Tag: female harem

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

(13 episodes)

What’s it about ?

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

Characters

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

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

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

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

Production Values

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

Overall Impression

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

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

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

Photo Kano

(13 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Harem romantic comedy, adapted from a dating sim.

Characters

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

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

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

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

Production Values

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

What did I think of it ?

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

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

Date A Live

(12 episodes + a bonus OVA)

What’s it about ?

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

Characters

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

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

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

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

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

Production Values

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

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

Overall Impression

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

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

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

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

My Girlfriend and Childhood Friend Fight Too Much (Ore no Kanojo to Osananajimi ga Shuraba Sugiru)

(13 episodes)

What’s it about ?

High school harem romantic comedy.

(Adapted from light novels, as you can guess by the ridiculously long and plain title.)

Characters

Eita, our protagonist. He’s been badly burned by both his parents walking out of his life after finding love elsewhere, and thus doesn’t want to hear about any romance whatsoever. He’d rather concentrate on his studies, thank you.

Chiwa, his very annoying childhood friend. The kind that now stalks him relentlessly and regularly invites herself for meals. I get the notion that he mostly tolerates her because chasing her off would involve too much energy.

Natsukawa, the beautiful and ultra-popular girl in his class. Like him, she has no interest in romance, and she’s getting tired of getting proposed once a day ; her solution is to use him as a fake boyfriend so as to finally get some peace. She’s somehow got her hand on his embarrassing diary, so it’s not like she’s got any say in the matter…

There are two other girls featured prominently in the OP and preview artwork ; maybe it’s related to that club mentioned in the next-episode preview.

Production Values

Perfectly okay as far as visuals go ; the main distinguishing feature is very bright, pastel colours. The score is nearly entirely crap, always slightly out of place and emphasizing the artificiality of the scene breaks.

It’s telling that Eita is entirely absent from the OP sequence…

Overall Impression

Hum. The first half of the episode was very unengaging indeed, with haphazard storytelling (must Chiwa really be the one to exposit to Eita about Natsukawa ?) and the childhood friend character being obnoxiously annoying. However, it changes radically once the “girlfriend” finally gets to speak : it’s Yukari Tamura at her best, cynical, whimsical, and affecting various personae at will. She’s clearly this show’s most (if not only) entertaining character, and its main selling point.

Is this enough to make the series worth watching ? Er, I’ll get back to you about that in an episode or two, once we actually see her interacting with someone besides her beard, and the “plot” gets properly underway (so far, the two title characters have yet to even meet, let alone fight like the title suggests). I’m not too optimistic, but maybe the show will click together then.

In a busier season I wouldn’t have bothered with this one, but I’m willing to give it a bit of rope for now.

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

Sakurasou’s Pet Girl (Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo)

(24 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Sakurasou is a special dorm for an “art” school, designed to keep in check the most socially-inept-but-artistically-brillant students.

Characters

Sorata is the one “normal” guy in Sakurasou ; he’s there because he likes taking care of stray cats and the dorms for normal people don’t allow pets. As the only person with a head on his shoulders, he’s often tasked with helping out with the other residents’ idiosyncracies.

The current students attending the dorm include : Misaki the energetic artist/animator with no sense of decency ; Jin the casanova writer, and some programmer dude who only communicates through his maid-avatared answering machine.

And also Mashiro, the newest arrival, incidentally the teacher-in-charge’s niece. Very un-energetic indeed.

Sorata’s also got a kinda-girlfriend patiently waiting for him with the normals, although I’m not sure he’s noticed.

Production Values

Perfectly okay.

What did I think of it ?

Hum. I heavily dislike the “guy takes care of socially-inept girl” genre on principle, and even this series mostly playing it for comedy doesn’t manage to overcome that. There are some decent jokes, but it mostly degenerates into “ahahah she can’t dress herself that’s so funny” fare by the end of the episode.

Maybe in less busy a season I’d give this more time to find its feet, but no thanks. (Especially as it’s going to last for 6 months.)

via [In which I review] New anime, Fall 2012 – Page 6.

Just because you’re my brother doesn’t mean there can’t be love ! (Onii-chan Dakedo Ai Sae Areba Kankeinai yo ne)

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

The title says it all, doesn’t it ?

Characters

Akiko, our protagonist, has just moved to her brother Akito’s high school dorm after six years living apart. (The reason why they’ve been separated for so long, or indeed whether they have any parents at all, is left unstated.) For some reason she’s madly in love with him, and tries to sex him up at every opportunity.

To Akito’s credit, he’s completely baffled by this, and tries as tactfully as possibly to push her advances away. Well, until ten minutes into the show, where he stops being subtle.

Because this premise gets annoyingly repetitive already by the halfway point, the show spices things up by adding three other female roommates : the brash tomboy with an inexplicable eyepatch, the emotionless deadpan snarker, and the nice one. Because lazy storytelling, all five of them are somehow make up the student council.

Production Values

It’s a shame Silver Link get wasted on animating this crap, because at least they’re making it look decent. Well, aside from the numerous close-up on female thighs. (Boobs aren’t forgotten either.)

Overall Impression

Oh dear gods please shoot me. Akiko is thoroughly annoying within mniutes of showing up on screen, and stays that way throughout. I suppose this show is slightly better than its ilk for making its central point that everyone thinks that Akiko’s obsession is ludicrous and unhealthy. The problem is that the joke is barely funny to start with, and certainly isn’t anymore by the hundredth time it’s hammered home.

A comedy show that’s dreadfully unfunny. Avoid.
(But then, as someone who actually has a younger sister, I get the feeling I’m not in the audience for those siscon/brocon shows and just shouldn’t bother with any of them.)

via [In which I review] New anime, Fall 2012 – Page 4.

Regardless of My Adolescent Delusions of Grandeur, I Want a Date! (Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai!)

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Chuunibyou : a syndrome in which middle-schoolers with an overactive imagination act out a fantasy life, which wrecks most of their chances at a social life as their classmates have no time for those antics and shunning them. Apparently it’s a thing in Japan.

Characters

Togashi, our protagonist, used to think of himself as the DARK FLAME MASTER (cue Jun Fukuyama doing his Zero voice). He’s now thoroughly embarrassed by this, and trying his best to distance himself away from it. This includes entering a high-school quite away from his home just so that he can avoid anyone who knew him in middle school, and make a fresh start.

Unfortunately, Takanashi, his new neighbour, is still very much in this phase. He’s dismayed to discover she’s in his class, has found out about his dark secret (not that he’s much good at hiding it), and seems stuck to him whether he likes it or not.

Also introduced this episode without much development : the Togashi family (mother apparently working a lot, two little sisters) ; the mandatory lecherous new best friend ; a homeroom teacher who’s happy to rely on Togashi to deal with Takanashi ; and the perfect class representative who’s probably hiding something.

Production Values

Standard KyoAni fare, although in their lower range : good animation and attention to detail. (When Takanashi’s antics make a cupboard half-fall, it stays that way the whole scene.)

There’s a show within the show that shows up here and there, including taking over the ED ; it’s a cute parody of the kind of angsty nonsense those kids are obviously riffing off.

What did I think of it ?

The “guy takes care of a socially-inept girl” subgenre is always fraught with peril and unfortunate implications, but KyoAni dodge most of that minefield by focusing first and foremost on its protagonist, making it clear that he was suffering from the same problem mere months ago (and that he’s not entirely over it yet). It helps that they’ve got Jun Fukuyama, a voice actor with enough talent and charisma to sell every aspect of the character.

Obviously the topic at hand can be a sore one for the geek audience, but it’s to this show’s credit that it’s not really patronizing or insulting. It pokes fun at its characters without mocking them, which is a tricky balance to achieve. So far, so good.

via [In which I review] New anime, Fall 2012 – Page 2.

Summer 2012 capsules

Because I didn’t have anything better to do while waiting for the big premieres tomorrow, I checked out some of the OVA that surfaced over the last couple of weeks. This might have been a mistake.

Most perplexing is probably Ai Mai! Moe Can Change!. It’s an adaptation of a “moe-girl raising” game, where the key gimmick is that the player can change their clothes ad nauseam. None of this here… well, except that the girls keep changing clothes. Seriously, they rarely keep the same ones for more than a minute, thanks to a magical phone app (although its inventor later shows she can produce the the same effect with cakes !). There’s barely any plot in sight here, just sadistic barely-developed characters tormenting each other. Who the heck enjoys this kind of brainless drivel ?

Mahou Tsukai Nara Miso o Kue! (“Eat Miso if you’re a sorcerer !”) is barely any better. It’s basically a 12-minute trailer for an award-winning light novel… which is so painfully generic one wonders who thought it’d deserve any awards. The plot is a cliché-storm (down to the opening scene having a short bratty girl crashing into generic male lead’s flat), the characters have no personality beyond their archetypes, and the jokes are well-worn indeed. It’s the kind of stuff you’d expect to be parodied in Genshiken, except without any indication the writers know that. And did I mention it’s padded out with facepalm-inducing lingering candid shots of the main female characters ?

Don’t bother with either of those.

via [In which I review] New anime, Summer 2012 – Page 4.

A few words about Chitose Get You!, yet another series of shorts adapted from 4-panel manga. And well, whatever you think about its one joke (an 11-year-old girl with a crush on some random adult dude), at least it’s got some decent direction to sell it and make it somewhat watchable. Which is better than I expected.

via [In which I review] New anime, Summer 2012 – Page 7.

Ebiten – Ebisugawa Public High School Astronomical Club (Kouritsu Ebisugawa Koukou Tenmonbu)

(10 episodes)

What’s it about ?

High-school slice-of-life comedy show.

Characters

Todoyama, president of the Astronomy Club (and there must be a pun here in Japanese, because the subbers were intent on dubbing it the “Ass-tronomy” club). She’s exactly the kind of obnoxious hyperactive asshole that makes me avoid Kana Asumi in leading roles.

Kanamori, her chewtoy. Subject to tons of abuse, she spends most of the episode half-naked or in bondage, but it’s okay because she’s a dirty yaoi fangirl.

Noya, the first-year newcomer, who for some reason has to participate in a Saint Seiya parody as a trial before joining the club. Why she doesn’t run for the hills once she notices how weird and offputting this bunch is, I have no idea.

There’s also the “charming” vice-president who has to deploy allher social-fu for the club not to get closed down, and the sarcastic girl who deadpans through the whole thing while putting as little effort as possible into it.

Production Values

This is streamed on Niconico in eyebleed-o-vision, but even accounting for that it looks like crap. It also suffers from Seitokai no Ichizon‘s character designer, who manages somehow to turn in designs both stupidly elaborate and terminally generic.

Overall Impression

I can’t find a kind word for this. The premise is dodgy at best (hint: don’t go for “the student council wants to shut the club down” angle if you can’t give a reason to disagree with them), it looks horrible, but the biggest problem is that it’s just not funny at all. Which is worst possible sin for a gag show.

Avoid.

via [In which I review] New anime, Summer 2012 – Page 15.

The Ambition of Oda Nobuna (Oda Nobuna no Yabou)

(12ish episodes ?)

What’s it about ?

Gender-swapped sengoku warlords, because there must be one of those in every season.

Characters

Yoshiharu, our generic male lead. The narrative wastes no time and has him already thrown to the past (or whatever parallel world this is) by the episode’s start. The gimmick here is that he’s an avid player of videogames set in the Sengoku era, and can thus predict just about everything that’s going to happen. Well, aside from the fact that nearly every single major character is now a girl. Anyway, he stumbles on Hideyoshi getting killed way ahead of schedule, and has to take his place and become the servant of…

Oda Nobuna, our female lead, just starting on her quest to conquer the whole of Japan (and beyond). It’s a bit painful to see her reduced to a generic tsundere.

… But not less painful than seeing some of the other major historical figures now being 10-year-old (at best) girls that can barely speak ye olde Japaneseth. Urgh.

For some reason, Saitou Dousan is still a dude. Presumably he won’t matter beyond this first episode.

Production Values

Perfectly okay ; it’s always a shame to see the budget wasted on those things.

Overall Impression

Terrible. It’s a weak concept that’s been done before, and better. (Seriously, even Sengoku Otome was better executed than this.) None of the characters have any charisma and the protagonist’s gimmick kills any suspension of disbelief you might have (seriously, how the heck do exactly the same events keep happening despite the obvious differences in the setting ?).

Don’t bother with this one.

via [In which I review] New anime, Summer 2012 – Page 11.