April 2011 – Page 2 – Blog@Jhiday.net

Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal

What’s it about ?

A loser boy’s adventures into the world of EXTREME trading-card gaming, with fight scenes in a fancy holographic parallel world and an ethereal guide to advise him.

Characters

Yuma, our middle school protagonist with improbable hair. He has a strong tendency to get into challenges way over his head, which makes him a bit of a laughing-stock considering how often he fails. He wears a weird “key” pendant about which he has bizarre dreams about metaphorically unlocking his potential or something.

Mizuki, his generic love interest who generically supports him despite his repeated failures.

Tetsuo, his fat “friend” who’s a bit of a jerk but doesn’t seem that bad a guy (“It’s n-n-not as if I l-like you or anything, Yuma !”). Admire his 1337 skateboard, yo !

Kamishiro, a cackling pointy-haired bully (who never walks around without his yes-men posse) who has just punked Tetsuo out of his deck. Yuma can’t resist challenging him, of course.

Production Values

Alright for what it is, I suppose.

Overall Impression

My knowledge of the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise is limited to the Abridged series, but this looks so close to the formula (minus the Egyptian-themed weirdness) that I can’t help yawning.

As a toyetic show for kids, I guess it’s alright (it’s at least more competent and engaging than last season’s Cardfight Vanguard), but I have absolutely no interest in this.

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2011 – Page 10.

A Bridge to the Starry Skies (Hoshizora e Kakaru Hashi)

What’s it about ?

Generic dating-sim adaptation.

Characters

Kazuma, our protagonist, is moving back to the countryside with his sickly little brother for the latter’s health’s sake. Cue every single dating-sim cliché happening to him.

The girls… There’s the one he slips onto and accidentally kisses, her outraged best friend, the maid at the inn they now live in… and, for the older ladies lovers, the owner of the same inn, whose behaviour verges on sexual harassment.

Production Values

Minimal. The backgrounds are okay, but the character designs are horribly generic and same-y.

Overall Impression

Zzzzzzzzzzz… Excuse me, I nearly fell asleep there.

I’m amazed they’re still making those. Fortune Arterial at least had a hook by mixing in vampires, and Yosuga no Sora had the sick-and-wrong twincest ; this, on the other hand, has no selling point whatsoever to distinguish it from the myriads of other dating-sim adaptations. It’s so incredibly generic that it hurts.

What’s the point, honestly ?

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2011 – Page 10.

Figure 17

(13 monthly 47min episodes)

What’s it about ?
A young girl moves to Hokkaido with her dad and nearly bores me to sleep before seeing an alien ship crash in the woods. The alien pilot is humanoid and probably a good guy ; a monstrous thing has hitch-hiked on his ride and he has trouble fighting it off. Our heroine merges with a sentient alien armor to dispatch the monster, but there’s a weird after-effect : the armor has taken human form, which means our girl’s now got a twin sister.

Characters

Tsubasa, a very boring 10-year-old girl. Quite asocial, which doesn’t exactly endear her to me.

Her dad is a bit more interesting : he moved to Hokkaido after his wife’s death (apparently from complications from Tsubasa’s birth ?), and is starting over as a baker’s apprentice.

The alien dude looks like your standard issue alien action hero, although he’s clearly overmatched by the beastie. He’s as surprised as anyone when Tsubasa merges and proceeds to kick tons of ass.

By the way, “Figure 17” is the name of the Tsubasa/armor merger.

Production Values

Perfectly okay for this sort of thing, I guess.

Overall Impression

There are series that benefit from the double-length format. This is not one of them, as the pacing is so relaxed it’s downright lethargic. We’re treated to half an hour of Tsubasa’s daily life before anything happens, and that’s so boring I nearly gave up halfway through.

Some of the underlying ideas are somewhat interesting, I guess, but I have no wish to wade through hours of navel-gazing before it gets to the point.

Even a Giant Teeth Monster right behind her can barely wake Tsubasa up !

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2001 – Page 8.

Toriko

What’s it about ?

The greatest hunter/”meal ingredient gatherer” is on a quest to track down every ingredient ever, selecting the best for the perfect meal.

Characters

Toriko, our huge, barrel-chested, impossible-proportions protagonist. The opening theme tune suggests he’s stronger the more he eats, and given all he devours in this episode alone, I can believe it.

Komatsu, our viewpoint character, a cook from a famous restaurant who commissions Toriko to seek out rare ingredients for them. He’s mostly there to provide exposition.

And… that’s it so far, aside from the various beasties they encounter on their trip, and a few villains mysteriously plotting in their lair (although that’s got no impact on the plot so far).

Production Values

Standard Sunday-morning-shounen fare (i.e. barely adequate) with very generic character designs.

Overall Impression

Was there supposed to be any kind of hook here ? This “first” episode leaves me with no reason whatsoever to keep watching : it’s ugly, the characters are annoying, and mostly I just don’t care. The jokes about Toriko mangling proverbs weren’t funny when Sailor Venus did that shtick two decades ago, and the whole thing is very boring.

Exactly as bad as I had expected.

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2011 – Page 9.

Chance! Pop Session

(13 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Three girls going separately to a concert of a famous pop-star and stumbling upon a pamphlet for a music school. Presumably they’re going to apply, but this is a very slow first episode.

Characters

Reika, the pop-star. There’s the very beginning of a subplot with her stern coach (an ex-popstar herself), but it doesn’t go anywhere yet.

Nozomi, the very rich and sheltered girl who can afford a first-row ticket and has a ~~watchdog~~ butler following her everywhere.

Akari, the country girl who’s an absolute Reika fan. Attends church, has a hopelessly dull sweetheart, the works.

Yuki, the city girl who struggles to make ends meet. She works backstage on the lights. Of the three, she seems to be the one most intent on breaking into stardom. Frankly, she’s the only vaguely interesting character here.

Production Values

Very cheap-looking, with limited animation everywhere it can. The songs aren’t very good either, which puts quite a cramp on the whole thing.

Overall Impression

I don’t want to unfairly knock down a show from a genre I have very little interest in… but this is quite dire. Besides the overall cheapness, this is a very slow start, with barely any plot to speak of. Normally this would be an occasion to develop the characters, but apart from Yuki nobody grows beyond a single dimension.

It’s a 13-episode show that barely has any substance in its first episode. Pass.

No backstage pass ? The Kung-Fu Butler (tm) is a more than adequate substitute. — No backstage pass ? The Kung-Fu Butler ™ is a more than adequate substitute.

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2001 – Page 8.

Astarotte’s Toy! (Lotte no Omocha!)

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

The incumbent succubus princess is now 10 year old and should really get around to gathering a harem, or so her handler says. Since she has no wish to do so, she tries to finagle about it by demanding that her first gigolo be a Man (Men’s world has been sealed away from their world for millennia), but she underestimated her handler’s persistence…

Characters

Princess Astarotte (aka “Lotte”), our very, very annoying main character. Played by Rie Kugimiya, of course. She’s attended by a little squad of maids and various other helpers. The most prominent of which being…

Judith, her teacher/handler, who’s very dedicated to raising her charge as a proper succubus. Hence why she decides to single-handedly reopen the portal to Men’s world… and actually succeeds.

Naoya, the first dude Judith bumps into, and who just happens to be ideal boytoy material (of course he does !), so she immediately snags him up. The OP suggests his relationship with Lotte will be a lot more genuine than just “source of lifeseed for Lotte to suck”, although to be honest she’s got much more chemistry there with his little sister. (Also, some of the dialogue suggests he’s much older than Lotte. Eek.)

Production Values

Nothing special.

You know you’re in for a classy show when the second scene has a generic exposition lecture happen with all the female cast bathing for no real reason, and Lotte’s tail hiding various naughty bits Austin Powers-style. Later on, Lotte gets quite a few random panty shots.

Overall Impression

When in another forum I stated how my mind boggled at the premise (“A loli that needs to suck semen to survive !”), I was assured that the manga it came from wasn’t that bad and very tongue-in-cheek. Well, while this isn’t as skeevy as it could be, it’s still pretty bad and exploitative. And it’s not like “Lotte discovering True Love” is a “twist” I have any interest in.

Bottom line : it isn’t funny, and none of the characters are interesting. Avoid.

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2011 – Page 8.

Shingu: Secret of the Stellar Wars (Gakuen Senki Muryo)

(26 episodes)

What’s it about ?

2070, a future that’s basically the same as now, except we’ve got neat folding laptops. A giant alien floating thing shows up above Tokyo and wreaks havoc on anything electronic, but nobody really panics because it’s quickly dispatched by another giant alien floating thing that looks a lot more friendly (and has the good taste to disappear once it’s done its job). Meanwhile, one of the few characters who seems to have a clue about the whole thing moves to a backwater town and enrols in the local middle school. Cue the usual clichés : making friends despite being a bit weird, slice-of-life scenes with the supporting cast, rooftop ki fights with the local bully… Wait, what ?

Characters

Hajime, our narrator, who seems to be a normal middle school boy apart from his habit of droning pointlessly about everything that happens on screen. He’d be quite annoying if not for two points : (1) his general reaction to the alien attack’s TV coverage is “Yeah, right…”, and (2) there’s a point where he turns to the camera while continuing to narrate, and even his little sister comments on how weird his behaviour is. So presumably this is going somewhere.

Subaru, the weird transfer student. He coincidentally had a perfect vantage point with his grandfather when the alien thing showed up, and they both talked as though they knew what was happening. He seems completely clueless about ordinary school life, to the point of showing up in a school uniform despite them being out of fashion for decades.

Moriyamata, the student council vice-president, who immediately pegs Subaru as somehow related to the alien attack, and summons him to a ki fight on the school rooftop. (How they got there is strange in itself, considering the acrobatics Hajime had to perform to join them.) He gets completely (although gently) schooled by Subaru, who offers to teach him to use his ki powers properly.

Production Values

This feels very retro-looking, especially the character designs. But overall this looks quite pretty and well-animated. The opening sequence with the alien attack is impressive, with a nice level of detail for the consequences of the electronic failures slowly propagating through the city.

Overall Impression

This is definitely intriguing. The Evangelion parallels are undeniable, but this has no angst whatsoever and everyone seems very relaxed about the whole thing. In lesser hands this absence of dramatic tension would be a turn-off, but here it feels like it’s a deliberate part of the plot that’ll be explored in due time.

I want to watch more. Mission accomplished.

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2001 – Page 8.

Yondemasu yo, Azazel-san

(?? half-length episodes)

What’s it about ?

A detective agency routinely summons a demon to solve their clients’ problems. But since he never stops long enough to hear his orders, hilarity ensues.

Characters

Azazel, the titular demon. A rude womanizer… who’s less than two feet tall. He would really like to get out of this contract, but he’s consistently outwitted by…

Akutabe, the head of the detective agency who summoned Azazel. A complete jerk, but he’s so marvellously deadpan !

Sakuma, Akutabe’s part-time assistant. Our point-of-view character, as Akutabe judges she’s just got enough experience to learn how the agency really works. She spends most of the episode bemused by the whole thing, but then you’d be too.

Our client of the week is a classic ugly cheated wife. The various “solutions” offered to her problems get more and more bizarre as the episode goes.

Production Values

Low but adequate, I guess. It does the job.

Overall Impression

This is very low-brow humour indeed, but it works. It’s got very good comedic timing, the character play well off each other, and I liked the punchline. Stupid but fun.

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2011 – Page 8.

Softenni

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Slice of life comedy about a middle school female tennis club. Also, panties.

Characters

Asuna, who is very enthusiastic about the club, but a bit of a slob. She has a very dirty mind that will interpret anything as sexually suggestive. (Also, she’s a walking panty shot.)

Kotone, who hasn’t been stated to be the club president but might as well be. Very bossy and sarcastic. (Voiced by Eri Kitamura, of course…)

Chitose, the upperclassman for whom this is the last chance as entering a tournament before graduating… but that’s a tall ordeal, considering she’s completely crap at tennis. Also, she eats a lot, although most of it seems to go to her upper figure, if you see what I mean (and I think you do).

Kurusu, the dark-skinned prodigy with a bit of a sadistic streak. Has a weird tendency to show up wearing a random big mask over her head.

Mr Mishimagi, the coach/teacher advising the club. Mostly there as a straight man for Asuna’s bizarre trains of thought.

The credits suggests a fifth girl will be joining the cast soon.

Production Values

Not very good, and the show’s bizarre obsession with showing panties every other shot is more than a bit distracting. There are some very puzzling bits of censorship, with random sexy shots heavily censored despite the nearly exact same thing being displayed in full ten seconds later. The mind boggles.

Overall Impression

Oh dear. Well, I wasn’t expecting much from XEBEC, but this is a mediocre slice of life series made nearly unwatchable by obstructive fanservice.

Although, considering it isn’t very funny to begin with, I’m perfectly content with giving it a pass.

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2011 – Page 7.

Abnormal Physiology Seminar (Hen Zemi)

(13 half-length episodes)

What’s it about ?

Slice of life about very special college course where the students hand reports about their fetishistic experiments.

Characters

Matsutaka, our somewhat prude-ish heroine, who isn’t enthusiastic at all about this course. If you’re wondering why she’s attending, that’s because it’s a way to get closer to…

Komugi, who looks and acts like a nice guy but is actually quite an irritating jerk under the deadpan façade (but since he’s voiced by Akira Ishida, you can’t quite bring yourself to hate him…). Totally unashamed about his fetishes and what the Hen Zemi does.

Pr Meshiya, the teacher/researcher in charge of the Hen Zemi. A complete creep, and one wonders how he gets away with this with the faculty.

Mizukoshi, the nymphomaniac best student. She’s into really extreme stuff (seriously, her report in this episode ? Ewwww !). Beware her slobber whenever someone talks dirty in front of her.

We get to see a few more students attending the course : the peeping tom who camps with his camera under the stairs, the ecchi manga artist and his innocent-looking sadistic girlfriend…

Production Values

Adequate. I actually quite like the stylized artstyle : it gives everyone (apart from the teacher) a look of complete innocence that contrasts very well with what they’re talking about.

Overall Impression

Quite fun, actually. I appreciate the directness of the approach, and thankfully all the people involved are consenting adults (Matsutaka can quit whenever she wants…). There’s quite a lot of mileage in the sheer weirdness of those fetishes.

But it clearly won’t be to everyone’s tastes. Some of the fetishes described here are bound to squick you out. Also, and that’s a bit more problematic, not all of the jokes are that funny. Moreover, I worry that the short format won’t give the series the time to properly gel. Still, if you have any interest in the subject matter, it mostly works.

There’s been a couple of OVA out ; they seem to have been some sort of pilot or something. It’s basically more of the same, but they aren’t necessary at all to understand this first episode (which introduces all the key players properly).

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2011 – Page 7.