Category: Other:

Kantai Collection

Short Synopsis: Our protagonist sucks at playing battleship

This is an anime based on the popular browser game of the same name. I haven’t played it but from what I hear it has ship daughters and some form of strategy. So I went into this blind, not knowing what I would get. That said, I certainly did not expect cosplaying waterskiing girls with gun skirts fighting bikini clad waterskiing alien women. It was so absurd to look at that I was laughing during the action scenes. But well turns out that is only half the show. For the other half it’s cute girls doing cute things time! A type of anime which has always baffled me. I mean, Harems I get. Generic superpower anime I get. This? The fascination of seeing girls being overacting toddlers is something that never resonated with me. So the unfortunate thing is that both halves don’t work for me. The first because it cracks me up whenever I see those girls waterskiing(In off-putting CG to boot) with those stupid battleship armaments. The second because I have no interest in cute antics. This looks to be an anime for the fans of the game and nothing more.

Potential: 0%

The iDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls

Short Synopsis: Our protagonist wants to become an idol

The first season of Idolmaster wasn’t bad. It wasn’t great by any means  but it wasn’t really deserving of scorn. It was a watchable show and compared to the exceedingly large amount of idol themed anime you could do a lot worse. The second season looks to more of just that and I can honestly say I didn’t hate it. I am even a little ashamed to say it was rather enjoyable. Obnoxious Engrish J-POP aside(Ugh it’s so peppy…) the episode was fun to watch. Seeing the producers awkward efforts to recruit the girls was quite amusing. And at least attempts to have a story unlike the many “cute girls doing cute things” shows. If you are looking for something light to watch inbetween the stuff this season I can say this will fill the need.

Potential: 30%

Tokyo Ghoul √A

Short Synopsis: Our protagonist eats Soylent Green.

The first season of tokyo ghoul was a mess. Mainly because of someones great idea of adapting a full 66 chapters of manga in a single cour run. This story does have a pace too slow in the manga but with breakneck pacing the story was murdered. So the question is whether they will slow down for this season or keep the fast pace to cover the rest of the manga. Neither it seems. This is going anime original. Oh yes Studio Pierrot, that’s likely to not anger the fandom further. Pure genius, good job! Alright lets put sarcasm to one side. While the end revelation makes no sense when regarding Kaneki’s character, it’s does open potential for some good idea’s. The second half of the manga is where the more shounen tropes come out proving this is a shounen disguised as a seinien and when you have already buggered up the story, going your own way with it may not be a bad idea. However, in many cases when an anime decides to do it’s own thing and be it’s own story it normally ends up with a much more subpar result. There are exceptions, Fullmetal Alchemist and Welcome to the NHK to name a few. But for every success there is a hundred failures. We may get badass Kaneki and some good action but I am guessing the plot of this show is going to go down the drain. A 10% for wishful thinking that this could provide a better ending than the manga did.

OP: I could give props for being different but one minute and thirty seconds of Kaneki awkwardly staring at me is one minute too many.

Potential: 10%

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure – Stardust Crusaders Egypt Arc

Short Synopsis: Our protagonist is going to Egypt to kill a vampire

Jojo’s first season was a breath of fresh air with it’s ridiculous entertainment value. However with the second season I found that a lot of it’s magic had been lost as the series took a more episodic monster of the week format. Stands eliminated much of the unpredictability of fights, most of the season felt like unnecessary padding and Jotaro remains to me the weakest protagonist so far out of the three arcs. But maybe because of the long break coming back in to this episode reminded me of why I loved the first season. A new unconventional stand member has joined the gang and the new threat is an interesting one. However just when we thought the monster of the week format may go away seeing as nearly all the tarots have been fought, it’s brought up that Dio has nine new goons to get in Jojo’s way. I hoping that some of the fun of the first season could be brought back but if this is going to be another conga line of one note villains this will get old fast.

OP: Excellent visuals but not very fond of the singing in the song.

ED: In true Jojo fashion the ED is an unconventional one. This one being “Last train home” by Pat Methany group. However unlike the last two endings this one is too mellow and doesn’t fit the show.

Potential: 60%

Death Parade

Short Synopsis: A newly-wedded couple have to play a game of darts with their lives on the line.

You may have heard of a animated short for the 2013 Young Animator Training Project called “Death Billiards.” If you haven’t then check it out. It’s excellent. Well that short has evolved into a series and this is it. It is the series I am most looking forward because it hits all the right notes for me. I have a soft spot for stories about people pushed into extreme situations that test the limits of their morality. This episode delivered on that in spades. Seeing the characters breakdown as the dart game continued just delights my sadistic heart. However while the animation was great I found the characters emotions, in particular the male character, to be far too heavily exaggerated. The guy was slobbering like a dog for crying out loud. Another issue deals with the after credits scene which shows the other characters of the bar. I fear that too much attention would be given to the workers of the bar instead of focusing on the death games. Do not make that mistake Death Parade. Know what the audience came for. That said, this is looking to be my pick of the season.

OP: Considering the dark nature of the show this opening is far too upbeat and grandiose. I hope it’s not a bad sign of things to come. Other than that, I like it.

Potential: 90%

Assassination Classroom

Short Synopsis: A yellow squid is going to destroy the world

I have read the manga of Assassination classroom up to date so I know what’s coming here. This manga is by the same author who wrote Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro and my overall impression of the story is that it’s readable but does not have anything that particularly stands out. The villains in particular have weak characterisation though are still infuriating in their ignorance. In particular the main villain, who is the principal, has teaching methods that look rooted in “master race” philosophy.  Though the story has extreme elements it is more or less a shounen venture. However reading the story and watching the story are different. In some ways I think this works better as an anime. The comedy works much better and seeing the assassin attempts is much more exciting. Also the soundtrack is more excellent than it deserves to be. This is a very strong start to the series but it does give a mistaken impression on what the story will be about. This is less a story about assassinating an evil monster and more the battle of the underdog class against the over privileged bigots of the other classes. With the right execution this could turn it to be very entertaining.

OP: Annoyingly catchy but a nice tune.

ED: Excellent. A nice tune and the chalkboard visuals are a good idea.

Potential: 50%

Shinmai Maou no Testament

Short Synopsis: Our protagonist has just got two little sisters who are demons.

Here’s a fun fact. Due to myself being in a position at one point where I couldn’t do much of anything besides read novels and happening to see this title pop up in front of me a few times I gave this work more attention than it deserved. I cast it aside twice before and in one last attempt I encountered something that just made me ashamed at trying to give this a chance. Let me tell you where I stopped reading. You see later on in this story the sister attempts to make a master servant contract with her as the master and him the servant. But things go wrong and wouldn’t you know it, he is the master and she is the servant. To top it all off because the ritual was done by a succubus, whenever the girl disobeys the boy she is punished by becoming excessively sexually aroused. I think that’s enough to tell you exactly what kind of story you are getting. And here I am again, seeing this story for the last time.(Unless there’s a sequel….please god don’t let there be a sequel.) But yes it’s just as painfully bad the fourth time through. The setting is one you seen before, the wish fulfilment is a blatant as you can get and the fanservice as shameless as always. Maybe if you want a guilty pleasure this season this might do the trick. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.

OP: There was actually some interesting visuals at the beginning of the op. But then came the obligatory action that will nowhere near be as well animated in the actual show as it is here. Song is nothing really special.

Potential: 0%

Tantei Kageki Milky Holmes

Short Synopsis: Our heroines are detectives in a show that has even less detective work than the last season.

I watched the first season of Milky Holmes and found some funny jokes to be had. I personally don’t go for comedy anime but I can’t say I regret watching the first season. However based on the first episode here it seems this season is going to get bogged down by elements other than comedy. It looks like now that Milky holmes have their toy powers back this show will attempt to tell a story instead of being just plain insanity. Which is a shame because the insanity was what made it so entertaining. There were some potential jokes here but in truth I think Milky holmes only really needed one season and this one is going to be redundant. This first episode wasn’t bad so it is possible things could still pick up and prove me wrong.

OP: Well if I knew nothing about the show and watched this opening then I would be even more confused about what the show is about. It’s peppy and strange.

Potential: 40%

Junketsu no Maria

Short Synopsis: Our protagonist is a witch who is a virgin.

Maria the virgin witch. I haven’t seen a japanese work with english title that could turn away people in a millisecond like that since Onani Master Kurosawa. And yet it is the anime with a title that sounds better suited for a hentai that holds the most potential so far out of the current anime season. The setting is great with it being set in France during the Hundred Years’ War. The characters are fairly likeable and the animation looks good. This is looking to be an entertaining ride as long as it doesn’t dwell too deeply on the sex jokes. Though “Why does her jaw hurt” got a laugh out of me. That dragon at the end was great looking and reinforces my belief that anime needs more dragons. This show was a nice surprise.

Potential: 70%

Absolute Duo

Short Synopsis: Our main character is called Thor and goes to magic high school.

There are some shows in anime which make you wonder if there’s a random story generator in Japan in which you pull the handle and it just pulls a series of random tropes together. Then an author shoves them into the age old light novel formula and hey presto! Best selling light novel. I tried to keep an open mind and hold some hope that maybe this would prove to have the slightest bit of creativity even when my opinion dropped at the sight of a school setting. But all was lost when the main character introduced himself as Thor and not one person laughed. To make matters worse the main didn’t know about the mythological hero at all. I was bored through the first half of the episode and the second half was downright painful to watch with some terrible comedy. Followed by fanservice and the main all flustered because he is living with a girl. Never seen that before….Even if you like these kinds of stories done at least once every season, I would not recommend this.

OP: The song started with potential but fizzled out.

ED: Bland.

Potential: 0%

Yuri Kuma Arashi

Short Synopsis: Chibi Bears are eating schoolgirls.

Only one minute in and we got lesbians coupled with lily symbolism. Kunihiko Ikuhara isn’t wasting any time. For those that don’t know, he is the director of Penguindrum, revolutionary girl Utena and some seasons of sailor moon. I can see he has not changed much. A good sense of aesthetics and narrative focus on symbolism over sense. But damn me for this if you will, but the animation of this episode was abysmal. This would be the level of animation I would expect from a 70’s anime. The number of still frames was ridiculous. After penguindrum I have come to hate Ikuahara’s style as I see it as pointless intellectual fluff covering for a weak poorly plotted story. I understand that others may look at it differently and find value in untangling the bundle of threads into a cohesive plot. If you liked penguindrum then this looks like it will be more of the same. However I can’t enjoy it. I find it irritatingly pretentious with every line. Though the premise is mildly interesting with it’s light hearted nature even when the subtext is quite dark, I just can’t get into it after seeing how much potential was squandered in Penguindrum. I will give it a 50% for intrigue and being different but I am sorry, this just isn’t the anime for me.

OP: Very suggestive. Fanservice off the charts. I’m honestly not sure what to think of it.

ED: A still image and a dancing bear. Come on guys, even Absolute Duo tried with it’s ED.

Potential: 50%

Binan Koukou Chikyuu Bouei-bu Love!

Short Synopsis: Our protagonist makes a contract with a fluffy animal and becomes a magical…boy.

The first four minutes were nothing but food jokes. Unless you are well versed in japanese food these will fly over your head. As for the rest, well…basically the problem is this. I am sure there are those of you who are familiar with those anime episodes or specials where they take the characters from a series and parody a magical girl show. However rather than point out the genre conventions of magical girl shows and poking fun at it, the joke is usually just placing the characters in the setting and saying how much they don’t fit in it. It is essentially one joke that gets tiresome before the episode’s end. This looks to be an entire series that is that in a nutshell. If they want to keep this going they need to bring something else to the table because the joke has been made. You have said the punchline. Saying the punchline another twelve times will not make the joke any funnier.

OP: Silly and cheesy.

Potential: 0%

Amagi Brilliant Park

Short Synopsis: Our protagonist is kidnapped by an emotionless girl with a musket.

Ninjarealist’s Impression: A bitter and narcissistic ex-child star, a creepy and falling-apart theme park whose few visitors are outnumbered by vermin, a cast of characters named after American hip-hop stars: these are just a few of the bizarre elements that make up the first episode of Amagi Brilliant Park. And if you’re unable to imagine how all of that could fit neatly into one show, let me reassure you: this debut episode is laugh out loud funny. Comedy is probably the most subjective of genres, but what sets Amagi Brilliant Park apart from the crowd is that it’s quite clever. For example, the choice to name the main characters after hip-hop stars. It’s an inherently funny choice, but a lesser series might be content to simply play this for cheap jokes. But in Amagi Brilliant Park these names are actually used as ironic commentaries on the lead characters’ attributes. The emotionless girl, who is constantly shooting at people with a musket, is named after famed stoic and shooting victim, 50 Cent. The self-absorbed child-star protagonist takes his name from renowned narcissist Kanye West. That’s the type of subtle humor that this series uses. It doesn’t just stop at the usual manzai jokes (although it does those very well), it utilizes the bizarre setting and strange characters to play with the viewer’s expectations and force us to laugh at the morose absurdity of it all. In this way, Amagi Brilliant Park reminds me more of a show like Humanity Has Declined than the typical KyoAni fare that many expected this series to be.

A lot of what makes this show work so well is the excellent direction, which fleshes out the setting with lifelike visuals. Much of the humor in the first episode is driven by the surroundings, a theme park so poorly-maintained that it feels more like a haunted house than a place to unwind. And what really drives this home is the director’s use of short but intricate scenery shots that direct the viewer’s eyes to important details, which might be missed if they were placed in the background. Crows eating from a spilled trashcan, aging animatronics struggling to speak outdated lines, a bored child sitting with his parent in an empty auditorium, playing video games, as the uninspired show girls struggle to feel relevant: brief shots like this make the setting feel almost like another character in the show. This is gracefully mixed in with the comedy and never bores the viewer or verges into scenery porn. Much of these exposition shots are jokes unto themselves.

Amagi Brilliant Park is by no means a perfect show. There’s plenty of dumb fanservice and, while the dialogue is usually quite funny, it can sometimes feel extremely corny and derivative. That’s what worries me the most about this show. While I loved the first episode, it showed unmistakable signs that it might devolve into something less unique than what we see in the first episode. The use of dramatic flashbacks late in this episode suggests that this show intends to get serious at some point. And I have some doubts about whether this series can pull off drama as well as comedy. Still, this is was an impressive first episode and I’m excited to see where they go with it.

Potential: 70%

Psycho Pass Season 2

Short Synopsis: Our protagonist is a cop hunting criminals in a “Minority Report”-style dystopia.

Ninjarealist’s Impressions: Full disclosure, I really liked the first season of Psycho-Pass. The show had a lurid, hollywood, feel to it that made it seem almost as much like an American action movie as an episodic sci-fi anime. And as much as it pains me to say it, I’m just not really feeling as much of either influence from Psycho Pass 2, which seems much more rooted in modern anime. The main characters have gotten cuter, the soundtrack has cut down on the orchestral instruments and upped the amount of electronic ones, and the script, no longer written by Gen Urobuchi, doesn’t quite have the same edge to it. That’s not automatically a bad thing, but something seems like it’s missing from this sequel. Akane is still a badass, the premise is still great, and the setting is still super cool, but the show sort of feels like some of the life has been sucked out of it. There’s just not a whole lot in this first episode that compares favorably to the original series. With all of that being said, I still liked this first episode. While I’m disappointed that the staff seemed to be making a concerted effort to up the number of cute girls, I do like Shimotsuki’s character and I like how they’ve set her up to be so antagonistic towards Akane. It’s essentially the same relationship she had with Ginoza in the first season, but in reverse. And maybe that sounds boring to some of you but I for one am excited to see how Akane deals with an upstart who questions her authority. The new villain is also an obvious retread of the villain from the first season, but again, they’ve made some interesting choices with him that should provide some serious challenges for the main characters. If viewers can get past the fact that this show seems to be a downgrade in quality from the original Psycho Pass, I think they might find something to like here.

Potential: 65%

Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso 

Short Synopsis: Our lead character plays/played the piano very well.
Impressions: We get shows like this every few seasons. You know, the ones that are generic to the core, yet they do the generic shit pretty well? See, this episode was very formulaic: we have our genius with a troubled past, our main character’s best friend, childhood friend, and the mysterious new girl who our protagonist will most likely end up banging. I could compare this to Bokura wa Minna Kawaiisou from Spring’s lineup, but that wouldn’t do this show very much justice-because unlike Kawaii Complex’s premier, this first episode wasn’t a total piece of shit. In fact, it was consistently solid, and A-1 Pictures seems to have done their best with the crappy premise handed to them. If the story and characters weren’t so much of a damn cop-out though, I could see myself enjoying this anime for what it is: a teenage angst drama. This is the first time Kyohei Ishiguro is directing a show by himself (Unlike Psycho Pass, My Little Monster, Amagami SS+, Hourou Musuko, Kyokai Senjo no Horizon, & Fairy Tail, where he was an episode director), so I guess I have to congratulate him for making this episode decent at the very least. However, if I learned anything from the past few years, it’s that generic shows like this quickly fall apart.

OP: Generic, nothing to see here.

ED: Generic, nothing to see here.

Potential: 40%

Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works(TV)

Short Synopsis: Our heroine is a plucky magician who summons a wise-cracking familiar.

Ninjarealist’s impressions: The much hyped Ufotable TV adaptation of Fate/stay night is here and let’s just get the big questions out of the way right up front: yes, the first episode lives up to the hype and no, this show is not for people who are unfamiliar with the Fate franchise. So if you haven’t seen the first adaptation, or the prequel, then you might as well just stop reading now. That’s not to say you might not get something out of the show, but the biggest failing of this adaptation is that it’s just not very accessible to newcomers. Events and characters get thrown at you so fast that you’ll have a difficult time following along if you don’t have a basic idea of the plot already.

Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works really succeeds in all the ways you would expect from a Ufotable adaptation of a TypeMOON property. The animation is gorgeous, though I found myself less impressed with the flashy special effects and more impressed with the small details, like the hammers on Rin’s alarm clock or Archer absent-mindedly playing with a pendulum in the Tohsaka study. These small touches really go a long way in enhancing the atmosphere of the show. There are some noticeably horrendous textures that become especially obvious in a few scenes, but overall I was struck by how many of the visuals, especially the indoor vignettes, reminded me of still images from the visual novel. It’s not just a good-looking adaptation either: I like the script. Rin has never been more likable and Archer is wittier than ever. Their antics repeatedly made me chuckle and play out almost like an 80’s buddy-cop movie. I think a lot of why the dialogue works so well is the consistent pacing. On the other hand some aspects of the show did feel overwrought. The characters, while endearing, are prone to rattling off extended monologues that often feel a bit hamfisted. The Hideyuki Fukasawa score isn’t bad but honestly, the best parts of this episode are the parts with no music at all. I hope that in future episodes this show uses a little less music. This is especially problematic in the fight scenes, which do feel a little bit overdone, a feeling that is only enhanced by the epic, orchestral, score. Still, this is a quality adaptation that manages to hit most of the right notes. It’s hard for me to see fans of the franchise being disappointed by this. My biggest criticism is that it’s just not very accessible to everyone else.

Potential: 75%

Akatsuki no Yona

Short Synopsis: The protagonist is a princess in a “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” style fantasy setting.

Ninjarealist’s impressions: Like many anime fans on the internet, when I first saw the preview for this show I was reminded of another Studio Pierrot series, The Twelve Kingdoms. I’m a big fan of that show and from the classical Chinese setting to the red-haired protagonist, Akatsuki no Yona seemed almost like it was inspired by that venerable series. Alas, appearances can be deceiving. Beyond the superficial similarities Akatsuki no Yona doesn’t feel anything like The Twelve Kingdoms. If anything, it feels more like an adventure series in the mould of Full Metal Alchemist or recent Studio Pierrot-influenced product The Legend of Korra. That’s not necessarily a bad thing and in a lot of ways Akatsuki no Yona seems to be getting this formula right. Yona manages to be a surprisingly likable character and her banter with the other characters actually made me chuckle pretty consistently. The audio/visual presentation is extremely good with a very solid performance by Chiwa Saito as the lead. Still, while this show seems to have a lot of the elements of a good series, it feels kind of soulless so far. The thematic content is pretty shallow and the aristocratic setting is lacking in any sort of grit to make the world feel lifelike. Then again, the show clearly has a lot of ground to cover, so I wouldn’t be surprised if we get more of that later on. But a bigger issue for me is the direction. While the individual shots look great, the pacing feels a little too convenient. Characters always show up exactly when you would expect them too and dramatic moments unfold in a way that feels a little too scripted and artificial for me. Contrary to what you would expect from the first episode in an adventure series, there isn’t much action and the action we do see is not particularly well-choreographed. It’s unclear to me whether this will change later in the series. Lack of action isn’t usually a bad thing, but if the narrative and thematic content continue to be so weak then I can’t see them carrying the show. Akatsuki no Yona does have most of the elements of an entertaining adventure series and I think it will be a modest success if it goes that route. But if the show is trying to be something more serious I’m not encouraged by this first episode.
Potential: 50%

Orenchi no Furo Jijou

Short Synopsis: Our protagonist has a cute merman living in his bath.

Ninjarealist’s impressions: I’m a big believer in short comedies. Teekyu and Poyopoyo are some of my favorite shows in recent memory, and they really demonstrated why the short format works so well for humor. A common problem with full-length comedy series is that the first episode will use up all the jokes and the rest of the series goes downhill from there. This doesn’t happen as often with short comedies because they’re over so quickly that there just isn’t enough time to use up all the jokes. It’s clear after the first episode that Orenchi no Furo Jijou still has a lot of cards in its hand. So far the series has barely scratched the surface of what a high-school aged boy and his handsome, physically-affectionate, merman friend might do together in a bath. The first episode was surprisingly funny. The Merman, is just completely, over-the-top, ridiculous, both in appearance and personality. This is accentuated by his seiyuu, rookie Yuuichiro Umehara, whose voice manages to be both deep and effeminate at the same time. Seeing him tease the deadpan protagonist was funnier than I expected it to be. Still, as many joking anime viewers have pointed out, this show is essentially Free! in a much smaller pool. It’s a cute guys doing cute things show. That’s not inherently a bad thing, but it doesn’t usually make for the most interesting viewing. The hilarious OP, and the sheer absurdity of the premise, both seem to suggest that this show might be a parody, and I do like parodies, but I’ve been burned too many times in the past by comedies that promise parody and just fail to deliver it. I can’t recommend this show to anyone but serious slice-of-life fans.
Potential: 35%