The iDOLM@STER: Cinderella Girls Theater 3rd Season (sequel)

Hataraku Onii-san! No 2! (short)

Neko Kikaku (ONA)

Oshiete Mahou no Pendulum: Rilu Rilu Fairilu (sequel)

Yakusoku no Nanaya Matsuri (ONA)
Yama no Susume: Third Season (sequel)

Yami Shibai 6 (sequel)

 

 

Series I don’t care about

 

Aguu: Tensai Ningyou

Studio: Studio DEEN

Director: Bob Shirohata

Script/Series composer: N/A

Source: Web Manhua

Ai is an ordinary girl, and a dancer. Her friend Machi is also a dancer, but Machi is a genius. Watching Machi’s talent often makes Ai feel down. But one day, Ai finds out Machi’s secret: the existence of the Aguu, palm-size entities who grant genius talent upon those who hold them. In order to save Machi, who has become a “Seamstress” who makes Aguu, Ai becomes a “Savior.” The Saviors are a group of people who have fought the Seamstresses for generations.

 

I can’t say I have encountered that many memorable Web Manhua. I think maybe Dice, The Gamer and Tower of God were ones I followed for quite a while but they all basically got worse as they continued. Funnily enough there was an awful lot of what we called pornhua where it was web manga which has a focus of a lot of sex scenes. Obviously this doesn’t fall into that category but I am just stating that I haven’t really encountered a manhua that made me wish for an anime adaption. Got no source for this one but I just get the feeling this won’t be on anyone’s radar. Director did Gravitation and Hetalia so indeed this doesn’t quite make me think this will defy expectations. Props to Deen for picking something unconventional but I think they went a bit too far off base for this one. We shall see how this turns out.

 

Back Street Girls

Studio: J.C. Staff

Director: Chiaki Kon

Script/Series composer: Susumu Yamakawa

Source: Manga

A group of 3 yakuza failed their boss for the last time. After messing up an important job, the boss gave them 2 choices: honorably commit suicide, or go to Thailand to get a sex reassignment surgery in order to become “female” idols. After a gruesome year training to become idols, they successfully debut, with overwhelming popularity, much to their dismay. This is where their tragedy truly begins.

 

I would applaud anything that takes pot shots at the idol industry, and an anime about Yakuza going transvestite to sell themselves as idols certainly has novel factor. Sadly that’s about all it’s got as the one joke can’t carry a story. I am reminded of Mahou Shoujo Ore where the show was less about using an absurd situation to pull off jokes and more about pointing out the absurdity of a situation and telling us to laugh. Comedy requires change and one the reasons KonaSuba works so well is that it changes up things all the time and has a whole continuity to use as comedy fodder. Telling the same joke over and over again just results in the joke getting more stale with each telling and while this may interest people at first, I feel that after one or two episodes most viewers will have moved on.

Continue reading “Summer Season 2018 Preview” →

Megalo Box – 70/100

by Lenlo, posted in Anime Reviews, Megalo Box, Reviews by Lenlo

Ah boxing, the quintessential manly man sport of beating each other unconscious. In anime, the sport was first forged in the fires of Ashita no Joe, and some would say later perfected by Hajime no Ippo. Both fantastic series in their own right. Both filled to the brim with epic clashes of wills, phenomenal characters and some of the best fight scenes in anime. Some would probably count Megalo Box among them, near the top of sports anime. I am not one of them. For you see, Megalo Box is not a boxing manly mans sports anime. Megalo Box is a character drama. With boxing.

Lets jump in!

Continue reading “Megalo Box – 70/100” →

Legends of the Galactic Heroes Die Neue These Anime Review – 80/100

by AidanAK47, posted in Anime Reviews, Legend of the Galactic Heroes Die Neue These, Reviews by AidanAK47

This is a remake of a series made way back when which is one of the most highly acclaimed anime in the medium. It is of legendary status but you would be hard pressed to recommend it as to many the barrier of entry is too high to consider. A 110 episode OVA with dated animation and art is hardly an appealing show looking from the outside. Thus we have Die Neue These, a remake which takes the story of LOGH and sticks closer to the original source material of the novels. Acting as a small offering of what makes this series so highly regarded. LOGH is a story set in the future that plays out like actual history, for the stage is grand and the cast is huge. It is about a war between the Free Planets Alliance and the Goldenbaum Dynasty, one being a democracy while the other a autocracy. The series explores these two systems exposing the ideals and flaws of both as while there are large space battles, the true worth of this series is the great amount of politics that surround this war. Even though the story was made over thirty years ago, it’s messages still ring true today making it excellent food for thought.

The series mainly follows the two heroes representing each side, with Yang Wenli being the believer of democracy and a man who seeks a easier life but is pulled time and time again into historic battles due to his talent for strategic combat. Reinhard is the young upstart of the empire who wishes to rise through the ranks to reform the heavily corrupt society of the class system of the empire. The story can be a bit erratic as it jumps forward in time and it can be hard keeping track of the large cast of character which just seems to expand infinitely. The space battle remain the weaker aspect of the series and from word of mouth it appears the strategy employed is only base level tactics. There is also a common factor of highly incompetent people in high positions that gets reused time and time again as justification for the actions of the plot though not necessarily unrealistic. Also is the factor this is very much only a tenth of the full story of LOGH and when this show reaches its final minutes you may not even realize that it has concluded for the story just cuts off like someone slamming a book shut while you were in the middle of a chapter. There is plans for movies to continue the story but you will be left hanging quite a bit if you don’t intend to watch the original OVA.

Presentation wise aside from some rather odd character designs this series is leaps and bounds over it’s older counterpart. Thus I can conclude that this series is the prefect means to recommend this series to a newer fan of anime to encourage them to check out some of the older greats the medium has to offer. Even after all this time this series remains a standout tale within animation and one anime fans should at least attempt to watch in their lifetime. It loses points for being only a part of a story which has barely begun but for those seeking something that’s away from high schools and teenagers with more mature themes then LOGH is right up your alley. Perhaps even sparking an interest in shows of a bygone era.

Hinamatsuri (2018 Spring) Review – 79/100

by SuperMario, posted in Anime Reviews, Hinamatsuri, Reviews by SuperMario

Comedy anime doesn’t always yell out confidence, so imagine our hype when there’s one that been on everyone’s lips since the manga come out, Hinamatsuri. The show starts with simple premise: a girl with supernatural power unexpectedly drops into the house of a yakuza, hilarity ensues. This concept sums up very well the source humors of Hinamatsuri. We have seemingly stock characters at first, put them into some bizarre situations where they are out of their comfort zone, and observe how they react. As such, Hinamatsuri is at its best when it turns these absurd events into unpredictably directions; and when the show uses these absurd elements to flesh out the characters. It’s so succeed in giving hearts to the characters that, for me, it stops being a laugh-out-loud show somewhere in the middle and now in the end, I’m not quite certain if I still consider Hinamatsuri a comedy show.

But stop being an all-out comedy show isn’t a bad thing at all. One of Hinamatsuri’s best assets has always been a strong and memorable cast, especially from the younger ones. Hitomi and Anzu, in particular, make one hell of an impression. They embrace these two qualities I mentioned earlier, not only it’s hilarious to see how these girls behave when they’re thrown out of their elements, but also throughout those bizzare events our girls have matured right before our eyes. We have the always kind-hearted girl Hitomi finds herself making cocktails in an adult bar (and eventually come to love that job); to the bratty Anzu finds the meaning of responsibility and home in homeless group. Some segments just are down right heart-warming that they ring sad and sweet in equal measure. Even a proper drama show can hardly do that right, let’s alone a comedy one like this.

Other characters still manage to make an impact just from the little segments they’re in. The trick is that they all have different voices and add different energy to the show. It’s no coincidence that Hinamatsuri is fond of introducing new characters, even late in the game. Being said that, the central relationship between Nitta and Hina isn’t as well-developed as say, the developments of their side characters. At the end of the journey, when Nitta thinks about their journey so far, it just hits me that we haven’t really invested to them much. If we’re looking for a parental bond we’re set to be disappointed. If we’re seeking for a buddy bond, it was underwhelming too. Their relationship is some kind in the middle, where they can easily ditch each other but there’s still something that bring them back together.

In term of visual execution, feel does a pretty decent job of transferring the essence of the manga to this adaptation. The visual hits its mark whenever it embraces the quirky visual that only Hinamatsuri can do. I’m talking about whenever these girls doing their supernatural power, or when Hina just floating around in the air in the middle of a conversation. That brings me to another complaint. By design, this whole season is about these “gifted” girls accustomed themselves to the new, ordinary world. As a result, there’s simply not enough crazy, wild fights. This lack of truly over-the-top superpower hurts the show’s chance, as Hinamatsuri has a knack of bringing whimsical humor by their visual. Secondly, the lack of these supernatural power means that the show’s more content for traditional slice-of-life shenanigans, which in truth countless number of anime shows doing the same thing.

In term of segments, I noticed that the anime adaptation change the order from the manga, which I think work for the show’s benefit. We have more direct continuation from Anzu and Hitomi, for example, and so far I can see the love from the creators to make this show as memorable as possible. Only one plot thread I feel rather weak and uninteresting in general is the Nitta’s yakuza part, which rank amongst my least favorite segments. Hina has become more active in the second arc, despite my early criticism that she might not hold her own. This series, as entertaining, whimsical and surprisingly heartfelt as it might be, might never seen the day of life for another season. While personally I’m not over-excited about this show, it still remains a solid offering. The show that has its own voice and visual quirks. That alone make it a far better show than your average anime crop.

2011 Anime Retrospective: THE iDOLM@STER & Usagi Drop

by SuperMario, posted in 2011 Anime Retrospective

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Before we get to the reviews this time, there’s something that I forgot to mention in the first few posts. In order to come up with the shortlists, I used the information mainly from anichart, MAL’s seasonal anime and this very site’s monthly summaries from psgels, along with some first impressions over ANN. Turn out the most informative source out of these was psgels’ summaries, given not only he covered a large amount of shows, but I can also keep track with how he felt about these shows over time (if you’re still reading this blog psgels, you have my gratitude). The other sources miss out many shows (imagine my frustration when I realized Gosick isn’t listed over anichart). It would help me greatly if any of you readers know some reliable sources concerning anime shows that air in every year. I’ll be very appreciated.

psgels only checked out the first 3 episodes of THE iDOLM@STER, so here is his review for Usagi Drop. Let’s the game begin

THE iDOLM@STER (A-1 Pictures)

Arguably one of the finest specimen when it comes to idol anime, THE iDOLM@STER takes almost no time to introduce us a whooping… 13 rising idol girls, each tick the box of your typical anime archetype and there are several insert songs within an episode, so that there’s always something for everyone. Mild sarcasm aside, this is a show whose appeals are too clearly-defined that just by first few episodes you can easily tell if it’s for you or not. In term of quality, it has fair shares of good and bad. Some might point out the refreshing documentary-style the first episode employs, but for me it further underlines many of the show’s core issues. The said documentary style where the girls answer to some text questions further reminds me of its gameplay mechanics. In addition, the show introduces a very plain self-insert male character who only goes by the name “Producer” and if you take away his eagerness towards helping the girls out, he has no distinct characteristics. The 13 female idols (well, more like 12 + 1, you’d know what I mean if you watch it), on the other hand, may seem overwhelming at first, but each of them has their own personality and has their own growth to develop. These growths can be small for some characters, but most of them are well-developed and in the end, just watching those girls bounce off each other and give some interesting different dynamic when pairing different girls make all their time together such a fun time to watch.

THE iDOLM@STER divides neatly into 2 half, first cour about the 765 Pro when they are at the bottom of the food chain and the latter half about them when the girls are already famous. There’s one thing that you need to know that THE iDOLM@STER plays more like an… idolized version of becoming idols. There are issues and hardships along the way; but noting is as dark as Perfect Blue and the show tends to resolve those conflicts by the sheer optimism power from the main cast. In THE iDOLM@STER, you can see those girls doing many idols activities beside singing like joining a cooking show, having their own air show, or even playing with children. The main theme is not much about following your dream (which it has a fair share of, but Love Live claims the spot there), but more about seeing these team idols as family members and the studio as a home to go back to. At that, it produces some nice, warm moments where the cast, despite their busy schedule, still tries to make time for each other. There are some character-focus episodes that leave more impact than others, chief among them the wedding-photoshoot turns runaway bride madness or the air show that put our idols into some pretty hilarious moments.

The show falls apart, however, whenever the main villain shows up and gives 765 Pro a hard time. He’s the kind of antagonist that the show doesn’t need and the way the show frames him as overly cruel make him a badly-written character all the way. I find myself quite surprise that I enjoy the last arcs when the show goes a tad bit more serious because those reflect the characters’ issues quite well without betraying their own developments. In terms of production, while the actual animation is just average, it more than makes up for it with expressing character expressions and the flat-out impressive hand-drawn performance sequences with many earworm songs to enjoy. Makes me clearly see the difference with today idol shows where they try to cut down the cost with those CG dance sequences. THE iDOLM@STER is, without a doubt, a production that is created with a lot of efforts and cares. While it’s pandering with the mainstream’s taste for mainstream attention, its appeal is so well-defined (I reckon its appeal is similar to K!On) that if you don’t mind 13 girls coming at you at the same time, you’ll have a good time with it.

Rating: 74/100

Usagi Drop (Production I.G)

In a medium that a bit too obsessed with high school settings and teen romance, the topic of raising a child is rare, and to be as good and realistic as this is nothing short of extraordinary. It takes two complete strangers starting on a new phase of their lives together to underscore what parenting and childcare really like. While I have some minor qualms about Usagi Drop: the show ends inconclusively, many life-to-life issues are deal with, but quickly get aside once they resolve the issues (like Daikichi’s job or Rin’s daycare issues) and mostly the financial situation is never a big issue, those complaints are quickly tossed aside compare to the show’s strengths. The main, main, main weapon of Usagi Drop is the solid dynamic of Daikichi and Rin – two lovely individuals in their own rights – and witness how they begin to trust each other and enjoy the time together. Rin is pure bliss. She’s mature, well-behaved and smart for her age, but she isn’t without her own personal problems. Abandoned by her real parents (in one of a grounded depiction of immature mother in the medium), she always has a fear being left alone in the world. And for a girl her age she faces those issues surprisingly well.

But Usagi Drop also nails it at depicting how Daikichi evolves as a father figure. He handles the situations like an adult, he sacrifices many things so that it can work out better for him and Rin. In addition, since he’s inexperienced with this whole raising-a-kid thing, he’s panicking over littlest things. A cold from her makes him nervous, every small aspect that he has no idea to he’d call over his relatives for help. It’s hard to raise a child, that’s for sure, then you realize that every parent has been through those very same situations, and it adds a lot of extra weight. This show, in a way, is a celebration of parenting, of every father and mother out there who deal with nameless listless jobs every single day, most of their efforts never get noticed.

Visual-wise, the pre-opening segments use a crayon-tinted style, which really fits the nature of this show. The atmosphere it produces is strong and solid, plus its resemblance to real-life parenting that make Usagi Drop one of the best slice-of-life show this genre has to offer. The cast all act so natural that you would see these kinds of characters in your real life. In this heart-warming world, not only Daikichi learns from his peers and his family to deal with all the situations, but he also learns from Rin, and likewise, Rin learns from him, and they grow a great deal together. The fact that it ends open-ended also speak a lot to its theme, that parenting is a work that can’t finish in a day or two, but it’s a lifespan process, and both Rin and Daikichi are just in their beginning of the process.

Note: Despite knowing what infamously happens in later volumes, I’ve made up my mind to read the rest of the manga at some points in the future. The time jump might very well contaminate my feeling for Rin and Daikichi, but I don’t want to be the one who says I’m uncomfortable without reading it and seeing for myself first. So yeah, at least I’m prepared for whatever comes, let it come.

Rating: 91/100

With these reviews done, I regret to say that this 2011 Anime Retrospective will be on hiatus for a foreseeable future. I’m enjoying watching and reviewing them by all mean, but lately, I’ve been thinking about making a movie blog, given my root has always been about cinema. If it ever happens, rest assured that I’m not leaving this site. I’m still pretty much up to weekly reviews, but side-project like this will have to put into the sideline. Currently, I want to do some movie projects first before coming back to this one (I know, BIG TALK since the blog doesn’t even exist yet. It’s just me and my blind enthusiasm at this point). I’ve received healthy responses from you guys for this project – which I am very grateful – so, thanks again for supporting this project after all this time. I’m still intended to come back and finish this so until then, I suppose. Arigatou.