Jhiday – Page 39 – Blog@Jhiday.net

Cuticle Detective Inaba (Cuticle Tantei Inaba)

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

The wacky adventures of a werewolf private detective.

Characters

Inaba, the title detective werewolf. Complete immature goofball. Aside from his (wildly inconsistent) tracking abilities, he can also “power up” and extract ridiculous power from strands of hair. His single point of angst is regarding his missing younger brother, and even that is played for laugh.

The less said about Yuuta, his scarily violent cross-dressing assistant, the better.

Kei, his other assistant, gets the “only sane man” role. Alas, I can’t see his sanity surviving more than a couple episodes of this.

Ogino, an actual police detective who knew Inaba before the latter left the force, and brings him new cases too tough (or too bizarre) for the police to solve. His pained attempts to desperately keep the plot on track aren’t too successful.

Our villain this episode (and apparently the long-term nemesis) is Don Valentino, a counterfeiting goat. His minions include a devoted dude with a paper bag over his head, and a dominatrix assassin.

Production Values

Not very good. The animation is basic, and the whole thing looks cheap on every level.

Overall Impression

Let’s not beat around the bush : this is a completely insane and surreal show, throwing more and more weirdness in as it goes. It’s never afraid to be stupid or mind-bendingly bizarre for the sake of a joke.

The problem is that it’s not really funny. Most of the jokes don’t work, either because they’re oversold or because they’re just plain bad. There are some that do raise a smile occasionally, but the majority are tediously unfunny.

I was ready to cry uncle after five minutes of this. The rest of the episode didn’t change my mind, so I’m not recommending watching this. It’s just too painful.

via [In which I review] New anime, Winter 2013 – Page 3.

MAOYU – The Dark Lord and the Hero (Maoyuu Maou Yuusha)

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Heroic fantasy mixed with economics.

Characters

The Hero, champion of the human realms in their war against the demons. He’s in such a hurry to defeat the Dark Lord that he runs towards the Evil Castle, leaving his usual party members behind. He’s very gung-ho about the whole thing until he actually meets…

The Dark Lord, who’s really a gentle young woman, and has no desire to fight whatsoever. She’s sick of the war and would rather they find a way to end it together (well, that, and she’s smitten by the legendary dashing young man). Her death/capture/whatever would solve nothing, as there are way too many vested interests on both sides to keep the war going (cue a comprehensive lecture to a bemused Hero about the subject). They’re going to need to be more clever than that…

(In case you’re wondering, nobody in this show has any name beyond their role ; for example the Hero’s party comprises, beyond him, of the Female Knight, the Magician and the Old Archer.)

Production Values

One could have expected the worst from studio Arms, who have barely contributed to anything of worth since Elfen Lied nearly a decade ago, but did produce the likes of Queen’s Blade, Ikki Tousen and various porn OVAs. Well, while the camera is very interested in the Dark Lord’s huge tracts of land indeed, the fanservice level remains quite tame ; there’s nothing too egregious on that level.

Actually, this does look quite good. The backgrounds are quite good-looking (although the CG scenes look a bit awkward, especially that spinning battlefield one with the Hero’s party left behind), and the animation of the Dark Lord’s body language is very good indeed.

Overall Impression

They had me at “Jun Fukuyama & Ami Koshimizu flirting while talking about economics”, a formula with some pedigree indeed.

Now, this is a rough first episode. The (deliberately generic) backstory is rushed through in a terse narration infodump so that we can get to the one scene that matters, with our two leads meeting. This makes the Dark Lord’s infatuation come a bit out of nowhere, although the episode does manage to eventually sell it by its end. Similarly, the Hero’s final decision feels a bit too quick.

But that’s nitpicking. The two main voice actors make a very convincing job of quickly fleshing out their characters beyond the stated archetypes, while exuding tons of charisma throughout. (I had no clue you could display any charisma while spending the whole episode entirely baffled. Jun Fukuyuma somehow pulls it off.)

Also promising : the economics described here paint a very detailed picture of the human realms (the Dark Lord is more vague about the demon side of the equation) that makes perfect sense and feels impressively real. I’m eager to see what other aspects further episodes are going to explore. It certainly makes the stakes quite high from the get-go, and I wonder what the Dark Lord is planning to do. (The title for the second episode is… most intriguing.)

So. There are bits that don’t quite work. (By the way, why exactly is the Magician spouting the same catch-phrase as her voice-actress’s character in Smile Precure, of all things ?) But there are a lot that do work, including the show’s main selling points (the economics and the relationship between the two leads). So on balance I’m quite happy with continuing to watch this.

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

Fall 2012 capsules

I have no clue what all the fuss about Hayate the Combat Butler! Can’t Take My Eyes Off You “not being a sequel” was about, because it’s totally the same series continuing. No reboot, just more adventures in about the same setup. I don’t know where this falls chronologically, but it’s not like Hayate ever cared much about continuity before. Anyway, it’s still a perfectly okay gag series, without the self-indulgence of the recent movie (which nearly made me lose all interest in the franchise).

I’m not sure what to make of the Lytchee Light Club shorts. It’s about a sadistic high school secret society, the joke being that they kinda suck at being sadistic. Okay so far, but can it carry 26ish episodes, however short they are ?

I’m also torn on the Wooser’s Hand-to-Mouth Life shorts. On the one hand, it’s barely mildly funny. On the other hand, I always have time for Mamoru Miyano as a “cute” animal making pompous monologues.

via [In which I review] New anime, Fall 2012 – Page 2.

Some quick other notes :

The second season of Bakuman had a great opening episode, which was immediately mitigated by the second one jumping back to the tepid and sexist romance the series occasionally features. Well, you’ll be glad to see that the third season skips right past to the sexist bits. Hopefully it’ll go away quickly, as it always does, but that’s not an auspicious start.

I refuse to give a full review for the Teekyuu shorts. It has terrible-looking Flash animation (that seems to go out of its way to make my eyes bleed), and none of the “jokes” work. Avoid with prejudice.

via [In which I review] New anime, Fall 2012 – Page 5.

I’m not going to bother with a full writeup for Aoi Sekai no Chuushin de. In theory, it’s a fantasy fighting show where the characters are based on classic console franchises (with the main factions being the kingdoms of Sega & Nintendo). In practice, the gimmick stops at some characters’ names, and I couldn’t discern any jokes related to the premise. Or any jokes period : it’s a straight fantasy fighting show that takes itself dreadfully seriously and ends up being utterly boring. It’s obvious the producers have welded the high-concept onto a completely unrelated show just to give it a selling point. If you’ve been planning to check it out for the novelty value, don’t bother.

(Also, the schedule seems to be “one episode every few months”, so you’ll probably have completely forgotten about it by the time episode #2 airs.)

via [In which I review] New anime, Fall 2012 – Page 10.

Chousoku Henkei Gyrozetter

What’s it about ?

Sentai show with cool transforming cars.

Characters

Kakeru, our hotblooded young protagonist. Since this is The Future, all the cars come with an AI, which explains how he’s now getting his license despite being 14 at best. He’d probably have gotten it earlier if he wasn’t pissing off his teachers with his acrobatic (but perfectly mastered) driving. Anyway, the people in charge (pulling double duty as both school officials and members of the secret organisation that saves the world) have found a Rosetta-like stone prophetizing he’s the chosen one, and so give him a car that transforms into a giant robot so that he can fight off the baddies with it.

Rinne, his totally-girlfriend, is already an assistant teacher for driving classes despite not looking any older. (Her student looks 10 at most.) Also, did I mention she’s driving a Prius (c) (r) ™ ? She spends a good chunk of the episode in distress mode (mostly because she’s not at the wheel when the villains attack), but she gets her own transforming car/robot in the second episode.

In pure sentai tradition, the OP/ED show that the team is eventually going to be five-strong, with the fat-comic-relief, the stand-offish rival and the other girl presumably joining us soon.

Also in this episode : an over-enthusiastic TV reporter who spends all his screentime shouting exposition at us or telling us how awesome the action is.

Production Values

Very nice : there’s way enough budget to sell the action sequences, whether the car chase scenes or the giant-robot fights. It’s obviously a toyetic tie-in to something, but at least they’re not half-assing it.

I have to admit I laughed out loud at the ED sequence taking the piss out of the current trend of CG dancing sequences.

What did I think of it ?

This is actually quite fun. It’s a nearly complete checklist of every single sentai cliché ever, but played with enough enthusiasm and energy to be watchable. (Although Jouji Nakata can’t pull off his “gung-ho old scientist” role to save his life.) Let’s be clear : despite not displaying a single original idea, this isn’t a “so bad it’s good” show ; it’s enjoyable unironically. There’s a reason those clichés were used in the first place, after all.

In less busy a season, I could have seen myself sticking with it in the long run ; as it is, I don’t think I’ll be watching beyond episode 2. Still, nice try.

via [In which I review] New anime, Fall 2012 – Page 10.

Aikatsu (“Idol Activities”)

What’s it about ?

Young hopefuls attending an academy for idols.

Characters

Ichigo, our protagonist. She has never really cared about idols until now, which is a convenient excuse for tons of exposition about it from her younger brother and her best friend, who are totally into it.

Aoi, said best friend, who applies to the idol academy. And since the entrance exams are apparently similar to normal ones, so can Ichigo ! Sure, why not ?

Mitsuki, the current top idol and public face of the academy. Not much personality yet behind the smiling façade.

The OP & ED prominently feature a third major character, who for the moment seems to be content to look snidely are our naive heroes from the shadows. The rival, then.

Production Values

Bright and colourful. The choregraphy sequences follow the current trend of being entirely CG, which produces impeccable but slighltly soulless animation.

There must be some sort of card-game tie-in, as such cards are prominently featured as the way to become a good idol.

What did I think of it ?

This is a perfectly decent package ; the toyetic tie-ins are obvious but not too obnoxious, the characters are generic but functional enough, it moves along at a brisk pace, and it certainly looks good.

The problem is, that, well, it’s quite bland, and I just have no wish to watch such a show without a spark making it special. I’m just not the in target market, and so it falls flat for me.

via [In which I review] New anime, Fall 2012 – Page 10.

Robotics;Notes

(22 episodes)

What’s it about ?

A high school club dedicated to building a giant robot, in a near future where the tech just about allows that sort of thing.

Characters

Akiho, the club’s leader. Her sister founded it a few years ago, and there was much progress at the time ; since then, it’s kinda floundered, and there’s only two members left (one of which never does anything). Still, she’s very enthusiastic about it.

Kaito, her kinda-boyfriend (I think), who spends a lot of his time playing videogames (so well that he’s been flagged as a possible cheater) and can’t be bothered helping much. He’s vaguely supportive and that’s it.

The vice-principal isn’t too keen on this pipe-dream-club, and is sneaky enough to promise them more budget if they knuckle down do a little something for a robot show. Which is set in a week. Oh, dear.

If the paratext and the brief flash-forward are any indication, the club is soon going to fill out with many more members.

Production Values

Perfectly alright ; the way the tech is portrayed makes the club’s goal ambitious but just within the range of plausible.

I also love Kaito’s augmented-reality phone app, a gimmick which would never look right in real life but is a lot of fun in animation.

What did I think of it ?

Re-adjust your expectations : yes, this comes from the same visual novel studio as Steins;Gate ; no, this doesn’t have the same blurry grit and paranoia-inducing atmosphere at all. This is much closer to something like, say, last season’s Tari Tari : a “save our club” story with a geek-friendly theme.

On this level, it’s perfectly enjoyable, and I’m always up for a series that looks like it’s going to deal with the practical aspects of building and operating a giant robot.

via [In which I review] New anime, Fall 2012 – Page 6.

PSYCHO-PASS

(22 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Minority Report, the Anime.

Characters

Tsunemori, the newbie cop fresh from the police academy, here to be heavily traumatized by the harsh reality in the trenches. At this stage she’s obviously mostly a device to explain how the setting works, although the plot is sadistic enough to put a new spin on this well-worn police drama cliché.

Masaoka, the grizzled old veteran who explains everything to the n00b. The twist is that he’s a “potential criminal” (or so the omnipresent computer system has decided), and thus part of a group of “hounds” on a short leash who help track down the currently-at-large other potential criminals. So it’s the newbie who’s in charge of him, and can pull the trigger on him at any moment. (The special-gun-that-only-works-on-potential-criminals fortunately has a “stun” setting, although all safeties are off if the target gets too unbalanced.)

Kougami, the other hound she’s in charge of, looks like male lead potential (complete with an albino archrival !), although he mostly stays in the background this episode.

Ginoza, her senior partner, supervises his own pair of hounds (the hard woman and the joker), and has no time to babysit her. And he’s slightly disappointed she’s showing some humanity and doubts about the fairness of the system.

The case of the week demonstrates the dystopian quality of the setting with the subtlety of an anvil. The perp is just a guy who failed a random street psych scan, is now hunted down for being a potential criminal, and decided that he’s going down he might has well commit a vile crime while he’s at it. And let’s not even get into his victim’s case, who gets so traumatized that she’s now failing psych scans too…

Of course, one can play devil’s advocate for the system and say that this dude was so unbalanced already that he would have done something horrible at some point anyway, and that our protagonists’ first response is always to bring their targets down non-lethally if they can so that therapy can be done properly. Still, that’s assuming the system actually works and the computers are trustworthy. Has this ever happened in this type of story ?

Production Values

Very good. While not as gorgeous as K, this clearly has a high budget, and maintains perfect clarity despite the heavy grit filter. Nice soundtrack, too.

There’s clearly a heavy Ghost in the Shell influence at play here, from some of the directing and aesthetics to the blatantly gratuitous camo-suit scene in the beginning.

Do be warned that Gen Urobuchi is involved in writing this series, with all the deliberate cruelty and gore this entails.

What did I think of it ?

Hum. This episode is so busy with making its premise crystal clear that it becomes a bit clunky. There are even jokes acknowledging how exposition-heavy it is !

Still, there’s nothing wrong with the premise… wait, no, of course the premise is very wrong. But it’s a decent starting point, and I trust Gen Urobuchi to do more interesting things with it in the next 21 episodes. I’m giving it at least a few more episodes to find its feet.

via [In which I review] New anime, Fall 2012 – Page 6.

Girls und Panzer

What’s it about ?

Cute girls driving tanks. This is a fetish for someone, presumably.

Characters

Miho, our protagonist. For some reason she came to study in this high-school despite having no interest whatsoever in driving tanks, which is all the more ludicrous once you reach the final “twist” of where the school is located. She’s going to be roped into it anyway, if the opening flash-forward battle is any indication.

She quickly makes a couple of generic friends. There’s also an appearance by the student council who go out of their way to make sure that Miho is going to join the tank-driving courses, or else.

There are dozens of girls cameo-ing in the action prologue/fast-forward, none of them showing any trace of personality.

Production Values

There’s something that doesn’t work with the CG backgrounds in the opening action sequence ; it looks way more terrible than when the camera doesn’t move. I think it’s those ground textures that just don’t lend themselves well for animation.

Aside from this problem, this looks decently executed, and the fanservice is actually pretty mild.

What did I think of it ?

Bo-ring. Those girls are very dull and do nothing of any interest during the episode. The opening action sequence gives no indication of why the battle is happening or what the scales are, and thus no reason to care about its outcome (that we don’t even get to see, of course).

I nearly fell asleep while watching this. No way I’m giving it a second episode.

via [In which I review] New anime, Fall 2012 – Page 6.

Sakurasou’s Pet Girl (Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo)

(24 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Sakurasou is a special dorm for an “art” school, designed to keep in check the most socially-inept-but-artistically-brillant students.

Characters

Sorata is the one “normal” guy in Sakurasou ; he’s there because he likes taking care of stray cats and the dorms for normal people don’t allow pets. As the only person with a head on his shoulders, he’s often tasked with helping out with the other residents’ idiosyncracies.

The current students attending the dorm include : Misaki the energetic artist/animator with no sense of decency ; Jin the casanova writer, and some programmer dude who only communicates through his maid-avatared answering machine.

And also Mashiro, the newest arrival, incidentally the teacher-in-charge’s niece. Very un-energetic indeed.

Sorata’s also got a kinda-girlfriend patiently waiting for him with the normals, although I’m not sure he’s noticed.

Production Values

Perfectly okay.

What did I think of it ?

Hum. I heavily dislike the “guy takes care of socially-inept girl” genre on principle, and even this series mostly playing it for comedy doesn’t manage to overcome that. There are some decent jokes, but it mostly degenerates into “ahahah she can’t dress herself that’s so funny” fare by the end of the episode.

Maybe in less busy a season I’d give this more time to find its feet, but no thanks. (Especially as it’s going to last for 6 months.)

via [In which I review] New anime, Fall 2012 – Page 6.

Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic

What’s it about ?

A fresh take on the Arabian Nights.

Characters

Alibaba is our point-of-view character through most of the episode. At this stage, he’s a snivelling coward barely ekking out a living. (Yuuki Kaji should voice more snivelling cowards, as he’s very good at it.) Still, he’s got some shreds of decency left under the smarm.

One day he meets Aladdin, a strange kid who was eating his merchandise. Kiddo’s got an awesome flute that summons a giant powerful djinn, but he only uses it when Alibaba shows some spine and does the right thing.

Our villain of the week is Budel, a generic evil merchant and slaver Alibaba is initially working his debts off for. Of more interest is his boss Jamil, who exudes more charisma in a single minute of screentime than his underling over the whole episode. Presumably he’s going to be important.

There’s also a redhead slave that our heroes make token efforts to break free throughout the episode. In a dark bit that I hope is intentional, they completely forget about her at the end as they ride towards the sunset.

The overall plot involves “Dungeons”, big inexplicable towers full of traps and treasure that are sprinkled all over the place. Aladdin found his flute in one of them, and wants to “free” more of those djinn containers. Alibaba’s perfectly happy to tag along with the kid, because treasure ! (And it’s probably safer to stay with the kid who managed to successfully infiltrate one of those.)

Production Values

I’m not too keen on the way our heroes’ face contort round when the show goes for comedy, but it can’t be denied that it’s not afraid to use distinctive character designs.

What did I think of it ?

This is fun. It takes a while to hit its stride, but there are some nice gags, the stakes are reasonably high, and Aladdin’s use of his deus-ex-machina djinn feels appropriate enough.

I’m game for more.

via [In which I review] New anime, Fall 2012 – Page 5.