O Maidens in Your Savage Season – 02 [Es Ee Ecks]

by Armitage, posted in O Maidens in Your Savage Season, Series which were Dropped

To someone on the outside looking in, the anime medium, or what it has become now, comprises of some incredibly good seasonal shows that never become truly great; behind these, we have a slew of solid ones followed by a sea of mediocrity. And all this covers a fifty feet deep pile of crap that everyone should best avoid as anything constituting it is severely injurious to health. That, is the general perspective of your average semi-aware anime viewer. While it is fairly adequate and won’t hinder their anime experience to a major degree, it would also mean that they fail to unearth the true gems of the medium which sometimes don’t get discovered because they aren’t immediately marketable or popcorn-media. And O Maidens in Your Savage Season is one of these gems.

Continue reading “O Maidens in Your Savage Season – 02 [Es Ee Ecks]” →

Some Quick First Impressions: Given, Okaasan Online and DanMachi S2

by SuperWooper, posted in Some Quick First Impressions


Given

Short Synopsis: Chancing upon an encounter with a doe-eyed boy his age, a teenage guitarist find his love for music once again.

Armitage’s review:

I can see why this is undeservedly flying under the radar for most people. The core demographic for this show (those unfamiliar with the manga, which is outstanding) comprised of two kinds of viewers. The ones who were wishing for a Free: Rock Band Edition, with pretty boys having glistening abs locked up in a music room. And the ones who expected this to be an all-out music themed story. First of all, to clear the air, Yes. It’s a Shounen-Ai anime so there are bound to be pretty boys being awkward around each other and stealing the occasional side glance. But, if done right, it can turn into a highly compelling story like the Classmates movie which came out a couple of years back. And the kind of story Given tries to tell is a very compelling character-driven drama with music serving as a subplot.

It’s about Uenoyama and his attempts at finding his passion in life once again. It’s about Mafuyu, who from the moment he heard a guitar strum just felt completely enamored by its sound. And It’s about the journey that these two will take, breaking down each other’s defenses and growing as people, together. And as someone who is familiar with the source material, I can say that Lerche has done a solid job adapting the manga. The backgrounds aren’t lush or highly detailed but the character art stands out, giving the pivotal scenes the vibrancy they needed. Hearing these precious boys talk was a joy in itself. No complaints on the voice acting front. And, boy! That instrumental band performance was the highlight of the episode. The sound design was absolutely stellar; each instrument sounded very real and the entire showcase and made me reminiscent of Kids on the Slope. Whether Given is able to stand toe-to-toe with that series is something which will only be revealed over time. But the premiere has given (ha!) me high hopes.

Potential: 80%

Mario’s review:

Given is a show of two halves for me. When it focuses on the lead guy Uenoyama, it delivers with solid characterization and the guy has enough complexity for us to care: he finds himself losing the sparks of playing guitar, and finds that sparks in the new guy. It helps that every subplot around him is pretty good as well: he has a natural chemistry with his older sister, he has a band in which the bandmates serve as a nice supporting roles. But when it comes to the other “lost-puppy” character I am almost put off by it. I don’t know how anyone can find him remotely interesting since his head is over cloud 9 all the time. The production, aside from weird smoke effect at the end, is much better than I expected. The use of color and how they put characters into frame strengthen the mood of those scenes, and there’s an attention to guitar sound, which is gonna be key elements for the show going forward. So basically how Given handles that Satou character will be a make-or-break factor for me.

Potential: 50%


Okaasan Online

Short Synopsis: An ungrateful teenage boy and his doting mother are summoned into an MMORPG.

Wooper’s review:

Okaasan Online gives you exactly what it says on the tin: an RPG-themed story about moms. The white-pupiled character designs remind me of the protagonist from Net-juu no Susume, though that series aimed a bit deeper than this one. I feel confident in making that judgment after just one episode, because this show is pretty fetishistic at its core. The mom character is youthful, buxom, and freakishly supportive of her child. She says stuff like, “Look at how cool you’re acting!” and “I’ve discovered a new side of my son!” without the slightest hint of irony. As he’s being sucked into the game world, the main character even hopes that when he returns, he can be “more honest” with his mother. Gee, I wonder what that’s supposed to mean? The twist, which is also the show’s one redeeming feature, is that she’s far more powerful than her son in-game, which will probably lead to his humiliation in future episodes. Their immediate goal is to recruit a bunch of hot female party members for him to flirt with, but with his mom around to accidentally blue-ball him at every turn, this fanservice series might end up a half-decent comedy.

Potential: 25%

Lenlo’s review:

What is with anime, or Japan in general I guess, and fetishizing the family? I like a hot girl just as much as the next guy. But there are certain territories that are off limits, such as “sister” and “mother” and “family members”. Basically, as Wooper was saying, there is a whole lot of mother/son subtext going on and I don’t care for it. It’s an ecchi rpg isekai like series. That’s like… all of my negative tick boxes excluding loli. The only thing it has going for it is the comedy aspect that comes with ecchi series. Which this one has a bit of a twist on with, as Wooper said, the mother blue-balling her son. That at least is novel! However, comedy isn’t exactly my genre. So if it’s yours, this might end up being worth your time. For me though I have so many other things to watch this season, that Okaasan just isn’t even on my radar.

Potential: 5%


Dungeon ni Deai wo Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darou ka II

Short Synopsis: A white haired boy finds love and adventure in a mysterious world called “Dungeon.”

Amun’s review:

1,476 days ago, I last saw the adventures of white haired Bell Cranel and Hestia the short, stacked goddess. DanMachi S2 Episode 1 had the accumulated expectations from the past 5 years to assuage us fans that our patience would be rewarded (I do not accept the existence of the spinoff show as canon, by the way). From episode 1, I can safely say…it’s been worth it.

One of my major concerns was where the series will go – will they continue the MMORPG progression raiding or will they introduce new characters and complications? From the looks of it, the latter. However, instead of the normal character creep that sets into these shows (think Fairy Tail), DanMachi – at least in their first episode back – has done a great job of clearly defining the conflicts, the goods and the bads, and bringing in a balanced mix of familiar side characters and fresh blood. With a surprising amount of relationship progression, nice fighting scenes to remind you this is an adventure show, and a quick tour of all our old friends, DanMachi is back with a bang. Wave your ribbons, fire your firebolts, splatter your minotaurs – the Dungeon is back!

Potential: 10000000%

Helghast’s review:

I watched DanMachi when it first came out and I wasn’t impressed by it at all as it was an amalgamation of every single stereotypical trope of the anime industry. It looked nice but it might as well be an isekai given the video game-like fantasy world with its RPG mechanics, shallow and pedantic characters and a massive amount of fanservice. There are the goddesses that fight over each other like teenage girls in high school and another one that just screams out just how all the little adventurers would enjoy being stepped on by her.

I suppose the best moment in the whole episode was how Bell and the Sword Princess ended up dancing courtesy of Hermes being a completely boss of a wingman. Ais still has the personality of a cardboard cereal box but that was probably the nicest moment between the two characters. It all comes down in the end as the next main conflict gets set up between the Apollo familia and Hesita in an overly dramatic reveal filled with rapey vibes that only emphasizes just how comically bad our new villains are. I’m not a betting man but I’m pretty sure who is going to be the winner in the war games and how Apollo will deservedly get the beatdown that is coming to him.

It’s animated decently enough and you can really see where J.C. Staff focused their efforts on instead of bothering with One Punch Man Season 2. If you into shows like DanMachi then you don’t need me to tell you to go watch it, but for the rest of us, season two isn’t going to change your mind in the slightest.

Potential: 34.5%

Kanata no Astra – 02 [Wilderness]

by SuperMario, posted in Currently Watching:, Kanata no Astra

Welcome to the first week of Kanata no Astra, aka Astra Lost in Space in English localization. The double-length premiere remains a flawed but decent introduction for me, and this sophomore further underlines the strengths, as well as the potential weaknesses of this show going forward. For instance, many of the anime’s changes baffled me. The ratio aspect makes little sense and visually it looks like it has been cropped out from the original frame, as a result we see lots of shots where part of characters’ head being cut off. It’s a good gimmick once we get into the space where the screen “opens up”, but consider how the majority of time we follow them exploring new planets, the feeling of inside-the-box defeats the purpose greatly. Second, in the premiere, in one dramatic event, the anime decided to alter the source and makes it even more dramatic (the human chain) that it sadly disregards the common sense (THE ROPE). I consider that a manipulating tactic where Kanata no Astra purposely creates unnecessary conflicts in order to make us FEEL rewarding once everyone joins hands to save Kanata and Aries. Well, it just didn’t work for me.

This second episode does excel on another strength, however, and that is the background art. As the group encounters the first planet of their journey, Vilavure, they find the planet full of natural resources. The art alone brings to life the richness of that place, and kudos to the animal/ plant designs that bring so much quirks into this planet: the trampoline trees, the parachute flowers and the turkey-dragons AKA tur-gons. I suspect that each planet they’d go will have some specific traits (like in ACCA’s 13 territories), and it’s understandable that the first planet they step in is more about the thrill of exploring a new place completely different than their own rather than any life-threatening events (although there is one).

This episode also establishes the cast whom is skillful in many areas beyond their age (if you can’t tell if I being sarcastic or not by that sentence, I am). Last week, we learn a kid who already experienced life/death situation and a bloke whose IQ is about 200, this week add to that mix is another boy who has a master-level knowledge of biology and a girl with a photographic memory. Shameless over-the-top-ness aside, it further proves the theory that this string of misfortune event is set-up by someone or some organisation. There’s also a reveal of someone in the cast intentionally sabotage the communication system. This is an interesting development for sure to figure out who the traitor is and what is their reason behind all this.

While I am excited for the upcoming plot of exploring new planets as an A plot and finding out the traitor as an overarching plot, I remain mixed on the characters chemistry and character development so far. The jokes, in particular, are pretty bad with typical anime-humor and exaggeration, which for me simply doesn’t belong to this series. By saying that I don’t expect the show to go full dark like Lord of the Fireflies and the likes, but take the sequence in this week, where Kanata and Quitterie bickering about “leader”, something that has already been sold last week, it’s just a total misfire for me. Yes, characters this age can act childish but why the need to amp it up to 11? For character development, this week we deal with Quitterie and her inability to communicate with other people. While I appreciate the amount of backstory Kanata no Astra focus on her character (and I’m sure the rest of the cast will have their shares), it’s a tad bit obvious that the show reminds us again and again about her issues, by her childhood friend Genius, by her bickering, by her backstory with her little sister, by Quiterrie herself when she admits it later on. Show don’t tell, Kanata no Astra, the less said the greater impact you eventually deliver.

Kimetsu no Yaiba – 15 [Mount Natagumo]

by Lenlo, posted in Kimetsu no Yaiba

Another week, the start of another arc in Kimetsu no Yaiba. This week our trio start to grow, we meet some new villains and some old characters make a return. Hope your not afraid of spiders, cause we have whole host to get through. Lets go!

As far as production goes, I think this was one of Yaiba’s weakest weeks. Part of that is just that there wasn’t really any combat. There was some basic sword swinging, but no true fights. So there wasn’t anything for Yaiba to really go all in on. This isn’t to say it was bad, I still enjoy Yaiba’s artstyle. The thick black lines is right up my alley, helps make things pop and make it clear between objects. Yaiba also had some interesting CGI segments. From the first person walking through the mountain to Inosuke’s Beast Breathing. These were both interesting, thought obviously CGI, but Yaiba did a good job here I feel. CGI works well for detailed environments, its just character models that anime still seems to be lagging on. Still, enough about boring production. Lets get onto the actual story.

Continue reading “Kimetsu no Yaiba – 15 [Mount Natagumo]” →

Fire Force – 2 [The Heart of a Fire Soldier]

by Amunchet, posted in Currently Watching:, Fire Force

Welcome to Fire Force! I’m your infernal host for the season (and hopefully many more), Amun.

Fire Force kicks off as the highly anticipated sophomore work of Atsushi Ohkubo (known for Soul Eater). The most pressing concern I’ve heard so far is the show couldn’t possibly maintain the level of quality from the first episodes for all 4 cours that are slated. Episode 2 helps extinguish some of those fears, although I can see areas where good direction decisions reduce the amount of animation required. The director is a veteren of the Monogatari series, and some of the decisive cuts remind me of that – in a good way. The scenes pack more punch and probably take substantially less effort to make – a double win in my book.

Continue reading “Fire Force – 2 [The Heart of a Fire Soldier]” →

Dr.STONE – 2 [King of the Stone World]

by Lenlo, posted in Dr.STONE

Hello everyone, it’s your friendly neighborhood Lenlo here. Ready for another season? Well you better be, cause this might be my favorite season of the year. Starting of course with Dr.Stone, a series I have followed since its first few chapters. So that said, open up your textbooks and let’s dive in!

Starting off, production. Now, I don’t mean this disparagingly, but Dr.Stone is not a fantastically animated show. It has it’s fun with facial and body expressions, don’t get me wrong. They are doing their best to adapt Boichi’s art after all, and the man is a master of the reaction face. But in terms of actual fluid animation, it’s a lot more still’s and sliding models than other hard hitters of the season. Such as Fire Force or Vinland (I love this show). Luckily, Dr.Stone isn’t really an action show, so this shouldn’t be a problem. The series focuses more on its backgrounds and its environment. Really selling this stone-age world they are living in now. With the Dr.Stone’s subject being on science and the rebuilding of civilization, I think its a good choice. I just hope the few setpieces there are end up getting the attention they need.

Continue reading “Dr.STONE – 2 [King of the Stone World]” →

Some Quick First Impressions: Kochoki: Wakaki Nobunaga, Isekai Cheat Magician and Machikado Mazoku

by SuperMario, posted in Some Quick First Impressions


Kochoki: Wakaki Nobunaga

Short Synopsis: Oda Nobunaga in his younger days before making a name for himself.

Armitage’s review:

Oh, yes!! Here we have a completely original story about a historical figure you have NEVER heard of before. Especially, if you follow seasonal anime. That’s right! None other than… drumroll Oda Nobunaga!  Can I get a ‘Hell, Yeah!’ exasperated moans 

Okay, okay. I know. This is just a classic example of anime giving you a sense of Deja vu by re-adapting a story and giving it a modern spin. Sometimes that works out pretty great! That is what I was thinking before I watched the premiere. But I am now here to report that, it was actually just, um…okay?

I mean, you’ve been there, seen it all. This story just follows Nobunaga in his teenage years. That doesn’t really make up a massive difference though. All the characters apart from Nobu-chan himself are going to be forgettable. You know that. The animation is mostly lacklustre but barely competent. That’s to be expected though. It’s being adapted by Deen. Even their best shows like Rakugo and KonoSuba have shoddy animation. You know that. So, it’s up to you really. Would you like to go into this series to experience a story you already know and are familiar with? Or would it be a soft pass so you can watch the better shows airing this season? My recommendation, is for the latter.

Potential: 20%


Mario’s review:

How many times that we see Oda Nobunaga in animated form? And hot young boy on top of it? This premiere focus on him in adolescent age, and put him through some troubles to determine what sort of person he will eventually become. On that front we have an alright execution of him acting against his father’s will. It helps that he’s an interesting character and the confrontation at the end feels somewhat earned, but the rest of the episode feels unremarkable at best. Maybe one of this first episode’s successes lie in the fact that it has little to do with the main overarching arc yet, so instead it lays its focus on developing him and introducing other main characters. For what it set out to do in this first episode, I can say that they did a decent job, it’s the coming events that I’m not sure if I am interested enough to follow.

Potential: 30%


Isekai Cheat Magician

Short Synopsis: Two childhood friends are transported to an alternate world, where they begin their journey as adventurers.  

Amun’s review:

This season must set a record for the number of mediocre (or downright awful) isekai offerings.  Isekai Cheat Magicians may be the best one, but that’s not a compliment – this show is so set on being mediocre, it can’t even make an impression as remarkably bad…just remarkably bland.  I think probably the most original idea I saw was bringing a girl from one world to the other…although I guess Konasuba sort of did that. Other than that twist, this episode is so utterly forgettable, that I’m having trouble discussing anything aside from the jarringly generic textures that were used for any particle effects – did someone just learn how to use MS Paint?  Fan service and overpowered MCs also happened, I guess. This is a pass from me (go watch DanMachi instead).

Potential: 1% (and that would be by accident since I forgot the title)


Helghast’s review:

Isekai shows are a dime a dozen nowadays but Isekai Cheat Magician is like a dozen dimes put together and that’s a lot of dimes. Instead of a single person being magically transported into yet another fantasy, they manage to blow my expectations by having an entire TWO main characters. On top of that, we have the added bonus of the classic character female childhood friend trope which has high potential for some deep character development as these two will no doubt grow in their relationship with each other. Speaking of developmental growing, the character designs may be a little generic but at least all the females are cute and have giant boobies which more than makes up for it as that’s the only criteria for a good show and they deliver in spades. I’m not worry at all about how seemingly overpowered the main characters are or how welcoming all the other adventurers are. This can only mean that as we get further into the show, there will be some really really hard challenges that only the powers of friendship, overpowered cheats and love all combined together will be able to defeat it and I can’t wait to see it.     

Potential: Unratable as no scale can describe how amazing this show is going to be.


Machikado Mazoku

Short Synopsis: The descendant of a demon clan learns of her heritage and sets out to defeat a local magical girl.

Wooper’s review:

This show has one thing going for it, and that’s hyperactivity. It only paused to catch its breath once or twice during this entire episode, preferring to spend most of its time providing raucous self-commentary. Even the opening scenes, which bluntly laid out the entire plot, contain violent commands from a cute demon spirit and lots of fretting over the main girl’s newly-grown goat horns. Characters are constantly interrupting each other and making snide comments under their breath, and screen tone backgrounds are employed one after another in heightening this sense of chaos. When everything about an anime is played for laughs, though, it’s hard to find anything to connect with. The story of a recently awakened demon girl who accidentally befriends her mortal enemy is ridiculous, and the show isn’t wrong to poke fun at itself, but I would have preferred at least a small serving of heart to offset the nonstop gags (which grew tiresome after the first five minutes).

Potential: 15%


Amun’s review:

Magical girls, while not as commonplace as some seasons past, always seem to have at least one offering show up.  Due to the numerous renditions, I think the genre has become a little self-aware – thankfully, Machikado Mazoku at least tries to switch some tropes up instead of doing another Black Rock Shooter (cute edition).  So far, this reminds me of Endro! from a few seasons back, with some slight variations on the characters and themes – the upbeat energy, bright colours, and cute girls are all present as expected. That being said, this show did make me laugh a few times and had pretty good comedic timing and sound effects (for the genre).  If Mahou Shoujo is your cup of tea or if you’re just looking for some light hearted laughs at cute hijinks – this show is for you.  

Potential: 45%

Serial Experiments Lain – 10/11 [Love/Infornography] – Throwback Thursday

by Lenlo, posted in Serial Experiments Lain, Throwback Thursday

Welcome one and all to a 2 parter for Serial Experiments Lain! Apologies for missing last week. Between end of season reviews, first impressions and a boxing match, I was a bit busy. But we are back on track with some Lain weirdness, so lets dive right in!

Starting off, I once again was forced to appreciate how good Lain looks and sounds. It’s nothing flashing, like your modern sakuga showcases. Lain doesn’t show off the same way Mob Psycho or Attack on Titan do. With huge showcases from big name animators. Lain does much better with pointed imagery and interesting composition. So my eye roams the screen during the stills, and I don’t notice the lack of animation until it’s moved on. At the very least, it succeeds here more than Paranoia Agent did. The sound design also caught my attention. Specifically episode 11’s opening, with the sink and dishes, the dripping water. I don’t know what it stood out to me, such a simple thing. But I still remember it a week after watching the episode. I wonder what happened to get this kind of effect. Still, enough with production. Onto the madness!

Continue reading “Serial Experiments Lain – 10/11 [Love/Infornography] – Throwback Thursday” →

Some Quick First Impressions: Cop Craft, HenSuki and Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou

by SuperWooper, posted in Some Quick First Impressions


Cop Craft

Short Synopsis: A human policeman is forced to partner with a female alien and track down a kidnapped fairy.

Mario’s review:

Despite its formulaic premise, Cop Craft’s first episode is such an enjoyable ride. It has an interesting settings for one thing, and while in concept it reminds you of Blood Blockade Battlefront, it does have many elements to make it its own. Then the two odd couples have their own distinct personalities and they bounce off each other nicely. On top of that the dialogues are on the better side of the spectrum, both does its job to establish character’s motivation, and each character has their own way of speaking. The production can be a bit shaky at times, but for now it manages to hold up. The gritty tone also brings a lot of potential, and a right mix between real world and fantastical elements are explored in just correct amount. I’d say that its best quality so far is the right mix of all its ingredients, make it a show that is familiar enough but still has its own personality.

Potential: 60%


Wooper’s review:

There were a lot of visual choices here that I didn’t like. The drab color palette, featuring mostly brown and gray environments, is rescued only by Tilarna’s elaborate red outfit. There are moments when the series feels like it was animated in Flash, especially when side characters are put through their stiff walk cycles. The ship on which Tilarna arrives has a rough, sketchy quality to its illustration that doesn’t match the rest of the art. But you know, I kind of dug this episode. It’s another buddy cop show like Double Decker, but it aims for a grittier tone right off the bat, and mostly manages to hit the right notes in the process. The supernatural element and Tilarna’s curiosity about human technology give the script a little flavor, without which it would have felt too familiar. Most importantly, it quickly established who the main characters are and what they want, generating a clash of personalities that it can resolve as it progresses. In short, it didn’t waste my time.

Potential: 50%


HenSuki

Short Synopsis: A gutless high school boy must figure out which of his smoking hot clubmates gifted him a pair of her panties.

Wooper’s review:

Are you willing to fall in love with a pervert, as long as she’s cute? This is the literal translation of HenSuki’s full title, as well as the philosophical quandary at the root of the show’s deftly-woven narrative. Japanese society is largely conservative (I know this for certain because I am an anime blogger), so even mild sexual deviance on the part of an individual can have lasting ramifications in their life. With this in mind, our potato-faced main character must approach the girls in his after school club with caution. One of them has left him a love letter, which would be scandalous enough on its own, but to include a pair of her panties alongside it? Such a woman could drag him into moral degeneracy! Nevertheless, such a bold maneuver could indicate a favorable temperament with regard to such lewd activities as hand-holding. Thus HenSuki establishes its central theme, exploring the personal cost of pursuing an anime gf with big tiddies. Subplots include incest teasing, breast envy, and sexual slavery. You won’t want to miss this thoughtful, daring, and not at all pandering look at modern teenage romance!

Potential: 0%


Mario’s review:

I expected this show to be trashy but I didn’t expect it to be this boring. This premiere’s main flaw is that it focuses entirely on romance aspect and not too much about comedy. Up until the very last reveal (which put this show into interesting direction, I admit), it feels not unlike a dating sim game or dating visual novel where all girls have a hot for this totally plain male lead. That sense of visual novel extends to its production too, as there isn’t much actual animation and the show’s hanging there with key still frames. The decision to play it straight with romance could have been fine if the dialogue weren’t this boring. Every conversation comes from boy’s wet dream, in which if my memory serves me right he was dreaming in the beginning (See, I already forgot). In theory, this show could serve as a dating genre-reconstruction where all the girls have hidden sexual fetishes that are way beyond this guy’s head but when you care nothing about this faceless dude, you have a hard time getting invested to what it’s trying to say.

Potential: 10%


Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou

Short Synopsis: An adventurer from another world is betrayed by his classmates before eating monster flesh and turning into a badass.

Wooper’s review:

“Incompetence” is the word that kept springing to mind during this episode. It begins in a cave so dark that the main dude’s hair had to be traced with a white outline, because otherwise you can’t tell where he ends and the background begins. Every combat scene, including the one where he loses an arm, depicts the slashing of claws and blades with limp effects animation. As a result, it’s hard to care about any of the fighting, especially the bits with CG skeletons that hardly interact with the characters. All of the flashbacks seem to have been placed in the script just to emphasize the hero’s weakness and his former classmates’ cruelty, setting the stage for his rise to power. Sounds exciting, right? Nope, he promptly attains this power by getting really pissed off and eating monster meat, rather than by training or learning anything. And then the show has to trot out the concept of in-game stats and skill trees to show how much he’s leveled up, so that even people who don’t leave their rooms can understand how awesome he’s become. If you still remain unconvinced that this show is a turd, check out this climactic moment from the ending. In case you’re wondering, that clip isn’t slowed down, darkened, or modified in any way. The show is just that bad.

Potential: 0%


Mario’s review:

Anime medium is known for its entertainment, but once in a while there are shows that aim for something much more profound, something of a life lesson. Watching Arifureta reminds you time and again that life isn’t all rose-tinted color and that in life, many people have it way worse. Our hero’s innocent outlook of life is shattered through harsh reality. Yes, life is cruel, life is unequal but that makes his transformation all the more powerful. I felt shocked, but I also felt sort of uplifted to see him bounce back and claim his life back. Yes, that is the strength of humanity: To never give up, to enjoy every piece of food you found, and to look Death in the eyes and say: “I will kill because I am hungry”. Arifureta is a story about survival, Arifureta is a story about revenge and Arifureta is a story about breaking your own weak self. Beneath the shocking content, I can see the layered messages that work together perfectly. Its thematic complexity is something that blows away any other contender of this season, Hypeland Saga included. It’s too early to say anything in terms of how the story will go from here but I have no doubt that Arifureta will change the way I view life forever.

Potential: put Vinland Saga into a pit of shame!!!!!!!!

Some Quick First Impressions: Vinland Saga, Re:Stage! Dream Days and Ensemble Stars!

by SuperMario, posted in Some Quick First Impressions


Vinland Saga

Short Synopsis: For a thousand years, the Vikings have made quite a name and reputation for themselves as the strongest families with a thirst for violence. Thorfinn, the son of one of the Vikings’ greatest warriors, spends his boyhood in a battlefield enhancing his skills in his adventure to satisfy his desire for vengeance.

Lenlo’s review:

This is it Wit, this is everything I wanted. Sure I could nitpick that the CGI isn’t perfect 100% of the time. Or that the OP by Survive Said the Prophet isn’t my style of music. But you know what, I don’t care. Everything else is gold for me. From the downright stunning background art, to the great soundtrack and stellar character designs. These detailed designs and backgrounds don’t get in the way of animation either. Wit knows when to focus on what aspects, and I love it. The VA’s don’t always match what was in my head while reading either, but I will chalk that up to vikings speaking Japanese. As is though, Wit have proven themselves with this opening 3 episodes. Going so far as to alter the chapter order to better fit an anime format. This is the kind of adaptation everyone wants. Constructive changes, rather than destructive ones, showing they know and care about the source material. If Wit can keep this up throughout the next 21 episodes, this is easily my AotS, with this being the best premiere in a while for me. The hardest part will be the 3 week break between now and the next episode. My body is ready Wit. Don’t let me down.

Potential: All the %. Infinity %.

Armitage’s review:

Studio Wit has been on a roll lately. With the recently concluded season 3 of Attack on Titan, they already surpassed all expectations fans of that manga would have had from the anime. Yup, they knocked that one right out of the park and then some. But it seems like they aren’t satisfied by just patting themselves on the back. Enter Vinland Saga. A manga, epic in every sense of the word, widely considered as unadaptable because of its godly art (which might arguably be second best only to Vagabond, in the entire medium). A solid adaptation seemed like a herculean task. And what do Wit do with it? Well, they knock it out of the park again! There’s so much to like about this adaptation as a fan of the manga. The lush backgrounds, the choreography of the fight scenes, the impeccable sound design, the choice of the (inevitably japanese) seiyuus. Oh, and did I mention we have best OP and ED of the season? Yup. It’s all here. And it all, somehow, just clicks together so beautifully. For anime only viewers, I can’t sell this enough. It’s one of the most gripping tales of revenge, hope, history and loss, told with a real flair for the epic, by Yukimura-sensei. The kind we rarely come across, anime or otherwise. If you have to watch only one anime this season, make it this one.      

Potential: 100% is selling this short.

Helghast’s review:

Unlike some of the writers here, I’m going into this blind so I don’t have any expectations other than its reputation of it being an epic saga set in the age of the Vikings. With each and every one of their previous shows being well-animated, Studio Wit doesn’t disappoint at all by showing off their trademark rotating action sequence in the first five minutes. From that point on, the action dials down to ease us into a world where ruthlessness and violence is the way of life for the people of nordic countries. So often in anime, violence is used a means to be edgy but it suits Vinland Saga just fine as it doesn’t even bother to tone it down while being historically accurate. If you are disillusioned with how infrequent the Berserk manga updates or its terrible anime counterpart, Vinland Saga is a perfect choice to scratch that itch with its faithful adaptation, a bombastic OP and another great ED from Aimer which I’m sure that fans will love. I can see why they decided to release three episodes in a row in order to capitalize on the hype by quickly reaching the crux of the prologue without rushing the pacing and dragging out from week to week. However, this bold strategy is also a double-edged sword as now we wait for a painful three weeks to see how it all it plays out for Thors and his son, Thorfinn.   

Potential: 85%


Re:Stage! Dream Days

Short Synopsis: A girl transfers to a new school and joins an Idol club.

Lenlo’s review:

If nothing else, Dream Days is clearly the superior idol show between the two I watched for this post. It looked good, the art was clean and the animation better than I had expected. In particular the 2D animated dance sequence that is normally relegated to 3D CGI for Idols. There were also some clever shots and scene decisions made. Such as the OP switcheroo into an actual character introduction that caught me off guard. The worst I can say about Dream Days is that it simply isn’t my kind of show. It was never going to appeal to me because it was a quintessential Idol show. If that’s not your cup of tea, turn back now. However based on what I have watched, I feel comfortable saying its a good fit for anyone who enjoys the genre. Everything it needs to be successful is there. It’s just not my kind of show.

Potential: 25%

Mario’s review:

I give it 20% for animating the dance routine in hand-drawn style, and another 5% for occasionally beautiful shot composition (just look at the second screenshot), otherwise we have a fairly generic set-up of what would be a right-on-average idol show. As it is the case now in almost every idol show, when you get to the performance part, the disastrous CG models stand out in a bad way. Re:Stage (a little sister of Re:Zero and a daughter of Re:Life and maybe distant cousin of Re:Creators) reminds us once and again that it is much more effective when you stick with the traditional hand-drawn. The story department, however, is pretty much formulaic so far. We have lead girl gets introduced to her new school, to her new club and suddenly she can dance very well because “my body just moves by its own”. Fans of idol show will have lots to like it, as the characters are fun to watch and from the ED it looks like 3 more (some of them already appear in the background) will join the club and so far it does make some attempt of fleshing out the main lead. For those who aren’t fond of idol shows or CGDCT there’s not much to see here.

Potential: 25%


Ensemble Stars!

Short Synopsis: A group of low-ranking male students at an idol academy aim to overthrow its draconian student council.

Wooper’s review:

You know, I reserved a tiny spark of hope for this project coming into it. I’ve never seen a good bishounen idol series, but that doesn’t mean they’ll stay bad forever. Unfortunately, Ensemble Stars won’t be the one to snap the genre’s losing streak, as it’s prone to all the same cliches as the rest. The female lead has only two lines of dialogue that aren’t “Huh?” or “Eh?” or parroting something the boys have said. The guys are all super cute, but their sparkly appearances are wasted on stock character types: genki boy, bookworm boy, loner boy, macho boy, etc. There’s no hint anywhere in the series that they’ve lived outside of this school, so the whole production feels one-dimensional. The plot is a familiar mash-up of idol aspirations and student council machinations that left me struggling to care. Only the visuals have any polish, and it’s limited to one combat sequence and a handful of poses. Look forward to those moments only if you’re a fan of idol boys – otherwise, skip this show.

Potential: 5%


Lenlo’s review:

For anyone that has read almost anything I have written on this site, I am sure my opinion on this show is already known. It’s an idol show without even the eye-candy. That’s a rather rude thing to say, but I don’t like Idol Shows inherently, and I find their sole purpose is to put cute girls on a screen in skimpy Idol outfits. It’s a fanservice genre to the end. Ensemble doesn’t even give me that. Instead throwing generic stock male characters into a room, giving them a VA with a decent singing voice. Ensemble is, at its core, a generic anime made for a generic game. That David Production is somehow producing Fire Force in the same season as this confounds me to no end. This is a hard pass for me. The first episode alone was almost impossible to get through.

Potential: 0%