Jhiday – Page 30 – Blog@Jhiday.net

Witch Craft Works

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

You know those light novel adaptations about girls falling into a boring protagonist’s lap, with a generic fantasy setting ? Well, this isn’t one of the many ones we’re getting this season ; it’s actually adapted from a manga series. But it sure fooled me.

Characters

Takamiya, our generic high-school-student male lead. You can see this is adapted from a light novel because he’s constantly narrating or monologuing, when he should really just shut up and let the story happen. There’s certainly absolutely nothing of interest in his commentary. To the point that it’s a relief when a building drops onto him.

Kagari, the girl sitting next to him in class. She’s ridiculously popular, with a humongous fanclub stalking her, and bullying Takamiya when he gets a bit too close to her by accident. She also looks permanently zoned out, never letting any emotion show on her blank face. Also, he learns that she’s sticking close to him on purpose, so as to protect him from magical attacks. You see, he’s Important ; he’s to be her “Princess”. (Yes, you read that right. He has no clue what the heck either.) Also, she’s a Fire Witch, and quite a powerful one.

Kuraishi, the catgirl witch behind the attacks. She deals with illusion magic, so unfortunately a building didn’t really drop onto Takamiya. On the other hand, she can also command armies of armoured rabbit dolls, or whatever those hordes are. Kagari makes short work of those, but they do look quite threatening until then.

The attacker wasn’t actually a student in this school, but she transfers in at the end, together with four others who look just as antagonistic.

Production Values

Wow, there’s quite a bit of budget here ; the fights looks very good indeed. The visuals for the hordes of rabbits are a lot of fun (and there’s quite some attention to detail to give each some personality), and there are also nice visual gags for the bullying shots. The soundtrack is very good, too : the score is very atmospheric indeed.

Overall Impression

Hmm. I was planning to give this a pass, because seriously this story is the kind of generic crap we get several times over each season. But the directing is impressive enough to make me take notice ; it’s a great-looking and -sounding package.

Against my better judgement, I’m going to give it a second episode.

via [In which I review] New anime, Winter 2014.

Buddy Complex

What’s it about ?

Terminator with mecha.

Characters

Aoba, our generic high-school student protagonist. He’s got a generic (absence of) personality, and generic friends constantly saying how great a guy he is. He’s the picture of boring normalcy.

Hina, the girl sitting next to him in class who transferred in recently. Everyone just assumes she’s stalking him because she’s infatuated with him (for some unfathomable reason) ; and while there might be some degree of truth to that, the real reason is that he’s going to be Really Important in the future, and she’s a time-traveller who’s come back in time to protect him from…

Er, actually, I didn’t quite catch this guy’s name. (And since the credits just have him as a purposefully uncredited “pilot”, I presume that’s a plot point.) Anyway, he’s fallen into a wormhole from the future with his mecha, and for some reason he makes a beeline to kill Aoba. Hina was in hot pursuit, but somehow ended up arriving several months earlier ; this makes me believe time-travel isn’t an exact science here.

Anyway, the battle escalates enough for Hina to decide that the best course of action is to throw her mecha (with Aoba also in the cockpit) together with the other guy’s into another wormhole. When Aoba wakes up after that, he’s alone in a completely different mecha, at some point in the future, and the army owning that mecha is scrambling for combat…

Production Values

It’s Sunrise doing mecha. Of course it looks fine.

Overall Impression

Well, that’s certainly an intriguing start. I’m not too fond of the characters yet, but the premise is introduced well enough to feel interesting despite them. I certainly appreciated the way it rushed to have Aoba into the future so quickly, as there certainly wasn’t anything of much interest in the present.

I’ll give it a few episodes to see where it goes. (I have no clue whatsoever why it’s called “Buddy Complex” yet, for example.)

via [In which I review] New anime, Winter 2014.

Best anime of 2013

2013 was a decent year for anime, although a lot the most note-worthy stuff is somehow divided between 2012 leftovers and Fall shows that aren’t done yet. NoitaminA taking half the year off didn’t help. Still, there was a lot to like here.

Without further ado, my personal favourites of the year :

[1] Puella Magi Madoka Madoka Movie #3 – Rebellion
By far the best anime I’ve watched this year. Not only is it on a completely different level from anything else on a technical level – pure eye-candy from beginning to end – but it also manages to square the circle of justifying its existence despite the original series having a definitive ending already. It could have been empty fanservice (and let’s be honest, most of the movie is), but it’s actually a worthwhile addition to the series.
Continue reading Best anime of 2013

This site is a work in progress !

Hello, folks !

I’m Jhiday, and I’ve set up this blog to archive the many anime reviews and other long-term projects I’ve written on RPG.net and elsewhere.

That’s going to take a while, though, as I still have the following tasks on my TODO list before I’m really comfortable with writing new content here :

~~Archive the Fall 2013 new anime reviews~~ DONE (that was a heavy season…)
~~Archive the bulk of the anime retro reviews~~ DONE
Archive the Great Gundam Marathon
~~Add proper tags to the seasonal reviews lacking them (Summer 2011 to Summer 2012)~~ DONE
Do something about this unwieldy and bare-bones layout (and maybe add some custom metadata ?)
Build (or find) some better category indexes to use instead of the really crap WordPress default ones

Please bear with it, hopefully everything should be ready by next year.

Fall 2013 capsules

Miss Monochrome has a bizarre genesis. This is a virtual idol character, a bit like Hatsune Miku… except she’s voiced by proper idol/VA Yui Horie (with some mighty autotune, if the end song is any indication). Anyway, this is a series of 4-minute shorts starring the character, trying to become an idol.
The good news is that, after a bit of a dull start, it manages to place some good deadpan jokes. It’s genuinely funny, which is more than I expected of such a gimmick show.

On the other hand, I can’t make head nor tails out of Super Seishyun Brothers, another series of 4-minute shorts starring (unlike the title suggests) two brother-sister pairs. It actually started airing a couple of weeks ago, but I was (unsuccessfully) waiting for a second episode to get translated to get a better feel of it.
So far, it’s a gag show that barely raises a smile at all. It utterly failed to make it clear whether there’s any premise beyond “here are four character with outlandish (but generic) personalities.” I’m giving it a second episode just in case, but it looks completely skippable.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Fall 2013 – Page 4.

Hey, there are still more new shows getting released !

Admittedly, that means the like of Gaist Crusher : a kids’ sentai show adapted from some collectible card game. It’s the blandest and most generic piece of crap I have watched for a long time, which is saying something. From off-the-shelf one-dimensional characters to nearly absent world-building (what are the heroes even fighting ?) to character designs that would have been rejected by any self-respecting Saint Seiya clone… There’s absolutely nothing to recommend in this, and no way I’m bothering with a full review for it.

(That I watched this with terrible subtitles that seem to have gone through several languages before reaching English probably didn’t help. But even a decent translation can’t save this show.)

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Fall 2013 – Page 14.

Galilei Donna

(11 episodes)

What’s it about ?

“21th-century steampunk” is the best description I can come up with, however nonsensical it sounds.

Characters

Our central characters are the three “Galilei” sisters, apparently direct descendants of the historical figure :
– Hazuki wants to become a top-class lawyer, but is clearly dropping out of her law college.
– Kazuki is a high schooler whose main interest seems to be martial arts, and who hates interacting with her classmates.
– I’m not sure Hozuki even goes to school ; she spends most of her time tinkering in the basement. I love her jet-powered foldable scooter, which can somehow be transformed into a portable rocket launcher.

Mom spends a lot of time blathering on and on about the great legacy they’re carrying, and failing to measure up to (not that any of them care) ; Dad is a lot more easygoing. You can see why they’re separated.

Cicinho is a stylish and charismatic Italian villain who’s after the Galilei inheritance (whatever that is ; Mom and Dad claim to have no clue) and kicks off the plot by having his MIB try and capture the three kids. After the first “subtle” attempt fails (Hazuki’s saved by a college friend of hers ; Kazuki martial-arts her way out ; and Hozuki has a portable rocket launcher) and the ‘rents call on the police to get some protection, he barges in with a lot more men and firepower, and captures them all.

Wait, not all. Hozuki manages to sneak into the basement, from which she launches a giant goldfish-shaped flying ship. Sure, Cicinho has a bigger flying ship, but the goldfish’s got better weapons and AI.

The rest of the family have no clue what the heck. Neither does Cicinho, who exits stage left.

And it turns out that Hazuki’s college friend/rescuer possesses an agenda of her own. Of course she does.

Production Values

Very impressive. Lots of CG for all the flying vehicles, but it’s integrated into the main animation rather smoothly.

Overall Impression

Well, this is certainly a show that knows how to make an impression. But for all the storm and thunder, it’s obviously going to be a story about a broken family reconnecting in face of adversity. While flying around the world in a giant mechanical goldfish.

I can get behind that.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Fall 2013 – Page 13.

Samurai Flamenco

(22 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Wannabe superheroes.

Characters

Hazama is a young man who was fortunate enough to start a career as a popular model, but that’s not what he really wants to do. No, his true calling is to be the superhero SAMURAI FLAMENCO!, modeled on the sentai heroes of his youth. Do note that this guy has no superpowers whatsoever : he just puts on a silly costume and patrols the streets of his neighbourhood at night to tell off drunken salarymen, jaywalkers and rowdy middle schoolers. Who often proceed to beat the crap out of him, since it’s not like he has any fighting skills.

Goto is our point-of-view character : he’s a beat cop who happens to stumble on Hazama after a badly-timed costume change. Since he was off-duty at the time, he doesn’t bring him in immediately, and takes the time to listen to the guy’s story. While he facepalms regularly at the moron, he’s not entirely unsympathetic ; he begrudgingly admits to liking sentai shows too, and presumably this had a hand in him becoming a cop. Of course, he’d rather Hazama channeled his thirst for JUSTICE! through non-vigilante and non-stupid means, but for now he’s not turning the idiot over (and goes out of his way to bail his new friend out when he gets into too much trouble).

Notionally Goto has a girlfriend, but it’s a long-distance relationship, and doesn’t impede on the burgeoning bromance.

The OP sequence shows off a lot more characters (and the ED focuses on the so far barely present female cast), but this first episode is squarely about establishing the two leads.

Production Values

Very nice looking. The OP sequence promises some actual sentai-style action down the line, but that’s for much later ; the “action” scenes so far solely consists of people beating SAMURAI FLAMENCO! up. But with lovingly animated detail.

Overall Impression

I had no clue what to expect of this show… but certainly not “realistic” superheroes. It’s a pleasant surprise, though ; while a lot of the appeal may depend on how much you love sentai shows (because everyone involved in producing this surely does), but this is a lot of fun to watch. And it’s a very polished first episode, perfectly establishing the premise and the two leads.

I’m genuinely curious about where this is going, as it should have enough time to develop its story properly. I’m onboard.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Fall 2013 – Page 13.

My Mental Multiple-Choice Power Is Completely Ruining My School Romantic Comedy (Ore no Nounai Sentakushi ga, Gakuen Love Comedy wo Zenryoku de Jama Shiteiru)

(10 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of a light novel series taking the piss out of dating sims.
(I believe the official nickname is “NouKome”.)

Trigger warning : there are some actual jokes in this. Do not drink while watching.

Characters

Kanade, our generic high-school protagonist, is afflicted with a very bizarre condition : he’ll randomly have seizures where multiple choices appear in front of him. (1) The choices are framed by over-the-top dramatic music and narrated by Jouji Nakata. (2) He MUST choose to avoid the pain. (3) The choices are most often between two equally silly and embarassing things.

Yukihira, the girl sitting behind him in class, is one of the few classmates of his that don’t recoil as soon as he freezes, about to be doing something very stupid. That’s mostly because she’s a complete troll, and finds him entertaining.

Ouka is another of those few people he’s on speaking terms with. Mostly because she’s always ridiculously cheerful and doesn’t seem to care about his antics. As the daughter of the CEO of some vast conglomerate, she’s always smuggling in various samples for her classmates to try out. Today’s batch includes blue pills for middle-aged women (why are you even bringing this to high school ?), an actual money-making machine (which looks even more illegal than improbable), and some bug-shaped candies (ingredient list not disclosed).

Most classmates refer to them as part of the “Reject Five”, which implies there are two more oddballs yet to be introduced (they show up in the OP/ED sequences).

Their pint-sized teacher knows about Kanade’s condition, but still takes every opportunity to troll him.

One more thing : those multiple choices aren’t delusions. When Kanade chooses that “a pretty girl falls out of the sky” (instead of “my fat neighbour falls out of the sky”), then you can be damn sure a pretty girl is going to fall out of the sky (and onto him), physics be damned.

Production Values

While this doesn’t have that much of a budget, there’s some flair in the direction, and it looks good enough to sell the jokes. I especially love Yukihira’s body language, as half her shtick wouldn’t work otherwise.

The fanservice is more than mild, as you’d expect from this kind of thing. Still nowhere too outrageous, and the OP sequence where all the female cast do backflips without actually showing anything has to be seen to be believed.

Overall Impression

What. The. Fuck. Was. That.

If the premise isn’t bizarre enough for you, then the early 4-minute TV reportage showing a montage of people endorsing the value of choice will probably do the job. (I was sold at “[famous Japanese historical figure] could have (1) assassinated [other famous Japanese historical figure] or (2) rolled around with a dolphin. He chose the first option, and history was made.”)

I haven’t laughed this hard while watching an anime series for a good long while. Some of the jokes will make you cringe, not all of them land, but there’s such a rapid-fire string of them that it doesn’t matter. Random absurdity with good comedic timing : it just works.

There’s always the risk it may run out of steam before ending, but so far, so good.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Fall 2013 – Page 13.

BlazBlue: Alter Memory

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Fighting game adaptation.

Characters

Ragna the Bloodedge is probably our protagonist. He’s a grim guy with an enormous sword who fights people like him. There’s every indication he’s been at it for a while, killing the same people repeatedly in an unbreakable cycle. There’s a bounty on him.

Noel Vermillion is part of the police force or whatever who are tasked with hunting him down. Her boss has actually instructed her to stay out of it while he does the actual footwork ; since he takes a bloody beating over the course of the episode, she feels free to take over the investigation.

There’s a green-haired guy who seems to take great delight in watching all this happen, and manipulating people. Sometimes he floats upside down.

Production Values

You know a show has run out of money when the OP sequence clumsily recycles many shots from the action prologue you’ve just watched. The ED sequence is barely animated at all, but at least it’s a bit stylish. Which is more than you can say about the rest of the show, which looks like shit.

Overall Impression

Excuse me if I fail to summon any enthusiasm describing this crap. It’s hard to give a toss about a token plot that’s just an excuse to show some fights… which aren’t worth your time watching them anyway.

I barely could withstand an episode of this ; no way I stick with it.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Fall 2013 – Page 12.

Yozakura Quartet: Hana no Uta

(13 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Yet another urban fantasy story, but at least it’s more of an ensemble piece than usual.

This seems to be either a remake or a prequel for the original Yozakura Quartet series (that I haven’t seen) ; that allows it to narrowly bypass my usual “no sequels” rule.

Characters

Hime, who may or may not be the leader of this teenage group, and somehow holds the title of “Mayor” of this town (with beleaguered adult attendant in tow). So far, that mostly means being in charge of organizing this festival. She’s a normal human being, although quite good with a quaterstaff.

Kotoha, on the other hand, is half-youkai. She’s clearly the most powerful of the lot, as her voice can make any object materialize out of thin air. Also, she’s voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro, and thus awesome.

Ao is a blue-haired catgirl with not-very reliable divination powers (not much good at giving a picture of a lost little girl’s parents). On the other hand, she’s quite adept at jumping around all other.

Akina is the one dude in their group, and claims to be a normal human (I have no clue whether the light show he can put out is all trickery or actual powers). He’s manning the lost kids desk for the festival.

The plot involves a mysterious guy wreaking havoc on the festival by… making the goldfish gigantic. Apparently it’s a test to take the measure of our heroes.

Production Values

Not too flashy, but with some meticulous care for body language. Cool eyecatches, too.

Overall Impression

The immediate question : does this stand on its own, or is it impenetrable for the newbie ? The good news : it works quite well at establishing the characters, even if I’m a bit hazy about what the actual premise is (besides there being this town where humans and youkai coexist happily). And there’s a very good twist after the credits.

I’m starting to have some sleep issues by now (marathoning these reviews is taking its toll), and this is one of the shows suffering from it. But I can clearly recognize it’s well-put together and deserves more of my time.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Fall 2013 – Page 12.