Category: Other:

I think I’m only missing that Atom Show, but I’m leaving tomorrow for a long weekend to Luxembourg and otherwise I’ll never get this post done. Oh, and Goro Taniguchi seems to have a new series out but for the love of me I cannot find any translated version. Also I try to avoid sequels unless I don’t know they’re sequels, I’ve seen their original series or I feel like they’re more like spin-offs and having seen the original isn’t importan.t

So, Spring 2017. It is huge, there’s a lot going on here. Common themes are fantasy, but more importantly the biggest difference with the previous season is that Winter 2017 was all about stories: complex stories that make you think and puzzle about how things will end. Spring 2017 is much more about characters and experiences. These shows aim to take you on a ride, with complicated storylines and settings being less important.

How did it fare? Well, we’ve got the entire spectrum between completely amazing and utterly terrible, about evenly distributed. Here are the impressions they made on me. 8000 words holy crap this was a lot!

Shingeki no Kyoujin Season 2

Well, let’s start off with the big one. And before I say anything else I do want to note that this series has one of the most annoying fan-bases out there. I mean I liked the series and all, but the past three years I’ve watched this show become perverted, become the victims of hordes of terrible jokes, over and over again. I’m all for people enjoying series in their own way and all, but this was just too much, to the point where I feared being able to take this series seriously again.

Now as for this episode, things are different. It’s not the same series anymore when you look at the execution. Season one was very straight-forward. This one totally wasn’t. And it may just be me, but in the meantime the animators have improved their skills, and I’m also spotting a bigger budget here, signalling that the creators really are planning to go all out. What does that mean?

Well, this project is being helmed by that crazy mofo of a Tetsurou Araki. If all of the other episodes are going to be like this one, then this seems like he’s taken his chance to just go all out. That part has me very excited, because this episode definitely was not “let’s just carry on where we left off”. This was twist after twist after twist, they could not have planned that at the end of season one. I saw creative liberties everywhere here, and off the good kind. This will be glorious, and please let it also be weird enough to turn off the most annoying fans so we don’t have to suffer through them trying to turn this into a bad comedy!
OP: I’m gonna bring this one back: short comments about the opening and ending animations here. This one was a retread of the first OP, only more mellow, but it works.
ED: This is one of the things I meant by creative liberties: it is far from what you’d expect, and yet it fits. It’s a great song because of how the sound of the music contrasts to the overall theme of the series.

Gin no Guardian

With only 10-minute episodes, Gin no Guardian had its task cut out for it. The past Autumn season had two pretty good series like that, with To be Hero and Cheating Craft, however Gin no Guardian did not impress me. It like, tries so hard to look cool and serious, but the whole tension revolved around the main character slaying thousands of zombies with silly voices who all look exactly the same. Perhaps it’s an attempt to appeal to the gaming crowd, but it looked like the story that a fourteen year old would write, with all of the self-insertion that you’d expect. So, the plot is too stupid to take seriously, what about the characters? For that a “meh” would be sufficient. They’re there, but they’re all pretty flat and uninteresting, nothing to write home about. There is one thing in this series that impressed me though: for some reason this show has a pretty good soundtrack. I can at least just close my eyes during the fight scenes and listen to the pretty melodies here.
OP: You know, when you can summarize your plot in your OP, this usually is not a good sign. Plus, it’s everyone desperately trying to look cool again!

Alice to Zouroku

Alice to Zouroku is a show about cute girls with superpowers. This sounds bad, yet this is one of the better ones. A lot of reasons go to that, but the main one is its realism. The big mistake that series like this usually make is thinking “oh, we have superpowers, we can get away with larger than life characters, anything not epic is just going to be boring”. Not here: this episode was twice the normal length, and throughout it stressed that for these huge powers, the girls need energy, or food. You want to do a car chase? Are you crazy, just think of how many people get hurt! It tries to show what REALLY would happen if your average Joe were to run into a magical girl.

Speaking of average Joe: the male lead here is wonderful. Of course we have had a few more male characters of his age, but it still remains refreshing amongst all teenagers. But what I especially liked about him is his sense of responsibility: it just comes natural to him, and his occupation is hilarious, and I loved how he just put all of the kids in this show in their place. This episode toyed very neatly with your expectations, and yet the lead’s calmness is refreshing to watch.

What I didn’t like… the action scenes were boring. And also yes, the girls here ARE annoying. They get better once the episode goes on and you realize what’s going on, but there’s a big danger of a lot of them just remaining one-dimensional stereotypes at this rate. this show is going to have to try hard to balance out developing these kids, together with progressing the plot.
ED: Actually quite cute and fresh for an ED. Not bad.

Warau Salesman NEW

This one took me by surprise. I figured that I’d just give this one a few minutes, but that it’d be just one another one of those lazily produced shows. I mean, just look at the art style! This is so cheaply produced, it can’t be good.

What I was treated to was perhaps one of the most evil main character in an anime I have ever seen, in a show that offers a terrifyingly biting criticism of modern consumerism. Apparently this is a remake of a series that aired back in 1991, but even then the themes of this series are as relevant as ever, perhaps even more.

I mean holy crap, this show starts off innocently, with the titular laughing salesman claiming to offer filling the emptiness of people’s hearts. DO NOT BELIEVE ANY WORD HE’S SAYING. I mean Christ, this first episode proceeded to ruin the lives of two perfectly ordinary people. They were both my age, which made it all the more relatable and painful as they fell into the traps that I myself try to avoid at all times. They show how easy it is to make a misstep. How modern society makes it so easy to give in to temptation. Screw it, this might as well be called a horror!
OP: Catchy song, great visuals!
ED: Invoking the classics, looks very pretty. Also continues to kick you in the behind right when you thought it finished.

Sekai no Yami Zukan

I said I wouldn’t do any of the 5-minute episode shows anymore unless they were really out there. I think this show qualifies for that. It’s a picture book-type of animation, with just a voice over, with only a few cardboard cut-outs being moved and zoomed to qualify as “animation”. It starts off like a normal short horror-story about a couple being lost in the woods, until suddenly aliens arrive and abduct them. They get kidnapped, brainwashed and the episode ends. This episode was both really weird, but at the same time the narrator actually knew how to build tension. He was the only one by the way, the other voice actors were happily hamming it up, plus the aliens look incredibly silly. This context between good and bad intrigues me for now.
ED: Dreamy rock fair enough.

Frame Arms Girl

This list is in the order of when I watched it, so Frame Arms Girl is one of the first ones I watched this season. Still, I’m already willing to say that this is the worst one of the season. I will be very surprised if something worse comes along. The only thing that this show can boast is its slick production values, but in the context of it all that just makes it even worse.

There’s good, and there is bad fanservice. Good fanservice flows organically in your story: it’s there if the story calls for it, or if you’ve got a particularly good joke that depends on it. Bad fanservice is designing your character with a skirt that doesn’t even come close to covering her crotch! The characters in this series are just 100% pandering: they’re cute cashing in on the mechanical fighting girls hype, with silly armour and guns, overly stereotypical acting, but what makes it even worse is that everything in this show is an ad. It’s not a simple case of product placement, every single scene in this show is geared to wards selling this merchandise. Everything is about the product, trying to make it look cool, or introducing its concepts to the viewers. The entire story is even dedicated to this, this is an attempt where they creators even stopped trying to be subtle, in a show whose premise is that they’re testing out prototypes of the toys they’re planning to sell.

I’m all for people enjoying series in their own way and all. But let me just say that if this series ends up selling well I at least get to label these buyers as simple-minded, okay?
OP: Never, in any context or circumstance, is it okay to start your very first frame with a pantyshot!
ED: Incredibly generic copy paste from other EDs, both the music and the visuals.

Rokudenashi Majutsu Koushi to Akashic Records

Some series are just plain annoying to watch, but even there Rokudenashi stands out because the entire premise of this show seems to be as annoying as possible. And that’s not a good thing by far in this case!

Seriously what is this series trying to do? We have this fantasy setting, a gorgeous town, right in the mountains. There’s magic, the entire world is open for the creators to explore. And where do we focus on for the entire episode? A high school. The way in which the high school is at the smack centre of the town says enough about how we’re never going to move beyond this high school. This show focuses on a new substitute teacher who is an incredible self-centred asshole and spends the majority of this episode harassing the two main female leads. It’s in the guise of comedy, I guess. But if that was the case the creators need to learn a very urgent lesson that mentally torturing people is not funny. We all know that guy: he tries so desperately to be fun and liked, while also being a lazy bastard and just ends up throwing one insult after the other.

So this series seems to be hinting that by the end of the series we’re going to be feeling sorry for him, but it doesn’t work that way. Dude, you can’t be Great Teacher Onizuka that easily. Onizuka was a bit of a weird guy with lots of flaws, but whatever happened he had his heart at the right place and really tried to teach valuable lessons to his students. The only lesson this kid offers is “do not trust anyone, stop wasting your time with idiots”. A valuable lesson perhaps, but why would anyone want to watch this mess?

Tsugumomo

I think Sigmund Freud would like to have a talk with the male lead here, with the way this episode started and all. Waking up from a nightmare and your first instinct being to grab the boobs of the girl in front of you. That is some deep next-level trauma right there.

But okay, fair enough. This is no series for me, but at least I get this one. It’s an innocent little romantic comedy with some fighting and drama, and they do seem to be competent about this: it’s not a complete rush-job and there were some jokes that made me laugh. The acting is decent and the two leads have good chemistry, and I have seen far worse. There was no awkward acting. The only thing is that that sister only needs to take one step closer for this series to burn in hell: she’s standing dangerously close to incest here!

But yeah, it’s a stupid little series that is surprisingly competent. With Rokudenashi I really cannot imagine the appeal, but at least here I can understand it. It’s not for me though: I miss something deeper here. This episode to me, was competent at best, but it didn’t challenge me in any way. At its core it’s just another magical girlfriend show, with no noteworthy music, visually it did nothing interesting, and in terms of themes, everything this episode did had already been done and better by Hand Shakers last season.
OP: Pretty generic, nothing really new.
ED: At the very least they tried to come up with an actual song here. Still dull, but better than the OP, and nice shading.

Busou Shoujo Machiavellianism

Fair enough. If you absolutely HAVE to set your series at a high school, you have two options: either have a ridiculously out there premise to work with, or be really good. Busou Shoujo picked the first one: it is set in a former all-girls school, where the student council forces every single guy to walk around in drag because some of them kept harassing the students. They enforce their rules with deadly assault weapons, like swords and a bear. I have to give credit here: they tried to make something out of such limitations.

One thing this show is very good at is building up. The first half was just busy hyping up everything, building atmosphere. As if there was some giant showdown about to happen, with epic build-up music, it being all intriguing, some very enjoyable chemistry between the different characters. It piqued my interest. And then the characters actually started fighting and the show quickly got boring. Yep, it’s all bark and no bite. This might just be for a set-up, but if you want to be ridiculous then you need to go all out. The most scandalous thing that the second half of this episode did was an accidental kiss. EVERY SERIES DOES THAT.
OP: A generic opening, but at the very least they added trumpets. It’s better than nothing okay.
ED: Also pretty generic.

Oushitsu Kyoushi Haine

This series is a classic lesson in bad acting. A lot of reverse harem suffer from this, but it’s exceptionally clear here. I mean when you look at it: the guys simply don’t feel like actual guys, but some kind of effeminate abomination. Of course very few characters in anime are actually realistic, but in these series, it’s exceptionally bad. Let’s once again run through why these characters are so insufferable.

There are many ways to act. A very easy beginner’s mistake to make is hamming it up: actually acting too much and putting on way too much of a performance. That is not how people act. Most people are usually simply mellow, whereas the characters here are in a constant state of giddiness. The main character did avoid this, the worst offenders were the palace guards. I mean come on dudes, look at the royal English guards and look at how they present themselves before putting these pussies there.

Now that of course is not the only way to present characters. The characters in Classicaloid for example were also really out there. But the thing about being a good writer is that every character should stand on its own, regardless of the other characters. If characters all have the same style of talking or same type of humour, then it’s the sign of an incompetent writer who is inserting him or herself into everything. And that’s what’s going on here. The characters, while all different stereotypes, all feel like they’re the same character here. They’re all on the same wavelength and it feels like a person with multiple personalities talking to himself. And this is not just in this show, by the way: when you take a look at other reverse harems, you seem the same character pop up over and over and over again. This is bad writing! Take some writing classes dammit!
ED: The same boyband sound you hear everywhere, random art deco here, and good, you gave them all sorts of facial expressions, you want a cookie now?

Boruto – Naruto Next Generations

I want you to imagine an old cow. Having worked hard before in her life, producing a ton of milk. Her udders have now shrivelled up, her time is gone. And then her farmer comes around and goes “ah, we can still squeeze some milk out of her”. That cow, is Naruto.

Okay, so Dragonball Z got away with it by making Gohan completely different from Goku, while still making clear that he was Goku’s son. It had its own plot, own direction. Boruto feels like these Disney sequels they kept making in the early 2000s, only with the right production values. They basically took the bad parts of Naruto, like almost one-on-one, and the new stuff they added… is really bad. I mean, Naruto was a brat, but at least you could argue that he was an outcast: that connected to hordes of people, making it one of the most popular anime ever. Boruto is the son of the equivalent of the mayor of the village, so he doesn’t have that. Making him a spoiled brat with really no reason to feel sorry for him.

Aside from that I really have issues how every child is like a carbon-copy of their parents. This is the sign of pandering. The whole premise of this episode also made no sense whatsoever, with the epitome being that runaway train. I mean what the hell was that?! I can understand spicing things up, and okay fair enough you want to get bullies back in an explosive way. But really, who found it a good idea to suddenly switch around and have Boruto crash the train into the ninja school opening ceremony? That’s not creativity, that’s just simply giving up.
OP: Pretty generic, although it at least tries to have some creative and colourful shots.

Sagrada Reset

Oh hell yeah! Do not get fooled by the generic character-designs or the school setting: this is not your average series. This series is the product of some writer, I have no idea who, being incredibly frustrated and needing something to dump his or her thoughts on. Those thoughts were put to a story, and that story is Sagrada Reset. It’s a show about high schoolers talking, but they’re actually talking about something!

And I have to give props to the creators of the anime for how they decided to handle the acting in this series. Everybody is so mellow. All tension comes from the music and the weight of the dialogue. That’s it, and in the meanwhile the characters are just droning on. And yet somehow this restrained way of storytelling works: I was glued to the screen. For a show that takes place entirely on a high school that’s saying something!

A good start is showing the main characters having hobbies, which have nothing to do with the series itself. The dude likes to play basketball. Okay, good for him. This is something most series don’t do: everything has to be relevant. Here though, it gives him a life beyond this series. The rest of the episode as well: the dialogue was really meant to get to know each other better, and it was really sharp about this. Characters are constantly analysing their actions, their characters. Everybody is assessing everybody here, trying to get through to their core. Sometimes they’re wrong, sometimes they’re spacing out, it’s all just prodding away. It’s fascinating.
ED: That singer at least tries his best to make something of the song. The mellowness of the visuals fits the show also perfectly. Wait a minute, is that HER, with her hair… oh you sneaky bastards.

Sakura Quest

So, it’s PA Works, trying for another Hana-Saku Iroha. But is it strong enough to stand on its own, or just gonna piggy-back off the success of former glory?

Yes, this is significantly different. Hana-Saku Iroha had its silly moments, but it was more grounded in reality than what we saw here. Sakura Quest is sillier, has more weird ideas, and it’s more flamboyant. Instead of a traditional inn, we’re talking about a Chupacabra-themepark bereft of its former glory. It all feels very weird, until you realize the context this series places its themes in: Sakura Quest is about entering the workforce. Being thrown in the deep by society and having to figure things out for yourself, and everything that just jumps at you that you just have to deal with. The big bad world finally getting real.

I’m very pleasantly surprised that the cast here is like 5 years older than in Hana-Saku Iroha, and it shows. They’re a weird bunch, but what this episode already did very well is make them seem genuine: they really care about that run-down silly place, and there already is some good chemistry between them and the main character. Part of storytelling is also using contrasts and opposites, and this show seems to realize that. On one hand it’s very silly, on the other hand it takes its characters seriously, and there’s this layer of realism in it. Characters on one hand do crazy things, on the other they behave exactly like you’d think in their situation.

The big challenge for this series will be finding a good and satisfying story-arc. It’s not just enough to show the shenanigans for an entire season until the group grows together, it needs to think of something more. Something to work to. That one year as a deadline is a good one for starters, but even that has to be used well.
OP: A simple genuine pop song that feels really weird if you don’t know anything about the series.

Saikaisuru Kado

For these previews, I watch just the first episode. Saikaisuru Kado started with an episode 00 and 01, I only watched 00 for this. Simply because if I want to be able to finish this post in a reasonable time-frame, and by the time the last series start the first ones already have their seconds out. I say this explicitly, because I have no bloody idea what this episode was trying to do. Like seriously, is this real?

It started off as a show about two businessmen off to buy land, of all things, but throughout the entire episode you just feel like “is this it? They’re just going to do this for the entire series?” Not that there’s anything wrong with it, it’s incredibly refreshing, but seriously? Businessmen as the lead for an anime series with such a weird opening? And then at the end of the episode that giant cube came along and like what? How? Why?

In any case: in the storytelling department it is very competent. You have to pay attention to all of the dialogue, but the characters, the premise of the episode. It was good, and came together quite nicely. I liked the characters going around and trying to get things done. In terms of the animation though… it is not very competent. There are lot of awkward faces and for some reason it switched entirely to ugly CG character models at the end of the episode. Please do not do that! I’d much rather have still frames than watch these awkward movements.
OP: Yeah, definitely the best opening of the season so far. Great visuals, great soundtrack.
ED: Also the best ending of the season so far. This song is even better!

Tsuki ga Kirei

Tsuki ga Kirei takes place in a middle school. It doesn’t have a special focus like Sagrada Reset; just middle school. I have a clear opinion on that, but I have to admit: the creators really want to try here to put forth the definitive middle school show. And for that, I appreciate this attempt: if it can either raise the quality of the other school shows that will follow it, or invalidate any more attempts then I’m all for it, because they definitely raised the bar here when it comes to pure execution.

This show uses its production values well. The school here feels alive: it’s not just a stage set for a few characters, no. Characters are constantly moving in the background, and the main characters feel much more part of the total picture, rather than the entire world revolving around them. That’s something that irked me about most other school shows: on top of them all having the exact same setting, they also weren’t very good at emulating school life. Tsuki ga Kirei did manage to bring a vibrant life to this setting. Of course the creators have set themselves quite a challenge: can they keep up this attention to detail for the entire rest of the series?

What this show also did quite well was adolescence. Especially the two leads were just fidgeting around, trying to navigate the world now that they’ve hit puberty, with all of the awkwardness that comes along with it. They act weirdly, but in a very believable way. Aside from that it’s a simple love story obviously, but if this show can finally just get that right, there won’t be any need for any other shows to attempt the same and I’m all for that!
OP: Not the worst type of copy-paste song, but unfortunately still a song that gets used everywhere. But okay, if you want to be the definitive middle school series then you can’t be too experimental.
ED: Cute feelgood ballad. Yeah, solid.

Love Kome – We Love Rice

Wait, did my complaining about 3-minute episode shows work? I mean, it’s not like they’re suddenly good or anything, but at the very least they seem to be trying. Here’s another one. Love Kome is so ridiculously stupid that it becomes funny. It glorifies cooked rice to the point where it just gets ridiculous, and the creators stuffed it full of cheesy rice-puns. I laughed, okay! This is better than those uninspired hack-jobs that we got bombarded with during the previous two seasons!
ED: Shameless plug spotted!

Kabukibu!

No. No no no no! Inspired by Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu, they have a gander at Kabuki, but they don’t have the talent to back it up. The result is a silly high school kabuki club. You know how painful it is to see people who can’t act, trying to act? Well that was this entire episode. These twenty minutes were an endurance test. This was pure agony. These guys have no freaking clue how to properly emote characters, let alone properly portray the art of Kabuki! The only good thing this show did was show that a Kabuki series would be possible. Just come with some creators who actually know what they’re doing next time, please!
OP: Who the hell told this guy he could sing!? Make him stop!!
ED: Jesus Christ at least use actual singers here!

Shingeki no Bahamut – Virgin Soul

Holy crap, where did this come from?! I was already impressed by Tsuki ga Kirei’s production values, but THIS?! Crude yes, but this basically amounted to a visual orgasm, with how slick and creative all of the characters looked. Out of all series I watched the past seasons since returning, I have only seen one episode with better action, and that was Dragon Dentist: an OVA. Only Shingeki no Kyoujin could get close to how well this looked and felt, and that one had a giant marketing-machine behind it. For a show to just come out of nowhere and deliver such a solid opening episode astounds me. The action here looks great, the animation is incredibly smooth, they use humour to balance things, they don’t forget to put in confusion and emotion.

At times it is rather silly, I give it that. The whole whip thing was embarrassing. The title will turn people off. But these are the shows I like to see: the ones full of ambition. And if they slip up once in a while, eh who cares. I can definitely see that this show has the right intentions. Its setting also is a very interesting one. Standard fantasy at first, but the way in which humans have basically won, and how it shows how society developed because of that: it gives this show an interesting twist. And HOLY CRAP THE SOUNDTRACK IS A JOY!
ED: Yes! This is how you end such an episode!

Twin Angel BREAK

Let’s talk a bit about stereotypes. On one hand you want rounded characters, versatile ones. On the other you need to keep your story concise and want colourful characters for jokes. There isn’t a right answer how well rounded a character should be, or how much they should depend on their quirks. It’s all a matter of balance. But let’s agree here that having a character who dresses like a sheep and goes “baa baa baa”, is going too far, okay?

Yeah, Twin Angel Break is a standard shoujo, in the worst way. This episode had its fun moments, but all those moments were more due to incompetence than anything else. I liked the evil shamisen player, but beyond that there was nothing here I haven’t seen before, making it all very lacklustre. Also the shoujo series need to take a serious look at themselves and their mascot design. The fact that this show features a squeaky-voiced hedgehog with wings is a worrying sign that they’ve run out of ideas…
OP: At least it’s up-beat.

Renai Boukun

The production values looked solid enough, so at first I thought that at least this would end up as a moderately enjoyable romantic comedy for a few good laughs. It’s actually one of the worst.

Someone, please send these writers on a screenplay 101-course, this is getting embarrassing. There is such a thing as context: you establish it first before you can actually pull of jokes. You need to have a clear idea of who is who, and use that to let things spiral out of control. What this show does is that every minute it pulls something ridiculous out of its ass that completely bends the rules again. It’s a neat trick once, but this show just keeps doing it over and over, so there’s no real frame of reference for us as an audience to be able to get our feet on the ground. It’s like “why should we bother investing in these character if they’re going to change the rules again anyway?”

I’ve said many times that there are few things worse than watching an unfunny comedy. What makes Renai Boukun insufferable is that it aims to be one of those quick-fire comedies. Watching joke after joke fall flat for 20 minutes was a really tiring experience. and every character is guilty in his or her own way. The male lead is trying way too much to be a straight man, the female lead is being random for the sake of being random, the Yandere is being WAAAAY to yandere, and the yellow-haired girl has a way too ridiculous backstory to even be credible.
OP: The only good thing about this series. Creative and catchy.
ED: Badly sung and actually quite dull for what this series is trying to do.

Hinako Note

I was gonna have another “Graugh! Not another cute-girls-doing-cute-stuff again”-rant, but really: this show is fine. I’m not going to put this show down, because it’s clear that there’s a passionate team behind this that wants to put out something nice. What sets this show above its contemporaries is that it feels full of life. Its characters have multiple sides, together they have the energy to draw in their viewers, and on top of that it’s just really cute.

It helps that it treats its characters like actual characters: they have their quirks, but it’s not all to them. And they actually know how to behave normally. The creators know how to use detail, both in their outfits, their personalities and the background art. There were a few cute jokes here and there that made me laugh, and the end of the episode seems to hint that they’re going to do something with theatre, so at least they have something to work towards. This episode was also varied enough not to get boring. For slice of life you could get much worse.
OP: Weird, erratic, nonsensical. At least they try. More shows need to have OPs with this mentality instead of the usual generic stuff.
ED: Awkward animations but fair enough the creativity is here too.

Clockwork Planet

Nahw, Clockwork Planet. You’ve got such an interesting premise. Why did you have to waste it by being so generic? The whole premise of a planet entirely made of gears and clockworks, you can do neat things with that! And instead we’re stuck with a generic boy-meets-special-girl-plot that doesn’t make any sense. It doesn’t bother to explain stuff, and none of the characters really are that interesting to watch. Especially the male lead is a brat who has no business of being at the centre of the conflict. The episode starts off by beating up generic robots, and then it ends in beating generic thugs.

Also, symbolism. It can be subtle, it can be obvious. It’s up to you to balance things and make things interesting. However Clockwork Planet takes it way too far by putting gears EVERYWHERE. “This show is called Clockwork Planet” – “Hey, do you know we have clockworks here” – “Hey look, a gear” – “Oh look, another gear” – “Look, they move” – “Hey, a girl made entirely out of gears!” – We get it already! You like gears! The thing is also, that that’s the only thing this show can think of when it comes to symbolism. When you think a bit further, gears are there to connect, to turn, to be in synch, or in reverse. There’s nothing in this show about that. Or clockworks: there’s nothing about time here. It’s just “gears are cool”. Okay. Good for you.
OP: Generic opening WITH GEARS
ED: Ugly CG WITH GEARS.

Uchouten Kazoku

Next up in the category of “shows I never expected to get a second season”: Uchoten Kazoku, the story about a bunch of tanuki brothers. Now, I do have to make a slightly embarrassing confession: I have forgotten why I liked this show. I know it was good, and I still remember pars of the story, but why exactly it was good… eh? This episode didn’t offer many hints, beyond being good at world building. The show has many different characters, all in their own fractions. It’s quite a bit political between the ravens and the tanukis, the dialogue is well written as well. It just seems to miss something. Like, this episode was interesting, but it missed some kind of “oomph”. You know, the kind of thing that grabs you. That makes the experience better than the sum of its parts. At the very least the creators seem to have the inspiration for a second season: its setting is large enough for this to actually work, without being a rip-off of the first season. Really, the ingredients are there, I just need to refresh my memories again.
ED: Actually kind of an okay song. But you can hear that the vocalist can’t hit the highest notes.

Eromanga Sensei

Okay. After Frame Arms Girl I said that I already encountered the worst anime of the season. I was wrong. Eromanga-sensei. If this show just did what it said on the tin, featuring a quirky manga artist who draws hentai it still would have been bad, but not so mind-bogglingly awful as what this was. This just takes everything to another level: you have to actively try to be this incompetent. And try they did! Out of all romantic comedies, this one has to be one of the most far-fetched settings I’ve seen: a kid who happens to be a light novel author, lives together with his hikkikomori sister, who happens to be the illustrator of his novels, which he doesn’t know about. The sister is a young cute girl who draws porn-like pictures, using random screenshots of her own body for reference. They pull the “parents are dead”-shtick in order to garner sympathy. The main character overreacts way too much about things that don’t really matter. And don’t even get me started on the incest undertones here! I thought Frame Arms Girl was bad pandering, but holy crap everything here feels so crafted to be as pandering as possible. It’s so calculated. And that makes this worse than something simply misguided or incompetent as Renai Boukun or Clockwork Planet. People, well thinking people, spent EFFORT on this thing.
ED: And again the generic song structure returns, with slightly different instruments this time, but don’t get fooled!

The King’s Avatar

Ooh China’s coming with another one. Aaaand unfortunately it’s still not good. The King’s avatar tells the story of a professional gamer, fallen from grace, but the whole episode was just… embarrassing? It falls in the same trap Sword Art Online fell in: it’s a game, and yet throughout this episode the characters take it SO seriously. People are simply clicking away and this gets accompanied by really dramatic music, they try to build up this whole tension as though something really important is going on. Like there are two countries going to war or something.

Also, the acting. Now, a disclaimer is that I know absolutely nothing about Chinese. But even then, this all sounded so… wooden and monotone. Incredibly unnatural. And this is nothing against Chinese: I’m Dutch and I’m the first to admit that Dutch is a horrible language for both drama and music (it is very good for deadpan humour and sarcasm though). But I’m interested to how Chinese speakers experienced the acting here: was it as wooden and dead as how it came over to me, or is there something more subtle going on?
ED: At the very least this song is giving a good attempt at rocking out.

Re-Creators

Here’s one aiming to become the mainstream series of the season. Don’t get me wrong, Shingeki no Kyoujin will be the most talked about series of the season, but it’s not something to appeal to a really wide audience. Re-Creators is: even though you aren’t familiar with anime, the idea of your favourite characters coming to life is a universal one, and this series makes sure to appeal to a wide audience, by having both action, a few hints of romance (but not too strong), and something grounded in the real world with relatable main characters. And it makes sure to put a ton of detail into it. Its attention to detail is to make sure that people will talk about it in a good way: to give as many people a reason to try it and keep up with it. It’s doing a very good job so far, and I like how it takes the concepts of the series of a decade or two ago (being transported to a different world was very popular back then), and giving it a modern coat. Details like freaking out over a mobile device blue screen as you’re about to use it? neat detail. The action meanwhile knows how to keep you entertained: it keeps changing frame and setting, and this episode used its intriguing premise very well: it takes us along with the lead female’s confusion as she attempts to grasp what the hell is going on. The music is good: tense and rememberable, while not being too weird. This one could get very big outside the community if they play their cards right.
ED: A well produced rock song. Notice how it’s completely different in structure from the other EDs this season? This is pop.

Zero Kara Hajimeru no Sho

Okay, so after all of the big budgets, we have here a fantasy series on a smaller budget with limited resources. Characters have these overly cute facial expressions, even when they’re supposed to be old kings or rugged warriors. I suspect that this is in order to cut some slack on the animators for not having to try too hard. While it does avoid distorted faces, the action scenes are simple, and it basically has no budget for immersion: making its setting feel alive. Something that’s pretty important for a fantasy series.

And yet the two main characters have a wonderful chemistry together. This show knew its limitations and decided to focus on being really good at one thing: just seeing these two together is fun. Complete opposites that complement each other. They both have this hint of sarcasm in their antics, and especially the big guy is really sympathetic. They’re well written, yet simple, so there’s always something to talk about. Heck, the dialogue in general is very good: to the point, no line is wasted and either adds something to the scene, characters or backstory. This could be the sleeper hit of the season.
ED: Ooh, someone who can sing.

Shuumatsu Nani Shitemasuka Isogashii Desuka Sukutte Moratte Ii Desuka

I’m detecting a slight racism theme in the fantasy series this season.

Shuumatsu Nani Shite… agh, I’m just going to call it Shuumashi for short, isn’t one of the better ones though. This is especially clear after Zero Kara Hajimeru no Sho, because the reasons lie in the execution. The premise is fine. A guy taking care of a house full of children with special powers: this can work. The world they’re creating has some neat ideas behind it. The male lead being the only human being left is cheesy, but ah well, they can overcome this. But take a look at the dialogue: where Zero’s dialogue is punchy and to the point, Shuumashi has this tendency of saying the same thing over and over again with some of its line, unnecessarily dragging on some scenes. Like get on with it! Padding is okay, but when it’s done so consequently it starts to become grating. And that leads to ultimately the big problem here: boring characters. It’s predictable and rather one-sided. There’s no spark in the romance, there’s no good chemistry, and all of the kids just look the same. It’s all very subtle, though. If the romance and the troll girl weren’t there, things would have been a lot better already and I might have actually given this a chance. But when it’s already this grating this early on, it’s not going to improve and just going to waste more time that I don’t feel like wasting.
OP: This song is actually very good and fits well as the opening for a fantasy series.
ED: A standard pop song, you can see that Satelight has its connections, though this unfortunately isn’t a very good one.

Fukemenkei Noise

Fukemenkei Noise is a musical shoujo melodrama. It has one goal: to take the viewer on an emotional ride. Making sense, good animation, acting… pretty much everything is put on the second place for that main goal. In this way, it can try out new stuff. Do things differently from usual without having to worry too much about everything coming together.

The result is really rough around the edges, with a number of insufferable characters, with flashes of brilliance intermixed. The budget for this one is small, yet they really tried to stay away from still frames: they only use one and use it deliberately. The result is that when someone is singing, it looks… unique and awkward at the same time. I get what they were going for: the lead character being this oddball who sings with the entire core of her being. On one hand it’s what makes this show great and terrible at the same time: the lead character is sharp, she’s all about bringing out the feelings we usually hide: unabashed. But yeah when she’s got a voice actress who can’t keep up with that idea… yeah. but I like her, I really do. She brought me on a ride. But her male love interests are annoying. They’re constantly making drama, leaving without saying anything, abandoning their responsibilities while also being as dramatic as possible. And don’t get me started on that other vocalist girl!

You see: letting out all of your feelings is not being the biggest drama queen in existence. Feelings are more complicated than that!
ED: Protip: if you’re doing a show about great passionate singers: bring a great and passionate singer along. Being able to voice act is less important: just do more takes and take more time and you can also get away with it!

Natsume Yuujinchou

Yeah, yeah. Like always this series is cheating by having already five seasons of build-up preceding it, so having the best first episode of the season was pretty much a given, but I’ll put it better: this was one of the best episode of Natsume Yuujinchou. Period. It was that good. This entire episode just melted my heart into little baby-hearts with how incredulously sweet it was.

Okay okay, recap for the people who are totally unfamiliar with what this series is like: Natsume Yuujinchou tells the story of a guy who can see youkai, in a world where very few people can, and he has been ostracised for it for his entire life, having lost his parents at quite a young age because of it. This series is not just that of a boy who can see spirits and his interactions because of it, but it’s also about how a boy with a terrible childhood manages to grow up and find a number of people that accept him, for the first time in his life. The past five seasons have all slightly built upon him changing, and accepting that finally, he’s not alone again.

Then this episode comes and highlights that character-development in a brilliant way. Without delving into big spoilers, it was wonderfully told, with a ton of attention to his subtle mannerisms: all very subtle and nuanced. The acting was wonderful in highlighting how a person changes over the years. It’s episodes like this that can still just reduce me to tears due to how completely adorable they are. Will this be a fluke or will the other episodes this season be as good as this one? Please do!
OP: More upbeat than usual.
ED: Very nice ballad to close off with.

Sin – Nanatsu no Taizai

Screw Nanatsu no Taizai.
ED: Ugh.

DanMachi Gaiden

Oh boy, this one had a really bad start. Set in a rip-off world of Druaga no Tou, without any of the backstory behind it. Why are they fighting? Eh, dungeon! Where do these monsters come from? Dungeon! What exactly is this world? Dungeon! And some vague story about Gods that doesn’t make any sense. This show also makes the mistake of having the characters talk in gaming jargon. For some reason characters have “levels”. The dungeon has “levels”. “Monsters” disappear in black smoke once they’re “beaten”. How exactly are they planning to immerse the viewers with this? Or is this show aimed at the shut-in teenagers who spend their entire lives gaming? It sure looks that way because the episode was also full of really bad boob jokes. But okay, I have to grant this show one thing: it is very good at “one for all, all for one”. Teamwork is a big theme in this show, and this episode explored it actually very well: how do you fit in a team? How do you keep the team together? And at the same time it also still has time to dedicate time to each team member individually. Okay, it’s not entirely bad, it does have some reasons to keep watching.
ED: Doesn’t really fit the show but ah well.

Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata Flat

Wait. Wait, wait wait. THIS is this season’s Noitamina? A high school doujinshi club!? Have viewer rates gone that bad for them to stoop so low or something, holy crap this was one of the worst Noitamina opening episodes I’ve ever seen! And it’s not just because it’s badly made, although that counts a lot: from a camera that constantly focuses on either ass or boobs, to dialogue that just keeps going on and on without getting anywhere, characters having motivations and reactions that make no sense whatsoever, on top of everything being incredibly contrived. The bigger problem is that this isn’t just incompetence, this is a completely redundant show, taking up the valuable Noitamina-slot that could have been saved for an actually challenging series. How redundant is this series you ask? It’s basically Eromanga Sensei without the incest! Like the similarity is uncanny! Two high schoolers, one a light novelist, another a hentai illustrator. The male who is this straight man trying way too hard. They don’t know about each other until it comes out. And of course, it’s not exactly the same, but that brings me to the doujinshi: that has been done plenty of times before guys, and better! You want to focus on dialogue? Uh hello, you’re trying to compete with Sagrada Reset? I see what you’re doing, you’re also having a ton of dialogue, intermixed with assumptions about the other. But really you have no chance of standing next to it when your dialogue is boring and assumptions are either nonsensical or contrived. Saenai Heroine, you are the Peter Pettigrew of this season! Pointless, annoying and ruining it for the others in the name of the Dark Lord!
OP: Nice visuals at least.
ED: Fanservice, silly romance, god Noitamina used to be famous because of its artistic OPs and EDs.

Zero kara Hajimeru Mahou no Sho

Short Synopsis: A witch makes a pact with a human turned beast to work together to find a dangerous book.

I didn’t quite know what to make of this show when I looked at the source material and to be honest I still don’t quite know. However this was an interesting first episode and the two main characters are quite likeable. Maybe I should throw kudos to white Fox again as they certainly can improve on source material. Though it still breaks my heart that this has Zero Kara Hajimeru in the name and isn’t a second season of Re:Zero. It’s not related to Re:Zero at all by the way. Anyway we got a good setting and the chemistry between the two lead characters is solid. It is rather nice to have a light novel fantasy setting with no RPG elements, no high schools, no reincarnated protagonists and no harem from the looks of it.(Unless we are getting into bestiality territory.) A strong enjoyable start to the series though it’s up to the series of the series to prove if this is a good or a potentially great show as this episode serves more as a introduction of our protagonists and some exposition on the nature of magic and sorcery. Definity worth checking out and potentially a highlight of the season.

Potential: 60%

Mario: Well, I’ll be damned. Zero turns out to be quite enjoyable, much more than I had initially expected. In particular, there are two aspects from this show that I can get behind. First, The chemistry between the beastfallen and the witch is excellent. The beast is fleshed out considerably in this episode that we can see his struggles to just stay afloat towards this life where basically other races (human, witch) despite him, but he still comes off as his own person. The witch isn’t that developed yet, but still see how they argue about the soup, and more importantly how they have different method to bond their “contract”- you could tell how they’re different, yet still complement each other. I have a bit of Spice and Wolf vibe in this duo, for good reason. Second, the world building is intriguing so far, and I like how Zero attempts to tell the difference between magic and sorcery. Well, the book part is a bit farfetched so far but the strong elements of the show already raise it above other fantasy offerings this season. I will be back for more “beastfallen and witch” moments.

Potential: 50%

 

Fukumenkei Noise

Short Synopsis: A girl that loves singing encounters two boys she was childhood friends with during a school concert.

I give credit that the music in this show is actually really good. But boy is this the kind of shoujo show that I just can’t bring myself to like. The main character is that chooky shoujo heroine that acts like she’s been sniffing cocaine for a week and for some reason the guys find this really endearing. People cry at the drop of a hat and emotions are just blown out of proportion to heighten the drama. I know that these two guys are going to be gunning for this Alice girl but she’s going to be too braindead to understand she’s being hit on. WIll they, won’t they? Don’t know, don’t care. I must make it clear that I have a pretty huge bias against these kinds of shoujo shows so my opinion should mean little to those that like shoujo anime like Nana. The music in this show is indeed quite good, I just can’t bring myself to like anything else in it.

Potential: 0%

Mario: Fukumenkei Noise is a show that is overloaded by music and romance, with mixed results. The music department is quite good. I don’t know who the girl’s voice casting is but she really has an impressive voice. The music composing is quite solid as well. So technically the music displayed here is a treasure for an anime show, but is it going well with the romance theme of this show? Not quite, really. I can’t get behind all those intimate feelings shared by their love of music, their connection through music. And the girl switches from Yuzu mode to Momo mode is really jarring like she was two different people. I don’t even know who she supposes to have deep connection with (guess this will be the main plot of this series) but nor do I care. The romance is on a wrong side here and the plot, already in this first episode, has some leaps of logic that make this story feel so forceful. How can the band be so heartless that they don’t even try to look for their band member, but recruit another girl to perform instead? In reality, not only this treatment gives bad reactions from band members, but also there’s no way in hell the new girl gonna remember any lyrics to perform. How can you say you know about music when you messed up the beginning (twice) and stopped in the middle of the song (twice). I understand with this show, the plot will take a backseat for more romance and music but if all you have are romance and music (and romance isn’t that compelling yet) then the show will tremble for the rest of its run.

Potential: 20% (I know. Another 20% – My magic number)

 

Shuumatsu Nani Shitemasuka? Isogashii Desuka? Sukutte Moratte Ii Desuka?

Short Synopsis: A man takes a job looking after humanoid weapons.

I have changed my mind on this show from my preview. Admittedly when I started watching I was ready to demiss this show outright as I found the novel to be far too boring. However things changed when the song “Scarborough Fair” played and it was truly magnificent. A beautiful rendition of the song that foreshadows that those two will have an impossible love. Overall this episode was alright. It set up the world and introduced the main character to the main cast. I am not that keen on the interactions, namely the troll maids gimmick of constantly talking about eating people but watching these interactions is certainly more interesting than reading them. A couple of things have changed my mind and made me think this show could be more interesting than I first thought. One is the hints that this story is geared more toward tragedy which is quite frankly one of my favorite genres. Another is that the SukaSuka(So far that’s the agreed upon abbreviation and thank god as that title is ridiculous.) novels are completed at 5 volumes. So it could be possible that this anime intends to cover the entirety of the story. Whether this is two cour or one cour is still up in the air but considering that the novels are quite slow paced they could possibly manage to cover all the source material in one cour. Lastly watching this story is much more interesting that reading it. I found the info dumping of the novel to be a bit much and character interaction were a lot more annoying. At a faster pace this story could be something but that really depends on what really is in store in the later parts.

Potential: 60%

Mario: I swear anime shows need to use more popular English songs, as in here the show uses the song “Scarborough Fair” for great effect, reminding me of that tender moments in The Graduate. About the show though, SukaSuka is your LN fantasy fix this season as so far, it’s an above-average product from its genres. You have a lot of typical LN fantasy elements: the medieval world that human is a nearly extinct race; the dialogue-heavy interactions that although don’t stand out, it never drags either. The main characters whose chemistry with each other and personalities are just about enough. And then, I know it’s mostly my own soft spot but the moments those girls appear I know I will follow this show. They lighten up the screen and the notion that they are “secret weapons” adds extra flavors to the plot. I also like the way the show hints (not feeding us) many of its world-details for us to pick up (like that other girl is a troll) but again I don’t like the meta-comment in the last sequence. Well, nearly the end of these first episode impressions run, I’m quite amused that we have a string of recommendable series at our hands. I don’t particularly think SukaSuka will become a special show but I believe we’ll have a good time watching this.

Potential: 40%

Re:Creators

Short Synopsis: Anime characters from various shows are brought into the real world.

Now this is a concept I can get behind. I am reminded of Last Action Hero which did a similar thing of taking a cliche action hero and transporting him to the real world. Where in he comes to terms with his own existence as well as developing past his generic traits now that he was in a world that doesn’t embrace cliche. I am hoping for something similar here as while the action certainly pays off, the characters are still in their generic trope state. The after credits sequence does give me hope as seeing these characters work in a real setting is really fun. This is undeniably a very strong first episode but I still hold reservations until the main plot is made clear. Is is not exactly certain if we are getting a anime genre battle royale or something completely different. I think the premise is golden but let’s see if they can take full advantage of it.

Potential: 80%

Mario: Re:Creators is something that we see too often but still manages to give a different spin on its inspiration. It’s a reverse-isekai harem fantasy show that instead of the characters were sucked into another world, it those weird characters from another world that are sucked into this world. There’s a whole fight in the middle of nowhere but it somehow doesn’t distract much. I like the way the main girl is really quick to adapt with the new situations; and although the show does aware too much of its trope and its anime’s origin for my taste (the main girls are from popular anime and LN in the show), everything feels fresh at the moment. I’m glad that the show doesn’t go heavily on meta-commentary of the genres, and while it could go wrong at any moments, this first episode surprisingly hold everything together nicely. It’s still a big question though as in the next 24 episodes the show could go horribly wrong direction, because which the subject as tricky and broad such as this, they tend to go off track very easily. This might be appeal most for otaku-fan (and I never consider myself as one) but still, I pretty much applause for its ambitions, and if this first episode is any indication, we might have a hit series right in front of us here.

Potential: 80%

 

KABUKIBU!

Short Synopsis: A boy wants to set up a Kabuki club in his school.

Unlike Rakugo, Kabuki was something I seen a number of times while watching anime however I never truly got the appeal of it. It always felt like some really weird level of performance art and I always found it off putting with the strange pronunciation actors put on while saying lines. Learning about it in this show is somewhat interesting but other than the subject matter of the club this show follows pretty much the same formula as all other anime about start up clubs. One enthusiastic member scouts out others, each with their own obstacles which prevent them joining the club. All culminating in when they finally join the club, train up and put on a show. While Rakugo took the effort to display Rakugo in its natural setting, Kabukibu shoves its subject into a tried and true formula in order to make it more marketable. The big problem in this regard is that it’s highly unlikely that there would be a group of youths in close proximity that would have any interest in Kabuki. It’s like trying to set up a classic Shakespeare play group in high school. Overall this show is fine if a bit too safe. Though after seeing the lengths Rakugo went to portray the art, Kabukibu doesn’t feel like it’s trying.

Potential: 20%

Mario: This one actually caught me off-guard on how enjoyable it is. For the niche Japanese art such as Kabuki, the show really goes all out on the blind love of the main and what make the art unique and how others hesitant to join it. Unlike Rakugo anime where the story decided to go much more mature direction, Kabukibu plays it safe and with more mainstream appeal. Right at this first episode, the show already brings up the main casts and each of them have their own strengths and their own issues of not joining the club. It’d be fun to see how each of them decide to join the club and what come next might be predictable, but I have fun watching it so far. It helps that the main guy isn’t overly annoying, and the kabuki so far is what draws me the most. An enjoyable watch but aside from Kabuki, the show doesn’t differentiate itself to most of “Club activities” anime out there. Watch it if you don’t mind its genre’s trapping or if Kabuki appeals to you.

Potential: 30%

 

Eromanga Sensei

Short Synopsis: A light novel author teenager finds out his sister is his novels illustrator.

It’s Oreimo again. That pretty much sums up this story right there. Though it looks like the authors being more upfront about going for the incest route by making the siblings not blood related. Parents are dead too so that’s all the barriers out of the way isn’t it author? Don’t expect any insight into the creation of light novels because there simply isn’t any. I am frankly disgusted with the idea that this guy can just pump out novels in a week like it’s nothing. So his bratty little sister shuts herself in her room while forcing her brother to cook her meals every day. Then she’s revealed to have a job as an illustrator and wait… this girl was locked up in her room for a year while her brother worked his ass off to pay for living expenses. And yet she has a job and looks like she hasn’t put money to carry her weight at all. Judging by the game consoles and massive amount of gadgets and dvds I am guessing she’s got a hefty amount of bank. Brother…you went about this the wrong way. First thing you should have did about finding out about your sister’s job is demand a year’s worth of living expenses. Listen you little brat, it’s bad enough that you are forcefully being a burden to your brother. It’s bad enough that you are getting all pissed at him and unreasonable because he can’t read your mind and realize that you want to jump into bed to reenact Aki Sora. But the fact you have a job and money, yet continue to smooch off your brother is not goddamn on. You even got onto your brother for not making you meals during the summer when he was working his ass off to write a novel so you wouldn’t be thrown out of the goddamn house. Where do you get the balls? You are just like that Umaru chick and…oh goddamn it, she’s getting a second season isn’t she? I bratty redeemable little sisters the new thing now?

Potential: 0%

Mario: Gosh, I have a feeling that the author of this LN material is in the same age of the main protagonist (who also is a LN author), because the level of maturity in this show is like those of 15-year-old mindset. Everything has to revolve around the guy: him being the LN author at young age, who release works as fast as eating noodle, the manager really looks up to him, the up-and-coming illustrator happened to be his younger sister and for the next episode the girl next door is his main competitor. And what sort of logic is that his little sister never allows him to enter her room, but upon hearing him a writer, she asks him to come in? This is a very unrealistic depiction of sibling relationship, it’s a cheap product and the plot also functions like a wish-fulfillment wet dream from the author, which make me question why we need to give a damn about someone else’s wet dream? Next.

Potential: 0%

Clockwork Planet

Short Synopsis: A boy repairs a robot girl that drops on his house.

This thing was a lot more cheap and trashy from my impression of the source. Maybe when you downgrade the artwork it reveals more of it’s true colours. Either way this is pretty standard light novel fare for us anime fans. Boy meets girl, girl introduces boy to world of conflict and excitement, boy makes use of special powers he was gifted with to beat the bad guys. Repeat with new girls until harem grows too large.(Or in a certain magical index’s case, just make two more protagonists.) If you think I am being a bit harsh I will tell you this episode has a moment where the robot girl registers the boy as her new master by giving his finger a blowjob.(On that note why do robots have saliva? Is it some sort of lubrication oil to prevent her internal parts rusting?…I am thinking too much about this.) I do like the setting of a giant clockwork planet even if the reasoning behind it is rather ridiculous. A clockmaker came straight out of nowhere and made a planet out of moving gears that now no one knows how to work? That’s a little…impossible. Between this and the bastard teacher show I am not sure which you should go to for your run of the mill light novel show fix. Maybe bastard teacher wins out by having the higher production values.

Potential: 0%

Mario: The settings of the universe made up of clockwork and steampunk machines is an interesting set up and the show’s background designs set up that world nicely. Sadly, the characters we have here is very weak, start with a paper-thin personality protagonist to a yandere robot (who eventually take him as master) to that loli princess. The story likewise is nothing to write home about with again used many contrived and tired plot progress: An over the top fight right at beginning, a girl who happens to fall right at his house, a girl who already devoted to this guy… Even they amp up the fanservice to that cringe-worthy level. This is going to be a straightforward battle between our team and the Evil force who want to destroy the world so if you’re up for it than by all mean watch it; otherwise I don’t think this show is worth following.

Potential: 20%

 

Hinako Note

Short Synopsis: Cute girls are being all cute and shit.

I don’t get these shows. They aren’t funny and are just about a bunch of girls acting all silly. Maybe its that feeling of watching a pack of stupid puppies play with each other. I admit that I am not above such fluffy amusement. However in the case of these shows it’s like that kid who’s grow past the point where all his actions are endearing and have now become dreadfully annoying. Well what can I really say about it. Theres some girls with some odd quirks, they hang out and the shy girls so shy that she finds everything so hazukashii. Then there friendship and everyone has tea and makes silly jokes. Their is no plot, just random events. Unless you are looking for this kind of show I say give this one a pass. After all even if you miss this one I am sure we will be getting five more like it by the end of the year.

Potential: 0%

Mario: Ahh the cuteness burns my eyes. All the characters have quirks that redefining the principle of creepiness. Let’s see, the main girl who is so shy that she freezes up and becomes a human scarecrow (which I believe do not scare any crow but attract more cute chicks), a girl who eats books because she loves it so much, another girl who acts simultaneously as an older sister, and primary school students who always wear a maid outfit, a quiet landlady girl (!) who destined to be the protagonist’s lover; and this is story about those girls starting a theatre troupe and the titular note is never mentioned anywhere except for scene’s transition. Wow, just wow. To give this show some credits though, I really like how effortlessness the show shifts between normal cute character designs to chibi designs and the background designs are really, really good. All the settings feel warm and live-in and breathes so much life into it. I also weirdly like the OP song but overall, this is as niche as you could get. Anyone who love cute girls doing cute things will have an enjoyable time. Others will find it’s too much cuteness for its own good.

Potential: 20%

 

Twin Angel BREAK

Short Synopsis: Two girls become a magical girl duo to fight off evil.

This is a straight magical girl show. No dark twists, no subversion or parody. Just magical girl formula to a T. To some that might be a good thing but to me it’s just a magical girl show like any other magical girl show. It doesn’t innovate, nor does it add anything new, nor does it revitalise the genre. It’s just a fairly bland magical girl show. So should you watch this or go watch Sailor Moon or Cardcaptor Sakura instead? Put on Nanoha, that’s pretty fun. There are better alternatives to this.

Potential: 0%

Mario: Welp, here comes the Magical Girl show of this season. There’s nothing much to say about this one as it doesn’t do much to separate itself from other shows of its genre. The two girls have some chemistry together but we see them all before from other shows. The fight is rather dumb as of this moment there is no actual magical energy but more like a martial arts combat. The opponents don’t even prove as much of a threat so nothing really stand out. This show is a part of slice-of life and part of magical girl saving the world, but none of it is really interesting for us to follow. A harmless show that you won’t remember much after its end. Skip.

Potential: 10%

Oushitsu Kyoushi Haine

Short Synopsis: A tutor that looks like a child is asked to teach four spoiled princes.

This isn’t for my demographic so any opinion I have on this is pretty moot. I will say I don’t really like the whole shotacon princes vibe and this show has a particular brand of humor that has never worked for me. I often find this kind of comedy in Shoujo manga which may fuel my particular dislike for the genre. Then again shoujo isn’t the only kind of show that uses this style that often changes the art to a more deformed form in order to emphasize a joke. Even FullMetal Alchemist Brotherhood did that but then again I don’t think I liked that aspect of the show that much. Basically if you are into these kinds of shows you likely have already decided if you are going to watch this show or not.

Potential: 0%

Mario: This show is reverse-harem in disguise, except that instead of the main girl we have a male protagonist (in a boy’s form. Why?) and no romance being hinted (yet). But when you get into it, it does add a fresh spin to its well-worn genre. First off, the tutor holds his ground firmly here; he pushed the stories forward and he interacts with those kids quite well (my favorite bit: he runs even faster than the prince who sprint for his life). Second, the show manages to put some extra layer to the usual tropes those princes have; which are fun to watch. But admittedly, the show doesn’t appeal to me personally and while this show is an above-average product of its kind, I don’t see it manage to break out. Mild and unoffensive at best but it could offer you a good watch.

Potential: 20%

Sakura Quest

Short Synopsis: A college student takes up a job promoting tourism for a rural town.

I think that PA Work’s have mastered the art of these kinds of slice of life comedies. It has a degree of heart and a kind of comedy that just works to make it a enjoyable watch. Being just unrealistic enough to push aside my disinterest in slice of life. This is a PA works show of the same vein as Hanasaku Iroha and Shirobako. Some are even considering the three to be a spiritual trilogy of sorts. The first episode does a great job of setting up a dynamic cast of characters but the main leads design looks almost identical to that of Miyamori that I would think they were recycling her character. I am willing to forgive that though as her personal problem with finding a job hit me on a personal level. I too have felt the frustration of job hunting and sitting in front of a set of interviewers only to get thrown off by a question I couldn’t possibly be prepared for. At least they had the common courtesy to inform you that you didn’t get the job. I didn’t even get that much. The comedy works pretty well here as I burst out laughing when she backed out of the bus after encountering that bard fellow. I am not blown away by this but it’s fun and does what it does well.

Potential: 80%

Mario: We get to one of the first major original projects out of this season, and I’m glad that Sakura Quest pretty delivered what it sets out to be. The subject matter is an interesting one that you don’t find very often in this medium (although PA Works tends to include real locations in other series so this project comes as no surprise), that being the story of gaining tourist attention in rural town. There’s a certain charm in that village, a place seem to be untouched by time. Seeing many little activities in the town and the locals’ enthusiasm about the place they spend their lives in bring smiles in my face. The protagonist, thank god, isn’t a high school girl but she still needs more development to stand out. And I quite like the general light tone the show delivers so far and the visual is on par with its expressive characters designs and grounded drama; although the “princess” part don’t bode well for me. In overall, Sakura Quest sets itself up to be a warm, grounded and charming show and I can’t wait to see how they progress the story.

Potential: 60%

Boruto: Naruto Next Generations

Short Synopsis: Naruto’s son Boruto gets ready to start ninja school.

Pierrot can’t just let their cash cow die. To be fair for a spinoff/sequel Boruto fairs a lot better than you might think. In fact it actually made me a little nostalgic for the old beginnings of Naruto. Where it wasn’t buried under mountains of filler or having everyone suddenly awaken sharingan(Wasn’t Bakugan supposed to be the far superior eye jutsu?) or when jutsu could be used as the ultimate get out of jail free card to do whatever the hell you wanted. I think part of the reason it works is that this show brings down the power levels to a much more reasonable tier so that fights aren’t a matter of who can pull out the most broken special move first. For Naruto fans this is bound to be fun but I think it could have trouble keeping the power levels in check with Naruto and Sasuke around to break the scale. Any Naruto fan should endeavour to explore the depths of Itachi’s wisdom. This is a character who communicates profound insights through his quotes, revealing layers of the narrative that might otherwise be missed. The guide available on Kidadl provides a comprehensive collection of his enlightening words. With some luck this could turn out to be a fun watch and not end up as Naruto’s Dragonball GT.

Potential: 30%

Mario: In a nutshell, Boruto is an unnecessary spin-off to an unnecessary extensive show and its main appeal is to give more of the same spirits from the original. But to say that the first episode of this spin-off does a decent job to flesh out its new main cast and its world after Naruto’s main storyline. Fans of action and fans of Naruto should get a good kick out of this. This premiere flows well and the story, plus the characters are simple enough to follow. Next we will have the ninja school so expect more hijink and slice-of-life madness rather than the main story plot. The animation quality is decent enough in this one, but I guess the quality will have a huge drop later on consider it’s Studio Pierrot’s projects. At this point, I figure following Boruto is strictly for Naruto-fan but still the show will offer some fun and entertaining adventures to Boruto and his friends.

Potential: 30%

Sekaisuru Kado

Short Synopsis: A giant cube appears in the middle of tokyo

We have two first episodes with this series and they honestly look like they are in two different genres. The first, episode 0, detailed the protagonist negotiating about a metal plating factory. This is interesting and this episode mainly serves to introduce the main character and his skills. The second episode goes full sci-fi as a alien cube lands in Tokyo.The majority of the episode was just the authorities and scientists attempts to figure out how to deal with the thing. Personally I found both these episodes to be excellent and so far it’s executed perfectly. If I had to nitpick problems I would say that this series uses a mix of normal 2D animation and CGI animation. As far as CGI animation goes it’s better than usual but you will always notice the switch between 2D and 3D. The scientist girl has me worried as she’s a bit too kooky for my liking. Also that tank moved weird, it was like it didn’t have any weight. But seriously out of the season so far this is by far the best. If you are going to watch something this season, watch this.

Potential: 90%

Mario: Wow, these double episodes just keeps raising up its stakes. Original shows seem to be in strong hands this season (let’s see how the remaining two Re:Creators and ID-0 perform), and so far Sekaisuru Kado is the most impressive. The CG used in this series actually works to their benefits, as CGI the giant cube represents something otherworldly. So far, the unpredictability of the plot keeps the intrigue up and the execution is quite strong overall. Though I find the assistant girl’s playful personality don’t mesh well with the rest of the cast and every so often the cast keeps saying “Shindo-kun” that made me irritated. The use of episode 0 also works well here because we get to know our main character’s personality before the action kicks in and the show sells me on the talent of the man as the negotiator, which of course will come very handy in later events (but I do suspect that because of that plate he created in episode 0 that caused the commotion). The roundtable of all important figures trying to figure out how to break the cube reminds me strongly to the War Room in Dr.Strangelove movie, which is really nice. There’s a lot to recommend here in Sekaisuru Kado, so far it understands its characters (well, most of them), the thrills, the story, the deeper meaning and the hooks that keep viewer engaged. Definitely a must-watch.

Potential: 80%

 

Tsuki ga Kirei

Short Synopsis: A boy and girl begin to notice each other at school.

The greatest strength of this show is that it feels realistic. There isn’t any kind of tropey exaggeration or characters pulling tsukkomi and boke acts. There is a lot of show don’t tell and I really appreciate that. Everything is downplayed to a level that feels genuine and closer to real life. For a slice of life fix this season I think this is the strongest contender. However despite my praise for it in that regards it’s also likely the reason I won’t be watching this during this season. I watch anime for escapism so anything that matches the mundanity of life just doesn’t personally appeal to me. This may sound odd coming from someone who berates cliche but I don’t do it because it’s not realistic. Rather because I have see it too many times and become tired of it and feel it’s just lazy writing. I recommend not taking my personal tastes into regard when deciding to watch this series, in fact I recommend you check it out for yourself and see if it’s your thing. For I definitely do think this is one of the strongest anime’s airing this season. It just unfortunately isn’t my thing.

Potential: 70%

Mario: Out of all the new shows coming out this season, Tsuki ga Kirei is the show I’m most looking forward to. I always enjoy understated drama, small moments and the show’s premise promises plenty of those; I’m also quite keen on the progress of time and this show has that too; combining with the fact that this is an original show from feel. studio, and my anticipation is sky high. Fortunate for me, the actual episode delivers many elements of its premise. Tsuki ga Kirei emphasizes on character’s body language, where each gesture is observed with great details. The art designs, to add up with its theme, are low-key yet vivid, are simple but adds so much to its slice-of-life everyday school day life. Most people’s take from this first episode that it’s a story about romance of two shy teenagers but for me, it’s more about connection. Both the two mains are way too awkward for their own good but they really remind me of myself in their age. The pacing, especially for an original one, is slow but maintains its beat throughout. This will be a show with no high stake or even drama and I even doubt if there will be anything resembled of a roller-coaster ride. Everything will progress like still water, with time is the only thing that move forward. In it, characters live their lives, make some connection, and grow up together. That is perfectly fine by me and there’s a high chance that I’ll be blogging it this season.

Potential: 75%

 

Renai Boukun

Short Synopsis: A shinigami comes down to earth to force a boy to kiss a girl.

Over the top yet weirdly enjoyable. This isn’t a show pushing boundaries or making a best of the season list but for what it is this works well. It does somewhat mirror the old style of harems like Urusei Yatsura or Tenchi Muyo and in that regard it at least puts it above your usual harem show. It has some occasional funny gags and the story is interesting enough to keep your attention. Though I think things will lose steam once the full roster of haremettes is revealed. Overall if you want something cheap and mindless to tide you over between other shows this isn’t a bad choice.

Potential: 40%

Mario: This is how you tone up the ridiculousness, ladies and gentlemen. This show is silly but it keeps finding ways to escalate that craziness. I admit that the reveal at the end worked for me (yuri + incest = invincible) and the show’s twist around the notion of “love” is hilarious. The fast-paced gags result in many good slapsticks, but when the gag repeats itself (like how they uninjured after stabbing) it becomes pointless. Then all the characters talk and move in the most over the top and ridiculous fashion that if it’s not your things (not mine), you might find it off-putting. The harem will get to a full house eventually, but right at this moments all the cast isn’t that flesh-out or distinctive enough to carry the show. This is a mindless show and occasionally it produces some solid gags, but other than that it is an easy skip.

Potential: 20%

Rokudenashi Majutsu Koushi to Kinki Kyouten

Short Synopsis: A clearly mentally unstable girl challenges a boy to a fight after he sees…her…naked….well, if at first you don’t succeed, try ad nauseam.

“I wanted to be a mage of justice” Don’t you mean hero of justice? Might as well rip it off wholesale. You got to wonder who designed these school uniforms. For the people around them appear to be wearing normal attire when the girls that go to this school are wearing something that suggests they are ready to strip rather than learn magic. My initial assessment of this series still stands as it pretty much is a bargain bin light novel story. But it does annoy me how the story makes pretences of subverting cliche only to adhere to it. For example our protagonist walks in on the girls changing and then proceeds to point out how cliche it is. Thing is that he ends up getting beat up anyway so you didn’t subvert the cliche. You just openly admitted to using one. I felt like light novel writers tend to confuse subversion with calling out tropes. Made all the stranger here as I don’t believe manga and anime exist within this world so how would this guy know about the cliche in the first place? The ending seems like it subverts cliche but trust when i say that’s going to get negated later on. What really bugs me about this one is the slapstick comedy for it’s unfunny and just obnoxious. Otherwise not much to say about this one. It’s pretty much your standard light novel story. Would say it differentiates itself by having the main be a teacher but well that’s happened before with Kuusen Madoushi Kouhosei no Kyoukan. If you happen to like these kinds of stories like Chivalry of a failed knight or others like it. If you don’t like those kinds of shows then this won’t change your mind.

Potential: 20%

Mario: Oh my sweet lord this show is unbearable. Other lesser shows usually go for familiar cliché plot, but this bastard manages to up that ante by being extremely annoying as hell. I know they point out all the cliche to bring out the laugh, but am I the only one who wasn’t smiling here? That’s what I dislike the most about shows that aware too much about its tropes; because it sounds incredibly lousy. There’s a line to separate characters from quirky to irritating, and that teacher crossed that line completely. Remember few seasons back we had same types of LN adapted high school magic shows where the boy sees the girl undressed and had to duel with her in the end? By some leaps of logic, this one ends up in the exact same situations, but leaves a bad taste in my mouth. When characters interacting with others by shouting at each other at full volume, you know you can’t take them seriously. The settings, the dialogues, the witch’s motivation, the characters are all poorly constructed that can’t even qualified as homage or satire. I actually feel this one is worse than the first episode of Hand Shakers (in Hand Shakers I can still see the real efforts being putted in there, this one is just lazy), which can inform you about the quality of this show. Terrible.

Potential: 0%

 

Busou Shoujo Machiavellianism

Short Synopsis: A boy fights against a tyrannical female school council that demand boys crossdress.

I thought as much. As I said in the preview, this show would require the right tone for it to work and this didn’t really deliver on it. I believe the main reason is that the animation is just cheap. The character designs and overall animation is just minimal. I don’t really think this show is bad as it is watchable. But the story doesn’t bring anything you haven’t seen before. It even has the old shounen syndrome of people over explaining special attacks. I do at least appreciate that instead of the usual harem lead pushover, we got a confident guy with some attitude. These shows become a whole lot more bearable when the lead has some actual personality. This show embraces it’s ridiculous setting to the full and is basically going to be our main fighting off the girls while winning their hearts. It’s fun but forgettable.Might make for a nice show to tide you over between weekly releases.

Potential: 30%

Mario: Am I the only one who feel uneasy about the boys being bullied to the point they have to wear makeup and act like girls? I know the show doesn’t take that seriously but that exactly how bully works. This show offers a lengthy but exciting combat, where I can get behind all those techniques but everything else just falls flat. It has all the cliché, well-worn plot convenience with its incredibly ridiculous and straight-forward premise. The other girls are generic (but I love their swords’ choice) and for the love of God bear even makes an entrance here. This show is a dumb fun show so It’s hard to fault a series when they embrace themselves completely to its ridiculousness; and I do have a bit of entertainment watching those fights and how they execute its stupid, bizarre ideas. But at the end of the day, this show is one of the glaring examples of poorly-written shows with lazy execution and lack of identity that sadly plagued the current trend of anime industry.

Potential: 20%

 

SAGRADA RESET

Short Synopsis: A boy who can remember everything and a girl who can reset time work together to solve people’s problems.

Now here’s a great idea killed by execution. The overall plot seems interesting enough but there is something inherently wrong with the dialogue of this show. First, no one emotes. At all. Everyone talks in a deadpan monotone with stone faced disposition without exception.Second, conversation is really disjointed. Characters can jump to weird topics without really any warning and nobody talks like an actual person. For example we have a girl who is getting these two to team up for what looks like to be ulterior motives. She says they should all hang out together and when asked for a reason she says they should pretend one of them is a android and they need to figure it out which one of them is the android by the end of the summer. Considering how I don’t think any of them blinked throughout the entire episode I would say they are all androids. It’s just really jarring how this conversation moves to that and it’s present throughout the episode. Lastly, the dialogue doesn’t make it clear what exactly is going on. When the girl is explaining her ability of saving and resetting, it’s just really unclear as to how it works and honestly I have the question that if she never remembers resetting then how does she know these rules in the first place? And suddenly they are bringing back her memories from when she was five years old for some reason that was never specified. I feel there is something interesting here but the way it’s presented just kills any intrigue and renders it remarkably dull. I think maybe if the characters get more developed and the story kicks into gear it might become something. But as it is now it’s just not a interesting show to watch.

Potential: 50%

Mario: One of the main problem of Sagrada Reset is it’s trying too hard. They want to squeeze the most out of its premise about special abilities and rewriting the past, and out of the main characters’ own philosophies, so they end up making characters having big talks that bother on too much exposition and pretentious. They want to squeeze in too many ideas that the end results are inconsistent and emotional distant. Then I don’t feel the song right at the beginning fits the show, and characters motivations are all over the table (remember that android talk?). But I can’t deny this show is one of the most ambiguous show so far this season, and many of its themes have real meats. I agree that the notion of using the girl’s ability to reset in combination with the guy who can remember the past feel like an exploitation towards the girl. The main theme of fixing the past is touched in this episode, but surprisingly leave no emotions involved. Sagrada Reset is a hard case to crack. On one hand, it explains too much of its concepts to the point of incomprehension, and leave out any emotional attachment it should’ve transferred across in the process, but on the other hand, it never fails to be intriguing. This show has potential to become great, but can they manage to reach that potential? Let wait and see.

Potential: 60%

Tsugumomo

Short Synopsis: A boys keepsake from his mother turns into a girl and fights monsters

Hey you! Do you like Shounen? Do you like tits? Do you like tits and Shounen? Then do we have the show for you! The start of this show pretty much ticks all the usual tropes of a harem battle anime. Is it terrible? Not really, just rather uninspired. The story does improve as it continues and the manga even has moments of pretty impressive art. However it ups the ante in both action and fanservice. If you thought the fanservice was too much this episode then boy, you haven’t seen anything yet. The fanservice is so much that the author of the manga made a small strip with the characters pretty much flabbergasted that it’s getting an anime in the first place. Still for what it is, this does the job. Fight animation wasn’t half bad either. If you are a fan of the likes of High School DxD I think you might like this. Provided you can get past overdone tropes.

Potential: 20%

Mario: I can sense that Tsugumomo can become a popular show this season, as it ticks many boxes of tropes that can attract anime viewers: the mindless action popcorn part, the romance ecchi undertones and HEAPS OF FANSERVICE. All for the wrong reasons of course. Let’s see, just right in this first episode we have groping, taking bath together, sleeping together and obviously, our main character is a helpless boy driven mostly by hormone. The premise is overdone at this point, being the boy encounter the spirits/gods/monsters from some random stuffs. The characters are on the weak side here as no one have any distinct personality whatsoever. This show is conventional, all the beat feel so familiar here but I don’t deny that it was an easy watch. But seriously, the fanservice turns me off and this show sure doesn’t shy away at all from horniness. So here’s how you should approach this show: if you feel entertained by this episode, by all means keep watching it, if you feel the fanservice is too much or the show lacks deep then this show isn’t for you as it will get dull fast.

Potential: 20%

 

Warau Salesman NEW

Short Synopsis: A salesman will help you with any problem you have, for a price.

I do have a fondness for parables which is why I hold Kino’s Journey in such high regard. Warau Salesman aims for a similar kind of parable but in a much simpler sense. We have two stories where in the saleman tempts people with something and then punishes them when they break a certain rule. My big problem with this series is that in a morality tale it’s often about punishing a person for something that’s entirely their own fault. But the Warau Salesman purposefully sets people up for failure right from the start. He creates the problem and then punishes people for it. He leads two workers to a bar which will allow them to drink during the day and then punishes them for drinking during the day. He gives a shopaholic a card that will allow her to buy whatever she wants and then punishes her for buying something she cannot return. These people are don’t really seem like bad people so it’s a series about a crappy person screwing over decent people for the sake of a fairly flawed moral. After all, in normal circumstances those workers wouldn’t have drunk during the day and that shopaholic would have been stopped by the fact that she can’t afford to shop. I will give this show credit for having a groovy opening but otherwise it’s a parable show with some pretty poor parables. Unless you consider not drinking during work hours and not shopping when you don’t have money to be good life lessons instead of common sense.

Potential: 10%

Mario: “Be careful what you wish for” – This basically is the main theme of this Laughing Salesman show. Here in the first episode we have 2 variations of that moral play: each of them build up the desire of its main targets and then when that desire got out of control, the price they have to pay is far greater. Human being is a flawed creature and Laughing Salesman serves as a catalyst to bring the dark desire of each person. I understand its underlying themes but show with this premise in an episodic format will get pale very fast; indeed by the second story my interest for continue watching this show just gone. It’s just different set-ups for the same damn thing. It doesn’t help that the visual execution isn’t great with simplistic designs and limited animation (but hey, the OP actually looks pretty cool) and the stories progress as obvious and predictable as it could get. Shows should have a strong central message, but when “message” is the only thing they have, and worse, they repeat that same message every single time then I figure we could just watch the first 10 minutes to get an idea of what they’re offering. The rest won’t be needed. Here something interesting that you could try Warau Salesman, make an actual 3-act out this salesman, then I will be interested to follow it.

Potential: 10%

 

Frame Arms Girl

Short Synopsis: A girl is gifted with a sentient little doll.

Ah, Horrible CGI. We meet again. Well we spend half an episode with the girl putting together parts for her little robot girl so I now know how to put together a frame arms girl figurine. Surely information necessary for the future where I will never buy one of these figurines. Look, I know that anime is often glorified advertisement for merchandise as that’s generally where they make their money back but I it’s fairly insulting when they are just so blatant about it. Also think the fanservice is in poor taste. For one to charge these figurines you need to insert a cable at her butt and naturally when you do so they let out a visible “Ah!” for purely scientific reasons I am certain. What we basically got here is cute girls being all cute and stuff mixed with action scenes which have no stakes or point. It’s pretty dull and boring.

Potential: 0%

Mario: The very first three shots of the OP give you an exact idea what this show aims for: a panty shot, an armour suit, and a CG-design toy girl. A side bonus from the actual episode: you have lively instructions on how to set up the plastic model!!!! and the mechanics of how they battle. This product obviously was made with only one thing in mind: to promote the toys. The show has no plot whatsoever so there’s no point to criticize it. The animation of CGI robot fighting is subpar, the battle isn’t remotely interesting and the characters speak like… well, toys. No, even if I am the intended audience, I wouldn’t buy the products after watching this show. What’s the point of buying another Gourai if you know for sure she isn’t going to activated? I would have preferred much better in all honesty if the show goes for chibi style as shown in the ED rather than this bland CG models. Alright, to be fair I do learn one thing out of this, that panty is a part of BODYSUIT. Get it?

Potential: 0%

Attack on Titan Season 2

Short Synopsis: Eren and the rest of humanity face a greater threat when a monkey like Titan appears within the walls.

Thus we have the return of the biggest mainstream anime hit in recent memory. I still stand by my assertions in the season preview that this season will likely turn a number of people off the series but admittedly the production values are making it one hell of a return to form. Besides some CGI horses this episode will likely have fans right back into the world of titans and scouting legions. The biggest highlight is of the appearance of the titan with the fan name “Monkey Trouble” With him being one of the first titans who can talk and control other titans, this series may have gotten it’s main antagonist for the season. We also got a peek into some conspiracy as it was revealed at the end of the season that Titan’s reside within the walls and the wall cult seems fully aware of this. Though we didn’t get any real answers as to why there are titans within the walls and that lack of answers is something I suggest people get used to. Sadly the opening didn’t quite match the grander of the first opening but all things considered the first opening set a pretty high bar. Seeing as it topped the poll in the preview I will be covering the show this season and I hope it turns out to be as explosive a season as this first episode.

Potential: 70%

 

Mario: Anime fans rejoice for arguably the most crossover anime hit in this decade. I’m guessing you all have an idea of what Attack on Titan is about, right? Well, this episode certainly won’t disappoint you. Right in this first episode, the show sets up for 2 interesting premises that the human kind wish they didn’t know about Titan: the Titan(s) who stay within the Walls that supposed to protect human, and Titan who has human intelligence and even speaks human language. As expected, the visual and the amount of animation are top-notch and highly-detailed and they get the Titan feel just right. Like after 4 years of waiting, all it takes is first few minutes for us to get back to that dread and heart-pumping universe. While personally this kind of high action work isn’t my cup of tea (I’m a coffee drinker, and I’m a minority who don’t care about Marvel movies either so you know where I come from), Attack on Titan is a must-see for every anime fan out there. It packs one of the best production values this industry has to offer and it’s highly entertainment. Although with only 12 episodes I hope they will at least finish one arc before make us wait again for god-knows-how-long.

Potential: 70%

 

GRANBLUE FANTASY The Animation

Short Synopsis: In a fantasy world a boy finds a girl with strange powers who is on the run from an evil empire.

This makes me feel rather nostalgic. This first episode was essentially set up like an old school JRPG, hitting every cliche in the genre. You can clearly see this was based on a game as you can make out the points of the first dungeon and boss. What further adds to this is that Noburu Nematsu is listed as a composer, most likely of the original game’s soundtrack. Noburu is a legendary figure when it comes to RPG music, having made some of the best soundtracks in the genre. So this is story is standard JRPG through and through which means if you have played a lot of rpgs, or watched standard fantasy in general, then this story is going to feel very familiar. The animation is quite impressive and makes me think that Fate/Apocrypha may not be in such bad hands after all if they can make animation like this. However the characters are all standard stereotypes lacking any defining characteristics and the worse is that mascot character Dragon. Adds absolutely nothing but annoyance. If you are going to have a mascot in your show then the best thing you could do is ensure they shut their mouth. If you are a fan of fantasy anie this might tickle your fancy but I say it would prove too by the books to keep your interest.

Potential: 20%

 

Mario: A harmless old-fashion fantasy fluff, that what Granblue Fantasy is. Every set-up feels like you have watched in other anime before, and that old feel of more straight-forward fantasy fare makes me questioning about the age of this source material until those CGI monsters appear screaming to my face “Are you impressed with this updating?”. No sir, not one bit. The actual story flows nicely but it’s as generic as it could get. Cliché upon cliché (the girl fall off the sky, guy happens to be nearby to rescue her, guy happens to be bad-ass and many more) and after seeing many protagonists redefining what a “true” hero entails (just pop up my head: Subaru in Re:Zero for the dark side of becoming the man to save the day and Kazuma in KonoSuba for arguably who we would likely become if we were sucked into another world for real), a straight-face hero like this feel just plain and no personality. Everything here is decent, the world-building is alright, the production’s still on par so far, the characters aren’t overly bad, but nothing really memorable either. Also that annoying flying lizard can fly without clapping his wings in one scene? That’s sadly the only noticeable details after watching this episode.

Potential: 10%

 

Alice to Zouroku

Short Synopsis: A superpowered little girl on the run from the government decides to stay with a gruff old man.

A 45 minute pilot episode and my overall experience with this show is rather mixed. The car chase was the worst part of the episode with some truly terrible CGI and a couple of animation goofs. Action in general seems to be this show’s weakest aspect as it has a relatively uninspired setup and there doesn’t really feel to be any real danger in regards to stakes. The government is acting suitably shady but the little girls don’t seem to be mistreated or malicious. One of the things that made the action fall flat was in how no one looks to be taking it seriously. It’s hard to feel a sense of danger when the ones fighting are little girls making jokes and talking like it’s some kind of playdate. What works here and made this episode stand out was the main character, who happens to be an old man who just doesn’t put up with any of this nonsense. His reactions are remarkably refreshing in comparison with your normal anime leads and his grandfatherly care of the girls is rather heartwarming. While this episode displayed a lot of action I have a feeling this show is moving more into slice of life territory which I am all for surprisingly. Normally I wouldn’t prefer a show trade off action for slice of life but seeing how this show pulls off action scenes I think it’s the safer option to forgo it from this point forward. What will decide this show’s fate is how much it plans to dwell on the government science facility as frankly that aspect has been done before and to a much better degree. If it’s a tale of a girl hanging around a grandfather figure then I say it’s worth checking out but if it’s a tale of a girl fighting her fellow lab rats with lame superpowers then I say it will not be worth your time.

Potential: 60%

Mario: Boy, I certainly didn’t expect this much action for this show. But here the thing, the action part is a weaker part of the show. After watching the show I have a really mixed feeling about it. While many elements make it a must-watch for this season, other elements are uninspiring and below-par. For example, the action. While the actual fights are fine, showing right in the beginning when we don’t have a clue about the girls’ gifts make more confusing than aspiring. Moreover, the CG cars moving on the road feel very out of place and terribly unconvincing (remember the scene where the old man stopped the car and asked Sana out? The background scene was MOVING on its own). Likewise, I feel whenever the research institution is mentioned, the show goes heavy-handled, and it’s boring. Evil facility acts like an evil facility isn’t something new. The main beef of the show, however, is the relationship between Sana and old man Zouroku and their chemistry is amazing. They act their ages and they bounce of each other well (love the no-nonsense attitude of the old man) and it was those small moments that bring out so much warm and heart to this show. But seeing how the plot advances, I’m pretty sure that we will have an uneven show of one-half taking itself too seriously with plot-driven MESSAGE, and the other half of endearing slice-of-life of Sana and old man. Weight your choice. I will be on this board as the latter clearly outweigh the former.

Potential: 60%