Tag: female harem

Sky Wizards Academy (Kuusen Madoushi Kouhosei no Kyoukan)

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of a series of fantasy light novels in my kryptonite subgenre : the wish-fulfilment fantasy where super-powered teens are enrolled into a vaguely military magic high-school, and somehow the male lead gets a harem of girls around him. At least we’ve only got one of those this season.

Characters

Kanata is our protagonist. The opening action sequence sees him holding off hundreds of insect-like enemies to allow his teammates to escape, so it’s very confusing that for the rest of the episode nearly everyone in his floating city labels him a traitor. This is probably supposed to be an intriguing mystery, but it just comes off as annoying. Anyway, he’s an overachiever nice guy.

The student council appoints him as the new teacher for the Loser Class, because of course it would be silly to involve actual faculty in this decision. And of course he’s just run into all three members of this class before, and they all believe he’s a pervert because of these terrible first impressions.

They are :
– Misora, the very angry girl who will make it your fault if she bumps into you. Doesn’t seem to work well for her, as she’s lost every single training fight so far. And dear gods, she arrives late to school with a piece of bread in her mouth ? Seriously ?
– Lecty, the wallflower who can barely get a word out.
– Rico, the egomaniac who’s in love with herself and spends most of her time admiring her reflection. She’s the only one whose gimmick is actually mildly funny, as her self-absorbed rants are at least awful by design, instead of accident like the rest of the show.

Production Values

Ouch. The CG insect enemies looks awful, mostly due to bad compositing and effects. This also affects the flying combat scenes, although there’s not much of them beyond the prologue.

Overall Impression

Cards on the table : I don’t like this genre of shows, and they face an uphill struggle with me at the best of times. It’s often an excuse for the writers to be lazy, avoiding having to write an actual plot when they can instead fall back on cliché highschool and harem hijinks to fill up pages and screentime. The rushed and truncated anime adaptations don’t do what little depth the novels may have had any favours.

This one still manages to be way worse than average, somehow. All the characters are annoying and one-dimensional. It looks awful. The plotting is a mess. The world-building makes no sense. And there’s an hilariously nonsensical bit where Kanata broods and monologues about his fallen comrades in arms being forgotten by the Normals, as only Wizards don’t suddenly get there memories erased or something (for whatever reason)… only for a further scene to reveal that there’s like 10% Normals and 90% Wizards in the flying city, so why the heck was he getting all worked up for ?

Even if this show didn’t take itself so seriously at times, it still wouldn’t be funny. It’s a trainwreck in motion, and I have no wish to stick around.

Source: [In Which I Review] New anime, Summer 2015 – Page 5

The Truth Is I Am… (Jitsu wa Watashi wa…)

(12ish episodes ?)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of a romantic comedy manga.

Characters

Asahi, our high-school protagonist, has a recurring problem : he’s a terrible liar and can’t keep a secret. Can’t bluff for his life. So hey, since it’s obvious he’s got a crush on one of his classmates, his “friends” tell him to go and confess to ; at least he’ll have gotten it out of his system and be less awkward when ogling her. (And hey, one of them caught her glancing back at Asahi too, so maybe he’s got a chance ?)

Youko, though, is one of the most unapproachable students on campus : never talks much (and always very formally), stays out of outdoors activities, first come and last left at the school… Frankly, he just wanted to leave a love letter on her desk when he caught her stretching.

… her wings. For you see, the truth is that she is a vampire. Hence why she avoids the sun. (Er, wait, no, that’s just because she tans easily.) She doesn’t speak much in public (especially not in her natural Kansai dialect) because otherwise her fangs would be showing. And so on. Oh, well, now that the gig is up, she’ll just have to stop going to school.

Not so, objects Asahi ! He’ll be her friend, and keep her secret ! (Good luck on that, kiddo.) And then he notices he forgot to confess ; that’d just be too awkward now.

The OP & ED sequences make it clear that Youko is not the only weirdo around ; not only is the class rep obviously a robot, but there are also at least a succubus and a demon-girl with horns who should show up later on. But most terrifying is Mikan from the Journalist Club, who’s already smelling something going on.

Production Values

The manga is reputed for its quirky artstyle that makes for some great funny faces from most of the cast. Here, the character designs are much blander, but we still get a decent amount of funny faces.

Overall Impression

This is a mildly funny harem romance setup. It has some decent jokes, but a worrying tendency to stretch them for a bit too long. And the first episode hasn’t really got past the point that was in all the advertising material, so it feels a bit empty.

I’m giving it a second episode, but it’d better shape up a bit and find its groove now that the premise has been established.

Source: [In Which I Review] New anime, Summer 2015 – Page 4

Yamada & the Seven Witches (Yamada-kun to 7-nin no Majo)

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of a comedy manga series, the first episode of which features a conspicuous lack of witches. Hm.
Apparently it also got a short-lived live-action TV adaptation back in 2013.

Characters

Yamada, our protagonist, is nearly the platonic ideal of the “delinquant” high-schooler : a barely-contained ball of anger who’s rude, violent, and terrible in his studies. Fortunately, before he can get onto my nerves, he suddenly swaps bodies with…

Shiraishi, the best student in his class. Who doesn’t have much of a clue how this happened either, but wants him to wait until after school for them to sort this out, as she can’t afford to miss any more classes. So Yamada spends the rest of the day as her… and learns that she has more depth than the “boring honor student” he’s always dismissed her as : he now sees the creepy harassment from some of the boys, the intense bullying by some of her female classmates, and the fact she has no friends whatsoever. And you can clearly see his own personal growth that comes with this nascent understanding. Also, he has to deal with the fact that Shiraishi refuses him to resort to his go-to answer to everything (i.e. violence), especially as he’s still in her body.

Miyamura, the student council vice-president, who quickly guesses what’s going on and seizes this opportunity to revive the Supernatural Studies Club (of which he was the only member left). Yamada & Shiraishi had already figured out they switched bodies whenever they kissed ; Miyamura is the one leading the experiments that led to the discovery that Yamada could apparently do it with anyone. (One guess how. Shiraishi was surprisingly enthusiastic at the prospect.) Anyway, this lets everyone have a room where they can discreetly swap bodies, provided they occasionally help the student council out.

As I wrote earlier, no witches in sight. The OP sequence goes out of its way to try and frame Shiraishi, the head bully, a tentative applicant to the club who shows up at the end, and four other girls as the titular seven witches, but that feels more symbolic than implying any actual witchcraft at play here. (And if they do turn out to be real witches, that’d be a really surprising twist.)

Production Values

Quite good. It’s a show that relies on comedic timing and a good understanding of body language to sell its central concept, and it handles that well. The exaggerated way Yamada walks may be a bit too much, though.

Overall Impression

This is way better than I expected it to be. The core reason is that it spends very little time dwelling on the obvious jokes, and instead focuses on building everyone into stronger characters and finding fun ways for them to abuse the strange premise. That’s quite refreshing, really.

It’s also an impressive performence showcase. Admittedly, not really from Ryota Osaka ; his Shiraishi-as-Yamada is just kinda flat. But Saori Hayami really gets to stretch herself here ; her Yamada-as-Shiraishi is hilarious, either as a hoarse default-mode or as a parody of feminimity ; and even her normally flat Yamada can turn out to be surprisingly playful and fun. Between this and the 2:15-minute rant, I’m getting more and more appreciately of her range.

This show had me laughing non-stop nearly throughout its first episode. It must be doing something right. Anyway, I’m sure I’ll keep watching it to the end. (And probably catch on that OVA episode that got released a few months ago.)

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Spring 2015 – Page 5.

EtoTama

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

A comedy show about the the cat being left out of the Chinese zodiac… Wait, Wikipedia claims a manga adaptation of this started publication in 2013. How long has this TV show been stuck in the pipeline ?

Characters

Takeru, our male protagonist, found a cheap house to inhabit. Unfortunately, it’s haunted by…

Nyaa-tan, the personification of the Cat zodiac sign. Which doesn’t exist in the Chinese zodiac, of course. (She blames the Rat.) She intends to reclaim her rightful place by… actually, I fell asleep halfway through this, so I have no clue what her zany plan entails. The only thing I can see is that the house is no longer standing by the end of the episode.

Takeru is also harassed by all 12 of the other zodiac signs. There’s a running joke of nobody remembering those past the Snake, so I’ll take that as a cue not to bother listing them all. The only one with a degree of distinctiveness is Chuu-tan (ie the Rat), who smirks in the background while wearing a dominatrix outfit. Of course she does.

Production Values

Nothing to write home about. It’s okay, I guess, although some of the signs’ outfits are more than a bit fanservicey (especially Moo-tan !).

Overall Impression

Ah, the token series that completely puts me to sleep in spite of its hyperactivity. But then, those one-note characters are unengaging, the central joke isn’t particularly funny, and I just can’t bring myself to care.

Next show, please !

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Spring 2015 – Page 4.

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? (Dungeon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru no Darou ka)

(12ish episodes ?)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of a light novel series attempting a romance/harem comedy setup in a RPG-style fantasy world.

Characters

The high concept here is that the gods of the setting have gone down to mingle with mortals and enjoy normal life ; the only power they have left is to empower some normals so that they can go and adventure into dungeons. Not that the writers care too much about verisimilitude ; all monsters drop generic “crystal” loot for some reason, and adventurers have even got stat sheets.

Enter Hestia, very minor goddess with a grand total of one follower, the both of them living in obvious poverty. Not that she minds that much being alone with him, really. The way she’s so possessive and clingy rubs me the wrong way, to be frank.

Bell, said follower, is still a newb and can barely adventure enough to bring food on the table (Hestia helps by working part-time at a food stand). He’s got some enthusiasm, but is very weak indeed. “Should not be adventuring below level 3 of the dungeon” weak. But he wants to get stronger, not only to gather better loot, but also hoping to become a good enough prospect for the likes of…

Aiz, an elite member of the Loki house, who saves him from a minotaur. She’s so taciturn she barely gets a couple of lines in the whole episode, but I get the impression she isn’t as inaccessible as everyone likes to claim. (Wait, what’s with having her only level 5 ? For that matter, how can Bell still be level 1 despite his stats improving twice in the episode ? How does this system even work ?)

Rounding up the cast are the rest of the Loki house (including a loudmouth asshole who enjoys disparaging noobs, to the exasperation of his pals) ; Eina, a support guild worker who’s mostly there to provide a good chunk of exposition ; and Syr, a waitress who manages to trap Bell into eating at her expensive inn.

Production Values

Quite good ; the fantasy town feels more lived in than average. On the other hand, the camera loves to perv, especially when Hestia is giving it a hand by multiplying the risqué poses.

Overall Impression

Well, this is definitely a romance/harem comedy set in a RPG world. The setting is mildly interesting, but not enough to overcome my apathy over the near absence of a plot (Bell somehow now levelling faster whenever he thinks of Aiz barely counts) and nearly everyone involved’s lack of charisma ; Bell is just way too bland, and Hestia actively annoying.

I’m trying to be slightly more selective this season, and this is too mediocre to make the cut.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Spring 2015.

#25 : Love Hina

(24 episodes + various OVAs & specials)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of one of the now “classic” harem romantic comedy manga series.

Characters

Keitarou, our hapless protagonist, has yet to enter college despite turning 20. Part of the problem is that he’s applying to the prestigious Tokyo university that’s way beyond his reach. This is because he’s trying to be faithful to a promise he made with a girl as a kid, and this is the place they’re supposed to meet again. (His parents wish he would wise up.)

The plot kicks off when his grandma decides to stop running her lodging house, and brings him in as a replacement. The current tenants aren’t too pleased (especially with the tons of ridiculous misunderstandings before he can even introduce himself), but eventually give him a chance. They are :
– Naru, clearly our lead romantic contender, and already displaying plenty of tsundere chemistry with him. Also trying to enter the same university, except she’s actually good enough to have a good chance at it. (Odds of her being the childhood friend : very high.)
– Mitsune, the one obsessed with money ; her interest perked up when, like everyone else but Naru, she mistakenly understands that Keitarou is already in that university and on the fast track to a successful life.
– Motoko, the tall taciturn beauty with tons of fangirls.
– Kaolla, the weird little tanned blonde who just does random stuff.

As explained by Haruka, his aunt who barely has time to give a bit of a helping hand, there’s little choice here : either the tenants reluctantly accept a male manager, or there’s just nobody left to run the place and it just closes down.

Shinobu, a “normal” girl Keitarou runs into in the neighbourhood. Presumably she joins the regular cast later on.

Production Values

Decent enough. There’s a weird ethereal atmosphere throughout, as not only does Keitarou keeps daydreaming all the time, but also for some reason the town keeps being shrouded in fog, with weird old dudes being a bit creepy.

As the lodging house includes a hot springs, expect a good amount of fanservice.

Overall Impression

Well, this was pleasant enough. All of the basic elements have been done dozens of time, but there’s nothing wrong with using them, provided it’s done properly and with enough energy. And that’s the case here ; I was reasonably entertained.

And hey : it’s Love Hina ; it’s the kind of show so famous I feel like I should have seen them already. And this first episode was okay enough for me to have no qualms with finally getting on that sometimes in the next few months.

Source: [In Which I Review] Anime series from 2000 – Page 5

#19 : Sakura Wars (Sakura Taisen)

(25 episodes + tons of OAV spin-offs)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of (a series of) videogames, part tactical-RPG, part dating sim. It’s set in an alternate version of 1920s Japan that has gone in a decidedly steampunk route.

Characters

Sakura, our protagonist, is a country bumpkin and a new recruit to the Imperial Floral Division, part of the forces defending the capital against… some offscreen “evil” forces we have no real exposure to yet. Sure, she’s clumsy and has trouble following instructions, but she compensates it with overenthusiasm (which often gets her into more trouble). But she’s completely nonplussed when she arrives at the rendezvous point : why do headquarters look like a theatre ? Why are her new teammates performing a play ? (That she proceeds to make a mess out of, of course.)

Said teammates :
– Maria, the taciturn one who thinks the newbie won’t cut it and thus won’t bother talking to her
– Iris, the creepy kid who talks to her teddybear
– Sumire, the “star” who takes personal offense at Sakura’s bumbling (which gets worse as she tries to apologize)
aren’t very welcoming, to be polite. While they may be overreacting, you can see their points.

The brass, on the other hand, are delighted by Sakura’s arrival. Sure, there might be some initial problems, but she’s from a famous and powerful lineage, we need her… Oh dear gods her aura’s so powerful it made the mecha in the basement randomly activate, traumatizing her. (And of course it’s Sumire‘s mecha that gets trashed.)

I think there are more members due to join the team soon, given the OP & ED sequences.

Production Values

This looks quite good indeed : nice animation, and lots of attention to detail to sketch out this past Tokyo with some good verisimilitude.

Overall Impression

Well, I didn’t expect this : a non-standard setting, with a very weird setup that leaves me more intrigued than frustrated by the lack of explanation for it. The characters are sketched enough not to be annoying, and it does have the budget to support its ambition.

I want to know what’s going on here, and to watch more of this. Mission accomplished, then : I’ll pretty sure I’ll come back to this series later this year.

Source: [In Which I Review] Anime series from 2000 – Page 4

World Break: Aria of Curse for a Holy Swordsman (Seiken Tsukai no World Break)

(12ish episodes ?)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of yet another light novel series set in a magic high school. You know the drill.

Characters

Moroha, our male lead, is a new freshman at the academy. Like all of them, he’s the reincarnation of past warriors, and as such should regain his memories and abilities with the right prodding. Which will be sorely needed, if the talk of various nasties roaming the world and the mandatory opening epic battle flash-forward are any indication. Unfortunately all of this is still hazy for him.

Satsuki, one of his new classmates, doesn’t have that problem. She’s already got a good handle on her abilities, and remembers Moroha as her beloved brother in a past life. And now there’s no pesky incest taboo to hinder them ! (I have no words. What happened to Ayana Taketatsu’s career for her to be so regularly pigeon-holed into bro-con roles ?) Aside from that, her main trait is that she’s very enthusiastic about their mission of saving the world.

Shizuno, another classmate who manages to steal Moroha’s first kiss “by accident”, to Satsuki’s furor. Given how constantly she’s gently trolling them, I’m sure there’s more to it. At least she doesn’t feel malicious.

[Random Asshole whose name I can’t be bothered double-checking], who quickly comes to blow with Satsuki after mocking her “ally of justice” mindframe. He humiliates her, leading to a rematch where Moroha tries to teach him a lesson… and unlocks his own powers just in the nick of time.

Production Values

This is actually quite sharp-looking. Vivid colours, nice animation, gorgeous backgrounds… Some care has been put into giving motion to this.

There’s quite a degree of fanservice at play here, if only from the script managing to fit in a locker scene, a shower scene, some clothing damage, and girls rubbing a guy’s head against their chest. Given all that, the execution almost feels positively restrained.

Overall Impression

This looks quite good, and there are some okay beats, but I still can’t quite shake my impression that like many of its ilk, it’s coasting on the “magic school” setting and its associated default hijinks to substitute for an actual plot. Since I have little patience for those clichés, I have trouble getting invested into even a better-than-average execution of it. (It doesn’t help that I’ve been badly burnt by the likes of the Irregular at Magic High School.)

Let’s be honest : there are many shows I’d rather be viewing than this.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Winter 2015 – Page 2.

Unlimited Fafnir (Juuou Mujin no Fafnir)

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of a light novel series.

This has absolutely nothing to do with the Fafner in the Azure sequel that airs on the same day within minutes of it.

Characters

Yuu, our protagonist. He’s a “D”, a vague of children who were born with superpowers after Dragons showed up and wreaked havoc on the world (just by existing, due to their massive size). He’s apparently the only male D, because of course. Initially he worked in the armed forces, but he’s now joining Midgar, the academy where all the D girls in the world were rounded in and are training for anti-dragon warfare.

Mitsuki, his younger sister, and also the student council president. Finally reunited after three years apart ! She hopes he won’t embarrass her.

Iris, a white-hair girl he first meets when she’s taking a skinny dip on the beach. (/facepalm) A bit of a ditz, she’s actually less resentful of that terrible first encounter than you’d expect. She still lets wild rumours propagate, of course.

Lisa, the spokesperson for all the students who are outraged by a boy’s presence in their school. Also, his powers are lame.

Their class’s teacher is mainly there to provide clumsy exposition. Including this uncomfortable tidbit : Dragons can turn Ds into their own rampaging kind, which is a good reason why nobody liked Ds in the first place.

Production Values

Terrible. And this is of course the fanservice-heavy version of studio Diomedea, as you’d expect from this kind of material. It’s especially thick whenever Iris is involved.

Overall Impression

Yeah, this is crap. Maybe there are a few interesting ideas here, but they’re drowned out under tons of the usual light novel wish-fulfilment clichés, and facepalm-inducing fanservice. All the characters are annoying, to boot.

Pass your way, nothing to see here.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Winter 2015 – Page 2.

Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend (Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata)

(12 episodes if you include this “prologue”)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of a light novel series lampooning romantic comedy clichés.

Characters

This series follows the members of a high school club aiming to produce a romance videogame, including :
– Tomoya, the one dude and apparent “leader” of the club, the idea guy giving direction to the group.
– Utaha, the main writer (who also makes light novels on the side). Very sardonic and critical of the clichés of the genre, she’s quick to make fun of Tomoya’s terrible exposition in his narration and dialogue. Also aggressively vamping on him, with enough plausible deniability to leave him confused.
– Eriri, the main artist (who also publishes bestselling doujinshi on the side). A proponent of flash over substance, and thus in content conflict with Utaha. It doesn’t help that she’s Tomoya’s childhood friend and doesn’t like this newcomer macking on him.
– Michiru, the musician, an oddball who mostly stays in the background so far.
– Megumi, the one “normal” girl in the club, with no apparent artistic ability. She’s used by Eriri as a model for her artwork. Paratext indicates that she’s the girl Tomoya is actually interested in, and thus the “Boring Girlfriend” in the title.

This is a hot springs episode, with all the (lack of) plot advancement this implies.

Production Values

It takes some gall for a show to open with a gratuitous and very fanservicey hot springs scene, only for one of its characters to immediately launch into a rant against this kind of thing (with another very weakly trying to defend the practice).

Aside from this, it’s a decent-looking show.

Overall Impression

Hum. Usually you get this kind of thing as an OVA, not on TV before the first episode even airs. (Especially as it’s clearly set somewhere in the middle of the series, and isn’t a real prologue.)

But while this episode, by its very nature, doesn’t establish or develop the plot in any way, it gives a very good overview of the character dynamics at play here, as well as the metafictional humour it’s going for. And there’s quite a lot to enjoy here ; Utaha’s dry wit and trolling are the major attraction, and play well with the rest of the cast. There’s nothing particularly original, but the execution is strong enough to overcome my pre-release fears about the plot direction.

This must be the first ever hot springs episode I’ve ever found promising. That alone makes me think it’s doing something right, and pushes the show onto my to-watch list.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Winter 2015.