Some Quick First Impressions: ALL OUT!!, Drifters and Lostorage incited WIXOSS

ALL OUT!!

Short Synopsis: A short temperamental boy and a gentle giant decide to join the Rugby club.

Speaking narratively this show is hitting the same beats as Days. An amateur is introduced to a sport and naturally that sport is the center of the universe. What makes the difference here is the characters and in that regard All Out may come out in top. The fiery aggressive lead is significantly better than the demure average lead of days and everyone tends to have better character interactions. The two leads have a nice odd couple routine going on and because of the lead’s short temper and lack of tact it gives the characters a chance to be more playful around him. The sport itself is also pretty brutal to watch which does make it pretty interesting. But this does hold the same problems that every sports show has, name that the goal is far away and we are not even going to barely make it past the training stage. Much like many of Madhouses shows I can see this being left high and dry with a life goes one ending with no second season. Even then I could think of many a show more deserving of one. This will be fun for a while but I don’t think it will stay in people’s minds much after it finishes.

Potential: 50%

Mario: I must confess that although I have soft spot for sports show, I’m not interested in rugby. Even in RL I don’t really care to watch it on TV, that is to say all the “rugby is fun” stuffs that the show trying hard to sell just don’t do it for me. Madhouse is the studio behind it so I know we’re in good hands. We have gorgeous backgrounds but the amount of still frames is a bit too much for a premiere episode. It’s still okay though because we hardly have any real rugby this week, so next few episodes when those rugby matches begin is when the animation really need to be impressive. The story ticks many of the usual tropes in sports anime. We have the main guy who not only short (has huge disadvantage), knowing nothing about the game (have to learn the sports all the way; along the way the show will teach us the basic rugby’s rules), but his enthusiasts impress other members (same old, same old). We also have that huge guy who afraid to play the sports again, that lead to a cancer flashback to explain his situation. All Out unfortunately uses the same beats like every other sport shows and for that I don’t see anything worth spending more time with.

Potential: 10%

 

Drifters

Short Synopsis: A warrior is abducted from his world and thrown into another where he meets other famous figures from history.

If you didn’t know this was from the mind of the author of Hellsing then this episode certainly is doing it’s damnedest to make sure you find out. I appreciated that the violence hasn’t been censored but the opening scene was moving a bit too fast that I could barely make out what was happening. Only was on screen from a moment but I hope we won’t be getting more of that in the important fight scenes. In terms of flaws we actually get a return of what is the most notable flaw of Hellsing Ultimate, that being it’s completely mood breaking out of nowhere comedy scenes with adopt a most crude artstyle and throw viewers off balance. This episode was mainly set up for the real plot to start as our protagonist is introduced to Nobunaga and Yorchi. I always have been interested in seeing historical figures interact with one another but sadly out of these three I only know Oda and the main thing I can take into account is that time time he’s not genderbent into a woman. The mood is hot blooded and cool with everyone ready to flare up a psycho smile at a moment’s notice. These people would no sooner have a tea party but prefer to bust into one to decapitate the guests for a laugh. Rule of cool is at work here and all that really will determine whether you watch this is one thing. Are you up for having historically figures brutally slaughter each other?

Potential: 75%

Mario: We get to the most exciting ultra-violent action show this Fall season has to offer. The premise alone, about famous warriors throw out to the same universe, is too hard to ignore. I myself don’t really into ultra-violent stuffs but the show’s execution is so good that it has my appreciation anyways. The fights were handled with great pace, striking shots composition and well used of its muted colors. If you don’t look closely you wouldn’t have noticed the action’s a combination between CGI characters and traditional backgrounds. I surprisingly enjoy the humor the show presented so far. By having them doing completely whimsical stuffs (plucking feathers) and arguing about the historical mismatch, it makes them much more than just a merciless bloodthirsty grinning killing machine. I like the three leads so far and they make a good chemistry together, but at the same time I don’t really care much about the guy who transported them to that world, nor do I care about the reason why he does what he does. I love to see them fight with other famous warriors. I love to see more blood-spattering and more ridiculous action set-pieces. If the show can provide more of these then I know I’d have a bloody good time.

Potential: 75%

 

Lostorage incited WIXOSS

Short Synopsis:  A girl is chosen to participate in a life or death card game with her memories on the line.

I see the writing problems with this show continue as well as the angst and forced drama. Even without Okada this show is pushing the melodrama to a cringeworthy degree. In this case I find it odd how they set up this episode. This girl is ostracized at her school for what really seems for no real reason. He seems friendly enough and has the looks to at least get people interested in her and yet this show treats it like she’s some ignored wallflower despite her just transferring to the school. I still find it ludicrous that a card game would be so popular with schoolgirls, especially one with anime girls as the focus. The card battles themselves are equally uninteresting as it really is just a battle of people pulling whatever they need out of nowhere and the battle doesn’t seem to follow any logic or rules of a game. It’s also weird that they establish that she’s a complete beginner at the game who didn’t even know basic rules but then in the fight she starts calling out specific cards and suddenly knows how to fight. A good chunk of the runtime is dedicated to our main girl angsting over not having friends and missing her old childhood friend followed by then angsting over having to participate in card battles against her will. I have no real sympathy for this girl at this point so whatever happens from here is something I really don’t care about. Quite honestly I don’t even know why this series is getting another show when the previous seasons were poorly written tripe.

Potential: 0%

Mario: WIXOSS is based from a trading card game and we never have good track when it comes to card game adaptation anime. This one will not change anyone mind but at least, in the first 10 minutes or so when the show explores the daily lives of the two main leads, it’s a solidly composed piece. Our leads have some deeper dimensions than your average lead because they carry their own personalities naturally. Moreover, little details – like one of the lead’s father always leave the dinner’s money, the picture of her late-mother, or the parents of other lead girl feel bad for letting her daughter working overtime- say a lot about their current lives. Sadly when the card game kicks in it just goes downhill. For once, forcing players to fight because they were ‘chosen’ and will lose their memories otherwise are just forced drama. In addition, the card battle don’t help us much in terms of getting the hang of what this game is about. Apart from people who already familiar with the game, the rest will not take out much from this. Such a waste because I’d have cared about it more if the first 10 minutes were what this show about.

Potential: 20%