Tag: shonen longrunners

Ginga e Kickoff!!

What’s it about ?

Sport series for kids about soccer.

Characters

Shou, our elementary school protagonist. The team he used to be in was quite decent, but it’s just disbanded due to conflict with the coach (who quit) and half the team wanting to focus on exams anyway. So now he must find new players to restart the team from scratch. The problem : he can only bring his own enthusiasm to the table, as he’s mostly crap at the sport. (There’s a lengthy scene of him being outclassed by a dog.)

Erika, transfer student from Osaka. (Except Shou doesn’t know it yet, which makes him trying to recruit her all the more puzzling.) She seems to have some actual talent, unlike him. And she’s on board with training with someone else than her dog… up until she learns the team has been disbanded, of course. She has a massive hero worship for…

Misaki, an adult professional player who just happens to be passing, just in time to give some encouragement for her fan.

Presumably there’ll be more than two players on this team (although the OP/ED certainly don’t show 11 members), but that’s for future episodes.

Oh, and there’s some drunk on a bench who’s bound to be the new coach.

Production Values

Just about average.

Overall Impression

This ain’t half bad : the characters have chemistry, the scenes of them training at soccer are fun, and the premise is so ridiculous you can’t help but wonder how they’re gonna get out of this predicament.

The problem is that it’s going to take forever and a day to gather the team, especially with the second episode going out of its way to do something with a completely different team. And I’m not interested enough to follow this for the long haul, especially in so busy a season.

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2012 – Page 12.

Polar Bear Cafe (Shirokuma Cafe)

What’s it about ?

Gag series set in a world where animals live like (and coexist with) normal people.

Characters

Panda, our protagonist. Your typical teenage boy who spends his time loafing around (eating bamboo). He gets pestered by his mother into getting a part-time job, so off he goes, with little enthusiasm. No, scratch that, the main problem is that he’s too honest. (“Are you actually going to do any work once you’re hired ?” “Probably not.”)

Mr Polar Bear, owner of the next-door café. He’s looking for a part-time waiter ; believe it or not, Panda is the best of the five applicants he gets. He’s got a running gag where he’ll mishear an order and bring something ridiculous to fit a pun ; it just doesn’t work outside of Japanese, and the CR translator appear to have just given up on making sense of it.

Mr Penguin, a regular patron of the Polar Bear Cafe. He’s mostly there to be the straight man penguin in the jokes.

Production Values

Not very high, but it’s got a distinctive artstyle, with all the animals depicted realistically.

Overall Impression

Wait, this is actually quite funny ! It helps that it’s got an incredibly star-heavy cast (Jun Fukuyama, Takahiro Sakurai, Hiroshi Kamiya…) who can pull off deadpan insanity without breaking a sweat. Okay, I could do without the “mistaken order” running gag (which doesn’t have much to do with the rest of the series anyway), but the general setup is a great joke that is executed very well.

Now, the question is “how long can this sustain itself ?” This is a daytime show, so there’s always the possibility it’ll continue going way past its sell-by date. On the other hand, I doubt this kind of humour has more than a niche appeal, so I wouldn’t expect it to last too long before being cancelled.

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

Saint Seiya Omega

(?? episodes)

What’s it about ?

Because someone demanded it : a new iteration of the decades-old Saint Seiya franchise. (Basically : Greek-mythology-inspired fighting shonen.) This is supposed to be newbie- (and kid-)friendly material, starring a new generation of protagonists.

Characters

Kouga, our brand new protagonist, and the new Pegasus Saint. He’s a bit of a whiny brat so far, but then he’s got a point : nobody really explains anything to him, and especially why they’re training him to fight mythical stuff for Athena’s sake.

Saori, his mother figure, is especially guilty of this. I mean, not telling him you’re Athena ? (But then, what little I remember from the original series rarely showed her as the brains of the outfit either…)

Seiya, the original Pegagus Saint (and protagonist of the original series), dies in a flashback to protect Saori and infant!Kouga from an attack by new Big Bad Mars. (Wait, a Roman god ?) Well, the flashback itself didn’t look that conclusive to me, but everyone in the present says he sacrificied himself to help seal Mars away. Anyway, being “dead” doesn’t prevent his astral voice from giving some guidance to Kouga now that Mars has resurfaced.

Shaina, the masked Amazon, also stayed around as Kouga’s trainer. And that’s it as far as characters from the original series are concerned. (What, did everyone else die in Hades or something ? No, don’t answer that, it’s not relevant anyway.)

Presumably Kouga is going to gather a new band of other Saints ; the next episode preview makes it looks like the new Cygnus is next.

Production Values

Well, you can see that the Heartcatch Precure crew is at the helm : stylised and colourful character designs, super-fluid animation, a good sense of lighting and colouring for dramatic effect… Frankly, if you’re going to reinvent such a franchise, you can hardly go wrong with them.

It’s been ages since I’ve seen any of the original series, but this strikes me as decidedly less bloody and violent.

Overall Impression

Well, this is definitely a competent, kid-friendly Saint Seiya revival. There’s nothing wrong with it : it looks quite good, this is a logical direction for the story to go for such a project…

But do I really want to watch such a thing ? I don’t have any nostalgia for the franchise, and I find it hard to summon any enthusiasm for this new series. I’ll give it a couple other episodes to see whether Kouga stops being such a wanker and the supporting cast is any fun, but I’m not holding my breath.

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2012 – Page 3.

The Knight in the Area (Area no Kishi)

What’s it about ?

High-school soccer melodrama.

Characters

Kakeru, our protagonist. He used to be quite a good soccer player until he injured his left leg (the flashbacks are quick and vague), although since he’s running around without trouble most of the damage must be in his head. He’s switched to being the “manager” of his high-school soccer club (in the Japanese sense that he has no authority whatsoever and is a glorified go-fer). While he’s enthusiastic about it, he’s obviously in denial.

Suguru, his older brother, and the captain/star player of the club ; there’s a pre-credits scene of him marking for Japan against Brazil in the under-15 Cup, just to hammer the point. To say that Kakeru has an inferiority complex over him is an understatement. Suguru is getting annoyed at Kakeru’s denial and passive-aggressiveness, and frankly I’m with him. He pulls strings to get Kakeru back onto the team, which hopefully is going to get him out of his funk.

Nana (“Seven”), Kakeru’s tomboyish childhood friend. Her family had moved to the US for the last few years, but now she’s back. She claims to be making a move for the manager position, but I hope she gets to be on the team somehow, because she’s got spunk and she’s shown to have been quite good at it back in the day.

There’s a mysterious person (disguised as a grey, of all things) who surprises Kakeru as he was playing soccer alone in a park at night, and plays around with him for a bit. Kakeru thinks this may be either Suguru or one of the few other named players we’ve seen so far, but I’m not fooled for a second : this is obviously Nana.

We see a few of the other members of the soccer clubs, but because Kakeru seems to prefer associating with the underdogs, that means they’re the perpetual loser and the mandatory horny dude. Sigh.

Production Values

Quite low. It overuses still frames, and the animation’s nothing to write home about. I don’t really like the way how Suguru looks so much older than Kakeru despite them being stated to only be one year apart. Also, the score is laying the melodrama a bit thick.

Overall Impression

This is quite better than I expected at first. Kakeru is very annoying indeed, but I was pleasantly surprised that the series seems to agree that his attitude needs to change. I quite like the other characters (well, aside from the horndog), and I’m intrigued by the hints that Suguru may not survive the next couple of episodes.

I’m somewhat optimistic about this one, although I’m not sure how long I’ll keep with it (especially as I’m not sure for how long it’s going to run).

via [In which I review] New anime, Winter 2012 – Page 3.

Phi Brain – Puzzle of God

(25 episodes)

What’s it about ?

X-TREME puzzles !

Characters

Kaito “Einstein” Daimon, our spiky-haired protagonist. He’s a genius puzzle solver (to the point of seeing his high-school’s puzzle club as beneath him). He stumbles on a hidden giant puzzle/death trap combo just behind the school (how the heck did nobody notice this thing before ? Yeah, it’s underground, but still…), and he’s quite offended by the death traps sullying the purity of the puzzles.

Nonoha, his childhood friend/sidekick/whatever. She’s not very good at puzzle-solving, but her observation/memory skills do come handy. She’s mostly there so that Kaito has someone to show off how brilliant he is to.

“Genius Okudera”, a famous adult puzzle-solver who’s this series’ “Mr. Satan” figure. You know, the gloryhound who’s way less competent than he claims.

Souji Jikukawa, president of the puzzle club and member of the student council. He thoroughly tries to recruit Kaito, ultimately giving him (in flashback) a mini-computer with advanced puzzle games.

Minotaur, a dude in a ridiculous disguise who starts soliciting Kaito through the mini-computer and is eventually revealed to be in charge of the puzzle-deathtrap-thingie behind the school. He really should invest in a better voice scrambler, because it’s blindingly obvious he’s Jikukawa (Akira Ishida’s voice is clearly recognizable).

Production Values

Pretty good ; the directing has enough energy to make the puzzles look cool. I also quite like the soundtrack, which helps sell the high-octane puzzle action. And the OP & ED take full advantage of the visual possibilities of the “sliding puzzles” motif.

What did I think of it ?

Well, that was fun. It’s obviously a very stupid show, but it accomplishes what it needed to : making puzzles look cool. That’s half the battle, and as decent a hook as any. It also has enough bits of cleverness (such as the solution to the maze, which is ridiculously outside-the-box but somehow works) not be boring.

I think I’ve found my Sunday night popcorn action show. Unpretentious, but quite enjoyable.

via [In which I review] New anime, Fall 2011 – Page 2.

Hunter x Hunter

(at least 45 episodes… welcome to endless shounen hell !)

What’s it about ?

In a world with various big monsters roaming around and hidden treasures, the big thing to be is a Hunter, whose job is to deal with those. But there are lots of hopefuls and not many who actually manage to pass the tests…

This manga already got an anime adaptation 10 years ago, but from what I gather it never got to the end (the manga is still ongoing). This is a full-blown remake ; hopefully they’ll manage to make a proper ending this time around.

Characters

Gon, our spiky-haired protagonist. His father abandoned him at birth because of his Hunter’s job, so he’s convinced being a Hunter must be AWESOME! for Daddy to do that (/facepalm).

Mito, his aunt (although that’s never actually stated anywhere in the episode), was quite opposed to him leaving the nest, but he’s talented and wilful enough to overcome her objection before the mid-episode mark. Presumably we’ll barely ever see her again.

On the boat to the test center, Gon meets two other characters of note who are obviously going to tag along : Kurapika, the sullen last member of the Kurta tribe, who wants to become a Hunter to track down the culprits (I lay at least 50/50 odds that’s actually a girl) ; and Leorio, a tall lecherous dude who’s in it for the money.

A fourth team member is shown in the credits, but hasn’t appeared yet.

Production Values

Perfectly okay for an action shounen show. For comparison purposes, I checked out the first episode of the original series ; the new version is much brighter and slightly more stylised, at the cost of some atmosphere ; also, it seems to move quite a bit quicker than the original (which barely had Gon leaving the nest by the end of the first episode, but made it much clearer what the family situation was).

What did I think of it ?

Hello, generic shounen action show ! There’s nothing particularly original here, so it falls down to the worldbuilding (nothing much of interest yet) and the character dynamic to make it watcheable. And, well, while I’m all for Miyuki Sawashiro and Keiji Fujiwara deliciously snarking at each other, I’m not sure I want to sign up for 45+ episodes of it.

I’m not dropping it yet, but it’s definitely a candidate for the chopping block if too many other shows I want to keep watching are released on Sundays (which is a very probable scenario).

via [In which I review] New anime, Fall 2011.

Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal

What’s it about ?

A loser boy’s adventures into the world of EXTREME trading-card gaming, with fight scenes in a fancy holographic parallel world and an ethereal guide to advise him.

Characters

Yuma, our middle school protagonist with improbable hair. He has a strong tendency to get into challenges way over his head, which makes him a bit of a laughing-stock considering how often he fails. He wears a weird “key” pendant about which he has bizarre dreams about metaphorically unlocking his potential or something.

Mizuki, his generic love interest who generically supports him despite his repeated failures.

Tetsuo, his fat “friend” who’s a bit of a jerk but doesn’t seem that bad a guy (“It’s n-n-not as if I l-like you or anything, Yuma !”). Admire his 1337 skateboard, yo !

Kamishiro, a cackling pointy-haired bully (who never walks around without his yes-men posse) who has just punked Tetsuo out of his deck. Yuma can’t resist challenging him, of course.

Production Values

Alright for what it is, I suppose.

Overall Impression

My knowledge of the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise is limited to the Abridged series, but this looks so close to the formula (minus the Egyptian-themed weirdness) that I can’t help yawning.

As a toyetic show for kids, I guess it’s alright (it’s at least more competent and engaging than last season’s Cardfight Vanguard), but I have absolutely no interest in this.

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2011 – Page 10.

Toriko

What’s it about ?

The greatest hunter/”meal ingredient gatherer” is on a quest to track down every ingredient ever, selecting the best for the perfect meal.

Characters

Toriko, our huge, barrel-chested, impossible-proportions protagonist. The opening theme tune suggests he’s stronger the more he eats, and given all he devours in this episode alone, I can believe it.

Komatsu, our viewpoint character, a cook from a famous restaurant who commissions Toriko to seek out rare ingredients for them. He’s mostly there to provide exposition.

And… that’s it so far, aside from the various beasties they encounter on their trip, and a few villains mysteriously plotting in their lair (although that’s got no impact on the plot so far).

Production Values

Standard Sunday-morning-shounen fare (i.e. barely adequate) with very generic character designs.

Overall Impression

Was there supposed to be any kind of hook here ? This “first” episode leaves me with no reason whatsoever to keep watching : it’s ugly, the characters are annoying, and mostly I just don’t care. The jokes about Toriko mangling proverbs weren’t funny when Sailor Venus did that shtick two decades ago, and the whole thing is very boring.

Exactly as bad as I had expected.

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2011 – Page 9.

Sket Dance

(?? episodes)

What’s it about ?

A high school club who specialize in helping people… although they’re quite bumbling indeed, and mostly do odd jobs. But they take it very seriously.

Characters

Teppei, our point of view character. A transfer student, and thus direly in need of exposition. The SKET club tries to recruit him aggressively, and when it fails they do help him with his troubles. To tell the truth, he’s a horrible wimp, and I was delighted when it turned out he’d fade in the background by the next episode. Pfew.

“Bossun”, the idiot in charge of the SKET club. (By the way, this is both a pun on the Japanese phrase for “helper group”, and a terrible backronym – “Support, Kindness, Encouragement, Troubleshoot”.) He’s very enthusiastic… but his trains of thought are quite bizarre, to say the least.

Himeko, the vice-president, would really want to be thought of as kind and feminine… but when the chips come down, she’s a violent thug. She’s the muscle of the team.

“Switch”, the third and last member, is a geek who’s never seen without his laptop strapped on. He absolutely refuses to talk, instead using voice-generating that sounds like Tomokazu Sugita (who’s impeccably deadpan here). He’s got very precise and intimate information on everyone in the school, and knows how to use it ruthlessly.

We also see quite a few other characters : a couple of bullies, the casanova kid, several members from the student council that will presumably become important later on…

Production Values

The animation is very limited, despite me not being one to overly notice this kind of thing.

The soundtrack is overloaded with guitar riffs, to the point that it becomes a bit distracting.

Overall Impression

Hey, a shounen series that I actually like quite a bit ! What has the world come to ?

Now, it isn’t without problems. I don’t really care for the club president, and I loathed Teppei. The production values are quite cheap indeed. And I could quickly grow tired of the amped up histrionics.

Still, it succeeds where it really needs to : it’s quite funny indeed. Switch has an awesome gimmick, Himeko’s fun, and most of the jokes work.

I’m cautiously optimistic about this one.

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2011 – Page 6.

Digimon Tamers

(51 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Digimon is just another fad cardgame… or is it ? There’s an awful lot of critters wandering around in the edges of the city, fighting harsh battles for unknown reasons.

Characters

Takato is our standard-issue kid protagonist. He somehow stumbles on a bizarre Digimon card that transforms his card player into something else entirely… which eventually creates a whole new critter from his handwritten designs. He thinks it’s AWESOME… until the critter starts spouting fire at the scenery. Oops…

There are a couple other kids running around separately that can “see” the critters while they’re moving around digitally… An aloof girl and a technophile boy. They obviously know quite a bit about what’s happening, but they barely get a couple of lines each so far.

There’s also a shadowy organization that secretly monitors the critters for whatever purposes. Their apparent leader is always compulsively clutching on some object I can’t see.

Production Values

Average. The CG sequences are a bit clunky but perfectly serviceable.

Overall Impression

Much better than I expected from a cardgame tie-in. This is the one season that’s actually any good, right ? It’s pretty good at building a foreboding atmosphere, and the conspiracy angle looks promising. There’s nothing particularly irritating, the product placement is reasonable, and I’m positively intrigued on where this is going.

I could see myself adding it to my popcorn “to-watch” list in the near future.

I don't think store-bought cardplayers are supposed to scan random notebooks on their own, are they ?
I don’t think store-bought cardplayers are supposed to scan random notebooks on their own, are they ?

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2001.