Violet Evergarden – 02 [Never Coming Back]

by SuperMario, posted in Currently Watching:, Violet Evergarden

I’m thankful that this second episode plays out much quieter and more subtle than the first, because I’m not a fan at all with the grandeur approach of the first episode. This makes the second week of Violet slightly better than last week, but I still find myself not totally satisfied with the whole experience. This week shows our Violet making her first step over the Auto Memories Dolls job, which despite its name it actually refers to real girls ghost-writing letters for those in need. Violet gets acquainted with the team members, learning about the jobs: how to type, how to input information, how to translate what the customers mean into the right angle… the last of which Violet totally lacks of. The most important characteristic in this job is the ability to communicate, including the ability to read between the lines. When put it in that light, Violet is totally unsuitable for the job. She’s straight-forward (which failed in terms of communication), she can’t read the subtext and she lacks emotions. After all, like the show said, contradiction is the barebone of human’s emotions. How one feels isn’t exactly the same with how one acts, and it’s those inconsistences can tell you exactly who they really are. I agree with it, in theory at least, because the actual case Violet Evergarden shows us is so banal. Is that how women tend to act? Now I feel stupid for not knowing it, just like our poor Violet here.

I guess my biggest issues of Violet Evergarden so far lie in the main character, Violet herself. It’s a common pitfall for a show to create obvious flaws for the main character in the beginning of the story in order to make their personal growth more significant, and I feel Violet steps in that line here. The problem with that is that those flaws make them feel utterly unrelatable, given no human being would act like such. It’s part of the show’s narrative, I know, since everyone regards her as a killing machine, she sees herself as someone’s royal dog, the show visualizes her as a bleeding doll, and the novel purposely frames her as a robot, anything but a human. It’s also the show’s narrative that Violet needs to learn these emotions in order to truly become a human. At that I feel the need to point out about the change in the anime’s order compare to the Light novels’. The novel starts when Violet is already an established Doll, and then it traces back to her origin as we learn more about her. The anime gives all their attention to the growth of Violet, hence here we are, following the blank-state Violet as she navigates to the new environment. Sure, it’s more conventional but the progress is also more obvious, and I’m not sure “obvious” is what we need here.

So naturally, the emotional engagement I have for Violet Evergarden point towards the other team member, Erica. She, like Violet, feels like she’s unsuitable for the job, unable to write letters that make her, or her customer satisfied, and the success of her peer, Cattleya is a cherry on top. Yet despise knowing Violet’s shortcoming, she asks the team to not giving up on her, because she believes Violet can improve. That’s a contradiction. Just like despite her own shortcoming, she still wants to continue after she realizes her original passion for writing letters that touch the heart of readers, in one rare musical score of Violet Evergarden that isn’t overbearing. The production otherwise remains impressive. The flowers café house, for example, stands out and the animation remains fluid. If I have one criticism it would be the interior scenes feel a bit too dark for its own good. All in all, we are still pretty much in the introduction phase of Violet Evergarden and I suspect until Violet herself gets more fully-formed, and more relatable, is when this show hits its stride.

Kokkoku – 2 [The Second Moment]

by Lenlo, posted in Finished Series: Adventure/Fantasy/Science Fiction, Kokkoku

Hello and welcome to the 2018 Winter season! This time, we have an interesting little time-based drama called Kokkoku. It has mystery, it has cults, it has dead-beat parents and apparent god-like beings. Lets jump in!

To start, a quick blurb about our characters. Personally, I like them so far. They are all flawed and imperfect people. From the hikikomori Uncle/Brother to the laid off father, these are people with problems. Emotional issues that, hopefully, will get resolved or at least get started down that path. For instance the Uncle is already starting an arc. He is first introduced as a game-focused otaku, upset when his game is turned off before he can save. But when unplugged, clearly cares for his family, he just doesn’t know what to do or where to go with his life. The father that when danger came to his family, however foolishly, resolved to only put himself in danger by going alone. I am hoping that throughout this series we see him, and others, grow more and more. Even if, technically, this entire series takes place in a single frame.

Continue reading “Kokkoku – 2 [The Second Moment]” →

A Place Further than the Universe – 03 [The Follow Backs Don’t Stop]

by SuperMario, posted in A Place Further than the Universe, Currently Watching:

“I could just die right now”

That line, spoken by our new member, Yuzuki, bookends this week’s Universe. It marks the shift in the new girl’s character growth. Last week, the Expedition girls mentioned they have a plan to raise fund, right? Turns out it’s not the mother, but the young girl herself, is used as their TRUMP card (bad pun, I know). Tsuhiki Ararararag  Yuzuki is an idol/ child actress/celebrity, so naturally the Expedition Team wanted to use her image as a promotion for the Antarctica trip, in which she feels zero enthusiasm to go. First, I must note about the voice acting of these main girls. While they’re even louder this week (I swear those voice actresses had such a BLAST time recording this), they share a natural forth-and-back dynamic that feel so pleasant. It comes as no surprise, that three of them, Kana Hanazawa – voicing Shirase, the one that need no introduction anymore, Yuka Iguchi (voicing Hinata) and Saori Hayami (voicing Yuzuki) all worked together before in the Monogatari Series (dubbing Nadeko, Tsuhiki, Yotsugi respectively). The other voice actress, Inori Minase, is no slouch either. She played Meteora in Re:Creators (AKA that one character who had to spill all the expositions), Rem in Re:Zero (that captured thousands of boys’ hearts) and most impressively for me, Chito in Girls’ Last Tour last season. These voice actresses clearly have fun playing those characters and so far, the acting elevates the chemistry shared between these girls whenever they interacting to each other.

Yuzuki, our new addition, is as different from the other girls as it could get, especially compare to Hinata last week. While Hinata stops school because she doesn’t feel belong to the big group, it’s the acceptance of friendship and the thrust to live a normal life with her “friends” are what Yuzuki yearns for. So far, Universe has been successful on creating very relatable issues from those girls. Yuzuki’s personal struggle, for instance, is something I can feel attached to. She hates the idea of going to Antarctica, and for good reasons (well, except “cold”). The idea of being pushed around, doing whatever her Manager/ Mommy thinks are the best for her is just plain… frustrating (#Mamaknowsbest). I have a feeling Universe glosses over some serious Mommy issues here. Yuzuki wants to spend more time to study so that she can go to school properly AND make friends properly, since she doesn’t have any friend due to her constant touring. I like the way the shot composition makes sure Yuzuki always situated at either end of the frame, looking out in order to highlight her being trapped in her own situation. That moment where she confesses her struggle, following immediately by Mari hugging her is goddamn effective and touching, another case of simple but sweet. When she realizes that these girls are far from best friends, that they just barely know each other but all heading for the same destination, it hits her that having the same goals, and sharing these experiences along the way together, might be what makes friend “friend”. I’d prefer if “the dream sequence” were true instead, since I feel Universe copped out at the end. Making it a dream sequence has its merits, mind you, given that Yuzuki now realizes that she wants to spend more time with the girls as her buddy; but it would’ve given me much more personal impact if these girls climb up the stairs for real instead.

In term of the big picture, well, after their plan failed last week, I feel that the girls find another solution almost too convenient. Another high school girl will join the Expedition Team, right after they refused a high school girl who is more equipped and willing to go? And that said girl comes up to meet the group no less. I let that slide for now because the girls still have to work hard for the approval, and changing an idol’s mind sure isn’t easy. Apart from successfully introducing the last member of the quartet, what makes Universe clicks the most this week is the delightful interactions between our girls together. Shirase really goes wild this week, in a quirky adorable way. “I’m gradually starting to understand how this girls work” is probably my favorite line of the week. It’s character writing right there. Finally, Universe gives some time to flesh out the relationship between Shirase and Hinata (remember, before that there’s always Mari stands between them) and they spark off some nice chemistry with some thoughtful wise advice from Hinata over Shirase’s charging on to the Antarctica trip at all cost. Those girls so far are a total delight and the coming trip promised to be a whole lotta fun, and lots more obstacles as well. This trip to the place further than the universe is now in sight.

Junji Ito Collection – 02[Fashion Model, Long Dreams]

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Junji Ito Collection

After the first episode started off as a black comedy, I was worried that this series may suffer the same problem as Kino’s Journey in that the weaker stories in his work would be chosen for adaption. Lucky this does not appear to be the case but there is another problem which is not quite as easy to resolve. Junji Ito’s work has always faced problems regarding his work getting adapted, much in the same way that Stephen King’s work has had a lineup of failed adaptions. The big issue with Ito’s work is that the quality of it isn’t so much in the characters and writing but rather the idea and artistic value. Ito knows how to think up disturbing and strange horror concepts and work to illustrate and panel them to become massively unnerving. However when you strip away his artstyle, the apparent silliness of his ideas becomes more visible. Much like how Ufotables adaption of Gyo turned out, which was an admirable effort but sadly didn’t quite succeed. The live action efforts are marred by bad CGI and other factors, though the Tomie movies seem to have succeeded to a degree. Now Deen are taking a stab at it and their take appears to be sacrificing movement for detail. This has been a double edged sword as while this anime may be the closest to Ito’s style, the lack of movement makes it very much like a slideshow of the manga at times.

Our first story brings to front Ito’s style of using unconventional and sometimes humorously strange monsterities. It features a horrifically monstrous model whom a college film crew decide to include in their movie. Without Ito’s signature style this story could very easily fall flat on its face but it actually succeeds in being rather creepy here. I like it for being a bit of the subversion of the heart of gold trope in that usually in anime and media, a monstrously ugly person actually turns out to be nice and misunderstood. However in this episode we have a monstrous looking woman whom everyone gives the benefit of the doubt but really turns out to be just as horrific a monster as she appears. For judging book by its cover is bad but that doesn’t mean that someone can’t have an ugly appearance and an ugly personality as well. It also shows the deep discomfort of having caught the undivided attention of someone whom you don’t find attractive or the torment of being stalked. The main character has caught the attention of this monstrous creature and it’s quite disturbing to think that this woman won’t so much rip him apart with her fangs but instead…ugh…eat him in another sense. If i had a problem with the stories presentation it would be that the ending was rather abrupt and parts of the original story showing how the main distorted the women’s image in his head was missing but otherwise it was strongly shown how uncomfortable the situation was.

The second story is Ito at his best as while not really scary in the usual sense but the very idea of it is deeply unsettling. Detailing a story about a hospital patient who is experiencing long dreams, dreaming in which he spends large amounts of time stuck in and growing longer by the day. While time passes normally for everyone else, the patient goes to sleep and lives through 8 years in his dream. This is contrast by another woman whom has a massive fear of death and believes she will die soon. One is scared of their time getting cut short while another is terrified that their dream will continue for eternity. It’s a pity that the anime cut out a few panels with the patient describing his dreams such as 10 years as a soldier wandering a jungle, 6 years cramming for student tests and 8 years with a full bladder searching for a toilet that doesn’t exist. Made worse when his body begins to adjust to the time he spends in dreams and age prematurely, eventually transforming into a macabre husk. Leaving only dust and strange crystals behind. The last scene make for an interesting twist as the doctor treating him administers the crystals to the woman which in turn gives her long dreams as well. The doctor rationalises this that a eternal nightmare is better than the void of nothingness that death could very well be. Personally I find the idea of being trapped in my own mind for a century in a single night to be a atrocious alternative to death. But well if you can get the internet in there, maybe I would think about it. The presentation falls a bit shorter in this story but luckily the story itself is enough to carry it.

Mahoutsukai no Yome – 13/14 [East, West, Homes Best]/[Looks breed love]

by Lenlo, posted in Finished Series: Adventure/Fantasy/Science Fiction, Mahoutsukai no Yome

Hello and welcome to the new year! New Year, a new Cour for Mahoutsukai no Yome, this time with slightly more plot. These past two weeks have been a bumpy ride of Mahoutsukai, with plenty to talk about. So let’s jump in!

To start off, the new OP is terrible. The music isn’t as good and the actual animation part is mostly just reused shots from the 1st cour. Initially I thought this was a placeholder, but episode 14 proved that wasn’t the case. Disappointing, considering the quality of the 1st OP. As far as animation and art goes everywhere else, it all looks good. There are some interesting bits like episode 14’s ending scene with Joel and Chise’s creation of the Fairy Ointment. Mahoutsukai continues to make the magic and lore surrounding it the most interesting part of its story. More so even than the characters or the non-existent overarching plot. From the looks of things though, the latter is starting to change.

Continue reading “Mahoutsukai no Yome – 13/14 [East, West, Homes Best]/[Looks breed love]” →

A Place Further than the Universe – 02 [Kabukicho Fremantle]

by SuperMario, posted in A Place Further than the Universe, Currently Watching:

I’m glad that this second episode addresses straight out all my worries from the first episode: the actual implementation to make that trip a reality, because boy, it’s no simple matter. Universe apparently does its research, telling us exactly places they need to go, the initial trip ahead and the amount of money they need to raise. Even me who is living in Australia has absolutely no idea that Freemantle is a place to gather the expeditions to board to the South Pole, so that bit is very informative. After all, the concept is about a bunch of 16 year old girls travelling to the place as bizarre as Antarctica, thus if Universe takes it lightly, it will start to lose its sparkle very quickly. But thankfully, the show depicts the girls’ plans and their struggles quite thoughtfully and believably.

Shirase has been on and on about her plan, and with the knowledge about the Antarctica that she has, it’s reasonable for Mari to trust her. Except that knowledgeable and desperate as Shirashe is, she’s still a naive high school girl, and her plan starts to crumble apart in our very eyes. Kudos for Universe for suggesting her inexperience early on (with a sketchy job advertisement), and then as the show continues it’s apparent that she takes the role too big for her to fill in. Mari worries if the civilian Antarctic expedition really allows them to join in, which angers Shirase because she herself knows how tough it is to get in. Her half-baked plan reaches its own breaking point when the plan of getting in the expedition team is to “seduce” male members, something none of the girls is mentally equipped enough to carry out. They failed, of course, but it’s still worth trying.

While I enjoy the chemistry between Mari and Shirase, I’m not that keen on their personalities alone. They serve the story right and they have relatable issues, but they never stand out as particularly interesting or deep characters. Thankfully, with the introduction of the third member, Hinata, she’s more than make up for what the two girls lack. Both bright in her own charisma and she fits the team like a glove, it’s an improvement in terms of characters for me. I like the fact that she has her own route when she declares that she doesn’t go to school because she doesn’t need to. That I can root behind, albeit the reason behind that sounds superfluous for me (that she doesn’t feel she blends in with normal crowd – not that working full time in a convenience store would solve that problem, girl). What sold me about her character, however, is despite her cheerful and outgoing traits, she’s surprisingly observant and she caught on with the girls’ plan even before she met them. You had me at “Are you going to… Antarctica”, girl (and despite accusing the other girls for being too loud, she’s the loudest one here). Moreover, right at the end where Shirase failed, she releases Shirase from leader role, an action to release the heavy load Shirase has been taking all along.

But the best part of this episode is when the girls run away from the Expedition team members, for a reason both us, and the girls don’t even know. The story might be about the girls going to the Antarctic, but the underlying theme has always been enjoying the youth to the fullest. Mari runs and smiles because she realizes that her youth “is in motion” makes so much sense. It’s the joyous, the feeling of actually doing and experiencing that counts. At this moment, the girls might be in their dead end, but with the involvement of the fourth girl, whose mother could very well be a famous person/ main sponsor for the civilian Antarctic expedition team, things will turn for the better. I’m eager to see how she meets up with the three girls.

Winter 2018 Anime Coverage

by SuperMario, posted in About

It’s this time again. After painfully * sat through almost all the first episodes this Winter 2018 has to offer. Here’s what our team decide to blog for this coming season:

Aidan: DARLING in the FRANXX, Fate/Extra Last Encore, Itou Junji Collection, Dies Irae (carry-over)

Mario: Violet Evergarden, After the Rain, A Place Further than the Universe

Lenlo: Kokkoku, Mahoutsukai no Yome (carry-over)

Wooper: 3-gatsu no Lion 2 (carry-over)

Helghast Killzone: TBA

As for Devilman Crybaby, we decided it’s for the best that one of us will do a full review on it.

That’s it, folks. Will see ya’ll real soon.

*a good kind of pain, mind you!

Some Quick First Impressions: Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens, BEATLESS, Killing Bites and Darling in the Franxx

by AidanAK47, posted in Some Quick First Impressions

Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens

Short Synopsis: Several hitmen begin new careers and form new alliances in a city full of crime and corruption.

Mario’s review

A promising start for Hakata. Part-Cowboy Bebop (most notably its jazzy score) and part-Durarara, fans of both series will have a lot to admire. It’s “cool” written all over it, and the plot so far is interwoven by many thread plots with dozen characters that will make more sense the more it pans out (I hope). In this crime city where 3% of the population is hitmen, of course crimes, corruption, violence are presented in every corner and so far the huge cast with different personalities and roles is the show’s best quality. Each of them has their own voice, their own mannerism and they contribute differently to this big story and I’m eager to see how everything fits together in the end. One particular issue with Hakata, however, is that the place Hakata never feels that distinctive, which for me is crucial because we need to sense the specialness of the place that contains all those crazy, over the top characters. The production is right at par, meaning not impressive but not lackluster either. Overall, it’s the narrative and the colorfulness of characters that drive this show so as long as everything comes together in a satisfying way, I’ll be happy to stay on board.

Potential: 60%

Wooper’s review

Satelight is a studio I’m not too familiar with, barring their work on several Macross series. Perhaps it’s unreasonable of me to expect visual presentation on a level with one of anime’s biggest franchises, but this premiere was messy and pedestrian-looking, and way too bright. Every exterior daytime scene had needless sunrays obscuring the frame, and a good deal of the action at night was bathed in lights of all colors, as if the director lacked any knowledge of how to handle darker shots. Character animation isn’t stellar either, but at least the show didn’t blow a bunch of time and effort making its first episode look totally different from what’s to come. As for the characters themselves, it’s their occupations and the opportunities for conflict they create that make them interesting. The show ping-pongs between eccentric hitmen, corrupt politicians, bed-headed detectives, and buff ramen chefs, but does it slowly enough to keep you interested in how their stories will eventually connect. The two “main characters,” if the show even has such things, meet right at the episode’s end, and their relationship gets off to a promising, if volatile, start. They’re the main reason I’m even a little interested in what happens next, so while I don’t think this show should be mentioned in the same breath as you-know-what above, it’s good for at least one more try.

Potential: 50%

 

BEATLESS

Short Synopsis: A boy becomes the owner of the state of the art FIghting robot girl

Aidan’s review

Is it a greater crime to be mediocre than it is to be bad? Well here comes beatless to test this statement as this show is aggressively mediocre. This is a story with not a single original idea, nor any twist to make these idea’s somewhat interesting. A future society with humanlike robots only viewed as soulless tools despite human characteristics and independent thought? Well that’s an idea only explored in the Animatrix, blade runner,  A.I, Astro Boy and a heavy catalog of Sci-fi going way back. Even the idea of the protagonists becoming the master of a female robot was done not too long ago with Clockwork Planet.(Though Beatless was before Clockwork planet but I am certain there are plenty of Boy owning hot fighting girl anime. Like Sekirei for example.) The characters are bland and derivative with not a single one being remotely interesting. Only real standout is the character designs of the robots which was done by the character designer of Guilty Crown.(Terrible show but the character artwork is quite impressive) The best I can say about this show is that it’s watchable. You can watch it, it’s inoffensive and harmless. Though it’s like chewing tasteless gum. Gives you something to chew on but has no lasting impact nor impression. Only thing I can really say is this robot girl is more than unreasonable in how she called the main character a coward for running away instead of fighting when she only needed him to accept T&C just so he would be held liable if someone accidently died during her attack. Man…what a bitch.

Potential: 35%

Mario’s review

To tell you the truth, I’m a sucker for Beatless art designs. Those characters, despite clearly anime-influence, are just gorgeous to look at. The world building I can get behind as well, exploring the near future world where the humanoid can live as a part of human society, and from the first episode the discrimination angle is explored here. After watching the opening episode, well, the arts are still stunning, but it is held back significantly by the bland story and weak characters. The main guy, for example, is your typical dull lead, the robot girls don’t have anything to stand out except for their designs and his sister, in particular, is annoying to watch. The story doesn’t fare much better as again, we have a talented girl come up to the guy for asking him to be her “boss”, without him doing anything. The concept and its intriguing sci-fi worldbuilding alone makes me hooked, hence this 40% potential here, and I still plan on following it to see how it all pans out. But I won’t be surprised if the story gets dull fast later on, it’s already kind of dull to begin with.

Potential: 40%

 

Killing Bites

Short Synopsis: Rich people bet money on matches between animal human hybrids

Aidan’s review

In the anime preview I started that this series starts mediocre and goes downhill from there. Allow me to correct that statement. This series starts trash and only becomes worse trash. Sorry it’s just that sometimes I read the sources upon announcement of an anime adaption which is months before hand, and in this case I guess my mind blocked out just how badly this show starts. So random rapists, the weird element of anime in which there appears to be rapists patrolling the night streets of Japan looking for alone high school girls. I have severe doubts that this is actually a thing in Japan but even then it’s some tasteless introduction for our lead heroine. Not to mention the male protagonists is driving the rapists van. To which I say, wow. Mate what did you think was going to happen when they told you to slowly move beside the girl and speed off when they grabbed her? As for the rest, yep of course male half beast hybrid transform into beasts while female hybrids only grow fur and animal ears while keeping the important bits. The lead protagonist is pathetic, the lead female is psychopathic and fetish fuel and this really is just a trashy show both in it’s presentation and general story ripped off from the game Bloody Roar. Pass on this.

Potential: 0%

Mario’s review

This show opens with one of the most uncomfy sequence I’ve witness since Imouto sae Ireba Ii, a gang rape scene. And not with any merit. That sequence serves to show you how badass the girl is (well, she’s safe in the end so all’s well that ends well, right? NOOO), and establishes how she meets our main guy; but frankly they can do that better without the gang-rape bullshit. This show is your answer to the cute-girls trend: a full-on sex & violence & rock & roll without any shame. The girl in most of her screen time walks, talks and fights in her underwear outfits, the bland main guy who has no personality except being a crybaby “happens” to touch her boobs several times, and then blood-splashing, gut-spilling and you have a perfect title for campy mindless crap. I don’t feel the fight that good-looking either, and the story is so thin you can see through its hole miles away. Not that this change people’s mind as long as blood still splashing and girls are in nude, huh? I know this is not for me but if you’re in for mindless popcorn entertainment (minus the attempted rape sequence. It’s just distasteful), be my guest.

Potential: 0%

 

Darling in the Franxx

Short Synopsis: A boy becomes a horned girls partner to pilot a giant robot

Aidan’s review

As described below by Helghast, this appears to be a passion project by the director and while that does give me hope for this series, I admit to not being too impressed with what I seen here. Studio trigger have been a studio to take the old and make it feel new again. WIth Gurren Lagann(Yes that was Gainax but those who made it went on to form Trigger) was a nod to old school mecha anime. Kill La Kill was a nod to old school shounen anime. And now we have Darling in the franxx which appears to be a nod to 90s anime which followed the evangelion template. Thus my faults with this first episode is mainly due to if following a formula about 25 years old now. So what is brought to the table to make it stand out? Well…sex symbolism. Lots and lots of sex symbolism. Well it’s not the first time mecha and copulation have been related but they sure are putting it on think here. Robots are operated with boy and girl pairings to which their relationship is treated similar to sexual relations. The female pilots are names after a flowers sexual organs. And if the manga says anything the pilots seat for these two is the guy sitting down with the girl bent over doggy style in front of him. But perhaps my degenerate mind is to blame for misinterpreting scenes like a robot plunging it’s hard spear into a monster only to pump white liquid into it to make it explode, covering the feminine like robot in viscous bodily fluid. The two mains here have me concerned as one is a bland plank with little personality while the other has already been thrown on screen fully naked. I still stand by my general assumption that an anime that throws out it’s main heroine naked in the first episode is generally not a good sign. Despite my negatively through this episode was at least decently entertaining and has some degree of intrigue with its setting and themes. Not to mention some excellent animation and to be frank, in a season so full to the brim of slice of life easy going anime, I will take anything that is a break from that.

Potential: 65%

Helghast’s Review

From what I have researched about this show, this isn’t your standard joint-production as A-1 Pictures and Studio Trigger have their own very unique culture creating a show. Instead, this is the culmination of Atsushi Nishigori’s (Director) dream to direct his very own show and cashing in on the connections he has forged throughout his career in the anime industry. Having been a part of Gainax, the end result is a show that feels a well-executed mashup of Kill la Kill, Evangelion with some elements of Rahxephon thrown in. Unlike Violet Evergarden, where it fails to convince me of its core relationship, Darling in the Franxx makes a strong case for Hiro and 002 with its strong sexual overtones while dropping cryptic acronyms for future episodes to dive into. Having already explored sexuality in clothing, I guess it time to circle back into the mecha genre by having a symbiotic/parasitic bond within its pilots ranks. While the its tropes and recycled visual motifs might be too predictable for us long-time anime viewers, the creative team behind this project certainly have proven that they can put a new spin on old ideas. At the very least, Studio Trigger and A-1 Pictures knows how to put on a good show with their alluring characters and frantic action sequences in one of more visually exciting shows of the season.

Potential: 80%

Some Quick First Impressions: Koi wa Ameagari no You ni, Miira no Kaikata, Hakumei to Mikochi and Hakyuu Houshin Engi

by SuperMario, posted in Some Quick First Impressions

Koi wa Ameagari no You ni

Short Synopsis: A young highschool student falls for her middle-aged, single father manager.

Lenlo’s Review:

I am rarely a fan of romance anime, generally preferring a good romantic tragedy. Koi wa Ameagari no You ni however has managed to claw its way into my heart, with its premise of forbidden love. A 45 year old man with a son, and a highschool student? Most would call that illegal at the least. Ameagari is going to live or die by its characters and so far, I love them. The klutzy but lovable manager Kondo and the love-struck Tachibana play off of each other well. They way they are presented is great as well, the subtle hints of Tachibana’s past with the track and her apparent injury to the strained relationship between Kondo and his son. I love it, and it wraps it all up in a well animated/beautiful looking package to boot. My one worry is the questionable aspect of the relationship and how that will play out. On one hand the classic romance could work well from a female perspective. On the other, these kinds of relationships are often doomed to tragedy from the start, and I love a good tragedy. Guess we will have to wait and see.

Potential: 85%

Mario’s review

After the Rain, or to translate literally from the original, “Love is Like After the Rain” (boy, how I love this title) is a romance anime that I can totally get behind, even with such questionable premise behind the crush of a 17-year-old girl to the boss who is old enough to be her father. Because the main focus isn’t about the alluring of such problematic romance, but more about the coming of age story where pursuing her crush marks the new chapter in her life. I was impressed by the show’s visual storytelling that manage to underline Akira’s current life with their attention to details, sharp direction, and a quiet but thoughtful key moments of rain and encounters. Akira isn’t the most expressive type, neither is the manager, for example you can sense a torrent of emotions hidden within her feeling about the track team, but she manages to hide it too well. The production as a whole is equally impressive with beautiful scene settings and terrific direction. This one is a keeper.

Potential: 80%

 

Miira no Kaikata

Short Synopsis: A young man lives with and gets to know the smallest, cutest mummy in the world.

Mario’s review

How the heck that with a season full of cute girls, endearing kids, adorable toddlers, the sweetest character EVER is a little pet mummy? I admit it sounds creepy in concept, A PET PETITE MUMMY, really? In fact, how do you find this little pet as charming or not will pretty much tell you how much you like this show. Aside from the chemistry between him and the main guy, the show is lackluster in any other department. The production value is nothing special, the art background is bland and unimpressive and the story is just about the two of them getting to know each other. It’s good-natured, it’s sweet and it will make you wanna hug your pets tightly, but with the season that chokeful with too much cuteness, it doesn’t have much else to stand out.

Potential: 20%

Lenlo’s Review:

As Mario said, the keyword for Miira no Kaikata is bland. Everything about this show screams mediocrity. Dull backgrounds, bog standard designs, and aside from the mummy, recycled characters. The only source of entertainment to be derived from Miira no Kaikata is the mummy, who will no doubt get old quickly. Heck, I got tired of the dynamic by the end of this first episode. I wish I could say more, but there’s just nothing going for it. My verdict? Pass it up.

Potential: 0%

 

Hakumei to Mikochi

Short Synopsis: Two tiny forest-dwellers hunt for a mythical bird and visit a portside market.

Mario’s review

And I thought I’m already done with slice of life cute girls this season, come two tiny girls that again hit the jackpot. The show’s aesthetic is presented like a storybook with panels and soft but bright color backgrounds, which I totally feel appropriate given this type of story. The miniature people and their habitat feel just right at home with many bedtime stories you always listen to as a kid, right? Indeed, the two small stories of this first episode give off the same vibe. Full of life (just look at the port-market’s houses, I swear I wanna live there),whimsical, gorgeous with light-heart and warm plots – a kind of laid-back anime that also have fun introducing its unique world. Hakumei and Mikochi, each has their own personalities and they play up each other well, although don’t expect any character’s development from them. I guess it’s the Winter cold that make everyone want a little warm from those titles like this, hence the avalanche of cute girls shows this season, but this one has an all-age appeal and with its rich world and bright atmosphere. I’m in.   

Potential: 50%

Wooper’s review

A slice of life series about miniature people who live in the forest? That premise is right up my alley, but I might need to check out the manga on this one, because the anime didn’t meet my expectations. Actually, I sort of feel as though I’ve already sampled the manga, because Hakumei to Mikochi’s habit of placing rectangular panels on top of ongoing scenes gives it a similar air. This is a directorial technique that I recognized from last year’s Kuzu no Honkai, and sure enough, both series are from the same studio and director. Though I wasn’t a fan of Scum’s Wish, that show managed to squeeze at least a drop of artistry from the floating panel trick, but here it felt like a mere cost-cutting measure. It’s clear that a lot of care went into Hakumei to Mikochi’s art, and its characters blend quite nicely into its storybook backgrounds, but the number of still and panning shots in this premiere nearly put me to sleep. The show is cute, and has some charming dialogue about everyday problems (being unable to fit a piece of furniture through the front door, for instance), but I doubt that such a comfy vibe will be sustainable with production values this low.

Potential: 25%

 

Hakyuu Houshin Engi

Short Synopsis: A dumb shounen protagonist is given a list of enemies to defeat.

Wooper’s review

My god, this show has one of the worst opening songs I’ve ever heard. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas have never sounded so screechy as they do on this track, and all the OP offers on the visual side of things is a slideshow of heroes and villains in ~kakkoii~ poses. The meat and potatoes of the actual episode aren’t any better, either. Hakyuu Houshin Engi is based on a 90’s shounen manga, and Studio Deen created an anime version in 1999, but I don’t need to see either of those to label this premiere as the worst of the three. This episode condensed a manga volume’s worth of content into 20-something minutes, most likely in an effort to skip to a section more ripe for adaptation. The damn thing could have been animated in PowerPoint and remained just as entertaining, with the added benefit of making more sense. Names of supernatural classes, various realms, combat techniques, and weapons are thrown at you for over half the show’s runtime, and the script is forced to play catch-up with itself as a result. Taikobo, the series’ ostensible hero, literally exclaims the function of his weapon right after receiving it. Afterwards, when he reads the first name on the list of enemies he has to defeat, his magical flying pet Supushan blurts out a bunch of facts about the guy, who appears behind them less than five seconds later. The resulting fight is a masterclass in anticlimax that would put even the worst episodes of Dragon Ball to shame. Everything about this premiere is bad. I wouldn’t even recommend it for fans of the manga, as you’ll be pissed at what 2018 has in store for this franchise. Don’t watch this.

Potential: 0%

Mario’s review

Welcome to 90s anime remake. Engi looks outdated and feels outdated, from its character designs, to its way of storytelling, to its characters’ tropes – everything that reminded me of a little brother of Dragon Ball. But what terrible isn’t the old-looking feeling, people still like products in the past because they remind them of the spirits of particular era that we don’t have anymore, it lies in its awkward pacing. This first episode feels like a recap of the introduction phase so they can focus on the real meat of the story, but when the groundwork isn’t that carefully laid out, it crumbles on its own weight. Already in this first episode we have the main guy goes for his mission, encounters his “destined rival” (by him literally appeared in front of our main guy. Handy!), challenging the boss, loss, hiding and going on a journey again.What?? The content worths at least 3 to 4 episodes here, so naturally everything else, especially characters, are taking short-straws here. The main dude is bland and share no chemistry with his spiritual animal, and he also has an awkward flashback that feel way off. This is a bad adaptation of a not-so-significant manga to begin with, which makes my job here fairly easy. Skip.

Potential: 0%

Some Quick First Impressions: Violet Evergarden, Märchen Mädchen and Death March kara Hajimaru Isekai Kyousoukyoku

by AidanAK47, posted in Some Quick First Impressions

Violet Evergarden

Short Synopsis: An emotionless girl copes with new life after the war ends.

Mario’s review

By far the most anticipated title of this Winter season, I came out of the first episode of Violet Evergarden feeling a little underwhelmed. On the one hand, we have one of the most impressive technical production of TV format in recent years. Just look at the amount of actual movements this episode produced. Everything looks crisp and pretty. Even down to the facial expressions and characters’ small movements, and they blend CG mechanical hands seamlessly with its 2D character model. On the other hand, I’m worried about its characters and its narrative. Our main character, Violet, is a blank state by design in terms of emotions, and the series at its essence is about her learning and developing her own emotions through ghostwriting letters for those in need. I get the intend and I’m sure it will be a rewarding character’s journey, BUT I can’t help but feel the show tackles it a bit heavily. I can feel the show dictates my emotional response for Violet, “elevating” by their melodramatic score and her obsession with Major Gilbert. The latter especially is my biggest issue with the show so far. They repeat her blind love for the dead guy for way too many times and this Gilbert guy isn’t a real character, as he obviously serves as an emotional trigger for Violet. Then again, this episode alone has many wonderful moments that it’s easy to see why it’s hyped over the sky. A character-study at heart, with a god-send production values, this show is a “can’t miss” title of this season.

Potential: 75%

HelghastKillzone’s review

For a show that been hyped up to no end by the anime community, featured on biggest streaming sites like Netflix and having its source material be only winner of the grand prize in the novel category in the history of the Kyoto Animation’s Awards, Violet Evergarden falls flat in its opening debut. No amount of jaw-dropping visuals, soaring orchestral score and attractive character designs can cover up the ham-fisted introduction into Violet’s journey of discovery. I haven’t read the light novel itself (I plan to read it in the near future), but I do know that the anime make liberal changes when compared to its source and takes place in the latter chapters of the book. That in itself is fine but it could have taken a que from shows like Unlimited Blade Works by having an extended introduction to really flesh out the backstory of Violet and the unhealthy bond between her and Major Gilbert. Instead, all we only see are the disjointed aspects of Violet’s emptiness as a single-minded killing machine and repeats of the scene where the Major dies which ends up robbing the severity of  emotional impact it is intended to convey. While KyoAni trademark of small and cute moments continues to be extremely well done, the execution of this overall bold new direction is something left to be desired. Nevertheless, this is only the first episode and it has all the time in the world to dive into all the PTSD flashbacks of Violet and overcome them through the magic of the Auto Memories Dolls and become the show that I hyped up in my mind.

Note: From all the PVs, I thought that Violet was a robot but it turns out that she is just a former child soldier with prosthetic metal arms.

Potential: 70%

 

Märchen Mädchen

Short Synopsis: A girl celebrates getting Isekaied to another world by streaking

Aidan’s review

I am somewhat reminded of Familiar of Zero though it’s significantly less entertaining. I would like to be respectful considering that the author is no longer in this world but this is really not a good show. Some may enjoy it for yuri and what not but in my experience, first episodes with nudity in them don’t result in a good series.There are exceptions of course(Spice and Wolf) but I don’t see this being one of them. Mostly because in this case the main protagonist spends the second half of the episode streaking through another world for some pretty flimsy circumstances.(Why did the principal of the school offer her a bath, steal her clothes and proceed to ignore one of her students trying to commit open murder?) I do see some effort being put into the story as it’s not taken from a template but the writing really isn’t the best.For one our main protagonist decides that while searching for a magic portal that she will recount her history with her mother for no particular reason. And having a flashback to what just happened in the very same episode is generally bad padding. There is a possibly of this turning into a guilty pleasure but quite frankly I don’t see it being anything higher than that.

Potential: 15%

Mario’s review

Well, welcome to a cute girls/ isekai/ fantasy high-school LNs, all these elements that plague the anime industry in the last few years. Despite the narration tries hard to differentiate the main girl with other typical LNs lead; she is a boring bland typical LNs lead. All she does is run, with clothes or otherwise, and her only significant traits are her shyness and her love for books. Her interaction with basically everyone is annoying to watch and at the end of the day, her personally issues of not getting along with anyone and retreating herself to her own world are solved by her literally step in a whole new fantasy world, running naked?? Then despite she has no knowledge of the new world, apparently she’s awesome enough to already has her “Original”, an item of more advanced mage? No, this is a by-the-book fantasy fulfilling crap with a boring lead (and we have to follow her every step of the way) and so far generic cast. NOPE.

Potential: 10%

 

Death March kara Hajimaru Isekai Kyousoukyoku

Short Synopsis: A game programmer finds himself within the game he’s debugging

Aidan’s review

Well, I’m bored. I will admit that Death March isn’t the worst Isekai I ever seen but it certainly embodied a lot of the problems that plague the genre. Such as throwing in video game elements because that means you don’t need to write interesting ways of showing the protagonists growing strength when you can flash up a stats screen every now and again. No need to design enemies with motivations or character either nor any kind of story structure at all. Instead you can just write it like a lets play of an RPG. The wish fulfillment is just disgustingly apparent. Get transported to another world with unfair advantages from the get go. Giving your teenage looks back despite being 29 years old. Get bumped from level 1 to level 320 in an instant.(That’s some terrible game design) And for the cherry on top here’s your waifu delivered by episodes end. Harem incoming as well so have fun you overworked programmer you. Look there’s nothing interesting about seeing someone get everything handed to them on a silver platter and already the story doesn’t seem to really have any direction to go. The main character just isn’t interesting enough to carry the series and the world is lazily thought out with poor CGI. Again I say this isn’t offensively bad but it’s just so bland that I can’t feel any strong emotions about it.

Potential: 0%

Mario’s review

You know something is wrong when you enjoyed its prologue section way more than the main storyline. At least in his mundane, busy, shit life he has to work for it. In the new world he’s already overpowered (the show isn’t shy from addressing it), a harem team that sure will appear in next episodes waiting for his approval. This is not much of how he gains the power, but more about how he manages it through gameplay console that feels just weird given he’s already in the fantasy world. Have to remind us he transports into his games, huh? The plot is generic, the main character is generic, the world building isn’t that special. “Generic” is pretty much what Death March is, and to put it frankly it’s just not good enough. Try harder guys.

Potential: 10%