Some Quick First Impressions: DanMachi, Denpa Kyoushi and Arslan Senki

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Some Quick First Impressions

Dungeon ni Deai wo Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darou ka

Short Synopsis: Our protagonist wants to be an RPG pimp

I am getting SAO reminders already. Let me talk about something for a moment. You see when I first played the game dark souls I was frustrated and angry at myself because of my own failings. But then I worked hard. I learned the enemy tells, figured out how to balance my stats, learned what was useful to what was not. I got good, nay, I got great. And when I struck the final blow on the last boss I knew that I got here from my accumulated effort, by challenging myself and now I could carry that experience into other games with pride. Now I imagine if I was given an ability that doubled my stat growth from the get go, handed all the best equipment and basically given regenerating health. Even if I steamrolled through the game my victory would be hollow. Because I didn’t earn it. I won not because of me, but rather because of what was given to me. It is for this reason that power fantasy such as this show does not interest me. Our protagonist has three girls already interested in him, an outright broken skill that gives him huge stat grown and the over powered equipment is coming. So with that out of the way, the writing is flimsy and contrived, that goddess girl is more annoying than I remember from the manga and the setting is just an rpg game. I will pass on this.

Potential: 0%

 

Denpa Kyoushi

Short Synopsis: A Otaku traumatises three girls for life to teach a life lesson.

Perhaps calling this a poor man’s GTO was a bit generous. It does have the same setup but the protagonist is certainly less likeable. Its hard to get on the side of the gifted prodigy who couldn’t care less about using his talent for anything besides otaku interests. Even worse when he’s a Gary sue who knows everything. It is odd that despite his actions being portrayed as heroic for giving bullies payback, his method seemed rather villainous. I mean the bullies did do something too far but threatening to publish all their personal information on the net, even as a joke, is going way too far. The character designs are not really pleasing and animation is fairly passable. But this is looking weaker than the manga. Or simply the flaws of the manga are getting illuminated.

OP: Very very annoying.

Potential: 40%

 

Arslan Senki

Short Synopsis: A young prince faces the task of inheriting his father’s throne.

This starting episode sets up a solid base for the remainder of the series. Two factions of different beliefs each with pros and cons. Motivations for what seem to be future important players. Excellent animation and art. Topped off with a persian arabic high fantasy setting. The main character is rather stereotypical but has much room for growth. The designs make it very clear that fullmetal alchemists author is in place though she didn’t write the original story. One negative however is the poor CG. Its understandable considering the number of people fighting on screen but it does look like rusty robots in motion at times. There are small pans which use CG as well which don’t look very natural. High fantasy is not often seen in anime nowadays so if this plays it’s cards right we may be looking at a potential highlight of the year.

Potential: 90%

Some Quick First Impressions: Punchline, Sound! Euphonium, Triage X

by K-Off, posted in Some Quick First Impressions

Punchline

Short Synopsis: A guy whose spirit has been separated from his body

As I expected from just looking at the director and the studio’s pedigree from the last three or four years, this show rehashes stereotypes and fails to distinguish itself from the wacky comedies of the past. Because I’m rather tired of this genre at this point, this first episode needed to impress me, but it unfortunately did not–through its crappy soundtrack and generic set of uninteresting characters.

Potential: 40%

 

Sound! Euphonium

Short Synopsis: Our protagonist joins the brass band

Judging from the first episode, it’s just another music anime, and seems like a dull series I really don’t have much to say about at this point. Seems like a copy/paste of Hanayamata’s formula.

Potential: 30%

 

Triage X

Short Synopsis: Half naked women go around acting like the Thought Police

I hope you like fan-service, because unless you do, there is no enjoyment in this show for you. A terrible premise? Check. Blatant fan-service? Check. Yeah, I’m not going to bother watching this one. The manga was written by the writer of Highschool of the Dead, so I guess fan-service is kind of his thing, but at least Highschool of the Dead was entertaining in that it brought a genre of horror we hadn’t seen very much in those days into anime. This is just…stale and nonsensical.

Potential: 10%

Kantai Collection Video Game Review- 45/100

by K-Off, posted in Game Reviews

    After the dreadful Kantai Collection anime of the last season, I’ve been wanting to try out this free to play Japanese web browser game, because its gameplay is constantly being compared to the likes of Fire Emblem by fans. However, after 40+ hours of gameplay I can say that while it is nowhere NEAR good enough to be even compared to other free to play tactical rpgs, much less Fire Emblem, I want to praise the things it does well first, because it is definitely popular for a reason.

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    The game basically breaks down into a game of unit and resource management with your fleet, aka “ship girls” who have armaments identical to their real ww2 ship counterparts. As the game progresses you can choose to modernize them, and there is a somewhat extensive level of ship customization. This part I like, because it’s definitely a challenge determining which fleets you want to keep for later upgrades, while doing quests to unlock new ships and obtaining essential materials in order to do the various tasks. This forced me to think long term about my fleet because the enemies do get progressively more varied as you level up. Because of this, I found myself in situations where I wished I hadn’t scrapped an older ship because an upgrade would have been more efficient than building a newer ship.

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    The voice acting and art assets are amazing, beautiful at times, and I can tell that the art department really cared about these characters when designing them. All of the characters have top notch details (such as Yamato’s decorations that are all historically accurate). But if Kadokawa Games thinks that high art production and a lazy game mechanic (more on this later) is going to cut it, it’s not.

    First of all, I can’t stress how rage inducing it is to even try to start the game. Because the game’s servers at DMM Publishers are incapable of holding large numbers of people at once, they 1)don’t allow people outside of Japan to play the game and 2)In order for new players to join the game, they must take part in a lottery where the studio chooses a handful of people who can join their game. So in order for me to play, I need a VPN/ Proxy to connect to the game through a Japanese IP and enter the lottery. I was fortunate enough to register with DMM on my third lottery attempt, but I’ve heard of some fans who weren’t able to play until several draws, which is just ridiculous. This game has been out for years now and it is absolutely inexcusable that they don’t switch to a better server system. If it’s about money,  charge people for some expansions or hell, even make some ships only attainable by purchase–this game NEEDS dedicated servers and the studio/publishers are clearly not seeing the value in opening up this game.

    However, despite my initial excitement to finally get to play the game after that hassle, what I got was highly disappointing and I haven’t yet seen any review that was honest enough about the game’s flaws to speak about it. First of all, what immediately jumped out at me was the soundtrack–there is none. There’s a generic 10-15 second loop playing at the naval base that changes as the game progresses, but with a game that requires you to sit and grind for hours on end, I quickly played my own music over it, because holy crap it got annoying real fast. But on the other hand, it’s eerily silent at times much to my confusion. I know that it’s a free to play game so it wouldn’t have the budget of, say Civilization V or even another free to play game like League of Legends, but since its conception, this game has gotten tons of additional income sources besides the in-game purchases. Where the profits from the anime, manga spin offs, figures, and micro transactions are going, no one knows, but it’s certainly not here, in improving the core gameplay experience unfortunately.

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    Now let’s delve into the meat of the game, the unit management and combat system. Unfortunately, they’re both done poorly here as well. In this game, you allocate resources to build the fleet girls and as the game progresses and you gain exp, you can build better ships like heavy cruisers, aircraft carriers, and even battleships like the Yamato. This is where patience is needed to play this game, because once you commission a ship, building a single ship can take up to eight hours of waiting (depends on the class of ship. A heavy battleship will take four times as long to build as a light aircraft carrier), which would be completely fine with me if only they DIDN’T COMPLETELY RANDOMIZE the process of getting the freaking ships after I’d waited several hours for them. I frequently got the same ship girl that I already had, forcing me to scrap the older one once they got badly damaged because I didn’t want to waste resources repairing a duplicate. Why the game doesn’t allow me to choose what ships I build according to my PLAY STYLE and SITUATIONAL NEEDS is completely beyond me, and it’s possibly the worst sin this game commits as a “strategy” rpg.

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                                      No, I already have you. Please go away.

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    Now, combat breaks down into choosing one of several battle formations in the beginning of a battle that caters to your playing style and needs–certain formations are good against certain things and weak to others. For example, the diamond formation is powerful against submarines while weak to torpedoes as opposed to the line offensive formation which is weak to submarines. This is a good concept, because certain formations allow you to avoid a lot of the enemy’s brunt force, yet sacrifice some power of your own. But I never felt the need to stray from the safe double line formation (basically one that gives the highest accuracy in shelling, but less damage than a line ahead form. Torpedoes have moderate accuracy and damage, and the fleet is moderately weak against submarines), which meant that combat was always the same old with changes to tactics only happening when I felt like it. Simply put, there never was a risk so great that would force my hand into a more extreme formation, besides bosses in the higher levels. In my opinion, allowing both sides to change their formations to outplay each other during sorties would make combat just slightly more interesting. If this were a ten hour long game, the combat here would be alright, as there are variations such as night battles to keep things a bit more interesting, but for a game that expects players to play for weeks, it just fails to stay fresh and interesting. However, I will say that the game improves in the higher levels as I’ve mentioned with the bosses, but it’s not significant enough to wash away the bad taste left in my mouth from the first handful of hours.

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At this point in the game, battles are somewhat exciting. But if you sat through hours of staring at a screen like this as I did, it’s no surprise.

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    So finally, in a game that emphasized unit building and combat, the unit building relies overly on RNG, and the combat is too easy and repetitive. Yes, the main appeal in this game is the fleet girls meant solely for fan service, but that is no excuse for the fact that Kantai Collection is setting a terrible standard for free to play games in Japan by using the idea that a half-assed game is okay as long as you have amazing art and fan service. Through the stupid server practices all the way to the mind numbingly dull combat, I have to give Kantai Collection, a 45/100, a below average game, that no real fan of strategy games should play unless they can’t spare seven dollars for Battlestations Pacific on the PC.

    But if you can steam through a weak game mechanic and utter lack of story (the enemy fleet are generic and have zero intrigue) just for the fan service, go right ahead, as seemingly thousands of people are doing. Yes, it is a free to play browser game so while my review may seem unfairly harsh, it is only logical to point out flaws where they exist and call them out as elements that need balance in the overall scheme of things. In the end, this just isn’t the browser game for me personally nor is it something I can recommend.

Storytelling: 0/10 – There is none here
Gameplay: 6/10 – Simple and intuitive, but tiresome for a 20+ hour long game.
User Interface: 7/10 – I’m sure if I understood Japanese and didn’t need a wiki page it’d be excellent
Production values: 5/10 – Great art, music I can only describe as torture. Music should be where it matters most in a game like this.

Also, let us know if you’d be interested in any more anime-related game reviews and visual novel reviews. Thanks!

Some Quick First Impressions: Gunslinger Stratos, Seraph of the end and Yahari season 2

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Some Quick First Impressions

Gunslinger Stratos

Short Synopsis: Our protagonist falls into an alternate world full of trigger happy people.

I am fairly certain that Gen is not writing this. You can see part of him in the concept but not anywhere else. The episode gave me a mixed impression. I hate the characters and find the main to be too much of a “Ordinary highschool student.” The action of the episode was quite good and I like the matter of dealing with alternate worlds even if in practice it’s a very bad idea. The art felt off at points as there were points when the protagonist turned his head and his face just looked strange and not proportionate. One thing that assures me that Gen is not the writer is the few lines which were embarrassingly awful. Two examples of which being when the main and female love interest encounter a blood soaked body and proceed to ask it if it’s ok. And this funny exchange of words

“No, that was an explosion!”

“An explosion? What do you mean?”

“I don’t know.”

I would like to think of this as a translation error. Or at least I hope it is. I am willing to give it another episode but I don’t see this becoming something worthwhile.

Potential: 40%

 

Seraph of the end

Short Synopsis: Our protagonist wants to kill all vampires

This show has a number of parallels to attack on titan. It would be a lie to say it was exactly the same as it does at least differentiate itself enough in setting and story. However if there is one thing I wish this show would have avoided that was a major negative of Attack on titan.  Namely the lack of subtlety. Seraph of the end is told so heavy handed with pretty much everything shoved in your face. So much so that the ever so predictable tragedy that came at episode’s end left me sighing. But while I feel the execution is poor I do like the ideas here. There is a good bit of potential in this story. However there are harbingers of decay in the future, namely this “Prophecy” mentioned and the worst thing that always cripples story potential, a school setting. Though really I am rather cautious because this was essentially the setting up episode and the next episode is likely the true beginning. I have a firm suspicion that this will go downhill very fast. But provided that it can restrain itself a bit and move the story as far away from that school as possible this could be something.

Potential: 50%

 

Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru. Zoku

Short Synopsis: The cynical adventures of captain buzzkill and his crew

There is a noticeable upgrade in art and animation. Though one complaint I have in that department is that Hikigaya looks like he’s been bishied up a bit. The pacing does look quick and I noticed moments were it seemed that scenes were cut out altogether. That said I don’t think anything cut out looked significant. One of my major concerns about this season has not yet been put aside. That being that harem antics overtaking the plot. I question as to why these girls pretend to show disdain for hikigaya despite their affection for him being maxed out. But admittedly not much has changed from the first season. Hikigaya’s cynical disposition and snark is delightful as ever as how the other characters play off him. (Though for once I would like to see a fujoshi character whose main purpose is not a one note joke) The first episode at least promises more of what made the first season enjoyable which is fine by me.

OP: The guitar riff is catchy and the tune is pleasant. The visuals colours are somewhat washed out but nice use of geometric shapes and stripes.

Potential: 80%

Fate/Stay Night Unlimited Bladeworks – 13

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Fate/Stay Night Unlimited Bladeworks

It’s back and still as beautiful as ever. Sadly not a fourty minutes long and still leaves me hungry by episodes end. It does seem to cut off suddenly rather than end. So after telling Shirou to stay away and stating how only masters should stay in the war, Rin is thrust into the exact same position. Archers betrayal isn’t an unexpected development but to do so coldly and quickly was quite cruel of him. They may have only known each other a few days but these are two people who trusted each other with their lives. I like that instead of just Archer declaring his betrayal in the visual novel, they have him actively display it by pushing away Rin and defending Kuzuki. It not only looks better visually but makes sense in context. It’s an exhibition to show Castor that hes has tossed his master aside. The reasons for the betrayal are somewhat sketchy admittedly. It makes more sense later but even then there are some questionable aspects. But looking at Rins plan objectively, it was rather foolhardy. Castor may not be able to use Assassin at the church but she still has Kuzuki and Saber. Rin was obviously not thinking clearly, even declaring that she would handle Caster. In the Fate route of the visual novel Rin said it was outright suicide for a master to go up against a servant. Naturally being a rule Nasu wrote there are numerous exceptions but anyone could tell that Rin was outmatched. But the most telling thing that showed she was not thinking this through was the very statement that likely made Archer defect. That when she rescues Saber then Saber could reinstate the contract with Shirou. Now take note that right from the beginning Rin wanted Saber to be her Servant. Even more after meeting her so when a perfect opportunity to take Saber for herself has come it’s odd that the thought never entered her mind.  It would be tough for her to support two servants but I say she would be more than capable of it. This isn’t about taking down Caster, this is about getting Shirou to be her comrade in arms again. A moment of her true feelings slipping through the facade.

I at least thank UFOTABLE for not being excessive with the Saber and Caster scene. It was one of the more unsavory moments of the visual novel. But the basement of the Church does seem rather spacious to the depiction in the visual novel. There was a change in scenery for the last scene as in the visual novel it took place in the graveyard. But truthfully while it is visually more interesting to have it in the graveyard it doesn’t make much sense for them to relax in such a grim place that just so happens to be so close to the church. I also wish Rin had taken off her jacket for the scene but again it does make more sense this way. This is without a doubt the most vulnerable Rin and Shirou have ever been. Now serventness, with the only refuge being taken over by the enemy. Not that the two would have taken that refuge as both are determined to see this through to the end. Rin crying was a powerful scene, I actually thought it was a mess up when UFOtable showed Rin taking Archers betrayal not as hard as I would have thought but to have it all hit her at once when Shirou mentions it is really just perfect with her character. Also bravo Shirou, you confessed wholeheartedly to the girl you like. You have done what an overwhelming majority of male protagonists have failed at for years. Even pushing Rin into Tsundere overdrive, well played. We are now over two thirds through the Visual novel story which leaves me to wonder just how UFOtable plans to cover the remainder of the episodes. The title of the next episode makes me wonder if they shall splice in Castors backstory from Hollow Ataraxia which I think is an excellent idea. It would give her better character development and lend thematic weight to events to come. So another long week till the next fate episode…

Shirobako Review – 80/100

by AidanAK47, posted in Anime Reviews, Reviews by AidanAK47

When you see a harem anime and sigh as the breasts of the female lead jiggle with every step and wind that can flip a skirt it’s easy to forget that somewhere in Japan a group of people worked hard to get that jiggle right and draw each frame of animation. The hardships of the animation studio are a tough one as they could be demonized for putting in a recap due to production problems or tossed under the train tracks because of a small miscommunication between people. Shirobako is an anime I overlooked because I saw it as typical moe fluff with just glancing at it. Yet it’s the anime that gave me an appreciation for the hard work that goes into my weekly shows. I say this now. Shirobako should be required viewing for any fan of the medium. For it is a well served humble pie to the arrogantly ignorant.

In fact it may be useful for those even not into anime. Shirobako presents the animation workplace and all the trials and tribulations that appear in not only anime production but in every workplace in general. As a working man I can relate to Aoi’s starry eyed leave from school, only to discover the mundanity of the job. Or Shizuka’s powerlessness as she attempts to get a job but is put aside due to a lack of experience. Shirobako has a lot of truths about working life that school doesn’t teach. Like the most important lesson of all, in any job there is a Tarou. There is always a Tarou. That guy who somehow bluffed his way into a job he can’t do, never gets fired and pretty much does nothing but make your life more difficult. Out of the five main girls there’s bound to be one that encounters something you will, or have faced. And it presents it with cynical wit and lighthearted tone making it an addictive experience.

But I am not here to lavish praise for I am a critic and thus must critique. Do I even need to comment on how unlikely it is that five cute girls enter anime production? Its clear that a number of girls here have been added for the moe factor. The most grievous offender being a artist who is so shy she requires another person to interpret what she says through a series of small utterings. Though I do relate to the struggles the main five goes through I find that they are not interesting characters. When the story moves away from the animation process and focuses on daily event it becomes significantly less interesting. It doesn’t do it often but when it does things tend to get bogged down. I do feel it’s also a little bit of a optimistic filter of the animation industry but that’s a personal grip. The art and animation is up to PA works standards and for once I think the photo realistic backgrounds don’t seem out of place when compared to the anime character models. There are also strange moments of collective hallucination which come out of nowhere and are rather off putting considering this show is set mainly in reality. Like when they are talking about a plane anime and out of nowhere the plane shows up outside and it seems like everyone sees it but then they just go back to talking like nothing ever happened. I get the intent but it just forces me to do a double take every time it happens. This last thing is definitely a nitpick but at times things in Shirobako are too animated for a show set in reality. Characters can heavily overact, mainly for comedic effect. Its hard to explain but things feel staged, when they should be natural.

There’s a lot to love in Shirobako and I am honestly truly glad that I have seen it. It teaches you a truth often forgotten. That the anime you love and the anime you hate didn’t just spring into existence. That there’s some poor souls working day and night to bring animated characters to life and show us their stories. To the animators of Japan, you have my sympathy and my respect. Though sadly if your end product is terrible, you will not have my leniency.

Death Parade Review – 65/100

by AidanAK47, posted in Death Parade

 

When I heard that Death Billards would be getting a full 12 episode series called Death Parade I was quite excited. The one episode short looked to be an excellent concept for a episodic series. A bar which people are sent to when they die which decides whether they go to heaven or hell depending on a game? That idea alone has barrels of potential. However the writer of Death Parade had other plans and went instead with a ongoing plot. The end result is a series torn between great episodic death game episodes(with the exception of one) and a mediocre ongoing narrative with a lacking foundation. In truth the writing focused on keeping the audience in the dark in order to promote mystery and intrigue but kept us too alienated to become emotionally involved. When time comes to reveal the answers are lackluster and the ongoing plot ends on a flat note.

The art and animation is what you can expect from Madhouse. Solid and consistent animation throughout the show and background art can be quite stunning. I can say that Quindecim is a truly beautiful bar and I have a certain fondness for the command center full of red wine glasses. The opening is incredibly catchy and brightens your day every time you see it. Though it is unsuited to the very nature of the show. The main character, Decim, is very endearing despite his unemotional demeanour and the show really didn’t give him the development or arc that he deserved.

Death parade is a case of mistaken direction where the story can’t decide whether it wants to make us laugh, cry, curious or melancholic. The result is a melting pot of genre and a confused tone. A search for a core concept when in truth there was a great core to work with already. Also despite so much focus being put on the ongoing story, one episode characters are oddly more developed than the main cast. I am being harsh however as Death Parade does have moments of greatness. There is potential in this writer. He just needs someone to tell him to stop and look at what he has. If you are able to overlook the flaws of death parades plot and embrace it’s highs then I recommend this show to you. I can say with certainty that it is half great. Your enjoyment will depend on whether you can overlook the other half.

Death Parade – 12

by AidanAK47, posted in Death Parade

So this is the end of Death Parade. Or at least this is the end of what may be it’s first and last season. The ongoing plot didn’t so much as tie itself up but rather fizzle out. Leaving a second season to tie up loose ends. A second season that may never come. I mentioned before that I didn’t understand why Nona didn’t what Oculus to find out about her plan as I didn’t understand what consequences were in store for her. Those consequences have been revealed to be…nothing. Oculus just let her carry on with it after questioning her. So why all sinister dramatic tension in his scenes if he does not even play the role of villain? But that isn’t the worst of it as as plot hole opened up. Nona reveals that she did this in order to change the judging system so that arbiters are given emotion to judge humans on human terms. The problem is this enigma of why the believe arbiters do not have emotion when they very clearly do. After all in order for Nona to want put this plan into motion she would need to have emotion to find something off with the current system. Really all her actions are called into question with this. Making it that she either had a poorly formed whim of a plan or she had miraculously planned for each and every detail. Even for those details which were completely dependant on people acting to plan even when unaware of any plan at all.

The matters between Chiyuki and Decim were over melodramatic for my taste. The nature of Decim’s offer was obvious from the start. This really did seem like a reenactment of the choice Mayu was given in the last episode except, as much as it pains me to say this, Mayu’s was done better. We all know Decim was not going to send Chiyuki to Hell so it was really just a waiting game. But they really tried to get you emotional with Chiyuki begging to live and Decim experiencing emotions.(Still confused on that. Decim does have emotions. Otherwise how can he respect and care about the guests?) All for the final tearful goodbye and Decim’s smile. Only to go back to business of judging except now Decim smiles and there’s a Chiyuki doll by the counter. So all and all nothing much changed. The ongoing story ended on such a weak note as expected hence why I was so opposed to one in the first place. As far as endings go it’s not bad. It could have been much worse. But nothing about it seems final. This is more or less a life goes on ending leaving things to a possible second season. Though if there is one I would prefer they disregard the loose ends completely and focus on episodic death games. As this series should have done from the get go.

Parasyte The Maxim Review-82.5/100

by K-Off, posted in Parasyte

Parasyte, along with Gugure Kokkuri-San, are the only two shows from the last season that I’ve actually finished, and that’s actually saying quite a lot–seeing as how I haven’t been watching (much less blogging) anime at all this past season. However, I figured I should at least write a final review for Parasyte, just because it’d been such a consistent and solid series.

A lot of time in this series is spent building up Shinichi’s humanity (or rather his loss of it) as he meets a creature named Migi. It’s not even anywhere near as slow paced as Shiki, another anime similar in theme and story, but this show still puts emphasis on creating an atmosphere to draw the viewer in, and this is also what makes this show good; the contrast between surprisingly relatable characters, and the really intense scenes.

Most of the time with a lot of mediocre horror shows, the directors spend almost no time on the less significant characters, and Parasyte was no exception at first. Yet what separated this from the others was that this series fixed a lot of its initial problems very well over 24 episodes. I mentioned several months ago how Shinichi wasn’t a very good character to show the gradual loss of humanity because we didn’t know him at all before he met Migi–but as we saw more of his own humanity, we saw Shinichi turn into a much more self-reflective character for the better. In addition, his change as a character is so completely different from early on that it’s commendable that the producers did it so seamlessly. Migi, on the other hand (excuse the pun, I had to make it), was an amazing character from start to finish, and it was interesting to see his character wrestle with problems that were the exact opposite of Shinichi’s in that he gradually learns what it means to value human compassion. Because of that, the ending was great in that Migi, the initial source of Shinichi’s inhumanity, saves Satomi’s life through a spur of human compassion–a very fitting ending, I have to say.

The show has great control over every climax. It evolves very nicely as we learn what’s going on with the characters, and loves to drop random tense encounters with the Parasytes everywhere–which really spices up its scenarios. Because of this, Reiko was definitely a highlight throughout the entire series. While this show doesn’t answer everything like the lingering questions about the parasites, the closure it gives at the end does wrap things up well. So in the end, Parasyte remains a thrilling “horror” story that never really dragged on longer than it needed to.

Final Verdict: 82.5/100

Storytelling: 7/10 – Lots of action, and does this well, knowing how to balance it out with its plot.
Characters: 10/10 – Simple, but effective and likable.
Production-Values: 8/10 – Alright soundtrack. Animation has a lot of weaknesses, but still remains pretty solid for an action series.
Setting: 8/10 – The backstory actually does what it needs to do to make this series interesting for a full 24 episodes.

Ultimately, I gave this show an 82.5/100 because of all of the great qualities I’ve already raved about above–yet the fact that it fumbled the pacing of the first handful of episodes as well as the existence of Shiki, which accomplished what Parasyte did and even went above and beyond in just the span of 22 episodes (excluding the OVAs) means I just can’t see myself giving it the 9/10 I would’ve initially given it. However, it goes without saying but 8/10 is not a low score by any means, I’d recommend it to anyone.

Suggestions:

Shiki

Death Parade – 11

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Death Parade

So we are reaching the final conclusion and things are coming to a head. Chiyuki’s memories are restored and we find that in life she was an ice skater. An odd choice but it did lead to a rather beautiful scene of Chiyuki skating on Ice as she recalled her past. Admittedly I did try to ignore the obvious reasons as to why the camera avoided looking at her feet (Those feet skating movements would have been tricky to animate.) as I found the nature of the scene poignant and picturesque. Though Chiyuki’s backstory was rather underwhelming.  While it is true that considering Decim’s inexperienced standing as an arbiter that he wouldn’t get someone with a extreme past but when the series has been eluding that her past held some deeper meaning it’s rather disappointing to find its not really that significant. An ice skater who got an injury that prevented her from skating anymore and killed herself. I find the nature of her suicide somewhat strange as it didn’t look to me like she was all alone in this. Is it a Japanese thing to remain passive and hope they pull themselves out of their depression? Despite it being one of the worst things you could do in that situation? Really when she considered herself worthless after losing her ability to skate, I think leaving her be afterwards only confirms that thought.

Yet the best part of this episode was with Ginti and of all people, the girl from episode 6. With Harada’s soul going to the void, Ginti presents the choice to sacrifice another to save his soul. The person to be sacrificed just so happened to be a cameo of Light Yagami from Death Note. In that case you really should have pushed that button Mayu. Yet despite Ginti’s attempts to get her to reconsider, Mayu decides to go to the void together with Harada. This is a really well done scene that I would applaud in normal circumstances. But it rather falls apart when you take into account that she is quite literally going to hell for a boy band member she obsessed about. A boy who she barely knows anything about. Not the love of her life or a dear family member. Just why was this character given such a great scene? Episode 6 just destroys what could have been a powerful scene. I like the meaning behind Ginti being unable to push Mayu into showing her inner darkness. That an arbiter that took sadistic joy in judging couldn’t make up his mind about how to judge one girl. But I think this was the wrong character to do this with. Mayu didn’t deserve main character treatment in this matter. So we have one more episode to push things to a close. I must admit that much like Ginti I have trouble judging this. When taking in the show as a whole I could define it as half-great. The weak and strong moments of the show are in equal measure. But an ending can change everything.