Kamisama Hajimemashita – 12

by psgels, posted in Kamisama Hajimemashita

Um, Kamisama Hajimemashita, you’re ending next week. Don’t you think that with this episode, you’re heading to a rather flimsy climax? I mean I dunno, but this just screams “crap, we’ve run out of time! Quick, throw in some really powerful monster and have the main couple split up!”

I guess it had it coming, but the style of this episode definitely was different from usual. The jokes were ess sharp and the plot took this turn that just screams that the script was rushed. The final episode had better be very good to make up for this, because it’s an episode that I’ve seen so many times before.

A few of the things that did manage to set this episode apart: Nanami’s feelings of being useful. Okay, they came totally out of nowhere, but heck. They give her character. This just is not fitted for the final climax of the story. Problem is that this is the thing that I’ll remember this show by, so I really hope that the creators can still make something out of this. Please…
Rating: 3.5/8 (Enjoyable)

Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo – 11

by psgels, posted in Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo

School festival arcs. Inherently boring, so series really need to add something to make it work. This series does that by just doing what it always does and making the school festival not the central focus. Instead, this was again about working hard to make something good, and very sharp dialogue and lots of addictive character chemistry.

I noticed that the bad school festival episodes just put too much emphasis on the school festival: just doing boring stuff like having a haunted house or a cafe, and having characters walk around without much passion. And really: having a school festival in real life sounds really fun, but only a few anime really manage to capture it. Sakurasou didn’t exactly capture it, but ir rather avoided it. Misaki’s bit with her sister was very surprising and a great way to develop her, but it had absolutely nothing to do with the school festival. Same for Mashiro’s subplot about returning to England.

There is one thing that I’m a bit bothered with: the way this show looks at Shiina. It’s a bit subtle, but sometimes the focus is a bit too much on her as a “pet”, rather than as an actual character. In this episode there was this focus about him not letting Shiina go back, as if she was his property. Only at the cliff-hanger the focus returned to what Shiina really wanted. It’s a missed opportunity.

Also, small detail: I like how Shiina’s painting on the wall stays there. Yay for continuity.
Rating: 4.5/8 (Good)

Magi – 11

by psgels, posted in Magi

A-1 really grabbed some good animators for this episode. The fight that showed the conclusion of last week’s episode had some really solid animation there. It lacked the emotional impact that last week had because it was just there to resolve things and wrap things up, and introduce this new tsundere princess character who is bound to be important later on. And it was good to look at. The soundtrack was also better than ever.

Then this episode came with its world building, that did make the impact I was looking for. So far the slavery has been fairly simple: it’s evil. This episode put some more depth to it by explaining why there was so much slavery in Balbadd to begin with, with the use simple macroeconomics. It’s definitely the start, but I’m still looking for this show to go further in exploring its characters like this.

This definitely was a good start, but I’m still missing something from Magi. I mean, it has the development of its characters, but it’s not enough as of yet. I can’t put my finger exactly on what I’m missing though, but this episode had a bit of it.
Rating: 5/8 (Great)

From the New World – 12

by psgels, posted in From the New World

Holy crap… a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. This show definitely put that saying into a different perspective. I mean heck, this is just a horror series in disguise. The whole story about that one kid who went crazy actually nearly freaked me out, that’s how good it was. Very, very dark psychological horror.

But with this I also feel so sorry for the people who all had to solve this and clean up, being forced to put so many constraining rules on the village. This was the first time the series showed the story from their perspective. And also their fear of some other kid freaking out. And the thing is that this series has been slowly building up someone for that role: Mamoru.

What’s more, Saki is being forced in the role of a leader now. I can only imagine how different the second half of this series will be, when she is actually put into that position, and forced to make the same incredibly difficult decisions. This show is cruel. Very cruel.
Rating: 6/8 (Awesome)

Hunter X Hunter – 59

by psgels, posted in Hunter X Hunter

I can be quick about this episode: watching exposition that you’ve already seen before is boring. Training arcs are even worse. There will be a big chance that I’ll put this show on hold again for blogging in the upcoming Winter season, because the very reason why the Greed Island is so good is its exposition. Sure, this was the point where the 1999 series went downhill in its exeuction, but I don’t want to get bogged down by the details again. Really, with the way things look, it will have taken nearly a year and a half for the series to reach the new material. Like, more episodes than what it took Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood to tell its full story.

Also, the new ED… something tells me that the sound guy was not paying attention again. “WhoaaaahooooooooHOOOOO”… is that really what you want to use as a cliff-hanger for the next half year?
Rating: 3/8 (Mediocre)

Uchuu Kyoudai – 37

by psgels, posted in Uchuu Kyoudai

Yeah, the only two series that made me cry this year: Natsuyuki Rendezvous and Uchuu Kyoudai. I just completely broke down at the big moment of this episode.

At first sight it seemed that the creators were going to make this one the episode for the losers: the ones who didn’t make it while Mutta was still going on and on about his luck of the day. The episode indeed started out that way: Mizoguchi didn’t get the job. And in a way, this was to be expected: he is talented, but in the end he is too much focused on himself. It’s a bit of a shame that we didn’t get to see much of him in the third exam, but I believe that the decision was already made after the second.

Mutta in the meantime was hilarious. Just seeing him waiting and waiting for the right moment was awesome. And then this episode put details like head-bumps in the mix to make things even better. And then he suddenly got invited to come outside, and hear that he passed, even though there still are enough people left of which we don’t know what happened.

His reaction in any case was beautiful. The danger with these things of course is making them too cheesy: playing up the emotional value too much and making the reactions too simple and shallow. The comedy did so much to avoid this, the symbolism helped so much, en then Mutta’s facial expressions were really well done. This series doesn’t have the best animation at all, but it is a A-1 production nonetheless: they really bring in some good people for the scenes that really matter, and this episode really showed that in bringing out the emotions right.
Rating: 7/8 (Fantastic)

2012 Summary Part 1: Top OPs and EDs

by psgels, posted in Yearly Summaries

So, every year I start my summary with a list of my favorite OPs and EDs of the season. This year it’s a bit smaller than last year though, but that is simply because last year was simply amazing in terms of how many awesome OPs and EDs it had. This year instead stands out through its soundtracks, but there were much more generic openings and endings than usual. So therefore, I use this list to honour the ones that did go the extra mile for me and really resonated with me. Enjoy.

And in advanced I apologize for the people who read this half a year from now when half the videos are taken down…
Continue reading “2012 Summary Part 1: Top OPs and EDs” →

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure – 11

by psgels, posted in Jojo's Bizarre Adventure

Normally I dislike using memes and all, but this is just one of those shows where OVER 9000! is entirely fitting. I mean, holy crap, this show just has gotten more crazy in just two episodes compared to the first arc. Joseph Joestar’s sense of fighting is just completely crazy. This show still has this habit of using tiny details and making an incredibly big deal out of them, but Joseph takes that, and adds tommy guns and hand grenades to the mix from out of nowhere.

And then there is the introduction of the villain for this arc. Now, there is being evil, and trying everything in your damn mind to try to be as evil as humanly possible. That’s that guy. He didn’t end up as a baby eater, but it really would have been close. I mean, Dio was evil and all, but he did not go through such lengths.

And is it also just me, or did the animation improve? I mean, I could be wrong, but there were even less still frames than usual in this episode. That makes it even more amazing by the way: the character designs in this show just are very complicated and hard to animate. And yet the creators did it. I could not have expected that.

Also, the new OP rocks.
Rating: 6/8 (Awesome)

Zetsuen no Tempest – 11

by psgels, posted in Zetsuen no Tempest

This show. Talk about a mindscrew. This episode once again was just brilliant. There was so little action in this episode: it was just people talking, trying to convince each other and trying out various kinds of diabolical schemes. This episode just kept pushing things further, and added things like defying logic and fate to the mix.

I can’t believe how well the build-up of the previous episodes got used. This episode finally revealed how people are able to talk through each other, and immediately this show uses that theory to make a plausible explanation for Hakaze to return. And as if that wasn’t already a twist enough, it turns out that one of the biggest reasons for the plot to actually start was wrong: nobody from the clan killed Aika.

There were two things that I realized here that got left unmentioned, but need to be answered. First of all, how does suicide work? Could it be that Aika wasn’t murdered, but instead orchestrated her death herself. In any case it is very heavily being hinted that Aika was the priestess of the tree of Exodus. Second of all… are they going to remember to remove those strings on Hakaze’s skeleton. I mean, I shiver at the thought that they’ll remain stuck out of her body if this goes on!
Rating: 6/8 (Awesome)

Psycho Pass – 10

by psgels, posted in Psycho Pass

This really is an episode that I easily see Urobuchi Gen write. It may have lacked any gore or something, but it was nevertheless quite sadistic, using an innocent friend as a hostage for a simple game.

This episode worked in two ways, first fleshing out Akane and Shinya (having this girl tell about how Akane always solved problems is much more effective than just showing it), and then by pulling a very good cat and mouse game by the previously established android. Again a psychopath who was given the means in order to become a murderer, but this time it’s made very obvious that he also is being tested, and will just be disposed of when he fails.

One strange details is how Shinya suddenly got the idea of a radio antenna being hidden in a bra of all things. You have to have a specific mind to really realize that. I guess that that also was the point of that scene: the white-haired guy knew Shinya so well, that he’d know that he’d come up with such a far-fetched theory.

I also liked how this episode toyed with responsibility. I mean, Ginoza definitely went out of the line, but he’s right: Akane pretty much is responsible for human lives now, which is such a big change from her education. If Ginoza’s theory were true then she could have easily killed him off indirectly due to the system that they live in.
Rating: 5/8 (Great)