Star Crossed Anime

Valvrave the Liberator

Short Synopsis: Our lead character may pilot a super giant robot.
This really had Ichiro Okouchi written all over it. The creator of Code Geass. This episode had lots and lots of shock value. That is not necessarily bad, but it does have me worried that this show somehow tries to convince us that the safest place to store an all-powerful robot, capable of annihilating everything on its path and that takes the soul of its pilots, was a freaking SCHOOL. I mean, the only thing that the plot had going for it so far is that it’s bigger on the shock factor. Otherwise it’s just another “been there, done that”-story about this random kid who just “happens” to find a big mecha. It’s a good thing that the animation is actually very good, the music is actually pretty amazing and the rest of the characters are… interesting enough. But really: if you want to create a giant trainwreck: think BIG. Think original. Don’t give me that school crap.
ED: Cathchy, but visually it’s nothing special.
Potential: 65%

Aiura

Short Synopsis: Our lead characters are a bunch of random high school girls.
So… yeah. For those of you who didn’t know yet… allow me to share something. The series this season with the best line-up of staff members isn’t Shingeki no Kyojin. It is not Aku no hana. Nor it is Gargantia, Red Data Girl, Hataraku Maou or Crime Edge. Nope. It’s this one. Allow me to introduce to you the next work of Ryousuke Nakamura, the best director to emerge out of the past ten years. After doing Mouryou no Hako, Hashire Melos and Nerawareta Gakuen together with Mieko Hosoi… their next work is a 4-minute series involving a bunch of random schoolgirls. I really hope, along with Mappa’s recent Teekyu, that this is just a side-project in which they want to do something silly for a chance. And yeah, this pretty much was the best of its genre. No cliches, no stereotypes. It just does what it sets out to do: animate the daily life of a high school girls. The jokes are not forced and it also doesn’t try to be funny if it doesn’t have to (unlike Yuyushiki, for example), not to mention that it builds up its jokes, which is always a plus. The animation actually focuses on subtle movements, rather than looking cool or impressive. I mean, it’s clear that this was made by people who know how to bring characters alive. I would have just hoped that they would do something more… ambitious. These are people that can bring stories to life that nobody else can.
OP: Crab! Crab! Crab! Crab! Addictive song and something different~!
ED: An actually relaxing song, instead of overly J-Poppy.
Potential: 75%

Yuyushiki

Short Synopsis: Our lead characters are a bunch of random high school girls.
A bunch of high school girls at a high school club doing random things. I am NOT a fan of this genre, yet I do believe that everything has its exceptions. Yuyushiki was actually rather close to being that exception, with a bit more thought into its script and storytelling. Rather than just being random, this episode outlined the first two days at school: there was progression. The animation was good for such a series, it was sometimes relaxing, and it did sometimes get a chuckle out of me. That’s at least the direction I’m looking for. Unfortunately, what really killed this one for me is that most of the jokes just fell flat. I don’t know about you, but I personally hate sitting through bad jokes. For me, they’re worse than simple boredom, especially when there is so many of them. The blue-haired girl in particular just kept trying to force her stupidity down our throat with ditzy comment after ditzy comment, and the pink-haired girl really was hit or miss.
OP: Not the most generic opening this season, but nothing special either; at least it gives a good overview of what the series is about.
ED: A walking ED where the gimmick wears off fast.
Potential: 40%

Danchi Tomou

Short Synopsis: Our lead character is a random kid.
I’ve stopped covering the kiddie series with these first impressions. One because of time restrictions, and two, because I can only say the same thing so many times (they all are really too much the same). The exception to this of course is the small collection of actually good ones, Danchi Tomou being one of them. Yeah, it is entirely done in cell shaded CG, that doesn’t earn it any points or something, but when you look beyond that you actually have quite an endearing slice of life series. What sets this one apart is its acting: Tomou is really bratty, but it’s one in a way that it’s enjoyable. His antics are varied, funny and not totally random. He really feels like a little kid. The rest of the cast has the same: They feel like actual characters, rather than cliches or stereotypes. The thing remains though, that I don’t really see a red thread keeping this together. The creators need to find something to make me continue watching, to keep me coming back. The fact that Tomou’s father is away is a good start, but not quite there yet.
OP: Awesome. You can see that this is from the same director as Space Brothers. Why do I feel the need to watch this over and over again?
ED: A walking ED. With a small twist.
Potential: 80%

Sparrow’s Hotel

Short Synopsis: Our lead character is a hot hotel ninja clerk.
In a follow-up to Aku no Hana: this series has what I personally would call really ugly art. I mean, holy crap those proportions! Those eyes! Who the hell designed that?! This is not a flash series, but it definitely comes close to that. As for the actual content… it’s basically a show with “hot girl jokes”. The entire series revoles around this hotel clerk who apparently is really gute and strong and ditzy and whatnot. The creators tried to stuff as much cliches as possible into just her, with the rest of the cast acting as a straight man (or woman). The big problem is that the acting is utterly terrible. What should have looked cute just looks incredibly forced and awkward. This is worse than even Date A Live. At least that show had a purpose!
OP: Just as bad as this series.
Potential: 0%

Arata Kangatari

Short Synopsis: Our lead character wields a magical sword.
Arata Kangatari, for those of you who don’t know, is the product of the same author as Fushigi Yuugi. Fushigi Yuugi is a series that I gave about three episodes, before abandoning it, because the main female character was a total moron. After watching this episode, I am glad to see that there was no such moron here. There is a bit of stupidity and there is one particular female character who needs to get a clue, but it’s all within acceptable bounds. And it created actually a pretty impressive story around that, with two stories running at the same time: one at present day, and one in a past fantasy world. Please let this be a series with bishies that actually remains good. They’ve gotten rather a rather bad reputation lately.
ED: My dear vocalist: you’re trying waaaay too hard.
Potential: 80%

Mushibugyo

Short Synopsis: Our lead character fights evil bug monsters.
Mushibugyo is a typical shounen. We’ve got a young kid with strong powers who wants to be stronger and protect a girl with big boobs who gets kidnapped immediately in the first episode. There are over the top powers and big monsters who need to be defeated by swords. But does it have anything to keep me interested? Not really. It’s got a nice style, the soundtrack is good, but beyond that it just does not seem to have a lot of substance. This series seems to view its battles as its main use of entertainment… and they aren’t really that good. The characters don’t really try to move away from their cliches. The only character who even remotely impressed me only appeared in a flashback, and even that was just over the top as a copy-paste excuse for the male lead to be involved with the story. It’s good innocent fun, but I’m looking for something more than just that.
OP: Quite stylish, good song at the very least.
ED: Ballad that doesn’t really catch my interest
Potential: 40%

Gargantua on the Vendurous Planet

Short Synopsis: Our lead character ends up on a strange planet with a cute girl.
The one thing I remember from the trailer of this series, is that it looked a bit dull. Now that the actual episode has aired through, I have to say that the inclusion of dialogue made up for a lot here. If you don’t pay attention it can easily sound like techno-babble, but it really was interesting. The voice acting also delivers these lines well, and I have to say that I quite like the male lead and his AI companion. They have a good chemistry together. This episode also contained quite a bit of a mood switch in its second half, and that too worked quite well. On one hand there are the technological advances of the main character, and on the other there are the “simple” technologies of the people on the planet he ends up on. It’s got a lot of potential here. My one question is: why the girl? Why is she important? Why does she have this cute mascot? Her character… she just feels so totally unlike what Urobuchi Gen would write…
ED: Generic anime song #324.
Potential: 85%

Shingeki no Kyojin

Short Synopsis: Our lead character needs to kill giants.
In one of the rare cases, I’ve actually read the manga here. Or at least the first 10 chapters. If there is any series that has the chance to become the epic of the year, it’s this one. It’s just that good, not to mention that it has some of the perfect staff behind it. Unlike with Guilty Crown, you can see Tetsuro Araki’s influence as the main director: this guy knows how to create an incredibly tight atmosphere with the means that he has. The big question for me for this first episode would be: did they get the giants right? Did they get these beings rights that are nearly impossible to animate? They actually did. They used quite a bit of CG, but the giants look just amazing. Beyond that, they put in quite a few small details here and there to brighten up the mood, the whole setting has gotten a lovely coloured rendition, making everything feel authentic and believable (this is something that I did not experience while reading the manga), and all of that had the result that this episode was a really tense ride. Next up is creating that feeling of addiction that the manga had. If it can get that right in the next few episodes, it’ll be entirely awesome.
OP: An actually epic song for such an epic series. Great art as well.
Potential: 100%

Zettai Bouei Leviathan

Short Synopsis: Our lead character is fantasy pest control.
Leviathan is one of the worst types of first episodes to write about… because it’s incredibly bland. It’s just a bunch of cute girls with a bit of fanservice here and there. The characters are all boring, the setting is boring, the whole premise is boring, the art is boring. There’s nothing really to write about. Oh wait. One of the girls has this this axe that is waaaay to big for her. But that’s just listing the symptoms, not the actual disease: Leviathan lacks creativity. I could have dug a series like that goes back to classic fantasy and all. But then spice things up! Do something interesting with it! Stand out! After such a boring first episode I don’t really feel like continuing to watch. And I know that there might be a great story at the end and all. But I can say that about many other series with bland first episodes. I saw no hints here whatsoever that that would be the case here. Also, Gonzo. The action in this episode was utter crap. What happened?
OP: Dull song, uninspired visuals
ED: A simple song. But again: dull. Uninspired.
Potential: 20%

Yondemasuyo, Azazel-san Z

Short Synopsis: Our lead character can summon demons
For the new series of Azazel-san, it really did help that its first episode focused on my favorite character of the series: Moloch. This guy is utterly hilarious, and this lead to a really funny first episode here. The thing with him is, that the creators have so many great ideas about him. And they used a ton of them in this first episode, turning him into this cute plushy pulling a really obvious ret-con of a certain event of the first season. This series also loves its over the top violence, and that too had some really nice moments. Where in Moromi-san, people were just beat up all the time, Azazel-san does this with care and timing. And creativity. And a mind that is completely lost in the gutter.
OP: One of the very few openings that are actually funny
ED: Quite quirky.
Potential: 85%

Namiuchigawa no Moromi-san

Short Synopsis: Our lead character fishes up a mermaid.
This year, Azazel-san is also airing alongside another 10-minute episode series. For the first season it was Hen Zemi. For the second, it is Moromi-san. For the first season it aired alongside a show that explored the borders of taste and that made it a contest to see how disgusting it could be. For the second season it aired next to…. a hyperactive mermaid. Here is the thing with this first episode: it tries way too hard to be funny, while it actually isn’t. Moromi-san just keeps yelling and yelling and yelling. She just keeps doing violent things, over and over. It stopped being funny to me after… one minute I think?
OP: Energetic at least.
Potential: 20%

Aku no Hana

Short Synopsis: Our lead character is an average high school boy.
There is one thing that I picked up from the reactions of Aku no Hana before I watched this: the character-designs were supposed to be really bad. So I was expecting them to be like full of bishoujo with brightly coloured hair, incredibly plain looking and where all characters looked like the creators just kept using the same character model but with only swapped-out hair and eyes. Not this! This is amazing! A show that has its own style, and every character looks significantly different. And also look at the animation: instead of relying way too much on key animation (like, one pose that moves slightly, then cutting to another pose that moves slightly), the characters here are nearly constantly moving in interesting and believable ways. The voice acting also is different: much more realistic than usual. This really is one of those shows that went the extra mile. One that thought: “what can we all add to make this stand out, and make it even better?” I also love the simple soundtrack: perfect for creating an atmosphere. The backgrounds are also really detailed and also very true to life. This first episode mostly spent its time showing the everyday life of the main character. Which, actually is pretty fine for character-building. And when it switched over to the main character daydreaming in his room for a short while, it really made an impact.
OP: Love the guitar solo
ED: Whoa! Hauting! Unique! Awesome!
Potential: 95%

Karneval

Short Synopsis: Our lead character Has special powers.
Karneval surprised me. I mean, it is an action show with a lot of bishies, but the animation can be pretty good and the atmosphere is pretty impressive as well. This episode already started off with a lot of different characters, and stories, and it shows quite the ambition if it wants to tie all of them together. Most of the characters are also nice to watch. It just misses a bit of depth in the character-department: none of them are really that interesting or hold potential beyond a few hints here and there. And there are a few characters who just try to be too annoying. Most notably the whimpy kid main character… On the other hand I did like the use of trains in this first episode. I hope that they continue to have creative settings like that in the future.
OP:
ED: Really bad J-pop that totally does not fit the mood!
Potential: 75%

Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru

Short Synopsis: Our lead character joints a club with a bunch of cute girls.
Yahari Blahblah is another one of those series with a dead horse premise: some random guy who joins a club with some cute girls.The originality! Thankfully though, this was one of the better first episodes with that premise that I’ve watched. The characters are eloquent, and they actually say something relevant, rather than pull a Shaft and continue to yap about nothing at all. This is pretty much the first episode of Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai, done right. There is tension, but it’s not so ridiculously stupid and one-sided as there and the three characters actually all give as well as recieve. My big problem here is what this show is going to do with the rest of its episodes. I see hardly any potential there beyond a bunch of random episodes.
OP: Nice visual effects, but a rather dull song and the visuals also aren’t that special.
ED: A dull ballad.
Potential: 70%

Photo Kano

Short Synopsis: Our lead character takes pictures of young schoolgirls.
Photo Kano is Madhouse’s latest sell-out. They may have their great series, but once in a while they also do shows like this: a generic quasi-harem about photographing girls. I remember how it had one of the worst trailers of the season, but thankfully the actual series is not as bad and shallow at what it suggested. It’s merely a really boring dating sim. The lead guy has a hobby, and beyond that is a cast of stereotypes, both in terms of girls that fill various fanservice stereotypes, and the cast of male pervert side characters. Thankfully, there were the odd bunch of characters who didn’t try to be a cliche, but there weren’t many of them. It’s not the most blatant show of the season because some characters actually did try to act. But there is a huge difference between “acting” and “actually being interesting”.
OP: FANSERVICE!
ED: What? No fanservice? Instead: SYMBOLISM WITH FLOWERS!
Potential: 30%