Chibi Devi!
Short Synopsis: Our lead character receives a baby from out of nowhere.
Just… what the hell was that supposed to be? This was… so bad that it became hilarious again. This episode was five minutes long, and it featured some of the worst animation and most wooden characterization of the entire season. The plot where a bullied girl takes care of a devil baby who is literally dropped into her bed (I really do mean literally: there are two hands visible who really drop that thing from out of this random hole in the air) is just ridiculously stupid and the acting may be so stiff and wooden that it becomes hilarious, it’s the kind of hilarious that’s probably going to be fun one episode. Of five minutes.
OP: Those vocals! Make them stop!
Potential: 0%
Mirai Nikki
Short Synopsis: Our lead character has a stalker.
Ooh, I like this one. This one turned out to be an excellent suspense series, with a very creative premise of using diaries that can predict the future. This episode was especially good at portraying the main character, and especially relating in how he slowly realized how badly he has been screwed over; his reactions were just priceless, and it gives this show a whiff of psychological horror that I can really appreciate. This episode was well animated, which is also a plus and for once an episode was fast-paced, without rushing though everything. There was one part where this episode fell down, though: the bad guy of this episode. He was just… there and we really don’t know anything about him. The creators had better try harder for the next characters to run into our main character, because this has potential to become a really fun series. Oh, and finally a series has the balls to have school that doesn’t feature school uniforms. That gives the character designers much more freedom, and it shows: this show really has this unique look without having a particularly different art style.
ED: Clever
Potential: 80%
Mobile Suit Gunam AGE
Short Synopsis: Our lead character pilots a giant robot.
Oh you’ve got to be kidding me. The big selling point of Gundam AGE was that it would show a completely different version of the regular Gundam series. In the end though, all that that amounted to was a new coat. It actually did nothing to remove the most obnoxious parts of the franchise. The male lead still is a teenager who for very convenient reasons ends up piloting a giant robot stronger than all others, he instantly knows how to pilot it, the female lead is completely useless, and there is a lot of angst about how bad war is. Sunrise, for the love of god try something new for a change. Probably the most insulting part is how pathetic the military is: even though they have never been attacked, they’ve only got one capable pilot. On top of that, they allow a twelve year old boy to design new mobile suits for God knows how much money. Really guys: designing and coordinating such a large-scale project isn’t so easy that you can just take off to school at the same time. Oh, and another cliche: everyone is an idiot in order to make the male lead look smart. Throughout the entire episode he is the only one who worries about the incoming invasion. Please Sunrise: you’re mecha series rocked because of how creative they were. This is not the way to do it.
OP: You can see that a lot of budget was put behind this, but it’s just too mainstream to really work. The flying scenes are good, though.
ED: This is pretty decent, though.
Potential: 30%]]>
Some Quick First Impressions: Chibi Devi, Mirai Nikki and Mobile Suit Gundam AGE
Psgels, here’s some advice about Mirai Nikki. If you spot a plot hole it’s best to just go with it. Because believe me, it won’t be the last one you see. When one thinks about it logically this series makes no sense whatsoever.
But the good thing is that the manga is finished. So for once we can get an honest to god ending instead of a life goes on or filler ending.
Oh, this is perhaps the first time that my own impression goes quite the opposite way to yours. If I recall correctly, Gundam AGE does not promise to break away through the Gundam franchise through story but rather the audience it targets; children, because they already have a more serious series for teenager and adult this year in form of OVA. I remember that the producer also promises tons of nostalgic elements from the old Gundam series, and in this aspect I think that the first episode executed it quite alright, even the human-like movement of the Gundam really reminded me of the first series. It is also quite interesting that the interaction between characters are western-like to some degree, which I find refreshing too. I will not comment on things like young genius designing his own robot and can suddenly move the giant thing pretty well in the first time /me look at Amuro and Kira… Sure, if you are looking for a very deep story with probable plot then AGE may not be the anime for you.
Anyway, I think that the first episode has a very good pacing, in fact, maybe the best first episode on my current watching list.
I mean…school uniforms are still a major part of life in Japan. I had a friend who went to a school that didn’t require uniforms, but students were permitted to wear prescribed uniforms if they wished (and they did).
Honestly I miss the presence of the school hat =P
Um, psgels, every single complaint you have against Gundam AGE was in the synopsis, and yet you still rated it as highly anticipated. So…why are you all of a sudden buttdevastated here? Also, you want it to do something completely new with the Gundam franchise in…1 episode? Really? You should give it time before tossing it to the way side like you have here, especially considering you ignored every single complaint you had here in the fall preview despite the fact they were clear as day in the synopsis of the series.
@Rintarou: I’m not going to speak directly for psgels, but I’m guessing he doesn’t have so much time to be watching every single series this season. And most people who don’t have a lot of time must judge a series on its first episode or two, so the first episodes must make a good impact on the audience. If it fails at that, it doesn’t mean the series is bad, but they sure shouldn’t expect people to continue to watch it…
That being said, psgels… I think you were a bit harsh, pointing out many things that aren’t important in making a respected review. It’s more like you had expectations from the hype, but because those expectations were betrayed, you were frustrated. Those plot points did seem a bit one-layered at first, but I see a lot of room for direction through them. I’m sure you’ll calm down in a few episodes, unless they turn this into something to make all Gundam fans cringe… but that’s for the future.
Mirai Nikki sounds interesting. I wonder if the entire soundtrack is as *unique* as the pv’s music.
As for Gundam Age…that rpg game based on the show (by Level 5) should be interesting.
As said before, Mirai Nikki is full of plothole and things that come out of nowhere. The best thing with it is to just ignore them and enjoy the series for what is: a fast-paced thrill-ride XD
You can learn a few things about Third in Mirai Nikki if you pick up on a few clues.
I haven’t looked anything up on the original material yet, but I wouldn’t expect to see the teacher any more. Pretty smart using an question on material you hadn’t taught yet to root out people reading the future.
Hurray! You haven’t read the Mirai Nikki Manga.
I’ll be looking forward to your reviews as an example of an unspoiled perspective. So please be careful to avoid spoilers.
Mirai Nikki was the best 1st episode this season for me, kept me hooked throughout, but thats to be expected since it involved knowing the future
The Third diary user didn’t just appear out of thin air;
he was Hiyama, Yukiteru’s teacher- he even has a few lines in this episode as the teacher. Hiyama-sensei found out about Yukki being a diary user due to the latter’s sudden, drastic academic improvement. This will be revealed soon enough (subtly). (confirmed in the manga)
And if you look closely you will notice that machete man and the teacher have the same hair, except he ties it up in teacher mode.
Don’t worry about the ‘bad guys’ in Mirai Nikki. This one was really one-dimensional, but I think he mainly served as an example. The other diary users are really interesting and all have a different background and view on their powers. Let’s just hope the series doesn’t follow the last couple of chapters of the manga, which was just one big fest of ass pulls. To about the point where it starts fucking with time it’s good though.
WOW. That was probably the most generic first episode of gundam I’ve ever seen paired with the most terrible character designs. Notice the fat kid and vargas (the old man)? Friggin horrible.
Blog Mirai Nikki. I think Bakuman season 2 would be better than season 1, but its not blogging material.
Creepy. I like the atmosphere of Mirai Nikki… (I find it funny that they make the paired-up-with-your-stalker situation more serious. I’d actually be kinda glad somebody was there to protect me, since the stalker hasn’t actually done anything crazy to you yet… except making the other diary owners make you their target.)
But maybe I’ll wait for blu-ray release and a more decent fansub group to pick this up. I already have 5 shows to download.
Oh, completely forgot to mention Gundam… Yeah, well I am actually happy its not just a kids version of Gundam because I wouldnt watch that, and I have to say having watching almost every Gundam series, they ALWAYS start out slow and unimpressive…
But I also loled at the character designs… the old guy with emo hair, HAHAHA who thought that was a good idea? Its just abysmal
Oooooh, Mirai Nikki did not disappoint! It has the feel of Death Note and Deadman Wonderlan!! Yey! I’ve found my replacement to Steins;Gate!
I hope Nikki won’t turn into another Deadman Wonderland
And the green hair for AGE… Ugh, my eyes hurt
Sunrise have done some good departures. The MS IGLOO series (no teenage protagonists, no super powerful mechs, no instant skill). The Mobile Suit GunPla (which you have to accept exists to sell kits) but is actually really good. SD Gundam, chibi comedy spinoffs Mk IV’s parody of Wacky Races is amazing!!!
I really liked the first episode of Mirai Nikki. I’m looking forward to seeing how the main characters are handled, as well as the general tone and direction of the plot. Lots of intriguing concepts already introduced… Pretty excited about this one.
Is it just me or does it look like Yuno is stroking a white penis…
Right. I’m back again for Mirai Nikki. I hope you end up blogging for it, but I don’t know how many episodes it will be (guessing at 25). I am hoping to see some serious Xanatos gambits this time round.
Chibi Devi: I don’t know why more people aren’t writing about this little gem. I have never seen something quite this ambitious before. What other show attempts to tackle the deeper issues of religion, particularly the nature of evil, in 5 minute chunks. And that OP! Elegant in its simplicity: “baby devil”, once you have said that, do you really need to say anything else?
Art: Spoiler tags are there for a reason. The best parts of this story are Yuno Gasai (obviously) and the surprises of how things connect together. I’ve read the manga, but not everyone else has.
Just wondering, Mirai Nikki was created under which animation studio?