2011 Q2 – Spring – Page 3

Sket Dance

(?? episodes)

What’s it about ?

A high school club who specialize in helping people… although they’re quite bumbling indeed, and mostly do odd jobs. But they take it very seriously.

Characters

Teppei, our point of view character. A transfer student, and thus direly in need of exposition. The SKET club tries to recruit him aggressively, and when it fails they do help him with his troubles. To tell the truth, he’s a horrible wimp, and I was delighted when it turned out he’d fade in the background by the next episode. Pfew.

“Bossun”, the idiot in charge of the SKET club. (By the way, this is both a pun on the Japanese phrase for “helper group”, and a terrible backronym – “Support, Kindness, Encouragement, Troubleshoot”.) He’s very enthusiastic… but his trains of thought are quite bizarre, to say the least.

Himeko, the vice-president, would really want to be thought of as kind and feminine… but when the chips come down, she’s a violent thug. She’s the muscle of the team.

“Switch”, the third and last member, is a geek who’s never seen without his laptop strapped on. He absolutely refuses to talk, instead using voice-generating that sounds like Tomokazu Sugita (who’s impeccably deadpan here). He’s got very precise and intimate information on everyone in the school, and knows how to use it ruthlessly.

We also see quite a few other characters : a couple of bullies, the casanova kid, several members from the student council that will presumably become important later on…

Production Values

The animation is very limited, despite me not being one to overly notice this kind of thing.

The soundtrack is overloaded with guitar riffs, to the point that it becomes a bit distracting.

Overall Impression

Hey, a shounen series that I actually like quite a bit ! What has the world come to ?

Now, it isn’t without problems. I don’t really care for the club president, and I loathed Teppei. The production values are quite cheap indeed. And I could quickly grow tired of the amped up histrionics.

Still, it succeeds where it really needs to : it’s quite funny indeed. Switch has an awesome gimmick, Himeko’s fun, and most of the jokes work.

I’m cautiously optimistic about this one.

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2011 – Page 6.

Health and Physical Eduction for 30-year-olds (30-sai no Hoken Taiiku)

(13-minute-long episodes)

What’s it about ?

A thirty-year-old virgin gets visited by an annoying sex god who’ll educate him so that he can finally pop his cherry.

Characters

Imagawa, our male lead, exactly as pathetic as you’d expect (and voiced by Hiro Shimono, of course). The kind who borrows the 600,000-yen blow-up doll from one of his co-workers. Very annoyed by the sex god’s intrusion : he’d like to take his time, thanks (but then that’s his whole problem…).

Daigorou, the sex god. Very, very annoying, and impossible to get rid of. He can only go away when his mission’s accomplished ; to his credit, he does offer Imagawa the easy way out to get done with it (but Imagawa doesn’t want to even think about it).

Andou, the female lead, barely makes an appearance in this first episode, but the OP & ED suggest she’s getting a pair of sex gods too.

Production Values

Dire. It doesn’t help that there’s some very heavy censorship that hides anything vaguely risqué (we don’t even see one bit of the blow-up doll) and blips through half of the dialogue.

Overall Impression

I didn’t think it was possible : this is making me long for B Gata H Kei. There’s an art to the raunchy, ecchi comedy with protagonists raring to get it on, and this series completely fails at it. It’s not funny, and the heavy censorship kinda defeats the point.

Since this reportedly adapts a PhysEd book, it does sneak in some helpful tips (Wash it appropriately to get rid of bacteria ! Don’t squeeze too much on them !), but they’re drowned by the tedious attempts at whimsical humour by walking clichés calling themselves characters.

Avoid.

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2011 – Page 6.

2010 Young Animator Training Project

(Four stand-alone episodes)

Government-sponsored shorts to showcase new talent.

Grampa’s Lamp (Ojisan no Lamp) has the titular grandfather tell the story of how he rose from pauper orphan kid to successful lamp seller… and what happened next. It’s a nice little country tale, perfectly making its point in the 24 minutes it’s got. It doesn’t have groundbreaking animation or art, and you can probably see where it’s going from a mile off, but it works.

Kizuna Ichigeki is a very energetic tale of a prodigy kung-fu girl and her family… and that’s pretty much it. The artstyle is very rough, although it works out well in the (numerous) fight sequences. Still, there’s not much substance there, and the comedic tone can only carry it so far.

Wardrobe Dwellers (Tansu Warashi) is a very charming little tale where a young Office Lady receives from her mother a magic wardrobe housing little servants that teach her adult skills she’d never got the hang of before (cooking, make-up, sewing, basic security…). It’s, er, not exactly the most progressive story, but it’s got enough charm to get away with it.

The one I found most enjoyable, though, was Super Veggie Torracman (Bannou Yasai Ninninman). Technically it’s an “Eat your veggies” morality tale, but it’s so full of delirious imagery and bizarre symbolism that I couldn’t help but loving it. It’s got superb voice acting, too (Mami Koyama makes for the scariest mom ever).

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2011 – Page 5.

Battle Girls – Time Paradox (Sengoku Otome: Momoiro Paradox)

(13ish episodes)

What’s it about ?

An ordinary high school girl is transported to a female version of feudal Japan.

Characters

Hideyoshi, our protagonist. Late for school, not very bright and utterly superficial. She goes to pray at a local shrine not to mess up with her exams, stumbles on a magic ritual, and that’s how she ends up in feudal Japan. Of course, her first reaction is to mistake everyone for cosplayers and complain about the poor cellphone reception.

Nobunaga Oda, at this stage a local feudal lord in a quest to gather the pieces of a mystical set of armor and conquer Japan. I have no clue why she tolerates Hideyoshi’s antics or has any reason to think she’ll be useful, besides plot convenience. (I mean, Hideyoshi’s Japan History textbook will probably come handy, but it’s introduced too late for that to work as an explanation for Oda’s tolerance.)

Mutsuhide, Oda’s aide, who for some reason looks exactly like one of Hideyoshi’s classmates (are they going for the “it was all a dream” ending ?). Utterly irritated by Hideyoshi, but suffers through it because Oda said so. I can sympathize.

The OP & ED show half a dozen more girls that shall presumably be introduced in later episodes.

Production Values

Well, it could be worse : sure, the outfits (especially Oda’s) are ridiculously stripperific, but we don’t get too many panty shots and the like. Still, to make clear what kind of series we’re watching, the ED shows all the girls naked, with thin strips of fabric overlaid at random to hide the naughty bits.

Overall Impression

It seems like nearly every season there’s one of these (See also : Hyakka Ryouran: Samurai Girls, Koihime†Musou…). It’s not outright terrible, but it’s very generic indeed and offers nothing of note to make it worth watching.

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2011 – Page 4.

Nana & Kaoru OVA

What’s it about ?

Softcore bondage porn… without any actual porn.

Characters

Nana, the female lead. Over-achieving high-school student, extremely popular, nearly top of the class… especially since she’s recently found a new way to relieve her stress.

Kaoru, the male lead. He’s an ugly runt with a face that perpetually looks creepy. Very impopular, with a reputation of perversion. In contrast, his voice sounds perfectly normal and reassuring, which is essential when guiding Nana through her new experiences… i.e. bondage and S&M play.

Production Values

Very cheap. There’s no OP or ED animation, and the animation doesn’t hesitate to cut corners. It tries a bit too much to ape the original manga’s artstyle, which sometimes looks a bit awkward when animated (especially when cross-hatching shading is involved). Still, it does the job.

The soundtrack is firmly stuck into porno synth mode, although not to the point of being distracting.

Overall Impression

Well, it’s a very faithful adaptation of a borderline-hentai manga. You know the drill.

Still, I like the choice of focusing entirely on Nana’s viewpoint. This episode is entirely about her and how she discovers she actually likes this perverted stuff. Kaoru is just a catalyst, someone who gives her access to this new world and challenges her when she’s not being honest with herself. If you pay attention to the flashback early on about their first session, you’ll notice that it’s Nana herself who initiated it all by stumbling on a fetish outfit of his and trying it on. (You might wonder why he happened to possess expensive leather clothes that fit her perfectly. Good question.)

Now, the corresponding manga chapters had a much deeper look into Kaoru’s thoughts and motivations during all this, but this first episode isn’t interested in that angle at all, keeping it firmly in the background (you might get hints from how his reaction shots contrast with his perfectly calm and in-control voice, though).

Overall, it’s an interesting adaptation that gets to the emotional core of Nana’s character. On that plan, it’s a success.

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2011 – Page 4.

Without Wings -under the innocent sky- (Ore-tachi ni Tsubasa wa Nai)

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Fuck if I know ; I can’t make head nor tails of the plot. I’ll say “fanservice-heavy harem comedy with a dash of heroic fantasy” to err on the safe side, but even that fails to accurately describe it.

Characters

Takashi Haneda is the protagonist of a ridiculously cliché harem, with various girls (his ~~little sister~~ cousin, the aggressive one, the athletic one who lets her mind wander, and a fourth one I can’t quite get a hold of yet) fighting over him before he’s even stepped five feet towards school. Also, we get numerous panty shots and even naked shots of their breasts when they push themselves onto him. And he’s got whiny narration by Hiro Shimono (when did his career devolve into “cliché harem lead” ?). But the lot of them only get 5 minutes of screentime.

The rest of the episode is dedicated to a trio of loser dudes unlucky in love, and desperately trying to set up a drinking party with whatever girls they find. One of them is 35 and owns the bar they hang around at ; the other two look high-school/college-aged. Anyway, the only girls who accept the invite are the part-time waitresses. Overall, it’s a very pathetic scene that makes me loathe everyone involved.

But wait ! Just before and during the ending credits, we see all of them in a heroic-fantasy setting, fighting monsters and the like ! Is this a MMORPG or an actual parallel world they’re escaping into ? I have no clue ! (And why would Haneda need escaping anyway ?)

There’s also a bizarre framing device with radio/TV shows (including an outrageous American-accented DJ) shown in a rapid succession… and I’ve got no clue why they’re doing this.

Production Values

Decent, I suppose. The very heavy fanservice whenever a girl’s on screen is quite annoying, though.

Overall Impression

What the heck is this shit ?

Now, I can understand trying to be a bit creative when adapting yet another harem dating sim. But this is just incoherent crap, with three different narratives that completely fail to coalesce into any coherent whole. It’s probably trying for the “self-parody” angle, but that just makes it more obnoxious.

I hate every single character and it makes no sense whatsoever : avoid like the plague.

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2011 – Page 4.

Fireball Charming

(13 2-minute episodes)

What’s it about ?

In a far-flung future, war rages between humans and robots… and the robot princess has nonsensical conversations with her butler.

Characters

Drossel von Flügel, the robot princess. Prone to random flights of fancies, and completely out of touch with the real world.

Gedächtnis, her construction-mecha-looking butler. Desperately trying to put his mistress back on track, although he’s not above deadpan snarking. Her father left him books of notes for her education… but it doesn’t really help.

Production Values

Full CG graphics, and it’s very gorgeous indeed.

Produced by Disney Channel Japan. No, really.

Overall Impression

I normally don’t cover sequels in depth, but this one deserves the exposure. A previous season of this (simply called Fireball) was broadcast in 2008, and this is basically more of the same. You don’t need to watch the first series to get this, though (although you should, it’s only 26 minutes of your time).

The setup is only an excuse to have quick-going barely coherent conversations between the two leads, combining puns and dry wit at a frenetic pace. It’s just plain hilarious, hitting punchlines one after the other like clockwork.

This first episode of the second series looks like it’s actually going to advance the plot a bit, but that doesn’t really matter (the first season had no continuity whatsoever, with the two leads changing looks for each episode just because).

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2011 – Page 4.

Steins;Gate

(24 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Current day setting, but with a lot more weirdness. Our protagonist witnesses a murder that doesn’t seem to have actually happened, attends a lecture that was canceled, and somehow sent text messages into the past. Also, a satellite crashed into the place he was (he doesn’t seem worse for the wear). Despite already having a few screws loose, he’s more than weirded out by the whole thing.

Characters

Okarin, aka Rintarou Okabe, aka Kyouma Hououin. Our paranoid protagonist. Self-proclaimed mad scientist, although this might just be the crazy talking (his actual inventions are far from impressive). He heads a college research club that dabbles into weird science, such as time travel theory. He constantly babbles about a conspiracy orchestrated by something called the Agency, but there’s no real sign of it actually existing.

Mayuri, his sickeningly sweet childhood friend. She seems to have no science background whatsoever (she’s stated to be into sewing cosplay outfits), and probably sticks around because she likes Okarin. The obvious twist would be that she’s an Agency plant.

Taru, SUPA-HACKA ! and reclusive geek, the third and last member of Okarin’s research club. A welcomed source of snark to counter Okarin’s mad ramblings.

Kurisu Makise, a gloomy girl Okarin meets at a time-travel-related lecture, and wants him to explain what he meant (he has no clue what she’s talking about). He finds her bloody corpse a bit later… but she shows up perfectly fine at the end of the episode.

Production Values

A bit hard to judge, considering I’ve watched a crappy streamed version. Still, it’s quite good at setting up a creepy claustrophobic atmosphere with some weird camera angles, and Okarin’s body language is impressive.

Overall Impression

Wow, this is very intriguing indeed. The storytelling borders on the incoherent, especially with a protagonist who isn’t entirely sane, but it still manages to hang together somewhat and set up an intriguing mystery. A lot of the series’s charm comes from Mamoru Miyano’s impressive performance as the lead character, managing to perfectly convey Okarin’s delusions while still making him an engaging character.

Now, it’s perfectly possible this series could eventually disappear into its own arse when it’s time to explain what’s actually happening. But so far, I’m in.

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2011 – Page 3.

Hanasaku Iroha

(26 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Slice of life in a country hot springs inn. Don’t expect any fanservice, though.

Characters

Ohana, our main character. A high school girl who gets dumped by her mother and goes to live with her grandmother… with the provision that she has to work and earn her keep. Ohana is of course completely clueless about this new environment, which leads her to make tons of blunders. Her personality doesn’t help : she tends to run her mouth and be a bit too earnest while meddling with others’ life.

Satsuki, her mother. She barely gets four minutes of screentime, and she’s already a leading competitor for the Gendo Ikari Parent Of The Year award. Not only is she a slob who had Ohana do everything around the house, but when faced with debt she runs away with her boyfriend, abandoning her own daughter (despite the fact that Iroha’s the kind of girl who’d have run away with them in a heartbeat). No wonder then that she’s the black sheep of the family, and it explain why Ohana gets no breaks whatsoever.

The grandmother herself is a complete hardass, running the inn with an iron fist in an iron glove. The kind who slaps employees backstage for having inconvenienced customers.

Minko, Ohana’s new roommate. Hardworking, a girl of few words… and she absolutely hates Ohana’s guts, as the newcomer is unwittingly making her life hell through her careless meddling, on at least three separate instances. (Also, I’m curious on how Minko gets to live there too. Hmmm…)

There’s quite a lot of other staff to keep the inn running ; the maids also include Tomoe, the sempai who thrives on gossip, and Nako, who’s so shy she can barely string two words along. (There’s a fifth one who’s nondescript so far.) Plus the cooks, etc.

Back in Tokyo, Ohana had a Nice Guy called Kou around ; he doesn’t take her departure very well. (But then, Ohana has trouble understanding stuff when you’re not as direct as her ; she never noticed he liked her…)

Production Values

Very nice realistic style (no out-of-place fanservice here !). Lots of detail and subtle body language.

Overall Impression

A very strong first episode, neatly introducing the plot and most of the main characters. This will obviously be a story of Ohana growing up through the power of Hard Work ™, and I’m not entirely sure there’s 26 episodes of material in this, but so far it’s caught my attention. Ohana is an interesting protagonist despite her brattiness, and all those characters feel like real people.

Definitely a show I’ll be watching.

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2011 – Page 2.

Tiger & Bunny

(24-ish episodes)

What’s it about ?

In the future, there are super-powered people called “NEXT”. The most prominent ones are garish, megacorp-sponsored superheroes who fight crime in a Reality-TV show.

Characters

Kotetsu “Wild Tiger” Kaburagi, our protagonist. He’s a veteran superhero who is definitely past his prime (he rates barely above the joke who never does anything, and no self-respecting kid buys his trading cards). He’s in it because he believes in making good (and he needs the money for his wife and kid), but he’s kinda bitter with the whole thing, obviously. It doesn’t help that his sponsor just got bought out, and the new guys want a format change. Which includes teaming up with…

Barnaby Brooks Jr, who somehow has the same powers as Wild Tiger (flying brick for 5 minutes). The dude shows out of nowhere in the “season finale” to hog the spotlight, and makes it clear he’s a “new breed” of superhero, unafraid of showing his true identity to the world. Incidentally, he does less collateral damage than Wild Tiger, which probably endears him to the higher-ups even more.

There are six other super-heroes competing in the show : Blue Rose, the current superstar with impressive ice powers but who’s a bit of a coward ; Rock Bison, the only one Kotetsu could call a friend ; Origami Cyclone, who never does anything but stay in the background for product placement ; Fire Emblem, flaming gay stereotype ; and two others who don’t matter at this stage.

The supporting cast is rounded off by Agnes Joubert, the TV show’s producer, who only cares about ratings, and certainly not civilian lives. (“Nice cliffhanger entrance, Wild Tiger ! Can you just do nothing for 30 seconds while we run some commercials ?”)

Oh, and there’s our threats for the week : a group of bankrobbers who are ridiculously underpowered to face superheroes, but manage to run around for most of the episodes thanks to the latter’s incompetence.

Production Values

Superbly fluid animation for the action sequences (which comprise half of the episode) : this show’s got budget and ain’t afraid to show it. It’s also very good at spoofing Reality-TV shows, including the utterly obnoxious product placement on the superheroes’ character designs.

Overall Impression

Wow, this is AWESOME ! I grinned like a madman from start to end while watching this : it’s very, very funny indeed. Combining superheroes with Reality-TV works beautifully, and there’s a nice balance between enough cynicism to keep things grounded and still some idealism to keep it from being too depressing. It’s a very stupid series, but it’s got enough energy to pull it off.

The preview I’d seen didn’t look very promising, so this is a very nice surprise.

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2011.