Eureka Seven Ao – 02

by psgels, posted in Eureka Seven Ao

The three big mecha/sci-fi shows last Winter Season have gotten an addition: Eureka 7. If you don’t include Uchuu Kyoudai among them (which is a completely different show anyway), then these are the four best series of the genre in 2012. Where Rinne was fun and witty, Aquarion was over the top and weird, Mouretsu Pirates was creative and down to earth, Eureka Seven puts the focus on its drama, and does it really well. This second episode, I’d probably rank it above the second episodes of Aquarion and Mouretsu Pirates and below Rinne no Lagrange, but in terms of potential, it could possibly eclipse all of them if it keeps on going like this.

This show also looks gorgeous. It’s a bit different from Aquarion, which spams eye-candy through its CG department. Here the CG and 2D animation mesh much better, and it’s the 2D animation that steals the show by being really expressive. That’s really going to work in the show’s favor later on.

For this series, the creators really used Ao’s innocence as a central point. It’s no excuse that he immediately knew how to pilot the Nirvash as soon as he stepped into it, but beyond that: it cares about continuity, it plays around with different parties who are all after him, and he realy is forced in the middel of this giant war, just because he refuses to let go of this bracelet of his.

I’m also very surprised at how the creators used Eureka in this series. If that really is the same Eureka as in Eureka Seven, she really changed.
Rating: ** (Excellent)

Tsuritama – 02

by psgels, posted in Tsuritama

As a fun and whimsical series, Tsuritama stands at the top of this season for me. This show has something more than the other shows about teenagers doing stuff, and it’s not just originality. It’s also the characters who feel much more genuine than usual. They play off each other quite well and most
importantly: despite the way they act, they’re not annoying.

the lead character is an interesting variation to your typical loser here. The thing is that the things that go on in his head and what he actually says are completely different. He’s actually really shy, but most of the time it doesn’t seem that way due to how detailed his inner monologues are. But then someone comments on how shy the guy is, and you indeed start thinking of how he comes across when you strip away all of the inner monologues. And yeah, that makes him stand out as very weird, especially since he keeps making silly faces for no apparent reason.

Oh, and I also love the guy with the goose. He’s just so… surreal.

Out of all the shows this season, this one probably has me the most curious about what the heck it’ll be about. It’s hyping up its own story so much with at the end of every episode foreshadowing, and yet this is a show about fishing. How on earth are they going to fill 11 episodes with that? They must have some brilliant idea about this, and I can’t wait to find out what it is.
Rating: ** (Excellent)

Sakamichi no Apollon – 02

by psgels, posted in Sakamichi no Apollon

This. This show is just amazing.

This season rocks: it has so many series that stand out in refreshing ways. With Sakamichi no Apollon however, I can actually say that it’s the best at something: this series has the best portrayal of performing musicians I have ever seen, bar none. It has been a long while since a show premiered of which I could say that. This series is currently pushing anime to new grounds.

And this isn’t something of just the first episode: the moment when the characters started playing together, the same incredible animation returned, which perfectly captures the actual soundtrack. In the past there were the series that got close to portraying music really well, most notably Beck and Nodame Cantabile. But this one just nails it completely.

And on top of that, the characterization is also just amazing: the acting is wonderfully subtle and the bond between the three lead character is already second to only Uchuu Kyoudai. This isn’t just Shinichiro Watanabe delivering something amazing; there are a ton of talent people working on bringing this story to life.

I do have a few complaints about this series, though, and that mostly involves its cliches. Most notably the random bullies that it uses to create tension, and how the characters walk in on those bullies at exactly the right moment. These kinds of things really make me wonder what would have happened if they hadn’t been saved at the last moment. But even with that I have to admit: this show makes use of them, and it does so incredibly well. In this episode things weren’t over when Sentarou arrived, but an actually entertaining fight followed. The second time was used to bring in some romance. Cliched again, but the acting made up for it. Sentarou already is incredibly different from the usual “delinquent with a heart of gold”.

Oh, and I also have to praise the use of Christianity in this series. I was quite surprised when Kaoru was surprised that Ritsuko was a Christian, because you really don’t often get to see that in anime. And when it does appear characters tend to dress up like nuns for some strange reason.
Rating: **+ (Excellent+)

Lupin III – Mine Fujiko to Iu Onna – 03

by psgels, posted in Lupin III - Mine Fujiko to Iu Onna

So this was a shout-out to train stories. And was I the only one reminded of the Sound of Music here?

Overall, again it was a very neat little episode with a ton of style that used its characters really well, ranging from the Samurai that stood central in this story to the king and his children he was supposed to assassinate to Mine Fujiko pretending to be a female tutor. It had a lot of elements that could have been overdone, but it was again the acting that made it great. Although it was probably the least interesting episode of this series so far.

Still, with this third episode this series focuses again on something completely different, and I have to say that this show uses its side-characters very well here: Lupin, Goemon and that other guy from last episode are all very different, and with this, all of them give a different flavor to each episode. If I had to compare the characterization here to what I saw in the Castle of Cagliostro, I think I’d prefer it here if I have to be really honest. At the very least this show caught my attention much more here.
Rating: *+ (Great)

Mirai Nikki Review – 82,5/100

by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews, Mirai Nikki



Mirai Nikki: grab a bunch of psychopaths, hand each of them a diary that predicts the future, make them kill each other and you’ve got yourself the germ of an entertaining story.

This is a show for those looking for some over the top entertainment. It has action and suspense, but unfortunately also plotholes and a lead character who is a wimp for a good first portion of the series. In the end the pros do make up for the cons in this series, but it takes patience.

The bigggest problem with this series is that the characterization takes a really long while to get going. At the beginning of the series, Yukiteru (tha male lead) is a typical coward who once in a while does something heroic. The side-characters are all pretty dull and one-sided, and it doesn’t really feel like any of them comes to his or her right. The only one who really stands out is the lead female: Yuno. The biggest selling point of this series and the mother of all yandere. But even she takes a while to really get going, and is for most of the first half of this series a deranged psychopath without much depth either. The interesting stuff only starts when the characters start to develop and change over the course of the series. This is where the cast gets depth, Yukiteru grows balls, and the characters come together more and this is where the series gets really fun to watch.

Something also needs to be said about the plot: it can get quite creative in the plot twists it delivers to the viewer. It however is not as clever for this premise to really work, and as a consequence it’s full of plotholes. When you stat to watch this series, you really need to realize this, because there are way too many leaps in logic and weird coincidences that would instantly break any normal suspense of disbelief. It’s the kind of series where you need go go along with the flow, no matter how ridiculous it may get t times.

Because in the end, this does reward, even though it takes a while to get there. Mirai Nikki’s biggest problem is that it stumbles on for a good 10 episodes in uninteresting fights, challenges and characters, and it’s not even for the sake of build-up either. At one point it just decides to make its character arcs longer and actually use some character development effecitvely, and that’s where it becomes quite an entertaining ride. The ending is a bit weird, but heck, this show at least doesn’t skimp on entertainment value.

Just one thing: try to avoid getting spoiled about this series. It’s the kind of series that is hard to rewatch, because a lot of the fun is in its surprises that it pulls you.

Storytelling: 9/10 – Very entertaining plot twists, but is a bit annoying in its first halves.
Characters: 8/10 – The side-cast in particular really needs a long while to get going, but in the end the character development is pretty good all around.
Production-Values: 8/10 – Good soundtrack, animation that’s nothing special, but does what it needs to do.
Setting: 8/10 – The setting is just insane, but that’s part o this series’ charms.

Suggestions:
– Ben-To
– Ga-Rei Zero\
– Shikabane Hime

Jormungand – 02

by psgels, posted in Spring 2012 Kaleidoscope

Okay, so Hunter X Hunter is hereby dropped. I just have no clue what to replace it with. After watching both Nazo na Kanojo and Jormungand’s first episodes, I think I’m either going to blog Jormungand, or go with a Kaleidoscope. I’m leaving that for next week to decide.

The thing is: we really have a special season this time. It really needs to be successful, because it has the potential to raise the bar on anime. Last Summer I also was very enthusiastic about how good it was, but this time it’s different: there are so many series this season that put in a lot of effort to stand out in their own ways. There are no immediate instant classics, but there are so many series that have the potential to become so. This will very likely become the best season of the entire year in terms of overall quality.

My thing with Jormungand is that it does not belong among those series, yet it has the potential to stand out. It’s not the only series this season that has this. Really, I had a ton of difficulties picking between this series and Nazo na Kanojo X. Seriously, the runners-up this season also really have some potential to stand out, and that’s something I haven’t seen in a while. A quick overview of them and why I didn’t decide to weekly blog them:
– Nazo na Kanojo has a great female lead and excellent characterization when it gets down to business. It however has only 13 episodes and I’m not sure whether it’ll be enough to talk about weekly.
– Natsuiro Kiseki is very creative, and again deserves a lot of points with the interplay between its cast. It is also very bold in spending so much time on small things. It however, is too angsty at times.
– Polar Bear Cafe is wonderfully creative and delightful Iyashi-Kei. It’s also so boring.
– Same for Kimi to Boku: I’m only starting to like this show more and more and the characterization only gets better, yet the annoying parts are also still there.
– AKB048 just puzzles me with its bizarrely creative premise.
– And then there is the wildcard of Medaka Box, which is very overblown moe, but I can see it break the boundaries of genres like what everyone says about it… if it ever gets to that point and the director doesn’t ruin it.
– Not to mention that Legend of Korra which promises an interesting look at modern day heroes.

And then there are the series that don’t stand out, but are just very good entertainment:
– Kuroko no Basuke knows how to be fun. But yeah: it’s both too shounen and a shounen jump series.
– Saint Seiya has Yoshihiko Umakoshi‘s animation, but unfortunately it doesn’t really add much to what we’ve already seen from him in Casshern Sins and Heartcatch Precure.

Now that I’m typing this up, I see a lot of potential for a good Kaleidoscope here. The past summer season had me saying that it could become an incredibly good series. In the end it didn’t turn out as good as I expected due to a number of bad and incomplete endings. This season has that much less: only Zetman is an obvious culprit here, and even that show is actually trying to make up for it, rather than ignore it.

Anyway, Jormungand. I actually chose this show because it was out of the ones mentioned above, the show I wasn’t going to blog, yet have the most to say about. Again, this can really grow to stand out: the manga is also fully finished and there will be 26 episodes, not to mentioned that the semi-episodic nature will makes sure for a ton of variety. This can really work, and yet I am missing something from this series. Something that doesn’t place it among the top of this season. I’ll try to explain what that is.

Because really: I am a big fan of war dramas. Anime in the past have done some really great things with it. And that’s a thing: this series does feel a bit derivative. I’ve seen a lot of people compare it to Black Lagoon, but that’s also probably because the OPs sound similar (and indeed: the OP does in no way match the classic OP that Black Lagoon had), but I think that the problem is more with the way it ends up setting itself apart because of this: its humor and entertainment value.

This series indeed is very slick, fun and fast-paced. This episode also threw in a lot of character development for the side characters, which also is a good sign. What I do feel however, is that it has its tongue a bit too far up its own cheek, and overplays the comedy a bit too much for a war drama: it always needs to have a joke ready, or it always needs to have a character looking cheeky. Despite the solid production values overall, this is something that it fails to recognize. It makes this series very one-sided. Especially Coco is guilty of this. Think a bit about the most memorable characters out there who use comedy: they use it with a natural charm: they don’t try to be funny, but this comes naturally to them. Jormungand seems to go for this effect, but ti tries to force this too much by trying to give the characters too much natural charm, making them forced. This is something that this series is going to really have to take care of.
Rating: *+ (Great)

Zetman – 03

by psgels, posted in Zetman

Seriously, I really like Zetman. The manga may be so much better, but something just clicks with the anime for me. Atsuhiro Tomioka‘s adaptations are often like this: incredibly flawed and rushed, but also with some really good parts. Nishi no Yoki Majo for example had some great characters and dialogue, but it just went way too bloody fast. Disgaea on the other hand went way too bloody slow, but it did get some good development out of the characters in the end. Trinity Blood had a horrible ending, but its first half was brilliantly written. Zombie Loan was over before it even started, but it had a cast of really good characters. All of this regardless of how good the source material was, of course.

The thing is that after these three episodes this might become the best series he worked on yet. The rest of this series has for me really made up for his rushed script: the original story, however butchered it may have been, shines through, and there are some really good animators and storyboarders working on this series. This is slightly different from Deadman Wonderland, which I covered last year: that show was a very entertaining over the top trainwreck. Zetman however, has something more, and it’s not a trainwreck. It’s very genuine at what it does, and I really like that about this series.

Also, this series has the kind of rush I don’t mind. The big problem I had with Persona was that it rushed through everything, yet spent way too much time on things that in the end didn’t matter. This script however allows the characters to show their emotions and development. While the plot itself has a lot of unexplained things, it’s not to the point where this series becomes incomprehensible, and it becomes fun to try and puzzle what this series is trying to do. If this series does that consistently, it can work out well. You don’t want to have a series that thrives on being solid and believable, only to have one gigantic plot-hole in its middle. That just breaks suspense of disbelief.

This episode also revealed that Kanzaki’s grandfather is still alive, and not only that: Kanzaki was his creation, attempting to make the Zet monsters that we’ve been seeing more human. If the rest of this series can explore more about this humanity I’ll be very interested. If this series can get to that, in any case. I really like this series, but I also have no clue whether this will be the same at the end of this series.
Rating: ** (Excellent)

Mirai Nikki – 26

by psgels, posted in Mirai Nikki

So with this we’ve gotten all of the endings of the past season. And it’s pretty weird indeed. At the very least, I’ve got to praise the creators for delivering a solid and climactic ending. This episde was fun, and also had a ton of character development. It was a bit cheesy when Yuno stabbed herself, but heck: she’s crazy, and this episode had far bigger question-marks.

First of all, I’m not sure whether I missed this or not, but the way in which Eleventh changed everyone’s future, was an explanation given of why he knew now that he Mirai Nikki project would fail? There’s also the question of Murmur’s intentions: was it ever revealed what she wanted anyway? I mean, she had captured the Murmur of the world anyway and eventually would have continued to e the assistant of the new God.

The strangest part however, was the sequel hook. I mean, I knew beforehand that Mirai Nikki isn’t going to end here and that some sort of sequel got announced at the end of this episode. However, what the heck did Yukiteru turn into anyway? He couldn’t get over Yuno… for 10000 years? It pretty much sounds like he reverted back to his old self and has been sulking for an eternity.

Still, I enjoyed this episode a lot. This series definitely had its issues, and being spoiled along the way also didn’t help, but it did come together quite nicely.
Rating: *+ (Great)

Phi Brain – 27

by psgels, posted in Phi Brain

What on earth is Root Gakuen? I mean, anime often tends to exaggerate schools and all, and this IS Phi Brain. But this episode revealed just how crazy that building actually is. Why on earth was a landing platform for helicopters installed? Were the giant metal sliding doors always there? Were the creators preparing for some nuclear war or something?

In any case, the second season just revealed how it plans to top the excellent first season: brainwashing. This is something akin to handling a double-ended chainsaw: awesome and very effective if you can get it to work, but you can just as easily slice your own fingers off. This episode established the rules for how the brainwashing works, and it has a lot to do with how the Orpheus bracelet works: by accelerating and changing the brain levels of its victims. Kaitou nearly succumbed to it, so it is plausible if you change its powers a bit.

The most important part however is that it is very much hinted that while the earrings will cause you do to things you normally would never do, there needs to be a reason for this. You can’t just go “Haha! Brainwash!”, but instead the victim will need to have a reason for getting rid of Kaitou. And that will be the key of whether this series is going to work or not. Provide interesting reasons, go deep into the characters for reasons to dislike Kaitou. Combine this with a lot of good character development.

At the very least the puzzles themselves are still interesting and haven’t lost their edge and still are very creative. The soundtrack also surprised me by being actually new, and the build-up of tension still is as good as it’s ever been. This really has the potential here.

Phi Brain, you are one of the very few series nowadays who can get 50 episodes and actually deserves it. Unlike the Jump series who drag on for way too long, you actually are using your time well and are quite balanced. This is a huge chance: now live up to it and show those endless Jump shows how a shounen adventure series is properly done!
Rating: ** (Excellent)

Aquarion Evol – 16

by psgels, posted in Aquarion Evol

Okay, so with this episode it’s clear that this show intends to screw destiny. The important part is how it’ll end up doing this. This episode had a lot of build-up for that, alongside a completely overblown love confession that was really fun to watch when taken out of context s it created an infinity punch that even traveled through time.

However, I still am a bit afraid of Kawamori trolling again. What I mean by “taken out of context” mostly refers to the aftermath, which didn’t really use the fact that Zessica confessed to Amata, and instead focused more on how Aquarion nearly went berserk (by the way: did I see this right and did they just casually wipe out an entire island? I sure as hope that they picked some sort of uninhabited island and didn’t train in the midst of school grounds, like how they’ve been fighting most of the battles). Zessica’s confession has the most terrible timing: it’s too late to really make an impact on Amata, but it’s too early to really actually do something in the grand scheme of this. Instead the creators made this a bit of a stepping stone for the later romance, reducing Zessica yet again to nothing but a mere love plot device for the male lead.

Also, a new season and a new sequel that refers the original. After Last Exile’s recap episode of its first season, this episode also continues to show old material. What really caught my attention was how seamless the images looked of Last Exile, while the transition from HD to a smaller format really is quite noticeable with thick lines of animation used back there. This is a compliment to the original Last Exile, by the way, because it’s definitely interesting to see how Satelight’s animation has changed over the past ten years.

Oh, and this episode finally showed Bianca and Dorezza in a battle, revealing what powers they have. And they are actually quite awesome. Why weren’t they used before? I mean, if Zessica didn’t confess they would have kicked ass. The only reasonable explanation for this is that Amata is special somehow, and that he can awaken special powers that others can’t. Weren’t you trying to screw destiny, Aquarion?
Rating: *+ (Great)