Robotics;Notes – 02

by psgels, posted in Robotics;Notes

Hell yeah! This is what I’ve been waiting for for years now: two Noitamina series, airing at the same time, taking up 22 episodes. Especially after the kick in the balls that was Guilty Crown, it’s great to see Production IG actually making up for that with two actually good series now.

Robotics;Notes and Psycho Pass are both science fiction series, but their execution is completely different. The former focuses more on suspense, the latter on slice of life. The former is about adults, the latter about teenagers. The former will be more tense and more exciting to watch, the latter will have better fleshed out characters. It’s a matter of time to see which one fares better.

The one thing I like about the semicolon series is that they’re all different. Instead of trying to make a Steins;Gate 2 with an Okabe ripoff, the characters aim to be completely different characters here, not to mention that the themes, while still science fiction, are completely different, and there is much more slice of life here, even compared to the already slow-paced Steins;Gate. The results are mixed.

The thing with Steins;Gate was that it had its complete own style that set itself miles apart from all other series. Robotics;Notes doesn’t have that and just looks like a teenaged high school series. On the other hand, this also leads it to try less hard: none of the characters are as out there as with the cast of Steins;Gate. The result is that the characters aren’t as enjoyable to watch, but also they’re far from as annoying as some of the characters in Steins;Gate were.

I still like the characters of Robotics;Notes, especially the lead female as she actually gets things done and has a goal to work for. The male lead still needs to crawl out of his shell and get away from gaming. By far the most dubious point in this episode was where he agreed in front of an exhausted female lead to pilot, only if she changed the controls to be more like his favorite game. I mean this guy just totally is not flexible. Why does he stand in the foreground of the promo art, hinting that he will be the central character? Let the girl be the one to stand in the spotlights! Oh wait, they did; never mind.
Rating: 4.5/8 (Good)

Zetsuen no Tempest – 03

by psgels, posted in Zetsuen no Tempest

This was the weakest episode of Zetsuen no Tempest so far, mostly because it was nearly entirely about a big action scene with little else happening, other than getting the two lead characters to stay permanently together and solidifying their goal with the revelation that the killer of the girlfriend/sister is somewhere in the Kusaribe clan.

The reason why the action scenes in the first episodes rocked so much was that there was a lot of stuff happening at the same time. When nearly an entire episode is dedicated to one, there just seems to be something missing. The action itself was pretty nice, albeit a bit dragged out. The one flaw of it was that it tried to be smart, while using coincidences. Yoshino coming up with the idea of tracking someone using blood and healing magic is smart, but afterwards he comes with this crazy plan of hoping for helicopters to attack at the exact right moment. Or take the scenes where they’re running away: they don’t use magic there. It’s all a bit too scripted, unlike the dynamic first two episodes.

But still, the concept of magic in this series has some definite potential. The restrictions this series puts on its characters are great because they put limits on the powers of the characters. This may seem weak at first, but it puts much more complexity at their actions, rather than just having people spam beams over and over until one side goes down.
Rating: 4.5/8 (Good)

Psycho Pass – 02

by psgels, posted in Psycho Pass

Here is a note to you fansubbers out there. Or anyone else who writes, basically: when using abbreviations, it’s very important to make sure that everyone knows what these abbreviations mean. Explaining them once won’t suffice: people will forget that, and your text will just look like gibberish. “Yes, the ADX needs to use XAW in order to XET so that the PSE can LRX”. That just isn’t nice to read, and even if you happen to know the abbreviations, if you don’t know them by heart you’ll end up spending a few seconds trying to think of it. Precious attention that you should be focusing on other things. That’s why I try to avoid abbreviations as much as possible, unless I know that everyone fully knows what I’m talking about. Sword Art Online’s SAO is a good example of this, though let me know if you were unfamiliar with that one.

Anyway, Psycho Pass: I was looking forward to this one thanks to a very clever marketing campaign: they didn’t announce what this show was about at all, until about a month before it was set to air, really piquing my interest since it’s especially rare for a Noitamina series to do that. It kept delivering cryptic hints, bit by bit, until it was revealed that Urobuchi Gen would write it, the director of Tokyo Marble Chocolate would direct it, and that it would be about a dystopia in which people are judged by computers.

Now, about the actual show: this second episode was definitely not the best second episode of the season, but it has got a really solid first episode as a base. You can pretty much see this second episoe as the proper start of this series, where it’s carefully explained what this show is about, and we can get a bit of a feeling of the characters. There is definitely something deep going on here and this episode was definitely just about the surface.

One word about the animation: I do have a bit of a problem with the late trend of hiring really famous character designers to do your characters, and nothing else. The problem with that is that the character designers don’t really think in terms of practical designs: they just do their job of showing some eye-catching designs, without really thinking about how well they can be animated. Psycho Pass has some clear troubles with htis, and the character designs aren’t even that good. You can see that the creators here have trouble animating them. Jojo’s Bizarre adventure has this problem as well this season, but that managed to solve itself with its direction, though Psycho Pass doesn’t have that. The award for best character designs of the season… I’d give that one to Kamisama Hajimemashita: creative and detailed yet simple and easy to keep consistent, yet dynamic.
Rating: 4.5/8 (Good)

Kamisama Hajimemashita – 03

by psgels, posted in Kamisama Hajimemashita

It is great to finally see such a likable shoujo lead female again. Don’t get me wrong: the leads in Tonari no Kaibatsu-kun and Sukitte Ii na yo are good too with the focus on their flaws, but the energy and optimism that she has finally are done right again. After watching so many dull and bland female leads, this is so refreshing! For once we have a lead again who isn’t bound by angst, but rather by optimism.

Her flaw, her naivety is also used quite well. Rather than using it for her to run into all sorts of trouble, the creators use it to get her try try out things, even though they might not be the smartest. She actually does things herself, rather than wanting to be protected all the time or having males fight all over her.

The humour in this episode was different from the previous episodes. Strangely enough, it lacked the hyperactivity and instead was more conventionally paced, or a bit more conventional than usual for this series’ standards. It still was full of well-timed jokes though, and the way in which it portrays the emotions of its characters still rocked and was hilarious to watch.

The story of this episode seemed nothing special, just a random love story. There are a few interesting things to say about it though. First of all it used its own simplicity quite well. It’s not as good as in the first episode, but the way in which it combined humour and drama together still was excellent. It’s to the point where you don’t know what to expect and where it’ll move to, wihch is the sign of a great direction. Also the ending of the episode worked really well. Instead of the usual cheesy aftermath, the creators decided to end with just a push in the right direction. Nothing really got resolved, but we could all see where it was going and there was no need to show more of it. Plus, the ED works brilliant for these conclusions.
Rating: 5/8 (Great)

Uchuu Kyoudai – 28

by psgels, posted in Uchuu Kyoudai

Damn you, Space Brothers! It’s finally time for Hibito to go up to space, and you stretch for time again using a flashback episode. Remember when last week Mutta gave Hibito a tape to deliver to the lunar base? Well, this episode tells the story about that.

I think that this was an episode in which the major flaw of this series stood out a lot: the way in which it takes ages to go somewhere. Usually I don’t mind this because it’s being completely awesome in the process, but this is an episode that I feel like it could have been done in half an episode for the stuff it had to add. We’ve already seen plenty about Mutta and Hibito as kids, and compared to the other flashbacks, this one didn’t deserve an entire episode dedicated to it.

The delightful character interactions that this show usually has suffered a bit from it. It’s great to see a bit more of Hibito’s flawed side, but their chemistry just wasn’t as enjoyable because it focused too much on the bullying.

So yes, as an episode, this left some things to be desired. As build-up though, I can definitely see where the creators are coming from. From the outside this was about explaining what that video was about, but when you go deeper, then this episode was there to relate the past and present together, using some of the themes early on in the series, like the birthdays of the two brothers. The ufo in particular has been absent for quite a bit in the first half of the series, so it’s definitely weird to see so much focus on it now.
Rating: 4.5/8 (Good)

K – 02

by psgels, posted in K

… as for the reason why I picked this series over Code Breaker… ehehehe. It was to avoid a certain… problem. Allow me to elaborate:
– Sword Art Online: 25 episodes. Will end next December.
– Kamisama Hajimemashita: 7 DVDs, so will probably have 13 episodes.
– Hunter X Hunter: with the ratings it’s getting there is no way that Madhouse will cancel it after the Yorkshin arc
– Space Brothers: everything looks like this will be 50 episodes long.
– From the New World: 25 episodes.
– Zetsuen no Tempest: episode count not yet known, but there is no way Bones will make this just one season long.
– Magi: is on the prime time slot. There’s no way that this will be 1 cour.
– Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: 8 DVDs, so longer than 1 cour.
– Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo: 8 DVDs, so longer than 1 cour.
– Psycho Pass: 22 episodes.
– Robotics;Notes: 22 episodes.
– K: 13 episodes.

Are you starting to see the problem here? I mean, it’s awesome to have all these long series and all, but I’m going to have a huge problem in about three months from now. Especially considering that Chihayafuru’s second season will debut next season. If I ended up swapping SAO with Little Busters, then without K I would be unable to blog any new show for the upcoming winter season! Especially considering how many of them are set to deliver in their second halves! And even without this: the people saying that this season is too big: prepare youselves, because unless the upcoming winter is completely terrible, it will be completely crazy with all the continuing shows!

So, K. Granted, it lacks a bit of depth to some of the other shows this season, but it is the series with the best animation of the series, and it’s just very fun to watch. Compared to the other show with amazing graphics this season, Shin Sekai Yori, the animation may be less varied, but it’s also more consistently gorgeous. Shin Sekai Yori has parts that look just simple. In this show, every scene looks great. Gohands are a studio that tend to abuse CG lighting a bit too much, but it’s great to see how much movement the creators managed to put into this series considering that it’s just a TV-series. Also, when characters move in this series, they move with their entire bodies, rather than just turning or looking up in simple ways.

This episode had much fewer characters than the first episode, but the cat and mouse game (pun half intended) between the sword guy and the white-haired guy and the cat who suddenly turned into a naked girl was a lot of fun to watch. That kind of snarkiness is by the way something that Jormungand can learn a lot from: The characters are having fun, and there are definitely a few snarkers here, but there is much more to their charcters than that and there are many characters who are completely different. The question for this show will be: will this just remain a fun show to watch, or will there be more?

Most of the details in this show go to its settings. I mostly mean with how well it’s drawn and animated. The moving backgrounds of last episode were a treat, but also the detail it puts in the houses and building. This episode also animated some delicious looking food; I especially like that scene of the spring onions being cut. That looks so hard to do right.

Also, props to the music department! This episode also showed some insert songs, which I tend to appreciate provided that they’re not used for crappy montage scenes. I mean really: Psycho Pass, From the New World, Jojo, Zetsuen no Tempest, K: all shows with awesome soundtracks this season. Talk about a treat!
Rating: 5/8 (Great)

Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo – 02

by psgels, posted in Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo

Ixion Saga’s second episode was funny, but not as funny as the first episode, which has me a bit worried. Can it keep up its pacing for its entire airtime?

Also, there is only one reason why I picked Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo over Little Busters. It’s a simple reason that could have very easily been fixed, but it’s massively affecting my enjoyment of the series: the female voice actresses! I mean I get high-pitched and all, but you don’t have to feed them helium. It had good parts, but that alone turned this into the show with the worst two opening episodes for a Key series for me. It’s still quite good and I will pick this up if I ever were to drop SAO… but I first need to numb myself to those antics.

As for Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo, here is the thing: after watching so many annoying, flawed and poorly done shounen romantic comedies, I want to follow one that is actually done right. That’s another reason why I didn’t go with Sukitte Ii na Yo, by the way. Both series have a lot of romantic tension and good drama, both are quite underrated, but in the end, Sakurasou’s characterization is just better. Add that to Kamisama Hajimemashita and it would be a bit of a romance overload…

What sets Sakurasou apart is the small bits it adds to the characters. They’re stereotypes, but this show fleshes them out in very interesting ways. Like the detail in eating baumkuchen, or saying congratulations with the cabbages. Little Busters for example did not have that: that also had characters who were really trying to be quirky, but there is little variation in them, and it also lacks some of the wit. Granted though, some of the yelling does get on my nerves, not to mention the pointless harem set-up involving that female classmate.

Then there is the genius subplot. In Tonari no Kaibatsu-kun, I could buy the really high grades of the female lead, but not from the male lead. With the geniuses in this series, I can buy it. Shiina has been so focused on drawing and nothing else that it makes sense for her to be this amazing artist. Misaki and Jin meanwhile feel like the kinds of eccentrics that aside from devoting time to study, also devote a ton of time to being weird/chasing girls.

And then there is Shiina. I mean this show has a ton of fanservice, and she is the biggest source from it. With her, this show is pretty much huge wosh fulfillment. What it does better than most other romances is character chemistry, and this especially stands out for Sorata and Shiina. The tension between the two of them is actually surprisingly engaging to watch, especially with Shiina’s incredibly blunt statemtns, and Mashiro being more than just yet another straight man for them.

Also, thsi show is concise. I remember how Nisemonogatari annoyed me with a similar set-up because it just refused to go anywhere with its endless dialogues. An even better comparison would be Denpa-Teki to Seishun Otoko, which also focuses on a guy taking care of a girl with mental problems. The balance between the dialogues is actually good here and the show actually does not drag itself out.
Rating: 4.5/8 (Good)

Magi – 02

by psgels, posted in Magi

As for the series I’m not going to blog:
– I still remain that I can’t blog Gintama. Even though I find it really hilarious again, I don’t think I can write about it every single week.
– Btooom had the bad luck to air this season, right next to Psycho Pass and Jojo’s Bizarre adventure it just feels inferior. I however like it and will keep watching, especially with how well they handled the female lead in the second episode.
– Sukitte Ii Na Yo: finally a show that’s about an actual relationship again, plus bonus points of having side characters who are also in a relationship. Still, it’s pretty much smut and not going to be interesting to write about every week.

As for Magi… I try to hide this sometimes, but really: I’m just a sucker for a good adventure hsow. This show can be quite silly at times, but it’s great to see an adventure show based on the tales from 1001 nights. It’s a great setting and we hardly ever see any series with Arabia as a background.

And yeah, that pretty much means that I’ll be blogging four shows of A-1 Pictures at the same time. They just completely dominate this season, and even though their best shows are From the New World and Space Brothers, there still is a lot to like in Magi. This episode had some neat graphics and a lot of interesting animation. Again, they’re not as god as with From the New World and they lack the freedom of that show, but this show instead has consistency behind it. Being the series on the Prime Time slot for anime, this is to be expected to remain consistent.

It’s also great to see that the silliness was a lot more enjoyable to watch in this episode. The bad boob jokes are gone and it actually contributed to making this a fun and whimsical series, with the highlight being Ali Baba fooling everyone about the ancient inscriptions he read out loud. The stereotypically evil slave drivers can be a bit better characterized though. I especially wonder how that big guy can still walk around after being repeatedly stabbed in the chest so much.
Rating: 4.5/8 (Good)

Sword Art Online – 15

by psgels, posted in Sword Art Online

What the hell kind of episode was that?! No. Just, no. I’m beginning to fear that this series is heading in a very unpleasant direction here…

First of all: why the sister? Yeah, I know that she’s not a sister and actually a cousin and all, but that makes it even worse: it’s the same kind of twist you see pulled in all of those other bloody incest shows in order to pretend that it’s supposedly “okay”. I mean dear god: anime creators: most siblings out there can get along with each other just fine without any romance, you know? Why does every show with a brother and sister have to have romance between them!?

Second of all, you actually did it. I so kept hoping for the creators not to do it after all that sappy build-up but instead of killing off Asuna, she was just put on a bus. Completely changed from a strong female character to a plot device to get Kirito back playing the game, and she seems to be reduced to a trophy that he needs to save. So much for feminism there.

What’s even worse though was that completely unpleasant and nonsensical marriage subplot that was thrown in. I mean holy crap, what kind of sense does that make? Why won’t Kirito try to contact the police on that matter? I know that technically it can make sense, but it’s a completely disrespectful twist on Asuna’s part. Not to mention, how the OP treats her, shoving some kind of weird elf in her place.
Rating: 3/8 (Enjoyable)

Hunter X Hunter – 51

by psgels, posted in Hunter X Hunter

During the Hunter Exam arc, I really kept wondering: how on earth would they be able to do this part well!? Well, this is how. They actually managed to make this into a stunning episode in their own style. They took the lack of subtlety in the Hunter Exam Arc, and completely turned it around! That was awesome!

I remember saying that this version of Hunter X Hunter had a few voice actors who can only do one voice and try too hard with that. Boss was one of them. In this episode however, he wasn’t trying too hard. The part in which he kidnapped Neon was amazingly well delivered. The use of music also was just perfect. This is also the first episode in which I felt that knowing what will happen later on actually added to it: I know what’s coming up, and with that prediction that Neon made made even more impact than what it did when I saw it the first time, and had no clue on its meaning.

The music also was great: whereas it was badly used in the Hunter Exam arc, it worked so wonderfully in this episode. I also really like that they simply bypassed the ED and continued with the soundtrack as if it was nothing: they realized that that ED soundtrack just would not fit in at all, and they were actually allowed to just skip it. That is some great news.

Also, this is a major Level E spoiler, but I have to share this. While I was looking up Neon’s name on Myanimelist, something caught my attention. My mind is currently blown, and to think that I missed it!
Rating: 6/8 (Awesome)