Category: Some Quick First Impressions

I managed to get my hands on the first bunch of the upcoming spring season. So far, I’m not disappointed. Among these three, there isn’t anything awesome, but I did see all three of them using some very creative ideas. Apart from that, I also managed to get my hands on a promo for Good Witch Of The West – Astrea Testament. From what I’ve seen, I totally loved it. I’m going to have a great time with this series. I can’t wait till it comes out. Anyway, onto the previews:

Dai Mahou Touge
When I first saw this, I had a very cute mahou-shoujo-series in my mind. In which everyone was happy and the main characters were all having fun. Well… it IS cute. And it is a mahou-shoujo-series. But apart from that, my expectations were so totally wrong. For starters: the main focus of this anime is comedy and parody. And when I say comedy, I mean morbid comedy. This anime is so full of the most demisingly jokes ever. For example, our main character is extremely evil when she enters in a battle. Add that to the fact that she’s extremely strong, and you can start praying for the antagonists. These are, by the way, absolutely hilarious: a group of punk girls. And yes, they look horribly funny, almost literally. Oh, and did I already mention that the main character’s main weapon involves talking vegetables? Overall, I think I’ll watch this. I kindof like this morbid humor. There aren’t any boys in the OP so it can’t be ruined by some kind of romance, so I’m positive about the next episodes.

Kiba
I’m into fantasy series, so I kindof was looking forward to this. So far, it has some interesting concepts. I so love the main character’s mother, and the fantasy world looks very interesting to be in. The side characters also show potential, from the three seconds of airtime that they managed to get. I think I’ll keep watching this. However, I’m a bit scared. The fact remains that the main character is a pubescent male. The fact remains that he’s violent and impulsive. The fact remains that he just ended up in a fantasy world. The fact remains that there was a woman near him when he did. I hope this will turn out right.

I also managed to stumble upon an anime called Denshin Mamotte Shugogetten. The anime aired five years ago (thanks to Scott for this information ^^;). At first glance, this is a harem-show with two main characters destined to be together. What’s more, one character is a moon princess who just happened to pass by on our main character. The character art also looks a bit weird at times. I’m glad that this managed to turn into something kindof right. The episode ended with me feeling that this wasn’t a total failure after all. This was probably because, even though we have to distinctive main characters, the focus didn’t totally land on them for this episode. There are several side-characters who get explained and featured. The setting for this episode is a play in which our main characters play a part. It was so surprising that they were just a couple of side-parts, and the main roles were played by side-characters. The comedy also really worked. Especially when the play is actually going, and our characters are just having fun performing.

So, right now I managed to see the first episodes from a couple of shows the shows that will be starting to air this season. If I have anything to say about it, it will be this: my expectations were totally wrong. The dull-looking series turned out to have a lot of potential, while the cool looking series kindof messed up.

Fate/Stay Night:
This was the most anticipated anime for this season, although it didn’t really impress me. The main character is nothing special. Just a guy, who is very kind, has special powers, and somehow ends up with a couple of girls. The magic system may have some potential, but that part hasn’t been shown yet. That’s why I think I’ll follow this for a couple more episodes.

Kagihime:
This was one of the series I was anticipating the most for. It really reminded me somehow of the story of Alice in wonderland, and lots of fairytales. So I was expecting a wonderful world full with lots of different stories and tales, all coming together to one writer. I’m a huge fan of those kinds of stories, so it could have been amazing. Alas. It turned out to be horrible. The show revolves around stories called "Alices". That may be a good premisse, but the awful thing is, that the fact that they exist is mentioned lots of times. But what’s in those stories (the most important thing) is never mentioned. Furthermore, this show ended up dedicated to fanservice, instead of storytelling. The characters all have ridiculously huge haircuts. Well, only the characters that play a part in the anime, of course. The main character also, of course, ends up liked by all the girls without having to do anything for it. Sigh, what a disappointment.

Anyway, now the good stuff. 🙂

Wings of Rean:
Yes, this is an action series. Yes, this revolves around heavy machinery. But still, it does work somehow. The biggest thing I like about this anime is the pacing. It’s only been the first episode, but it’s already been a roller coaster ride from begin to end. The main characters are also very interesting, you could almost say that they’re unique. Let’s hope they stay interesting like that. It’s also interesting to see that the creators managed to combine the technologies of today with some futuristic air/watership designs. This can be pretty interesting.

Magikano:
I started this series with the image of another dull harem show in my mind. It is indeed a harem show, but that’s not the most important thing. This show is one of those select shows that has you laughing from begin to end. I seriously reccommend this to people who are looking for a few good laughs. The characters are each very interesting. They’re not unique, but they do have a certain feeling that makes them very enjoyable to watch. My only concern is that the show may not be able to keep up with the same comedy level as this episode.

So, that’s it. I may be blogging some of them, but I’ll decide that after watching some more episodes.