2016 Spring Season Preview

by AidanAK47, posted in Seasonal Previews

I swear these anime seasons go by so fast. Hard to believe I have been doing this for about a year and half now; even harder to believe that I am the one still doing it. In old days of Psgels if you told me that I would be the guy one day writing the posts I would claim you were mad. Yet here I am, the one and pretty much only writer of the site. Can’t say I signed up for that but well you can’t fight fate so I am here for better or worse. Who knows, maybe one day I will stop making spelling mistakes in these posts. (That will be the day)

I must admit that the quality of the past winter season was marvelous. There were quite a number of really great enjoyable titles. KonaSuba, Buranko Buranki, Dagashi Kashi, Ajin ERASED, Rakugo and even the more flawed shows like Schwarzesmarken being quite watchable. A very strong season in my opinion. So much so that I dared not mention it for fear of jinxing it. This upcoming season might not be quite as strong but we do have some contenders which has me hopeful that this season won’t be a disappointment.

The rules remain the same as the last previews. The sequels and prequels are listed below. If you liked the previous series then by all means continue. My picks for blogging this season are Re:zero and whatever takes my fancy during the quick first impressions. Sakamoto is looking to be a safe bet for my second choice but I am reluctant to blog a straight out comedy due to it being a highly subjective affair and lacking much to talk about. A Strawpoll is below to decide the third series I will cover. If I happen to pick the series listed first as my personal second blogging choice then the second highest voted series will be the winner. You have more than one vote so go nuts.

http://strawpoll.me/7103287

And with that let us begin.

 

The sequels/prequels I don’t care about

Battle Spirits: Double Drive

Beyblade Burst

Concrete Revolutio: Choujin Gensou 2

Duel Masters VSRF

Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon: Crystal – Death Busters-hen

Future Card Buddyfight DDD

Kaitou Joker 3

Kyoukai no Rinne 2

Magi: Sinbad no Bouken

PriPara 3rd Season

Terra Formars: Revenge

Series I don’t look forward to

12-sai.: Chiccha na Mune no Tokimeki

 

The story begins with Hanabi, a sixth-grade girl who is neither an adult nor a child. She deals with issues such as accidentally witnessing her homeroom teacher kissing, and worrying about experiencing physiological changes before her friends. This is the depiction of a 12-year-old girl’s innocent worries and first love.

We got nothing. No staff, no translated source material. Only thing I can say is that the studio has animated a lot of Pokemon and kids shows. They did some mature stuff in the old days but now it seems they tend to shoot for the younger demographic. To me this looks like what you see is what you get.

 

Aikatsu Stars!

 

 

Aikatsu Stars! features the protagonist Yume Nijino. Yume aims to become a top idol, and she enrolls in the Yotsusei Gakuen. This academy has a special group called the S4, who are the top four active idols in the school. Yume and the other first-year students aim to become a part of the S4.

Bah! Look at all the colour. It’s like someone decided to binge on skittles while drinking only to vomit up on paper. Truly nothing on this one, not even an animation studio. There’s a school for idols to teach them how to market themselves out like plastic barbie dolls so they can earn enough money to drown their shame in barrels of cocaine when they are older. Sadly that isn’t what this show is actually about.

 

Big Order

 

 

10 years ago a child wished for the destruction of the world. Now a Group of people has the ability which grants their wishes depending on their power. They are called “Order User”.
Before these great people who has the power of “Order”, One person excels most, with the ability to rule and conquer the world and turned people into puppet when it is on his Jurisdiction, that power belongs to Hoshimiya Eiji, who is also responsible with the destructive phenomena happened exactly 10 years ago.

From the author of Mirai Nikki(Future dairy) comes Mirai Nikki…again. Now to me there is pretty much only one reason for the anime of Mirai Nikki to exist and that was to show off one of the greatest examples of a yandere to grace the anime medium. Other than that it was a plot hole filled mess that pretty much could only qualify for a guilty pleasure. Big Order is very much a retread of Mirai Nikki. We have a poor man’s Yuno in the female protagonist and the story is essentially a battle royal between supernatural power users. The protagonist is better than what we had before however the issues with plot holes and wasted potential setups remains. Without Yuno, I say this series isn’t really worth the time. There are interesting ideas present in the story but the author can’t really use them to their fullest potential.

 

Bungou Stray Dogs

 

 

Nakajima Atsushi was kicked out of his orphanage, and now he has no place to go and no food. While he is standing by a river, on the brink of starvation, he rescues a man whimsically attempting suicide. That man is Dazai Osamu, and he and his partner Kunikida are members of a very special detective agency. They have supernatural powers, and deal with cases that are too dangerous for the police or the military. They’re tracking down a tiger that has appeared in the area recently, around the time Atsushi came to the area. The tiger seems to have a connection to Atsushi, and by the time the case is solved, it is clear that Atsushi’s future will involve much more of Dazai and the rest of the detectives!

This story is lacking the hook to get me interested. The premise is pretty overdone and the characters are simply are bunch of rather bland eccentrics. It reminds of of blood blockade battlefront in how it deals with a organization of super powered individuals stopping supernatural crimes. Only difference is that this time the characters are named after famous Japanese novelists and their powers after famous works of literature. It’s rather cosmetic though and holds not much significance. It’s possible that with the right direction this could turn into something more worthwhile but judging solely from this I say it’s rather mediocre.

 

Endride

 

 

The story is set on Endra, an unknown world beneath the surface of Earth itself. It is another world, where the giant Adamas shines above and seven-colored bands drift across the skies.
One day, Shun Asanaga — an ordinary yet positive and bright 15-year-old middle school boy who lived in the “Land Above” — lands in this place. He had discovered a mysterious crystal at his scientific businessman father’s company, and the moment he touched the crystal, he was transported to Endra.
He meets Prince Emirio, who strongly despises the current King Deruzain and had just turned 16 at Endra’s castle. He became of age to ascend to the throne, and he wields a weapon to seek his vengeance at last, but the difference in strength proves to be insurmountable. Captured and imprisoned by Deruzain, Emirio is heartbroken. But then, the walls of the prison suddenly become distorted, and Shun appears within them.
Two youths live in Endra — one to return his former world, and one to exact revenge. The future that is within the grasp of two youths raised in different worlds…

Brains base normally gives me hope for a show but in this case I am not seeing much potential. The Story isn’t interesting from the description and the art-style looks generic. The staff doesn’t inspire much hope either as neither the director or Series composer has worked on anything all that worthwhile. I am fairly willing to bet this won’t be worth anyone’s time.

 

Gakusen Toshi Asterisk 2

 

 

Second season of Gakusen Toshi Asterisk.

So why is it that in a season with two shows that were highly similar, the lesser of the two gets a sequel? Japan, sometimes I just don’t get you.

Gekidol

 

 

A multimedia project that will combine stage theater, anime, and idols.

No source material, no staff information, PV that explains nothing about the show. I got nothing. The only thing I can tell you is that the studios only notable work is Mysterious Girlfriend X. Everything else they made is either anime that’s softcore porn or some genuine porn. Based on that; not much hope for this one.

Hundred

 

 

The story begins with the Hundred, the only weapon that can counter the mysterious Savage life form attacking Earth. To become a Slayer (master of military arts) who wields this Hundred, the main character Hayato Kisaragi successfully enrolls in the marine academy city ship Little Garden. However …
“I wanted to meet you, Hayato!!”
“W–who are you…?”
Hayato feels a strange yet familiar sense of incongruity towards Emil Crossford, his roommate who somehow knows him from somewhere. On top of that, as soon as he enters the school, he is challenged to a duel by the “Queen” (the school’s most powerful Slayer) Claire Harvey!

Boy goes to magic high school, boy meets girl, girl challenges boy to duel, later sees a girl naked…you know where this is going. It’s been done. It was done last season and the season before that. It is the same story with palette swapped heroines. It has been done so many times that I wonder why it still sells. Just give this one a pass, it’s a no effort light novel.

Hai Furi

 

 

“In the sea we live, the sea we protect, and by the sea we go.”
Japan, 100 years after plate subductions caused many other countries to be submerged. To save the remaining countries, the coastal cities that had been built up were launched into the seas, and the seaborne routes between them expanded. With this expansion, a need for personnel that could safeguard the seas arose. Women began to seek employment in this new industry, and soon, the “Blue Mermaids,” those who keep the sea safe, began to be a source of admiration for many. The childhood friends Akeno Misaki and Moeka China sought to become Blue Mermaids themselves, and together with others who shared their dream, they enrolled in Yokosuka’s Marine High School.

In reading this synopsis I went from a number of reactions. First I was expecting a school slice of life but found the synopsis talking about sea warriors. So it’s like a Kantai collection ripoff, but hey maybe it could put more creativity into the idea. Just when some hope that this might be something worthwhile the last words hit. “they enrolled in Yokosuka’s Marine High School.” Truly these words can kill interest faster than a lecture on the fundamentals of geology. So the studio has pretty much nothing worthwhile and this is the director’s second anime. The series composer seems experienced but this looks like a “just in it for the paycheck” job. I would be surprised if this was something notable.

Netoge no Yome wa Onnanoko ja Nai to Omotta?

 

 

The story centers on Hideki Nishimura, a young man who confessed to a person he thought was a girl online, only for that person to turn out to be a boy. He keeps this “black history” secret and swears to never to trust a “girl” online again. However, one day a girl online confesses to him, and it turns out she’s actually a beautiful girl named Ako Tamaki. Ako cannot tell the difference between the online world and reality, and she is a loner who has trouble communicating. Hideki and his friends from his guild decide to work together to “correct” her.

This is pretty much every teenage MMO players wet dream. Those people you play online with are all beautiful girls and one of them is totally into you! Wish fulfillment to the max and I find the mentality of the story to be rather outdated. Girls wanting to play MMOs?! Ridiculous. Here on the internet men are men, Women are men and children are FBI agents. These days anyone with a phone can access the internet. Finding a real girl isn’t as hard as you think. Now finding a hardcore gamer who happens to be a gorgeous girl, single, nearby and ready to be molded into your perfect girlfriend? Yeah, that would take some effort. And a miracle. My particular gripe with this is that the setup has to do with this girl not being able to distinguish between games and reality. I despise this as it’s a common utterly nonsensical argument people opposed to video games throw out. It’s just stupid, if a person cannot tell between what happens on screen and what happens in reality then they are either idiotic or have much more serious mental problems. So what is this show about. Well a guy finds himself in a school club which is made up of eccentric girls he met online. Remember Haganai? Basically that. At most mildly watchable but more likely a dull forgettable show.

Pan de Peace!

 

 

The 4koma centers around Minami, an airheaded girl who is starting high school and who loves eating bread for breakfast. Baked goods bring happiness everyday to her and her classmates — the reliable Yuu, the pastry-baking Fuyumi, and the independent Noa.

It’s a four Koma comedy manga about cute girls eating bread and frankly, my dear. I don’t give a damn. And lets be honest; neither do you.

Kidou Senshi Gundam RE: 0096

 

 

U.C. 0096. Three years after Char’s rebellion, Banagher Links, a boy who lives on the manufacturing colony Industrial 7, meets a mysterious girl named Audrey Burne. She claims to seek to prevent a potential war by interfering with the transfer of “Laplace’s Box” from the Vist Foundation to a Neo Zeon remnant group known as the “Sleeves”.
However, when a Federation squad also sent to prevent the transfer clashes with the Sleeves, the colony is plunged into battle.
As Banager races through the flames in search of Audrey, one other fateful encounter awaits him—the Unicorn Gundam, a pale white mobile suit that’s the key to Laplace’s Box.
What is Laplace’s Box? What are the secrets that it holds? For the first time in 100 years, light will shine on the darkest secrets of the Universal Century…

With the OVA covering the story of Gundam Unicorn extensively I don’t really see the point of having an anime to expand upon it. To me this seems like the OVA is going to be chopped up into a series with some small extra scenes. I have no interest in watching that.

Seisen Cerberus: Ryuukoku no Fatalité

 

 

The anime is set in a continent ruled by sword and magic called Kunaaan, where a power balance between the Holy Kingdom of Amoria, the Kingdom of Ishilfen, and the Vanrodis Kingdom keeps a peace so unstable that any tragedy that befalls any one kingdom will mean war for the entire continent. Another power, the evil dragon Daganzord, also resides on the continent, and no one is powerful enough to stop him from spreading destruction and charred land in his wake. Two individuals, Bairo and Kismitete, undertook a ritual alongside a party of wizards to seal Daganzord, but were foiled. This event was known thereafter as the Balbagoa Tragedy. Bairo and Kismitete’s son Hiiro is saved by Giiru, and Hiiro swears to avenge his parents’ deaths and trains himself with the sword. When Hiiro turns 16, he sets out on a journey to slay the dragon, and Giruu accompanies him, having no choice. Along the way, they meet many types of people, and gain companions on their journey.

Based on a card battle game I don’t hold much hope in this one. The premise is overdone and out of the card game based animes recently; they tended to end up mediocre. The series composer does have potential though; being the same man behind Birdy Decode and quite a number of Eureka Seven episodes. It’s just that I look at this and it’s all too familiar for my tastes. Even done well it’s a derivative of what has been done many times before.

Shounen Maid

 

 

The manga revolves around Chihiro Komiya, an energetic elementary school student who was living with his mom. Chihiro is very good at doing housework and chores, and his mother’s motto is “No work, no food.” After his mother suddenly dies, a man named Madoka Taketori who claims to be his uncle shows up, and asks Chihiro to come live with him. Chihiro initially refuses, but when seeing the horribly dirty state of Madoka’s rich home, he decides to start cleaning it. Then Madoka makes another offer to Chihiro: that he comes to live with him, but in exchange Chihiro will do the housework. Chihiro accepts this deal, but suddenly finds himself in a maid uniform.

I am guessing this was supposed to be a comedy. So a boy loses his parents and is taken in by his relative who is creepy and volatiles personal space. Because of the boys sensibilities to pay back what he’s given; he agrees to act as a cleaner for the house. His relative this dresses him up in a maid outfit and forces him to clean in that because it’s “cute”… Um…this is a comedy right? Not some kind of disturbing horror show? I am pretty sure this is worthy of calling child services on. I read what I can stomach of the manga so the anime gets a nope from me.

Super Lovers

 

 

A high school boy named Haru and his mother are living overseas. His mother orders him to take care of and “civilize” his adoptive brother Ren, a wild young boy who dislikes talking with other people. While their relationship is adversarial at first, they grow closer as they begin to understand one another.

I knew going into this manga that it’s clearly not for me but for the preview I must give everything a chance. I admit that the story is more tastefully done than I expected and I think there are those who could find this interesting. The idea of a person taking care of a feral boy is at least somewhat interesting. The issue I take with the manga is likely its main drawing point; the romance. I have no issues with homosexual relationships but regardless of gender, a romance between a grown adult and underage child is very creepy. I will just leave this off by saying it’s not for me.

 

Kamiwaza Wanda

 

 

The story is set in a world where every event has been turned into programs, and mysterious monsters known as “Promin” maintain the world. However, many Promin who have turned into bugs known as “Bugmin” are responsible for many of the world’s real-life bugs. Left alone, they may eventually turn into a big problem. The boy Yūto encounters the space dog Wanda, and the pair use a camera-like device and key items to capture Bugmin. Promin themselves are able to do things like “accelerate objects,” “spew fire,” or “create objects,” through an ability known as “Kamiwaza” (miracle), and are able to fend off Bugmin with it. At first, the Bugmin only cause small, bothersome things, but it will soon elevate into a global scale threat. Can one boy and one dog save the world?

It’s a kids show about some kid using Digimon to save the world. The studio has some fairly decent stuff though this looks like a typical kids show. Personally I am more interested in how this studio will handle an adaption of ReLife. The series composer has done a lot of screenplays though his series composer shows are not too noticeable besides Blue Gender. Well who knows, could be fun.

Sansha Sanyou

 

 

The comedy manga follows the everyday life of three very different high school students. Futaba Odagiri is incredibly energetic but is also a glutton. Teru Hayama looks like an angel but she is really a demonic class president. Youko Nishikawa is the daughter of family that used to be a member of the upper class, but after her father’s company went bankrupt, they became poor.

Cute girls + cute things = bored Aidan. Well looks like a typical cute girls do cute things show and the studio has done quite a few of them. It’s also the studio that did the Grisaia Adaptions. So let’s just move along.

Sword Gai

 

 

The story revolves around Gai, who was born beside a woman who met her death in a forest. He was adopted by the swordsmith Amon. A few years later, Gai becomes Amon’s apprentice, and during the forging of a sword, he loses his right arm. To help him, Amon crushes the demon sword Shiryuu (lit. Death Dragon) to form it into Gai’s replacement right arm. Gai then is able to fuse with the weapon on his arm, and fights against his enemies.

Pretty certain this is a short 5 to 15 minute show based on whose animating it. Other than that no other information on this. There’s nothing to say here. We just have to see how it turns out.

Tanaka-kun wa Itsumo Kedaruge

 

 

Tanaka who is a high school student simply is a slacker and does not want to do anything at all. He loves to sleep during classes and prefers not moving to save energy. One day he meets his classmate, Ota who is exactly the opposite. Ota is energetic and leader in class. He becomes friends with Tanaka and tries to make him start moving. Based on a popular comic from Nozomi Uda.

It’s a comedy about a guy that’s really lazy. That’s pretty much the only joke and it’s not funny.

Unhappy♪

 

 

The story centers around class 1-7 of Tennogofune Academy, where all the students with “bad karma” or misfortune seem to have been gathered. Hibari, a student in this class, meets the unlucky Hanako and the perennially unhealthy Botan on her first day of school, and together they try to find a way to turn their school life into a happy one.

These people look very happy to me. What deplorable false advertising. Can’t someone provide a title the niche audience that desires emo girls doing emo things? Directors hit or miss, its silver link so it’s bound to be decently animated.

 

Series I am middling on

 

Bakuon!!

 

 

The story revolves around high school girls who discover the appeal of motorcycles. Sakura Hane is a high school student who looks a little bit like an airhead. On the way to her all-female high school one day, she is worn-out climbing a hilly road with a bicycle, but she sees a girl named Onsa Amano who is riding a motorcycle. Sakura immediately becomes interested in motorcycles, and she and Onsa join the motorcycle club at the school. Then, Sakura sets out to get her license.

Cute girls love motorcycles sums it up nicely. A cute girl gets interested in motorcycles, joins a school club about motorcycles (A school approving a club that would have serious health and safety issues?) That has three other quirky motorcycle enthusiasts which includes a girl who never removes her helmet or speaks. It’s not original by a longshot but for what it is; it’s done better than most. Ultimately inoffensive and mindless entertainment.

Boku no Hero Academia

 

 

What would the world be like if 80 percent of the population manifested extraordinary superpowers called “Quirks” at age four? Heroes and villains would be battling it out everywhere! Becoming a hero would mean learning to use your power, but where would you go to study? U.A. High’s Hero Program of course! But what would you do if you were one of the 20 percent who were born Quirkless?
Middle school student Izuku Midoriya wants to be a hero more than anything, but he hasn’t got an ounce of power in him. With no chance of ever getting into the prestigious U.A. High School for budding heroes, his life is looking more and more like a dead end. Then an encounter with All Might, the greatest hero of them all gives him a chance to change his destiny…

It really was only a matter of time before this got an anime as it is the very kind of Shounen that becomes exceedingly popular. The manga isn’t bad by any means and under the direction of Bones this is likely going to end up a very good Shounen series. Though I feel it’s very run of the mill and predictable as far as these stories go. Upon first reading it I thought would would be a story of a normal person in a superhero world becoming the equivalent of that universe’s Batman. Sadly it’s more of a tale about him inheriting the role of this world’s Superman. Once the superhero school is introduced I began to get bored very quickly as the plot ticked all the boxes you would expect if you are familiar with the genre. Again if you haven’t seen a lot of these stories or just like them in general then it will be a fun ride. It’s Naruto with Superheroes instead of ninjas. As far as anime goes this is a fairly safe bet to be some fans hit of the season.

flying witch

 

 

Aomori, Japan.
In a land blessed by nature’s bountiful beauty, bizarre things begin to take place. Makoto Kowata, 15 years old, is a professional witch. She left Yokohama with Chito, her black cat, to live in the house of her relatives in Aomori. This is where she begins to train as a witch.
Even though Makoto’s powers are still limited to just flying through the sky, she and her second cousins Kei and Chinatsu surely make the most out of each and every day.

There’s not much to say about this one. It’s mainly a slice of life about a girl who’s a witch. Some comedy and fairly easygoing. Somewhat reminiscent of Kiki’s Delivery service. A readable title which will become a decent anime if done right.

Gyakuten Saiban

 

 

CAPCOM announced at a stage event at Tokyo Game Show on Thursday that its Ace Attorney (Gyakuten Saiban) courtroom battle game franchise is getting a TV anime adaptation that will premiere in Japan in April 2016.

Looks like hell has frozen over because there is a Phoenix wright anime adaption in front of me. My reaction to this is curiosity, but not excitement. The old rule of video game adaptations being below average has been proven time and time again but this game’s status as a game/visual novel puts that into question. Thing is this game is made by Capcom and they are well known for absolutely terrible writing. I have played the first two games if the series so I know what I am in for and let me tell you this. The story of these games is very silly. There are good aspect in the murder mystery style of the cases but this series is very lighthearted when it comes to the plot. People may die but it’s hard to take that seriously when you have a cast of overly eccentric people around. What will make or break this adaption is the highlight of the games themselves, the courtroom debates. This series needs to capture that over the top epic feeling with Phoenix’s “objection!!” as well as the desk slams and reactions. We need to blow everything out of proportion and if they can manage that then this anime will be something pretty good. Otherwise I see a weak video game adaption coming.

 

JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken: Diamond wa Kudakenai

 

 

Part 4 focuses on Josuke Higashikata, the illegitimate son of Joseph Joestar, with Jotaro Kujo and Joseph Joestar along in a supporting role.

Stardust Crusaders has diminished my love for this series a bit so I am not quite as excited to see a sequel. It wasn’t bad but it got fairly repetitive and the rule of cool can only carry you so far. This time people are calling out that this is the pinnacle of the series though I doubt that as people said the same about Stardust. The fact of the matter is that; how does one top what has come before? Jojo has always managed to top itself by getting more and more ridiculous but I feel that once we are past Freddy Kruger babies and Gorilla with a boat stand that we have reached a zenith. The good thing about Jojo is that with every part comes a new cast and villain so perhaps they can make it work if we have more interesting main characters to work with. ( Though Jotaro is still here and Jotaro got boring fast)

 

Kiznaiver

 

 

The fictional Japanese city named Sugomori City is built on reclaimed land. But as the years go by, the city’s population is decreasing. One day, Sonosaki tells her classmate Katsuhira: “You have been selected to be a Kiznaiver.” The Kizuna System, which allows Katsuhira to share his wounds, connects him to the classmates whose lives and personalities completely differ from his. The Kizuna System is an incomplete system for the implementation of world peace that connects people through wounds. All those who are connected to this system are called Kiznaivers. When one Kiznaiver is wounded, the system divides and transmits the wound among the other Kiznaivers.

It’s Studio triggers new original anime. Quite frankly I could leave it at that. Do you even need any more information? They have already proven they can make some great shows with a hamstring budget. Given a half decent budget after some adaptations I expect nothing less than a damn good watch. Nothing particularly deep but entertaining without doubt. However there is a problem with this one. For one the synopsis is a bit complicated for a Tigger style anime and the other is that Mari Okada is the series composer. This doesn’t look to be Triggers usual fair and while Okada did good with Gundam; I still have misgivings about her. Not to mention this isn’t the only anime she’s composing this season. The director is a first timer so we just have to wait and see with this one.

 

Koutetsujou no Kabaneri

 

 

As the world is in the middle of an industrial revolution, a monster appears that cannot be defeated unless its heart, which is protected by a layer of iron, is pierced. By infecting humans with its bite, the monster can create aggressive and undead creatures known as Kabane. On the island Hinomoto, located in the far east, people have built stations to shelter themselves from these creatures. People access the station, as well as transport wares between them, with the help of a locomotive running on steam, called Hayajiro. Ikoma, a boy who lives in the Aragane station and helps to build Hayajiro, creates his own weapon called Tsuranukizutsu in order to defeat the creatures. One day, as he waits for an opportunity to use his weapon, he meets a girl named Mumei, who is excused from the mandatory Kabane inspection. During the night, Ikuma meets Mumei again as he sees Hayajiro going out of control. The staff on the locomotive has turned into the creatures. The station, now under attack by Kabane, is the opportunity Ikoma has been looking for.

From the studio that brought us Attack on Titan comes an original anime that sound a lot like it. This is a mixed situation. We have the series composer who brought us Code Geass and Planetes; But has also given us Valvrave. We have the director of Death note, Kurozuka, attack on Titan and High school of the dead; but he has also given us Guilty crown. Sawano is here ready to give us an epic soundtrack that will likely be reminiscent of his Attack on Titan work. With all these players here we could get something special but the anime does feel to me like wit studio is trying to make lightning strike the same place twice.

 

Kuma Miko

 

 

The story follows Machi, a middle school student who serves as a shrine maiden at a Shinto shrine enshrining a bear in the recesses of a certain mountain in Japan’s northern Touhoku region. Machi’s guardian is a talking bear named Natsu, and one day Machi says to Natsu, “I want to go to a school in the city.” The worrywart Natsu then gives Machi — who is ignorant in the ways of the world — a set of trials that she must pass in order to be able to survive in the city.

A little girl wants to go to school in the city while her talking bear guardian says she can’t because she’s a country bumpkin. The series basically involves comedy as the bear tests her on being ready for the city. The girl is old fashioned seeing as she finds chopping wood for a boiler is better than making use of electricity. I like how the bear is the one who’s tech savvy and is often making use of Ipads and the internet. Its amusing but I do feel its rather typical for this kind of comedy. For example, yet again we have a character who is in love with another character whose oblivious to their affections. Is their some sort of rule that requires that all simple comedies have this? It’s an alright read which could be a fun watch.

 

Kuromukuro

 

 

An original anime by studio P.A. Works in celebration of the studio’s 15th anniversary. It will debut in 2016.

I was rather happy to see PA works go for a Mecha anime as I feel they need to change up the formula. They are a bit too fond of the school slice of life and need to take steps away from it. Then I watched the PV for this and found that no Mecha were present and there was plenty of Highschool slice of life. They don’t look to be moving too far away from their speciality. The series composer has Another and a couple of episodes of Morbitio under his belt and the director has been involved with a number of big names; though not always as a director. He’s directed Blue exorcist, Seven deadly sins, Darker than Black OVAs and Wolf’s rain. But he’s done storyboarding for the likes of Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo and a one or two episodes of Evangelion and soul eater. He’s even done Key animation for the Ghost in the shell movie and Ninja Scroll. He’s got an admittedly impressive CV though I still don’t hold much hope for this one. It depends on which side of this show is more prevalent, the school slice of life or the Mecha.

 

Mayoiga

 

 

30 young men and women who came together on a shady bus tour. The tour’s destination: an illusive, possibly nonexistent village called Nanakimura. In Nanakimura, one can lead a utopian existence, free of the world’s obstacles … or so it was rumored, like an urban legend.
“In despair over the real world … wanting to escape the tedious daily life … wanting to restart your life from scratch …”
The bus headed deep into the mountains, carrying 30 people each harboring their own expectations and wounds in their hearts…
And so, the place these 30 arrived at, was an uninhabited village with the lingering faint scents of life, even though it was falling apart.
What is the truth of Nanakimura facing the 30? You can’t miss even one episode

This one is curious. It happens to be the another show Mari Okada is writing for this season.(Let other writers get some work Okada for crying out…) The premise is fascinating; looking to be an otherworldly exploration on life and the afterlife. Though it’s too soon as all I really have to go on is a vague description. Personally I would like it to be a horror anime as we have very little great examples of it but for all we know it’s a slice of life about people starting over in the country. However the studio has made a lot of terrible anime; their  redeeming titles being Bokurano and Ore no Nounai Sentakushi ga, Gakuen Love Comedy wo Zenryoku de Jama Shiteiru. The director has Shirobako and Xxxholic as his previous work though he also worked on Blood C and Another. Which makes me wonder if we are going to get so ultra violence in this particular title. This looks to be a wait and see kind of title.

 

Sousei no Onmyouji

 

 

Rokuro dreams of becoming anything but an exorcist! Then mysterious Benio turns up. The pair are dubbed the “Twin Star Exorcists” and learn they are fated to marry…
Can Rokuro escape both fates?
When Rokuro’s best friend Ryogo goes missing, Rokuro is forced to ask Benio for help to enter Magano, the realm of the evil Kegare, to rescue him

There are likely those who scoff as this show. Truly I pity it, in another season this would be a welcome addition but it had to air in the season with Boku no Hero. From the mangaka behind Binbougami ga we have a fairly standard Shounen. But, while this may be a controversial opinion, I consider this story to be better than Boku no hero’s. Will it be the best anime of the season, no it won’t. But it still has the potential to be a really good shounen anime. It starts off predictable and has no real surprises but really pulls through with its humor and the relationship between the two leads. One thing I really love is that they fight as a team, with none of this “I sit back while you wail on the bad guy” nonsense.(But there is a bit too much of a focus on the guy more than the girl in later chapters. And I dislike the harem building up but the anime shouldn’t reach that point.) Both the mains make use of combination attacks and seem even in regards to power. The trailer even looks great with showing this off. But there is a big problem, a very big problem. That problems name is Studio Pierrot, and I certainly groaned the moment I heard that they were in charge of this adaption. Pierrots animation is fairly sub-par but to top things off their most recent adaption, Tokyo Ghoul, was horrendously botched. Twin star exorcists manga already has the perfect pacing and structure to fit into a twelve episode series without alteration. Even giving it a fairly decent ending if they stick true to the source. My expectations are set to low but I still hope that they can somehow pull through on this. The story deserves that much. However they have already messed up by announcing an anime original character and that Synopsis doesn’t sound like the manga I read.

 

Macross Δ

 

 

Macross Δ (Macross Delta) is set eight years after the events of Macross F.

The next installment of singing divas and giant Mechas comes and I can’t say it’s looking to present something much different than previous entries. Not that this is a bad thing seeing as Macross Frontier was at least a decent watch with one or two catchy tunes. The entire squad behind this anime is a mixed bag. We have the animation studio Satelight, whom has titles of varied quality. The director too has worked on both really bad shows and pretty good ones. (Bad:Shugo Chara!, Good:Ikoku Meiro no Croisée) The series composer has a pretty bad lineup of anime he’s worked on but has worked partially on anime such as Steins gate, Bantorra and Terra E. Music wise we have three composers, two of whom worked on Rinne no Lagrange which was a fairly mediocre anime but it certainly had a great soundtrack. The PV doesn’t really look all that interesting but still while I doubt it will be a great anime; at least it has the potential to be good.

Series I do look forward to

 

Joker Game

 

 

In 1937, before World War II begins in earnest. Lieutenant Colonel Yuuki of the Imperial Japanese Army forms the “D Agency,” an army intelligence outfit under his command and tutelage. Army General Staff attaches Lieutenant Sakuma to observe the unit’s performance. D Agency casts a wide net to find agents beyond Japanese military personnel, and Yuuki establishes D Agency’s tenets, which go against IJA doctrine: “Don’t kill, don’t get killed, don’t get captured.” With this, Yuuki trains a team of operatives who conduct missions against domestic and foreign powers.

No translation of the original novel so I wasn’t able to check out the source. Still the trailer has me intrigued as it does seem like a mature spy thriller. My only major gripe is that the cast his heavily male dominated and they have very bland and similar designs. However considering that it’s set around the 1940s I am willing to let that go. Though the director isn’t promising as he worked as a director on the likes of Robotics notes and Segoko Basara. Series composer holds more potential as while he hasn’t done a lot, he does have Usagi Drop, Sliver Spoon and most importantly Erased in his resume. We also have Kenji Kawai on the soundtrack and I really like his previous work. This is one I am quite interested in and to be frank, anything that’s about mature adults and has a complete absence of a school setting is alright by me.

 

Re: Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu

 

 

In the story, Subaru Natsuki is an ordinary high school student who is lost in an alternate world, where he is rescued by a beautiful, silver-haired girl. He stays near her to return the favor, but the destiny she is burdened with is more than Subaru can imagine. Enemies attack one by one, and both of them are killed. He then finds out he has the power to rewind death, back to the time he first came to this world. But only he remembers what has happened since.

This one is a bit of a surprise. The synopsis makes it sound like the most generic setup and it is certainly true that this is showing nothing new. But there’s more to this title than you would think. An ordinary guy gets thrown into another world and naturally he thinks that a bunch of old clichés are about to happen. And they don’t. He meets a strange girl who pretty much ignores him. And the only power he has is that when he dies, he goes back to the start of the day again. I am a bit of a sucker for this Groundhog day scenario so this appeals to me. There’s just something about some ordinary person becoming strong through a time loop that I find engaging. Though in this case it’s more him making use of knowledge from his time loops to reach the best outcome. The characters are admittedly weak besides our main who has more to him than the “Average highschool student” template. Our protagonist doesn’t shake off his death’s easy as they do have an effect on him as the story goes on. As well as he loses the time he spent getting closer to people and has to start from scratch again. The director is a newbie and the series composer’s work is a mixed bag though considering his recent work I think he can do a good job. I actually think this could be one of the more interesting titles this season.

 

Sakamoto desu ga?

 

 

First year high school student Sakamoto isn’t just cool, he’s the coolest! Almost immediately after starting school, he began attracting everyone’s attention. The girls love him, and most of the boys resent him. There’s even a boy in the class who works as a model, but who is constantly upstaged by Sakamoto! No matter what tricks the other boys try to play on him, Sakamoto always manages to foil them with ease and grace. Though Sakamoto may seem cool and aloof, he helps others when asked, such as in the case of the boy in his class who was being constantly bullied. No matter what difficulties Sakamoto encounters, he moves through his high school life with confidence and class!

Despite appearances this is a straight up comedy and a fine one at that. The main plot is that students with problems get involved with what is essentially the perfect superhuman, Sakamoto, and learn something about themselves through him. Sakamoto is a ridiculously over the top character who is a delight to watch. No matter what he does; he does it with style. From feeding birds in trees to fighting a Japanese hornet bee with a compass. I genuinely laughed while reading this and really think that if done well this will make a great anime comedy.

 

Ushio to Tora 2

 

 

The second season of Ushio to Tora.

I am at least hoping Ushio to Tora can provide a finale that a Shounen series deserves rather than the usual endings where the finale is abrupt and unsatisfying or just a “life goes on as usual” still I am on board for another run of over the top Shounen action. I pray the continued adventures of Japanese Calvin and Hobbes doesn’t lose steam. Most of all though, I am looking forward to seeing what Hakumen no mono can really do.

Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu – 10

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu

His master reveals that he knew Sokuroku’s mentor and that by using his blood ties to his father he managed to steal the title of Yakumo from Sokuroku’s which caused him to leave the art in disgust. This does put his uncertainties with his right to the name into perspective as he never truly earned it. Teaching Sokuroku may have been his method of atonement but ultimately his pride could let him give him the name. He even reveals that he doesn’t want Yakumo to take the title either which does make his desires rather petty. His contradiction in manner is interesting in how he feels he is unworthy of his title yet has too much pride to hand it over to another. When a young upstart began begging for Yakumo to take him on as an apprentice in front of his master, his master snided at how the child chose Yakumo over him. As a performer I respect that he hid his poor condition until his act was done. Though it became apparent near the end that he was struggling to finish.

Yakumo’s reaction to his master’s confession was rather surprising in that he admitted that he had seen his faults but still respected him for taking them in. I wonder if Yakumo held any grudge against him for kicking out Sokuroku as his reaction to his death was rather cold. Yakumo has hardly been one with an emotional demeanor but one would think he would be affected somewhat during his master’s funeral. Perhaps his words about being grateful to him were but sophistry as he neared death’s door. His master was a flawed individual, blinded by his own prejudices; however he did treat and refer to Yakumo and Sokuroku as his sons. So is a man forgiven for his failings if he himself recognises them in the end?

So the master dies and everyone is pushing for Yakumo to inherit his name; though there are certainly those who sneer at his success behind his back. His performance after the funeral was quite telling as he thought before he began about how people would thinking he was going to tell a sentimental Rakugo story. Instead Yakumo tells a story which is about a man meeting death, making a deal with him and then dying as he attempts to prolong his life. To me it felt like Yakumo was saying a lot with this piece; perhaps highlighting Rakugo itself and the hesitation to let it grow with the times. Or perhaps to show that his passion was dying out without Sukeroku to be his rival. He does still enjoy Rakugo but he has a clear disdain for the backroom policies of the art form. So much so that he dissuaded a potential pupil from dirtying his hands with it Or perhaps it was an ode to his now deceased master who made his own dirty deals and now has met with death. At the end of the episode we see a return of a character not seen since episode 1, though now in a younger form. This looks to be the beginning of the time which caused Konatsu to refer to Yakumo as her father’s killer. So I wonder, did she mean that metaphorically or literally?

Schwarzesmarken – 10

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Schwarzesmarken

The BETA are still coming and with the Stasi in full control we now have rebels working to overthrow the Stasi. All the while West Germany watches from the sidelines as it tries to figure out which side to support. To make up their mind they send Kirke to East Germany to survey the situation because of her relationship with the Schwarzesmarken team. You remember her? The girl who first treated the team with utter contempt but somehow off screen became BFFs with them? Another character who was negatively affected by the time constraints. Anyway I found the little bit of humor they threw in about her “Wiping her own ass”. Crude humor tends to work me sometimes. With her coming the rebels decide to use Theodors plan to make use of her as bait to lure the Stasi into an ambush. Which works like a charm thanks to the Stasi squadron commander being a complete imbecile. Lise tried to warn you guys but you brush her off with a “Your brother is with the rebels so your opinion is worthless” I suppose without Beatrix there to whip some sense into them and Lise is too preoccupied with her brother to give a damn what happens to the rest of her squad. I love the way she jumped out of the way of a bullet, letting it hit her comrade behind her, it shows that she truly has no love for her Stasi comrades. One particularly grisly detail about this battle is that the rebels didn’t evacuate the town before fighting in it. Which meant that quite a number of civilians got caught in the crossfire. That’s sort of a glazed over part of mecha anime though chances are a Gundam explored it. When you have giant robots fighting all about the place then collateral damage is a guarantee and while Kirke wasn’t in favor of it, at least the team saw it as necessary. After all they couldn’t orchestrate mass evacuation without alerting the Stasi of their ambush.

So Lise is dead. I don’t even need to know if Theodors gunshot hit her to confirm that. With the amount of shrapnel lodged in her body you can already tell that she was done for. This acts as a nice parallels to the start of the series, where Irisdina shot one of their comrades after she was horribly wounded in a BETA attack after sacrificing herself to save another. Even the delicious irony that Theodor originally hated Irisdina because she apparently shot and killed her brother. Yet here he is, putting a bullet in his sister. She had it coming and I am glad that Theodor actually had the guts to do it instead of a third party jumping in to save him the trouble. Lise was too far gone, too broken to salvage. All that was left was to give her the death sentence but at least she got it from her brother. I still state that Lise is far from forgivable in what she has done but it is disheartening to see her reach such a tragic end. Her will and love was beaten and defiled till it was twisted to help her best serve the Stasi. Even on her last words she was speaking of how stupid it was to oppose them, for she knew all too well what they are capable of. After all the torture; having her mind,body and soul twisted beyond repair to save the one person she cares about; her final reward is a bullet to the head. This may be the only character moment Schwarzesmarken got right though it did get a tad overly melodramatic. Still we know the history between the two, a complicated relationship of family and lovers, and it certainly must have been excruciating for Theodor to pull that trigger.The final shot was reminiscent of a certain scene from Madoka Magica and I liked how you had to really listen to hear the gunshot. With Lise out of the picture or heads turn to our new main threat, that being Beatrix and her werewolf battalion. We don’t have much left to the series so she won’t have much time to shine. Still I would like her to have a nice climactic fight with Irisdina at least, considering that they seem to have history.

Boku dake ga Inai Machi – 10

by AidanAK47, posted in Boku dake ga Inai Machi, Currently Watching:

Satoru and friends have saved Kayo and now with very little effort; have saved the other two targets as well. I am a little disappointed at how quickly and easily this was resolved when you consider how long it took to save Kayo. I originally considered this a victim of the anime adaption trimming the manga down to fit the runtime but after having read the manga up to this episode I found that is not the case. The problem was fixed just as fast there and the only major difference is more focus on Kayo which I am glad they cut out. A lot of it was really unnecessary and was more just an additional unneeded epilogue. So one target is saved when she gets a crush on one of Satoru’s friends and starts hanging out with them. The other is saved simply by them hanging out with him more. In regards to this the other two victims feel like an afterthought. Though Satoru is well aware that taking away the murderers targets isn’t going to stop him and one of his friends brings up that thanks to his previous actions; a new girl is now a new perfect target for the killer. So he decides that he will save her as well.

Then we have the wham moment; the point we have all been waiting for. The murderer is revealed to be…Yashiro, Satoru’s teacher. I would shout in glee that I called it if it wasn’t so obvious that many others would be doing the same. If you have been watching close enough it would have been clear that the murderer couldn’t be anyone other than Yashiro and so the obvious suspect from the start turns out to be the murderer. Now, I don’t like beating a dead horse but I must bring up another anime which did this exact same thing in order to get my feelings across; Subete ga F ni Naru. That too had a mystery that ended up with a murderer that was completely obvious. It spent a majority of its time dangling a carrot in front of the viewer when any average person’s logical deduction could figure out just what the carrot was. So why is it that when Subete revealed its obvious murderer I was immensely disappointed; yet when Boku Machi does essentially the same thing why am I am not angry? Well I believe it’s a matter of substance. With Subete, everything depended on the mystery. Truly it had nothing else and if I was willing to rewatch it I would be bored as with the mystery revealed all that remained would be pretentious dialogue and a romance with no payoff or investment. With Boku Machi that isn’t the case. There are plenty of great characters and moments I would love to see again; the reveal doesn’t devalue the events before it. Sure, it’s predictable but boring? No. Ultimately this wasn’t a show that was primarily about the mystery aspect but rather more about the people surrounding it. If anything I am glad they decided to pick someone who makes sense as opposed to making it some background character with little screentime solely for shock value. There is also value in that despite being so sure it was him; this show actually made me unsure momentarily about it at times. As others have said, he was so obvious that many had concluded that he couldn’t be the killer and was just a red herring. Like Satoru we had the facts staring us in the face but the teacher was such a likable guy that we didn’t really want to believe it.

From the moment Satoru entered the car it felt ominous. Really with the nervous tapping of Yashiro on the steering wheel and his increasingly worrisome statements getting a bit extreme you could tell the reveal was coming. It was only a matter of when Yashiro would say the words and when he did, it hit Satoru like a truck. On the reveal I feel the manga’s version of Yashiros face as he unveils it trumps his anime counterpart. The anime made his triumphant smile a bit too much like a scumbag; his smile in the manga was more constrained and with that a lot more disturbing. Admittedly what follows is essentially a villainous monologue about how he couldn’t believe that Satoru was anticipating all his moves and that he may just know that Satoru came from the future. Saying that he respects Satoru for beating him and thanks to his efforts the town is now safe from Yashiro. Though now Satoru pays for that victory with his life which gives some context to the title “A town only without me”. The cliffhanger this week isn’t much of one as it suggests Satoru might die drowning in Yashiros car. We have two episodes left, Satoru has time travel powers that could kick in at any moment and he shouted a line at Yashiro which would certainly have him considering pulling him out to hear what he has to say. I am hoping they elaborate on just why Yashiro is doing all this; they gave hints with him speaking about using illegal methods to fill up the hole in his life but I would like more concrete reasoning. But with the limited time left and a lot of manga to cover that could be a tall order.

Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu – 09

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu

It would be a lie to say that we didn’t see this coming but Sokeroku has begun his downfall. A split between Yakumo and Sokeroku was promised from the very start of this show and now we finally see just what causes it. This was Sokeroku at his most vulnerable; with his confidence shattered and drive for Rakugo disappeared. The passage of time for this episode was quick and much like Sokeroku’s descent, sudden. He was always walking a dangerous line with his general disrespect for his superiors and attitude. But the trigger was all within a talk with his master; where he touched on a dangerous  topic. Sukeroku’s fears for the future of Rakugo are true and he’s one of the few to realize it. Sadly though as with any traditional art; calls for change is greeted with pure venom. It’s a simple truth that things must change with the times to remain relevant and modernisation does not equal quality. I won’t call the master a fool for outright dismissing Sukeroku’s conclusions as their is a danger of an art losing its true form. There have been plenty of examples of TV shows becoming hollow shells of former glory in order to appeal to a new generation. Sukeroku also wasn’t putting forward a method for Rakugo to change either; instead merely proposing that it should. But the breaking point was when his lack of tact finally hit on a nerve his master couldn’t take. The master already showed us that he doubted that he lived up to the standards of his predecessors and Sukeroku started to criticize his rakugo as Old and boring. It wasn’t a surprise to see his master snap and quite frankly Sukeroku may have already being taking too much of an advantage of his good graces already. The master revealed his decision for Yakumo to carry on the name and said he would never have given it to a stray like him which causes Sukeroku to strike in anger. With that the master expelled him from the art and Sukeroku had lost everything.

Yakumo and Miyokichi have finally broken up and that scene was truly marvelous. As wind kicked up and the cherry blossoms floated in as she swore vengeance upon Yakumo was almost supernatural. The framing of the scene held a certain ambience that made it beautiful despite it being a declaration of her fury. Sukeroku and Miyokichi’s relationship is an interesting circumstance. Miyokichi is a woman of the past; bound by a way of living that is no longer feasible in the new age. Sukeroku is a man of the future; striving to survive for a change he sees coming. Yet both have been abandoned by the present and seek comfort in each other. In a way their relationship is purely mechanical and serves only for survival. Miyokichi needs Sukeroku to live and Sukeroku needs Miyokichi to give his life purpose now that he is without Rakugo. There is no love in this arrangement; merely convenience. Miyokichi is pregnant now and a big question here is; is Miyokichi’s child truly Sukeroku’s?

Yakumo looks to be the one to take Sukeroku’s expulsion the worst as he looks to have lost interest in everything outside of Rakugo. To him it was as if a bright light had been snuffed out; one which he was always chasing. In a sad way he got his wish from last episode. “If I was alone everything would be so much easier” When Sukeroku comes to tell him that he was leaving; you could see it was killing Yakumo to see his spirit so dead. In the heat of the argument when Yakumo’s was ready to hit him; Sukeroku admits that he was jealous of Yakumo. Which is a mirror of Yakumo’s own feelings. He had always felt an inadequacy towards himself when compared to Sukeroku and here we see that Sukeroku felt much the same. Though Sukeroku’s jealousy was more to due with Yakumo’s pedigree and lineage. Perhaps that’s why he was so determined with his Rakugo; because he was desperate to prove he wasn’t some hopeless street urchin.

Schwarzesmarken – 09

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Schwarzesmarken

For the past few episodes we were able to get past the lack of character development by focusing on the situation at hand. However with an episode like this which depends on emotional investment in the characters; Schwarzesmarken really shows this animes weaknesses. Lises situation is unfortunate though she still remains nonredeemable. Pham’s death didn’t invoke any emotion from me as her screen time in the anime has be rather limited. I guess they tried to make it more meaningful by having her comfort Theodor and Theodor admiring that he always thought of her as an older sister. But this scene felt contrived and forced due to the interaction between these two being absolutely minimal throughout the series. I would even bet this is the first time we seen them talking to each other alone. It’s clear that a lot of content is missing here and likely cut due to the anime’s time limitations. This is adapting seven volumes worth of light novels after all. In that line of thinking this may be best an anime seen after reading the visual novel or light novels; as then you would have the context needed to be affected by the struggles of these characters. If anything this show displays the importance of downtime in a story. You need to lay back; let your characters talk and interact. Allow the audience to know the person behind the giant Mecha. Then when the time comes to have them face challenges it won’t fall flat like this.

Axemann entering the fray again wasn’t exactly a surprise as he’s a bit too good of a villain to be killed off screen like that. His presence does present a dilemma in that to defeat the Stasi they are forced to work with Stasi. Especially someone like Axemann whom is hardly trustworthy. While allying with him it increases the chances of overthrowing the Stasi; it also presents the possibility of repeating history all over again.Axemann wants a seat of power in the new government and if they give him that well…it’s only a matter of time before he begins to take over again. Though I doubt he’s going to survive this series as he just has far too many enemies about. Even background characters are out for his blood.

So when a hefty amount of character interaction is chopped out this makes Pham’s sacrifice very unnecessary and illogical. What does she hold such faith in Lise and why is she going to such lengths to go outside with a rocket launcher and attempt to disable her TSF? It makes you question whether Pham was just an idiot seeing as she seemed to be banking on Lise not firing back at her after she hit her with a rocket launcher. Personally she might as well have just jumped into a TSF and used that to disable Lise. You could say she was too weak for that but she did just carry a rocket launcher through snow for a considerable distance. Pretty sure she could manage a TSF. Taking this into account I can only look at Pham’s sacrifice as pointless which lessens the tragedy of it. A tragedy I find much more compelling is that Lise’s current stance. This episode Lise revealed just to what lengths she went to in order to protect her brother. Sold out her friends, sold her body, killed dozens and even sacrificed her humanity by becoming Axemanns “pet”. She did the absolutely unthinkable and all for the day when she could be with Theodor again. And now she stands baring everything she is to him and he can’t possibly forgive what she’s become. Her efforts ultimately ensured that Theodor would never be with her and the sad fact is that she is far beyond redemption. The only thing Theodor can do for her now is put a bullet in her head which he sadly cannot bring himself to do. Considering just how broken Lise is; I think he’s going to really regret that. After all Lise has already shown the depths she will resort to if it means she can be with her dear “Onii-chan”

Boku dake ga Inai Machi – 09

by AidanAK47, posted in Boku dake ga Inai Machi, Currently Watching:

We come to the climax of Kayos arc and the time when that mother of hers gets what’s coming. Admittedly I would have preferred that the payback was a little more forceful as they essentially cornered her and killed her with kindness. A character like Kayos mom is a difficult one to make deep, as many writers just resort to the minimum effort of characterisation. An abusive parent whose abusive because they are. By making a character unapologetically evil and them being unaware of the right of their actions just spurs a feeling of wanting to slap some sense into these idiotic simpletons. While this shows efforts didn’t quite make Kayos mom a more complex individual; at least it tried to give some logic behind her actions. I truly appreciate that it recognised that Kayos mom had gone too far to become sympathetic by showing the onlookers to be largely unaffected by Kayos breakdown into tears. I now understand just how she came to beat Kayo; namely because of the stress of being a single mother and that Kayo was a reminder of a previous incredibly abusive relationship she had with her husband. But while I understand why she came to do what she did; that doesn’t excuse the fact that she’s beating the crap out of her daughter. I feel her plight is even more apathetic when you consider that we have a perfect example of a single mom in Sachiko to contrast her with. Cry all you like; I am not going to forget that just minutes ago you nearly took Sachiko’s head clean off with a snow shovel. I admit that this resolution to Kayos problem is a little too quick and clean. Though having this all done does serve to benefit the story seeing as the heavy focus of Kayo put the main plot to the sideline a bit too much.

On that note this show certainly is making an effort to remove suspicions from the teacher being the murderer and I find myself questioning it. Before I was dead set that he was the one but now he has become so suspicious that I begin thinking he’s a red herring. He remains prime suspect due to the fact that there is no other characters who fit the bill but that would make Satoru’s view as a father figure quite tragic. The big reveal of a stash of candy in his car compartment almost seems like a dead giveaway but his explanation behind it is so quirky that I find myself believing it. So with Kayo out of the way we have moved on to the other two victims of the killer and I fear Satoru is making a big mistake. He’s continuing as through the pattern of murderers will follow the same path but he has interfered with it. The episode ends with an ominous shot of the girl who previously attempted to fame Kayo for stealing money following Satoru’s friends. Heavily hinting that she may be the next victim. Personality this looks like a fake out as it’s likely the animators thought they needed to carry the tread of ending every episode with a cliffhanger. Chances are she will follow the boys and get involved with what’s going on. Though the chance of her ending up as a new target is quite high. It would act as a perfect wake up call for Satoru to realise how his actions have consequences.

As this episode ends the ever looming question remains. Just how do they plan to cover the rest of the manga in the remaining episodes. We have reached a point where they have too much to cover and yet have gone through the story so much that there’s not enough left for a second season. As I see it we have two outcomes to this. One is that they plan on announcing  a OVA or movie at series end to conclude the series. The other is that they plan to rush the remainder of the content at mach speed. Considering the level of care that has gone into this adaption; outcome two seems unlikely. There is no way they planed out these episodes and didn’t see the issue of the remaining content. That would just be a densely grave oversight. A movie seems like the most likely option and the best one. It would give them the remaining time they need to conclude the story and up the production values. Boku Machi is a show that deserves a worthwhile ending.

Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu – 08

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu

This was an episode of emotional baggage and we got plenty from our cast. This was a great episode in how it developed our characters and foreshadowed the troubles to come. I believe I have misunderstood Sukeroku’s intent with his Rakugo. I am now convinced that Sukeroku’s aloof exterior hides the mind of a truly intelligent man. After all, what carefree simpleton takes the time to think though the future of his profession and realise that his art needed to change in order to match the times. Sukeroku’s solution is an interesting one; to have a Rakugo performers that’s experimental and adapts the art. And to have one to keep the traditions of old alive. It’s a good strategy; after all despite the being at the advent of VR gaming, the love of traditional 2D side scrollers as not diminished in the slightest. But Sukeroku’s path is a thorny one as evidenced but the masters reluctance to move up his rank as a performer. For people don’t like change and Sukerokus efforts to keep Rakugo relevant might end up destroying his career. In his words that two people before them intended to inherit his master’s name; one succeeded while the other died penniless in a theater. I fear these words will be prophetic to the fate of Sukeroku himself.

Miyokichi laying bare her soul to Sukeroku was also rather telling as she explains just how she has been used by men over the years. She’s smart enough to know Yakumo is cutting her off but it makes it all the more painful when he’s the only person she’s ever truly desired. Sokerokus embrace was a rather sudden move but to me it felt calculated. He did it quickly and without any passion. To me it felt like he knew Yakumo was around and purposefully gave off the wrong impression in order to get a reaction out of Yakumo; to show Miyokichi that he really cared.  Him shouting at Yakumo to go after her does show that he supports them and is rather contradictory considering what he just did. But perhaps he simply intended to comfort Miyokichi. However it backfired and Yakumo only made clear his disinterest in her sexually. I believe it when he said he loved her and the master telling him he can’t begin a family with a girl like her looks to be his excuse. Though in the old days of Japan such a thing could hurt his standing in the Rakugo world. It’s possible Miyokichi could be happy just standing by his side as she said however there are few who could stay in a position and never desire more later down the road.

The master also has a small bit of development as it seems that he doesn’t believe he truly lived up to the name he inherited from his master. This may be referring back to the man Sukeroku mentioned as perhaps he had a similar rivalry and felt inferior to the man Sukeroku got his love of Rakugo from. In fact perhaps that is the reason he took in Sukeroku in the first place. I think Yakumo’s feelings in in this episode could be greatly misinterpreted. Of course I could be wrong in my assessment but to me it felt clear what Yakumo was talking about when he considered being with Sukeroku painful. He cares for Sukeroku but he reminds him of the rakugo he can never do and the traits he can never have. Yakumo admires him but in looking at him he can only find the faults with himself become all the more glaring. I am reminded of the relationship between Guts and Griffith from Berserk; which was also considered having homoerotic undertones. Yakumo stated that he could simply just fall back and enjoy being a friend/caretaker of Sukeroku, but Yakumo wants to stand on the same stage as Sukeroku. As an equal. From how things look; Shouwa Genroku is building towards a tragedy. The events that lead to the future from the first episode are coming into place; it’s just a matter of how it all happens.

Schwarzesmarken – 08

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Schwarzesmarken

This week on Schwarzesmarken. The squad is captured, the bad guys have won, our main character is in a emo coma and the little sister character has gone full bitch. So in one fell swoop the Russian faction of the Stasi has wiped out the Berlin faction and taken over East Germany. I was previously under the impression that they planned to use the Schwarzesmarken team as hostages to stop the Berlin faction but it seems that their Russian friends have given them some brand new TSFs which were used to wipe out Axemann. Oh Axemann, you were so confident in this Coup d’etat that you didn’t know that all you were doing was rolling out the red carpet to welcome your enemies. With that the Stasi have practically won; they have the resources to resupply the front lines and control over the government. Other countries have no choice but to work with the Stasi in under to fight the BETA. And if the Stasi happens to enforce a full on totalitarian dictatorship in the process then who has the right to protest?

The real highlight of this episode is Lise; who has dropped the cutesy little sister act and revealed her true colours. Symbolised by the removal of her hair ribbons. Now she’s given the job of torturing her former comrades for information about Katia and damn if she isn’t reveling in it. She looked to show a small bit of reluctance when ordered but she certainly is smug in torturing them. It does look like her feelings for Theodor are real but I would guess that he is the only only she cares about. I peaked a little bit into her history and she’s certainly not had it easy. I won’t elaborate as it may be expanded on in future episodes and frankly I want to not look further into it as there is a chance of the Schwarzesmarken visual novels getting officially translated, as the Muv Luv kickstarter stated they were planning to translate a demo of it. (Just to note. Schwarzesmarken started as a series of seven light novels. AGE later made a visual novel covering up to the large scale attack with the Americans in the anime. Which is about up to volume 3. Another VN is coming out to cover the rest of the story) Regardless of what she went though however it doesn’t excuse her actions now. This change from little sister character to cold blooded betrayer has caused me to like Lise a whole lot more. I previously groaned at her very first appearance as she leapt as her brother with a “Onii-chan!” but she has undoubtedly improved the show as whole. I am hoping with her reveal and Axemann out of the way we can finally see Beatrix jump into the position of main villain and show us what she can do. Of course BETA are the main threat but I put them in the same place I would put the whitewalkers of Game of Thrones. That being a looming threat to raise the stakes but not the focus. Beatrix has been heavily underused for these past 8 episodes and I want her to prove her presence worthwhile in these last episodes.

The last part of the episode focused on Katia convincing the rebellion forces to use her status as the daughter of a hero to rally support to overthrow the Stasi. This finally snaps Theodor out of his emo coma and he remembers his promise from the very start of the series. I must ask Theodor, what were you thinking about while dazed out. It has always being a curiosity of mine as to what goes through a Mecha protagonists head when they crunch up in fetal position and their eyes go dead. Maybe they just think roundabout logic like Shinji Ikari or maybe they enter some dream world where they are a protagonist of a harem or something. (That statement may be dramatic irony considering the beginning of this franchise. Though the internet’s constant debate of what is and isn’t ironic has caused me to not even be sure what it means anymore.) To me this scene represents one of the biggest flaws with this franchise. I mean, I do love Muv Luv but it has its fair share of problems. This problem is; the heavily over dramatic speeches. There are plenty of moments in all the works of characters getting caught up in huge dramatic speeches that go on and on without taking the context of the scene into account. The pragmatic nature of the writing can get overbearing at times. Admittedly the Schwarzesmarken novels were written by Hiroki Uchida whereas the main series was written by Koki Yoshimune so it’s toned down a bit here or simply cut short to fit it in the anime. Still seeing Katia getting into a big speech that manages to stir Theodor out of his stupor was too cheesy for my liking. That said; it worked on the general so I guess we can move on to overthrowing the Stasi. Just how they can manage that will be something to see.

Boku dake ga Inai Machi – 08

by AidanAK47, posted in Boku dake ga Inai Machi, Currently Watching:

A calm episode of Boku Machi this week but certainly a very strong one. The teacher looked to be removing suspicions on him this episode with his efforts to get child services to finally catch Kayos mom. However my prime suspect remains him and if anything I think hes proving his guilt. Removing the camera shots that make him look suspicious; we have some things here linking him to the killer. For one, the kids discovered that the bus they were keeping Kayo in was also being used as the killer’s hideout. Kenya mentioned that the bus was used by the school and abandoned. Which stands to reason that the killer knew that the bus wasn’t being used as well and is connected with the school. The teacher is the one calling social services on Kayos mom; which stands to reason that he’s the perfect person to tip her off about the visits. But then why get social services to investigate in the first place? Well it looks like he isn’t the only one concerned with Kayos situation and Sachiko is involved as well. He might be doing it for the sake of appearance. His knowledge that Satoru had hidden Kayo is also suspicious; it’s possible to come to that conclusion but I feel he was so certain because he knew that they were using his hideout as a place to hide her. You can’t fool me, mister teacher. You are still my prime suspect.

Satoru thankfully takes my advice and decides to trust in his mother after the base is compromised. If Sachiko hasn’t won the award for best mother in anime before this; she certainly has now. Taking Kayo in and giving her all the care in the world made the second half of this episode truly heartwarming. Also a bath scene that wasn’t pandering fanservice. See anime? You can do it if you try. It could be argued that we are spending too much time on Kayo and putting the main storyline to the wayside. Especially as we are reaching the end of the series and still have a large amount of material to cover. I do have my concerns about that but frankly this was an excellent episode. In particular the scene with Kayo crying at the sight of a lovingly made breakfast was truly powerful and moving. Truly masterfully done. The thing that makes it all the more effective is that Kayo up till this point had been very mature child. She never cried at being abused by her mother, or at anything she would have every right to cry about. But when faced with genuine unconditional love, all the barriers she set up melted away and she became a kid once again. I am impressed by that scene and particularly annoyed when Yuki Kajiura wormed her piano song into in and started get me thinking how it’s too damn similar to Fate/zero and that using piano for this scene is so damn lazy and goddamn it Yuki! Gah! Personal gripes with that aside it was well executed scene.

I remain in a strange position with this show. For you see I do think this has been done wonderfully so far and I want to lavish praise on it. But part of me is reserved on doing so because this show isn’t over and I feel if I begin to push it as anime of the season I risk jinxing the remainder of its run. Then there is the big worry, the fact that this anime has been confirmed to portray the manga ending, yet it has only covered about half the manga so far and we have only four episodes left. I am praying in my heart that there is a second season in the works or at least a small series of OVA episodes because no matter how good the execution has been so far, I cannot see the situation of shoving twenty one thirty page chapters of manga into a short time frame ending well. Of course, I want to be wrong on that, I want this to all work out. Well in coming back to the episode we have Kayos mom getting antsy now that Kayo isn’t around to let her take out her frustrations. But this episodes cliffhanger looks like she will finally be getting some just desserts.