Kuutei Dragons
Short Synopsis: A ship of vagabonds hunts dragon for food and money.
Amun’s review:
This is a terribly hard anime to find, but if you can find it….it’s not really worth your time. I’m even willing to forgive whoever valiantly tried to sub it, despite having a mastery of neither the English nor Japanese language. No, the real problem here is the jerky 3D animation and the thinly veiled analogies to whale hunting which don’t really translate well to steampunk/dragon fantasy. Hopefully the staff will learn enough here to become full fledged animators in their own time – this just isn’t going to be their breakout project. With ironically flat characters (except their thighs for some reason) and subpar visuals, I think everyone can safely pass on this.
Potential: 10%
Mario’s review:
Unlike Amun, I can say I have a good tolerance with full CG shows, well… some of them. I can’t be bothered with the new clunky CG in Berserk or Ajin for example (the latter is from the same company of Kuutei Dragon), but I did enjoy shows like The Magnificent Kotobuki last year or Ronja the Robber’s Daughter. So, which spectrum does Kuutei Dragon fall into? I’m happy to report that I enjoy the whole lot of it (well, terrible sub aside). The CG character models look bland, true, but I got used to that very quickly. The CG fares better when it concerns the ship and the dragon models. Add to that, I like the worldbuilding of dragon hunting just for food, like a good mix of whale hunting and the love for delicious food. Its easy humor and tongue-in-cheek nature reminds me a good deal of Magnificent Kotobuki, and if that is the case, I know I am in a good company. Just give me a decent enough subtitles.
Potential: 50%
ARP Backstage Pass
Short Synopsis: A behind-the-scenes look at a male idol group.
Mario’s review:
Right off the bat, the CG live performance stands out like a sore thumb and things only get worse from there. This is apparently based on a real (maybe virtual?) band, and all we see in this episode is a little bit of them in school. It functions more like a promotion for that art school and the ARP director (whatever ARP means) than putting effort to tell any story. To give this show some credit, the dance routine of one team member is surprisingly inspiring, and it is in traditional hand drawn style. When it switches to the CG (especially the after credit where it doesn’t need to be) it becomes soulless. Soulless is pretty much how I’d describe this show.
Potential: Soulless
Plunderer
Short Synopsis: A girl walks around in search of the Chosen One.
Mario’s review:
Just like what Amun said back in the season preview, Plunderer is indeed terrible. The concept of a world run by “counts” is not a bad idea, but they mishandle everything else completely. There is not a single likeable character, and the show goes borderline offensive with its sexual harassment jokes and cringe worthy humor. Girls are treated like dirt in this show, especially the main girl who is so dumb that despite living in that world she doesn’t know one bit about the rules – how does she survive until now? Congrats Plunderer, you beat Ishizoku Reviewers as the worst premiere of this season.
Potential: TERRIBLE. HORRIBLE
I knew it looked like a 3D show, just couldn’t put my finger on the name Aijin.
That one bit of exposition seen in Plunderer just baffles me. It’s so poorly written and at the same time is so audience insulting because we’re apparently supposed to assume that the main girl didn’t already know of that? I think this takes the cake for badly written LN dialogue.
Good thing I don’t plan on touching Plunderer with a ten foot poot.
By the way, if you don’t mind me asking, Mario, just curious, do you plan on finishing/reviewing Kanata no Astra any time soon? I see posts stopped at episode 10.
*pole