Month: September 2014

Tribe Cool Crew

What’s it about ?

Hey, kids ! Dancing is KEWL !

Characters

Haneru, our middle-schooler protagonist. One does not simply walk into… wherever he goes ; the little dude just has to do crazy backflips and random wallruns as he moves from place to place. His whole life seems to revolve around dancing, and he has a nice calm spot where he can practice his moves.

Kanon looks like your average top-scoring student (aside from the crazier-than-average hair), but she’s got a secret : she’s really Rhythm, an up-and-coming dancer whose uploaded videos have become viral. She takes care to keep that part of her life closeted, and dances in a discreet little room… which happens to be right in front of Haneru’s own spot. The window are mostly one-way because of the sun’s reflection, so usually she can see him but he can’t… except for today, when the jig is up.

I’m pretty sure the old dude who loans the place out set them up ; at the very least, he makes sure to chaperone them from afar until he’s made sure all goes fine between the two. And they do quickly hit it off ; they’ve both admirative of each other’s moves. Wanna team up ?

Each of them has hints of a supporting cast, and the ED sequence showcases a “rival” team that’s bound to show up soon.

Production Values

Bright and shiny, with very cartoony character designs. The dance moves are certainly well-animated, with a relatively smooth shift to full-CG animation. (This is the studio that produced Love Live!, after all.) On the other hand, it’s slightly worrying to see so much noticeable animation recycling already.

Overall Impression

Well, this is relatively fun and good-looking. It’s got energy and style, you gotta give it that.

… On the other hand, it’s also very slight in content : the extensive dancing sequences sometimes feel a bit like they’re padding the episode out. Sure, they’re the main attraction, but they look like they’re going to quickly become a bit repetitive. The recycled animation doesn’t help dispel that impression either.

I don’t know. I’m giving it another episode, but I fear I’m going to get tired of it soon. Which is a shame, as this is a perfectly fun and competent kids’ show.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Fall 2014.

Terra Formars

(13ish episodes)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of a science-fiction manga series.

Characters

Akari Hizamaru, our protagonist. His childhood girlfriend got infected by a deadly virus, so he’s participating in underground death matches to try and raise money for some sort of cure… which turns out to be completely bullshit. Oh, and by the time he realizes this, she’s already dead.

Shoukichi Komachi & Michelle Davis are heading a unit who do have a clue on how to cure that virus : their plan involves going to Mars and harvesting the necessary materials there. They got to Akari slightly too late, but he can still help : you see, one needs to endure some radical surgery to be space-worthy, and he’s one of the few people whose genetics mean that his survival chances aren’t crap. (So were those two, by the way.)

We meet a few of the other candidates for the unit ; they’re so carefree I’m pretty sure at least one will die in surgery.

Now, obviously going to Mars is more trouble than just the trip. Back in the 21st century, we tried to terraform the place by sending some algua and cockroaches. The latter have evolved drastically, and are very hostile indeed. (This is at least the third recent Mars mission, and both of the others got wiped out.)

Production Values

Dark, dark, dark. This show is very devoid of colour, and quite murky indeed. It’s also got some heavy censorship for the ultraviolent scenes, making them pretty much unwatchable. It’s not too bad here, as it only affects a gratuitous underground wrestling match where the details don’t really matter, but this doesn’t bode well for the inevitable future “slaughtered by cockroaches” scenes.

Overall Impression

The manga has quite a reputation of the cockroaches being horrible racist caricatures. Well, it’s too early too tell how the anime fares on that front ; the bad news is that it’s got other prominent issues already. The exposition is very clumsy (so many infodump scenes, and the narrator still needs to barge in at the end to explain the premise properly ?) ; the characters are either quite bland or already annoying ; and the overall attempt to build atmosphere just doesn’t manage to raise enough anticipation for the main event.

By the end of this first episode, I still don’t really care about any of the characters, or the overall premise. The series may manage to salvage this false start later on, but the signs are unpromising. I’ll pass.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Fall 2014.