Star Crossed Anime

ALL OUT!!

Short Synopsis: A short temperamental boy and a gentle giant decide to join the Rugby club.

Speaking narratively this show is hitting the same beats as Days. An amateur is introduced to a sport and naturally that sport is the center of the universe. What makes the difference here is the characters and in that regard All Out may come out in top. The fiery aggressive lead is significantly better than the demure average lead of days and everyone tends to have better character interactions. The two leads have a nice odd couple routine going on and because of the lead’s short temper and lack of tact it gives the characters a chance to be more playful around him. The sport itself is also pretty brutal to watch which does make it pretty interesting. But this does hold the same problems that every sports show has, name that the goal is far away and we are not even going to barely make it past the training stage. Much like many of Madhouses shows I can see this being left high and dry with a life goes one ending with no second season. Even then I could think of many a show more deserving of one. This will be fun for a while but I don’t think it will stay in people’s minds much after it finishes.

Potential: 50%

Mario: I must confess that although I have soft spot for sports show, I’m not interested in rugby. Even in RL I don’t really care to watch it on TV, that is to say all the “rugby is fun” stuffs that the show trying hard to sell just don’t do it for me. Madhouse is the studio behind it so I know we’re in good hands. We have gorgeous backgrounds but the amount of still frames is a bit too much for a premiere episode. It’s still okay though because we hardly have any real rugby this week, so next few episodes when those rugby matches begin is when the animation really need to be impressive. The story ticks many of the usual tropes in sports anime. We have the main guy who not only short (has huge disadvantage), knowing nothing about the game (have to learn the sports all the way; along the way the show will teach us the basic rugby’s rules), but his enthusiasts impress other members (same old, same old). We also have that huge guy who afraid to play the sports again, that lead to a cancer flashback to explain his situation. All Out unfortunately uses the same beats like every other sport shows and for that I don’t see anything worth spending more time with.

Potential: 10%

 

Drifters

Short Synopsis: A warrior is abducted from his world and thrown into another where he meets other famous figures from history.

If you didn’t know this was from the mind of the author of Hellsing then this episode certainly is doing it’s damnedest to make sure you find out. I appreciated that the violence hasn’t been censored but the opening scene was moving a bit too fast that I could barely make out what was happening. Only was on screen from a moment but I hope we won’t be getting more of that in the important fight scenes. In terms of flaws we actually get a return of what is the most notable flaw of Hellsing Ultimate, that being it’s completely mood breaking out of nowhere comedy scenes with adopt a most crude artstyle and throw viewers off balance. This episode was mainly set up for the real plot to start as our protagonist is introduced to Nobunaga and Yorchi. I always have been interested in seeing historical figures interact with one another but sadly out of these three I only know Oda and the main thing I can take into account is that time time he’s not genderbent into a woman. The mood is hot blooded and cool with everyone ready to flare up a psycho smile at a moment’s notice. These people would no sooner have a tea party but prefer to bust into one to decapitate the guests for a laugh. Rule of cool is at work here and all that really will determine whether you watch this is one thing. Are you up for having historically figures brutally slaughter each other?

Potential: 75%

Mario: We get to the most exciting ultra-violent action show this Fall season has to offer. The premise alone, about famous warriors throw out to the same universe, is too hard to ignore. I myself don’t really into ultra-violent stuffs but the show’s execution is so good that it has my appreciation anyways. The fights were handled with great pace, striking shots composition and well used of its muted colors. If you don’t look closely you wouldn’t have noticed the action’s a combination between CGI characters and traditional backgrounds. I surprisingly enjoy the humor the show presented so far. By having them doing completely whimsical stuffs (plucking feathers) and arguing about the historical mismatch, it makes them much more than just a merciless bloodthirsty grinning killing machine. I like the three leads so far and they make a good chemistry together, but at the same time I don’t really care much about the guy who transported them to that world, nor do I care about the reason why he does what he does. I love to see them fight with other famous warriors. I love to see more blood-spattering and more ridiculous action set-pieces. If the show can provide more of these then I know I’d have a bloody good time.

Potential: 75%

 

Lostorage incited WIXOSS

Short Synopsis:  A girl is chosen to participate in a life or death card game with her memories on the line.

I see the writing problems with this show continue as well as the angst and forced drama. Even without Okada this show is pushing the melodrama to a cringeworthy degree. In this case I find it odd how they set up this episode. This girl is ostracized at her school for what really seems for no real reason. He seems friendly enough and has the looks to at least get people interested in her and yet this show treats it like she’s some ignored wallflower despite her just transferring to the school. I still find it ludicrous that a card game would be so popular with schoolgirls, especially one with anime girls as the focus. The card battles themselves are equally uninteresting as it really is just a battle of people pulling whatever they need out of nowhere and the battle doesn’t seem to follow any logic or rules of a game. It’s also weird that they establish that she’s a complete beginner at the game who didn’t even know basic rules but then in the fight she starts calling out specific cards and suddenly knows how to fight. A good chunk of the runtime is dedicated to our main girl angsting over not having friends and missing her old childhood friend followed by then angsting over having to participate in card battles against her will. I have no real sympathy for this girl at this point so whatever happens from here is something I really don’t care about. Quite honestly I don’t even know why this series is getting another show when the previous seasons were poorly written tripe.

Potential: 0%

Mario: WIXOSS is based from a trading card game and we never have good track when it comes to card game adaptation anime. This one will not change anyone mind but at least, in the first 10 minutes or so when the show explores the daily lives of the two main leads, it’s a solidly composed piece. Our leads have some deeper dimensions than your average lead because they carry their own personalities naturally. Moreover, little details – like one of the lead’s father always leave the dinner’s money, the picture of her late-mother, or the parents of other lead girl feel bad for letting her daughter working overtime- say a lot about their current lives. Sadly when the card game kicks in it just goes downhill. For once, forcing players to fight because they were ‘chosen’ and will lose their memories otherwise are just forced drama. In addition, the card battle don’t help us much in terms of getting the hang of what this game is about. Apart from people who already familiar with the game, the rest will not take out much from this. Such a waste because I’d have cared about it more if the first 10 minutes were what this show about.

Potential: 20%

Brave Witches

Short Synopsis: Aliens invade Europe around a World War 2 setting and the only way to stop them is little flying witch girls.

You know sometimes I think there is a weird synchronicity between two shows each season. For example, last season we had two shows which were about a super powerful esper trying to live a normal life. The season before that we had two shows which just so happened to have a power involving connecting individuals which was called All for One. This season we happen to have two shows which involves witches fighting in a WWII setting. Of course put this theory under close scrutiny and apply it to seasons before that and chances are it falls apart. Still I think it is rather odd how certain ideas can cross between two different studios in one season by pure coincidence. Alright that aside is this show any good? Well I think I know now where Kantai collection stole its ideas from and what’s here is meh. It’s more than a little odd how bright and cheery everything here is when you take into account that this high school is training these girls for war. At the end of our episode our mains sister is delighted that the main passed an exam which will mean that she will be taken out of school and sent to Europe with her sister…to a warzone…having not completed her full training…completely inexperienced and with failing grades…sent to a warzone where she would most likely die a slow and painful death…um…yay? This series really doesn’t want you to look hard at the actual setting as it really does fall apart if you scrutinise it too closely. For one they found out the only way to combat these aliens is by strapping propeller engines to little girls legs. The little girls also grow animal ears and a tail when using magic because…um sorry I may have missed where that was explained. Why do they grow animal ears and tails?…fetish fuel? Got it. We got fanservice and cute girls fighting aliens and the only reason I didn’t give this a lower potential rating is simply because despite all this I didn’t really hate it. But I don’t see any reason to recommend this.

Potential: 20%

Mario: Okay, so what are you trying to pull here Brave Witches? A magical girl show? A mecha action show? If so, why do those witches have ears and tails like foxes? And why school settings? Oh wait, this is military school too. And their enemy: Alien? I know you can be many things at once but this feels like a witch trying to mix up some weird potion by dumping everything she could get her hands-on in. Our lead Hikari is a typical anime lead, that being she has no real talented except hard-working and good heart. She even tries her best to imitate her sister and that is a problem in itself because Hikari has no real characteristics. So she wants to fight to save the world or she wants to fight to be near her sister? After watching this episode, I think you’d know the answer. The writing is clunky too, for example just one minute they announced that she failed the test (would serve her right), the next minute she got a letter saying that she passed (so we could have a full series). This episode just serves as a prologue so far so the actual development will come in next episode. But then who really care to check out another episode of this?

Potential: 10%

 

Flip Flappers

Short Synopsis: A girl meets a strange interdimensional traveler and is dragged into another world.

The animation of this episode was brilliant. Beautiful fluid movement coupled with pleasing art and a mood that gives characters such energy and life. In terms of story I am wondering if this particular show may be a dark magical girl show in hiding as there are some dark aspects to this. The fact that the girls robot helper has a human brain inside is one thing that felt a bit off and the end of the episode looks to bring in an antagonist. Funny enough I actually wouldn’t be fond of them going in that direction as I rather liked the light hearted easy going tone of this episode. I do tend to bring up this studio as an example a lot but it certain did feel like Studio Trigger. Seeing these girls shoot around this snowy world reminded me of Little Witch Academia(Which is getting an anime series in January. Looking forward to that) and I would be all for having these two girls going around alternate worlds having adventures. A big mistake would be for this story to take itself too seriously and I hope they don’t fall into that trap. I say definitely check this one out, even for just the animation.  As a last note, I knew it when I heard it but that ending theme is a serious earworm. Flip flap flip flap…

Potential: 85%

Mario: Flip Flappers, you have my attention! The show evokes something in me that I rarely felt in other works before (take that from a guy who have watched a certain amount of anime and tons of art-house mind-screw movies). On one hand, I feel the uncertainty sense throughout the episode. That uncertainty was conveyed by the ambiguity of the plot (after this first episode we’re still not really sure what the show is about), the lucid dream-like nature of the second part, the absolute lack of any kind of human activity in that snowy landscape (there were no people there as well); the feeling of trapped and the indecision about her future through the eyes of Cocona. On the other hand, I also feel the fun of adventure to the unknown fantastical world down that rabbit hole, elevated by the colorful backgrounds and the sense of easy-going, the fun of trying something new (eating that sweet snow) and happy go lucky attitude through the eyes of Papika. When those two factors merge in together, it creates something weird, something unique. The character designs are simple but creative (reminded me a lot of Dennou Coils for good reasons), but the animation is easily the best so far of this season. I love that this show doesn’t tell its story the conventional way. But everything it shows; while not make sense narratively, makes a lot of sense thematically. This is my bet for this season so far.

Potential: 90%

 

Keijo!!!!!!!!

Short Synopsis: Two girls enter a school to train women for a sport that involves fighting with boobs and butts.

Let me get this out of the way first. This show is the most shameless, utterly stupid thing I have seen all year. And by god do I love that. I was a bit worried seeing that the anime had decided to skip the first 30 chapters of the manga and outside of the keijo battles can get a bit too typical for my liking. But when that Keijo battle started up, I honestly couldn’t stop laughing. To see girls engaging in massive over the top shounen battles with special moves like butt guillotine is truly a ridiculous sight to behold and made all the more humorous when the girls treat it with 100% pure seriousness. The fanservice is clearly off the charts and the fights are almost on the level of Jojo’s over the top bouts. This is so bad it’s good anime and while I can’t honestly praise it in good faith, this may be the most fun I have had with a first episode so far this season. It looks to only get even more stupid from here as I even see a gate of buttaylon in the opening. Take the potential mark for this one with a grain of salt as it really will depend on your own personal enjoyment with this ludicrous premise.

Potential: 65%

Mario: You know, I kind of respect Keijo for desexualizing boobs and butts that sadly become overbearing in anime world. I also appreciate that the show play the sports completely straight. Watching those girls fight for their life with those parts in a shounen fighting-styles is something to behold. That over-the-top signature moves add absurdity and hilariousness to the Keijo battle, as I found myself amused by the sheer ridiculousness of it all (my favorite one: “a butt that looks like giant boobs” – like, how they even mix that up?). All the girls appeared in this episode are your typical stock characters, that means nothing to write home about. The story is generic and light-hearted but ultimately unremarkable. Make no mistake, those Keijo fights (which actually come from a real game) are what sell this show and if they keep those fights as deadpan and over the top as possible, we could have some laughing gold of this season.

Potential: 20%

Natsume Yuujinchou Go

Short Synopsis: A boy with a book of youkai names has adventures with a youkai cat.

I said my piece on this series in the preview so I will leave this to the others.

afgm:  After a long hiatus, we can finally say hello to our old friend, the bearer of the Book of Friends, Natsume once again, and this opening episode definitely did not disappoint.  The mystery, the intrigue, the humor, and the characterization that we would expect from Natsume Yuujinchou is here and it is here in spades. In this episode, Natsume is pursued by a vengeful Youkai in a pot, the Kayatsubo, that threatens to take what is most important from him if he does not return the doll that Reiko stole from her.  I will not go further so as to spoil the story; however what I will say is that the episode touches on the dimensions of loneliness, of yearning, of the existence of evil as a facet of purity expressed in the whims and joy of the Youkai and Reiko herself.  All of these have been recurring themes throughout the series, and this season seems to promise a resolution in the questions that surround them, such as who Natsume’s family is and the motivation behind his grandmother’s actions..  The world of Natsume is as muted as the colors that paint it, illuminated by the bright characters that inhabit it, and this episode proves that the show will most likely continue to stay its course as having among the best composed settings in recent memory.  As such, it is definitely worth watching.

Potential: 100%

Mario: Is there anything else that needed to talk about Natsume? All I can say for new viewers is that if you watch one episode of Natsume, you’ve seen all the rest. Like Kino’s Journey or Mushishi, each episode is self-contained story that revolve around Natsume, youkai and his Books of Friends. What we’re guaranteed to get is its deeply personal stories, sometimes hilarious, sometimes sad, always touching. This first episode of season 5 follows that same path, as we get to the story of the rolling pot, her doll and the big kind-hearted youkai. It’s sometimes scary for sure, Kayatsubo the vertical rolling pot is something taken right from our nightmare, charming and creepy all the same. Natsume, on the other hands, has opened himself up more to his friends and he begins to trust them. We get to see more about his grandmother Reiko as well, and she’s for me still hold up as the most interesting character in this universe. Natsume is a just-sit-down-and-relax anime of this season (last season we had Amanchu!) and I could never say no to more Natsume.

Potential: 90%

 

Nanbaka

Short Synopsis: A group of prison inmates have wacky comedy adventures.

While not quite as painful as reading the manga this show does annoy me. I hate the characters and the comedy is a weak straight man vs funny man double act with the prisoners interchanging between the two. What really was strange was that throughout this entire episode there was some sparkle effect on the screen at all times. Considering that this is a prison this effect is so out of place and it never stops no matter what is on screen. A guard is watching security camera’s talking to his boss and I see around the edges of the screen these sparkling lights and wonder “Why? Just why is that there?” If you find the banter charming and the comedy to your taste this may be for you. However if like me you find it all rather banal then I certainly say give this one a pass.

Potential: 10%

Mario: One thing about Nanbaka that really impressed me is they know their tones really well. Unlike Matoi which has tonal inconsistencies, the creators of this show know exactly what make this show appealing; and they turn it up to 11. Wacky, fast-paced, over the top and a bit of slapstick nature make this show entertainment and a joy to watch. The jokes are short and fast enough to not stay out its welcome. All the characters are your typical anime characters: overdesigned, full of quirks and nothing deep, but they are perfect characters for this kind of show. The four guys in particular have great chemistry together. When it comes to mindless popcorn everything-comes-everything-goes like this one, the more ridiculous things get the more awesome this becomes, that is why the last moments when things get a bit seriously doesn’t do well for me. Nanbaka is the kind of show that knows exactly what they’re doing, for that judging it is rather easy: if you enjoy this first episode, you’ll enjoy the rest of the show. If you find it silly and contrived, the rest will wear out its welcome very quickly. Actually, writing this and listening to Meat Loaf songs make them a perfect combo. Fancy trying it out?

Potential: 30%

 

Yuri!!! On Ice

Short Synopsis: A young Ice Skater is given an opportunity to be coached by his idol after a video of him ice skating goes viral.

This is probably the most promising candidate for one of the hits of the season but it is a shame that it’s really not the kind of show I can get into. I like the portrayal of the main character Yuri’s struggles and the animation is top notch throughout. However there does seem to be fujoshi pandering in the future and there is a rather weird tone with the humor. While a majority of this episode is relatively down to earth and serious, the comedy tends to veer towards the type I particularly despise in shoujo manga. Where the character designs get distorted and simplified for emphasizing the joke. It’s also strange to hear Yuri jokily talk about his complete failures and then have him crying in a toilet stall right after. I don’t think these two sides mesh well but it’s likely the comedic tone is going to become more prevalent in later episodes. The comedy is a miss for me but I do find Yuri’s struggles to be compelling so if it can avoid putting in too much fujoshi pandering and focus on the Ice Skating then we could have an interesting anime on our hand. Sadly though, even if that does happen this really isn’t my thing so I won’t be blogging it.

Potential: 65%

Mario: Welcome to the very first great premiere episode of this Fall season. Seriously, there’s a lot to love in this episode. Top-notch productions, reliable music and sound designs. The character designs are mostly great and, dare I say, sexy. There are many little details to the settings (the skating stadium, his hometown, his hot bath house) that already feel live-in and vivid. The animation certainly is smooth, and that speaks a lot for a show about figure skating. More impressively, it’s not strictly scenes that involving ice-skating that showcase the fluid animation, but the way each character moves feel like they’re dancing in the own beats too. Our main character Yuri’s sadly unimpressive, but his struggles are well-defined. The feeling that after all the hard training that you spend for many years while being far away from home, you realize that you’re just not good enough for the sports is something I feel really resonate to. At the same time, I feel the comedy don’t mix well with the tone of the show, especially whenever his chibi version pops up to provide us some info, and many exaggerated reactions that make it feel more awkward than funny. It’s Sayo Yamamoto’s show so Victor’s naked pose will eventually make its way there so I have no comment on that one. The ending provides an interesting twist to the story (feel a bit out of the blue though), and there are real potentials going forward. Yuri!!! On Ice, like this guy Victor, is the most confidence and good-looking show this season.

Potential: 80%

Trickster

Short Synopsis:

Edogawa Ranpo certainly was a man before his time. At least if this series is to be believed he was writing about mecha, hacker loli’s, boob jokes and superpowered emo teenagers before light novels were even a thing. Or at least if this series is to be believed to be based on his actual work. I for one am absolutely certain that this has about as much to do with the Boy Detective novels as Shakespeare has with “The Shining”. As someone who is interested in Rampo’s work i find this to be quite insulting to rob his name just to get people to watch an otherwise unremarkable anime show. So I doubt our boy detectives will be doing any actual detective work and this will be mainly more of an action show. The writing isn’t good but it certainly isn’t the worst I have seen all season. If pushed I would say this was rather mediocre but just barely above bad. I like the nature of the emo boys superpower but it bugs me at just how woe is me he is about having superpowers. Why not take what that other kid says into account and stop getting all depressed about not being normal and instead appreciate that you can chop stuff with your mind. Or at least take a page out of Mob’s book and try to better yourself instead of crawling into a ball to be a whiny little Shinji. Maybe this might be your thing but I will say there are likely better alternatives to what this show will likely end up being.

Potential: 35%

Mario: I have my worried when it comes to Edogawa Ranpo’s inspiration as Ranpo Kitan: Game of Laplace last year was terrible. Trickster seems to follow the same path because the writing is its weakest component. I have an issue with shows that display random crimes for no apparent reasons; not that they don’t happen in real life but casual crimes like these just to show the bad side of people, or in this case just to show off how amazing our main character is (the schoolgirl is kidnapped by two thugs just to be rescued by our boy), is heartless and lazy. The dialogues are contrived; characters speak with their one-note tones throughout this episode. The twists are half-baked and the characters themselves are not all that interesting. The shot compositions and the use of strong color, on the other hand, are flawless. The scene in the fire sequence for example, everything is just bathed in red and black that resonate to the theme of isolation and the dark, gritty world. But those alone cannot save the show and if you can’t get pass the lousiness of the monologue in the very first sequence, chances are the rest of Trickster ain’t going to change your mind.

Potential: 10%

 

Shakunetsu no Takkyuu Musume

Short Synopsis:

These girls take ping pong way too seriously. Anyway I am a bit disappointed with this one, not because it’s cute girls doing cute things because that was a given. It’s because I thought that ping pong would make for some pretty interesting animation. But the animation of this episode was bare bones. It’s passable for the story though it’s clear with the number of still frames and shots aiming to present the least amount of animation on screen as possible. The character designs are a bit miss here as well as the girl’s eyes are freakishly huge. I haven’t seen eyes like this since Kanon. My original point in my season preview still stand but it seems like the anime actually toned down the fanservice. A good point for it but sadly negated because we still have the terrible boob jokes and it still is what it is. With the lacking animation I am afraid the ping pong loses a lot of it’s appeal and what remains is a sports show that’s bound to go nowhere and the always overdone cute girl antics. Chances are the other cute girls type shows this season would be a better alternative. Though I believe I did hear word that long bikers was no longer airing this season.

Potential: 10%

Mario: We get to the first “cute girls doing cute things” show of this season. This time it’s all about ping pong. For those kinds of show there are 3 words that best described their quality: cute but inoffensive. This goes the same for this one. It’s nice (and make my job easier I would say) to just watch the first episode, you could tell right away the show’s direction for the rest of the season (playing National Championship), their conflict (first the main girl has to fix her attitude problem, then her, the new girl and two other girls will form a school team to compete regional-wise, then head out to national tournament), their main opponent (the creepy smiling girl). Everything is as clear as daylight so you don’t have to think too hard. The cuteness aspect is all there and sadly it doesn’t offer anything distinctively. I also found the ‘new girl stuck on a gate’ joke a bit overused and those boob jokes are certainly not gain you any fan. This is a harmless little show and I’m pretty sure it’s content to be just that.

Potential: 10%

 

Soushin Shoujo Matoi

Short Synopsis:

This show really wasn’t quite was I was expecting. i was anticipating either a straightforward magical girl show or a dark magical girl show in disguise but this episode was a kind of mix between the two with much more comedy. The opening scene had military commencing an attack on a mysterious beast and was so vastly different from  the promotional material that I was wondering if I mistakenly picked the wrong show. Then some girl with a giant mecha shows up and I wonder where the genre from the first few minutes went. After this came a light hearted and comedy driven antics and I finally started to see the show I was intending to watch. Judging based on the first few minutes I would say this show was dull and tonally awkward but the remainder of the episode fared better. There is still a bit of a tonal problem as anything dealing with the monster was deathly serious but when it came to Matoi the tone became pure slapstick comedy. The scenes with Matoi were almost studio Trigger-eqe in a way. My opinion on this is rather mixed as some things I liked here but there were also things I hated quite a bit. That last joke about her father mistaking her for his wife when she was in Magical girl form and then him feeling her up was in bad taste. Also if mecha girl from earlier is joining the cast I can see this getting a bit bland. I say wait maybe one or two more episodes to see how this show pans out

Potential: 55%

Mario: Matoi has its messy first episode, but ultimately a rewarding one. This is an original show from White Fox right after the success of Re:Zero. This originality explains the tonal issues as this show tries to be many things, and they might not work together as a whole. On one hand they attempt to go for a bright, coming-of-age story of Matoi as she gains her magical power and how she both manages to control her power and fits in with her normal, mundane life. On the other hands those supernatural monsters are dark and fearsome, and the plot goes much darker and more intense. At some points the show just doesn’t quite sure which side it’s going to be. But to say that this show has a lot of potentials to be a good (but uneven) show. The fighting sequences are fresh and creative, the fundamental theme of exorcising evil spirits is promising; the characters have great chemistry to each other (most notably, Matoi and her dad and Matoi with her friend Yuma). Still, that awkward groping gives a chill down my spine and I hope this joke is just one-off. I have a feeling that this show will take 3,4 episodes before it can find its own footing, but I sure respect shows that willing to try than majority of shows that just content to be harmless.

Potential: 60%

Touken Ranbu – Hanamaru

Short Synopsis: Famous swords are turned into humans and have to stop strange monsters from changing history

Here’s a thought. If your show has so many characters that you literally cannot introduce them all in the first episode besides just flashing up a name when they appear then maybe you should rethink your cast. We start this episode with an action scene followed by a comedic chase as the series jumps from character to character flashing up names and just presenting personality quirks instead of genuine characterisation they just all blend together. By the time all the introductions were done I couldn’t remember who was who. Followed by a clunky infodump where the audience is told what exactly these swords turned humans do. The thing is I get what they are doing but I don’t really understand why. Apparently some mindless monster samurai’s can decide to interfere with history, why? Who knows? So some master sends swords owned by famous samurai to counter them and preserve history. Why are the swords doing this? Who knows? Of course it’s the first episode so answers to these questions could come later on. However this series just hasn’t given me any real reason to care. To me this looks like some kind of male version of Kantai collection and whatever entertainment that anyone can get out of it is reserved for fujoshi’s and fans of the game.

Potential: 0%

Mario: This ends up as a mixed bag for me. Based on a card game, that means I have a low expectation going for it, but it turns to be better than I thought. The first half of this episode first starts with a battle we know nothing about, then heads back to introduce their characters (about 15 of them), and then we have an info-dump section explains us their missions. Those moments are a recipe for disaster. We never have enough time to know about those characters, and each of them have their own quirks that for me make them over the top and I don’t feel them as actual human. But that precisely the point, for them are the incarnation of famous swords throughout the history. The second half plays out much better and that where the premise shines through. The character designs are attractive and the fight in the end is actually quite good to look at. The premise about them protecting the history has its merit, and I suspect in later episodes we will get to know each character (and their master tragic death) a little better so there still something that I can look forward for after this first episode. On last note, they are not good with comedy so I hope they would tone the comedy down in next episodes.

Potential: 40%

 

Magic-kyun! Renaissance

Short Synopsis: A girl attends a magic high school filled with prodigy boys.

Welcome to the world of Magic-kyun! Renaissance, were when someone does something artistic, a random invisible person grabs a fistful of glitter and shoves it into your eyes sockets. Well really it’s just that something artistic just shows out glowy sparkles  which attracts our main heroine who much like a bird follows after anything shiny. Speaking of our heroine she is standard reverse harem lead number 257, seeing as she has no really personality and is as bland as watching paint dry. Come on, even male Harem leads have more variety than this. Anyway this has to be the most pointless version of magic I have ever seen and all it seems to do it is create a light show when someone does something. And thus now all talent is judged by how pretty the light show is, instead of you know, the talent itself. Shown here as our main’s mother is a world famous…flower arranger. Didn’t quite think that putting flowers in a pot required that much skill but what do I know. After all I can’t create sparkles by writing about anime so clearly I am a talentless hack. There isn’t much to say about this one as it’s a pretty standard reverse harem with nothing particularly notable about it.

Potential: 0%

Mario: My god this show is soooo gorgeous to look at. Lustful color, grand staircases and castle-like buildings, and most notably, those sparkles make this production the best looking show I’ve seen this season. You could say they are over the top but I’m a fan of it. Unfortunately, the rest is just below-average. The cast, while charming in their own way, is all one-note creation. Making them a prodigy doesn’t help either, for all the quality we see about them is just the dressing on top of the salad. Our main female lead is your typical girl that somehow see the best in people and the male cast will eventually fall head over heel over her. The way she encounters the “king” (I know, I know) on her first day at school is your typical girl’s daydreaming (I mean, she even falls from the stairs into his arms for Christ sake). The little fact that she’s a daughter of a famous artista just keeps bringing up in this episode to the point of annoying. The story is not worth anyone time but the magic the cast performs and the candy-looking production are what this show shines for.

Potential: 20%

 

Vivid Strike

Short Synopsis: A girl is picked off the street and asked to join a martial arts gym.

This isn’t the same magical girl show I watched in the first season. In fact I am not sure we can even classify this as magical girl anymore as it seems to have tossed aside any resemblance to it. The last Vivid series was produced by A-1 Pictures and was an adaption of a manga but this time we have Seven Arcs back in to make a new anime original series. So gone are the days of Nanoha making friends by blasting them with laser beams and instead we have magical girls literally kicking the crap out of each other. What makes it stranger is that I am quite ok with this. It looks like this series can stand alone as the events of Vivid don’t seem to be all that important and the events of Nanoha even less so. There’s no big bad to defeat in order to save the world but instead this girl wants to get stronger so she can knock some sense into her old childhood friend, who’s currently the reigning 15 age range champion in the martial arts world. The fight animation is quite exhilarating and the tension reminds me a lot of Hajime no Ippo which is a very good thing in my book. This franchise has never been particularly deep but it is an enjoyable simple story and after having trying to grin and bare through a number of pretty bad to flawed shows, a bit of fun is something I really need. I plan to keep up with this though I won’t be blogging it.

Potential: 60%

Mario: Again, I’m not familiar with the original Nanoha Vivid, but in a way it gives me a fresher perspective on this spin-off. Let me be frank but I’m not a fan with the show’s art characters. For once you rarely allow girls to have long hair when playing sports, and then there are many girls with two different eye colors. For the martial art sport itself, it’s more like a kick-boxing style which I actually really like. And I enjoy the way they build up the conflict between the two leads, at the same time explore a bit about the rich/poor conflict. It’s nothing impressive of course but they do it just about right. The other supporting characters don’t fare well unfortunately, and if you are not familiar with the old seasons (like myself), the characters’ introduction when they literally introduce themselves one by one will give you headache. I like the main lead’s head strong personality and I see potentials in what to come (she joins in the club and they play tournament), so if you’re already a fan of Nanoha Vivid, or you like sports/fighting in general, you will have a good time with it, others might proceed with caution.

Potential: 35%

WWW.Working!!

Short Synopsis: A guy is forced to get a part time job at a family restaurant after his dad loses his job, and runs into all sorts of antics.

K-Off: It’s well known by this point that Takatsu Karino is great at writing comedies, Wagnaria!! was a gem all the way through and Servant x Service was a memorable, dark horse of a comedy. But with that said, I’m almost slightly let down with WWW. Working. The first episode introduces us to a good blend of characters, and they seemed to have imported the Wagnaria formula, where most of the jokes would revolve around a character having opposite traits for comedic effect. Problem is, Wagnaria is now iconic enough to the point where it’s a problem when that same formula is stuck on a spin-off. It essentially feels more or less the same, and comparisons inevitably happen in the back of my head. But hey, the formula worked brilliantly in Wagnaria for three seasons, and yes the comedy was good in this episode. Nostalgia aside, the character introductions to this spin off was actually superior, the first episode of season 1 of Wagnaria really just focused on the short waitress and only introduced Inami at the end of the episode – here, all the staff have amusing intros. All in all, while it wasn’t the breath of fresh air I was looking for, it’s looking great, I wonder how it’ll eventually set itself apart. Aside from swapped character types.

ED: Catchy soundtrack, as expected of Working.

Potential: 80%

 

Mario: Well, I haven’t watched Wagnaria!! before but for my taste, I always prefer gag comedy. Maybe because it’s short and to the point, maybe because the pun is more focus and stronger, or just maybe because I like the messy and random nature of gags. www.Working works really well on me. The cast is a bunch of interesting weirdos. Sometimes they appear a bit one-note, but that precisely why the comedy works for me. It’s a tremendous job to introduce that huge cast in one episode, and by the end I actually remember most of them. This show is a perfect light watch in-between show, I know a lot of people will be put off by its slice-of-life and light hearted nature but this is my kind of show.

Potential: 50%

 

Bloodivores

Short Synopsis: Some vampires decide to rob a bank.

I always find it funny how a story can awkwardly avoid using an established term and instead resort to calling it by some other name despite it being completely identical. I recently played a game which has a magic system with four types. Pyro, Aqua, Terra, and Aero. Which are all basically alternative terms for Fire, water, earth and air. But I guess they didn’t want to use something so overused and gave it a different name despite the fact that changes absolutely nothing. Here we have bloodivores, otherwise known as vampires and I think that goes to show the level of writing we are dealing with. The writing is certainly flimsy and I can think of a few plot holes right off the bat. For one these vampires have some collars with a GPS function. But it only seems to activate in certain conditions instead of being constantly monitored. It’s conditions also seem to be really weird as a child’s crying counts as an attack, yet a vampire beating someone to death with a gun is apparently not? If you are going to the lengths of putting collars on them then why not have it inject a tranquilizer or blow up instead of having to send in a swat team? Honestly I could poke holes in this thing all day as the writing is fairly contrived and just dumb. The biggest failing is this episode ending with the cast getting shot to death by soldiers. Only to show a preview right after confirming they are all fine. The characters are nothing worth noting and the main is especially bland. Things could improve now that the setting has moved to prison but I doubt it’s going to leave any good impressions.

Potential: 0%

 

Mario: Like a heist within the episode itself, there’s a lot going on underneath of Bloodivores, I mean it in both good and bad ways. The bank robbery and the car chasing right at the beginning of the episode are easily its weakest points. Those moments are cliché and could only excite the most hardcore thriller fans, other than that it adds nothing to the table. The very nature of Bloodivores, people who drink blood to survive (aka vampires) is hinted quite effectively throughout this episode; both on the origin of those Bloodivores, and on how normal society look at them. The whole plot about who really behind all the murders, on the other hand, was undercooked. There’s just not enough cards on the table for us to know right now about the culprits, and the show doesn’t hook us enough for us to care. The main cast is bland and generic to say the least. I say compare to Hitori no Shita the Outcast last season (Chinese-web manhua adapted), Bloodivores is a step up, but still not good enough to catch our attention.

Potential: 30%

 

Dream Festival!

Short Synopsis: A boy is scouted by a male idol and..I guess…stuff…snore…

This is going to be the new bane of my existence, isn’t it? Boy Idol shows. I am not exactly sure what sparked this particular surge of boy idol anime but I can certainly say it makes my job a little harder. At least with light novel harems I am within the demographic and therefore I can judge it with a degree of confidence. However I am fairly certain that even if I was to spot a notable boy idol show that I wouldn’t be the kind of person who can assess it’s quality. But one thing that really kills me with these kinds of shows is the level of blind optimism that permeates though it’s being. For a cynical such as myself I find it poisonous to watch as I am certain if a boy smiled and tried to hand me a balloon I would tell him to bugger off. I certainly do think that being an idol is hardly easy but it being worthwhile is something I don’t quite agree with. Sure, work your ass off and maybe you can make terrible music while being the masturbation fantasy of preteen girls worldwide! Then there is this whole magic element were idols collect cheers from fans which change them magical girl style into fancy outfits. I question why this technology is being used for something so redundant and also why they aren’t standing on stage in the skimpiest outfits possible if they are dressing according to fan wishes. I am far too cynical for this stuff but I think even if I wasn’t this wouldn’t be noteworthy.

Potential: 0%

 

Mario: Wow, the story within this first episode is not unlike a patchwork of many under-written pieces put together. With this kind of story, you pretty much need to shut down all your logical sense and go with the flow; because plot holes just keep popping up like an overcooked popcorn. Let see, we follow a hot guy to hand out balloon for 5,6 hours. While he’s attentive and gives smile to everyone, he happens to overlook the one person who was sitting there the whole time? That guy was offered to audition for the company, but he’s declined. But soon after someone else mocking him that he can’t do it; he’s getting fired up and later want to join the company? How about the concert in which he has no knowledge of before, but when he’s on stage he performs flawlessly? And then we have the Dorika cards which supposedly… a fan cheers? And what’s up with those exclamations (!!!!!!). The only point I could give in all honesty is its absolute positive attitude regarding idols industry (you know, hard but rewarding), but that point also has its fair share of problems, isn’t it?

Potential: 0%