Kotetsushin Jeeg
Short Synopsis: A typical loser gets to pilot a big mecha.
Good: Rocking OP.
Bad: Sadly, the OP was the only exciting part; horrible main character.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 4/10
The umpth attempt to remake a mecha-classic. While most of them turn out good, or at least decent enough, Kotetsushin Jeeg, turned out to be pure garbage. It features characters with a way-too high testosterone-level, the main character being the worst case of this. Basically, it’s just an excuse to show flashy action, while attempting to make its characters look cool (which, let’s face it, obviously failed). Such a waste of a good OP.
Darker than Black
Short Synopsis: In a strange city, people can make contracts, in order to gain strange powers.
Good: Has potential… I guess.
Bad: The main character.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 5,5/10
Bones may have hit the spot during the fall-season with Tenpou Ibun Ayakashi Ayashi, I doubt that Darker than Black will become just as entertaining. So far, it had a few interesting points, but nothing really stood out. Yoko Kanno also disappointed, in my opinion. The main character also just doesn’t suit my tastes, like I mentioned before. First of all, he’s perfect, and second of all, he acts like a wimp. The broken fingers at the beginning of the episode also were a bit too much. I don’t feel like watching any more of this.
Koutetsu Sangokushi
Short Synopsis: It’s a war-anime, focusing on a guy whose parents have been killed, and is now under the care of an important person.
Good: Great combination of fights, characters and emotions.
Bad: I’d like to know how the main character was the chosen one.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10
Now this is more like it! Koutetsu Sangokushi was one of those anime I knew next to nothing about before I watched it, and it immediately comes with a very strong first episode. It wasn’t without its flaws, though, as the main character gets great powers while it isn’t explained exactly why he got them, but apart from that, I liked this episode a lot. Finally we’ve got a bit of a good main character, who’s really struggling with his own morals at the moment. He’s fairly young, but he’s already learning in this first episode. I was also fairly surprised when he saw his father’s killer. With a first episode like this, the rest of the series either has to be incredibly good, or incredibly bad. I definitely hope it’s the former. Oh, and also thumbs high up for the background music. Beautifully orchestrated it is. :)]]>
Some quick first impressions: OverDrive, Fuyu no Semi and Saint Beast
OverDrive
Short Synopsis: A typical loser gets to learn to ride a bicycle.
Good: Decent enough music.
Bad: Yawn… err, where was I?
Overall Enjoyment Value: 3/10
Sports-anime have never really been my thing. Strangely enough, I never really had a good reason to avoid them. Finally, OverDrive gave me one. God, that was awful. The main bad point about this anime isn’t really that it’s bad, but the whole thing is just so incredibly boring. I felt myself nearly fall asleep after the first few minutes. Oh and the main character is a fourteen year-old loser who’s never ridden a bicycle before and will somehow end up as the best cyclist ever without having to practice hard like everyone else does. I definitely do not hope that all sports-anime are as bad as this one.
Fuyu no Semi
Short Synopsis: Quite an interesting setting: Ezo. Two guys who want to open up Japan to the rest of the world fall in love with each other (yes: guys).
Good: Nice historical backgrounds.
Bad: A tad boring, but that may have been because I watched this right after OverDrive.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 6,5/10
I was quite surprised to see Ezo as the main setting in this OVA. It takes place perhaps a few years after Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto, but without the magic and supernatural elements. What was even more surprising that I heard the name of one of the main characters: Akizuki. After a while, it appears that this wasn’t Youjirou, but Keiichirou. Brothers? Anyway, the episode self didn’t make me too enthusiastic. It does have some interesting historical elements, but most of the episode looked like some strange version of a dating-sim.
Saint Beast
Short Synopsis: I’ve been wondering this myself.
Good: Nice OP and ED, I guess, albeit a bit cheesy.
Bad: Oh god the Engrish… the horrible, horrible Engrish!
Overall Enjoyment Value: 4/10
My impression of Saint Beast can be described in one word: forgettable. Yet again, nothing of the episode caught my interest. Heck, now that I’m writing this, I can hardly remember what this anime was about anyway. I believe it was about six bishounen-angels who live happily in a mountain-cottage, until they get summoned by a Greek God-ish type of guy. I can hardly imagine recommending this one.]]>
Some quick first impressions: Nagasarete Airantou, Romeo x Juliet and Gigantic Formula
Nagasarate Airantou
Short Synopsis: A typical loser ends up on an island with only young girls.
Good: Could have become good…
Bad: …if it didn’t have the most horrible concept to work with, didn’t include the main character, blood-noses or fanservice, didn’t seem to think that a guy screaming, getting beaten-up, hurt or getting chased was the funniest thing ever, etc.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 5/10
It took me a while to figure out that “Airantou” is actually a horrible katakanification of the word “island”. Obviously, I think that my opinion on this one is clear by now. Okay, I do admit I chuckled at some parts, I liked it when the characters went crazy, and the evil smiles had potential. But why the heck did the creators find beating up the main character over and over and over and over again funny? It’s horribly dull and his screaming and nose-bleeds are some of the most annoying scenes ever. If the annoying parts are scrapped (including the horrible concept) though, this could make quite an interesting anime, but unfortunately that’s not going to happen. Definitely dropped.
Romeo x Juliet
Short Synopsis: Juliet, a former princess now lives underground, in the same city where she used to live. There she gets saved by a boy: Romeo.
Good: Nice production-values, great ED
Bad: …Gonzo…grmblrg…..
Overall Enjoyment Value: 7.5/10
Okay, I may only have read certain parts of the book, the beginning not included, but I doubt that this first episode was very true to the book. For starters, I never recall Juliet having lost her throne. Someone once commented about how Gonzo likes to add their own elements to the stories they adapt, and only now I realize what that means. Heck, if I’m not mistaken, William Shakespeare even makes a cameo-appearance. I don’t think I’m happy about these changes. In one thing, it did make the story more generic. I was looking forward to seeing this, as the book featured a type of storytelling that you don’t usually see in anime. I also definitely do hope that Gonzo won’t be thinking of a different ending. I’d love to see such an ending, which makes perfect use of the different character’s weaknesses: their naivety. Les Miserables proved that staying true to the book doesn’t mean a bad thing, and I’m fearing that Romeo x Juliet will somehow ruin this classic, in an attempt to make it “mainstream”. Still, the episode itself wasn’t bad if you see it as just another anime, and not “another Romeo and Juliet story”.
Gigantic Formula
Short Synopsis: Somewhere in the near-future, each major country possesses one strong mecha, which fight each other. Two children end up piloting Japan’s.
Good: Excellent production values, beautiful character-designs.
Bad: Makey no sensey.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 6.5/10
It’s such a pity. If I had to guess, then the creators spent lots of effort to create some very high-quality graphics, music and scenes, only to realize that they ran out of budget to hire a decent writer. The graphics look amazing in this one, but it just makes no sense. I kept wondering how two children can end up piloting such an important mecha, but it appears that all of them are very highly skilled. Even more than normal adults. I really do hope that the future episodes will give some explanation about why these characters are so skilled, as they need every little piece of background they can get after this first taste of the series. Thankfully, near the end of the episode we got a small flash of the history of the main character, but that definitely was not enough. At all.]]>
Ayatsuri Sakon – 19
Short Synopsis: As expected, more people die. The culprit seems to wear a white Noh-styled mask. Kaoru, meanwhile, makes a fool out of herself.
Good: Glad to see the brilliance of the first two arcs finally returning again! Kaoru was quite funny.
Bad: So far, Ayatsuri Sakon’s only bad point was its predictability, but even that was absent from this episode.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10
I never thought to see some actual consistent updates from Ayatsuri Sakon again, but surprisingly the Ayatsuri-Sakon project released yet another new episode. And I’m glad to say that, apart from the ending of the second arc, this is one of the best episodes yet. There are probably two reasons for that. First of all: Kaoru. I really like this arranged marriage of hers, and the fact that she fell in love with it anyway. She was so cute when Ukon kept teasing her. ^^;
The second reason is the fact that throughout the episode, you’ve got almost no idea of knowing who the real culprit is. Right now, I’m suspecting that the youngest son is behind it, but why would that be? When the previous arcs tried to side-track the viewer, the events were rather transparent. But this arc manages to throw in not one side-track, but lots of them. At one point of the episode, everyone has a possibility of being the culprit.
There’s a lot behind this mystery that still isn’t clear yet. For example, why did the culprit have to wax the floor, when he could have timed the attack perfectly. If it was a mistake, and the slippery floor was actually meant to fend off the killer, and Naoto was the real victim, then why didn’t the culprit kill Naoto off the second time? How did the culprit make Kouei end up in the car-crash? It’s hard to believe that everything is the work of just one person.
Memorable quote: “Hyu hyu! You two are sizzlin’!” – Ukon]]>
Death Note – 25
Short Synopsis: Finally, we get to see a part of Ryuzaki’s background.
Good: The first plot twist was awesome. The background was awesome.
Bad: The background could have been more, certain parts could have been cut out of your resident bishie-anime, too bad I saw the second plot twist coming.
Good: Still, the results of that plot twist were awesome as well.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8.5/10
Oh boy. I had a hunch about what was going to happen in this episode, but I never saw Light’s plan coming. Instead of the easy way around, make Misa meet L, and write down his name afterwards, which would obviously place Misa yet again on the place of a major suspect. Instead, he uses Misa in order to place Rem in an inescapable plan. He makes Misa kill people again. Because of this, it’s evident that the Death Note has to be researched yet again. Once L finds out that the rules are fake by testing it on actual prisoners, Misa will become a major suspect yet again, and will definitely face the death punishment with all the charges found against her.
The genius plan: the only way to save Misa from being killed: Rem killing Ryuzaki, and taking her own life with her. She can’t take Light with her in the process, as this would bring great sadness to Misa, who apparently does have a short life-span. She has NO choice but to kill Ryuzaki, and sacrifice herself for it! Not only does this not place any suspects on neither Light nor Misa, it also removes the pesky problem of Rem, preventing Light to kill or harm Misa. Still, she probably would have been smarter to kill off Light right ahead. After all, I doubt that Misa will survive long. Then again, she does prove him useful with her eyes and all. He’ll probably decide to keep her, and kill her off when he really needs to.
Also, Ryuzaki’s background definitely was interesting, albeit a bit vague and short. L hints that he’s never told the truth to anyone he knew before. We hear some bells, we see a couple of kids playing and crying and we see Watari stand with a young Ryuzaki right next to him. This probably means that L lost his parents at young age, and then got put in the care of Watari. Watari then probably taught him how to think like a detective.
Also, the wet-bishie-towel-scene may have been a bit too much. Still, the underlying thought was quite interesting, as we see L struggling with his own morals. Obviously, the only way to really find out about the Death Note is to try it out. This means nothing other than to kill somebody with it. Not only does this mean a to go to the same depths as Kira, it also means big trouble for Rem, so she kills both Watari and L off before they have the chance.
The fact remains that this final thing was predictable, but it still was great to see it! Also, Light is now not only Kira, he’s also head of the research, in charge of tracking down Kira. One thing I’d love him to do is look at Rem’s Death Note, and look at Ryuzaki’s real name. I’ve been dying to know what it actually was, and I do hope that the next episode will tell a bit more about Ryuzaki’s background. The guys we’ve been seeing in the OP will probably arrive also in a couple of episodes as well. Sounds promising!]]>
Saiunkoku Monogatari – 37
Short Synopsis: Shuurei lets her tears lose in the comfort of Ryuuren, and she comes up with a plan to rebuild the Sa-province.
Good: Obviously, the crying-scene would turn out great.
Bad: One of the more quiet moments of the series.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 7.5/10
This episode definitely was different from the other episodes of the past few months. Not only does it close some wounds from the past, it also looks into the future. I quite liked it, ‘but on the other side, there weren’t any amazing moments. Still, the scene between Ryuuren and Shuurei was great, and it’ll be very interesting to see how Shuurei will actually turn the Sa Province into the centre of intellectuality. Obviously, this won’t be an easy task, and I can see Shuurei spending the entire second season in order to do this.
Still, this does make you wonder. Obviously, two episodes won’t be enough to create a fully fledged Saiunkoku-climax, which probably means that the final two episodes of Saiunkoku will be about preparing for the meeting, and putting the final ideas into Shuurei’s plans. Still, I’m suspecting that the second season can’t be all about the plans to turn the Sa Clan to an intellectual capital. I’d personally love to see some more background on characters whose background we haven’t seen yet or insufficiently:
– Ran (we actually don’t know anything about this guy’s past)
– Eigetsu (especially the identity of Yougetsu)
– Ensei (where did he grow up?)
– Sho Taishi and his companion (what is their role in this story?)
We’ve also seen Ryuuki’s clan, the Ran-clan, the Kou-clan and the Sa-clan. Apart from that, there still are three (or four?) clans that haven’t had a lot of attention. I somehow suspect that they’re going to play some kind of role as well. Especially when Shuurei pays her visit to the capital.]]>
Some quick first impressions: Ooedo Rocket, Shinkyouku Soukai Polyphonica and Engage Planet ~ Kiss Dum
Ooedo Rocket
Short Synopsis: In a fictional Edo, we’ve got ourselves a young kid who’s able to make some of the greatest fireworks. Unfortunately, what he’s doing is illegal.
Good: Hilariously awesome, great parodies.
Bad: Obviously, most people will never give this wonderful concept a chance.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10
I never thought I’d say this, but boy, that was awesome. Obviously, this isn’t going to be the most serious story, but I just loved the parodies in this one. It’ll be a great replacement for Master of epic. Ooedo Rocket is one of the few obscure series this season, but obviously it’s just as promising as the other obscure anime of the previous seasons. The series comes with a huge cast of characters, each with their own different and unique quirk. Characters appear in all kinds of different sizes. We’ve got some small townsfolk with some of the most hilarious faces, there’s a bunch of teenagers, a couple of “normal” men and women, some strange monsters, and let’s not forget the guy who is so tall that his head almost always doesn’t fit in the screen. ^^ I also loved how the officer had a cleaning-obsession. If you like an anime which is different from usual, hilarious, and doesn’t take itself too serious, then this is a definite recommendation!
Shinkyouku Soukai Polyphonica
Short Synopsis: A typical loser can turn his tsundere friend into some kind of superhuman when he plays piano on his motorbike.
Good: Good points? We don’t need no stinkin’ good points!
Bad: Lack of thoughts behind the concept, too much fanservice, the fact that there just aren’t any good points.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 5/10
In a season with so many potentially good series, it’s good to know that some series are just never going to be something worthwhile. Shinkyouku Soukai Polyphonica is one of these series. The demolition showed me that this is just an excuse to show cute girls. Real demolition teams would never allow people to enter their construction-site, and they would make sure that all items and properties are removed from the building before they detonate. The addition of semi-classical music for the climaxes also just doesn’t work, and the main guy doesn’t look cool AT ALL when he’s playing his motorbike. Add a female tsundere with an unnaturally large amount of hair, and whose only purpose is to supply fanservice to the viewer, and you’ve got yourself a failure of a series.
Engage Planet ~ Kiss Dum
Short Synopsis: The current year: 2031. The greatest enemy of mankind: bugs. And lots of ’em.
Good: Great climaxes.
Bad: A bit too heavy on the techno-babble, teenagers, able to pilot complex machinery.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 7,5/10
With certain series, I just know that watching the raws with my limited Japanese is going to be near-impossible. Kiss Dum is one of these series. Not really because if has more difficult dialogue than other series, but the pacing is just insane at times. I think that you’ll need to be able to understand this perfectly in order to enjoy it to its fullest. And it’s got quite some potential to become good, I especially liked the climaxes at the beginning and the ending of the episode. Still, the main force of the protagonist somehow consists out of either teenagers or young adults. I tried, but I never managed to find any veteran amongst the characters. I’m not really enthusiastic about these kinds of concepts (due to the lack of realism), but I do admit that I’m impressed so far.]]>
Some quick first impressions: Touka Gettan, Wellber no Monogatari ~ Sisters of Wellber ~ and Kono Aozora ni Yakusuku wo
Touka Gettan
Short Synopsis: I’m not sure, but it involves cross-dressers, two people in the same body and a lot of tragedy.
Good: The tragedy-part, interesting characters, Kannadzuki no Miko-esque soundtrack.
Bad: Has a bit too much harem-elements.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 7/10
Wait, wait, wait! A hentai-game adaptation that doesn’t actually suck? Whoa, that definitely is something new to me. Touka-chan and his girlfriend were quite interesting to see, and I like the degree of mystery in this series. For a while, I was really impressed by this. That is, until the anime started to introduce your typical harem-lead, an army of maids and even more female bishoujo who are totally unrelated to the story. I didn’t quite like that. Still, I’ve got hope. This first episode was definitely better than the first episode of most other harems I’ve seen in the past few seasons. Now let’s hope it’ll revolve around more than just “who gets to date that main character?”
Wellber no Monogatari ~ Sisters of Wellber ~
Short Synopsis: The princess of Wellber ends up being wanted and in the care of a thief named Tina, after she kills her fiancée.
Good: Probably the best OP of the season, great concept for a story.
Bad: A few small flaws here and there, fanservice, a few deus ex machina, though nothing too major yet.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10
While I watched the previous shows of the spring-season, I never really had the thought “I am going to blog this”, apart from Claymore perhaps. For these shows, I’ll be making up my mind after having seen the second episode. But with Wellber no Monogatari, I really feel that blogging it will be interesting. Especially the first half of the episode was very nice, when the viewer is just thrown into the events. Tina running into the princess who just killed her lover was quite an amusing moment. Oh, and finally we’ve got ourselves a princess who can actually do something, as it seems that she’s quite skilled in martial arts. The visuals are also quite pleasing, and while the music isn’t done by Yuki Kajiura, it’s quite good. I especially love the OP. It’s so simple, yet so different from usual. Wellber no Monogatari is promising some great things.
Kono Aozora ni Yakusuku wo
Short Synopsis: Main character wakes up with a half-naked girl in his bed.
Bad: A first half of PURE PAIN!!!
Good: With a second half which shows potential… what!?
Overall Enjoyment Value: ?/10
Okay, I’m baffled. The first part of this episode was just horrible. It starts of with one of the most cheesy J-pop songs ever. After that, our main character wakes up with a half-naked girl in his bed, who slaps him afterwards and runs away. The characters have the most annoying voices AND characters EVER. Lots of harem-clichés are there: the annoying student-president, the annoying tsundere, the annoying brother-complex sister, the annoying silent girl, the annoying teacher, have I already mentioned how annoying those characters were? Oh, and surprise, surprise: they all live with the main character in the same building. Boy, you will never see that coming, there is no way you will. Seriously, though, I had almost given up on this anime when it comes with a surprisingly heavy dialogue in the end. Okay, the tsundere will obviously end up somewhere in the main character’s pants in the end, but that dialogue felt strangely genuine. That’s probably the first ever for a harem-anime. As you’ve seen by the rating of “?”, I have no idea what to think about this anime. It’s got so many bad points, but at the same time the good ones have potential. I’m going to watch at least another episode before dropping it.]]>
Claymore – 01
Short Synopsis: Humans have been forced to coexist with Youma, who like to eat their flesh. In order to fight them, the Claymores appeared, after having themselves infused with Youma’s blood. Because of this, they’ve become feared as well, and everyone’s scared of them. Apart from one boy, that is, who has been saved from a Youma who killed his entire family by a Claymore named Claire.
Good: Knows its priorities for a fighting-series, nice art style, great ED.
Bad: Interesting, the first series of the new season with no bad points.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10
About two weeks ago, during my post about the 1500th comment, I made a little experiment, allowing people to vote on one series of the spring-season. That series would be blogged no matter what. The result: Claymore. No need for a quick first impression, since it’s certain that I’m going to blog this, and so far, I’m impressed. A lot.
At first sight, this series may be about the bloody fights. Sure, there is lots of blood shown, but so far it’s been more about the characters than action. We’ve got ourselves a young, naive boy who tries to make contact with the main character: Claire. As Claymore are half-human, half-Youma, they’re feared by everyone. This guy, however, isn’t afraid of them. Heck, he’s actually grateful. It’s promising to be quite interesting.
I also love Claire. Because most Claymores are either feared or hated, she’s got a really cold personality, due to the fact that she’ll never be able to become friends with anyone. I apparently spoiled myself a bit on Wikipedia, but this did give me enough information in order to follow the episode quite well, even though it was in raw. Most Claymores fuse themselves with Youma-flesh unwillingly, though Claire is the only one who volunteered. It’s for quite an interesting reason.
The Youma already have proven themselves quite clever, being able to take on the shape of humans and all. The art style so far has been really nice, and different from usual. I like it. The background music features all kinds of eerie tunes, perfect for an anime like this. It’ll be interesting to see where this anime goes. I wonder when we’ll see more Claymores appear.]]>
Some quick first impressions: Heroic Age, El Cazador de la Bruja and Gegege no Kitarou
Heroic Age
Short Synopsis: Deep in space, some kind of super-human lives who can be able to save humanity.
Good: Epic music.
Bad: Formulaic.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 6,5/10
Heroic Age was one of the anime I looked forward too. Too bad I’ve been slightly disappointed, as the main force of the humans seems to consist out of a bunch of inexperienced teenagers. The encounter between the two main characters also leaves much to be desired, as it didn’t even bother to change from the ordinary. That main character also sounds a bit too perfect, if you ask me. But then again, that’s what happens when you get to be the first human to arrive on another planet and get blessed by the “Golden Race”. I also was a tad disappointed about these other races. I would have loved some depth on the Silver, Bronze and Heroic race, but I guess that this’ll happen later in the series. I’m suspecting that this is another one of those series that’ll only really kick off in the later parts of the series. I’m willing to give it a second chance for that, as the concept definitely has potential.
El Cazador de la Bruja
Short Synopsis: Unable to remember anything, a girl finds herself charged on murder and hunted by people called “Hunters”. A bounty hunter finds her and helps her.
Good: Excellent mystery, when Yuki shines, she shines like no other.
Bad: At times, Yuki didn’t shine.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8/10
Haha, so far, El Cazador de la Bruja has been the best series of the new season. Not the most solid one (that title goes to Seirei no Moribito), but I just loved the climax. Throughout the episode, I kept wondering where the geniousness of Yuki Kajiura went. I think that that was the reason the final part of the episode was so good. her music makes you keep curious about how it’ll turn out, only to whack you down when the moment is just right. In terms of the characters, I like Ellis. She and her companion definitely scream “Noir”, though the differences are definitely there. It’ll be interesting to see where this will be going.
Gegege no Kitarou
Short Synopsis: Kitarou, his father (a talking eye-ball), his grandmother (a sand-throwing hag), his grandfather (an old guy who can turn to stone), his childhood-friend (a catgirl) and some strange-looking objects are youkai-hunters.
Good: A fun little show, interesting powers.
Bad: Obviously, this’ll never win any awards.
Overall Enjoyment Value: 7/10
Like expected, this turned out to be a fun little show. It’s nothing special, but certainly not the worst of the season. The character-designs look quite interesting, and I love the catgirl. Finally we’ve got a catgirl who isn’t characterized by her nekomimi-ears. ^^; The first episode started off with a water-monster, and it’s like I expected: the fights are more about strategy, and using all of the character’s strange powers than about strength. I liked how the rain suddenly turned up, even though it may have been a bit too convenient for the monster.]]>