Summer 2015 Anime Season

AniChart
 
 
Looks like a very sparse season for me based on the summaries. Not sure how many of the below I will stay with, but I would not be surprised if by Episode 3 most of these are dropped.


Aoharu x Kikanjuu

The manga follows high school student Hotaru Tachibana, a girl disguised as a boy. Through strange circumstances she finds herself drawn into the world of survival games by a host, Masamune Matsuoka. The two form a team with ero-manga artist Tohru Yukimura and aim to be the be the best in Japan.

I love Brains Base shows, but the plot for this one sounds like it could be a train-wreck.


Bikini Warriors

Set in a an RPG-style world with swords and magic where adventurers form a party to challenge the demon king’s right to rule, adventurers all have beautiful breasts, enormous breasts, and bikini armor!!

Have to at least watch the first episode for the LULZ.
 
 
Charlotte

The story centers around the special abilities that occur among a small percentage of boys and girls in puberty. Yuu Otosaka uses his power without others knowing, and lives a fairly normal, average school life. Before him suddenly appears a girl, Nao Tomori. Due to his meeting with her, the fate of special power-users will be exposed.

It is P.A. Works and Jun Maeda so they automatically get a courtesy watch to start.


Classroom☆Crisis

A romantic comedy set in a near-futuristic world about the troubles and tribulations of high schoolers on salary. With aims to one day reach out into the stars, humanity has colonized all the planets of the solar system. This story of young high school hopefuls is set in Fourth Tokyo in a Japanese Martian prefecture. Iris Shirasaki is a third year student/aspiring test pilot. Mizuki Sera is her peer/mechanic and Mizuki’s brother Kaito is their homeroom teacher and the young director of the program developing their talents.

Sounds boring, but maybe it will surprise me.


Danchigai

he original manga follows the everyday lives of five siblings, four sisters and one brother, who share a multi-unit apartment.

Slice-of-life and only a few minutes an episode so at least give it a try.


Gangsta: AnimationGangsta Project

In the city of Ergastulum, a shady ville filled with made men and petty thieves, whores on the make and cops on the take, there are some deeds too dirty for even its jaded inhabitants to touch. Enter the “Handymen,” Nic and Worick, who take care of the jobs no one else will handle. Until the day when a cop they know on the force requests their help in taking down a new gang muscling in on the territory of a top Mafia family. It seems like business (and mayhem) as usual, but the Handymen are about to find that this job is a lot more than they bargained for.

It at least sounds cool.


God Eater

The Far East, 2071. The domain of the mad gods. In the early 2050s, unknown life forms called “Oracle cells” begin their uncontrolled consumption of all life on Earth. Their ravenous appetite and remarkable adaptability earn them first dread, then awe, and finally the name “aragami”. In the face of an enemy completely immune to conventional weapons, urban civilization collapses, and each day humanity is driven further and further toward extinction. One single ray of hope remains for humanity. Following the development of “God Arcs”—living weapons which incorporate Oracle cells—their wielders are organized into an elite force. In a world ravaged by mad gods, these “God Eaters” fight a desperate war…

Sound like a futuristic version of Attack on Titan.


Non Non BiyoriNon Non Biyori Repeat Repeat

Second season of Non Non Biyori.

Liked the first series very much, so I choose this show to fulfill weekly dose of “Cute Girls Being Cute / Slice of Life” quota.



Sore ga Seiyuu!

The original four-panel manga centers on Futaba Ichinose, Ichigo Moesaki, and Rin Kohana, three rookie voice actresses. The manga features small but humorous observations of the voice actor industry.

Not expecting SHIROBAKO here, to be honest…



Working!!! (Season 3)

More Working! Enough said.

I was planning on giving Classroom☆Crisis a go, and I'll likely give Gate a shot as well...

...and yeah, more Working!! Will definitely be watching that.

I always have time for more Working!!

I've already got Arslan Senki and Food Wars as carryovers from this season, so as long as there are a few good new shows I should be happy.

Interestingly, I think the show that I'm most interested in may be Red-Haired Snow White (Akagami no Shirayuki-hime).  I seem to be be developing a bit of a thing for fantasy series based off of shoujo manga.  I really liked last year's Akatsuki no Yona.

Rokka no Yuusha also seems like it could be an interesting fantasy series though I have some reservations about it.

Of course being a Macross fan Aquarion Logos is on my radar due to creator connection.  That being said I wasn't particularly impressed by any of the previous Aquarion series so I don't expect to be particularly impressed by this one.

I'm not that keen on Charlotte's plot, and I'm not that keen on Jun Maeda either, but I do like PA Works.  Speaking of stuff involving famous creator's, Chaos Dragon is apparently based on a roleplaying game and features characters created by five writers including Gen Urobuchi, Kinoko Nasu, and Ryogo Narita.  I'm not a huge fan of Urobuchi or Nasu, but I'm sure their involvement will make the series a total must watch for some.

I'm kind of wondering what the point of Classroom Crisis is.  Why set a series on Mars and involve interstellar space travel if all you want to do is make another high school comedy?

Does anyone find it hilarious that due to Outbreak Company getting adapted first, Gate's premise has essentially been parodied before it even starts airing?

Latest ARIA The Avvenire trailer:

Perhaps I should have posted it before the first few shows started airing, but here's some more analytical previews from Random Curiosity.

Random C's impressions don't really change my overall impressions of the new season all that much, though they might have contributed to Rokka no Yuusha now being perhaps my most anticipated new show.  I'm also more interested in Gangsta now, though I still have reservations about it (yes, I know I didn't mentioned it my earlier post).

I find the directors for both Rokka no Yuusha and Red Haired Snow White notable.  The director of Rokka no Yuusha previously directed Spice and Wolf and Maoyuu Maou Yuusha, so he has experience doing fantasy series.  Meanwhile, the director of Red Haired Snow White previously directed Hanasaku Iroha and Canaan for PA Works and was also the Animation Director for the Cowboy Bebop movie.  With him as the director and Bones as the studio hopefully we can expect some awesome production values (even if the series doesn't sound like it's going to take much advantage of the director's experience doing awesome action scenes).

There wer

Piero wrote:Perhaps I should have posted it before the first few shows started airing, but here's some more analytical previews from Random Curiosity.

In addition to my previous picks at the start, hearing that Takahashi Takeo shall be helming Rokka no Yuusha has immediately piqued my interest in the show.

And I will be adding Wakaba Girl to my list since it's penned by the same person who did Kiniro Mosaic and I massively enjoyed both anime adaptions of that show. I also found the first Miss Monochrome to be generally passable, so I shall be back for the sequel.

The more I read about Classroom☆Crisis being like Aria - a slice-of-life show set on Mars - the more interested I am in seeing it.

Ranpo Kitan: Game of Laplace also sounds like it could be interesting. I enjoyed the school-based murder-mysteries of Another and Dusk Maiden of Amnesia, though this show will of course be very different in tone to either of those.
 
Maria the Virgin Witch set a strong enough positive impression on me about shows set in medieval times with strong female leads that I shall give Akagami no Shirayukihime a chance.
 
 I really enjoyed Outbreak Company because it wore it’s tropes on it’s sleeves and used them to excellent comedic effect. GATE: Jieitai Kanochi nite, Kaku Tatakeri will either have to do the same or go dark to keep me.
 
I dismissed Gakkou Gurashi! out of hand because it was about zombies and zombies do not interest me. It also did not help that the premise sounded like Sailor Zombie, which I could not finish even though it had AKB48 in the cast and they’re a hell of a lot hotter than the girls on the cover of this anime. But evidently the story for this one is serious and hard drama (The Walking Dead) as opposed to big breasts and big weapons (any anime from the past half-decade with the words “high school” and “dead” or “D” in the title) so I’m going to reverse myself and add this one to see if it lives up to the hype.

GANGSTA. - Episode 01



(Looks over at Yoko Kanno and the Cowboy Bebop OP anime)

“You just got p0wned.”

Awesome in the all the ways that Black Lagoon was awesome.

Ranpo Kitan: Game of Laplace - Episode 01

The story takes place at a certain middle school where several murder cases take place. Kobayashi, a boy who goes to this school, meets genius detective Akechi, who comes to the school to investigate. Kobayashi takes an interest in Akechi and, in spite of his friend Hashiba's worries, he volunteers to be Akechi's assistant.

As the inspiration of this series - Japanese detective mystery author Tarō Hirai (pen name: Edogawa Ranpo) - lived in the early-to-mid 20th century, the anime draws from elements of his works rather than being a more direct adaptation. Changes include making the protagonist - Kogoro Akechi - a 17-year old boy who has special dispensation from the government to be a “consulting detective” (in the spirit of Sherlock Holmes, of whom Edogawa was a major fan of) on unusual murders.

In format, it appears this show will be a series of 3 or 4-episode arcs, each arc dealing with a particular case. Like Conan Doyle’s stories, Edogawa’s are grounded heavily in logic and deduction and this opening case - “The Human Chair” - follows that tenant.

And while the subject matter is serious, this is an anime and therefore they do have some silly anime-isms and you have to add something to get the otaku to watch. As such, the replacement homeroom teacher is a 32-year old nekomimi gothic lolita who acts like she’s 12. 



Personally, I think you will need to be a fan of British murder mysteries in general - and perhaps Arthur Conan Doyle in particular - to get maximum enjoyment out of this show. I happen to be such a fan, but I admit I started to drift off at times. Nonetheless, I will give it the first story arc before I make a final decision on whether or not to keep going.

Gate: Jieitai Kanochi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri - Episode 01

When a portal from another world appears in Ginza, Tokyo, a legion of soldiers and monsters emerge to attack the city. Thanks to their far more advanced weaponry and tactics, the JSDF easily repels the enemy and passes through the gate, capturing the city that lies on the other side of it. Yōji Itami is one of the Japanese officials sent to investigate the other world, where magic, dragons and elves are real, using his knowledge of fantasy stories to make his way in this new environment.

GATE launched as a light novel series in 2006, so it predates the Outbreak Company light novel series by close to five years even though Outbreak Company received it’s anime adaption in the Fall 2013 season. The two light novels, however, appear to be very different in tone and as to how that will exhibit itself in the anime remains to be seen.

The light novel author, Takumi Yanai, did serve in the JSDF and is a very right-wing nationalist. So whereas Outbreak Company was relatively light-hearted comedy, evidently this light novel series was very nationalistic and graphic - to the point the early novels were edited when re-released to tone down both when re-issued. To wit, once the JSDF secure the gate and kill the invading force, the current Prime Minister immediately annexes the land on the other side and declares it sovereign Japanese territory (shades of Korea and Manchukuo). The United States President immediately supports the move, providing Japan the diplomatic and political cover necessary to assemble a JSDF Expeditionary Force to enter the gate and engage the inhabitants to bring them to heel. The light novels also explored colonialism - once reports of how bountiful the other world really was, the US, Russia and China all want to get in on the act, but lack the justification to invade Japan to secure the Ginza Gate, resulting in political and diplomatic machinations.

The first episode ends with the Expeditionary Force crossing over and seeing the “enemy” forces. Within the next episode or two those forces advance deeper into the country and will encounter villages under the domination of a dragon and three locals - an elf girl who is the spitting image of Deedlit from Record of Lodoss War, a human sorceress and a female gothic lolita demigod - join up with the JSDF.

For me, the biggest drawback is that I do not like the lead - Second Lieutenant Yōji Itami - at all. He checks all the otaku tropes and stereotypes and while so did Outbreak Company’s Shin'ichi Kanō, he didn’t annoy me nearly as much as this guy does. We’ll see how it goes, but at the moment, my interest level is at best moderate.



Miss Monochrome - The Animation- 2 - Episode 01

Miss Monochrome is back. In order to be one step near KIKUKO, the "17-years-old forever" super-idol and Miss Monochrome's role model, she plans her strategy together with Ru-chan, the robotic floor sweeper and her "family member.”

Miss Monochrome is an original character created and voiced by Japanese singer and voice actress Yui Horie as a 3D virtual singer to accompany her concerts. In addition to her own show, she’s made cameo appearances in Golden Time and Wooser's Hand-to-Mouth Life.

I’m a big fan of Yui Horie which is probably the only reason I watch the show - that and it has a three-minute per episode runtime. The first season did have it’s moments, but overall, I admit it’s nothing special.

You can see how much computer rendering power has advanced in a year, however:

Miss Monochrome ED:



Miss Monochrome 2 ED:

Classroom☆Crisis - Episode 01

Humanity has successfully colonized all the planets in the Solar System, with intentions to continue into new frontiers. Individuals live stable lives in these colonies, including young high school students living in 4th Tokyo on Mars. Two of these students are Iris Shirazaki and Mizuki Sera. Iris is finishing her last year of high school while studying to be a test pilot while her friend Mizuki also works as a mechanic on the aircraft. Her own brother, Kaito, oversees Mizuki and Iris as their homeroom teacher and program director.

No, definitely not Aria. More Bodacious Space Pirates, which is totally fine with me, as well.

As the synopsis above notes, it is the far future and Earth has colonized the solar system. The student cast are scholarship winners at A-TEC, a technical institute affiliated with the Kirishina Corporation. Due to this affiliation, the students are actually employees (interns?) at Kirishina.

This is the third story written by Fumiko Maruto, who also penned White Album 2 and Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend,both of which had what I felt were very strong stories. And she seems to be true to form here, as well.


Wakaba✤Girl - Episode 01

Wakaba Kohashi is a "a slightly out-of-tune super" daughter of a well-to-do family. She looks like an elegant rich daughter, but admires the trendy "gyaru" fashion subculture. Her friends are the pure, innocent, fairy-tale-like Moeko, the capricious Mao, and Nao who used to be an athletic type of girl, but now loves the boys-love genre.

One-third the episode length of Kiniro Mosaic and, if I am honest, not even one-third as good.

Little Witch Academia 2: The Enchanted Parade

The Kickstarter-funded sequel to the 2013 original entered by Studio Trigger for that year’s Anime Mirai contest.

Double the length and double the wonderfulness of the original.
 
 
 
Charlotte - Episode 01

Special abilities occur among a small percentage of boys and girls in puberty. Yū Otosaka uses his power without others knowing, and lives a fairly normal, average school life. Before him suddenly appears a girl, Nao Tomori. Due to his meeting with her, the fate of special power-users will be exposed.

Yū Otosaka’s power is the ability to take control of another person’s body in his line-of-sight for five seconds (his own body falling unconscious during that period). Perhaps not surprisingly, he uses this for personal gain - taking over the bodies of girls to look up other girl’s skirts, starting fights amongst people who annoy him and using the smartest people in his classes to memorize the correct answer on tests and ace the entrance exam to one of the most prestigious private high schools in Japan. He also contrives an accident to win him the affections of the school’s Yamato nadeshiko.

Yū’s narcissistic ways come back to haunt him, however, when he is accused by the Student Council and staff of cheating on an aptitude test that he received a perfect score on. He is given the choice of immediate expulsion or re-taking the exam with a required minimum score of 90% or else also be expelled. He takes control of the person administering test to get the answers, but sees that he is reading a pornographic magazine, which he then proceeds to tear up, accusing the administrator of doing so.

Enter Nao Tomori, the student council president of Hoshinoumi Academy and whose power is to become invisible to one person at a time, who has been filming Yū and determines his special power. Yū flees the school, only to be chased down by fellow Hoshinoumi Academy student Jōjirō Takajō, who has the ability to move so fast it is similar to teleportation, but without the ability to control where he stops, resulting in him usually crashing into a building with oftentimes serious injury. Nao informs Yū that his powers will eventually fade away and that he now is required to attend Hoshinoumi Academy so he can be kept under observation and control.
 
 
While not a KEY work, the story is penned by Jun Maeda, who wrote such visual novels/anime as Kanon, Air, Clannad, Little Busters! and Angel Beats! Character design is handled by another KEY alumni, Na-Ga, who also worked on those shows. I loved all those shows and so I was very much looking forward to this one.

But man, that was a tough watch. And not for the reasons I expected.

Jun Maeda is a master of melancholy. So why he’s trying for slapstick comedy here is beyond me, because it falls completely flat. A central theme of his stories has been about family and the bonds that tie them together, yet Yū and Ayumi Otosaka are effectively orphans, abandoned by their mother after her divorce from their farther and pawned off on their uncle, who lives elsewhere, leaving the two siblings alone.

The fact that I dislike the entire cast doesn’t help, either. Yū Otosaka is a narcissistic asshole and his sister Yumi is the perfect otaku little sister: super cute, super energetic and totally devoted to her big brother. Nao Tomori also has her selfish side, seeing Yū as a useful tool to help her maintain control over the other “special children”. There is one other major cast member, Yusa Nishimori, who we only saw on television as she’s an idol singer in addition to a student at the academy. So I assume we’ll formally meet her next episode.

Right now, I am not impressed with this show at all. With the pedigree behind it, it should have been a slam-dunk, but if the second episode doesn’t start returning to what made Maeda’s previous works appeal to me, I’m out. And we may yet be getting that - Ayumi has been dreaming about another sibling - a dream  Yū himself has at the end of the episode.

Aoharu x Kikanjuu [Aoharu x Machinegun] - Episode 01

The manga follows high school student Hotaru Tachibana, a girl disguised as a boy. Through strange circumstances she finds herself drawn into the world of survival games by a host, Masamune Matsuoka. The two form a team with ero-manga artist Tohru Yukimura and aim to be the be the best in Japan.

Kiskaloo wrote:I love Brains Base shows, but the plot for this one sounds like it could be a train-wreck.

Not exactly a train-wreck, but it’s clear this show is narrowly-tailored to appeal to fans of survival games and gender-bender comedies, neither of which I am.



Rokka no Yūsha [Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers] - Episode 01

When the Majin awoke from the depths of darkness, the deity of fate chose six heroes and bequeathed them with the power to save the world. Adlet, a boy who proclaims himself the strongest on Earth, was selected among the Rokka no Yūsha (Braves of the Six Flowers), and he goes to the rendezvous point — but seven have gathered there. The heroes suspect that someone among the seven is the enemy, and the initial suspicion falls on Adlet.

I found it very cool that they based a capital city and it’s architecture on the Aztec city-state of Tenochtitlan on Lake Texcoco. The costumes of the ruling class also reflect the reign of Aztec ruler Moctezuma II.

This first episode was set-up and exposition. We meet the first two Braves - Adlet and Princess Nashetania - and learn the backstory about the Demon God and the generations of the Braves of the Six Flowers who have fought to contain him.

As first episodes go, it was nothing spectacular, but since it needs time to build, I shall give it that.

How do you manage to pump out these reviews so darn fast?  I've only watched three of the new shows so far (well, four, but there's one I started last night then decided to finish another time).

Kiskaloo wrote:GANGSTA. - Episode 01



(Looks over at Yoko Kanno and the Cowboy Bebop OP anime)

“You just got p0wned.”

Awesome in the all the ways that Black Lagoon was awesome.

You're not the only person to compare the series to Black Lagoon.  I can kind of see why the comparisons are being made, because they're both mature series set in crime ridden fictional cities that have been divided between various factions.  I think they're ultimately fairly different though.  Black Lagoon was more wild and colorful, and its main characters were a "delivery company" not "handyhitmen."

I'm not sure quite what to make of the show yet, but it has piqued my interest.  I had some reservations about its mature content but it seems to be decently handled so far.  My major criticism is probably the action scenes.  If you're going to do unrealistic action scenes with overpowered characters, make them fast.  Otherwise you emphasize how unrealistic it is for a sword wielder to dispatch multiple gun armed opponents who ought to be subjecting him to a hail of bullets.

Kiskaloo wrote:Gate: Jieitai Kanochi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri - Episode 01

When a portal from another world appears in Ginza, Tokyo, a legion of soldiers and monsters emerge to attack the city. Thanks to their far more advanced weaponry and tactics, the JSDF easily repels the enemy and passes through the gate, capturing the city that lies on the other side of it. Yōji Itami is one of the Japanese officials sent to investigate the other world, where magic, dragons and elves are real, using his knowledge of fantasy stories to make his way in this new environment.

GATE launched as a light novel series in 2006, so it predates the Outbreak Company light novel series by close to five years even though Outbreak Company received it’s anime adaption in the Fall 2013 season. The two light novels, however, appear to be very different in tone and as to how that will exhibit itself in the anime remains to be seen.

The light novel author, Takumi Yanai, did serve in the JSDF and is a very right-wing nationalist. So whereas Outbreak Company was relatively light-hearted comedy, evidently this light novel series was very nationalistic and graphic - to the point the early novels were edited when re-released to tone down both when re-issued. To wit, once the JSDF secure the gate and kill the invading force, the current Prime Minister immediately annexes the land on the other side and declares it sovereign Japanese territory (shades of Korea and Manchukuo). The United States President immediately supports the move, providing Japan the diplomatic and political cover necessary to assemble a JSDF Expeditionary Force to enter the gate and engage the inhabitants to bring them to heel. The light novels also explored colonialism - once reports of how bountiful the other world really was, the US, Russia and China all want to get in on the act, but lack the justification to invade Japan to secure the Ginza Gate, resulting in political and diplomatic machinations.

The first episode ends with the Expeditionary Force crossing over and seeing the “enemy” forces. Within the next episode or two those forces advance deeper into the country and will encounter villages under the domination of a dragon and three locals - an elf girl who is the spitting image of Deedlit from Record of Lodoss War, a human sorceress and a female gothic lolita demigod - join up with the JSDF.

For me, the biggest drawback is that I do not like the lead - Second Lieutenant Yōji Itami - at all. He checks all the otaku tropes and stereotypes and while so did Outbreak Company’s Shin'ichi Kanō, he didn’t annoy me nearly as much as this guy does. We’ll see how it goes, but at the moment, my interest level is at best moderate.

Yeah, the series' nationalism and otaku-ness are the major issues I have with it (along with the excess military hardware fan service and the one sided modern army vs medieval army is).  It's really obvious the otaku guy is going to end up with a harem of fantasy chicks.  Though it's interesting to note that if I didn't know of the original creator's nationalistic bent I might have been more inclined to believe that the series' portrayal of the Japanese PM and the annexation were supposed to be negative.  The PM came across as a bit of a douchebag don't you think?

In some ways I want the series to take itself more seriously and in some ways I want it to take itself less seriously.  It's a show about JSDF troops ending up in a Fantasy world, so I don't think it should take itself super seriously.  On the other hand, I'd prefer it if the main character's otaku-ness was a minor quirk rather than something that was heavily emphasized (though the bit with him as a RPG hero was pretty amusing).

Kiskaloo wrote:Rokka no Yūsha [Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers] - Episode 01

When the Majin awoke from the depths of darkness, the deity of fate chose six heroes and bequeathed them with the power to save the world. Adlet, a boy who proclaims himself the strongest on Earth, was selected among the Rokka no Yūsha (Braves of the Six Flowers), and he goes to the rendezvous point — but seven have gathered there. The heroes suspect that someone among the seven is the enemy, and the initial suspicion falls on Adlet.

I found it very cool that they based a capital city and it’s architecture on the Aztec city-state of Tenochtitlan on Lake Texcoco. The costumes of the ruling class also reflect the reign of Aztec ruler Moctezuma II.

This first episode was set-up and exposition. We meet the first two Braves - Adlet and Princess Nashetania - and learn the backstory about the Demon God and the generations of the Braves of the Six Flowers who have fought to contain him.

As first episodes go, it was nothing spectacular, but since it needs time to build, I shall give it that.

Yeah, I think I need some more to go on with this one too.  The exposition was a bit much and I'm not sure I particularly like the main character.  On the other hand the series has interesting aesthetics and good animation, so I'm hoping it turns out well.

Piero wrote:How do you manage to pump out these reviews so darn fast?  I've only watched three of the new shows so far (well, four, but there's one I started last night then decided to finish another time).

It’s been in the 90s the past few days so I have no desire to leave the house.
 
 

Piero wrote:You're not the only person to compare (GANSTA.) to Black Lagoon.  I can kind of see why the comparisons are being made, because they're both mature series set in crime ridden fictional cities that have been divided between various factions.  I think they're ultimately fairly different though.  Black Lagoon was more wild and colorful, and its main characters were a "delivery company" not "handyhitmen.”

I agree they are not direct contemporaries, but Black Lagoon was a mature anime with mature themes and characters whose motivations were more grey than black and white. I get much of the same vibe from this show. And I appreciate an anime that is willing to engage adult themes in an adult way.

 

Piero wrote:Yeah, I think I need some more to go on with (Rokka no Yūsha) too.  The exposition was a bit much and I'm not sure I particularly like the main character.  On the other hand the series has interesting aesthetics and good animation, so I'm hoping it turns out well.

Yeah, Adlet is a very cocky arse and if that is how he remains through the rest of the series, it’s going to be grating. On the other hand, I find Princess Nashetania to be pretty cool.

WAGNARIA!!3 [WORKING!!!] - Episode 01

A third helping of the peculiar employees at the Wagnaria family restaurant. Pretty much looks to be following the same formula that made the first two successful.

Kiskaloo wrote:WAGNARIA!!3 [WORKING!!!] - Episode 01

A third helping of the peculiar employees at the Wagnaria family restaurant. Pretty much looks to be following the same formula that made the first two successful.

Looks like... and I am 100% cool with that.

Also caught the first episode of Classroom Crisis. Not super impressed to be honest but, that said, there have been plenty of shows I've not been impressed by the first episode of and wound up enjoying, so we'll see how we go.

Looks like I finally managed to beat Kiskaloo to the punch with one of the new shows.



Snow White with the Red Hair

This one is a bit of a subversion of the classic fairy tale, with a young medicine woman named Shirayuki (which I'm pretty sure translates as "White Snow") fleeing to another country to escape from a prince who wants her to be his mistress because of her unusually colored hair (though given the company she ends up with it doesn't seem to be a total subversion).  There are a couple references to the fairy tale, as well as one bit which seems like it may have taken some inspiration from the movie The Princess Bride.

I don't think this show will be taking full advantage of the director's experience doing kick ass animated fight scenes, but it does look pretty nice.  It also has a fairly likeable main cast.  Like many manga adaptations, it features some odd manga style humor, but I was okay with that in Akatsuki no Yona (another shoujo fantasy manga adaptation) so I can live with it here.  Overall I'd say it has some promise.

Now for some of the ones Kiskaloo beat me to the punch on...

Kiskaloo wrote:Little Witch Academia 2: The Enchanted Parade

The Kickstarter-funded sequel to the 2013 original entered by Studio Trigger for that year’s Anime Mirai contest.

Double the length and double the wonderfulness of the original.

This was enjoyable, but for me it wasn't as charming as the original.  I kind of feel that some of the new characters took focus away from some more established characters that I liked more.  Still if you liked the original this is worth a shot.

Kiskaloo wrote:

Charlotte - Episode 01

Special abilities occur among a small percentage of boys and girls in puberty. Yū Otosaka uses his power without others knowing, and lives a fairly normal, average school life. Before him suddenly appears a girl, Nao Tomori. Due to his meeting with her, the fate of special power-users will be exposed.

*Snip for length*

While not a KEY work, the story is penned by Jun Maeda, who wrote such visual novels/anime as Kanon, Air, Clannad, Little Busters! and Angel Beats! Character design is handled by another KEY alumni, Na-Ga, who also worked on those shows. I loved all those shows and so I was very much looking forward to this one.

But man, that was a tough watch. And not for the reasons I expected.

Jun Maeda is a master of melancholy. So why he’s trying for slapstick comedy here is beyond me, because it falls completely flat. A central theme of his stories has been about family and the bonds that tie them together, yet Yū and Ayumi Otosaka are effectively orphans, abandoned by their mother after her divorce from their farther and pawned off on their uncle, who lives elsewhere, leaving the two siblings alone.

The fact that I dislike the entire cast doesn’t help, either. Yū Otosaka is a narcissistic asshole and his sister Yumi is the perfect otaku little sister: super cute, super energetic and totally devoted to her big brother. Nao Tomori also has her selfish side, seeing Yū as a useful tool to help her maintain control over the other “special children”. There is one other major cast member, Yusa Nishimori, who we only saw on television as she’s an idol singer in addition to a student at the academy. So I assume we’ll formally meet her next episode.

Right now, I am not impressed with this show at all. With the pedigree behind it, it should have been a slam-dunk, but if the second episode doesn’t start returning to what made Maeda’s previous works appeal to me, I’m out. And we may yet be getting that - Ayumi has been dreaming about another sibling - a dream  Yū himself has at the end of the episode.

It's probably worth noting that I'm not a huge fan of Jun Maeda in general (though I kind of liked Clannad) but I wasn't very impressed with this one either.  Actually, I think I found it kind of boring.  The characters aren't really compelling at all, and their super powers seem pointless.

I suppose it could improve.  But let's remember that the hackneyed and cliched mess that was  Angel Beats was also a PA Works produced anime original written by Jun Maeda.  Maybe the guy should stick with writing VNs.

Kiskaloo wrote:Classroom☆Crisis - Episode 01

Humanity has successfully colonized all the planets in the Solar System, with intentions to continue into new frontiers. Individuals live stable lives in these colonies, including young high school students living in 4th Tokyo on Mars. Two of these students are Iris Shirazaki and Mizuki Sera. Iris is finishing her last year of high school while studying to be a test pilot while her friend Mizuki also works as a mechanic on the aircraft. Her own brother, Kaito, oversees Mizuki and Iris as their homeroom teacher and program director.

No, definitely not Aria. More Bodacious Space Pirates, which is totally fine with me, as well.

Yeah it does seem reminiscent of Bodacious Space Pirates.  Unfortunately that puts it into the so-so category for me.  I wouldn't say it's exactly bad, but I'm not hugely enthusiastic about it either.  Heck, the first time I watched this I decided a few minutes in that "meh, it's getting kind of late, let's do this another time and read for a bit instead."

Kiskaloo wrote:Aoharu x Kikanjuu [Aoharu x Machinegun] - Episode 01

The manga follows high school student Hotaru Tachibana, a girl disguised as a boy. Through strange circumstances she finds herself drawn into the world of survival games by a host, Masamune Matsuoka. The two form a team with ero-manga artist Tohru Yukimura and aim to be the be the best in Japan.

Kiskaloo wrote:I love Brains Base shows, but the plot for this one sounds like it could be a train-wreck.

Not exactly a train-wreck, but it’s clear this show is narrowly-tailored to appeal to fans of survival games and gender-bender comedies, neither of which I am.

It does seem a bit like Ouran Meets airsoft.  Not exactly my cup of tea either, but perhaps I'll give it a chance.

Snow White with the Red Hair - Episode 01

Shirayuki is a beautiful girl working as a medicine woman with red hair, a color that is considered very rare. When she is proposed and chased after by the prince of her country, she cuts her hair and runs away, only to meet Zen, the prince of a neighboring country. Finding respect for the young man, she decides to serve at his side as his court doctor.

Your standard shoujou romance story wrapped in the trappings of Western fairy tales. That being said, it looks good animation-wise and has a number of likable characters. I'd be quite content if it turns into another The World is Still Beautiful.


Non Non Biyori Repeat - Episode 01

With just five students (none in the same grade), the four girls of the tiny Asahioka Branch School still enjoy watching cherry blossoms, playing in rivers, digging potato, and building igloos together. The pace is very slow yet enjoyable and heartwarming.

At it’s heart, Non Non Biyori is a “cute girls doing cute things” show, but it does so in a way that sets it apart from the rest and makes what would normally be a well-worn trope fresh and new. The setting is the rural countryside as opposed to a major city and they attend a single-room class.

I really enjoyed the first series, so I fully expect I will enjoy this, as well.


Teekyū (Series 5) - Episode 01

Yuri Oshimoto is constantly baffled by the three queer older members of her school´s tennis club.

While the title is the Japanese word for “tennis” and the four girls are members of their school’s Tennis Club, over the 49 episodes to date I cannot recall them ever actually doing anything related to tennis. Instead, it’s just a running gag of mad-cap slap-stick adventures with the four fastest-talking seiyuu in history.

Aquarion Logos




Macross guru Shoji Kawamori's other, weirder mecha franchise is back... and frankly I wasn't very impressed by the first episode.  The main character of the show is pretty bland and unemotional.  More to the point, the show in general felt like it needed more aplomb.  You've got a show about book cafe employees using a stolen super robot to fight monsters made out of virus infected kanji characters, for f---'s sake... get into it a bit more!

Everyday Life With Monster Girls



I've been hearing good things about the source material for this series for a while now, so I decided to check out the anime adaptation.  The first episode definitely pushed the boundaries a bit with its ecchi content, but it was also quite fun and had a certain charm.  That counts for a lot.

Gakkou Gurashi !

 talk about messing with your mind, seems like another generic cute girls at school show right up until the end then it goes off the deep end,

though really I can see how something like it might happen under the circumstances

GOD EATER - Episode 01

In the year 2071, the Far East is ruled by angry gods. 20 years ago unknown life forms called “Oracle cells” begin their uncontrolled consumption of all life on Earth. Humanity both fears them and reveres them as "aragami." They are immune to all weapons and the mankind's numbers continue to dwindle. The last bastion of hope is the newly developed "God Arcs" weapons that utilize Oracle cells to fight back. The weapons wielders band together into an elite force dubbed "God Eaters.”

Based on a Playstation Portable video game, this should have been out last week, but even with 8 animation directors and 12 studios working on it they could not make the air date for the first episode and had to push it back to this week. This does not exactly inspire confidence about how timely the rest of the run will be. I appreciate they're trying to go Old School by hand-shading the cels, but the final look isn't very good - especially for the cost in time and money.

This show screams Attack on Titan, though the game was announced a month before the first installment of the AoT manga hit the shelves so the two stories are likely independent of influence upon each other.

GANGSTA. - Episode 02

Right now, this looks like my benchmark show for the season.
 


Ranpo Kitan: Game of Laplace - Episode 02

This show has a definitely different aesthetic when it comes to investigating murders. That being said, I’d watch more CSI if the medical examiner was Minami-chan.



Gate: Jieitai Kanochi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri - Episode 02

The show definitely plays to the military, political and nationalistic streaks of it’s source material and is the polar opposite of Outbreak Company in tone - but that could be what makes it worth watching going forward. Though the ED theme is way too happy for this show.

One amusing note: the Imperial Family name is evidently Co Lada. The Emperior’s daughter is named Piña. So her full name is Her Imperial Highness, Princess Piña Co Lada. *derp*


Classroom☆Crisis - Episode 02

So far, so average in story, characters and animation quality.



Wakaba✤Girl - Episode 02

A pale imitation of what made Kiniro Mosaic great, but still passable.



Charlotte - Episode 02

Much like Plastic Memories, the OP and ED animation set an expectation that the actual episodes cannot live up to. I have the feeling that Jun Maeda has created his usual strong and melancholy storyline for this show, but the execution of it in these two episodes has been generally so god-awful that it has seriously sapped my desire to see it play out. I also find the characters either unlikeable or uninteresting, which doesn't help.

I guess even the gods can get it wrong now and then…



Rokka no Yūsha [Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers] - Episode 02

Finally some action to accompany all the exposition. It helped.

Piero wrote:

Kiskaloo wrote:Gate: Jieitai Kanochi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri - Episode 01

When a portal from another world appears in Ginza, Tokyo, a legion of soldiers and monsters emerge to attack the city. Thanks to their far more advanced weaponry and tactics, the JSDF easily repels the enemy and passes through the gate, capturing the city that lies on the other side of it. Yōji Itami is one of the Japanese officials sent to investigate the other world, where magic, dragons and elves are real, using his knowledge of fantasy stories to make his way in this new environment.

GATE launched as a light novel series in 2006, so it predates the Outbreak Company light novel series by close to five years even though Outbreak Company received it’s anime adaption in the Fall 2013 season. The two light novels, however, appear to be very different in tone and as to how that will exhibit itself in the anime remains to be seen.

The light novel author, Takumi Yanai, did serve in the JSDF and is a very right-wing nationalist. So whereas Outbreak Company was relatively light-hearted comedy, evidently this light novel series was very nationalistic and graphic - to the point the early novels were edited when re-released to tone down both when re-issued. To wit, once the JSDF secure the gate and kill the invading force, the current Prime Minister immediately annexes the land on the other side and declares it sovereign Japanese territory (shades of Korea and Manchukuo). The United States President immediately supports the move, providing Japan the diplomatic and political cover necessary to assemble a JSDF Expeditionary Force to enter the gate and engage the inhabitants to bring them to heel. The light novels also explored colonialism - once reports of how bountiful the other world really was, the US, Russia and China all want to get in on the act, but lack the justification to invade Japan to secure the Ginza Gate, resulting in political and diplomatic machinations.

The first episode ends with the Expeditionary Force crossing over and seeing the “enemy” forces. Within the next episode or two those forces advance deeper into the country and will encounter villages under the domination of a dragon and three locals - an elf girl who is the spitting image of Deedlit from Record of Lodoss War, a human sorceress and a female gothic lolita demigod - join up with the JSDF.

For me, the biggest drawback is that I do not like the lead - Second Lieutenant Yōji Itami - at all. He checks all the otaku tropes and stereotypes and while so did Outbreak Company’s Shin'ichi Kanō, he didn’t annoy me nearly as much as this guy does. We’ll see how it goes, but at the moment, my interest level is at best moderate.

Yeah, the series' nationalism and otaku-ness are the major issues I have with it (along with the excess military hardware fan service and the one sided modern army vs medieval army is).  It's really obvious the otaku guy is going to end up with a harem of fantasy chicks.  Though it's interesting to note that if I didn't know of the original creator's nationalistic bent I might have been more inclined to believe that the series' portrayal of the Japanese PM and the annexation were supposed to be negative.  The PM came across as a bit of a douchebag don't you think?

In some ways I want the series to take itself more seriously and in some ways I want it to take itself less seriously.  It's a show about JSDF troops ending up in a Fantasy world, so I don't think it should take itself super seriously.  On the other hand, I'd prefer it if the main character's otaku-ness was a minor quirk rather than something that was heavily emphasized (though the bit with him as a RPG hero was pretty amusing).

I mostly know GATE from the manga illustrated by Sao Satoru, and I've read fairly far in advance, with the current scanlations being at 48 chapters.

In all honesty, I was hoping that the anime would stick closer to both the character designs and the realism of the manga. That is probably one of the biggest complaints of the western GATE fanbase, primarily because of the blood-and-guts nature of war, and the opening of the manga did not shy away from what happens when an organized army, primitive though it may be by today's standards, invades a nation and takes defenseless civilians by surprise. Appropriately, it also did not shy away from what happens--in graphic detail-- when a modern military responds with its own might against a foreign invader.

I personally feel that if the light novel was too nationalistic, the Manga began toning that down, trying to focus on Itami himself as being at odds with having the role of leader and hero thrust upon him as well as being constantly needled to find and exploit resources for Japan when all he really wants to do is be left alone and enjoy his otaku life.

For my part, the anime seems to have expanded (read: slowed) the pacing of the Manga considerably, so it will definitely take some time for things to start delving into "Spice and Wolf Territory"--that is, other important things going on that don't revolve around Japan flexing its muscle in what is still a one-sided conflict.

I intend to keep on watching for some time.

Bikini Warriors - Episodes 01 and 02

Set in a an RPG-style world with swords and magic where adventurers form a party to challenge the demon king’s right to rule, adventurers all have beautiful breasts, enormous breasts, and bikini armor!!

Kiskaloo wrote:Bikini Warriors - Episodes 01 and 02

Set in a an RPG-style world with swords and magic where adventurers form a party to challenge the demon king’s right to rule, adventurers all have beautiful breasts, enormous breasts, and bikini armor!!

I get the distinct impression that's not going on my watch list any time in the near future...

Alfisti wrote:

Kiskaloo wrote:Bikini Warriors - Episodes 01 and 02

I get the distinct impression that's not going on my watch list any time in the near future...

The episodes are only three minutes in length, but they're just too ridiculous to be entertaining (at least so far).

Three episodes in, and things seem to be shifting a bit, with some series looking better and others not looking so good.


Aquarion Logos: Episode three was actually okay.  I'm still not all the impressed though.  I really hope Macross Delta is going to be a lot better than this series is.
Charlotte: I liked episode three more than the first two.  I'm still finding that the Jun Maeda + PA Works brand of humor doesn't really work very well for me though.
Classroom Crisis: This show actually deals with some real business issues, however it often gets into stuff that is far fetched and heavy handed.  This is one of the harder shows to judge at this point.  There's some good stuff, but it hasn't really taken off yet, and there's also the heavy handedness I mentioned.
Daily Life with Monster Girls: I wasn't too keen on the third episode of this one.  Too much of the girls throwing themselves at the main character.  I'm hoping the show will recover though, as I did have a fairly positive first impression of it.
Gate: Whether its because there was less political BS or more focus on a small unit out on its own instead of clashes between large scale armies, I liked episode three more than either of the two preceding episodes.  The show's otaku elements are still a bit annoying though.
Overlord: After two rather slow and boring episodes with some unnecessary otaku crap, the third episode of this one was actually pretty interesting.  I'm curious as to where it's going.
Rokka no Yuusha: The second episode was largely Adlet and Nashetania talking as they travelled, but I actually found it pretty good.  The third episode wasn't the most compelling thing ever, but in general I'm finding this a pretty decent series.  Adlet has become considerably more likeable since the first episode.
Snow White with the Red Hair: This is a very well done show, but I'm wanting more from it than what the story has delivered so far.  Episode two was a bit too reminiscent of Episode One with Shirayuki having someone after her, while Episode Three was her running afoul of class divides.  The episodes have done some good world building in terms of showing the tensions that exist in the society of Zen's kingdom, but I'm kind of wanting the show to get on with it.

I've only seen the first two episodes of ChaosDragon and Gangsta.  The first two episodes of ChaosDragon were pretty bad imo, while Gangsta just doesn't interest me all that much. Or maybe it's (at least partly) that I find the inclusion of superhuman abilities a bit of a turn off.

As far as carryovers from last season go, I quite enjoyed the latest episodes of Arslan Senki and Food Wars.

I could generally take or leave this season, so far. Nothing is really standing out for me. I am enjoying the carryovers from last season (Food Wars and My Love Story) a fair bit more.

Speaking of the new season of Food Wars (I consider the last episode the start of the new season since it has a new OP and ED and they skipped a week), interesting development but I hope it doesn’t become Shokugeki of the Week.

GOD EATER - Episodes 01-06

Finally had some free time to marathon this show and have to say the first two episodes were kind of rough, with a fair bit of cliche story and dialogue along with the practice of placing female characters' ample breasts at eye level, giving the impression that the male characters look, speak, and interact directly with a woman's breasts as opposed to faces. ufotable is also having a hard time keeping to schedule - at least half of the episodes have been bumped by a week or more due to not being ready for air. 

With the third episode, however, this show gets a fair bit better. Not in terms of story or dialog, mind you, but the art level goes stratospheric and the animation team is allowed full free reign to show off - with stunning results. Episode 4 finally delivers a plot as strong as the visuals and soundtrack, episode 5 goes all Gen Urobuchi and episode 6...

What started out as a poorer version of Attack on Titan is now a pretty decent show in its own right. If you bailed early, you might want to re-visit it.

The Summer 2015 season is starting to come to and end (though MY love STORY!! and Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma are taking two weeks off for some reason to show their final episodes)…


GATE: Jieitai Kanochi nite, Kaku Tatakeri - B+

When it focuses on being serious, this show can be quite good with strong story elements and solid drama. When it focuses on Yōji Itami's and Takeo Kurata's otakuness…not so much. I like the rest of the Third Recon Unit, however, especially Shino Kuribayashi. I expected the three Special Region girls to become Itami's harem, but they've remained pretty strong characters (even if Rory Mercury goes a bit off the deep end when she’s in heat) and who’d ever thought an elf would look hot in Western dress (especially a business suit)? Speaking of outfits, the dress uniform of Piña Co Lada's is pretty sharp, as well.

Overall, I enjoyed this show and look forward to the next installment come Winter 2016.


Ranpo Kitan: Game of Laplace - B

This show was 80% of the way through it’s run before it went through the trouble of explaining it’s central plot, but that premise was an intriguing one. Overall, not as good a mystery show as Another or even Dusk Maiden of Amnesia, but it was worth the time invested to watch it.


Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers - B+

Another show that took it’s own sweet time in explaining itself, waiting until the next to last episode to close out the initial story - and with a bit of a deux ex machina, IMO. I’m guessing it gets another series to continue the story because while the whole mystery aspect of this arc was interesting, the reason the Braves were called together was to fight the Demon King and they haven’t even made it to his realm yet.

Lately I've been waiting for shows to finish and marathonning them.  Food Wars being the exception.

I've seen some of Gate, School Live, and Overlord but nothing is really standing out to me this rotation.

Akagami no Shirayukihime - B

A weaker show than The World is Still Beautiful, lacking much of what made the other so awesome. However. Shirayuki is very much a heroine in the Hayao Miyazaki mold which helped keep me interested. In the end, a standard shoujou romance that was quite watchable, if not particularly memorable. This show will be returning in Winter 2016 and it evidently grows beyond it’s current form so I will be interested to see how it evolves with the second series. 
  

GOD EATER - B (but trending higher)

Unfortunately, ufotable has so blown the schedule on this show that it's been cancelled and will only run 9 of the planned 13 episode. This is unfortunate as the show was consistently getting better with each episode and the 9th left some tantalizing loose-ends. A blurb at the end of the 9th episode said the final four are said to be coming in Winter 2016, which I assume means on the Blu-rays / DVDs.


 
Non Non Biyori Repeat - A+++

This show is a soft and warm blanket for your soul. It makes me happy like petting a kitten or hugging a puppy does. While it effectively retreads the original show (as in it takes place in the same timeframe, just on different days of the week/month), it was still an absolute gem and remains one of my most cherished shows.

As the Singapore and Japanese Grand Prix are a week apart, I’m taking in both and using the free time in Japan before the race to visit a number of scouting and actual locations used in this anime (Asahigaoka) as well as Tamayura (Takehara, Onomichi, Mihara and Mukaishima) and One Off (Shirasaza). I hope they are as idyllic in real life as they are in the anime.

Kiskaloo wrote:
[color=yellow]As the Singapore and Japanese Grand Prix are a week apart, I’m taking in both and using the free time in Japan before the race to visit a number of scouting and actual locations used in this anime (Asahigaoka) as well as Tamayura (Takehara, Onomichi, Mihara and Mukaishima) and One Off (Shirasaza). I hope they are as idyllic in real life as they are in the anime.

Let me know how this goes - being a slice of life anime fan, this sounds like a very interesting "off the beaten track" side trip. Also a good way to justify buying new camera gear.

(Actually, given my interest in both slice of life and photography stuff it's very ironic that I haven't seen much of Tamayura. I was really busy when the first season aired and I tend to be terrible about actually getting around to shows in my backlog.)

0utf0xZer0 wrote:

Kiskaloo wrote:
As the Singapore and Japanese Grand Prix are a week apart, I’m taking in both and using the free time in Japan before the race to visit a number of scouting and actual locations used in this anime (Asahigaoka) as well as Tamayura (Takehara, Onomichi, Mihara and Mukaishima) and One Off (Shirasaza). I hope they are as idyllic in real life as they are in the anime.

Let me know how this goes - being a slice of life anime fan, this sounds like a very interesting "off the beaten track" side trip.  Also a good way to justify buying new camera gear.

(Actually, given my interest in both slice of life and photography stuff it's very ironic that I haven't seen much of Tamayura.  I was really busy when the first season aired and I tend to be terrible about actually getting around to shows in my backlog.)

It was loads of fun. An exchange student I dated in college is from Hiroshima so she and her daughters came down for the "Tamayura Tour". I just wish the Grand Prix had been held next month as I could have attended the Takehara Bamboo Lantern Festival as that was one of my favorite parts of the anime and something I very much want to see in person. Maybe next year. 

Charlotte - No Grade

The one show I expected to follow is the show I dropped by episode 4 I just found it too unfunny and corny and disliked the entire cast of characters. That being said, I may have to go back to it because it may very well have also “buried the lead” for much of it’s run so I had yet to get to the point where whatever it was intending to say started to show.


Classroom☆Crisis - B+

In the end, nothing like Aria nor Bodacious Space Pirates. And under all the comedy was a pretty strong drama that took awhile to come out, but when it did, made the show much more interesting to watch.

I almost dropped it when half the cast left, but they came back and adding an adult Claes was a good call to keep me interested until the real plot started to reveal itself.


GANGSTA. - B

It had it’s flaws to be sure, but it was nice to have an “adult” anime with adult themes and situations to break up the usual fare of shows featuring (junior) high school kids. I am guessing it, too, is coming back in Winter 2016 because the show literally just ended mid-story. Then again, there are rumors the animation studio behind it (Manglobe) is about to go under, so...


Wakaba✤Girl - B-

It lacks most of the charm I found in Kiniro Mosaic, but then I had the strong feeling that this show was really aimed at girls exclusively and therefore didn’t have the cross-over appeal of Yui Hara’s other work.


Working!!! - B+

After three series, the shtick is kind of getting stale so I am okay if this is the final installment of the franchise. Extensive use of Aoi Yamada, who remains totally awesome, and the extra dose of cuteness Mahiru Inami have helped as well as the final episode arc holding together quite well and not grinding the show to a halt. Also very happy to see Maya Matsumoto finally get a line.

Haven't kept up with any new seasons as of late due to a life schedule that is erratic at best, but picked up "Shimoneta" on a recommendation from a friend who recommended I start reading "One Punch Man" about a year ago and who I somberly trust in his rec's.

It's um...it's a little...yeah...but I'm still gonna finish it.

Half way thorough with episode 4 of Shimoneta...I don't think that's drool...

Shimoneta
-Final Assessment.

OOOOkay...

I just got through with this series.. To be honest, it's actually refreshing that the series ended on a bit of an ambiguous note. As for the series as a whole...different doesn't even begin to describe it.

It's about two members of a Japanese High School's student body council forming a resistance movement against the nation's violently enforced Public Morals Policy, and they do this through various (putting it lightly) methods.

I was going to rate this series as being a funny aside...until I came across a few articles. Especially this one in particular.

Suddenly, a thought came to mind. What if monetary necessity isn't the only reason why many anime studio houses are packing up and moving shop to South Korea? It's long been known that standards in South Korea are particularly loose with individual responsibility being a core principle. Just read UnbalancexUnbalance to see what I mean, and that's not even a popular example.

Shimoneta isn't just a dirty-joke of an anime with a particularly hilarious use of censorship, but a prime example of the right way of using media to display a formal protest toward how things currently are and where they are going.

So for that, as an anime Shimoneta gets a solid B+.

As political dialogue...A 'freaking' PLUS!

Gate: Jieitai Kanochi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri
-Mid Season Assessment

Welp, on heavy recommendation I watched Gate and what a damn great time it was. The characters are all completely different from each other(which is rare these days, admit it) and actually get a fair bit amount of time to be fleshed out and explored(which is ever MORE rare). As much of a good time as this season has been, I can't help but think that this series is directly targeted at Japanese Otakus or as we call them here in the west, Weeaboo's, much in the same way that Mark Millar's "Kick-Ass" targeted wannabe superheroes.

Itami goes to a fantasy world, gets all teh waifu's, and is a badass while doing it just because he's an otaku living his dream. For that's what will happen when ALL otaku suddenly end up in a fantasy world...right? Well, this anime is actually a bit more realistic than that jaded aspect of the series. Itami is a self-described otaku, has an impressive doujin collection, with a waifu and everything, but he is also a card carrying member of the JSDF. On top of that we find out throughout the series that he's also a card carrying Ranger and on top of that he's also a Special Forces member. Itami is a straight up pipe-swinging badass...something perhaps most Otaku/Weeaboo having given a thought for aspiring to.

Also he does not make this journey alone as he has a well-trained JSDF infantry battalion with him along with artillery support and they happen to be fighting swordsmen and archers on horseback. In other words, the kind of one-sided fight that should have most otaku/weeaboo crying as they hug their pillows screaming "That's not how it's supposed to be!!". Even his 'harem' (if you can call it that) consists of a demi-god who turns out to be a walking self-healing tank, a pretty powerful near-master mage, and an elf who has a fair bit of magical knowledge and is a crack shot with a bow to boot. In other words, badasses all around, no senpai dependent kouhai's in site.

On top of that but the prime government in the fantasy world is a despotic monarchy that is pretty damned racist to boot, however if you open up a anthropology textbook and do a bit of research on the practices of medieval hierarchy, you find that GATE has shit pretty spot on further crushing the hopes of the otaku/weeaboo who wish to leave this oppressive technological world behind and wake up to land themselves in a blissful fantasy world.

All in all a solid show that I look forward to continuing.

GATE impressed me with it's first run and the second series currently airing even more so.

Kiskaloo wrote:GATE impressed me with it's first run and the second series currently airing even more so.

Agreed. What's impressed me the most though is the change in OP. The first half of the season OP was all fun and "look we're in a fantasy world!", while the second emphasizes that fact that "shit's about to start getting real".