Tag: adult protagonists

Rage of Bahamut – Genesis (Shingeki no Bahamut: Genesis)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of a heroic-fantasy cellphone videogame… But since it revolves around multiplayer card battles, I assume the writers took a vague look at the background flavour text and made up the plot of whole cloth.

Characters

Favaro Leone, our protagonist. He’s a cocky bounty-hunter who cares more about the thrill of the chase than actually making a living out of it. Especially if the tale can earn him a good night with the ladies. Most of his bounties are spent on placating the locals for the collateral damage, anyway. But behind the smarm, there’s a competent lone operative in there, who knows how to deal with powerful summons despite having little more than his short sword on hand. That’s a good thing, as he often gets way over his head.

Kaisar Lidford is his “rival”, insofar as the dude wants revenge on Favaro for ruining his life and reducing him to become a bounty hunter. I get the impression there’s a long line of those.

Amira is a woman who randomly falls from the skies (or so it looks like) and wants to head for the semi-mythical iced fortress of Helheim (a name that should have raised alarms bells in my head way sooner than it did). Since she’s heard Favaro bragging of knowing a shortcut to the place (while drunk in a tavern), he’ll do as a guide. She accepts his offer of sealing it with a kiss.

The next morning, Favaro wakes up with the hell of a headache. Getting drunk ? Check. That bounty target’s brother coming for vengeance and his super-big summon ? Er, he must have dealt with that somehow. That broad transforming into a scary demonwoman ? Er, must have dreamt that, surely. Why does his mouth taste like he’s swallowed dragonfire ? This is a terrible hangover indeed. Let’s get washed up.

Wait, why does he have a small demontail now ?

Production Values

Wow, just wow. This is by far the most impressively animated first episode of the season, and I can’t see anything compete with it. It shows off one impressive action setpiece after another, from the purely gratuitous (hello, giant wheel !) to the plot-important (with Amira shifting to demon form and kicking all kinds of ass). All the characters have tons of expressive body language, and move smoothly all the time.

Overall Impression

What. The. Hell ? How come the adaptation of a friggin’ cellphone cardgame is so good ? This is a feast for the eyes, and I really hope the budget keeps up in further episodes. But even if the action scenes’ ambition gets toned down a bit later on, the show can still fall back on its core strength : its likeable protagonist having fun adventures. Let’s be honest : how long has it been since we got a good, straight heroic-fantasy romp ? Because that’s definitely what this is.

I’m flabbergasted. Don’t let the videogame tie-in discourage you : this is the deeply unlikely gem of the season.

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

Terra Formars

(13ish episodes)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of a science-fiction manga series.

Characters

Akari Hizamaru, our protagonist. His childhood girlfriend got infected by a deadly virus, so he’s participating in underground death matches to try and raise money for some sort of cure… which turns out to be completely bullshit. Oh, and by the time he realizes this, she’s already dead.

Shoukichi Komachi & Michelle Davis are heading a unit who do have a clue on how to cure that virus : their plan involves going to Mars and harvesting the necessary materials there. They got to Akari slightly too late, but he can still help : you see, one needs to endure some radical surgery to be space-worthy, and he’s one of the few people whose genetics mean that his survival chances aren’t crap. (So were those two, by the way.)

We meet a few of the other candidates for the unit ; they’re so carefree I’m pretty sure at least one will die in surgery.

Now, obviously going to Mars is more trouble than just the trip. Back in the 21st century, we tried to terraform the place by sending some algua and cockroaches. The latter have evolved drastically, and are very hostile indeed. (This is at least the third recent Mars mission, and both of the others got wiped out.)

Production Values

Dark, dark, dark. This show is very devoid of colour, and quite murky indeed. It’s also got some heavy censorship for the ultraviolent scenes, making them pretty much unwatchable. It’s not too bad here, as it only affects a gratuitous underground wrestling match where the details don’t really matter, but this doesn’t bode well for the inevitable future “slaughtered by cockroaches” scenes.

Overall Impression

The manga has quite a reputation of the cockroaches being horrible racist caricatures. Well, it’s too early too tell how the anime fares on that front ; the bad news is that it’s got other prominent issues already. The exposition is very clumsy (so many infodump scenes, and the narrator still needs to barge in at the end to explain the premise properly ?) ; the characters are either quite bland or already annoying ; and the overall attempt to build atmosphere just doesn’t manage to raise enough anticipation for the main event.

By the end of this first episode, I still don’t really care about any of the characters, or the overall premise. The series may manage to salvage this false start later on, but the signs are unpromising. I’ll pass.

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

Rail Wars!

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of a light novel series about trains. (I’m slightly surprised there’s not more of these.) The “hook” is that this is an alternate reality where the Japanese National Railways were kept an united public agency, as opposed to the privatised mess of many companies it is currently.

Characters

Naoto, our generic protagonist, just enrolled into the JNR’s training program. For some reason this year every trainee has to go through the security division, but the script never bothers to explain why. Anyway, he’s your usual spineless male lead who keeps getting into compromising positions (yes, it’s that kind of show). The one thing he’s good at is strategizing and leading a small team.

Haruka, the trainee in dire need of a bra. His obvious love interest, and as such the victim of many panty shots. Shy and soft-spoken, she’s very good at memorizing all kinds of data, from schedules to technical specifications. Academically, she’s top of the class. Athletically, it’s another matter.

Shou, the perverted best friend, because you always need one. A bit dumb and something of a slacker, he compensates by being quite strong… except he’s entirely useless in the one chase scene because he has no sense of direction.

Aoi, the man-hater. The kind who wants to shoot all molesters. And she’s a pretty good shot. Takes an immediate dislike to Naoto, which makes one wonder why she stays in this trainee group. Well, aside from the fact that nobody else in this class besides the hardass instructor has a name, dialogue, or screentime.

The episode zooms past their training, from driving a steam train just because, to a way off-script arrest of purse-snatchers for their one day in the field.

Production Values

Crap. Generic character designs, ugly animation that makes all people look rubbery… it’s obvious all the budget went to the CG trains (which are okay). Also, heaps of fanservice.

The ending sequence’s quite catchy, though.

Overall Impression

I have nothing against the premise, but the show struggles to make it interesting. That it’s already resorting to terrible fanservice clichés that don’t do the characters any favours is a very bad sign. The writing is pretty bad across the board, and the dismal visuals don’t help.

Frankly, I have no patience for this kind of crap. Next show, please.

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.

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.

Hamatora the Animation

What’s it about ?

A back-alley team of Private Investigators. Who happen to have super-powers, and occasionally fight super-powered crime.

(There’s a manga version being published concurrently.)

Characters

Nice is nominally the PI agency’s leader, but it’s like herding cats, and his occasional stubborness doesn’t help. A running joke is that he’s terrible at managing his finances. His case this episode : investigating the disappearance of several college girls. (He also effortlessly foils a bank robbery while making a withdrawal.) His power : listening to music makes him super-fast, I think.

Murasaki is his purple-themed partner. He’s much more suave and sophisticated, but just as stubborn. He takes the case that will actually provide them some decent money : protecting the safe of a rich family, whose patriarch has died without explaining how to open it. His power : either super-strength or super-resiliency, I can’t quite tell.

Also working with them : laid-back Birthday (electrical powers) and Dr Ratio (x-ray vision that lets him see weak points in enemies), who both take a bodyguarding job.

Rounding up the agency’s cast : Koneko, who acts as their secretary, and Hajime, a gluttonous girl that even the opening titles have no clue what she brings to the table. Also : the owner of the restaurant they operate out of.

Art is a police detective who’s old friends with Nice. He seems delighted to have the team’s help for what the police don’t have time to deal with. (He’s the one footing the bill for the first case.) There are hints he’s got a hidden agenda, though.

As it happens, all three jobs are actually different angles on the same case ; they solve it together by the episode’s end.

Production Values

Very stylish indeed. The wild colour shift for the slo-mo power activation sequences are especially pretty.

Overall Impression

Hey, that’s actually quite good ! The mystery story is well-constructed, the characters produce some lively banter, there are some decent jokes, and the fight scenes are fun to watch. That it’s not actually an adaptation of anything even gives me hope that it’ll be able to properly pace its story out (an issue that has plagued many recent shows also directed by Seiji Kishi).

So far, so good. Let’s see how it develops.

via [In which I review] New anime, Winter 2014 – Page 4.

Samurai Flamenco

(22 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Wannabe superheroes.

Characters

Hazama is a young man who was fortunate enough to start a career as a popular model, but that’s not what he really wants to do. No, his true calling is to be the superhero SAMURAI FLAMENCO!, modeled on the sentai heroes of his youth. Do note that this guy has no superpowers whatsoever : he just puts on a silly costume and patrols the streets of his neighbourhood at night to tell off drunken salarymen, jaywalkers and rowdy middle schoolers. Who often proceed to beat the crap out of him, since it’s not like he has any fighting skills.

Goto is our point-of-view character : he’s a beat cop who happens to stumble on Hazama after a badly-timed costume change. Since he was off-duty at the time, he doesn’t bring him in immediately, and takes the time to listen to the guy’s story. While he facepalms regularly at the moron, he’s not entirely unsympathetic ; he begrudgingly admits to liking sentai shows too, and presumably this had a hand in him becoming a cop. Of course, he’d rather Hazama channeled his thirst for JUSTICE! through non-vigilante and non-stupid means, but for now he’s not turning the idiot over (and goes out of his way to bail his new friend out when he gets into too much trouble).

Notionally Goto has a girlfriend, but it’s a long-distance relationship, and doesn’t impede on the burgeoning bromance.

The OP sequence shows off a lot more characters (and the ED focuses on the so far barely present female cast), but this first episode is squarely about establishing the two leads.

Production Values

Very nice looking. The OP sequence promises some actual sentai-style action down the line, but that’s for much later ; the “action” scenes so far solely consists of people beating SAMURAI FLAMENCO! up. But with lovingly animated detail.

Overall Impression

I had no clue what to expect of this show… but certainly not “realistic” superheroes. It’s a pleasant surprise, though ; while a lot of the appeal may depend on how much you love sentai shows (because everyone involved in producing this surely does), but this is a lot of fun to watch. And it’s a very polished first episode, perfectly establishing the premise and the two leads.

I’m genuinely curious about where this is going, as it should have enough time to develop its story properly. I’m onboard.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Fall 2013 – Page 13.

BlazBlue: Alter Memory

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Fighting game adaptation.

Characters

Ragna the Bloodedge is probably our protagonist. He’s a grim guy with an enormous sword who fights people like him. There’s every indication he’s been at it for a while, killing the same people repeatedly in an unbreakable cycle. There’s a bounty on him.

Noel Vermillion is part of the police force or whatever who are tasked with hunting him down. Her boss has actually instructed her to stay out of it while he does the actual footwork ; since he takes a bloody beating over the course of the episode, she feels free to take over the investigation.

There’s a green-haired guy who seems to take great delight in watching all this happen, and manipulating people. Sometimes he floats upside down.

Production Values

You know a show has run out of money when the OP sequence clumsily recycles many shots from the action prologue you’ve just watched. The ED sequence is barely animated at all, but at least it’s a bit stylish. Which is more than you can say about the rest of the show, which looks like shit.

Overall Impression

Excuse me if I fail to summon any enthusiasm describing this crap. It’s hard to give a toss about a token plot that’s just an excuse to show some fights… which aren’t worth your time watching them anyway.

I barely could withstand an episode of this ; no way I stick with it.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Fall 2013 – Page 12.

I Wanna Be The Strongest In The World ! (Sekai de Ichiban Tsuyoku Naritai!)

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Female Pro-Wrestling !

Characters

Sakura, our heroine, is the incontested MVP of her… idol group ? As a publicity stunt, her agency sends her to participate in a pro-wrestling class. (She was basically the only one willing to do it.)

Erena, her self-proclaimed rival, tags along to participate too, as she doesn’t want to be left behind. She has a tendency to get in way over her head, biting way more than she can chew. In this case, this means challenging…

Rio, an actual pro-wrestler, who doesn’t hide her contempt towards those idol bimbos. A natural heel, she makes a point of thoroughly humiliating Erena. Which provokes Sakura into defending her pal’s honour, challenging Rio in an actual wrestling match. Rio finds it all very interesting… as does the audience : ticket sales for the match go through the roof.

To drive home how IMPORTANT all of this is, there’s an actual news reporter following this event, with enough pull to have the front page changed when Sakura, thoroughly beaten by Rio (as if there was any suspense about that, training montage notwithstanding), proclaims that not only does she want a rematch, but she’s going to become an actual pro-wrestler, for real.

Production Values

Warning : all the fights are filmed like porn. Insistant shots focusing on the wrestlers’ lovingly-rendered crotches (or their boobs, if the camera has no other choice), ample moaning… I’m not kidding, this is NSFW. (But then, what are you doing watching anime at work ?)

Overall Impression

You know, the silly premise is kinda fun : ridiculous, sure, but sold by over-the-top performances. Unfortunately, the fights are completely unwatcheable, which puts a complete crimp on me enjoying this.

I’m not going to bother with this one.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Fall 2013 – Page 10.

Summer 2013 capsules

Turning Girls is the latest web-thingie from Studio Trigger. Now, you may remember this studio was founded with much fanfare by the mad minds behind TTGL & Panty & Stocking w/ Garterbelt ; they also produced the wonderfully-animated Little Witch Academia one-shot for the Anime Mirai project earlier this year. But they’ve yet to produce an actual full series, and won’t until this Fall. In the meantime, all they’ve given us are shoe-string-budget shorts like Inferno Cop and now this.

Inferno Cop had some zany charm, but I quickly got tired of it. This is noticeably worse : an attempt at satire that’s not really funny, and has nothing more to say than “[female stereotype of the week] are annoying and terrible people, dur dur”. Also, it looks absolutely horrible, like something that was quickly thrown together between proper projects (which it probably was).

Don’t watch this crap. Especially when there are non-terrible takes on similar themes (such as the all-fujoshi new season of Genshiken) due out this very summer.

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

And now for something completely different : a few words about the first instalment of Ghost in the Shell : Arise.

This is a series of four one-hour OVAs, the first of which was released on DVD/BluRay AND debuted in theaters about a week ago. The pitch is that it’s a prequel about how the Section 9 team got together, so you don’t really need to know anything about the previous movies & series in the franchise.

The good news is that it’s very good indeed. The plot for this opening chapter may be a bit too convoluted for its own good, and it certainly deserves a rewatch to make sure all the pieces fall together, but then the same could be said about many SAC episodes. And it’s certainly got a clever twist that puts everything under a new light… and makes the Major look even more awesome in retrospect. It’s also great-looking, with impressively-animated action sequences that contribute a lot to conveying the stakes.

In many respects this is a fanservice project (“so this is how the Major met Aramaki…”), but it’s well done enough not to feel too contrived. (And it refrains from having the whole of the team coincidentally investigating the same initial event.)

I should probably mention that all the roles have been recast with different voice-actors. It doesn’t jar too much ; sure, Maaya Sakamoto is easily recognizable, but she recaptures a lot of Atsuko Tanaka’s original performance (and there’s precedent for her to play a younger Major anyway). Also, Miyuki Sawashiro seems to have a lot of fun playing a Tachikoma Logicoma, which is delightful.

The next episode is due in November ; it’s going to be a long wait…

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

I give up : I can’t muster the will of giving Gifuu Doudou!!: Kanetsugu to Keiji (“Dazzling Sengoku Period Story: Kanetsugu & Keiji”) a full review. It’s going to be hard to beat as the most mind-numbingly dull show of the season. It may be a cultural thing, but those “legendary” men spending their time monologuing in poetry about the beauty of the world, and patting each other in the back on how awesome they are, just bore me to tears. And this ain’t helped by the retro-ish artstyle that makes all those 6-feet-tall forces of nature look the same to me.

via [In which I review] New anime, Summer 2013 – Page 2.
A few words on Yami Shibai first : it’s a series of horror shorts with peculiar collage-like artstyle… and it doesn’t really work for me. Maybe because the first tale is so deliberately obtuse. (I think I get what the twist is supposed to be, but would it have killed the creators to spell it out ?) It’s not like it’s doing anything particularly original, anyway. But nice artstyle, still.

via [In which I review] New anime, Summer 2013 – Page 11.