Star Crossed Anime

Chihayafuru Season 2

Short Synopsis: Our lead character plays a children’s card game.
Like expected, Chihayafuru’s second season has blown away all competition this season. But there was no way in which it wouldn’t be able to do so: it has a smashing build-up with its first season with an incredibly lovable cast, on top of the work that Uta Koi did to give a background to all of the poems that are featured in this series. But even then: the jokes were spot-on again, and the series hasn’t started, or the creators just keep pushing the characters further even more by focusing on the difference of their goals. They then manage to create a new character who within one episode already manages to be really interesting in her search for love. It’s only 20 minutes, and it already feels like this series has never left. That’s not something I often get with sequels.
OP: I like this better than the first. Good song.
ED: Good ballad. I’d with it was more than a slideshow, though.
Potential: 100%

Mondaijitachi ga Isekai Kara Kuru Sou Desu yo

Short Synopsis: Our lead character gets called to a different dimension.
The three-minute episode series are of course annoying, but what I dislike the most about this season in general is the writing: quite a few series have writers who seriously need to follow some basic screenplay classes, because I keep seeing series that make beginner’s mistakes. For Monday blahblah, it’s the way in which it doesn’t establish anything. It just shows a bunch of teenagers, next thing they fall from out of the sky and they don’t even seem surprised about it. I don’t care whether this gets explained later on in the series, it’s just way out of nowhere. Another problem with this series is that it thinks it’s smart, yet actually is completely stupid. I know that physics are usually ignored with these kinds of series, but when characters start explaining it, and get it completely wrong, it’s a different matter. The only reason why this series is able to look smart is because it makes some of its characters complete idiots. It also really does not help that the main character is one of the most blatant Garu Stu’s I’ve seen in a long while. He’s supposed to be this dark and edgy alternative to the weak lead character you usually see, but the creators again completely lost the balance by making him ridiculously powerful in everything that he does that he can even punch dragons and just instantly kill them.
ED: Not bad, does some interesting visual stuff. Better than most EDs this season.
Potential: 10%

Sasami@Ganbaranai

Short Synopsis: Our lead character is a shut-in.
I thought that I was over my bias of Shaft after Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru and Madoka Magica. But no. This season really reminds me why I dislike these guys so much: wasted potential. So much of it! The animation in this episode was gorgeous. There were a few scenes that were incredibly fluid. Now if only they’d adapt some actually good series! For starters, this show loses a lot of points by its pointless incest. But the problems are beyond that: this series does not understand how to use randomness well. Over the course of the episode everything suddenly turns to chocolate, but it’s completely unconsequential: it doesn’t lead to anything, it has no point beyond being random and leading to some really cool animation sequences. It’s completely boring and filled with allsorts of fetishes once again! And what gets to me the most is that there seems to be no improvement in this whatsoever, and yet the solution is so simple: GET SOMEONE COMPETENT TO DO YOuR SERIES COMPOSITION. Balance out the characters. Manage your pacing. Give your scenes consequences. Drop the freaking stereotypes. It’s such a simple thing, yet Shaft is currently way too busy with looking cool and edgy.
OP: Artsy, but a bit of a dull song.
ED: At least an interesting parody, but the characters involved are incredibly annoying and it’s filled with incest.
Potential: 50%

gdgd Fairies 2

Short Synopsis: Our lead characters are fairies.
Gasp! Shock! This show’s episodes are not three minutes long. Instead, they’ve got fourteen minutes to work with. That is much better, although that did lead me to having to sit through this thing even longer. gdgd fairies looks so awful that I didn’t even give its first season a chance. As the episode started playing, my fears were indeed confirmed: terrible CG animation, really awkward voice acting, and really forced characters. For the first half of this episode the characters just kept going on with a bunch of slow and badly delivered jokes. And then… something happened and this series took a turn for the bizarre in which a bunch of oiled up men in tutus ended up dancing around in a field of flowers. Afterwards the characters poked fun at sound effects, which… I actually found a bit funny. I didn’t expect that. Don’t expect too much of it though: it wasn’t drop dead hilarious: this episode was enough to make me want to check out the second episode, but it was not funny enough to completely sell me.
OP: Lucky Star parody? More like you just copied Lucky Star’s intro…
ED: Ugly CG dancing ED alert!
Potential: 45%

Vividred Operation

Short Synopsis: Our lead character is a magical girl.
Uh, Vividred: the gutter called. They want your mind out of there as soon as possible. Seriously. The first two characters in this show are introduced by their ass shots. Thankfully the rest of this episode was not as bad as Strike Witches, but nevertheless, pretty shameless. Vividred is a populist series: it does things very calculatedly, not for the sake of storytelling, but because of what it thinks is popular. The show is focused on cute girls piloting mecha near a beach, there are ass shots, and they’ve got a stuffed animal shoehorned in. Throughout this episode I could recognize various scenes that seemed to have been directly lifted from other popular scenes, and this was a bit too much for comfort. The biggest sign of this was the stuffed animal, though. The grandfather was actually an interesting, albeit archetypical character. But then this show found one of the most contrived ways to turn that guy into a stuffed animal. Not because it would fit the story (having him as grandfather would mean so much more for the female lead who lost her parents), but for the sake of marketability. Alone, this would not have been a big deal, but this show is chock full of tricks like this, to the point where it lacks its own identity.
ED: Clouds, and a boring song.
Potential: 20%

Kotoura-San

Short Synopsis: Our lead character can read people’s minds.
What they did for this series is that they handed what was actually a pretty cool premise to a bunch of soap opera writers. What I mean by that is that I actually quite like the concept of this series, of a girl who can read minds and how this affects her as a child. What I dislike is that the creators lack any sort of subtlety. Throughout the first half of this episode they do whatever possible to make the life of the female lead a complete hell. Of course, there are children who grow up in horrible environments, but this show, it starts off happily, only to throw one depressing plot twist after the other, to the point at wich it becomes laughable and adults completely overreacting. Nobody in this series has any common sense whatsoever… except for the male lead of course. So yeah: this series can go into two directions: wish fulfillment by showing a cute girl warm up to a typical lazy guy with dirty thoughts (ie, a target demographic often used for anime), or a charming coming of age story for a group of scarred teenagers. Which one will it be?
OP: It’s the way in which this contrasts with the really dark first half that makes it stand out.
ED: Good piano song
Potential: 70%

Tamako Market

Short Synopsis: Our lead character works at a Mochi bakery.
Someone shoot me. Tamako Market had the best first episode of the new season. I did not expect this from what was advertised as the next K-On. But really: to see this as the next K-On would be a grave disservice. You do not watch this series for the cute girls: cute girls are just a part of it. No, you really watch this series for the parrot. I love that animal. Beyond that though, this series also sets itself apart from a lot of other Kyoani series in a very interesting way: its cast is varied. It’s not just about a bunch of teenagers at school having a club. It’s got some teenagers, it’s also about a bakery, it’s got shop owners of all kinds of ages. There was so much going on, and not just random chatter. The characters as well: for once they’re not stereotypes. The lead female is ditzy, but it’s not her only character trait. The chemistry between the characters is also really good: no character is trying too hard to be annoying, which is a thing that really got on my nerves with K-On and Lucky Star.
OP: Mostly stands out through its animation.
ED: This is quite good: great visuals and nice song.
Potential: 85%

GJ Bu

Short Synopsis: Our lead character is a random high school student.
So, GJ Bu is a show of the genre “bunch of teenagers hang out at school and do random stuff”. It’s a genre that I know is not for me by far. I can only enjoy these kinds of series when there is something else going on beyond just the random sketches… but GJ Bu doesn’t have that. It tries to be funny… but isn’t. It’s just various situations with sterotypical characters who try to be cute/charming/quirky. It also doesn’t help that most of the jokes are focused on stereotypes: the rich girl is rich, so she doesn’t know what instand noodles are. The catgirl eats a lot, so she eats a lot. The calm girl is calm so she isn’t afraid of anything. That kind of dull stuff. It all feels so forced, dull and uninspired, and this just isn’t my type of series.
OP: Some idols got their first singing job or someting…
ED: Generic J-Pop, cheesy visuals.
Potential: 10%

Line Offline Salaryman

Short Synopsis: Our lead character is a salaryman.
I’m just going to cover all of these bloody three-minute episode shows, if only to drive home how many there just are this season. I mean, the original reason why I hated this season was something completely different: no non-sequels stood out and the majority of my top 10 of creators that gets on my nerves the most is involved in a show this time. But the sheer amount of these types of series is really helping things! Line Offline has no moe whatsoever. Instead, you can see this as a sitcom: a collection of sketches around a salaryman. The unusual thing about this episode was that it was entirely building up to one single joke at the end. That joke was… well… dull. The kind that might get a chuckle once or twie, but in the long run just isn’t worth it to spend more time on.
OP: At least they didn’t skimp here. Cool song, good use of a phone chat.
Potential: 10%

Senyuu

Short Synopsis: Our lead character fights monsters.
We’re up for a slight variation, people. Senyuu doesn’t just have three minute episodes, oh hell no: its episodes are four minutes long. Yes, you get a minute extra with this series! Isn’t it wonderful? Sarcasm aside, Senyuu is an RPG parody. Was it funny? Well, it got a chuckle out of me. The thing with it was that it, like many other series this season, just jumps into scenes without any sort of lead-in or build-up. Characters are cardboard boxes: the main character in particular got hit with this bad: his role in this series is that of the straight man. Burdened by this, he yells every single line of his. Yutaka Yamamoto, I know that you’re not the best director and all… but you should know better than this.
ED: Cheesy
Potential: 0%

Amnesia

Short Synopsis: Our lead character has amnesia.
Ooh, I like this. Out of all the non-sequels this season, this was by far the best first episode, and it will probably remain so for the rest of this season. I’ve been so used to otome game adaptations with crappy executions that this one actually took me by surprise by being really good. This too has the same premise of having a girl surrounded by bishies, but this episode added a few things that the others don’t have: intrigue for one. The main character has amnesia: so every character treating her like it was the most normal thing in the world, despite seeming completely foreign to the female lead. I like that a lot. For once, the bishies actually don’t try to fit themselves into stereotypes. Oh, they’re bishies and all, but they felt like actual characters for once. The soundtrack plays with this, especially the intrigue, leading to an actually good atmosphere for once. Yeah, this one works.
OP: I don’t like the song, but the visuals are interesting enough.
ED: Vocals are too washed out and feel off-key in some way but cool visual effects.
Potential: 85%

Bakumatsu Gijiden Roman

Short Synopsis: Our lead character is a phantom thief in the Bakumatsu era.
This obviously was meant to be a tongue-in-the-cheek rendition of the Bakumatsu Era (the original creators is the same guy who was behind Lupin III). For those of you who don’t know: it makes use of the legend of Hiraga Gennai, an inventor with apparently a very eccentric reputation. That’s why people fly around with rockets in this series. It doesn’t really work though: you can get the same experience but much, much better by just watching Ooedo Rocket. The thing with this series is that it’s got some very sloppy editing: it jumps around from one scene to the other without much build-up. The result of that is that the main character who was already meant to be an ass becomes even more unlikable and the banter between the characters feels way too forced: every character is trying way too hard to be quirky. The use of sound and music is also cheap at best. This episode does try to be heart-warming at times, but in the grand scheme of things it just feels shallow. I like TMS Entertainment for how experimental they were in 2012, but this is just one of those experiments gone wrong.
ED: This is actually quite interesting…
Potential: 50%

Zettai Karen Children The Unlimited

Short Synopsis: Our lead character has esper powers.
I have not seen Zettai Karen Children, but I was able to follow this episode, and I enjoyed it. The music is quite good, and the animation is really solid, leading to quite a bit of eye candy during the action scenes. I like the story that revolves around espers and their powers, and the setting they’re placed in. The only problem so far is the cast of characters, which needs some definite work. I only had one character that caught my attention: the red haired guy. The white-haired male is too perfect and is way too busy trying to look cool, and the villains also seem bland and boring at this stage. I feel like this episode was a bit too forced as an opening, trying to show too much already in its opening episode, but it can keep up with the action of this episode, and add some good characterization as it goes along, it can end up becoming pretty darn good. Oh, and nice cliff-hanger.
OP: Best OP of the season so far. Has some cheesy bits, but finally something that feels different.
ED: Feels like the same vocalist as the OP on one of his lesser songs.
Potential:80%

Ishida to Asakura

Short Synopsis: Our lead character is a high school student with an afro.
Two minute episode alert! Although this one can’t be called moe this time. In fact, I’m not even sure what the hell it was that I just watched. Ishida to Asakura seems to go with lots of deadpan humour, and while I normally am a big fan of that those types of jokes, they were so completely random and nonsensical here that I have no idea whether the jokes in this show were bad on purpose or whether the creators just have a terrible sense of humour. In any case, this was weird.
OP: Dull, but different from the norm.
Potential: &!#%

Senran Kagura

Short Synopsis: Our lead character has boobs and is a ninja.
Artland…. I used to be a fan of them. And to think that now, they’ve got the biggest and most shameless fanservice series of the season. Ah well, at least it’s not the most generic: the fight animation was better than usual for this type of show: for once the animation budget didn’t just go into the boobs, but also the actual action. Although that doesn’t excuse the fact that this series is constantly reminding us what gender the lead characters are. The stupid premise of this show leads me to believe that it wants to be a tongue-in-the-cheek parody, but here is the thing about parodies: if you’re adhering to the tropes without really making fun of them, you’re just being lazy. This show does have a soundtrack that’s a bit too good for its own sake….
OP: Generic copy paste OP
Potential: 0%

Da Capo III

Short Synopsis: Our lead character is surrounded by girls.
I… am just blank here. I mean, this was just completely generic in every way, except perhaps the fact that this is about a newspaper club. The first half was just the characters randomly talking about such a dull topic, then they went to some tree and did things, and in between there also was a bit of incest hints. Every character just looks utterly generic and I can’t believe that they actually made more of this. This is the 84th episode of Da Capo already for goodness’ sake!
Potential: 0%

Love Live!

Short Synopsis: Our lead character wants to be an idol.
Okay, let’s compare the two idol shows this season, shall we? One series is about an evil government who has outlawed entertainment and the group of idols that fires guerrilla concerts in order to stop them. The other is about a ditzy school girl who creates an idol club in order to prevent her school from getting closed down. One series subtly shows the darker sides of being an idol and how competitive it can be. The other is more occupied with a student council getting in the way, who thanks to the OP we now know will end up in the idol club as well. Seriously, especially compared to AKB0048, Love Live just looks incredibly generic. Where AKB0048 wants to tell a cool, albeit far-fetched story, this just is there for fan pandering: just show the animated versions of a bunch of idols being cute on a school. It’s completely generic and un-creative in every way. And then there is the background music: it’s actually better than the songs in this series itself. The songs feel like exactly copy-pasted from other generic J-pop songs.
OP: If the character-designs didn’t already make you suspect: they will be the main characters in this series. Bad CG and dancing.
ED: Right from out of nowhere one of the characters just starts singing behind invisible instruments and everyone just dances along with her. If she indeed was dancing and singing on her own: okay. But this was so obviously pre-recorded and choreographed. A complete lack of any subtlety, not to mention that the song sucks.
Potential: 0%

Hakkenden Touhou Hakken Ibun

Short Synopsis: Our lead character has special powers.
This one was surprisingly solid. It has its issues of being a bit childish at times, but in the end it’s well acted and it had a surprisingly good atmosphere. The animation also was pretty solid, and this actually was not bad at all. At the same time though, I also can’t really say that it was good, but it did spend a lot of time building up. I like some of the side-characters now, even though the male lead is a bit of a brat. The story as well has some potential, but I can’t really see it reaching many heights at this point. There is nothing yet that stands out about this series, but it has a few things that can grow and become quite good.
OP: Rather generic display of characters and powers, though it does look good.
Potential: 70%