Seasonal Reviews: Fall 2014 Pt.2

Time for more Fall anime!

We'll also be covering Girlfriend BETA and Bonjour this time, which were left off in the first entry due to availability issues. We apologize for the wait, all three of you dying to know about the show based on a harem mobile game and the short series about pretty boys and cake.

Dropped

• Terraformars (Jonathan Kaharl)

A Good Librarian, Like a Good Shepherd
Jonathan Kaharl

Now this has been a nice little surprise. Like I thought earlier, Shepherd does fall into some Hoods tropes, but I'm glad that I seem to be wrong about it being a bad Key takeoff. These last two episodes did a good job at establishing the show's tone and character dynamic, and it's pretty strong. Tsugumi, the girl who wants to become outgoing, and Kakei, the main character and quiet bookworm, make a team that works together wonderfully to help others. Tsugumi's kind heart brings others around her and helps make her approachable for those seeking help, whether they admit it or not. Kakei, on the other hand, seems to have a knack for understanding social situations and others, communicating easily and helping them warm up to Tsugumi and the rest of the library club. Basically, he's the shepherd of the flock that keeps everything together. This first mini-arc had the two helping a shy girl and former famous singer named Misono, whom has become emotionally distant to others. The resolution almost got my heart to melt, dead serious.

She ended up with a bad cold in episode three, managing to walk home, but collapsed on the floor. She sent an e-mail to get some advice on how to prepare some food, but the club came to her home instead and nursed her back to health. After seeing her being so distant for two episodes, she finally opened up while dreaming, holding onto Tsugumi's hand tightly, then hugging her while she tried to get off the bed and asking her not to leave, calling her "mom." It's cliche, but the scene just worked, especially when Tsugumi smiled and brushed her hair a little while saying comforting words. It was the most motherly, sweet thing I've seen this entire year and my heart almost couldn't take it (also I'm shipping the hell out of this, don't judge me). The direction for this series is really good, with lots of little background gags going on during dialog scenes, flowing movements with silly faces, and soft, warm atmosphere in emotional scenes that only require a little bit of subtlety. The entire show just calms down and lets the scene play out itself with some silence, letting the emotion speak for itself. I admire that. I also like the show's sense of humor, very hokey and simple, but fitting for the warm tone the series is going for. It's very familiar, but inviting. I really enjoy being in this show's world and watching its characters.

But this is Hoods we're talking about. Their love for boobies and butts is still shining through, with transparent shirts and visible bras during the rain, and jiggle from nearly every girl. Misono also gets a lot of attention from behind and around her thighs, and as much as I hate to admit it, Hoods is simply masterful at displying the female body in erotic ways. I don;t know if they should take pride in that or not. But it's not distracting, bizarrely. The rest of the show is so cute and the comedy so common that the jigglin' doesn't distract as much as usual. Hoods was also wise enough to hold back and not turn this into outright smut, so there's an actual balance. Plus, they're almost artistic in just how good they are at drawing body proportions and getting down the physics that they manage to avoid overcompensating with terrible fetishism. This is a show that's confident in every part of it, even the part that shouldn't be there. This show has a shot at being one of the better shows of the season, and that simply amazes me.

Solid Recommendation

Ai Tenchi Muyo
Joe Straatmann

Changing out wacky hijinks featuring threats of wounding Tenchi's manhood with wacky hijinks featuring random movie references, the next phase of shorts starts with Tenchi and a member of the student council searching through a labyrinth that resembles the warehouse from the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Even with a different approach, it has about the same effect as there is one really good laugh involving a locker and the rest is physical comedy grasping at straws to find something that works. Oh yeah, and one of the shorts actually remembers there's a story that eventually has to be unveiled.

If there is any hope for the future on these things, it's that the original cast is moving out of their hiding place and starting to interact with the world. Yes, they weren't exactly epitomes of complexity even when I was an ADHD-addled teenager who loved everything on Sci-Fi Channel's Saturday Morning Anime regardless of quality, but at least the characters were made to hold an audience's attention attention for more than three minutes at a time. That's not to mention it's a more sanitary option than to root for romantic interests within the new cast since they are students and Tenchi is their teacher. Plus, Ryoko gets an amusing moment as the bouncer of a school festival cafe, and I get the pleasure of actually writing that sentence. It's not enough to recommend this title, but it's at least a tiny bit of joy, which is more than I got out of Tenchi GXP.

No Recommendation

Amagi Brilliant Park
Stephanie Getchell

Question of the week: how does Seiya plan on saving the theme park? Well, from what episode three has done, it seems like the first plan of action would be to close the park for clean up and maintenance, lower the admission fee, and take some of the female employees and create a viral campaign involving bikinis. And did any of this work? Well, the park is at least getting some attention. Last week I talked about how Seiya actually seems like a fairly intelligent person and knows what the heck he's doing. Although some of the methods he's used so far seem like logical choices, there was a clever moment during the viral video plot where he actually created a separate video of a fight between a patron and Moffle, the park's head mascot. Now that was something rather funny and clever the show went with.

Episode four gives us more focus on Sento and her role to play in the park. As the acting manager prior to Seiya coming aboard, she didn't exactly have the skills in order to really get the park in top shape. When the fairy girls approach Seiya and brings this to his attention, an argument occurs and causes the pair be quietly angry for a while until a rain storm and a bad judgement call on Seiya's part brings Sento to the rescue as she heads the operation in order to keep the park from getting flooded. In the end, Seiya and Sento reconcile, share a moment through similar circumstances, and then some kind of preview of what looks like a dragon.... I think. The only other thing we do get to learn in this episode is that Seiya is actually human because he has a fear of heights, of all things. That certainly helps make his character a little more endearing.

Amagi is still a rather easy watch for me compared to a good amount of the series I have this season. Again, with a simple premise and easy execution, it doesn't need to be overly complex. The characters are also growing on me more and more with each episode as I learn more and gain some focus on them. With Moffle and Sento being the ones with more focus for the third and fourth episodes, the progression of the series is going in a natural direction and pace. I have little complaints with Amagi this week aside from it not really being a huge stand out series. But, that's ok, because I don't mind something different every now and again.

Solid Recommendation

BONJOUR: Sweet Love Patisserie
Megan R

Sayuri Haruno is starting her first lessons at the prestigious Fleurir Confectionary School, a palatial campus where Sayuri hopes to learn the skills to make her bakery dreams come true. Sadly for her, she’s a scholarship student, which brings forth scorn from the popular girls because how dare she ruin their school with her poorness! Still, she doesn’t have too much cause to despair. In addition to her best friend Ran, there’s also a bevy of beautiful young men whose baking skills are just as exceptional as their looks. There's the grumpy redheaded student Ryou; dark haired Mitsuki, master of chocolate; bubbly blonde half-French Gilbert; and the cool purple-headed  Japanese sweets teacher Yoshinosuke. Sayuri will have her work cut out for her, though, when she’s paired with Ryou for their first assignment. 

This show was based on an otome game, and it shows on every level. You’ve got a bland, wibbling jellyfish of a lead with hints of a tragic past as well as the inability to speak up for herself in any and all situations. Thankfully she has Ran, who is by and large the best character on the show. In a weird way, she reminds me a little bit of Sailor Moon’s Makoto Kino, minus the super strength and lightning powers. She’s tough, talkative, and boy-crazy, and Ayane Sakura’s performance made me love her with every line. Of course, a wilting violet of a lead isn’t complete without a snooty, sausage-curled rich bitch to antagonize her, fulfilled here by walking stereotype Tsubaki. Finally, there are the boys themselves, each of them with candy colored hair and baking skills that less resemble actual baking and something closer to a magical girl transformation.  Each boy fits their given type to a T – tsundere, school prince, genki, and stoic. Gilbert in particular comes off like a half-baked ripoff of Ouran High School Host Club’s Tamaki Suoh, minus his humor, personality, and great vocal performance. 

Once again, we have a short series that would have benefitted from a longer running time. Episode two leaves us hanging in the middle of the assignment without the slightest bit of resolution. It simply lets the pretty boys show off their skills before jumping to the credits. While the show’s designs are bright and colorful, the animation is pretty stiff and the makers clearly believe there is no situation that cannot be improved with Dutch angles. Not even the opening excited me, and that had pretty anime boys flying around space on giant pastries. This show is your bog-standard reverse harem from top to bottom, and only the promise of more Ran or possibly even more ridiculous magical cooking transformations will keep me watching

Weak Recommendation

Celestial Method
Jonathan Kaharl 

I'm done with this one. Just done. I was thinking hard about which weekend show I wanted to drop this time for the sake of my sanity, and the three finalists were Marksman, Lost Future and Celestial Method. I picked these three as the most boring shows on my plate, but Marksman managed to win back some points in its favor with episode three (more on that later). But Celestial Method started to fall apart, and I began to see it for what it really is; a beautiful production with simply awful writing. I am dead serious, this may be one of the worst written shows of the year, and certainly one of the saddest excuses for a drama I've ever seen. It took me awhile to see what it was doing, but once I saw, I was done.

Episodes two and three had Nonoka meeting some old friends, and you'd think this is where the series would start moving towards her trying to figure out the reasons for her former memory loss. But nope! She STILL doesn't remember any of these people, and most of them don't remember her. While the seven years thing is a solid reason for all the lack of memory, it's absolutely bizarre all of these characters would forget so many important details. There's also the possibility the saucer made them forget things like being the ones who summoned the thing, but how the series uses that lack of memory is where it starts falling apart. There's this one girl with headphones is is quite possibly the worst written excuse for forced drama I have ever seen. Her entire purpose in the show right now is to be constantly angry at Nonoka for MOVING AWAY. I mean, she didn't tell the kids about moving, BUT SHE'S MAD THAT SHE MOVED AWAY. SHE WAS A KID, I DON'T THINK THAT'S SOMETHING SHE GETS TO DECIDE YOU IDIOT. The irony of her thinking that Nonoka thinks the rest of them are stupid is impossible not to see. What's worse is piss poor world building; one of the characters despises the saucer, yet the only reasons to hate it are that people don't shoot fireworks anymore and that it's a reminder that Nonoka left. There are no other examples of negative impact by the saucer's presence. BUT THIS CHARACTER BARELY REMEMBERED NONOKA AT ALL, AND THAT SHE HELPED CALLED THE SAUCER IN THE FIRST PLACE. THEN WHY DO YOU STILL HATE THE SAUCER. The stated reason is fireworks, but the more I think about that, the dumber it is. I get the show is making a point about this girl feeling that she's lost something important, but the dialog just can't make that point without sounding strange or off.

Worst of all, there is no drama that you can latch onto. These first three episodes try to sell the idea of lost childhood friends torn apart by differences in understanding, but it's so boring and reliant on so much general stupidity and convenient memory loss that I simply couldn't stand it by the third episode. Obvious things also established in the first episode, that Nonoka should already be aware of, are treated as major revelations in the third episode. WE ALREADY KNOW. WE SAW HER FLASHBACK. SHE SAW HER FLASHBACK. EVERYONE HERE SHOULD KNOW SHE STARTED THE GANG TO CALL THE SAUCER. Gah. This show just makes me angry every time I put some thought into it, which is a real shame. The art is beautiful and the premise is interesting. But the writing ...no. This is not okay.

No Recommendation, Dropped

Cross Ange: Rondo of Angel and Dragon
Jonathan Kaharl

 

Yup, this is a Sunrise adult targeted mech show! Ange's early denial has now stopped and she's embraced an important truth; the world is cruel, and all she can do is kill those who would harm her and survive as her first step. She has to be independent now, and she can't afford to waste the life her mother gave her and protected with her own life. The show really, REALLY grinds down Ange to reach this point; two trainees who were kind to her are horrifically killed by dragons while they tried chasing after her in her escape attempt, and the squad leader (who tried to rape her just moments ago) is killed due to her panic. Ange ruins everything for everybody, and its implied her actions nearly lead to the entire Norma base going up in flames because one of the dragons got loose. Ange has to carry up the gravestones of the people she effectively killed so she can never forget them, and then she's forced to confront what she had been running from this whole time.

Jill, the head of the base, is showing to be a really interesting character. She seems to see through Ange like she was made of clean glass, and I bet she can do the same with the other pilots. She forces Ange to face the truth that she is a norma and that her society effectively ruined the lives of countless innocents for no good reason. Ange doesn't take it well, even managing to become suicidal, but then Jill does something I find fascinating. She gives Ange her mother's ring from the first episode, along with her old mech that seems to be powered by something in the ring Jill is aware only Ange can use. Basically, instead of telling Ange these facts to make her into a weapon, she treats her as human; she gives the harsh truth and puts her in a situation where she has a way out if she chooses to live and accept that truth instead of continuing to run from it. She's a hardened badass who seems to fully understand how horrible the world she lives in really is, and she makes it clear to all those who come to her through example and harsh, unflinching firespitting. I really like this, there's a cruel depth to her, and I'm really excited to know more, and I'm excited to see how Ange changes. I'm also really interested in what all this means for the relationships with the other pilots, most all whom despise Ange now (and for damn good reason). I'm really interested in Hilda, the red-head and Zola's lover, is going to do, and I'm really interested in what her relationship with Zola really was (I suspect Hilda retreated into a solely sexual relationship to deal with the trauma around her).

You know what? Fuck it. I really, really like Cross Ange, and I might just love it. I admire just how dark it's willing to get, and how effective that unflinching attitude is. The CG is poor, but the action scenes are awesome and visceral instead of like most clean mech fights. Ange's arc is very classic and told fantastically, and I love how much you can read into characters who only have a few minutes of screen time from simply how they act. No matter how trashy Sunrise gets, they get how to plot a story (minus Valvrave's slow start) and they know how to build interesting characters within a huge cast. The show is arguably too grim (even I won't defend the portrayed assault by Zola and it's creepy fetishism) and has some Sunrise faults that get under my skin (I thought we were done with butt angle mech piloting after Kallen in Code Geass), but what it gets right, it gets damn right.

You may now leave your angry comments down below.

Strong Recommendation

Denki-Gai
David O'Neil

I sort of have trouble talking about Denki Gai. The reason for that is that when it comes down to it the show is pretty simple, and at this point has pretty much laid all its cards on the table. It's a wacky slice of life with some romcom elements that gets its laughs from jokes centered around over the top takes on otaku culture, along with the occasional clever use of playing with expectations created largely as a result of the perverted minds the show clearly knows its audiences has (I'm not denying it, I'm just saying).

And it works well enough, every time I'm watching it I have a lot of fun. The jokes are clever, the animation is good, and every new episode reaches new heights of ridiculous in terms of what sort of jokes it can do with its relatively simple premise. I've seen a few comedy anime they similarly try to create humor around the manga tropes, but what makes Denki Gai unique is just how it always goes farther with it than you'd ever expect (Never seen anything quite like "Schrodinger's Panties," I can say that much). One of the last two episodes was centered around Valentines Day (spot on timing, huh?), so it had a lot of fun playing with the usual cliches that arise surrounding that holiday, along with me continuing to be sort of creeped out by the implied romance between Sommelier and Fu Girl (it'd help if I had an idea of exactly how old Sommelier is because he looks as if he could be like in his goddamn late twenties or older), but it had plenty of fun bits nonetheless. The next was a bit more spread out focus-wise, but I found the panties part a lot funnier than I expected to and it had a pretty interesting section introducing an ex-employee of the store, giving us a bit of insight into Kantoku as a character.

The thing is, Denki Gai has been a very consistent show. Since it started it doesn't feel like it has particularly improved, or gotten worse in any major way since it's beginning. Which isn't necessarily bad, it's of course nice that it hasn't spiraled downward as I was worried it would, but it does often leave me befuddled as what new things there are to say about it. I guess just that Denki Gai is indeed still good. It continues to be an unapologetically crude and over the top comedy with plenty of laughs and cute, energetic animation, though not much beyond that.

Solid Recommendation

Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works
Jonathan Kaharl

Now we're getting somewhere! The past two weeks for Fate have been a bit mixed, but not nearly as badly as the first two episodes. Episode three was definitely the weak episode of the two, going back into exposition, and a lot of it already established from the first episode with Rin. Thankfully, the fake priest Kirei made up most of the episode. He's the guy overseeing the Holy Grail war, and while past versions of the series would cast the character in mystery, he's completely made out to be the bad guy here. Jouji Nakata is just amazing here, speaking each line of exposition with menace and evil glee, though reserved. The script for the scene is equally strong, giving him a ton of great lines, edging on Shirou with thinly veiled insults. It's wonderful.

The following episode is simply incredible. We get to meet the Berserker warrior and his master, and the two make a nasty team. Archer practically nukes the thing multiple times with barely a scratch, while Saber goes all out with masterful combat abilities. I love how clever she is here, along with how easily she manages to keep up with Berserker's insane speed and powerful blows. Rin and Shirou really manage to prove themselves as resourceful in their own right to boot, with Rin managing to survive against the incredibly powerful Illya and Shirou intelligent enough to get Saber out of danger during Archer's big move.

That forth episode also goes to show just how incredible a studio Ufotable is. The animation in this episode is some of the best I've seen all year, every move and change in the fight scenes are perfectly choreographed, and the use of effects is absolutely perfect. You can really feel the force of every blow, especially Archer's set of exploding arrows and his massive finisher. It was some movie quality production, and I want to see more of it. If Fate keeps this up, it has a shot at being one of my top five of the season.

Strong Recommendation

The Fruit of Grisaia
Joe Straatmann

The episodes covered in this update start with a sexual outburst for the crowd who is in this for the pervy side of things, and the episode at the end of it concludes with an extremely dramatic moment for people like me waiting for the more psychologically screwed up side of this show to play its hand. The rest is more-or-less the usual harem character building. It's neither particularly gripping or horrifically boring. The whole thing seems to be in a holding pattern until the audience is ready to be shown what is REALLY going on here.

It starts by giving Amane her chance at pairing with the main character and it's likely a tough act to beat. She breaks into Yuuji's room and gets caught as she throws herself into an act of self love when smelling his things. It would be awkwardly humorous on its own since Yuuji is completely deadpan through the whole experience, but they follow it up with Yuuji getting "little sister" Makina to sing a military exercise song in honor of Amane's break in. It's something that's best left to be experienced. On the flip side, there's an episode covering Michiru, the blonde wannabe tsundare and it surprisingly plays with the more mysterious aspects than I expected. Michiru has a more solemn split personality and its ending is far more dramatic than anything the series has revealed before. I won't spoil anything, but it's the one part I really didn't like as it comes off as creating something tragic out of thin air just to get an emotional response. It's surprising when the most shameless thing in a series based on an erogame has nothing to do with sexuality.

Other than that, there's not really much to say. The whole thing is focused tightly on small pieces of the story without much of the big picture at the moment. It's pleasant enough to sit through save the ending of the fourth episode, but it's also nothing substantial. It obviously has its moments of fan service, but I don't find it slimy. It's a matter of when they'll start revealing what it's all going to add up to when I'll get a better measure of the quality of the series. Hopefully, as it gets around to the more screwed up parts of its characters, it does it in a manner that more addresses the characters than simply throwing out something to make the audience sad and then wringing out as many tears as possible.

Weak Recommendation

Garo: The Animation
Stephanie Getchell

These next two episodes of Garo, I get to talk about today are a very good dose of character development and exposition. For the fourth episode, Leon and German travel to a village where mysterious disappearances have been occurring due to a mix of some sort of exorcism ceromonydone by the villagers as well as a Horror. From this episode we meet a little boy named Alois who's father was murdered because of the village and it's secret so he is trying to seek revenge. Something to point out here, is that German does ask Leon if he is seeking revenge for the death of his mother, Anna, because dark emotions like that can cause a person to become a Horror. Through Alois, Leon can see what he could possibly become if he let's his revenge consume him. This, alone, seems like it will present itself as an internal struggle for Leon to face alongside his previous lack of control over his Makai armor. Certainly a simple piece of development, and yet is very effective. But, don't worry, Alois wasn't a Horror. Confused yet? Good! Go watch the episode!

As for episode five, Leon is out of commission for the majority of the episode because of a contract stipulation with Zaruba. On the day of the New Moon, Zaruba takes some of Garo's life. This, from what I'm gathering, will make Leon die at a younger age as the energy Zaruba takes each New Moon equals a day from Leon's overall life. Anyways, since Leon is all passed out and stuff, what do we get to do for the episode? Remember Alfonso? Yeah, the prince who had to run away from the kingdom after Mendoza finds some kind of connection between the Makei Knights and Alfonso's mother? Well, now we get to know why. After being chased by Horrors under Medoza's control, Alfonso is rescued by Rafael who is the Makai Knight known as Gaia. Rafael tells Alfonso about his true lineage and that he, himself, is also a descendent of the Golden Knight Garo. This makes Alfonso and Leon cousins. By the end of the episode, Alfonso is beginning to understand the world of Horrors and what the true purpose of the Makai Knights are as well as the real villain of the witch hunts. Of course, as the Prince, he wants to protect his country so he convinces Rafael to help train him and take full advantage of his bloodline.

Compared to the tons of action the first three episodes had, this is a nice little change. Granted, these are still very action heavy episodes but seeing some development in both our main leads is extremely comforting to me. Alfonso, especially, since I had the very strong feeling he would be a lead alongside Leon, but I had been waiting to see how that story is going to be directed. Garo has not wasted a single moment of my time and is giving out the right information at the right time. I still have nothing to complain about here, and very much look forward to these upcoming weeks!

Strong Recommendation

Girlfriend Beta
Thom "Tama" Langley

“This isn’t a film; you have to think of it as an industrial moment.”-Mark Kermode, on Transformers: Dark of the Moon.

…*sigh*. Look at the quote up there. Change “film” to “series”, and you have my view of Girlfriend Beta. But what is this monstrosity? Well, it’s a (mostly) free mobile dating sim, where you can date one of at least 60+ girls. First off…oh, otaku pandering. Why give someone a harem to choose from when you can give them a small village? Don’t like one girl?  Switch to another. After a particular type? This game’ll have it. For a cost. Second off, they’re all voiced by relatively famous seiyuu, so their more ardent fans can, of course, date the characters they’ve voiced. Third off…card collecting. Yes, Rage of Bahamut: Genesis is AMAZING, but phone based card collection doesn't USUALLY make for compelling viewing. Just like Farmville doesn't USUALLY make friends overly happy to be prodded with requests. And, just like Farmville, Girlfriend Beta charges you for “premium” content. In short, it’s “pay-to-win” (and boy, are they paying, with creators Ameba raking in 1.8 billion yen a month)-in short, it's headed for the wallets of so many otaku for the “girlfriend experience” that Sword Art Online feels like an indie series made on Flash. Back to Kermode for a second-just as Bay has turned Transformers from a likeable toy advert in the 1980s, to a precision-built thing that draws in horny American teenage boys with a mix of mindless action, ogling cinematic eye, and equally mindless destruction, Girlfriend Beta is perfectly formulated to make as much money out of horny Japanese teenage boys with no girlfriend and large disposable incomes as humanly possible. With five (yes, five) manga on the go at once pulling more income, where else to go?
An anime.Of course.  Well..knives out.  This is going to be messy.

Or...at least I thought it was going to be messy. Our protagonist is, in fact, one of the many dateable girls, Kokomi and is certaintly likeable enough, as well as a gymnast. We're promptly introduced to many of our supporting cast, from ditsy gardening girl to fellow athletes of various sports. Sure, it's a tad fanservicey in these initial sections, with Kokomi being easily flustered by photographer friend, and (semi-obvious yuri route) Enera, whilst exchange student (fan favourite and focus of this first episode), Chloe Lemaire turns up and scolds her, before engaging in "basic Japanese explanation 101", and leaves, dropping a photograph. Heading to class, Kokomi meets up with other people who are all seemingly defined by which clubs and committees they're on; juggling girl juggles, health committee girl is...interested in health, and the foreigner is a culture geek. Even our protagonist is largely driven by her athletic accomplishments. Oh, Lemaire might be in the flower-arranging club? Oh, but lunch break is over...so, after school, she heads back. Nope. Lemaire's not there. Finally, Kokomi gives up, and is promptly spotted by Lemaire who shares Kokomi's lunch. And then kisses her. YURI. HURRAH.

Episode two. And Kokomi has a tournament. And is worried about her weight. Cue diet. And more girl-girl cute generic interactions. Although, to be fair. Kokomi's gymnastics are well animated. Part of this episode focuses upon Miyoshi, who, apart from being sleepy (yay, easily identifiable character traits) is also a model. Kokomi, meanwhile, becomes the focus of a school-wide search for the "hottest". Oh. Oh dear. Oh, and an interview. And more panicking about dieting. And more Chloe cuteness. Who becomes confused about all Japanese girls wanting to go on a diet. (and not wanting to be "soft and squishy"). And there is a diet club. Um. DIET MONTAGE. Oh, and then the "diet club" is offered melon buns. Um. Well. Ok. And, after all that, muscle weighs more than fat, and Kokomi got through preliminaries. So far ...it's honestly generic as hell. There are occasional Kyo-Ani-esque touches of cuteness, but each episode is four minutes of fluff, one minute of yuri-teasing and nineteen minutes of not much happening very cutely. The OP and ED are ok, the animation is decent, and the character designs strong enough that each character can be told apart. It's not offensive...but it's rather bland. Generic, sub Kyo-Ani cuteness, maximized and copy-pasted for twenty-four minutes. It's overlong, boring, repetitive and based upon a product that at least brazenly announced itself as an attempt to get you to spend money. Remind you of anything?

No Recommendation

Gonna be the Twin-Tails!!
Jonathan Kaharl

This is the stupidest show and I love it. Really, that's all you need to know, Twin-Tails is hilarious stupidity at every turn. After getting off on a strong first note, the following two episodes continue things by having Twoearle, the woman who gave Soji his powers, moving into his house and setting up a command center to fight the invaders as to avoid Earth ending like her home dimension. Said invaders, the Ultimegil, are physical manifestations of fetishes, and they're here to take the "attributes" of humanity that give them their passion and obsessions. The Twin-Tails attribute that Soji has is particularly powerful, and anyone with said attribute is a main target as a result. Also, all the bad guys are effectively creepy old men in the form of monsters ripped from a super sentai show, Twoearle is a sexual deviant who's every other line is some form of sexual innuendo, Soji's mother actively encourages the guy to lose his virginity, and any deeper thoughts Soji may have had over his situation is usually interrupted by him obsessing over twin-tails. She actually tries hiding himself in the bathroom in girl form, just so he can touch her twin-tails to her heart's content. Aika is literally the only sane person left in the show, and the sheer madness around her is getting on her nerves. At least she becomes Tailblue, in order to assist Soji against tougher enemies that can out-power or outsmart her.

Not only am I amazed that this show exists, I am amazed that it's this constantly entertaining. It's a show that definitely has its mind in the gutter, but in that self-aware way where it's constantly poking fun at itself. The bad guys really are creepy in how inappropriate they act ...and every character agrees. Twoearle (who's name really does describe her social skills) is a gigantic pervert ...and Aika is always there to make sure she gets what she deserves. Soji is mostly just oblivious and wants to save his precious hair style ...but even he has his limits as the people around him somehow manage to be crazier than he is (his mother wanted to be a cute heroine, and she admits she's passing her ambitions onto Soji now that he can turn into a girl). The series has this constant cheeky grin as it does increasingly stupid things and then laughs at itself, and it manages in a lot of subtle gags at the same time. For example, after getting an exposition dump from Twoearle and she described the villains as "paradoxical," Soji and Aika actually look up "paradoxical" in the dictionary. Nobody on the staff had to write this in, but they did, resulting in an unexpected chuckle in an otherwise dry scene.

The whole series reuses a lot of jokes, but it does it so well, so frequently, and so absurdly that it manages to keep being entertaining in how far its willing to take those jokes. By the third episode, Tailred has become such a huge star that when Tailblue premiers in a fight, all Japanese media simply reports that Tailred was adorable and her new partner is probably secretly a villain because she's not as cute. I nearly lost it because you have no idea how close that joke is to describing so many "best girl" conversations I've seen. This show is so silly and stupid, and it loves every second of it. Bonus points go to how Soji's gender is handled; he never really focuses much on any sort of gender identity or politics, while in girl form, she's just as comfortable as she is as a guy, and her personality is mostly the same (just with moments of embarrassment because she's suddenly the target of male and gay gaze). There's no idiotic "BUT GIRLS" or "I'M STILL A GUY" moments, and everyone is cool with the Tailred form. For a show with such stupid, cliched and ridiculous humor, I'm impressed the took the high road here and used those tropes to subvert gags at times. This is the third best show of the Fall so far and I am not ashamed to say that, because this show ...I could watch it forever.

Strong Recommendation

Gugure! Kokkuri-san
Jonathan Kaharl

Oh my god, Inugami. Oh my god. The newest resident of Kohina's haunted home is Inugami, a dog spirit whom died as a puppy that Kohina once showed kindness to in its life. As a result, the spirit is obsessed with her, and it's not leaving the house. Shenanigans follow. Kokkuri already had it rough, but Inugami's insane obsessions and underhanded methods to get what he wants, along with his habit of only hearing what he wants to hear, makes him a constant thorn in the fox spirit's side. The lengths the show goes with this character is the surprising part. He's a creepy bastard who's outright in love with the little girl, and the ways he tries getting close to her, both stupid and clever, always manage to get a laugh from either the sheer uncomfortable atmosphere of a scene, or from shock by the sheer insanity of his actions. Inugami also turns into a girl from time to time because he never knew his gender when he died. I wish he were in girl form more.

The gags are getting much better now, and more frequent. The presence of Inugami really helps in that department, because it gives the main duo a new nutter to bounce jokes off of. His sheer perversion (he's excited about the idea of Kohina whipping him, but also wants to make her choke on cup noodles) is so uncontrolled that I can't help but laugh at it. He makes a great counter point to the ever polite Kokkuri, who also gets some development. There's a hint that he has a more benevolent reason for helping Kohina, and seeing how he's willing to talk with her is really sweet. I'm also really excited by the newest character introduced at the end of the third episode, an old tanuki addicted to alcohol and gambling who crashes Kohina's home for some shelter and food. He's just so different from the other two, and I have high hopes for him.

Giving this one another strong thumbs up, you can't go wrong with Gugure! Kokkuri-san.

Strong Recommendation

Gundam: G no Reconguista
David O'Neil

Early on Gundam: G no Reconguista got my attention with it's refreshingly retro visual style and music, and it continues to keep that attention effectively episode by episode. Since I lasted wrote on G no Reconguista, Bellri has continued fighting for the pirates who are holding him hostage, constantly trying to find the right opportunity to escape, but also learning more and more about why it is this conflict has arisen between these two factions. The plot so far has kept quite engaging, I've heard talk of the show being too confusing, but I haven't really had that problem. Don't get me wrong, as someone who isn't much of a Gundam expert I do at times get a bit befuddled by all the terms and concepts being thrown around, but when it comes to the actual overarching story being told I pretty much have a solid understanding of everything that's going on.

The big thing that's really stood out to me in the last two episodes is by far the action, which as the show progresses has only gotten better and better. The animation isn't quite as intricate or fast paced as a lot of newer mecha shows (including other recent Gundam series), but it manages to make up for that with really good fight choreography and direction. Overall the show really does do a great job making the action incredibly interesting to watch, the fights have flow at a great pace and use tons of neat old fashioned techniques that work well without clashing with the more modern bits of animation. That with the addition of the terrific musical score and strong voice acting makes for some of the best action I've seen scenes of the season so far (in a season with quite a few really well animated action shows).  The most recent episode also closed on a big dramatic moment for the main character, Bellri, and so far the show seems to be taking the character in an interesting direction. It still hasn't quite reached the emotional level I feel it's trying to, but I'll just have to see how it handles this.

Any fan of mecha shouldn't be missing out on G no Reconguista, it's not only a love letter to the classic visual style of mecha anime, but continues to stand remarkably well on it's own as a high quality series. The music is superb, it boasts some great animation, and the action is incredibly well executed. In addition, the character conflicts and overarching plot continue to thicken more and more, (in a way that I personally find pretty easy to follow). Still worth watching for top notch mecha action and more.

Strong Recommendation

Hi-sCool! Seha Girls
Walter Holleger

Last time we talked about Seha Girls, I gave this show "No Recommendation" because I didn't think it was funny, and I feel a gag show that I don't find funny isn't worth recommending. With the newer episodes, I can now say that this show did make me laugh... once. In the span of three episodes.

Episode two takes place directly after episode one, with the girls diving into Virtua Fighter to complete a 100 fight survival to win medals requires for graduation, fighting not only includes Virtua Fighter characters, but characters from many Sega games. Maybe it's because I never grew up with the sega consoles, or maybe it's because i didn't find the episodes one running joke, Dreamcast being hard headed literally, to be funny, but everything was so underwhelming. This was suppose to be the shows big selling point, that we had the personification of Sega consoles going into their own games to poke fun at them and themselves, and nothing really hit, leaving the whole experience as just disappointing.

Episode three is exactly like the first episode, in the it's about how the girls interact outside of class and introducing the game and challenge for next episode, and I don't think I'm talked about how one dimensional these girls really are. These girls have no personality outside of their quirks that were introduced in episode 1. It feels lifeless, stereotyped, and the worst part is how easily you can see the group of writers sitting around a table, planning how they're gonna make you fall for these sweet and charming high school girls who get into misadventures, and that right there is what I dislike the most about this show.

No Recommendation

I Can't Understand What My Husband is Saying
Thom "Tama" Langley

Ah. A breath of fresh air. Much needed. And, considering how GFB had the pace of an (admitedly cute) glacier, ICUWMHIS's whiplash "everything and the kitchen sink" approach of flinging comedy at us at a hundred miles an hour...is honestly preferable. So, with no further ado, more otaku hijinks. Episode three-and our protagonist's friend (I think) is still visiting-and talking about the issue of popularity of her manga the club. Oh, and our protagonist has no friends. Apart from his wife. And now she's meeting up with other otaku, including DESTINY F*CKER. YES. Anime reference! Selling out to bring in more readers (and toning down your BL, which may or may not be based on your friend/sibling) But, yay! Friends!

Episode 4! Time! What is time?! And our adorable dork protag, having cancelled his blog, is now a NEET! And now he's looking for a job. Which he is unable to find. Mostly because he used his icon. Cue wife frustration Oh, and our BL drawing friend, who may or may not have hitched up with  Destiny F*cker (no, seriously that the name the series gives him, (at least I think it's him)), may or may not be a guy. DF (who also has his own NEET relative) finds him a job...as a webdesigner. Oh, the joys of being an otaku. Once more...Destiny F*cker. Hehe~.

Once again, where Husband is good, it's REALLY damned good, its high-speed scattergun approach is hitting more targets, and its references a little more on-point. The introduction of new characters (particularly Destiny F*cker), as well as the development of the main duo is good, and the key dynamic between the two is still amazing; it says a lot that in the 14 minutes of screen time these four episodes have covered, there's been more development of this dysfunctional duo than there has been for the entire cast of GFB. But, eh. It's still fun, and it's getting better. However, the humor misses on occasion and the episodes are STILL too short. An improvement on the first two episodes' base, nonetheless.

Solid Recommendation

In Search of Lost Future
Jonathan Kaharl 

OHA, JAPANESE GHOSTO!

That piece of random Engrish from Kenny, the exchange student from New York, is the highlight of the show so far. Now, Kenny is the greatest American character even made by non-Americans, but him channeling Terry Bogard should not be a major highlight. Lost Future is a bit of a dull slog, but I'm not willing to give up on it yet. I just feel like I know where it's headed. Girl from future is trying to stop horrible thing from happening, the "ghost" that looks like her is some sort of time travel aftermath, the president of the club is hiding something, and Kaori is literally the most useless character who has ever existed. I mean, MC's squeeze from Invaders of the Rokujyoma at least had a role as Yurika's best friend and therefore not entirely lacking all personality by association. Kaori, the main girl and the one you just know stargazer is gonna get with, is simply here as a tragedy magnet whom can't defend herself or contribute in any meaningful way compared to the entire rest of the cast. Kenny and tomboy kick ass, prez supervises, stargazer has the entire world revolve around him because visual novel anime, and future girl is doing all the plot stuff. Kaori is barely a character, and what human traits she does have are just her moping that stargazer doesn't return her feelings she never tells him about because hack romance writers don't know how relationships work.

Kaori is annoying, but the rest of the show is either dull or retreaded comedy tropes. Only Kenny is the remaining shining light, as he gushes about his overweight American girlfriend and speaks in terrible Engrish that no English speaking person would ever use. It's a shame that he will be functionally useless once the drama kicks up. I've already watched Steins;Gate, so I don't think Lost Future is going to do it for me, or anyone else for that matter.

.....Okay, one more.  JAPANESE GHOST! ROCK ON!

No Recommendation

JOKER
Walter Holleger

I sadly may have been off on my prediction that JOKER would become a gadget an episode series. Too soon to tell that for sure, but in place of new gadgets, we did get a new detective for Kaitou Joker to combat.

In this episode, Joker travels to Paris, France to steal a priceless painting from a safe that only opens once every 100 years, but is opposed by a new detective, Viridian, who uses his artistic skills to confuse Joker. Viridian is about as arrogant and posh as you'd expect and it makes for a great clash of ego's with Joker, along with his own arsenal of skills and gadgets to fight with, that makes me hope he becomes a reoccurring character, unlike the already reoccurring character, Hachi. 

Hachi was the character from the first episode that was used to show Joker was a good guy, by giving him a sad backstory, and show that he can also steal for good reasons too, but he decided to follow Joker into a life of crime for no actual reason other than Joker made it look cool, leaving an odd wonder what his purpose in the show would be, and with this episode, we learn that he's the reaction. The face in the show that lights up whenever Joker does something extraordinary. He's not so bad, but I can only hope that with time, the show finds a better use for the character. 

Solid Recommendation

Laughing Under the Clouds
Joe Straatmann

Here's a comment that's likely easy to take out of context: I'm getting a heavy first season of the original Fullmetal Alchemist anime vibe off this series. Whether it's as good as that still remains to be seen, but there are obvious similarities. It's a show which crosses heavy drama with lightweight humor centered around brothers who constantly cross paths with an elite government group led by people that may not have best interests of the people in mind (It's early, but I'm guessing a guy called the Minister of the Right isn't going to turn out to be an honorable man), and features villains looking to topple the government who, as vicious as they are, have valid beefs with the sweeping changes of the leadership. There are obvious differences, largest of all being Laughing Under the Clouds takes place within historical Japan and not in a fantasy world.

The Meiji Era is as fascinating time as it is a confusing one. Even if characters are wearing tuxedos about a decade before they were in fashion, it gets the feeling down of the old simultaneously clashing and co-existing with the modern. Thankfully, the story itself is clear as day and I keep wanting to see more of it. I'm treading lightly on story since there are plenty of mini-spoilers abound, but at this point, it introduces a group of special soldiers in the Japanese military called the Yamainu the eldest brother Tenka used to be a part of, and some stuff involving the Orochi, a great snake that could cause catastrophe that seemingly has a human vessel. It's mostly table setting at the moment, but the biggest reveal is life inside Gokumonjo, the prison the brothers ferry the most dangerous government enemies to. It feels like they're showing this too early, as it compares to, again with the Fullmetal Alchemist, the labs where Ed and Al realize what all of their work has wrought. The Kumo brothers have barely ferried two prisoners at this point.

Overall, the look is still really good with detailed characters and backdrops. The fighting animation improved since the initial episode, so no complaints there. The one issue I have is the humor is far more intrusive to the dramatic moments than even the first season of Fullmetal Alchemist. I know Tenka is seriously overprotective of his brothers and Sora has a horrific backstory Tenka would rather keep hidden, but there are moments when Sora asks basic questions about his past where Tenka jokes to avoid answering and he goes beyond being protective and comes off as a condescending dick. A little sugar helps the medicine go down, but not if you choke on it. However, if the story keeps keeping up its end of the bargain, it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Solid Recommendation

Lord Marksman and Vanadis
Jonathan Kaharl

This show is so close to being cut. I gave the cut to Celestial Method because mind numbing stupidity, but Marksman isn't quite off my shit list just yet. Now that I'm three episodes in, I'm starting to get the politics of the world and how these characters solve problems involving warfare. The third episode is pretty damn strong, with Tigre and Ellen working with their closest companions to figure out clever strategies to take down a vastly superior army, and some of the tricks they pull are pretty clever. They counter a strong ambush maneuver, plus take advantage of Tigre's good name among his people and a surplus of horses to take down enemy cavalry and make it seem like their own was vastly superior. I like stuff like this, and seeing how Tigre overcomes the inherent weaknesses of his bow fighting style through sheer precision is really cool. Ellen also proves why she's not to be fucked with as a war maiden, slicing a dragon apart with her wind sword. The banter between the two is also strong, as they read one another and try to see how the other reacts in a social situation, an interesting look at how warriors would communicate with others and try to lead a situation to their advantage, no matter how casual.

Unfortunately, Marksman is also showing its trashy light novel roots, and has one particularly awful scene that suggests the source material is showered with problematic writing by a still learning writer. In the second episode, Tigre's loyal maid and childhood friend, Titta, tries to help the town evacuate as a large army from the country's main center moves in to assert dominance. She succeeds, but chooses to stay in Tigre's mansion to wait for her lord's return. This is very stupid (she can just meet him from outside the village or in the sanctuary), and if you guessed this would lead to unnecessary drama, you are right. Zion, royal general and complete douchebag with no self esteem, comes knocking in to fuck with Tigre's stuff out of spite, only to find Titta and he tries to kill her when she tries to force him to leave. This would have been fine, as it's a tense scene and it gets you to really fear for the innocent's Titta's well being, but then it pulls the rape card. Just like the most popular example of SAO, Zion attempts to rape Titta. Of course, he fails, but his attempt goes on for far too long and it's completely out of place, not to mention tasteless. He strips off part of Titta's uniform with his sword, which only results in badly placed cheesecake that instantly destroys the mood the scene had. The point is to make Zion look pathetic and create drama from Titta's situation, but it's handled so poorly and simply in the wrong show. This isn't Cross Ange, where the law of the land is that the strong practically own the weak and the weak have to dirty themselves to survive. This is the fantasy harem series where the main character is constantly hit on by a magical warrior goddess. You can't just bring up subject matter this dark and expect it to fit, and it only comes off as lazy in how pointless it is in showing Zion as despicable. Literally everything he had done in the show has painted him as human scum, and simply trying to kill or capture Titta to torment Tigre would have been enough. But nope, they had to go there. This one scene seriously pisses me off, and I see it so often in so many shows based on light novels. You don't get to use an act so horrific to make quick drama, and you definitely don't try to use said scene to get the otaku excited. Gah. If shit like this keeps happening down the line, Marksman is getting the third drop.

There's a lot of good things here, and I love seeing complex fantasy politics and warfare finally getting some attention again (the Wikipedia pages for the novels is absolutely gargantuan), but this disgusting shit shouldn't be attached to it. A little harem tropes I can handled, but there is a goddamn limit, and that scene was way past that limit. Let's not repeat this mistake, Marksman.

Weak Recommendation

Magic Kaito 1412
Joe Straatmann

If this season was measured strictly by fun, Magic Kaito 1412 would be the winner of my selection of shows by a landslide. It's old-fashioned, square, and aside from the use of magic, not particularly original. However, let it be said that from time-to-time, a well-executed standard can be exactly what you need, like a good, inexpensive bacon cheeseburger (I'm making a lot of food comparisons this update. I'm not even that hungry). The overarching plot is the usual young adult story involving a talented kid in a race to find a mythical item before a vast, evil organization has it in their clutches, but the chemistry between leads Kaito and Aoko is solid, making for a nice screwball romp through inventive heists. At one point, Kaito drapes Aoko in a cloth and magically changes her into formal wear to sneak into a high-class club, and Aoko has to press the question of what actions were required of him to undress and redress her. It's that kind of relationship and it finds the right mix of comedy and genuine affection to keep it from being annoying.

In the case of this show, Kaito has to steal as many valuable jewels as possible to find the Pandora Gem in which the secret to immortality lies (I'm guessing with a name like the Pandora Gem, it's also going to mean something potentially devastating for humanity). Fortunately, many of the world's most valuable and special jewels just happen to be traveling through the city Kaito lives in. You'd think after the first half-dozen thefts, people would be wary at displaying anything of value in the city, but as I've said before, this isn't the kind of show you overthink to death.  Episode three is a more laid back affair in which Kaito has to take on a pool hustler to regain a jewel-encrusted cue once held by his assistant Jii, but the fourth really mixes things up as teenage detective Saito Hakuba transfers into Kaito's school in order to hunt the Phantom Kid and possibly steal his romantic interest. He bears more than a slight resemblance to the source material creator's other work, Detective Conan, but he's just the counterbalance the series needs in a rival. A handsome, genius detective who appeals to Aoko's side as the daughter of a law enforcer, and whose deductive logic can match wits with Kaito's brilliant ability to adapt to any situation.  Their interactions already bear some entertaining fruit and promises more good times to come.

Magic Kaito 1412 feels like something where the animators remembered what they liked as kids and they tried to recreate it. They may occasionally be the parent trying to sell "cool" to their kids and failing (The character's music theme involves a Daft Punk soundalike with some singers shouting, "KID!" like he's the most happening cat in town), but if you like goofy action and adventure that has its roots in nineties anime, then this is an admirable attempt to trying to bring some of it back.

Solid Recommendation

Orenchi no Furo Jijou
Megan R

As we return to Tatsumi’s apartment, we learn that keeping a merman in your bathroom is more expensive than you would think. Wakasa keeps using up all the hot water, and it’s putting a strain on Tatsumi’s expenses. Tatsumi tries a number of methods to help with the water consumption, all of which fail. Ultimately it’s easier for him to work more hours than to make his hedonistic new roommate be less wasteful. Wakasa is so grateful for this that he invites over a friend, the half-octopus man Takasu. Takasu turns out to be a handy friend to have around, though, whether you need a miniature TV fixed or a tentacle-filled body massage, and Tatsumi (as always) accepts his presence with his usual brand of resignation.

The second episode made me fear a little that this show was already starting to stagnate, as yet again it’s a buildup to a punchline that never quite comes. Thankfully, episode three shakes things up by adding yet another…hmm, can I still call him a merman if he’s not half-fish technically? Anyway, Takasu adds new life to this show, aided by the enthusiastic performance of Tatsuhisa Suzuki. He’s also the second cast member from Free! to show up here, making me wonder if we’ll see the seiyuu for all four leads on Orenchi before season’s end. With him comes the show’s first inspired joke, as Takasu’s particular brand of body massage evokes images of tentacle hentai with a touch of boys’ love for good measure. Even the closing gag evoked a giggle, as Takasu’s octopus instincts lead him towards dark, closed spaces, such as those inside of washing machines.

I’m glad that this show finally got some proper humor injected into it, because now it truly feels like it’s finally taking advantage of the ridiculousness of its premise. I’m told that Wakasu has a menagerie of half-creature friends who have yet to show up, but if they’re anything like Takasu they’re more than welcome to stay.

Solid Recommendation

Parasyte -the maxim-
Stephanie Getchell
 

Uhh... Parasyte... You keep dropping something... THAT BASS!!! *cue random dubstep*

Alright, so this week I can give a better picture to you guys about this series even though the first episode was really good. What we have going on this week is something I would now like to make a thing called, "Oh Migi." Every time Migi does or says something rather odd and amusing in the most blunt way, you say "Oh Migi." For example, Migi bluntly talking about Izumi "mating" with Murano. Cool? Awesome! The reason I say this is because the second episode actually does give a bit more focus on the relationship between Izumi and Migi with Izumi being the kind and considerate one and Migi, like I said, being the blunt and kind of crass one. It's a case of opposites learning to live with each other. However, this is also a case of those same opposites having an adverse effect on the other. For Izumi, he seems to be developing a slightly more aggressive and unhinged side. This is most prominent when he rescues a cat buried in a sandbox from a group of punks who are throwing rocks at it. When your response to those punks, after they harass you, is that you'll eat them with the most serious and, possibly, scary face then you can see what I'm talking about here. As for Migi, I can tell his character will be a fun one to see grow, seeing as how he refused to take another parasite's offer to kill Izumi and transfer himself over to his comrade.

Episode three introduces us to Ryouko Tamiya, a woman infected by the parasyte and comes to Izumi's school to work as a teacher. After speaking with Izumi and Migi, along with introducing them to her partner A, she claims she just wants to keep up appearances and is only interested in learning more about humans. So much so that she had sex with A and is apparently pregnant with a human child. This makes me curious even more as to what these parasyte things are! If two infected humans are capable of having a human baby, you gotta admit you would study the hell out of that!! Anyways, A sees Izumi as a threat so he decides to go to the school and try and hunt Izumi down. Looks like both Izumi and Migi are gonna have to work together on this one. It's going to make their relationship even more interesting with Migi at the helm and instructing Izumi in combat. You know, cause two heads are better than one. That kind of thing.

Right now there are two major focuses I can see from Parasyte. The first is the relationship between Izumi and Migi, though that is rather obvious. The second, and fairly obvious one, is how Izumi is handling everything going on. INCOMING COMPARISON TO TOKYO GHOUL, FOLKS!!! See, with Tokyo Ghoul, Kaneki was basically thrown into the world of ghouls and must find a way to understand this world as well as keep those he cares about, i.e. Hide, out of it. Izumi is in the same situation. He's thrown into this and is trying to understand while, at the same time, keeping it secret from his loved ones, i.e. his parents and Murano. It's the natural focus this series should have, at this point. This is going to end up being another internal conflict kind of series with Izumi front and center of it all. The difference between Tokyo Ghoul and Parasyte will come down to the characters themselves and the circumstances of the world around them. It's going to be pretty interesting.

NOW DROP THAT BASS!!!! *cue more random dubstep* ..... I'm sorry. I'll stop now.

Strong Recommendation

Rage of Bahamut: Genesis
Thomas Zoth

When I volunteered to review this show I never really expected to be dealing with any kind of Anime of the Year material, but three episodes later, this anime commercial for one of the worst mobile games I've ever played almost has me excited as Redline did. How exactly this happened is a bit of a mystery, as the current news has it that Japan doesn't even have plans for a DVD/BD release. A horrible shame, since I was thinking of importing the series as a way to show my support. That's the level of quality we're talking about.

To prevent my review from being a list of superlative praise, I will note some things about the show that just don't work. First, the OP is pretty bad. Not quite as bad as Parasyte's, but still nowhere as astounding as the ED, which is directed by personal favorite Sayo Yamamoto, along with Space Dandy "Planet Limbo" director Yasuhiro Nakura. I have to imagine Yamamoto and Nakura met while working in Space Dandy and decided their two aesthetics worked together perfectly. But here I am moving away from negatives again. The CG is better-integrated than most shows, but there are still some shorts where the CGI looks weak in comparison to the stellar hand drawn art. A CGI ship in episode 4 looks especially silly. And, overall, you have to consider that the show is just a by-the-numbers adventure story, with fairly predictable character arcs and a good vs ancient evil narrative. It's not hard to imagine how it will all go down, in a final battle between angels and demons with humans just kind of swept up along for the ride.

But what a ride it is! Distinctive character designs, detailed animation, well-choreographed setpieces, charismatic voice acting, and a rich fantasy world where things like little girl zombie necromancers and demon girls with sentient hand puppet puppies don't seem out of place all combine for the season's biggest surprise. The addition of Miyuki Sawashiro as necromancer Rita to the main cast only improves everything that much more.

Watch Bahamut. That's really what it comes down to.

Strong Recommendation

Ronia, the Bandit's Daughter
Joe Straatmann

It would be as easy to embrace the series as it would be to completely eviscerate it. Episode three can be seen as enjoying the wonders of nature and the massiveness of the world through the eyes of a child, or it could be seen as Ronia running around and laughing like an idiot for ten minutes of screen time. Whatever the reaction might be, Ghibli's TV series is definitely not in any particular hurry. I've adapted to the 3D computer generated characters and when there's not an extremely weird gaping jaw on the screen, it works just fine when Ronia is running, skipping, and climbing across the vast expanse of Mattis Woods.

Obviously, this series appeals to a younger audience, so those looking for a complex narrative are going to be underwhelmed by the absolute simplicity of the work. If you combine the age demographic for Ponyo with the relaxed pace of Arrietty, you'll get the general feel of Ronia. There are some spikes of excitement and a dabbling of fantasy elements with the creatures of the woods, but those expecting castles in the sky or valleys of the wind are going to instead find pretty surroundings that evoke water color paintings, a lot coalescing with nature, and some charming characters speckled about. But if you go with it, it's nice enough, though I don't think it's good enough to meet the stellar expectations that come with being studio Ghibli's first TV series.

What I'm interested in seeing is if Goro Miyazaki's style will bloom out of this. Goro was sort of railroaded into the empire of his father and didn't really get a chance to develop as an artist before being thrust into animation. I would like to see his tastes an artist and what he's interested in showing the world and saying about it. Given Hayao Miyazaki was generally considered an absentee parent, there is a lot that could be psychologically inferred about Goro leaning towards a story in which a loving father thrusts his child into the world after properly preparing her for its potential dangers and coming to save her when she needs it. However, that's doing a LOT of legwork to get to that point, so we'll just see where it goes and if anything more than a nice diversion comes out of it.

Solid Recommendation

Seven Deadly Sins
David O'Neil

As it quickly approaches the point where I stopped reading the manga (time sure feels like it's going by faster in anime than it does in manga), The Seven Deadly Sins continues to be a fun and enjoyable start for the shonen adventure series. After saving a townspeople whose water supply had been cut off by a Holy Knight, Meliodas and the gang catch wind of the "Forest of White Dreams," a forest so mysterious and dangerous that even Holy Knights wouldn't dare enter it, prompting Meliodas to head there in hopes that the force keeping Holy Knights at bay is a fellow Deadly Sin. And he turns out to be correct as the series introduces the second Deadly Sin: The Sin of Envy, Diane the giant. After being thrown around by Diane a bit and fighting off a Holy Knight, Meliodas learns the location of two other Deadly Sins, so they head to the nearest one: The Sin of Greed, Ban, who's locked up in a massive fortress known as "Baste Dungeon".

One of the most refreshing things about The Seven Deadly Sins in comparison to other similar adventure shonen series is the lack of filler. So far no episode has been pointless, each adding vital information to the plot, characters, and their backstories. The show overall just feels well paced, it isn't quite rushing ahead, but isn't taking things too slow as to get boring either. It's moving at just a brisk enough pace to stay interesting and engaging, along with constantly thickening the plot with new details. It's not often I come across a show like this that doesn't feature pointless, meandering mini-arcs or needlessly extensive out multi-episode fight scenes. You'd expect with a premise like that they'd draw out finding each Sin as much as possible, with false tips and wild goose chases, but The Seven Deadly Sins continues to push onward with confidence and focus, moving from Sin to Sin without any distractions, but avoiding moving at breakneck speed as well.

And when it comes to the show's presentation not much has changed, which is a perfectly fine with me. The visuals are still great, especially when it's showing off impressive animation in the action scenes and the music is still excellent as well. The story is building it's characters quite well, especially with some interesting dynamics forming between Diane and Elizabeth, and it has some slower, quieter moments that effectively break up the action. If you've ever wondered what shows like One Piece would be like if they'd stop padding things out and would just get to the point, look no further than The Seven Deadly Sins. It features all of the fun and energy of a shonen adventure story, but quick, to the point pacing.

Strong Recommendation

Shirobako
David O'Neil

Man I really like Shirobako. Sorry if that's a bit of a blunt way to put it, that's really all that goes through my head as I watch each episode. The last two episodes have followed the fictional anime studio and its employees as they continue to try their best to complete their series without a hitch, and it just continues to thoroughly entertain me around every corner.

The animation is an absolute treat, I don't know if I'd go as far to call it the best looking show this season but P.A. Works still really went all out with this one. The show is bursting with absolutely hilarious use of animation, with the main character especially boasting a multitude of hilarious expressions that are bursting with personality. The show overall is just really nice to look at, and the visuals always compliment the humor perfectly. The cast continues to impress me as well, not only many of the characters really funny and memorable, they continue to grow as characters as well. Aoi faces the conflict of what it is her grand goal in the animation industry is, Ema is striving to become a better key animator despite the intimidation of her talented peers, Shizuka feels pressured by her amateurish voice acting ability, and even many of the side characters are a lot more interesting and likable than it at first seemed. The interactions between characters are great thanks to the shows sharp writing, which churns out tons of funny, quotable lines and makes the characters all the funnier. And in addition to all that it remains an interesting look at what working on an anime is like (to an extent).

I don't have much else to say about Shirobako, other than that I really really like it. It's funny, it's pleasant to look at, the characters are a blast, and it all centers around an interesting subject matter that it tackles with respect and a decent amount of realism. Every week I find myself looking forward to new episodes, knowing that it'll always be a fun ride.

Strong Recommendation

Tribe Cool Crew
Jonathan Kaharl
 

Tribe Cool Crew is a fantastic example of a good family show. It's inoffensive, the character are simple and entertaining, it teaches a valuable set of lessons, it doesn't make jokes on people who are different, and best of all, it doesn't talk down to anyone. It's simply a pleasant time to be had by all, with lots of color and silliness, and I like the message of doing what makes you happy and putting your all into it. The addition of the Tribal Sound Dance Crew is already very welcome, as each of the three have a wild personality that bounces off Haneru and Kanon wonderfully. Mizuki, who I was expecting to be a cheesecake magnet, is surprisingly silly and compassionate, while Yuzuru is just the coolest guy ever. He's a fat dude in suspenders who dances in classical styles and has tea parties, and everything he does is amazing. Everyone agrees he is the coolest character, and he really carries that reputation and owns who he is. That's awesome.

Kanon is doing a good job as the most dramatic character. Her insecurities and self-caused pressure make her more indecisive than everyone else, but seeing her come out of her shell by spending time with everyone is giving her a strong arc. Kumo, the Tribe leader, makes a good counterpart to Haneru, confident and focused, but with the same fiery passion that drives the kid. I like that Haneru is the most dense and least introspective, he's a simple guy who needs to experience something to open up to it, while Kanon tries learning first. They make a good pair, and the Tribe crew balance them out with experience and teachings.

The sense of humor also continues to be silly fun. For example, Yuzuru telling his back story involved a SF4 VS. screen between him and Kumo, while teaching basics involves imaging kitties and making pelvic thrusts while pretending to be a duck or shoot a laser cannon. The show has energy and fun visual absurdity, and it blends well. Tribe Cool Crew is a show made to get you to smile, and I admire that.

Solid Recommendation

Trinity Seven
Stephanie Getchell

Well. I tried. I really did try on this one, but I JUST CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!! This series is absolutely terrible! What happened in the second episode is a mix of attempts at exposition and background on the world as Arata still tries to adjust to his new life at this magic school. While Arata is in his room with tsundere-sensei, sexy ninja technique girl, and reporter girl, a magical barrier is placed around the room. Alright, fine, we actually have something going on here for a change. I'm all for this! This series was just starting to........ ARE YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW?!?!?! ARE YOU FREAKING SERIOUS RIGHT NOW?!?!?!?! So you REALLY think that girls needing to pee is attractive?! Are you trying to create some kind of new and weird fetish?! So, yeah, the three girls needed to use the bathroom while stuck in the barrier and are trying to hold it in until Arata can break the barrier. How freaking fantastic...

Okay. So Trinity Seven seems to be trying to be funny and sexy. I hate to tell you this, show, but you're not. Ever since we started viewing Arata at the school, the quality of the show just plummeted down at lightening speed. Although it hasn't crashed and burned yet, I can sense that will be the case later on (for some reason, it's a very long fall this series is taking). Not even the blunt perverted nature of Arata can help me save this series now, and neither can the stoic Arin. This series, in only two episodes, has managed to frustrate me to no end! The only interesting thing in the entire series has been the alternate world that Arata created thanks to the grimoire, and, again, that only lasted about ten minutes before we jumped into high school land where the writing got worse and the characters terrible.

It was either going to be this or World Trigger that I'd drop, but after, probably, one of the most idiotic fetishes occurred, I just can't put up with this one. At least with World Trigger they aren't trying to make a girl's desire to pee attractive and sexy and just has some rather crappy writing. Trinity Seven not only has the crappy writing, but also has characters with no redeeming qualities along with trying way too hard in being appealing to the male demographic. Granted I'm not a man so I don't know how appealing all this could be, though I highly doubt that it is. HOWEVER, as a woman, this series is disgusting. Stay away from this one. I'm not joking here. Just don't.

No Recommendation, Dropped

When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace
Jonathan Kaharl

This show speaks to me on a deeper level than I was expecting. There was a fight between two characters over the proper way to like anime, one watching based on the female voice actors, and one writing bad self-insert fanfiction. They were me, arguing to myself. It changed my view of the world. Also, I love that there has been no actual focus on any superpower fights yet. We have our first villain introduced with Tomoyo's brother, an even bigger dork than Ando. I mean, he dresses in sunglasses and a black jacket taken straight from the closet of Seto Kaiba. However, most time spent has been over the gang playing tennis for the hell of it, and Ando accidentally getting Mirei to fall in love with him because he uses overly dramatic kanji that made it seem like he was confessing his love to her. Speaking of which, Mirei is now my favorite character because, by god, when she's in love, she is IN LOVE.

Along with the wacky shenanigans and general self-aware hilarity of Ando being the world's hugest dork ever, there's some strong character work going on here. The third episode has the lit club girls all explaining why they respect Ando's dorky honesty so much, like Ando's silly antics helping Hakoto losing a terrible nickname or telling Sayumi not to try and use her power to bring back the dead. This conversation really helps show why they have such strong bonds from the scenes we've seen them share so far, a comfortableness among wildly different people you wouldn't expect to be friendly. Tomoyo is one of those rare tsundere's that's actually really likable, Sayumi and Hakoto's out of place silly sides get a lot of laughs, and Chifuyu actually acts like a little girl without being otaku fetish fuel nor annoying. I want to know more about all of these people ...except Ando. That;s only because I already understand Ando perfectly, and he is a shining star that will never fade. Shine on you crazy diamond.

I think I've laughed more at this show than any other comedy this season, and most of the ones from the year. This is definitely a great sophomore effort from Trigger, and it has far more heart to it than I was anticipating. It's warm, silly and a lot of wacky fun. You need to be familiar with otaku humor to really get the most out of it, so if you have that covered, absolutely watch this.

Strong Recommendation

Wolf Girl and Black Prince
Joe Straatmann

The ending credits are the two minutes of my weekly viewing of this where I don't wish I watching something else. The synth line is additively catchy and they get some pretty imagery and snappy editing to go with it. As for the rest, I'm not bristling with hate towards the show like I was during its initial episodes, but the one thing that sinks a romantic comedy is not having any interest in the main couple. I absolutely, positively do not care what happens to these two. While the concept and the hateful second episode aren't exactly what I'd call positive aspects, they do act as a smokescreen to the fact that there isn't much at all to the main characters. Erika is an unbuttered piece of toast whose only character aspects are her pathological lying and her need for other people. Outside of her arrangement with Kyoya, what does she like? She spends a whole week at her best friend Senda's place, but what do they do? Kyoya at least has his interests since there's a whole episode surrounding them, but he's the usual beautiful-but-cold bad boy with a troubled past that slowly gets revealed.

If there's one and only thing that can elevate this material, it has to be witty, smart writing that feels real enough and sympathetic enough to push through the rougher aspects. Sadly, while the series is self-aware enough to throw in people who realize the situation isn't exactly kosher, it's not smart enough to stop itself from drowning in romantic comedy conventions and be better than its setup. It's the kind of series where when Erika goes to Kyoya's apartment to confess her love and finds another woman there. Of course, it's all a misunderstanding. There is an improvement with more likable characters getting more prominent roles. As Erika realizes her feelings for Kyoya are more than the arrangement allows, she brings Senda into the mix, who is sensible enough to tell Erika she's a masochist, but enough of a moderator to at least try to guide Erika in a decent manner. The fourth episode also brings in Takeru, Kyoya's best friend who seems dumb as a box of rocks and likes to show off his six-pack abs, but means well enough. Unfortunately, he's a conduit for idiocy as Erika gets him to buy into a plot to find out what Kyoya likes so she can change herself into that. If you've seen anything that involves romantic comedy in your lifetime, you know exactly how this is going to go and how stupid, forced, and painful the result will be. I was tempted to drop this series right about the fourth time I had to pause the episode and take a deep, frustrated breath, but back in the day when I was a film critic, I never walked out on a movie I was assigned to, and I have no intention of walking away from this even with the option to do so.

So if I don't like the main characters, the situation, or much of anything involving this series, what could be done to improve it? Well, I'm picturing an entirely different story where the main character is Senda, an average but occasionally witty and knowledgable high school student who gets thrown into a romance with Takeru, a blockhead who's overly proud about his body, but is a decent and handsome enough fella. Go from there.

No Recommendation

World Trigger
Stephanie Getchell

So, I just dropped Trinity Seven over World Trigger. That means I have this lovely series to contend with.... Did you notice the sarcasm? Two weeks ago, when I talked about the first episode, I mentioned how much of a mess the first episode was both structurally and writing wise. Sadly, the second episode didn't make this any better. What happened here, mostly, was interactions between our two leads as Osamu agrees to help Yuuma learn about Japan and hide the fact that he is a Neighbor. Obvious conflict is going to be extremely obvious here. Another plot point that I believe will be obvious conflict in the series is the misunderstanding of what exactly a Neighbor is. Yuuma is a Neighbor, not those monstrous things that manage to get into the city. It may be an easy method of passing through some of the bad writing so far, but I say just barely. The idea of misunderstandings is a classic troupe used very often, especially in comedy. Although this series has some comedy in it... I think... Doesn't mean this will work out very well.

As for the third episode, it picks up a little bit with mostly an attack at the school and Yuuma coming to help Osamu once again. However, now the school knows Osamu is a Border agent so he's getting praised as the one who defeated the monsters while Yuuma is encouraging this in order that he may still hide his identity. In come one of the top ranked squads at Border and now you have Osamu in trouble because, as a trainee still, he's not allowed to use his Trigger outside of the base. And that's where the episode cuts off. For some reason, it doesn't seem like a very good cut off point. Might be just because of how it looked and some of the writing leading up to that.... cliff hanger? I guess it's a cliff hanger? Like I said, episode three helps pick the series up a tiny bit, but not by much. The writing and the characters still aren't that strong, at this point, making this a huge problem. Theses two episodes, in general, do at least make up for the terrible first episode. Always gotta look on the bright side!

I'm not thrilled that I managed to land myself with this series, and by my own choice no less. It has a long way to go before I can be much more moderately fine with it. Or, if it really wants to get my attention, it needs to work extremely hard and start actually using good writing and character development. Right now, it's a very very very slow improvement we're dealing with here. But if it doesn't do something in the next few weeks, then I know what the next series I drop will be.

Weak Recommendation

Yona of the Dawn
Jonathan Kaharl
 

This is going to be a pretty slow series. After the bloody beginning from the first episode, the newest two felt a bit lagging to me. Stuff does happen, just not as much as I wanted. Yona and Hak escape from the castle with help of a servant, while Soo-won manages to take the palace and gain the power he wanted. Poor Yona is an absolute mess from the ordeal as well; she can't even bring herself to eat and freaks out after a bad dream, waking and breaking down into tears. The third episode is flashback heavy, showing when Hak grew feelings for Yona, along with a sweet childhood moment between the trio of friends that ends abruptly as Yona remembers one of those three just killed her father. The only thing keeping Yona going is the hair ordainment given to her by Soo-won, a reminder of who she used to think Soo-won was, and Hak is only putting up with it because he wants to see Yona live more than he hates Hak.

The love triangle thing is annoying, flat out, but not even close to the worst of this trope I've seen. I don't mind that it paints Yona as naive either; she IS naive right now. She was spoiled all her life by a loving father, and now she's without family and escaping her former servants in a snake infested forest. Plus, she saw her father killed by the love of her life, so breaking down the way she did makes a whole lot of sense. I'm just worried this is going to go on for a long time. Hak is thankfully not stupid, which I like. He has his emotions, but he keeps things in check when it counts and focuses on supporting the person he loves when she needs support the most. I really like his straight-forward personality. The future flashes are also welcome additions, showing some of the wild partners Yona picks up later, along with her own growth into a dignified and wise leader. It makes me want to see what experiences lead her to becoming that awesome.

The animation isn't that great, but it does the job. The designs are been there but nice to look at. The story is stuff we've seen before, but done very competently and with likable, well written characters. As far as fantasy dramas go, this is a pretty good entry into the genre so far. I hope that pace keeps up and the love triangle stuff gets downplayed for awhile.

Solid Recommendation

Your Lie in April
Stephanie Getchell

Who would have thought that a passionate violin player would somehow get me to feel so much better about a series? After Kousei gets dragged into a double date scenario and meets Kaori, the group attends a classical violin competition where Kaori is taking part. After hearing the same piece over and over again (since the first round of the competition does have a set piece), Kaori takes the same song, makes it her own, and then blows the entire audience away including Kousei. She didn't place in the competition, however she did receive the audience award and is set to move on to the next round regardless. This now gives us Kousei and the beginning of his feelings towards Kaori, though they aren't too obvious or pronounced. Instead, it's more like he has an interest in her music, thinking that she could be a kind of inspiration to him after the events in his past with his mother. But we still aren't clear as to what those events and the reason are... At least not yet.

As for the third episode, Kaori had done her homework about the young piano prodigy, Kousei, and tries to convince him to be her accompanist during the next round of the competition. But not before Kousei tells Kaori that he actually can't hear himself playing. Not as a physical kind of problem, but it's more of a psychological one. Once he begins to get into his performance, all of a sudden he freezes and can't hear himself anymore. But Kaori doesn't care because she believes the two of them would create something amazing! With the help of Tsubaki and Watari, Kousei agrees to play with Kaori on the day of the competition. And now the four of them are speeding off to the venue. This story certainly picked up a bit more in the two weeks since talking about it. The characters are becoming much more likable and the series has some amazing visual moments that are like eye candy. Thanks A-1 Pictures!

It's very much an improvement since the first report. I can already tell that this series is gonna make me an emotional mess because I almost did tear up a little bit while watching the third episode. It could be because the story can be rather relatable to those who could be in a similar rut whether creatively or otherwise. It could also be because the characters and their lives can be easy to identify with. Honestly, there are quite a few things that could be the reason for the emotional roller coaster I'll be traveling on this season. But, for today, I'm going to leave it at that, because I just want to enjoy the ride naturally.

Solid Recommendation

Yuki Yuna is A Hero
David O'Neil

Yuki Yana is a Hero caught me off guard in the beginning, revealing that what had at first glance seemed to be an ordinary slice of life series was actually a fairly action packed fantasy magical girl series. But now that said surprise has come and gone, not much of note has happened. It has introduced a new character, Karin Miyoshi, a somewhat tsundere transfer student who takes their titles as heroes very seriously, but other than that the two most recent episodes were pretty uneventful. There's been some drama, there's been some action, but overall things have been going pretty well for Yuki Yana is a Hero's ragtag team of magical girls. Times are simple enough for things like a Music Class or birthdays to be their most pressing issues, overall, life is good for them. And boy is that making me worried.

There is the possibility that this really is all there is to Yuki Yana is a Hero, a fun, charming little slice of life with bits of magical girl action mixed in, and that would be fine. So far the show is really well made, featuring some good animation and likable characters. It isn't incredibly interesting, but it keeps my attention well enough and would be an enjoyable little show. But, I keep having a feeling that the show is on the brink of some sort of drastic twist or change. Maybe it just reminds me too much of Puella Magi Madoka Magica, or maybe it's that the creator also created Akame ga Kill and worked on Samurai Flamenco, two shows that also went in totally unexpected directions then it initially seemed (one with more success than the other.....I'll clarify that I mean Samurai Flamenco even though I shouldn't have to). So although the show is totally enjoyable as it is, I can't shake this sneaking suspicion that the it's is about to pull the rug out from under me yet again, and whether or not I'll like what it becomes when it does.

I'm still on edge in regards to where exactly Yuki Yana is a Hero is actually going, if anywhere besides where it is now. On the one hand I'm sort of hoping it has some tricks up it's sleeve because what it is now, while entertaining, isn't as interesting as I feel it could be. But on the other hand, I'm worried about whether or not it will actually succeed if it did so. But really, that's all hypothetical, and for now Yuki Yana is a Hero is a totally enjoyable magical series with a neat world and good characters, even if the feeling of novelty gained from the surprising nature of the first episode has worn off a bit.

Solid Recommendation

Second Opinions

Cross Ange: Rondo of Angel and Dragon

Stephanie: I've never seen Valvrave, but I did hear some rather disturbing things about it. So, when looking at Cross Ange, I did get a little worried about it. But, I decided to try it anyway. From what I've seen, in three episodes, I actually have less worries now. It's not half bad! It's certainly an extremely mature series, but the world and the story have been good so far. I'll be interested to see where this goes. Solid Recommendation
 

Denki-Gai

Jonathan: This show is really growing on me. The little relationships building between the shop employees and how the series works in the culture of their hobby really elevates it from dumb comedy. Of course, I also love how it wears its perversion with pride (based G-Woman). It's a damn fine comedy. Solid Recommendation

Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works

Stephanie: I've seen the original anime that was produced and it was kinda meh. I've seen Fate/Zero and it was AMAZING!!! I've seen three episodes (including the prologue) of the new Fate/Stay Night and it's off to a great start! Granted, right now, it's just the same starting point as the original TV series, but it's executed much better here. I very much look forward to where this version is headed! Solid Recommendation
 

The Fruit of Grisaia

Jonathan: This is my second favorite show of the season. Not even joking. I don't even mind if the series never gets to the actual (and very interesting) main plot, everything else is so damn hilarious and unbelivable that I don't care. Joe didn't even mention the auto-pilot scene. But it's that batshit sense of humor and that constant undercurrent of threatening mystery, along with the sheer hilarity that comes from everything the main character does and says, that blends into a weird cocktail of brilliant lunacy. Keep this up Grisaia, I'm all in on this wild ride. Strong Recommendation

Garo: The Animation

Jonathan: Brutal, colorful, atmosphereic, and action packed. Garo is a return to form for the dark fantasy epic, and with a cool toku feel to it. As far as adult shows go, this is definitely one of the best, and it's tied for the fifth spot in my personal favorites of the season. Strong Recommendation

Girlfriend Beta

Jonathan: On one hand, this is a gigantic harem show with a cast in the possible hundreds that has no male characters, and there is heavy yuri shipping. On the other, there is such a lack of anything going on almost the entire time, plus almost no time with any character, that there's no bloody point to it. I almost fell asleep. Just watch Sakura Trick to get your yuri fix, because this would have actually been better with a stale bread male MC. Yesh. No Recommendation

Gugure! Kokkuri-san

Stephanie: Pretty sure Diasuke Ono is my new favorite person because he makes this series so freaking hilarious! Seeing Black Butler's Sebastian voicing Kokkuri is just really amusing. Add on the humor and rather crazy batch of characters and you have some great episodes and moments going on. So much so that Johnathon and I had a lovely image conversation on Twitter with just Kokkuri-san images. That's how fun this show is right now! Strong Recommendation

Magic Kaito 1412

Stephanie: INCOMING NOSTALGIA TRAIN!!! ALL ABOARD!!! This series is almost like watching Case Closed all over again, and I don't mind! I probably will never get to finish Case Closed even if I wanted to, so a two cour series in the same universe is fine by me! It's been really entertaining so far, and makes me wonder if a cross over will happen considering Kaito does cross into Conan's story quite a bit. Solid Recommendation
 

Orenchi no Furo Jijou

Jonathan: I saw implied yaoi tentacle sex in one episode. That's it, this is a good show, it needs to start setting trends, fish people yaoi harems are the future. Solid Recommendation

Parasyte -the maxim-

Jonathan: Madhouse is too good at making things look and sound amazing. Parasyte is not exception, despite the surprisingly grounded and simply art style. The character models breathe with life and fear, and the hosts are grotesque body horror that shift in unnatural ways at a moment's notice. It's not a particularly scary series, but the ideas it presents are chilling, as are the monsters that inhabit it. I prefer Tokyo Ghoul for my cannibalistic horror/tragedy, but Parasyte is going to be damn impressive at this rate. Strong Recommendation

Thomas: I read the manga of Parasyte way back in 1998 when it came out in MixxZine, and was always sad that there was no anime. Well, out of the blue an adaptation was announced for it earlier this year, and I've been excited about it ever since. With one exception, Parasyte is pretty much turning out to be as good an adaptation as I could have hoped for. Things are modernized to fit in with the current anime aesthetic, which is a little cuter and high-tech than the style of the 1990s manga, but Madhouse (my dream pick) is doing the animation. The voice cast has some inspired choices, including Aya Hirano as Migi and Sawashiro as Kana, and it's going to be a full 24 episodes, meaning the manga's storyline isn't going to be butchered in any significant ways. But wow, the music. Music comes and goes as it pleases without regard to timing or atmosphere, and the "comic relief" music is just horrible. The show is strong enough to survive the score, but it's the only thing about the show that's less than spectacular, and it hurts it in a big way. Regardless, it's still one of the best sci-fi/horror stories anime and manga has produced, and if you're a fan of either and can take the gore and body horror, there's no reason to miss it. Strong Recommendation

Rage of Bahamut: Genesis

Jonathan: Bahamut continues to amaze and entertain in the most classical way. Great animation, creative creatures and concepts, fun characters, and a plot that moves at a bustling pace. If you want some fun, you go see Bahamut. Strong Recommendation

Stephanie: This is a case of the premise telling me nothing about the show, and then exceeding my previously low expectations! I'd say this is up there as one of my favorites this season, though Garo, Parasyte, Magic Kaito, and Kokkuri-san are kinda in it's way of getting there. It's been action packed and paced rather consistently, making Bahamut a fun watch. Also, I keep making those Samurai Champloo comparisons in my head. Should probably stop that, all things considered. Strong Recommendation

Shirobako

Jonathan: This was quite the surprise. I felt Shirobako had the makings of something good, but not best of the season good. What's really important about this series is that it near perfectly portrays the lives of people working in the anime industry, with all the work loads, manic deadlines, passions and donuts that go into it, with tons of insider references to actors, artists, production staff and even real studio equipment and rooms. It's both incredibly entertaining and insightful, a work of a truly passionate staff who fully understand the material. Shirobako is the most real anime I've ever seen, and it's a must for any anime fan to experience. Strong Recommendation

Thomas:  PA Works anime tend to be kind of divisive, but I was looking forward to Shirobako, despite its cute aesthetic, because Tsutomu Mizushima was directing. I didn't really get into Girls und Panzer, but I fell in love with Mizushima's Witch Craft Works earlier this year. When Mizushima went on to promise that Shirobako wouldn't have any panty shots, I took that to mean he was going to go for a fairly respectful moe show. What I didn't expect is that panty shots would have been almost entirely out of place in what is actually an outstanding look at life in the anime industry. This isn't like Mangirl, where five cute girls run a studio all by themselves and everything works out with anime magic. The cast is huge to a point where the show relies on Legend of the Galactic Heroes-like nametags when characters appear, with male and female characters of varying character designs. What we have here is a show about being a working adult, which allows me to relate to it in a way I haven't really seen from anime before. Don't miss out on another Anime of the Year-material series. Strong Recommendation

Tribe Cool Crew

Thomas: I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Tribe Cool Crew, one of this season's offerings for kids. And it's totally a kids' show, make no mistake. But it's funny and big-hearted and has a very different aesthetic, and I feel those are things that should be rewarded wherever they are found. It's a show about dancing, and though the CGI dance models look really funky (and not in the good way), it's a wonderful colorful mess about awkward kids learning to express themselves with the help of young adults who see their potential. No real depth or subtext to be found here. Just weird moonwalking guys in kappa outfits eating cucumbers. Solid Recommendation

When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace

Stephanie: Like I said with World Trigger, misunderstandings are a common story telling method in comedy, and Supernatural Battles just went and used this troupe, the right way. Honestly, if we never really go back to actual supernatural battles and just go for a more day to day approach to the story, I'd be all for it! I think, for this kind of series, it would be much more interesting. Strong Recommendation

Yona of the Dawn

Stephanie: I'm not entirely sure if I am ok with a series possibly telling it's story through many many flashbacks, because that's kind of how it looks right now. It's a really odd way to tell the story, structure wise. As for the story and characters,  it's as natural as you're going to get with a fantasy/romance series. I may seem like I'm kinda bored with this one, based on what I'm saying, but I still think it's good. I really do! That flashback thing is just bugging me a little bit is all... Solid Recommendation

Yuki Yuna is A Hero

Jonathan: This is not the most empowering entry in the magical girl genre (show wants you to know that two of the characters got da booty), but it's pretty fun so far. The characters have good chemistry and a lot of fun, while the action is kinetic and explosive. Wondering what it has up its sleeve... Solid Recommendation