Seasonal Reviews: Spring 2015 Pt.3
Spring is starting to wind down as we pass over the halfway point, and all of our shows are starting to settle into a grove. Except Punch Line. Punch Line exists in its own grove dimension. We had a lot of drops last time, let's see if there were anymore this go around.
Dropped Shows
Stephanie Getchell
This is interesting, I think we have a plot on our hands here! These
two episodes give us a bit more to work with between Shion and Kei, as
Shion is getting more used to working at Rainy Color. However a comment
that isn't quite worded well by Kei is taken the wrong way and Shion
just thinks that Kei will never moderately like him regardless. The next
day, Ryota talks to Shion and tells him how Kei doesn't mean to be a
terrible person to others, he just can't seem to word things properly.
This leads to a little cliffhanger as Shion is ready to Ryota some
advice. Something, I believe, is more than likely going to relate to
Kei.
As I said, this is the first time I get so see some semblance of plot which is a little weird to see here. I thought this was going to be much more episodic in nature, but apparently I may be wrong there. Luckily, the plot that we seem to be getting isn't anything to outrageous or complex, making it easy to manage. However, some cliffhanger pieces, I'm realizing, are bugging me. Particularly Shion's brother as he makes an appearance at the end of episode six but it leaves it off where we don't know the conversation that he and Shion end up having. It's a little bit odd if you ask me. Otherwise, there's not a whole lot more I can comment on. It's the same as it's ever been, which is great since it's not going into crazy land or anything. However, it's not trying to be outstanding either which makes me wonder what it will do to be that great going forward. Add to the fact that we have a slight plot and you can understand why I may have my reservations at this point. As mentioned before, the director of Rainy Cocoa also directed Pupa and we all know how that went. We'll see how it all goes...
Solid Recommendation
Blood Blockade Battlefront
Danni Wilmoth
At this point, it's more than safe to assume that, for better or for worse, Blood Blockade Battlefront is primarily episodic. I'm not against BBB being
an episodic show. In fact, I actually prefer it. My issues lie within
the chosen stories told in each episode. There are some that I love and
others that just feel unnecessary.
First, I'll address episode six, "Don't Forget to Don't Forget Me" (all pronounced in English). This episode is easily one of Battlefront's strongest episodes to date, if not the absolute strongest. In this episode, Leonardo befriends a surprisingly cute creature named Nej who happens to adore Johnny Rocket cheeseburgers, but isn't able to directly buy any himself. This may sound like a simple and uneventful premise, but it plays out marvelously. In this episode we're introduced to a side of Hellsalem's Lot we haven't seen before, one where Alterworld creatures are segregated from humans and exploited. The episode's climax and resolution left me in tears of both sadness and happiness, and through Leonardo's frienship with Nej we see that despite their differences, humans and Alterworld creatures can coexist.
Next, I'll address episode seven, "A No-Holds-Barred Eden." In this episode, Zapp pays off a debt of his by tricking Klaus into competing in an underground fighting league. This episode's strengths lie in its use as an antithesis of episode six. While episode six showed us that many within Hellsalem's Lot see humans and Alterworld creatures as incredibly different, episode seven introduces us to those who see them as equals, both enraptured and excited by one-on-one bare-knuckle fistfights. Aside from this, the episode seeks to drive home just how physically powerful Klaus is, as he dominates fighter after fighter. While this is indeed a necessary part of his character, it's something we can easily gather from the battles we've seen him fight in. Klaus is a strong dude, we don't need an entire episode to pick up on that fact. On its own, episode seven was still a good episode. Compared to the rest of BBB though, it was sorely lacking.
Heading into the final stretch of Battlefront, I still have no clue where this show is going. So far we've only been given glimpses at the supposed main antagonists, and Matsumoto has chosen to focus on only a few characters out of such a stellar cast, and that doesn't appear to be changing anytime soon (The next episode is the first of a two-parter titled "Zapp's Longest Day"). However, Matsumoto has yet to let me down with this show, and I fully expect to be listing BBB as my season favorite come our final wrap-up.
Strong Recommendation
The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan
Joe Straatmann
Some nice things to say about the show before getting into my
usual spiel. The cast returning from the original still maintain their
chemistry. Even with Yuki's voice talent Minori Chihara playing an
entirely different character, everyone keeps the usual banter between
themselves at a higher understanding of the characters and how to work
them. They like their characters, they have fun with their characters,
and it can be infectious. It doesn't nearly drown out my problems, but
it is one of those elements that makes the anime work better than the
manga, along with animated action that isn't confusingly arranged like
the panels in the initial work. Here's the trick, though: How much would
you like these characters talking about nothing for four hours in an
airport during the summer while waiting for a flight in which the delay
keeps getting extended? That never happens in this show, but it is
metaphorically the situation in play here.
You may or may not recall the heater episode from the first season of Haruhi Suzumiya. Aside from neat little trivia (It's the only episode from the anime not based on the light novels, but was written by light novel author Nagaru Tanagawa himself), it was a forgettable one only made infamous by some of the fandom by being the last episode in chronological order, a viewing order that was forced upon the audience of the DVD release unless you shelled out for the limited boxes. Kyon gets a heater for the S.O.S. Brigade and spends some quiet moments with Haruhi. That's essentially the episode. It was fine as a little breather before building up to the climax, but as the finale to the season, it's a gigantic whimper. Most of Yuki-chan feels like the heater episode repeated over and over again. There is the added incentive of an actual romance, but it's a dollar attached to some fishing line that gets yanked away every time the situation gets close to success.
I had to re-watch the sixth episode just to remember what happened, if you can call the events "things happening." Haruhi tries to remake the literature club to her whims for a little bit, there's a flashback to how Kyon met Asahina, and then nearly ten minutes of trying to solve math problems. Yuki's thought process to math was funny, but even for slice of life, this is extremely inert bordering on the worst episodes of Lucky Star, and I REALLY don't like Lucky Star. They even shrug off attempts to put in some romantic tension as Yuki shakes off something that looks like Kyon kissing someone as cleaning out dust in their eyes. Either it's parodying overwrought melodrama grown from misunderstandings, or it's laughing at the audience for expecting any kind of romantic conflict in a romantic comedy.
I don't even want to waste words on the field trip to a "power spot" temple. What's to discuss? The characters do more of the similar things they usually do, and it hints at the possibility of Yuki getting closer to Kyon but it doesn't happen... again. At least when they visit the hot springs, most of the material is written by the anime staff rather than relying on the manga, and it's funny in parts because of that (The person in charge of cleaning the karaoke bath room is the new best character of this series with only one line). With this extra material, it means the show is not getting to its "be careful what you wish for" moment where something does happen. They're stalling. They know how terrible it is. Anyway, should they finally choose to go through with it in the next two episodes, we'll all meet again next update to discuss what the hell just happened. You'll want to tune in then.
No Recommendation
ETOTAMA
Joe Straatmann
The theme for my updates this time (At least, the ones I give less
favorable opinions to) is generosity. Maybe it's being done with the
most stressful time of year for my day job. While I don't think in
general mood plays a role in ultimately determining whether someone
thinks something is good or not, mood has more of an effect on a
critical view than most writers give credit. A few critics seem to just
create this opinion glob of perfect logic and the absolute correct
emotional reaction out of thin air. As someone briefly in the
profession, a few of us kind of fake our "superior" understanding to
feel like we've earned our social pecking order in being able to review
stuff for money. Shhh! That's a secret, kids.
All of this meta review crap is here to say I might have been too cruel to Etotama when it was a giant plastic bag of noise with rabid animals fighting inside it. I defend my points, especially the cheap, manipulative drama culled from a death that was taken back almost instantly, and Nya-tan being an absolutely insufferable little twerp of a main character. But it's far from worthless. The good news about this being a series that is self-aware is that they do realize this, and eventually, they do something about it. The first in our update involves Shima-tan, the representative of the tiger on the zodiac, talking to our almost non-entity of a main human character Takeru about Nya-tan's underhanded ways of trying to get through the tournament without really trying (She's seen bartering bones and bananas with the dog and the monkey). She is Nya-tan's trainer and feels that if this laziness continues, Chu-tan the rat will kill her for good after she's closed loopholes in the Eto-shin battle rules.
I thought the dragon was her trainer, but screw it! This makes more sense and we're actually getting some good structure here. It gives Nya-tan reason to improve, gives a reason for the human character to be more involved than a foil to everyone else's insanity, and sets the stage for the second half. It may not mean much for you, but a little structure goes a long way for me. If you don't have it, it's like the sickness episode where everyone just runs around being crazy, making references, and then just making jokes about the characters realizing they're in a program, which all the comedies I'm watching this season are doing because I'm guessing they think it automatically switches the dumb things to smart by having the characters admit the show is doing dumb things.
Even with a recap episode, I'm not reaching for the aspirin. It probably has something to with Nya-tan being out of the picture for most of the running time and our tour guide through the recap Shar-tan the snake, who is very soft spoken and about as proper as a character in this show is allowed to be. They even brought down a Galaxy Express 999 reference just for me. At least, I think it's a reference to that. As Shar-tan says, everything here works on serpentine logic (Okay, I laughed at that one). Their approach of somewhat continuing the story with reiterating the plot is a nice attempt at shaking up the usual recap doldrums, but it still relies on meta jokes that I just don't find funny here. Trying to explain why jokes don't hit is like trying to show your work in calculus, but let me ask this: How does this show knowing it's a show make it better? I don't have the answer. Maybe the second opinion people who like this show do and you can go party with them. Nevertheless, Etotoma IS taking strides to become better and I do commend it for that.
Weak Recommendation
Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma
Danni Wilmoth
Mikagura School Suite
Joe Straatmann
At this point, the plotline is mostly punctuated by battles, parties,
and parties that are mistaken as battles. The rookie tournament
concludes without much fanfare or even much battling going on. Not that
I'm complaining. This show works better as a character comedy than it
does a tournament fighter. Eruna using the tournament as way to make her
first friends and support them rather than her own mindless indulgences
is more important than who wins a freshman brawl, and I'm sure the
series sees it that way, too. A little direction would be nice, though.
Eruna's starting to get a magnetic personality at the academy. After sort of mentoring the theatre newbies in the tournament and most having a fair bit of success, one of her friends even beats a seemingly villainous member of the music club I thought for sure was meant to be a boss character for Eruna. This calls for a celebration! Mostly here we get to know the various people Kyoma, the blunt and intimidating member of the art club, Asuhi, the first-year astronomy club member, and finally Otone, the little lady in gothic lolita garb who has been teased constantly in the opening and ending credits. She's shy and wrestles with a "white" and "dark" personality, but neither will keep Eruna away (Or from coining the phrase "super orthodox girlish sitting position"). Who wins the rookie battle is a surprise, but I'll just say the results call for another celebration amongst the group!
I feel so lazy talking about this series right now. Whatever main plot exists here is in hibernation, and what we have is a bunch of character bonding. The characters are a lovable band of misfits and eccentrics who have enough dimension to them, so that's fine. I did have a personal laugh when it's revealed what Kyoma's art is because I have a cousin who's an abstract artist and the punchline of this episode is likely exactly what I'd get if I asked for a self-portrait from her. The tournament is merely a way for Eruna to get introduced and socially mix with both the familiar and new, and its result doesn't really matter. Mikagura School Suite's meandering means it hasn't reached the peak of fun and inventiveness of the first two episodes, but it's still a good enough time. Oh, and Eruna's idea for the club she wants to create is so... Eruna.
Solid Recommendation
MY love STORY!!
Jonathan Kaharl
Well, wasn't expecting this topic to come up in an anime romance. Something that gets swept under the rug a lot in these sorts of series or shows is sexuality, or it's barely an explored element. About as far as they go is girls or guys gawking over someone of the opposite sex, not really explore that aspect of the relationship. It ends up being part of the conflict here of all places, as Yamato has been sexually attracted to Takeo since the beginning, but she's grown a complex over it because she thinks Takeo wants someone "pure." There's this idea in Japanese culture that virginity and a lack of knowledge of sex is somehow attractive coming from a girl, and I could write essays upon essays on the whys, but the long and short (heh, that worked on two levels) is that Yamato feels ashamed by natural feelings and doesn't know how to communicate to Takeo, who's too dense to get it (which even he realizes at this point).
Enter Sunakawa's sister Ai, a college student that turned out to have an almost obsessive crush on Takeo for years. She suspects that Yamato is cheating on Takeo, picking up that she's hiding something from him, and tries to find out the truth after talking with Takeo and realizing that their relationship may have something. It's a cute bit with her, dealing with unrequited love and what one would do for the person they love, even if they don't love them the same way back. She's also another great personality, as she's the complete opposite of her collected brother, and she gets some fantastic lines. When Yamato admits her feelings to Ai, the entire scene plays out with Yamato slowly revealing her perverted thoughts, and Ai shamelessly agreeing and adding to them. It's just great.
I also like these turn of events because it makes the series more than just a beauty and the beast tale. Yamato fell for Takeo from first sight, not just because he saved her, but because she truly thought he was physically attractive. It's not a tale of someone seeing the inner beauty in someone, Yamato really idolized Takeo because of what he looked like and who he was. The two don't really understand each other yet, but they share an attraction and are trying to make things work, all because they're so much about each other they like already. It's a nice twist on building a relationship, and it fits far more that the usual romance games bull crap shojo loves to pull around.
Strong Recommendation
Ninja Slayer From Animation
David O'Neil
Often in anime, how a show looks visually at the start isn't
representative of how it will look throughout the whole show. Many times
I've seen shows with production quality that steadily declines as
episodes go on. That's why Ninja Slayer The Animation has been
somewhat of a bizarre case, as it has been improving visually as the
show goes on. I mentioned last time that I felt the show was heading in
the right direction in terms of focus and tone. The early episodes tried
to recapture the humor of Trigger's earlier web anime, Inferno Cop, without taking into account that the totally different structure and material of Ninja Slayer simply didn't work with the Inferno Cop-style of humor and animation.
Since then its been moving away from that, dropping the ironic self parody, and instead dedicating itself to a new goal: Taking itself completely seriously. To me this works much better, the humor comes less from gags that are meant to surprise you with how weird they are, and focuses more on the inherent hilarity of a bunch of giant super-men in ridiculous outfits yelling as they battle in an over the top fashion with the most thickly applied layer of edginess and grit humanly possible. Episode five of Ninja Slayer felt like the highpoint of the series so far. It featured almost none of the lazy tween animation that fractured the early episodes of the show, and was incredibly fun thanks to how well it utilized the 90s anime OVA homage humor of the show to its fullest extent. The animation is stiff and characters still don't move much, but when they do it looks cool, the episode featured tons of cool, highly detailed close ups on characters, and by sticking mostly to real key animation the show has a much more consistent flow that doesn't break you out of the experience.
The next episode was a bit of a step back, not a full relapse into Inferno Cop-imitation, but it felt like it was stepping away from a lot of the improvements it had made. The episode featured a lot less animation and more of the wacky humor that relies more on trying to be weird rather than playing on the show's strengths. But still, the show has been moving in the right direction overall. I'm hoping eventually the show can be at a point where it entirely uses real key animation, though at this point it seems as if the show may just fluctuate visually as the show goes on. Ninja Slayer is fun and getting better, if you want an over the top action show that offers short bursts of entertainment, Ninja Slayer seems to be scratching that itch quite well.
Solid Recommendation
Plastic Memories
Joe Straatmann
This series feels like it's switching between two paces of
distinctly different speeds that are almost whiplash inducing. The first
one knows it's only 13 episodes and zooms through its array of people
and plots, and the other runs like the length is double that and lets
the experience completely breathe and play out with no particular whims
of getting to the more concerning matters. It finds the right things to
focus on, as Tsukasa and Isla going on their first date does need the
time if their relationship is going to be the emotional lynchpin for the
rest of the show. What that means is the episode before it deals with
everything else on the table where various moods are stuffed
uncomfortably next to each other like a JetBlue flight.
The nerves from their botched Giftia retrieval are still raw, and Isla has barely returned from maintenance "hospital," so it's a little odd that immediately afterwards, they decide to go through with a goofy subplot where co-worker Michiru and maintenance engineer/obsessive Giftia geek Eru discover Isla's in love and stalk Tsukasa endlessly. Tsukasa and Isla are busted down to desk jobs so it's not like they're headed into action for awhile, but the series has had spots where they blast through a whole bunch of points and this is the first time where it seriously interferes with the emotional flow. There's even a little break in the comedy where Tsukasa meets the boy he failed and apologizes profusely to an unconsolable child who lost the last meaningful person in his life. Who's ready for hijinks?!
At least the date is adorable. As a series not really concerned with thinking outside the box, it's handled exactly as you'd expect, and what happens is everything you'd think would happen. Tsukasa and Isla are a cute couple, so it's all good, but it just goes backs to Plastic Memories being a good show made from old parts of other works. If you can't look past the unoriginality at this point, there's probably nothing in this show's future that will give you anything you want. If you're still into it, get your hankies ready because I'm sure a good cry is in your future. As long as they keep in mind they have plot threads to resolve that need some attention. Remember when the supervisor got chewed out by his bosses a few episodes ago and he NEEDED to do something immediately to stay afloat, but he hasn't done anything since? They should take care of that.
Solid Recommendation
PUNCH LINE
David O'Neil
As I finished episode six of Punchline, the show's mysterious,
somewhat misleading nature was finally lifting to reveal what exactly
the show was really supposed to be. No flip flopping on what the real
premise was, waving random humor and fanservice in our faces, it was all
beginning to come together. The problem was, I still didn't like it.
I was hoping Punchline would change my mind, after all, it has its moments, and and there are some interesting ideas here and there. I like the energetic animation, the characters are fun at times, and a lot of the future plot events being teased have potential for interesting pay off. The problem is that the show is just too sloppy and unfocused to hold my attention. It's a show too enraptured with twists, with exposition, with mechanics and with foreshadowing, but not enough on the essential elements that these must be built on to truly shine. As twists occurred and secrets were revealed, as the plot thickened more and more, I realized I just didn't care, because the show never puts the focus on the smaller moments that would make the pay off of these twists and major plot events satisfying. I still barely feel sort of relationships between any of these characters, nor do I feel any sort of connection to many of their conflicts. Of the three major twists in episode six, one hinged on a character we'd never actually seen say or do anything, another was new information about a character (which while neat) offered little isight to them as a character, and the biggest twist was something that contradicted all the rules the show had explained prior to this episode.
If you're looking for no more than a roller coaster of a show full of twists and turns, I could see some enjoyment being had in Punchline. It's full of foreshadowing, clues, and twists, but to me there just isn't much actual substance there to back up the surface level plot. It chooses to build up twists purely through information rather than character building and development, which as a result has left me unable to be engaged by the story. It's certainly an intriguing show, but one I no longer care to continue.
Weak Recommendation, dropped at episode six
Re-Kan!
Jonathan Kaharl
This show has just been one surprise after the next. I came into Re-Kan with little in the way of expectations, just a funny joke about a girl who can see ghosts here and there and I'd be satisfied. Yet, for some reason, it has the ambitions to be much more real and raw, creating this heartfelt and charming story about loss, relationships, and the strange phenomenon that guide us in the world. These last two episodes really nail things down, starting with introducing Amami's father, who turns out to be as freaked out by ghosts as Inoue. He even has white hair because his spiritualist of a wife drove him nuts. However, the flashback showing their time together manages to be sweet, showing the mom's odd way of viewing the world and the dad's attempts at understanding this person he clearly is infatuated with. It also says a lot about him that he's still willing to visit Amami's haunter house at the cultural festival, simply because he wants to support his daughter, despite his problems with spirits.
The following episode goes into tear wrenching territory, as a teenage ghost possesses Amami partially so she can deliver a message around the holidays. This leads to some good gags, but the episode also focuses on Uehara's relationship with her family and how it contrasts and relates to the new ghost's own previous relationship with her parents. I really hope this new ghost sticks around, because she's easily one of the most likable characters in the show, selfish yet understanding when you;d least expect it. The end to her little arc is also very powerful. If her possessing Amami becomes a regular thing, I'll be happy (ending credits hint that she butts heads with the samurai ghost, so that might just happen).
Re-Kan really should just be another drop in the bucket, especially with its sense of humor, but it tries to do more and succeeds. Death is a difficult subject to talk about, especially in a screwball slice of life comedy that constantly has a tsundere girl screaming in terror over the smallest things, but Re-Kan gets it down right. Consider this my number six in my season top five.
Strong Recommendation
RIN-NE
Stephanie Getchell
As I travel from Jersey back to Maine, I write this as well as Sound and Love Story from the car. What a ride this is turning out to be! With Rin-Ne,
the show is still going at a steady progression. This time we start
with a well known toilet ghost getting her revenge on Juumonji for
kicking her out of her home in elementary school. After dealing with a
powerful evil spirit that offers the ghost girl power in exchange for
herself, an apology from Juumonji, and an introduction to Rokudou's
scythe after being bought back from a pawn shop (he pawned it in the
first place for money for living expenses) all is well and good. The
second episode from this week brings in a sidewalk shrine and a couple
of cat monsters that capture four children and take over their bodies in
order to make some mischief. Everything, once again, becomes all well
and good however it's Juumonji rather than Rokudou who manages to help
the cat monsters rest in peace. But there seems to be something else
going on because someone else was conducted the entire cat monster
mischief and is also part of an even larger group run by, more than
likely, Rokudou's father. At least we don't see his face, but he has the
same red hair we get to see and I can hear Kaito/Usopp in his voice and
I know Kappei Yamaguchi is set to voice that character so..... Yeah,
it's Rokudou's dad.
While it's still more hijinks and funny times abound this week, I actually think these couple of episodes do give much more focus to Juumonji in their own way. Episode five with toilet ghost helped show that his methods aren't working and he's realized this after Rokudou gets his scythe back. The episode following this shows us how Juumonji kind of adopts Rokudou's more kind and gentle method when he buys fatty tuna and integrates cat nip into his plan for the cat monsters to find peace. Yes, find peace. He in no way tried to exorcise them! While this may seem like a slight rushed piece of character development, and his main motivation is to impress Sakura anyways, I find it to be a rather great progression for Juumonji's character. It's a piece that I think manages to work naturally with the story line, and one that I am very happy to have happen now rather than later since it seems we'll be running into our main badies rather soon if Rokudou's father is any indication of this. This also means that ghost of the week story line will soon be going away too. Which is great because that makes these first five episodes more introductory if anything in order to incorporate new characters and elements such as Rokudou's scythe so we have those established.
Rin-Ne has kept it's consistency thus far and it's very commendable. Not only that, but seeing development for Juumonji and his slow change in character makes me rather happy cause, I'll admit, he's really growing on me. Would love to see much more character development for Sakura and Rokudou, but big bad daddy will do the trick for one so I'll let Rokudou slide. Sakura on the other hand is one I would love to see a bit more from. She hasn't gotten too involved and is more in the background and can be a plot devise at times, telling Rokudou when things are getting a little weird or not. Give me something more to work with, Sakura! I'd really appreciate that! Otherwise than that, solid episodes this week and I can't wait to see where this evil organization thing comes into play!
Solid Recommendation
Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign
David O'Neil
Last time around I found myself starting to warm up to Seraph,
despite all its glaring plot holes, tired cliches, boring school
setting- okay I think you get the point. Sure, it had a rough start, but
I was liking the characters and there were some promising plot points
coming up on the horizon. Two episodes later, it may be taking too long
to get to those promising plot points for its own good. Episode six
especially was one of the weakest episodes in the show so far. My main
problem with it is that the entire episode hinged on something the show
had already dealt with before, and a fight that was glaringly obvious in
terms of how it would end.
The episode picks up where episode five left off, with the three main guys all making contracts with their demon weapons. To do this, they have to overcome the illusions the demons create, who show visions of their past failures and dead loved ones in order to try to break their will and take over their bodies for themselves. As if that wasn't an overused enough concept by itself, the show has done it once already in a previous episode. Not too far back, the main character encountered a demon weapon and had to grapple with these same kinds of illusions, and overcame them. And since these new demon encounters brought nothing much new to the table, it made the episode as a whole feel trivial. In addition, the main fight is the sort of fight you absolutely know is going to end a certain way, because (minor spoiler warning) there's no way they're going to kill off a major character who's prominently hyped up in the OP this early on. The next episode is better, the characters finally get out of school (thank god) and are sent on their first mission hunting vampires. It's speeds up the pace from previous episodes, which I like, but it's still not quite as tightly paced as I'd like it to be as of yet. The show introduces a new character, a stubborn, brash girl with hints of tsundere. She borders on being obnoxious at times, but good voice acting and a backstory that well justifies her actions makes her a more likable character than she could have been.
Probably my biggest issue with Seraph so far is with the action, which leaves much to be desired. Wit is a studio who's made a name for themselves largely through dynamic, over the top action, from the grand, intense action of Attack On Titan, to the colorful, energetic fights in Rolling Girls. As a result I can't help but be disappointed that so far the action in Seraph feels lifeless and stale. The animation is solid, but the direction just isn't utilizing that animation in interesting or unique ways. It's still early on, and the action hasn't been much of a focus so far, but this is certainly an area that needs improvement. The last two episodes of Seraph didn't quite raise my enthusiasm for it like the previous two did, but now that they're finally out of school and fighting vampires I'm hoping it'll grab my attention again.
Weak Recommendation
Show by Rock!!
David O'Neil
Show By Rock hasn't changed the game, but the last two
episodes were probably my favorite two episodes of the series so far. I
liked each one for different reasons, and neither of them quite achieved
greatness, but at least for now the series has settled nicely in a
routine of harmless, sweet, and adorable fun that, while only dabbles in
more dramatic ideas, does so skillfully, and with enough entertaining
distractions to make it work.
Speaking from a pure objective standpoint, episode six of Show By Rock was easily the best episode of the series as of now, and at a tricky intersection for the show's plot as well. It took place in the wake of an event I touched on in the last Seasonal Review entry, that I wasn't a huge fan of. It involved a petty misunderstanding, and dividing the main cast of characters even more than they already were. I knew it'd be difficult for them to pull the next episode off in a way that didn't feel contrived, but they actually made it work. Pretty much all of the series' strengths were in full form in this episode, the visual comedy was better than ever with tons of crazy faces and funny gags. It wasn't too exuberant on animation, the episode looked incredibly pretty with lots of beautiful backgrounds and a lot of great looking shots. And overall it managed to handle the resolution of the band's conflict in a surprisingly heartwarming way. It seemed as if the main cast was finally starting to come together as a group. Which is why it was a bit disappointing when the next episode preceded to push them to the background of the story, having them all do virtually do nothing for the entire episode. Or at least it would have been disappointing, if it hadn't pushed them into the background to focus on the boy band side characters "Shingan Crimsonz", which if you've been following my coverage of this show you know, are by far my favorite characters in the show.
And as always, the four charismatic, air-headed, passion-filled bishonens manage to steal the show in nearly every way possible. It's hard to make clear just how incredible these characters are, at this point I really do wonder if they could make some sort of spin-off anime or manga that entirely focuses on them, because they are the most entertaining aspect of the show by a huge margin, which isn't even so much an insult to the rest of the characters, as much as they're just THAT good. On the one hand I was somewhat iffy on them taking the focus off the main characters just as they were going in a more interesting direction, but on the other hand: Shingan Crimsonz. Show By Rock hasn't been elevated to significant new heights, but the last two episodes were the most fun and engaging the show has been so far.
Strong Recommendation
Sound! Euphonium
Stephanie Getchell
The big day has come! The Sunrise Festival! The concert band make
their final preparations for the event with marching practices and even
staying past rehearsal times in order to prepare. While they are in
between two very well known high school concert bands, it's not a
problem as the group manages to make a huge impression and become
memorable in the eyes of spectators. After the festival, things don't
slow down as the group conquers midterms and begin to work towards the
prefectural tournament. However, Taki-sensei throws in a bit of a curve
ball as he will be holding auditions for the spots in the band for the
tournament rather than the status quo that had normally been used. This
brings us to Hazuki, our resident beginner tuba player. Her confidence
for the tuba seems to dwindle as she works hard but has yet to find a
groove for it and a love for playing. After some motivational searching,
and some Tuba-kun hijinks thanks to Asuka, Kumiko and Midori play with
Hazuki in her first little ensemble, and she finally understands and
falls in love with playing. Meanwhile, Kumiko's relationship with
Kousaka is steadily growing while Hazuki seems to be slowly falling for
Kumiko's friend and trombone player Tsukamoto.
This week has me rather curious as to how many episodes it will get. I say this because this show could be a two cour one if it really wanted to, however based on how the story is moving along, it's hard to say if that will be the case. With the amount of story lines being integrated into the show, and rather quickly, it has me curious and a little worried. However, that progression is still doing rather well regardless. Not only is the concert band moving along wonderfully, but the relationships and character development is doing rather well too with Kumiko and Kousaka's friendship slowly developing and working out rather well. Having that introduction piece in the beginning of the series helped set the tone of that relationship and gave a good starting point in order for the two to become good friends out of it. While there's a ways to go, this week has it really starting to form. Meanwhile, there's Hazuki's little arc in episode six as she struggles with being a beginner and her love of the tuba. It's a natural developmental piece to be implemented here with the results rather fun and a little heart warming. I believe I said this last time, but I used to be in band as a clarinet player. While I wanted to play the flute at first, playing with others helped me fall in love with my clarinet a little more. It's something I, and I'm sure many other band people can understand.
Sound and Rin-Ne have managed to be consistent throughout their runs and I'm happy for that. While they aren't the stand outs of the season since Blood Blockade and Love Story, I believe, just overshadow them, I still throughly enjoy them! For Sound, in particular, the story has that fun little charm that I've fallen for as well as it speaks to the old band geek in me. This is another one that I wish I had more development for the lead, Kumiko, however I'll take the growth in relationship for her and Kousaka. Also, Midori hasn't done a whole lot outside of being the cute moe character so I really hope something more comes out of it. There's one other thing I'm trying to figure out and that Aoi. What is her deal anyway? I get it may have something to due with being a senior and all, however it also feels like there's more to it. There's still a lot Sound has to do and, if it ends up as a one cour series, there's not a whole lot of time to pull it off.
Strong Recommendation
Triage X
Danni Wilmoth
Ultimate Otaku Teacher
Joe Straatmann
You know that student I talked about last time who had some serious issues that Ultimate Otaku Teacher wasn't
prepared to deal with it? Well, it doesn't really deal with them. Oh,
they find a solution, which involves Seijuro, the bully character,
joining a soccer team that supports him instead of tearing him down,
like the baseball team that ruined his stint in the sport. The
fundamentals of it are solid until the end result involves cheating as
well as an unbelievably prophetic deathbed speech. Revealing his
freakish video-game-in-real-life skills is impressive, but the magic
final shot of the episode involves charging over players without the
ball, which is normally a yellow or red card in the sport. It's not
called because the official is clueless about the game, so, yeah, they
redeem a misunderstood guy by rewarding him for cheating. Also, Seijuro
flashes back to his father's last words which essentially say he will
meet a person who will try to help him, that a person will probably be
an idiot, but listen to the idiot. Yuck! How long has that bad writing
been stuck in the back of the fridge?!
Wait a minute, before you pass this off as another case of ranting on a bad anime with stretched metaphors, Ultimate Otaku Teacher has a good episode where everything works. This time, our otaku teacher has to tutor a girl named Kanan who was laughed into silence by a viral video taken of her natural anime character voice. She has to make it to the top ten in her class or she can't go to a concert of her favorite singer, American You Red Pond, on her 130-country tour. I could go into how ridiculous a 130-country tour is or how You Red Pond sounds less like a classically trained singer with an angelic voice and more like a hipster band that sneers whenever you ask what their name means, but that's just my over-analytic brain I can't shut off talking. The details aside, everything about this episode shines.
As a series that is plagued with artistic issues, there are a surprising amount of wonderful touches here, including a shot where Kanan's face literally falls off and a metaphor where the words on the textbook either disappear or float off the page, perfectly capturing a student not grasping what they're looking at. Kanan is a very good character, charmingly using her cell phone as her sole communication device, and the reason why she's a You Red Pond fan is a neat bit of writing. Genius teacher Kagami usually rubs me the wrong way as he only seems to defend those who further his otaku agenda, but this time, his lesson actually rings true. The message is that there's someone out there who will treasure the gifts you have to give the world, so to hell with the jerkasses in society who try to rip you apart for your differences. It actually fulfills on the concept of using otaku society to show inspiring different bends on the world while also being a wacky comedy.
Does that turn the ship around? Like Etotama's good episode, we'll see. But it's a start.
Weak Recommendation
Wish Upon the Pleiades
Jonathan Kaharl
Pleiades is finally finding its groove. This time around, we get some development for Itsuki, the team's most traditionally feminine character (quiet, helpful, pretty, ect). She turns out to have a complex born from a trauma from when she was a child, as she climbed up a tree and injured herself, causing her parents to blame her brother, who failed to get her down. It's similar to Hikaru's character arc, except her guilt is validated, and it causes her to act as she thinks other people want her to act. However, she's really a tomboy at heart and wants to act based on her own whims, and accepting that part of her allows the team to finally win during a glorious sequence in the rings of Saturn.
The following episode finally raises the stakes (as it finally establishes them). It's still not clear what the situation with the boy witch is, but now we understand why fixing the president's spaceship is so important. If it's not fixed, it will crash down on Earth, and the thing is so massive that it could crush the majority of the planet's population (it's also some weird temporal paradox magical construct that shifts through dimensions or something). Whatever the boy witch wants, he doesn't care if it results in a mass extinction effect. The girls stop the fall briefly (thanks to Subaru's new found drive giving them a power upgrade), but Minato and his mysterious other dimension observatory finally starts moving within time once more. Minato has disappeared right after meeting the boy witch, and hints are given that the two are connected somehow, probably by being the same person of two different possible timelines.
The series is cutting back on CG a little now, and its really saving the action scenes. They're stunning to watch, and the series weird existential sci-fi magic mythology is starting to gel with me. I'm also liking the characters far more, as everyone but Nanako has now had at least the start of an arc and further definition to their personality. Nanako's episode is probably coming, but honestly, I think she's perfect the way she is. The alternate timeline stuff is also being used in a refreshing way, not overpowering the plot and using it mostly for thematic reasons. The series is headed in an unknown but intriguing direction now, and I want to see just what it has up its sleeve.
Solid Recommendation
Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches
Jonathan Kaharl
This series is weird to me, and I mean that in a good way. Most romantic comedies have a certain structure to them, but Yamada-kun doesn't seem to adhere by it. The creator of the series, Miki Yoshikawa, had previously worked under the creator of Fairy Tale and Rave Master, and that influence really shines through here, as there's a lot of elements of shonen action story beats and a surprising amount of cheesecake. However, it's not quite like most shonen works, despite being so thematically similar. The big thing here working for it is that the subject matter is just the sort of thing that normally doesn't get explored in these sorts of works; puberty. Shonen manga is usually all about hard work, overcoming the odds, and being a better person by overcoming challenges. The growth of Yamada here doesn't come from that sort of ideology, but from him learning to better communicate with others and grow as a person. Part of that also involves him dealing with his own sexuality and the sexuality of others.
This is finally explored in greater depth as another student council president candidate, Odagiri, tries blackmailing Yamada (thanks to body switching shenanigans with Shiraishi), so Yamada decides to kiss her and switch bodies to solve the problem. Instead, we discover that it's Shiraishi who really has that power, and Yamada has the ability to copy the powers of the seven witches of the school through the same method they use theirs (kissing). This makes things complicated, as Odagiri's power is charming those she kisses, and she ends up charmed by Yamada's kiss. A lot of character development finally comes for Yamada and Shiraishi, as we learn more about Yamada's past frustrations and failures to make friends, and the attitude that resulted finally got him a slap in the face from Shiraishi for being so horrifically selfish. Puberty plays a large part in all this, as Yamada misreads signals and only does the right thing when he comes to a realization about love. It also plays a huge role in the development of Yamada's old friend and Odagiri's assistant, Ushio. It's a clever bit of mirroring the growth of the two, despite them both being in radically different situations.
The writing in this series is balancing a fine line between blunt and cheesy shonen, and oddly thoughtful drama on growing up. Characters are portrayed as heavily flawed as the story demands, but they never go into full unlikable range because they learn from their mistakes. Awkwardness and selfish actions are par the course for becoming an adult, and the series gets that. The whole kissing power angle isn't nearly as stupid as it should be as well. The powers of the seven witches relate to aspects of their personalities and their desires, as does Yamada's ability to copy those powers. It's a clever way to work in character definition, avoiding exposition to try and explain why characters act the way they do. Sure, it does get blunt at some moments (Shiraishi's picture album in particular), but it's plenty sincere enough to work. As a side note, I also like how the series lightly deals with gender politics, giving this weird blend of hetero norms and queer interactions, and having characters accept it as normal as they deal with it more. Yamada-kun is cute, colorful, and surprisingly spot on in a lot of ways. It's definitely one of the most interesting shonen works I've seen in years.
Solid Recommendation
Second Opinions
Blood Blockade Battlefront
Jonathan: They made a Twins reference sad and effective. This show can do anything. Leo getting relationship advice from a psycho that mutilated and combined two of her boyfriends is hilariously bizarre, while the friendship with a burger obsessed mushroom man turned out to be way more emotionally resonant than it had any right to be. I heard someone describe this series as a thematically constant Space Dandy, and that definitely describes the show best. Wild, manic, exciting, but not without purpose. Easily the season's best. Strong Recommendation
Stephanie: Nothing new for me to point out this week, which means this has been consistently strong! Something I very much like and appreciate. We do have some added characters and we finally get some idea as to who this blond/glasses guy is. Then there's the Broadcast Dub that recently started up and it's off to a great start! I will say that Josh Grelle's Femt just went and stole the first episode for me though. Did not see that coming and I honestly had thought it was an odd choice before seeing the episode. I think we have a possible Best Male Voice Actor nominee for the IRD Awards this year! Believe me, if you haven't seen it yet, then watch the first episode. It's all you need to see the amazing madness that is Grelle's Femt! Strong Recommendation
The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan
Stephanie: This one has been up and down for me since the beginning and I think I finally ran out of steam on this one for the time being. While it is nice to see characters we all know and love return, it's the change in genre that I'm still having a hard time to get used to. I only managed to watch one episode this week and it kept the same feeling I've had since last time. The other reason I'm stopping this one, for now, is there is a Broadcast Dub on the way and I wanted to save a little time and just watch the dub instead. It'll be interesting to see if the original cast returns or not, but we'll see. Mike McFarland did mention something about going to LA for secret projects.... And he IS the one with the most connections in terms of voice actors.... It's always a possibility there. Yuki Nagato is cute and adorable, but I'm just not feeling it anymore right now. Weak Recommendation
Etotama
Jonathan: I am still amazed by how wonderful a main character Nya-tan is. The show is starting to slip a little as it goes into unironic drama and character development, but those elements aren't bad so much as not as fun as the comedy bits. Still, it works well enough and works in enough gags to work, and the CG battle scenes are still spectacular. The tiger fight really shows off how good this animation actually is, with putting a ton of focus on dialog, lip synching, and camera movement we haven't really seen from the other scenes so far. Strong Recommendation
The Heroic Legend of Arslan
Stephanie: Everything may be a little slow moving at points, but that's more because of the politics behind what's currently happening in the series. It's great that we aren't just staying with Arslan and we get to see what's going on in Pars as story development as well as introduction, and interaction, with characters that will play major roles in the series like Geive (as said last time) and now Farangis. With things getting interesting, as well as desperate, I'm going to love knowing this series will keep me on my toes. Also, a Broadcast Dub is set to happen for this series and I am already making predictions and planning a Dub Talk episode on my blog so.... Yeah, I like this series in case you couldn't tell, but I could do with less CGI soldiers.... Just saying. Strong Recommendation
Is It Wrong to Try and Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?
Danni: I tried to avoid watching this show, I really did, but the boob string was just too tempting. Between the last installment and this one, I downloaded all released episodes and marathonned them in a day. I honestly did not expect to enjoy it as much as I do. It's obviously another harem anime, but Bell is actually a likable enough guy that it makes sense he has a few admirers. I'm not on board with the thematic direction it seems to be taking by having Bell get stronger and stronger. I've been hoping from the start it would lead up more to a conclusion where Bell doesn't have to be strong to be a man worthy of a strong woman. There's still a chance for the show to get that across instead, but with each passing episode I find it less and less likely that it will. Regardless, Danmachi remains an inexplicably endearing and charming anime. Weak Recommendation
MY love STORY!!
Stephanie: Cuteness overload due to hand holding? Check! Hilarious pre first kiss moment for Takao and Suna? Check! Introduction of older sister character who likes the main character for more funny moments? Check! Yup. I think I'm good this week! Strong Recommendation
Ninja Slayer From Animation
Danni: Ninja Slayer's weakest points are apparent when it's trying to be serious. Thankfully, these points are few and far between. Even when it does seemingly dip into a more serious tone, that tone is yanked away in a split second and replaced with hilarious cardboard cutout battle animation, or a quick series of cuts between super-short scenes that really drive home the point that Ninja Slayer is complete and utter parody. Honestly, I don't think the show ever really tries to be serious. I imagine when it dips into a serious tone it's with humor through irony in mind. The show's main problem is it doesn't communicate this well, and sometimes comes across as unironically serious. Still, it's worth sitting through these moments if it means getting to watch Ninja Slayer defeat his enemy by moonwalking. Solid Recommendation
Jonathan: Episodes three and four left a bad taste in my mouth, as the series trying to do drama and character study seriously is neither engaging nor amusing. Five put things back on track with some more bad animation and a dumber story to work with, not to mention more ridiculously awful characters but it doesn't quite have the spark episodes one and two had. Needs that Inferno Cop level terrible animation popping up a bit more to really stand out, but as it is now, we're getting back on track. Solid Recommendation
PUNCH LINE
Jonathan: Yup, this is from the guy behind 999, and that makes me so happy. This is my second favorite show of the season so far, and I have faith that it will stick the landing. Time travel, the apocalypse occurring because of panties, and literal turtle power. This show is so wonderful. Strong Recommendation
Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign
Stephanie: Seraph and Yuki Nagato are in the same boat for me this week. For Seraph, it's hasn't gotten that much better, but I at least finished the little demon contract episodes and saw Yoichi go a little possessed. It's slowly working it's way in to a moderately ok series, but I'm still bracing myself for the train wreck that will happen. After only watching episode six AND seeing the first Broadcast Dub episode, I've decided this will be another series I follow with the dub only. I'm pretty sure I would not have the patience to watch the simulcast and dub this season unlike a bunch of other shows that I like, such as Blood Blockade Battlefront and Arslan. Even if the dub of Seraph is just the shiny thing on top of a turd of a show. Weak Recommendation
Sound! Euphonium
Jonathan: Before the show gets back on the one way express to pain and crushing disappointment brought on by a harsh and uncaring reality, we finally got to see the band get a win for once, while Hazuki is finally taking her first major steps to be a proper tuba player, letting the show explore the frustrations of being bad at something you like, along with frustration of failing to live up to others or your own expectations. Also, Sapphire hugs Kumiko while she's wearing a Tuba-kun outfit. KyoAni finally found that perfect balance between drama and comedy they started reaching with Free!, good on them. Strong Recommendation
Ultimate Otaku Teacher
Stephanie: Why am I still the only person moderately fine with this show? I'll admit, it's not the best thing from the season, but I'm enjoying the hell out of it. Sure, Kagami can be a bit of a jerk, but he's not the worst teacher I've ever seen. Plus the fact that he at least does care about his students in his own way interests me. I mean, it's like he's the best teacher for outcasts and trouble makers or something like that! The case can be seen with the soccer match with Seijiro and helping Kanan with her exams and finally talking again after being bullied. It's not fantastic in plot and animation, but at least the characters are amusing for me to watch. Solid Recommendation
Wish Upon the Pleiades
Joe: I'm digging all the off-the-wall science fiction ideas involved in the peripheral elements. Traveling through space by being able to file through all the various dimensions until you find the desired outcome is pretty cool. It almost begs for an adult series that explores these ideas, but what we have is a good transforming girls series that aims younger (But is being consumed by adults anyway). You take what you can get sometimes. I AM really interested in seeing where they're going with Suburu's friend in the greenhouse. Solid Recommendation
Dropped Shows
- Urawa no Usagi-chan (Jonathan, two episodes)
- Gunslinger Stratos: The Animation (Danni, five episodes)
- The Heroic Legend of Arslan (David, four episodes)
- Is It Wrong to Try and Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? (Stephanie, four episodes)
Stephanie Getchell
As I said, this is the first time I get so see some semblance of plot which is a little weird to see here. I thought this was going to be much more episodic in nature, but apparently I may be wrong there. Luckily, the plot that we seem to be getting isn't anything to outrageous or complex, making it easy to manage. However, some cliffhanger pieces, I'm realizing, are bugging me. Particularly Shion's brother as he makes an appearance at the end of episode six but it leaves it off where we don't know the conversation that he and Shion end up having. It's a little bit odd if you ask me. Otherwise, there's not a whole lot more I can comment on. It's the same as it's ever been, which is great since it's not going into crazy land or anything. However, it's not trying to be outstanding either which makes me wonder what it will do to be that great going forward. Add to the fact that we have a slight plot and you can understand why I may have my reservations at this point. As mentioned before, the director of Rainy Cocoa also directed Pupa and we all know how that went. We'll see how it all goes...
Solid Recommendation
Blood Blockade Battlefront
Danni Wilmoth
First, I'll address episode six, "Don't Forget to Don't Forget Me" (all pronounced in English). This episode is easily one of Battlefront's strongest episodes to date, if not the absolute strongest. In this episode, Leonardo befriends a surprisingly cute creature named Nej who happens to adore Johnny Rocket cheeseburgers, but isn't able to directly buy any himself. This may sound like a simple and uneventful premise, but it plays out marvelously. In this episode we're introduced to a side of Hellsalem's Lot we haven't seen before, one where Alterworld creatures are segregated from humans and exploited. The episode's climax and resolution left me in tears of both sadness and happiness, and through Leonardo's frienship with Nej we see that despite their differences, humans and Alterworld creatures can coexist.
Next, I'll address episode seven, "A No-Holds-Barred Eden." In this episode, Zapp pays off a debt of his by tricking Klaus into competing in an underground fighting league. This episode's strengths lie in its use as an antithesis of episode six. While episode six showed us that many within Hellsalem's Lot see humans and Alterworld creatures as incredibly different, episode seven introduces us to those who see them as equals, both enraptured and excited by one-on-one bare-knuckle fistfights. Aside from this, the episode seeks to drive home just how physically powerful Klaus is, as he dominates fighter after fighter. While this is indeed a necessary part of his character, it's something we can easily gather from the battles we've seen him fight in. Klaus is a strong dude, we don't need an entire episode to pick up on that fact. On its own, episode seven was still a good episode. Compared to the rest of BBB though, it was sorely lacking.
Heading into the final stretch of Battlefront, I still have no clue where this show is going. So far we've only been given glimpses at the supposed main antagonists, and Matsumoto has chosen to focus on only a few characters out of such a stellar cast, and that doesn't appear to be changing anytime soon (The next episode is the first of a two-parter titled "Zapp's Longest Day"). However, Matsumoto has yet to let me down with this show, and I fully expect to be listing BBB as my season favorite come our final wrap-up.
Strong Recommendation
The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan
Joe Straatmann
You may or may not recall the heater episode from the first season of Haruhi Suzumiya. Aside from neat little trivia (It's the only episode from the anime not based on the light novels, but was written by light novel author Nagaru Tanagawa himself), it was a forgettable one only made infamous by some of the fandom by being the last episode in chronological order, a viewing order that was forced upon the audience of the DVD release unless you shelled out for the limited boxes. Kyon gets a heater for the S.O.S. Brigade and spends some quiet moments with Haruhi. That's essentially the episode. It was fine as a little breather before building up to the climax, but as the finale to the season, it's a gigantic whimper. Most of Yuki-chan feels like the heater episode repeated over and over again. There is the added incentive of an actual romance, but it's a dollar attached to some fishing line that gets yanked away every time the situation gets close to success.
I had to re-watch the sixth episode just to remember what happened, if you can call the events "things happening." Haruhi tries to remake the literature club to her whims for a little bit, there's a flashback to how Kyon met Asahina, and then nearly ten minutes of trying to solve math problems. Yuki's thought process to math was funny, but even for slice of life, this is extremely inert bordering on the worst episodes of Lucky Star, and I REALLY don't like Lucky Star. They even shrug off attempts to put in some romantic tension as Yuki shakes off something that looks like Kyon kissing someone as cleaning out dust in their eyes. Either it's parodying overwrought melodrama grown from misunderstandings, or it's laughing at the audience for expecting any kind of romantic conflict in a romantic comedy.
I don't even want to waste words on the field trip to a "power spot" temple. What's to discuss? The characters do more of the similar things they usually do, and it hints at the possibility of Yuki getting closer to Kyon but it doesn't happen... again. At least when they visit the hot springs, most of the material is written by the anime staff rather than relying on the manga, and it's funny in parts because of that (The person in charge of cleaning the karaoke bath room is the new best character of this series with only one line). With this extra material, it means the show is not getting to its "be careful what you wish for" moment where something does happen. They're stalling. They know how terrible it is. Anyway, should they finally choose to go through with it in the next two episodes, we'll all meet again next update to discuss what the hell just happened. You'll want to tune in then.
No Recommendation
ETOTAMA
Joe Straatmann
All of this meta review crap is here to say I might have been too cruel to Etotama when it was a giant plastic bag of noise with rabid animals fighting inside it. I defend my points, especially the cheap, manipulative drama culled from a death that was taken back almost instantly, and Nya-tan being an absolutely insufferable little twerp of a main character. But it's far from worthless. The good news about this being a series that is self-aware is that they do realize this, and eventually, they do something about it. The first in our update involves Shima-tan, the representative of the tiger on the zodiac, talking to our almost non-entity of a main human character Takeru about Nya-tan's underhanded ways of trying to get through the tournament without really trying (She's seen bartering bones and bananas with the dog and the monkey). She is Nya-tan's trainer and feels that if this laziness continues, Chu-tan the rat will kill her for good after she's closed loopholes in the Eto-shin battle rules.
I thought the dragon was her trainer, but screw it! This makes more sense and we're actually getting some good structure here. It gives Nya-tan reason to improve, gives a reason for the human character to be more involved than a foil to everyone else's insanity, and sets the stage for the second half. It may not mean much for you, but a little structure goes a long way for me. If you don't have it, it's like the sickness episode where everyone just runs around being crazy, making references, and then just making jokes about the characters realizing they're in a program, which all the comedies I'm watching this season are doing because I'm guessing they think it automatically switches the dumb things to smart by having the characters admit the show is doing dumb things.
Even with a recap episode, I'm not reaching for the aspirin. It probably has something to with Nya-tan being out of the picture for most of the running time and our tour guide through the recap Shar-tan the snake, who is very soft spoken and about as proper as a character in this show is allowed to be. They even brought down a Galaxy Express 999 reference just for me. At least, I think it's a reference to that. As Shar-tan says, everything here works on serpentine logic (Okay, I laughed at that one). Their approach of somewhat continuing the story with reiterating the plot is a nice attempt at shaking up the usual recap doldrums, but it still relies on meta jokes that I just don't find funny here. Trying to explain why jokes don't hit is like trying to show your work in calculus, but let me ask this: How does this show knowing it's a show make it better? I don't have the answer. Maybe the second opinion people who like this show do and you can go party with them. Nevertheless, Etotoma IS taking strides to become better and I do commend it for that.
Weak Recommendation
Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma
Danni Wilmoth
While most of the anime I'm following this season has somewhat stagnated at this point (at least in my opinion), Food Wars has
consistently gotten better with each and every episode. The first half
of the season I'd refer to this show as my guilty pleasure or "the trash
anime" I still love, but now I think its just plain good. Every week
I've gone into Food Wars expecting it to finally disappoint me,
but every week it stubbornly refuses to and I'm left bemoaning the fact I
have to wait a whole week to see even more. The past two episodes are
the best to date, with the latest being my favorite so far.
Following
the second installment, Soma was preparing to enter into an official
cook-off with Mito the Meat Master (I made many dirty jokes about this
on Twitter) with both a don research society and his own enrollment in
school on the line. As we've come to expect from Soma, he easily defeats
Mito in their cook-off, toppling her highest-quality ingredients with
ones he purchased on sale from the supermarket. We're once again treated
to an outlandish reaction to Soma's cooking, as his dish causes Mito's
tragic past to flash before her eyes. Her mistress Erina is disappointed
in Mito's loss, and has will likely be back later to punish her for it.
Mito isn't too bothered, however. Touched by Soma's friendliness as
well as his cooking, she seems to have developed feelings for him.
The
latest episode offers a bit of a change of pace from previous episodes
as all the first-year students are sent on a mandatory training camp to
make food, friendships, and memories...at least by the academy's claims.
In actuality, it's a hell camp designed to further weed out students
whose potential isn't of the absolute highest caliber. Students are put
through daily tests by school alumni, who have authority to expel them
if they do anything less than satisfactory.
This
episode diverges from the regular pattern not only by putting Soma and
his friends in a new arc and environment, but also because for the first
time Soma actually doesn't do any cooking. Instead, he comes face to
face with Takumi Aldini, and the two quickly become rivals. It appears
Takumi is the only student at the academy besides Soma who has worked in
a diner-like restaurant, and he refuses to lose to Soma. Instead of
seeing Soma cook this episode, we're focused on Takumi and his
preparations. At the end of the episode, we're treated to our weekly
food-induced orgasm (see above), only this time as a result of Takumi's
cooking. Next week we will likely see Soma's response.
Food Wars has
gone from my guilty pleasure to one of my absolute favorites of the
season. Everything about is absurdly exaggerated, but by amping up the
stakes as high as it does, Food Wars becomes dramatic, hilarious,
and hilarious in its drama. I'm not sure if Soma is ridiculously
optimistic or just plain oblivious, but his completely carefree attitude
is incredibly endearing when juxtaposed against the rest of the
nervous, bitter, and stressed student body (especially Megumi).
Meanwhile the show consistently makes every single "battle" one that
holds Soma's entire culinary future at stake, and plays this up
fantastically in its tone. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention it's ecchi
moments, which I personally find incredibly welcome. For every bit of
bouncing boobs held up by a thin American flag bikini top, Food Wars is
kind of enough to grant us a fair amount of naked bishounen boys and
orgasmic moans from any and all genders and walks of life. I wouldn't
have it any other way.
Strong Recommendation
Mikagura School Suite
Joe Straatmann
Eruna's starting to get a magnetic personality at the academy. After sort of mentoring the theatre newbies in the tournament and most having a fair bit of success, one of her friends even beats a seemingly villainous member of the music club I thought for sure was meant to be a boss character for Eruna. This calls for a celebration! Mostly here we get to know the various people Kyoma, the blunt and intimidating member of the art club, Asuhi, the first-year astronomy club member, and finally Otone, the little lady in gothic lolita garb who has been teased constantly in the opening and ending credits. She's shy and wrestles with a "white" and "dark" personality, but neither will keep Eruna away (Or from coining the phrase "super orthodox girlish sitting position"). Who wins the rookie battle is a surprise, but I'll just say the results call for another celebration amongst the group!
I feel so lazy talking about this series right now. Whatever main plot exists here is in hibernation, and what we have is a bunch of character bonding. The characters are a lovable band of misfits and eccentrics who have enough dimension to them, so that's fine. I did have a personal laugh when it's revealed what Kyoma's art is because I have a cousin who's an abstract artist and the punchline of this episode is likely exactly what I'd get if I asked for a self-portrait from her. The tournament is merely a way for Eruna to get introduced and socially mix with both the familiar and new, and its result doesn't really matter. Mikagura School Suite's meandering means it hasn't reached the peak of fun and inventiveness of the first two episodes, but it's still a good enough time. Oh, and Eruna's idea for the club she wants to create is so... Eruna.
Solid Recommendation
MY love STORY!!
Jonathan Kaharl
Enter Sunakawa's sister Ai, a college student that turned out to have an almost obsessive crush on Takeo for years. She suspects that Yamato is cheating on Takeo, picking up that she's hiding something from him, and tries to find out the truth after talking with Takeo and realizing that their relationship may have something. It's a cute bit with her, dealing with unrequited love and what one would do for the person they love, even if they don't love them the same way back. She's also another great personality, as she's the complete opposite of her collected brother, and she gets some fantastic lines. When Yamato admits her feelings to Ai, the entire scene plays out with Yamato slowly revealing her perverted thoughts, and Ai shamelessly agreeing and adding to them. It's just great.
I also like these turn of events because it makes the series more than just a beauty and the beast tale. Yamato fell for Takeo from first sight, not just because he saved her, but because she truly thought he was physically attractive. It's not a tale of someone seeing the inner beauty in someone, Yamato really idolized Takeo because of what he looked like and who he was. The two don't really understand each other yet, but they share an attraction and are trying to make things work, all because they're so much about each other they like already. It's a nice twist on building a relationship, and it fits far more that the usual romance games bull crap shojo loves to pull around.
Strong Recommendation
Ninja Slayer From Animation
David O'Neil
Since then its been moving away from that, dropping the ironic self parody, and instead dedicating itself to a new goal: Taking itself completely seriously. To me this works much better, the humor comes less from gags that are meant to surprise you with how weird they are, and focuses more on the inherent hilarity of a bunch of giant super-men in ridiculous outfits yelling as they battle in an over the top fashion with the most thickly applied layer of edginess and grit humanly possible. Episode five of Ninja Slayer felt like the highpoint of the series so far. It featured almost none of the lazy tween animation that fractured the early episodes of the show, and was incredibly fun thanks to how well it utilized the 90s anime OVA homage humor of the show to its fullest extent. The animation is stiff and characters still don't move much, but when they do it looks cool, the episode featured tons of cool, highly detailed close ups on characters, and by sticking mostly to real key animation the show has a much more consistent flow that doesn't break you out of the experience.
The next episode was a bit of a step back, not a full relapse into Inferno Cop-imitation, but it felt like it was stepping away from a lot of the improvements it had made. The episode featured a lot less animation and more of the wacky humor that relies more on trying to be weird rather than playing on the show's strengths. But still, the show has been moving in the right direction overall. I'm hoping eventually the show can be at a point where it entirely uses real key animation, though at this point it seems as if the show may just fluctuate visually as the show goes on. Ninja Slayer is fun and getting better, if you want an over the top action show that offers short bursts of entertainment, Ninja Slayer seems to be scratching that itch quite well.
Solid Recommendation
Plastic Memories
Joe Straatmann
The nerves from their botched Giftia retrieval are still raw, and Isla has barely returned from maintenance "hospital," so it's a little odd that immediately afterwards, they decide to go through with a goofy subplot where co-worker Michiru and maintenance engineer/obsessive Giftia geek Eru discover Isla's in love and stalk Tsukasa endlessly. Tsukasa and Isla are busted down to desk jobs so it's not like they're headed into action for awhile, but the series has had spots where they blast through a whole bunch of points and this is the first time where it seriously interferes with the emotional flow. There's even a little break in the comedy where Tsukasa meets the boy he failed and apologizes profusely to an unconsolable child who lost the last meaningful person in his life. Who's ready for hijinks?!
At least the date is adorable. As a series not really concerned with thinking outside the box, it's handled exactly as you'd expect, and what happens is everything you'd think would happen. Tsukasa and Isla are a cute couple, so it's all good, but it just goes backs to Plastic Memories being a good show made from old parts of other works. If you can't look past the unoriginality at this point, there's probably nothing in this show's future that will give you anything you want. If you're still into it, get your hankies ready because I'm sure a good cry is in your future. As long as they keep in mind they have plot threads to resolve that need some attention. Remember when the supervisor got chewed out by his bosses a few episodes ago and he NEEDED to do something immediately to stay afloat, but he hasn't done anything since? They should take care of that.
Solid Recommendation
PUNCH LINE
David O'Neil
I was hoping Punchline would change my mind, after all, it has its moments, and and there are some interesting ideas here and there. I like the energetic animation, the characters are fun at times, and a lot of the future plot events being teased have potential for interesting pay off. The problem is that the show is just too sloppy and unfocused to hold my attention. It's a show too enraptured with twists, with exposition, with mechanics and with foreshadowing, but not enough on the essential elements that these must be built on to truly shine. As twists occurred and secrets were revealed, as the plot thickened more and more, I realized I just didn't care, because the show never puts the focus on the smaller moments that would make the pay off of these twists and major plot events satisfying. I still barely feel sort of relationships between any of these characters, nor do I feel any sort of connection to many of their conflicts. Of the three major twists in episode six, one hinged on a character we'd never actually seen say or do anything, another was new information about a character (which while neat) offered little isight to them as a character, and the biggest twist was something that contradicted all the rules the show had explained prior to this episode.
If you're looking for no more than a roller coaster of a show full of twists and turns, I could see some enjoyment being had in Punchline. It's full of foreshadowing, clues, and twists, but to me there just isn't much actual substance there to back up the surface level plot. It chooses to build up twists purely through information rather than character building and development, which as a result has left me unable to be engaged by the story. It's certainly an intriguing show, but one I no longer care to continue.
Weak Recommendation, dropped at episode six
Re-Kan!
Jonathan Kaharl
The following episode goes into tear wrenching territory, as a teenage ghost possesses Amami partially so she can deliver a message around the holidays. This leads to some good gags, but the episode also focuses on Uehara's relationship with her family and how it contrasts and relates to the new ghost's own previous relationship with her parents. I really hope this new ghost sticks around, because she's easily one of the most likable characters in the show, selfish yet understanding when you;d least expect it. The end to her little arc is also very powerful. If her possessing Amami becomes a regular thing, I'll be happy (ending credits hint that she butts heads with the samurai ghost, so that might just happen).
Re-Kan really should just be another drop in the bucket, especially with its sense of humor, but it tries to do more and succeeds. Death is a difficult subject to talk about, especially in a screwball slice of life comedy that constantly has a tsundere girl screaming in terror over the smallest things, but Re-Kan gets it down right. Consider this my number six in my season top five.
Strong Recommendation
RIN-NE
Stephanie Getchell
While it's still more hijinks and funny times abound this week, I actually think these couple of episodes do give much more focus to Juumonji in their own way. Episode five with toilet ghost helped show that his methods aren't working and he's realized this after Rokudou gets his scythe back. The episode following this shows us how Juumonji kind of adopts Rokudou's more kind and gentle method when he buys fatty tuna and integrates cat nip into his plan for the cat monsters to find peace. Yes, find peace. He in no way tried to exorcise them! While this may seem like a slight rushed piece of character development, and his main motivation is to impress Sakura anyways, I find it to be a rather great progression for Juumonji's character. It's a piece that I think manages to work naturally with the story line, and one that I am very happy to have happen now rather than later since it seems we'll be running into our main badies rather soon if Rokudou's father is any indication of this. This also means that ghost of the week story line will soon be going away too. Which is great because that makes these first five episodes more introductory if anything in order to incorporate new characters and elements such as Rokudou's scythe so we have those established.
Rin-Ne has kept it's consistency thus far and it's very commendable. Not only that, but seeing development for Juumonji and his slow change in character makes me rather happy cause, I'll admit, he's really growing on me. Would love to see much more character development for Sakura and Rokudou, but big bad daddy will do the trick for one so I'll let Rokudou slide. Sakura on the other hand is one I would love to see a bit more from. She hasn't gotten too involved and is more in the background and can be a plot devise at times, telling Rokudou when things are getting a little weird or not. Give me something more to work with, Sakura! I'd really appreciate that! Otherwise than that, solid episodes this week and I can't wait to see where this evil organization thing comes into play!
Solid Recommendation
Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign
David O'Neil
The episode picks up where episode five left off, with the three main guys all making contracts with their demon weapons. To do this, they have to overcome the illusions the demons create, who show visions of their past failures and dead loved ones in order to try to break their will and take over their bodies for themselves. As if that wasn't an overused enough concept by itself, the show has done it once already in a previous episode. Not too far back, the main character encountered a demon weapon and had to grapple with these same kinds of illusions, and overcame them. And since these new demon encounters brought nothing much new to the table, it made the episode as a whole feel trivial. In addition, the main fight is the sort of fight you absolutely know is going to end a certain way, because (minor spoiler warning) there's no way they're going to kill off a major character who's prominently hyped up in the OP this early on. The next episode is better, the characters finally get out of school (thank god) and are sent on their first mission hunting vampires. It's speeds up the pace from previous episodes, which I like, but it's still not quite as tightly paced as I'd like it to be as of yet. The show introduces a new character, a stubborn, brash girl with hints of tsundere. She borders on being obnoxious at times, but good voice acting and a backstory that well justifies her actions makes her a more likable character than she could have been.
Probably my biggest issue with Seraph so far is with the action, which leaves much to be desired. Wit is a studio who's made a name for themselves largely through dynamic, over the top action, from the grand, intense action of Attack On Titan, to the colorful, energetic fights in Rolling Girls. As a result I can't help but be disappointed that so far the action in Seraph feels lifeless and stale. The animation is solid, but the direction just isn't utilizing that animation in interesting or unique ways. It's still early on, and the action hasn't been much of a focus so far, but this is certainly an area that needs improvement. The last two episodes of Seraph didn't quite raise my enthusiasm for it like the previous two did, but now that they're finally out of school and fighting vampires I'm hoping it'll grab my attention again.
Weak Recommendation
Show by Rock!!
David O'Neil
Speaking from a pure objective standpoint, episode six of Show By Rock was easily the best episode of the series as of now, and at a tricky intersection for the show's plot as well. It took place in the wake of an event I touched on in the last Seasonal Review entry, that I wasn't a huge fan of. It involved a petty misunderstanding, and dividing the main cast of characters even more than they already were. I knew it'd be difficult for them to pull the next episode off in a way that didn't feel contrived, but they actually made it work. Pretty much all of the series' strengths were in full form in this episode, the visual comedy was better than ever with tons of crazy faces and funny gags. It wasn't too exuberant on animation, the episode looked incredibly pretty with lots of beautiful backgrounds and a lot of great looking shots. And overall it managed to handle the resolution of the band's conflict in a surprisingly heartwarming way. It seemed as if the main cast was finally starting to come together as a group. Which is why it was a bit disappointing when the next episode preceded to push them to the background of the story, having them all do virtually do nothing for the entire episode. Or at least it would have been disappointing, if it hadn't pushed them into the background to focus on the boy band side characters "Shingan Crimsonz", which if you've been following my coverage of this show you know, are by far my favorite characters in the show.
And as always, the four charismatic, air-headed, passion-filled bishonens manage to steal the show in nearly every way possible. It's hard to make clear just how incredible these characters are, at this point I really do wonder if they could make some sort of spin-off anime or manga that entirely focuses on them, because they are the most entertaining aspect of the show by a huge margin, which isn't even so much an insult to the rest of the characters, as much as they're just THAT good. On the one hand I was somewhat iffy on them taking the focus off the main characters just as they were going in a more interesting direction, but on the other hand: Shingan Crimsonz. Show By Rock hasn't been elevated to significant new heights, but the last two episodes were the most fun and engaging the show has been so far.
Strong Recommendation
Sound! Euphonium
Stephanie Getchell
This week has me rather curious as to how many episodes it will get. I say this because this show could be a two cour one if it really wanted to, however based on how the story is moving along, it's hard to say if that will be the case. With the amount of story lines being integrated into the show, and rather quickly, it has me curious and a little worried. However, that progression is still doing rather well regardless. Not only is the concert band moving along wonderfully, but the relationships and character development is doing rather well too with Kumiko and Kousaka's friendship slowly developing and working out rather well. Having that introduction piece in the beginning of the series helped set the tone of that relationship and gave a good starting point in order for the two to become good friends out of it. While there's a ways to go, this week has it really starting to form. Meanwhile, there's Hazuki's little arc in episode six as she struggles with being a beginner and her love of the tuba. It's a natural developmental piece to be implemented here with the results rather fun and a little heart warming. I believe I said this last time, but I used to be in band as a clarinet player. While I wanted to play the flute at first, playing with others helped me fall in love with my clarinet a little more. It's something I, and I'm sure many other band people can understand.
Sound and Rin-Ne have managed to be consistent throughout their runs and I'm happy for that. While they aren't the stand outs of the season since Blood Blockade and Love Story, I believe, just overshadow them, I still throughly enjoy them! For Sound, in particular, the story has that fun little charm that I've fallen for as well as it speaks to the old band geek in me. This is another one that I wish I had more development for the lead, Kumiko, however I'll take the growth in relationship for her and Kousaka. Also, Midori hasn't done a whole lot outside of being the cute moe character so I really hope something more comes out of it. There's one other thing I'm trying to figure out and that Aoi. What is her deal anyway? I get it may have something to due with being a senior and all, however it also feels like there's more to it. There's still a lot Sound has to do and, if it ends up as a one cour series, there's not a whole lot of time to pull it off.
Strong Recommendation
Triage X
Danni Wilmoth
Remember our
last review installment where I made a joke about how Oriha would
eventually end up needing saving from Arashi? I hate this show so much.
Look,
we get it. Arashi is the protagonist of this show, so you can stop
reminding us. Just because he's an extremely pathetic, flat, whiny,
expressionless character who probably still listens to Breaking Benjamin
doesn't mean you can make him seem heroic by having him save these
world-class female assassins every episode. Here's a thought: maybe the
reason they keep getting critically injured every episode is due to the
fact they're wearing hardly any body armor at all. They always get hurt
and need saving. Arashi, coincidentally, is covered in bulletproof body
armor and is always around to save the day. A lot of time, money, and
pain could be avoided if someone would just put some damn armor on those
girls.
Anyways,
yes, Arashi arrives to save Oriha in her time of need. The supposed
head of the terrorists attacking the television station is actually a
woman who can apparently manipulate her voice any way she desires, even
perfectly imitating Oriha's voice to lure Arashi into a trap. It works,
by the way, but his own reflexes save him. He later lies to Oriha and
tells her he'd never mistake someone else's voice for her's (I hate this
show). Also, Arashi can make his heartbeat stop at will. He just can.
Just like a terrorist can change her voice at will, a nurse can have
superhuman strength, and a normal katana can cut through metal and
concrete like they're melted butter. They just CAN. This show doesn't
even try to half-ass explanations.
We
soon find out that terrorist attack was actually just to distract Black
Label from a huge shipment of a drug called Platinum Lily being
smuggled into the country by the dark organization Syringe. Black Label
begins an assault on the shipment which ends in near failure. They do,
however, manage to recover some intel on it, and the Head of Black Label
is able to identify it as a wonder drug that regenerates cells and
brings them back to life. He and a team helped develop this before
realizing it could be used for evil purposes and destroying all their
samples and research. Somehow, though, Syringe got a hold of their
research and is about to kill everyone or something. It's very unclear
exactly how this is a bad thing or for what purpose they're using it
for. Black Label is staffed by doctors and nurses, so maybe they're just
trying to keep status quo. Maybe Syringe is trying to deliver this
wonder drug to the human race to heal them of sickness, which would put
hospitals like Black Label's out of business. Maybe the REAL bad guys
are Black Label. Or maybe not and Triage X is just a shitty show. I'd suggest you bet on the latter.
No Recommendation
Ultimate Otaku Teacher
Joe Straatmann
Wait a minute, before you pass this off as another case of ranting on a bad anime with stretched metaphors, Ultimate Otaku Teacher has a good episode where everything works. This time, our otaku teacher has to tutor a girl named Kanan who was laughed into silence by a viral video taken of her natural anime character voice. She has to make it to the top ten in her class or she can't go to a concert of her favorite singer, American You Red Pond, on her 130-country tour. I could go into how ridiculous a 130-country tour is or how You Red Pond sounds less like a classically trained singer with an angelic voice and more like a hipster band that sneers whenever you ask what their name means, but that's just my over-analytic brain I can't shut off talking. The details aside, everything about this episode shines.
As a series that is plagued with artistic issues, there are a surprising amount of wonderful touches here, including a shot where Kanan's face literally falls off and a metaphor where the words on the textbook either disappear or float off the page, perfectly capturing a student not grasping what they're looking at. Kanan is a very good character, charmingly using her cell phone as her sole communication device, and the reason why she's a You Red Pond fan is a neat bit of writing. Genius teacher Kagami usually rubs me the wrong way as he only seems to defend those who further his otaku agenda, but this time, his lesson actually rings true. The message is that there's someone out there who will treasure the gifts you have to give the world, so to hell with the jerkasses in society who try to rip you apart for your differences. It actually fulfills on the concept of using otaku society to show inspiring different bends on the world while also being a wacky comedy.
Does that turn the ship around? Like Etotama's good episode, we'll see. But it's a start.
Weak Recommendation
Wish Upon the Pleiades
Jonathan Kaharl
The following episode finally raises the stakes (as it finally establishes them). It's still not clear what the situation with the boy witch is, but now we understand why fixing the president's spaceship is so important. If it's not fixed, it will crash down on Earth, and the thing is so massive that it could crush the majority of the planet's population (it's also some weird temporal paradox magical construct that shifts through dimensions or something). Whatever the boy witch wants, he doesn't care if it results in a mass extinction effect. The girls stop the fall briefly (thanks to Subaru's new found drive giving them a power upgrade), but Minato and his mysterious other dimension observatory finally starts moving within time once more. Minato has disappeared right after meeting the boy witch, and hints are given that the two are connected somehow, probably by being the same person of two different possible timelines.
The series is cutting back on CG a little now, and its really saving the action scenes. They're stunning to watch, and the series weird existential sci-fi magic mythology is starting to gel with me. I'm also liking the characters far more, as everyone but Nanako has now had at least the start of an arc and further definition to their personality. Nanako's episode is probably coming, but honestly, I think she's perfect the way she is. The alternate timeline stuff is also being used in a refreshing way, not overpowering the plot and using it mostly for thematic reasons. The series is headed in an unknown but intriguing direction now, and I want to see just what it has up its sleeve.
Solid Recommendation
Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches
Jonathan Kaharl
This is finally explored in greater depth as another student council president candidate, Odagiri, tries blackmailing Yamada (thanks to body switching shenanigans with Shiraishi), so Yamada decides to kiss her and switch bodies to solve the problem. Instead, we discover that it's Shiraishi who really has that power, and Yamada has the ability to copy the powers of the seven witches of the school through the same method they use theirs (kissing). This makes things complicated, as Odagiri's power is charming those she kisses, and she ends up charmed by Yamada's kiss. A lot of character development finally comes for Yamada and Shiraishi, as we learn more about Yamada's past frustrations and failures to make friends, and the attitude that resulted finally got him a slap in the face from Shiraishi for being so horrifically selfish. Puberty plays a large part in all this, as Yamada misreads signals and only does the right thing when he comes to a realization about love. It also plays a huge role in the development of Yamada's old friend and Odagiri's assistant, Ushio. It's a clever bit of mirroring the growth of the two, despite them both being in radically different situations.
The writing in this series is balancing a fine line between blunt and cheesy shonen, and oddly thoughtful drama on growing up. Characters are portrayed as heavily flawed as the story demands, but they never go into full unlikable range because they learn from their mistakes. Awkwardness and selfish actions are par the course for becoming an adult, and the series gets that. The whole kissing power angle isn't nearly as stupid as it should be as well. The powers of the seven witches relate to aspects of their personalities and their desires, as does Yamada's ability to copy those powers. It's a clever way to work in character definition, avoiding exposition to try and explain why characters act the way they do. Sure, it does get blunt at some moments (Shiraishi's picture album in particular), but it's plenty sincere enough to work. As a side note, I also like how the series lightly deals with gender politics, giving this weird blend of hetero norms and queer interactions, and having characters accept it as normal as they deal with it more. Yamada-kun is cute, colorful, and surprisingly spot on in a lot of ways. It's definitely one of the most interesting shonen works I've seen in years.
Solid Recommendation
Second Opinions
Blood Blockade Battlefront
Jonathan: They made a Twins reference sad and effective. This show can do anything. Leo getting relationship advice from a psycho that mutilated and combined two of her boyfriends is hilariously bizarre, while the friendship with a burger obsessed mushroom man turned out to be way more emotionally resonant than it had any right to be. I heard someone describe this series as a thematically constant Space Dandy, and that definitely describes the show best. Wild, manic, exciting, but not without purpose. Easily the season's best. Strong Recommendation
Stephanie: Nothing new for me to point out this week, which means this has been consistently strong! Something I very much like and appreciate. We do have some added characters and we finally get some idea as to who this blond/glasses guy is. Then there's the Broadcast Dub that recently started up and it's off to a great start! I will say that Josh Grelle's Femt just went and stole the first episode for me though. Did not see that coming and I honestly had thought it was an odd choice before seeing the episode. I think we have a possible Best Male Voice Actor nominee for the IRD Awards this year! Believe me, if you haven't seen it yet, then watch the first episode. It's all you need to see the amazing madness that is Grelle's Femt! Strong Recommendation
The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan
Stephanie: This one has been up and down for me since the beginning and I think I finally ran out of steam on this one for the time being. While it is nice to see characters we all know and love return, it's the change in genre that I'm still having a hard time to get used to. I only managed to watch one episode this week and it kept the same feeling I've had since last time. The other reason I'm stopping this one, for now, is there is a Broadcast Dub on the way and I wanted to save a little time and just watch the dub instead. It'll be interesting to see if the original cast returns or not, but we'll see. Mike McFarland did mention something about going to LA for secret projects.... And he IS the one with the most connections in terms of voice actors.... It's always a possibility there. Yuki Nagato is cute and adorable, but I'm just not feeling it anymore right now. Weak Recommendation
Etotama
Jonathan: I am still amazed by how wonderful a main character Nya-tan is. The show is starting to slip a little as it goes into unironic drama and character development, but those elements aren't bad so much as not as fun as the comedy bits. Still, it works well enough and works in enough gags to work, and the CG battle scenes are still spectacular. The tiger fight really shows off how good this animation actually is, with putting a ton of focus on dialog, lip synching, and camera movement we haven't really seen from the other scenes so far. Strong Recommendation
The Heroic Legend of Arslan
Stephanie: Everything may be a little slow moving at points, but that's more because of the politics behind what's currently happening in the series. It's great that we aren't just staying with Arslan and we get to see what's going on in Pars as story development as well as introduction, and interaction, with characters that will play major roles in the series like Geive (as said last time) and now Farangis. With things getting interesting, as well as desperate, I'm going to love knowing this series will keep me on my toes. Also, a Broadcast Dub is set to happen for this series and I am already making predictions and planning a Dub Talk episode on my blog so.... Yeah, I like this series in case you couldn't tell, but I could do with less CGI soldiers.... Just saying. Strong Recommendation
Is It Wrong to Try and Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?
Danni: I tried to avoid watching this show, I really did, but the boob string was just too tempting. Between the last installment and this one, I downloaded all released episodes and marathonned them in a day. I honestly did not expect to enjoy it as much as I do. It's obviously another harem anime, but Bell is actually a likable enough guy that it makes sense he has a few admirers. I'm not on board with the thematic direction it seems to be taking by having Bell get stronger and stronger. I've been hoping from the start it would lead up more to a conclusion where Bell doesn't have to be strong to be a man worthy of a strong woman. There's still a chance for the show to get that across instead, but with each passing episode I find it less and less likely that it will. Regardless, Danmachi remains an inexplicably endearing and charming anime. Weak Recommendation
MY love STORY!!
Stephanie: Cuteness overload due to hand holding? Check! Hilarious pre first kiss moment for Takao and Suna? Check! Introduction of older sister character who likes the main character for more funny moments? Check! Yup. I think I'm good this week! Strong Recommendation
Ninja Slayer From Animation
Danni: Ninja Slayer's weakest points are apparent when it's trying to be serious. Thankfully, these points are few and far between. Even when it does seemingly dip into a more serious tone, that tone is yanked away in a split second and replaced with hilarious cardboard cutout battle animation, or a quick series of cuts between super-short scenes that really drive home the point that Ninja Slayer is complete and utter parody. Honestly, I don't think the show ever really tries to be serious. I imagine when it dips into a serious tone it's with humor through irony in mind. The show's main problem is it doesn't communicate this well, and sometimes comes across as unironically serious. Still, it's worth sitting through these moments if it means getting to watch Ninja Slayer defeat his enemy by moonwalking. Solid Recommendation
Jonathan: Episodes three and four left a bad taste in my mouth, as the series trying to do drama and character study seriously is neither engaging nor amusing. Five put things back on track with some more bad animation and a dumber story to work with, not to mention more ridiculously awful characters but it doesn't quite have the spark episodes one and two had. Needs that Inferno Cop level terrible animation popping up a bit more to really stand out, but as it is now, we're getting back on track. Solid Recommendation
PUNCH LINE
Jonathan: Yup, this is from the guy behind 999, and that makes me so happy. This is my second favorite show of the season so far, and I have faith that it will stick the landing. Time travel, the apocalypse occurring because of panties, and literal turtle power. This show is so wonderful. Strong Recommendation
Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign
Stephanie: Seraph and Yuki Nagato are in the same boat for me this week. For Seraph, it's hasn't gotten that much better, but I at least finished the little demon contract episodes and saw Yoichi go a little possessed. It's slowly working it's way in to a moderately ok series, but I'm still bracing myself for the train wreck that will happen. After only watching episode six AND seeing the first Broadcast Dub episode, I've decided this will be another series I follow with the dub only. I'm pretty sure I would not have the patience to watch the simulcast and dub this season unlike a bunch of other shows that I like, such as Blood Blockade Battlefront and Arslan. Even if the dub of Seraph is just the shiny thing on top of a turd of a show. Weak Recommendation
Sound! Euphonium
Jonathan: Before the show gets back on the one way express to pain and crushing disappointment brought on by a harsh and uncaring reality, we finally got to see the band get a win for once, while Hazuki is finally taking her first major steps to be a proper tuba player, letting the show explore the frustrations of being bad at something you like, along with frustration of failing to live up to others or your own expectations. Also, Sapphire hugs Kumiko while she's wearing a Tuba-kun outfit. KyoAni finally found that perfect balance between drama and comedy they started reaching with Free!, good on them. Strong Recommendation
Ultimate Otaku Teacher
Stephanie: Why am I still the only person moderately fine with this show? I'll admit, it's not the best thing from the season, but I'm enjoying the hell out of it. Sure, Kagami can be a bit of a jerk, but he's not the worst teacher I've ever seen. Plus the fact that he at least does care about his students in his own way interests me. I mean, it's like he's the best teacher for outcasts and trouble makers or something like that! The case can be seen with the soccer match with Seijiro and helping Kanan with her exams and finally talking again after being bullied. It's not fantastic in plot and animation, but at least the characters are amusing for me to watch. Solid Recommendation
Wish Upon the Pleiades
Joe: I'm digging all the off-the-wall science fiction ideas involved in the peripheral elements. Traveling through space by being able to file through all the various dimensions until you find the desired outcome is pretty cool. It almost begs for an adult series that explores these ideas, but what we have is a good transforming girls series that aims younger (But is being consumed by adults anyway). You take what you can get sometimes. I AM really interested in seeing where they're going with Suburu's friend in the greenhouse. Solid Recommendation
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