Tag: humour

My Mental Multiple-Choice Power Is Completely Ruining My School Romantic Comedy (Ore no Nounai Sentakushi ga, Gakuen Love Comedy wo Zenryoku de Jama Shiteiru)

(10 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of a light novel series taking the piss out of dating sims.
(I believe the official nickname is “NouKome”.)

Trigger warning : there are some actual jokes in this. Do not drink while watching.

Characters

Kanade, our generic high-school protagonist, is afflicted with a very bizarre condition : he’ll randomly have seizures where multiple choices appear in front of him. (1) The choices are framed by over-the-top dramatic music and narrated by Jouji Nakata. (2) He MUST choose to avoid the pain. (3) The choices are most often between two equally silly and embarassing things.

Yukihira, the girl sitting behind him in class, is one of the few classmates of his that don’t recoil as soon as he freezes, about to be doing something very stupid. That’s mostly because she’s a complete troll, and finds him entertaining.

Ouka is another of those few people he’s on speaking terms with. Mostly because she’s always ridiculously cheerful and doesn’t seem to care about his antics. As the daughter of the CEO of some vast conglomerate, she’s always smuggling in various samples for her classmates to try out. Today’s batch includes blue pills for middle-aged women (why are you even bringing this to high school ?), an actual money-making machine (which looks even more illegal than improbable), and some bug-shaped candies (ingredient list not disclosed).

Most classmates refer to them as part of the “Reject Five”, which implies there are two more oddballs yet to be introduced (they show up in the OP/ED sequences).

Their pint-sized teacher knows about Kanade’s condition, but still takes every opportunity to troll him.

One more thing : those multiple choices aren’t delusions. When Kanade chooses that “a pretty girl falls out of the sky” (instead of “my fat neighbour falls out of the sky”), then you can be damn sure a pretty girl is going to fall out of the sky (and onto him), physics be damned.

Production Values

While this doesn’t have that much of a budget, there’s some flair in the direction, and it looks good enough to sell the jokes. I especially love Yukihira’s body language, as half her shtick wouldn’t work otherwise.

The fanservice is more than mild, as you’d expect from this kind of thing. Still nowhere too outrageous, and the OP sequence where all the female cast do backflips without actually showing anything has to be seen to be believed.

Overall Impression

What. The. Fuck. Was. That.

If the premise isn’t bizarre enough for you, then the early 4-minute TV reportage showing a montage of people endorsing the value of choice will probably do the job. (I was sold at “[famous Japanese historical figure] could have (1) assassinated [other famous Japanese historical figure] or (2) rolled around with a dolphin. He chose the first option, and history was made.”)

I haven’t laughed this hard while watching an anime series for a good long while. Some of the jokes will make you cringe, not all of them land, but there’s such a rapid-fire string of them that it doesn’t matter. Random absurdity with good comedic timing : it just works.

There’s always the risk it may run out of steam before ending, but so far, so good.

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

Non Non Biyori

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Slice-of-life series about girls living in the countryside.

Characters

Hotaru, the newcomer from Tokyo. She’s a bit overwhelmed by all the country things she’s not used to : the decrepit school with only 5 students (all in different levels) ; the buses that come every two hours ; the dearth of stores ; the animals…

Renge, the young first-grader, still a bit naive and random. Loves playing the flute. The heart of the group.

Natsumi & Komari, the two sisters. The former is wilder, the latter more serious (and shorter, despite being the oldest of the group).

There’s some guy in their class, but he barely has any dialogue, and they mostly acts as though he didn’t exist. Poor guy.
(Also, their teacher is lazy.)

Production Values

Scenery porn ! Perfectly pleasant to watch.

Overall Impression

Are you healing yet ?

This is a very slow-paced series that’s all about feeling nice and agreeable. Some jokes here and there betray its 4-panel gag manga origins, but the main focus is on how nice the countryside is… or not, as some of the drawbacks are played for laughs.

Let’s see whether I don’t grow bored of it by the second episode.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Fall 2013 – Page 11.

Glasses Club ! (Meganebu!)

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

High-school boys doing cute things. While wearing glasses.

Characters

There’s the goofball leader (who wants to build X-ray glasses), the cute short guy, the aloof slightly antagonistic one… oh, fuck it, they all meld together after a while.

Production Values

There are many attempts to spruce this up with dynamic, Silver Link-ish abstract effects. Frankly, it doesn’t look half bad.

Overall Impression

Forget about baseball : this is what puts me to sleep. It’s not just about not being part of the intended audience (how many shows are adapted from a female-targeted drama CD ?), I have about the same reaction to half the similar shows with girls instead. There’s just something about this genre that sometimes makes it hard for me to concentrate on it.

There may be some decent jokes in there ; I don’t know, I missed half of it, and I have no intention of trying to watch it again.

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

Outbreak Company

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

The ultimate otaku-pandering fantasy.

Characters

Shinichi, our protagonist, is your stereotypical otaku, including all the nastier aspects (the lewd proclivities lurking behind the Nice Guy façade, the lolicon tastes, the tendacy to spout cliché quotes, the inability to have normal social interactions for more than a token amount of time…). One day, he finds an ad for an otaku-targeted job, including a 200-step otaku-culture quizz, and can’t believe his luck.

Mr Matoba, the interviewer, is all sugar but quite evasive about what the job actually is about. Well, at least until he drugs Shinichi’s coffee and has him transported to a high-fantasy world. Which the JSDF has found recently and is trying to establish good relations with. This includes setting up an otaku-culture export company, as apparently that’s what the locals are most interested in. Unfortunately, somehow previous attempts by government representatives have failed, which is where Shinichi comes in : he’s to be the new manager of this company.

Myusel, the half-elf maid, is one of the perks of the job. She fits just about every stereotype you’d expect : submissive, shy, a bit clumsy… Frankly, it’s all a bit awkward.

Koganuma is a deadpan JSDF soldier who’s there to make sure he doesn’t get into too much trouble, and provide some more exposition. (Include the fact she’s a F-cup.)

Eldant III, ruler of the kingdom, summons our protagonist the very next day, which is frankly a bit too early in his acclimatisation process. So of course he immediately perpetrates the blunder of calling her a “little girl” to her face. She’ll have you know she’s 16, for starters. (Also, there are hundreds of her knights in the room. Oops.)

Production Values

Perfectly okay. The character designs (as well as the setting as a whole) is more than a bit on the generic side, but then that’s the point.

Overall Impression

I’m conflicted about this one. On the one hand, it does have a good central joke at its center, and makes a good job of following through on it. It’s a very silly premise, but there’s certainly been some thought applied to make it work ; Matoba & Koganuma make it clear that this is a dangerous situation that could go wrong horribly quickly. They’re taking it very seriously, and humouring Shinichi’s quirks when they’re inoffensive enough. It’s relatively well-paced, and it’s got some good jokes.

On the other hand, this is still a massive bit of otaku-pandering, with a very annoying main character. (It could do without Myusel, too.) It kinda rubs me the wrong way, to be honest.

There’s a good chance I’ll give up on this very quickly.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Fall 2013 – Page 6.

Beyond the Horizon (Kyoukai no Kanata)

(13ish episodes)

What’s it about ?

Self-aware urban fantasy.
Very obviously adapted from a light novel series (if you’re familiar with the tropes).

Characters

Akihito, our protagonist. He tries his hand at Kyon-style sarcastic narration, but doesn’t quite have the charisma to pull it off. And I can’t quite call him a generic high school student, since we learn very quickly the twist : he’s immortal, due to being half-demon.

Mirai, a new student at his school. He first meets her as she’s about to commit suicide… wait, no, that’s just a trap to lure him in so that she can stab him with her blood-sword. She’s the last heir of a demon-hunting clan with that special technique, you see. She tries again several times in the following days. He’d very much like her to stop : it doesn’t work, but it still hurts like hell. Especially as he’d find her cute if not for the stabbing thing.

Misaki, the other member of the Literature club besides him. Also the heir of the local demon-hunting group, who have an understanding with him and instead focus on the people-possessing demons who actually do some real damage. They also seem to include one of their teachers. Anyway, they don’t see the new troublemaker’s arrival with a good eye.

Production Values

It’s KyoAni : of course it’s gorgeously animated.

Overall Impression

Am I so jaded that I have a hard time enjoying any of this ?

Part of the problem is that it often feels like the main characters suffer from acute chuunibyou. Yes, the supernatural stuff is real, but it feels so off-the-shelf and generic that it’s hard to get too invested in it. The constant snark and self-awareness doesn’t help one bit : sure, it’s mildly funny, but it completely undercuts any gravitas the plot might have.

I’ll give it one more episode to try and make me care, but it’s not off to a good start.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Fall 2013 – Page 4.

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.

Silver Spoon (Gin no Saji)

(11 episodes ; 2nd season already scheduled for next Winter)

What’s it about ?

Slice of life comedy set in an agricultural High School, in Hokkaido.

Characters

Hachiken, our protagonist. As a city boy coming from an elite junior high school, he sticks out like a sore thumb here. (There are some mutterings about family issues that got him to join a boarding school as far from home as possible, but it’s not elaborated upon yet.) Good at academics, but does it really matter when the curriculum involves lots of very specialized science and physical activity ? It doesn’t help that he’s not good with animals and is grossed out when learning where eggs come from.

Mikage, his obvious future love interest. Loves horses, and has already joined the equitation club. Not really much personality beyond that.

The new students are divided into groups of five for practical courses ; in Hachiken’s group there’s the faint-of-heart guy who wants to become a vet, the short guy, the jock who somehow still has enough energy to be very enthusiastic about the baseball club, and the very big girl.

Production Values

This is clearly a low-budget production, with just enough animation to sell the jokes.

Overall Impression

Uh oh. This doesn’t quite work. There are some decent jokes here, but a bit too many of them rely on poop humour. The characters don’t have much depth, and Hachiken is more than a bit annoying with all his complaining. And as a whole, it feels very bland, without much of a hook. It has a semi-interesting setting, but that’s it.

It may just be a slow start ; I’m willing to give it a bit of rope. But there’s nothing particularly enthralling here yet.

via [In which I review] New anime, Summer 2013 – Page 7.

No Matter How I Look At It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Unpopular! (Watashi ga Motenai no wa Dou Kangaetemo Omaera ga Warui!)

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Slice-of-life comedy about the daily struggles of an asocial girl.

(Unlike what the absurdly long title would lead you to expect, it’s adapted from a manga, not a light novel series.)

Characters

Kuroki, our protagonist. An introverted nerd who hasn’t managed to hold a proper conversation with anyone outside her family since entering high school a couple of months ago. (Not that it went much better in middle school.) Even saying goodbye to the teacher manning the schoolgate or ordering food at the local WcDonald’s is an ordeal. She doesn’t understand why making friends or getting a boyfriend is so HARD in real-life, when she’s so good at it in games.

By the way, I hope you can withstand her pathetic, self-deluding and aggressive inner monologue, because it drones on and on throughout the whole episode.

Our only other major character introduced in this episode is Tomoki, her younger brother, who’s completely normal and a bit annoyed by his sister randomly barging into his room to passive-aggressively demand some help.

There’s a group of four of her classmates that she keeps bumping into (not that they ever notice her), with her abusive narration reeking of jealousy at their easy socializing.

Production Values

Not very high, but studio Silver Link know how to spruce up a pedestrian narrative with lots of nifty effects (sometimes veering on the downright abstract) to keep it visually interesting.

Overall Impression

Hello, cringe comedy ! It’s basically an entire show based on mocking how socially inept its protagonist is, without pulling any punches. Kuroki is clearly responsible for a good part of her own misery, and her misguided efforts to better herself are obviously doomed to fail. She’s a walking trainwreck and this is painful to watch.

It’s also hilarious, fortunately. It helps that a lot of this feels authentic and barely exagerated from actual nerd behaviour : it hurts to watch because it’s true, and a good chunk of the audience has been in similar places. And while she’s not shown in a good light, to put it mildly, Kuroki still manages to be an endearing character to watch. We want to see her get a bit better, although she’ll probably fall flat on her face repeatedly on the way.

This strikes a difficult balance between its uncompromising depiction of its protagonist, and avoiding to be too annoying ; while there’s room for this to go horribly awry later on, so far so good.

via [In which I review] New anime, Summer 2013 – Page 6.

Makai Ouji: Devils and Realist

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Demon summoning is totally real. Even in Victorian England.

Characters

William Twining, our protagonist. He’s one of the most promising youth of his generation, bright and coming from a rich family… wait, scratch that, his uncle (and legal guardian) has just gone bankrupt and disappeared, leaving our hero unable to pay for his tuition. Farewell to his dream of being part of the elite… But maybe he could search the family house (the only thing not repossessed yet) for something worth money. And in a hidden basement, he stumbles on a magic circle, with which he accidentally summons…

Dantalion, one of the leading contenders to Hell’s throne during the interim period where Lucifer is busy sleeping. It turns out that William is the descendant of the guy who can decide such things (mostly by beating everyone else up back in the day), so Dantalion tries his best convince him to do so. The problem is that Willian is a staunch rationalist and won’t believe in demons whatever happens. Could you annoying cosplayer get off his lawn already ?

Obviously, everyone in Hell is bound to want a piece of William once they learn how much he matters.

The supporting cast is rounded up by William’s butler (who’s sticked around because he still believes Willian will get rich and powerful eventually), and the very annoying young Isaac Newton, who believes in tons of supernatural stuff.

Also, Dantalion transfers into William’s school (and it looks a lot like he’s the one who paid for his tuition somehow), which can only lead to crazy hijinks.

Production Values

Perfectly alright.

Overall Impression

I was kinda on board with this until William’s repeated denial of the occult (despite everything that happens around him) got very annoying. After a while, his rationalism just stops making any sense and becomes bloody aggravating. Which is a shame, since there are some decent jokes in this… But if it gets tiring now already, I doubt I can withstand 12 episodes of it. Especially as I get the nagging suspicion there’s going to be a tournament of some sort.

Nice try, but no thanks.

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

Blood Lad

(10 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Comedy about vampires that don’t bite anyone.

Characters

Staz, the vampire ruler of a section of Hell. Except he has no interest in sucking the blood of humans, as he’s very grateful for them creating all this delightful pop-culture. Basically a gaijin otaku stereotype.

Deku, his beleaguered second-in-command, who’s baffled by this boss who barely ever gets out of his room and shows no interest in vampiring or conquering more territory. But still beats any other boss wannabe, especially this asshole who’s just showed up with his stupid people-eating plants.

Yanagi, an ordinary Japanese high school girl who’s stumbled into Hell (without any clue how) and should consider herself very lucky to be in Staz’s territory, all things considered. Well, except she gets eaten by one of those darn plants halfway through the episode, so she’s a ghost now. But Staz is totally going to restore her to life ! (Given how he takes his inspiration in Dra-Gunbol manga, I wouldn’t keep my hopes up…)

Other members of the supporting cast include a mysterious traveller whose dimensional door is probably responsible for this mess ; a three-eyed bar owner (and her humanoid symbiote or whatever) who’s not much help with figuring what can be done ; and a meek shapeshifter who joins Staz just at the time he needs a decoy while going off in the human world to buy more popculture stuff escort Yanagi back.

Production Values

This looks quite cheap indeed ; there’s some nice effects where the camera shakes around a bit to make the storytelling feel more hip, but that’s not enough to hide the lackluster budget.

Also, the camera never lets you forget that Yanagi has big boobs.

Overall Impression

It’s decent, I guess ? There are some good jokes (and a good deal that fall flat), I like some of the deadpan snark being thrown around, and the various hell creatures are fun.

But let’s be honest : the only reason I haven’t dropped it yet is that it’s only 10 episodes, and thus there’s a reduced risk of it running out of ideas and stopping being mildly funny in such a short runtime. I don’t trust it to go anywhere anyway (especially with a still-ongoing manga), but hopefully the joke won’t get stale too quickly.

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