Spring 2014 Anime

With the winter season now concluded and the first shows of the Spring season starting to air in Japan and on the streaming sites, time to start a new thread.

This list appears to be accurate for what we can expect: http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2014/03/01-1/updated-spring-2014-anime-chart and based on the synopsis, I am interested in Gokukoku no Brynhildr, Isshuukan Friends and Hitsugi no Chaika.

I tend to find Random Curiosity's previews useful, as they often look into the background and source material of upcoming series: http://randomc.net/2014/03/27/spring-2014-preview/

Seikoku no Dragonar gets the aware for worst light novel based series.    (Granted some of the others don't sound so hot either, but that one sounds awful and the promo art doesn't suggest good things either.)

Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo Returns and Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii both interest me despite not being in genres I typically go for very much.

I'm also interested in a few of the mecha titles although I've already got two good carry overs from last season in that genre (assuming neither Nobunaga: The Fool nor Buddy Complex is going on hiatus for a season).

As usual I'll likely end up sampling a variety of stuff on my own and with my anime buddies and finding some things I like.  That's the way it usually works.   

The only show I've actually watched from the new season so far is Blade and Soul, which ended up being a lot better than the fan service-y promo art led me to expect.  Granted it certainly has fan service and I'm not too sure about the vengeance focused plotline, but it might be worth a look from those looking for an action fix.

Piero wrote:The only show I've actually watched from the new season so far is Blade and Soul, which ended up being a lot better than the fan service-y promo art led me to expect.  Granted it certainly has fan service and I'm not too sure about the vengeance focused plotline, but it might be worth a look from those looking for an action fix.

I had planned to skip it as I'm not interested in MMORPG-based anime and ANN's reviewers predominately panning the first episode only reinforces that decision.

And thanks for the link to Random Curiosity as their deeper synopses have helped me get a better feel for some shows - both positive and negative.

So this looks to be my initial list:

Akuma no Riddle
Bokura wa Minna Kawaisou
Captan Earth
Gokukoku no Brynhildr
Gochuumon wa Usagi Desuka?
Hitsugi no Chaika
Inugami-san to Nekoyama-san
Isshuukan Friends
M3: Sono Kuroki Hagane
Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei
Ryuugajou Nanana no Maizoukin
Sidonia no Kishi 
Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii 

Looking over that I'm interested in Black Bullet, Sidonia no Kishi, Baby Steps, Mekaku City Actors, Captain Earth, and Sadon Desu. Looks like I have a busy Season ahead...  

We'll see how that goes...

I like fantasy series, and there's precious few of those to choose from in anime these days if I rule out everything that's related to a MMO.  As for ANN's previews, I rarely bother with those anymore, I frequently find them off the mark and their tendency to get (unnecessarily) up in arms about stuff is tiresome.  Overall I wouldn't call the first episode of Blade and Soul great, but I did find it surprisingly good.

Anyhow, I watched a couple other new titles this morning.

Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo Returns:There are some things I liked about the first episode of this show and some I didn't.  I think I'm going to have to wait until the first mystery is unravelled before I can make a good judgement on this show.
Akuma no Riddle: I was kind of interested in this one based on the Random C preview, but I'm finding the set up and characters a bit much.

Piero wrote:As for ANN's previews, I rarely bother with those anymore, I frequently find them off the mark and their tendency to get (unnecessarily) up in arms about stuff is tiresome.

I tend to find myself in general agreement with their views (if they like a show, I tend to like it and if they don't like a show, I tend to not like it, as well) and since their professional job is to watch anime, they see everything each season. As such, I find them to be a generally good arbiter of what is and what is not worth watching, at least in terms of what I personally will find entertaining enough to stay with across 13 or 26 episodes.

I find watching shows for myself to be the only reliable way to tell whether or not I'm going to like something or not.  I generally try to give stuff I haven't seen personally the benefit of the doubt.

I've seen some very insightful and well written reviews on ANN, particularly with their full length reviews, but I've also seen plenty of bullshit that I consider unworthy of a professional review site.  I actually consider some of the stuff their staff has written to be far from objective.  If you're ranting and raging in a review or twisting what you're seeing to force it to fit your own preconceptions about what you're reviewing then you aren't being objective.

Anyway, I've now watched Captain Earth, and am wondering why Ed from Cowboy Bebop is in the next episode preview.   The show's serious and campy elements clash a bit, but in general I rather enjoyed it.  It certainly has nice production values.

Now that we have 30-40 shows a season, I can't begin to watch everything even for one episode so I find them helpful. YMMV, of course.

Extra experience weekend on Diablo III so I've been loading up the CR queue and will start watching on Monday.

My system generally works something like this:  I pick out a small number of shows based on charts and Random C previews.  I then end up sampling some extra stuff during the early part of the season when there's not much available yet.  I also end up watching some shows I'm not so inclined to check out myself with the guys I watch anime with.  And I sometimes pick stuff up or give it a second chance because of a good review or because someone I know online recommends it.  I have little trouble coming up with manageable watch lists.

I also don't particularly like or trust ANN.  Aside from not finding that none of their reviewers is a reliable gauge of whether I'll like something, I've seen them go fangs out on stuff that did not deserve it, and that can irritate me even when I'm relatively ambivalent towards a show, let alone when I actually really liked it.

While we're on this subject, I'm going to be petty and point out that ANN published not one but two very positive reviews of B Gata H Kei after it was released on disc over here.  So much for it being a new low in the anime industry's race to the bottom that we should all get up in arms over.

Anyway, back to the news shows...

Baby Steps: Man, the protagonist of this series is ridiculously anal retentive.  And yet somehow I find I can kind of relate to him.   I enjoyed the first episode of this but I'm not sure I like where it's going.
Bokura wa Minna Kawaisou: I had some hope for this show during the first few minutes, but it evaporated rather quickly.  In my view this is the worst show I've watched so far this season.
Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii:  This one's hard to judge at this point because we've barely met one of the main characters.  In general I enjoyed this episode despite a few issues but it didn't exactly blow me away.

Only watched one so far, Byrnhildr in the Darkness, and it looks to have a strong start.  I like the character concepts, and the OP wowed me. I love the music, I love the back-and-forth contrast visuals.

Spoiler:

===

Okay, watched a few more.

An Irregular at Magic High School - We've an inversion of Clarke's Law here, so the 'magic' in this series is pretty parameterized and predictable.  That's cool. We have a healthy dose of class warfare again (this time in terms of magical ability).  Has some potential.

---

Blade and Soul - I read that it was MMO anime, and was expecting SAO or Log Horizon.  No, it's just anime based on an existing Korean MMO (that is due to be released in English sometime this year.)  In terms of story, it's just mish-mash-tech fantasy.  Lots of fan service, but decent action.  Worth another episode at the very least.

---

La Corda d'Oro Blue Sky - Music competition, childhood friends / childhood promises kept.  I didn't realize how similar this would be in underlying theme to 'Saki', the mah-jong one, though this doesn't utilize supernatural powers.  This one looks to be just hard work, classical music, and a lot of showmanship. Looks interesting, but may be to staid for my twitchy tastes.

---

Kamigami no Asobi - We have a bunch of gods from various pantheons (Norse, Greek, and Japanese, so far) and a cute-n-clueless human girl in a sort of reverse harem.  Zeus (yes, that Zeus) gathered these other gods in some sort of 'boarding school' with the hapless human so they can better appreciate humanity and what we have to teach them.  Interesting concept, but very hard to pull off well.

---

Captain Earth - Well, it's decent mecha artwork.  The launch sequence is a better explanation of the Core Block system than I've seen from any Gundam show, (and Core Block is a Gundam trademark!).  Unsure who all the players are, or what they're doing, and why.  Seems ambitious in plot, trying to do something other than mecha-as-jets or mecha-as-gladiators.  Unsure what the concept is, so it's both intriguing to try to figure out what they're trying to do, and it's a little worrisome that they're doing things that might not work.

===

All in all, I have the highest hopes for Brynhildr, followed by Irregular.  

Corda d'Oro and Blade & Soul look to be trying some tried-and-true genres.  If they're not too predictable, they should be watchable.  

Captain Earth and Kamigami are going off the beaten path.  If they pull it off, they could be good, but that's not very likely.  Otherwise, I expect I'll drop them before the season's end.

One Week Friends

High schooler Yūki Hase notices that his classmate Kaori Fujimiya is always alone and seemingly has no friends. After approaching her and becoming acquainted, Kaori reveals that she loses every memory of her friends each Monday. Despite learning this, Yūki endeavors to become her new friend every week.

Tragic, but so, so beautiful. I don’t know if I have the emotional strength for it, however.



The World is Still Beautiful [Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii]

Nike, the fourth princess of the Rain Dukedom, holds the power to call forth the rain. She travels to the Sun Kingdom to marry Sun King Livius for her country, despite her own reluctance in the matter. She soon discovers that the King, who conquered the world in only three years after his ascendance to the throne, is still a young boy. Despite being total strangers at first they start to understand one another and develop an emotional bond with each other.

IMO, Nike is the best anime heroine since the Sage Wolf Horo. Could be the next Maoyū Maō Yūsha in style.




Captain Earth

One night right before summer vacation, Daichi Manatsu, a second-year in high school, sees a weird round rainbow floating in the sky above Tanegashima and ventures there alone. He has seen this rainbow before. With the memories of his father's mysterious death and an encounter of a mysterious boy and girl, Daiji arrives on the island while the alarm of a building labeled "Earth Engine" is going off. Someone asks him if he's a captain, just as robotic intruders from Uranus called "Kiltgang" arrive. The battle around the shining stars is about to begin.

Looks to be another solid show from BONES.




Gokukoku no Brynhildr [Brynhildr in the Darkness]

When he was a child, Murakami was infatuated with a girl he called Kuroneko. She insisted on knowing about aliens and having met them, but no one believed her, even young Murakami was skeptical. One day, she decides to show him the aliens, but an accident occurs and Kuroneko dies while Murakami is left seriously wounded in the hospital. Years go by and Murakami obsesses on finding proof of the existence of aliens because of a promise he had made with Kuroneko. Then, one day, a new transfer student comes to his class, who not only looks a lot like Kuroneko, but is named Kurohaneko. And even though she insists on never having met Murakami before, the girl has superhuman strength and seems to even be able to predict the future.

My Spidey-sense tells me this is going to be a “B” level show, but my hope that it is more B+ than B- has me sticking around for episode 2.




Mahōka Kōkō no Rettōsei [The Irregular at Magic High School]

In 2095, Tatsuya Shiba and his sister Miyuki Shiba are new students enrolling at the Private Magic University Affiliated High School (First High School). Students are ranked according to their test scores: students with the best grades are designated "Bloom" and enrolled in the Course 1 curriculum, while those with poor scores are designated "Weed" and enrolled in Course 2. Miyuki topped the entrance exams and is selected to be the first years' representative, while Tatsuya is placed in Course 2 due to his low practical test score, despite scoring the highest in the written portion of the exams.

In the early 21st century, science created magic. By the middle of the century, climate change had resulted in the onset of a new ice age and the battle for resources plunged the planet into a Third World War, halving the population. The world’s magicians prevented the conflict from going nuclear and on the cusp of the 22nd century the surviving world powers are engaged in a new arms race - one to create magicians.

My Spidey-sense is tingling even harder at this one, which was mostly just a raw info dump and character introduction event. That the second episode looks like it could be more of the same does not inspire confidence. Even having Miyuki Shiba looking like a high-school version of Ruri Goku ( ) won’t be enough to keep me if that proves to be the case.



Bokura wa Minna Kawaisou [The Kawai Complex Guide to Manors and Hostel Behavior]

Kazunari Usa will start living far from his parents in a dormitory near his school just to find out that a pervert he meets earlier and his crush are living in the same dormitory as him.

What a crushing disappointment.

I admit to going into this show with a bit of trepidation. The plot synopsis had me a bit worried and the length of the title should have been a warning, as the recent spate of anime shows with super-long titles have generally proven to be poor, IMO.

So when the show opens with Makoto Shinkai-level animation (damn, Brains’ Base - you have seriously picked up your game) and I see a lovely girl in beautiful light and shadow reading a book in the school library I am thinking “Okay, maybe this will be good”. Then we go into the OP sequence, with a catchy song and nice visuals and I’m thinking “Okay, this will be good”.

And then the show starts and it soon implodes like a neutron star into a black hole. First, we’re introduced to Shirosaki who puts the “perv” into pervert and is a masochist with a fixation on high school girls. He is so creepy I wanted to take a hot shower after every scene he’s in. Of course, since he’s in the OP sequence and the plot says a pervert lives in the dorm, we know he’ll be a regular. *sigh*

Next up is grandmother Sumiko Kawai, who runs the Kawai Dormitory and is thankfully (mostly) normal beyond engaging in the verbal abuse that Shirosaki craves. We then meet the girl from the library, Ritsu Kawai, who is the granddaughter of Sumiko’s brother and has her head pretty much continuously buried in a book to the exclusion of life around her.

I’m pretty worried by now, but there are still two more dorm residents to introduce so maybe there is still hope….

Nope…

Mayumi Nishikino is hot, but she’s also very annoying when drunk and not much less when sober. We have to wait for the next episode for the final dorm member, college student Sayaka Watanabe, but I’m not sticking around to see what she is like.

The parallels to Maison Ikkoku are already being drawn, but I’ve seen Maison Ikkoku and this, sir, is no Maison Ikkoku. It’s not even The Pet Girl of Sakurasou. It’s just really bad, IMO.

Kisk, for two people who disagree as much as we do, our opinions can be surprisingly close on occasion.   

Piero wrote:Bokura wa Minna Kawaisou: I had some hope for this show during the first few minutes, but it evaporated rather quickly.  In my view this is the worst show I've watched so far this season.

taerkitty wrote:Kamigami no Asobi - We have a bunch of gods from various pantheons (Norse, Greek, and Japanese, so far) and a cute-n-clueless human girl in a sort of reverse harem.  Zeus (yes, that Zeus) gathered these other gods in some sort of 'boarding school' with the hapless human so they can better appreciate humanity and what we have to teach them.  Interesting concept, but very hard to pull off well.

Knowing my brother and the other guys I watch anime with are like, I would not be hugely surprised it I end up watching an episode of this for kicks...   

taerkitty wrote:Captain Earth - Well, it's decent mecha artwork.  The launch sequence is a better explanation of the Core Block system than I've seen from any Gundam show, (and Core Block is a Gundam trademark!).  Unsure who all the players are, or what they're doing, and why.  Seems ambitious in plot, trying to do something other than mecha-as-jets or mecha-as-gladiators.  Unsure what the concept is, so it's both intriguing to try to figure out what they're trying to do, and it's a little worrisome that they're doing things that might not work.

Yeah, I thought the first episode introduced too many new characters too.  I forgot to mention that part.

I can deal with character-flooding.  Given that this looks to be inspired by Gundam, I expect half of them will be dead by ep 5.  "Kill 'em all but one" episodes aren't as rare as they used to be.

Watched the first episode of Mahouka (The Irregular at Magic High School).  I wasn't very enthusiastic about it going in (not big on the premise and I'd head some criticism) and I'm not very enthusiastic now either.  Definitely employees a number of anime cliches/conventions that I'm not overly fond of.  The main character's little sister is definitely into him (understatement).  Also, did anyone else feel the music during part of the entry ceremony scene wasn't a good fit?

Akuma no Riddle looks interesting mainly because it looks to be similar to Kite but with less noir and moar diabeetus.

Baby Steps appeals to me as well. I really liked 'that one anime/manga about track and field that I can't seems to remember at the moment' so hopefully I'll see more of the same here.

Disk Wars: Avengers is one I might see about as well because..you know...Marvel. <3

Mangaka-san to Asstant-san to appears to going the docudrama route and I'm such a slut for a good doc.


Ping Pong THE ANIMATION because it has "The Animation" in it.

Bokura Wa Minna Kawaiso because diabeetus.

With Queen's Blade:Vanquished Queens and Little Busters EX to round out my bunch.

Mangaka-san to Assistant-san to [The Comic Artist and Assistants]

Manga author Yūki Aito does not understand the feelings of the characters in his stories, so he asks his assistant, Sahoto Ashisu, to help him. Ashisu is prepared to do anything for the work, even grope her own breast so he will know how it feels like.

(With apologies to former member Sakura for borrowing her avatar).

If the plot summary didn’t make it obvious enough, this show is all about the fan service. That isn’t what offended me, however, as plenty of anime are loaded with fan service (heck, I just finished SuperSonico the Animation after all). 

What offended me was the characters. Yūki Aito is the “clueless creeper” - he’s the way he is because he either doesn’t know any better or just assumes that such behavior is acceptable. I’m more inclined to believe the latter because his assistant, Sahoto Ashisu, who seems to have little in the way of self-esteem and is willing to debase herself when he asks her to. And his editor, Mihari Otosuna, certainly does not look like someone who seriously wants to reign him in. It’s the characters that make something that is entertaining in a show like Seitokai Yakuindomo into something repulsive here. 

And speaking of Seitokai Yakuindomo, I expected the show to be animated by GoHands as the style is very similar to the two Seitokai Yakuindomo series, however ZEXCS is handling the animation.

That reminds me of the premise for a hentai OVA someone showed me an episode of.

Black Bullet is sort of like a cross between Attack on Titan and Gunslinger Girl... and the worst aspects of the Index/Railgun verse. Here's a quote from a post I made on Animesuki about the show:

"There was something that really bothered me about this show aside from the fact that the main character's loli partner wants to get in his pants. And that's that despite humanity being on the brink of destruction, life in Japanese society is carrying on more or less as normal and the characters are pretty typical of what we get in otaku anime. Special mention goes to the main character, who lives a pretty typical "unlucky anime dude" life despite being a special person whose work is essential to the survival of the human race. Seriously, considering that the economy doesn't look too bad wouldn't the government want to employee these essential people directly and ensure that they got good compensation for their work?"

Looks like Bokura wa Minna Kawaisou has a competitor for my pick of worst show I've watched this season.

Hitsugi no Chaika [Chaika - The Coffin Princess]

Toru Acura is a 20-year-old retired soldier meandering through life now that the war has ended. He encounters Chaika Trabant, a 14-year-old sorceress carrying a coffin, and follows her in hopes of finding meaning to his life again. The two travel with Toru's adopted sister, Akari, the employed member of the group and thus Toru's source of income.

As a sniper-rifle wielding magical loli, I would not be surprised if Chaika Travant is a huge hit with the otaku. However, I am not an otaku and I find her clipped style of speech very annoying and the show just didn’t entertain me and by the eye-catch I was already losing interest. Nice try with the surprise tease at the end, but overall the show did not pass my “One To Decide If Done” rule for this season, which I am taking since thanks to these shows still being available for years on the streaming sites, gives me the opportunity to go back and see them if they end up being better than I first thought.

Followup - ANN's reviewers really liked it and feel it's a solid adaption of the original light novel, so I've decided to give it another episode.

Bokura Wa Minna Kawai so
- Epi 1
-So far one epi in and it's...not bad. Although the context may be different it's got a similar atmosphere to "Strawberry Eggs" which I enjoyed quite a bit. Granted there are familiar themes such as 'reluctant love interest', and (sorta)wise old granny; there are a few uncommon ones such as "masochistic otaku' and drunk housemate who can't seem to find 'the one' (emphasis on the drunk) that pique my curiosity to see exactly how they pan out. That and the uniquely Japanese jokes make me smile.

If nothing else, that Granny is stoking my sweet tooth something fierce and she (so far) is the char' that's got me coming back for more.


Mangaka-san to Assistan-san to
-Epi 1
-Aaaand it's a harem anime...and not a good one at that. The protagonist is an asshole and not the lovable "he doesn't know better" kind of asshole; no. This guy is straight up kid shit in clown shoes. His lead assistant is either an airhead or a pervert in her own right and the editor should've fired his ass a long time ago if she knew this was what he was like. Furthermore, this series could've ran on the subject of pursuing the need for artistic reference, but this piece takes a serious subject and buries it under crude humor and offensive antics.

The true shame is that this is one I had high hopes for. When I read the rough summary, I was thinking something along the lines of "The Office" meets "Happy Lesson". To say I was disappointed is being placid on the matter. I can honestly say that after just one episode, the author should've taken a few notes from an OVA titled "Eroge! H mo Game mo Kaihatsu Zanmai" (before you go looking for it, bear in mind it's hentai). The plot of that two epi' OVA has more range and depth than this entire series will. One and done for me thank you.

-more to come-

The only thing that looks really good is the Avengers anime. MORE CAPTAIN AMERICA!!  ... And SteveXTony! X3

Gochūmon wa Usagi Desu ka? [Is the order a rabbit?]

Cocoa Hoto moves into a new town to attend school. There, she begins living with Chino Kafuu at her family's Rabbit House café, working as a waitress to pay for her accommodation.

Standard cute girls being cute fare and I like to have one of those shows in my queue each season to allow me to rest my brain for a bit.



Inugami-san to Nekoyama-san

The series follows two high school girls; Yachiyo Inugami, a dog-like girl who loves cats, and Suzu Nekoyama, a cat-like girl who loves dogs, and the strange relationship their respective habits form.

This show was about four minutes too long…

…which is saying something considering the run time is three minutes.

Seriously, it was creepy.


Ryūgajō Nanana no Maizōkin [Nanana Buried Treasure]

Disowned by his father, Jugo Yama has run away from home to the island of Nanae. He begins to live by himself, only to discover his room is haunted by the ghost of Nanana Ryugajo. She was murdered ten years ago, and her killer must be found before she can rest in peace. Before her death, Nanana collected things from all over the world and hid them throughout the island. Using the mysterious powers of these hidden items, they should be able to find the culprit. As Jugo begins his hunt for her collection, however, he discovers he's not the only person searching.

An interesting premise, which reminds me a fair bit of Dusk Maiden of Amnesia, however I was not impressed with the execution. Nanana looked interesting in the opening, but once I discovered she's tied to Room 202 and only wants to eat pudding and play video games, she became massively less interesting. And Juugo's only interest in her seems to be her body. If it was streaming I'd drop it since I could always pick it up later if it ended up being better than what it looks like at the moment, but as it looks to be a torrent-only show, I’ll try one more episode to see if it improves quicker.

Kiskaloo wrote:Gochūmon wa Usagi Desu ka? [Is the order a rabbit?]

Cocoa Hoto moves into a new town to attend school. There, she begins living with Chino Kafuu at her family's Rabbit House café, working as a waitress to pay for her accommodation.

Standard cute girls being cute fare and I like to have one of those shows in my queue each season to allow me to rest my brain for a bit.

That's getting added to my list....

Double tapping here...Anyway, of the shows I've seen so far:

Black Bullet - 
Based of the first episode, I may drop this one. Its not interesting and the characters rub me the wrong way. It has an interesting idea and all, but I'm not really enjoying it all that much. I'll give it a few episodes, but if it doesn't get better I'm dropping it.

Baby Steps -
Love it. The animation reminds me a bit of The Prince of Tennis. Its an interesting start and the characters are fun. It looks pretty good, not sure about how the romance theme is going there, but its defiantly enjoyable. I think I like this one pretty well.

Captain Earth -
As of now, I like this series. It didn't dump the whole story on you. You don't know everything, its smoothly and subtly lets you know what's going on. The animation is pretty good and I like the characters, they seem pretty round and life-like. I'm still left going "WTF is going on?" but in a good way. I haven't felt like this since I watched Darker than BLACK, which is a favorite of mine.

Gochūmon wa Usagi Desu ka? -
This shall be my Slice-Of-Life anime for the season.  

If you don't know, I'm a sucker for the slice-of-life genre. K-On!, Minami-ke, and Wagnaria!! (Aka: Working!!) dot my favorites list. I'm a sucker for Slice-of-Life Comedies, and this one is very well done and I like the Kawaii factor.

Love Lize, may be my favorite character of the series (Season perhaps?). Twin-tailed, strong, multi-talented girl from a military family who is lonely? And also pulls handguns on people who startle her and knows martial arts? yet...works in Cafe... 
  

Ahem. Still waiting on several to come out, liking the lineup (minus Black Bullet ftm) for now.

Sidonia no Kishi [Knights of Sidonia]

It's been a thousand years since the Gauna, a strange alien race with no known method of communication, destroyed the solar system. A portion of humanity managed to escape using enormous "seed ships" like the Sidonia, which have allowed them to maintain the population while drifting through space. Nagate Tanikaze is a young man who has been raised deep in the bowels of the ship. When he goes into training to pilot the huge robotic weapons known as Gardes, Nagate is entrusted with piloting the legendary unit known as Tsugumori. Nagate and his fellow pilots put their lives on the line against the Gauna, in the ultimate battle for the survival of humanity.

Animated by the studio who did The Sky Crawlers and ZOIDs, so it visually looks really funky. However, have to say I’m quite interested to see more.

Just watched Ep1 of Sidonia no Kishi myself.

Not bad, the animation was wonky and weird, but was good. In a way it fits the anime. It was enjoyable and was interesting throughout. Interested to see what happens next.

Little Witch Academia is cute, inoffensive and pretty.  It has a different art style than most other anime - it's almost as if some of Sabrina the Teenage Witch was mixed it.  There are parts that have a distinct western influence.



The downside is that the opening episode is full of characters from Cookie-Cuttersville, and the plot is pretty tropey and thread-bare.  Kid sees a famous stage witch's magic show and wants to become a witch.  She enrolls in school and is picked on because she likes this stage-witch, who real' witches denigrate.  Oh, there's the class bitch-goddess (with flowing blonde hair, of course) and two loser friends.  

But, you know what?  That all doesn't matter to me.  The show's art style is novel enough to save the first episode, and there were a few new touches that I didn't predict.  The protag characters were lovable, and even the bitch-goddess redeems herself (a little.)

This show doesn't over-reach, and it delivers on the mundane promise it made: it's fun, it's an easy way to pass some time, and it's pretty.  If it keeps this pace and trend, I can easily see myself finishing the season.  Please, oh please, don't add in a secret coven conspiracy, or "you are the saviour of the prophecy" bullcrap.  Just let her grow, and let the rest of the class learn to appreciate her.

===

I just finished episode two of The Irregular at Magic High School, and it's still decent with shades of good.  I admire how they built on a passing phrase and turned it into a plot event, for one thing.  I am concerned that the student council vice president is too bigoted, and the main character is too powerful for the roles assigned them, but that will either be belied or borne out in future episodes.

Knights of Sidonia is definitely one of the more interesting shows this season, but it definitely reinforces my opinion that CGI in anime should be used for things like mecha, display screens, and exteriors of spacecraft, not characters.

Blade and Soul (Episode 2): That dance sequence is more proof that CGI should not be used for characters.
Fuuun Ishin Dai Shogun:: This show has parts that are fun (like the granny turning out to be a ninja) but also has parts that I don't find very appealing.  Overall I'm not favoring it that much at the moment..
Gochūmon wa Usagi Desu ka?: Saw this when at a screening with my anime buddies.  Not very enthusiastic for it, but then I'm not usually big on these types of shows in general.
Hitsugi no Chaika: Sometimes there will be two shows in a season that are similar enough to invite comparison, and this one invites comparison to Blade and Soul.  Character dynamics for this one are a bit different as it features a moe moe girl with a magical gun accompanied by a pair of zany siblings rather than a hot assassin chick who travels on her own.  Story may have a smoother flow in some regards due to being based on a novel series rather than a game.
Ryuugajou Nanana no Maizoukin: Now this show invites comparison to Bokuro wa Kawaisou.  Thankfully the elements that invite comparison are only a small part of the show and the two are actually quite different.  Seems like it could be a fun adventure series.
Soul Eater Not!: Yes, apparently it is possible to do a moe version of Soul Eater.  Actually found this decently enjoyable despite only seeing parts of the original series.

I actually like the dance sequence.  In fact, they did a great 'tails' effect for the ED:


Okay, B&S ep 2 was pretty good, visually.  Plot-wise, it's not great.  The characterizations were only so-so, with the exception of the proprietoress.  

===

Nanana's Buried Treasure looks like you had three different people wanting to write three different stories.

- There seems to be some obligatory harem plot in there, with a too-sexy landlady and a very attractive ghost.  At one point, the protag has to decide if a dislocated shoulder is worth copping a feel on the ghost's boob.

- There looks to be a "help her cross over" deal with the ghost.

- And, there looks to be some sort of master thief team vs. master detective team.

Crunchyroll doesn't show when the next episode is airing, so I don't have to decide whether or not to drop it until then.

===

No Game, No Life is a NEET's (Not in Education, Employment or Training) dream.  In fact, it starts with two sibling NEETs in their nerdcave having just trumped 1200 high-level players in some PvPfest.  Next, they're transported to a world where everything is decided by games and gambling, including the crown.  Fortunately, our protag pair are the master of just about every game and can spot just about every cheat.

The setting is so utterly tailored for Japan (and Korea's) NEETs that it's hard for me to take.  The one thing that kept me from dropping the show mid-episode was the use of colours.  The character designs are pretty run-of-the-mill: he has the 'circular saw' haircut, she has the log moe hair.  However, the animation team tosses in some vibrant hues that are utterly out-of-context, and yet utterly stunning.

We'll see where this is going, but I'm pretty sure I won't follow it to the end.

===

Like most others on this thread, I've watched The Coffin Princess, but it didn't impress me as much as it seems it did for others.  Characters are flat and one-note, and the setup is not very interesting.  The one thing I liked is that the unicorn was mutharutting scary, not some "I poop rainbows" benevolent creature.

I may watch one more episode, but it's not long for my watchlist.

===

If Her Flag Breaks started out quasi-strong, but ended on a weak and harem-y note.  You have the protag who can see when others are about to die in the form of 'death flags' over their heads, and tries to say or do something such that the death doesn't happen.  He can also see 'love flags' and 'friendship flags', but tries his best not to befriend anyone because "bad things happen to those around him."

It was somewhat unpredictable and nicely done for most of it, but the ending of the first episode has it teetering on the edge of my watchlist.  I might not even watch the next episode.

===

Magica Wars is another one of those 4-minute long episodes.  It's about a magical girl and her bird-coach.  I'm not feeling the love for this one.

I seem to have forgotten the two big "outside the norm" series I watched with my friends yesterday.  I'm not too big on Ping Pong: The Animation, but I enjoyed the new Mushishi, which is very reminiscent of it predecessor.  Though as an introduction to the franchise the first episode of the new series may not be ideal since there's a part of it that invites comparisons to a LSD trip.    Beautiful series though, and definitely a good one to show to anyone who thinks that anime is all about giant robots and super powered schoolgirls.

The File of Young Kindaichi Returns episode one doesn't hold up to my expectations or hopes.  I'm watching the second episode simply because it's already available on Crunchyroll.  There are some logical inconsistencies.

Spoiler:

The animation style is dated, and the characters aren't all that compelling.  There's a mystery driving these two episodes (and maybe more, yet to be aired)  but, if they can't cross their eyes and dot their teas with the setup, then I don't have much hopes.

===

Mekakucity Actors looks to be another one of those 'drop you in the middle of the action', though, in this case, it's more like 'drop you in the middle of a NEET's non-life.'  We're treated to 10 minutes of the world's most annoying virtual personality (it makes Microsoft Bob look intelligent) followed by a lot of WTF.  This is one of those anime that thinks it's cool to someone stop and render everything in hues of one colour at random points.

There's enough weirdness going on that I'm willing to give it one more episode to show what it has, but that's about it.

===

One Week Friends looks to be slow and heart-felt.  I'll probably fall back on this show if/when the others disappoint me.  Episode one wasn't that hard to watch, and I hope the creators will keep to the upbeat and hopeful spirit the male lead has instead of the more somber and taciturn demeanor of the female lead.

===

La Corda d'Oro - Blue Sky has one of the catchier openings:



Second episode firmly establishes this is shoujou - aside from one glimpse of someone a little out of shape in the opening, everyone is lean and angular, sharp and handsome.  The conflicts are more from emotions of fear and fitting in, of empathic projections on the consequences of one's actions.  I can easily take a season of this.

===

The World is Still Beautiful had a near-fatal misstep in the first episode, but it redeemed itself strongly in episode two with some feelings that stemmed from the heart.  This one looks to have some good feelz-bombz in there.

===

The Kawai Complex Guide to Manors and Hostel Behavior - I stopped at the 7:00 mark.  It started out very nice, then went for the innuendo far too quickly for my taste.  Not a keeper.

Akuma no Riddle
-Epi 1
-Oh yeah; now this is what I'm talking about! A premise about kid assassins that is actually interesting (face it there really hasn't been an interesting one since "Gunslinger Girl" and "Noir"; though "Mission :School!" still hasn't been made into an anime yet)  although I will say that some students have some 'talent' that belies their age as per status quo. The protagonist interests me greatly as she seems to have personal inhibitions about what she does and how she does it.

Dialed in for the next epi, but I think I might stick with this one

-
Little Busters EX
-Epi 1-3
-Okay; let me say first that this may be a bit biased because I am a huge fan of "Little Busters" since the 26 episode first season. From the opening title, I knew I was in for the same awesomeness I saw in "LB" and "LB: Refrain" and the episodes themselves did not disappoint. Granted, the plot takes a bit of a strange turn as now we have a bonafide supernatural menace (though if you know the series, then you already know this is the tip of some weird iceberg).

Riki is still the main protagonist, but newly introduced is Saya whom develops a strong interest in Riki over the course of the series. Oh yeah, also Saya is some kind of supernatural regulator or something.

A bit out there for "Little Busters"; but the change of pace is actually quite refreshing as Riki especially gets fleshed out a bit. Note though that aside from the opening, most of the LB staples are not in this one, but there are three more episodes left in this OVA and I am dialed in for the long haul.

Kindaichi Returns (yeah, I'm going with a short title) certainly has some far fetched elements, but the franchise it's part of seems to get praise for the quality of its mysteries, which are supposedly quite fair to the audience.  Then again, I've also read claims indicating that the franchise used to be good and there's been some criticism of the choice for this new season's first arc (to quote a post on animesuki "I know this Hong Kong arc sucks, but the anime version is even worse").  I'm still willing to give it a chance, perhaps in part because I want it to be good.  Given current anime trends an old school mystery series like this stands out.
Blade and Soul is another series that I'd like to turn out well but am not too sure about at this point.  Despite my complaint about the CGI in the second episode, I think the biggest issue with this series is that the main heroine doesn't seem to be establishing strong connections.  She needs to get some proper companions.  Ultimately Coffin Princess Chaika could prove to be the better series in spite of the moe because the main character does have connections to others.
The World is Still Beautiful still hasn't totally blown me away, but it had a reasonably solid second episode.  Still one of my top picks for the season so far.
Liked the second episode of Captain Earth, which didn't seem as overloaded as the first one.  Though I found some of the stuff with that internal security guy creepy.  Which may have been the intention.   

Also on my list at this point Knights of Sidonia, Nanana's Buried Treasure, and Soul Eater Not! though we'll see how far I stick with some of them.  I might also check out another episode of  Baby Steps -or maybe not.

Stuff that seems to be off my list at this point: Akuma no Riddle, Black Bullet, Bokura wa Minna Kawaisou, Fuuun Ishiin Dai Shogun, Is the Order a Rabbit, Mahouka and Ping Pong: The Animation.

Of course this is all subject to change.  There are shows I may end up seeing with my anime buddies as well like the new Mushishi and JoJo: Stardust Crusaders.  Plus I may end up watching some lolsy stuff with them too -watching crap anime with a group of buddies can actually be pretty fun. I was actually kind of disappointed we didn't do more of that at our first screening of the new season.

One Week Friends - Episode 02

I was hoping they’d keep the drama of her memory loss going longer, but I’m still 100% committed to this show.



The World is Still Beautiful [Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii] - Episode 02

I’ve seriously fallen for Nike and would continue to watch it just for her.

Fortunately, the show is strong enough that I don’t have to.



Captain Earth - Episode 02

At least as good as Eureka Seven AO.

And Eureka Seven AO was pretty darn good.



Gokukoku no Brynhildr [Brynhildr in the Darkness] - Episode 02

The male lead is pretty dense - uh, Kana calls Kuroha “neko” so it’s clear she is Kuroneko.

I am intrigued by the story, but the decision to have all the females exhibit “otaku appealing tendencies” hurts them in my eyes and in the end is going to cost this show some points. However, I will continue to follow it.



Mahōka Kōkō no Rettōsei [The Irregular at Magic High School] - Episode 02

This second episode was a fair bit stronger and I really like Tatsuya Shiba and Mari Watanabe so I am staying with it.

Re: One Week Friends

Spoiler:

Baby Steps
-Epi 1
-An interesting premise to be sure. Although the series obviously has tennis as a prominent theme (if the OP, ED, and first two minutes of the epi are any indicator); it doesn't appear to be the central one. The protagonist is a studious bookworm with a penchant for analysis (something I can relate to) and while no true antagonist has shown up yet; I do believe one was alluded to at the end of the epi.

There also does appear to be a love interest, but again I don't see it becoming a central theme as the series seems to be centered on the main character perfecting his method of tennis through his means and none others. Dialed in for the next epi, but crossing my fingers that it doesn't degenerate into a cookie-cutter romance like "Suzuka" (yes, I remembered the name) did toward the middle.
__________

Ping Pong: The Animation
-Epi 1
-I...really don't know what to make of this. The animation [pops right out at you and is very reminiscent of "Cromartie High School" and maybe a little of "FLCL". Taking that in mind I was thinking along the lines of 'Cromartie High School Ping Pong Club!!" and thus braced myself for some mad cap craziness and found...none. It is full of technical jargon that I'm guessing you would have to be really into ping pong to understand. However, despite all the shortcomings of the series, the ending of the episode piqued a bit of curiosity in me. Let's hope it doesn't get the better of me.

Dialed in for the next epi, but not really gonna hold my breath on it.

Akuma no Riddle
-Epi 2
-Now we get to the meat of the series as it appears that the characters have a bit more depth to them than previously thought of. Each of them seems to have their own reasons for proceeding into the Black Class, and it appears that not all of them seem to be DBZ-esque "I want to be the best" motivations. The main protagonist also became endeared to me after this last epi' and thus officially has me cornered.

The pieces are in place and now I want to see how the moves play out. Hook, line, and sinker; I'm dialed in for the long haul.
__________

Bokuro wa Kawaisou

-Epi 2
-This offering continued to flesh out the characters and semeed to cement itself as a genuine slice-of-life series with three interweaveing stories within the epi'. The first is a tale that's incredibly cute with the protagonist's love interest experiencing the magic of tube bubbles (what you get when you mix glycerin with soapy water) for the first time. The scene however was ruined by a crude joke that seemed more than a little out of place in a scene that had a lot going for it. Not enough to ruin it, but definitely enough to put more than a slight damper on the atmosphere. The second scene involves the house watching a scary movie which quickly became both funny and cute at the same time with the love interest being an adorable coward despite her harsh exterior. Then there was the third scene which introduced a new resident that seems to be cute for the sake of being cute. In a weird way this scene also breaks the 4th wall in that one of the residents calls her out on being fake which I'm sure many who watch this will too.

To top it off this new character has a perma-kitty expression on her which I've found quite annoying in other characters from many series as well. This just screams "trying too hard" on so many levels. If this new character gets anything more than background screen time, so help me.

I'm gonna dial in for the next epi', but as of right now I'm becoming reserved on the series.

Baby Steps
-Epi 2
-So the story continues with the protagonist taking up tennis and liking it. Also the series gets firmly cemented in the premise of the main character coming to enjoy tennis on his own terms and learning the subtleties of the game. There are hints here and there of a romance brewing, but thankfully it seems to be more of a subplot than a genuine story focus.

This ones a keeper for me so I'm dialed in for the long haul.
__________

Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers
-Epi 1-2
-Two words...sooooo sloooooow. Unlike the DC-verse where I am a huge fan of certain characters only; I love the Marvel-verse with a passion and thus tend to immediately devour anything with a Marvel tag(so yes, this does mean I watched that Hulk monstrosity in a cinema and paid full price). As far as the characters go, they're using the latest Avengers roster in what appears to be a Yu-Gi-Oh esque platform.

To be honest the main plot looks promising even despite the collectible game subtext and if nothing else, this series manages to pull off a Wasp that isn't annoying. However, two episodes in and I can already tell that the pacing of this series will be as such. Gonna shelve this one in favor of an entire series/season marathon when it finishes.
__________

UPDATE 1:
-It turns out (as I was recently informed)that Little Busters EX is actually running off of a character path from eroge Little Busters Ecstacy only with much less ecchi and a lot more vanilla. To be honest I have never played the Little Busters games, but now I am officially interested in picking them up and considering that it'll be a bit before the next episode release, why not waste a bit of time.
__________

UPDATE 2:
- It appears that Queen's Blade: Vanquished Queens is not going to be a new OVA or feature, but instead a series artbook detailing the main heroines from the franchise. So...yeah... :/

Hitsugi no Chaika [Chaika - The Coffin Princess] - Episode 02

The second episode was a fair bit more interesting, so I will stay with it for the moment.




Gochūmon wa Usagi Desu ka? [Is the order a rabbit?] - Episode 02

Provides (far more than) my Minimum Weekly Requirement for "moe! moe! kyun!" so it makes the cut.




Ryūgajō Nanana no Maizōkin [Nanana Buried Treasure] - Episode 02

Fair number of cute girls, however overall I don't really find any of the characters interesting so I am dropping it.

Nanana's Buried Treasure is looking questionable after the second episode, while Coffin Princess Chaika is looking a little stronger.  Neither show is mind blowing at this point.  In fact there's not much that I'm blown away by this season in general although its not like I haven't found shows to watch.

On the other hand the list of shows for upcoming seasons includes an adaptation of Amagi Brilliant Park (a theme park series by the author of the Full Metal Panic novels), Glasslip (a new PA Works show that has drawn comparisons to Tari Tari), a second season of My Youth Romantic Comedy is Wrong as I Expected (one of my favorite comedies of last year despite its weak start), a second season of Sword Art Online (which looks set to adapt the Phantom Bullet arc) and a new Macross series.  The future looks bright indeed.  

I was on the verge of dropping Nanana after the first episode.  I find myself trying to 'find the wherewithal' to watch the second episode, which isn't a good feeling.

Coffin is kind of the same way.  I just have a mental block against guns in a pseudo-medieval/pseudo-feudal setting.  Oddly enough, i don't feel the same way about sword-weilders in a modern age (and I don't mean tech-swords like gunblades or lightsabres.)

Sword and Soul is teetering on the edge after episode three.  The T&A is getting annoying.  Not distracting, just a feel that it's a waste of effort, and a sense that I'm the wrong target audience.  The world-building (hi, ID!) is lacking in that the organizational hierarchies aren't complex enough to overcome my suspension of disbelief.


===


Next season, I'm looking forward to Log Horizon, but not Sword Art Online.  My problems with SAO are 


1) The creator pulled a form of a deus ex machima by having Kurito's willpower be enough to change the rules of the game.  Yes, he has willpower, and he probably has it higher than everyone else, but it's something that I feel is cheap, in that the author didn't "show his work."


2) Asuna was one of my favourite characters from season one, and she was effectively eviscerated as a character in season two, turning from an admirable Action Girl to an inert Damsel in Distress.

===

Now, Log Horizon also had the main character change the rules from within the game, but the building blocks for his 'hack' were carefully laid out throughout the preceding episodes.

What's the difference?  When it happened in SAO, it was pulled out of thin air.  "He has a lot of willpower, so this happened." When it happened in LH, I as the viewer had that 'shock of realization" that this was going to happen, that it made sense based on all the other facts I already accepted, and it was in keeping of the character to be the one-and-only to put it all together.

Fairy Dance was pretty terrible even in novel form -a really good adaptation would have substantially modified it (more literal is not always better).  Part of the problem might have been that it was an inexperienced author trying to write a sequel to a story that had already had a decent ending.  Full Metal Panic is also based on a novel series and its second story arc is one of its weakest in both novel and anime form as well (granted its merely kind of lame rather than pretty terrible).

As for overcoming the system through will, there was an earlier incident that hinted that it was possible that got cut from the anime adaptation.  At any rate, the main thing is that Phantom Bullet is vastly superior to Fairy Dance in novel form though I don't know how well it will adapt.

As for Log Horizon, yeah, that's something to look forward to as well.  Though it's not without its flaws either.  Its the same for a lot of series I like actually -sometimes you need to tolerate what a series does poorly in order to appreciate what it does well.

Edit: As far as firearms in medieval settings I find they're pretty tolerable if its kept to smoothbore muskets and such.  Modern assault rifles can be more of an issue.

Even though it's a magical focus, Coffin Princess is slinging around an AMR.  That's hard for me to reconcile.

Blade and Soul has the comic relief character (one of many) with revolvers and homing bullets.  That and too many Gainax bounces have me really wondering why I'm watching it.

Because you have nothing better to watch?   

There is that Ben-to series from 2011 that Funimation recently started streaming.  It's got plenty of fan service too, but at least its creative about it.  And it might actually have better fight scenes.  

Well, it's more like I'm hoping that some show will generate the same joy that I once experienced watching stuff like Zeta Gundam, or Bubble Gum Crisis, or Caliogstro (well, that was a Miyazaki, so that may be hard to find.)

taerkitty wrote:Blade and Soul has the comic relief character (one of many) with revolvers and homing bullets.  That and too many Gainax bounces have me really wondering why I'm watching it.

For those who think there is no such thing as too many Gainax Bounces in their fantasy sword anime, Summer 2014's Momo Kyun Sword might be for you based on the first PV:

Black Bullet has a pretty threadbare premise:

In the year 2021, mankind was defeated by Gastrea, a parasitical virus, and is forced to live within a wall made of Varanium Monoliths, a metal that is able to subdue Gastrea. Soon, the "Cursed Children", children born with the Gastrea virus who are able to control it—which gives them superhuman abilities—were discovered. Due to the Gastrea virus' intervention, the Cursed Children could only be female. Civil Securities are formed to specialize in fighting against Gastrea, operating with the pair of an Initiator, who are cursed children, and a Promoter, serving to lead the cursed children.

It looks like a good doppleganger for GsG, but I worried that it would just be a new reason to have the same old over-the-top fights and random bits of SFX.  Episode one did not contradict my fears.

I figured I'd give it another shot, just one more.  

Episode two wowed me.  Toward the end there's a very nice scene of with character drama, some poignancy, and no superpowers.

===

I'm going to drop Blade and Soul.  I figure if it can't impress me with three episodes, it won't be worth the time.

No Game, No Life didn't make it to that point.  I dropped it midway through the second episode.  It's just too pandering to the shut-in otaku subculture.

My Japanese Blu-ray of the Puella Magi Madoka Madoka third movie just arrived and it is pretty nice in terms of packaging (have not seen the movie). The disc has English subtitles and it includes an English translation of the companion book and some really nice clearfiles.

It's pricey (I paid $95), but you can get it without the extra goodies (still an import) for around $55.

I imagine there will be a US-specific release down the road that will be cheaper.

Oh, PE?  There's a "pushing glasses back in place by the bridge" scene in The Irregular at Magic High School that is highly evocative of Log Horizon.

It's a blink-and-you've-missed-it thing, but it's fantastic!

===

Oh, and end of The World is Still Beautiful episode two was great.  It was almost fitting of a Miyazaki film.  (The rest of the series isn't up to that level, just the ending.)

Is the Order a Rabbit? is cute girls doing cute-and-occasionally-baffling stuff.  It's inoffensive, but not a must-see.

La corda d'oro - Blue Sky may be faltering in my eyes, but that may be because it has some plot arcs that it needs to satisfy its combination of intermural competition (in this case, music contests) and bishonen-filled shoujou romance.  Still, there's enough good music there to keep me watching.

One Week Friends, Captain Earth and, especially, The World is Still Beautiful [Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii] had great third episodes so I plan to stick with them to completion. I also plan to stay with Sidonia no Kishi [Knights of Sidonia] because I find the story and characters interesting and Gochūmon wa Usagi Desu ka? [Is the order a rabbit?] is a given.


Mahōka Kōkō no Rettōsei [The Irregular at Magic High School] is looking like it may end up as a "fight of the week" show, which I am in general not a fan of. All that there is also a bro-con subtext is not an endearing trait. Also likes to info-dump with technobabble. That being said, there are some elements (and characters) I find interesting so I may end up dropping it and then seeing what those who continue watching it say as I can always pick it up again at season's end.


Gokukoku no Brynhildr [Brynhildr in the Darkness] also put in a solid third episode, but still not 100% sure I am going to commit to it for the entire season (since, again, I can always come back to it).



And I agree, maverick375 that “Lunch” was a great episode of Tonari no Seki-kun, but so far the three shogi episodes have been my favorites.



And speaking of coming back to shows, did anyone keep going with Nisekoi and Golden Time, which are now in the second halves of their seasons? I dropped both last season, but as my load looks a bit light this season, if they ended up being better than I thought, I could add them back in.



And finally, the dubbed version of Attack on Titan hits Toonami on Adult Swim next month. Funimation went with a more visceral voice direction and casting to reflect the darker aspect of the show and they use the new cleaned-up animation (which looks significantly better than the original broadcast artwork of those scenes).

Nisekoi has ended up becoming a harem show with the added twist that he is only interested in the one girl he can't tell he's interested in