The Knight in the Area
Short Synopsis: Our lead character wants to play soccer.
This is a strange season. It’s not the best out there, and yet my standards of it are really high due to the best stuff airing right at the start (and don’t get me wrong: I’d love this statement to be wrong). The Knight in the Area finally came with a show that impressed me again, although it definitely isn’t perfect. Sports series are known for being really well executed, but this show doesn’t have that. What it especially lacks is subtlety: the foreshadowing is obvious as heck, it had some really overdone and annoying cliches like the hot transfer student childhood friend classroom introduction, and the acting overall lacks the refinement that you usually see in sports series. Nevertheless, this was an interesting episode that did a great job of fleshing out its lead character. We’re not looking at someone who wants to be the best, but just a guy who is passionate about the game, and this episode already looked at who he is, what drives him, what’s in his past. We really got to know him already, and that’s definitely a plus this early in the series. The soundtrack also is pretty well done, and the drama also works.
OP: Generic sports tune.
Potential: 75%
Zero no Tsukaima Final
Short Synopsis: Our lead character has ended up in a fantasy world.
With these first impressions, I also like to include episodes of series whose prequels I didn’t finish, for the small chance that I did miss something interesting. However, with this season’s trend to concentrate all of the bad shows together, I was really prepared to rant at how bad this franchise had turned out… but yet this episode was better than I imagined. Oh, it still has plenty of bad parts, like I have no idea how Saitou managed to make four girls fall in love with him, or how this episode immediately started with all kinds of boob jokes, but afterwards this series showed that it can actually… tell a story. I have to say, this episode did have some solid build-up and nicely balanced exposition with things that actually happened. What surprised me the most though, was that Saitou and Louise actually talked to each other to sort out their differences, rather just not saying anything to each other for the sake of drama. I like that. Whether I’m going to keep watching this time though… the harem elements really have to improve for that, because it’s still really annoying and I still fail to see the point in Saitou dating anyone but Louise. Also, THAT VOICE! MAKE IT STOP!
OP: Cheese.
Potential: 35%
Senki Zesshou Symphogear
Short Synopsis: Our lead character gets to be an idol who fights crime.
Good lord. Were they actually serious about airing this thing? You know, I criticized a lot of series this season for being too bland. The problems with this series are completely different, but it still has the worst and most uselessly pretentious plot of the entire season so far. To explain exactly how wrong this show is means to delve into spoilers, but here it is: finally we’ve got another animated musical. It’s about a bunch of idols who battle incredibly deadly alien monsters who only they can beat, apparently. So here is what they do at the beginning of this episode: they h old a concert, gathering ten thousands of people in one spot with really bad escape routes and no security whatsoever. And after that they get all surprised when the aliens indeed do attack and kill thousands of their fans. What the hell, people? Did nobody read the script and consider what an incredibly shameless premise this is? And the worst thing is, that that was just one of the plotholes and issues the plot has. Another plothole magnet in this episode was the female lead, a random girl. The main idols of this series watch thousands of people get slaughtered, but they don’t get sad at all. But when the main character gets shot in the chest, they suddenly break down in a huge slur of melodrama. Later when the main character is revived (yes), the same alien monsters who before slaughtered a ton of people… just stand a bit around her to give her the time of escape. I mean hell, I thought that High School DxD was the most shameless of the season here, but this just takes the entire cake. This is the problem with shows that are entirely meant to promote a bunch of idols; they do nothing but glorify them. Seriously, this is a really strong contender for worst first episode of 2012, because it’s been a long time since I watched a plot that was so offensively bad. And it’s a pity, becaus eyou can really see Satelight’s influences in the battle scenes: everything is grand, the transformation sequences are intense and imaginative. But when the script feels written in five minutes by a guy whose mind was on something completely different, it’s just completely wasted.
OP: Random J-Pop
ED: Random J-Pop
Potential: 0%
Odd .. It’s almost like you watched a different show. Personally I thought it was awesome. As for the plot holes .. well I’ll guess we’ll have to see what they exactly intended to happen in that concert as it certainly didn’t go to plan.
Agreed. I see nothing wrong with the plot right now, and either way, this first episode actually managed to impress me: started off with a mysterious sight of the future, had awesome and stylish battle sequences, kept a nice pacing and offered a very intriguing cliffhanger.
You definitely waste a lot focusing solely on (what you believe to be) inconsistencies in the script, as there’s so much more.
Thirded, no one is saying the show is without its flaws, but the sheer awesomeness of it all dwarfs them completely
The songs were awesome, the animation was amazing, people die, theres mahou shoujo transformation sequences, techno babble and cool move names (“GUNGNIR?!”), no cheap fanservice like panty shots…what else do you want? You gotta be ridiculously biased to dislike this
Fourthed. I went into this with 0 expectations of seeing anything worthwhile – pretty girls fighting? But this one pulled it off so well.
It may be hugely derivative (but we’re in 2012, EVERYTHING has been done before to some extent), but it actually feels fresh.
Liked the action and pacing, heavily disliked that the character I checked it out for isn’t sticking around so the show’s on thin ice.
Also, you know the tight pacing probably kept me from realizing it but you have a point about the concert…and how it was the main character’s injury that was the only one that really registered.
I dont even know what to say… Everyone around seems to love Symphogear, but I kind of expect youd rate it 0% since youre a Precure fanboy and it kinda rips it off
Sad though that you cant appreciate how awesome this was… Plot holes? Who cares, it was 100% entertaining… Thats like saying Gurren Lagann makes no sense, lol… Its not supposed to! Stop thinking and enjoy the show
I agree Symphogear was a stupid concept that was poorly executed. I also agree that the animation of the first transformation sequence was surprisingly well done, but that can’t make a series watchable.
BTW, one of the dumbest things was the CD with bonus material. When is this supposed to take place? Isn’t it the future? This is the difference between Science Fiction, in which someone imagines a future world, and crap that pretends to be Science Fiction by having aliens and scientists saying technobabble, but fails to think through the changes that must have taken place. Essentially this show exists in an alternate present where magical girls are pop idols that fight aliens.
Why was the CD dumb? She mentioned it was a collectors item. Most people would purchase it digitally. It’s like saying that in 10 years time it will be dumb to show people using real books instead of kindles!
Sympho: Why does she have to fight in something that looks like her underwear? I’ll pass on this one.
That said…
AREA NO KISHI *___* It was an awesome first episode, and already I can’t wait for the next week. It’s gonna be good. (I’ve read some of the manga, and this is only getting started.) I really like this and I can’t even stand soccer IRL. >_>
I really like the whole concept of Symphogear, where the singing girls themselves fights crime alien and all that instead of just powering up the guy or something. Especially when they actually sing while fighting, no matter how impossible that would be in real life 😛 But yeah like you psgels, the whole part where the red haired girl Hibiki suddenly cares about the life of one little random girl when seconds ago a lot of bystanders were dying(it was focused on screen and not just some background thing too, so come on why the sudden double standard!) really bothered me as well. The other things before that didn’t bother me a whole lot but I guess I started getting irritated and nitpicky after that.
Symphogear was epic, for sure, but I’d have to agree that some of their plotholes were too big to overlook. However, it was an entertaining show with an interesting premise, and I will definitely give it a chance with the subsequent episodes (hope it won’t disappoint!).
Area no Kishi had an amazing first episode! I already can’t wait to watch the second episode! >_<
I actually don’t think the plotholes in Symphogear are really all that big a deal, to be honest.
First, we have no idea how many actually died. Only that quite a few from the crowd up front did, so we have no clue how good the exits were. Now, it is obvious that part of this event was related to some sort of experiment, but it’s also clear that the Noise appearing was not part of the plan. We also don’t know if it was that device that summoned the Noise, or if the experiment failed because the Noise arrived.
As for why the red-head suddenly cared for that one character as opposed to the masses that were there previously. Well, that’s probably because it’s easier to care about/focus on the one person who’s left than it is to care about/focus on individuals when the crowd is actually present. It’s basically the concept of “saving the sole survivor.” While she might not have been the sole survivor, there certainly weren’t a bunch of other people around when she was being saved.
Now, is this all really convenient? Oh hell yeah, but I don’t think there was anything inherently bad about the events that took place. The things that irritated me were the characterization of the red-head (Kanade, I believe) which made it difficult for me to feel sorry for her sacrifice, and the image of blood dripping from her mouth after she sang that song. I really enjoyed that hook at the beginning, so I was a bit disappointed with how they actually showed it. It would have been much better if we saw that during the singing, not after she finished.
I wasn’t expecting you to come down so hard on Symphogear. I’m not really sure why you’re expecting everything to wrap up so nicely within the first episode as that doesn’t seem to be the intention. I’m still going to give it a go for a few more episodes and see how it pans out. It kind of looks like you’re unwilling now to give series with slightly incomprehensible episodes a chance now since Guilty Crown happened. I can’t entirely blame you with how terrible that turned out, but geez.
Main character tries to save little girl
Main character leads little girl into the middle of a gang of noise and instead of retreating jumps into the river.
Main character carries girl on her back and then falls landing so the little girl takes the blunt of the fall.
Main character moves to a roof where they will be screwed and easily cornered.
Main character proceeds to throw little girl at hard concrete floor.
WORST SAVIOR EVER. I mean hell, if the noise don’t kill that little girl the Main character will.
Unlike the rest of you I can see where psgels is coming from. Plot wise this episode felt rushed and overall lacking. The action was decent but that concert animation was terrible. Even I got the impression that this show was trying to glorify the main characters.
However I do feel that 0% is pushing it. If the action proves good enough to ignore the flaws in the plot it could be quite an enjoyable anime. So maybe 10 or 20% would be a better estimate.
Sometimes I find your insights baffling. For all you know maybe the Noise had never attacked under those kind of circumstances before ( lots of people gathered together, that particular location, etc). Yeah, it may turn to be a plothole after all, but the point it you don’t know that right now! And when you say stand around watching her escape, it was pretty clear to me that they were more in the mould of zombies, not fully sentient and probably responding to something specific (music? sounds?). Again, I could be wrong, but you don’t know that either.
May have been far from perfect, but I definitely see a lot of potential in the story. Calling it the worst episode of 2012 is extremely disingenuous.
Ann: I don’t buy the Guilty Crown thing. If one terrible show colors your judgement on all successive ones, you probably shouldn’t be reviewing anything. I’m fairly sure thats not the case – I just think his thoughts occasionally make no sense to me.
In real life, they would have never been allowed to have a concert in that place since it’s a fire hazard anyway. It’s fine if you people like it. The show is definitely written for the people who don’t care about the actual quality of the story and just like pretty colors.
Yeah, also in real life there are no giant robots or magic girls either. If I want real life, I’ll watch the news…this is a freaking anime!
No, but the setting of this anime is on Earth and if you want to maintain that setting you have to go by Earth’s rules if you are going to be using its facilities. Their job is to make the show believable, else nobody would be able to relate to it. And if nobody can relate to it, they’ve failed as story writers.
Also no story (except for in scifi) should be able to somehow transcend time and space enough to be able to justify plot holes. Plus, they should have taken precautions seeing as they were playing with an object that had the potential to cause a monster attack pretty much.
No it does not have to go by earth rules because its based on earth. Dude, the purpose of anime is to ultimately to ENTERTAIN you – not to be believable or realistic, but to entertain!
If your angle is “this was boring, I didn’t find it entertaining”, then no problem. However, if your angle is “it sucks because its not realistic”, then you should probably be watching the news or documentaries, because it means to you, entertaining=realistic. Besides, I don’t see anywhere that this bills itself as a realistic show.
As for the plot holes thing, like I said, how do you know they are plot holes? We’ve seen 1 episode! what you think are already calling plotholes may very well be explained later on.
I don’t think this show is perfect (far from it actually) – its just irritating to see people snap judging it for useless reasons.
You are correct: i didn’t find it entertaining. I even said before I can understand why people who like pretty colors and not story would find it entertaining. If this anime were an AMV, then by ALL MEANS it would be 100/100 in my book, but it isn’t. Instead, it’s great battle scenes with a mediocre underlying story and because of this it gets a lot of infractions. I never said the show had to be realistic. I said it had to be believable. I do not believe that monsters would just stand around while the main character gives a speech. I do not believe that the main character would somehow become a huge fan overnight. I do not believe that anyone would ever play with a dangerous object without using precautions.
Kuroichi, listen. Notice that Zo is talking about believability and not realism. And believe it or not most stories requires a level of believability. I mean how can something that intends to have a serious story entertain when the characters make decisions that defy logic?
As for plotholes getting resolved later in the series…I highly doubt it. Even if they are I doubt the explanation would be satisfactory.
I honestly don’t think the “logic” of this series is as unbelievable as some of you would imply.
The use of music in the series is important and obviously meant to have an impact on the Noise and the technology that is used to fight them.
Everything about that concert scene made me think that the concert was necessary (both for general “being idols” purposes as well as for the experiment).
Yes, it was rushed and used a couple convenient tropes to get the plot going, but I just don’t think the set up is as bad as some people make it out to be.
Kazukifafner: that indeed was something that really really bugged me about this episode. It wasn’t explicitly said, but it was definitely implied that the concert was necessary to attract the Noise monsters. So why on earth would they invite tens of thousands of people for that concert without any sort of security? I mean, there is suspense of disbelief, but that’s just way too big of a hole for me to ignore.
I don’t think they were intentionally trying to summon the Noise though. I’m not even sure if it was the device that summoned the noise. The test seems to be going fine, when all of the sudden, something happens that causes the thing to overload. After we’re told that, we see the Noise. It makes me think that the Noise’s arrival caused the the devices malfunction, not the other way around.
My guess is what they were attempting to do was record into some artificial device the power of song that the girls have that enables them to attack Noise. That way they would not have to rely on idol singers for the defence of the earth, which I would imagine would be a scary thing!
In real life concerts do happen in places like this and occasionally accidents do happen that lead to deaths of crowd members. I’m not sure exactly what you were finding wrong with the stadium. In reality it is really hard to clear a stadium this size quickly. In the timeframe that the attack took they managed to clear the stadium really quickly.
One other comment about the attacking Noise. It appears that there are ‘command’ Noise that spew out ‘attacking’ Noise, and without the presence of the command Noise the attacking thingies don’t do alot.
I would agree thought that there was a fair amount of cheese in the rescue and almost death of the soon to die lead girl (assuming we believe the starting sequence)
Some of the criticism for Symphogear this time seems exaggerated or nitpicking but I have my own so I have no right to say your review is 100% wrong. I didn’t liked the pacing and how 2-dimensional the characters are, also I felt the art design mostly uninspired (backgrounds aside). I still can’t talk about the plot as it’s starting and the first episode was so rushed but I guess I’ll give it at least one or two more chances to makeup my mind.
These are my list of things wrong with this episode:
1. It seems like they took two episodes and spliced them together extremely shoddily.
2. At the start of the concert, the two idol characters seemed to be completely able to randomly fly onto the stage from some unknown location without breaking their legs.
3. The red haired idol (I think her name was Kanade) was somehow able to sing perfectly while jumping in the air and swinging her sword around.
4. The Noise things waited for Kanade to sing her death song and didn’t just attack her during it even though she was wide open (or before she sung the song for that matter when her back was completely turned to them and she was spending five minutes talking to the main character. I mean, she was being attacked by a whole barrage but that suddenly stopped when the main character got hit for some reason.)
5. The blue haired idol (Tsubasa i think) was wearing a wet rain tunic and sulking in a corner in the beginning of the show EVEN THOUGH IT WASN’T RAINING.
6. For some reason they feel it is necessary to name EVERY SINGLE MOVE THE MECHA-IDOL THINGS MAKE and break the flow of the action sequences.
7. The song in the concert was pretty much a generic J-Pop melody with random words laced into it.
8. The main character didn’t run away WHY DIDN’T SHE RUN AWAY FOR GOD’S SAKE. AND IF SHE WAS SOMEHOW IN SHOCK AND THAT’S WHY THEN WHY WASN’T THERE ANYONE ELSE THERE? AND IF ALL THE OTHER PEOPLE THAT DID STAY DIE WHY DIDN’T THE MAIN CHARACTER? AND WHY DIDN’T THE MAIN CHARACTER DISINTEGRATE WHEN KILLED WHEN ALL OF THE OTHER CHARACTERS DID?
9. Why is it that these monsters exist but it is never mentioned outside of their attacks? It’s like nobody is aware they exist, yet they somehow know what they are when they are being killed by them. Lol that one guy: “NOOOIIIIISSSSEE!!!!” Me: “Ok wtf is that am I somehow supposed to know?”
10. The main character somehow made it to school on time the next day even though she died pretty much.
11. Everything’s in German for dramatic effect.
12. The Tsubasa character for some reason refused to talk to the main character at school even though she pretty much got her killed yesterday.
13. Tsubasa and the main character go to the same school, yet the main character seemed not to know about that at all. “Oooh I’ll never see my savior again OOHH NOOO!!” “Oh yeah hear about that Tsubasa chick? You know the one at our school? Yeah that one?” “Omg she’s here? Oh hi you saved me!” “You have rice on your face” “Thanks” “Bye”
14. The main character was being attacked by the Noise (again) and the first place she runs into is a narrow alleyway with only two exits.
15. The main character hears the cries of a little girl that is being attacked at one scene, then in the next scene she somehow is holding hands with the girl when she never even found her (did I miss a scene here?)
16. The main character transformed at the nick of time for some reason while the Noise characters watched in shock and surprise while the main character spent 5 minutes in writhing agony in a completely prone state that could of/should of been attacked at at any moment.
17. She had fangs.
18. GUNGNIR!!!!!
19. idk what’s up with that teacher character
20. who wants to bet that next episode that little girl the main character was helping disappears without a trace as if she never existed like she was just a plot device that never existed?????
Just a few things:
1) If the whole “standing around talking while the enemy doesn’t attack” bit bothered you that much, I can only imagine how many other shows in this medium must have pissed you off, lol
2) Music is obviously a key part of this series as well as something that effects the enemies, so I think it’s pretty easy to understand why they didn’t attack during that song.
3) Unless I somehow managed to misread the title card, there was a two year gap between the events at the concert and the rest of the episode.
1. A lot of them bother me lol. There’s a reason why people make fun of anime.
2. Yes, they didn’t attack because the writers didn’t want them to. That’s a basic plot hole right there lol.
3. I think I missed the title card and got confused because they talked about it as if it was the day before and the characters looked exactly the same. Again, this is a problem with the script writing and not me lol.
Doesn’t really seem like much of a plot hole to me. If it’s obvious from the setup/premise that something shouldn’t be stopping the enemies from attacking (such as the pre-song speech), that’s one thing. But I have no reason to believe that certain songs cause the enemies to freeze since the entire concept revolves around music to begin with.
Also, I didn’t have any trouble understanding that there was a time skip at all :/
No, now that I realize there was a timeskip it makes a lot more sense lol. I just didn’t see the indicator and therefore assumed there wasn’t one.
8) The main character (Hibiki) was injured (not killed) because of a broken piece from Kaede’s armor => that’s why Hibiki didn’t disintegrate!
10) It’s said after Hibiki nearly died: “back to the present” => 2 years after the concert incident.
11) http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GratuitousGerman
17) Cool effect, I guess! 😛
…Just some thought…
On another note, I think the background music is pretty good, especially in the scene when Hibiki realize that there is Noise at the CD shop (heart pumping and dramatic sound => just like what people usually feel in RL when they are extremely nervous/fear).
Also about that CD:
1. Why would the main character want the CD when:
1A. She never heard of the band before the concert she went to.
1B. She was attacked at the one concert she went to.
1C. How is a CD a status symbol did I miss something? Aren’t they supposed to be a good band? So don’t they make CDs to sell their music?
2. Why did the Noise attack the CD store? Did they want one? Why didn’t they just buy one? Is the CD store racist?
3. How is it that the Noise attacked the CD store but there was no commotion at all?
Idk, I got a LOT of laughs out of this show (especially the concert fight scene. that was the funniest thing I’ve seen in a while) so I’m probably going to watch the next episode. Who knows? It might be good! Psgels PLEASE BLOG THIS SHOW IT IS SO FUNNY.
That’s taking it too far. Most of these can be explained with one word. ANIME. Why didn’t they break there legs falling to the stage? It’s anime, people can be flung into a wall creating a huge dent and end up perfectly fine. The premise is already remarkable silly so you can give it some leeway.
As for the CD she went to buy that 2 years after the incident at the concert. So she didn’t immediately become a fan. As for why she needed to buy the CD obviously it was to spend the message “Hey people CD’s are a status symbol so stop downloading music and buy CDs!” Yes it’s contrived and stupid but well it is an anime to advertise Idols.
I know I was just being pretentious lol. I just wanted to point it out because I found it funny.
Plus this is just “my” list of things wrong with the episode. It’s pretty much just subjective ranting. I just wanted to put out reasons as to why “I” in particular found the episode lacking.
You’re missing the fact that there is a time skip. The attempted purchase of the CD occurs after she almost dies and now she idolises the remaining member of the band. As to what attracts the Noise? Maybe they do want to buy the CD!
I will stop criticizing the show if somebody tells me why the Tsubasa character was wearing a rain poncho in the beginning of the episode.
Oh, that one’s easy: it’s cold and these girls do wear skimpy outfits. It’s probably to keep their bodies warmed up during the wait before the performance starts.
Another stupid part that hasn’t been pointed out yet is that the Noise have been around for more than 2 years…yet the military acts surprised that normal weapons didn’t work on them. WHAT?!
I can see people calling this show enjoyable…but good? thats surprising. The script was awful the characters spoke the obvious out loud over and over. Like things that nobody would naturally say. I agree with Zo about how stupid it is that the main character didn’t realize that the idol went to her school. The characterization was extremely bland.
But yet, the action was good, and not just good but well directed and unique. And although the character designs are pretty bad IMO the enemy designs were very cool. If this is only 13 episodes I will watch it simply for the cool action. But really the non-action parts in this episode really tested my patience.
Er… the reason for the Main Character going to that school is BECAUSE the idol attend to it.
@Senki Zesshou Symphogear
“Another plothole magnet in this episode was the female lead, a random girl. The main idols of this series watch thousands of people get slaughtered, but they don’t get sad at all. But when the main character gets shot in the chest, they suddenly break down in a huge slur of melodrama. Later when the main character is revived (yes), the same alien monsters who before slaughtered a ton of people… just stand a bit around her to give her the time of escape.” – psgel
OMG!!! I LOVE YOU! I watched this episode on a streaming website and all the comments about this series was “omg i love it, so great” etc etc. So my expectation for the show was a little high. The first 2 minute in, i was like hmm eye candy.. new concept, nice. But then, when “noise” appear… The part about all the fans dying and they didn’t do anything until the blonde girl get hurt, then they start doing all the fancy crap. Plots holes usually don’t bother me much, but that whole thing suppose to be the drive of the series?? ehhh. count me out.
I find it baffling how many people complain about realism and plot holes. I think the complaints about realism are quite weird, given you are watching a fictitious, anime show. The plot holes, i can accept, but the show only has one episode, and people at least have to give the show the chance to explain the plot holes you’ve seen in the following episodes. If they don’t explain though, i’ll be readying the pitchforks for everyone then.
I used to be like you guys, even i thought madoka and SG was gonna be crap last year based on their first episodes, and look how that turned out. People need to calm down and give things a chance.
That’s great and I’d usually agree, but it cost the “show” the most instantly likeable character in the show of all characters (and the one I came to watch, backed up by the start of the ep), because all of a sudden they suddenly valued the main character, who I don’t particularly care for at all, over all the other numerous civilians/fans that are dying which makes it a bit more grating than usual.
the timeline then they show us now is between hibiki death which will happen in the future and the event 2 years ago where the red hair girl saved her
your loooooong and complicated review can be make short into 3 words : not my taste
First off: They explained why they didn’t help right away. They were waiting for approval from command. Sure it’s a bit of a throwaway line but you can’t pretend they only sprung into action when the lead character was in danger/got hurt. There’s a good two minutes between the transformation and when they rescue her. Also think of it like a firefighter. As soon as you arrive at the scene of a fire before you can react people have already burned to death. So you put on your gas mask and bust in. Most of the building is evacuated but as you are leaving you spot someone trapped. You move to rescue them when suddenly the roof collapses. Obviously that single moment will have a larger impact than the deaths that happened before you could get there or react. Now if the whole stadium was murdered that be a different story. Fortunately that wasn’t the case and on screen we saw maybe 10 deaths. Assume 5x that offscreen you probably still only have a small portion of the audience.
Second: As others have said. You don’t know why they gathered everyone in for that concert and at this moment we can only make very vague assumptions. They had something under the stadium that was affected by their song or maybe the feelings of the crowd who the hell knows. The point is it hasn’t been explained YET therefore it cannot be a plot hole YET.
Third: Where do you get your information that this is just a show to promote a bunch of idols. First off Mizuki Nana doesn’t need promotion from anime. She’s gotten to perform at New Years Kohaku- a huge Japanese media event that gets millions of viewers- for the past 3 years. Frankly I was surprised they even managed to nab her for a role that includes a lot of singing. Usually she sings an OP here or there and acts in the show. One with this many inserts from her surprises me. I think a lot of Minami Takayama’s idol days are over, I mean she’s almost 50. That aside she’s equally famous for her voice work, particularly Edogawa Conan. Lastly I personally don’t think anyone is trying to dress Aoi Yuuki up like an idol. She’s an excellent VA but this will be her first time really putting her singing voice out there. It’s okay but it’s no where close to Takayama and Nana’s.
Thanks for this comment. I’m having a hard time understand all the hate it gets. Half of it sounds like people going into Naruto and then accusing it of not having ninja-ish ninja, and the other half feels like they watched the episode while reading something else – possible the glowing comments it got – online.
Now, the second doesn’t apply to psgels, I’m pretty sure. His criticism might yet turn out to be valid, or it might not – it’s not the first time he instantly dismissed a show I stuck around for for a couple more episodes before giving up, and it’s not the first time he dismissed a fantastic show either (Kemono no Souja Erin anyone?). Ha’s not infallible, and he’s not some sort of God of reviews who hold the judgment of whether something is Objectively Good in his hands, even if he has by far the best anime blog out there.
We’ll just have to wait and see. I’m very optimistic about it!
Wait, to me Senki Zesshou Symphogear is way better, more flashy and more entertaining than that shitty Blood-C, although I am looking forward to the Blood-C movie. Sure the first episode doesn’t tell much of the story/plot, but the cliffhanger is pretty awesome, so awesome that this may turn out to be the next Puella Magi Madoka Magica or at least a close contender (for trying at least), because there are still 11 episodes to tell the entire story, even if the creators want to promote some idols. Just enjoy the show as it is, just imagine that this kind of world exist as shown in the show, and just don’t mind the intention behind of all this. In my opinion the singing in the show during fights does not feel awkward at all, this way it feels much more like a musical which is to me a somewhat refreshing idea, not many shows do this, perhaps just in the Macross franchise.
I found symphogear absolutly amazing :S I don’t think I ever disagreed as much on a show as this. 0% really!! It was entertaining, I found the characters to be more then cardboard…well a little more. Sure there might have plot holes but it’s the first freaking episode. Give it a break!! I’d rather watch a show with plot holes and that’s super entertaining than something like Guilty Crown. I’m really dissapointed :S But I guess that’s what opinions are there for, to diverge.
for anyone who confused about the girl death and she came out of nowere and the rest of the plot holes the timeline they show us now is between hibiki death which will happen in the future and the event 2 years ago where the red hair girl saved her.so the plot holes will filled in later episodes i guess
Ok I think some people (including me) have been using the wrong words. It’s not as much the problem with “plotholes” as it is with “fallacious logic” and “inconsistency”.
but did you understend already the timeline they show us in this episodes?
Knight was surprisingly solid.. the team involved seems on the ball (pun definitely intended). It used cliche and drama quite well, kept up the pace to not drag things out, knew to focus on execution of it’s over-used story first, and had more heart than expected. Could be a good kid’s show.
Tsukaima is still way too juvenile for it’s own good. If only the novels just let the characters develop a bit, and JC Staff didn’t obsessively focus on the fanservice. I can’t bring myself to hate the story, but I wish they went with a more “Slayers” angle than catering almost exclusively to horny teenagers.
I have no idea what to think of Symphogear yet, except that it hurts my brain. Do I need ADHD to keep up with the mood shifts? What was it even about? Space Channel 5 aliens standing around waiting to be killed by musical Precures who pilot micro-Zearths?
In enjoying Symphogear.
Im even liking the idiot protagonist, Hibiki. She’s not the sharpest tool in the toolbox, but its charming… sometimes… when you’re not wishing for smash her head with an hammer.
And Miku… poor Miku. I like her.
And the fights scenes are great. Sadly, the other sequences are plagued with QUALITY. But I can live with that.