Some Quick First Impressions: Ballroom e Youkoso, Made in Abyss and Vatican Kiseki Chousakan

Ballroom e Youkoso

Short Synopsis: A boy begins to take lessons at a ballroom dancing studio.

While not a bad adaption, I personally prefer how this was handled in the manga. The anime skips over the same details but it’s the small details that make all the difference. Such as the bashful blush when the protagonist was praising his mentors dance video. Nonetheless this is still more interesting than you would think it would be. I am not keen on the length of the characters necks at times and the animation is clearly avoiding showing too much dancing as we got plenty in this series can can’t afford to go all out in the training stages. But it’s still a fun show about a topic I didn’t think I would be interested in. However this series manages to make ballroom dancing quite engaging and intriguing. Unlike our previous quiz show it’s not heavy on the sports tropes and with two cours we should at least get decently far into the story. If this manages to capture the spirit of the manga then it will certainly be a show to keep an eye on during this season. Highly recommend checking this one out.

Potential: 85%

Mario: It has been a week since the start of the new season, but this weekend is where all the goods start to deliver. We kick things off with this highly participated Ballroom e Youkoso and for the most part the show provides a solid introduction to the well-received manga. I read the first two chapters after watching the anime to see how faithful the anime adapts its source, found out that while they do cut some unnecessary part, I enjoy the manga source a little better. The main lead isn’t that memorable in the anime and for a show about ballroom dancing, there isn’t any actual dancing animation in this premiere – I’m perfectly fine with the latter issue, as this first episode is all about introduce the main guy (and us) to the world of ballroom dancing and it did a magnificent job. I still can’t fathom the fact he was dancing all night (what caring parents) but overall, it’s well-paced, with good chemistry between the cast. Unlike Dive!! which I have an issue with amateur trying to reach the top, this show understands and makes a point of how much hard-work and pain the professionals have been through to achieve what they dream for. So far this show receives a solid execution and I suspect Ballroom will be one of the most reliable entertaining show of this season.

Potential: 80%

 

Made in Abyss

Short Synopsis: A girl that lives in a town surrounding an abyss discovers a robot boy.

And the winner of best first episode of the 2017 summer season goes to…Made in Abyss! For someone who didn’t quite get into the manga it’s quite a surprise to see how much of a different animation can make. We got Ghibli vibes here and the animation and visuals are beautiful. Music too is excellent and if this can keep it up then it really could be one hell of a show. Of course it’s only the first episode and as well executed as it is there have been plenty of anime which have started with just as much promise and failed to deliver. That said there appears to be confidence in the source material coming from those that read it and the studio looks to be giving it love. I plan on picking this one up to blog so I will be following all the way to see how it turns out. I say this only once every season and here I say it again. If you plan on watching only one anime this season, then watch this.

Potential: 90%

Mario: Made in Abyss is hands down the most exciting title in this Summer season so far. The best thing about this show lies in its gorgeous, detailed and well-realized art backgrounds, which already the abyss, and the lead’s city feel vivid and welcoming. Despite the childish look, the story aims for more serious tone along its way. Like, the robot boy who despite his robot design, talk and think like a human (he still regarded himself as one), which could imply that someone turn him from a child into a robot, not for good reason. The world-building is so rich, and the way the show just lays down those details through the normal adventure-through-the abyss day and not shove all the details to our face further tell us how much confidence they have for the show. The animation is consistently great and the soundtracks are a delight. I could go on forever but let just conclude that the show has a very strong foundation: confident tones, engaging characters, lustful background and a story that has a lot of potential, both in deepen its theme and engage the viewers; backed up by the creativeness of both the source material and the top-notch production. My favorite pet for this season.

Potential: 90%

 

Vatican Kiseki Chousakan

Short Synopsis: Two investigative priests are sent to a school to verify a miracle of god.

The setup here is full of potential and I really dig it. All throughout this episode it looked to set up a great mystery and establish the setting and characters. There is just one big problem. The pacing just just far too fast. I don’t know why but the speed of things happening on screen was far too fast and soon characters had barely enough time to say their lines before the story moved on. As a result things moved too fast for any of it to sink in. It was a bit like watching a show on fast forward. There isn’t any time to put emotional weight to anything so it all passes by with me relatively detached and apathetic. On the other hand I felt that parts of this show were far too overdramatic for what is a relatively serious topic. So far it has potential but how good it turns out will depend on whether they can slow down the pacing.

Potential: 60%

Mario: It has been a while since we encounter the thriller/ mystery case-of-a-week, here all the cases are related to Christianity which already sound like a rare treat. Most of the time it succeeds on what it promises. The case rooted deep within Christian context, although of course they fire it up a notch, which bordering on taking itself too seriously. Two minor things that really bother me, first is the pacing which sometimes feel too abrupt, and second is the characters themselves as never at once I feel that I can relate to those people. I don’t know if later development would focus on the lead’s mental breakdown or not but there is a sign that one of them is very very unstable, he’s seriously more uncanny than those who suspected of blasphemy here. Aside from those, it’s a pleasure that we are treated to the topic that underexplored in this anime industry, and the case so far is so intrigued and the productions are mostly on par that I don’t find this one has any problem to reach wider audience out there.

Potential: 70%

Some Quick First Impressions: Dive!!, Saiyuuki Reload Blast and Konbini Kareshi

Dive!!

Short Synopsis: A boy’s local diving club is given a chance to aim for the Olympics.

This series has a very…happy vibe. Not sure how to put it but something about the dialogue has an artificial positivity to it. Still I appreciate the effort to have a story here as opposed to just having 13 episodes of manservice. Though the manservice is here, have no doubt about that. In fact I am not normally one to normally point this out but the protagonists interest in his senpai seems to border on homosexual here. Thing is I don’t quite know if it’s intentional or not. I mean they spend time showing his complete disinterest in his girlfriend and being bothered that his senpai found out about his girlfriend. The signals here make it seem to be going in that direction. If so i say go for it and don’t try to back out by dressing it up as camaraderie. Also I am not fond of the way they add a water effect to the character’s skin. Makes it look like the protagonists are made out of water and it’s off putting. I can’t say I have much interest in this as don’t really care about diving and the story so far just doesn’t really catch me.

Potential: 30%

Mario: One thing that really irks me about this series is how they set a very unrealistic and over the top goal here. Aim for Tokyo Olympics? Gosh. Remember those guys train in a local club? I mean, the whole prospect isn’t entirely impossible; but as a fellow who studied sports in uni, I can’t let it slide easily. High-performance sport is something they have to work hard, sweat, tears and blood to gain it, not some opportunity that open to them, thus I feel that the show so far is way too easy on its characters; although I’ll wait until next week to hear what the female coach has to propose. Other than that, although I’m fairly alright with the whole diving sports treatment, the main guy’s idol is wayyyy too perfect to feel like a normal human. The animation for those divings is overall solid, but characters as a whole still leave a lot to be desired. Not the best show for this noitaminA slot, but well it’s passable.

Potential: 40%

 

Saiyuuki Reload Blast

Short Synopsis:  A group of men travel across the country fighting demons.

I don’t know what it is but this is also an anime with a source from a bygone era. In this case it’s a sequel to a series that originally aired in 2004 which in turn was a sequel to a show that aired in 2003 which in turn was a sequel to an anime which aired in 2000. Can’t really say why it seemed to deserve a fourth sequel now as there was nothing in this episode that really sold me on it. In fact if this is the fourth sequel to the series it must be rather disheartening to see the characters be such one note stereotypes. Normally when your anime reaches the one hundred episode mark it’s time to get the endgame started but this seems no closer to a conclusion than from where it started. Now I am a fan of seeing demons get shot in that face, I play doom after all. But this just seems to have nothing really to offer. It’s clear the story is going nowhere and the plot is already rather dated. I don’t think many will be willing to check this one out seeing as you need to get through 3 prequels first.

Potential: 10%

 

Mario: Inspired obviously from Journey to the West with updated, throw-up overdesigned “cool” characters, who fight demons with “cool” weapons and mutters ridiculously “cool” lines. Yeah so right in the beginning the quartet doesn’t impress me at all. And it’s going to be a hard sell for me since the series is about their journey quest to fight demons so I have to care about those four. Furthermore, the actions feel so disorienting, I don’t get all the quick panning shots and blood splattering to the camera at all. As far as this first story goes it’s functional but it also leaves a lot to be desired. All the side characters are one-note for once, and I have a problem with how they treat the poor insane woman (not in term how they physically treat her, but more about her roles in this story since they’re all over the place). Make no mistake, this an action-packed road trip style-over substance one, so if you’re a fan of action, or you like the endless banters from those four then by all mean keep watching it. I will go back to my usual slice of life fix.

Potential: 10%

 

Konbini Kareshi

Short Synopsis: Young love around a convenience store.

Man, I suddenly have an inexplicable craving to get on a plane to Japan and shop in a Japanese convenience store…is likely what the creators of this anime want you to think. Pretty blatant product placement here but that aside this unfortunately is one of those anime that is completely outside my interests. The more anime mirrors reality then the less I want to watch it. Speaking purely objectively I don’t think there’s anything I would consider bad though the character designs seem on the bland side. Particularly the male character designs as they have the stereotypical tall long necked bishi look. As for personality I can’t say I find anyone here particularly unique or likeable. On top of that this feels like a shoujo romance story with all the “will they won’t they” and generally unwillingness to commit. From my standpoint it feels like a very dull show but once again this isn’t my kind of show.

Potential: 20%

Mario:  This show ends up being a mixed bag for me. On one hand, it has many elements that I greatly enjoy, but then other factors just actively push me away from the show. Since what this show loves to do most is to pair up, I will pair its pros and cons to strengthen my point. First, the character designs are attractive all around, but they are just way too perfect, moreover look much older than their age that most of the time I have an impression that I was looking at some fake models than actual characters. The music has some memorable moments, but other aural parts like dialogues feel unnatural. I find myself mildly care to the main’s romance, but when there’s going to be 4 or 5 pairs like that (revolving around a convenience store no less) my mind just stop caring. And, one thing that I love the most from this series; when two characters have a conversation but they don’t show the characters conversing, they show montages of their activities instead – great visual storytelling that focus on small, observant details, but then it all goes to waste since the show cares much more about romance and hooking up than developing their characters. Frankly, if the character designs are more “humble” I would give it another chance, but since they already look like supermodels AKA THE PERFECT HUMAN SPECIES that most of the time stare blankly and smile creepily, I believe I’ve reached my limits.

Potential: 40%

Some Quick First Impressions: Nana Maru San Batsu, Youkai Apartment no Yuuga na Nichijou and Tsurezure Children

Nana Maru San Batsu

Short Synopsis: A boy is scouted to join his school’s quiz club.

At this point I think the anime sports formula could work for practically everything. Though what makes it work here is that competitive quizzing is actually an interesting topic. I previously thought that all you needed to succeed in a quiz was a high knowledge base but it seems that being able to predict the questions is something of a higher priority. The quiz aspects of this episode made good entertainment but as for everything else it was rather typical. We really didn’t need that recurring panty joke. Overall the subject material could make it a decent watchable show though it does have the same problem every sports anime does. The fact that we are only going to get barely stated by the time the ending comes around to throw in a life goes on ending that’s never to be continued. So it could be fun while it lasts.

Potential: 40%

 

Mario: Man, whatever this show tries to sell me, it sure has succeeded. Function like a sport series, they have to sell the unique appealing of fast-buzz quiz and now I WANT MORE. Not only you need to know the answer, you have to predict the question and respond it before anyone else. So the stake is there, and I’m digging how the show depicts even a millisecond could make a difference. Apart from the quiz itself, everything else is just below par. Most cringe-worthy is that panty recurring jokes. No reason to be there, no reason to be repeated at all. The animation is quite limited and the character designs are simple, too simple. The plot does hint that they will play in some sort of competition and honestly I’m looking forward for it. Could be a good in-between watch between big shows.

Potential: 30%

 

Youkai Apartment no Yuuga na Nichijou

Short Synopsis: A student moves into an apartment which is filled with Youkai.

As a adaption of a novel that started in 2003 it’s no wonder that this series feels a bit old fashioned.  To some that might be a benefit that it harkens back to the days of old anime but it does feel a little dated. Having read further on in the manga adaption I can say that I found the story more engaging in that format. Something here feels rather lifeless and it lacks the story weight of the manga adaption, though I have yet to read the original novels. I am hoping that in later episodes it could do something to remedy that as I do think that the source story was actually rather interesting. Though the comedy was rather flat in both adaptations. For those that like shows like Natsume or crave a more classic style of anime storytelling this could your thing.

Potential: 40%

 

Mario: I think I get the main appeal of Youkai Apartment; it’s a throwback anime that reminisce the older style anime with simple character designs and even simpler plot; like how this show reminds me a great deal of Maison Ikkoku with a supernatural youkai twist on top, but compare this show with that giant classic would do it a disservice. So apart from that, how do I feel about this premiere? Well, mixed. The premise has some potential here as I can see the main guy learn and become acquainted to the Youkai monsters in his everyday life, and an ongoing romance with the girl (for how there happened to be a girl his age that attractive live under the same roof with him, I just… shake my head). But other factors fall flat: Comedy falls flat. Horror/ thriller falls flat. The friendship between him and his best friend falls flat. I don’t really hate what I saw here but it doesn’t have any lasting impact for me at all, sadly.

Potential: 20%

 

Tsurezure Children

Short Synopsis: A series of shorts about various romantic couples.

Tsurezure Children likely broke a world record here as the first episode has not one, not two but four successful confessions of love in one 12 minute episode. Boy is that satisfying to watch. This is pretty great as the shorts are quick enough to not overstay their welcome. There is a good mixture of romance and comedy with the romance being delightfully fluffy while the comedy is witty. Personal favorite of this episode was the student council president and the delinquent girl. Harem protagonists, take notes for this guy is a master alpha. I don’t often recommend short series but in this case if you happen to need some healing after a long day then this would be perfect for you.

Potential: 80%

Mario: Can’t believe the first real hit of this season for me is a romance short anime takes place in high school with 4-koma format; but it is and it makes me feel glad that I give every show a chance for this first impressions. The first episode hits right off the mark with 4 confessions from different pairs and they manage to make all of them compelling. And funny. And heartfelt. Witty dialogues everywhere but they manage to make them much deeper than their apparent traits. Usually the biggest problem with 4-koma adaptation in general is the skits doesn’t connect to one another, yet in Tsurezure Children this is its biggest strength. Furthermore, this show isn’t your typical sweet romance either, it isn’t afraid to get weird or extreme and boy do I love its guts. As far as short series go this one has my highest recommendation.

Potential: 70%

Some Quick First Impressions: Knight’s & Magic, Koi to Uso and Isekai Shokudou

Knight’s & Magic

Short Synopsis: A programer dies and is reincarnated into another world with robots and magic.

Wow this is a pretty terrible adaption. I mean I don’t really care because I wasn’t fond of the source material in the first place but they really are not approaching this in the right way. This episode burned through 9 manga chapters and about half the novel at my estimate and it really hurts the story. The side characters had some development in the novel and manga but here they are pure side dressing to make the main character look good. But yeah, consider this the playbook of every Isekai cliche you can think of. Might be fine for some but stories like this lose their appeal quick once the protagonist becomes an unbeatable god that no villain can possible even threaten. Thus a story where a self insert character steamrolls over enemies while having every woman in the vicinity fall madly in love with them is just weak power fantasy. Pass on this.

Potential: 0%

 

Mario: Well, Knight’s & Magic is much more functional than I initially give credits too, as the pacing maintains its beat and there could be a decent story out of this. But it has many issues too, the main character, beside his enthusiasm for Silhouette Knight (a mecha robot), has very very bland personality. It embraces all its isekai cliché so far, like how he took advantage of knowledge from his previous life to make a magic gun. The characters are nothing stand out, but we aren’t for characters, we’re here for some (magic) action and as far as that goes, it does a decent job. This show will have nothing deep to say but it will give you some reasonably entertaining action, although I suspect the plot will get dull later on.

Potential: 30%

 

Koi to Uso

Short Synopsis: A boy decides to confess to his crush before the government assigns him a marriage partner.

I get that the theme of this show is to point out the artificiality and lovelessness of having an authority figure decide who you will spend the rest of your life with. After all doesn’t a marriage of convenience pale in comparison with true love? Oh I get it alright. It’s just that I have a hard time siding with our doomed lovers here. For one these two just sat on their feelings for over ten years until it was too late. And another, they feel in love because the boy lent her half his eraser in kindergarten. That’s all it took huh? Oh and wow you both kept the eraser because it was such a precious memory and…I’m sorry. I am having a hard time buying this as true love here. Well this show is a good bit trite and contrived as the writing tries to make the situation as tragic as possible. The protagonists phone glitches out and somehow shows his crush as his arranged marriage partner(Um…somehow.) Right then the government lackeys show up to hand him the form for his real marriage partner. Delivering it to the park…wait how did they know he was there? Also why go out of their way to send two people to deliver an envelope? At the stroke of midnight? Yes, I figure we aren’t supposed to think about it too much. Oh tragic love, torn apart by the evils of society and our protagonist chained to a women he does not love. Forever to never follow his heart…up until she lends him a pen or something and then everything will be fine and dandy.

Potential: 20%

 

Mario: Forbidden fruits are always the sweetest huh? I’m glad that I watched Tsurezure Children before this because we have another confession episode here, albeit drags longer and with overblown melodrama tone. The plot feels really contrived and forced when you get down to it: the guy confesses his crush the day before his 16th birthday, which also a day he will have a government’s assigned partner. Wait for 5 hours for a girl, until the minute he decided to leave, she appears. The girl happens to love him all along, and of course fate can’t allow them to be together. When the time comes that they have to separate, tears awaited. The main guy isn’t interesting at all, make me question how any girl would fall for him, let alone this attractive one. This show’s central theme is right on your face: a love triangle between true love and lust/physical/ whatever, but I do enjoy my time here. The triangle will become more apparent as the next episode will feature the other girl, so I’m still sold to watch the next one to check her character out. Scum’s Wish probably is the king about melodrama dark triangle love and while I don’t think Koi to Uso can reach that level, fans of romance will have something to shout at here in this series.

Potential: 30%

 

Isekai Shokudou

Short Synopsis: A restaurant in our modern world serves meals to beings from a fantasy land.

It’s an alright watch. I appreciate the animes efforts to give this anime more of a story as the original source material was basically people ending up at the restaurant and being amazed over the food. Judging from the second episode preview however it looks like thats whats coming in later episodes. It is a better take on Isekai than most but I really wish the other worlds wasn’t so uninspired and stereotypical. I do appreciate that this show didn’t going for the so called “Foodgasm” much like other food porn shows like Shokugeki no Soma. But story wise I don’t see it offering more than it already has. A fantasy outlander comes in for a meal, gasps over how good it is and thus thinks it’s some mythical meal of outstanding quality. When really it’s just an ordinary restaurant in our world. Where can it really go from here? Still the characters are likable and the first episode was entertaining enough to keep my attention for twenty five minutes. Plus the girl with the goat horns is rather adorable. At the moment this is a good inbetween show to pass the time. Though how it fairs from this point will determine just how memorable this will be.

Potential: 60%

Mario: This is so nerve-wrecking… you know, the suspenseful feeling in Master Chief or My Kitchen Rules when the judge tastes the food and contemplates – the foods that we never have a chance to taste to begin with – thus why should we care. There’s so much foods in this show that it borders on the level of your regular cooking show. The fantasy mix is another catch, so far it’s a miss and hit as they never really explore the people from other worlds’ origins, save for the main girl. On the other hand, I absolutely love the designs of the two leads and the restaurant. They’re so attractive that I can’t get my damn eyes off. The girl’s backstory though, told in a flashback fashion, isn’t great to be honest. Just a few lines of explanatory would be sufficient enough but they decide to drag them out. One more questionable factor I noticed while watching this show is despite (or maybe because of) its premise, there are a fan-service undertone here: the customers’ “satisfied” face, the girl taking showers… They’re not blatant so I can let it pass for now. Lastly, the chemistry between the leads are quite good so far. So in the end we have a show with solid main components: (great) food-porn, likable cast that have good chemistry together, and a hint of fantasy on top. Not all of them work well together but it’s good enough for me.

Potential: 50%

Katsugeki Touken Ranbu – 2 [Commander]

Our story resumes immediately from where we left off, our six leads battling their way across the rooftops to some undisclosed location. Just like last week, we are greeted with some beautiful visuals ranging from a halo in the clouds to the best bullet casings I have ever seen in anime. Truly Ranbu is a feast for the eyes. Sadly, that is all the series seems to have.

This episode can be easily split up into three distinct sections. The opening fights, a boardroom meet’n’greet and the buildup. For the opening fights section, we get brief glimpses of what each of our leads can do and just how strong they are compared to their opponents. There are a lot of issues with this section, such as where did the fire from last episode go, how does no one from this era notice the red bolts of lightning summoning zombie swordsman and the fact that these time police are using swords and spears when they could easily use guns and bullets. This is explained later on, but that explanation only opens more questions.

Next after our team dispatches the remaining Revisionist forces, the leader of our motley band must leave, as cannot stay in the same period for to long, assigning Kane to be the team leader. Our party heads out, finds an inn and rests up, waking up to the aforementioned meet’n’greet. This section has the most meat of the episode, but the dialogue and how it is presented is agonizingly slow and boring. They essentially do “State your name, home city and one interesting fact”, as if they were freshman university students. Contrived, but we do get a lot of information from this.

Our main cast, and supposedly everyone else in their task force, are apparently weapons once wielded by historical figures. This explains each characters predilection for the weapon they once were, it explains their personalities since they are similar to their old wielders and it explains some of their dynamics. For example, Mutsunokami (Gunman) and Kanesada (Our Mentor MC) were wielded by Sakamoto Ryoma and Hijikata Toshizo, two commanders on different sides of a war, explaining their hostility towards each other. Sakamoto Ryoma also had an interest in military technology, such as guns and ships, explaining some of Mutsunokami’s reverence in regards to such technology. It helps a good bit with fleshing out the characters, but it opens up the question, how did these ancient weapons become time police? Hopefully that will get answered in the future.

Finally, we have our buildup to next episodes inciting incident. It appears the Revisionists plans are to spark a war between the Dutch and Japan. For a bit of background, the Dutch were the only Europeans allowed to trade in Japan after the Christian Rebellion, so a break in their relations could cause serious harm to Japans economy and technology at the time. Not a bad plan all things considered, and the Revisionists don’t seem to be stupid as they ignore our Leads and instead attack the Dutch steam ship scheduled to sail home. Had the meet’n’greet been half as long, this episode might have gone somewhere. Instead we are faced with one of Ufotables greatest weaknesses, writing.

Ufotable is fantastic when it comes to things like animation, sound and visual effects, but so far nothing they themselves have written has been good. Tales of Zestria, while beautiful, lacked substance, just as Ranbu does. All of our characters seem like cardboard cutouts, and the story itself feels hollow. I am sure those who played the game will get a lot more out of it than people like myself, but from where I am standing the only redeeming factor is the art. Its a shame, because we know from anime such as Fate/Zero that Ufotable is capable of making an episode with 90% dialogue engaging. Just go watch the Feast of Kings episode as proof! Yet here we are treated to a 10 minute info dump, which while necessary, could have been done in a number of different ways.

So it’s clear Ranbu has issues, but we are only two episodes in. With time and patience, its not to late to recover, as a large cast takes time to flesh out. Assuming some quiet character moments and less info dumps, it could work. I am not expecting it to, but it could. At the very least, we will be getting some gorgeous wall papers and action scenes from this season.

As a final aside, all future reviews for Ranbu will be posted the Sunday after that episode airs. With being brought on as a writer, the transition and all that, episode one was a bit late. From here on out we are on a schedule!

Shoukoku no Altair – 01 [The Golden Eagle General]

As a fan of both historical fantasy and MAPPA, the studio behind this series, I had high hopes for Shoukoku no Altair coming into this premiere. Its Middle Eastern setting and young, eager protagonist make it a dead ringer for Arslan Senki, the first season of which I enjoyed. Arslan was a bit dry, and its battle scenes were riddled with CG elements, but it also had the disadvantage of being produced by Liden Films. My thinking was that with a more trustworthy animation house behind it, Altair had a shot at being the complete package.

The going is still early, but after one episode, my expectations have been appropriately tempered. Altair is a distinctly average show from a visual perspective, with most of its flair coming from the ornate Turkish outfits and architecture (Turkiyean, to use the show’s vocab), rather than its composition or sense of movement. I haven’t done much more than skim through the first chapter of the manga for this one, but it would surprise me if the art were this standard in its original form. Seeing how much material was crammed into these 22 minutes, though, makes me think that the episode director had a lot more on his mind than making the show look pretty.

Despite only introducing a handful of characters in its first outing (with plenty more to come if the OP is any indication), Altair feels jam-packed with content. I’ve seen it written that the show will likely burn through its first couple arcs to get to the good stuff, and if that’s the case, we ought to be rewarded down the line. For now, though, we’re relying on flashbacks, rooftop statements of purpose, and narrated exposition to learn about the world of Rumeliana. Turkiye is a small fish in a much larger pond, and until all the major players have been introduced, I don’t expect this style of delivery to change.

The most significant player in this story is Tugril Mahmut Pasha, “Pasha” being a title for Turkiyean generals. As the youngest person ever to join that distinguished assembly, he’s clearly being set up as a prodigy. His mother is dead, and he’s so inexperienced with women that he opts to sleep on the roof when he finds one in his bed, so he’s ticking all the normal boxes as far as anime protagonists go. Mahmut discovers a plot by the neighboring Balt-Rhein Empire to frame Turkiye for the assassination of their Prime Minister, who is given the name “Franz” in one of the silliest World War I references ever. Our hero conveniently overhears the name of the conspirator from a band of assassins, sets his army of eagles on them, reveals the identity of the traitor to the Emperor of the opposing nation, and saves the day. If that sounds like a lot of material for a first episode, that’s because it is, and that’s without the handful of characters and plot points I’ve neglected to mention. Still, Altair makes itself easy to follow, even as it moves rapidly through its material.

The person that interests me the most is Zaganos Pasha, a young general who wants war with the Empire despite their superior numbers, and with whom Mahmut immediately clashes. There’s a possibility that he’s feeding information to Louis, the Imperial conspirator, to achieve his goal, but his level-headed demeanor makes it hard to predict whether that’s truly the case. The Emperor of Balt-Rhein is also a bit of a question mark – his refusal to listen to all of Mahmut’s testimony indicates prior knowledge of Louis’ plot, but there’s no confirmation that he orchestrated the whole thing. Hopefully these characters, along with those who have yet to be introduced, will lend a bit of spice to a show that could really use it.

Some Quick First Impressions: Kakegurui, Hina Logi – From Luck & Logic and Katsugeki Touken Ranbu

Kakegurui

Short Synopsis: A girl transfers to a school where students engage in high stakes gambling.

This series has one of the worst cases of unnecessary school setting that i have ever seen. By all accounts it makes no sense whatsoever for a school to approve itself turning into a gambling den as soon as classes are over or that anyone would tolerate kids gambling real money and getting reduced to a slave. It’s honestly funny that when a gamble is declared they pretty much transform the room to match. Still this isn’t supposed to make any real sense and the ridiculous nature is part of the overall fun. The death note director was perfect for this show really, he can bump even the most mundane actions right up to 11. I must ask though, why is there so much fanservice in the opening and ending? I may be mistaken but I don’t remember the manga being all that fanservice heavy. Well anyway if you happen to like shows with mind games then this is most certainly your jam. However I will say that what you see here is the only thing you are going to get for the rest of it’s run. That could be fine for some but let me say not to expect much else from this show. This is the only trick it’s got so it’s lucky that it’s a damn good trick.

Potential: 75%

 

Mario: “Ridiculous” is a word of the day. Kakegurui embraces its premise of gambling wholeheartedly that I don’t think you’d have hard time figuring out if this series is your thing or not. To add more dark effects to the topic of gambling and how characters lose themselves for the game: creepy smiles, red eyes, deranged faces are all featured frequently here, coupling with cheating, game manipulating and slavery and you have quite a no-hold-bar, cynical beast of anime about the thrilling of gambling – play with the devil as they say. I did notice there are more still frames than necessary so I hope the animation quality won’t drop too jarring on coming episodes. Characters here are decidedly love it or hate it so don’t expect any real development from the cast save maybe the love interest between the two leads. We’re here for gambling and whatever bets and games they come up with so if you find those intriguing then it’s your thing. I certainly expected more than “Rock-scissor-paper” variations but as an introduction it did its job. Take it or leave it Kakegurui sure leaves its mark boldly.

Potential: 60%

 

Hina Logi – From Luck & Logic

Short Synopsis:  The daily cute adventures of magical girls in school

You know maybe I should make a special test like the bechdel test wherein if a anime throws it’s female characters in a hot spring in the first episode when it doesn’t have a hot spring setting that it will automatically be terrible. Off the top of my head I can’t think of shows that could be the exception. So I am still wondering why this exists, for I don’t remember luck & logic being smash success but apparently now it’s magical girls doing cute things and stuff. Oh joy. Full disclosure, I did start skimming through the episode when I found my attention span ebbing away. I don’t normally do that but it was getting late and I will be damned if i lose shut eye over this show. So what I could summarize of the appeal of this show is yuri undertones, girls talking about stuff I really couldn’t care less about and some girl with plant powers trying to assault one of the main heroines. I admit that maybe I should have given this a fairer shot but let’s be blunt, it doesn’t deserve it.

Potential: 0%

 

Mario:  Well, Hina Logi is a magical girl slash cute girl doing cute things anime, so right off the bat you know what you’re getting into. The show details the everyday school day of those girls before graduating into a magical girl, and there’s some hints that they will have to fight off monsters at the end of the season. Although based on its cheering tone I’d think the monsters are your typical bad guy, no grey moral here. Other thing I did notice from those kinds of shows is where all the male gone? Even that mascot is a female for Peter sake. I like the design of the academy though, and I think they know it as well as they show the academy multiple times from different views. Girls are your typical character stocks here so there’s nothing to write home about. I believe if you skip this one you won’t miss out much.

Potential: 0%

 

Katsugeki Touken Ranbu

Short Synopsis: Time traveling samurai in the edo period try to stop monsters from altering history

Why would you invent a story with time travel and then restrict to just one time period? What a waste. So this story feels familiar as I certainly remember an anime about a bunch of samurai protecting time. Though this is more likely the original story based on the quality. My first impression of it was correct. It’s pretty but not much in terms of substance. I thought we might get something interesting when one of our two leads starts lecturing his partner on how they cannot alter historic events. However that is really undercut when literally minutes later they save a child and brush it off easily. I also wonder why no one in the past is questioning the giant weird fox thing that’s following our main characters. Also on that front why are they using swords instead of guns? I originally thought it was due to some prohibited law or something up until another character arrives with a gun. So I just don’t get why they are making their job more difficult. Action scenes are great, frankly the production is more than this series deserves. Character though are very bland and the cast feels like Bishi bait. Overall it’s a fairly watchable piece but the story lacks anything to truly grip the viewer.

Potential: 40%

 

Mario: The animation here is seriously great, you can’t go wrong with ufotable huh. Story-wise, I must compare this show to Touken Ranbu: Hamanaru few seasons back to see how this one works while the other didn’t. Hanamaru starts off with introducing most of the main cast (about dozen of them) before picking some for the battle; as a result we don’t remember most of them and the light tone doesn’t mesh well at all with the battle in latter half. Here in Katsugeki it’s the opposite, we focus on 2 guys with various missions before other swordmen showing up. Doing it this way allow us to know more about these 2 main characters (although the moping guy is a dead weight), their chemistry and the difficult level their jobs are. Honestly I prefer it this way, and this show also back up by some truly outstanding animation and mostly great character designs. They say it’s a shame that ufotable choose this project rather than Fate franchise but maybe doing it this way we gonna have 2 solid shows in our hands. Definitely recommended.

Potential: 50%

Ballroom e Youkoso – 01 [Welcome to Ogasawara Dance Studio]

Much of the conversation leading up to the premiere of Ballroom e Youkoso has focused on its English distribution. Amazon, who continue to wade deeper into the anime marketplace, snapped up the series to headline their Anime Strike channel, and plenty of digital ink has been spilled about how its double paywall spells doom for the future of legal streaming. The first episode of Ballroom also had its worldwide debut on Twitch, where a live audience of thousands welcomed its delayed subtitles with KappaPride emotes, copypasta, and an obsession with the size of the characters’ necks. But let’s put all this aside for a moment and ask ourselves: did Production I.G. succeed in preserving the appeal of the manga in its journey from page to screen?

For me, the answer is “pretty much.” Ballroom is a plucky, well-paced series in manga form, and I.G. kept things rolling during the first episode, as well. They had to cut a few corners to get there, however, and one of them cost me some attachment to Fujita, our middle school protagonist. The manga presents him as a willing participant in his first group lesson, having been inspired by a professional dancer named Sengoku, who rescues him from a trio of bullies. The animated version of the story keeps Sengoku’s role the same, but omits the group lesson, and skips straight to a coerced partnership with Shizuku, his schoolmate and newfound crush. As a result, it was much harder for me to swallow the idea that Fujita wanted to go pro by the end of the episode, or that he’d lose track of time and practice the box step for what must have been twelve hours straight.

Luckily, the rest of Ballroom’s characters more than pull their weight. Sengoku initially appears to be a good-natured role model, but after witnessing Fujita’s sudden insistence on becoming a professional dancer, he seamlessly transforms into a drill sergeant with a chip on his shoulder. Similarly, Shizuku is suspicious of her temporary partner’s motives, and asks him directly whether he’s just a pervert looking for kicks. It’s only after he demonstrates some proficiency at a beginning technique that she gives him the time of day. This prickly behavior lets us know that ballroom dancing is no walk in the park, and that experienced dancers won’t take kindly to upstarts who haven’t put in the hours. Hopefully, the series will permit Fujita to struggle for as long as possible, and give us a glimpse at the mental fortitude necessary to compete even at the amateur level.

Perhaps the most worrisome thing about this premiere was the lack of any one expressive dance scene. Production I.G. has done some great work on Haikyuu!!, and given the visual similarities between that series and Ballroom, I assume that it’s being handled by the same team. My expectations were high coming into the episode, but even during the scene where Fujita gawked at a dance competition on DVD, there were low-detail models, panning stills, and even what looked like CG dancers in a couple spots. On the plus side, the character designs are strong, even if they’re not identical to the manga, and they’re expressive enough to cover for the holes in the animation department. Still, the first major burst of painstakingly-drawn dance choreography should be a treat to behold.

All in all, this was a good start to an adaptation of a manga that certainly deserved one. I’m already looking forward to the next episode, and to covering the series from week to week.

Katsugeki Touken Ranbu – 1 [To the Frontlines]

Hello everyone, and welcome to my first post on the blog! Today we begin our series on Katsugeki Touken Ranbu (Ranbu henceforth), by Ufotable and directed by Toshiyuki Shirai. Now lets hop into it!

To start, lets quickly talk about two of Ufotables most notable qualities that are also present in Ranbu, those being the art/effects and the music. Right off the bat we get hit full force by the digital effects team with some beautiful rain shots, both up close and with some 3D tracking. The 3D used on the enemies is well placed, especially compared to Berserk 2017, it gives them an otherworldly style compared to the rest of the characters we see. In regards to the lighting, throughout this episode we get both flashes in the darkness and fire on the horizon. None of it stands out or catches the eye, which is typically the sign of good lighting, that it seems natural. Finally, for music we get some sweeping orchestra tracks, moments of silence, and decent fight music. Nothing stands out, but it also manages not to overstay its welcome, knowing when silence is better than loud instruments.

Now lets get into the story and characters. We are introduced to our main duo, Kane and Kunihiro, and their pet future cat-dog thing. I can’t help but draw a parallel between Kamina and Simon from Gurren Lagann between these two in regards to their relationship and color pallet. I would not at all be surprised if our resident Mentor Kane died in the future to give Kunihiro the motivation he needs to step out of his shell. For our story, it looks to be a sort of Time Police gig. Its a time-travel premise I have not seen before in anime, and by its nature directly addresses the issues most time travel stories have with things like the Butterfly Effect. Our main duo is introduced en medias res fighting against the forces of the “Time Retrograde Army” or “Historical Revisionists” as they are later called, who appear to be the main antagonists for this story. They have been sent to this time to prevent these Revisionists from changing the past, for what purpose we do not yet no, but it is no doubt nefarious!

Next Ranbu takes some time to explain some of its rules, such as how their as of yet unnamed organization can only send 2 people but the Revisionists can send dozens. Our resident mentor Kane also explains to his student, and by effect us, some of the moral quandaries of their job. As a fire breaks out in the middle of the night, Kane explains that their job is not to save people but to preserve history, which means we may run into a scenario in the future where the Revisionists are trying to save someone and our heroic duo actually has to commit murder to preserve the future. It would be a great character moment… if Ranbu didn’t immediately go and break its own rules by having Kane save a young girl and then joke about coming back to kill her. Imagine how hard hitting the moment would have been, how ironclad that rule would have seemed, if we simply got a shot of the beam falling and then silence. We would be left with a beautiful character moment in the future as a result, where Kane breaks this one rule. But now we already know it means nothing to him.

This is one of the main issues I have with Ranbu right now, even though it just began. They setup their rules, their moral quandaries, their main conflict, and then break their own rules. Cant save people? Unless its a little girl. Cant have more than 2 people in an area/period because of limited resources? Well lets just beam in 5 more people to help with a fight our duo can’t seem to win. In the end the only rule that matters in Ranbu is the titular “Rule of Cool”, which I am sure everyone is familiar with. Finally at the end, we are introduced to 5 more character (Wow that is a lot of characters for episode one), names Tonbokiri the large spear man, Unnamed Male Ninja #1, Musunokami the Gunman, and Saniwa the boss-man. At this point I care for none of them, but they have 11 episodes left.

There is more I could get into, for example we could disect the Ending Song, but with how long this post is already I will save that little bit for a slow week and do the Opening Song with it as well. I give this opening episode a 6/10. Beautiful to look at, engaging at the start, but breaks rules as soon as they are established and ruined what little tension was left for the end of the episode. They still have time to fix it though, so lets just sit back, enjoy the visual roller coaster and hope it works out.

 

Announcement Time – Writers Recruitment Results

Ladies and gentlemen it is I, your resident anime blogger AidanAK47 and I bring with me news. As those of you who visit our little abode might know, we have been running a recruitment drive to get more writers so that we can cover more shows each season. Thank you to all that applied for the position. It is great to see those who wish to contribute to this site and help keep it strong. But alas you could not all be chosen. The results are in and we have decided to take on two new writers: Lenlo and Superwooper.

Lenlo:

Hello everyone! I want to take this chance to quickly introduce myself and tell you afew things about me, so lets get started. I am a recent University Graduate with a degree in Computer Science, my personal focus being Machine Learning. I currently live in Texas in the United States but expect that to change soon. My hobbies include Fencing at the regional level, gaming with my current addition being Final Fantasy 14, and now writing. As far as anime goes, my tastes are pretty simple. I enjoy drama’s, things with a meaty story, and darker pieces with no guarnteed happy ending, things such as Monster, Mushishi, Sword of the Stranger and more recently Rakugo. I also enjoy a good romance such as Ore Monogatari and Your Lie in April, though those are harder to come by. Finallly, for this season I will be covering Stan Lees The Reflection and Katsugeki Touken Ranbu. Im looking forward to writing for you all!

Superwooper:

Hey there! I’m Superwooper, a 27 year old Education student and recently-minted anime blogger. When I’m not at school or working as a tutor to pay the bills, I’m usually attending Smash Bros Melee or Pokemon TCG tournaments. My list of favorite anime includes Cross Game, Mushishi, Seirei no Moribito, and Usagi Drop. I’ll be writing about Ballroom e Youkoso and Shoukoku no Altair this season, along with Space Battleship Yamato 2202 if the next few episodes appear online soon. I’m grateful to be writing for a blog that’s been a personal resource for years now. Thanks for having me!

So what does that mean for you? Well it means that more shows will get covered each season and this site will be significantly more active with content. Now I must ask for you readers to be kind to our new writers. Constructive criticism is welcome but blatant abuse will be met with the reception it deserves from yours truly. Now I doubt such a scenario will come to pass as I like to believe our little reader community has a little more class than others…well, mostly. Thus I hope this change will result in a more positive direction for this site. Our two new writers will be starting with us in this new summer season so we will be covering quite a lot from this point forward. May you enjoy reading our written musings on anime to come.