Schwarzesmarken – 04

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Schwarzesmarken

This episode starts with a groan as we meet a new member of the cast, that being Theodor’s sister who on first sight hugs with with the ever so traditional “Onii-chan!” The sister does bring some good developments to the table, namely the machination the Stasi has in store for her, but I really wish the didn’t resort to an old caricature. We even have some back story for Theodor which pretty much only confirms that yes, Lise is Theodor’s step sister and non blood related so she’s perfectly fine for being pushed into the boy’s harem. I understand that harems are essentially series tradition for Muv Luv (The first entry of the series was a pure by the numbers harem after all) but Schwarzesmarken at least has kept that particular element at bay and I would like it to stay that way. The last thing a do or die setting like this needs is harem hijinks. As far as Lise’s standing as a spy she certainly is suspicious. She clearly seems to be feigning amnesia over the period she spent with the Stasi and doesn’t seem too pleased with Therdors approval of Irisdina. Her reaction is a bit too serious to write off as simple jealousy. There’s also that rather delayed response from her when Katia was about to get ambushed by BETA. I am willing to bet that she was weighing her option of letting Katia die to BETA assault. Whatever the Stasi has planned it seems to be working as Therdor looks reluctant to entertain the possibility of Lise being a spy. He may say otherwise to Katia but that felt like he was just putting her at ease.

So with a new member added to the cast this looks like a good time for the team to have some R&R and use the new character to flesh out the other members of the squad. At least that would be the wise move but sadly the plot disagrees and sends them out to a major offense against the BETA. It really seems like there could be plenty of things to expand upon before jumping into a major plot arc. Such as Katia’s awkward position of no longer acting as a replacement for Theodors sister. A large amount of Theodors dedication to protecting Katia was due to her resemblance to his sister and now that his actual sister has shown up it puts Katia in a more perilous state as when push comes to shove he will save his sister before saving her. Plus the whole complicated feelings humbug with dear Therdor senpai not noticing her anymore. However that is written off quickly and now we are in a big offensive quite literally straight out of nowhere. A combined effort by the UN and countries of the world to prevent BETA from crossing too far west from Europe. Our big issue here is when Gretel starts giving out unreasonable orders due to a desire to distinguish the east German task force in order to win political favor. However no one seems to hold them in high regard as artillery is fired without regarding them being in the line of fire and at episode’s end it looks like even the west Germans despise them. A little hypocritical considering that east Germany is the one thing keeping the BETA at bay but with the Stasi and whatnot, they are hardly beyond reproach. All of this has the potential to be quite interesting but the fatal flaw remains. We the audience lack emotional attachment to the characters. Why is Gretal looking for political favor? Why is anyone here fighting at all? Why did Irisdina tell a racist joke before going into battle? And most importantly of all, why should we even care if these people live or die?

Boku dake ga Inai Machi – 04

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

There certainly is a layer of dread from this episodes beginning as we see happy events unfold. Things are looking up, history is changing, Kayo is finally getting out of an abusive relationship with her mother and finding happiness. But much like Satoru is feeling, there is a unease at these developments. Things are going too perfectly, it’s all working out a little too well. But most importantly, Satoru is getting the feeling that he may indeed be retreading his old steps. Despite Kayo not minding, Satoru clings to her more often. Walking with her to school, practically dogging her every step. Because much like Satoru, we feel the exact same uncertainty. The death flags are getting tripped and we are all waiting for the wham moment. Then just when you think it might be alright, Kayo disappears and never returns.

Its lucky that Satoru happens to have a great mom. Sachiko may have just become a fan favourite with this episode as she happened to defuse Kayos mother with relative ease. She’s cool and caring in a motherly way which is a big turnaround from her first appearance, where you could easily mistake her for a deadbeat parent. But much like the cruelty of this episode we have the knowledge that in the future she is fated to be stabbed to death in Satoru’s apartment. Why must we build an attachment to characters destined to die? The strength of this series rains but this episode may be the start of things feeling a little bit rushed. While not necessarily detrimental, this episode felt fast at points.

Yuki’s soundtrack also happens to be distracting me at some points as well as there are tracks which are a far too overpowering and melodramatic for the visuals. It was rather aggravating to hear a loud violin as Satoru ran home after believing everything was set right. A moment like that calls for something more subdued, not an orchestral symphony like he defeated the demon king. But that aside the mystery deepens as Satoru seems to have effected the day that Kayo was abducted, in other words something Satoru did caused the murderer to change his mind. Or our murderer may have powers similar to that of Satoru’s. On the night we have a montage of all the adult characters, Kayos mother in particular suspiciously not being at home. I am still hedging my bets on the teacher but this mystery may have more layers to it that I first thought.

Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu – 03

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

From the looks of things this series will be focusing primarily on the past of Yakumo as the stylish opening seems to place emphasis on the characters of the flashback. Rakugo is surprisingly abset this week as World War II causes Yakumo to be left behind as his Teacher and Sukeroku go out to entertain soldiers. To Yakumo this is a repeat of his past as others leave him behind once again and his frustrating position of being able to do nothing about it. However in their absence it has caused a greater love for Rakugo to grow in Yakumo’s heart. In essence since being striped of his postion to perform Rakugo, it made Yakumo realize just how important it was to him once he no longer had to perform it. This is something I have found with an interest. When you are forced into something, chances are that you will not enjoy it. However if you pick it up by your own initiative then you come to love it. This is Yakumo’s true awakening into the art, when he comes into his own as a performer. And with Sukeroku hefty absence from the art, I believe he and Yakumo are on a much more even playing field this time around.

From what I can see, due to the authors previous experience being mainly related to boys love manga, people are insinuating that Yakumo’s and Sukeroku’s relationship could potentially move to become romantic. I personally am not a fan of this assessment, not out of aversion but rather because I feel it undermines the nature of Yakumo’s and Sukeroku’s rivalry. Their connection is one of trust and respect, something much deeper than simple sexual attraction. These two are brothers in a love for Rakugo and to insinuate that that love is dotted with hints of potential lust just feels disrespectful to the dedication of the characters. It would be akin to saying my love of anime is very slightly influenced by a desire for 2D female women and that’s just downright insulting. That said I do find that Yakumo is rather disinterested when it comes to his romantic encounters. Particularly when he reacted far more emotionally to his Teacher and Sukeroku’s leaving him behind than he did for his girlfriend tearfully breaking up with him. Should it turn out that Yakumo is homosexual, it could lead to some interesting story developments. However this is a story about Rakugo and I would prefer for it to not deviate too far from the premise.

Schwarzesmarken – 03

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Schwarzesmarken

Schwarzesmarken remains a strange specimen of an anime, while still not excelling it is clear it has the potential to. So why is it not a great anime? Well it’s beating the same point as my last post but I do think characterisation is key here. In this episode we had two characters introduced whose main purpose was to be disposed of. In practice this tactic is a very cheap one and only works as a cheap development device or a lazy emotional manipulation tactic. That said when I felt more for a disposable soldiers death than I did for the rest of the cast then something is amiss. Katia and Theodor have gone through important developments in this episodes which could help give the characters more likeable traits but the developments are far too sudden. Theodor has opened up and admired that he wants to protect Katia to make up for failing to save his sister but this has come well, pretty much straight out of nowhere. From our perspective Theodor has only known Katia for a few days and whatever time he did spend with her, she was aggravating him to no end. Katia’s revealation is equally sudden, though in her case a little more believable. It’s logical that one would lose optimism when seeing the threat first hand and it is something that she really needs as a character. Hippy logic won’t save anyone as even if east and west Germany did join hands to battle the threat of BETA, the situation would be equally as dire.

On looking at these developments I can see how these characters could come to these conclusions but it feels as though we are missing a huge part of the process and given just the beginning and conclusion. I have a beef with how it was shown as well, with both Katia and Theodor both speaking of their feelings as if they were speaking to an invisible psychiatrist. It’s a problem not only here but even present in the original trilogy of visual novels as Shirogane Takeru(The protagonist of Muv Luv) was also fond of spelling out his new found revealations to people. Though in that case they managed to find a way of it helping with character development by making one of the characters Takeru’s “Noble Confidant”. Speaking of which, the Visual Novels made it a point to introduce and flesh out the characters first long before the plot even started. It was a tactic that is both a strength and weakness of the series as a whole. That may sound contradictory but let me pit it this way, it added a heavy layer of tedium for anyone beginning the series in exchange for a deeper emotional connection later down the line. That may be an aspect that can’t quite translate to anime which makes me question whether a animated adaption would be a good idea. After all so far both Muv Luv adaptions have been rather lacklustre and the reason for that could be an element you can’t experience outside of a visual novel format. That said its more likely due to poor adaption in those cases as I do hear that the anime isn’t doing the Schwarzesmarken light novels justice so far.

Boku dake ga Inai Machi – 03

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

When it comes to matters of time travel, it’s always a wonder to consider just what rules it follows. Time travel, much like alternate realities is one of the biggest can of worms to open when writing a story. Mainly because it demands the viewer keeps in mind a series of characters,settings and event which may not even take place in order in a timeline. The level of complexity jumps as you attempt to define time travel so in many ways it can be best to never try to explain it. Plenty of stories have used time travel and washed over the rules of it with ease. Groundhog day and Dr who both tend to use Time travel as a plot device rather than a focus and Boku dake ga Inai Machi looks to do the same. Time travel is not the focus of this story. The focus is the mystery regarding Satoru’s childhood. But this episode brings up an interesting dilemma, namely the level influence Satoru has over the past. As Satoru unintentionally repeats the past by letting someone else win the ice skating race it brings up the potential possibly that we are operating under Twelve Monkeys rules. Namely that you can attempt to change the past but in turn cause things to turn out exactly the same. In other words no matter how Satoru effects the past, it will not affect the outcome. A sad thought as he’s currently making a fairly miserable girl in a bad situation quite happy and it could be possible that she’s doomed to be killed.

This episode was a fairly emotional one with a fairly dark reveal of the level of abuse Kayo receives from her mother. I would like to call her mother’s character unrealistic and a exaggeration…I would, but frankly it’s likely there are these types of people in the world. I generally dislike characters who seem one dimensionally evil for the sake of tragedy but in this case I can’t deny her being effective. The difference between this and the likes of tragic family situation portrayed in Divine Gate is that Kayo mother is fairly believable. Kayo isn’t in the best situation and this episode does get you on her side. When she’s accused of stealing lunch money by a classmate, I am certain all of us would have reacted just like Satoru. Seeing him shout was still quite satisfying. But it wasn’t just sad feelings this episode as Satoru takes her to see a “Christmas tree” and well to see her genuinely smile truly can warm even the coldest of hearts. That scene was directed marvellously and if this anime can keep this up then it truly could become something special. So on the matter of the murderer, all signs so far point to Satoru’s teacher. The teacher is certainly suspicious and the end scene highlights this though I am hoping he’s a red herring as he’s a bit too obvious. It’s the look in his eyes that really tip me off, those eyes certainly hold something sinister. He holds a little too much interest in helping Satoru and I wonder why he waited so long before interfering with that girl’s attempt to frame Kayo. However what really interests me is his connection to Satoru’s friend, Kenya. Whose also rather on the strange side of being unusually helpful to Satoru. Admittedly I am just shooting blind here as the series has not quite given us a large range of suspects and I hope that it doesn’t make the same mistake as Subete and make the villain too obvious for the start.

Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu – 02

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

So we enter a flashback on how the master became the man he is as well as how he met Hatsuda. It’s interesting to see the man who always seemed to be in control be a person of much more vulnerable status. As a child we see the aspects that he will ebody in the future but he’s also a lot more unguarded with his emotions. In a way it’s like he’s trying to be the man he is in the future but isn’t quite mature enough to succeed. It’s interesting to see the stone pillar of Rakugo was once a man with insecurities much like his current apprentice as well as the man that likely spurred him to take an apprentice in the future. The camaraderie between the two is palatable, in their rivalry that shows no real malice as Hatsuda wishes for Yakumo to succeed as much as he does. One is committed to the art of Rakugo and the other is doing it merely out of necessity. It many ways these two are polar opposites but see eye to eye when it comes to Rakugo. They don’t laugh at each other’s failures or glare at the others success. It just pushes them to do better.

The episodes shining moment was in showing just how bad Rakugo can go, all the more surprising when it was performed by the professional we know from last episode. This really shows just why Yakumo got so angry at Yotarou for falling asleep during his Rakugo as in the past his Rakugo was criticised for being boring. It’s possible that in that moment Yotarou reminded him of one of the worst performances of his career and that certainly would make one furious enough to abandon a apprentice. The Rakugo itself was a rather painful watch as you could see the desperation in Yakumo’s movements and voice, committed to telling a joke that no one was finding funny. As it continued you could really feel him rushing just so he could leave the stage. Then Hatsuda came in and blew away the atmosphere with pure enthusiasm. In Rakugo it seems that the way you tell the story is often more important than the story itself as it requires the teller to infuse a part of his personality into it.

Speaking of personality, the soundtrack certainly has it. I heard a mix of somber pieces and some catchy jazz style pieces at comedy moments. It’s a soundtrack that can be rather emotional yet still can pick itself pick to be silly and stylish. I say the jazz styled pieces are more to my liking as tugging the heartstrings with piano or violin melodies is an easy accomplishment and often used as the standard. But trumpets and spanish guitars are a sweet sound to the ears and are giving flashbacks to Baccanos Hard Bop/funky jazz ost. Despite the cultural relevance not really matching, Rakugo and jazz just seems like a good match as both do have a very loose style in their respective fields. After all Rakugo is very much like a comedian telling a story but seems a lot more personal and improvisational. So in a way it is natural that a music style like Jazz could fit it.

Schwarzesmarken – 02

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Schwarzesmarken

Two episodes in and I certainly can feel that Schwarzesmarken is missing something to truly make it work. The setting has no problems and what’s presented is interesting but for some reason this isn’t as engaging as it should be. One could blame the art which had some spotty parts during this episode or the pacing which is rather haphazard. Though what’s likely the issue is the lack of likable characters. Theodor has the problem of constantly looking and acting like someone spat in his soup. Tragic past or not, it’s a little hard to sympathise when most of the time he’s clicking his tongue in irritation. Katia is hopelessly optimistic and has the situational awareness of a bear cub in a snake pit. Call me sadistic if you will but there’s a certain satisfaction to be had in seeing Katia get a good beating after spouting that drivel about humanity working together for the greater good. The ideal is admirable but unrealistic, even Alan Moore’s Watchmen made the assumption that if provided with a common enemy Humanity would band together. One of the particular things I like about this series is that it tosses that idea to the dogs. For while it is undeniably stupid, if mankind was faced with an undefeatable enemy ready to burn the world to the ground, you can bet that people behind the scenes would be working to lay claim over the ashes.

So our two main characters are polar opposites, one being a nihilistic blowhard with anger management issues and the other a tone clashing overall happy girl with little idea of the state of her surroundings. They create some interesting dilemmas but lack likeable traits. The rest of the cast is unfortunately too underdeveloped but captain Irisdina holds potential. Though I doubt she truly shot her brother in cold blood to clear her name. The most likely outcome was that her brother gave his life willingly to help clear hers. A pity as I would like it if her loyal and proper demeanor was the result of her trying to redeem herself after committing such a Heinous act. Besides the BETA  for an antagonist we also have the Stasi, a branch of the military playing the role of thought police. Normally I am against such a one dimensional villain but the Stasi do a damn good job of being completely hateable. Beatrix and Axmann look to use the war with BETA as a means of setting up a 1984 level of Totalitarian control and they certainly are making things difficult.

From promising reinforcements only to sit in the hanger drinking tea while the people they left died on the battlefield to sending two units on a suicide mission just to kill off someone they see as a potential spy. The Stasi are basically the greatest threat to our main characters, mainly because unlike BETA they hold a position that allows them to kill our characters any time they wish and make sure they can’t do anything about it. Still I don’t find them quite as hateable as I probably should, maybe because the Stasi aren’t making any excuses to what they are doing. They know full well what they are doing and anyone who gets in the way must be removed. So strangely I don’t dislike them, though part of that might be because I find Beatrix to be quite attractive. She does seem like a woman who would give you a damn good time or kill you in the process. I am hoping that we get some likeable characters on the field as that would improve this show immensely. After all it would be a shame to waste such a magnificent setting as this. One so detailed that two east Germans on YouTube have made it a point to list the details and historical relevance. Sadly though it’s taken down due to a copyright strike at the moment. If it gets reuploaded and you are interested try looking for “How German is it? – Schwarzesmarken”

Boku dake ga Inai Machi – 02

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

While this adaption isn’t quite staying true to the source, it’s still managing to present a compelling tale. In that regard I am glad as I would like to see this tale be given the treatment it deserves. Presentation remains great and I rather like how events in the past are show in a widescreen format with black bars on the top and bottom. It gives a feeling like Satoru is likely experiencing, that we are seeing these events but we aren’t quite there. We are like the opening shows, a person in a cinema, a observer. Though considering that Satoru has control over his previous self it might be more accurate to consider him a person with a game controller. But there are points when he and his younger self sync together as shown by certain lines which his older and younger voice actors say simultaneously. This episode mainly dealt with Satoru getting closer to a troubled girl with a abusive mother as she seems to be the next victim to be targeted by the serial killer who will eventually kill his mother. Things are moving slow for now but I like the small details such as Satoru attempting to recall the details of the past. What’s more is that one of Satoru’s clever friends seems to know something’s up and looks to be trying to off offhandedly help Satoru in his goal. The big question to consider is that someone in this flashback is the killer Satoru is searching for so who can it be. Our killer in the future has red eyes, glasses and is male so if someone in the past is responsible it would likely be an adult.

If there was something that I truly have a problem with, it would be the soundtrack. It doesn’t take long to notice that our music composer here is Yuki Kajura and my issues with her remain. If you haven’t read anything I wrote about her before then let me give you the cliffs notes. I believe Yuki is a very talented music composer that unfortunately chains herself by sticking to one style and one style alone. When putting her on a anime soundtrack the question becomes whether the anime can adapt to Yuki’s style as opposed to Yuki adapting to the style best for the anime. That’s just not a good way to go about making soundtracks. There are people who claim all of Yuki’s music sounds the same and there is some small weight to that claim. I wouldn’t blame anyone for getting huge reminders of Fate/Zero’s soundtrack with the final minutes of the episode. In fact I even suspect that Yuki has lifted melody lines from that soundtrack for this, and this wouldn’t be the first time she’s done that. At the moment I feel she’s doing an adequate job but if she starts shoving dramatic choirs into this then I don’t think the glove will fit. Regardless I hope they continue to make this work as well as it’s going and hopefully don’t run into pacing issues.

Some Quick First Impressions:Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm, Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo!, Nurse Witch Komugi-chan R and Ajin

by AidanAK47, posted in Some Quick First Impressions

Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm

Short Synopsis: Our protagonist goes to a school that issues shoes that can fly.

Can the lucky pervert cliche not die already or at least have a different take on it? Well that aside my problem with this show is quite easy to figure. The characters act too anime. That might be a strange way to put it but what I mean is that no one in this show acts natural, there dialogue was a certain pandering quality to it. Take for example the Black haired girls dialogue, where she randomly adds in cat mannerisms like meow and purr. She’s the kind of girl who would claim things are purrfect. Everyone else talks like they are in a sitcom. My first thought on this would be that the show was going to be mainly slice of life with a small little supernatural thing of flying which wouldn’t play much of a part. The first half of the episode certainly reaffirmed that though the second half seems like there will be elements of this air sport called flying circus. I find this aspect of it slightly entertaining but I get the feeling we will start going by the numbers. I sense a neglected school club and competition in the future. You could certainly do worse this season but I feel this one won’t hold people’s attention for long.

Potential: 30%

Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo!

Short Synopsis: Our protagonist ends up being transported to an RPG world after dying

It’s funny in how anime seasons generally tend to have more than one anime with a similar premise. Sure there are the bargain bin LN adaptations and harems but you do find animes with a similar premise airing in the same season by concedence. Much like Grimgar this anime is about ordinary people making their way in an RPG world but this time it’s a lot more focused on comedy. It already has the lead over Grimgar in that none of the characters make me want to scratch their eyes out and admittedly a lot better than I expected. The manga adaption was rather lacking but from the looks of this the anime is following the light novel adaption more faithfully. As a result the begining is handled a lot better. I still hold some scepticism as that chuunibyou Mage and Masochistic kight are still coming but it’s possible this could turn out to be a lot more watchable than I initially expected. The comedy works pretty decently and I love the way the main characters started off their quest basically by doing construction work and got so caught up in the daily grind that they forgot the whole reason they came down there. The subverting of the old cliche of the main protagonist having some incredible untapped talent for magic was also welcome. If you are looking for something light to watch on the side this could tide you over for this season.

Potential: 50%

Nurse Witch Komugi-chan R

Short Synopsis: A small time idol becomes a magical girl

If it’s one thing I believe anime could do without, it’s concert insert songs. As well as a bunch of other things but still. This apparently is a spinoff from a anime called The SoulTaker but from this episode it looks like no previous information is needed to watch it. So what we have here is pretty much a played straight Magical girl show with some idol anime conventions thrown in. There’s some comedy thrown in but it’s really not noteworthy. My taste is a bit too far away from this genre to give it a truly fair assessment but what I see here isn’t much different from the standards of the genre. It’s possible magical girl fans might find it to their liking but I personally see it as a bit too sugary to enjoy.

Potential: 0%

Ajin

Short Synopsis: A boy finds himself hunted when it’s discovered he’s immortal

A big delay on this impression but it was hard to find anyone who was willing to sub it. The main reason being that the first few episodes of this series seems to be the Ajin movies cut up into anime episodes so if you have seen those movies then this is likely to look very familiar. I personally haven’t seen them and I certainly like what I seen. What we have here is a similar premise to Tokyo Ghoul but with an interesting twist. In Tokyo Ghoul the protagonist became a ghoul and essentially entered a world of hunters. Here in Ajin, our protagonist is discovered to be an Ajin, an immortal being and this results in him getting hunted. In this world Ajins are not regarded as human and there is a heavy amount of discrimination against them. The racism subtext is pretty blatant but non the less it’s a good watch. This episode has already set up a number of things, a neglected best friend, the mains troubled relationship with his sister, a mysterious shadow he encountered at a dogs death….I say this was a very strong first episode. That said it’s time to address the obvious greatest flaw, namely that it’s all in CGI. The uncanny valley is back with a vengeance and the robotic movement are something you just have to pretend to not see. You could say it can’t be helped but this season is full of much better CGI, which is really starting to bring the dream of it finally fitting with 2D animation without being out of place into reality. Bubuki Buranki for example is doing a much better job of smooth CGI animation than this episode, while still not quite prefect, it can make you forget at times that what you are watching is CGI. Still if you can put aside the CGI I believe this shows story should be able to make up for it.

Potential: 85%

Some Quick First Impressions: Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu, Hai to Gensou no Grimgar and Saijaku Muhai no Bahamut

by AidanAK47, posted in Some Quick First Impressions

Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu

Short Synopsis: A former criminal wishes to take up the art of comedic storytelling.

This has to be the strangest show of the season and for that I really like it. We have a first episode that’s around 45 minutes long and a large majority of that time was spent listening to a man on a stage tell a story. The art of Rakugo is a fascinating one, being similar to how a comedian tells a long joke but not quite the same. In some ways it’s like a man trying to put one a one man play with no props, stages or costumes. Just conveying a story through gestures and his voice.  When thinking about it you could brush it aside and say that’s nothing hard to do to which you would be correct. Anyone can get on a stage and tell a story but it’s something else entirely to entertain a crowd with nothing but yourself and a story. The oddest thing of all is that it actually works, in particular when listening to our main character tell a tale involving a comedy skit of a man getting burgled. Not once did the anime show a visual representation of what the man was talking about and yet just from him telling the story I found myself playing it out in my mind and even smiling. It’s a very bewitching and engrossing craft, one I am quite interested in. Visually the anime does work well with showing the subtles of the tellers moments and the character roster is most interesting. And what may be a godsend, there’s not a single stereotype in sight. No tsunderes, kuuderes, danderes, lolis, genkis, bland everyboys, emo boys, yanderes, yangiris….just people. It’s just so refreshing to see something that doesn’t contain characters lifted off the database of anime caricatures. Of course this is a very niche title, one that may not suit everyone’s fancy. It’s a very slow paced tale that’s very much focused on character more than anything else. Still I wouldn’t mind seeing more of this.

Potential: 90%

 

Hai to Gensou no Grimgar

Short Synopsis: A group of people struggle to survive in a RPG world.

I truly love the visual direction of this series. It’s a kind of storybook/watercolour feel to it and I just think it’s beautiful. In terms of story I feel it was done a lot better than the light novel but a major gripe of mine remains. A lot of these characters just rub me the wrong way, especially that red haired Dread Knight. Every line of dialogue that comes out of this guys mouth is just irritating to the core and makes me want to punch him in the face. The other characters bug me for other reasons like them being rather generic tropes but if I was to point a finger at something it would be the dialogue. There’s just something obnoxious about these lines that bugs me to no end. That aside I do like the gentle atmosphere of this episode and the general premise is a good one. A group of normal people trying to make their way in a world in RPG game fashion. Nobody seems overpowered and it truly is a beautiful anime to look at. While the characters annoy me I might watch this on visual merits alone.

Potential: 55%

 

Saijaku Muhai no Bahamut

Short Synopsis: A clearly mentally unstable girl challenges a boy to a fight after seeing her na….oh come on! Really?! Again?!

You know, when you take up the position of watching every first episode of every season it really does become apparent when something is designed to be popular. A formula like the heroes journey, but more strictly kept to. It’s not only apparent in how these shows always tend to have the same lineup of girls but also in presentation. For example, how many of these shows start with exposition taking place over an epic battle? Answer, a lot. How many of these shows have the girl screaming with a shaking shot of the location? Answer, a hell of a lot. How many of these shows start which have the protagonist happen upon a girl naked and have her challenge him to a duel to settle it? Answer, 2…which happened last season. Before that god only knows. Look guys, I know you need your paychecks and until Japan realizes there a whole untapped market outside of Japan, this is the only real way to get your money back. But please, for all that is good in this world, can you at least try? I mean Tenchi Muyo had more creativity than this and that is an anime from over twenty years ago! Well what can I say about this? It’s Infinite Stratos with a medievil theme. It’s every standard light novel story you can think of. Nothing new to see here.

Potential: 0%