Tag: heavy fanservice

Trinity Seven

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of a harem/modern fantasy manga series.

Characters

Arata, our generic male high school protagonist, just can’t quite shake the impression that something’s off in his daily life. Weird dreams. The sun being black. His childhood friend/cousin Hijiri being clingy instead of her usual tsundere ways. Is that even really her ?

Lilith, a girl with a magic gun, shows up to explain : nope, that’s not Hijiri. It’s a manifestation of a grimoire he somehow got his hands on just as the town got destroyed by a weird catastrophe. If the town doesn’t look destroyed, it’s merely because he unconsciously reconstructed it thanks to the grimoire’s power. Now, please hand over that thing (as well as lose any hope of getting Hijiri back), or die. His choice.

He takes the third option : enroll into her magic school, because the story was in danger of getting remotely interesting. (She’s a teacher rather than a student, by the way.) Oh, and because of the nature of magic wobble wobble better suited to girls wobble wobble he’s the only boy attending. Cue generic hijinks. Also, his reputation skyrockets once it becomes clear he’s achieved feats worthy of the “demon lord” class.

Oh, and to make the show even more boring, it’s revealed that he can take a shortcut instead of actually studying his own powers : he just has to “conquer” the Trinity Seven, aka the seven most powerful and specialized people around. This includes Lilith, a ninja, and an emotionless girl who looks just like Hijiri.

Production Values

Perfectly okay ; it sells the offbeat atmosphere that the script desperately tries to water down, and the various characters have expressive body language and weird expressions that sell their scheming quirkiness. (not!Hijiri is particularly creepy.)

There’s actually less fanservice than you’d expect. Sure, it opens with a boob grab and includes a gratuitous bath scene, but it could be worse.

Overall Impression

The sound you can hear is my goodwill progressively draining away. There’s a semi-interesting premise in there, but it’s completely buried by the magic school nonsense. This is a perfect example of why I’ve come to be very wary of this trope : it’s an excuse to forget about the plot and turn the series into a generic harem series with a bit of fighting.

I don’t trust this show to deliver on any of its mysteries ; after all, it’s based on a still-ongoing manga. So I don’t see any reason to bother with it.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Fall 2014 – Page 4.

Le Fruit de Grisaia (Grisaia no Kajitsu)

(12ish episodes ?)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of a generic dating sim visual novel… OR IS IT ?

Characters

Kazami isn’t exactly your generic dating sim protagonist. An orphan in unspecified circumstances, he’s in the employ of some secret governmental agency, in what looks very much like hitman-style jobs. He’s asked to be able to live a “normal school life” in his downtime, so his bosses send him to this elite academy… with only five other students.

Much of the humour comes from his deadpan bafflement at this bunch of girls acting out the classic dating sim archetypes :
– Sachi, the doormat who’s been tricked into wearing a maid uniform ;
– Makina, the foreign-looking kid ;
– Michiru, the tsundere who struggles under his heavy trolling ;
– Amane, who has no qualms about him walking in on her as she’s half-naked (hey, that’s his room !), and is vying to become a big-sister figure ;
– and Yumiko, the aloof girl that will totally cut you if you get too close.

Frankly, it’s a bit embarrassing how they try to act so stereotypically, and he’s not above making a bit of fun out of them (especially Michiru). But this is a thoroughly weird setup, and his paranoid constant vigilance looks more and more appropriate as time goes by.

Like, how exactly did Amane enter his room ? Did she pick the lock ? Why are several of them mumbling about having identifying him ? Are those bombs Sachi is making in her room ? And in that light, Yumiko’s “I will cut you” antics take a more sinister look…

Is it still paranoia if they’re really out to get you ?

Production Values

For some reason, the whole thing is shot in a widescreen aspect ratio. Well, whatever. Anyway, this seems to be drowning in budget, as the camera keeps moving around in fancy ways to stray from the cliché visual novel shot (you know the one), although it still shows up a lot anyway. (Amusingly, the girls often act out cliché “quirks” as though the camera was stuck to Kazami’s viewpoint.) There’s quite some scenery porn, too.

And, well, the camera also finds a way to show off repeatedly the panties of each and every girl, because dating sim adaptation. And there’s Amane’s half-naked scene, of course. (Ah, convenient bulbs of light…)

Overall Impression

Usually, it’s a bad sign for a harem romance show if I find every possible option creepy and/or unlikeable. This show achieves the remarkable feat of turning that around and morphing into a thriller where the protagonist will need to fight for his dear life. It helps that Kazami (the always impeccable Takahiro Sakurai) does have charisma and a personality, which is more than 95% of dating sim protagonist. We do root for him, despite his being a paranoid jerk with much blood on his hand.

I have to admit I was fooled : this really looked like a generic dating sim adaptationwith crappy cliché girls who can barely read their script. I was entertaining the thought that the whole thing was a prank on him, but as a joke, not as the actual premise. Have a cookie, show, you were clever enough to get my attention.

Don’t waste it, though ; you’re still on a thin line for those gratuitous panty shots. So get to the point and don’t try to have your cake too much while eating it.

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

Cross Ange : Rondo of Angel and Dragon (Cross Ange: Tenshi to Ryuu no Rondo)

(25 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Mecha vs dragons… well, at least that’s the pitch ; the actual series’ content is way more trashy and exploitative than you’d expect. We’re talking Freezing levels of bait-and-switch.

Characters

Angelize, our protagonist, is the First Princess of the Mizurugi Empire. She’s basically the MVP of the Imperial Family : wildly popular among the people, star player of her school’s sports team, and admired by all. She’s also completely drunk the official Kool-Aid : she’s in favour of a zero-tolerance policy against the Norma, the rare mutant girls who not only can’t use Mana (magitek telekinesis) like everyone else, but are actively destructive of it. Imperial policy involves snatching them as young as possible from their families, and detaining them in special facilities where they’re thoroughly dehumanized.

Julio, her older brother, resents her fame… because he knows it’s all a lie : she’s actually (unknowingly) a Norma. He exposes her in the most spectacular fashion possible during her coming-of-age ceremony. Obviously, it’s a huge scandal. I’m sure he’s terribly broken up that their parents get thoroughly discredited for covering it up for 16 years, and he thus has no choice than taking over as the new Emperor. (That his most prominent potential political rival gets summarily gitmo’d is a terrible shame, too.)

Angelize, now renamed “Ange” and stripped of any rights as a human being, is sent to the Norma detention facility where she’s to be trained as a soldier, presumably to pilot mecha against dragons like shown in the opening fast-forward. But because this is a classy series, let’s first spend way much more time than necessary on a gratuitous cavity search.

The OP & ED sequences showcase, among various future members of Ange’s team, a baffingly-prominent male character. Since there’s little chance he’s a Norma (described as a female-only phenomenon), I presume we’re due for some creepy Stockholm-Syndrome-type relationship.

Production Values

Just in case the above synopsis had you confused over what kind of series this is, the opening flashfoward proudly asks the question : how many different angles can we show Ange’s cleavage from as she’s piloting her mecha ? (Six under three minutes, plus three for her buttcrack and a couple more for her crotch.) And to dispel any doubt, the OP features exploding clothes, because of course it does.

Which is a bit of a shame, as Sunrise’s mecha battles are as impressive as ever, and the main segment of the series is perfectly alright and non-fanservicey.

Overall Impression

This is a truly infuriating show, as it wastes a decent premise by applying it to a creepy fanservice series. It really feels like two completely different shows welded together ; unfortunately, I have little doubt which one is going to win out.

I almost gave the series the benefit of the doubt until I got to the gratuitous prison rape scene, immediately followed by obviously-traumatized girls fondling each other. Fuck this crap, I’m out.

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

Lord Marksman and Vanadis (Madan no Ou to Vanadis)

(13 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of a series of fantasy light novels.

Characters

Tigrevurmud (sic) Vorn, our protagonist. Lord of the small province of Alsace (/facepalm), he leads a token battalion among the much wider forces of Brune. At least, that’s his backstory, as by the time the series starts he’s the last man standing, with patrols from the enemy country of Zhcted (gesundheit) scouring the battlefield for stragglers. But while he doesn’t have any illusions over his survival odds, he’s going to make the most of the few arrows he’s got left.

Eleonora Viltaria, one of the seven war maidens (“Vanadis”) of Zhcted, stumbled upon him ; she quickly overwhelms him, but she’s fallen in love with his bow skills, and so takes him prisoner. Officially she’s asking for ransom, but she deliberately set an unreasonable price to be sure she’ll get to keep him. Refreshingly, she’s NOT a tsundere ; she exudes power and self-confidence, and is charmingly frank about her motives and plans.

Her entourage, though, aren’t too happy with her latest conquest, as they suspect she wants more than merely his bow skills. Some of them are already trying to undermine him.

Zaian Thenardier (sigh) was Tigre’s “rival” among the Brune forces, i.e. a bully who kept provoking and insulting him. The episode closes on the announcement that he’s attacking Alsace, because mwahahahah he’s an evil little prick. It’s obvious where this is going : Eleonara “conquering” Alsace so as to protect it and keep Tigre under her thumb.

The OP & ED threaten to turn this series into a full-blown harem series, with several more scantily clad young woman about to join in.

Production Values

As has become the norm from studio Satelight, this is much brighter and shinier series than you’d expect from the actual subject matter. The fanservice level is quite high, as the camera never lets you forget that Eleonora has boobs and legs.

Overall Impression

I had very low expectations coming into this. I’ve come to dread adaptations of fantasy light novels in general, as they’re often the height of mediocrity ; the pervert camera is highly annoying ; and the laughable naming scheme is just distracting. It doesn’t help that the script makes the questionable choice of starting off with Eleonora’s claim of ownership over Tigre (which has no impact whatsoever out of context), and then delves into several nested flashbacks to explain it all. (There’s even a terrible infodump from the narrator.)

And still… there’s the nugget of a semi-interesting premise here. The core couple are surprisingly engaging characters, with more charisma, depth and maturity than the norm. (The supporting cast, not so much.) They’ve got great chemistry. I’m shocked to be thinking this might actually work and be quite watchable, if the harem elements don’t overwhelm it.

Against my better judgement, I’m giving it a second episode. Make the best of it.

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

Blade Dance of the Elementalers (Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance)

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of a fantasy light novel series.

Characters

Kamito, our generic male lead. He’s the second guy to ever manage taming an elemental spirit, and the first one was known as the Demon Lord or somesuch. Subtle foreshadowing ! Anyway, he’s a complete anomaly in a world where Elementalers are usually female.

Greyworth, headmaster of the Elemental Academy of the same name, has specifically headhunted him so that he can participate in the next Blade Dance tournament.

Claire Rouge (sic) is the first student he meets on the grounds, and it’s irritation at first sight. Impulsive, reckless, she feels humiliated by their first contact, and is bent on having him contract with her as her slave to offset this.

Other major characters introduced here include the head of the Student Guard Corps, the archer who also wants him for herself, and the teacher irritated by everyone’s antics. (He’s been put into the problem student class, because of course.) Also, a maid. “Why is there a maid ?” Wise words, Kamito, wise words.

Production Values

Very cheap indeed. The character designs are especially bad and generic. And of course, tons of lame fanservice : it starts with a “caught bathing naked” scene and goes on with multiple panty shots throughout the episode.

Nice score, though.

Overall Impression

Oh, dear. This is by far the worst thing I’ve watched this season. Even Momo Kyun Sword and Akame ga Kill weren’t this irritating and facepalm-inducing. The beyond-generic plot is merely an excuse to string along a series of cliché harem antics, with characters who grow more and more annoying as the episode goes.

This is awful on just about every level. Avoid like the plague.

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

Magimoji Rurumo

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of an ecchi comedy manga series.

Characters

Shibaki, our generic high school protagonist… no, scratch that, he’s a complete pervert. His terrible reputation at school might be slightly overstated (he does have moments of white-knighting, or just plain misunderstandings), but let’s be frank : he’s a horndog.

Rurumo, a deadpan witch who shows out of nowhere to claim his life. Well, not exactly out of nowhere ; he did make a half-assed summoning ritual with the occult club earlier that day, but had not clue it would actually work. (The show loves to put explanatory flashbacks like this just a bit too late, which makes him look like he has a two-minute attention span.) Anyway, they eventually find a loophole to avoid such unpleasantness… Except she comes back a few months later.

Chiro, her cat familiar, eventually explains the score in private to Shibaki. Rurumo has been demoted for her previous failure and needs to recomplete her training, which takes the form of single-use magic coupons Shibaki can use to direct her. (She can’t do magic of her own initiative anymore.) What she doesn’t know is that those coupons are tied to Shibaki’s life : once they’re all gone, he’s toast…

Production Values

About average, with just about as much focus on fanservice as you’d expect.

Overall Impression

Well, that was unpleasant. The jokes are mildly funny, but there’s an overall sadistic atmosphere that leaves a bad taste in the mouth. Sure, a lot of comedy in general revolves around terrible stuff happening to people who don’t (or do) deserve it, but this show pushes it too far into gratuitously malicious territory. It’s all the worse when it tries to make a bid for audience sympathy at the end with the dramatic twist : it doesn’t work, as the protagonist is too much of a jerk for me to care.

There are much better comedies this season ; I have no time to bother with this one.

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

Momo Kyun Sword

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of a light novel series very loosely based on the tale of Momotarou.

Characters

Momoko, our teenage female lead. Born from a peach, and also blessed with huge peaches in the front. (This terrible pun isn’t mine, the show did it first.) Also, dumb as a hammer.

She has three sidekick gods : a monkey, a dog and a pheasant, who get the straight man role by default. She can fuse with any of them to get superpowers.

The plot, such as it is, involves demons looking for “peach fragments”, and the Heavens sending a team of four warriors to stop them. They’re completely useless, and Momoko ends up saving the day. She’s enlisted to keep up the good fight.

Production Values

So much fanservice ! Everyone, and especially Momoko, shows so much skin it’s a wonder their clothes don’t fall off. Momoko still gets her clothes shredded at the end, because of course.

Overall Impression

I knew we were missing something this season : the vacuous fanservice-fest with barely an excuse plot. It’s terrible on every level, really. It’s not even worth my time deriding it.

Really don’t bother with this one.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Summer 2014 – Page 4.

Akame ga KILL !

(24 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Generic videogame-style heroic-fantasy that takes a sudden turn into wholesale slaughter. (Adapted from a shonen manga series.)

Seriously, TRIGGER WARNING : there are some utterly brutal deaths in here that will take you completely by surprise. It’s a very bloody show that loves its shock tactics.

Characters

Tatsumi, our generic sword-wielding hero, fresh from the countryside. (Wearing a modern high-school sweater, for some reason.) He’s come to the Imperial Capital to raise his profile and find a way to save his village from poverty. He had a couple of pals with him originally, but he lost track on them on his way after some bandits attacked. He’s been warned the City has more dangerous monsters than the Dragons he’s been offing by the dozen until now… and they’re human beings.

Boobs Leone, a nice girl who just happens to have the right connections to make him rise quickly in the Imperial Army’s ranks ; the rube just has to give her all her money and she’ll make it happen. /ZOINKS/ It takes him the whole day to notice he’s been swindled.

Fortunately, there are some good souls in this city after all. He’s invited off the streets by Aria, a cute rich girl who lives in a mansion with her equally nice family. Sure, he has to help her shopping, but but they do have actual connections, and they provide him with a nice exposition dump.

Enter “Night Raid”, a band of assassins led by the titular Akame. They target the wealthy, and are borderline impossible to stop. They strike quickly, violently, and without remorse, leaving a trail of bodies behind. Tatsumi immediately realize they are a whole other level above him. He’s fortunately not on their list, but his new benefactors are. That just won’t do, eh ?

Production Values

Those are some seriously awful character designs. Ugly, generic, and making no sense whatsoever with the setting. The action sequences are decently animated, but hardly worth your time on their own. Also, copious fanservice, and people being sliced in half are regular thing. (And why the heck is that one freakout completely devoid of animation ? Doesn’t it just cripple the scene’s raw emotion ?)

… And then the music starts kicking in, and I realize it’s by Taku Iwasaki. Darn it, I never drop anything he scores.

Overall Impression

This series is mean and nasty and it just stole my lunch money. Not only is the writing quite awful (“You’re the boobs from earlier !” is actual dialogue), but it’s downright deceitful and sadistic. It revels in its excessive violence. Sympathetic characters are thrown away for shock value. It’s exploitative trash, and it knows it.

It’s a rare series where I feel insulted after watching the first episode.

I’m giving it one more episode to convince me there’s some substance beyond the shock value, but I’m not hopeful. Otherwise, I’ll just stick to the soundtrack.

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

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.

Bakumatsu Rock

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

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

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

Characters

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

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

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

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

Production Values

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

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

Overall Impression

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

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

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