Tag: romance

Blue Spring Ride (Ao Haru Ride)

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of a romance shoujo manga.

Characters

Futaba, our heroine. She used to be quite cute and shy ; unfortunately, that brought on her the scorn and jealousy of the other girls in her class, who made her life miserable. So she reinvented herself as she entered high school : she’s now a frumpy mess who goes out of her way not to attract boys’ attention. But hey, she’s got friends now !

Said friends turn out to be shallow bullies who merely found somebody else to target in their class. It’s thus not too surprising for them to be absent of the “main cast of friends” shown in the ED sequence ; a breakup between Futaba and them seems imminent.

Tanaka was a small and a bit feminine boy that Futaba liked in middle school. He disappeared just as they were starting to go out ; suddenly moving out of town without warning. It’s all but said his parents had a nasty divorce ; he’s now a tall and sullen guy who’s going by the surname of Mabuchi. Also, he feels slightly insulted that Futaba took months to notice he was back. Sure, he’s changed quite a lot, but so has she, and he recognized her immediately.

What’s interesting is that Mabuchi keeps saying that they can’t go back to their old romance ; they’ve both changed too much, and can’t turn back the clock. What he doesn’t say is that he doesn’t like her anymore ; that’s how she interprets it, but he clearly still cares. Presumably he just doesn’t want to live in the past, and any relationship between them should take into account how they’ve both evolved. But Futaba isn’t getting the hint. Yet.

Production Values

Watercolours and shoujo character designs, of course. Perfectly okay, as it conveys emotions well.

Overall Impression

This starts a bit slow, but it gets much more interesting after the timeskip. Futaba’s reinvention is fascinating, and the interplay with her toxic friends makes me cringe (in a good way). And the central conflict is certainly more interesting than your standard romance plot.

Okay, show, you’ve got my attention. Let’s see where you’re going with this.

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

Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun (Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun)

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of a shoujo 4-panel web-manga lampooning the romantic shoujo clichés.

Characters

Chiyo, our point-of-view character. She’s madly in love with this tall, good-looking dude in her class. And she’s about to make her confession. Except she bungles it, and ends up as his assistant.

You see, Nozaki-kun, under the nom-de-plume “Sakiko Yumeno” (which sounds like a young woman, and certainly not a dude being voiced by Yuuichi Nakamura in full deadpan mode), is a popular shoujo manga artist published in the “Monthly Girls” magazine. It’s not like he’s particularly passionate about it (the man seems to have no romance whatsoever in his life), it’s just that he’s very good at it. Cue cynical examination of various tropes of the shoujo romance genre ; the “let’s ride together on a bicycle” staple gets a particularly thorough beating this episode.

The OP sequence hints that there will be more supporting cast added up shortly ; one of them shows up just after the ED credits.

Production Values

Bouncy and colourful ; it’s got good comedic timing, and that’s what matters.

Overall Impression

This is mostly quite funny indeed. I say “mostly”, because Chiyo’s romantic moments don’t quite work until the show starts undercutting them swiftly. And, well, not all jokes land ; that’s par for the course for this kind of series. But it’s rapid-fire enough that you never get bored of it.

If you think shoujo romance is a genre that can get stale, then this is the perfect antidote. (It may make you incapable of ever reading any other such show with a straight face, but that’s the sign of a job well done.)

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

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal

(26 episodes, fortnightly)

What’s it about ?

20 years (and change) later, a remake of Sailor Moon as an anime, Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood style.

For those who have been living under a rock, the 1992 series (and its continuations) was a gateway anime for many, and had a strong influence on the magical girl genre as a whole (kickstarting the transition from the “cute witch” subgenre to the now more prevalent “magical warrior” version). It took many liberties from the original manga, including a lot of padding to allow its source material to be produced. This is supposed to be much closer to the original, with some benefit of hindsight (as it left a lot of room for improvement).

Characters

Usagi, our book-dumb crybaby of a protagonist. But hey, she’s only in middle school ; she’s got time to grow out of it. Also, she’s got weird dreams of a moon princess or something.

Luna, a talking cat she stumbles on (litterally) on her way to school. Later on, she reveals Usagi has a destiny to battle evil and protect the princess ! Take this magical trinket, utter the bizarre Engrish catchphrase, and bam! you’re “Sailor Moon”. (Which is totally not copyright infringment on the “Sailor V” superheroine who’s been making the news lately.)

“Monster-bait” Naru is the one member of Usagi’s circle of friends who matters to the plot in this episode : her mother gets replaced by a creepy monster who takes over their jewelry store and uses the lure of insanely huge discounts to gather mindless drones. Our heroine, to the rescue !

Tuxedo Mask is a mysterious dude wearing a mask and a tuxedo who shows up during the battle and lends a hand when she’s in trouble. He’s apparently looking for the “Legendary Silver Crystal”, a macguffin the baddies also seem to be after. Oh, and he’s totally this tall, dark-haired dude Usagi bumped into as he was casing the joint. (Wearing a tuxedo !)

Four other Sailor soldiers are shown in the OP sequence, but only one of them barely makes a cameo at the very end of the episode.

Production Values

The artstyle takes a while to get used to ; it’s a weird mix of Naoko Takeuchi’s idiosyncratic style, more classic shoujo elements, and modern shading techniques. As a result, character designs appear very busy, but they still can move around not too stiffly. And more importantly, Usagi can still handle the broad physical comedy and weird faces the script throws at her, without looking out of place.

The backgrounds are beautiful, with similar watercolours to the original anime. The roses patterns showing up whenever Usagi pauses to introduce a new character are a bit clunky, though.

The OP song doesn’t quite work yet ; maybe it’ll grow on me. The ED song fits in much better.

Overall Impression

First, a disclaimer : I’m a hardcore fan of the franchise. I’m going to watch this to the end, regardless of actual quality.

What’s really striking about this first episode is that it’s not striking at all. Nothing here feels like a mission statement of its own identity. It follows the manga’s first chapter very closely, down to including nearly every original line of dialogue. Even when that’s obviously a terrible idea. (Why the heck is Mamoru wearing a tuxedo in broad daylight ?) And while no previous adaptation (either the first anime or the live-action series) messed with this first chapter much, that’s clearly not gonna fly in the long-term. If only because this is set to be 26 episodes long, and the manga barely has 14 chapters (and that’s including “Petite Etrangère”, most of which is devoted to setting up the second arc this series is explicity not covering). This series is going to have to stray a bit from the manga’s framework at some point, and the sooner the better. (After all, the manga’s breakneck pace obeyed more to real-life publishing constraints than to narrative necessity.)

There are a few early hints on how this is going to happen. The most obvious is the heavy emphasis on Usagi’s dreams of the princess, which are happening quite earlier this time around. But it’s going to take more episodes until we have a full picture.

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

Glasslip

(13 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Well, it’s a PA Works original production, so it’s set in a small country town and features a group of high school students. Here, the hook is… glasswork ? Some kind of future sight ? Frankly, I’ve got no clue.

Characters

So, there’s this tight-knit group of friends :
– Touko, our ingenue protagonist, whose family works into making glass objects
– Yuki, the boy who seems to have a jealous crush on her, but does a decent job of hiding it until the episode’s end
– Hiro, the goofball
– Yanagi, the slightly “wilder” girl of the group
– Sachi, who seems to have a medical condition that prevents her from going out as much as she’d want, and sometimes takes her frustrations out on her friends

Most of the episode is spent on establishing the group’s dynamics, through a festival and then an epic quest to try raising chicken. Thrilling stuff.

And then there’s Kakeru, the new guy, who seems to have some sort of psychic link with Touko. They hit it off quickly ; her friends (especially Yuki and Sachi) are way less welcoming.

Production Values

This studio is known for their scenery porn and lavish animation, and this is no exception. There are some weird freeze-frame instants (with non-naturalistic colouring) to indicate that there’s something more going on, which is a nice effect.

Overall Impression

I went into this hoping to learn how you make an anime about glasswork. I come out none the wiser, baffled as to what this show’s premise actually is. This makes the choice of focusing on its characters first, which is a shame because none of them besides Sachi are particularly interesting ; you’ve seen all this before, and better done, including in other PA Works series.

I nearly fell asleep watching this. And what woke me up… was a cringeworthy surge of melodrama towards the end, including laughably overwhelming music. That’s not a good sign.

I’m giving it one more episode to convince me otherwise, but this looks like a dud.

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

Soul Eater Not!

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of a spin-off manga from Soul Eater. Not that the original series is required reading/watching : the premise is reintroduced from scratch, it focuses on new characters, and this seems to be set around the start of the main story anyway.

Characters

Tsugumi, a girl who discovers she’s a weapon. So she goes to the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning Death Weapon Meister Academy, where she can learn to control her newfound abilities and save the world. Sure, Death City and the academy are quite overwhelming as places, but she’ll be fine, eh ?

Meme, a weird girl who seems to have memory issues. She’s on track to become a “meister” (the people who wield the weapon-people, with totally no sexual subtext whatsoever to their teaming-up, no siree). She’s nearly immediately assaulted in the corridors by a couple of sleazy assholes ; Tsugumi, who had befriended her a bit, finds her resolve and runs back to help her.

Anya, a rich/noble girl who’s come to study as a meister and mingle with the plebeians. She can’t overlook the attack against Meme, so she offers to wield Tsugumi and get rid of the two jerks. They make a pretty good combo… which is a bit awkward, as Meme wants to partner up with Tsugumi too. That’s not the kind of triangle she was expecting to be in the middle of…

A good chunk of the original series’ cast drop in to make cameos. Of most significance : Maka, as the experienced upperclassman Tsugumi takes for a role model, and Pr Sid, who presides over the welcome course.

Production Values

It’s studio Bones, so of course it looks nice and the action sequences are impeccable, but as a whole it looks much more generic and ordinary than the Burton-esque original series. The jerk sun is still around, but it looks a bit alone. It’s especially weird as the plot still calls for demented designs – there’s a dude who can turn anything but his head into a knife !

Also, no more Taku Iwasaki music. The replacement’s not bad, but it’s just not the same.

Overall Impression

This is a nice angle for a spin-off ; the original series never really bothered with world-building, rarely giving any sense of how DWMA was supposed to work and fit into the world. Here it’s front and center, free from the constraints of any wider plot. I already get a much better understanding of DWMA than I ever did before ! (Like, that Death City is supposed to be in America.) And the new main characters form a good framework to explore all of this.

I’m on board.

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.

One-Week Friends (Isshuukan Friends.)

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of a (shonen) romance manga.

Characters

Hase, our male lead, is your ordinary highschool student : bumbling, awkward, but overall quite a nice guy. (And not a Nice Guy, fortunately.) The series focuses on his attempts to become “friends” (or more) with…

Fujimiya, that one loner girl in his class. Who goes out of her way not to make any friends. After a week of talking to her and getting through her shell, she finally explains herself : she has a brain disease that makes her memory partially reset every Monday. She’ll definitely forget about the people she had a good time with, hence her behaviour.

Hase doesn’t care, and vows to befriend her again every week.

Production Values

Decent enough, with some nice pastel tones everywhere.

Overall Impression

The question with such a gimmicky premise is obvious : how do you make it last for 12 episodes ? (Or more, considering the manga is still ongoing.) Won’t it get awfully repetitive ?

This first episode doesn’t really run into the problem, as it’s tasked with setting up the premise. Now, that doesn’t quite work either, as a good chunk of the audience is going to know what the series is about already (it’s in the title !), and there’s not much more than the high concept to it. Sure, there’s value in spending time to build up the two leads’ chemistry, but it’s all a bit slight.

I’m giving it another episode to determine how it plans on going forward, but I’m very skeptical.

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

Kamigami no Asobi: Ludere deorum

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

An adaptation of a female-targeted visual novel, with a male harem to romance. You know the drill.

The hook here is that, aside from the player-insert protagonist, they’re all gods.

Characters

Yui, the stand-in for the audience. She’s from a shrine family, and good at fencing ; she stumbles on the plot while investigating the storeroom in the back, and touching the shiny glowing sword. She’s immediately transported to a parallel world.

Zeus is the one who organized all of this. He’s picked up a few gods from each of the struggling old pantheons, and Yui’s going to teach them about humanity. Why her ? Well, she found the sword. Let’s be honest, Zeus is a complete dick here.

So cue many prettyboy gods. Clueless Baldr and devious Loki. Angsty loner Hades and obviously-main-guy Appolon. And others. They all become a bit same-y after a while.

Production Values

Quite nice ; the flowery backgrounds as each god gets introduced might be a bit overkill, but they’re a staple of the genre, and I do get the impression we’re reaching self-parody.

The ED sequence dispels any doubts about this being anything else than an excuse to display juicy manflesh.

Overall Impression

This first episode is quite alright : it’s decently paced, it’s got a sense of humour about itself, and Yui has more of a clue and a backbone than average for her archetype.

But I have no confidence that this isn’t going to quickly devolve into standard harem hijinks, and I’m not the target audience anyway. I’ll pass.

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

The Kawai Complex Guide to Manors and Hostel Behavior (Bokura wa Minna Kawaisou)

(12ish episodes)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of a romantic comedy manga.

If you’re wondering about the bizarrely elaborate official English title, it’s probably an attempt to play off the pun in the original title (it literally means something like “We’re all from the Kawai Lodging House”, but it sounds a lot like “We’re all pitiful”).

Characters

Usa, our protagonist. He’s looking to start his life anew with high school. (There are hints his middle school years were wild.) Hence why he moved to a new town, and begged his parents to let him live on his own. Finding a quiet and intellectual girl to settle down with would be nice, too.

Ritsu, a quiet and intellectual girl in the next grade. And she happens to live in the same lodging house he’s just moved into ! Heaven ! Well, aside from the fact that she’s not about to let him get into her personal space, and seems to have pegged him as a weirdo. But hey, room for progress, right ? Also, that kendo sword looks dangerous. (There’s a fun joke explaining how she can seemingly pull it out of thin air.)

Sumiko, the elderly landlady of the lodging house, seems to fit the “nice but strict old lady” archetype… But that’s at least partly an act, and she’s more mischievous than she looks. There’s a reason the rent is dirt cheap, after all.

Shirosaki, Usa’s roommate, is part of that reason. He’s more than a bit of a creep, although he’s mostly harmless. (After all, he’s openly a masochist. Sumiko quite enjoys playing along.) He’s less annoying than I’d have thought, as he makes a good sounding board for Usa’s own fetishes.

Mayumi, another of the residents. A working woman in her 20s, she comes back early from a trip after dumping her boyfriend for two-timing her. From everyone else’s reactions, it’s obviously not the first time this happens. She’s an impressive drinker, which however does not mean she can hold her alcohol well.

There’s mention of a college student also residing in Kawai Complex, but she’s currently away. The OP & ED sequences suggest she often antagonizes Mayumi.

Production Values

Perfectly alright. There are some sudden abstract backgrounds & overlay text marking punchlines that initially made me think this was adapted from 4-panel manga, but apparently not.

Overall Impression

Well, that was fun. There’s something to be said for run-of-the-mill romantic comedies : it doesn’t set the world on fire, but it’s very pleasant to watch. Nothing wrong with occupying that niche.

There’s a good chance I’ll keep watching this.

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

Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha

(10 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Oldschool magical girl show. (The kind without any sentai influence.)

Characters

Inari, a middle school girl, is our protagonist. Often late, clumsy, and quite shy, she’s part of the unpopular kids. (She hangs out with the violent one and the heavyweight nerd.)

Koji, the guy in her class she has a crush on. He’s so dreamy ! Unfortunately, her attempt at cheering him on for his next match ends up with her accidentally pulling his pants down. Oops.

Uka-no-Mitama-no-Kami, the god of the local shrine Inari often attends. Since the girl has just rescued Uka-sama’s familiar, she gets one wish granted : becoming the popular girl Koji seems infatuated with, so that she can gather the courage to apologize to him. Inari soon realizes this was a very stupid wish, but not one that can be reversed easily ; Uka-sama screws the rules by putting a part of herself into the girl, allowing her to shapeshift at will (and thus back to her normal body).

… I’m sure this isn’t going to backfire at all.

Production Values

Quite nice, and there are lots of neat visual gags in the background (such as Uka-sama playing visual novels with her familiars when she thinks nobody’s looking).

Overall Impression

Hey, this was quite fun ! It’s the old “magical girl as a metaphor for growing up” story, but with a fresh enough coat of paint to entertain. The gimmick has potential, the shinto angle reminds me of Gingitsune in a positive way, and I genuinely like the cast. (Especially Uka-sama.)

I may drop another show just to keep up with this one.

via [In which I review] New anime, Winter 2014 – Page 10.