After the Rain (2018 Winter) Review – 89/100

by SuperMario, posted in After the Rain, Anime Reviews, Reviews by SuperMario

I suppose that most of us, even the perministic ones, enter After the Rain (Ameagari) with some reservations. After all, the premise about a crush from an 18-year-old girl to the store manager who is nearly 30 years senior raises a lot of red flags here. Yet the show handles this tricky premise with deep insight and offers us two of the more well written characters out there. Originally billed as a romantic drama, the last third of Ameagari steers away from any romantic tension to deliver something more profound. It explores the complexity of human emotion by examining the unlikely relationship between two individuals with broken dreams and how they influence each other to reach back their goals. While I’d love for the conclusion to be more impactful (the ending suggests their relationship is like… ahem… after the rain: fleeting, soft, momentary – I’d prefer for more storming here), this show remains one of the most intimate, sensitive – and ultimately – complex portrayal of bonding, and human relationship. This solid material is further elevated by the understated and strong visual storytelling, aesthetically pleasing visual presentation and color palette and one of the best soundtrack in recent years. Ameagari is pretty much excellent as a whole package.

Any decent romance story has to start with well-grounded and relatable main leads, and Ameagari offers us two characters that worth caring for. Both Tachibana and Kondou are complex characters, especially Kondou who first appears as a goofy likable old man, but through the course of its run, their personality, and their own dreams are revealed slowly. Behind their composure, there lies a huge disappointment of their current lives, and as we know them better, we learn that they have left behind the path they used to treasure the most – Tachibana with her injury that prevents her from running track again and Kondou with his passion for Japanese literature – and gradually lose the essence of who they really are, becomes a shell that has no more dream or desire (in one of the show’s most clever symbolism: he touches the shell of a cicada while speaking that lines).

Meanwhile, Ameagari follows mostly through the point of view of Tachibana. While the show’s never shy from exploring Kondou’s inner thoughts (and what poetic thoughts this guy has), we follow Tachibana mostly through visual cues: her gestures, her “sparkling moments”, the looks from her eyes. Why this difference in treatment? By giving Kondou an inner voice, we become certain that his feeling for Tachibana isn’t romantic or sexual interest, but more about how her reminds him of his own youth and his current lifeless life. For Tachibana, it’s more about fleeting first crush and the show more than nails it underlining those feelings with sensitivity of how first crush is like. As you can guess from the title, rain is the show’s motifs here, and it chronicles the progression of this romance, from gentle, quiet rains in the beginning, then “she comes like a rain” in the middle and bright in the end like a love after the rain.

The main selling point of Ameagari is undoubtedly the amazing chemistry between Tachibana and Kondou. Their back-and-forth exchanges always spark with so much dynamic that every time those two together, they’re bounce to have special moments together – a praise that you won’t hear me say often, especially in anime medium. We have The Confession, The Hug, the Kiss, The Final Confrontation… These moments are the highlights of not only this season, but for my money for the entire 2018 year. They’re impactful. They’re powerful. They’re just perfect. But even in those slower moments, whenever Tachibana and Kondou are seen together, they deliver a natural and positive influence on each other.

The supporting cast help expanding the lives of our two characters, although in retrospect, they still leave a lot to be desire. Chief among them is the inclusion of Kase in one particular episode that leaves a sour taste in the mouth for most of us, but what bad is the way he reverts back to background character and we never learn much about him again. Tachibana best friend, Haruka, receives more attention in the second half and she provides a welcomed conflict to Tachibana’s current crisis, but it feels unfocused when we have a section about her and the ex-captain of the football club (it’s as important as the second copy of the second will). Kondou’s long-lost friend Chihiro, on the other hand, provides an excellent supporting role by the way he counters Kondou about his writing’s passion or reflects further to the path of life that Kondou left behind.

The visual presentation of Ameagari furthers elevate this sensitive love story and makes it a total feast to the eyes. I admit that I didn’t have a high opinion to Wit Studio, mostly because the production approach in Attack of Titan was my least favorite, but I have totally changed my mind with this subtle yet gorgeous visual styles of Ameagari. The reason I bring up Wit studio in particular is because they have their own “make-up animation” team, which is a team who apply special effects to certain important scenes and they sure did the job marvelously here with downright impressive visual palette and strong direction. The soundtracks are simply mesmerizing. They not only bring out the best emotionally from these moments, listen to them alone can transfer you right back to these certain scenes. I could totally picture Tachibana in the rain, or moment when Kondou sees himself in his teen self or the moment they hug each other. I also enjoy the way the show leaves their characters a space to breathe. There are many wordless sections just to record simple daily activities of Tachibana, like when she misses a bus, walks to the train station or when she offers a stranger to walk them with her umbrella.

In conclusion, I know the word “done right” can justify anything but Ameagari is a glaring example of a show that done right in every aspect, from its concerning romance premise, to its visual approach and the way it handles the developments of these characters. What makes it raise above everything else this last season is that, all these excellent components are all in the service of its theme. As a result Ameagari feels like a complete product with no real weakness, as the same time delivers special relationship that reminds us once again about the complexity of our own emotions.

Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii – 02[Are We Now Dating?]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii

After a strong first episode I come back to this show and find a rather middling second episode. There is some good content here, namely the Evangelion references, one of which was butchered by the crunchyroll translators.(Narumi and Hanako were arguing over who was best girl in Evangelion with notes over their head about whose team they were on. The order being Narumi on team Rei, Hanako on Team Asuka, Taro on team Mari and Hirotaka picking Unit 01 as best girl) But the anime original scenes which were a boon to the first episode have become rather problematic. Case in point, this episode starts with three minutes of Hirotaka waking up, going to the kitchen to play games, attempt to make coffee, realize he’s out of coffee and travels to work sleep deprived.

That scene was too long and while I can certainly relate to going to work sleep deprived due to late night gaming, nothing happens here. It’s more or less filler and I don’t understand why they are dragging out the runtime like this. It could be due to the short number of chapters that they are attempting to pad out the runtime which could be quite problematic. Seeing scenes of characters talking their preferences in manga and whatnot is fine as I enjoy the interaction but it more the other scenes that feel supplementary that bug me. The actual scenes from the manga where pretty good, I got a chuckle out of Hirotaka saying to Narumi that he shouldn’t have told her that he liked her only to realize that he didn’t actually tell her that when asking her out.

I do still quite enjoy the banter though at times it was trying a little too hard for comedy. The animation seems to have gotten rather bare as well and while a show like this doesn’t necessarily need godly animation, it is good for the subtle motion which give these characters life. What this episode basically established is that the other two coworkers also happen to be going out and are big otaku’s as well. Rather coincidental for them all to meet at the same workplace while happening to work in the same room but hey I will bite. Again the general scenes were fine but it felt there were too many moments of nothing happening on screen. I enjoy the characters enough for this episode to be fine instead of boring but going forward we need more content in here. At least so I have something to actually talk about on these episode reviews.

Steins;Gate 0 – 2 [Epigraph of the Closed Curve -Closed Epigraph-]

by Lenlo, posted in Finished Series: Mystery/Suspense, Steins;Gate 0

7 years. It has been almost 7 years since the original season of Steins;Gate. Since Okabe overcame received a mysterious video message, which prompted him to finally save the day. Back then it was a rather clever, if thin, plot device to get a happy ending. Steins;Gate 0 is the story of this video message. The story of the Okabe who failed, who doesn’t get a happy ending. And I could not be more excited.

Lets jump in! Continue reading “Steins;Gate 0 – 2 [Epigraph of the Closed Curve -Closed Epigraph-]” →

Legend of the Galactic Heroes Die Neue These – 2/3[The Battle of Astarte/An Indomitable Prodigy]

by AidanAK47, posted in Legend of the Galactic Heroes Die Neue These

If I was to judge this adaption based solely on the first three episodes I would declare it a resounding success. For while I do really like the old series, it does have a rather slow start. I say i only truly got invested in it around episode 3 or 4 when the more political side of the story surfaced. However the remake here has managed to spice up the space battles with new effects and the presentation of the story is better. The first episode introduced us to only one side of the conflict, thus not overburdening the viewer by jumping around between two vastly different sides with a whole host of characters. Then the second episode introduced the other side which provided a nice transition between the differences in command and a solid introduction to our two leads with vastly different combat styles. I would berate this series for having stupid commanders who ignore their subordinates good suggestions and continue being utterly arrogant…but actual history does seem to have a recurring theme of having really stupid people in high positions screwing things up. I at least appreciate that the commander handed the reins over to Yang once he was taken out of the picture and acknowledged that he was the only man who could get them out of this. It shows that even if he was prideful and idiotic for ignoring Yangs suggestions, he still was a good person. I admit I found it quite humorous for Yang to turn the battle into a game of chasing tails only for Reinhard to retreat cause he hated how dumb the battle had become.

Our story here has a large scope but generally it jumps between two viewpoints. That of Reinhard and that of Yang. The third episode focused on Reinhard first and when watched the old series I found that I much prefer Yangs viewpoint over Reinhards. Mostly because the situation Yang was dealing with was more interesting and Yang overall was a far more interesting protagonist. Reinhard has his draw but I just didn’t quite find his personality as charming. So it really is a merit of the old series to get me to be engaged with parts of the story I once found my attention wander with. True this could be a product of foreknowledge and since I know what happens I have become more engaged in how the plot reaches that point. But I do feel like the presentation here is really working to keep people immersed. Of course that does not mean that this is top tier animation as during talking scenes it can be the bare essentials but even then we got subtle face movements. The animation of the old series was quite basic so from a animation standpoint there wasn’t much to look at. Here there is greater polish to the scenes which I feel really nails down getting the main points across to the viewer. By episodes end you know Reinhard’s ambition, why he wants to do it and his friendship with Kircheis. As well as the general social structure of the empire which to boil it down, would likely be the result if Hitler won WWII. The old series will always be relevant for having for details but I felt this new series could make for a good compromise for those not willing to watch 110 episodes of content. I even get a better sense for Kircheis’s and Reinhards friendship as in the old series I was never was quite sold on their friendship. To me it felt like more of a master and servant association which Kircheis put up with cause he wanted to bang Annerose. Not saying he doesn’t want the same thing here but at least you can get a sense that he is following Reinhard for more than just Annerose.

I like the opening of this series as it’s a rather different kind of opening from what we usually get, being a ballad instead of forgettable Jpop. But as the chorus of the song played I couldn’t help getting nostalgic as something sounded very similar. I had to rack my brain just to remember it but I finally found out why. The reason is that the chorus of this song is a blatant ripoff of the 1987 hit by Starship “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now”. I don’t know if it was intentional or purely coincidental but the two songs are near identail when it comes to the chorus. Truth be told I am not sure if I care though as the song sounds good, I just hope it’s more an intentional homage than lazy composition. Truly if I were to fault this series for something it would be the character designs and yes I believe this will be something I will harp on about throughout the series. Some of the designs I can get behind but I rather dislike how it makes everyone look so much younger. Even old characters feel like they have perfect skin and were varnished to a mirror sheen. The reason this is a big issue for me is that the greatest victim of these designs is Yang Wenli as in the old series he felt like a middle aged veteran and thus when he starts talking history or strategy, it felt like it was coming from someone experienced with life. With his HD makeover he still sounds smart but he lost an important characteristic of his manner. It could be just my fondness for his old design but I really did like the way that Yang was like a tired middle aged man who was sick of the worlds crap and just trying to make the best out of a rather terrible situation he was forced into.

Golden Kamuy – 02 [Nopperabo]

by SuperMario, posted in Currently Watching:, Golden Kamuy

Leave it to Japanese cartoon that done the Western genre better than the Westerners, at least from what we have seen so far (note: despite my pun, Western the genre doesn’t refer to the Western culture, but to the American Old West). Granted, Japanese cinema and literature has a strong tradition of samurai genre, which in some ways share many similarities in characteristics with Western genre. For me though, I still consider Golden Kamuy a Western one, and (so far) a good one at that. Treasure hunt is one of the most popular premise within the genre for one thing, and then we have its focus on the wilderness. The vast isolated landscape becomes a character on its own and Golden Kamuy certainly shares this. It has snowy mountain backdrop that sets in Hokkaido and the manga (remains a question mark for the anime) pays extremely careful details to Hokkaido places and the atmosphere. Social order and moral ambiguity also play important roles, so far Golden Kamuy carries many of those traits within Sugimoto character. Ex-solider, now becomes sort of nobody who looks for huge amount of money, and in the episode 2 we see his stance for his moral code: he isn’t a murderer, but if there is anyone going to kill him, he’ll kill them first without hesitation. Lastly, Western genre is famous for depicting minorities community, for better or for worse, and Golden Kamuy follows that tradition with a well-research presentation on the Anui people. On those fronts, Golden Kamuy is rather exceptional.

What I’m worried about this show, though, comes from its production. I watched Kokkoku last season and I feel the production of that show was only functionable, not exceptional or anything. It remains doubtful whether the new Geno Studio can do justice for this popular source. CGI bears aside*, the animation isn’t that consistent to be honest. There are many still frames that was a shot-by-shot with its manga source, so while it looks alright in stills, the lack of movement remains a concern. The characters look slightly off model in some scenes, and this is just second episode. I have my real worry that the production could fall apart as the series go one.

Get into the event of this second episode, this episode is jam-packed with actions and details and splits into three parts: 1) the pair gets into Otaru, the biggest city of Hokkaido and finds another tattooed prisoner there, 2) dinner, Ainu style (do they really eat the brain raw? Eew) and 3) another life and death situation – but hilariously so – with the third tattooed prisoner, an Escape Master. This episode also marks the end of the first volume of the manga, which for me the anime runs at a reasonable pace. We learn about a lot more enemies to our duo beside the bears. On one hand we have the whole 7th Hokkaido division, one of the strongest army unit involved to this gold hunting. The guy Sugimoto faces this time, Oogata is a threatening opponent. I like the way how, after he shoots the first prisoner death, he leaves the corpse there to pursuits the duo instead. Just show you how professional, and experienced this guy is. Kill all the hazards first, then skin the corpse. He manages to escape Sugimoto the Immortal and manages to survive himself, which means that now the army division will be actively involved in tracking Sugimoto and Aspira.

Still, even in this harsh, “the strong alive the weak die” world, there’s always time for more food porn. I get the intent that Golden Kamuy wants to delve deeper to Anui culture – and indeed, so far the show has shown its appreciation and respect to the Anui people – but the tone whiplash here is too severe. When these two characters have that chibi style and fluffy reactions (especially during Sugimoto exclaims(!!!) “This is so good”, I have a feeling someone padding me in my back and telling me I’m a good boy – the amount of self-indulgence is unBEARable. Other than that, the attitude towards Anui culture is overall positively portrayed in the show. Take a scene where the Escape King mocking Sugimoto about Aspira in which she sets aside and said “I’m used to it”, it just speaks volume here. The way Sugimoto feels about the insult isn’t subtle but it’s the right kind of attitude towards those kind race discrimination.

The last segment turns this capturing and chasing game into some odd whimsical enemy-turn-comrade situation, but for the show as grim and dark as this, a little light tone is more than welcome (just don’t go for food). Again, the setting of winter Hokkaido becomes its own character, it’s a force of nature for our characters to overcome. We learn more about the Leader of this prisoner gangs, who was a Samurai before and a scary figure that our duo need to be mindful of. I like this Escape King character and I figure we will see him back again soon. Overall, we have s busy episode where we got introduced to many major characters. The gold is nowhere in sight, the myth keeps getting more mysterious and heads certainly will roll and skins certainly will get ripped off. It’s a marvellous ride, now let’s all see if the production can keep up with it.

* I think the world has complained more than enough about those bears in the first episode that it isn’t worth beating that dead CGI bear dead horse at this point – although I can offer the reason why the director Nanba Hitoshi thinks it was a good idea. In one of the interview, he remarked that “[] bear have a special status for the Ainu, so I think the way to show them is different from other animals.” TAKE THAT.

Hinamatsuri – 02 [This Is How You Have a ESP Battle!]

by SuperMario, posted in Currently Watching:, Hinamatsuri

Welcome to THE comedy gold of the season. Before I get into anything specific, let’s me discuss about what make this little show about a psychic girl and a yakuza hilarious in the first place. The main source of humor in Hinamatsuri largely comes from situation-based weirdness. Putting these characters out of their comfort zones and see how they react. It helps that Hinamatsuri always gets straight to business – there’s no beating around the bush here. Like in the first episode, it doesn’t take long before Hina appears out of the blues inside that metal egg and gives Nitta one heck of a time. The comedic timing is largely sharp and when it’s time for a more heartfelt scene, Hinamatsuri nails it without succumb into soapiness. The show also has a rich cast in which they all have great presence and bound off each other very well. So far, our lead duo Nitta and Hina more than carry the show with their odd-buddy but surprisingly grounded chemistry.

Coming to this second episode, I’m more than happy to report that this second one is even better than the first, both expand that world with more awesome characters, and still put the central development between Hina and Nitta into forefront. In the first half, there’s this little girl with crazy power appears and wreaks havoc – Anzu, a more eccentric counterpart of our Hina. What makes her character stand out is how well contrast her appearance and personality compared to the oblivious Hina, yet in the end the two kids are still… little brats who need love, attention and FOOD (on that notes, thank GOD that Hinamatsuri never sexualizes those girls when they’re nude). The comedy gold hits right off the bat within the first few seconds, with Anzu miraculously gets herself out of that metallic egg. I have the same sentiments with her regarding the egg’s structural design flaw. What the use of any of it if the person inside can’t get themselves out? To raise the bar of hilariously ridiculousness even higher, Anzu then wipes off the entire gang in one whoop and steals the boss’ uniform in a process. The comedy is really on point again when all her victims say nothing but “Ouch”, in turns.

The man of the moment in this segment, however, is Nitta. Realize the same vibe this new kid has, he follows her in the most obvious way possible: camouflage himself as a tree in a middle of the freaking city. Yeah, genius. There are couple of good gags before he decides to bring Hina along for the “ultimate battle” – psychic style, chief among them involve the homeless man who thought that Nitta gang will do bad things with the girl (boy, dark humor here), and how Nitta reflects that he might save the world without knowing it (on that, imagine what kind of misadventures Nitta will experience – and what kind of series we will have – if Anzu were the one dropping into his house instead of Hina). So, the girls have to fight since this was Anzu’s goal all along. In order to protect the lives of possibly entire Japanese population, Nitta alters the rules, while continuously manipulating Hina-side with ikura (red caviar), since manipulation is obviously how yakuza works. The fight, I must say, remains one of the most refreshing and downright hilarious fight I have seen in a while, and the animation and deadpan “facial reactions” – if I can call them that – are dead-on. I won’t go into details about this duel since I believe it’s something you need to watch for yourself. Needless to say, the emotional core hits me again when Hina offers Anzu to spend the evening together – just hanging out and playing like normal harmless kids, because as crazy overpowered as they are, they still remain kids.

The latter half, while focuses on the main dynamic between our duo, Hina’s classmate Hitomi becomes my install favorite character out of this rich cast. Imagine this, a good girl Hitomi was tagging along with Hina to tail Nitta (for the reason as obscure as “because the TV says it’s better with two”), left behind by her friend in the adult bar, encountered the drunkard old man who demands her to make an alcoholic drink and already excelled at bartending when we meet her again. She had me at “Daiquiri-desu”, my friends. Meanwhile, the more heartfelt conversation between Hina and the real bartender Utako carries the show distinctive quirks as Hina literally floats on while listening to Umeko ‘s adivce. That moment is so Hinamatsuri-esque that I am in awe of a show that understands so well about its own personality. The later moment when Hina finally speaks her mind, and Nitta agrees to hang out with her, and the rest of the gang, including Hitomi is a nice resolve to their little conflict. I could say more but I’m at risk of just recapping the whole episode with my squeaky over-excited voice, so let’s just enjoy this episode with a glass of champagne and kanpai for the Super Illusion.

Spring 2018 Anime Coverage

by SuperMario, posted in About

The Spring First Impression period has finally come to an end, which personally I regard it as a mixed bag.  This season has one of the most crowded titles in terms of quantity, having around 50 plus airing anime of all kinds and we previewed about 34 new shows . This huge amount doesn’t necessarily translate into better quality, however. We have handful of solid shows, a sea of mediocre and trashy shows and little to no middle ground. I gave 0% potential more than any previous seasons (do I become too harsh on anime or was anime a mistake?). In addition, as most of you already knew, we’re trying something new this season by gathering together and making the first (and hopefully not the only) podcast since the five of us, current writers, came into this site.

Anyways, without further ado, here’s our schedule for the 2018 Spring Season:

Aidan: Legend of Galactic Heroes – Die Neue These, Full Metal Panic Invisible Story, Wotakoi, Darling in the FranXX (carry-over)

Mario: Golden Kamuy, Hisone to Misotan, Hinamatsuri
Lenlo: Steins;Gate 0, Megalo Box

I’m also here to bring you one sad news. From this season onwards, Wooper will step down as a site writer. This is a great loss for us (and you’ll be missed, Wooper), but expect him to be around the chatbox as well as (hopefully) helping us out with the first impression.

With this, let’s the 2018 Spring Season truly begins.

Darling in the Franxx – 14[Punishment and Confession]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Darling in the Franxx

Last time Darling and the Franxx had it’s best episode yet which raised my opinion of the series and gave me hopes for greater things moving forward. So it’s sad that they follow this up with the worst episode of the series to date. This episode was pure frustration to watch because you knew exactly what was happening and just how easily it could have been avoided. If either Hiro o Zero Two tried to explain the situation and what happened in the past then things wouldn’t have got this bad. If both Hiro and Zero Two hadn’t gone to see each other at the exact same time. But most importantly, if somebody could have stopped Ichigo from going too far. Oh boy if there is a serious casualty in this whole mess, it’s Ichigo. I haven’t seen a fanbase turn on a character so fast but hey Zorome wasn’t cared for that much in the beginning either and now he’s actually rather endearing. So could Ichigo turn this around? In a way she is a victim of the writing as they needed someone to put a rift between Zero Two and Hiro so Ichigo turned out to be the tool to make that possible. Looking at the situation from her perspective it’s actually understandable why she took measures to separate Zero Two and Hiro.

It’s just that under the present circumstances, that was the worst thing she could have done. For she was reenacting exactly what happened in their past to tear them apart and wound up Zero Two to the point that Hiro would see her at her lowest moment. Made all the worst by Ichigo forcefully stopping Hiro from running after Zero Two with her forced confession. Which really was in bad taste as it spits on Goro’s confession to her. Yes, she is under no obligation to love Goro just because he confessed to her but I just find it heartless to disregard his feelings entirely and chase after a doomed crush. You can tell she started things out of concern for Hiro but then her own emotions started pushing things too far that even the team was uncomfortable with how she was handling the situation. You cannot say there wasn’t any spite in how she ostracised Zero Two, particularly in trying to force her out of the next operation. This episode has Ichigo be selfish and ignorant which earned the venomous reception of the internet. For she is the single thing preventing the scene viewers wish to see between Hiro and Zero Two with the action being made all the more hateable by it being born of good intentions amplified with selfish desire.

The thing that makes this episode problematic is that while the characters actions make sense, the situation is just so utterly contrived. It’s clear the writer wanted drama and to tease out the reunion between Hiro and Zero Two. This series of unfortunate events just to create a conflict to force Zero Two away from the team is frustrating to behold and makes all the characters look bad for it. Which makes it more painful when you consider that it will take more than one episode to resolve this stupid misunderstanding between the characters. If they are smart about it, this development could be fixed fast as I am sure not many are a fan of it. But I fear we are in for episodes of Zero Two brooding over Hiro, Hiro brooding over Zero Two and Ichigo trying to sandwich herself in Hiro’s broken heart while Goro looks over it with depressed resignation. And boy, that certainly doesn’t sound fun. Oh and as a final note it is rather humorous for Mitsuru completely brush off Hiro remembering his promise despite him obsessing over it in a previous episode. Not sure if he was just playing it cool or if Kokoro helped him get over it.

Some Quick First Impressions – Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii, Hisone to Maso-tan, Full Metal Panic Invisible Victory and Dorei-ku The Animation

by AidanAK47, posted in Some Quick First Impressions

Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii

Short Synopsis: Two childhood friends-turned-coworkers decide to start dating after bonding over their nerdy hobbies.

Aidan’s review

Well they added more original scenes to the manga but it fit and helped the story flow better and while this could be considered pandering to my demographic, I ultimately enjoyed the hell out of it. I stated before that 3D Kanojo was the idealisation of love while Wotaku is the more realistic version and that certainly is still true. The dialogue of this show feels real and the characters talk like people talk. Sure there is comedic posturing and some exaggeration but damn do the conversations just flow naturally. No beating around the bush either as our two mains get together by episodes end in what may be considered spontaneous and a bit too businesslike. I found it actually better that way. There is no bombastic orchestra nor emotional crying or doves flying in the air with dramatic lighting while flowers fall on the stage. The male lead lays down how he could make for a good boyfriend and the two decide to try it out. Which is fine, as the two do get along fantastic together and that could very easily blossom into love. The comedy was on point, the cast is good and it’s generally fluffy. Of course being an adult nearing his thirties who is a Anime and Game Otaku and works in a office space could be influencing my opinion somewhat.

Potential: 75%

 

Wooper’s review

I’ve seen a lot of talk about this show pandering to a specific subculture, what with the “otaku and fujoshi together 4ever” romance at its core. As a result, I went into this thing with the mildest of expectations, and found that they were unnecessarily low. Wotakoi obviously has its sights set on a niche audience, but it isn’t insulting about it. There are no women tripping over themselves to get with the male lead, and the show doesn’t glamorize or excuse pop culture obsession – rather, it’s a source of shame for the female MC. She’s pretty, a little ditzy, and cheerily superficial, which is refreshing for a woman in anime. Her blossoming friendship with her cosplaying boss gives me some hope that she’ll learn to be more accepting, both of herself and others, without needing to be educated or tamed by her new boyfriend. As a matter of fact, I’m much more interested in how her mindset will change than I am in her relationship with The Most Dapper Otaku in the World. The scene where those two get together is the main source of my disappointment in this premiere – the show looks decent, and I like the characters well enough, but the dispassionate way they decide to start dating left me with no interest in their romance. It happened right at the tail end of the episode, so it might be some kind of fake out, but given that Wotakoi is billed as a romcom, I doubt that’ll be the case. The show seems good enough to follow week by week, but if no legitimate sense of attraction surfaces within a few episodes, I might have to bail.

Potential: 50%

 

Hisone to Maso-tan

Short Synopsis: A woman is chosen to pilot a living Dragon

Aidan’s review

I wasn’t quite sure what I would get when I started this show but it certainly was a lot more comedic than I was expecting. So far any potential dark aspects are nowhere to be seen  and it’s a fairly lighthearted show to match it’s cutesy visuals. I quite like the main character and her general talkativeness as I am reminded of my own inner thoughts when pushed into a project haphazardly at work. We got a kooky cast of characters and the general premise of a transforming dragon in the army is a good one. It’s still up in the air as to what the actually plot will be but for so far it’s looking quite strong.

Potential: 80%

 

Mario’s review

As they say, save the best for last huh? This one literally was the last show I checked out during this First Impression period, with high expectation to boost, and it turned out even better than I had expected. There’s so much to like about this show. The style for example, is simple with clear and soft layout, but it works well in service for this show. Contrary to the simple designs, the characters are expressive and the animation is very consistent and dynamic. The concept of dragons being an airplane, with pilot is inside the dragon is a whimsical, if a bit nonsensical, premise and I am glad that in this first episode not only the show doesn’t take it too seriously, they sell well on the whole concept. The main girl, Hisone, is your typical Mari Osada’s creation here- meaning she has a tendency to say her mind a bit too much, but I do relate to her issues and hell, I already love the pairing between her and the dragon here. This one is, for my money, the best premiere of this Spring Season.

Potential: 90%

 

Full Metal Panic Invisible Victory

Short Synopsis: The fourth season of the Full Metal Panic Series

Aidan’s review

Well baring a opening scene where the pacing felt a bit too fast, this was a strong return to form. The skipped volume 6 which is a shame as it had some good Tessa moments but otherwise the relationship between Chidori and Sousuke was great. Seeing them hold hands as they both walked to her apartment and be affectionite with each other felt it was a long time coming. Of course we do have some interesting developments in how Chidora has to accept that she really can’t live a normal life anymore as well as the fact that no matter how much of a goof Sousuke is, he really has killed people. Sousuke himself seems to be regretting the loss of his school life as well and Chidori’s newfound caution of him certainly could throw him off balance. Little in the way of action but the ending episode cliffhanger is certainly promising. Xebec certainly seems to be emulating the animation style of KyoAni’s while they were doing Second Raid and so far it looks good. Still up for debate if they can keep the quality for the full series and especially during  action sequences but we shall see. Lastly I find the Japanese voices hard to adjust to due to my first experience watching being in English dub. Basically if you are a Full Metal Panic Fan, check this out.

Potential: 80%

 

Dorei-ku The Animation

Short Synopsis: A girl finds out about a device that allow you to enslave anyone

Aidan’s review

I guess the big question is that if such a device existed, who in their right mind would use it? Sure it allows you to dominate someone else with the device but at the same time holds the risk of anyone subjecting you to eternal servitude. In that case it would be a hard sell because if a girl tried to convince me to stick in some weird device into my mouth my first and last instinct would be no. Of course since the characters in this show are naturally stupid, they stick the device in. All these characters are terrible and unlikable. The games themselves aren’t so much mind games cause the author isn’t smart enough to come up with genuine smart strategy. The animation is bear bones and while the anime cut out quite a bit of the stupid nasty stuff in the manga, it still can’t save what is already a fairly trash story. Avoid this one.

Potential: 0%

 

Mario’s review

The segment in the first few minutes pretty much sets an overall tone to this series: a silly card game where the girl loses, the guy then requests to have sex with her in which she has to obey. This is a show that is more interested to exploit the twisted desire of enslave someone (in a fetish form) than it has anything grounded to say. So for anyone who think this show is a depiction of BDSM fetish, there isn’t much about it at all, given it gives the same “descend to darkness through desire” vibe as Kakegurui and Liar Game, although with much lesser impact. Sexual assault, assholeness, misogyny pops up everywhere. The duel isn’t remotely exciting since only one of them aware of the SCM device, hence they obviously have an handicap over the opponent. The main leads, if we can call them that, are characters that we don’t care one iota for because they are unlikable, and their chemistry isn’t even functional. It might be just me but this kind of trashy pulpy show that tries hard to sound smart always turn me off the most. Avoid it.

Potential: 0%

Spring 2018 Anime First Impressions Podcast

by HelghastKillzone, posted in Some Quick First Impressions

For the first time in a very long while, the writers of Star Crossed Anime Blog have assembled together from over five different timezone and participate in a podcast that gives our first impressions of the Spring 2018 anime season.

The intro for this episode is from the intro theme for Ragnarok Online 2 by Yoko Kanno. The outro for this episode is Deja Vu by Dave Rodgers.

Anime Discussed In This First Impressions: Persona 5, Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Wotakoi Love Is Hard For Otaku, Hisone to Maso-tan, Golden Kamuy, Magical Girl Site,  Hinamatsuri, Megalo Box, Steins Gate 0, My Hero Academia 3, Tokyo Ghoul re, Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online, Full Metal Panic Invisible Victory, Lupin III: Part V

Edited by HelghastKillzone