Category: Some Quick First Impressions

JK-Meshi!

Short Synopsis: Three girls banter and teach you how to make Japanese snack food.

As a comedy anime this show is laughably bad and clearly produced on a minimal budget. The characters do not move and the CGI is some of the ugliest I’ve seen. The writing might be even worse…but how is the recipe? Well I gave this one a try and can honestly say that miso soup with fried tomatoes and sesame seeds is delicious. Can I recommend this anime? Absolutely not. But if you’re interested in Japanese cooking you should skip the tv show and check out the recipes.

Potential: 0% (but worth checking out the recipes)

 

Hackadoll

Short Synopsis: Inept, moefied, androids cause mayhem in their laughable attempts at assisting humans.

So apparently this show is an ad for a Japanese news app, which is ironic, because this is frankly some of the best animation I’ve ever seen in a TV short like this. Of course Trigger are known for front-loading their work, both in terms of animation budget and writing quality, so I’m guardedly optimistic about this show. But the first episode was a lot of fun, both visually and comedically. I will definitely be following this.

Potential: 75%

Komori-san can’t decline 

Short Synopsis: A school girl is unable to refuse requests and develops special skills as a result.

I found this show to be lacking in both humor and taste. Which is a shame because I love the art style and the voice actors seem to really be trying. But the comedy is just not very funny and what makes this show truly repellent is the overdone breasts fanservice that borders on fetish material. Maybe someone else will like this style of show but I found it dreadful.

Potential: 15%

Hakone-Chan 

Short Synopsis: A shrine deity revives in the form of a child.

This is a pretty bland narrative about a shrine deity and a boy who is of course in unrequited love with the girl of his dreams. But I like how direct the narrative is and how capriciously Hakone-chan behaves. This is nothing ground-breaking but for the most part well-executed. But of course the creators have to go and throw in a stupid fanservice joke, which doesn’t bode well for the future but I think I will keep watching.

Potential: 45%

Magical Somera-Chan 

Short Synopsis: Somera and her sister endure random acts of violence.

This is a screwball comedy, which I usually like, but I guess this just isn’t my thing. The animation and voice acting are great and I can’t point to anything specifically that I found problematic about the writing but this just didn’t make me laugh. The again, unlike some of these other comedy shorts, I definitely think this show will have a following. It’s just so bizarre that I think some people are bound to love it.

Potential: 35%

Sakurako-san no Ashimoto ni wa Shitai ga Umatteiru

Short Synopsis: A boy and a girl who loves bones come across a skeleton on the beach.

One thing I think anime should take note of is that if you plan to have intrinsic photorealistic environments then you should try to blend the character art styles to match said environments. The anime characters of this episode present a disconnect similar to that of the cartoon characters of Who framed Roger Rabbit. While the characters are present, it doesn’t feel like they belong. More like they are standing in front of an overly decorative set. The soundtrack is very bombastic, presenting a score more suitable for a high fantasy adventure rather than a mundane mystery show. It’s far too intrusive, with high pitched violins while the detective is explaining her theory. The story of the episode itself is decent but suffers from over-presentation with heavy visuals to show the explanations of the main detective. My previous assumption about a Sherlock and watson relationship turned out correct and sadly the main character is as bland as his design suggests. Our main girl is mildly interesting but possess far too few likeable traits, and her gimmick of loving bones is already wearing thin. This is a mystery show when essentially solves itself without any viewer speculation which is disappointing. One particular annoying aspect is the show portraying the police as deeply incompetent in order for our main detective to seem more brilliant and I find her deductions to be far too based on assumption. I admit to being overly harsh on this show and there is still some potential as the cast branches out and more interesting mysteries appear, but the first episode is lacking a hook to catch me.

Potential: 40%

 

Dance with Devils

Short Synopsis: A girl gets targeted by a student council of boys and cloaked burglers

Well that’s one way to start an anime. I must admit I rather liked the chanting and the gothic atmosphere of those first two minutes. But then I realized….it’s a musical. A musical reverse harem with supernatural elements. A fascinating combination but I am certainly not the target audience of such a show. Musicals are something I find a little too cheesy for my tastes, I remember having a firm hatred of the songs in disney movies. The second half shows there might be more effort put into this than a regular reverse harem but it still suffers from many of the tropes that plague the genre. Our protagonist is still a blank slate who has a bunch of hunky boys going after her who fall into the usual lineup.This is bound to be better than Diabolik Lovers for those looking for this kind of show but well being the man I am, this doesn’t appeal to me in the slightest.

Potential: 10%

 

Osomatsu-san

Short Synopsis: Old Showa anime characters try to make themselves relevant again.

Our show starts with a black and white cartoon talking about how this show is a return of a anime made over a decade ago and even has one of the characters pointing out that it may be too old for the current generation to enjoy. Certainly hit the nail on the head with that one. So they…turn it into a generic boy band idol anime. So I sat there, clearly seeing that this was a joke and waited for the joke to end. And it didn’t. The joke went on and on to start referencing everything from attack on titan to shounen anime. I got the joke by the first minute and even then I didn’t find it all that funny. I have said many times that anime comedies are something I can’t really appreciate but I feel that there is just far too much “Shout till it’s funny” and “Look at the anime we are referencing” going on for my to consider this good comedy. Admittedly I find the idea of old showa anime characters trying to be relevant by copying popular threads to be somewhat amusing but from what I can tell this isn’t going to be the actual show. Instead the next episode looks to be the genuine first episode. I find the black and white segments of the show to be a prime example of just how far anime has come along and thank god for that because the old Osomatsu show looks to be pretty terrible. I think this is one you have to make up your own mind about, if this first episode gets you laughing then maybe the humor of the rest of the series might be your thing but for me what’s presented hasn’t sold me on this show.

Potential: 20%

One Punch Man

Short Synopsis: A superhero is bored because all his fights end with one punch

This one truly is set to be shoe in for one of the hits of the season. The only major concern I had regarding it was whether Madhouse could live up to the art of the manga and they certainly did not disappoint. The animation in this episode was perfect, that last scene with Saitama fighting the subterraneans was a marvel to look at. The art on the other hand may have people torn, I personally have no problem with it but I do think it looks rough at times. But other times it looks beautiful, channeling the style of american comic books more so than anime. The story itself is a dilemma that likely faces every shounen protagonist once they reach the pinnacle of power. Namely the absolute boredom of being so overpowered that no one presents a challenge any more. Saitama’s transformation from salaryman to powerhouse is sudden but it really gets across just how empty he feels with his status of being the strongest. Humor in the episode managed to make me smile, in particular the giant man’s accident and Saitama’s smirk nearly got a chuckle. If you are watching anything this season, chances are this should be on your list.

Potential: 95%

 

Shingeki! Kyojin Chuugakkou

Short Synopsis: Attack on titan without titan’s getting attacked

When the only joke you have is referencing a much better show you could be watching instead of this then maybe you should rethink making an anime out of it. This is pretty terrible and they are milking the Attack on titan name for all it’s worth. Even parodying the famous Opening with there own version but the joke essentially is just referencing Attack on titan scenes. Even the most diehard of fans would find this lacking. If there are any other jokes in this show, it’s of the juvenile kind that a four year old wouldn’t even laugh at.

Potential: 0%

 

Utawarerumono – Itsuwari no Kamen

Short Synopsis: A man finds himself in a land of animal people with no memory

This certainly is taking its time but I appreciate that at least it’s letting the viewer in on the story without being too expository. The humor is hit or miss, it has it’s charm sometimes but can fall flat hard. The amnesia trope is overused but at least with this character he’s not dwelling on it too much. Amnesia characters tend to get caught up in getting their memory back but our main here is shaking it off pretty well which is good because this trope is too common. Animation has some still frames though for the most part it’s a decently animated anime. The setup here is pretty solid and our two mains are fairly likable but the story hasn’t really started yet so it’s still a question on how good this anime will be. From what is presented so far I say this is looking to be a satisfactory watch that should at least keep people entertained in between other shows.

Potential: 55%

Comet Lucifer

Short Synopsis: Our main and a girl fall into a chasm and recover a girl born from a gem.

Well now, it seems like 8 bit are channelling the spirit of old style Bones animation. Which isn’t a bad thing. This episode felt a lot like Xamed or Eureka Seven in tone. It’s not doing anything new but there’s signs of real effort and the episode was pretty engaging throughout. One thing I loved was the design of what looks to be the main Mecha which is reptilian in nature. It just looks great, I loved seeing it fight at the end of the episode. Though there is a pretty big plot with two main characters falling into a giant chasm and yet end up perfectly fine. The setting looks good and characters are decent so far though the main is a little bland. That ending does give me a bad feeling that things may get worse later but from what I have seen so far I am interested to see how this goes.

Potential: 70%

 

Concrete Revolutio: Choujin Gensou

Short Synopsis: A agent and a magical girl try to prevent the theft of scientific research.

I think it’s becoming a pet peeve of mine when an anime makes no effort to include the audience in the story. Shoveling exposition isn’t the best way to start an anime but at the very least ensure that the audience knows the setting, timeframe and what’s at stake. In other words do not jump between two different time frames without informing the viewer that they are two different times, do not toss out random terms that mean absolutely nothing to those uninformed and do not jump into an action scene without making sure the viewer knows why it’s happening. I am not asking to be spoon fed, but some clarification would be nice. It’s difficult what to make if this show, I am not sure if it’s trying to parody magical girls and old school Mecha anime or if it’s playing it straight. The backgrounds use a minimalist comic book style which takes some getting used to. The animation is pretty good but again my main problem here is that it’s confusing presentation. One minute a waitress is talking to a man in a cafe in daylight, the next minute she’s chasing him down at night in a train for some reason. We can’t even be certain if this place is earth. But most importantly of all, am I supposed to take this seriously or is it tongue in cheek? We have a magical girl and transforming robots fighting between the folds of reality levels of absurd but the episodes end tried to push for a more serious tone. This is going to need another episode to get a better evaluation but so far it’s passable.

Potential: 40%

 

Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans

Short Synopsis: A ragtag group of boy soldiers try to fend off an attack with inferior equipment.

Take it from me when I say I am not much of a Gundam fan, there is just something about it that never quite caught my attention. So for this Gundam to catch my attention it’s doing something right. From the Gundam series I have seen the first episode often goes the same formulac way. But Gundam Orphans starts off very different. Sure there’s a Gundam reveal but the setup is very unlike any other Gundam. So far I am loving the cast being oppressed underdogs against a superior force as well as the naive princess attempting to understand the state of Mars by integrating with the boy soldiers. My eyes may glaze over when they start talking space politics but this setting has huge potential. A Mars like a third world country, protests calling for it to be an independent state, a ragtag group of abused teen soldiers in possession of a great weapon while guarding a princess possibly subject to a political assassination attempt? Sign me up. I must say as well that it’s so nice to see genuine animated mecha instead of CGI robot. Nobody can animate bipedal robots quite like Sunrise. Though two things are off. One is that the designs of some characters are more cartoony than others making them look odd when placed beside one another. The second is that there quite a lot of male fanservice going on with the cast showing off six packs and seem to require being topless to operate a Mecha. Truthfully that isn’t all that bothersome but I would prefer if it remains minor and doesn’t get too intrusive. If Okada can keep this up then this may be a Gundam series I could hold highly and certainly one I can say is leagues above Reconguista. One last thing, that soundtrack is glorious.

Potential: 85%

K Return of Kings

Short Synopsis: Gangs are fighting each other and something, something, video game, something.

The best word to describe this is obnoxious. The story is pretty incomprehensible and the anime isn’t making any effort to explain itself. I watched the previous season of K but maybe that movie had some vital information that would help me understand just what everyone is talking about. From what I can gather this green king is hiring lackeys through some video game and making them annoy the blue and red kings so the silver king would get drawn out. And believe me it was hard to get that from the amount of utterly useless dialogue that seems to be not saying very much. What also doesn’t help is the giant fight scene at the start that lasted 8 minutes was in fact a flashback which is never addressed as such. GoHands here’s a tip, a fight scene without context is nothing more than white noise. No matter how much good animation is in it, or at least there might have been good animation underneath the lens flares, horrible Photorealistic CGI backgrounds and that blue hue overlay that you place over everything that makes all the colours washed out and annoys the hell out of me. Forgive me if I sound angry but that blue hue truly ruined the episode for me, nearly in every single shot, sometimes so overpowering that it’s like watching anime through a blue stained window. It’s just horrible. There’s the Highschool of the Dead level of fanservice with that big breasted blond girl that is just downright insulting. I make no joke when I say that this womans breasts and ass had more screen time than her face. So to summarize, story is impenetrable as well as insufferably smug about itself, visuals are horrible and fanservice is just too blatant. Not recommended.

Potential: 0%

 

Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry

Short Synopsis. A clearly mentally unstable girl challenges a boy to a fight after he sees her naked.

Attention female anime characters, I wish to let you know of a truly powerful and useful device that we of the modern world make use of everyday. Now it’s function may surprise you but with the right training even you can be a master of it. And this glorious and revolutionary tool is…a door lock. Trying using it before you start changing. Mind blowing, I know. Though if your choice of underwear is that risqué I would wonder if you actually want to be seen. There’s not much to say here. Boy meets girl, boy sees girl naked, girl attempts to kill boy, is beat, falls in love with him and in a hypocritical turn of events molests him in his sleep. It’s at least pretty watchable though the animation isn’t anything noteworthy. Seeing as its Silver link who made some rather impressive fight animation for the Prisma Illya series, I was expecting something a little more exciting. If you are looking for a pretty standard show that wont require much brain cells then this is the one for you.

Potential: 20%

 

Gakusen Toshi Asterisk

Short Synopsis: A clearly mentally unstable girl challenges a boy to a fight after he sees…whoa. Déjà vu.

Rakudai and this do start off exactly the same but to give Rakudai some credit, at least it’s trying. Asterisk just feels lazy in all regards, so much so that almost every line of dialogue is a variation of a line from a similar show. The setting just seems ridiculous. For what possible benefit would there be to build six schools right beside each other? I mean it it was branch’s of the same school that would make more sense but the anime points out that they are indeed six separate schools. This is as by the numbers as it gets, generic to a T. If it was the only standard light novel show this season I would say it would scratch someone’s itch but there’s the better alternative Rakudai for that. This anime just seems pointless.

Potential: 0%

Lance N’ Masques

Short Synopsis: A boy has a huge lance and a tendency for acting like tuxedo mask.

I will admit that this episode wasn’t as terrible as I was expecting but it has all the ingredients to become terrible by episode 2. The biggest problem however is not in the story but in the art. Whoever is doing the character art for this show, either step up or step down because the character art is downright ugly. Proportions are off, shading is blocky with no regard to light source and it’s just not pleasant to look at. What makes this most evident is the heavily detailed backgrounds which cause a huge disconnect with the far too simplistic character designs. The soundtrack has some interesting pieces of music Celtic vibes that I rather like. The main problem I have with the story is the very young age of the heroine. Its very creepy to see the show push for a romantic mood between the two. The setup has mildly intriguing aspects like the order of knights but there’s a harem, there’s most certainly a school coming and a large number of common cliches. The animation is quite limited and from the looks of things they blew most of their budget on the first fight scene. There’s not any hope for this one.

Potential: 0%

 

Heavy Object

Short Synopsis. The world now conducts wars by pitting Metal Gears against one another.

When watching the first few minutes of this episode I found myself wondering, why was it that I wasn’t all that impressed with this story when I read the Light novel? I mean the setting is great with huge potential and while the science is spotty, the Metal Gears are pretty awesome. So why was it I wasn’t sold on this? Then the main characters are introduced with two male leads talking exposition and the third female lead taking a shower because…because. On seeing that I suddenly thought “Ah yes. Now I remember.” This is Kazuma Kamachi after all. The man prone to creating settings with unlimited potential and squandering it by using it for the lowest common denominator of storytelling. The man potentially responsible for every overused Light novel trope under the sun. The parts regarding objects in this episode were decently engaging but was inter cut with some bad comedy and even more awful cringe inducing fanservice. The scene with the girls belts acting as bondage ropes and the main agonizing over undoing the belts while she was getting choked to death by them because to do so he would touch her breasts was quite painful to say the least. If these parts of the show don’t bother you as much as they did me then chances are you will enjoy this show. Me however, I will just lament  the death of an idea that could have been great in someone elses hands.

Potential: 30%

 

Young Blackjack

Short Synopsis: An intern doctor performs a risky operation on a young boy.

So far very promising though it’s old school sensibilities are a bit intrusive. It’s very on the nose about its story with not much subtlety and highly dramatized but the story itself is quite good. The main mature cast has potential with a drug addict doctor who can’t stand the sight of blood and the enigmatic blackjack. Though it wasn’t quite as dark as I was expecting and reminded me a lot of the Trauma center video game series. Very nice touch at the end of the episode which goes to prove that even if you do someone a huge favor, their are types who will weasel their way out of a deal. The next episode preview looks to be putting forth more moral dilemmas which is a massive plus in my book. I think this will be a show to keep an eye on.

Potential: 85%

Aoharu x Kikanjuu

Short Synopsis. A girl dresses like a boy for some reason and gets in survival games.

The main character of this show confuses me, for she dresses like a boy, acts like a boy but isn’t transexual and wants to be more feminine. I don’t understand it and really when you get mistaken for a boy and forced into a survival game then really it’s your own fault. What’s also contradictory is that a man thinks she’s a boy yet keeps making suggestive advances on the main character despite clearly not being gay. I mean…I just don’t get it. Well anyway there’s not much to see here, we have highly over dramatic fights between people who act like they are having a live or death battle despite using toy BB guns. So really it’s just a show about the main starting to love survival games and trying to cover up the fact that she is a girl to the other team members.My interest is missing cause I generally know how this is all going to go, I have no interest whatsoever in surival games and the characters in this series don’t really interest me. For one the main character I find immensely annoying and while the host fellow doesn’t seem too bad I can’t really see him getting any more interesting. Might be some peoples kind of show but I think I will pass.

Potential: 0%

 

Joukamachi no Dandelion

Short Synopsis: A large royal family with superpowers must play games to decide the heir to the country.

Fairly decent I suppose, nothing really special but nothing that stands out too much. I find these shows the hardest to talk about. It’s not special but it’s not horrible either, just there. It’s a mediocre show that could interest but I find it just doesn’t have enough to get me to care. Though I must criticise that when you have the power to manipulate weight, that does not equal flight. In order to fly you need a means to propel yourself forward. The power of probability must be one of the worst powers as well considering that there are computers that can do the same thing. And the power to remember everything, so sort of a photographic memory? These are some truly useless superpowers. I think this one is something you can check out yourself and decide whether it’s worth continuing but I don’t think it’s something anyone will get really excited about.

Potential: 10%

 

Prison School

Short Synopsis. Five boys are forced into a school prison after trying to peep of girls changing.

There’s physical comedy and then there’s just pure sadism. Seeing this in animation as opposed to manga panel has had a strange effect on me, where the show is trying to make me laugh at these guys situation but instead I find myself getting filled with righteous indignation. While it is true that these guys are perverts with no redeeming value I find that the level of abuse thrown at them is quite potentially lethal and if their wounds didn’t magically heal somehow this would be a very different story. There are other problems with this series besides that, for one the cast of characters are all really unlikeable. The male characters are all desperate, pathetic sex crazed losers and the female characters are all sadistic superficial horrible people. The only exceptions to this is the main lead and what looks to be the main lead’s love interest, though the main lead is only just a small amount of good traits and the girl is fairly naive. The fan service doesn’t work not because of it being censored but rather because the female characters personalities are repulsive to me. Call me sentimental but I prefer girls that look like they would be fun to hang out with and looks aren’t everything. So the comedy is along the lines of gross out humor or sex jokes which I have seen every example under the sun and the fan service is ineffective so what does this show have to offer besides that? Not a lot it so seems. It is possible that maybe just the premise annoys me to the point that it stops me getting any enjoyment out of this. However this does seem like the kind of show that would only appeal to you if you like barrels of fanservice and low brow humor.

Potential: 0%

 

God Eater

Short Synopsis: Humanity lives inside walls and must send out teams to kill all the Titans…um…Aragami I mean.

Ufotable, I respect unconventional choices, I really do. It takes guts to adapt something that’s not really guaranteed to sell however I really wish you could have picked someone much more deserving than this. It’s clear that God Eater doesn’t deserve this kind of treatment, honestly it’s like presenting a five star meal to a hobo. The story is highly generic and the characters are fairly stereotypical with the main lead being the standard personality for this kind of show. But the visuals are certainly something, God eater sports a unique style where the characters all have this shiny look that reminds me of an oil painting. I am still on the fence on whether it looks good or not, as there are times when it looks impressive and other times when it looks just off. In particular I find the shading of characters to be inconsistent and not really adearing to where the light source is coming from. Music and animation are top notch but editing is a bit schizophrenic as some scenes have this jarring jump frame that looks like the film skipping on a projector. It seems to be there for a stylistic reason but I find it just distracting. This anime to me just looks like an experiment from Ufotable and while I think that it is interesting visually, I am afraid that story wise it has no value.

Potential: 30%

Durarara!! X2 The Second Arc

Short Synopsis: The adventures of the odd people of Ikebukuro

Second verse, same as the first. We still have another cour after this and Durarara doesn’t look to be changing its stripes anytime soon. So after being given a cliffhanger last season with Izaya getting stabbed and lying dying in the street we are straight away greeted by Izaya in a hospital bed, perfectly fine. This my friends is the problem with Durarara, the illusion of consequences. When the show constantly forebodes a looming threat and placing characters in dangerous situations, how can I care when I see Izaya brush off a stab wound to the stomach with a two day stay in a hospital? To me, none of these characters are in any true danger, and yet the show constantly tries to convince you otherwise. None of these characters are going to die, the author loves them too much do if there’s no real danger then what value does these dangerous encounters have. Durarara isn’t trying to put forward a meaning or a message, it’s just wacky people in a wacky place having wacky adventures and while that’s fun for a while there comes a time where I can no longer bring myself to care. Sure I still find the character interactions amusing but outside of that I am more or less watching out of obligation. In hope that maybe at the end of all this there will be true consequence.

Potential: 20%

 

Himouto! Umaru-chan

Short Synopsis: A brother needs to constantly deal with his demanding selfish sister.

There is a particular thing that comedy nowadays needs to take note of. When you make a gag in a comedy show or film, please take into account how that gag reflects the character of the person in the joke. There have been a number of examples of fictional characters who became horrible people just for the sake of comedy. One such example is Alan from the Hangover movies. In the beginning he was a strange but good natured person but when the third movie came around he became someone who didn’t even care when his own father died due to his negligence. Homer Simpson is another casualty as in the beginning he was a flawed person with best interests at heart but slowly became a dangerously impulsive person who never took into account how his actions affected other people. And so finally this brings me to Umaru, the star of this show. However instead of showing this character having good points we are immediately shown just how much of a selfish spoiled brat this person is and how she will go to any lengths to get her way. In another show this character would be a villain or someone pushed to reform but here the show seems to want us to be on her side even when she is treating her brother like a complete doormat. It’s hard for me to enjoy comedy when a lot of it is just mean spirited bullying by our ever so perfect Umaru-chan and the sad fact is that due to this shows nature as a one note gag that Umaru will never get that deserved slap in the face. This is a show about a spoiled brat that always gets her way. Feel free to enjoy.

Potential: 0%

 

Sore ga Seiyuu!

Short Synopsis: Voice actresses are so Kawaii!

My initial impressions remain true, Shirobako already did this and did it better. Plus with Gakkou Gurashi airing this season offering far more than this, this series just seems redundant. It’s like the quota for a standard cute girls doing cute things was not met so they just tossed this anime in. This anime has nothing to offer besides filling up an empty slot in the season lineup.

Potential: 0%

Akagami no Shirayukihime

Short Synopsis: Little miss bland is bothered cause she’s getting courted by a terrible prince only to run away and get courted by a more handsome terrible prince.

Look, I know I am not the right person to judge this show. I have an ingrained hatred of the shoujo genre that just interferes with any enjoyment that could be had. Every single line that comes out of that white haired prince’s mouth just makes me want to punch him in the face. I just can’t understand what people can see in such a bland and boring girl such as our MC and it just bugs me that she makes such a deal about this being her story yet from what I saw she was just a prize to be won. I am sure there are girls who look at harems and think the exact same way, I even agree with them. Plotwise i find it contrived, because this girl has red hair she is being forced to be a prince’s concubine who happens to be channeling the spirit of Shinji from Fate. Runs away and just so happens to run into the prince of a neighbouring country who takes a liking to her immediately. Terrible prince decides the best thing to do is send her poison apples, white prince eats an apple for some reason and then when Miss bland is about to agree to be a concubine rather spiritedly, white prince pops in an flaunts his authority. Only to take her for himself. It’s just so…irritating. I understand if you don’t agree and I don’t fault you if you like this show but I just can’t bring myself to feel the same.

Potential: 0%

 

Jitsu wa Watashi wa

Short Synopsis: A boy goes to confess to his crush only to find out she’s a vampire.

The thing that’s likely to make or break this show is how well the humor is executed because other than that there isn’t really much heard that hasn’t been seen before. The comedy doesn’t even work on me making it hard to gauge its value. Aside from the comedy it’s a pretty typical harem that eventually leads to the old harem purgatory of no progress or results. The animation seems fine and characters are decent but again its the comedy that will make or break this. But even if all you want is a decent fairly average harem show you will likely get your fix with this.

Potential: 10%

 

Classroom Crisis

Short Synopsis: A transfer student is taken hostage and his class makes a rescue effort.

It’s still not clear as to what this show will actually be about seeing as this first episode acted more as an introduction to our main cast and potential main character. For one I like this business transfer student who can manage to negotiate himself out of a hostage situation and its interesting that he’s mainly being sent to the class to find ways to downsize their budget. But I am just rather confused about the setting as the “classroom” is more like a club or a company. So far the school setting looks completely unnecessary and these characters could be easily made adults in the working world. It would also make more sense seeing as no matter how futuristic the school is, I highly doubt they would allow students to do something as dangerous and expensive as spacecraft building and piloting. Some of the characters are enjoyable and the setting on Mars colonized by different nations is interesting. But I would just like to know what exactly I am in for the rest of the episodes.

Potential: 35%

Kuusen Madoushi Kouhosei no Kyoukan

Short Synopsis: How I learned to stop worrying about giant purple death beetles and cover my crotch in strawberry jam.

Well the standard generic light novel anime of the season quota has now been filled. I really wonder just what unwritten rule demands that one of these be made every season but well here it is. Nothing new to see, protagonist is a secret badass whom all the girls are after, cheap mistaken pervert jokes, bare essential animation and of course, a high school setting. I must really say that the music in this anime is atrocious, it doesn’t fit at all and just sounds grating to the ears. The villains of this show are about as intimidating as a puppy with  a soldier helmet and from the battle shown at the beginning aren’t even that much of a threat. The three main girls have at most one trait and are all annoying. Overall I wouldn’t recommend this.

Potential: 0%

 

Ushio to Tora

Short Synopsis: A boy and an invisible tiger fight demons.

This season is troublesome as they are so many interesting titles that I would like to keep up with. I wouldn’t mind seeing more of this as some could call it Calvin and Hobbes Shounen edition. There’s odd trend going in anime to adapt old manga, in this case a manga made in the 90’s. The problems with this is that the animes are fairly dated in storytelling often bringing up the tropes of yesteryear. But on the plus side this is a completed manga and from the looks of things this is getting 39 episodes so they intend to cover the entire manga. The animation and art are quite pleasing but that at times it’s deliberately limited for the sake of comedy or just using old animation saving techniques like speed lines and still image after attack shots. Speaking of which the comedy is mostly slapstick and it’s hit or miss. It’s rocking an excellent opening that just gets you pumped for an action show though this is going to be not quite that action packed. The main thing that sets this story apart from other shounens is the dynamic between Ushio and Tora, they are a pretty delightful duo and their interactions can be most amusing. My main concern for future episodes though is when the episodic monster of the week formula goes away and a main plot kicks in that it may be a bit too stereotypical to hold interest.

Potential: 40%

 

Gakkou Gurashi!

Short Synopsis. Cute girls are living in a school and are having super happy fun adventures.

If you haven’t read my preview for the summer season and know nothing about this show then stop reading this post right now and jump into the first episode blind. Well that was certainly a successful first episode, made quite a number of changes from the manga but they were all for the best. I truly regret reading the manga now cause it ruined this episodes surprise but the great thing was just how subtle the foreshadowing is to the observant. There are hints showing that something is off throughout the episode and I only managed to catch half of them on a first watch. The blackboard was something I can’t believe I missed. Admittedly the meat of this episode is in the final minutes as the majority is typical moe fluff much like any other moe anime. But it’s well crafted and calculated that even I was second guessing what I knew was coming. What really could make this series is contrast, where two completely opposite genres strengthen the effect of the other just by the sharp tonal shift. Depending on how it’s handled, this could end up something special.

Potential: 80%