Month: October 2014

The Seven Deadly Sins (Nanatsu no Taizai)

(24 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of a fantasy action-adventure shonen manga.

Characters

The backstory here is that 10 years ago, seven “traitors” turned against their country and killed a big number of knights. Of course, by now they’ve become urban legends : they haven’t been seen since, and the details are starting to get wildly exaggerated. (Do they even look like their wanted posters ?)

Elizabeth is a young woman who’s looking for them… and frankly, with that big clunky armour she kinda looks like someone unsavoury. This show won’t have any of that, so she spends most of the episode in a skintight undersuit that gets more and more cut up as it goes. Anyway, she’s convinced the Seven Deadly Sins are actually great people that prevented the knights from doing something terrible.

She ends up in the Pig Hat, an odd tavern owned by a quite young-looking dude. How odd ? They have a talking pig. (Who gets rid of any leftover or spilt food.) Also, nobody can quite remember the tavern being on this hill for more than a few days. And the food’s kinda terrible.

The twist is that the tavern’s owner is Meliodas, the Seven Deadly Sins’ former leader. He’s lost track of the others, but Elizabeth’s welcome to try and help him find them.

Production Values

If even I can find the animation pretty lacking, then it must be quite terrible.

We’ve also got a bizarre case of Hiroyuki “Attack on Titan/KILL la KILL/Aldnoah Zero” Sawano’s bombastic score being grossly miscast. It’s just not that kind of series.

Overall Impression

Oh, hello generic shonen adventure #1564 ! And bye, because between your one-dimensional characters, your lacking quality, and your by-the-numbers plot, there’s just nothing to make me care.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Fall 2014 – Page 4.

Amagi Brilliant Park

(13 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of the latest light novel series by the creator of Full Metal Panic!. Think Fumoffu more than the Second Raid, though.

Characters

Kanie, our protagonist, is an obnoxious narcissistic dick, and I’m sure that name is a coincidence. The late reveal of him being a former child actor explains it a bit, though.

Isuzu is a girl from his high school who invited him to the titular theme park. At gunpoint. (Where the heck does she pull those rifles from, anyway ?) Her having done plenty of “research” on him isn’t creepy at all, either.

Amagi Brilliant Park has seen better days. Most of the attractions are either dilapidated, lame, dangerous, or all of these at once. The staff are bored or at times even hostile to customers. A mascot is described as “a walking copyright infringement”. (It looks like Bonta-kun.) Honestly, the love hotel next door looks more fun and family-friendly.

Latifa, the park’s manager, eventually explains it all to Kanie : they want him to bring the park back to solvency. It’s not particularly clear yet why him in particular, although he’s been there when he was younger (cue disparate flashbacks of him meeting Latifa then), and he’s clearly by now more upset by the state the park’s in than by Isuzu forcing him to come here.

And then comes the actual twist : Isuzu’s regular assertions that Amagi is a place inhabited by magic creatures aren’t keyfabe. They’re really refugees from a magic world. (Which certainly explains why Latifa doesn’t seem to have aged a day in 10 years, or how Isuzu can pull those guns out from nowhere.) And they really don’t want to end on the street. So, help them, please ? Latifa’s even giving him a bit of magic as a goodwill gift.

Production Values

As you’d expect from Kyoto Animation, this is teaming with funny background events and attention to detail. Only them could make the park look this crappy in such an all-too-realistic way.

Overall Impression

The good news : the central joke is very well-executed. There’s something about Isuzu deadpanly reciting the attraction descriptions (in sharp contrast with their decrepitude) that just never stops being funny. The final reveal makes it even more hilarious.

It’s a fun premise, and I’m always up for work-coms. I’m thoroughly sold.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Fall 2014 – Page 4.

Laughing under the Clouds (Donten ni Warau)

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of a shoujo manga series. Several sources claim it belongs to the “supernatural” category, but that’s not really apparent from the first episode.

Characters

We’re in the early Meiji period, and it’s now illegal to carry a sword. Lawbreakers are sent to an infamous lake prison, with a trio of brothers manning the ferry (and troubleshooting any escapees) :
– Tenka, the eldest, is the one who actually deals with the escapees. Very good in a fight, and obnoxiously so.
– Soramaru, his junior, heavily resents this, and often rushes in foolishly to “help out”. Except he’s quite sloppy (tie those bastards up, darn it !) and not good enough.
– Chutaro, the youngest, is annoyingly enthusiastic all the time.

Now, there’s obviously something screwy with the setup. Chutato’s schoolteacher hides secrets behind her nice surface. The keystone kops escorting the prisoners and always letting them escape can’t really be THAT incompetent. And there’s whatever happens behind the prison’s closed doors.

Production Values

Bright and shiny (you can tell it’s based on a shoujo series thanks to the distinctively pretty character designs for the brothers), which kinda works against the atmosphere : shouldn’t the weather be more cloudy than this, after all ?

Overall Impression

On the one hand, it’s quite good at setting up the mystery and making the creepy elements pile up… On the other hand, the three brothers are all very annoying indeed. To the points that I stop wondering what the heck is really going on, and just lose interest.

Maybe they get better rounded later on, but I just don’t have time for them.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Fall 2014 – Page 4.

When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace (Inou-Battle wa Nichijou-kei no Naka de)

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of a series of comedy light novels.

Characters

Jurai, our male lead, is the most annoying member of the high school literature club. The neighbours are complaining all the time of the screaming over his chuunibyou antics. Seriously, could he give it a rest ? It’s not like he’s going to manifest actual super-powers… wait, what’s that thing in his hand ?

Six months later, the various members of the clubs have gotten the hang of their newfound superpowers (and are baffled as Andou keeps providing commentary to the camera). Of course, they provide semi-ironic contrast with their personalities :
– Tomoyo, the tomboy, got time-stop/modulation powers ;
– Hatoko, the wallflower, got summoning and manipulation of the major elements (water, fire, wind, etc.) ;
– Chifuyu, the unexplained elementary student, got broad “creation” powers (and if I got it right, her plushtoy allows her to teleport) ;
– Sayumi, the black-belt and wilful club president, got vague “healing” powers ;
– As for Jurai, he got the ability to summon a small ball of shadow… which everyone points out has no practical use whatsoever.

Mirei, the student council president, is snooping around ; everyone assumes she’s just investigating the noise complaints (which have gotten even worse now that they’re fooling around with their powers), but Jurai, as chuunibyou as ever, is convinced that she’s a spy trying to chart out their powers. Amazingly, he’s right !

I hope I’m not supposed to take the dude purportedly orchestrating Mirei’s actions from afar seriously, because darn does his hanging upside down from a tree make him look stupid.

Production Values

Don’t expect any of studio Trigger’s distinctiveness ; this is a very generic-looking anime indeed. But it’s decently done enough ; it sells the powers as impressive enough, and it’s got good comedic timing. (The music is particularly good at emphasizing and deflating Jurai’s chuunibyou rants.)
Surprisingly, the fanservice level is relatively tame.

Overall Impression

Hey, this is actually quite funny ! There’s quite some mileage to the joke of those bozos getting superpowers and carrying on their regular activities regardless. And it makes really good use of its obnoxious male lead to convey exposition. Since he’s the butt of most of the jokes, he’s way more bearable than you’d expect at first.

I wonder how long the joke can keep going without being bogged down by an actual plot (as it’s part of the premise that nothing is taken seriously), but for now it’s quite entertaining.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Fall 2014 – Page 4.

GARO THE ANIMATION (Garo: Honoo no Kokuin)

What’s it about ?

This is the latest spin-off from a (live-action) heroic-fantasy tokusatsu franchise. By all accounts, it seems to be stand-alone in its own continuity.

Characters

17 years ago, the Valiante kingdom, represented by its ailing king, its kid prince, and its totally-not-treacherous chief advisor, started a witch hunt. Anybody who looked like a mage or a witch was hunted down. They weren’t above invading neighbouring cities, either. Hundreds fell, but their main target evaded them : the just-born baby of the first witch burnt at the stake, rescued by a knight in a wolf-like armour.

Herman Lewis is now telling this tale to the prostitute he’s in bed with, and she rightfully protests that it isn’t much of a story if the kid was never found. But you see, Herman knows the real story : the actual mission of witches and mages is to fight off and seal Horrors, shapeshifting abominations who prey on human beings. It’s obvious they’re pulling the strings behind the witch hunt. It’s probable many of them have infiltrated society and are replacing key people. Like, for example, this very whorehouse, fraught with rumours of clients never coming back…

Leon Lewis, Herman’s adoptive son who just happens to be 17, proves that he can hold his own when he’s attacked by a bunch of Valiante soldiers (covertly led by a Horror) while Dad is busy at the whorehouse. Which was the point : Herman is now convinced Leon is ready to come back to Valiante’s capital city and put an end to the witch hunt.

Production Values

Quite good, if maybe a bit too darkly lit. The CG wolf armours are a bit jarring, but you get used to them, and they are meant to be a striking contrast from everything else.

Overall Impression

Well, this is a decent start for a dark heroic-fantasy show. The tokusatsu elements are subdued enough to fit in relatively smoothly. The main characters have decent charisma, and the show as a whole does look good.

Still, I’m not entirely sure I’m in the mood for this. There’s no nuance to the baddies whatsoever, and the violence can get pretty gruesome at times. (Hey, let’s quickly imply the captured witches get raped !) I wouldn’t accuse the show of misogyny, but it does feature a lot of violence against women. And it’s just a very dark and gloomy premise.

I’m giving it another episode, but I’m doubtful I’ll stick with it.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Fall 2014 – Page 4.

Gugure! Kokkuri-san

(12ish episodes ?)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of a comedy 4-panel manga.

Characters

Have you heard of Kokkuri-san ? It’s a bit like Oui-ja, except you invoke a fox spirit to guide your hand. You’re not supposed to do it alone, though, as he may come haunting you. And would you really want that ?

Kohina, the girl who summoned him thus, completely baffles him. Normally it’s not him who’s supposed to be the straight man, right ? Why is she so weird ? How come she lives alone, having interiorized she’s just a doll and thus it’s no biggie if she has no friends ? How does a girl live on a diet of only junk-food cup-noodles ? As much as she’d like him to please go away and leave her to her fate, he just can’t let her keep going like that. Only a asshole would do that, and he’s a thoroughly decent human being spirit. But the cohabitation isn’t going to be easy…

Throughout the episode, we get cameos of characters bound to join the cast sooner or later : a dog spirit, and a dude who looks like a priest.

Production Values

Fine for a gag show. The biggest oddity here is how Kohina is drawn (and it’s somewhat inconsistent), but then that contributes to the joke that there’s something deeply wrong with her.

Overall Impression

On the one hand, this is often very funny indeed. The dynamic between the two main characters works, and they’ve got good comedic timing between them. It’s a good joke. But on the other hand, how long can you keep it up ? The episode was already showing signs of fatigue at points, and there’s only so much mileage you can get out of it. Presumably that’s why more characters are due to be introduced very soon, but they’ll be tricky to add without ruining this dynamic.

Oh, well, that’s a worry for later episodes. I’m willing to at least watch a couple more episodes to see how they deal with it.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Fall 2014 – Page 3.

Rage of Bahamut – Genesis (Shingeki no Bahamut: Genesis)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of a heroic-fantasy cellphone videogame… But since it revolves around multiplayer card battles, I assume the writers took a vague look at the background flavour text and made up the plot of whole cloth.

Characters

Favaro Leone, our protagonist. He’s a cocky bounty-hunter who cares more about the thrill of the chase than actually making a living out of it. Especially if the tale can earn him a good night with the ladies. Most of his bounties are spent on placating the locals for the collateral damage, anyway. But behind the smarm, there’s a competent lone operative in there, who knows how to deal with powerful summons despite having little more than his short sword on hand. That’s a good thing, as he often gets way over his head.

Kaisar Lidford is his “rival”, insofar as the dude wants revenge on Favaro for ruining his life and reducing him to become a bounty hunter. I get the impression there’s a long line of those.

Amira is a woman who randomly falls from the skies (or so it looks like) and wants to head for the semi-mythical iced fortress of Helheim (a name that should have raised alarms bells in my head way sooner than it did). Since she’s heard Favaro bragging of knowing a shortcut to the place (while drunk in a tavern), he’ll do as a guide. She accepts his offer of sealing it with a kiss.

The next morning, Favaro wakes up with the hell of a headache. Getting drunk ? Check. That bounty target’s brother coming for vengeance and his super-big summon ? Er, he must have dealt with that somehow. That broad transforming into a scary demonwoman ? Er, must have dreamt that, surely. Why does his mouth taste like he’s swallowed dragonfire ? This is a terrible hangover indeed. Let’s get washed up.

Wait, why does he have a small demontail now ?

Production Values

Wow, just wow. This is by far the most impressively animated first episode of the season, and I can’t see anything compete with it. It shows off one impressive action setpiece after another, from the purely gratuitous (hello, giant wheel !) to the plot-important (with Amira shifting to demon form and kicking all kinds of ass). All the characters have tons of expressive body language, and move smoothly all the time.

Overall Impression

What. The. Hell ? How come the adaptation of a friggin’ cellphone cardgame is so good ? This is a feast for the eyes, and I really hope the budget keeps up in further episodes. But even if the action scenes’ ambition gets toned down a bit later on, the show can still fall back on its core strength : its likeable protagonist having fun adventures. Let’s be honest : how long has it been since we got a good, straight heroic-fantasy romp ? Because that’s definitely what this is.

I’m flabbergasted. Don’t let the videogame tie-in discourage you : this is the deeply unlikely gem of the season.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Fall 2014 – Page 3.

Le Fruit de Grisaia (Grisaia no Kajitsu)

(12ish episodes ?)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of a generic dating sim visual novel… OR IS IT ?

Characters

Kazami isn’t exactly your generic dating sim protagonist. An orphan in unspecified circumstances, he’s in the employ of some secret governmental agency, in what looks very much like hitman-style jobs. He’s asked to be able to live a “normal school life” in his downtime, so his bosses send him to this elite academy… with only five other students.

Much of the humour comes from his deadpan bafflement at this bunch of girls acting out the classic dating sim archetypes :
– Sachi, the doormat who’s been tricked into wearing a maid uniform ;
– Makina, the foreign-looking kid ;
– Michiru, the tsundere who struggles under his heavy trolling ;
– Amane, who has no qualms about him walking in on her as she’s half-naked (hey, that’s his room !), and is vying to become a big-sister figure ;
– and Yumiko, the aloof girl that will totally cut you if you get too close.

Frankly, it’s a bit embarrassing how they try to act so stereotypically, and he’s not above making a bit of fun out of them (especially Michiru). But this is a thoroughly weird setup, and his paranoid constant vigilance looks more and more appropriate as time goes by.

Like, how exactly did Amane enter his room ? Did she pick the lock ? Why are several of them mumbling about having identifying him ? Are those bombs Sachi is making in her room ? And in that light, Yumiko’s “I will cut you” antics take a more sinister look…

Is it still paranoia if they’re really out to get you ?

Production Values

For some reason, the whole thing is shot in a widescreen aspect ratio. Well, whatever. Anyway, this seems to be drowning in budget, as the camera keeps moving around in fancy ways to stray from the cliché visual novel shot (you know the one), although it still shows up a lot anyway. (Amusingly, the girls often act out cliché “quirks” as though the camera was stuck to Kazami’s viewpoint.) There’s quite some scenery porn, too.

And, well, the camera also finds a way to show off repeatedly the panties of each and every girl, because dating sim adaptation. And there’s Amane’s half-naked scene, of course. (Ah, convenient bulbs of light…)

Overall Impression

Usually, it’s a bad sign for a harem romance show if I find every possible option creepy and/or unlikeable. This show achieves the remarkable feat of turning that around and morphing into a thriller where the protagonist will need to fight for his dear life. It helps that Kazami (the always impeccable Takahiro Sakurai) does have charisma and a personality, which is more than 95% of dating sim protagonist. We do root for him, despite his being a paranoid jerk with much blood on his hand.

I have to admit I was fooled : this really looked like a generic dating sim adaptationwith crappy cliché girls who can barely read their script. I was entertaining the thought that the whole thing was a prank on him, but as a joke, not as the actual premise. Have a cookie, show, you were clever enough to get my attention.

Don’t waste it, though ; you’re still on a thin line for those gratuitous panty shots. So get to the point and don’t try to have your cake too much while eating it.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Fall 2014 – Page 3.

Wolf Girl & Black Prince (Ookami Shoujo to Kuro Ouji)

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Our token adaptation of a romance shoujo manga for the season.

Characters

Erika, our heroine, is the titular “Wolf Girl”. Meaning, the girl who cries wolf : she keeps spinning out the wildest lies as a desperate cry for attention. As you’d expect, this bites her back in the ass consistently. Heck, even the episode’s title makes it clear from the start (“Liar – Caught in her own trap”).

Aki & Karin are her new “friends” by default, i.e. the only girls left in her new class who weren’t already in cliques by the time she arrived. So she did as she always does : try and keep up with their conversation, even if that means lying all the time. Unfortunately, they’re “mature” gals who keep talking about their superficial relationships with their boyfriends, so Erika felt compelled to one-up them with this super-cool and perverted boyfriend of hers that she totally has.

Ayumi, Erika’s one actual friend (but unfortunately in another class), would very much like her to give it a rest already. It’s been two months, and it’s obvious Aki & Marin have their doubts about the boyfriend’s existence. At the very least, Ayumi making fake phone calls from him to Erika doesn’t cut it anymore, and her phone bill’s running off quite a lot, so she’s out.

Kyoya, a random handsome dude Erika stumbles on in the street. Here, stay still while she takes your picture, and be utterly confused as she runs away. There, that’ll be enough proof for the gals, right ? Wait, what do you mean he’s attending the same high school, and is famous enough to have gained the “Prince” nickname ? Oh, crap.

To Erika’s surprise, when she eventually comes clean to him, he’s actually fine with pretending to be her boyfriend. In exchange… well, he’s always wanted a dog. So spin around and bark.

Production Values

Perfectly alright for this kind of thing. It sometimes goes a bit abstract, and sometimes giving Erika random wolf ears doesn’t make the metaphor any less strained, but it sells the jokes and that’s what matters.

Overall Impression

In shoujo romance, there are basically two types of stories : either maladjusted shy kids take their time to get together, or the girl falls for an sadistic jerkass who blackmails her into an abusive relationship. We’re firmly in the second camp here.

The good news is that this series is actually fun instead of rape-tastic. Most of Erika’s troubles are self-inflicted, and Kyoya spends more time disentangling her from those messes than really pushing her boundaries. And while her misadventures are hilarious, she really needs to grow up ; if he can be the catalyst for that, then so be it.

A pleasant surprise. (Although I really shouldn’t be ; shoujo romances have often been well worth my while recently.)

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Fall 2014 – Page 3.

Celestial Method (Sora no Method)

(12ish episodes ?)

What’s it about ?

Pastoral and semi-fantastical slice-of-life-ish, I guess ?
(For the record, a manga adaptation has already started publishing, but this is the core series.)

Characters

Nonoka, our protagonist. She abruptly left this small town 7 years ago, and now she and her father are moving back in. (Her mother isn’t. It sounds like she was already sick at the time, and that’s why they went to the big town.) She has trouble remembering her former life here, which is an excuse for fragmentary flashback to be spread throughout the episode. She’s a bit miffed that Dad has her do a major part of the installation, but then he’s busy with his new job…

Noel, the bizarre cyan-haired girl who randomly shows up in her room. Nonoka doesn’t even notice her at first, and can’t recall that they met 7 years ago. She might have something to do with the weird glowing thing hanging over the town. Heck, it looks a lot like Nonoka and her friends “summoned” her somehow back then, and she’s been waiting ever since. Nonoka spends much of the episode furious at her due to a stupid misunderstanding, and then they make up. So Noel’s ready to grant her wish !

The previously-mentioned friends make short appearances in the present day. One’s utterly furious at Nonaka (and the world in general) but won’t elaborate. Another’s a natural airhead. There’s a token guy.

Production Values

Scenery porn, here we come !

Overall Impression

Oh, dear, my greatest nemesis : “healing” anime. Must. Not. Fall. Asleep. There’s something about this kind of anime that bores me to death, and this one doesn’t stray from the norm. The one-dimensional characters and slow pacing don’t help.

There’s nothing really wrong with this series ; I just don’t care about what happens to these people. So I’ll be on my way and ignore it.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Fall 2014 – Page 3.