2013 Q2 – Spring – Page 2

My Teenage Romance Comedy SNAFU (Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Come wa Machigatteiru.)

(13 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Haganai clone. Which seems to be becoming its own subgenre of harem comedy now.

Characters

Hikigaya is your standard misanthropic protagonist, horribly bitter about being lonely and spinning it out as a way of life. Not that he’s fooling anyone.

Hiratsuka, his teacher, who won’t put up with his bullshit and forces him into the “Service Club”.

Yukino, sole member of the Service Club until now, also a loner, and now tasked with solving his “personality problem”, whether he wants it or not. (And whether she wants to do it or not.)

Yui, another girl, sent to the club to solve her “terrible cook” problem. She’s way more naive and upbeat, and the perfect foil for the two of them.

Production Values

Okay, I guess. There are flashes of nice direction ideas at various points to spice up the talking heads a bit (including some fun flashbacks), but they’re few and far between.

Overall Impression

Very average. This kind of show needs lots of zingers in its dialogue and good comedic timing to rise above the parade of rom-com clichés, and this doesn’t quite pull it off. The chemistry between the characters isn’t quite there yet, and it’s not like it’s got a particularly interesting premise.

I’m not even sure I’ll be bothering with a second episode of this.

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2013 – Page 5.

Photo Kano

(13 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Harem romantic comedy, adapted from a dating sim.

Characters

Kazuya, our generic male protagonist. Even he calls himself boring, although he’s trying to change that with his new hobby : taking photographs of everything ! (Daddy has just handed him down his old camera.)

You know how there’s always a perverted best friend ? In this show, there’s a whole club of them : the Photography Club, including a dude who specializes in upskirts, another in cleavage shots from above, the hot-blooded president, and the token girl who’s practically invisible. They want him to join them, of course.

There’s also a “proper” Photo Club right next door, who do all the official photographs. Although since it’s just its president (who ticks all the “potential love interest” checkmarks) and her clingy underling who’s already in another club, they’re not an actual club recognized by the school.

This being a dating sim adaptation, we also get introduced to other potential love interests : the childhood friend, the tomboy, his annoying little sister’s friend, the student council president… (I really hope said annoying little sister isn’t an option, despite her name being in the title.)

Production Values

Perfectly okay. The fanservice level isn’t overwhelming, but there are many gratuitous panty shots indeed.

What did I think of it ?

Exactly what you’d expect from Generic Dating Sim Adaptation #46127 : inoffensive, easy on the eyes, and instantly forgettable. It brings absolutely nothing new to the genre and goes through all the expected clichés, but it does it pleasantly enough that you probably won’t mind if you have some interest in the genre. Otherwise, don’t bother.

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2013 – Page 4.

Karneval

(13 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Fabulous characters fighting a demonic conspiracy in a victorian-style setting.

Characters

Nai, our “protagonist”, if you can call that a character who starts the episode in bondage and barely gets any more agency over the course of the episode. He’s a wimp, desperately looking for his ~~seme~~ protective friend Karoku (last seen as just some drops of blood and his precious bracelet). He’s not completely useless, though, as he seems to be able to hear electronics or something.

Gareki, a thief who was infiltrating this rich-looking mansion on the city’s outskirts, and ended up finding (1) a tied-up Nai in the master bedroom and (2) the mistress of the place transforming into an unholy abomination to fight him. The shit having hit the fan, but Nai’s bracelet looking very interesting indeed, Gareki takes him with himself in his escape. To escape the authorities, they jump onto a passing train…

… which happens to have been taken hostage by a bunch of workers dissatisfied with their boss (who was on a trip with his innocent granddaughter). It doesn’t help that everyone mistakes Nai’s bracelet as the sign of him being a member of Circus, the elite magical cop force.

Hirato & Tsukumo, actual members of who came to the mansion too late (its mistress having been disposed of by her boss) and arrive to defuse the train hostage crisis because they have nothing better to do, I guess. They curbstomp the hostage-takers without breaking a sweat, although Nai’s superhearing and Gareki’s bomb defusing skills do come handy too.

Production Values

A white-haired pretty boy who spends a good chunk of the episode in handcuffs ? Elaborate, classy outfits for everyone ? Well, I guess there’s nothing wrong with aiming for the female audience, I guess. And the show as a whole does look very pretty indeed.

What did I think of it ?

What a novelty : an anime that features some actual ambitious storytelling ! (It’s not really non-linear, as all the scenes are in chronological order ; it’s just that we swiftly cut back and from without warning to the various subplots before learning how they mesh with the core story.) This has to be commended, especially as the pacing is pitch-perfect and manages to stay coherent and tie all its subplots niftly together despite having tons of stuff happen.

Let me be clear : this isn’t heady stuff. It’s a straight action piece in a setting that appears to value flash over substance. It’s just that it’s very cleverly put together, and seems to be having a lot of fun in the process. And it looks great.

This one is definitely a keeper.

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2013 – Page 4.

The Devil is a Part-Timer (Hataraku Maou-sama)

(13 episodes)

What’s it about ?

When his demonic forces are about to get overwhelmed by the human army and their Hero, the Demon Lord decides it’s better to turn tail and flee to a parallel universe, i.e. our Earth. While he’s recovering his strength, he takes a part-time job at the local McDonald’s knock-off. Cue hijinks.

Characters

Satan, the Demon King. After the initial culture shock, he’s actually adapting very quickly to this world. He’s retained a little bit of his magic after entering this non-magical world, but he has no clue how to replenish it and has to use his reserves cautiously, only for emergencies such as obtaining proper papers with low-grade hypnosis or fixing the French fries cooking machine.

Alshiel, his minion. Satan had other generals, but Alshiel was the one who opened to portal to Earth and came with him. Clearly this wasn’t a plan with much thought behind it. He’s spending most of his time at the public library searching for a way to restore their magic. He’s getting a bit worried about Satan going native and forgetting about why they came here.

The supporting cast is rounded up by a couple of Satan’s coworkers : his sardonic boss, and the clumsy cute girl.

Also, he randomly bumps into the Hero on his way home from work. Wait, what ? That’s the cliffhanger, obviously.

Production Values

Wow, budget ! This looks way too good for a forgettable comedy show. The animation is superb, the soundtrack is very good, and the opening 5-minute heroic-fantasy battle scene is a sight to behold.

What did I think of it ?

Well, it’s reasonably funny. It’s a decent joke, sold by characters and direction that play the premise dead straight to increase the comedy value. It’s not a laugh-a-minute riot, but it mostly works.

I’m going to keep watching this one, I think.

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2013 – Page 4.

Majestic Prince (Ginga Kikoutai Majestic Prince)

(24 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Space mecha.

Characters

Our heroes are a team of mecha pilot trainees, known as the “Rabbit Team”, but mostly as the “Fail Five”, as they just don’t work well together. There’s Asagi the aloof ace who runs into battle without thinking, Ataru the nerdy gunner, Tamaki the childish and boy-crazy point-girl, Key the jaded analytical girl, and Izuru the “leader” (whom nobody acknowledges as such).

Lt Suzukaze, their training officer, isn’t the last one to constantly remind them that they’re crap. So she’s very surprised to learn the brass want them to immediately go on the frontlines with cutting-edge mecha to save their assieged forces from the dastardly baddies.

The catch is that those experimental mecha are very unstable, and they only need to distract the enemy for half an hour so that everyone can be evacuated. Hence why they send disposable newbies.

What nobody expected is that (1) Izuru would decide to play hero to save all those civilians the brass “accidentally” forgot to mention wouldn’t be evacuated, and (2) that he’d actually pull it off, frightening the aliens enough to force their retreat.

Yay ?

Production Values

Very impressive. It’s got tons of budget for the mecha battles, and it shows (although the CG is very obvious).

I also really like the recurring narrative device of quickly sliding the camera horizontally to catch each of the five’s reaction/quip on whatever is happening. It’s funny and the animators vary the facial expressions enough to make it work.

Overall Impression

Well, this was fun. It’s also completely empty of substance, with everyone being depicted with broad strokes verging on caricature. But it does establish its premise and characters properly, so there’s that.

I’m however mildly concerned by how it tells us rather than really shows us how the 5 really suck, especially as they seem surprisingly competent for their first real battle.

Still, it’s a decent effort, and unapologetic about what it is. As popcorn entertainment, it works.

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

DEVIL SURVIVOR 2 THE ANIMATION

(13 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Demons start appearing in downtown Tokyo. Fortunately, there’s an app for that.

Adapted from a DS strategy-RPG. From what I gather, the various games in the “Devil Survivor” series are mostly unrelated plotwise (much like the “Persona” games), which is why adapting the second game makes any sense.

Characters

Hibiki, our protagonist. He’s the cold, emotionally-detached type, and very good at processing the plot. Which comes really handy here.

Daichi, his wacky best pal. He hooks them up on a bizarre cellphone app that predicts their imminent death in the very subway station they are currently in… but offers them a second chance at life. They just have to fight off some demons with whatever their phone app can summon.

Nitta, a random girl in the same high school that Daichi is a bit infatuated with, happens to be in the same place at the same time, and also got the app. She’s a bit damsel-in-distress-y so far.

Emergency services have no idea what the heck. Fortunately, the Meteorology Agency (no, seriously) quickly take over the scene, having predicted the whole thing for thousands of years. They’re especially impressed by the super-demon Hibiki can somehow summon.

Hovering on the fringes of the plot, there’s a white-haired pretty boy ™ who looks very interested in the whole thing.

Production Values

Decent, I guess ? It looks very generic, though, and the very basic designs for those first few demons don’t help. The ED sequence rocks, though.

Overall Impression

I am not impressed. The obvious comparison point is Persona 4, what with being adapted from a game from the same company, and having the same director. And however flawed that one was, this is noticeably worse. It just lacks spark ; the plot is nothing new and really piles on the clichés, the dialogue isn’t much good, and the atmosphere doesn’t work.

Unless you’re a fan of the games, I have trouble recommending this one.

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

The Severing Crime Edge (Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge)

(13 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Cutting hair is sexy ! And serious business.

Characters

Kiri, our ~~generic~~ perverted male protagonist. His very peculiar turn-on : cutting people’s hair. He’s also the proud owner of a family heirloom, the titular Severing Crime Edge. It’s just a pair of hair-cutting scissors, although rumour has it was a crime weapon long ago.

Iwai, a cute girl with cursed, uncuttable hair. She’s like Kiri’s dream come true. He stumbles on her house at random, and it’s definite attraction at first sight.

Houko & Yamane, two girls who antagonistically take care of Iwai’s needs (since she stays at home and has no family). Iwai claims they’re murderers (or at least owner of Murder Tools like Kiri), but they don’t actually do much besides acting like creepy antagonists.

Just to make sure we know all of this is tremendously important, at the end of the episode there’s a mysterious dude in shadow who ominously declares that “the games have begun”. Of course they have.

Production Values

The show is sure keen on making us feel that cutting hair is the sexiest thing since Mysterious Girlfriend X‘s saliva. There’s no real fanservice at such, but lots of longing shots of our two leads being aroused by each other.

What did I think of it ?

Wut.

Not the premise as such ; I’ve been around the block too much to be weirded out by it. No, it’s just that I was expecting something besides the the hair-cutting fetish. Like, either a plot or some chemistry in the romance. But this first episode feels empty of substance, and the perfunctory mumblings about the Murder Tools don’t inspire me much confidence.

By the way, I hope the romance is meant to look creepy as heck, because otherwise this is giving completely the wrong impression.

I’m giving it another episode to give me a better idea of where it’s going, but I’m not optimistic.

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

Anime Mirai 2013

This might be the time to give some thoughts about Anime Mirai, aka this year’s iteration of the Young Animator Training Project. For those who don’t know, it’s a group of four one-shots funded by the Japanese government and produced by notable studios as training grounds for new animators. They’re always at least watchable, and there’s often a gem hidden among them. (See last year’s Wasurenagumo, for example.)

This year, everyone is looking forward to Studio Trigger’s contribution, Little Witch Academia. (They’re the TTGL/Panty&Stocking/Redline people, hence the hype.) And, well, it isn’t as visually distinctive as those, and certainly isn’t breaking any new ground. It’s just a very well-told and well-animated story made from stock elements, with enough enthusiasm and care to the details to make it very fun indeed.

On the other hand, I’m puzzled by Arve Rezzle. It’s a decent sci-fi premise (dude finds out his comatose sister’s body is now inhabited by another person (who’s amnesiac and can’t explain), and then commandos start attacking. The thing is, this is clearly a pilot for a longer story ; nothing whatsoever is resolved by the end of it. Which kinda defeats the purpose of these shorts, really. It’s okay, just incomplete.

(I’ll comment on the other two when subs surface.)

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

Date A Live

(12 episodes + a bonus OVA)

What’s it about ?

Dating sim mixed with a sentai show. Adapted from a light novel series.

Characters

Shidou, our generic male lead. He’s exactly what you’d expect from a dating sim protagonist : a normal high school boy squabbling with his little sister, he’s got the mandatory perverted best friend, and he’s utterly oblivious about some pretty girls starting to stalk him. Oh, sure, there is some background noise about vast tracts of lands being levelled by “spacequakes” over the last 30 years, but that’s just colour setting, right ?

His life changes when he meets a Mysterious Girl In A Skimpy Outfit at the epicentre of the latest spacequake, which happened right down the block. It turns out that spacequakes are actually the result of MGIASOs landing on Earth, so obviously the authorities are hunting them down on sight. The MGIASO escapes in the confusion before they can catch her.

Origami, the school genius, who was stalking Shidou earlier, is one of the mecha-musume that are the frontline defense against MGIASOs, doing this because her family got killed in a spacequake 5 years ago. She urges him not to tell anyone about this side-job.

Kotori, Shidou’s sister, is actually the commander-in-chief of the local anti-MGIASOs defense force. No, seriously. That’s what her masochist adult subcommander says, so I’ll take his word. They’ve got a spaceship HQ hovering 15,000 km above the city.

The big twist is that the mecha-musume corps isn’t quite cutting it (the MGIASOs have way too much firepower), so our heroes have to resort to a new strategy : have Shidou romance them ! (Why him ? I have no clue.) Cue dating-sim training montage…

Production Values

It’s a bit hard to judge from the eyebleed-o-vision, but I’m not convinced this has much of a budget. The CG is obvious, the character designs are beyond generic, and the animation’s no great shakes.

What is clear is that the fanservice level is noticeably high. We get a bit too much focus on Kotori’s panties for my taste, and these aren’t the only buttshots in this episode. Also, the camera is very interested in the MGIASO’s breasts.

Overall Impression

Well, I’ll grant it that : for a show made exclusively out of stock clichés, it actually manages to put them together in a way new enough to be distinctive. It’s a joke that gave me a chuckle.

Is it actually good ? Good lords, no. It’s impossible to take the rare attempts at emotional impact seriously, given how stupid the premise is. The characters are one-dimensional cardboard cutouts, and none of them look like they’ll rise above their archetypes. (Although I’ll admit the not-nurse is fun to watch.) It’s a show with one joke, and I can’t see it lasting for 12ish episodes without becoming tedious.

In another season I might have given this a bit more of a chance for the fun trainwreck factor, but I just can’t be bothered.

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

RDG: Red Data Girl

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Supernatural romance ? Even with three episodes released, it’s a bit hard to tell where this is going.

Characters

Izumiko, our female lead in her last year of middle school. She’s a shy introvert who can barely do anything without relying on others. She’s also terrible with electronics, somehow always breaking them. She lives in a remote shrine deep in the forest. The twist is that she’s the host of the local goddess, and thus all kind of nasties are out to get her. Fortunately she’s got many bodyguard “monks” looking out for her.

Miyuki, our male lead, really doesn’t want to be there, but Daddy has forced him to take up the family business and become her new bodyguard. It’s disgust at first sight, and we all know where this is leading.

Izumiko’s parents are conspicuously away. (She’s hosted by her relatives.) Dad is on another continent, and Mom’s yet to be seen.

The OP sequence lists tons of other male characters in a manner suspiciously reminiscent of dating sim adaptations. Hmm…

Production Values

Quite good. It’s a notable improvement over studio PA Works’s last supernatural project, Another ; here the creepy atmosphere actually works.

Overall Impression

I’m not quite sure about this one. There’s nothing particularly wrong about it, and there’s several little sequences that are well done (Izumiko’s drowning in anxiety in front of a computer, or Miyuki “changing his mind” about staying at the shrine). But I can’t quite shake the impression that Izumiko is a very annoying protagonist ; I’m not fond of those wet blankets that have to be saved by awesome but antagonistic dudes.

I’m still watching it, but I don’t expect wonders out of it.

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