Hyouka – 08

by psgels, posted in Hyouka

The reason why the camera moves so little in anime, aside from panning and zooming, is that it’s really hard to animate backgrounds, on top of animating character-models from different angles. And here Hyouka comes and gives a wonderful rendition of the view of a cameraman walking around. This is only possible with very careful use of CG, and I really have to admit that they blended this in really well with the entire look of an amateur camera. But it’s especially the way they kept all of the character-models consistent in all these frames that is impressive.

The movie was very different from the movie that was made in Haruhi, which was played for comedic effect, but there is one thing about that that they copied over and improved: the bad acting. What I mean by that is that it really feels like it was made by a bunch of high school kids: everyone was acting very stiff, and some were yelling their lines out too loud. Furthermore there were few cuts compared to a professionally made movie, simply because it’s such a hassle to do that.

We’ve also gotten our first long arc again with this. It’s a bit of a strange set-up, and especially the three amateur detectives have me a bit puzzled. Going through so much trouble of trying to find the culprit when you could just ask the sick scriptwriter for a small explanation, plus you still need someone to write the rest of the script.
Rating: ** (Excellent)

AKB0048 – 07 and Aquarion Evol – 24

by psgels, posted in AKB0048, Aquarion Evol

One thing that I’ve noticed about a lot of Mari Okada’s anime original scripts: the one thing she has trouble with is being interesting while building up. Especially in the first halves of her longer series have these flashes of brilliance intermixed with dull slice of life. Take Hana-Saku Iroha’s long wring of random episodes, Aquarion’s boring romantic set-up in its first half, or even Kuroshitsuji II’s first four episodes that were nothing but random hi-jinks. We too are now on that point for AKB0048 unfortunately, but the end of this episode did remember to actually deliver.

And it did so with some very weird succession rules that showed even more what a strange organization this AKB0048 is. So everyone is set to become a succeeding member of one of the founding members of the AKB, and who gets to succeeds is decided by strange flying blobs based on very vague criteria, they are ruled by a strange shadowy figure who writes unnerving lyrics. And also: we’ve seen people talk plenty of times in this series about “graduating”, however nobody has actually explained what that entails to.
Rating: * (Good)

There was so much trolling going on in this episode of Aquarion. Where to start: Amata was consciously abandoned by his parents, causing him to have a bad childhood, Ah, and you finally see them again? Too bad! Seriously, can’t we ever make these people survive and have them take responsibility for what they did? Shoji Kawamori was all over this episode, but the most apparent really was the ending, in which the main source of the conflict turns out to e environmental destruction. I already found it strange that there was so little of that in this series.

It made for a very fun episode though, and I definitely enjoyed it. It’s definitely nice to have such over the top plot twists combined with interesting characters here. They’re not all interesting of course: Mikono YET AGAIN did absolutely nothing, but Zessica and Mikage have really grown on me, Kagura really got his time to shine here, and even Amata has gotten interesting to watch now that we’ve delved into his back-story.

Also, now that we’re near the end of the first half of 2012, I think I can say this confidently: Aquarion has the best soundtrack of the year so far. Yeah okay it was copied from the first Aquarion and all, but still: it blows all of the other soundtracks this year simply out of the water due to its massive size, sheer versatility and consistent epic tone.
Rating: ** (Excellent)

Phi Brain – 35

by psgels, posted in Phi Brain

Who the heck was behind this episode, and what on earth was he smoking while writing it?

This episode already started off bad by both having Elena transfer into the Root Academy, and being a beach episode. I did not expect it to be such a bizarrely written one, though. I’m not sure whether this was in a good way, because what made it so bizarre was the incredibly stupid ideas behind it.

So, let me get this straight… the POG actually owned another tropical island. They used that for filming a giant monster movie named “puzzla”, and they still keep some of the props, including a giant monster model, hidden in a cave on that island. Where the hell did that come from? Why would that professor Pythagoras have ordered a thing like that?

The more I think about this episode, the more I realize that it really is quite bad. I mean, on one hand I guess the stupidity was funny and all, but on the other hand: it actually nullified some of the development that has been handed to the characters. There is that bizarre movie plan from the POG, but also:
– This episode had everyone going crazy from puzzle withdrawal, including Cubic and Ana, even though the two of them weren’t really passionate about puzzles. In the series we mostly see them paint and do science stuff respectively. This episode lumped their character way too much together.
– Elena also gets reduced to a generic side-character. Remember in the first season how there were hints of a romance between her and Gammon Well, this episode apparently didn’t.

Episodes like this are supposed to give the characters more colour, not make them grayer!

Some more comments:
– Apparently this show forgot that lock-picking is also a puzzle.
– Being in puzzle withdrawal is one thing. Gammon however has made plenty of puzzles for himself. Really, it’s not that hard to make them and instead the characters decide to go into that bizarre puzzla chase.
– Nonoha swimming for six hours and fishing up the key that Elena threw away is just plain bad.
– Death to slide-show montages!
Rating: — (Lacking)

Uchuu Kyoudai – 11

by psgels, posted in Uchuu Kyoudai

The first and second exams were so standard that I didn’t really see this coming. But seriously the third exam is awesome. Last week already threw the cast in an incredibly interesting situation, and this episode even made it better: splitting everyone up in three groups, and having everyone live together for two weeks. That’s two weeks of constantly being on each other’s lips, just like how things will be in a real space station as a test to see whether the characters are psychologically fit enough to handle it.

This episode really focused on that psychology, especially when they showed that footage of the three astronauts who crashed into the earth. Beyond being a great death scene, it built even further upon the previous episode taking the risks of the job very seriously, and again this had a different effect on many of the different applicants.

And then there was that cliff-hanger. For once it’s not a surprise what’s going to happen, but nevertheless it showed a very interesting difference between Mutta and the others. I mean, all of the applicants here have a technical background, that’s pretty much a requirement for the job. When asked with a question of what time it is, the most logical thing to do for such a person indeed make an as accurate estimate as possible. Mutta however is the only one who also has a creative background (again that car he designed), which gave him a very different perspective: we’re in space. Why should time matter?
Rating: *** (Awesome)

Mouretsu Pirates – 23

by psgels, posted in Mouretsu Pirates

Yeah. I guess that this was the perfect episode to show that pirates have their sense of theatrics. That hologram is one thing, but for a ship to bring its own sound effects in order to circumvent the “no sound in space”-problem, I have to give it to the creators: that was very creative. Being a pirate before was made to look like a very bureaucratic job, but amidst all of the rules that they need to follow in order to survive, they did build in this very nostalgic coded signal in the form of a bunch of old-school pirates singing.

Aso, Ririka only appeared in one scene, but that scene alone was enough to shut down any theories that she’s going to play any significant role in this series. It’s a pretty awesome anti-climax in a way: we’ve seen scenes of her wanting to do stuff she likes to do, so with her absence during the past arc you’d think that she took pirating back up or something. But no, she just started traveling, which is actually a much more logical explanation. I believe that she finally saw that Marika could take care for herself now, and started to make use of her new free time.

I really like this: on one hand you have the stakes being higher than before, but at the same time this series also has gotten more playful than ever, and that’s not something you usually see. I really have to praise the character-development in this series: it’s subtle, but it’s there, and what makes this final arc so much fun to watch is watching how much the cast has grown together. Now all that’s left is a good finale.
Rating: **+ (Excellent+)

Fate/Zero – 23

by psgels, posted in Fate/Zero

If I had to give Fate/Zero’s second season one criticism, then it’s the convenience of some of the noble phantasms. I don’t mean all of them; Rider’s noble phantasm was great and Assassin’s and Berserker’s were also well used. But for some of the others: first there was Lancer, whose noble phantasm conveniently nullifies Saber’s powers. Things then got worse when Caster needed to be taken care of and Saber’s noble phantasm just so happened to be perfect for that. And now Archer reveals this giant delete button of his which conveniently ends up being the perfect thing to take away Rider’s trump card. My memory isn’t perfect, so it could be that they built up to this and I just don’t remember it, but if they didn’t: pulling this thing three times is a bit much, guys.

In any case though: there was one thing for which this episode was really clearly building up to. With this episode, it became really apparent, but the entire second season has carefully been leading up to this moment: Rider’s fall. It started with him wasting too much of his energy on taking care of Caster, and ever since he lost that air of invincibility around him. That moment in which Rider charges Archer by himself is where all of this came together.

Also, I am not sure who was behind the visuals of Rider’s noble phantasm, but once again the scenes that took place in there looked gorgeous. Especially the point where it all started to fall apart had a lot of visual talent behind it.

Also, Berserker… I now understand why they kept his identity hidden for so long.
Rating: ** (Excellent)

Spring 2012 Kaleidoscope – Week 23

by psgels, posted in Spring 2012 Kaleidoscope

#1: The Legend of Korra – 08: This episode caught me off-guard. Every time I thought “oh, they’re finished now”, it only got even better. This had it all: excellent action, it was full of emotion, it played with Korra’s hypocrisy and touchy politics. The best episode of this series yet, without a doubt. – *** (Awesome)

#2: Nazo no Kanojo X – 09: I already had a suspicion when the episode started up, and a quick look-up on ANN confirmed it: yes, Shigeyasu Yamauchi was behind this episode, and he really succeeded in making an already excellent adaptation even better. This episode was even more expressive than usual, and his camera-angles and different poses that focus on subtle movements really brought the characters to life here. – *** (Awesome)

#3: Saint Seiya Omega – 10: Okay… I was originally intending to drop this series; it still hadn’t caught my attention, but I figured that I might as well give it one more episode. And then this episode proceeded to surpass the entire series in every single way: better acting, better action, better music and better use of it, there is better character-development and the plot got a lot more interesting, not to mention that the drama also finally delivered. A quick look-up revealed that Rie Matsumoto was behind this episode, and it really shows. Keep an eye out for her, because she really is Toei’s latest rising star, and let’s hope that the next episode can keep up with this momentum. – *** (Awesome)

#4: Natsuiro Kiseki – 10: And with this, this series is back to its old level. The rock was at its trollish best again, and the entire episode was just based on a great idea with time travel. This one was all about youth memories, and a really creative way to show more about the cast when they were young. – **+ (Excellent+)

#5: Shirokuma Cafe – 10: A hilarious episode. It pretty much was the best use of Panda in the series so far. He is such a troll, and this episode had a ton of fun with that by having a group date with Handa of all people. Penguin also was priceless in this episode. – ** (Excellent)

#6: Kimi to Boku – 22: Very cute episode, again with great romance. Plus, having a graduation ceremony has been done many times before, but it is a great way for character-development. – ** (Excellent)

#7: Sankarea – 10: This series really is trying to get its basics right: background, background and more background. This is the third episode that just takes one of the members of the cast and devotes the majority of its time to show her background and her issues, this time it was the mother’s turn. And really: this was good. It showed who she is, why she is with that asshole of a father and how she changed over the years. Plus: none of the annoying characters made an appearance! Or at least a conscious one. – ** (Excellent)

#8: Medaka Box – 10: And we’re over nine thousand here with Medaka Box. This episode was not as creative as last week, but the change of tone really is apparent here and I like how the creators pulled all of the plugs, while still remaining consistent in the themes it explores. – *+ (Great)

#9: Jormungand – 09: An episode of contrast. It worked very nicely, with the combination of an escort mission giving a new dynamic to this series, while on the other side the small moments take enough time for the characterization of the main cast. The fanservice was annoying though, and this series chronically ignores to give any sort of interesting background or touches to the villains beyond the basics. – *+ (Great)

#10: Hunter X Hunter – 34: That one scene with the electricity: that’s where the animators finally loosened up a bit, and there were other scenes during Killua’s fight that finally had a direction that didn’t seem like it was pasted from manga-panels. The rest of this episode had plenty of those shots, but it’s definitely good to have a start here. What I also appreciate is that the creators bothered to fully let this arc play out, even though that meant having a few repetitive fights. – *+ (Great)

#11: Poyopoyo Kansatsu Nikki – 22: This week’s episode was a cute story about a crow. Nothing stand-out hilarious for this series’ standards, but it remained very cute. – *+ (Great)

NB. Yes, Poyopoyo is actually last this week. What that means is that pretty much every series on this list delivered and was really enjoyable to watch, and I have very little to bitch about. That’s the great thing about this season: the huge quantity of series worth watching.

NB2. Overall, I’m really enjoying doing these rankings each week with short summaries. I’ll probably do this next season as well.

Eureka Seven Ao – 09

by psgels, posted in Eureka Seven Ao

This was an episode for character and setting building, but thankfully it also remembered to deliver some good drama and action along the way. I like that about this show: it has fairly more time than usual, but when it needs to build up it does try to make this build-up interesting.

The episode had two main goals. The first was building trust between Ao and Fleur and Elena, showing that they’re beginning to read each other more and more. This is interesting development, but it does have a potential pitfall: developing into something generic. The way they interacted with Ao so far was very interesting and there was a lot of tension between them. Them getting to trust each other is natural of course, but this will remove some of that tension. So yeah, this series will have to put something in to replace that.

Second was that we saw that Truth guy continuing with his plans to what I presume will be world destruction. In this episode he recruits a soldier who is surprisingly similar to Dominic from the original Eureka Seven. I can definitely see that the creators are trying to do something interesting with Truth, especially by introducing him so relatively early in the series. I like how his powers enable him to just turn up from absolutely nowhere, but this does have the disadvantage of making him a bit too overpowered. What this guy needs next, is flaws.
Rating: *+ (Great)

Tsuritama – 09

by psgels, posted in Tsuritama

Yes! This definitely is a start here! Best episode of Tsuritama so far!

This episode kept the light-hearted nature, added the epic “the world is doomed”-effect, increased the pacing, used the build-up of the rest of the series, and really got fun and exciting. The balance between comedy and drama especially was brilliant.

It’s also here where it really shows how creative this show is, because once again this episode thrived on it, and it had a ton of these nice finds that made this episode really interesting to watch, ranging from the bizarre bunny suits that the members of Duck wore and their hilariously direct ways of taking control of Enoshima to the use of hot curry and Haru’s idea to send Yuki to Nagoya of all places. It’s a really neat idea to have the cast make the main character make a little side-trip.

What’s more: this episode flowed really well into each other. For one the members of Duck are hilarious, but they were also very effective in rounding up the city despite that. It’s here where you can really see the build-up paying off, because Enoshima really feels alive, especially now that it has changed so much because of the evacuations. All the events in this episode also flowed really well into each other, and nothing felt forced. Come on, Kenji Nakamura: you can do this. Continue this upward trend for two more episodes and we’ll actually have a really great series here.
Rating: *** (Awesome)

Sakamichi no Apollon – 09

by psgels, posted in Sakamichi no Apollon

So Apollon decided to use the time before its finale in order to resolve the romance between the side-characters. This episode was all about Jun and Yurika, and actually a really good balance to the angst of the previous episodes, by finally actually resolving things, getting people to clear up misunderstandings and getting one couple together. After so many complicated feelings, this episode removed a lot of the different tensions and brought the cast back together, and it’s great that this is done before the finale.

Now we have three (yes, Apollon will be 12 episodes) episodes left for the three main characters. It’s here where all of the build-up needs to come together, and this series has to make use of its build-up. A great example of how to do this was with Yojou-han Shinwa Taikei. These three episodes will need to excel in this show’s own ways, most likely through impeccable acting and great character-development.

The rotoscoped scenes by the way look as good as ever. I mean, compare this to Tsuritama where it’s obvious that the biggest amount of budget was blown in the first episode, here the creators are still able to keep up a consistent animation quality up. The rotoscoped parts may not be as impressive compared to if they were had-animated, but still they look really impressive, and good unlike any other TV-anime out there.
Rating: ** (Excellent)