From the New World – 03

by psgels, posted in From the New World

Something very interesting is going on with the animation of this series: its style keeps changing. The special scenes in this episode again looked entirely different from what they looked like in the previous two episodes. This episode also showed the actual animation for the ED for this series, and it looks absolutely gorgeous. What this shows is that the producers are putting a tight leash on the normal scenes, yet they’re giving the animators a lot of freedom to do what they like for the special scenes. Now that everything finished airing, I really can say for certain that this is the show with the best visual direction of the season.

What also makes this show stand out really much is its creature design. It’s been ages since I encountered something like that as good as how it’s done here. They’re deeply rooted in the folklore of this series, and they’re also really creative, yet believable, and really varied. They range from small bees to giant tentacled slugs that speak about technology, and these dogs with tiny heads. Usually when a show does this, it’s based on some sort of existing religion or background. This show just went and created its own.

That slug by the way gave a very surprising twist to this plot. So far technology has seemed to be quite absent, and yet it talked as if it was the most normal thing in the world. This show asked a ton of questions, like what was it doing there and why was it concerned with environmentalist issues?
Rating: 5/8 (Great)

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure – 02

by psgels, posted in Jojo's Bizarre Adventure

I love remakes! But even then, this show was by far the most pleasant surprise of the season. I mean, by far the biggest problem with this series would be animating the complex characters. When the first episode started off slowly, I had a few doubts, but after that, those doubts were completely turned around. This show is so delightful to watch.

I love what the creators did with this series. I mean, normally I don’t like overacting and all, but this show does the overacting with such force and consistency that it becomes awesome to watch. Once in a while, I just want to watch a show that’s full of testosterone that just makes me want to yell at my screen, and that’s exactly what the creators established here. This is so incredibly over the top, yet there is so much passion put in this show. Everything it does is larger than life. Oh, and the great news: I checked on amazon, and already 8 dvd volumes were listed. There is no way that this will be a short series of only 13 episodes!

And beyond that, it has a very inspired direction. Out of all shows this season, this series goes the most into its own direction, rather than following established conventions. The way this show uses its camera angles and character poses makes up wonderfully for the lack of animation, especially the use of colours. The manga-styled sound effects look a bit weird at first sight, but they definitely give a unique effect. The way it handles flashbacks by showing a number of key frames in quick succession also really works well. And the soundtrack! After Tempest and Psycho Pass it definitely stands as the best soundtrack of the season, and it works perfectly in making this show feel EPIC.

The show is rushed, but in fact, I believe that this show can manage where Zetman failed earlier this year: from my perspective it doesn’t look like important details are skimped over right now, and instead of a bit of a wonky pacing, it turned its incredibly fast pacing into its strength by keeping consistent with it, while at the same time finding a way to flesh out the cast by making the scenes that were supposed to be quiet also completely over the top.
Rating: 5.5/8 (Excellent)

Zetsuen no Tempest – 02

by psgels, posted in Zetsuen no Tempest

As for the shows I’m not going to blog:
– Tonari no Kaibatsu-kun has way too much competition. Beyond the other shoujo series this season, it also has Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo to worry about (I mean: we have a relatively normal lead who falls in love with a character with a huge personality problem, surrounded by a cast of colourful characters, and it’s directed and series composed by two members of the gender opposite of the target audience – it’s pretty much the same premise only shounen!) And with that, it just doesn’t stand out as the most interesting. There is just too little charm for me to keep watching.
– Chuuninbyou demo Koi Shitai is even worse though. With that series, the characters are all trying way too hard to be funny. I know that that’s the premise and all, but that doesn’t make it any more bearable.

Zetsuen no Tempest however is my top pick for this season. Fantastic soundtrack, great plot, great characters, interesting ideas, excellent acting, excellent action, very good animation and the pacing is also pretty damn good. There are more shows this season that have that though. What really sets this show apart is how it manages to bring all of that together. It all just fits, and out of all series this season, it is the best at combining its animation, soundtrack, characters, plot and acting together at the same time for its storytelling.

I really like the characters as well. They are teenagers, but the male lead is quite un-typical in his level-headedness, even quoting macbeth at one point. He’s the center of this story, but beyond that there is much more going on. The action also can be quite smart when it wants to, with the male lead using his cell phone in order to check up on the outside. Okay, it didn’t work, but it was much better than just sticking out his face without knowing what’s going on.

There was one strange moment of illogical decisions though: the point where that woman used gas to smoke out the male lead and drive him to the top of the school building. Her plan succeeds, and he ends up right where she planned him to be… and she just walks right into his trap. Not sure what happened there, but this episode did emphasize human weaknesses a few scenes later. It seems that magic can make anyone superhuman, though anyone without magic still has to obey laws that are more human, as shown from the shock that woman fell in when she nearly crashed to her death, probably also with the help of some G-forces.

Oh, and I still need to gush about the soundtrack of this show. It is just amazing, and this episode showed many tracks that didn’t appear in the first episode, showing that it’s far from a one trick pony.
Rating: 5.5/8 (Excellent)

Some Quick First Impressions: Aikatsu, Psycho Pass and Robotics;Notes

by psgels, posted in Psycho Pass, Robotics;Notes, Some Quick First Impressions

Aikatsu

Short Synopsis: Our lead character wants to become an idol
Oh god no! After the past spring season I have been spoiled by good idol shows with AKB and Natsuiro Kiseki’s idol subplot. But this season serves to remind us that there also is a lot of crap in the genre. When not about idols, this show is decent: just your average slice of life, nothing special but nothing really bad. When the idol performances begin however… oh dear lord. The CG! The horrible, horrible CG! Make it stop! Make it stop!
OP: No CG, interestingly enough.
ED: Nice idea to use a record for the ED. Boring song, though.
Potential: %

Psycho Pass

Short Synopsis: Our lead character weilds a gun.
Well, one season, two series with a fantastic soundtrack. First the audio of Zetsuen no Tempest blew me away, now Psycho Pass did the same. This is the kind of soundtrack that I can listen to over and over again even outside the series. For some it’s a bit too much on the foreground, but that’s something I really like. Beyond that, Psycho Pass just is a really interesting series, and this episode was an excellent example of that. This may be the umpth time in which we see a story from the perspective of a rookie, but this episode really was there to drive home how naive this rookie is. I also like how this episode wasn’t told from the perspective of the main character himself; they used him well for that, especially near the end of the episode. Beyond that the animation is for most part of the episode very nice, but there are a number of scenes that have visuals that really stand out. The gore is very detailed in this series, but also random scenes of really detailed lips caught my attention. These are the kinds of scenes that add so much to the visuals. And at this point, this season’s Noitamina aren’t the biggest budgetted series in terms of animation. Instead they’ve got very solid writing and characterization. Psycho Pass and Robotics;Notes first episodes were in any case much more interesting than the opening episode of Guilty Crown, and this looks to be far from the trainwreck that that show was. Thank god, because what we really have here is unique: not one, but TWO series on the Noitamina timeslot that go on for 22 episodes!
OP: Creative use of sounds and vocals.
ED: A bit too poppy, but quite energetic and fits the show.
Potential: 90%

Robotics;Note

Short Synopsis: Our lead character is a gamer and high schooler.
Okay, let me get one thing straight: Steins;Gate had an amazing opening episode. Robotics;Notes does not. Instead, this show is more of a slow burner. We’re probably going to have to wait a while before this one really kicks off, but in the meantime Production IG delivered some solid characters and a varied cast. The two leads work well together and they’re well acted, even though they’re just teenagers. It’s a good set-up, especially with another Noitamina series of 22 episodes again. I still don’t like how this show is meant to glorify games, but this episode did a good enough job of dancing around that issue and highlighting some of their other parts, and this is far from as bad as with The World God Only Knows. There is this bit of realism in the characters that helps too, not to mention that even though the characters are teenagers, they don’t try too hard and instead their charms are natural ones. All in all, this can work out quite well if it knows its build-up.
OP: Solidly made, but too plain.
ED: Entirely dedicated to one character who only made one short appearance.
Potential: 75%

Some Quick First Impressions: Jormungand – Perfect Order and Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo

by psgels, posted in Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo, Some Quick First Impressions

Medaka Box Abnnormal

Short Synopsis: Our lead character fights a bunch of strong characters.
Hmm, I just realized a very big danger for Medaka Box with this episode. I mean, the reason why I liked the first season was that it went from a perfectly normal school series to over 9000. In this season, though, I fear that it’s just going to be nothing but these over the top fight with nothing to contrast it with. Especially because this episode introduced your typical cliched gang of rivals that Medaka probably all has to fight at some point, and they all probably have some kind of gimmick. The problem with that is that it grows old after a while. Will the creators be able to keep all these fights interesting? How will this show avoid that formulaic path that it’s dangerously close to now? Will there be more to this than just fighting? Take for example the girl that was shown in this episode: the way in which she talked in numbers was nice and all… but that also was her entire gimmick. Beyond that the fight wasn’t really that interesting.
OP: Generic opening with the upcoming characters.
Potential: 70%

Jormungand Perfect Order

Short Synopsis: Our lead character sells weapons.
Jormungand’s biggest challenge will be managing its characters. The plot is bound to be interesting: this episode showed that with the central focus being weapon dealing. However, that will be a big waste if the characters just all look the same. This episode made a good start by finally showing Koko as an interesting character, but there still is a lot to do for this show, because the side-characters nearly all have the same personalities. On top of that this episode finally introduced a major villain (or at least it looked that way), and her personality is like all the other female characters, only more extreme. This lack of variety really bugged me in the first season, and I really hope that it will be handled better in the sequel. The best thing would be to just have a select bunch of snarky characters, while making the rest set themselves apart in completely different ways.
OP: I don’t really like the vocalist in this song, but it does serve as a rather strong opening for each episode.
ED: Bit of a random use of a piano, but the effect is nice.
Potential: 75%

Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo

Short Synopsis: Our lead character gets to take care of a cute girl.
Well, there you have it. There is a lot of bad stuff in this premise. The show is riddled with fanservice. There are lots of cliched characters. The characters are not ashamed to be annoying, especially when it comes to fanservice… and it is really well delivered. I mean, it really shows that there are talented people working behind this. The direction was far from what you’d expect with these kinds of romance series: the characters were really well portrayed: they were full of energy and the direction is full of these small details that bring the characters to life. Think of the subtle movements of the various cats in this series. All the characters in this show have presence, and even though the nudity gets incredibly forced at times (I mean, this is a premise about a guy who lives together in a mansion with two girls who have no sense of shame), but the way it’s delivered is something else, and makesimpact. Also, I feel that JC Staff are currently quite underrated. Sure, they make some crap, but there are some very good animators among them. They really showed that with this episode where with the right director, they can really breathe life to characters in ways that most other shounen romance fail with their too restricted movement. In a way, this reminds me of Denpa-Onna to Seishun Otoko, but better and actually much less annoying.
ED: Very nice artistic direction. Shame for the dull song.
Potential: 80%

Kamisama Hajimemashita – 02

by psgels, posted in Kamisama Hajimemashita

This is something I could only dream of: two Akitaro Daichi series airing at the same time. For those of you who don’t know: he’s pretty much my favorite comedy director. For the past years he has only worked on short series with 5-minute episodes (or 2 minutes, in Poyopoyo’s case), but finally it’s time again for him to handle a full fledged show.

And yeah, this season has a lot of comedy and a lot of romance. And in those areas, it just stands out as the best. It’s a simple show, but what it does it does really well. Akitaro Daichi’s style also is more than obvious: the way he uses his cameras to simulate movement when people are running, and the way he creates energy by having characters talk really fast and get right to the point are just awesome, and here it’s no different. The voice acting is also excellent and the voice actors manage to deliver in quite a few different ranges.

By far the best part of this show is the chemistry between the different characters. This is utterly hilarious in the way they just keep teasing each other. But also, this series knows when it goes too far. What I really liked about this episode for example was that when Tomoe went too far with his pranks, they talked with each other to sort things out.

Now, this episode was not as good as the first episode, which really did go all out. What I did like is how it subverted the “bad boy” cliche: you know, the bishie who is abusive and yet somehow the lead female starts falling for him. In this case, she didn’t and very clearly dumped him because of that behavior. And of course, this guy also meant to poke fun at a lot of other stereotypes, which worked quite well. It’s really good to finally see a show that makes idols look completely ridiculous.

And well, first there were Lupin and Zetman, now Kamisama Hajimemashita. TMS are really busy reinventing themselves in this year. I mean, they were behind some of the series with the most unique direction this year, which is especially impressive considering they clearly don’t have a big budget, or cleanly polished animators. Kamisama Hajimemashita is helped with Akitaro Daichi’s direction, but even taking that into account the poses of the different characters are full of creativity, rather than having the characters move the same over and over again. It may not be the best looking series of the series by a loooong shot, but on the other hand, this show tends to ignore a lot of conventions when it comes to animation, which is nevertheless quite refreshing.
Rating: 5/8 (Great)

Uchuu Kyoudai – 27

by psgels, posted in Uchuu Kyoudai

So… after last week’s big climax… we get here an anti-climax. Mutta never really made a foolout of himself, and instead this series goes on to introduce a very important question: are the astronauts prepared to die? The annoying thing is that it’s still impossible to figure out what Azuma is thinking, and this episode then proceeded to skillfully ignore the entire third exam in favor of building up for Hibito’s take off.

So with the build-up, this wasn’t one of the standout episodes of Space Brothers, but still had plenty of great moments, most notably Mutta asking Hibito to take the disc he made as a kid with him, which contained the footage he shot of that UFO (the first time since the first episode that that thing has been mentioned by the way). Also, Apo turned out to be an interesting way to get Mutta and Serika closer together again.

Also, this episode showed the new OP and ED for this season. The first quarter of this series had an awesome OP and an unremarkable ED, the second quarter had an unremarkable OP and a wonderful ED instead. Here, they’re both really good. Not as good as the best ones, but it’s still great to watch them, and they’re based on great ideas.
Rating: 5/8 (Great)

Hunter X Hunter – 50

by psgels, posted in Hunter X Hunter

This episode was another one that I’ve been looking forward to for a long time now: the episode about Nobunaga, and the point where Gon and Killua really manage to stand out. This really was their big moment in the Yorkshin arc, and after so much bloody build-up, it was worth it: the creators also got Nobunaga right!

I’m more and more reminded again of why the Spider Troupe is my favorite evil organization in a shounen series ever. They’re just so diverse, and yet they work incredibly well as a team. And they’re also very professional. They don’t just depend on their powers, but also on their experience, knowledge and each other. The only reason why Gon and Killua managed to escape at the end of this episode was because they weren’t guarded by the troupe itself, but rather by one guy who got ideas out of his own. It’s the same way in which Gon was able to steal Hisoka’s tag: if any other member was with him, that plan would have never worked.

Also, this episode gave depth to a dead guy. Uvogin’s best friend was Nobunaga, and this episode handled Nobunaga’s sentiments really well, and I like how well he explained who Uvogin was to him.

On top of that, in this episode we saw some more of my favorite character of the Spider Troupe, and things really are looking awesome here. I’m not going to say who it is for spoilers’ sake though.
Rating: 5.5/8 (Excellent)

Some Quick First Impressions: Girls und Panzer, Teekyuu and Ixion Saga DT

by psgels, posted in Some Quick First Impressions

Girls und Panzer

Short Synopsis: Our lead character rides a tank.
Girls und Panzer: why? Just why? Why did you make all these decisions for your direction? I mean, you’re a series about a bunch of girls that ride a tank. Shouldn’t it be obvious what to focus on? Your director is Tsutomu Mizushima, a guy who excels at being over the top. This could easily have been this really over the top series with a lot of brainless fun and action. So why on earth are you taking yourself seriously? No really, there was no comedic moment in this episode whatsoever. They rode tanks for like three minutes, after which they switched over to some school. Add a lot of different characters to that… and yeah. This is Strike Witches without the fanservice!
ED: Montage ED with boring song.
Potential: 20%

Teekyuu

Short Synopsis: Our lead character plays tennis.
What the HELL was that?! I mean, you know Studio Mappa, right? The studio that was just founded from former Madhouse employees and did Sakamichi no Apollon past spring. Well, their next act is a 2-minute series with a complete lack of any kind of inbetween animation about two girls playing tennis. I mean, this was just bizarre: the characters talked incredibly fast and hyperactively. The jokes were like a shotgun: some kindof worked, and some didn’t work at all. It’s very hit or miss. The animation was… interesting. The episode was full of different drawings thatlooked dynamic, but lacked movement. Yes, the effect is really weird with the incredibly hyperactive pacing of this show. I’m not really sure what Mappa was going for here..
OP: Super-deformed and crazy.
Potential: 30%

Ixion Saga

Short Synopsis: Our lead character gets transported into a game.
You know, there is one thing that I did not know about Ixion Saga in advance: it’s a parody. I was fully expecting this to be this really cheesy fantasy show that should be passed up immediately, and this really looked to be the case at the start of this episode. And then… it just stopped taking itself seriously. Now, that alone is not immediately a good thing. Anime has so many terrible comedies out there, so this could have made this show even worse. But this brings me to the director, who previously worked on the first 100 episodes of Gintama. And yes, this was funny. This episode definitely had some parts that were bad, but for all of those moment it also had parts that were so bad that they turned good, and it had quite a few well delivered and actually hilarious jokes in its arsenal. The question now is to see whether or not they can keep this up. Shows like this generally can manage first opening episodes, but to keep up this quality for an entire series is quite difficult. Let me get beck on this one next week.
OP: DT! DT! DT! DT! DT! <- who the hell found that a good idea?
Potential: 75%

Sword Art Online – 14

by psgels, posted in Sword Art Online

I must say, I had been spoiled by that thing with Asuna, but I did not expect this show to go so far already. For a midway climax, this felt more like it was the end of the actual series with all the things that happened here.

I actually like the twist of the creator also being a player of the game. It makes perfect sense, because if I made a game like this, I sure as heck wouldn’t want to sit around for two years doing nothing. His whole proposition of ending the game definitely lead to some interesting developments, giving Kirito the responsibility of 6000 people over just one fight.

After that followed a bit of an anti-climax. First with Asuna sacrificing herself, just like the build-up previously hinted at: every time there is a happy couple, someone will die to break it up. What? Is it that uninteresting to watch a healthy couple here? Well, this show apparently thought the same and pulled some deus ex machina so that Asuna didn’t die after all, and Kirito somehow was able to override game rules with his angst.

The whole talk he had with Asuna and the game creator at the end of the episode was very good again, and Kirito waking up was entirely awesome. That was the moment we’ve all been looking forward to, and it really paid off. The episode ended at right the exact moment: there was no cheesy runion, just Kirito limping through a hospital.

But really… how on earth are they going to follow this up? I mean after this, nobody is stupid enough to start playing these games again. Sword Art Online is dead now. What’s next?

Although, a killer idea would be to indeed drop the entire series, and instead focus on tracking down the creator of the game. I mean, it’s been two years and his servers still haven’t been found. His body still isn’t recovered. That really would be awesome. But knowing the nature of this game, it probably won’t go so far.
Rating: 5/8 (Great)