Kill Me Baby
Short Synopsis: Our lead character knows a ninja and an assassin.
This one was really dull, but not in a way that I expected it to be. For one: it has a troll OP. It’s all fast-paced, well animated and exciting, only for the real episode to be nothing but two girls talk to each other in a classroom. Second of all, it’s not like this is a completely hopeless premise. This episode did show me that the source material that this series is based on has a few good jokes here and there. Here and there the characters have some nice quips to each other, and some jokes are built up well. It’s just the execution that’s incredibly dull. Seriously, the delivery of all these jokes is incredibly lifeless. The animation is incredibly simplistic and refuses to bring the characters to life. The timing is really bad. It’s clear that the creators of the anime just took a look at the 4koma it’s based on, and just decided to animate the individual pages without thinking about how to make them work in animation-format. What should have been an enjoyable comedy now has turned into an utter chore to sit through. The days in which comedies could really take things easy as long as they delivered a bunch of good lines is over, yo.
OP: Madness, using instruments and vocals that completely don’t fit together, but it would have worked for a comedy. Definitely the best part of this show.
ED: Weird song and a weird dance. Again, though the delivery was better than the actual episode.
Potential: 30%
Poyopoyo Kansatsu Nikki
Short Synopsis: Our lead character is a cat of the same family as Tamayura’s Momoneko-sama.
Well, this one turned out to be pretty much as expected. What would have been a really average comedy series is really brought to life by Akitarou Daichi. The episodes of this series are only three minutes long, but it’s quite amazing how much he manages to put into just that. This show doesn’t have his extreme pacing as with Gag Manga Biyori or Sugoi-Yo, Masaru-san, but he still manages to make it fast-paced, and at the same time a relaxing little comedy. It’s perhaps not the funniest, but a cute way to spend 3 minute. And for once people actually note that these fat cats are completely unlike other cats.
OP: Yeah, just 30 seconds long generic tune.
Potential: 70%
The New Prince of Tennis
Short Synopsis: Our lead character is very good at tennis.
The impossible has happened: something actually airs on Wednesday! In any case, with this one episode I can already see why this is such an infamous series. First of all it’s the equivalent of the moe fanservice series for guys, just like with flicks like Koi Suru Tenshi Angelique: it packs a ton of different bishies who all try to look cool, yet all have one or two single quirks that define them. Apparently the taste of females in guys is much more diverse than the rather simpleminded guys, and so this show really has a ton of different characters to anticipate any kind of fetish. I of course don’t know how the first Prince of Tennis was, but to be 200 episodes further, and still seeing the characters act in nothing but stereotypes: there is something really wrong with that. The characters are on top of that way too busy with looking cool. One particular scene had one character so busy doing double-takes that he failed to look into the eyes of the one he was talking to (he was challenging him to a match)… who was standing right next to him. And then there is the completely ridiculous tennis aspect of this series. I understand that this show is a parody of tennis and all, but at times I doubt that it actually forgets about this sometimes. The animation also is really bad here. There was one big tennis match here, and that showed like… three or four scenes of character actually hitting a ball. Apart from that it was still frames, or the camera conveniently panned to other characters and just played a bunch of sound effects in the background. Also, the entire cast is a group of collective idiots. How many grades to you need to skip in order to still be middle schoolers at this point?
OP: That vocalist sounds like he’s having an orgasm…
ED: Cheesy J-Rock
Potential: 0%
Prince of Tennis is my MAIN fandom, seriously, so I’ve been looking forward to this for months – and it’s just as cheesy and wonderful and slash-friendly as I remember – but I can understand why it wouldn’t be anything for someone who 1) haven’t watched everything there is to watch about PoT, and 2) who really isn’t interested in it. ^^ I’m going to enjoy this and Area no Kishi for all it’s worth; it’s probably the only shows I’m going to follow this winter, except for Chihayafuru and Digimon Xros Wars. ♥
Are you sure this is a tennis parody? It seems like it’s trying to be serious about it in my perspective. Also the OP is hilarious. It’s like he thinks he can sing opera or something and it just comes out sounding like he has a mouth full of semen.
How many grades to you need to skip in order to still be middle schoolers at this point?
rofl. This – gold.
The 200 episodes covered a single school year, from Ryoma joining the club to the National Finals. But it’s understandable you’d think that since half the characters look about 30.
Not even a single school year. I think Tezuka says, at some point, that Ryoma’s been with Seigaku for three and a half month or something, and that’s when you’re at the end of the National championships. The U-17 camp takes place in September or October that year.
I know this show has it’s fan’s and I myself have read and watched the show since it started.
What was good about the show however is long gone . It is not a parody of Tennis and never was. It is supposed to be serious Tennis. It has become imho a parody of itself.
Nothing wrong with liking this sort of thing. Yet I for one miss what was good about the show. Way back at the start of this story you liked and cared about the people in it. That is no longer true for me anyway.
For me the story has lost touch with being about high school kids who really care about tennis. The prince was trying hard to be the Tennis player his dad was and his burning drive to play and be the best was very refreshing at the time the story first came out.
The tennis game they play no longer resembles something you could do on the planet earth. Take a look a the Manga ‘Baby Steps’ if you really are interested in a very good tennis story.
When you Compare this to Chihayafuru it looks very shallow and pointless. Then you have to Factor in the labor camp…er sorry, I meant Tennis camp. A very strange place, I can’t find a way to suspend my disbelief for the old kids who inhabit that world.
I’ll give POT a pass but salute what it once was.
I watched the entire first season and also liked this… sue me
And no, not a girl… I do agree they were trying way too hard to make every character look cool here, but its expected because its the first episode, so they each had to have a “grand entrance”
Also, this is basically a tennis version of the average shounen… Its not a sports anime, its a fighting anime, they just happen to play tennis instead of punching/kicking each other, thats why you have all those crazy techniques, but IMO thats the best part of the show… Each character has their own unique abilities etc so the matches always turn out interesting… If you wanna watch real world tennis, whats stopping you? Theres plenty out there
I also love that the main character here is actually confident and damn good at what he does, instead of the usual good for nothing wimp, it makes me actually want to root for him
Mada mada dane
Watch the first 24 eps of pot, you might like it
I feel ashamed for myself -_- I marathoned PoT 3-4 years ago and made it to the OVA’s, which I couldn’t watch due to the wait and lack of subs — There were probably lots of them, I think.
Anyways, not gonna watch that crap anymore
I am surprised that people seem to like this show. I couldn’t get passed the first two minutes to be perfectly honest. The character designs are all EXACTLY THE SAME EXCEPT FOR THEIR HAIR. All of the characters are all reflections of rehashed tropes also. This anime is pretty much just a marketing ploy that is trying to extort money from people that watch their show by appealing to their generic tastes and targeting the demographic with what they believe they want.
based on my exp watching prince of tennis, not even one i seeing the characters participating in class.. i thought they are special students and are allowed not to come to classes.. i just want to see their examination results..
Prince of Tennis was pretty cliched and terrible but I’ll probably still watch it…so when I have nothing left to watch I can put my brain to jello and just watch stereotypes hitting tennis balls. Sometimes I just need that kind of stuff XD
Ah, I thought Kill Me Baby was pretty funny. It had a bit of a Squid Girl feel to it, though perhaps more focused on gags rather than zany vignettes. I do see the possibility of the jokes growing stale quickly, but for now at least it’s good, silly fun.
And the ED is really catchy. XP
I have to agree with you on Kill Me Baby: the OP and ED were the best parts of the episode. Really, it would fit much better in 3 minutes (never thought I’d ever say that, but Morita-san and now Recorder to Randoseru showed me how this format can work very well).
How can Kill Me Baby get a bigger potential rating than Prince of Tennis? Kill Me Baby is moe blobs babbling away while Prince of Tennis at least is estrogen brigade baits doing something… Almost reasonable. (I do have to say, I love the estrogen brigade bait and I can’t STAND moe series. Especially fanservice ones. Who’d in their right mind would be okay with showing their panties all the time? I just feel sorry for them, and I’m disgusted with the guys.)
Well, Kill Me Baby had no fanservice, and it had no panties, and it had no guys in them. There at least was something a bit funny about it, while Prince of Tennis (especially to someone new to the series) just was a bunch of one-line stereotypes talking to each other and trying to look cool.
After years of following your site I think I should write something to The Prince of Tennis. First of all, I’ve watched the first series, the movies and almost every OVA to it, so I think it’s fair to say that I know the series well.
psgels, you must understand something about the TeniPuri-franchise. It’s one of the most beloved and active series ever, easily rivaling with cult-series in terms of sales, CDs and musicals with Sailor Moon, Digimon, Pokémon and many shounen in Japan. The new series isn’t about attracting new people, it’s for the massive fan-following. And yeah, there’re almost too many fans for the series. Afte all, the franchise had over 250 (!) CD releases and a radio broadcast for years (!!) until the juiced it out.
Okay, what’s make the original series so good? The tactical action within the first 150 episodes. The legendary comedy and special episodes (Prince of Bowling, Billiard, Volleyball, etc.) which are really so extremely enjoyable and fun to watch. For me, the series is like a guilty pleasure. You get that what you see but wow, it’s fairly well done for a unrealistic shounen. The fights are always interesting, the characters are really likeable (if you’re not gonna start from the 2nd series now) and the matches are really well done. No match drags on forever (1 to 2 episodes per court game), no “battle” feels for around 90% in the series the same (and believe me, for 200 Episodes this is really something to admire) and you really can feel the energy what the staff put into the Prince of Tennis anime. It doesn’t take itself for the most time serious and is a really fun show to watch.
The first season is the most serious one (26 Episodes), it becomes later more carefree and funnier but also more action-oriented. The fanservice for it’s own insider (which establish themself during the show will be celebrated, parodied many times) are for sure something to remember. I think I would recommend you the series just for the reason that it is indeed a good shounen sport series which makes really, really much fun if you get used to it. Don’t except something unique and you will really enjoy it.
I wasn’t disappointed in this first episode, because with that title (and troll OP) I expected it to be about on the same level as C3 in terms of suckiness (I barely got through the first episode of that). Despite being animated in a style I associate most with episode previews or omake, I can honestly say I didn’t hate it, and was never bored. It’s good dumb, inconsequential fun.
(referring to Kill Me Baby above)
Prince of Tennis is good.
This sequel shouldn’t have happened and changed that.
“OP: That vocalist sounds like he’s having an orgasm…”
Halfway through that song I started laughing like a madman. Oh man, oh man.
.. Man. PoT is like the only thing i’ll watch. People really have to watch the first season to understand all the jokes… ^^