Sukitte Ii na Yo Review – 82,5/100

by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews

One very annoying aspect of romance shows is what I’d like to call the “soap opera effect”: some drama happens, and instead of the characters voicing their problems to others, they remain silent, only inflating this drama. Characters taking forever to confess to each other also are among this. Sukitte Ii na Yo plays with this, and is also part of the excellent line-up of romance shows of the past season.

This is pretty much what Kimi ni Todoke should have been: the main couple talks to each other, despite the anxieties of the shy female lead. In thirteen episodes, we see her crawl out of her shell and gain more confidence, and grow as a character. She starts with nothing but insecurities, and grows significantly and yet believably as she confides in others. Not just her boyfriend, but also her other friends.

The other friends who actually are also very interesting characters. This show takes care in giving many of them their own story and even growth. And the thing is that when their stories are over, they don’t just disappear or just stand in the background, but form active members of the cast and show off their character development. There is a lot of drama in this series, but you don’t get the feeling like it’s trying to be as dramatic as possible, or letting things escalate for the sake of creating extra drama. I really like how this show restrained itself from going too far. There is one group of characters that this series ignores though: the villains. The girls whose only job it is to make nasty comments. They… stood out at times as annoying, one-sided and clichéd.

Zecxs is a strange animation studio: most of the shows they produce all look the same and generic, and then once in a while that really has its own style. Sukitte Ii na Yo is one such series. The animation may not be anything to write home about, but it does its job well in bringing out the emotions of the different characters. Combined that with the believable acting and good character-development for a 13-episode series, then I’d recommend this for those looking for a shoujo romance. And yeah, it has a manga that’s still going on so the story isn’t complete, and yet I actually liked the life-goes on ending a lot.

Storytelling: 8/10 – Very solid romance, puts a lot of thought into the pacing and plot progression.
Characters: 9/10 – Characters actually do something rather than remain quiet for way too long. Great character-development for just 13 episodes.
Production-Values: 8/10 – Simple but effective animation.
Setting: 8/10 – Standard school setting. Nothing special.

Suggestions:
– His and Her Circumstances
– Hitohira
– Whisper of the Heart

Medaka Box Abnormal Review – 76/100

by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews

Poor Medaka Box. Its second season had the worst timing imaginable. Here’s the thing: for the past few years, me and Shounen Jump Adaptations didn’t have the best relationship. Sure, there was the occasional gem with Level E, but most series got on my nerves like no other by taking so many ages to actually get somewhere. There are so many of these adaptation that are paced out too long in order to keep the story going in their constant fear of getting cancelled. The first season of Medaka Box actually took advantage of that by actually doing something interesting within the first 13 episodes. It didn’t take ages to change and move somewhere. There was variety.

And then the past autumn season happened. And the juggernauts of Hunter x Hunter and Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure came and challenged just about every boundary of the shounen genre, showing among the best of what Shounen Jump has to offer. And Medaka Box tried to air is second season alongside those two. Yeah, it paled in comparison, unfortunately.

The first season of Medaka Box was a generic school series that at a certain point goes over 9000. The second season is different, though: it consists out of a collection of fights between people with all sorts of powers. You can see that a lot of thought was put into these powers, how they work and how they can be beaten. It goes further than most shounen fighting series do, and you can see that the series has quite a bit of fun in analyzing all of these powers along with their stories. And that’s about all this series does.

The problem with this series, like most other nisiOisin’s works, is that the balance is lost. The problem is that this series spends so much time and focus at talking and explaining how all these powers work, that it forgets to put focus on the rest. This show aims to break some traditions of the shounen jump genre with how elaborate these powers, but at the same time it also falls in the same pitfalls by having way too many characters pointlessly talking and analyzing the fight.

And the fights themselves… it’s not like they are of the kind that remain interesting for 12 episodes. The first season had novelty: the characters did other things than just fighting. Here, they don’t and it becomes obvious that Gainax didn’t put their top people on this series: for their standards, the animation is rather bland, and feels too much like they directly copied and pasted manga panels and moved a few things here and there, that ends up looking a bit bland.

Then here is another thing: the characters of this series have their wrong priorities.I mean, this series understands that characters need to have back-stories, and those stories are indeed often insightful and all. The show is not good at all at fleshing out its characters, though: most characters jus have one or two sides to them. They’re not fun to watch because all of them are defined by their powers and backstories, instead of their actions, if that makes any sense.

I am indeed a tsundere for nisiOisin: up till now despite my annoyances of him, I have watched every adaptation of his that came out so far, because I do think that he is a talented writer. The tsun in me though is starting to win terrain because of how unbalanced all of his stories are. I really care about the big picture how all the small pieces are used together. I’m missing that a lot with his series due to the obsessive focus he puts on his dialogue and Medaka Box is the same: it had some very interesting ideas. But did I enjoy myself for the most part with this series? Well, only the final two episodes really ended up catching my attention to be honest, but they did not succeed in making up for the rest of the episodes, especially because this season was supposed to be the part where the story really started, and to be honest I prefer the variety of the first season over the second.

Storytelling: 7.5/10 – Lots of dialogue that is well-written, but also gets in the way of the rest of the show.
Characters: 7/10 – They’re not interesting, they have backgrounds, but aren’t fleshed out enough.
Production-Values: 8/10 – Gainax does a decent job. Nothing outstanding, but nothing bad either.
Setting: 8/10 – Lots of interesting ideas being explored. Not interesting enough to really lift the series to a higher level, though.

Suggestions:
– Law of Ueki << This show is pretty much Medaka Box if it did focus on actually being fun. Yes, this my favorite comedy ever. That's a big difference there... - Hunter X Hunter
– Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure

Some Quick First Impressions: Nekomonogatari, Ai Mai Mi and Boku no Imouto wa Osaka Okan

by psgels, posted in Some Quick First Impressions

Nekomonogatari (Black)

Short Synopsis: Our lead character is an ex-vampire in love.
Nekomonogatari. Just the first episode today. Here is the thing with me and this series: it’s improving. It really is. This episode still had the annoying pointless fanservice and the random focus on pointless things like ahoges (those plucks of hair on top of the head that a ton of different Shaft-characters have; this was a joke they milked out eight years ago with Pani Poni Dash by the way), the pacing here was a lot more bearable than with Nisemonogatari: stuff actually happened at a fair pace for once. Here is the thing though: I did not enjoy this episode. The problem with the Monogatari series is that thanks to Bakemonogatari and Nisemonogatari getting on my nerves so damn much, I’ve started to hate the characters. I did not warm up to them whatsoever and I do not enjoy watching them at all. My question now is: is it all worth it? Is the sometimes witty dialogue about love worth it? Is the really creative animation worth it? Do I want to keep watching this for TEN FREAKING SEASONS?
OP: Surprisingly normal for a Shaft Opening, but well animated.
Potential: 60%

Ai Mai Mi

Short Synopsis: Our lead characters are high school girls.
Enough with the three-minute moe shows already!! Jesus christ, this is a very annoying trend here. And you know what the bad thing is? None of them come even remotely close to being as fun and creative as Teekyu last season. It’s not like that’s a particularly high bar to pass, but at least that show was fun. I can’t say that about any of these shows whatsoever. Ai Mai Mi comes closest to Teekyu in the way that it also tries to have perverted jokes and randomness. The big difference is that the jokes are all terrible, and the pacing is a lot slower. To get a sense of the jokes in this episode: lots of sex jokes made by cute high school girls. If you’re into really bad sex jokes you might give this a chance, but even then the delivery remains poor, so be aware of that.
ED: Really cheap, but at least it’s creative. More that can be said of those other EDs so far…
Potential: 0%

Boku no Imouto wa Osaka Okan

Short Synopsis: Our lead character has a sister from Osaka.
Here is one series I missed, but really: don’t bother. If the title of the show didn’t already give you some suspicions: yes, this is a crappy flash animation; yes, this is about a brother and a sister, and yes, the sister has lived apart from the brother for nearly her entire life. Helloooo incest. Thankfully, the two characters don’t seem to be in love… but yeah the other signs are all there. Apart from that, the only point behind this series is to illustrate the difference between people living in Tokyo and Osaka. In the end this all boiled down to how they have silly names for things in Osaka. It’s not worth it at all to make an anime
ED: You couldn’t get this any more shameless, could you?
Potential: 0%

Poyopoyo Kansatsu Nikki Review – 84/100

by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews



Okay, so I crowned Poyopoyo as my favourite comedy of 2012. Here I have some more room to explain that. First of all, this series did not make me laugh the hardest out of the comedies of 2012. It did, however, make me laugh the most and it was the most consistently funny series of the year. I can perhaps recall three or four of its 2-minute episodes that did not make me chuckle out loud.

That’s the beauty of this series: it’s short, yet has a ton of content. Every episode is divided into four to eight sketches that describe the daily lives of the main cast, and hardly any of them feel like they have been put in there just to fill time. They all have a point or a joke to make, and really few of them feel flat. When it’s able to do that for 52 consecutive weeks, it really manages to be something special.

And what makes this show funny? Well, most importantly its cast of characters. The show follows a farming family and the people around it. They don’t exactly develop much, but this series is masterful at fleshing them out: showing their different sides in different situations, showing how they typically and un-typically act. And all of this with a good dose of humour. They become really fun and enjoyable to watch, already quite quickly into the series.

About the animation… yeah don’t expect too much of it. It is solid for what it does though: you don’t need to expect crappy flash animation, and the camera angles are consistently sharp for its designs. Voice acting is really good though: the voice actors really manage to bring their characters alive. In terms of background music, there is not much variety: one track is just constantly being played, but it is a very good track nonetheless.

Poyopoyo as a series is more than just funny. It’s also very relatable. It contains tons of scenes that hit home. Sometimes for just pet owners, but also for everyone. Beyond that, if you’re interested you can just give it a try. It’s a really accessible series that you can just jump into whenever you feel like.

Storytelling: 9/10 – Very consistent comedy that is hilarious.
Characters: 9/10 – Down to earth and character who feel real, and remain funny and charming.
Production-Values: 7.5/10 – Simple animation, but quite effective nonetheless.
Setting: 8/10 – Believable and realistic.

Some Quick First Impressions: Yama no Susume, Mangirl and Puchimas! Petit Idolmaster

by psgels, posted in Some Quick First Impressions

Yama no Susume

Short Synopsis: Our lead character climbs mountains and is afraid of heights.
Again, three minute episodes. If they were actually good, I wouldn’t mind, but this is yet again a moeblob series like the two before it. Although granted, of Puchimas and Mangirl, this one stands out the best: at the least it has things that resemble characters, rather than cardboard boxes. The two lead characters actually have a past together. A bland past, but a past. And bland is just about the right way to describe this episode. I guess that it’s nice to see a girl with a passion for climbing and all, and the focus on their past was something I did not expect in a 3-minute episode, but this episode just was boring. Way too much of the episode was dominated by cute girls trying to be cute, that we’ve already seen so many times before. If the creators want to make this work, they really need to avoid the focus on this, and instead focus on being heart-warming (I know from my holidays that the reward for mountain climbing is a set of breathtaking views).
ED: More bland j-pop…
Potential: 35%

Mangirl

Short Synopsis: Our lead character wants to start a manga magazine.
It’s no surprise that I consider this season to be awful. Here we come with the series that has one of the absolute worst puns for its title. This time it only has 3-minute episodes as it shows the characters try to compile a manga series despite being teenagers. I guess it had some nice trivia when it comes to actually producing this… but that was pretty much buried beneath the tons of obnoxious jokes and moe that filled this episode. Especially the jokes were bad, and the characters rely way too much on them. I don’t feel like watching bad jokes here over and over.
OP: Really bad j-pop
Potential: 10%

Puchimas! Petit Idolmaster

Short Synopsis: Our lead character has to take care of idol blobs.
Well, let’s get the worst out of the way first for the new season: a crappy chibi-spin-off for the Idolmaster franchise. The Idolm@ster was a show that I thought was… decent enough. This however is just there to be a cute as possible without anything else. In this episode (which didn’t even last three minutes, by the way) we just see them adapt a bunch of idol blobs and that’s it. It wasn’t funny, it was trying way too hard to be cute. Only go for this if you’re a really big fan of the Idolmaster franchise and want some random fanservice.
ED: Obnoxious j-pop that gets on my nerves with dull visuals.
Potential: 0%

Kamisama Hajimemashita Review – 84/100

by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews, Kamisama Hajimemashita



Romance galore for the past season! Not to mention that there were so many good ones: Sukitte Ii na Yo, Sakurasou, and apparently Chuuninbyou and Tonari are also really good but I did not watch them. Kamisama Hajimemashita for me stands out as the best though. Why? Execution.

For the people who haven’t heard me repeat this over and over yet: the director of this series is Akitarou Daichi. He did Fruits Basket, Kodocha and Bokura ga Ita before so yes, he can direct really good romance, and yes, he can do this incredibly consistently. Kamisama Hajimemashita feels the most like 13 episodes of Kodocha, with a bit of its energy calmed down. Though it’s still a series that is full of energy, especially if you watch its first episode.

The trick with this series is that it has perfected its timing: shots last for the exact right duration. Jokes are timed perfectly. The energy is built up over each episode really well. The show managed to use its camera work to bring out the emotions of the characters really well, and especially the feelings of love and laughter. This show is really good at juggling these around, making you laugh hard one moment and feel sorry the next. No other romance this series was as balanced as this series.

And the thing is, that this is not the most ambitious series: the characters are simple, they don’t try too hard to be likable at all. The storylines are also really quite simple when you boil down to them. The character development too: simple. Yet this series shines in it, and due to this simplicity and polish it is really enjoyable. Not to mention that without exception, it manages to end every single episode with a really charming climax that is full of warm feelings (that ED works brilliantly with it). I don’t see many other shows pull the same.

The problem mostly is that this series really needs to be a 26 episode series. With 26, its story just cuts off in the middle with a hasty end boss, and the characters don’t develop as well as they could have. It loses most of its points on that.

Storytelling: 9/10 – Awesome timing, really uses its simplicity well and knows really well how to build up.
Characters: 8.5/10 – Simple but effective characters. At first they might not seem much, but they grow on you.
Production-Values: 8/10 – Well drawn camera angles, although they don’t move much. Catchy soundtrack.
Setting: 8/10 – It’s the same old setting about youkai, but well used.

Suggestions:
– Kodomo no Omocha
– Bokura ga Ita
– Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge

Kamisama Hajimemashita – 13

by psgels, posted in Kamisama Hajimemashita

Aack! Writing up the 2012 summary took way too long and I am now stuck with a huge backlog of shows that still need to be reviewed!

So yeah, blah blah Nanami runs away but then she doesn’t an then beats the spider. I’m saying this rather blunt because really: who expected otherwise? By the way though Kamisama Hajimemashita has a great ending.

The reason both of these things are possible are due to the execution, and the aftermath. I mean, who cares about that stupid spider, it’s what it did with the characters that matters here. Even when Nanami was still running away, the characters and their quirks were great to watch. The creators actually kept in the comedy, compared to other comedy shows that pull such an ending that drop all of the comedy in favor of drama.

I’m quite surprised though: this episode had a really corny plot. Yet, Nanami’s dance scene was a highlight, and the kiss at the end of this episode also was a highlight that was rather well built up, even though there are tons of romance shows that end with a kiss, and yet this one felt really special because everything came together.

The charm of this series really lies in its characters. It’s unambitious, yet they work so well that een such a cliched ending works well. Seriously, there are so many other series that would bore me to death with this kind of ending. I applaud.
Rating: 5.5/8 (Excellent)

2012 Summary Part 5

by psgels, posted in Yearly Summaries

Happy new year everyone! And apologies for the delays. Compiling this post took a bit longer than what I first anticipated. In any case, 2012 was a great year for anime. I can see an upward trend with studios trying out more and being more experimental than previous years (finally more good 52-episode series and Noitamina-series running full cour). Let’s hope that 2013 will be even better!

Worst First Episode

Kono Naka ni Hitori, Imouto ga Iru!

Every year I had out these awards for the first episode that I checked out that was the absolute worst. And yet again, it’s the godawful incest shows for me that were the bottom of the barrel: Oniichan Blahblah makes for a good runner up for this award. But even then I wasn’t prepared to how bad this was. I mean, this show isn’t even trying anymore. I still remember how it just pulls off the car accident without a shred of irony, only to have the supposedly dead character walk away like it was nothing.

Biggest Disappointment

Liche Light Club

Disappointments are created by high expectations. Last year for example this was Guilty Crown for all the hype it built up for. 2012 didn’t really have such a series though, since I already knew that Guilty Crown was bad at the start of the year and everyone kept telling me that Sword Art Online’s ALO arc would be pretty bad. However, there was one series that just screamed “Waste of Potential”: the story of a bunch of sexually frustrated high school guys who design a robot powered by Liches and go kidnap people. It’s such a great concept for a show with tons of bleak and dark humour… if only it had gotten adapted by some people who actually had some shred of ambition. Now the anime of Liche Light Club is just a collection of bad SM-jokes.

Most Pleasant Surprise

AKB0048

Runner up would be Nazo no Kanojo X for being actually good, AKB0048 really takes the cake: it’s a show about idols who hold guerilla concerts to fight an evil government that has outlawed entertainment. It s such a hopeless premise, and yet the creators made it work by not just glorifying the idol business, but also shows the darker side of the business.

Best Animation Studio

A-1 Pictures

For the first half of the year, it looked like Satelight would end up as my favorite studio of the year with their work on Aquarion Evol, Mouretsu Pirates and AKB0048. Then A-1 came and blew all these titles away with Uchuu Kyoudai and From the New World. Then Magi delivered very solid adventure and not to mention Tsuritama ‘s addictive fun, and then they pretty much out-produced all other studios this year.

Most Promising Studio

TMS Entertainment

This is an award that I hand out every year for promising new studios or small studios that made huge improvements. Dogakobo would have gotten this award with their work on Natsuyuki Rendezouvs. This year was a bit different though, because something very interesting happened with a studio that was already very well established: TMS Entertainment have made a name for themselves decades ago by animating all kinds of western Disney series and the company itself was founded in 1946 as a fiber manufacturer, not to mention that they did make one of my favorite series with Kaze no Shoujo Emily. In the past number of years though, things have been a bit quiet around this studio. They brought their focus more and more on kiddie shows and nothing else, so I had given up hope. And then in 2012, something happened: they delivered three series that were experimental, three series that did not care about living up to their peers, or keeping true to conventions. Lupin, Kamisama and Zetman’s execution bursted with creativity and despite limited budgets, these three series really tried to make the best out of their limited budget and airtime. I am not sure what happened: but keep this mentality going. Try to get this mentality into series of 2 cours length. That would be just amazing.

Best Old Series I Happened to See This Year

Monster

I did not watch many older series this year because my private life got much busier, but I did manage to watch Monster. What a series that was. Slow-paced with breath-taking characters. Johan Liebert in particular shines as one of the best villains out there, not to mention how well the creators managed to capture Germany and the tensions around the Berlin Wall and its fall.

Best Fanservice

Eureka Seven Ao

Fanservice is often used for nudity, but it basically means stuff that is just there to please fans. Although 2012 did have two series that made very good use of nudity: Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo and Lupin the Third. Sakurasou had the tension that it created with its fanservice that brought a spark to the characters, while Mine Fujiko’s sensual portrayal had a really unique effect. Eureka Seven Ao meanwhile was fanservice at its truest sense: even though the story and focus of Ao was entirely different from the first Eureka Seven series, it did pay a brilliant homage to it by having its characters return and be much more than just dead weights who are only in the way for the younger generation.

Best Action

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure

So, Aquarion Evol and Eureka Seven Ao had very solid action with gorgeous CG effects, Zetman had very tense action, but what really did it for me was the incredibly over the top action. That gives us on one hand Black Rock Shooter that just kept pulling all sorts of awesome stuff in its alternative world, and Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, a show that manages to be ridiculously over the top, and yet focus on the small details. This series is completely crazy and its action shows it. It’s a thrilling roller coast er ride from start to finish that hardly ever seems to let go.

Best Comedy

Poyopoyo Kansatsu Nikki

At the beginning of the year, Milky Holmes sold me with its incredibly random humour that was incredibly stupid on so many levels. After that there came Polar Bear Cafe, whose best episodes actually rivalled it, and Poyopoyo Kansatsu Nikki, which actually brought some thought into its humour, which is why it got this year’s award. This series was full of those kinds of jokes and it never dragged: it always tried to be fresh and new and it never aimed to waste time.

Best Horror

Another

There really weren’t many horror series in 2012: only Another and From the New World had some. I’m giving it to Another because it was fully dedicated to it, rather than From the New World which just occasionally moved into the genre. Both really managed to create a really freaky atmosphere though.

Best Slice of Life

Poyopoyo Kansatsu Nikki

Most comedies I watch are just for laughs, but Poyopoyo did something more: it was really relatable to watch the every day lives of its characters. It had tons of situations that wer ment to be recognizable for lots of people. Mostly pet owners, but probably everyone else will find a few moments that hit home.

Best Romance

Natsuyuki Rendezvous

2012 had lots of great romance series that treated their casts seriously: Sakurasou, Sukitte, Nazo no Kanojo, Inu X Boku, Kamisama Hajimemashita, Kokoro Connect, Sakamichi no Apollon and Uta Koi. None of them came close to Natsuyuki Rendezvous though. A romance about adults, which blended in the supernatural really well. The lead couple is amazing to watch in their struggle and the chemistry they have with each other. Heck, for me this was the best romance show in years.

Best Background Art

From the New World

Last Exile still looked gorgeous, although not as gorgeous as in its first half. Fate/Zero managed to look even better with its background art, but From the New world sold me the most with its art that is really varied, detailed and imaginative. The creators really give the artists freedom here, and you can really notice that.

Best Animation

Fate/Zero

Again, From the New World deserves credit for giving its artists so much freedom, and also K’s incredibly smooth animation deserves to be mentioned, but I think that in the end, it’s Fate/Zero that had the best animation of the year in how clean and crisp it was, and yet how incredibly solid the show looked through its entire run. It’s hard to get that kind of consistency for 26 episodes.

Best Looking Graphics

Lupin III – Mine Fujiko to Iu Onna

This award is not for the best animation, but just for the graphics that looked best. This one was a no-brainer: the creators went with their complete own art style that didn’t care about conventions whatsoever, and it looked amazing. From the New World (again) takes second place.

Best Script

Zetsuen no Tempest

The best script this year was from Zetsuen no Tempet, and how it used this so wonderfully in order to not just create its own mind games, but also have them build up to each other. Runner-up is Space Brothers with its unseeming ability to make every situation it’s in incredibly funny with an anti-climax.

Best Story

Uchuu Kyoudai

Uchuu Kyoudai: Uchuu Kyoudai has an amazingly uplifting story, about a guy in his thirties trying to make it for an astronaut. This is the series that returned my faith into slow pacings, and how much you can do if you take your time. Because of that the creators managed to add so many details to the storyline of this series, ranging from a wide variety of characters to so much background detail on what it means to be an astronaut. Eureka Seven Ao, Mouretsu Pirates and Shin Sekai Yori had really good stories too.

Top 15 TV-Series 2012
#15: Lupin the Third

For this re-imagining, the creators gave a very different spin on the Lupin franchise, putting the focus on Mine Fujiko instead, and on her sexuality. Hey turned this into an episodic series that at times seemed a bit random, although the story that appeared in the second half of the series had some really interesting points, not to mention a very good ending. It’s by far the most experimental series of the year, and I really appreciate the creators taking all these risks.

#14: Psycho Pass

Psycho Pass will very likely end up a lot higher on the list next year, but for now 14th place is good for a series that’s only halfway there. It’s a series that looks into psychology, at what defines a psychopath and how people can survive in a society that expects everyone to be mentally healthy. In its first half it packed some really good suspense, symbolism and dialogue, combined with a very good script and that really sold me on this series.

#13: From the New World

From the New World is heavy, putting children and innocent themes of friendship on one hand, and dark horror on the other. The show is halfway finished, and we’re right at the point at which the cast is really being forced to grow up in a very cruel way. On top of that though, this show managed to create a fascinating setting around all this, with its own customs and culture, not to mention the folklore that it put into it.

#12: Fate Zero

Fate/Zero’s second season was one of the most hyped series of the year. From that standing point, it slightly disappointed me, in the way that in the end, you are required to know hat happens in the other Fate instalments of the Fate franchise to really be able to enjoy this, and I have not. Because of that my suspense of disbelief was occasionally broken at some unfortunate times. That’s the reason this is not in my top 10, but despite that it still is a really good series with rock-solid characters and rock-solid production values.

#11: Hyouka

Hyouka showed us a very interesting approach to mystery: instead of showing us epic mysteries with world threatening consequences, the mysteries that our characters had to solve were small, instead of a corpse there is a small prop stolen, or something like that. This show really was good at trying to delve into these mysteries and make their solutions pay off. It stuffed tons of small details into each of these episodes to make them worthwhile, and I love how it gave this series such a down to earth approach.

#10: Mouretsu Pirates

Yes, this is an incredibly girly science fiction series, especially as the show goes on and you realize the size of the part that the local school’s yacht club has in a show that is supposed to be about pirates. But as the show goes on, its strength shows up more and more: it’s an incredibly fun pirate show. It just takes its time to set everything up by creating its own view of how pirates survive in the future, establishing all of the characters and make them act believably. The thing with this series is that every single arc is more interesting than its predecessor as it keeps spiralling out of control. That completely sold me.

#9: Hyouge Mono

Hyouge Mono was only there for one month, so I’m not going to rank it higher than this at the moment, but still, the month still aired in 2012. And Hyouge Mono remains a delight: how on earth were they able to fund it? How on earth were they able to make a series about a bunch of old dudes making silly faces? I do not know, but THANK YOU Bee-Train, for taking this risk. The conclusion to Hyouge Mono was slow (which was the reason why I didn’t rank this show 90 or above), but it made such an impact.

#8: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure

This show is unbelievable. With just its first half, it completely blew away nearly all manly actions shows with how ridiculously over the top it was. With a fantastic soundtrack and voice actors who really like to yell their lines out as loud as possible with as much passion as possible, combined with the way how this show can give huge powers to incredibly weak things. It’s constantly glorious to just watch this show surpass itself time and time again with its bombast. And to think that this originated in 1988.

#7: Zetsuen no Tempest

Zetsuen no Tempest took a while to get going in its first half. But holy crap, did it take off! The way in which this show built up its climaxes was amazing, and especially the way in which it used its mind games was awesome beyond belief. It just kept throwing around the table and toyed with things as logic and fate. And that’s just its first half.

#6: Sakamichi no Apollon

Playing music is something that is really difficult to animate. And yet, here the creators did it. Using rotoscoped animation, the soundtrack is perfectly played by the characters. This makes for a bunch of stunning musical performances. I also really liked the romance between the different characters: instead of padding out, the characters here wasted no time and just kept adding things and events to their development. It does have the flaw that sometimes it tends to throw in a twist for the sake of having a twist, but the character development all makes up for it.

#5: Eureka Seven Ao

This one is very likely my most controversial item in my top 10, because a lot of people disliked it. It definitely is a series that is not for everyone. First of all you need to be a fan of the original Eureka Seven, and second of all you also need to like the completely different direction. That the series headed in. This series also takes no prisoners: some plotholes are plotholes, others are just explained episodes earlier but are things that are so easily missed through everything that goes on. This show does not plan to hold your hand, but it also provides amazing fanservice for those who manage to enjoy it.

#4: Natsume Yuujin-Chou

Natsume Yuujinchou’s fourth season had the best opening and closing episodes of all four seasons combined. These really were amazing, and gave it such a strong impression. The middle episodes in comparison were a bit below the quality that we’re used to from this series, but even then this series made such an impact. We can only hope that there will also be a fifth season.

#3: Chihayafuru

For a long while, I kept saying that Chihayafuru’s only flaw was that it would end prematurely. So yeah, with that second season now around the corner… I really can’t find any faults in this series anymore aside perhaps that it’s about teenagers. Its energy is just so addictive. It managed to make Karuta fun and exciting, even its second half contained so many exciting games that still remained fresh, even though the game from the outside looks fairly repetitive. The characters were the final seal for me: incredibly charming and already well developed even though there still is so much more material left.

#2: Natsuyuki Rendezvous

I already suspected that this show would be awesome with a name as Kou Matsuou behind the direction, but I did not expect this show to be THAT good. Everything about this show is amazing: the voice acting is perfect, the pacing is perfect, the story fits perfectly, it knows exactly what it should do, the characters fit each other incredibly well, the music is wonderfully used, the characters are amazingly life-like and expressively animated. Heck, there were two series this year that stood above all the others, and Natsuyuki Rendezvous may not have the biggest or most ambitious storyline, but everything just worked in its favor here. And yet there is one series that I liked more than this. You can probably already guess which one it is.

#1: Uchuu Kyoudai

Uchuu Kyoudai is amazing. At the expense of a rather slow pacing, it managed to create a fantastic cast of characters around one guy’s quest to become an astronaut. Nanba Mutta is one of the single best characters we’ve had in years. His wit is just amazing and he is an incredibly charming character to follow. Add that to its incredibly genuine style of storytelling that loves to combine anti-climaxes with climaxes that one moment make you laugh really hard and the next feel incredibly sorry or inspired, and yes: you have my favorite series of 2012 that can also very easily become my favorite show for 2013.

2012 Summary Part 4: Characters and Top 30-16 TV-Series

by psgels, posted in Yearly Summaries

Most Annoying Character

Sword Art Online – The Cousin

Nisemonogatari wins the award for having the collective most annoying set of characters, but when I started thinking about the single character that just got on my nerves with every appearance, then I just have to come back to the cousin. How she doesn’t belong In the story and came with that incredibly pointless incest subplot, the way she just pushed Asuna aside from the seat of lead female, despite not really doing anything. The creators taking all of this seriously was the final straw for me. She symbolized the wasted potential of the second half of this series.

Worst Character

Guilty Crown – Shu Ounuma

Shu is not a character: he is a plot device. Whatever the plot needs him to be, he becomes, whether this is Hitler or Jesus. And yet the entire show revolves around him. The show keeps pulling more and more stuff out of its ass to keep true to this. Yeah, he was by far the worst character of 2012.

Best Cast of Minor Characters

Uchuu Kyoudai

Beyond having Mutta himself, Uchuu Kyoudai has also the cast of most delightful minor character, every single one of them who feels real and believable. The cast is incredibly diverse. And all of them are adults. It’s like this show wants to make us care about every single one, and it has used its slow pacing brilliantly to bring these guys to life. It does this so much better than any other series this year.

Best Voice Acting

Natsuyuki Rendezvous

Absolutely without contest whatsoever. The voice acting of Natsuyuki Rendezvous blows every other show completely out of the water. Matsuo Kou’s method of recording the voices before animating the characters has given the cast so much freedom to really focus on expressing their emotions right, and just look at the heights this got them. The range of the motions that they can do is great, and it the tensions they managed to create with just the acting had me constantly on the edge of my seat.

Best Character Development of a Single Character

Takashi Natsume

It’s a bit boring to keep handing out this award to Natsume, but here is the thing: he already was an incredibly well developed character, and then the fourth season came and added even more to him. The focus on his parents in particular was amazing, but he also changed in the way that he interacts with the people around him. If there ever is a fifth season, will he continue to just get better or something?

Best Character Development of an Entire Cast

Sakamichi no Apollon

This one had me contemplate for a while: Uchuu Kyoudai has an awesome cast, but it’s also a huge cast, so there were a few characters that have always stayed the same. Natsuyuki Rendezvous also has amazing character interactions, but again: development is not the main focus. This brings me to Sakamichi no Apollon, where the development of the entire cast IS the main focus. Not just the lead characters, but everyone around them. Especially the epilogue of the series brings so much change and growth in these people, and they really change constantly throughout the series.

Top 5 Side-Characters

#5: Sakamichi no Apollon – Junichi Katsuragi

For me, the fifth place goes to Sentarou’s older brother who he always looked up to: Junichi. This guy especially in the first half knows his role as a role model really well, not to mention that he’s a really good trumpeter: out of all of the rotoscoped musicians in this series, he always looked like he had the most passion. It’s his development over the second half of the series that lande him on this list though.

#4: Uchuu Kyoudai – Kenji Makabe

The thing with Uchuu Kyoudai is that it’s got so many awesome characters, it’s hard to just pick one. In the end I just went with Kenji over Serika because of how much time this series spent on his fatherhood. Why he still decided to become an astronaut, even though this meant neglecting his family, and how much he cares about his little daughter.

#3: Hyouka – Satoshi Fukube

This is the first time that I put a character like Satoshi on my list of favorite characters. Normally, his type of characters are a dime a dozen: the best friend that is not as talented as the lead character. Then Hyouka came and turned this around, and made this a very strong point about him; it actually started exploring that side of him. It resulted in a well rounded character who actually has many reasons to be likable.

#2: Zetsuen no Tempest – Samon Kusaribe

I remember last year, my list of favorite side-characters was dominated by manliness: larger than life characters who were confident and arrogant. This year is completely different and the most prevalent is characters struggling with their own flaws. By far the best example of this is Samon, the guy who desperately tries to avoid his own fate. Saying any more would be a huge spoiler, but this guy completely sold me with his passion in trying to overcome his own weaknesses.

#1: Hunter X Hunter – Chrollo Lucilfer

I was debating whether to put this guy on first place, simply because it’s nearly the exact same Chrollo of the 1999 Hunter X Hunter series. But in the end: yeah. The organization this guy set up is the single best evil organization in any shounen series. Bar none. The people he gathered, the bond he created, and how intelligent they keep working. He’s intelligent and comes up with some brilliant plans. I just could not give the number one position to any other guy.

: Top 5 Male Characters

: Honorable Mention: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure – Joseph Joestar

This is a bit of a strange list this year. Mostly because some of my favorite characters only appeared for one month of the entire year, even though they’re very clearly main characters. One of them got a proper space in this spot for very valid reasons, but Joseph… we just haven’t seen enough of him to really warrant a proper placement. However, I will say this: this guy has a really good chance to become the single best main character in a shounen series, ever. This guy just screams everything that is awesome, it’s ridiculous.

#5: Sakamichi no Apollon – Kaoru Nishimi

I love this guy’s character development. Regular teenaged boys are nothing new as main characters, but he added something different, both with his piano skills, as how his romantic development is way faster than his peers. His short temper also was something you don’t often see, which was always the source for great drama and development from the other members of the cast.

#4: Hyouge Mono – Sasuke Furuta

Hyouge Mono only aired in January, but I still decided to include Furuta Sasuke in this list, just not on number two anymore. Yes, the best male characters of 2012 were actually better than the top male characters of 2011. Furuta Sasuke is still a character you have to see to believe though: completely silly and with no sense of shame while he rambles on about aesthetics. The climax took its time, but it also had some great effects on his character becoming more serious. I still remember the final scene of this show vividly with what he ended up doing.

#3: Natsuyuki Rendezvous – Ryousuke Hazuki

The two themes around my favorite male characters this year: they’re either really, really eccentric, or realistically portrayed stubborn guys. Hazuki is the most stubborn of them all with his attempts to hit on Rokka, but what he’s thrown into as the result of that is just wonderful. His weaknesses are illustrated beautifully throughout the series and his wit also is a delight to watch.

#2: Natsume Yuujin-Chou – Takashi Natsume

Natsume is also quite stubborn in how he refuses to let people into his life, but the fourth season of Natsume Yuujinchou made him an even better character (yes this guy was my favourite character of 2011, just imagine). Especially the arc around his parents was amazing and added so much to him.

#1: Uchuu Kyoudai – Nanba Mutta

Nanba Mutta is just amazing. Not just the best male character of the year, but also the years before it. His sense of humour is amazing, he’s developed in such a realistic way. One moment I laugh so much with him, the next he manages to move me to tears with his desire to become an astronaut. He also works off so incredibly well with the rest of the cast, bringing out the best out of all of them. I really did not have to think long before deciding my number one spot on this list.

: Top 5 Female Characters

#5: Kamisama Hajimemashita – Nanami Momozono

Lots of good shoujo this year, and the past Autumn brought in a good selection of shoujo romances that were really quite good. Nanami stood out perhaps through a personal bias: I love strong female characters like her who at the same time aren’t afraid to show their own weaknesses. The romance around her was by far the best portrayed teenaged romance I’ve seen this year, and her energy and wit kept every single episode fresh.

#4: Lupin the Third – Mine Fujiko

2012 had a lot of reboots of all sorts of franchises. Mine Fujiko… I don’t know how she was in the original Lupin III because I have not seen it, but here she was this character who knew exactly what she wanted, and did not hesitate at all to use whatever means necessary to get there. She flaunted her sexuality just about every time she could, but that added to her charms thanks to the way in which this series portrayed it.

#3: From the New World – Saki Watanabe

I’ve said this before: I like strong female characters a loot. Saki is what you get when you test the limits of such a character. It’s not like Saki is independent, because of how she was raised, and despite her strengths, she is just chockful of insecurities about the bizarre culture that she’s living in, At the same time though, she does not shy away from confront ing it. Her development and subtle actions regarding this earned her a place in this list for me.

#2: Chihayafuru – Chihaya Ayase

Chihaya is awesome. She is not the most complicated character: her mind is entirely on Karuta, a card game. But in the process she drags just about everyone along with her with the passion she has for the game. The creators did such a good job of portraying this. As Chihayafuru went into its second half it started to develop this passion: show her flaws and where she could improve. That made her character even better

#1: Mouretsu Pirates – Marika Katou

Marika really was a delight to watch. Here she was, just a regular high school girl, and then she suddenly was the captain of a pirate ship. Because the creators let her play out like she wanted, she really gradually grew more and more into her role of an actual leader. The plans she comes up with are always creative and especially near the end of the series she really managed to blossom and take control of just about everything.

Top 30-16 TV-Series

#30: Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita

Jinrui was a strange series that thrived on creativity: it had these fairies of which you never knew what they were going to do, which lead to quite some interesting situations. On top of that, it aired its episodes in random order and brought in lots of satire to the mix. It came a bit late with its character development, but thankfully it managed to just in time give Watashi (the lead character) a solid backstory.

#29: Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo

The shounen romantic comedy with lots of fanservice…. actually done right. The fanservice in this series is quite different from usual, because removing it would make the series less good. Sakurasou had from the start a great chemistry between its different characters: it really knew when it needed to be sharp with its dialogue. For a while it also had this annoying harem theme, but as the show goes on it moves more and more away from that. It’s got a bunch of great lead characters, but also the side-characters have some really interesting sides to them.

#28: Kimi to Boku

Kimi to Boku continued from its first season with one very big advantage: it already had really well developed characters. In its second season, it used that really well, to the point where the characters just weren’t annoying anymore and they all had their charms that got explored really well for this series. Every episode developed a different character, and with this show’s subtlety it lead to some really charming moments.

#27: AKB0048

I was set to hate AKB0048. I hate idols and how they’re often just corporate exploits without much focus on actual talent. But then, something interesting happened: instead of glorifying idols, this show actually started to bite the hand that fed it: you need to read between the lines for that a bit, but it highlighted how competitive the idol business is, how actual talent is not the most important part, and some of the other uglier sides of the business, while still being this cheerful tale of reaching your dreams. It just sold me despite the ridiculous premise.

#26: Uta Koi

So, the show had its animation issues. Its budget was clearly limited. Nevertheless, to whoever made this series possible: THANK YOU! It’s such a refreshing change of pace to see a show that explores the stories behind a collection of poems, especially if the same poems were used by Chihayafuru: it also added some wonderful background on an entirely different show in the process. This was such a great history lesson, even though some of the romances tended to be a bit cheesy.

#25: Zetman

Zetman had some HUGE pacing issues, but what really caught my attention was how much passion the creators still managed to put into it. They rushed through the manga in a record pacing in order to be able to stuff everything in, but they still managed to come out with a pretty good product here that looked at what it means to be a superhero, although some of the character development was a bit out of whack as a result. Still, what I love is how much the creators were able to do with the limited means that were given to them. The budget was limited, yet there was a selection of stunning action scenes, the time was limited, yet the story closes itself off rather than hinging on a sequel hook that will never get there. It still has a likeable cast and feels complete to anyone who has never read the manga.

#24: Aquarion Evol

Aquarion Evol. The product of the collective deranged minds of Shoji Kawamori and Mari Okada, some of the biggest trolls active in the business. This show was glorious in its symbolism and how ridiculously cheesy it could get at times, not to mention its godly soundtrack. It had its annoying moments, but this show is so dedicated to teenaged hormones, orgasms and its themes of males versus females that it was just amazing to watch. Even for someone like me who did not watch the first series.

#23: Inu X Boku SS

The prime example of a show that takes its time to get going. This series caught my attention with its excellent first episode, but hen it dulled in a bit. It’s not like K where it wasted too much time on uninteresting stuff, it was just regular slice of life that was.. enjoyable I guess, but never really hit any highs. And then it just completely blew me away with its final two episodes, which were brilliant. Did it waste time? Most definitely. Does it have flaws? Hell yeah, some side characters in particular are too one-sided. But the two final episodes were so good that they made up for everything, especially since throughout the show, you could see this series carefully setting up the minor details required to make it work.

#22: Another

Another was THE horror series of the year. Sure there were other series with horror elements, but none went as far as this series. I loved the mystery it had and how it slowly unraveled its storyline, not to mention how intense it could get when it really hit its heights. It also got really brutal at times, so this series really is not meant for those with a weak constitution.

#21: Tsuritama

Tsuritama was ridiculously fun to watch in the Noitamina timeslot: it really managed to combine whimsical fun along with this impending thriller, especially in its second half where it really got creative. Plus, it’s a show about fishing. You just have to have that idea and create an anime about it. The characters did have some moments in which they were rather dull, especially in the first half of the series, but as the series spiraled out of control, it definitely made up for it.

#20: Tantei Opera Milky Holmes

The first season was out of its mind, but it still had some grounds in logic. Then the second season came, and it just went all out. It’s completely random and crazy on every single level, it’s unbelievable. It had some of the most hilarious episodes I’ve seen all year, counterbalanced by some episodes that ended up a bit dull for too long. I just find it hilarious though: the original concept of Milky Holmes was a bunch of detectives that solve problems. The alternative OVAs that came out later this year are a testament to how bad that premise was. The creators just took that and tried to parody it as hard as they could by inserting as much randomness and stupidity in it as they could, turning the characters from capable detectives into incredibly incompetent nut-jobs. All of that accompanied by some really creative animation.

#19: Poyopoyo Kansatsu Nikki

The reason I’m putting Poyopoyo so high on this list: for the past year, every single Sunday it managed to put a smile on my face with only 2 minutes of airtime that sometimes feel like 10. Every week it put so many sketches in so little time, and it made sure that all of them worked. Every joke managed to hit its mark with me as it tells about the very relatable daily lives of a bunch of pet owners. Unlike most shows about animals, it really is about owning the pets, rather than just the pets themselves. It managed to become such a charming series because of that and I’m really sad that it has nearly ended.

#18: Kamisama Hajimemashita

Kamisama Hajimemashita had an execution that for me blew all of the other shounen and shoujo romances out of the water. Akitarou Daichi behind the direction made sure that every episode had a really charming ending that fitted exactly. It’s not the most complicated romance show by far, but because of that it shines with its simplicity: the quibs between the two lead characters were always fun to watch and the res of the cast also had its hilarious moments. The timing that this series had was particularly impressive: it knew exactly what to say and when to say it.

#17: Hunter X Hunter

I really have been debating where to put Hunter X Hunter on this list for this year, because throughout the year it has moved from cringe-inducing rushed build-up to absolutely amazing, not to mention that I already watched the entire story before. A quick summary would be that Nippon Animation did the Hunter Exam better, Madhouse was better at the Killua and the Heavens Arena, the Yorkshin Arc was done brilliantly by both and then Nippon animation was again much better at the Yorkshin Finale Arc. Because of the flaws and how it rushed a bit past some of the best parts, I at least decided to not include it in my top 15 of this year. Whether it will next year though… it all depends because we finally get into the bloody new material in a few months from now.

#16: Natsuiro Kiseki

I loved the character study that was Natsuiro Kiseki: you have four girls and this rock that keeps trolling them with all sorts of magical powers. Sortof like Kokoro Connect, really, but with much shorter arcs and stories. It may have lacked Kokoro’s wit, but what it did have was a really well developed cast of characters as it kept forcing them into different situations that forced them to develop and change. It’s a very forced show because of that, but it did make wonderful use of that.

K Review – 79/100

by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews, K



Sometimes this happens: the point where I’ve nearly written off a series, and then it pulls something that drastically changes my opinion of it. For a long time, I was just planning to write my review of K with the base of “gorgeous, but unambitious and boring”. Then the final episode turned out to be the best of the entire series and a second season got announced. Now it suddenly is a solid show that devotes a bit too much time to building up.

The thing with K at first sight was that even though it seemed really ambitious at first sight, the story delved into some very simple murder mystery, alongside a war between two different clans. It never really went beyond that and it also did not try to spice things up much, aside from some gorgeous visuals and action scenes. It had some talk about seven different kings that for a long time didn’t really go anywhere other than explaining why some people in the world are ridiculously powerful. It just did not make sense with the mindset that this would be just a 13-episode series.

But yeah, it all turned out to be just build-up. With the way this series is, I would not recommend it on its own, but it set a solid base for its second season. A big problem with a lot of this series was that there also was hardly any character development. The final few episodes finally also brought that in. Doable for a series with 26 episodes, but not for one with 13.

Oh about the animation by the way: K wins the award of the best animation of the season, or at least the biggest production values can be found here with tons of smooth animation, realistic character movements and well coordinated fight scenes. It’s also got a pretty good soundtrack. My only complaint is that the creators like to abuse lighting effects, to the point where every short has some sort of obnoxious filter over it.

So yeah, I’ll be checking out the second season. Then we’ll know whether the build-up in this series was actually worth it.

Storytelling: 8/10 – Good build-up, just forgets to deliver through most of its airtime…
Characters: 7.5/10 – The characters stay rather bland through most the airtime. Emphasis on “Most”, because they do come together in the finale.
Production-Values: 9/10 – Gorgeous animation, nice soundtrack.
Setting: 7/10 – Doesn’t really do much with its setting and the seven kings backstory feels a bit empty.

Suggestions:
– Durarara
– Heat Guy J
– Karas