Seasonal Reviews: Summer 2014 Pt.3
Welcome to another installment of our seasonal reviews over the season of Summer 2014.
This time, I'll be covering Himegoto, as it is now streaming properly on Crunchyroll. Otherwise, things will be as normal, minus the dropped Momo Kyun Sword and Jinsei.
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Jonathan Kaharl
Aldnoah.Zero
One of my favorite things about shows like Code Geass and Valvrave is that they're good at making hooks and changing the situation constantly, endlessly putting all characters you care about in a perfect rhythm of happiness and soul crushing despair. It's an addicting, terrible formula. Aldnoah is using that formula with perfect precision so far. Inaho and the Japanese refugees have managed to survive against an Aldnoah, but another with dual plasma beam swords comes around soon after. The swords are horrifically powerful, not to mention make for excellent defense against standard bullet weaponry, but Inaho proves his worth once more with two brilliant strategies that turn the enemy's strength into its weakness. Mars will have to stop being so arrogant in the future if they want to take the kid's group out. At the same time, second protagonist and best friend of the princess, Slaine, becomes aware of the conspiracy that has started this whole conflict and pulled off a ballsy maneuver to try and stop the war. Since we're only five episodes in, you would be right to guess that it didn't end well.
Inaho is an incredible protagonist. That silent persona really crackles under the surface, and the number of amazing, fist pump worth moments he's caused are worth some serious cred. He's intelligent, interesting and downright devious, and I love every second he's on screen. Slaine's optimism in his truly hopeless situation, despite how small it may be now from all the beatings he's suffered, gives him a good bit of layers. He's been raised under a racist regime all of his life, and his mannerisms and the constant sound of fear in his voice really make what he does manage to do inspiring, despite the ultimate futility of it. If he can even get somewhat of a happy ending (as doubtful as that is), he will have earned it. I want to see more of him now, I want to see more of how he tries helping the princess and uncovers the truth of the war with Earth. Every bit with him is tense and dramatic, while the Earth scenes play up the biblical apocalypse angle for all its worth and build a completely different kind of tension. Those scenes at their best are almost suffocating, and I mean that with praise.
The supporting cast is less interesting, sadly. A lot of the characters have really minor traits to give them a personality and little else, with the new commander character feeling especially flat and pointless (although I like how she keeps completely calm in the face of impossible odds). However, the princess and conspirator are both really well developed and keep showing really interesting qualities, the first surprising and the second better done than expected. I also love how their relationship is being so quietly built on small moments. Besides them, only Marito is really managing to stand out in any particular way, solely through his not so straightforward musings and hinted guilt complex. There's some depth there just waiting to be explored. Along with the stellar presentation and score, Aldnoah.Zero is really hanging in there as one of the best airing shows of the season, it's one not to miss.
Strong Recommendation
Himegoto
...I really wish Crunchyroll didn't pick this one up late, or rather at all. It's important to establish that Himegoto is terrible. Himegoto is one of the airing series of shorts for the season, and the one positive I can give it is that each episode is under four minutes. The premise is that a guy stuck in endless debt due to his awful, absent parents was nearly forced into unspeakable work by the yakuza, only for his school's student council to pay off his debts for him. Well, after realizing that he's a guy, as they met him in a maid outfit and wig he was forced to wear. The deal is that he has to act as their personal slave for the rest of the school year and dress as a girl the whole time, and this would either lead to two different things; cheesy comedy and misunderstandings, or disturbing, fetish focused ecchi "comedy." When I decided I wanted to watch this, I was hoping it would be the first one. That's not what I got.
I managed to get through three episodes of Himegoto, and while the first two episodes were tolerable, the third was where it started to sink in what this show actually was. The second episode's goal is to establish two more crossdressing characters, and it proceeded to be creepy about it by making one the little brother of the main character, acting like an insane sibling in love (I hate anime some days), and the other a past victim of the student council with the sole goal of taking them down for being, you know, sexual tormentors. He was going to be the comedically inept villain of the show. Yeah. Oh, and the main character's best friend playfully felt him up, because this is what someone finds both funny and arousing. The third episode was a non-stop storm of "trap" (the slang term for pretty crossdressing guys in anime and manga) service to a disgusting degree, and the show started to show its intent far more obviously. Not making this up; every single male character has a fetish for crossdressing and get progressively more creepy as the episode goes along. The ending gag was one of the student council photoshopping pictures of the main character taken earlier to look pornographic (with added ..."seed" for good measure), and that's where I decided I would not be watching anymore Himegoto.
I'm surprised by just how bad this is. Walkure Romanze was a similar kind of bad, but more for being obnoxious than creepy. This is just the most blatant fetishization of crossdressers I've ever seen outside actual pornographic materials, and it's somehow even more gross than any of that said pornography. There is nothing funny about this, and Himegoto's ultimate only contribution to society is yet another mirror to the diseased mind of the otaku. That's nothing to be proud of, because there's plenty of trash already out there doing that job just fine without the help.
No Recommendation, Dropped
Invaders of the Rokujyoma!?
What is it with comedies this season? The ones with the most creative premises or wackiest gags are mixed at best, all while Nozaki-kun is getting half an episode long mileage out of the main character wearing bunny ears. It's especially frustrating with Invaders of the Rokujyoma, because this set up is asking for one of the funniest shows imaginable. A lot of the characters have great chemistry, the bizarre set-ups completely disregard all reality, and the premise is essentially Is This A Zombie played up for laughs. That show was already mostly comedy to boot (and great stuff). Where things go wrong is whenever the series decides to be a harem at random moments, not because of the general obnoxiousness of harem shows, but because it makes no bloody sense. Only Sanae the ghost girl has any sort of established attraction to Satomi, and even then, it's less romantic and more because of her long years living along and feared. Episode four's forcing of rom-com shenanigans just becomes obnoxious and completely out of character for a bunch of people trying to sabotage each other for the sake of comedy. Love and hate are on a thin line, I know, but you need to establish why both would exist.
Of course the beach episode would be the bad one. Thankfully, episode three was a completely different story; it was a school wide race with all the characters trying to cheat their way to victory, somehow fitting in a robot air battle and a minefield. The timing was a tad off, but the sheer insanity of the set-up, along with all the bickering (Tulip and Kiriha only work when going against each other) really made the episode pop. Of course, how Yurika was used was the cherry on top, making great use of her role as the universe's plaything to a wonderful ending. I want her to be the main character, she's way more likable and interesting than most everyone else. There's also a bit more set-up, suggesting that the series will eventually go completely off the rails and genre shift everywhere ...or it's hinting at more harem stuff. Please be the first one, I want this series to end up good! Make this popular so Yurika gets a spinoff, please!
On a final note, Silver Link really needs to stop animating comedies based on physical gags and not on dialog. They can do great action, but gags based around physical harm always seem to fall flat for them. Just not enough energy, almost like the show is too scared to mess with the character design for the sake of laughs (probably because they're trying to sell the thing on the female cast). If that could just be fixed, this show would be miles better.
Weak Recommendation
Locodol
I was not expecting the idol show to be one of the better series of the season, yet here we are. Locodol manages to exude a surprising amount of charm, when it could have easily been yet another K-ON knock-off that forgot to have any semblance of conflict or progression. It's an easy going show done right, basically. Since last time, the show has introduced a new manager character who also happens to be the group's biggest fan and a closeted lunatic, and she gels perfectly with the rest of the cast. She really does want to help the girls, but she's also practically a stalker. It works without being creepy here due to how much she manages to help the group through her obsessive behavior, and the jokes about her general insanity are a tad more clever than expected. She was having a completely serious conversation with the girls while nonchalantly taking pictures with her camera held at her waste at one point, and that scene will never stop being funny to me.
The conversations between Nanako and Yukari do a great job of developing both of them and getting some laughs, so I don't really mind that it's taken up most of the screen time. The goal to help their community is an honorable one and gets a lot of attention as well, with the fifth episode going out of its way to have a lecture of the area's history. The show stays on focus, even while on detours, so it never feels frustrating in how little is happening. It takes the enjoying youth theme and manages to make something both relatable and a bit engaging at the same time. There's a good bit of effort and care put into Locodol, making it more than what it should be by all rights.
Strong Recommendation
Majimoji Rurumo
Apologies for the lack of new thoughts here, but Crunchyroll has only recently figured out how to schedule this series for streaming, and the end result is I could only catch one more episode before deadline (I refuse to get up early in the morning to write more anime opinions). Thankfully, it was a good episode, but it also cemented my issues with Majimoji Rurumo. The show has three running modes of humor; Rurumo being emotionless and strange, the supporting characters being insane, and Kouta being a pathetic virgin. The first two work, the last one does not.
Rurumo really is the single best thing here by a mile. Every single thing she does suddenly becomes dryly bizarre and funny, and the newly established scenario where everyone thinks she's Kouta's little sister leads to some good gags (anything that brings back the mother is welcome in my book). The supporting cast is also wonderfully quirky, like the new witch fangirl who premiered this episode. Kouta's friends, however, are just obnoxious stock pervert characters, and Kouta's inexperience with the opposite sex is more on the annoying side than pathetically cute side. It almost works when Rurumo is involved and he becomes her protector of sorts (and it works great for building their relationship), but the show starts to fall flat on its face whenever he's making big talk about recruiting pretty girls for his club or lets puberty take control of a situation over his brain. It's not funny or that endearing, but at least I can see the angle they were going for. There's a cute innocence to this show, but it gets overshadowed by the staff's lesser instincts far too often. Still, I'm giving it an okay, simply because of the strength of Rurumo's presence and the nice little relationship building between her and Kouta. The bad parts aren't bad enough to sink the show, although they come a bit too close.
Weak Recommendation
Samurai Jam: Bakumatsu Rock
With the initial rush from the absolutely bizarre premise now worn off, Bakumatsu Rock is starting to show more of its weaknesses and lack of proper planning. Last installment, I complained that the two episodes of those two weeks recycled the same plot, and it happened yet again. This time, Katsura lost confidence in himself and caused problems for the band, all while they tried figuring out the why. This happened for both episodes, despite the first of these episode bringing this to a conclusion. It's not clear what's causing the funk in the second episode (missing the master was the issue in the first), making the whole situation ring hollow. What saved both episodes were the plots around Katsura's troubles; the first was the team trying to put on a concert at a local bath house (yes, really), while the second showed the real threat of the government's Heaven's Song and gave a bit of development for the villainous idols. Fun ideas and interesting development at work, just held back by the main cast, sadly.
This is feeling more and more like a videogame anime the more I watch. Continuity is a mess and there's little sense of actual progression. It's episodic when it shouldn't be, and there's not enough crazy shirtless rocker fun to really make up for the lesser elements. It needs that energy from the rock scenes because of how low the production values ended up being, and there seriously needs to be some better world building. I want to love this show, but it's becoming harder and harder to do so.
No Recommendation
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David O'Neil
Akame ga Kill!
In the two new episodes since I last covered it, Akame ga Kill has
gotten better. Not significantly better, but better nonetheless. This
is mostly due to a few factors, one being the increasing likability of
the characters now that the show is getting more time to flesh them out.
Bulat or "bro" as he requests the main character to call him, is a lot
of fun and manages to be a rare example of a homosexual character that
doesn't just boil down to a stereotype or a vessel for fanservice.
Another part of it is more insight is given in regards to Akame's past,
and the tidbits given so far certainly hold some interesting
implications and ideas the show hopefully follows up on, even if it
doesn't seem to be the most original backstory in the world.
Akame ga Kill still
hasn't quite gotten me 100% on board, there's still some pretty
frequent cases of dumb fanservice and heavy exposition, but it is
improving little by little with each episode. Still for the most part
worth watching for those looking for a solid shonen action show, even if
it still hasn't gotten good enough to appeal to anyone outside of that
specific interest area.
Solid Recommendation
Bladedance of the Elementalers
I am still not enjoying Bladedance of the Elementalers. Go
figure. In a way I suppose I could say it's improved, but only because
the first few episodes set the bar so unbelievably low just about
anything seems like an improvement in comparison. At the least the
number of blatant fanservice scenes and cliches have decreased slightly,
but they're still present. For instance, as it turns out, the Spirit
that the protagonist made a contract with takes the physical form of a
young girl. Who happens to show up naked most of the time. And of
course, when the other girl characters walk in on him in bed with a
naked little girl without context HAR HAR HAR.
I guess another part of it is that the constant action in the past few episodes make it a tad bit harder to notice the bland story and cringe worthy humor and fanservice. The action itself isn't all that good, pretty basic stuff, not much to look at animation-wise. If there's anything almost resembles a positive aspect of the show's story, it's that the relationship between the main character and Claire, while being the tsundere/generic protagonist routine that's been done a billion times, occasionally has some okay moments, where it almost seems like the two are helping each other and forming some sort of bond. But, most of the time it's just dialogue that's been repeated in dozens of other harem shows, or male power fantasy "the guy always saving the day" situations.
Don't take my words the wrong way, when I say Bladedance of Elementalers' last few episodes were an improvement over the first few, it's in the same way that Transformers: Dark of the Moon was an improvement over Revenge of the Fallen. It's not any good whatsoever, but it's not quite as painful to watch as before.
No Recommendation
Blue Spring Ride
I'm still sort of mixed towards Blue Spring Ride. As I've
mentioned before, from a production standpoint the show is great. The
visual style, music, and animation are all great, as is expected from
Production I.G. The thing that's more rubbing me the wrong way in Blue Spring Ride to
an extent, is the characters. I wouldn't go as far as to say they're
straight up unlikable, but often they're just on the brink of it.
Everyone just seems to go out of their way to treat each other like shit
a lot of the times, with the exception of course of Yuuri, who somehow
manages to incredibly likable despite the attitudes of all the other
characters. Seriously, Yuuri is great.
In addition, another issue I'm having with the show is that the plot itself is giving isn't really doing much to engage me. So far it seems to be relying pretty heavily on fairly well worn romance conflicts, with not much unique or even all that interesting to speak of. The relationship between Kou and Futaba especially feels far too much like the average romance "these two clearly have feelings for each other but aren't getting together for petty reasons" situation. Plus Kou himself often feels like a walking representation of the "cold on the outside sweet on the inside" archetype, with not much else going on.
Blue Spring Ride may look pretty, but right now it just isn't doing much else for me. The characters walk a fine line between being flawed and just being jerks, and the plot itself is littered with cliches and not much to make itself stand apart from other romance stories. But it's still mostly an entertaining watch.
Solid Recommendation
Glasslip
I'm really liking Glasslip so far. I wouldn't say it's my
favorite show this season, but it's still up there as one of my
favorites. The show continues to be great when it comes to visuals, with
some terrific backgrounds and animation. While one aspect of the
visuals that did bug me, the use of still frames, has been happening
less and less (and in less awkward ways), on the other hand I have
noticed more another visual quirk that's been irking me. It's fairly
typical in anime to have comedic moments paired up with more simplistic,
chibi-esque representations of characters. That's all fine and good,
but Glasslip has been doing it through off screen characters showing up
in small, bubbles, barely being animated at all. The effect really just
looks lazy, and it doesn't work comedically.
The rest of the show however has been getting better and better in my eyes, relationships continue to intertwine as things get more complex and heated between this small group of friends. Confessions have been made, hearts have been broken, and love triangles have been formed. The characters are all likable and well written enough that I do care about how these relationships are changing and how it will all turn out in the end. The last time I covered this series, I took issue with the lack of attention in regards to a major plot point, the main character's ability to see the future, which despite being such a strange turn seemed to be somewhat taking the backseat to the rest of the plot. While the set up still hasn't fully payed off with any huge revelations yet, I do feel that the last few episodes have done a better job making that aspect of the story more prevalent.
Glasslip has the great visuals, likable characters, and interesting story that's defined many of studio P.A. Works' recent series. It feels as if it's still on the brink of really paying off the big wild card it's thrown into this young love story, but even so the show still holds my attention perfectly fine, and I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes from here.
Strong Recommendation
Monthly Girl's Nozaki-kun
I'm trying my best to not just endlessly praise Weekly Girls' Nozaki-kun week
after week, but boy is the show making it hard. Each episode is just
incredibly charming and consistently hilarious, and I'm loving every
second of it. First off there's the fourth episode which, honestly, may
have have been the funniest episode of any anime so far this season. The
first half of the episode follows the two main males of the show,
Nozaki and Mikoshiba, playing a typical "Gal Game" dating sim, as Nozaki
does everything from role playing as the protagonist from his manga, to
trying to use his knowledge of girls's wants to win the game, and it
ends with them coming to a brilliant realization as to who the game
protagonists true perfect match is. The second half remains just as
funny as Nozaki and Sakura try to prepare Mikoshiba for a Mixer, with
brilliant jokes all around.
The fifth episode is great as well, introducing a fellow manga artist who lives near Nozaki, along with Nozaki's editor whom he idolizes despite the editor seeming put off by Nozaki. Nozaki also discovers that he may be ignoring what the heroine of his manga would actually feel in different situations, so he spends the day in her shoes. Which is just as awesome as it sounds. The show overall just nails everything it's going for, it's funny, it's sweet, it's well animated, and it constantly keeps throwing in new ideas to keep things fresh and hilarious. Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun is a real treat, every episode is just plain fun from beginning to end and always leaves me with a smile on my face.
Strong Recommendation
Rail Wars
As some shows I was mixed have been getting slightly better and better, Rail Wars! Keeps
getting worse and worse. The two most recent episodes have nearly left
me in shock, as absolutely all attempts to at least somewhat hold back
on the shameless pandering and fanservice have been completely
abandoned, instead making me feel like I'm watching the set up for some
bad hentai.
The fourth episode is the worst offender of this, with fanservice bursting from the seams at every turn. It has everything, the 'ol "guy character lands on girls boobs by accident" routine, "guy character walks into girl's changing room on accident", a bath scene, not one but three changing scenes, and of course with the episode taking place on the beach their superior decides it makes sense for these professionals working in security trying to protect the life of someone, should all be wearing revealing swimsuits (of course only the girls keep their bullet proof vests unbuttoned I wonder why). The fifth episode is nearly as bad, with a major plot point being that one of the girl's undergarments was damaged in training session so upskirts galore. If that wasn't bad enough, the animation quality also starts to decline, as characters go off model and characters overall seem more lifeless than previous episodes.
Rail Wars! is becoming more and more tempting to drop by the episode. I get that trains aren't exactly the most thrilling subject matter in the world, but instead of trying to make that up with good characters, an interesting story, or even just some fun, the show instead continues to focus more on more on shameless fanservice that no longer even cares enough to be the slightest bit subtle. I just can't help but wonder why I'm watching a show when an episode begins with a model train being knocked off the rails by a female character's breasts.
No Recommendation
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Stephanie Getchell
Barakamon
Handa seems to be getting into even more hijinks the more he stays on
that island. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, because I can actually
relate to Handa a bit. He’s a city guy who moved to a small backwoods
island in order to, in a sense, start all over. I’m a country girl who
currently lives near the big city, so it may not be the exact same
scenario but I still feel the same way as Handa does! The feeling I get,
like Handa, is the chance to start again an revitalize my own life and
take myself in the direction that I know I should go. By staying on this
island, Handa is learning simple life lessons from the inhabitants he
didn’t necessarily know of before while in the city. These two episodes
cover a bit more of those feelings.
Episode four’s message helps with Handa’s problem of a fear of messing his work up. Thanks to a little mission to write on a boat, and with the help of Naru and the other little kids, he discovers he shouldn’t be afraid to get something a little dirty and that this actually eases his mind and hesitation. As for episode five, and a little beach trip, Handa admits to himself and the others that he is able to care about more than just himself. It’s simple life lessons he’s learning from kids. You would think this may be a silly way to learn, however I think that kids have the most pure hearts and can lead to really amazing insights! If you need a good example of this, go find a series called Kids React on YouTube. It’s one of my favorite web series and the idea of learning from children can certainly be applied to Barakamon. The writing for this series is just wonderful! There’s certainly no stopping this one.
Strong Recommendation
Sailor Moon: Crystal
Introducing Rei! The psychic who is the Guardian of Fire and Passion,
Sailor Mars! This episode is, by far, my favorite of the three I’ve
seen thus far. We do still get the same story line as the original with
the demon bus that whisks people away. However, the Sailor Guardians
actually are in the Dark Kingdom for the first time as well as they
finally get to meet Jadiate. We also get a few other introductions to
others from the Dark Kingdom, particularly Nephrite and Zoisite. Then
there’s Tuxedo Mask who is beginning to learn about Usagi as Sailor
Moon. There are quite a few pieces in play here, but they aren’t the
only reason why I enjoyed this episode quite a bit.
Last time I talked about Crystal, I mentioned how we got a little introduction arc of sorts for Ami. We get the same kind of arc here for Rei. Granted, it’s kind of repeating itself as Ami and Rei are sort of gifted outcasts and everything, but I actually don’t mind this one bit because being chosen as a Sailor Guardian is why they seem to be so gifted in the first place. Even if this is cheating a little bit, and may become stale if this keeps up, I feel that it’s a really wonderful touch and gives the characters a lot more in their introduction. Honestly, I loved this episode! We’re slowly beginning to place things together, and, seeing as how this episode ended, we may be seeing a bit of an Usagi and Tuxedo Mask moment next time. I am curious as to who we’ll be dealing with though. If the next episode is what I think it is, then what does that mean for Jadiate?
Strong Recommendation
Shonen Hollywood -Holly Stage for 49-
DAMN! I should have suspected that Kira would be next! Ah well.
Previously, we were made aware that Kira was a child actor. What episode
four decides to do is focus on, essentially, his rediscovery as to why
he became an actor. Like I said before, this pattern of developing the
guys is rather simple and works because of how the series began.
However, there is another pattern I’m seeing here. That is the former
members of Shonen Hollywood being an individual mentor of sort to the
new generation. With episode two it was Kakeru and God (though we
wouldn’t realize who he really is until the next episode), and then
episode three gave us Tomii and Tommy. This episode we have Kira and
Daichi, who happens to be helping out as a stage carpenter at God’s
request. It’s actually not a bad kind of passing of the torch, if you
will. Not only are we getting a chance to see our current batch of idols
grow and learn, but they get some encouragement from their
predecessors. By the end of the episode, I was left wondering who would
be next and which older member of Shonen Hollywood would be next!
But then something happened. A little play called Air Boys that the guys had been working towards. What’s interesting about this is the entire episode is the opening night of that play. Just the play. Nothing before and nothing after. I do have to applaud the guys for making it through their first major performance together as a group. The five of them did rather well! Though, there were times where I was a bit worried because I had never really seen someone perform an entire play for an entire episode without anything else going on in the background. Writing wise, this is a rather big risk. Compared to the rest of the series, so far, it seems a little jarring. But the theatre nerd in me just can’t deny how cool this is! It’s certainly something different since this is the first time I’ve seen something like this done. It’s funny. Shonen Hollywood is certainly trying to tell us it isn’t a normal idol series. But I wonder if it may be trying a little too hard. I guess we’ll see in the coming episodes.
Now I gotta know who wrote that play, cause it was rather silly.
Solid Recommendation
Terror in Resonance
Everything is just coming together so well! Not only that, but we now
have Lisa doing something! Episode four is mostly spent
between Lisa and Shibazaki, with Nine and Twelve coming in every now and
again. While Shibazaki and the police force try to solve the next
riddle the duo have sent out over the internet, Lisa seems to be
searching for the duo as a way to escape the world she’s in. When Twelve
saves her from possibly getting caught by the police as a runaway, she
confesses those feelings of escape to him and we actually get to see a
much more relaxed and happier Lisa from here on. Though, Nine isn’t all
that pleased about it and is ready to kick her out once she recovers
from whatever illness she contracted by the end of the episode. Then we
get our next riddle that was supposed to be solved easily and no one was
to get hurt. However, someone else is now standing in the way. This
actually gives us our first look at the boys being heroes rather than
supposed villains as they try to stop the bomb on their own. And, in the
end, it seems that Nine was really the only one with some damage. This
now all leads to the introduction to Five. Remember that girl from
Nine’s flashbacks and how I mentioned she seems to play a big role?
Yeah, that’s her.
This is the first time we actually see a big struggle for Nine and Twelve, and see that have no intention to actually hurt people. Thanks to Shibazaki’s digging and making those detectively connections, we learn that some kind of academy may be a major motive for their attacks. If I had to guess, it’s the academy the boys escaped from based on what’s been happening so far. The other problem that’s occurring for them are those memories of their upbringing. After Lisa decides to attempt at cooking for the trio, Twelve remembers that even bad tasting food is better than what they had before. And then, while they attempted to find the bomb, Nine had a sudden freak out session where he recalled some memories of his own. Seeing some weaknesses begin to come forth for these two is just wonderful as we are seeing that their upbringing has taken a larger toll on them then we may not have realized previously! And now with Lisa trying to convince Nine to let her stay, Shibazaki beginning to see the bigger picture, and the introduction of Five, we’re going to be in for one hell of a ride for the second half of the series!
Strong Recommendation
Tokyo ESP
I did not know flying penguins can become espers! Holy crap! This is
the first time while watching this series that I’ve been enjoying myself
a bit. Like I mentioned last time, my only major complaint was the
shift between the first and second episode and where the story was
trying to go. Now that we’ve been going at a much more steady pace, it’s
gotten a bit better. To be fair, however, going from one story to
another with very little time for breathing room doesn’t make me feel
100% better, and there’s also the occasional drop in animation quality
that I’ve kind of noticed a bit more in these couple of episodes, though
it’s mostly character designs that seem to get sloppy more often than
anything else. It took me out of it a tiny bit, but not by much. The
only other small problem I have is how Kobushi joins the main group,
because it actually feels rather cheap to me. It’s clear that she has a
crush on Rinka’s father, Rindo, but I just wish a possibly awesome
character didn’t have to end up being written into the main crew by such
a cliche method. As long as we get a little more time into her story,
and we are getting bits of this now, then I can forgive this.
We’re now starting to see more and more of the pieces coming together as we are formally introduced to both the Professor and Minami this go around. This, in turn, gives us more backstory into Azuma and his relationship to these two villains of the series. I feel a very interesting character dynamic between all three of these characters really starting to form, and this will no doubt play a psychological role for Azuma as well as Rinka in the coming episodes. Not only that, but we’re beginning to make connections between this point in the series and the pieces in the first episode that the viewer, or it could be just me here, may have been confused about originally. It’s actually coming along rather nicely, and I think this is going to be the first time while talking about this that I don’t want to destroy it. I can’t be too optimistic though, as it’s always possible that I may go back to disliking this one in the coming weeks.
Solid Recommendation
Tokyo Ghoul
We’ve pretty much headed into the half way point of this series
today. Based on the newest episodes I got to watch, I actually have some
mixed feelings. Pretty sure this is the first time I’ve felt this way
about Tokyo Ghoul. Episode five and the first part of episode six brings
us a bit of a climax to the Tsukiyama arc as this crazy man attempts to
“dress up” Kaneki in order to give himself the ultimate meal. This ends
up involving a human girl, Kimi, who also happens to be Nishio’s
girlfriend (in case you forgot, Nishio is the guy who attempted to eat
Hide but Kaneki then proceeded to go nuts and kick his butt). This is
actually the most human we get to see Nishio as we learn more about his
upbringing as well as his relationship with Kimi. This may be a stretch,
but that’s probably been one of my favorite parts of this series to
date and Nishio may possibly be one of my favorite characters. We also
get more time with Touka since we see her play the fine line between
humanity and ghoul as well (she kinda tries to kill Kimi and Kaneki
brings up Touka’s human friend to try and stop her). As for the
remainder of episode six, we are back to the struggles of Hinami and her
family. This brings the Doves back into play here, but that’s not the
only thing we see. We finally get to see the face of Jason, a dangerous
ghoul from the 13th Ward. From what I’ve been hearing, it seems he may
be the big villain we’ll be dealing with so it’s nice to finally put a
face to a name.
Here’s where my mixed feelings come into play. There were parts of episode five that were a bit clunky and out of place. This was something I picked up on early in the episode, and it centered around Tsukiyama mostly. This might be a bit of a pacing issue, or it could be that trying to write this insane of a character and get his motives across successfully may have hit a couple roadblocks along the way. The transitions between scenes with Kaneki and then with Tsukiyama are so jarring that I felt rather uncomfortable. Looking at it a different way, this could have been done on purpose to show Tsukiyama’s obsession with Kaneki. I can see the reasoning for doing something like this, but the choice had more of a negative effect on me. It kind of makes me think that they were trying to wrap up this arc quickly in order to move on to the next one. Which, for a twelve episode series, may possibly be a bad thing. It just depends on how the series handles itself next. Not all series can be perfect, that’s for sure!
Solid Recommendation
---------------------------
Joe Straatmann
Argevollen
I can't say I'm not trying to look for good things here. I really do
think Argevollen episode five would be pretty good if it weren't
connected to the narrative failures of everything else in the series.
Tokimune reveals to Jamie that he enlisted in the army to climb up the
ranks and discover the top secret mission that led to his sister's
murder. That would be all well and good if he behaved in a form that was
in any way parallel to his goal from the outset. Tokimune's
introductory scenes involved him being rather petulant to his squad
mates and he follows it up by belaying orders whenever possible. I don't
think having his superior officer confess to him that he pondered
having him shot is a good way to work up the military ladder. Perhaps
some scenes portraying the inner conflict between what he wants to do
and what he feels is right in his heart would be beneficial to the...
NAH! The episode also has a lot of decent tactical planning and looking
at both sides. It's a shame there is very little difference between the
sides except one of the commanders on the antagonists' end likes to have
red wine during his work. The fiend, indulging in an alcoholic beverage
many people enjoy on a daily basis! The cliffhanger would also be
surprising if the episode title didn't spoil it outright.
If I'm being too jolly and rambunctious, I apologize. I simply have to make the best of a bad situation, and Argevollen is a BAD situation. The very next episode reveals the cliffhanger is completely misleading, it almost refuses to show action during a battle in the middle of a mech series (It's a hint when most of the action in the opening is replaced by the grimacing faces of the characters), and it bungles about every storytelling opportunity it gets. There's intrigue when all the flares but one malfunctions, and it's extremely unclear who did this or why and what was their ultimate purpose was. The big character arc is Jamie trying to find the courage to brave the battlefield in order to reach Tokimune, whose Argevollen has shut down, trapping him inside. At one point, the soldier leading her apparently gets blasted in artillery fire, and it's up to her to finish the job. Makes perfect sense, until it's revealed the supposed death of the soldier is a fake out even when he was clearly on the bridge when it was blown to toothpicks. So her end journey is pretty simple, really. Much more simple than Tokimune's adventure, spending all this time locked in the cockpit, slowly losing his mind. I'm sure the one brief scene portraying that in the episode is more than adequate in showing the main character becoming mentally unhinged.
This is all small potatoes in comparison to the twist ending. I'm putting a very sarcastic SPOILER ALERT here. At the end of the battle, Jamie receives a phone call from her boss letting her know that she's getting a bonus for her work. The scene then plays out on the other end of the phone as her boss hangs up, talks about how youth are so easily manipulated by money, and then tops it off by revealing he's about to hand over Argevollen's battle data to a general in the same military as the main characters. The company is going to betray everyone by giving important data to the military that they've been working in tandem with this whole time and using money to make Jamie do the job she's been assigned to do in the first place! This writing is amazing.
No Recommendation
HaNaYaMaTa
I wouldn't say HaNaYaMaTa is hitting a rough patch, but episode four
is probably the weakest of the group so far. It centers on Tami, the
newest would-be recruit for the yosakoi club. She has pretty basic
issues about being busy all the time in order to get the approval of her
father. It's not that she isn't a good character and doesn't play well
with the others, but the situation seems to strain itself too far for a
full episode and doesn't have a particularly memorable conclusion.
Episode five is much better from a plot standpoint, though the animation
is noticeably more truncated. It's a shame since the episode involves
taking a field trip to a yosakoi parade as their first experience with
live dancing. Two-second clips of dancing don't really get the feeling
across properly.
Otherwise, it's still the same easy to recommend series it's been since the beginning. It's simply hard to keep saying the exact nice things over and over. The storyline is moving off from the recruitment phase to club activities, and now that most of the reluctant crew is together, they get to work off each other in really fun ways. Naru is the weird, introverted center of the world of characters who seem to gel marvelously in times they don't expect to, and realize things about themselves they couldn't see normally. It even brings out an openly sentimental side to Naru... who instantly tucks it back in when she realizes she revealed it in public. It's probably the best complement to give to a slice of life series that all the people interact naturally and feel like real people you'd like to hang out with.... you know, if it wasn't really creepy to hang out with middle school girls. To put it simply, while I have a couple notes of improvement, keep up the good work!
Strong Recommendation
Nobunaga Concerto
One character tells another of Nobunaga, "He is a mystery." You got
that right. Maybe it's the time skips, maybe it's sloppy writing, but
Saburo, the high school goofball impersonating Nobunanaga, is all over
the place without an anchor. At first, I thought he was reading from the
history book he brought back in time with him and is getting ahead of
everyone else. Nope. In the fourth episode, he is almost completely
ignorant of the conflict he is going through until the last two minutes.
I get that most of the humor and irony is based on him winging it and
surprisingly being a genius, but there has to be more than dumb luck.
It doesn't help that the series simply doesn't deal with the fallout of any major event in a serious manner. When people close to Nobunaga die (In one case, for circumstances that are directly Saburo's fault), the episode just ends and the following one jumps ahead a few weeks or months to where there is no emotional imprint on this event. Whenever there's a battle, the series skips past it, even though this would be a life-changing moment in Saburo's life. Thousands of people are experiencing gruesome deaths around him and since he's the number one target and tends to rush into battle, he'd likely have to kill a fair amount of them to survive. I know this would ruin the image of doofus Nobunaga, but come on! Leaving all this out just feels like they're sweeping the plot under the carpet instead of doing proper storytelling.
In regards to everything else, Nobunaga Concerto is more-or-less okay. There are a few notable members in a supporting cast that mostly reacts to Saburo in confused glances, including a cunning spy who sometimes get outwitted by Saburo's dimness and a fellow time traveler who opens up the possibilities for the story but sadly does not have nearly as much impact and resonance on the proceedings as he should. The setup to meeting the time travelers is also one of the most ridiculous series of coincidences I've seen in awhile. The backdrops are pretty and the musical theme is starting to become an ear worm, but the character animation is getting iffier as the series goes along. It was too obviously computer generated at the start, but the clothing patterns are bleeding from the chest to the arms too often and the animation lacks smoothness in even the simplest of actions. If you take away all of Saburo's issues, the show isn't so bad now that it has some narrative stability. However, that's like saying all your plumbing problems will be solved if you simply turn off the water.
Weak Recommendation
Persona 4 the Golden Animation
Every time I think I'm ready to completely dismiss this series as
needless trash, it has an episode that expands upon parts of the game
that needed expanding, cleverly uses the gamer's knowledge of these
scenes to mislead and surprise, and works really well as a standalone
moment in the universe. The one thing that is perfectly clear to me now
is Marie is the protagonist. The extra character slipped into the
expanded version of Persona 4 is now in the driver's seat. It is her
story and the series twists around all the events of the game to be
about her. This limits the audience for a series that's already heavily
limited to begin with, but if you picked your way through the bunch, you
could find two or three episodes that are really worth watching.
One of the choice episodes certainly isn't the quiz show. Making a whole plotline centering around a peripheral feature on the game is made further pointless by taking out the active audience participation of trivia and barely asking any questions, and the audience couldn't even answer them anyway. It's instead a platform for generic wackiness. The good episode involves the band of persona users making an actual music band due to a crisis born out of thin air. Look, it was contrived nonsense to put in more character moments that weren't particularly necessary in the game, but here, it gets tinkered into something that has more purpose and makes about as much sense as it's going to. The most obvious addition is the party actually gets to rehearse more with their instruments so they don't go from being completely incompetent to being able to pull off instrumentation for an entire pop song in seconds. Since Marie is the main character now, she becomes involved as well and it becomes a visual representation of her growth and desperation with a good in-joke to boot. It makes something pointless into something not pointless. Is it enough to redeem the whole series instead of simply making a few OVAs? Not even close. But it's not worthless either.
Weak Recommendation
Sabagebu! Survival Game Club!
Sabagebu has started to settle into a stable pattern. The episodes
are splitting into three short comedic tales: One is really good, one is
terrible, and one is kind of so-so. My eyes lit up when the club
finally had some kind of rival in a misogynistic gaming champion who
challenges Momoko to a high score battle in a House of the Dead clone.
It's a great little segment, with all the club members working to their
strengths in unexpected ways to stick it to a real beast of a person
with a kicker of a payoff. Then the next segment comes along where
Momoko becomes overweight after indulging in too many snacks and bulimia
is the answer. I'm not making this up. The moment does get a, "Don't
try this at home!" disclaimer from the narrator, but it's a little
tactless nonetheless. I know madcap comedy is a genre heavily resistant
to rules, yet after establishing that this is essentially something
similar to the real world and the most extreme moments are in the heads
of the characters, just throwing out an eating disorder is a little too
much. It's like Wile E. Coyote contemplating suicide. It would take a
crazy genius to properly deliver something hilarious from this, but the
crazy genius isn't really on display here.
Perhaps it's too much for my taste and it'll be just fine for somebody else. Comedy is one of the most subjective things in the book, and there's nothing more difficult than trying to determine what makes people laugh. For me, there are moments where Sabagebu steps outside of its intended level of insaneness. Urara is Momoko's best friend in the club and a major masochist. Most of their interactions are amusingly weird, but there are a couple moments like when Monoko punches Urara in the stomach and makes her vomit up blood. Um, yay internal bleeding? Again, this is a series that tried to lay some ground rules about limiting its zaniness when it started and seems to keep moving the goalposts whenever it wants to. Otherwise, it's a completely competent show and does have at least a third of an episode that's really good. If you can laugh at its B-grade material, it'll mostly be worthwhile for you. Just be prepared for some moments where the show itself seems to step back and shouts, "Whaaaaaaaaaat?! Whaaaaaaaat?! It's a joke!"
Weak Recommendation
---------------------------
Thom "Tama" Langley
DRAMAtical Murder
Remember last time, when I said DMMD was just good? Yeah. It's remained just good for another two weeks. Well. Mostly just good.
Aside from the amusingly awful first version of the third episode, (a
little sample of which heads this review) which somewhat fortunately has
been replaced by a cleaned up version in Crunchyroll's stream, things
are very much business as usual for DMMD. A little backstory, a little
interaction with three of our five potential love interests, a little
backstory for each. Stir, and add a little 8-bit game, a little Rhyme,
and a dash of shonen-ai subtext. Sprinkle a little intrigue with Men In
Suits Looking at Screens with Sei, a character who looks like he was
dressed by a committee of teenage girls exclusively with clothes from
Hot Topic, and whose backstory will undoubtedly be filled out later,
and volia! You have the last fortnight of DMMD; in short, a character
(and world)-building holding pattern that really isn't going anywhere
fast.
Of course, since we have the poorly drawn, poorly animated "Quality animation" elephant in the room, we might as well address it before we get down to the business of reviewing the actual show. The first version of episode 3 was, in short, unfinished. When you have to apologize for just how bad your episode is, with everything to off-model character designs, unfinished animation, unsynched sound... and details that makes you wonder whether animation studio NAZ (the people behind the so-so adaption of another game, Devil Survivor 2) have been in contact with the rest of humanity for a while. Case in point: The dog is floating. Take a look outside. Dogs do not float. What are you doing if you can't animate a dog walking? (Un)Fortunately for me, it's been fixed, and thus, without any further ado...episodes 3 and 4 of DMMD.
It picks up from where we left off, with Noiz wandering into Aoba's shop, engaging in a little banter, getting uncomfortably close, and then leaving, only to turn up in Aoba's bedroom, leading to Noiz, Kojaku and Clear holding a stand off, only to be placated (albeit it after a knock around the head for each) by Tae's cooking. Noiz turns up again and finally, we get something close to shonen ai! At last, three episodes in! A kiss! The fangirls go wild! Oh, and an invitation to join his Rhyme team. Meanwhile, intertwined with this, we get a little more information on Mizuki's unhappiness at losing his team-mates, a little scheming and screen watching from Toue and Sei, and a little backstory about Aoba. All in all, this was Noiz's episode. And it shows. Then Clear had a little bit of the limelight. Here, at last, though it's still very much clinging to the source material for dear life, this actually feels like it's adding something to the game. I don't know whether it's the tone it takes with the (honestly rather weighty) subject manner, or Masatomo Nakazawa (Clear's seiyuu)'s performance, but his discussion with Aoba on the subject of human mortality is probably one of the best scenes so far in the series. Unfortunately, that's more than can be said for the rest of the episode; sure, we get a little more of Mink, who, apart from a brief flashback in Episode 3, hasn't really had much screentime, whilst Mizuki and his issues with Morphine culminate in his disappearance, but otherwise, whilst there's a sense of DMMD gathering pace, it's still very much stuck in a holding pattern tightly following the visual novel. In short, there's nothing here for people who aren't DMMD fans, and even the hardcore fan may be running out of patience with it. Needs to improve, and quickly.
No Recommendation
Love Stage!!
Honestly, the approach the two shonen ai series I'm reviewing are
taking can be explained in one simple analogy; the way DC and Marvel
approach their films. Whilst DC and DMMD are almost apologetic about
their subject matter, Marvel and Love Stage are anything but, embracing
what they are with aplomb. You want bright colourful art? You got it!
You want an on-screen kiss, and more besides? You got it! You want a
likeable rounded character whose backstory won't have to be built around
x number of flash-backs? You got it! You want an interesting supporting
cast, including an equally well-developed love interest? We've got that
too. Heck, even if you're not a shonen-ai fan, this series' comedy will
more than make up for that.
Episode three rejoins Izumi, still somewhat reeling from his put-down by potential love interest, Ryouma and, what a surprise...he's still determined to be a manga-ka. Unfortunately, having broken a good luck charm given to him to get over his nerves, he's forced to try and find a replacement. Meanwhile, despite his protestations otherwise, Ryouma can't help thinking about Izumi, including dreaming about him (leading to one of the funniest gags of the entire series), and being distracted from work...and promptly heads over to his house. Of course, with his parents oh so conveniently having left, it's love at fir-Oh. No, it's not. And Ryouma's attempt to convince himself that he is very much not into guys...amusingly backfires. Cue...fanservice. And, honestly, having sat through the tease of DMMD, it's oddly refreshing that Love Stage plays it straight. We wanted shonen-ai, and shonen-ai is what we get. Episode four merrily continues on the same route, with Ryouma, having been scared off by (overly) protective older brother Shogo, having to share a TV show with him-whilst Love Stage!! is very much Izumi and Ryouma's show, it's refreshing that many of the characters, from Izumi's classmates to manager Rei, are all nicely developed. Izumi, meanwhile...is still embarrassed, and in danger of becoming a shut-in. One dressing down by Rei, as well as a comparing of notes, (Izumi is...worryingly trope savvy), and he's a little happier. If...still running away from Ryouma. Who..wants to apologize. Oh, and give Izumi a make over, and then steal his glasses. Cue Izumi-cuteness overload for Ryouma, who promptly goes into his backstory, showing just how hard he's worked (and his dislike for Shugo...), and a heartfelt confession of love for Izumi, even if he is a guy.
Whilst I hesitate to use the word "perfect", in terms of both its comedic and shonen-ai content, Love Stage!! is getting pretty damned close. The romance is natural, the characters well rounded; boy, it's rare to see a show get to the point of this genre (the actual "Love" of BL) whilst remaining tasteful and charming. Part of its strength is its plot; much as Gravitation without the BL content is still a good show about a struggling musician, so Love Stage!! is a show about Izumi's struggle between his passion, manga and following in his parents' footsteps, and maturing generally. Ryouma, in contrast to oh too many semes in BL, is an equally likeable secondary protagonist, with his own ambitions and interests that don't involve Izumi, and despite the very slightly unsavoury undertones of one or two scenes, is far from the typical love interest you'd expect from this genre. But perhaps the best thing about this show continues to be the comedy; Izumi's otaku nature is still damned funny, his dreams to be a manga-ka, despite his current lack of talent very relatable. Izumi, after all, is one of us, and, whether it be love or his ambitions, we want him to succeed. All things considered, whether you're a BL fan, or not, one thing is clear; this show continues to punch way above its weight.
Solid Recommendation
---------------------------
Second Opinions
Akame ga Kill!
Jonathan: I think intelligently trashy is the best way to describe Akame ga Kill. The conflicts are all very gray and black, and anything white exists solely to meet some horrible fate. However, the reasons for why these terrible people and the main assassins are fighting is far more interesting than it at first seems. The truly irredeemable characters aren't the focus, instead examining tormented souls and the main cast and why they ended up as they are. There's more of a clever edge than first appears, and the battles heavily decided by the mental states of the fighters remain either tense or grotesque in their violent spectacle. This is closer to what I wanted Blue Exorcist to be when I saw the first episode; very shonen, but drenched in violence and horrific villains. I can dig it. Solid Recommendation
Blue Spring Ride
Stephanie: The adorable just keeps coming out in this one! We get to, basically, start over again with Futaba in her second year. And, she seems to be making some good choices right now! Primarily volunteering as a class representative followed by Kou and the remaining three characters we’re going to be seeing a lot of. Not only that, but the relationship between Futaba and Kou is growing at a nice pace! I couldn’t be happier right now! Solid Recommendation
HaNaYaMaTa
Jonathan: I adore this show. It's very melodramatic, but it works. The performances and writing is so strong that I keep overlooking how cheesy and somewhat forced the dramatic moments are. I also love the chemistry of the cast, how so many of these characters don't really seem to get along or have some sort of hidden reason for being friends with each other, yet it somehow gels. Also, the opening song is the best thing. The best thing. Strong Recommendation
Love Stage!!
Stephanie: Can those elephants be a recurring gag, please? That just me laugh so much! I’m actually perfectly fine with how this is progressing. Even the moment we get between Izumi and Ryoma in the third episode. I’m surprised at how well that was handled! And the slight personality flip for Ryoma after that was very amusing as well. It’s actually rather sweet, in a sense. My experience with Love Stage has been rather positive so far! Let’s try and keep it that way! Solid Recommendation
Monthly Girl's Nozaki-kun
Jonathan: Easily the funniest show of the season, no competition. Every gag hits near perfect, timing and pacing is spot-on, the characters are hilarious in their own ways, and Nozaki may be one of the best stoic characters ever used in a comedy. Do not pass this one up. Strong Recommendation
Stephanie: We met the model for Nozaki’s female character. Next we meet the model for his male character as well as another assistant Hori. I have not had a bad time with this series, and I probably should not watch this in public because I would get strange looks from all the laughing I’ve been doing. Yup. Still love this series! ...I should really catch my breath before I die from laughing so hard... Strong Recommendation
Nobunaga Concerto
Jonathan: I really can't decide if this is good or bad some days. The main character is dull, but he's used in an interesting way. The time travel ideas being thrown around are surprisingly clever, but quickly brushed aside. political skullduggery is always welcome, but the consequences from them aren't getting the focus they should. The designs are great, but the animation is choppy and poorly handles anything that's a liquid or oddly patterned. I really like Nobunaga Concerto, despite the faults, but I get why someone would hate it. Solid Recommendation
Rail Wars
Jonathan: This really needed to get adapted by a more talented studio. The plots are fun and make for good action, and the team chemistry keeps getting better, but the production issues are truly inexcusable at times, and this is damning from me. I've sat through the entirety of Samurai Flamenco and thought it was mostly problem free. For me to notice sheer animation ineptitude really means you've screwed up badly. There's also not too much to the show that hasn't been seen before, it's only the execution of the cases that let the series enjoyable. Weak Recommendation
Sailor Moon: Crystal
Jonathan: Animation issues aside (I have become immune to the inept production of Toei works), I'm really enjoying Crystal. It never strays too far from the magical girl formula, yet makes it work perfectly for what it is. Rei's arc was very well handled, and I like how they aren't making her as goofy as she was in the first anime. I have little negative to say about Crystal besides production issues; it works great otherwise for exactly what it wants to be; Sailor Moon. Solid Recommendation
Tokyo Ghoul
Jonathan: The decision to shove in the gourmet arc in the middle of the doves arc was a good one in my book. It keeps the show moving at a faster pace without removing anything. It also means Tsukiyama gets screen time much earlier, and he is simply incredible in this show. He's voiced by Mamoru Miyano, also known as the voice of Light Yagami and Berg Katze, and he deserves awards for this performance, a perfect mixture of menace and hilarious, boundless ham. It's just ...so beautiful. Strong Recommendation
This time, I'll be covering Himegoto, as it is now streaming properly on Crunchyroll. Otherwise, things will be as normal, minus the dropped Momo Kyun Sword and Jinsei.
---------------------------
Jonathan Kaharl
Aldnoah.Zero
Inaho is an incredible protagonist. That silent persona really crackles under the surface, and the number of amazing, fist pump worth moments he's caused are worth some serious cred. He's intelligent, interesting and downright devious, and I love every second he's on screen. Slaine's optimism in his truly hopeless situation, despite how small it may be now from all the beatings he's suffered, gives him a good bit of layers. He's been raised under a racist regime all of his life, and his mannerisms and the constant sound of fear in his voice really make what he does manage to do inspiring, despite the ultimate futility of it. If he can even get somewhat of a happy ending (as doubtful as that is), he will have earned it. I want to see more of him now, I want to see more of how he tries helping the princess and uncovers the truth of the war with Earth. Every bit with him is tense and dramatic, while the Earth scenes play up the biblical apocalypse angle for all its worth and build a completely different kind of tension. Those scenes at their best are almost suffocating, and I mean that with praise.
The supporting cast is less interesting, sadly. A lot of the characters have really minor traits to give them a personality and little else, with the new commander character feeling especially flat and pointless (although I like how she keeps completely calm in the face of impossible odds). However, the princess and conspirator are both really well developed and keep showing really interesting qualities, the first surprising and the second better done than expected. I also love how their relationship is being so quietly built on small moments. Besides them, only Marito is really managing to stand out in any particular way, solely through his not so straightforward musings and hinted guilt complex. There's some depth there just waiting to be explored. Along with the stellar presentation and score, Aldnoah.Zero is really hanging in there as one of the best airing shows of the season, it's one not to miss.
Strong Recommendation
Himegoto
I managed to get through three episodes of Himegoto, and while the first two episodes were tolerable, the third was where it started to sink in what this show actually was. The second episode's goal is to establish two more crossdressing characters, and it proceeded to be creepy about it by making one the little brother of the main character, acting like an insane sibling in love (I hate anime some days), and the other a past victim of the student council with the sole goal of taking them down for being, you know, sexual tormentors. He was going to be the comedically inept villain of the show. Yeah. Oh, and the main character's best friend playfully felt him up, because this is what someone finds both funny and arousing. The third episode was a non-stop storm of "trap" (the slang term for pretty crossdressing guys in anime and manga) service to a disgusting degree, and the show started to show its intent far more obviously. Not making this up; every single male character has a fetish for crossdressing and get progressively more creepy as the episode goes along. The ending gag was one of the student council photoshopping pictures of the main character taken earlier to look pornographic (with added ..."seed" for good measure), and that's where I decided I would not be watching anymore Himegoto.
I'm surprised by just how bad this is. Walkure Romanze was a similar kind of bad, but more for being obnoxious than creepy. This is just the most blatant fetishization of crossdressers I've ever seen outside actual pornographic materials, and it's somehow even more gross than any of that said pornography. There is nothing funny about this, and Himegoto's ultimate only contribution to society is yet another mirror to the diseased mind of the otaku. That's nothing to be proud of, because there's plenty of trash already out there doing that job just fine without the help.
No Recommendation, Dropped
Invaders of the Rokujyoma!?
Of course the beach episode would be the bad one. Thankfully, episode three was a completely different story; it was a school wide race with all the characters trying to cheat their way to victory, somehow fitting in a robot air battle and a minefield. The timing was a tad off, but the sheer insanity of the set-up, along with all the bickering (Tulip and Kiriha only work when going against each other) really made the episode pop. Of course, how Yurika was used was the cherry on top, making great use of her role as the universe's plaything to a wonderful ending. I want her to be the main character, she's way more likable and interesting than most everyone else. There's also a bit more set-up, suggesting that the series will eventually go completely off the rails and genre shift everywhere ...or it's hinting at more harem stuff. Please be the first one, I want this series to end up good! Make this popular so Yurika gets a spinoff, please!
On a final note, Silver Link really needs to stop animating comedies based on physical gags and not on dialog. They can do great action, but gags based around physical harm always seem to fall flat for them. Just not enough energy, almost like the show is too scared to mess with the character design for the sake of laughs (probably because they're trying to sell the thing on the female cast). If that could just be fixed, this show would be miles better.
Weak Recommendation
Locodol
The conversations between Nanako and Yukari do a great job of developing both of them and getting some laughs, so I don't really mind that it's taken up most of the screen time. The goal to help their community is an honorable one and gets a lot of attention as well, with the fifth episode going out of its way to have a lecture of the area's history. The show stays on focus, even while on detours, so it never feels frustrating in how little is happening. It takes the enjoying youth theme and manages to make something both relatable and a bit engaging at the same time. There's a good bit of effort and care put into Locodol, making it more than what it should be by all rights.
Strong Recommendation
Majimoji Rurumo
Rurumo really is the single best thing here by a mile. Every single thing she does suddenly becomes dryly bizarre and funny, and the newly established scenario where everyone thinks she's Kouta's little sister leads to some good gags (anything that brings back the mother is welcome in my book). The supporting cast is also wonderfully quirky, like the new witch fangirl who premiered this episode. Kouta's friends, however, are just obnoxious stock pervert characters, and Kouta's inexperience with the opposite sex is more on the annoying side than pathetically cute side. It almost works when Rurumo is involved and he becomes her protector of sorts (and it works great for building their relationship), but the show starts to fall flat on its face whenever he's making big talk about recruiting pretty girls for his club or lets puberty take control of a situation over his brain. It's not funny or that endearing, but at least I can see the angle they were going for. There's a cute innocence to this show, but it gets overshadowed by the staff's lesser instincts far too often. Still, I'm giving it an okay, simply because of the strength of Rurumo's presence and the nice little relationship building between her and Kouta. The bad parts aren't bad enough to sink the show, although they come a bit too close.
Weak Recommendation
Samurai Jam: Bakumatsu Rock
This is feeling more and more like a videogame anime the more I watch. Continuity is a mess and there's little sense of actual progression. It's episodic when it shouldn't be, and there's not enough crazy shirtless rocker fun to really make up for the lesser elements. It needs that energy from the rock scenes because of how low the production values ended up being, and there seriously needs to be some better world building. I want to love this show, but it's becoming harder and harder to do so.
No Recommendation
---------------------------
David O'Neil
Akame ga Kill!
The
fourth episode I ended up liking, mostly because it took more time than
most episodes to get away from the hit-and-miss comedy scenes and
annoying exposition (not to say there wasn't any) to finally provide a
damn good action scene with a decent length. It wasn't anything too
special, but still a solid mix of action that I found more satisfying
than any of the action the show had featured thus far. The fifth episode
focused largely on Sheele, the purple haired, giant scissor wielding
(don't lose your way) character who'd been somewhat neglected thus far
in the show, which is too bad because she's probably one of my favorites
in the show so far. Her back story is pretty neat, she's the typical
air-headed klutz character, who's always messing things up and isn't
good at anything, except killing, which seemingly without trying she
does with incredible skill and ruthlessness. It creates an interesting
dynamic, and she even has some sweet moments with the protagonist that
are leagues above any of the obnoxious dialogue he previously shared
with the so-tsundere-it's-not-even-funny Mine. In addition, the fifth
episode introduces something I mentioned wanting to see in my previous
look at this show, a villain who isn't pure goddamn evil. After all the
child murderers and psychopaths, it's nice to be introduced Seryu, an
antagonist who truly believes her actions are just, which may finally
create some of the moral ambiguity the show previously only acted like
it had.
Solid Recommendation
Bladedance of the Elementalers
I guess another part of it is that the constant action in the past few episodes make it a tad bit harder to notice the bland story and cringe worthy humor and fanservice. The action itself isn't all that good, pretty basic stuff, not much to look at animation-wise. If there's anything almost resembles a positive aspect of the show's story, it's that the relationship between the main character and Claire, while being the tsundere/generic protagonist routine that's been done a billion times, occasionally has some okay moments, where it almost seems like the two are helping each other and forming some sort of bond. But, most of the time it's just dialogue that's been repeated in dozens of other harem shows, or male power fantasy "the guy always saving the day" situations.
Don't take my words the wrong way, when I say Bladedance of Elementalers' last few episodes were an improvement over the first few, it's in the same way that Transformers: Dark of the Moon was an improvement over Revenge of the Fallen. It's not any good whatsoever, but it's not quite as painful to watch as before.
No Recommendation
Blue Spring Ride
In addition, another issue I'm having with the show is that the plot itself is giving isn't really doing much to engage me. So far it seems to be relying pretty heavily on fairly well worn romance conflicts, with not much unique or even all that interesting to speak of. The relationship between Kou and Futaba especially feels far too much like the average romance "these two clearly have feelings for each other but aren't getting together for petty reasons" situation. Plus Kou himself often feels like a walking representation of the "cold on the outside sweet on the inside" archetype, with not much else going on.
Blue Spring Ride may look pretty, but right now it just isn't doing much else for me. The characters walk a fine line between being flawed and just being jerks, and the plot itself is littered with cliches and not much to make itself stand apart from other romance stories. But it's still mostly an entertaining watch.
Solid Recommendation
Glasslip
The rest of the show however has been getting better and better in my eyes, relationships continue to intertwine as things get more complex and heated between this small group of friends. Confessions have been made, hearts have been broken, and love triangles have been formed. The characters are all likable and well written enough that I do care about how these relationships are changing and how it will all turn out in the end. The last time I covered this series, I took issue with the lack of attention in regards to a major plot point, the main character's ability to see the future, which despite being such a strange turn seemed to be somewhat taking the backseat to the rest of the plot. While the set up still hasn't fully payed off with any huge revelations yet, I do feel that the last few episodes have done a better job making that aspect of the story more prevalent.
Glasslip has the great visuals, likable characters, and interesting story that's defined many of studio P.A. Works' recent series. It feels as if it's still on the brink of really paying off the big wild card it's thrown into this young love story, but even so the show still holds my attention perfectly fine, and I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes from here.
Strong Recommendation
Monthly Girl's Nozaki-kun
The fifth episode is great as well, introducing a fellow manga artist who lives near Nozaki, along with Nozaki's editor whom he idolizes despite the editor seeming put off by Nozaki. Nozaki also discovers that he may be ignoring what the heroine of his manga would actually feel in different situations, so he spends the day in her shoes. Which is just as awesome as it sounds. The show overall just nails everything it's going for, it's funny, it's sweet, it's well animated, and it constantly keeps throwing in new ideas to keep things fresh and hilarious. Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun is a real treat, every episode is just plain fun from beginning to end and always leaves me with a smile on my face.
Strong Recommendation
Rail Wars
The fourth episode is the worst offender of this, with fanservice bursting from the seams at every turn. It has everything, the 'ol "guy character lands on girls boobs by accident" routine, "guy character walks into girl's changing room on accident", a bath scene, not one but three changing scenes, and of course with the episode taking place on the beach their superior decides it makes sense for these professionals working in security trying to protect the life of someone, should all be wearing revealing swimsuits (of course only the girls keep their bullet proof vests unbuttoned I wonder why). The fifth episode is nearly as bad, with a major plot point being that one of the girl's undergarments was damaged in training session so upskirts galore. If that wasn't bad enough, the animation quality also starts to decline, as characters go off model and characters overall seem more lifeless than previous episodes.
Rail Wars! is becoming more and more tempting to drop by the episode. I get that trains aren't exactly the most thrilling subject matter in the world, but instead of trying to make that up with good characters, an interesting story, or even just some fun, the show instead continues to focus more on more on shameless fanservice that no longer even cares enough to be the slightest bit subtle. I just can't help but wonder why I'm watching a show when an episode begins with a model train being knocked off the rails by a female character's breasts.
No Recommendation
---------------------------
Stephanie Getchell
Barakamon
Episode four’s message helps with Handa’s problem of a fear of messing his work up. Thanks to a little mission to write on a boat, and with the help of Naru and the other little kids, he discovers he shouldn’t be afraid to get something a little dirty and that this actually eases his mind and hesitation. As for episode five, and a little beach trip, Handa admits to himself and the others that he is able to care about more than just himself. It’s simple life lessons he’s learning from kids. You would think this may be a silly way to learn, however I think that kids have the most pure hearts and can lead to really amazing insights! If you need a good example of this, go find a series called Kids React on YouTube. It’s one of my favorite web series and the idea of learning from children can certainly be applied to Barakamon. The writing for this series is just wonderful! There’s certainly no stopping this one.
Strong Recommendation
Sailor Moon: Crystal
Last time I talked about Crystal, I mentioned how we got a little introduction arc of sorts for Ami. We get the same kind of arc here for Rei. Granted, it’s kind of repeating itself as Ami and Rei are sort of gifted outcasts and everything, but I actually don’t mind this one bit because being chosen as a Sailor Guardian is why they seem to be so gifted in the first place. Even if this is cheating a little bit, and may become stale if this keeps up, I feel that it’s a really wonderful touch and gives the characters a lot more in their introduction. Honestly, I loved this episode! We’re slowly beginning to place things together, and, seeing as how this episode ended, we may be seeing a bit of an Usagi and Tuxedo Mask moment next time. I am curious as to who we’ll be dealing with though. If the next episode is what I think it is, then what does that mean for Jadiate?
Strong Recommendation
Shonen Hollywood -Holly Stage for 49-
But then something happened. A little play called Air Boys that the guys had been working towards. What’s interesting about this is the entire episode is the opening night of that play. Just the play. Nothing before and nothing after. I do have to applaud the guys for making it through their first major performance together as a group. The five of them did rather well! Though, there were times where I was a bit worried because I had never really seen someone perform an entire play for an entire episode without anything else going on in the background. Writing wise, this is a rather big risk. Compared to the rest of the series, so far, it seems a little jarring. But the theatre nerd in me just can’t deny how cool this is! It’s certainly something different since this is the first time I’ve seen something like this done. It’s funny. Shonen Hollywood is certainly trying to tell us it isn’t a normal idol series. But I wonder if it may be trying a little too hard. I guess we’ll see in the coming episodes.
Now I gotta know who wrote that play, cause it was rather silly.
Solid Recommendation
Terror in Resonance
This is the first time we actually see a big struggle for Nine and Twelve, and see that have no intention to actually hurt people. Thanks to Shibazaki’s digging and making those detectively connections, we learn that some kind of academy may be a major motive for their attacks. If I had to guess, it’s the academy the boys escaped from based on what’s been happening so far. The other problem that’s occurring for them are those memories of their upbringing. After Lisa decides to attempt at cooking for the trio, Twelve remembers that even bad tasting food is better than what they had before. And then, while they attempted to find the bomb, Nine had a sudden freak out session where he recalled some memories of his own. Seeing some weaknesses begin to come forth for these two is just wonderful as we are seeing that their upbringing has taken a larger toll on them then we may not have realized previously! And now with Lisa trying to convince Nine to let her stay, Shibazaki beginning to see the bigger picture, and the introduction of Five, we’re going to be in for one hell of a ride for the second half of the series!
Strong Recommendation
Tokyo ESP
We’re now starting to see more and more of the pieces coming together as we are formally introduced to both the Professor and Minami this go around. This, in turn, gives us more backstory into Azuma and his relationship to these two villains of the series. I feel a very interesting character dynamic between all three of these characters really starting to form, and this will no doubt play a psychological role for Azuma as well as Rinka in the coming episodes. Not only that, but we’re beginning to make connections between this point in the series and the pieces in the first episode that the viewer, or it could be just me here, may have been confused about originally. It’s actually coming along rather nicely, and I think this is going to be the first time while talking about this that I don’t want to destroy it. I can’t be too optimistic though, as it’s always possible that I may go back to disliking this one in the coming weeks.
Solid Recommendation
Tokyo Ghoul
Here’s where my mixed feelings come into play. There were parts of episode five that were a bit clunky and out of place. This was something I picked up on early in the episode, and it centered around Tsukiyama mostly. This might be a bit of a pacing issue, or it could be that trying to write this insane of a character and get his motives across successfully may have hit a couple roadblocks along the way. The transitions between scenes with Kaneki and then with Tsukiyama are so jarring that I felt rather uncomfortable. Looking at it a different way, this could have been done on purpose to show Tsukiyama’s obsession with Kaneki. I can see the reasoning for doing something like this, but the choice had more of a negative effect on me. It kind of makes me think that they were trying to wrap up this arc quickly in order to move on to the next one. Which, for a twelve episode series, may possibly be a bad thing. It just depends on how the series handles itself next. Not all series can be perfect, that’s for sure!
Solid Recommendation
---------------------------
Joe Straatmann
Argevollen
If I'm being too jolly and rambunctious, I apologize. I simply have to make the best of a bad situation, and Argevollen is a BAD situation. The very next episode reveals the cliffhanger is completely misleading, it almost refuses to show action during a battle in the middle of a mech series (It's a hint when most of the action in the opening is replaced by the grimacing faces of the characters), and it bungles about every storytelling opportunity it gets. There's intrigue when all the flares but one malfunctions, and it's extremely unclear who did this or why and what was their ultimate purpose was. The big character arc is Jamie trying to find the courage to brave the battlefield in order to reach Tokimune, whose Argevollen has shut down, trapping him inside. At one point, the soldier leading her apparently gets blasted in artillery fire, and it's up to her to finish the job. Makes perfect sense, until it's revealed the supposed death of the soldier is a fake out even when he was clearly on the bridge when it was blown to toothpicks. So her end journey is pretty simple, really. Much more simple than Tokimune's adventure, spending all this time locked in the cockpit, slowly losing his mind. I'm sure the one brief scene portraying that in the episode is more than adequate in showing the main character becoming mentally unhinged.
This is all small potatoes in comparison to the twist ending. I'm putting a very sarcastic SPOILER ALERT here. At the end of the battle, Jamie receives a phone call from her boss letting her know that she's getting a bonus for her work. The scene then plays out on the other end of the phone as her boss hangs up, talks about how youth are so easily manipulated by money, and then tops it off by revealing he's about to hand over Argevollen's battle data to a general in the same military as the main characters. The company is going to betray everyone by giving important data to the military that they've been working in tandem with this whole time and using money to make Jamie do the job she's been assigned to do in the first place! This writing is amazing.
No Recommendation
HaNaYaMaTa
Otherwise, it's still the same easy to recommend series it's been since the beginning. It's simply hard to keep saying the exact nice things over and over. The storyline is moving off from the recruitment phase to club activities, and now that most of the reluctant crew is together, they get to work off each other in really fun ways. Naru is the weird, introverted center of the world of characters who seem to gel marvelously in times they don't expect to, and realize things about themselves they couldn't see normally. It even brings out an openly sentimental side to Naru... who instantly tucks it back in when she realizes she revealed it in public. It's probably the best complement to give to a slice of life series that all the people interact naturally and feel like real people you'd like to hang out with.... you know, if it wasn't really creepy to hang out with middle school girls. To put it simply, while I have a couple notes of improvement, keep up the good work!
Strong Recommendation
Nobunaga Concerto
It doesn't help that the series simply doesn't deal with the fallout of any major event in a serious manner. When people close to Nobunaga die (In one case, for circumstances that are directly Saburo's fault), the episode just ends and the following one jumps ahead a few weeks or months to where there is no emotional imprint on this event. Whenever there's a battle, the series skips past it, even though this would be a life-changing moment in Saburo's life. Thousands of people are experiencing gruesome deaths around him and since he's the number one target and tends to rush into battle, he'd likely have to kill a fair amount of them to survive. I know this would ruin the image of doofus Nobunaga, but come on! Leaving all this out just feels like they're sweeping the plot under the carpet instead of doing proper storytelling.
In regards to everything else, Nobunaga Concerto is more-or-less okay. There are a few notable members in a supporting cast that mostly reacts to Saburo in confused glances, including a cunning spy who sometimes get outwitted by Saburo's dimness and a fellow time traveler who opens up the possibilities for the story but sadly does not have nearly as much impact and resonance on the proceedings as he should. The setup to meeting the time travelers is also one of the most ridiculous series of coincidences I've seen in awhile. The backdrops are pretty and the musical theme is starting to become an ear worm, but the character animation is getting iffier as the series goes along. It was too obviously computer generated at the start, but the clothing patterns are bleeding from the chest to the arms too often and the animation lacks smoothness in even the simplest of actions. If you take away all of Saburo's issues, the show isn't so bad now that it has some narrative stability. However, that's like saying all your plumbing problems will be solved if you simply turn off the water.
Weak Recommendation
Persona 4 the Golden Animation
One of the choice episodes certainly isn't the quiz show. Making a whole plotline centering around a peripheral feature on the game is made further pointless by taking out the active audience participation of trivia and barely asking any questions, and the audience couldn't even answer them anyway. It's instead a platform for generic wackiness. The good episode involves the band of persona users making an actual music band due to a crisis born out of thin air. Look, it was contrived nonsense to put in more character moments that weren't particularly necessary in the game, but here, it gets tinkered into something that has more purpose and makes about as much sense as it's going to. The most obvious addition is the party actually gets to rehearse more with their instruments so they don't go from being completely incompetent to being able to pull off instrumentation for an entire pop song in seconds. Since Marie is the main character now, she becomes involved as well and it becomes a visual representation of her growth and desperation with a good in-joke to boot. It makes something pointless into something not pointless. Is it enough to redeem the whole series instead of simply making a few OVAs? Not even close. But it's not worthless either.
Weak Recommendation
Sabagebu! Survival Game Club!
Perhaps it's too much for my taste and it'll be just fine for somebody else. Comedy is one of the most subjective things in the book, and there's nothing more difficult than trying to determine what makes people laugh. For me, there are moments where Sabagebu steps outside of its intended level of insaneness. Urara is Momoko's best friend in the club and a major masochist. Most of their interactions are amusingly weird, but there are a couple moments like when Monoko punches Urara in the stomach and makes her vomit up blood. Um, yay internal bleeding? Again, this is a series that tried to lay some ground rules about limiting its zaniness when it started and seems to keep moving the goalposts whenever it wants to. Otherwise, it's a completely competent show and does have at least a third of an episode that's really good. If you can laugh at its B-grade material, it'll mostly be worthwhile for you. Just be prepared for some moments where the show itself seems to step back and shouts, "Whaaaaaaaaaat?! Whaaaaaaaat?! It's a joke!"
Weak Recommendation
---------------------------
Thom "Tama" Langley
DRAMAtical Murder
Of course, since we have the poorly drawn, poorly animated "Quality animation" elephant in the room, we might as well address it before we get down to the business of reviewing the actual show. The first version of episode 3 was, in short, unfinished. When you have to apologize for just how bad your episode is, with everything to off-model character designs, unfinished animation, unsynched sound... and details that makes you wonder whether animation studio NAZ (the people behind the so-so adaption of another game, Devil Survivor 2) have been in contact with the rest of humanity for a while. Case in point: The dog is floating. Take a look outside. Dogs do not float. What are you doing if you can't animate a dog walking? (Un)Fortunately for me, it's been fixed, and thus, without any further ado...episodes 3 and 4 of DMMD.
It picks up from where we left off, with Noiz wandering into Aoba's shop, engaging in a little banter, getting uncomfortably close, and then leaving, only to turn up in Aoba's bedroom, leading to Noiz, Kojaku and Clear holding a stand off, only to be placated (albeit it after a knock around the head for each) by Tae's cooking. Noiz turns up again and finally, we get something close to shonen ai! At last, three episodes in! A kiss! The fangirls go wild! Oh, and an invitation to join his Rhyme team. Meanwhile, intertwined with this, we get a little more information on Mizuki's unhappiness at losing his team-mates, a little scheming and screen watching from Toue and Sei, and a little backstory about Aoba. All in all, this was Noiz's episode. And it shows. Then Clear had a little bit of the limelight. Here, at last, though it's still very much clinging to the source material for dear life, this actually feels like it's adding something to the game. I don't know whether it's the tone it takes with the (honestly rather weighty) subject manner, or Masatomo Nakazawa (Clear's seiyuu)'s performance, but his discussion with Aoba on the subject of human mortality is probably one of the best scenes so far in the series. Unfortunately, that's more than can be said for the rest of the episode; sure, we get a little more of Mink, who, apart from a brief flashback in Episode 3, hasn't really had much screentime, whilst Mizuki and his issues with Morphine culminate in his disappearance, but otherwise, whilst there's a sense of DMMD gathering pace, it's still very much stuck in a holding pattern tightly following the visual novel. In short, there's nothing here for people who aren't DMMD fans, and even the hardcore fan may be running out of patience with it. Needs to improve, and quickly.
No Recommendation
Love Stage!!
Episode three rejoins Izumi, still somewhat reeling from his put-down by potential love interest, Ryouma and, what a surprise...he's still determined to be a manga-ka. Unfortunately, having broken a good luck charm given to him to get over his nerves, he's forced to try and find a replacement. Meanwhile, despite his protestations otherwise, Ryouma can't help thinking about Izumi, including dreaming about him (leading to one of the funniest gags of the entire series), and being distracted from work...and promptly heads over to his house. Of course, with his parents oh so conveniently having left, it's love at fir-Oh. No, it's not. And Ryouma's attempt to convince himself that he is very much not into guys...amusingly backfires. Cue...fanservice. And, honestly, having sat through the tease of DMMD, it's oddly refreshing that Love Stage plays it straight. We wanted shonen-ai, and shonen-ai is what we get. Episode four merrily continues on the same route, with Ryouma, having been scared off by (overly) protective older brother Shogo, having to share a TV show with him-whilst Love Stage!! is very much Izumi and Ryouma's show, it's refreshing that many of the characters, from Izumi's classmates to manager Rei, are all nicely developed. Izumi, meanwhile...is still embarrassed, and in danger of becoming a shut-in. One dressing down by Rei, as well as a comparing of notes, (Izumi is...worryingly trope savvy), and he's a little happier. If...still running away from Ryouma. Who..wants to apologize. Oh, and give Izumi a make over, and then steal his glasses. Cue Izumi-cuteness overload for Ryouma, who promptly goes into his backstory, showing just how hard he's worked (and his dislike for Shugo...), and a heartfelt confession of love for Izumi, even if he is a guy.
Whilst I hesitate to use the word "perfect", in terms of both its comedic and shonen-ai content, Love Stage!! is getting pretty damned close. The romance is natural, the characters well rounded; boy, it's rare to see a show get to the point of this genre (the actual "Love" of BL) whilst remaining tasteful and charming. Part of its strength is its plot; much as Gravitation without the BL content is still a good show about a struggling musician, so Love Stage!! is a show about Izumi's struggle between his passion, manga and following in his parents' footsteps, and maturing generally. Ryouma, in contrast to oh too many semes in BL, is an equally likeable secondary protagonist, with his own ambitions and interests that don't involve Izumi, and despite the very slightly unsavoury undertones of one or two scenes, is far from the typical love interest you'd expect from this genre. But perhaps the best thing about this show continues to be the comedy; Izumi's otaku nature is still damned funny, his dreams to be a manga-ka, despite his current lack of talent very relatable. Izumi, after all, is one of us, and, whether it be love or his ambitions, we want him to succeed. All things considered, whether you're a BL fan, or not, one thing is clear; this show continues to punch way above its weight.
Solid Recommendation
---------------------------
Second Opinions
Akame ga Kill!
Jonathan: I think intelligently trashy is the best way to describe Akame ga Kill. The conflicts are all very gray and black, and anything white exists solely to meet some horrible fate. However, the reasons for why these terrible people and the main assassins are fighting is far more interesting than it at first seems. The truly irredeemable characters aren't the focus, instead examining tormented souls and the main cast and why they ended up as they are. There's more of a clever edge than first appears, and the battles heavily decided by the mental states of the fighters remain either tense or grotesque in their violent spectacle. This is closer to what I wanted Blue Exorcist to be when I saw the first episode; very shonen, but drenched in violence and horrific villains. I can dig it. Solid Recommendation
Blue Spring Ride
Stephanie: The adorable just keeps coming out in this one! We get to, basically, start over again with Futaba in her second year. And, she seems to be making some good choices right now! Primarily volunteering as a class representative followed by Kou and the remaining three characters we’re going to be seeing a lot of. Not only that, but the relationship between Futaba and Kou is growing at a nice pace! I couldn’t be happier right now! Solid Recommendation
HaNaYaMaTa
Jonathan: I adore this show. It's very melodramatic, but it works. The performances and writing is so strong that I keep overlooking how cheesy and somewhat forced the dramatic moments are. I also love the chemistry of the cast, how so many of these characters don't really seem to get along or have some sort of hidden reason for being friends with each other, yet it somehow gels. Also, the opening song is the best thing. The best thing. Strong Recommendation
Love Stage!!
Stephanie: Can those elephants be a recurring gag, please? That just me laugh so much! I’m actually perfectly fine with how this is progressing. Even the moment we get between Izumi and Ryoma in the third episode. I’m surprised at how well that was handled! And the slight personality flip for Ryoma after that was very amusing as well. It’s actually rather sweet, in a sense. My experience with Love Stage has been rather positive so far! Let’s try and keep it that way! Solid Recommendation
Monthly Girl's Nozaki-kun
Jonathan: Easily the funniest show of the season, no competition. Every gag hits near perfect, timing and pacing is spot-on, the characters are hilarious in their own ways, and Nozaki may be one of the best stoic characters ever used in a comedy. Do not pass this one up. Strong Recommendation
Stephanie: We met the model for Nozaki’s female character. Next we meet the model for his male character as well as another assistant Hori. I have not had a bad time with this series, and I probably should not watch this in public because I would get strange looks from all the laughing I’ve been doing. Yup. Still love this series! ...I should really catch my breath before I die from laughing so hard... Strong Recommendation
Nobunaga Concerto
Jonathan: I really can't decide if this is good or bad some days. The main character is dull, but he's used in an interesting way. The time travel ideas being thrown around are surprisingly clever, but quickly brushed aside. political skullduggery is always welcome, but the consequences from them aren't getting the focus they should. The designs are great, but the animation is choppy and poorly handles anything that's a liquid or oddly patterned. I really like Nobunaga Concerto, despite the faults, but I get why someone would hate it. Solid Recommendation
Rail Wars
Jonathan: This really needed to get adapted by a more talented studio. The plots are fun and make for good action, and the team chemistry keeps getting better, but the production issues are truly inexcusable at times, and this is damning from me. I've sat through the entirety of Samurai Flamenco and thought it was mostly problem free. For me to notice sheer animation ineptitude really means you've screwed up badly. There's also not too much to the show that hasn't been seen before, it's only the execution of the cases that let the series enjoyable. Weak Recommendation
Sailor Moon: Crystal
Jonathan: Animation issues aside (I have become immune to the inept production of Toei works), I'm really enjoying Crystal. It never strays too far from the magical girl formula, yet makes it work perfectly for what it is. Rei's arc was very well handled, and I like how they aren't making her as goofy as she was in the first anime. I have little negative to say about Crystal besides production issues; it works great otherwise for exactly what it wants to be; Sailor Moon. Solid Recommendation
Tokyo Ghoul
Jonathan: The decision to shove in the gourmet arc in the middle of the doves arc was a good one in my book. It keeps the show moving at a faster pace without removing anything. It also means Tsukiyama gets screen time much earlier, and he is simply incredible in this show. He's voiced by Mamoru Miyano, also known as the voice of Light Yagami and Berg Katze, and he deserves awards for this performance, a perfect mixture of menace and hilarious, boundless ham. It's just ...so beautiful. Strong Recommendation
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