Summer 2010 Mid-season Impressions
We’re just past the half-way point of the current season, and fast approaching the beginning of the next. A handful of our staff have taken a moment to tell you what we think of the show’s we’re watching so far, up to this point. This collection of our mid-season thoughts will serve as the first in a new seasonal series for the blog. As a comparison, you can read what we thought at the beginning of the season here. So, enjoy.
Introduction by: Sorrow-kun
kadian1364 on Asobi ni Ikuyo after 6 episodes
Through six episodes, this anime has perhaps dabbled in more genres than your typical anime fetish parade — military special ops action, political intrigue, first contact tale, love polygon, ecchi comedy — but like others of its ilk, it struggles to string together two enjoyable moments between streams of dumb schlock. The story has highlighted a train ambush by Gatling-toting maids, peace talks between Japanese administrators and Catian ambassadors (wearing school swimsuits), a cult that worships cat ears, and an awkward heart-to-heart in a virtual reality training room. But there seems to be no guiding logic behind abrupt scene and tonal changes besides an ADD attention span.
I’ll grant that Asobi ni Ikuyo has some amusing reoccurring motifs: I like the mute, cosplaying assist-roids and the gun otaku-slant of both of the romantic interests. However, as long as the plot is content to throw around limp, half-baked ideas hoping to appeal to an audience’s lowest common denominator, this thoughtless, weightless, and much too plastic-looking series will never exceed beyond being a waste of time and mental energy.
TypicalIdiotFan on Occult Academy after 7 episodes
I’m trying to figure out where they are going with Occult Academy. I could be mistaken, but didn’t they establish that there is a rather near-future deadline coming up whereupon the entire world gets assfucked and turned into Sora no Woto? Seems like a weird time to be doing focus and development episodes with a few of the side characters, but maybe that’s just me. Maya and Fumiaki really stand out to me as the characters that steal the show. She is a mishmash of conflicting behaviors stemming from wanting to find out who killed her father all while trying to deny her feelings of enjoyment regarding the occult. She uses Fumiaki as her excuse to continue to be gung-ho for it, and this whole aliens blow up the world crap. Fumiaki, on the other hand, is a guy running from his past in the past. Part of me really wonders if he cares if the world gets annihilated so Kanata can one day blow a bugle on top of a spider tank and save her country. One thing is for sure, he’s a complex character who, undoubtedly, will surprise us all before the end.
kadian1364 on Heroman after 20 episodes
Originally introduced to some fanfare because of Stan Lee’s attachment to the project, Heroman has gradually fallen into some obscurity. Maybe it’s too mainstream American, exuding a simple, aw-shucks demeanor of other unremarkable kid’s superhero shows, but anime audiences at large have been missing out on this underrated American-Japanese co-production that boasts excellent technical ability and consistently enjoyable screenplay.
Joey and his sister Holly headline a cast that’s bright, likeable, and who interact with each other believably. The plot develops at just the right pace, easing new story arcs into the fold while shaking up enough to stay unpredictable. Heroman is also, I think, Bones‘ best animated TV series to date, technically superior even to haymakers like FMA: Brotherhood or Darker than Black. It pops with color, is consistently fluid, and lavishes every action scene with visual flair and stylistic cues that remind us of its faux-comic book roots. On paper Heroman looks like another flat genre filler (e.g. Fairy Tail), but it positively bounces with infectious enthusiasm and wit lacking in lesser titles that make it easy to overlook its slight flaws and dig its straightforward narrative.
AC on Highschool of the Dead after 7 episodes
In all honesty, this is the show I most eagerly await for episodes each week. HOTD doesn’t quite turn out to be a horror show; rather, it’s more like gory action. It’s not a bad thing per se but I initially thought that, for a Madhouse-produced action show, it felt kinda underwhelming. However, a few highly tense moments have proven me wrong, and the show is illustrating that even with campy material, Madhouse seems to know how to make things work. Heck, even the fanservice hasn’t particularly distracted me; although it’s excessive and lulzy, it hasn’t brought down the show’s entertainment value. The social commentary remains, with each episode bound to have at least one reference to a real-life social issue and the way a catastrophe may influence a society.
If I can point out a few flaws, one is the need for viewers to employ suspension of disbelief about the mechanics of sound. The show does take some conveniences with Takashi’s ability to do just about anything right and the zombies’ fluctuating hearing sensitivity, but for a show that knows when to be serious and when to have fun, I’d call this my favorite show of the season.
TypicalIdiotFan on Legend of the Legendary Heroes after 8 episodes
What was once a near disaster of a show has actually turned into something very interesting to watch. There are two stories going on at once: Sion’s ambition and Ryner’s task. The former is an engaging tale of political intrigue and corruption. Sion, being a fresh king, is finding out quickly that just because you have the highest seat in the land does not mean you’re in complete control. In a way, Sion’s reign can be viewed as an allegory of modern politics. Presidents, Prime Ministers, and other “heads” of state are where the people look to as the leaders and guides of the country, but often it is other powerful men who drive the politics of the nation. The latter story has so far been reminiscent of the unfunniest episodes of Slayers, except Gourry has tits and our spell caster supreme is lazy. This half of the show has been incredibly lacking so far in the entertainment department, and features the most irritating character in the show: Ferris, a sarcastic swordswoman whose only concern in life seems to be the comedic pursuit of dangos. Thankfully, they have at least explained Ryner’s part of the story to the point where you know it’s important and it will tie back into Sion’s story some time. So I have a lot of hope that this will all come together beautifully. Or crash and burn. Either way it should be entertaining!
kadian1364 on K-On! S2 after 20 episodes
I find it is incredibly hard to articulate the minute differences that transformed K-ON from a cynical, repetitive moe-market cash-in into an easygoing, pleasant account about the girls of an unambitious high school band. It still boasts the same industry standard artwork yet amazingly detailed animation; the characters are still mostly vehicles of stock quirks and canned reactions; the show is essentially still the same lazy amusement akin to watching cats do cat-like things.
But I claim K-ON has changed for the better. Maybe it’s the move away from the first season’s limited focus on club practice (read: eating cake) to embracing the wider spectrum of slice-of-lifeness: a class trip, an outdoor music festival, a new pet/surrogate club member, and a Shakespeare play are in the band’s new repertoire. Maybe it’s the quelling of the hyperactive, attention-whoring antics, at least toned down enough to enjoy quieter moments of tranquility and understated character interaction. Maybe it’s the group’s awareness that their time together is fleeting, that they can’t always be in high school, goofing around, and splendidly wasting time, along with the bittersweet feelings that accompany this realization. Maybe I’m just talking crazy and K-ON hasn’t changed at all; it’s just me who’s become indoctrinated to the easy wiles of moe. But I believe that K-ON has improved to at least fulfill its own modest potential, and that I might, shockingly, miss these hare-brained underachievers when it’s all over.
TypicalIdiotFan on Amagami SS after 8 episodes
Looking back at things, we probably should have feared the worst when it became obvious that this show was going to be done in omnibus format arcs. Let me be absolutely frank here: I hate this format. It is not designed for good or interesting storytelling but to simply pander to the fanboys of the game who want to see their “waifu” arc done on the screen. And don’t nobody come to the comments section and say that the arcs are related. No they’re fucking not. As proof of this, if they were really related, why is it that broski-of-the-decade Kaoru can ONLY get to experience love with Tachibana in the arc that is specifically meant for her to do so? You’re trying to tell me that in none of the other arcs it is possible? Why? She’s not any different. She’s the same chick every goddamned time. She even makes a speech in episode 8 about how all her feelings had been building up and she’s only now realized them. For her, nothing has changed. What, a Christmas dinner spent with Tachibana and mommy is the only way she can ever warm up to the dickhead? Are we really that fucking stupid that we have to accept that love is not about people but the situations and events and “flags” that have to be unlocked in a dating simulation game? The directors and producers and writers made a bad decision here and should be called out on it.
Oh and stop with the “sex hair” and “my body wasn’t ready” memes. They’re really fucking dumb.
AC on Seitokai Yakuindomo after 7 episodes
If the anime community has an equivalent of the Razzies, I’d give one to SYD for “Worst Comedy of the Year” for its sheer number of the lamest sex jokes and punchlines ever. This show blatantly ignores common sense with its awkward comedy, and almost all its punchlines make you wonder if it’s your cue to laugh. There are just so many things wrong in this show: the unexplained “dead air”, the motivation of the sex jokes and even the timing of the punchlines. Simply to say, if one can easily predict an incoming gag 5 seconds before it happen, then the comedy isn’t working at all.
No matter what material the show uses, be it bestiality or BDSM, everything just comes off either bland, tasteless and sometimes even offensive. One wouldn’t understand why every girl seems to be obsessed with sex, except for one, and it makes one wonder if these girls are genuinely horny or simply trying to be cute. Not sure if it’s that substantial, because either way, it’s even starting to recycle its own material. And it can only get worse with another six episodes left.
Sorrow-kun on Shiki after 7 episodes
Is this anime of the season? While I’d prefer to let the season unfold, if I had to answer right this instant, I’d say “yes”. It’s a gripping and unsettling series that drips with atmosphere. The directing is deft and skillful (a requirement for pretty much any good horror show), with a dynamic use of overlays, colours and skewed camera angles. And the soundtrack is excellent… there’s a swathe of atmospheric tracks from meandering, “lost” singing to contemplative, intricate melodies.
There’s a handful of ways to view Shiki, a mystery that, essentially, isn’t mysterious. Watching it, it’s obvious to the audience (even if it isn’t to the characters) that the story is about vampires and its loyalty to classical vampire tropes is admirable. At this point, the most enigmatic aspect of the story is Tatsumi, but there’s an argument that Shiki‘s strength isn’t so much mystery or horror, but a story with great thematic elegance. It wouldn’t be the best anime in better seasons since there are a few annoying aspects (Ozaki isn’t the most sympathetic character, while Masao is downright unbearable), but it’s a must-see for horror and Noitamina fans, and those who think vampire stories need not necessarily be suffocatingly romantic… yes, I’m talking about that series that fangirls go wild for with the bland chick and the aloof vampire bishie, what’s it called again? Ah yeah, Vampire Knight.
AC on Shukufuku no Campanella after 7 episodes
This is a strange show.
It’s an adaptation of a Windmill eroge, and hearing that just made me wonder how many boobs, panty shots and full frontals I was gonna see through the course of Campanella. Surprisingly, it doesn’t have that much fanservice. The mahou-shoujo theme is evident and viewers aren’t gonna see any heavy drama or intricate plot development either. Everything on screen is fluffy and light-hearted to the point that it feels like a kids’ show, which makes things contradictory. The female mahou-shoujo theme makes it look like a show for girls, but the bits and pieces of fanservice are apparently for male viewers. Plus, the kiddish fanservice feels awfully jarring and the routine episodic subplot is rehashed every episode.
But I find this show strange because despite all the flaws mentioned above, I don’t hate the show. Even when it has the most simplistic complications, I find the show “inoffensive”. The girls aren’t vying for the sole guy’s attention and the guy isn’t a lucky loser, so calling this show’s genre as harem doesn’t feel right. This is why I’m still watching this show: there isn’t anything obnoxious about it for me to turn away now.
Sorrow-kun on Ookami-san after 8 episodes
What did I say about being tsundere for this show? I… err… I like this anime. There are some things about it that just don’t work (Arai Satomi‘s narration being at the top of that list) but there are a lot of things that are pleasantly surprising. They’ve put effort into the characters’ backgrounds and relationships, which is always a good start. The main three characters in particular, Ookami, Ringo and Ryoushi share a genuine friendship, which the story examines from the point of view of trust and believing in each others’ strengths.
There’s an ongoing, and rather weird contrast between the light comedic moments and the dramatic scenes. When Ookami-san is serious, it gets really dark, and issues like death, abuse and neglect are just tossed out there with a gravity I wasn’t expecting. It shouldn’t work because the contrast with the light, comedic antics of the filler episodes influenced by fairytales (arguably a superfluous element) is just so extreme, but I keep finding myself really engaged, especially when the story focuses just on the main three characters. This isn’t oozing with originality, but they’re doing something right… I just can’t put my finger on it enough to tell you what it is.
AC on Nurarihyon no Mago after 6 episodes
Being a show that’s flying under the radar of almost everyone here, this anime hasn’t done anything grossly bad so far. At first, I thought it was decent; it isn’t an overblown angsty shounen show, the unexplained questions could make for good plot development, and Rikuo has the potential to become a respectable protagonist. But although it hasn’t done anything bad, it hasn’t done anything interesting either. The pace can be too slow and the characters feel like puppets to the plot, which isn’t developing well enough after six episodes. Plus, having a big cast seems to be a bad idea; most of them are just purposeless extras.
Right now, I’m questioning the purpose of Rikuo’s friends. They seem to be more of a liability than an asset to Rikuo, which isn’t a good thing because they’re acting as plot devices. The comedy also doesn’t seem that effective because of the constantly serious tone, and the plot structure is becoming more Monster of the Week after each episode. For a show slated to be 24 episodes, there’s still time for improvement; I’m just wondering what’s taking it so long.
Can’t argue with many of these, although quite surprised at the good words for Occult Academy. To me it seems like that has lacked coherence, never really capitalising on the ideas it has instead just toiling with uninteresting clichés.
Glad to see some love for Denyuuden (Legend Legend), Sion’s story is definitely the highlight, but the magical scuffles that Ryner has engaged in have shown a lot of promise when it comes to visuals and pacing.
Shiki, I’m still torn over. It’s got some great absolutely stunning atmosphere building but it’s moving at a glacial pace. I was expecting some kind of Higurashi style plot/character twist(s) to occur but it’s either too early or not its intent.
And re: Asobi ni Iku Yo, despite it being scatterbrained and almost devoid of plot and characters, I can’t help but enjoy every episode. Maybe it’s the summery, Okinawan setting but it always puts a smile on my face.
I honestly couldn’t even say what the best show this season is so far. Occult Academy is entertaining and all, but I have no clue where it’s going right now (and am not sure whether that is a good or bad thing).
Shiki is as good as Sorrow-kun says, but I feel like I can judge it better at the end of the season when it’s firmly in the middle of its story, just because it is paced so slowly.
High School of the Dead is completely ridiculous (my mind is still reeling from the bullet time), but is nonetheless entertaining and a solid zombie tale, even if the one-chapter-per-episode deal makes the show’s pace slower than it should be.
Nobody here is watching Sengoku Basara 2? Not that I think it’s the best of the season … doesn’t have quite the same charm as the first season, but it’s not bad either.
What, no Basara? I’m sad. Course that show doesn’t really need an ‘impressions’, but then neither does K-ON! or Campanella (which is… Aria-esque, nuff said~).
You’re almost tempting me to restart LOLH again, except its ep2 “politics” made me facepalm so hard it’s still a little hard to. IMO the author is too much of a politico-drama amateur (and idealist) to be using it as the focal point; either that or I’m too used to Machiavellian realpolitik from seasoned authors.
Ookami-san tackling the whole disbelief-of-sexual-assault charges was more direct than I even expected. God knows this is a huge problem in the world and even bigger so in Japan, not to mention sensitive enough to cause most anime to veer away from it.
Sounds like nothing’s really offended or impressed anyone here. Seeing such kind words for such average shows is a bit jarring to me. Ah well, might as well look on the bright side.. at least there’s a decent mix of bland, inoffensive stuff this time. I truly wish I could enjoy HOTD as much as AC, or Shiki as much as Sorrow-kun. My highlight is still Giant Killing, somehow.
I’m pretty surprised at how much positive reception I’m hearing about Heroman. It was never really “bad” I guess, but it seemed like a generic kids show. The soundtrack and the U.S. suburb setting were nice for the first few episodes, but it grew tiring to sit through the bland alien doomsday plot and character development. The last episode I saw was 10, which is right after the first arc end, and some decent slife stuff came in — maybe it got better?
On the second episode of Seikimatsu, I started thinking the invasion would be successful as well, making it a prequel to Sora no Oto. So is Night Raid a distant prequel to both of them? I’ll give A-1 huge points if they turn this time slot into a huge, multi-volume epic in the same universe. Make it happen.
I’m finding Ookami-san to be a bit better than HOTD at the moment. Ookami-san has had 1 excellent episode, 1 ok episode, 6 mediocre episodes and a clear ending in sight. On the other hand, HOTD has 7 ok episodes, 1 mediocre episode and no real goal, in both plot and character development.
Shiki and Nurarihyon seem like they will end up being among the top shows from the season, but their success is so heavily reliant on how they use all the build-up that it seems pointless to discuss their current quality.
And Amagami… I just started it. The first two were nice but that third episode…. no amount of “wtf” blog comments could prepare me for what happened…. Is this show for real?
Heroman is the only show I chose to follow this season and while I agree on it being a solid show that people are missing out on, I wouldn’t consider it BONES best show by a long shot. Characters like Holly who’s introduction was build up, but for the most part been left on the sidelines. And not until recently that Will has made a comeback. The show is all shades of wasted potential. But again, with all this said I still find it a fairly enjoyable show.
Occult Academy has completely lost me. I get that the first part of the series was to dispel Maya’s disbelief, but from the moment she lost that, I picked it up. Right now, I’d rather agree with Maya’s first assessment that the lamie incident with her father was staged, that is after seeing how the incident at the shrine played out. The girls NEVER, and I mean NEVER missed a shot. The series offers us enough from the world of the occult for it to deserve #supernatural #fantasy tags, but it lays it out in such unbelievable fashion that you begin to wonder whether everything is actually a fake spoon bend. Or maybe there is no spoon? For that reason alone it keeps me entertained and has managed to do that pretty well since episode 5, but I’m having a hard time believing it’s meant to be understood as fantasy.
Heroman, the best animated BONES show? I’d give that honor to Xam’d which looks like something Ghibli would make.
As for Occult Academy, there seems to be a lot of negative reactions to it, but it’s still better than most anime this season. The problem is that it lacks oomph and is quickly falling into mediocrity.
Mmm, forgot about Xam’d. They went all out on that one, didn’t they?
Gauging by the chatter I see, Occult Academy and HOTD are the two highest profile series this season. Though there are other shows I’d also like to see, Summer 2010 lacks that ‘must see’ title every other season has one or two of.
@chaostangent
About Shiki, given there’s only a few episodes left (I think), it seems that it’s not its point… either that, or it’s saving for one big plot twist right at the end.
@Shinmaru
After watching ep 8 of Helm of the Dominator (that’s what HotD stands for, right?), I’m starting to come to think that the thing that annoys me most about the show is Rei. Jealous, petty, shallow, etc. I hated her after the first ep, but I figured I needed more time to warm to her. Eight eps later, I still hate her.
@Aorii
Ookami-san has been pretty gutsy in the subject matter it’s chosen to deal with. Not just Ookami’s story of sexual abuse and mistrust, but even in some of the other stories such as Otsuu’s childhood friend’s death, etc. I hope that gutsiness continues, and I hope nothing gets trivialized as it often does in other, similar series. Time will tell.
@Hogart
I certainly won’t disagree that this season has been poor. For me, it’s been worse than that, it’s been unengaging. I’ll probably tackle this issue in more detail in a future post.
@AuroraFlame
I’d say Ookami-san has had one excellent episode, one decent episode, one utterly crap episode and the rest have been between average and decent. Maybe it was fortunate that the utterly crap episode came so early in the season (ie, ep 2). Maybe, with the bar set low, I could follow with my expectations, as, since then, I’ve generally been pleasantly surprised.
@Bonehimer
Haven’t seen Heroman, so I can’t really comment. I’ll let kadian1364 field this comment.
@cyth
Having not seen the latest couple of episodes, I’m a little surprised that so many viewers have become detached from Occult Academy. Are there any more Anime no Chikara anime slated after Occult Academy ends? If it’s over, as some are predicting, then maybe Anime no Chikara’s legacy will be a collection of series with great ideas, but a lack of direction to execute them to potential.
@Shadowmage
Seems to have been the case with all the Anime no Chikara series to date, which is a shame, since they’ve all had a handful of very creative ideas.
@kadian1364
The thing that’s struck me about these comments has been the disengagement to the current season, which is something I hadn’t detected from the wider blogosphere. It’s curious, since I too feel disengaged by this season and I’m wondering if people with similar opinions just haven’t been vocal enough about their criticisms (or inspired enough to be strong with them).
@chaostangent
I wrote a draft of my own blurb for Occult Academy, and it seems that we have the same sentiments for the show. Here’s what I wrote:
“When I watched the first episode, I thought of Ghostbusters; a paranormal theme that often gets overshadowed by the comedy/drama genre. I had some reservations about calling this the show of the season because it felt underwhelming at times. With the disclaimer at the end of each episode, I wonder if this show is indeed about the plot or the paranormal activities. It feels more character-driven than plot-driven; not that it’s a bad thing but I wish that there’s a tighter fit between the theme and the genre.
I also question the purpose of a few characters. It feels like they’re just comic relief, albeit very likable, and the antagonist whom her motives are still unknown until now. Her moments of secret admiration are starting to irritate me, so I’m especially curious about her purpose in the show. However, if there is one thing Occult Academy has been done it right, it’s the comedy. This show features some of the best WTF moments I’ve ever seen, most of them are courtesy of the feisty protagonist Maya and the wussy Fumiaki. Along with its high production values and crisp animation, it’s been an enjoyable show nonetheless.”
To put things in a clearer perspective, my ratings for this season is: #1 – HOTD, #2 – Shiki, #3 – Occult Academy. Occult Academy used to be on #2 but it’s fizzling because the plot isn’t really getting anywhere. As for Shiki, the only thing I find unappealing about the show is the character design. Higurashi was distracting because of the moe, Shiki is distracting because of the character designs.
@Shinmaru
I’m not coming close to that show. The first episode of the first season scared me away for a reason I can’t remember anymore :V
@Aorii
Funny; I mentioned before on the forums that Campanella does feel like ARIA. For Ookami-san, seriously, if the show drops its silly shenanigans, forgets novelty fairy tale references and shoots the narrator, the show would be better. A LOT better. Honestly, the fairy tale references can be better utilized. But like I said, they’re just using them as a novelty. The show is also wasteful because it had a great episode (i.e. episode 7) but it chose to fall back into mediocrity with a pointless episode 8. I get the feeling that the staff doesn’t know the real potential the show has.
@AuroraFlame
Nobody seems to be following Nurarihyon no Mago except me, so to see someone else watching it too is a big boost to my self-esteem ( – -)b. The show still has a long way to go, but it’s still ignoring some pressing questions about the show. Important questions such as the origins of Rikuo’s youkai-human heritage, the formation of his powerful clan, etc. should be answered soon. This show isn’t going to go far just by having a plot-based story; since it has a large cast, character exploration is much needed. People have been bitching the show because it’s slow, but this isn’t the issue per se to me. It’s not unnecessarily slow and draggy but I want to see things happen.
@kadian1364
Heroman as the best animated show by BONES? I’ll keeping my vote for Sword of the Stranger or FMA 2003, thank you very much. I haven’t watched a single episode of Heroman but something tells me that Heroman isn’t really epic material. Unfair assessment but that’s my hunch.
@Sorrow-kun
I only like her because, like Amagami’s Morishima, she’s hawt. Getting trashed by her is quite the compliment :V
@Sorrow-kun
Actually, Shiki is 22 episodes, or at least that’s what MAL and ANN say.
Really, the one word to sum up the season is probably mediocrity. Sure, nothing is flagrantly bad or doing the wrong things, but almost none of them have the force to engage the viewer at all, which is why, sadly, this post comes off as being half-hearted and disappointing even when the general impressions seem more positive than negative. Here’s to hoping for a good autumn season to inject a little energy.
I said TV anime because comparing it big budget movies isn’t much of an argument. I guess I also have to delineate between artwork and animation; Heroman’s artwork is very simple like a kid’s show but the movement, backgrounds, shading, and character models have never dipped or strayed in quality since its first episode. Said before, I don’t think any show has really separated itself from the pack, but I have no reservations in admitting to enjoying Heroman (unlike pretty much everything else).
Recent headliners:
BREASTS JIGGLE FASTER THAN BULLETS
BULLETS PASSING THROUGH A PAIR OF BREASTS: SCIENTIFICALLY UNFOUNDED?
BULLET PASS THROUGH VERY LARGE BREASTS IN NEW ANIME
FANS AROUND THE WORLD APPALLED, SOME APPLAUD: BULLET TIME THRU DD’S
FIRING RIFLE BETWEEN LARGE BREASTS APPARENTLY SAFE, SAYS MADHOUSE
SPEED AND SIZE, BULLETS AND BREASTS
ANIME ROCKS
CIVILIZATION DOWN
@Sorrow-kun
I’m surprised to learn that each Anime no Chikara project had different staff each time (unless they used pseudonyms). I’m surprised because I think Occult Academy is trying to achieve pretty much the same thing Sora no Woto tried to, and that is to revolutionize kuuki-kei. We all know by now that the series is not about the occult, it’s about its characters, and that we’ve learned a great deal about them in just 8 episodes. However, the one-cour TV format is just too short in my opinion to properly to stage the revolution. I’m sure the directors and storyboard people knew that but ignored the reality of the situation, and that’s what signed Anime no Chikara’s demise. I see it as an example of what happens when you give animators too much leeway, or maybe TV Tokyo has a short supply of good producers.
As for your sentiments on disengaged fandom, I feel that as well, but I don’t have a problem with saying outright that this season of anime sucks. Occult Academy just barely started getting interesting (I was on the verge of dropping it), but I could do without Ookami-san and Strike Witches 2 easily, even though the latter is awesome at what it does.
P.S.: I honestly feel like I’m the only one who appreciates Arai Satomi’s presence in Ookami-san.
@sorrow-kun
Yeah, episode 2 was really cheesy. Still, I have a (bad) habit of judging shows off their high moments rather than overall quality, unless the highs and lows fluctuate enough to break s.o.d. (Angel Beats) Episode 6 really did everything right for me, though. It introduced and added depth to all three leads, explained exactly what their problems were and how they would try to overcome them in the series, and tackled a serious issue without over-reliance on whining and angst.
Anime-no-Chikara isn’t quite dead yet. A-1 decided to take a break for the fall, as they are spreading their budget thin at the moment — they had to do Working!! and Ookiku at the same time as Night Raid, and are going into Kuroshitsuji which is slated for three quarters. Still, Noise produced four seasons of quality and still got shut down, so I won’t be surprised if it doesn’t revive as planned.
@AC
If you are willing to stick with it, I wouldn’t be too worried about Nurarihyon. From what I’ve read of the manga reception, the slow start is the only problem as it fools people into thinking this is going to be another generic shounen. When it finally hits that point — well, I wouldn’t say FMA level — but it supposedly solidifies itself as way above the genre competition. I’m expecting this show to get another two-cour season somewhere down the line, so it will have the time to develop its story without becoming endless like “other” shows.
@sorrow-kun: yeah, this whole theme of disengagement seems to sum it up for just about everyone I know. Not that everything’s “bad” per se, it just feels half-hearted, like they just don’t care about what they’re presenting anymore. Last summer had at least 3 shows I really got into, this summer I couldn’t care less. Even the fanservice last summer felt less.. uninspired.
PS: it’s been a while since I saw a DotA reference, kudos.
I’m thinking Legend of legendary is screwing itself up with inconsistent politcal twists. I felt this would be the show that’d be the sleeper hit of the season. No dice.
HotD is Hot damn! I watch it for the big mellons and Sawashiro Miyuki’s character in a small thong. Get my tent going every time. XD
Ookami san is plain vanilla but definitely watchable. Seitokai just gives me a facepalm every five seconds and it doesn’t go anywhere with anything. Watching it for Hikasa Yoko.
Imho, Shiki is like Captain Obvious screaming from miles away. As soon as I saw the bite marks it was over for me.
Thanks for the review!
Hold up here…
Hogart,
Did I have to put “fuck Amagami SS, fuck it and the fucking fuckers that made this fucking show” to get the point across that I fucking hate this steaming pile of drivel?
Elineas,
Amagami SS is flagrantly bad and doing the wrong things!
I’m apparently not angry enough in my reviews. Sorrow-kun, that big fat “F” grade I gave that show might have helped get my ire across a bit better. =P
@TIF
You had the bad luck of having your review of Amagami SS be in the middle, so all the mediocrity after washed away that hate. Not that I can judge, considering I didn’t watch a single ep. of Amagami SS. Goes to show my ignorance :X.
@Typical Idiot Fan – you’re not alone in hating Amagami SS. LaMoe hates it too. XD To me, it’s another pointless fantasy for eroge playing lonely guys.
This has been another lackluster season…
I can’t argue with Amagami’s 4-episodes-per-story rule working against the storytelling.
Yet to me, even with all the limitations, the Kaoru story was genuinely interesting enough on its own because of the very premise of two best friends realizing they’re in love with each other. Call me sappy but that just tugged at my heartstrings. I only watched her episodes, ignoring everything else.
Yes, sigh, internet hype about her got me into the series for the short while she was in the spotlight, so I had read game spoilers and everything. And yes, they weren’t as airtight as I would have (oh the presumption) written them, But I was watching her episodes for the plot, and I was rather more satisfied than not. (And yeah, I was watching for her too, but that was more due to her relatable broski character rather than superficial physical traits). The very end was censored for whatever reason and we got that still frame, which will be corrected for the DVD. Crafty.
I think her story is deeper than the memes attached to it, even if it doesn’t break much new ground. When it does, through the navel kiss, it’s just awkward. I’d argue that such stuff (it appears the fetish stuff is an integral part of the game, so we can do nothing about that) just obscures the heart of the story which is about being there for each other. I can relate to that. I found the drama subplot with her mother understandable too. The story was mostly quite down-to-earth, which is a big plus in my book.
Call the show wish-fulfillment and one wouldn’t be wrong. But one doesn’t have to project oneself on the male lead to enjoy the all-too-short cartoon. Does one project oneself on Archie while reading about him spending time with Betty?
Speaking of comics, I honestly believe her story would profit from its own extended manga series where it would have more room to breathe. As TypicalIdiotFan said, love is about people rather than game triggers, and such a format could do better justice to the potential of her game story. Give us more interaction, more stuff like their pool game. They don’t have to undergo crises to be there for each other. Just let them enjoy life together when they can – and when they can’t, let the other be there to help. No one could say no to that.
[...] I think I’m fully in Sorrow-kun‘s corner when it comes to Rei now. Everything she does is just annoying now. Although I did [...]