Author: Jhiday

I've been kinda blogging about anime for years... but mostly on forums (such as RPG.net's Tangency) and other sites. This site is an archive for all that stuff, just in case.

Chronicles of the Going-Home Club (Kitakubu Katsudou Kiroku)

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

The “Going-Home Club” is an euphemism for the students who don’t join any club and just go home after class. (In the Japanese school system, there’s a lot of pressure to join a club, any club for social purposes ; the students who don’t are usually a minority.) Here, the joke is that there’s an actual official Going-Home Club, with clubroom and everything.

Adapted from a 4-panel gag manga, obviously.

Characters

Natsuki, our point-of-view character ; as a high school freshman, she joins the Going-Home Club on a Wacky Misunderstanding and spends the whole episode (and probably the whole series) complaining on how this club makes no sense.

Karin, the other new recruit of the club. The naive one, who pushed Natsuki into joining despite having herself no clue what the club’s about.

Before that, the club had three members : the very enthusiastic president Sakura, and two high-class girls whose social standing demands that they belong to a club but presumably didn’t want the hassle of join a real club.

Production Values

Not much good. There are some decent backgrounds, but the animation is very limited and the character designs leave something to be desired.

Overall Impression

Not very good. It’s got some decent jokes (I loved the “premature cliffhangers” where the ED music starts playing despite the show not being over), but they get fewer and farther between as the episode goes, and the premise is already wearing thin by the end of it. I just can’t see the joke supporting a full series.

Just not funny enough for me to bother with.

via [In which I review] New anime, Summer 2013 – Page 2.

FREE! – Iwatobi Swim Club

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Sports show about FREESTYLE SWIMMING ! Well, whenever they actually get around to restarting the swimming club, presumably.

Characters

Haruka, our lead character. Utterly obsessed with swimming, to the point of wearing a swimsuit (and often not much else) at all times. Unfortunately, his current high school doesn’t have a functional pool, let alone a swimming club. And it’s too cold to dive into the ocean yet. Not that he’s got much competition drive at this point, anyway. If only he got some spark…

Makoto, his best friend from way back. The kind of childhood friend that’s totally comfortable with entering his house, finding him in his bath, and gently scolding him for being late. It’s pretty obvious that Haruka is mostly ignoring him, but Makoto can’t take the hint. He’s the guy who acts as a straight man in all conversations.

Nagisa, who used to be in the same swimming club back in elementary school, and only just came back in town, joining the same high school. He’s kinda miffed that his old friends aren’t doing any competition swimming anymore, but as the enthusiastic one he doesn’t let that stop him from convincing the two others to break into their old (abandoned) elementary school at night so that they can retrieve the trophy they had left in a time capsule.

Rin, formerly the fourth member of their relay team and Haruka’s rival ; he’s just come back from Australia, but has enrolled into the super-elite school nearby with the top-class swimming club. His mere reappearance (checking in on the buried trophy too) is enough to start reigniting Haruka’s competitive drive.

Gou, Rin’s sister, is in the three others’ high school too. She doesn’t seem to be very close to her brother, and I highly suspect she’s going to be their inevitable swimming club’s manager or something. (Also, in keeping with the running joke that all the boys have girl-ish names, she has a boy-ish one.)

Their new homeroom teacher is presumably going to be important too (club advisor, most probably), as a point is made to mention that teaching was her second-choice career. Three guesses what she tried to do before that, and the first two don’t count.

Production Values

This features KyoAni’s usual attention to detail regarding backgrounds and animation of body language… which in this case means much focus on those young muscled, supple half-naked bodies. But hey, it’s not that much different from your usual testosterone-ladden sports show.

Speaking of testosterone, I love the ridiculously gung-ho rap tunes that start playing whenever Haruka & Rin are in the same room.

Overall Impression

The question was on everyone’s mind after those trailers : is this just trolling, or is there a proper show in there beyond the homoerotic subtext ? Well, the good news is that this does have a perfectly serviceable premise… but it doesn’t rise much above the sea of clichés inherent to the genre. It also has no subtlety whatsoever. (The naming joke mentioned above is spelt out explicitly, for example.)

But hey, I have a weakness for sports shows, and I have no problem watching one that’s in about the same league as, say, Kuroko’s Basketball. (Well, a bit prettier, maybe.) I’m probably going to keep with it, although I really don’t expect it to be great.

via [In which I review] New anime, Summer 2013 – Page 2.

Brothers Conflict

(13 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Look, the official abbreviation for this series is “BroCon”. Do I really need to spell it out ?
(Adapted from a series of shojo novels, which of course got otome game adaptations.)

Characters

“Chi”, our female main character… wait, her real name’s never actually uttered at any point in the whole episode ? Wow. Way to make her even more generic. Anyway, her father has just remarried, and so she moves in with her new family, i.e. 13 brothers. (Daddy and new-Mommy actually live elsewhere because work.)

Juli, her pet squirrel. For some reason she can talk with it. It’s very overprotective of her, what with her now living with 13 men. Very annoying indeed.

The various brothers don’t really get to show off more than one personality trait each, and they’re all generically handsome.

Production Values

Perfectly okay for this sort of thing.

Overall Impression

Let’s be frank : this is an incest-bait show. I’m not sure how seriously the more proactive brothers are supposed to pursue things, but at the very least there’s some insistant teasing. (And just to round things up, the two twin actors also act out a gay scene, because “fun” misunderstandings.) It doesn’t help that the –ing squirrel keeps issuing warnings to the MC even when everyone’s acting perfectly innocent.

There might be a very narrow audience that finds this kind of show riveting. I’m not part of it.

via [In which I review] New anime, Summer 2013 – Page 2.

Sunday Without God (Kamisama no Inai Nichiyoubi)

(13 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Remember the parable about God creating the world in six days, and resting on Sunday ? Well, here he finished the job in five days, rested on Saturday, and just left on Sunday. As a result, people don’t really die anymore, unless those special people called Gravediggers bury them and give them eternal rest.

Characters

Ai, our protagonist, is the cutest little Gravedigger ever : loved by her whole village and her adoptive parents. Sure, she had to bury her own mother and her father is a mystery, but she’s happy, right ? And nobody’d ever lie to her about being a Gravedigger, right ?

“Humpnie Humbert”, who readily admits this is a bullshit pseudonym (taken from some fairy tale). Unfortunately, this is also the name Ai’s mother gave as the father’s (which should ring alarm bells to anyone with a lick of sense), which causes a lot of confusion. But not among the villagers, as he’s already killed them all. Well, shot them until they became zombies, given how the world is now. Why ? He doesn’t say. He much prefers deriding the cruel joke the townfolk inflicted on Ai : Gravediggers don’t have parents, they come from nowhere when they’re needed. Ai’s mother must just have been deluded.

The sad thing is that I can’t tell whether this asshole is right ; there are some hints that Ai does have Gravedigger powers… or maybe not.

Production Values

I watched a preview streamed from NicoNico (the show is set to have proper airings starting Saturday), so this means no OP/ED sequences, and eyebleed-o-vision quality. It’s still very distinctive artistically, with oversaturated colours all the time (making it seem like all the scenes are shot at dawn or dusk) and a love for Dutch angles. It certainly contributes to the surreality of the whole piece.

Overall Impression

Well, the least I can say is that this is a show that makes an impression. There’s a contrast between the bleak premise and Ai’s cheerfulness (Aki Toyosaki in full squeaky mode) that makes it way more depressing than if it was just played straight. It’s not just yet another zombie show, as it quickly builds up a very distinctive atmosphere.

It doesn’t entirely work, though. There are bits where the banter between Ai and the mysterious stranger goes a bit too much comedic to really mesh with the oppressive mood, making the tone of the episode vary quite a bit more than it needs to be really effective. It’s a bit too much all over the place.

There are some bits that do work, though. The progressive reveal of that one villager’s head wound, that’s somehow always out of sight from the camera until he pulls on his hood and you can plainly see that his skull’s shape is just horribly wrong, is a very nicely paced sequence. As is the scene where Ai has cheerfully dug up graves for the whole village in advance, and wonders out loud what she’s going to do now. Great moments, but the show doesn’t quite find its groove yet.

But I’m intrigued enough to give it at least another episode to see where this is going.

via [In which I review] New anime, Summer 2013 – Page 2.

Dog & Scissors (Inu to Hasami wa Tsukaiyou)

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

The adventures of a deeply eccentric novel author and her biggest fanboy… who’s a dog.
(Adapted from a light novel series, if you hadn’t guessed.)

Characters

Kazuhito Harumi, used to be a normal high school boy… well, as normal as a guy who spends all his money on books can be. One day, he’s killed in a diner robbery gone horribly wrong. He wakes up as a dog, for some unknown reason.

Kirihime Natsuno (nom de plume : Shinobu Akiyama), his favourite author. She hears his thoughts non-stop after his transformation, and tracks him down in order to get some peace. She refrains from killing him once she figures out he’s the same boy who saved her life during the robbery ; she’s obviously grateful and offers him to stay at her place. She remains very cold and borderline sadistic throughout the episode, though. Also, she carries a pair of scissors at her thigh at all times, hence the series’ title.

There are lots of other characters shown in the OP/ED sequences and making cameos at various point (including an idol who seems to be in every commercial), but their significance has yet to become apparent.

Production Values

Quite nice, actually. There’s some decent atmosphere, and it’s good enough to sell the jokes. The OP sequence is fun and catchy, which is quite an achievement since it starts with Marina Inoue rapping.

Overall Impression

Well, I’ll give it that : it’s better than I expected from the title and outline. There are some decent jokes, and the story happens to be way less stupidly than you’d have thought.

But it’s still not very good. Way too much time is spent on stale unfunny bust size jokes, and the S&M subtext is so blunt and generic that it becomes unsavoury. Moreover, there’s no sense that the story is going anywhere : sure, Natsuno is already going after the killer, and there’s the mystery of how Harumi became a dog in the first place, but none of these directions seem particularly promising ; this doesn’t feel like a premise that can support a 12-episode series.

In another season I might have given it more of a chance, as there were a few good laughs here, but I can’t justify keeping watching it.

via [In which I review] New anime, Summer 2013.

Spring 2013 capsules

It’s Tuesday, and for some reason this means we get a deluge of shorts. (Okay, the first one actually airs on Sundays, but it took a bit to get fansubbed).

Bloodtype-kun (Kitsuekigata-kun) is built around the stereotyped personalities that are associated with the various bloodtypes. I might get more out of it if I actually was familiar with them, but it’s actually somewhat fun even for the uninitiated, in part thanks to a very strong cast who could make the phonebook entertaining. (Jun Fukuyama, Akira Ishida AND Yuuichi Nakamura ? For THIS ?)

AIURA illustrates the perils of doing a very relaxed, well-animated slice-of-life show taking a lot of time to enjoy the little things of life… because in three minutes, it doesn’t even get close to any kind of point. The characters are reasonably fun to follow, but this is completely the wrong format for this. It’s just intensely frustrating.

Sparrow Hotel is the complete opposite, packing tons of jokes in its short running time… except barely any of them are actually funny. And this looks like complete crap, with a horrible character design for its lead character, and barely deserved to be called “animated” at all.

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2013 – Page 11.

I’m not going to bother doing a full review for Yuyushiki, a 4-panel gag manga adaptation following three high-school girls whose name start with “Yu…” (yes, that’s the entire premise). It’s very vaguely funny if you squint, the animation budget is more than spartan, and it’s so generic and unremarkable on every level that I just can’t muster the will to write any more about it.

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2013 – Page 12.

The Pervert Prince and the Stony Cat (Hentai Ouji to Warawanai Neko.)

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

High school romantic comedy.

Characters

Yokoudera, our perverted protagonist. The kind of guy who joins the track & field club just so that he can have an excuse to squat up and down in front of the swimming pool’s window. The club president mistakes it as dedication to the club, and names him her successor ; he’d like to refuse, but couldn’t find the nerve to. That night, he makes an offering to the Stony Cat, which unexpectedly ends up working : he doesn’t have any inhibitions anymore. Considering his filthy mind, that’s not a good thing ; he’s quickly dubbed the “Pervert Prince” across all campus.

Azusa, a high-class student at his school who inherited his inhibitions : she’s now unable to publicly speak her mind regarding his antics for fear of losing face. Hopefully he can convince her to give them back ? (I’m not sure him grovelling like a dog is going to do the job, though.)

Tsukiko, a girl who made a wish to show less emotions on her face at the same time ; she’s now utterly unable to express anything. Her main purpose, beyond probable love interest, is to provide tons and tons of exposition.

Production Values

Utterly unremarkable.

Overall Impression

It’s not a real anime season without a tiresome embarrassment “comedy” is it ? While there are some decent jokes here and there, this is just painful to watch, with every plot twist making the characters more unlikeable and the show less entertaining.

Avoid.

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2013 – Page 15.

Valvrave the Liberator (Kakumeiki Valvrave)

(12 episodes + 12 episodes this Fall)

What’s it about ?

Our third sci-fi mecha show of the season.

Characters

Haruto, our generic high school protagonist. Except this is the FUTURE! so his high school is on a gigantic space station near Earth. It’s supposed to be neutral grounds, so of course it gets attacked by an agressive Earth faction right as the series starts.

Shouko, his not-quite-girlfriend. She’s vastly more fun and charismatic than him, so of course she gets killed off halfway through the episode so as to provide him impetus to act. /facepalm

The villains have sent out a squad of five teenage soldiers to infiltrate the space station by posing as high school students. (“Wait, weren’t there supposed to be only two transfer students ?” “SLICE!”) Those guys are ruthlessly efficient, but still human enough to get temporarily sidetracked into arguments with the students they cross paths with. The full-blown mecha attack from the outside is actually a diversion so that they can locate and get theirs hands on…

The Valvrave, a secret high-tech mecha which is for some reason housed in the basement under the school (neutral, my ass !). It’s the kind of mecha which includes “Do you want to resign as a human being ?” in the boot-up sequence. Of course it’s Haruto who ends up in the cockpit instead of the infiltrators.

There’s a dozen other students who get enough glimpses of screentime to indicate they’ll be part of the regular supporting cast.

Production Values

Sunrise can produce decent mecha action in their sleep by now, so it’s nice to see them not half-assing it. This is a very nice-looking show, with the colourfulness sharply contrasting with the bloody action.

What did I think of it ?

Damn it. Fridging your most prominent female character right from the onset ? Not cool, show. I rarely get angry at anime series, but this really isn’t a good way to start off. (Yeah, I know it’s ambiguous enough that Shouko may just have been blown clear of the explosion. But I fear that’s just wishful thinking.)

Which is a shame, because this is otherwise a good opening episode, packing lots of plot inside 22 minutes. The infiltrator squad are a really fun bunch to follow, and the post-credits coda is very well-executed indeed.

It’s a very promising show ; shame about the bad taste it left in my mouth…

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2013 – Page 14.

Arata Kangatari

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Fantasy show with a protagonist displaced from our world.

Characters

Arata is the last heir of his clan, which is a bit of a problem since they were supposed to produce a female heir to replace the current Queen, who’s been reigning for 60 years (the clan already missed the original deadline 30 years ago). Their zany plan is to send him in drag to buy time for a few days while they find a suitable replacement. The problem is that the Queen’s 12 super-bodyguards murder her right in front of him as they stage a coup. He barely escapes alive, but he’s now a wanted “murderer”, as the bodyguards use him as a fall guy.

Arata is a random high-schooler who suffers from a particularly bad case of bullying. His middle school nemesis is carrying on as always, the one friend he thought he’d made is quick to deny any actual friendship, and he just wants to be gone from this world.

He gets his wish, as the two Aratas get switched up somehow. (It seems this kind of thing routinely happens in the cursed forest fantasy!Arata had taken refuge in.) Despite modern!Arata still being depicted in his school uniform, everyone seems to see him as fantasy!Arata, and just think he’s gone mad and/or lost his memory. While he’s not particularly thrilled about this development, he clearly sees the bodyguards attacking the clan for the bullies they are, and stands up against them. Fortunately for what would otherwise be a very short story, he can use the ancestral clan weapon that’s lying around…

Production Values

Sharp contrast between the colourful fantasy world (even the Queen’s blood looks shiny !) and the brown-ish modern world. Which works very well. It helps that the animation’s quite nice and does some good work on the details and facial expressions.

Overall Impression

This is actually quite fun. There are some gaping holes in the plot (what were the clan hoping to accomplish in three days that they couldn’t do in the last 30 years ?), and the transitions between the two worlds are far from smooth ; but once the switch happens it all makes sense : the potentially annoying bullied Arata is actually quite more interesting when his issues get imported into the (much more fun) fantasy setting.

I’m actually interested in watching a second episode of this to see where it’s going, which is more than what I thought at the start of the episode. Mission accomplished ?

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2013 – Page 10.

Insect Magistrate (Mushibugyou)

(25ish episodes)

What’s it about ?

Shounen heroic-fantasy show, set in a vaguely Edo-ish Japan.

Characters

Jinbee, our protagonist. His father, a renowned samurai, was summoned to work for the Insect Magistrate’s office ; but since he got disgraced and maimed in an infamous incident, the son has come in his place. He’s eager to prove himself, although he’s not exactly too competent.

A pair of boobs, who may be attached to an inn waitress called Oharu who helps Jinbee out before becoming a damsel in distress.

The Insect Magistrate’s office is made of a stern-looking guy who’s in charge, and a variety of elite fighters with various specialties (the bomb expert, the berserker…). Their job : fight the giant monstrous bugs that are randomly attacking and eating people all over the place. The implication is that a good chunk of the population died before the authorities set this squad up. (Apparently at the people’s suggestion, because there was no obvious need for it… /facepalm)

Production Values

Bright and shiny, which stands in sharp contrast to the grittiness of the scenes involving the bugs. I’m not really sure the juxtaposition works, though. It just looks like a bit of a mess.

Overall Impression

A textbook example of how you can make elite samurai warriors fighting bugs utterly boring. The complete lack of depth of the characters makes this a very shallow watch indeed, and it’s really hard to care when they get caught up in danger. It’s a parade of annoying clichés, and it just doesn’t work.

Don’t bother with this one.

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2013 – Page 10.