Category: Some Quick First Impressions

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%

If you ever get the opportunity offered to install Windows 10 on your PC: don’t do it! My computer got more and more unstable until it finally decided to give in and crash completely and I had a lovely beginning of 2017 trying to recover the files I hadn’t backed up only with a small success. That’s the reason this post is a bit late because I also had to rewrite my impressions of the earlier episodes I watched.

As usual this is a list of just my impressions and impressions alone, they’re not meant to be reviews, just to put my thoughts on paper and perhaps help those who are in need of a biased overview of the latest season. I did not look at any previews or information beforehand, so these are purely my first impressions. This season is not as good as the previous autumn season, but it might contain a few keepers:

Ai Mai Mi – Surgical Friends

Before I started, a little voice in me knew that I shouldn’t bother with this, that you shouldn’t judge anime by its cover, even positively. And yet something in me kept gullibly hoping that with a title as “surgical friends”, there would at least be SOMETHING about a hospital in this. Well yeah no, this is just a school show about cute girls. The premise of this one is that it tries to be a comedy (emphasis on “tries”), and there are a bunch of weird blob-like girls that the rest of the characters have to take care of and interact with. It unfortunately is another one of those series which never seem to have had a 101 on basic storytelling so the entire episode was jumbled up from scenes that just kept jumping into each other without any proper buildup and jokes just come from nowhere. The creators are pretty much hoping that if you yell hard and fast enough, the audience won’t notice your jokes are actually terrible. No.

Akiba’s Trip The Animation

Last year I had the fortune of visiting Japan, and while there I also paid a visit to Akihabara. And look, I get it. How crazy the the area is, I can see a series that celebrates it work. It’s gonna have a ton of fanservice because hey, it’s Akiba. However, even with that, you need good characters. This show doesn’t have that. The male lead is really badly acted and not fun to watch at all and his antics really scream trying too hard to be in on the joke, like this middle aged executive producer was desperately trying to be part of the “cool kids”. Beyond that, I also don’t really think that this show was that good at really showing what Akiba is like. There are some shows here and there, but there’s nothing really abut the history of the street, why it became the way it is, and the first episode proceeds to just destroy everything around it, more in the way of a disaster movie that picks famous landmarks to destroy just because of audience familiarity (although granted, this series does score points in trying to maintain its continuity). When I realized that, then this isn’t really a show that celebrates Akihabara anymore, and this turned into one of the most pandering shows I have ever seen. Like seriously it has everything: Snarky NEET Otaku main character who is surrounded by sexy characters, Akihabara, a younger sister for the lolicon crowd, a ditzy girl, a tsundere, lots of inconsequential fighting, the main character dying, the main female reviving him with a kiss with which he suddenly has these crazy superpowers that are for some stupid reason dependent on him stripping everyone to their underwear. Pure and utter wish fulfillment. Next!

Masamune-kun no Revenge

Series like this are the reason I try to give every single series at least the chance of a first episode. This is the kind of series that I would never have given a chance otherwise, and yet this episode impressed me. It looks so much like your generic harem, and yet every time it went into just another direction from what I expected. The show loves to toy with the normal conventions of the genre, in a way that feels fresh, and every time where I found myself thinking “oh god, not again”, it proved my fears wrong by going into a different direction. Now it obviously needs to keep this for the entire series, but I dig the idea of a series about a guy who Neville Longbottomed his way through middle school and now is at the point to take revenge, and the main character succeeds in not being a Gary Stu: he has his own weaknesses and the series makes it very clear that while he thinks that his revenge will be glorious, there will be massive downsides to it. It has struck that balance so far. Now, show. Whatever you do: DO NOT DEVOLVE into a generic will they won’t they after this!

Fuuka

Dear creators of anime: for the love of god, could you please stop trying to introduce female characters by their underpants? This is getting ridiculous. With this series, I’d also like to add another thing to the list of overused tropes that should not be used anymore: the three sisters. First 3-Gatsu no Lion came with its Minami-ke clone, and now this show too: show some creativity dammit! In any case about this show, it’s not THAT bad. It’s basically your first romance show about two awkward teenagers discovering that they might have feelings for each other, and while not that interesting, the cast also isn’t that annoying. What this show did really well was portraying that awkward feeling of first love: instead of glorifying it with lots of hearts and flowers and sparkles like what most series usually do, this is ugly and weird and nobody really knows what to do; I felt awkward along with the characters. But here’s the thing: was it really worth it to make a show about this? Don’t we already have enough romance shows? Ultimately this episode was just dull, nothing really caught my attention, it just adequately went along like the lowest common denominator. If it were a school grade, it’d be a 5,5; passable, but only barely. I see no reason to continue watching, especially how this episode hinted that this is going to be a love triangle and that a locally famous idol is going to enter the ring, so this show is pointless.

Minami Kamakura Koukou Joshi Jitensha-bu

Remember the previous season’s All Out? Well, they’re doing it again! Cute girls on bikes! Although this one seems to be more casual, like K-on with bikes. The lead female may not be as ditzy, but she’s getting there. Note that none of that is positive, although I do have one very big compliment for this series: the backgrounds! For some reason beyond me the creators decided to hire some really good background people, and it shows. I mean it’s no Porphy, but the lush background of the Japanese coastlines, mountains, oceans, it’s all amazing, and they actually move subtly, with a use of CG that actually feels perfectly natural for once. Apart from that, this show thankfully isn’t that bad. My main complaint really is how generic it is: this has all been done many times before, but in terms of execution, the characters are decently written and not trying too hard to be cute. There are a few bits here and there where the characters have an interesting chemistry between them, so if you’re dying for something light-hearted yet heart-warming, I think that this will actually be a good pick, provided that they do the cycling scenes better than what they did in the OP. Seriously that was bad.

Ao no Exorcist – Kyoto Fujouou-hen

Ah, Ao no Exorcist, that’s a long time ago. The premise seems rather annoying, why did I like this show again? Well, the answer to that question came in the second half of the episode: the side characters. That’s where the show got a bit down to earth again, and there you could see some very interesting character dynamics between the main character (who is the son of Satan) and his classmates. Before that though, he was pretty annoying and I related more to his twin brother for having to keep up with this brat and his antics. It’s weird to see how much I myself have changed ever since I watch this, but Rin is still the same brat he ever was. But thankfully the second half used his struggles in an interesting way compared to his powers that tend to go out of hand. But that’s also the problem: why does this show have to keep finding ways to distract from this guy’s antics? Can’t he just… be a good character right from the start? Naruto had the same problem: sure when it comes down to it he’s a good guy and all, but do you really want to watch this brat being a brat for most of the time to get there? It works for side characters because they don’t have too much airtime, but a main character?

Youjo Senki

I… um… yeah… okay, let’s start with the beginning. Remember Izetta of the previous season? Set in an alternative version of WWI Europe, but with slightly different countries and a mage lead character, folling a German-ish country on its way to victory. This show does that too. However Izetta was very well made: the common soldiers who were fighting were given a personality. Izetta had her flaws, so it really drove home that even though mages are incredibly powerful in a war setting, the common people are still incredibly important, and it’s a situation where death really sucks, yet is unavoidable. And while it took many liberties, you could still see the alpine influences. This show though, holy god. It has some MAJOR tonal differences. War! Murder! Death! Officers missing limbs! Cute girls! Really, what is this kid doing there? And don’t give me that “it’s magic”-schtick, the creators knew full well what they did. Every single soldier is ugly and gritty, and there she comes with her shiny hear and pupils looking extremely out of place. That other girl looked out of place too, but at least she wasn’t such a blatantly insulting Mary Sue for most of the episode, I hated her. Also, on a side-note: nice job on using chess pieces on a strategical war map guys! I see what you did there, that’s very advanced symbolism you have there! In any case though, what surprised me the most is how I found myself reacting to the end of the episode. Like, is she supposed to be the villain? Are we meant to hate her? Is she supposed to be this ridiculously powerful demi-god and will they use that against her in the future? Why the hell am I invested in this? Why did that finale hit me? What’s going on!?

Seiren

Oh god no! The hentai game adaptations! They’re back! I finally thought they were gone, but here Seiren comes yet again with a show featuring six girls and a generic spineless guy. Especially the OP: couldn’t they at least try to not make it so obvious there? Anyway, after 20 minutes of watching yet another horny teenager navigate through high school, I’m having a bit of trouble evaluating what this series really is going to be: will it go Clannad, pick one storyline and simply ignore the other girls, or will it spend a few episodes per girl in a wishy washy love triangle that makes no sense? It can go either way at this point, but if I had to be pressed, then I’d say that Fuuka had the better episode here between the two. The reason is that while both deal with awkward teenagers, Seiren had characters pull really weird leaps in logic that I’m still trying to puzzle out. One moment it’s trying really hard to be realistic, and then the next we have the main character staring at the main female’s butt-print after sitting on a desk. One moment it tries to show a teenager trying to find his place in life, the next there is this really weird misunderstanding about his crush and a middle aged guy. It just doesn’t fit, it’s like this uncanny valley of awkwardness that just feels so unnatural. Like a bunch of aliens pretending to be humans or something.

Urara Meirochou

Judging a book by its cover again: when this episode started, my thoughts were overall positive: it wouldn’t be my kind of series, like at all, but I could see this have appeal for the people who like series about “cute girls doing cute stuff”. It seemed to have the right ingredients, it was more colourful than usual, it had a nice selection of cute animals around, I could see it have a legitimate audience. When I started watching however, this turned into one of the worst first episodes of the season so far. Most other episodes so far were mostly just boring; this was painful. A lot can be written down to how the lead character is one of the most dim-witted characters I’ve seen in a long while. Really, to be THIS air-headed is a skill, and she just keeps going on and on. The cute animals could just as easily have been stuffed, that’s how much they actually did here, and it also has the dumbest excuse for fanservice so far, and that includes the stripping superpowers of that Akiba show. Like showing your belly in order to apologize? Really? It’s obvious what you’re doing there, there’s no need to be all cute about it. The rest of the cast basically is one giant straight man for this lead character, but even they are just completely annoying whenever they open their mouth. It’s the result of everything trying waaaay too hard to be cute. If it’s just that for the entire 20 minutes it’s obviously going to lose it’s value. Remember to balance dammit!

Spiritpact

A Chinese show with a Japanese dub, Korean OP, English title and ED. Quite the international production here, and it shows. This series looks incredibly cheap, but at the same time this show is not bound by the cliches that plague modern Japanese productions. I’m not against that though. The big disadvantage of modern productions is that they put budget over everything, and you hardly ever see the series that try to creatively use their limited budget to do really good things anymore. This is a fine attempt: the acting is very wooden, but it actually made me laugh quite a bit. It wasn’t amazingly funny, but it was consistently sharp throughout this first episode. Due to its simplicity it could offer a lot of time to just the chemistry between the two main characters, and it works: the two work quite well together. The whole premise that when you turn into a ghost, the version of you where you were the most happy is the form you take. I like that! It has a lot of potential for interesting stories. But yeah, the creators need to do something about the wooden acting. They made the mistake to main character depend too much on his quirks: he just keeps goofing off and off to the point where it gets annoying. But in that way I see this series as more something for the future: this is the product of an emerging industry that’s still trying to find itself next to its gigantic cousin. This is valuable experience into the right direction. With the right people, who knows what they’ll make next?

Demi-chan wa Kataritai

Yes! When it comes to “cute girls doing cute stuff”-series, this definitely was the way to do it right. I genuinely enjoyed this episode, rather than trying to find silver linings here and there like what I usually do. The key here is that for once, I felt like I was watching characters with actual life breathed into them. The entire series is set up with the basis of wanting to get to know each other more, which is such an important detail which often is just delegated to one of the side-issues even though it literally makes or breaks characters. It’s a bit like a character study in that way. I mean normally I’d cringe about a show that has half-monster-half-girls, but here they created a whole believable setting around it: they’re all just living alongside regular people, and you run into them once in a while. They receive their own government benefits, and apart from that they’re just regular people with a few quirks here and there. This show has a ton of post-discrimination themes which also were very interesting to watch, and yet it remains fun and light-hearted. The characters really play well off each other, great chemistry. My only complaint so far is the complaint I seem to have for most things nowadays: did you have to make it sexual? But yeah, here it actually does fit in a coming-of-age theme. It’s not the annoying kind of fanservice thankfully, but did you have to make one of the teachers a succubus? Out of all the legendary creatures and monsters you could have picked…

Chain Chronicle – Haecceitas no Hikari

Ah, I remember the good old days of game adaptations. They were either incredibly good, with interesting premises, twists and a lot of creative freedoms, or incredibly bad, the kind that gets so bad that it’s hilarious. This is more than 10 years ago at this point. After a while though, things just started to get generic, rather than anything else. The golden age is unfortunately over. Here comes Chain Chronicle, and with this series I’m seeing a new development: they take the generic format, but try to do the best they can with it. The result is a generic storyline (remember, one of the difficult things of animating a game is that it’s impossible to take the quicksave feature along with you!), but with well acted characters, it really tries its best to seem epic, and not skimp on any of the characters of the huge cast. It actually kills off characters with character-designs, and it also spends a bit of time on what the war means to the regular peasants just living their lives. It doesn’t take any risks but it just wants to tell its story. While I’m not happy with how save it is, it is a step into the right direction. It will stand as a foundation for the series of the future, who can build further upon the execution of this series, but actually do something interesting with it!

Idol Jihen

Idol Jihen is the product of oversaturation. It happens when there’s just too many people wanting to do the same thing. The obvious ways to do it have been done, the parodies and subversions are also out of everyone’s system, every single normal angle has been already explored, so what now? That’s the point where you get to the stupid stuff, and that’s why this joke of a series got made. In an attempt to one-up the stupid idol shows that already exist, it brought idols to a place they totally do not belong and we now have idols in parliament. This first episode still had the chance to turn this into a parody, but it played things completely straight, so that’s also off the table. If you want idols to pwn politicians you also need to be more over the top. Because there has already been a series in which idols fight aliens with music, it’s just not special anymore, it’s just another day in the life of an idol. Also, dear translators: “Idol Dietwomen”?! Couldn’t you really come up with something catchier? Idoliticians! There, it’s not that hard!

Nyanko Days

Crazy Cat Lady: The Anime! Really, this is just silly. The episodes are just two minutes long so even for a short episode series this was nothing. But really, I’m glad. Unlike the onslaught of series that we were bombarded with during the past Autumn season, this one actually isn’t bad. It’s just a girl and her cats who in her mind are like chibi cat blob imaginary friends. It’s nothing more than that, but for what it is, it’s cute. This would have been a welcome change back then!

elDLIVE

And another series that I would not have given a chance if I didn’t give every series a chance. This show looks terrible on paper: it’s the same old show of a normal kid with hidden superpowers meeting up with some sort of organization, this time with aliens, and the kid himself is of the wimpy variant. Pointless fanservice here, annoying characters there. I really thought that I would find this mediocre at best, and yet I really enjoyed this episode. The build up was a bit long, but things came together surprisingly well at the end, and I think the reason for that is the supporting cast: this series has a really big collection of colourful characters to work with, and they do their job of “support” incredibly well. They really bring home the message of “aliens are fun!”, even though they sometimes make some weird leaps in logic, do things that don’t make any sense, not to mention that the whole back-story behind this series is pretty stupid. But I guess I found that okay because of what an enjoyable bunch they are. The main character is also not that bad. I guess he’s one for the schizophrenics out there, sort of. At the end of the episode he did demonstrate that he can think on his own, despite being a kid. The question of course is if the creators can keep this up. I can see this very easily fizz out after such an episode, so the creators have the challenge of keeping this show fresh. Show us the wonders of the world you have in mind!

Little Witch Academia

Aaah, so they managed to make a TV-series out of this. This is an excellent way to get the more artsy series off the ground, Kyousogiga did the same: first make a bunch of pilots, then a bit more, until you have enough to actually get your full length off the ground. It’s a great way to ensure creative freedom, because after all, if it’s not enough like the original pilot, then people will be disappointed and the execs are smart enough that that’s not the best idea. As a note: I have not seen any of the previous versions of Little Witch Academia, so I do not know how redundant this episode was. I also have yet to finish any series produced by Trigger. I mean, I definitely see the potential in them, but I still haven’t found a series of theirs to actually “grab” me. Little Witch Academia could be the one. With its grounds in the Young Animator Training Project, it is a really good marriage between the old and the new. The old generation has made sure that this was a solid production, with solid direction, and a ton of tricks to make it more engaging: this show for example really knows how to use scarcity. Everything is a challenge in this series, and the characters are portrayed in such a way that you feel the struggles along with them. The new can be seen in all of its ideas and energy. This really feels like a passion project that everyone involved wants to make work. Plus, you can really see that these people grew up with Harry Potter. This episode featured tons of small details that paid homage to it. Of course it’s not like this is a bad fanfic of course, it really has its own story to tell that has nothing to do with its British cousin, and that’s how a homage should be done: little hints here and there, without ripping off.

Gabriel DropOut

One thing I haven’t seen in these first episodes yet is character development. Granted, it is hard to pull this off within just the first 20 minutes of your series, but it has been done before. Enter Gabriel DropOut, who actually does it by having its main character pull a complete 180 in terms of her personality. Normally I’d congratulate a series for that, but unfortunately that is about the only positive thing I can say about this series. The rest… is bland. It’s another installment of the “cute girls doing cute stuff”-genre, and this is about middle school hi-jinks of a bunch of angels and devils who have to live in the human world, with the twist that the angels are horrible people and the devils are actually quite innocent. Yeah, it’s another series that turned a half-minute joke into an entire series, and this episode didn’t really do anything interesting with it. It mostly was just predictable set-ups for jokes that ultimately just weren’t funny. It never really got really bad. Just one big meh.

Shiruran – Nibun no Ichi

Shiruran: 2 minutes of Shinsengumi chibis trying desperately to look cool! Yeah, it’s not good. This series makes the mistake of thinking that making characters yell and overact is enough to make it “funny” and “quirky”. Characters get mad for no reason, characters behave like assholes for no reason. I know you only have 2 minutes but that is no reason to forego basic storytelling rules dammit!

ACCA – 13-ku Kansatsu-ka

This series definitely has the best OP and ED of the season so far. Inspired, artistic, fun to watch. That also is an insult to the rest of the shows this so far though, because until now every other OP and ED has been bloody generic. And really, this show in general is exactly what I’ve been waiting for. Regardless of whether this series is going to be any good or not, this is the type of anime that we need more of: it creates its own world, setting and themes, makes a point of going into its own direction rather than what is popular at the moment, and it does so with a cast of varied and colourful characters. Future creators: use the philosophy behind this series and build further upon it! SCREW THE GENERIC! *ahem* About this episode, do not expect anything amazing or exciting here. What you can expect though, is very good build-up. This episode did a fine job of alluding that something big is going to happen, while at the same time introducing the world, its rules, the position of the main character, why he’s important, what he’s like, the people he has to work with – both his subordinates and his superiors. This was building the foundations. I enjoyed it a lot, it’s interesting and mysterious, and the creators also avoided an entire episode of introduction by still having some things happen. Plus, at a certain point it was just fun watching the characters play off each other, or just themselves, or the heaps of food that they manage to wolf down in these 20 minutes. Seriously the amount of consumables in this show is astounding!

Hand Shakers

Oooh, GoHands is trying something new again! More please! Again, even if the story of this series turns out to be absolute bollocks, this is the type of series we need more of. Here we actually see creators taking a risk! Compared to all of the generic moe or bishie shows about nothing we have each season, I’d much, much rather have many series like this. They may not always work. They may crash and burn spectacularly, but this kind of ambition is what anime is made for, instead of the way too safe crap that has flooded the market for many years now. I’m not denying that Hand Shakers won’t turn out to be a bit of a bummer in the end because honestly, storytelling has always been one of GoHands’ troubled areas, but I actually liked this episode a lot so far. I mean for starters the animation was incredible. There was so much movement everywhere! And while the use of CG is obvious, they did it in a way I have never seen before, and they also did it in a way where it gets hard to actually pinpoint which parts are done in CG and which are traditionally animated. The music also is the best soundtrack of the season so far, which makes this a real orgasm for the senses. The story is a standard “boy meets girl”-story, but I like it so far. It’s got a main theme of hand holding, which is actually really cute when just about every other series seems to think that the only way to flirt with a girl is to stare at her underpants and grab her by the boob. It also uses this vague type of storytelling, where a lot of stuff is just implied, we’re just expected to assume some convenient plot devices and a lot of time is spent on showing, instead of telling. But yeah, Gohands… have you found enough actually decent writers in the meantime? Let’s avoid people stupid enough to mistake a fighter jet for a crow, mmmkay?

Kemono Friends

Look, I am a completionist. I really try to give every series the benefit of at least one episode, and with every show I at least try to complete their first episode. Even the bad ones, and the really bad ones. Even that show with that annoying fox girl, I finished its episode in its entirety. Kemono Friends though, is the one that broke me. Right from the start, every fiber in my being started screaming to turn it off. There would be no way I would manage a full 20 minutes of this thing, everything just rubbed me the wrong way. It’s another “cute girls doing cute things”-series, but to make matters worse EVERYTHING is in this horribly awkward CG thing and trying to watch the characters emote is actually exhausting. They all move so incredibly awkward and jilted, and the voice acting is absolutely horrid! The worst of the season. The main actress just keeps yelling and yelling, even when she’s supposed to be mellow. Combine that with how everyone in CG has these really awkward botox faces… make it stop! Turn it off! No more pain!

Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon

After retiring and being tired of being summoned all the time to wish people back to life, the dragon from Dragonball Z found himself a new calling in life: being the maid of an office worker in Tokyo! Oh Japan…. Also props to the OP. Finally we’re getting some creativity again in that area. Kobayashi’s maid dragon is a sitcom where the gimmick is dragons that transform into dim-witted people, like pets really, and all of the antics that come with it. As a comedy, it did its job here: it made me laugh quite a bit, and I’d at least recommend the first episode for people looking for a quick laugh. However at the same time, this is a pattern I’ve seen many times before: after a while all the dragon jokes got a bit one-sided: there’s only so much death and destruction after things get boring, and they still need to fill eleven or twelve episodes with this. Good comedies fill this with a wide variety of characters, good and engaging main characters, a bit of variety, but that was all just too basic here. Even though the next episodes will introduce new characters, I can already predict that episode 1 will be the best episode of the series, or at least one of the best, surrounded by a lot of duds. All the signs are there, unfortunately.

One Room

This is just a fucking dating sim! How thinly veiled can you be!? Heck, it’s even worse because in a dating sim you have to press space every once in a while to get to the next dialogue, even that is done for you in this way. What do you hope to achieve with girls that act as wooden as they do here? I mean at least dating sims are excused because they don’t have the budget to really animate everything, so they have to get by with just a few pictures and dialogue. What the heck are you doing emulating that style?! Also, I’m not sure whether the camera is supposed to be the guy she’s talking to, because it keeps shifting positions. One moment we are looking into the girl’s eyes as if she’s talking to a mime, but the next show we’re focusing directly at her butt. At the very least pick one option!

Piace – Watashi no Italian

Another mini-series and – gasp! It’s not bad! The ratio of bad shows thankfully is much lower than last season with its onslaught of terrible short episode series. And it’s not like this is really good or something, but it’s enjoyable enough not to get on my nerves. It’s a cute story about a girl who starts to work at an Italian restaurant, and while she is an airhead the rest of the cast is actually strong enough to make it work. They play well off each other, and what also helps is that the creators actually read a bit into Italian cooking. If you want quick slice of life then this is actually a pretty decent choice.

ChaoS;Child

I was never one of the people who hated the Chaos;Head anime. For what it was, it had its moments. I liked how it actually portrayed a NEET as a mentally unstable shut-in, compared to how they usually get glorified (ever since NHK ni Youkoso finished this topic kept returning every now and then) It wasn’t great or anything, but I enjoyed it and I don’t regret watching it, I had many more problems with Robotics;Notes and Occult;Nine. Nevertheless, Chaos;Child doesn’t make a very good case for it by starting with a very bad recap of the entire series before it goes on with its own story, but when it gets going it has its moments. It’s trying to be less edgy and more edgy at the same time, it seems. The container seems to have made ways fr just another high school club, but on the other hand it really tries to kill people in creative ways here. And by god did a lot of people die in these 50 minutes. I suspect that part of the target audience was people who just laugh at horror movies, because while I do laud creativity, some of these murders were just completely ridiculous in how they were carried out, like they got a 14-year-old to describe them or something. Also while usual horror series build up for the gore scenes, especially in its first episode, there was nothing of the sort here. It jumped right into the gore and death without really seeming to care about its atmosphere. It’s an interesting approach, and at this moment I cannot say yet whether it’s going to work or not. There are no big red flags yet, so that’s good, although I will say that the acting in this series isn’t that good. Character animation is a bit awkward and cheap, and isn’t really that good at emoting. But hey, Chaos;Head was the same so points for consistency I guess.

Marginal#4 – Kiss kara Tsukuru Big Bang

Giving Marginal 4 a fair chance was really difficult due to the utterly abysmal CG performance scene with terrible singing and dancing, but I survived. But even if that scene would not have been there, I don’t think I would have been impressed by this show, because it really is scraping the bottom of the barrel here. On top of being yet another idol show, halfway through the episode it took a break from the idol stuff to focus on high school hijinks. The only thing that set this apart is that the four characters were slightly more ditzy and feminine than what you usually get with these kinds of series. It’s pure fanservice. I’m also surprised that the award for most annoying dialogue of the season doesn’t go to a “cute girls doing cute stuff”-series, but instead to this “cute boys doing cute stuff”-thing. Seriously especially that red-haired kid just would not stop yapping! Next!

Kuzu no Honkai

“Okay, Noitamina! The final new show this season! Hit me with your best shot! Make it count! No, don’t start at a high school, you’re not the timeslot for that! Oh, okay, this does seem more solid than usual. Oh. What? WHAT?! WHAT!?! No! The abysmal incest trend has finally died, don’t you dare and bring it back, Noitamina!” – Like seriously, even if you wanted to take a serious look at incest, we have Koi Kaze for that. The only other reason I can think of that would warrant that is that while Koi Kaze was told from the male perspective, Kuzu no Honkai is from the female perspective. Okay, fair enough; fine in theory. But there is one very important detail it misses here: realistically incest can only happen if brother and sister didn’t grow up together, otherwise healthy brother and sister relationships develop the Westermark Effect, in order to prevent inbreeding and stuff. Koi Kaze makes it a point that both grew up in totally different circumstances. Kuzu no Honkai’s characters had a perfectly normal childhood. And I’m not saying that in extremely rare circumstances it couldn’t happen, but that takes me back to that incredibly annoying period in anime where it was more likely for a brother and sister to have the hots for each other than not. Any kind of shock value you want to have with this kind of twist is completely lost at this point if you want to do it this way. And this is a real shame, because aside from that little detail, this is an incredibly honest series about romance. And I really mean exceptionally honest. I know very few other shows that are this willing to get down and dirty, to deal with all the terrible feelings that come with unrequited love. Obviously all taboos are in, even the subtle ones (I mean, when was the last time anime portrayed main characters in an actual relationship that was actually realistic? I can name Fune wo Amu, but apart from that? And Fune wo Amu’s was like the complete opposite of the relationship in this series). So why the incest? This show could have worked just as well if they weren’t related dammit!

So, that’s the season. A little tl;dr summary:
Maybe: Masamune-kun no Revenge, Youjo Senki, Spirit Pact, Ao no Exorcist, Hand Shakers, Chaos;Child, Kuzu no Honkai, Piace, elDLIVE.
Good: Demi-chan wa Kataritai, Little Witch Academia, ACCA
Great: Uhmm… Classicaloid from last season? I may want to go and marathon that Shouwa series’ first season quite quickly…