Brave Witches
Short Synopsis: Aliens invade Europe around a World War 2 setting and the only way to stop them is little flying witch girls.
You know sometimes I think there is a weird synchronicity between two shows each season. For example, last season we had two shows which were about a super powerful esper trying to live a normal life. The season before that we had two shows which just so happened to have a power involving connecting individuals which was called All for One. This season we happen to have two shows which involves witches fighting in a WWII setting. Of course put this theory under close scrutiny and apply it to seasons before that and chances are it falls apart. Still I think it is rather odd how certain ideas can cross between two different studios in one season by pure coincidence. Alright that aside is this show any good? Well I think I know now where Kantai collection stole its ideas from and what’s here is meh. It’s more than a little odd how bright and cheery everything here is when you take into account that this high school is training these girls for war. At the end of our episode our mains sister is delighted that the main passed an exam which will mean that she will be taken out of school and sent to Europe with her sister…to a warzone…having not completed her full training…completely inexperienced and with failing grades…sent to a warzone where she would most likely die a slow and painful death…um…yay? This series really doesn’t want you to look hard at the actual setting as it really does fall apart if you scrutinise it too closely. For one they found out the only way to combat these aliens is by strapping propeller engines to little girls legs. The little girls also grow animal ears and a tail when using magic because…um sorry I may have missed where that was explained. Why do they grow animal ears and tails?…fetish fuel? Got it. We got fanservice and cute girls fighting aliens and the only reason I didn’t give this a lower potential rating is simply because despite all this I didn’t really hate it. But I don’t see any reason to recommend this.
Potential: 20%
Mario: Okay, so what are you trying to pull here Brave Witches? A magical girl show? A mecha action show? If so, why do those witches have ears and tails like foxes? And why school settings? Oh wait, this is military school too. And their enemy: Alien? I know you can be many things at once but this feels like a witch trying to mix up some weird potion by dumping everything she could get her hands-on in. Our lead Hikari is a typical anime lead, that being she has no real talented except hard-working and good heart. She even tries her best to imitate her sister and that is a problem in itself because Hikari has no real characteristics. So she wants to fight to save the world or she wants to fight to be near her sister? After watching this episode, I think you’d know the answer. The writing is clunky too, for example just one minute they announced that she failed the test (would serve her right), the next minute she got a letter saying that she passed (so we could have a full series). This episode just serves as a prologue so far so the actual development will come in next episode. But then who really care to check out another episode of this?
Potential: 10%
Flip Flappers
Short Synopsis: A girl meets a strange interdimensional traveler and is dragged into another world.
The animation of this episode was brilliant. Beautiful fluid movement coupled with pleasing art and a mood that gives characters such energy and life. In terms of story I am wondering if this particular show may be a dark magical girl show in hiding as there are some dark aspects to this. The fact that the girls robot helper has a human brain inside is one thing that felt a bit off and the end of the episode looks to bring in an antagonist. Funny enough I actually wouldn’t be fond of them going in that direction as I rather liked the light hearted easy going tone of this episode. I do tend to bring up this studio as an example a lot but it certain did feel like Studio Trigger. Seeing these girls shoot around this snowy world reminded me of Little Witch Academia(Which is getting an anime series in January. Looking forward to that) and I would be all for having these two girls going around alternate worlds having adventures. A big mistake would be for this story to take itself too seriously and I hope they don’t fall into that trap. I say definitely check this one out, even for just the animation. As a last note, I knew it when I heard it but that ending theme is a serious earworm. Flip flap flip flap…
Potential: 85%
Mario: Flip Flappers, you have my attention! The show evokes something in me that I rarely felt in other works before (take that from a guy who have watched a certain amount of anime and tons of art-house mind-screw movies). On one hand, I feel the uncertainty sense throughout the episode. That uncertainty was conveyed by the ambiguity of the plot (after this first episode we’re still not really sure what the show is about), the lucid dream-like nature of the second part, the absolute lack of any kind of human activity in that snowy landscape (there were no people there as well); the feeling of trapped and the indecision about her future through the eyes of Cocona. On the other hand, I also feel the fun of adventure to the unknown fantastical world down that rabbit hole, elevated by the colorful backgrounds and the sense of easy-going, the fun of trying something new (eating that sweet snow) and happy go lucky attitude through the eyes of Papika. When those two factors merge in together, it creates something weird, something unique. The character designs are simple but creative (reminded me a lot of Dennou Coils for good reasons), but the animation is easily the best so far of this season. I love that this show doesn’t tell its story the conventional way. But everything it shows; while not make sense narratively, makes a lot of sense thematically. This is my bet for this season so far.
Potential: 90%
Keijo!!!!!!!!
Short Synopsis: Two girls enter a school to train women for a sport that involves fighting with boobs and butts.
Let me get this out of the way first. This show is the most shameless, utterly stupid thing I have seen all year. And by god do I love that. I was a bit worried seeing that the anime had decided to skip the first 30 chapters of the manga and outside of the keijo battles can get a bit too typical for my liking. But when that Keijo battle started up, I honestly couldn’t stop laughing. To see girls engaging in massive over the top shounen battles with special moves like butt guillotine is truly a ridiculous sight to behold and made all the more humorous when the girls treat it with 100% pure seriousness. The fanservice is clearly off the charts and the fights are almost on the level of Jojo’s over the top bouts. This is so bad it’s good anime and while I can’t honestly praise it in good faith, this may be the most fun I have had with a first episode so far this season. It looks to only get even more stupid from here as I even see a gate of buttaylon in the opening. Take the potential mark for this one with a grain of salt as it really will depend on your own personal enjoyment with this ludicrous premise.
Potential: 65%
Mario: You know, I kind of respect Keijo for desexualizing boobs and butts that sadly become overbearing in anime world. I also appreciate that the show play the sports completely straight. Watching those girls fight for their life with those parts in a shounen fighting-styles is something to behold. That over-the-top signature moves add absurdity and hilariousness to the Keijo battle, as I found myself amused by the sheer ridiculousness of it all (my favorite one: “a butt that looks like giant boobs” – like, how they even mix that up?). All the girls appeared in this episode are your typical stock characters, that means nothing to write home about. The story is generic and light-hearted but ultimately unremarkable. Make no mistake, those Keijo fights (which actually come from a real game) are what sell this show and if they keep those fights as deadpan and over the top as possible, we could have some laughing gold of this season.
Potential: 20%
