Tag: light novel adaptation

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.

Nanana’s Buried Treasure (Ryuugajou Nanana no Maizoukin)

(11 episodes, noitaminA)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of a series of supernatural/adventure light novels.

Characters

Jugo, our protagonist. He’s moved to the “island of students”, which sounds like a great place but leaves him with a tight budget. The rent having to be paid in advance should have raised a warning flag, but now he’s stuck in this apartment.

Nanana, the ghost living in the room. Basically a NEET, since she can’t leave. And it doesn’t take much time for her to gain the upper hand in this cohabitation. Her background is fascinating : she was the leader of the seven student who founded the whole place, and the one who provided the funds (from a mysterious treasure) to bankroll it. The circumstances of her assassination are opaque, to say the least.

Ms Shiki, the owner of the apartment block, was another of the seven founders. She’s renting the room on purpose so that Nanana will be less lonely.

Production Values

This looks great : the island looks like a great place to live, and the architect seems to have gone to town with the weird but awesome-looking buildings and monuments. The opening adventuring sequence features some great animation, too.

Overall Impression

This is a lot of fun. The premise is promising, the Jugo/Nanana interplay works, and the progressive exposition is well-paced. It’s just brimming with joy, and that’s hard to dislike.

Of course I’ll keep watching it.

Chaika –The Coffin Princess- (Hitsugi no Chaika)

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of series of fantasy light novels.

Characters

Toru, our teenage protagonist. There’s a bit of dissonance here as everyone believes he’s a lazy good-for-nothing despite not doing much to deserve that reputation. Except he suddenly turns into such a character halfway through the episode, but only when the story’s in “comedy” mode. As a result of this terrible writing, I have no clue what he’s really supposed to be like. He’s otherwise a decent fighter, especially when he shifts into super-mode.

Akari, his sister. Overbearing and constantly belittling him, although they do seem quite close. She can also shift into super-mode. (There’s no explanation whatsoever about how and why they can do this.)

Chaika, a mysterious girl who shows up carrying a coffin. There’s a super-magic-gun inside, and she knows how to use it. After Toru helps her out fighting off a pursuing beast, she hires the pair to “acquire” an item from the local prince. (It’s a severed hand.) Also, she’s utterly unable to form complete sentences, which is bloody annoying.

There’s another group who are after the item, and sent that beast after Chaika. Their motives are utterly opaque.

Production Values

Very bland, with a noticeable level of fanservice.

Overall Impression

This might have been more watchable if it wasn’t going out of its way to annoy me every few minutes. The writing is atrocious, with characters who are either inconsistent in their behaviour, or just impenetrable ; and I never get the sense the mysteries will have answers of any interest.

I just don’t care, and that’s the final nail on its coffin.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Spring 2014 – Page 6.

No Game No Life

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of a series of light novels starring a pair of NEETs being transported to a world where everything’s a game. Yay !

Characters

Sora, one of the two players behind “Blank”, a team of characters overpowering everyone in MMORPGs. Are they cheating ? Well, yeah, probably. Also, they’re NEETs who never leave their room, and stay in a constant state of sleep deprivation. He’s the face of the pair, and does have some charisma as a sarcastic bastard.

Shiro, his little sister, is the other half of the team. She’s an analytical genius, who can do stuff like memorize all possible chess board patterns and casually beat any computer program at the game. They work best as a pair, though ; he knows better how to handle actual players.

Tet, a “god” who suddenly transports them to his game world. They’re in no hurry to leave, as it’s much better than that shitty game called reality.

Stephanie, the heir of the local kingdom… Oh, wait, the late king willed the crown to be given out in a tournament, so she has to win to claim her inheritance. It doesn’t help that she’s terrible at playing games, and her opponent is a first-class cheater. Sora gives her a piece of advice out of pity ; it seems like she didn’t act on it, as she’s left naked by the end of the episode.

Production Values

There’s a nice effect at play for the game world : all the outlines are now red, and the colours have become oversaturated. That’s a good way to sell the otherworldly setting.

Overall Impression

It took a while to get the hang of the main duo, but by the episode’s end it turned out that I quite liked them. They’re obviously close (but thankfully not in the wrong way), they have some decent banter, and the way the con their way up the social ladder within minutes of getting into the gameworld is quite fun.

I’ll give it another episode to see if it goes anywhere.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Spring 2014 – Page 6.

Black Bullet

(12ish episodes ?)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of a light novel set in a semi-apocalyptic future where super-powered teenagers are the main defense against a virus that transforms people into monsters.

Characters

Rentaro, our male lead. A badass fighter, his guns are loaded with bullets made of the rare metal that harms monsters. (Hence the title. How can he afford these ?) He’s part of one of the many small private companies that sell their anti-monster service to the authorities (who are otherwise complete redshirts).

Enju, his partner, looks 10 at best. The idea here is that she’s one of the “cursed children”, who got partially infected by the virus but resisted it enough (thanks to a heavy drug administration) that they can live a relatively normal life, and then more : they’ve got super-strength and are able to destroy the monsters at hand-to-hand combat. Aside from that, she’s an annoying brat with a crush on Rentaro.

Kisara, the head of the company, and his obvious love interest. Have I mentioned yet they’re both still attending high school ? (This is a very relaxed apocalypse indeed.)

The cast is rounded out by a creepy professor doing lab work in the basement. I don’t want to know what she’s cooking.

Oh, and then there’s Mysterious Masked Dude, who lurks around being ominously amoral.

Production Values

This is an action show, and the fights have some good animation indeed.

Overall Impression

This is quite competent on a scene-by-scene basis, but as a whole it doesn’t quite click for me. Is is the bizarre juxtaposition of the horror-style virus apocalypse and the mundane lifestyle of the protagonists ? Some of the characters being very annoying ? The clumsy exposition that’s often completely out of place ?

It hasn’t managed to make me care about these people. I’m not giving it another episode to change my mind.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Spring 2014 – Page 6.

Kanojo ga Flag wo Oraretara

(13 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of a series of light novels parodying dating sim clichés.

(Apparently the official nickname for the series is “Gaworare”, following the Haganai model of nonsensical abbreviations that avoid any of the title’s keywords.)

Characters

Souta, our male lead. He’s afflicted with the ability to see “flags” above people’s heads : death flags, friendship flags, love flags, etc. They notify him of these people’s potential futures ; he goes out of his way to break all of them. Now, that makes sense for death flags, but his self-inflicted solitude reeks of a martyr complex.

Nanami, a girl in his class (who happens to be part of the royal family of a poor kingdom, but she doesn’t like to talk about it), is our actual viewpoint character throughout the episode. Because she’s nosy as heck, she quickly notices his strange behaviour and demands explanations, which he eventually gives. She calls him on his bullshit for avoiding any kind of friendship or love, and obviously can’t stop being fascinated by the weirdo.

Akane, a very rich girl who wants to become friends with Souta, and won’t take no for an answer. Nice visual gag with the friendship flags who keep sprouting faster than he can break them. (Has Ai Kayano swallowed a helium tank for this role ? Because seriously.)

Given what we see in the OP and ED sequences, tons of other girls are going to throw themselves at him.

Production Values

Thoroughly average, although it does get some decent visual gags out of the “flag” concept.

Overall Impression

The obvious comparison point here is NouCome, another light novel adaptation that poked fun at dating sims. The good news is that it’s a lot less obnoxious, letting the characters some room to breathe, and taking a relatively deadpan approach to the premise. The bad news is that it isn’t that funny, and the characters can’t avoid the shallowness required by the plot.

It’s watchable and mildly funny, but it’s going to have to step up its game if it wants to keep me.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Spring 2014 – Page 6.

The Irregular at Magic High School (Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei)

(26 episodes)

What’s it about ?

The novelty is going to blow your mind : it’s the adaptation of a light novel centering on a high-school where students learn tech-assisted magic ! With an extensive female cast surrounding a special snowflake male protagonist !

Characters

Tatsuya, our main character. He’s got an actual personality, which is a plus. (Thank you, Yuuichi Nakamura, for conveying so much within so little dialogue.) He’s not constantly narrating his every thought at us, which is appreciated. Especially as he’s obviously got an agenda, and it’s to the show’s credit that it lets us piece it together progressively.

The idea here is that despite being a hard worker, he’s been consistently been put down by society. His parents would rather him aim lower. The Magic High School puts him among the second-rank students, and he should be lucky to even have been accepted. His answer has been to put up a front of accepting it, and overcompensate by training himself even harder in his strengths. Which are many : he’s an accomplished martial artist, and while he’s not that good at actual magic, he can achieve a lot through quick-witted analysis. But he’s careful not to let it show too much ; it’s too early to reveal his hand yet, so he’ll bide his time for now.

Miyuki, his younger sister, is a good contrast : she’s a genuine magical prodigy and thus gets to be a first-rank student, but she believes she doesn’t deserve any of it, and would rather HE get all the honours. I’m less thrilled by her worship going a bit too far, but he’s careful to keep it at a reasonable level : she’s his precious little sister and he enjoys the attention, but that’s it.

We meet a few classmates of Tatsuya’s : Mizuki the shy one, Erika the tomboy, and Leonhart the lecherous dude. With the last two being a bit hotheaded (and obviously at stage one of the tsundere romance), it’s no surprise that they don’t take kindly to the arrogance of the first-class students.

Mayumi, the Student Council President, breaks up the fight before it escalates too far. Interestingly, Tatsuya goes out of his way to downplay it as horseplay ; now’s not the moment to make waves. She’s not fooled, and is going to keep an eye on him.

Production Values

Budget ! The animation here is sumptuous, with very well-directed fight scenes. Tons of scenery porn too, and there’s many neat touches with the magic effects.

I’m not entirely sure what’s going on with the female uniforms (what are the colours supposed to be about ? Magic types ?), but they must be a PITA to animate and still look as good as this.

And of course, I’d be remiss not to mention the Taku Iwasaki soundtrack, which is as engaging as ever.

Overall Impression

It’s taken a long time, but finally I’ve found a wish-fulfilment light novel adaptation I’m actually enjoying watching. Oh, sure, it helps that it’s got impressive production values, a snazzy soundtrack, and some good world-building ; but the real success here is in building an actual protagonist, who looks like he actually wants to do stuff instead of just bumbling through life and having everything handed down to him. This isn’t a clueless nice guy ; he’s a calculating bastard who’s faking every and each of his social interactions.

I’m optimistic about this one, which is more than I could say going in.

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

Dragonar Academy (Seikoku no Dragonar)

(12ish episodes ?)

What’s it about ?

As the title implies, this adapts a light novel about an academy in fantasy-land where the students train with their dragon familiars.

Characters

Ash, our protagonist. Wait, how many origin stories does this guy need ? There’s an opening prologue where as a kid he helped a girl (his sister ?) do something in an ominous location, and lost his arm for it ; leading to a dragon restoring his arm out of pity and giving it some cool tattoos. That’s fine. And then there’s a modern scene of him getting raped by a succubus-like woman that I really doubt is truly a nightmare. And then there’s this episode’s events, where he finally gets a familiar. That’s a bit overkill. Anyway, he’s got a generic Nice Guy personality, aside whenever someone badmouths his familiar (or lack of any), which makes him flip out. Obviously, he’s got a terrible reputation as a troublemaker.

Raymond, his perverted best friend. Aside from being an endless supply of exposition and gossip, his core purpose so far is to lend out his familiar to Ash, who’s one of the rare few people who can actually use others’. Of course he is.

Silvia, a princess from a neighbour country, with an attitude to match. She seems even more hated than Ash, which is saying something. They quickly start bickering over nothing, leading to a challenge to outmatch each other at the next dragon-riding race. Which he loses conclusively, but he’s had enough fun helping her out against bullies that he doesn’t mind.

Milgauss, an agent from the enemy country nearby (Ash : “wait, isn’t there a ceasefire ?”), who’s investigating some random relic when Ash inadvertently crosses his path. After gloating for a bit, he orders his teenage ninja girl to get rid of the witness. She’s not very good at it, to the point that Ash actually prevents her from falling down a ravine… only for him to stumble down in her place. Oops.

Story’s not over, though : that’s the moment his familiar chooses to finally manifest. Except it’s some girl instead of a dragon.

Production Values

Perfectly adequate, and it’s got some decent designs for the dragons, but it’s all functional rather than imaginative.

Overall Impression

Oh dear gods, the script. In better hands, this might have worked ; but the dialogue and narration are so consistently awful that it drags the whole show down as a result. The worldbuilding is marred by cumbersome exposition that buries everything else down. It’s not helped by trite jargon that merely sounds pretentious. And it’s just impossible to take seriously this protagonist who has to rediscover every aspect of his daily life all the time.

I’m not the audience for this kind of wish-fulfilment light novels anyway, but the level of writing in this adaptation is so terrible that there’s no chance I’ll bother with watching a second episode.

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

No-Rin

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Romantic comedy (with a heavy focus on the comedy) set in an agricultural high school in rural Japan. Adapted from a light novel series.

Characters

Kousaku, our male lead. He’s completely obsessed with this one idol, to a frightening extent. Body-pillows and everything. He even was regularly sending him the cucumbers he’s grown !

Minori, his childhood friend. It’s very transparent why she follows him around, though she’s yet to make any actual move. No clue what she sees in this jerk, aside from being one of the very few eligible prospects from their small village.

Kei is the “serious” member of their trio of friends, and often takes the straight man role. There’s an obvious attraction between him and the stuck-up top animal husbandry student (the threes are in the produce major), but they’d both die before acknowledging it.

“Becky”, their teacher, is that stale joke about desperate single 30-somethings taken up to eleven. I don’t think her students wanted to know about that night she took selfies naked and covered in oil, but she’s telling them anyway.

Ringo is a new transfer student, and it’s obvious she’s Kousaku’s favourite idol incognito after her surprise retirement.

Production Values

There actually seems to be quite a bit of budget behind this, especially in the opening dream sequence where Kousaku fantasizes about his idol.

The fanservice level is quite high, and you’re going to see a lot of big boobs bouncing.

Overall Impression

If you make an entire show out of stale old jokes exaggerated to a ludicrous degree, can the result be worth watching ? The answer here seems to be no : it’s just a painful trainwreck all around. (The “Becky” sequences, in particular, are both extremely memorable and a joke I’m in no hurry to watch again.) It’s mildly funny and quite fascinating, but you still want to escape.

No way I’m keeping up with this when Silver Spoon is already airing.

via [In which I review] New anime, Winter 2014 – Page 5.

Magical Warfare (Mahou Sensou)

(12ish episodes)

What’s it about ?

Wow, that’s probably the most generic title you could give to a light novel series, and I’m surprised nobody used it before 2011. But hey, it’s quite accurate to both the premise and the genericness of its execution.

Characters

Takeshi, our generic high school male protagonist, was leading a perfectly ordinary (and generic) life. The one wrinkle on his genericness was that he already had an actual girlfriend, which is quite rare for this type of thing. (Actually, there seems to be something quite unsettling going on at his house. Were the writers seriously implying his mother was having sex with that boy who could be his brother, or am I just completely misinterpreting it ? It’s hard to tell when none of them are talking to each other and the whole scene lasts for less than a minute.) Anyway, his life is completely wrecked when he meets…

Mui, a teenage magician on the run. Of course mere minutes later she faints in a way that leads to an accidental kiss, and of course she starts getting violent when she notices. The big idea here, though, is that he gets magic powers because he’s been splashed by her magical gun’s discharge. Curiously, his new powers are completely unrelated by what he’s been hit with ; he now has “evasion” powers, which are actually the best kind right now (for reasons I’m about to explain).

Tsuganashi is her brother (or so she claims), who has apparently been brainwashed by whoever the bad guys are. She was looking for him, but she’s now hunted by him and his posse, and Takeshi gets caught in the crossfire. Let me point out that this posse are very, very stupid : two out of three of them lose their magic powers due to their sheer incompetence, as that’s what happens when you use magic to directly attack a magician in the mundane world. The third one happens to also have evasion powers, which are kosher to use (and work great in combination with conventional weapons).

Isoshima, Takeshi’s girlfriend, also accidentally gets splashed into becoming a magician. She gets shapeshifting powers, the immediate effect of which is for her breasts to grow to an uncomfortable size. /facepalm. Takeshi’s best friend Ida also got splashed, so Mui decides the best way to “protect” them is to bring them to the magic school in the magic world. (Hopefully Ida will be able to learn how not be on fire all the time.)

Production Values

Decent enough. Sometimes it manages to build some atmosphere, but then we’re back to utter blandness. Great credits sequence at the end, though.

Overall Impression

Urgh. There are glimmers of vaguely interesting ideas here, but they swim in such a sea of stupidity that it’s hard to get invested in this. The plotting verges on the nonsensical, with “shocking” twists that make everyone involved look terminally dumb. Not that the characters are particularly compelling, anyway. And frankly, it’s not like the promise of shifting the setting to a magic school inspires me much confidence.

No way I’m giving the benefit of the doubt to this.

via [In which I review] New anime, Winter 2014 – Page 5.