New Anime Series – Page 25

One-Week Friends (Isshuukan Friends.)

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of a (shonen) romance manga.

Characters

Hase, our male lead, is your ordinary highschool student : bumbling, awkward, but overall quite a nice guy. (And not a Nice Guy, fortunately.) The series focuses on his attempts to become “friends” (or more) with…

Fujimiya, that one loner girl in his class. Who goes out of her way not to make any friends. After a week of talking to her and getting through her shell, she finally explains herself : she has a brain disease that makes her memory partially reset every Monday. She’ll definitely forget about the people she had a good time with, hence her behaviour.

Hase doesn’t care, and vows to befriend her again every week.

Production Values

Decent enough, with some nice pastel tones everywhere.

Overall Impression

The question with such a gimmicky premise is obvious : how do you make it last for 12 episodes ? (Or more, considering the manga is still ongoing.) Won’t it get awfully repetitive ?

This first episode doesn’t really run into the problem, as it’s tasked with setting up the premise. Now, that doesn’t quite work either, as a good chunk of the audience is going to know what the series is about already (it’s in the title !), and there’s not much more than the high concept to it. Sure, there’s value in spending time to build up the two leads’ chemistry, but it’s all a bit slight.

I’m giving it another episode to determine how it plans on going forward, but I’m very skeptical.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Spring 2014 – Page 3.

Brynhildr in the Darkness (Gokukoku no Brynhildr)

(13 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of a seinen manga series where an ordinary dude’s life is turned upside down by the apparition of a mysterious girl with superpowers.

Characters

Ryota, our protagonist. He’s still deeply shaken by the death 10ish years ago of his childhood friend “Kuroneko” (real name unknown), after they both fell from a dam while she was trying to lead him to the place she’d seen aliens at. In her memory, he comes every evening to local telescope to try and find aliens, as the lone member of the school’s astronomy club.

“Neko Kuroha” (LOL at the obvious pseudonym), a sudden transfer student who totally looks like Kuroneko would by now. She denies any knowledge of Ryota, though. She’s very mysterious indeed : she’s in contact with some people with prophecy abilities, and she herself seems to be a high-level telekinetic. (She calls herself a “witch”, but then explains to Ryota that her abilities come from surgery and drugs. Hmmm…) There are also tons of holes in her background. (How could she even transfer in without knowing multiplication tables ?)

The plot here is purposefully muddled : Neko has been notified that two students in this school are to die from very improbable accidents, and she tries to “subtly” prevent their deaths. The second one’s Ryota, of course, and he goes out of his way to force her to use a more hands-on approach. Because he wants to know what’s going on, of course.

He stops listening halfway through her explanation, though, when he notices that Neko doesn’t have Kuroneko’s highly-distinctive birthmark. So they’re really two different people after all ? (You know, she’s just mentioned surgery…)

Production Values

This series is the demonstration of the power of a great OP sequence. Yes, it’s got some nice music (if you enjoy dubstep), but the key here are the well-designed visuals implying that Neko and her friends are reanimated corpses. It’s by far the best OP sequence this season, although admittedly half the shows that have aired skip it to fit more story, so there’s not much competition. Anyway, it’s done a great job of selling me on the premise.

The actual show can’t really match up, but it does have some good animation for the action sequences, and it’s got way less fanservice than you’d usually expect from studio ARMS.

Overall Impression

As stated above, the OP sequence sold me. It helps that the flashbacks are nicely paced, and some of the final twists are intriguing. The two leads have some decent chemistry, too, and the writing has got an appreciable attention to detail.

I’m cautiously optimistic about this one.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Spring 2014 – Page 3.

Baby Steps

(25 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of a tennis manga series.

Characters

Eiichirou, our protagonist. Nicknamed “A-chan” for his consistently perfect grades. He has high-level OCD, and his cleanly-written, perfectly-designed notes are admired by the whole class. He’s perfectly okay with lending them out freely (he has spares !), too. See, making all those is integral to his learning process ; that’s the way he can cope with his studies.

Until a year ago, he had no interest whatsoever in tennis ; cue several-episode-long flashback. See, he was aware he needed to practice some sort of physical activity. Most sports clubs were out, as he has only little time available in his busy studying schedule, but that “free tryout!” pamphlet for the tennis club looked interesting.

Natsu, a girl in the next class over, happens to be in that club. Now, he’s no good at dealing with girls, but her dedication to tennis (she secretly wants to become pro) has peeked his interest. She seems to like him too ; she does call him a weirdo all the time, but it’s not mean-spirited.

The idea here (layed out in the flashforward prologue) is that Eiichirou is going to apply his meticulous approach to tennis, apparently with some success.

Production Values

Most of it is okay ; there’s some good animation for the tennis bits… but the character designs are very awkward, obviously lifted from the page without too much care on how they’ll look animated. In particular, the episode ends on a close shot of Natsu where I’m completely unable to discern what expression her face is supposed to be displaying.

Overall Impression

Now, that’s a semi-interesting premise for a sports show : the nerd who uses maths to supplement his play. I’m sure it’s been done before, but the characters are likeable enough, there’s some decent comedic timing, and I’m intrigued enough not to drop it immediately.

I’ll give it one more episode to feel out where it’s going.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Spring 2014 – Page 3.

Haikyuu!!

(25 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of a volley-ball manga series.

Characters

Shoyo, our protagonist. He’s actually quite good at volleyball, with great speed and jumping ability. Unfortunately, his middle school doesn’t have much of male volleyball club. And by that, I mean he was alone in it for two years, barely got a trio of first-years in his final year, and just about managed to rope two of his friends (who know next to nothing about the sport, being in other clubs) to participate in the district tournament. That they even manage to score some points in the one match they get to play is a miracle. Especially as they’re facing…

Kageyama, one of the local rising stars, very serious about everything he does, and very angry at most of his teammates for underestimating the scrappy underdogs. This is serious, guys, stop taking shortcuts ! And he’s entirely aware of Shoyo’s potential.

By the end of the episode, Shoyo moves to high school, giddy to be joining a proper club that’ll let him have a rematch with his rival… Wait, what are you doing here, Kageyama ?

Production Values

Perfectly okay for this kind of thing.

Overall Impression

Well, it’s a generic sports series, featuring hot-blooded rivals. It’s got the usual message of “never give up !”. It’s competent on every level, with well-placed flashbacks laying out the backstory in the middle of the match, but there’s no real spark or originality to it.

I’m not interested.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Spring 2014 – Page 3.

Rowdy Sumo Wrestler Matsutaro!! (Abarenbou Rikishi!! Matsutarou)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of a sumo wrestling manga that started in the 70s and ended more than 10 years ago. I have no clue why anyone would greenlight such a thing (transforming it into a de-facto period piece, set decades ago), but there you have it.

Characters

Matsutaro, our protagonist. Despite being an adult, he’s still in middle school. And failing it badly. He bullies everyone else in his class, including the teachers. Let’s not mince words : he’s a complete asshole.

His mother is busy offscreen, working many jobs to bring some food back to her numerous children. Matsutarou bullies them too, even stealing candy from the baby’s hand because the big oaf is that hungry.

Old man Nishio seems to be his only “friend” ; Matsutaro even helps him out working at his little mine, showcasing his immense strength. Unfortunately, the mountain is getting razed down, so he’ll soon be out of a job.

Any amount of sympathy I might have left for the ~~little~~ big scamp goes right out the window after the two steal a truck, get drunk, and kidnap the pretty teacher at his school. It’s quite satisfying to see them in jail at the end of the episode, because seriously.

Production Values

Barely animated and with terribly oldschool character designs, but then that’s pretty much the only approach you can take with such source material.

Overall Impression

If you’re wondering what any of this has to do with sumo wrestling, well, yeah. I can only presume that he’s eventually going to start that career and set himself on the straight and narrow, but fuck it : this episode has made a very good job of unselling me out of following his adventures. That the teacher is somehow going to follow him to the big city and become his love interest (if the OP & ED sequences are any indication) only adds insult to the injury.

No way I’m watching any more of this.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Spring 2014 – Page 3.

Kamigami no Asobi: Ludere deorum

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

An adaptation of a female-targeted visual novel, with a male harem to romance. You know the drill.

The hook here is that, aside from the player-insert protagonist, they’re all gods.

Characters

Yui, the stand-in for the audience. She’s from a shrine family, and good at fencing ; she stumbles on the plot while investigating the storeroom in the back, and touching the shiny glowing sword. She’s immediately transported to a parallel world.

Zeus is the one who organized all of this. He’s picked up a few gods from each of the struggling old pantheons, and Yui’s going to teach them about humanity. Why her ? Well, she found the sword. Let’s be honest, Zeus is a complete dick here.

So cue many prettyboy gods. Clueless Baldr and devious Loki. Angsty loner Hades and obviously-main-guy Appolon. And others. They all become a bit same-y after a while.

Production Values

Quite nice ; the flowery backgrounds as each god gets introduced might be a bit overkill, but they’re a staple of the genre, and I do get the impression we’re reaching self-parody.

The ED sequence dispels any doubts about this being anything else than an excuse to display juicy manflesh.

Overall Impression

This first episode is quite alright : it’s decently paced, it’s got a sense of humour about itself, and Yui has more of a clue and a backbone than average for her archetype.

But I have no confidence that this isn’t going to quickly devolve into standard harem hijinks, and I’m not the target audience anyway. I’ll pass.

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

The Irregular at Magic High School (Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei)

(26 episodes)

What’s it about ?

The novelty is going to blow your mind : it’s the adaptation of a light novel centering on a high-school where students learn tech-assisted magic ! With an extensive female cast surrounding a special snowflake male protagonist !

Characters

Tatsuya, our main character. He’s got an actual personality, which is a plus. (Thank you, Yuuichi Nakamura, for conveying so much within so little dialogue.) He’s not constantly narrating his every thought at us, which is appreciated. Especially as he’s obviously got an agenda, and it’s to the show’s credit that it lets us piece it together progressively.

The idea here is that despite being a hard worker, he’s been consistently been put down by society. His parents would rather him aim lower. The Magic High School puts him among the second-rank students, and he should be lucky to even have been accepted. His answer has been to put up a front of accepting it, and overcompensate by training himself even harder in his strengths. Which are many : he’s an accomplished martial artist, and while he’s not that good at actual magic, he can achieve a lot through quick-witted analysis. But he’s careful not to let it show too much ; it’s too early to reveal his hand yet, so he’ll bide his time for now.

Miyuki, his younger sister, is a good contrast : she’s a genuine magical prodigy and thus gets to be a first-rank student, but she believes she doesn’t deserve any of it, and would rather HE get all the honours. I’m less thrilled by her worship going a bit too far, but he’s careful to keep it at a reasonable level : she’s his precious little sister and he enjoys the attention, but that’s it.

We meet a few classmates of Tatsuya’s : Mizuki the shy one, Erika the tomboy, and Leonhart the lecherous dude. With the last two being a bit hotheaded (and obviously at stage one of the tsundere romance), it’s no surprise that they don’t take kindly to the arrogance of the first-class students.

Mayumi, the Student Council President, breaks up the fight before it escalates too far. Interestingly, Tatsuya goes out of his way to downplay it as horseplay ; now’s not the moment to make waves. She’s not fooled, and is going to keep an eye on him.

Production Values

Budget ! The animation here is sumptuous, with very well-directed fight scenes. Tons of scenery porn too, and there’s many neat touches with the magic effects.

I’m not entirely sure what’s going on with the female uniforms (what are the colours supposed to be about ? Magic types ?), but they must be a PITA to animate and still look as good as this.

And of course, I’d be remiss not to mention the Taku Iwasaki soundtrack, which is as engaging as ever.

Overall Impression

It’s taken a long time, but finally I’ve found a wish-fulfilment light novel adaptation I’m actually enjoying watching. Oh, sure, it helps that it’s got impressive production values, a snazzy soundtrack, and some good world-building ; but the real success here is in building an actual protagonist, who looks like he actually wants to do stuff instead of just bumbling through life and having everything handed down to him. This isn’t a clueless nice guy ; he’s a calculating bastard who’s faking every and each of his social interactions.

I’m optimistic about this one, which is more than I could say going in.

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

Kindaichi’s Case Files RETURNS (Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo R)

(26 episodes)

What’s it about ?

This is the revival of a well-regarded 1997-2000 TV series, which itself adapted a long-running manga. (I’m not sure whether this new series directly adapts some of the manga or involves original material. The plot does involve smartphones, after all.)

The gimmick is that this is a fairplay whodunnit mystery series, with each arc mostly self-contained.

Characters

Kindaichi, our protagonist, is the archetypal “brilliant but lazy” high-school protagonist. He’s the grandson of a famous (fictional) detective, whom this series can’t actually name because of a lawsuit from the original author. Ahem. Anyway, he’s himself a great amateur detective, which is very useful as he can’t make two steps without stumbling into a new murder case.

Miyuki, his childhood friend who’s always hanging around him, hint hint nudge nudge. This arc’s plot involves her getting scouted by a model agency because she looks just like a fashion model who’s just disappeared, which should have rung some alarm bells. So the pair of them are invited to a fashion show in Hong Kong.

There are half a dozen suspects for the inevitable murder that ensues, helpfully introduced one by one by the script. Usually they start dropping like flies until only half are left and Kindaichi unmasks the culprit.

The location move to Hong Kong prevents most of the usual (sparse) supporting cast from showing up, although there’s a game attempt by Saki, an underclassman of the duo, who conveniently happens to be visiting Hong Kong with his parents. You don’t say.

Production Values

There’s been a fresh coat of paint to update the series to modern standards, but it’s still more than a bit old-fashioned. It still has all the signature gimmicks (such as the suspect grid where they’re crossed out one by one as they die), and even the music’s a rearrangement of the old tunes.

Overall Impression

I can’t be objective with this one. I’m a mystery nut in general, and I’ve always enjoyed what little of the original series I could lay my hands on. This is basically more of the same ; self-contained enough to be accessible, but I’m not sure how appealing it can be for a modern audience.

Still, I’m obviously going to watch this for as long as it lasts.

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

Dragonar Academy (Seikoku no Dragonar)

(12ish episodes ?)

What’s it about ?

As the title implies, this adapts a light novel about an academy in fantasy-land where the students train with their dragon familiars.

Characters

Ash, our protagonist. Wait, how many origin stories does this guy need ? There’s an opening prologue where as a kid he helped a girl (his sister ?) do something in an ominous location, and lost his arm for it ; leading to a dragon restoring his arm out of pity and giving it some cool tattoos. That’s fine. And then there’s a modern scene of him getting raped by a succubus-like woman that I really doubt is truly a nightmare. And then there’s this episode’s events, where he finally gets a familiar. That’s a bit overkill. Anyway, he’s got a generic Nice Guy personality, aside whenever someone badmouths his familiar (or lack of any), which makes him flip out. Obviously, he’s got a terrible reputation as a troublemaker.

Raymond, his perverted best friend. Aside from being an endless supply of exposition and gossip, his core purpose so far is to lend out his familiar to Ash, who’s one of the rare few people who can actually use others’. Of course he is.

Silvia, a princess from a neighbour country, with an attitude to match. She seems even more hated than Ash, which is saying something. They quickly start bickering over nothing, leading to a challenge to outmatch each other at the next dragon-riding race. Which he loses conclusively, but he’s had enough fun helping her out against bullies that he doesn’t mind.

Milgauss, an agent from the enemy country nearby (Ash : “wait, isn’t there a ceasefire ?”), who’s investigating some random relic when Ash inadvertently crosses his path. After gloating for a bit, he orders his teenage ninja girl to get rid of the witness. She’s not very good at it, to the point that Ash actually prevents her from falling down a ravine… only for him to stumble down in her place. Oops.

Story’s not over, though : that’s the moment his familiar chooses to finally manifest. Except it’s some girl instead of a dragon.

Production Values

Perfectly adequate, and it’s got some decent designs for the dragons, but it’s all functional rather than imaginative.

Overall Impression

Oh dear gods, the script. In better hands, this might have worked ; but the dialogue and narration are so consistently awful that it drags the whole show down as a result. The worldbuilding is marred by cumbersome exposition that buries everything else down. It’s not helped by trite jargon that merely sounds pretentious. And it’s just impossible to take seriously this protagonist who has to rediscover every aspect of his daily life all the time.

I’m not the audience for this kind of wish-fulfilment light novels anyway, but the level of writing in this adaptation is so terrible that there’s no chance I’ll bother with watching a second episode.

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

Daimidaler the Sound Robot (Kenzen Robo Daimidaler)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of an mecha/sentai ecchi manga.

Characters

Kouichi, our protagonist, straight on loan from the 80s, i.e. wearing a rakugan instead of his high school’s more modern uniform. His core personality is that he’s a pervert ; his standard daily routine includes standing below stairs to check out what underwear girls are wearing.

Kyouko, an agent from the PRINCE organization, which is tasked with handling attacks from the evil extraterrestrial Penguin Empire. He mission was to scout Kouichi, as he can generate a high level of Hi-ERO energy. You’ve guessed it : he can power his mecha up by doing something perverted, such as fondling her.

For now, the Penguin Empire are mostly represented by a few of those low-level masked underlings that are so common in sentai ; this is the kind of series that finds it very funny for them to have a front “tail”.

Production Values

Decent, I guess. The Daimidaler mecha has a very peculiar old-school design that at least makes it look distinctive.

Be warned, this is a very fanservice-heavy show. And not just because of Kouichi’s antics ; the camera is just as perverted as him.

Overall Impression

Oh, dear. The kindest thing I can say about this is that it’s neither bland nor forgettable ; unfortunately, its sense of humour starts at tedious and then goes downhill. It’s dreadfully unfunny, and watching more than five minutes of it was a chore.

No thanks.

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