Shingeki no Kyojin – 05

by psgels, posted in Shingeki no Kyojin(Attack on Titan)

When I read the first chapters of Shingeki no Kyojin, it really struck to me that this would be impossible to animate. Thankfully Production IG got Tetsuro Araki to make up for a lot there, but even with him behind the reigns there are scenes that just are so difficult to translate right. The biggest example of that is at the end of the episode.

We see Eren lie on one roof. Across the street there is a giant who swallows Armin whole and closes his mouth after that. The next scene Eren suddenly is on top of that giant’s mouth pulling Armin out of it. That scene is so complex, but it worked in the manga because there was no animation, so also no real timeframe in which everything happened. I see no way in which this anime would have been able to do that scene right, while also keeping as true to the manga as possible. The solution would have been to just rewrite it to make sure that it works.

Nitpicking aside though, the rest of this episode was just wonderful. I mean, the other scenes in which the giants just completely slaughtered Eren’s team were done brilliantly. It was a total chaos, and yet the giants just kept appearing from out of nowhere to crush everyone. It was so different from normal anime that also feature battles against really big things, that just stand around doing nothing and waiting for the heroes to make their move.

And don’t get me wrong here: the end of this episode was the point at which I only really got addicted to the manga. Before that it was also just building up and I wasn’t really sure what to think of it. And Eren becoming lunch for that giant, it worked really well. That was one heck of a cliff-hanger that you really don’t see often!
Rating: 5.5/8 (Excellent)

Aku no Hana – 05

by psgels, posted in Aku no Hana

There are times when the characters in this series don’t have faces. But holy crap: when they do, their facial expressions and nonverbal communication here is just stunning. If I had to pinpoint the thing I like the most about this series, then it would be that: the subtle cues that the characters give each other that say so much more than what mere dialogue could have done.

Nakamura in particular is just brilliant at this. I just love how her mood changed over the course of this episode, from excited, to disappointed, and then back to excited again. The way she just looked down upon Kasuga was really expressive. She, more than anyone else in this series, has presence.

As for Kasuga, it’s always difficult to write a very flawed character. You need to know the difference between being flawed, and just completely stupid for the sake of the plot. The key for that is balance, and believability. And Kasuga indeed is not normal. I suspect very much that he has some sort of autism, or at least I suspect so considering the way he so passionately talks about books, and how he is socially awkward. And for that I too have to congratulate the creators, because for me they managed to make him believable enough to completely draw me in here.
Rating: 6/8 (Awesome)

Uchuu Kyoudai – 55 & 56

by psgels, posted in Uchuu Kyoudai

Storytelling is a matter of balance. Not doing too much, and not doing too little. At one point, Space Brothers managed to nail that balance perfectly. I wasn’t bored for a minute and it stood consistently among my favorites. I think the height was where Mutta heard that he got to be an astronaut.

The pacing already was a bit wonky during Hibito’s arc, which took a bit too long, but really: that desert arc was just not good. They spent ages in there, and what was it all for? A bit of development for Nitta, plus the cast fot fleshed out a tiny bit (but way too little for the standards of this series). Not to mention those huge amounts of recaps. What was supposed to be a small build-up arc took bloody ages to get finished. I don’t care whether this is for its timeslot or manga. The creators could have easily just made a second season in 2014 or something. This decision to keep going really brought down this series.

Episode 56 thankfully picked up things again, and it’s now up to that druk Pico guy to make up for all of those mistakes. This episode made a good start, but they’re not quite there yet. I like the whole story around the malfunctioning parachutes, and how they’re really going in-depth to how the acident could have happened (using Hibito as the next one to use that system also really helps). I also like how the current assignment requires everyone to use their own unique talent (like Mutta with his automobile experience). Now get the pacing of this arc right!
Rating: 5/8 (Great)

Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet – 04

by psgels, posted in Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet

I made a really big mistake when first judging this series by its trailer: I thought that the characters looked really generic. In the end that turned out to be the big strength of this series. The thing with the character here is that they don’t try to force their quirks onto the viewer. Because of that they seem plain at first, but this show managed to flesh them out quite well here. You can see that all characters are based on some kind of idea, but when you look at them, they are more than just that idea. The ones who received attention, anyway.

I really liked this episode, which was all about exploring the cultural differences. On one hand there is Led with his military training and education, and on the other there is the social community on the Gargantia. I really liked how much inefficiencies Ledo saw in the way everyone operated (even though he too had trouble fitting in at times). The development of him fitting in is slow, but he’s constantly changing so far. I also really like how he’s beginning to pick up the language.

Also, yay for continuity. A hole in a roof stays broken until it gets fixed. And it doesn’t just get magically fixed, it takes resources that come from somewhere. That’s what I’m looking for: those kinds of details. It’s a shame that this show only has 12 episodes to flesh out its setting, because the creators are on their way, digging for gold, though the question is whether they’ll reach it in time.
Rating: 5.5/8 (Excellent)

Hataraku Maou-Sama – 04

by psgels, posted in Hataraku Maou-Sama

So, I had heard that this episode showed the explanation of why Maou suddenly became nice, but to be honest… I find it kindof a weak reason. I get that he didn’t really think about things before, but really: he just became nice at some point. How? Why? This episode simplified this way too much. I like series that blur the lines between good and bad, and with the set-up of this series that would have been a really interesting opportunity. It’s just that the characters in this series are either just good or bad. Maou too: he just now is one of the good guys apparently.

I have seen that more often: the type of series that glorify the devil. The good ones make the devil sympathetic, while still keeping him who he is: the embodiment of evil. The bad ones just turn them good, or find some sort of even bigger enemy in order to make him part of the good guys, which pretty much defeats the entire purpose of using such a symbolic character. They lose their entire meaning with that.

This unfortunately was by far the weakest episode of Hataraku Maou-Sama. This series rocks because it’s so clever, but I didn’t really see much wit in this episode, apart perhaps from that speech that the landlady gave, but even there she basically just repeated what we already knew. The annoying thing is that because of this, the cliches stood out even more. I mean really: the girl arrives in a room, sees a guy and a girl together and runs away? Daimou, you’re better than that.
Rating: 4/8 (Enjoyable)

April Summary

by psgels, posted in Monthly Summaries

This season may have some really good series, but really: it’s a bit disheartening to note that this has been the worst spring season I’ve ever blogged. What happened to the variety of different unique series? What happened to the large amounts of series that all want to try something different? I’m seeing way too many series that just end up looking the same, that don’t bother to stand out, and that bother having some interesting characters. The few that do though, are quite interesting to watch.

#28 (new) – Sparrow’s Hotel – (2/10) – What the hell was that? It looked terrible! The acting was terrible! Worst show of the season!
#27 (new) – Date A Live – (3/10) – This is terrible. Incredibly annoying with fulfillment that goes nowhere. Seriously, this one won the contest of having the worst premise of the season.
#26 (new) – Zettai Bouei Leviathan – (5/10) – This really is Gonzo at its worst. Really generic moe girls with really, really, really bad fighting scenes. I saw no reason whatsoever to continue with this.
#25 (new) – Yondemasuyo, Azazel-san – (6.25/10) – The first arc was incredible. The funniest thing I’ve watched all year. The second arc… bleeding asses. Seriously?!
#24 (new) – Uta no Prince Sama – (6.4/10) – Incredibly girly series. There are only two actual girls in this series!
#23 (new) – Namiuchigawa no Moromi-san – (6.5/10) – This series is one of those shows that try way too hard to be funny, without actually being it. It’s just a hyperactive mermaid who punches things.
#22 (new) – Yuyushiki – (7/10) – Just another slice of life series that did not really managed to set itself apart in any way.
#21 (new) – Mushibugyo – (7/10) – A random shounen action series that did not impress me.
#20 (new) – Photo Kano – (7.1/10) – Not the worst, but still quite a dull in terms of character. It remains a harem after all.
#19 (new) – Karneval – (7.25/10) – Too corny for my tastes. No interesting characters to keep my attention.
#18 (new) – Arata Kangatari – (7.4/10) – I did not continue with this one, simply because the competition looked more interesting. Plus hearing stories that it would get really generic quite fast didn’t help much, because a story like this needs to stay interesting.
#17 (new) – DD Hokuto no Ken – (7.5/10) – Good director, but in the end it’s just too silly, and the jokes are too juvenile. Some of them work, but most of them don’t.
#16 (new) – Devil Suvrivor 2 The Animation – (7.6/10) – I just had no motivation to keep up with this one, due to both the dull characters, and the uninteresting plot.
#15 (4) – Uchuu Kyoudai – (7.75/10) – 10 years ago, Wolf’s Rain came with four consecutive recap episode. The reason behind it was an outbreak of SARS which would have made the showing a little too insensitive for the audience. Today, Space Brothers came with three consecutive recaps. The reason is a timeslot change. I am disappointed.
#14 (new) – Danchi Tomou – (7.75/10) – Danchi Tomou is a bit strange. It’s got an awesome opening theme, and it tells the daily life of a really bratty kid. The big problem is that the kid acts like half his age. The creators tried to make him stupid, but went a bit too far in that.
#13 (11) – Saint Seiya Omega – (8/10) – The big problem with the new arc is how incredibly silly and monotonous the new villains look. Apart from that, I can’t say much about it yet. It’s obviously building up right now (the first half also took ages to get going), but the main cast still is very solid to watch.
#12 (new) – Valvrave the Liberator – (8/10) – This is just so incredibly silly. Camp in every single way with incredibly over the top name yelling and all that sort of stuff. A definite contender for the trainwreck of the year, but will it be a beautiful or a disastrous one?
#11 (new) – Aiura – (8/10) – What really caught me here is how beautiful the animation is. It may not look like much, but the attention to detail is exquisite with a lot of focus on small and subtle movements. It’s a darn shame that the characters are generic.
#10 (new) – Yahari Blahblah – (8/10) – Interesting, but it focuses way too much on tsunderes, to the point of driving its points a bit too far because of that. This is however, looking out to be the series that Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai should have been.
#9 (new) – Majestic Prince – (8/10) – Started out with really stereotypical characters. And then they got better, which is what I did not expect. This show is surprisingly self-aware.
#8 (new) – Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge – (8/10) – Crime Edge is really weird. It’s got this really weird celebration of fetishes, but in the end it has little substance and is just a battle series.
#7 (new) – Red Data Girl – (8.1/10) – Takes itself a bit too seriously in its build-up, but it does have potential. I’m really behind this one, though…
#6 (new) – Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet – (8.25/10)

This series has some interesting characters, and I like how it puts emphasis on cause and effect, combined with big cultural differences. It’s quite good science fiction so far, albeit the short length worries me.

#5 (8) – Hunter X Hunter – (8.4/10)

While the new ant queen looks a bit silly, the rest of the new arc is looking good. Thank god we finally have gotten to the new material!

#4 (new) – Hataraku Maou-Sama – (8.4/10)

Hataraku Maou-Sama is surprisingly witty. Really, the humour here is clever and very funny. The downside to it is that it uses clichés too much. You can also use other ideas for that, you know.

#3 (new) – Shingeki no Kyojin – (8.6/10)

This series really is looking rock-solid. The cast is large, yet well fleshed out, and the titans really look freaky. The action scenes really are great and even though it’s still building up it’s looking really promising.

#2 (6) – Chihayafuru – (8.75/10)

Overall I would have preferred a pacing that was a bit faster, but the finals of the team matches were nevertheless AWESOME. This show just keeps showing twists and turns with its huge cast of awesome characters!

#1 (new) – Aku no Hana – (8.75/10)

This show is amazing. Sure, it’s cheap and rotoscoped, but heck, it has an incredible atmosphere. The director knows exactly what he’s doing, and the characters are incredibly expressive: the rotoscoping has allowed the creators to focus on the tiniest of movements. This show is incredibly dark, and I love it!

Shingeki no Kyojin – 04

by psgels, posted in Shingeki no Kyojin(Attack on Titan)

Okay, so for clarity: the creators are pulling some of the later build-up chapters right to the beginning. I like that though, because even though I know the storyline, I really got startled there by the sudden appearance of that really big giant again.

Having the build-up chapters scattered through the story, or just having one big build-up arc at the beginning: there is no right way. Both have their merits. The former is more varied and has material to vary with during the heavy scenes, while the latter has a solid character base to start off with. We can only wait and see which is the best for this kind of story. Either way though, this episode did what it was supposed to do: take the characters and add to them. They had to do this with more than 10 characters, and they actually succeeded very well there. I especially like how it highlighted the paradox that the better you become, the less likely it is that you’ll fight the titans.

Also, thank god! Tetsurou Araki got some freedom again, compared to Guilty Crown in which I just couldn’t detect his influence at all. During the heavy scenes you could really see hints of Death Note and Kurozuka. I really encourage anime creators to put something of themselves into their adaptations. It makes them more unique. Especially if it adds something good.

Shingeki no Kyojin has this unique way of shading is characters during the heavy scenes (lots of shadows around the eyes). Strangely this was also played for laughs (Sasha…). It’ll be interesting whether they will keep that up or not.
Rating: 5.5/8 (Excellent)

Aku no Hana – 04

by psgels, posted in Aku no Hana

This series is just completely amazing. Seriously, in terms of teenaged dramas… this was one of the best we’ve gotten in a long, long while. Nakamura is just an amazing character. She really showed that with this episode.

She’s not a simple pervert who is weird. She is actively trying to tear down all of the walls that Kasuga has built around himself, trying to get into the perverted mind that he has, trying to find out what drove him into stealing the gym clothes. I love how she was fascinated by that and how she just keeps Kasuga on a leash, and just keeps invading his personal space that he’s trying to defend so vividly.

And on the other hand there is Kasuga, who is seeing that as a hint that she likes him, and in the meantime just continues to be completely unable to resist her. And I’m probably repeating this, but this animation is cheap and all, but the characters are incredibly expressive because of it! It also offers all kinds of inspiration for conventional animation, because the way the characters move, the way they hold each other. They just feel so believable!

One argument against the rotoscoping that I’ve heard a bunch of times mentioned is the following: “why don’t they just make a live action series out of it?” I don’t think that a live action Aku no Hana would be the same, to be honest. First of all, this series still uses still frames which would be really awkward in live-action, whereas in animated form it makes use of them incredibly well by contrasting between lots of movement, and no movement at all.

I’m not sure how many of you remember that one episode of His and Her Circumstances, which suddenly out of nowhere switched its regular animation over to moving cardboard cut-outs. Literally! I haven’t seen many reactions of how others received that sudden decision, but I loved it. I think that those unconventional animation techniques can really add something to the characters when done well (that’s the key point there, because it can indeed be done really badly or without any sort of expression; those CG dance eds are a good example of an idea that just doesn’t work for me).
Rating: 6/8 (Awesome)

Spring 2013 Kaleidoscope – April 28th

by psgels, posted in Spring 2013 Kaleidoscope

#1: Hunter X Hunter – 76: Well, finally. It has taken a year and a half, but we’ve finally gotten to the actual new material of Hunter X Hunter with the Chimera Ant arc. I was fully set to start dedicating an entire entry to it again, but as I started typing, I realized something: I’m not really invested in this show. I’m not motivated to dedicate an entire entry to this series. I’m not sure what the main reason was. Perhaps it’s how annoying blogging the first episodes turned out to be, or how annoying it has been to wait so long for this point to come. My guess though, it’s the characters. Overall, the 1999 series at its height was much more engaging than what this series was at its height. This lack of character investment is something that’s quite important to me: oftentimes I was able to enjoy series with really shoddy plots due to really good or interesting characters, though the reverse (good plot with uninteresting characters) are rarer. Instead, I have the kaleidoscope, because I can’t deny that the plot here is really good. Episode 76 tells about the prologue of the series, which was originally meant to be shown at the start of the series. I preferred the latter (I like foreshadowing), but really: this works too as a flashback. Character building yay! Although that ant queen looks rather silly. And Madhouse still couldn’t get any good singers for their EDs?

#2: Majestic Prince – 04: This one surprised me, a lot. With a few exceptions, the characters are starting to move away from their stereotypes, and also: it’s still quite self-aware. Especially episode 4 was actually quite genuine for that blond woman as it showed her role in the story along with her background and her worries. I did not expect that.

#3: Saint Seiya Omega – 54: I’m still not quite sure what to think of the new series, especially the villains are really boring and all look alike. Yet, this episode still grabbed me with Yuna’s doubts about her strengths (also that was surprisingly blunt of Koga to say… “Why aren’t you fighting?!”).

WTFs of the week:

Yahari blahblah – 03: Half the cast of this show is a tsundere!

Valvrave the Liberator – 02: Oh my god, this show is really aiming to be a huge trainwreck. I mean, the plot is exciting and all with the whole personality switching, but dear god, the characters! “L-EEEEELF!!!!!”

Yondemasuyo, Azazel-San! – 03: Moloch is awesome. It’s not just his character. He’s this catalyst that makes every single other character awesome. Now that he’s gone this show has gone to bleeding ass jokes. I wish I were kidding. What the hell did I just watch there?

Danchi Tomou – 03: Even considering he’s young… there is a bit of a screw loose on Tomou. He seriously acted like half his age in this episode!

Chihayafuru – 40

by psgels, posted in Chihayafuru

I just realized this at the end of the episode… but the opposing team on the finals consists out of a bunch of nut-cases.

I think this keeps true to one of the themes of this series: geniuses are eccentric in one way or the other (even Arata with how seriously he takes his punishment). I’m not sure whether this has a deeper meaning beyond just being really entertaining, but I love it. At first they seem like this very serious team to come over, only to get completely hilarious once the actual match starts.

The creators also really know how to torture Kanade here, by having like, the best announcer in existance voice the finals. If there is anything that this second season has been brilliant at, it’s its build-up. The final match was hinted at many times before, the creators keep referring back to Arata and the Queen, which will just happen much, much later. And it does interesting thing with them: it really plays with its characters and finds creative ways for hinting like that. The comedy really works when it needs to and that really helps.

The cliff-hanger was awesome, but I am a bit worried that at this point in the series, we’re still stuck in the team matches. I mean, this is nice and all but the team matches are not what really matters here in this series. That goes to the individual matches, in which we can see all these characters participate yet again. There are so many awesome matches and re-matches about to happen that I worry that they’re not going to be able to fit all of that in what? eight remaining episodes?
Rating: 5.5/8 (Excellent)