New Anime Series – Page 23

Tokyo Ghoul

(12ish episodes ?)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of a seinen horror manga. There are Ghouls roaming in Tokyo : inhuman monsters who feed on people. Once a month or so is enough for survival, but there are some “binge eaters”…

Characters

Kaneki, our protagonist, used to be a totally average high-school boy before he had an unfortunate encounter with a Ghoul, which he barely survived at all. For some reason the surgeon attending him thought it was a good idea to put him back together by sewing in some of the Ghoul’s organs ; which I hope is a plot point, because seriously. Anyway, he’s now half-Ghoul, which means he has all the cravings for human meat of the real thing, but has no wish whatsoever to lose his humanity. That’s tough, dude.

While the police seems to stand clear of all this, there’s some masked dude going around killing Ghouls. He may be behind the “accident” that killed the Ghoul assaulting Kaneki, since he was already on her trail early on.

With that Ghoul removed from the picture, already some others are crawling in to take other her territory. Lots of factions and infighting at play here, it looks like.

Production Values

This is a very striking production, from the distinctive designs to the colour work, to the non-obvious direction. It’s got budget, if only at least for the first episode.

This is not a series for the faint of heart, although the goriest shots are obscured by heavy censorship on the TV version.

Overall Impression

Impressive. This succeeds on every level : a toxic atmosphere, the quick descent of the protagonist into the deep end, striking visuals… The very good use of Kana Hanazawa helps, too. It’s creepy, paranoid, and quite disturbing.

Now, do I want to keep watching it ? Probably, yes. I have some niggling doubts about where it’s going, but it’s an auspicious start. There are many ways for it to fall apart quickly, but so far, so good.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Summer 2014 – Page 2.

Silver Will Argevollen (Shirogane no Ishi: Argevollen)

(24 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Original series about mecha. Well, “original” might be straining it.

Characters

There are two main factions in this world : Ingelmia, on their way to conquering everything, and Arandas, now with their backs to the Great Wall that’s always protected their core territories. Yeah, like that’ll last. (This sound you can hear is the visiting top generals fleeing at high speed from the Wall when Ingelmia starts deploying new mecha.)

Our focus is on a small Arandas mecha unit manoeuvring near the Wall. Just three mechas, their pilots, and at best a dozen support staff in their trucks. The Captain, who knows the score, welcomes the Wall Garnison’s order to fall back inwards like the escape out of this death trap it is.

Tokimune, our protagonist, is the greener out of the three mecha pilots. Still a bit of an idealist, he’s starting to see how war’s not all he thought it was. It’s no real surprise he breaks ranks to save a bunch of “civilians” from an Ingelmia patrol instead of quietly passing by as the plan was ; and of course he gets his mecha half-destroyed for his trouble.

Jamie is the one survivor from those “civilians” ; their trailer was transporting a new top-secret mecha, and she’s doing whatever she can to avoid it falling into the enemy’s hands. She’s got the authorization codes to boot it up and a user manual, so… she’s just going to let Tokimune handle it, as he’s a pilot and she’s not. Good luck ! He’s initially baffled by this new technology, but quickly gets the hang of it : it’s one of those super-prototypes that are very intuitive to pilot, and move like humans.

As they get there, his whole squad are, like, “WTF !?”

Production Values

This is a very good-looking series, with more than a little scenery porn, and some very good animation for the mecha. It conveys perfectly the difference between “normal”, somewhat plodding mecha units, and the unreal fluidity of the Argevollen.

Surprisingly for a XEBEC production, there’s no fanservice whatsoever. This is one of their more serious projects.

Overall Impression

Well, it’s nothing you haven’t seen before ; the characters are the usual archetypes of military fiction, and the politics are particularly hamfisted. There’s not a single plot development here that will surprise you.

But there’s nothing wrong with following a classic formula, especially as it’s mainly window dressing for the real star of the show : the mecha fights. They’re just a joy to watch, and worth seeing on their own.

I’m not sure whether I’m in for the long run, but this is a perfectly adequate starting point.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Summer 2014 – Page 2.

Glasslip

(13 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Well, it’s a PA Works original production, so it’s set in a small country town and features a group of high school students. Here, the hook is… glasswork ? Some kind of future sight ? Frankly, I’ve got no clue.

Characters

So, there’s this tight-knit group of friends :
– Touko, our ingenue protagonist, whose family works into making glass objects
– Yuki, the boy who seems to have a jealous crush on her, but does a decent job of hiding it until the episode’s end
– Hiro, the goofball
– Yanagi, the slightly “wilder” girl of the group
– Sachi, who seems to have a medical condition that prevents her from going out as much as she’d want, and sometimes takes her frustrations out on her friends

Most of the episode is spent on establishing the group’s dynamics, through a festival and then an epic quest to try raising chicken. Thrilling stuff.

And then there’s Kakeru, the new guy, who seems to have some sort of psychic link with Touko. They hit it off quickly ; her friends (especially Yuki and Sachi) are way less welcoming.

Production Values

This studio is known for their scenery porn and lavish animation, and this is no exception. There are some weird freeze-frame instants (with non-naturalistic colouring) to indicate that there’s something more going on, which is a nice effect.

Overall Impression

I went into this hoping to learn how you make an anime about glasswork. I come out none the wiser, baffled as to what this show’s premise actually is. This makes the choice of focusing on its characters first, which is a shame because none of them besides Sachi are particularly interesting ; you’ve seen all this before, and better done, including in other PA Works series.

I nearly fell asleep watching this. And what woke me up… was a cringeworthy surge of melodrama towards the end, including laughably overwhelming music. That’s not a good sign.

I’m giving it one more episode to convince me otherwise, but this looks like a dud.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Summer 2014 – Page 2.

Bakumatsu Rock

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

What. The. Heck. Is. This. Thing.

Okay, let’s start with facts. This adapts a PSP rhythm game. It’s nominally set in the Bakumatsu era (mid-19th century, at the transition between Edo & Meiji), but in practice it’s a gleeful anachronism stew. The plot involves the EVIL government enforcing a monopoly on music (only a few selected musicians/idols can play, and only the totally insipid J-Pop-ish “Heaven’s Song” repertoire), and a ragtag bunch of handsome rebels fighting back with the power of ROCK (also insipid J-Pop).

Characters

Ryouma is our red-headed, pointy-haired protagonist. He’s a moron who can barely scrape a living thanks to the generousity of a couple of friends (who do have proper jobs). Nobody cares about his “music”. He somehow was gifted a guitar by a mysterious “master”, and raising enough fuss in his inept attempts at gathering an audience that the authorities are starting to take notice. And because he’s the hero, his music gives him glamour superpowers at the end of the episodes, just in time for the insert song.

“Cindy” (who resents the girly nickname) and “Doc” (who can build stuff like samurai-detectors) are two disciples of the same mysterious master who are investigating the bozo wandering around cluelessly with their master’s guitar. Cue the usual misunderstandings, until Ryouma’s “charm” eventually wins them over.

The authorities are also handsome dudes, because of course they are. While the top echelons are obviously EVIL, several of the rank and file look well on their way to changing sides – they certainly seem to like this new ROCK thing.

There are some female characters around. Aside from that one friendly restaurant owner (who’s voiced by a guy), they’re all idiots, easily fooled by the government’s scheme.

Production Values

Together with Free!, this makes Wednesdays “fanservice for women” day, because there are sure a lot of handsome dudes on display here. And despite having way less excuses for taking their shirts off all the time, they do show off their abs a lot.

This is a shiny and day-glo production, because of course idols. I’m a bit wary about the CG animation for the song numbers ; not because it looks bad, but because the director is resorting to many editing tricks to use as little of it as possible, often using static shots instead. Are we already having budget problems ?

Overall Impression

Well, this is certainly a thing. It’s obviously a joke, and to its credit it commits all the way to it. The problem is that it’s more baffling than actually funny. It certainly isn’t helped by charisma-depleted main characters, and music that’s just bland J-Pop. And I’m certainly not part of the core audience.

As a rhythm game, I can see this being quite fun. As a full-blown anime series, it’s just a bit tedious. One episode was way enough for me.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Summer 2014.

Survival Game Club! (Sabagebu!)

(12ish episodes)

What’s it about ?

The title says it all, really ; it’s an adaptation of a comedy shoujo manga.

Characters

Momoka, our protagonist. She’s just transferred into a new girls-only high-school for the billionth time (because of her dad’s professional obligations), and she’s going through the motions yet again : act nice towards everybody and not make waves. That’s not her real personality (she’s cynical, impulsive and vindictive), but it’s less trouble that way. She certainly doesn’t want to make any actual friends or join a club, because what’s the point if she moves around again in a few months ? Unfortunately, she randomly stumble into…

Miou, the president of the Survival Game Club, who’s by all counts a complete lunatic. She rarely, if at all, bothers with her school uniform, and sometimes even comes to school in full tactical gear. How she gets away with such antics is a mystery, although it helps that most of the student body is madly admirative of her. Anyway, Momoka’s caught her eye, and she’s not about to let go.

Other members of the club include Boobs, who’s also a model on the side (and, er, that kind of model, it seems) ; the cute little girl who’s a bit too possessive of her childhood friend Miou ; and the monotone potted plant who’s in it for the cosplay aspect. I’m also not entirely sure whether the duck mascot is really sentient.

Production Values

It’s a bit hard to judge with NicoNico’s eyebleed-o-vision, but this is a bright and shiny series with distinctive character designs. Animation is average, but it’s good at selling the sight gags, and that’s what counts. The level of fanservice isn’t low, but not too cringeworthy either.

Overall Impression

You might remember last year’s C3-bu, which had a similar premise. Beyond the questionable decision to have the girls fight in school uniforms, it had them wear adequate protection and observe good gun safety. It pushed the realistic approach to have a lead with crushing co-dependency issues, and the havoc it wreaked on the group.

Here, the narrator goes out of his way to make it clear we won’t have any of that angst shit, and don’t care one bit about realism. It’s all about bringing the funny. The good news is that this is from the makers of the likes of Mitsudomoe and Love Lab (different studio, but same director and head writer), and they know about funny. If you enjoyed their madcap approach to comedy, and their precisely-paced slapstick, then you’re in luck, because that’s what they’re doing here too.

This made me laugh nonstop. Of course I’ll keep watching.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Summer 2014.

M3 : The Dark Metal (M3: Sono Kuroki Hagane)

(24 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Mecha fighting eldritch abominations.

Characters

The main “team” assembled in this episode feels so random that even the characters point it out. We have :
– Akashi, a sullen high school student, emotionally crippled by the death of his family a decade ago.
– Iwato, his easygoing best friend. Both of them are quite good at fighting with mecha. (Are those mecha classes ? a club ? It’s not quite clear.)
– Maamu, the creep in another class that keeps muttering exposition at herself, explaining in detail how everyone’s going to die because of the nasties running around, uhuhuh.
– Emiru, the over-eager temp-worker who wants to climb up the ladder. Anything’s better than cleaning toilets, and this is her one chance. Too bad she’s kinda crap at it. Also, the way she latches onto Akashi despite his complete lack of interest can’t be healthy.
– Raika, who used to be a properly licensed mecha worker (although not too good at it), and sees being sent back to training as a demotion.
– Three other members have yet to show up… Wait, there’s this Minashi guy who shows up out of nowhere in the middle of an unplanned op, and that’s totally not creepy.

It’s heavily implied they all were caught in the same creepy event as kids.

Their supervisors range from the utterly bored to the callous assholes.

The cosmology goes this way : there’s some sort of parallel dimension that keeps leaking into our world. It’s populated by crystals that eat the poor people who get trapped in there, and transform them into “Admonitions”, dangerous and nearly-indestructible mindless monsters. Which are then spouted back into our world where they wreak havoc. You’d think everyone would be terrified of the dark, but we’re way past this stage, and most people have just gotten used to it.

There are also “Corpses” ; the one we see looks like a ghost piloting an organic mecha. If you hear their song, it’s rumoured you die within 9 days.

The authorities plan to train the team so that they can explore the parallel dimension, which sounds like a great idea that can’t lead to any sort of disaster.

Production Values

This seems to have some budget, and it pays off in every level : the CG mecha move beautifully, the monsters are creepy, and there’s a dense atmosphere making any night scene menacing.

As a result, the light occasional fanservice is a bit jarring.

Overall Impression

This is the kind of show where you fully expect at least half the cast to be dead by the end of it. Unfortunately, you kind of want them to. Only Iwato’s kinda likeable, with all the other being various degrees of annoying. It doesn’t help that I can’t make head nor tails of Akashi’s flashback backstory, which makes it hard to relate to him.

Still, it’s certainly got some ambition ; I kinda want to give it some rope to see where it’s going. It’d better find its feet soon, though.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Spring 2014 – Page 8.

Spring 2014 capsules

So, first, a few worlds about Insufficient Direction (Kantoku Fuyuki Todoki), a series of Flash-based shorts adapting the autobiography of Hideaki Anno’s wife. If you think that sounds interesting, you’ll be disappointed by the final product. It’s the perfect example of a private joke taken too far. For one, there’s no actual explanation of the premise at any point in it ; I only discovered it later on when I did a bit of research to write this. For two, she’s inexplicably depicted as a toddler throughout. Since this first episode covers their marriage ceremony, that’s more than a bit disturbing. But the most damning flaw of this thing is that it doesn’t seem to have much more insight to offer than “otaku are weird and kinda creepy” ; the Director character could be just about anyone and it wouldn’t change a thing.

Don’t bother with it.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Spring 2014.

SEQUEL WATCH !

Mushishi is the same as it always was. Great mood piece, intriguing world-building, and nothing much for me to actually say about it. Well, except that this first episode is way less depressing than average.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure – Stardust Crusaders is a whole different kind of awesome. This is a textbook example of how to animate bigger-than-life characters. It seems to have gotten a budget upgrade too, which isn’t unwelcome. (Although really, part of the charm of the 2012 series is how they used colour and framing to compensate for the lack of animation.)

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Spring 2014 – Page 2.

QUICK CAPSULES !
Because I certainly don’t want to spend any more time than strictly necessary covering the sea of mediocrity we got this Monday.

Hero Bank, Dragon Collection and Oreca Battle are all kids’ shows bases on videogames (respectively for the 3DS, a social network, and arcades). All three of them feature an annoying redhead kid and his bland friends, fighting stuff with their collectible assets. (Hero Bank sets up some sort of permanent VR tournament, while the other two are the old “transported to another world” gimmick.)

Hero Bank is the least watchable of the three, partly because it’s a full 22-minute show, but mostly because everyone is just so annoying.

Dragon Collection has a slightly less annoying protagonist, and his initial sense of wonder at being transported to a fantasy world is decently done, but the only reason it doesn’t overstay its welcome is that it’s only 11-minute long.

Oreca Battle at least seems to have fun with its weird monster design. (Flying octopi that rain tomatoes onto kids ? WTF ?) This one actually suffers from being a bit rushed at 11-minute-long, completely losing me with a journey to a fantasy world that seems to come from nowhere. Especially as it’s way less interesting than the “monsters come alive out of this card game and run wild into our world” premise it’d been initially setting up.

So, yeah. Three show I’m thrice too old to watch, and I won’t be bothering with.

The Comic Artist and Assistants (Mangaka-san to Assistant-san to) is a different deal altogether. Again it’s a shorter format (11-minute-long), but the similarities end there. It adapts a comedy 4-panel manga, and manages to fit four sketches in its first episode. As the title lays out, it follows the hijinks of a quirky manga author, his assistant, and his editor. (More characters presumably coming, according to the OP & ED ; aside from the manga author, they’re all female.)

The problem here is that this show’s only joke is that the manga author is a pervert who sexually harasses his colleagues. And then makes puppy eyes for them to forgive him. It’s endless variations about the same theme : he wants some reference of breasts being groped, he launches a debate about how much panties should be revealed, and he buys tons of female underwear, again for “reference”. (You can guess what kind of manga he draws.)

Yeah, no thanks. The joke is already tired by the episode’s end, I can’t bear anymore of it.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Spring 2014 – Page 5.

It’s almost painful to watch the slow demise of studio Gainax. With most of their key staff having gone off to the greener pastures of Khara and Trigger, it’s now reduced to a shadow of its own glory, taking any bizarre project that might get them some direly-needed sponsorship money. Remember when they did a short magical girl show that was a glorified (and impenetrable) ad for Subaru ?

Well, Magica Wars (Mahou Shoujo Taisen) is a similar project : a series of 26 shorts starring magical girls who represent the various prefectures of Japan. Not that the premise is obvious from the first episode, which showcases the not-very-funny slapstick hijinks of an incompetent magical girl chasing small blobs.

It doesn’t even have any kind of novelty value ; it’s just boring and pointless.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Spring 2014 – Page 6.

I’m not making a full review for Marvel Disk Wars : the Avengers, but I do want to note that it’s much better than I expected. Especially since it involves a bunch of kids using the titular disks to summon Avengers and fight bad guys. The chief reason the show manages to make that premise less terrible is to spend the first episode without it, instead devoting it to pure set-up. And it does a good job of selling this as a recognizable version of the Marvel Universe, with the Avengers behaving like they should throughout. The Disks are Stark Technology Gone Wrong ™, baddies try to steal them, the Avengers presumably get stuck in them next episode. And the kids are given plausible explanations for being around, which is a relief.

Let’s put it this way : I’m open to watching a second episode, which is more than I can say for just about any of the other marketing-driven kids’ shows this season.

Also, a few words about Inugami & Nekoyama, an adaptation of a 4-panel gag manga about a dog-like girl who likes cats, and a cat-like girl who likes dogs. That’s basically the whole joke, so it’s a good thing that it’s a series of 3-minute shorts. Sure, that’s a bit of a “stop-start” paced format, but the episode packs just enough content, and I’m not sure the source material could support a full-length adaptation anyway. As it stands, it’s perfectly pleasant to watch.

No full review for Escha & Logy’s Atelier either ; I fell asleep watching it and have no wish to try it again. It’s very boring indeed, with flat characters and a complete lack of any kind of narrative tension. You’d think a JRPG adaptation would have more punch, but no.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Spring 2014 – Page 7.

Mekakucity Actors

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

This is an adaptation of the Kagerou Project, which started as a series of Vocaloid songs before being spun-off into light novels and manga series. (I’m not quite sure why the animated version gets a new title.)

Characters

Shintaro, our protagonist. He’s a shut-in NEET who hasn’t come out of his room for at least a year, and isn’t in any hurry to do it again. Unfortunately, he’s spilled some soda on his keyboard, and the inconveniently-timed holidays prevent any shipping for at least 5 days, so the agoraphobic has to go to the mall.

Ene, the computer program a “friend” installed on his computer a couple of years ago, and who just. won’t. shut. up. Show, you really shouldn’t tease me with a mute button for Kana Asumi if it doesn’t work. (I kid : her usual “bubbly exuberance” shtick is a perfect fit for the character, and she makes a good foil for Shintaro.) Also, she’s downloaded herself onto his smartphone, so she can follow him on his shopping trip. Did he think he could escape ?

Since this was a bit too uneventful, the mall is taken hostage by a group of criminals. Who’ve taken over the centralized security network of the place, and are very smug about it. I smell a theme. Now, if only someone had a super-computer-program on hand to wrestle control back from the thieves…

There’s a couple of weird guys in hoodies who like the look on Shintaro’s face, and offer to help untie him and provide a distraction. Presumably we’ll learn more about them next episode.

The episode opens on a weird flashback where a girl in a high school uniform talks to Shintaro. With both of them sitting on a giant clockwork mechanism. Hmmm…

Production Values

Head tilts ? Careful composition of shots that tell a whole story without the need for animation ? (And gratuitously gorgeous animation when it’s funny ?) Sprawling landscapes where the mad architect has overdesigned everything ? Random cinemascope format ? Non-realistic colours bordering on chiaroscuro ? That flashback ? I am shocked to see SHAFT & Shinbo’s names on the credits.

Overall Impression

This is SHAFT at its SHAFTiest : not only the overpowering style, but also the endless conversations and the recurrent themes (including the playful otaku-bashing). The good news is that it works : the setup is simple enough to avoid confusing the viewer, and the direction only adds depth to it. It certainly helps making Ene less irritating than she could be.

Moreover, it feels like the staff are having a lot of fun making this, and it’s communicative. (Unlike, say, Nisekoi, which is the perfect example of SHAFT on autopilot.) I’m game : bring it on.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Spring 2014 – Page 7.

Knights of Sidonia (Sidonia no Kishi)

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of a S-F/mecha manga.

Characters

Nagate, our protagonist and point-of-view character. He’s spent most of his life scrounging for subsistence in the dark maintenance tunnels in the underground of the Sidonia space colony ; out of desperation, he’s ventured outside and got caught stealing rice.

Amazingly, the authorities not only treat him well (after some initial confusion), but immediately invite him to the military upper class : they want him to be a mecha pilot. You see, his father figure had him train for hours each day in an old simulator, and even after his death he kept at it. They’re aware of this (who was this guy, really ?), and want him on board. He’s not too good on his first try, as the software has evolved a bit by then, but he can manage. Especially on that older machine which has the right control scheme for him.

Notionally, Sidonia is at war with some squid-like aliens. Protesters see this diffuse menace as a way for the rulers to stay in control forever (genetic engineering may have been involved to keep them alive), as it’s been decades since the last sight of the enemy. Of course, that’s the kind of talk I heard last in Attack on Titan, so yeah. No way that routine ice-mining mission would have gone fine.

The other mecha-piloting students have various reactions to Nagate’s arrival : some are snobbish of the upstart newbie, some are curious, some don’t care. Presumably we’ll get to know them better in further episodes.

Production Values

This is a fully CG-animated series, and maybe the first time I’ve seen it work on a TV budget. The characters move and act like human beings, and their faces emote properly. The action sequences are well-directed and enthralling, and can even manage slapstick.

The one problem here is that, with everyone in similar uniforms, and designs that aren’t big on facial details, it’s a bit hard to tell all the characters apart. I’m pretty sure that’s intentional for the multitude of pink-haired clones all voiced by Eri Kitamura, but it’s still an issue for a good chunk of the cast.

There’s some minor fanservice at a few points, which falls a bit flat with that artstyle.

Overall Impression

Oh, nice, a proper S-F show. There’s clearly a lot of SCIENCE! weirdness going on in the background here (a functional third gender ? WTF ?), and it’s already hinted the show is willing to deal with the social impact of it all. Sidonia certainly feels well thought-out as a setting, and still the heavy exposition manages to give enough room for the characters to breathe.

This has the potential to be spectacular.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Spring 2014 – Page 7.

Nanana’s Buried Treasure (Ryuugajou Nanana no Maizoukin)

(11 episodes, noitaminA)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of a series of supernatural/adventure light novels.

Characters

Jugo, our protagonist. He’s moved to the “island of students”, which sounds like a great place but leaves him with a tight budget. The rent having to be paid in advance should have raised a warning flag, but now he’s stuck in this apartment.

Nanana, the ghost living in the room. Basically a NEET, since she can’t leave. And it doesn’t take much time for her to gain the upper hand in this cohabitation. Her background is fascinating : she was the leader of the seven student who founded the whole place, and the one who provided the funds (from a mysterious treasure) to bankroll it. The circumstances of her assassination are opaque, to say the least.

Ms Shiki, the owner of the apartment block, was another of the seven founders. She’s renting the room on purpose so that Nanana will be less lonely.

Production Values

This looks great : the island looks like a great place to live, and the architect seems to have gone to town with the weird but awesome-looking buildings and monuments. The opening adventuring sequence features some great animation, too.

Overall Impression

This is a lot of fun. The premise is promising, the Jugo/Nanana interplay works, and the progressive exposition is well-paced. It’s just brimming with joy, and that’s hard to dislike.

Of course I’ll keep watching it.