Behind The Nihon Review

A new season is upon us at last! Unlike last year’s spectacular share of shows that we’ve had the pleasure of spending dozens of hours watching, 2013 is off to a relatively mellow start in our books: our initial impressions generally feature more doubts than pluses across the board. Perhaps we’ve been spoiled by some of the awesome action-oriented fare from the previous season, but the mass amount of comedy and slice-of-life this Winter seems to be a Japanese TV conspiracy to keep everyone warm and in their houses instead of outside in the biting cold. Nevertheless, hopefully we’ll see some of this season’s offerings blossom into solid shows.
Introduction by: Kylaran

Maoyuu Maou Yuusha

Reckoner’s First Thoughts
Episodes Seen: 4
First Impression: D+

Economics, a pseudo-medievalist setting, and some very familiar lead voice actors make Spice and Wolf comparisons here seem natural, but not necessarily correct. Unfortunately, Maoyuu Maou Yuusha does not contain any of the same charm that made a title like Spice and Wolf really stand out. The character chemistry between the Demon Queen and the Hero is lacking and the dialogue is devoid of good wit and humor. Furthermore, the quick pacing makes it difficult to invest in the story since even though a lot is happening, the character development is nonexistent. Maybe if the show spent a little less time focusing on the Demon Queen’s assets and a little more on fleshing out its cast, then it wouldn’t be so boring.

zzeroparticle’s Second Opinion
Episodes Seen: 4
First Impression: B

Color me totally enthralled by what this show has on offer.  The show’s setting focuses on a medieval society teetering on entering a Renaissance, but to do so requires huge social and economic changes to take place to support this new way of life.  While that scenario already presents an interesting premise ripe for exploration, what makes this even more fascinating is the way in which the Demon Queen is seeking to accelerate societal change by subtly encouraging mankind to adopt novel crops and farming techniques to stabilize the food supply, for starters.  The goal is ultimately to thrust humanity from the dark age of war and famine to a period of peace and, hopefully, prosperity,  I’m certainly intrigued by how the Demon Queen plans to achieve all of that.  If anything, this anime proves that economics need not be a dismal science!

Tamako Market

Eternal’s First Thoughts
Episodes Seen: 3
First Impression: B

I’m not the only one who’s a tad disappointed that Tamako Market isn’t like K-ON. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing: the characters are charming and KyoAni is maintaining their expected detail in animation for the most ordinary of scenes. However, Tamako Market seems like it will rely more on a vague sense of charm mixed with the “healing” effect of slice-of-life to appeal to its viewers, in contrast with K-ON’s use of comedy. The show may run into pacing issues given how slow comedy-free slice-of-life tends to be, and the third episode already drags a bit when compared with the first two. That said, in turning away from the moe-saturated comedy approach, this series taps into a more family-friendly, Ghibli-esque charm that may be to its benefit. The talking bird, Dela, is easily one of the show’s most interesting characters. I wouldn’t be surprised if this new style works out for KyoAni, but the show has yet to make a strong impression on me.

Kylaran’s Second Opinion
Episodes Seen: 3
First Impression: B-

While this show has every bit the flare that previous KyoAni creations has had, Tamako Market lacks that attractive quality that has brought so many to love the studio’s previous works. This quality is, quite simply put, comedic pacing. Tamako Market’s arguable main hero, the sentient bird Dela, is a complete dunce and has no where near the sharp tongue of effective male protagonists like Kyon of Haruhi or Yuuta of Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai! One serious question this show faces is: What audience is the story targeting and which kinds of people are going to enjoy it? At the moment, it has all of the cute visuals and fantastic sound design of K-On! yet seems to imitate the narrative flow of Hidamari Sketch. Unfortunately, so far these two haven’t been very compatible, but the production values of this show alone keep it from falling into a nasty pit it could never crawl out of.

Senran Kagura

Shadowmage’s First Thoughts
Episodes seen: 3
First Impression: D+

Shows about giant tittied women doing stupid things has been done so numerously that it doesn’t even evoke a spark of rage in me anymore.  Every time I see one of these I let out a defeated sigh like when a soccer mom sees commercials for the 16th season of South Park.  Senran Kagura merges the timeless formula of tits and taints with ninjas.  The setup is rather straightforward with a small cast of well endowed tropes in a ninja school. While there are a handful of really nifty fight scenes, the visuals overall are nothing to write home about.  As for the real hook of the series -the softcore porn- let’s just say that something like the To Love Ru Darkness blurays blasts this out of the water with the force of a fission bomb.

Chihayafuru 2

Reckoner’s First Thoughts
Episodes Seen: 3
First Impression: A-

Although it might not have been intentional, the beginning of the new season coinciding with the karuta club member’s second year of high school could not be more perfect. It is a new beginning for the karuta club, and with it has ushered in some new cast members who seem to fit right in. The audience, through their eyes, rediscovers once more why the characters have so much passion for the game of karuta and how interesting their hopes and dreams continue to be. Furthermore, Studio Madhouse once again nails a great audio-visual experience as we are treated to some vibrant, beautiful imagery and orchestral pieces that continue to make this manga adaption really come alive. If there were any fears that the second season of Chihayafuru would not have the same magic anymore, those can be put to rest.

Eternal’s Second Opinion
Episodes Seen: 3
First Impression: B+

Chihayafuru S2 picks up where the first season left off, both in terms of plot and the overall quality of the production. This is a good thing, because I was stunned by season one’s smooth pacing and altogether pleasant presentation (especially the soundtrack – it’s heartwarming to hear the signature instrumental theme again after so long). As an adaptation, Chihayafuru seems to be solid, and that means that it’s the perfect vehicle to bring to life the story’s detailed characters and oddly unpredictable plot. I think the show’s main charm lies in the fact that it’s a josei sports series–two genres that are rarely combined. Season two is already demonstrating how elegantly the romance and school life cliches of josei can mix with the aim-for-the-top attitude of sports manga, and I’m not expecting it to get worse.

Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai NEXT

AC’s First Thoughts
Episodes Seen: 3
First Impression: B

Funnily enough, NEXT’s situation is exactly the same as Minami-ke Tadaima’s: its comedy material is just as good as the first season, but the only issue is how the visuals are not as good for some reason. The working formula is not tampered at all: Yozora still loves bullying Sena, Sena is still the dumb blonde, Rika is still the genius with weird fetishes, etc. However, the aesthetics are less impressive as it looks a lot less crisp and solid compared to the previous season. Story-wise, it’s still hard to tell what new material the series has to offer us but for the moment, it’s pretty much a continuation of the stuff we love from the first season. Just show me more of the butler Stella and I will be a contented viewer.

Love Live!

Kylaran’s First Thoughts
Episodes Seen: 4
First Impression: B

I love this show. It’s a ton of fun without being terribly serious, but it doesn’t make the main characters rub off as insipid moe-blobs. Perhaps it’s the power of cross-media franchises, because Love Live! originally appeared in story format in Dengeki G’s Magazine, which covers mostly bishoujo games/eroge. Voters had input on the story and character designs indirectly via a ranking in which they voted for their favorite characters, an action which in turn ultimately led to decisions on which characters would be featured in the anime. In this sense, the series can’t (and hasn’t) really gone wrong with how it’s portrayed each of the three main girls, on top of featuring a pop soundtrack that certainly seems to be well produced for the show. Considering there’ll be a lot of idol groups appearing on screen, the music should at least feature the strengths of each individual group. Just don’t expect too much intellectual stimulation from this series and you’ll be fine.

TypicalIdiotFan’s Second Opinion
Episodes Seen:  3
First Impression:  A-

Multiple-media projects have had an equal share of successes and failures, but this one has the additional excitement of being at least somewhat fan driven.  Contests were held by to determine things like costumes, hairstyles, and even the idol group’s production name, for example.  With the already existing popularity, veteran writer Hanada Jukki has his work cut out for him in creating a scenario that won’t be anything but fan pandering fluff, and so far it has been solid, with a balanced mix of humor and drama.  I’m also absolutely in love with newcomer director Kyougoku Takahiko’s style so far, utilizing quick pan shots for scene transitions and mixing in regular animation with CG almost seamlessly.

Minami-ke Tadaima

AC’s First Thoughts
Episodes Seen: 4
First Impression: B

Many would agree that the first season of Minami-ke was the best and that the subsequent seasons just couldn’t get it right. I felt so too, so when I heard about there being another season, I thought it’s just a waste of effort. Fortunately, Tadaima comes off more as the next best thing to the first season: the comedy material is just as good and it even reminded me why I love Minami-ke so much in the first place. The only thing that Tadaima could have done to be on par with the first season is emulating the visuals, although it isn’t exactly a critical issue. That, and the only thing left for the show to do is to bring back awesome Bible Black face shot moments.

Shinmaru’s Second Opinion
Episodes Seen: 4
First Impression: B-

Poor Minami-ke has been much maligned as it has been passed off from studio to studio with each season, another creative crew called upon to put their stamp on the series. I was among the skeptical when this series started, particularly because I didn’t enjoy the OVA feel put out. However, even though the visuals remain unimpressive, there is at least some soul in this season. Each episode has improved a bit on the previous. I especially enjoyed the string of running gags in episode 3 that created a weird sense of continuity — it’s an approach that works wonderfully for Minami-ke, and I wish it would be employed more often. Perhaps Minami-ke will never totally live up to the heights of the first season, but what we have now is still enjoyable.

Kotoura-san

zzeroparticle’s First Thoughts
Episodes Seen:  3
First Impression:  C+

I really do want to like this show.  Up until this point, the eponymous character has been dealt a shitty hand and only recently has her life taken a more positive turn.  Alas, with the third episode, the anime’s fortunes with my patience have gone in reverse.  The mix of comedy and drama in the first two episodes had me feeling hopeful and optimistic, but the forcing of the drama and the resulting self-castigation on Kotoura’s part grew irritating.  I empathized with her plight in the first episode, but stopped feeling sorry for her when she actively decided that she does not want to be a happy person, and so, feel no further compunctions to continue watching.

TypicalIdiotFan’s Second Opinion
Episodes Seen:  3
First Impression:  B+

Mood whiplash is the order of the day so far with Kotoura-san.  In all of the episodes I have seen thus far, scenes can shift from dark and depressing to rambunctious and fun at the drop of a hat.  Jarring, to say the least, but I cannot help but be completely absorbed in these bipolar moments.  In most shows, a moody or depressing character would be as such for little to no reason, but not so with our titular character, whose life has flat out fucking sucked to this point.  I am not sure how much I can tolerate Manabe-kun’s one-trick-pony perversion gags, but I do find the other characters interesting enough to negate his simplicity.

Sasami-san@Ganbaranai

Shadowmage’s First Thoughts
Episodes seen: 3
First Impression: B

Visually, Sasami-san@Ganbaranai is the most interesting anime airing in Japan right now.  As one of the first original projects after Shinbo Akiyuki hit it big with Bakemonogatari and Madoka Magica, this series shows exactly what Shinbo would do with infinite money… aside from an orgy of drugs.  In short, nothing has changed from Shinbo’s normal style except the scenes that normally would get stills are over-animated to high heaven.  There’s one scene of the main character dressing herself which probably had more animation than an entire episode Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei.  As of now, the story is nothing exceptional and the characters are amusing but not particularly original or interesting, but the show is a buffet for the eyes, and with a genius like Shinbo at the helm, I can’t wait to see what I can see next.

Eternal’s Second Opinion
Episodes Seen: 3
First Impression: B+

SHAFT’s offering for this season is pleasingly eccentric. Visually, it’s on par with their other works, in both a good way and a bad way. It’s creative: Sasami’s room is shrouded in a surreal, dream-like mist as if to reflect her hikikomori ways, and the regular shots of characters are framed differently than in your typical TV anime. The downside is that the animation is hit or miss: the second episode consists largely of static shots of the characters conversing in Sasami’s room, and SHAFT as a whole is known for skimping on technical details and leaving them to be fixed in the Blu-Rays. It’s too early to make any definitive judgments about the characters and story, but it seems that the plot is quirky enough to hold most viewers’ interest. That said, the references to Japanese mythology may detract from most Western viewers’ experience, and it’s possible that the show’s quirkiness will never transition into real substance. Until then, however, I’ll keep my fingers crossed, because Sasami-san is a pleasure to watch both for its direction and bizarre premise.

THE UNLIMITED Hyoba Kyosuke

TypicalIdiotFan’s First Thoughts
Episodes Seen:  3
First Impression:  C+

Every once in awhile I will experiment with having not seen the main incarnation of a spin-off or sequel, and it has had mixed results:  A Certain Scientific Railgun was highly enjoyable while watching the second season of Shakugan no Shana was not.  So far, this spin-off from Zettai Karen Children has been a by-the-numbers “syndicate infiltration” plot a la Donnie Brasco with our hero already questioning whether or not Hyoba Kyosuke’s organization is truly “evil” or just morally questionable.  Generally, characters like Hyoba bug me for their seeming flawlessness, but I’ll let the show direct me where it wants to for now.

Reckoner’s Second Opinion
Episodes Seen: 3
First Impression:  C

I have not seen the original Zettai Karen Children, so I have absolutely no idea how this spin-off story relates to the original in any way. That being said, I can barely feel involved in this show thus far. Sure, things like espers and mafia organizations seem exciting, but too many of the characters are complete ciphers. This would be OK if it were not for the fact that the main character is also difficult to understand; he does not really have a personal motivation for his actions that helps ground the story in his perspective. Still there is not much else wrong to point out with this show and I am content to let it see where it develops from here.

INFERNO COP

Shinmaru’s First Thoughts
Episodes Seen: 5
First Impression: B

INFERNO COP (which must always be spelled in all caps; it is the law) is utterly silly. It’s like if Ghost Rider were actually Nicolas Cage, fought the silliest villains imaginable and resolved conflicts in the goofiest way imaginable … all with a budget of roughly $50 per episode, of course. It has been said that INFERNO COP is nothing but random nonsense; however, I believe it is all quite calculated, each episode forming another part of a rich tapestry of ridiculousness. INFERNO COP’s world is one without hard, fast rules, and therefore, the folks at Studio Trigger are free to take the shorts in whatever direction they please. Much like Panty and Stocking, INFERNO COP is like a weird slice of comedy you’d see at 3 a.m. on Adult Swim. I can dig that.

Vividred Operation

zzeroparticle’s First Thoughts
Episodes Seen: 3
First Impression: C

If it weren’t for all of those gratuitous butts in my face, I might have enjoyed this anime.  On the plus side, the earnestness in which the girls go about their business beating up alien devices and support one another is rather infectious and the transformation scenes are serviceable (in more ways than one!).  However, the negatives outweigh the positives.  None of the characters have really appealed to my sensibilities and the way they resolved the first docking error was utterly nonsensical.  The girl who is currently playing the role of antagonist is staying mum for now and one can only hope that the backstory turns out to be as solid as Fate Testarossa’s from the first season of Nanoha.  I’m not holding my breath for that however.

Shinmaru’s Second Opinion
Episodes Seen: 3
First Impression: C+

To my utter shock, I somehow still find myself more on the side of enjoying this silly series than I am repulsed by it. I don’t particularly care for having little girl asses thrust in my face so much; well, that is, other than the supremely hilarious shot of a young girl’s butt cheeks framing the action, which Vividred Operation has somehow worked into every episode thus far. That can continue, because it’s such a dumb extreme that I can’t help but applaud the imagination of whomever conceived it. Otherwise, this is a fine, light, silly series where little girls team up, form and deepen friendships, and use boomerangs and giant swords to beat the crap out of humongous aliens. Sounds OK to me!

Amnesia

Shadowmage’s First Thoughts
Episodes seen: 3
First Impression: C-

This is a show I have no real strong reaction to simply because I have no clue how to feel about the whole thing.  Like the title implies, the main protagonist suffers from amnesia which not only robs her of her memories but any semblance of a personality as well.  She is perpetually confused and doesn’t give the audience any real perspective to filter the events that occur on screen.  There may be some neat trick the creators may do with this “I have no clue how to process this” point of view, but I probably won’t stick around since the show’s hook is pretty boys designed by a fusion of CLAMP and Final Fantasy designers.

Ore no Kanojo to Osananajimi ga Shuuraba Sugiru

Kylaran’s First Thoughts
Episodes Seen: 4
First Impression: B-

Someone’s going to be playing ding-dong-ditch all over my apartment in full derision regarding my first scoring of this show, I swear. As much as I hate to admit it, this show has the same sort of charm that a B-grade horror film does: talented amateur voice actors, skilled but not quite superb visuals, and a story that tries to hide its true self. When watching OreShura, the most important thing is to probably realize that this show really isn’t a harem, but instead tries to present the hurdles placed between two love birds who just need a push in the right direction. Well, I certainly hope that’s the direction the show’s going in; if it decides to take the stupid harem route I’m going to chuck my TV out the window of the seventh floor of my apartment.