This week: finally warming up to Space Dandy, questioning the selection of weaponry and warfare technology in Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta, thoughts on the lack of problems facing one character in Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha, and issues of QUALITY in Wizard Barristers – Benmashi Cecil.

Best episode of the week: KILL la KILL

Anime trending up this week: Space Dandy

Anime trending down this week: Wizard Barristers – Benmashi Cecil

Wizard Barristers – Benmashi Cecil (Episode 6)

Back before the season began, I anticipated that Wizard Barristers would be one of the best anime this season in terms of its art and animation.  I based this expectation on the PVs, which featured superb animation, and followed it up with the fact that Yasuomi Umetsu is overseeing the virtually every major aspect of this show, especially the animation.  And while Wizard Barristers has been great at times, it’s still not immune to QUALITY art and animation, with this episode being the worst offender… by far.  While at times there were shots or scenes that were bad in previous episodes, episode six was bad from start to finish.  Sometimes QUALITY is a signal that animators and other artists are working on other scenes for a future episode that are animation-heavy or intense and that this episode suffered as a result.  But that’s probably not the case for Wizard Barristers, even though we’ve seen some outstanding animation during some of the prior battle scenes.  The reason?  The studio: ARMS.

Yeah, somehow I missed that earlier, but now I understand the reason for the QUALITY in Wizard Barristers. After all, ARMS is a studio that’s historically produced terrible ecchi and even more terrible hentai anime and only recently transitioned to make TV anime that aren’t sequels of Ikkitousen or Queen’s Blade.  The studio has never really been known for its art or animation since all its previous anime are full of mindless fanservice or terrible porn, but lately, it’s attempting to make a transition and produce more respectable or halfway-decent anime.  And considering its history, I must say I’m actually somewhat impressed with what Wizard Barristers has done.  It’s definitely not the best anime I’ve watched, especially after all the QUALITY in this episode, but this might be the best ARMS anime I’ve ever watched… which, you know, is like being the big fish in a small pond.

Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta (Episode 7)

The use of weaponry in Pilot’s Love Song is somewhat… baffling to me.  Based on what we’ve seen thus far of the setting of Pilot’s Love Song, it seems the trainees are equipped with WWI-era rifles or some similar technology.  And while that’s fine for infantry or land warfare, it seems horribly inefficient for aviation combat.  For instance, not only does one have to take into account the difference between the speed and trajectory of the two planes, but, should the bullet arrive at the hull of the enemy plane, I’m not sure the bullet would pierce the steel or damage the plane in any significant way.  And considering that almost all the other planes have some form of machine gun, you wonder why the trainees can’t have the same technology, too.  It seems like sending pilots up in the sky with only a simple rifle and going against these advanced (WWII-era) fighters is suicide.  Then again, maybe that’s a part of the story, for the pilots to go into battle unprepared and undertrained, much like in the movie Gallipoli.

Space Dandy (Episode 7)

I think I’ve finally warmed up to Space Dandy.  Prior to this episode, I always found myself conflicted with the anime based on its success and failures.  The anime has been a series of hits and misses in terms of its stories, with the range starting at meh (the hungry alien episode) and going up to phenomenal (the zombie episode).  However, I’ve found myself becoming less invested with the ‘episode-of-the-week’ stories and begun to focus on the intelligent comedy, the unique space setting and the charming cast of characters.  And I think switching that transition from the weak stories over to the better aspects of the anime has really changed my appreciation of Space Dandy.  So while this episode’s story is most-definitely a ‘miss’ to me, I mainly paid attention to the comedy and the characters, and found myself enjoying the episode more than I originally expected.  And I think that’d be true for any episode if I went back and rewatched it.  I think the key to watching Space Dandy and enjoying Space Dandy is to really pay no attention to the scenarios or the stories and just focus on the comedy and characters.  I think if I continue to watch the anime like this going forward, I’ll enjoy it more than I have been.

Noragami (Episode 7)

Bishamonten, the vengeful and resentful god of war, possesses quite an army of regalia, with 8 known shinki in total (and at least 9 if you count the one that was murdered previously).  The fact that she possesses so many is an interesting point by itself, especially when you compare her army to those of the other gods, but thinking about the histories and backstories that each shinki has, especially considering their diversity in appearances and their different transformations (form a lion to a whip to a dagger to even Bishamon’s bra), is nothing short of remarkable.  Although I’m certain we won’t see these backstories explored in the anime, I find it interesting to compare Yukine to these 8 shinki and imagine that the story behind their lives and deaths is as difficult for them as it is for him.  I’d love to see the anime explore the cast in detail and for us to learn about each of the shinki we’ve seen, especially those who belong to Tenjin and Kofuku’s Daikoku.  Then again, the anime is already too short with only 12 episodes, so maybe I should be happy with what we’re getting and just consider picking up the manga after the anime is over.

KILL la KILL (Episode 19)

I always enjoy seeing villains or antagonists transition from the ‘bad side’ to the ‘good side’, minus a few exceptions.  However, the Four Devas are a perfect example of one of my favorite forms of character development in anime.  Whereas the Four Devas are now considered ‘good guys’, they’re still the same people that they were at the beginning of the series.  Each character is still loyal to Satsuki and display their strength and pride in their actions, never accepting defeat as an answer.  And the reason for their transition feels genuine and sensible, nothing forced or irrational.  They’re essentially the same people as we’ve always seen but the perspective of the situation has changed, and that shift in perspective shines the light on their characters from a better angle.  We’re able to see more of these characters and learn more about them based on this change and their development holds new meaning.  Seeing the Four Devas make this transition is nothing short of exceptional and yet another line in the growing list of why KILL la KILL is likely to be my favorite anime of the year (again).

Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha (Episode 6)

Is it just me or does everyone in Inari Konkon have a problem except Keiko?  I suppose not every member of the cast needs to have a problem, especially since Inari, Chika and Akemi (among others) all have their own issues to deal with.  Still, you wonder what makes Keiko so different than her three friends and everyone else.  Perhaps it’s reasonable to have a strong, reliable character for Inari to fall back on when she needs help, but that shouldn’t make her immune to having her own difficulties.  Or maybe she’s just good at hiding what’s troubling her and is keeping it from her friends… at least for now.  Still, it’s somewhat remarkable to see Keiko be without any major issues when virtually everyone else in the cast has one or two problems to deal with.  Maybe we’ll see Keiko develop a problem as a result of someone else solving theirs, which would be a story development I wouldn’t mind seeing.

Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai! Ren (Episode 7)

The addition of Satone’s character to Chuunibyou Ren has been as successful as combining water and oil.  In other words, they’ve failed.  The integration of Satone’s character to the regular cast of Chuunibyou has been unsuccessful for a few reasons, but it’s primarily due to her role a ‘love rival’ to Rikka and not as a friend looking to have fun and play around with Yuuta, Rikka and the others.  By adding Satone as a ‘love rival’, her few and infrequent appearances are used to add conflict or difficulty to Yuuta’s and Rikka’s struggling romantic relationship.  As a result, we’ve barely scratched the surface of Satone’s character.  Furthermore, Satone’s choice appearances have had a minimal impact on the other cast members, save for some information she has on Nibutani.  It feels as though Satone was only intended to interact with Yuuta and Rikka, much like the original novels, but it’s still a failure for the anime not to integrate her in with the other members of the cast since Nibutani, Dekomori and Kumin are all primary characters in the anime.  I can’t help but feel that the potential of Satone’s character has been wasted thus far and is a major reason why she’s subpar compared to the others in Chuunibyou Ren.

This week: thoughts on whether to dislike or sympathize with Yukine in Noragami, why the confession scene in Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha was exceptional, why Silver Spoon S2 works better as a sports anime, and recommending The Princess and the Pilot (Toaru Hikuushi e no Tsuioku) for those watching Pilot’s Love Song (Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta)

Best episode of the week: KILL la KILL

Anime trending up this week: Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta

Anime trending down this week: Hamatora

Wizard Barristers – Benmashi Cecil (Episode 7)

Whenever an anime travels abroad, like with Wizard Barristers traveling to the US and Canada, I find myself excited knowing that the episode will likely be hilarious and entertaining.  The reason for this is unparalleled amusement derives from how the anime always depict other countries.  For whatever reason, I always find myself nitpicking on how details are missing or incorrect or how the built environment is wrong and that’s not how roads or buildings look.  And as the quality of the anime gets worse, the entertainment gets better… for obvious reasons.  You usually don’t see too much of an issue with this in regard to better anime or shows that are set in international countries.  It seems this unique form of comedy is usually restricted to shows that travel abroad for an episode or two, as we are seeing with Wizard Barristers.  So thankfully for me, I see the best of both aspects with Wizard Barristers traveling to the US and Canada for a couple of episodes and the series being a bit short on quality and intelligence.

Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta (Episode 8)

If you’re watching and enjoying Pilot’s Love Song, then I strongly recommend you watch The Princess and the Pilot (Toaru Hikuushi e no Tsuioku) become finishing this anime.  This anime movie debuted back in 2011 and takes place in the same universe as Pilot’s Love Song.  The two anime are written by the same author, Koroku Inumara, and share a number of parallels, themes and motifs.  The two anime really go hand-in-hand with each other and anyone enjoying one will be certain to fall in love with the other.  Of course, there are a few differences between the TV series and the movie and not just in terms of the runtime or better art/animation.  What the movie lacks in exploring the world and the setting, the TV covers with adequate detail and where the TV series lacks in action and fulfillment, the movie is more than enough.  Furthermore, for anyone who watched the movie previously already knows that there are some references that occurred in this episode.  So I figure, with the TV series entering the final stages of the story, there is no better time than now to watch The Princess and the Pilot.

Space Dandy (Episode 8)

Throughout all but a handful of minutes, Space Dandy has followed the adventures of Dandy, QT and Meow.  But at the very beginning, the series was just Dandy and QT.  Although the series features a better dynamic with Dandy, Meow and QT together, I do wonder what life was like before Meow joined the crew and it was simply Dandy and QT wandering aimlessly through space hunting for new species of aliens.  Even if it were an episode or two with just Dandy and QT alone would be fine for me, and it could even be something cliché like how Dandy met QT or something along those lines.  Still, the series is fine as it is with its presentation and style and comedy.  I don’t expect there to be much in terms of developing a history or consistency when many of the episodes feature Dandy or Meow or both dying.

Silver Spoon S2 (Episode 7)

One reason why Silver Spoon S2 has progressed better than Silver Spoon S1 is that it’s more of a sports anime than a school anime.  Although Silver Spoon is still technically a school anime and all the scenes are still related to school in one way or another, the sports aspect of Silver Spoon have flourished in recent episodes.  Perhaps this is because there are multiple sports featured in Silver Spoon, although in reality, it’s just baseball and equestrian events.  Still, the balance between the two and the uniqueness of horseback riding certainly bode well for Silver Spoon, and alternating between baseball and equestrian provides the audience with a break and some diversity.  Rather than focusing too intensely on one sports, like what we see with most sports anime, Silver Spoon lets us see characters with differing personalities find something that they can enjoy.  And to differentiate the sports setting from the school setting, I’d say the sports aspects in Silver Spoon are a bit more exciting and passionate than the school side, save for a few choice scenes.  To me, Silver Spoon is better as a sports anime than a school anime because of these reasons.  That and I tend to rank most anime genre ahead of the school genre anyway…

Noragami (Episode 8)

I can’t tell if we’re supposed to dislike Yukine or sympathize with him.  On one hand, the kid is a brat and has a negative personality, never willing to accept responsibility for his destructive actions and showing a lack of willpower and restraint.  You see the pain and suffering he’s caused for Yato and the hardships he’s placed on Hiyori.  Furthermore, you never really see him be thankful for what he’s received… which might not be much but still much more than he received as a tiny, little snowflake of a ghost.  So on this hand, you’re supposed to detest Yukine.  On the other hand, however, you’re dealing with a deceased and troubled teenage who obviously doesn’t know how to handle the situation he was forced into.  Yukine had no choice about his death and his forced ‘resurrection’, nor does he have the choice to be the servant of an unpopular and impoverished god who has little to no luck on his side.  Furthermore, Yukine has his own pain and suffering when seeing everything that he’s lost or unable to attain.  And Yukine has no place to besides Hiyori.  So on this hand, you’re supposed to sympathize with Yukine.

But to me, I don’t see it that way.  Or, perhaps more appropriately, I see the dislike hand to greatly outweigh the sympathy hand.  To me, I dislike Yukine’s character for what he’s done and how he acts.  I can understand and empathize with his hardships, or at least as much as we’re able to through the story, but his actions are reprehensible and appalling, especially toward Yato and Hiyori.  I can understand if he doesn’t like Yato and wants to fondle Hiyori’s boobs, but he should be more grateful to his new master and his only friend.  After all, it’s not like they’re going through their own difficulties and hardships too, with Yato struggling to survive (not to mention a deadly war with Bishamon) and Hiyori searching to reunite her soul with her body.  So to me, I can’t sympathize with Yukine… at least not now.  If he has a change of heart and realizes his mistakes and takes responsibility for his actions, then maybe I’ll change my opinion of Yukine.  But for now, I dislike him.

KILL la KILL (Episode 20)

I always love it when people switch sides.  Absolutely love it.  KILL la KILL really knows what I want from an anime and it delivers every episode.  What more can I say when I gush and glow about it every week?  Or rather, what more do I need to say in order to express my admiration and gratitude for KILL la KILL?  I think this will do just fine.

Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha (Episode 7)

The confession scene in Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha was outstandingly brilliant.  The duality of the scene is a stunning example of exceptional anime writing and the expression of Inari’s character was genuine and honest.  The fact that we saw her confess while disguised as another classmate might not count as much progress in the story… but that’s not what the point of this scene was.  We finally saw Inari confirm her emotions and be honest with herself.  Prior to the scene, it seems as though Inari had a simple crush, what is a relatively weak attraction in terms of a romance anime and something unfortunately common within the romance genre.  Here, however, Inari is able to put her feelings into words in front of the boy she loves and is able to articulate her love into something tangible.  Additionally, the fact that she does it in the form of another girl speaks volumes about her compassion and responsiveness toward others.  Although we don’t know how Inari would have reacted had Kouji accepted the request, we were able to see another window into Inari’s character and her selflessness toward others.  What makes a great character into a phenomenal character are scenes like these.  Witnessing this character growth and watching Inari mature as a human has really made this anime one of the best of this season.  It’s a shame that the series isn’t centered around Inari more and has to deal with Uka’s problems because the strength of the series is in Inari’s character and how she’s able to positively influence the lives of the characters around her.

Hamatora (Episode 8)

Of all the anime with fanservice in them, I strongly believe that Hamatora has the worst fanservice.  Or at the very least, the fanservice is always bad or disappointing.  With this as the beach episode of the series, featuring girls in bikinis and… well, just girls in general, Hamatora was somehow never fulfilling or rewarding.  Sure, there was a lot more skin and some fanservicey situations, but it’s nothing out of the ordinary for anime.  In fact, the most racy shot was Honey’s bikini top coming undone but… nothing happened.  And in previous episodes, the fanservice has always been rather tame or boring.  It’s like they wanted to include sexy fanservice but missed the point of it being actually ‘sexy’ or ‘service to the fans’.  Still… as bad and unfulfilling as the fanservice has been in Hamatora, it’s still far better than the atrocious comedy.

Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai! Ren (Episode 8)

How does Yuuta, Rikka and everyone else always find these other chuunibyou people to do battle with?  Or rather, when these battles are happening, what do these other characters do?  To me, seeing all these other people with chuunibyou in the series just lessens the importance and distinctiveness of Rikka’s character.  The series is supposed to be built around Rikka’s delusions and childish behavior as what makes her character and this romance different.  But when you have a dozen other characters like her in the series, what’s left to make her stand out from the rest?  Besides her eye patch, I really fail to see how Rikka is different than Dekomori or Satone or the Maple Hill Siesta Club or even this new ‘fake’ Mori Summer.  After all this, I’m beginning to see Rikka as somewhat normal in this universe or, if not that, more normal than when we saw her for the first time.  It’s somewhat unfortunate to see the luster of Rikka’s character disappear from this season of Chuunibyou Ren, but it does mean for more beautifully animated battles in phantasmal or fantastic wonderlands… so I’m alright with this trade-off.

This week: how the cinematography aided in the visually magnificent episode plant planet of Space Dandy, thoughts on the resolution of Gotou’s girlfriend in Samurai Flamenco, remembering the first half of Magi, and trying to make sense of what Manaka lost in Nagi no Asukara.

Best episode of the week: KILL la KILL

Anime trending up this week: Noragami

Anime trending down this week: Hamatora

Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta (Episode 9)

What makes Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta one of my favorite anime of the season was aptly demonstrated in the ninth episode regarding the romance.  Not only did we witness substantial and meaningful progress in terms of the relationship between Kal and Claire (first kiss is always an important milestone), but we witnessed the schism between the two when they realized the identity of each other.  Furthermore, this radical event was saved for the middle of the episode, not the end, meaning we were able to see the immediate aftermath and how it impacted the characters around them.  The flow here was not interrupted by an inconvenient one-week break, which means we could live in the moment of the break-up, utilizing that event to strengthen the aftermath that followed.  Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta exhibits some superior storytelling methods to complement its beautiful story and this episode is a perfect example.

Space Dandy (Episode 9)

Obviously what stood out with this episode were the brilliant use of vivid colors and extreme use of vibrant and conspicuous animation.  You could tell the animators had a fun time with this episode.  But what stands out to me with episode 9 of Space Dandy was the cinematography, a detail that played a vital role in the visual presentation of this episode that may have gone unnoticed to many fans of the franchise.  The episode utilized a number of wide shots to help establish the fantasy environment on the planet of plants, helping us see all the colors and weirdness of this world.  It helped paint a scenery that appeared both psychedelic and peaceful.  Besides the wide shots were many tight shots of Dandy, showing his facial expressions through that wonderful animation.  These close-ups were what demonstrated the illustrious animation of this episode, putting more life into Dandy than what we usually see.  Furthermore, there were plenty of interesting uses of light and angles, though nothing out of the ordinary for Space Dandy.  Still, it was a phenomenal episode to watch, thanks primarily to the use of color and animation.  However, it’s worth noting the importance that cinematography played in helping aid these two aesthetic aspects.

Silver Spoon S2 (Episode 8)

Since Moyashimon and Silver Spoon are both educational and intelligent agricultural anime, I feel the two will always be compared to each other.  The purpose of bringing up Moyashimon now is that I want to compare and contrast the informative sections where science lessons would dominate the scene.  In this episode of Silver Spoon, we witnessed a lesson in cheesemaking.  And while the scene accomplished its goal of educating us about the process of manufacturing cheese, the scene felt very out-of-place and felt substandard for Silver Spoon.  The scene did provide frequent breaks where the students would demonstrate their learning (a positive since it provides a different perspective on the lesson) but most of the time it was unfunny comedy that did not add to the scene besides its runtime.  It felt very educational but it also felt very school-like in how it was presented with the teacher dominating the scene.  Whereas in Moyashimon, many of the educational or enlightening tidbits were presented rather straightforward without interrupting gags.  The educational sessions also felt flowed better in the series, linking together projects or concepts for the characters rather than just being “hey, let’s make cheese now!” like in Silver Spoon.  Or more bluntly, what I enjoyed about the educational aspects in Moyashimon were that they felt more integral to the series and the education was utilized by the characters better.  Here, it felt random and arbitrary to include the cheesemaking now, especially since the character haven’t used that knowledge since.  Then again, I wrote about my positive impressions with the use of education in Moyashimon, so I might be a little bias on the subject matter here.  Nevertheless, I enjoyed the educational sections in Moyashimon much more than I do with Silver Spoon.

Samurai Flamenco (Episode 19)

Although I was expecting something grander and more spectacular with the whole girlfriend scenario, I must say I’m happy with the current developments in terms of Gotou’s character.  While I was expecting Gotou’s girlfriend to be some extreme super-boss or a character we already knew (say that Jouji was crossdressing the whole time), I am happy with seeing the delusions of his character knowing already how delusional Hazama is.  It’s a conclusion that I was not anticipating or even aware might happen, but it fits tremendously well with the themes and events of the series.

Noragami (Episode 9)

We already know what Yato and Yukine think of Hiyori, but what about all the other gods and shinki we’ve met?  What do they think about a human whose soul disconnects from her body periodically?  Furthermore, Hiyori seems pretty unique since we have yet to see or hear of any other human who does this.  And on top of that, I wonder what they think about a human wondering around with Yato, a god who seems to be considered a loser by most everyone.  I could keep going on these questions, especially in regards to her personality, interest in Yato and Yukine and what she plans on doing when she’s back to normal… but it’s best to stop here.  I’m rather surprised that someone else hasn’t decided to take it upon themselves to query Hiyori about her situation and taken it upon themselves to help her with this situation.  Then again, maybe they know something I don’t and are choosing to stay away from our cute, cat-tailed protagonist.  Still, I wonder what everyone thinks of this rather exceptional character.

Nagi no Asukara (Episode 22)

I’m not quite sure what to think about the ability ‘to fall in love’ and how that explains everything we’ve seen with Manaka since she has awaken from her deep slumber.  Does the fact that these memories that are now forgotten were signs that she was falling in love with Hikari (example of falling in love)?  Does her lack of fascination with Tsumugu now mean she was in love with him (example of continuing her crush)?  And if Uroko’s definition of ‘falling in love’ means her crush with Tsumugu is broken, what about her relationship with Chisaki (Manaka loves her friends)?  I’m really struggling with the idea that Manaka can no longer fall in love or, as it seems now ‘to never love again’, and what we’ve seen of her character.  Additionally, I’m not sure what taking away this ability does for the sea god.  It seems very arbitrary as of right now… but as long as it proves useful or fruitful to the story, I suppose I can’t complain.  It’ll be interesting to see how this mechanic is used in the final episodes of Nagi no Asukara and what this means for the intertwined web of romance for the main cast of characters.

Magi: The Kingdom of Magic (S2) (Episode 21)

Given the complete dependence on elemental magic, Djinn Equips and Metal Vessels lately, Magi feels like two completely different series with the recent reappearance of djinn.  Really, from the time before Ugo left to now feels like two completely different series with one focusing on the djinn and this latter one on magic.  Seeing this blue-skinned, pointy-earred and colossal magical-beings certainly reminds me of the beginning of Magi when Aladdin relied solely on Ugo instead of his own inherent magic abilities.  Only now that we see Leraje, Kouha Ren’s djinn, do I even remember the first half of Magi, something I have forgotten given how different the series has become.  And now that I’m thinking back to the first season and everything that’s occurred since then, I have to admit that Magi has changed radically since its start in Qishan.  I’m not sure which half of the series I prefer since both have their strengths and weaknesses… but if I have to choose, it’d be the first half since that’s when Morgiana was a character and not a missing person.  Seriously, why did they have to make her disappear like that?

KILL la KILL (Episode 21)

Although great animation is usually demonstrated by fluid motion, abundant details or zooming, panning, spinning cinematography, I find Nui’s animation in KILL la KILL to be some of the best based on its simplicity and on her character.  What makes Nui’s animation outstanding is that it’s so wildly different than anyone else, employing individual pieces rotating, shifting, transforming and moving on their own.  She never moves like a normal character, fitting considering who she really is.  And when she’s in battle and moving like this, it makes her dodging seem effortless and that she’s much stronger than everyone else she fights.  The fact that she moves like this, continues to move like this and is the only character to move like this makes her animation surprisingly distinctive and charming.  It also adds an element of humor and intimidation to this psychotic villain, making her character cuter and more annoying than she would be otherwise.  Nui’s animation is surprisingly simple and innovative, but it is something that would only work in an anime that’s in the style and presentation for something like KILL la KILL.

Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha (Episode 8)

The gods in Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha are a bit too silly.  In most anime, gods are given humanistic qualities and personalities and often like human things like anime, video games and foods like apples or sweets.  But the gods in Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha are much more than that.  Unlike shows like Noragami, Nekogami Yaoyorozu, Kamisama Kiss, Sasami-san@Ganbaranai, Gingitsune or even Spice and Wolf, none of the gods do anything important in Inari.  They all seem to be aimless and unemployed, choosing to relax, have fun and do whatever they want.  They don’t seem to be listening to prayers or fighting evil or making the world a better place.  Instead, all they do is play around and have fun.  On top of that, they often have somewhat-crazy to crazy personalities, making them prime targets for comedy.  In fact, they go as far to make it seem like these characters aren’t actually gods since there’s nothing dignified or refined or revered about these characters.  Perhaps it’s best to surmise that it’s a really interesting and strange dynamic, the deities in Inari.  While they don’t seem to act or behave like gods at all, they are all fairly interesting characters that fit well with the comedy and story of Inari.  Still, I’d like to see the gods actually demonstrate their powers for god and the prosperity of their followers rather than playing video games, chasing after girls or generally being lazy.

Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai! Ren (Episode 9)

It shouldn’t be surprising that the two most mature characters are the two most distant to Rikka and her cohort of delusional friends.  Touka and Kuzuha are two of the most interesting characters to watch since neither of them buy into the whole ‘chuunibyou’ world that everyone else does and they continue to reinforce a serious tone whenever confronted with these crazy antics.  Furthermore, the two are not only anchors in realism but work to make the other characters around them better people.  What makes Touka and Kuzuha two of my favorite characters is that they don’t assimilate with Rikka and her chuunibyou but still want to help her and her friends with their real-world issues.  The two are remarkable characters in this regard and makes me wish we had more time with them in this second season.  Nevertheless, it was nice to see both of them in this episode.

This week: questioning the purpose of Yukine’s self-study in Noragami, rationalizing the roles of the anime-original characters and the stagnated romance in Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai! Ren, why I wish Silver Spoon had virtually no comedy, and the unnoticed, ‘other’ languages in Space Dandy.

Best episode of the week: Space Dandy

Anime trending up this week: Silver Spoon S2

Anime trending down this week: Wizard Barristers – Benmashi Cecil

Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta (Episode 10)

The scene where the students were weighing their options and deciding between fleeing to the shelter or flying in the skies is a wonderful demonstration of how to utilize secondary or background characters.  Although I had expected the character to play some limited capacity in Pilot’s Love Song, I never imagined the amount of emotion and passion that would be invested in these characters or displayed in such a heavy moment.  Typically, an anime will employ these characters in the same capacity but without the level of emotion or detail, especially considering how underdeveloped the cast of Pilot’s Love Song is.  Really, what significance has Benji or Sharon had in the series before this scene?  What about Nanako and Noriaki?  The fact that we received this level of emotion from such simple characters is both validation of magnificent writing and an exhibition of how to properly utilize characters in this caliber of a story.

Space Dandy (Episode 10)

The futuristic space alphabet in Space Dandy has been omnipresent in this anime.  It’s the universal language of the universe, appearing in every episode and being the most prominent and discernible writing seen.  So that means no other language exists right, like English or Japanese?  I mean, everything’s been converted to this new system, so why would there be anything different?  And even though the series wants you to believe that this space alphabet is universal, Japanese and English still exist in the universe.  Take a look at the picture above, of the calendar and see what you notice.  What’s the first thing you notice?  Was it an 8?  That giant 8.  Yup, Arabic numerals still exist in the future.  What else?  The kanji for fire is in the upper left corner, denoting Tuesday, as well as a “しちがつ” meaning July.  But it’s not just there.  Japanese, English and Arabic numerals are all over Space Dandy with this episode being the most obvious.  The clock in Meow’s home; the signs outside the bar; the bottle of vodka on the table.  Just rewatch the episode again (it’s good enough to watch again) but keep an eye out for every other language and written system that isn’t the space alphabet.  There’s no real significance to there being multiple languages in the series, but for one that developed its own writing system and employed it prominently throughout… it’s just strange to see other forms in such frequency go virtually unnoticed as in this episode.  Then again, we see Japanese and English and Arabic numerals everywhere, so it might not be surprising that these everyday symbols go unnoticed when there’s something new on the screen like with the space alphabet.

Silver Spoon S2 (Episode 9)

I wish Silver Spoon did not have comedy scenes.  Or rather, I wish Silver Spoon had some lesser amount of humor and focused more of its attention on its fantastic drama.  I know it sounds strange considering how much I adore comedy in anime, but I want more of Silver Spoon’s strengths, which is found in its drama, not its comedy.  The ninth episode is a perfect example, with some of the most emotional and devastating scenes in the series.  This episode was truly one of the best for Silver Spoon, primarily due to the drama that occurred.  And to address the other side, the episode featured a handful of comedy scenes, too.  And while these few scenes do not represent the comedy as a whole in Silver Spoon, I did not find any of the jokes amusing.  In fact, they almost detracted from the emotion that was building throughout the episode.  And while I do feel that breaks are necessary, even when building tension or emotion, that the comedy did not add to the series.  In fact, besides a few comedy-centric episodes, I don’t feel as though the comedy has added much to the series overall.  I do wonder how I’d appreciate the series if it were all straightfaced and serious.  I know I wouldn’t enjoy that with other shows but other shows don’t have the sophistication and determination that Silver Spoon does when it comes to its characters.  Thankfully, with the series nearing its finale, the anime will likely lean toward the drama over the comedy, granting me my wish to the best of its ability.

Noragami (Episode 10)

What does Yukine hope to accomplish by educating himself through self-study?  Wouldn’t most teenagers rejoice at the thought of being liberated from the bondage of school and books and worksheets?  It appears as though Yukine is using this opportunity to study from Hiyori’s hand-me-downs  as a means to mimic school-life, but his schooling is derivative of his affinity or borderline jealousy to the lives of his former peers.  What he wishes he could accomplish from school life (a social network of friends and fun) is likely unobtainable through self-study like he is undertaking.  Then again, it’s not like he is dealing with the pressures of a typical study, such as worrying about projects and exams and social ills between classmates.  So maybe with those stresses removed, education might be fun.  But then the question should really revolve around what Yukine hopes to accomplish with an education.  His life is pretty much reduced to being a sword for a lesser god.  It’s not like his education will impact his employment or social standing.  It’s not like these things are set in stone since he would always work for another god but I doubt his education would be the first thing they look for on a resume.  Or, again, there might be some nostalgia for Yukine, to remember his life the way he lived it, and that there’s some comfort there with it that cannot be reciprocated by Yato or Hiyori.  Whatever the reason, I just know I wouldn’t be studying if I were some semi-invisible ghost-sword who could wander around freely between working odd-jobs.

Nagi no Asukara (Episode 23)

So… has everyone forgotten about the slumbering residents of Shioshishio?  With the advent of Manaka’s latest problem, it’s safe to assume that the cast of Nagi no Asukara is preoccupied with her, but there has been little to no progress in saving the city that sleeps under the ice.  It’s been a while since the cast even visited the hamlet in search of clues or useful information.  Hell, it’s almost like they’ve forgotten about it given all the difficulties they’ve had with Manaka.  Then again, their most immediate concerns are with Manaka… or were with Manaka when she was in her slumber.  Now that she’s moving and laughing again, why not turn their attention to their families and other friends below the sea surface instead of focusing on this silly little issue of love?

KILL la KILL (Episode 22)

So when Ryuuko and Satsuki finally defeat Ragyou in the final, most-glorious battle in the finale KILL la KILL, where does humanity go in the aftermath?  After sustaining and surviving such a malicious onslaught from an alien enterprise, how do Satsuki and Ryuuko plan to rebuild humanity?  Will she continue as she did as the student president with similar philosophies and personality or have the events of the series changed her in a way that she will respond more kindly to her fellow peers?  What about Ryuuko who’s been a loner or outcast for most of her life?  Will the events of the series have changed her in a way to where she’s now an agent of society and acts with the best interests of humanity in her mind?  How will the world recover and who will become the next leader of the world?  I figure as much that Satsuki will resume her leadership role and supervise the reconstruction of humanity, given her role and personality since the start of the series, but I’m more interested to learn the fate of Ryuuko.  Will she continue to grow and mature as a character and play an active role with Satsuki or does her dominate personality of a wanderer cause her to leave the stage after accomplishing all her immediate goals.  Although I’m not expecting much of an epilogue for this series, I am curious to see the fates of all the major players in this anime.  However, the one I’m most uncertain about, and therefore most interested in, is Ryuuko.

Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha (Episode 9)

Do the gods have a history of bestowing their powers on the lesser humans in the setting of Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha?  Is there a history where the powers are abused or misused as much as we see with Inari?  Have there been incidents in the past where the power has severely affected a deity?  If not, then why is everyone so anxious about Uka donating her power to Inari?  So what if a god is friendly to a human?  It doesn’t need to be anything malicious or destructive.  And in the event where Inari is draining too much of Uka’s power, why not have the two discuss the issue and find a solution where both can be happy?  But where’s the fun in that story?  As always, the characters outside the situation and in positions of power overreact to every little thing that happens and probably with no history to support their actions.  It’s a shame they didn’t find a better way to deal with Inari’s reckless and wild use of Uka’s powers, but every character could’ve handled the situation better than locking up Uka and making everyone else worry.

Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai! Ren (Episode 10)

None of the anime-original characters help with the romance in Chuunibyou.  The characters were created for this anime to augment the series and allow for more comedy and interactions.  With those elements in the minds of the creators, it quickly becomes clear that the new characters are not in roles essential or even meaningful to the romance.  Then again, the only anime-original characters that are intelligent enough to recognize the issues at hand and to do something about it are Touka and Nibutani (so you can ignore the rest).  But even with these two identifying the problem and taking some degree of action, the two have no significantly impacted the romance in any noticeable way.  Although the two are trying their best to make the situation better for Yutta, Rikka and Satone, they have not accomplished anything remarkable yet.  Then again, one could argue that with the limited romantic progress this season that this limitation isn’t consequential of them being anime-original characters and developed outside the romance but that this anime is focused more intensely on the comedy and is setting specific milestones in the romance to end the seasons of anime with.  Considering the lack of progress in regards to the romance and the success of the series, I cannot blame KyoAni for barely making any progress this season, especially if they want to make a third season in the near future.  So with that in mind, maybe there isn’t an issue with all the anime-original characters being comedy first and romance never since it’s easy to lengthen a series with comedy.  And I think they’re doing exactly that with this second season of Chuunibyou.

With Winter 2014 zigzagging along and reaching the finales in the next couple of weeks, now is an ideal time to look ahead to and prepare for the Spring 2014 anime season.  Once April arrives, dozens of new anime will begin and several franchises will return to TVs in the forms of sequels, alternative stories or simple rebroadcasts.  Based on numbers alone, Spring 2014 appears to be one of the largest anime seasons in terms of total volume.  In addition to the abundance of this season, there is quite a diversity of anime, too, making this season more of an unknown or a mystery than others.  So what exactly does this new anime season have to offer?  Below is an extensive list of the anime for Spring 2014 along with my thoughts and opinions for each one.

Many familiar names and franchise will return in Spring 2014, including a handful I plan on watching (or in the case of one, rewatching).  Returning this season are: Break Blade (Broken Blade), Cardfight!! Vanguard: Legion Mate-Hen, Date A Live II, Fairy Tail New Series, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders, Keroro, Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo R, Love Live! S2, Mushishi: Zoku-Shou, Puchimas!! and Soul Eater Not!.  The best piece of advice for returning shows like these is to probably watch the original works or first seasons first to gain an idea whether the shows are worth watching or not.  Having only watched a few of these shows myself, I believe it is best to let these franchises speak for themselves with their own material.  That being said, since I haven’t watched most of these shows, I feel it’s probably best to leave them alone and lets fans of the franchises promote or hype these works.  However, there are two new franchises that I am planning on watching this season, as well as a few others that I will continue.

Break Blade (Broken Blade)

Opinion: I watched the movies as they were released between 2010 and 2011, though I forgot about the last two until recently (that’s what happens when you release anime months apart!).  Since I never did finish the original series, I plan on rewatching this TV adaptation.  I don’t expect much in the way of new material or additional story elements, but the movies were beautiful, and I enjoyed the series deeply.  I hope there is more to the TV series than what was shown in the movies but I’m expecting only a minimal amount at most.  That being said, I don’t expect too many people who watched the original series to pick this up, but I do hope this is one of the better and more popular anime of the season.

Plans for this show: Will watch

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders

Opinion: Being my second favorite anime of 2013 and one of the top of 2012, there is no question on whether I’d watch the sequel to the original JoJo’s TV anime.  Covering the third and most popular arc in the franchise, this season seems to be generating a lot of excitement and hype, especially based off the success of the TV anime last year.  Although I expect there to be some elements changed in the art/animation (hopefully improvements) and a completely different storyline and characters, I expect this to be one of my favorite anime of the entire year.  And even if there were people who missed the anime last year, I think anyone could pick up this season without too much of a problem, though I strongly recommend watching the 2012/2013 anime first.

Plans for this show: Will watch

Mushishi: Zoku-Shou

Opinion: At the time of this article, I have not watched the original Mushishi… yet.  However, since this is one of the most celebrated and admired anime of all-time, I plan on watching and completing the original anime before the time this sequel airs in April.  The original anime aired about a decade ago and has been on my backlog for quite some time.  I’ve always meant to watch the original anime, but haven’t had the time to tackle my backlog due to a number of other reasons and circumstances.  However, with the sequel airing next month, I have moved it to the front of my list and have set aside some time to complete the first season.  With that said, you can say I’m excited for Mushishi: Zoku Shou.

Plans for this show: Will watch

Puchimas!!

Opinion: Returning this season is the adorable comedy of chibi Idolm@sters, Puchimas!!.  The anime is somewhat diminutive when it comes to material, seeing as the episodes are 2 minutes long (the PV above is about the length of one episode) and the comedy is hit-or-miss.  However, the series is cute and enjoyable, even if the jokes aren’t amusing or the episodes long enough to finish a scene.  It’s one of those fun, mindless anime that are always worthwhile, even if they aren’t at their best.

Plans for this show: Will watch

Soul Eater Not!

Opinion: Although I have yet to watch the original Soul Eater anime, I’m planning on giving Soul Eater Not! a chance.  The reason for this decision despite the two anime sharing the same universe is largely based on the fact that they aren’t necessarily linear in terms of storyline or characters.  Soul Eater Not! takes place before the Soul Eater story meaning we may not need to know the events of Soul Eater to understand Soul Eater Not!.  Although there will be some references, cameos and parodies of the original series in this that I will miss, I feel comfortable with watching Soul Eater Not! if it’s a decent or respectable anime.  And considering that I enjoy comedies, I figure that this anime will be worth it.

Plans for this show: Maybe watch

And with that, the section on continuing anime is complete.  What remains now are all the new anime of Spring 2014, easily the bulk of the new season.  Based on my initial assessment, I can’t say I’m too thrilled with the new anime of this season, but that’s bound to change once the episodes come out and we all get a better idea of what’s good, what’s bad and what’s absolutely terrible.  Sometimes, the previews and PVs can be a bit misleading or over-inflating, so take this preview with a grain of salt or use it as a collection of anime PVs like I do before I start each new anime series.

The order of anime listed below is neither chronological nor alphabetic but ranked in order of my personal anticipation and how likely I believe I will watch that anime this season.  Every anime is evaluated and placed into one of five tiers ordered: Will watch, Likely watch, Maybe watch, Doubtful but it gets a shot, and No dice.  Within each tier, the anime are listed alphabetically.  Dates are not included because who knows when and where these shows will be subbed and available to watch (which really is the most important!).  So, yeah… here is my preview for the new anime for Spring 2014:

Captain Earth

Opinion: Easily the most electrifying and enthralling new anime of the spring, Captain Earth comes from the same team that produced another favorite of mine, Star Driver.  Captain Earth shares a number of parallels and similarities as the previously mentioned anime, especially in terms of style, presentation and energy, but Captain Earth seems to be grounded a bit more in reality albeit robots fighting in cislunar space.  The artwork is elegant and colorful, the cast looks charming and fun, the story sounds intriguing with potential to be outstanding, and the action looks superb as an added entertainment value.  I am seriously excited and amped up for this way more than any other new anime this season and it isn’t even close.  This is still the only PV I’ll watch for a new anime this season and find myself smiling at the end.  I can’t wait for this anime to start.

Plans for this show: Will watch

Akuma no Riddle

Opinion: Perhaps the most remarkable takeaway from this PV is the music which is one of the most unique I’ve heard.  And anime PVs with music that catches my attention typically bode well.  The scenario for Akuma no Riddle is a bit underwhelming but it has potential to deliver in terms of action and excitement.  It’s the same for the characters too, who seem a bit plain right now, but should grow as the story does.  The art style has a generous presentation and the character design is attractive.  Overall, nothing to get too excited about, but considering how uncharacteristically weak this season is, it looks to be one of the better anime this spring.

Plans for this show: Maybe watch

Black Bullet

Opinion: Black Bullet looks generic as an anime… but that doesn’t mean it also looks good.  From the PV alone, I can already tell that the animation style, the character designs, the setting and the action sequences are all positives.  All that really remains are the characters, the story and all the fluff that goes on between fights and other exciting things.  This has potential to be one of the better anime this season if those latter criteria are adequate or even somewhat substandard.  If not, I probably won’t regret my decision with this anime, but it’ll likely fall to the middle of the pack and be forgotten.  You’re only goal now is to make a lasting impression on me which is something I hope this anime can accomplish.

Plans for this show: Maybe watch

Escha & Logy no Atelier: Tasogare no Sora no Renkinjutsushi

Opinion: I’m not expecting anything big from Atelier, but it looks to be an endearing, tranquil and amusing anime.  Based on the PS3 video game, I’ll be thrilled if the anime isn’t too story heavy and is more a slice-of-life of these characters set in this vivid fantasy world.  That being said, the anime might do well if it follows the game’s story heavily if it is adapted well.  What I’m hoping to get from this anime is some simple fun with some delightful characters in a gorgeous fantasy world, and it looks like the anime will deliver exactly that.  Hopefully the anime doesn’t go overboard with its story… but even if it does, I think the anime will be worth watching this season.

Plans for this show: Maybe watch

Isshukan Friends.

Opinion: Isshukan Friends appears to be a serene and charming anime, thanks to upbeat and vibrant aesthetics, a simple yet mature character design and the PV’s soft piano track.  It doesn’t appear to be anything groundbreaking, but it’s the kind of anime that’s a solid choice for something calm, relaxing, and funny.  I’m sure the anime will want to incorporate drama and romance too, alternating between heartwarming and bittersweet, but I hardly ever find myself emotionally invested in these types of shows, so it’ll need to thrive on its charismatic, soothing mood and lighthearted comedy in order to be a success for me.  At this point, I think this show will do just fine.

Plans for this show: Maybe watch

Mangakan-san to Assistant-san to

Opinion: Mangkan-san is an anime that doesn’t possess too many positives, but it hardly has any negatives, either.  Whether I watch this anime will depend heavily on how the anime views itself, likely to be a comedy and slice-of-life, but it depends on how educational it wants to be or if it wants to dabble in other genre, especially since it sounds ecchi or fanservicey.  Everything about the anime seems okay thus far, so it’s really hard to judge how it’ll do until it airs in April.  Also, I hope it’s one of those short anime since then I know I won’t be bored if it’s only a few minutes long every week.

Plans for this show: Maybe watch

No Game, No Life

Opinion: What stands out about No Game, No Life is the fantasy setting that the anime seems to predominately take place in (save for the beginning in boring, old Japan).  The setting is both dazzling and colorful, pleasing to the eyes, and features a number of intricate details to show the thought and effort put into this anime.  There are also fantasy characters (catgirls and elves and probably some others that weren’t cute enough to be put in the PV) and fighting abilities to give the anime some flavor beyond a tasty setting.  I doubt the characters or story will ever really amount to anything since they do seem to be from the same cookie-cutter as many other brother-sister combinations, so I want this anime to prove me wrong and prove to me they have value.  If No Game, No Life can accomplish that feat, then it’ll probably be one of the better anime this season.  If not, I don’t mind dropping it early on.

Plans for this show: Maybe watch

Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii

Opinion: Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii is very well designed for an anime.  The visuals in the PV are aesthetically gorgeous with a mature character design and remarkable use of colors and lighting.  The setting appears to be magnificent too, taking place in a fantasy world with medieval architecture and a touch of magic.  The story revolves around a royal marriage between two strangers, which certainly has potential, and the characters seem to be decent, especially if they antagonize each other to start.  I tend to favor shoujo romances more than any other type of romance, so I might enjoy this anime as it continues.  Still, I’ll need to watch a couple of episodes before I know this will be right for me or not.  Based on what I’ve read and what I’ve seen, Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii looks to be one of the better anime this season.

Plans for this show: Maybe watch

Bokura wa Minna Kawaisou

Opinion: Based on the synopsis alone, I was prepared to hate myself for watching an anime about various wacky and zany perverts living together in a dormitory, but the PV paints the anime with a completely different brush than I was anticipating.  I still don’t think I’ll like any of the characters, the story or the setting, but… I am really curious to see what the material is like now and how the anime presents itself.  It doesn’t seem to be the type of anime that I enjoy since it is one lead guy, a perverted male “friend” and lots of silly girls, but if the series can make me laugh or smile, it might be worth keeping.

Plans for this show: Doubtful but it gets a shot

Fuun Ishin Dai Shogun

Opinion: I like robots and I like feudal Japan… but after hyping up Nobunaga the Fool and being severely disappointed, I find myself wanting to like Fuun Ishin Dai Shogun but, in reality, I’m cautious instead.  The anime appears to pass the eye-test in terms of characters, art, animation and action, but I have a feeling this anime lacks the substance and importance being awesome robot fights and a semi-unique setting.  It’ll get an episode to prove its worth since it deserves that much for catching my interest.  That being said, I expect this anime to be dropped after one episode.

Plans for this show: Doubtful but it gets a shot

Gochuumon wa Usagi Desu ka?

Opinion: So Gochuumon wa Usagi Desu ka? appears to be the incredibly moe, slice-of-life anime this season with a quintet of cutesy school(?)girls residing at a café in a picturesque town with Bavarian architecture.  Obviously I’m not expecting anything thrilling or intellectual about this anime, but it looks like it has value in being a relaxing and amusing anime that doesn’t require much thought besides laughing or smiling every so often.  I often appreciate anime like these everyone once in a while, with Non Non Biyori and Kiniro Mosaic as examples of a similar style that I watched and enjoyed recently.  If the anime is of this quality and caliber, I can see it being a worthwhile addition to the spring line-up.  However, if it doesn’t have that charm, I’ll quickly find myself bored with the material and it’ll likely be dropped.

Plans for this show: Doubtful but it gets a shot

Gokukoku no Brynhildr

Opinion: Gokukoku no Brynhildr has a number of positives and negatives, but ultimately ends up on my good side to start the season.  While I’m not a fan of disappearing/reappearing childhood friends and generic male leads (the two biggest problems to start) the sci-fi themes do catch my attention and I’m interested to see the mechanics of this show and how they impacts the story.  It might be decent, which is more than I can say for most of the anime this season.  It’s ARMS, so I’m expecting substandard animation and awkward fanservice, but they’ve improved greatly in recent seasons and that hasn’t stopped me from watching an anime before.  The music from the PV catches my attention, too, which is always a plus.  If it has a strong first episode, I’ll probably be adding it to my schedule for this spring.

Plans for this show: Doubtful but it gets a shot

Haikyuu!!

Opinion: I really don’t feel strongly one way or another with this anime.  It looks like this anime could go either way as a good one or a bad one, but the synopsis and the PVs doesn’t really help all that much.  And outside of that, I haven’t found much on this anime that really sways me to the positive or negative.  The best recommendation that I have for this anime is to watch it when it comes out and to decide then whether to keep it or not.  Right now, all it’s getting is one episode.

Plans for this show: Doubtful but it gets a shot

Hitsugi no Chaika

Opinion: The anime looks to be incredibly generic… a boring male lead meets a mysterious and strange new girl, then there’s some random magic powers with even more random laws governing use and strength, and probably some simple fighting to start and comedy to follow while the cast expands exponentially… yeah, at this point, it doesn’t really have anything original or innovative to offer.  Still, the anime looks to offer some value in terms of action and humor, so it’ll get an episode.  Hopefully then it can prove to be valuable elsewhere, too.

Plans for this show: Doubtful but it gets a shot

Inugami-san to Nekoyama-san

Opinion: Inugami-san to Nekoyama-san looks pretty awful from the PV alone and doesn’t really seem all that great with the synopsis, but it does appear have some cute comedy as a supplement the main focus, yuri romance.  So yeah, that hope of genuine comedy is all I’m hoping for with this anime, and yes, that’s enough to give the anime an episode to start.  That being said, I don’t think I’ll be keeping this one since it just doesn’t look very good elsewhere, although I must admit, I find the dog tail/cat tail mechanics to be adorable and quite distinctive.

Plans for this show: Doubtful but it gets a shot

Kamigami no Asobi

Opinion: Although this anime will be a reverse harem, a genre that doesn’t appeal to me, I see enough from the synopsis and PV to warrant an episode or two.  What I find most appealing about this anime is the setting where the lead female is warped to a different world where she goes to school with various gods.  It’s not exactly rousing or excitable, but it has the potential to be something worthwhile depending on the actual story besides the girl choosing between six sexy guys.  The music might be my favorite for the PVs this season, too.  The art and animation are both solid, but I probably won’t be paying too much attention to it if the screen is filled with bishounen the whole time.  Let’s see how the first episode performs and then we’ll see if this anime is worth keeping or dropping.

Plans for this show: Doubtful but it gets a shot

Mahou Shoujo Taisen

Opinion: The basis of this anime is that it derives from a project where various towns in Japan were humanized into magical anime girls.  I… I think watching an episode and see what this anime is about is the first order of business.  There is no PV and no synopsis of an actual story or scenario, so I’m completely in the dark about this one.  So I’m giving it an episode, though I’m not expecting much.

Plans for this show: Doubtful but it gets a shot

Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei

Opinion: Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei is somewhat of a letdown already.  While I do enjoy seeing an extensive and somewhat normal cast, an elaborate setting focused intensely on magic and a powerful, clean art style, I don’t think I’ll get far with a sibling relationship that the synopsis and PV both strongly hint at is borderline incest.  Seriously, why are there so many anime with this as the foundation for a relationship?  I mean, if the anime didn’t have it, this would be ranked much higher and I’d probably consider watching the entire season.  But with a little sister in passionate love with her onii-chan, I don’t think I’ll last through the first episode.

Plans for this show: Doubtful but it gets a shot

Mekaku City Actors

Opinion: I can’t say that the synopsis is too promising, a story about a NEET who locked himself in his room for two years and only adventures out after a cyber girl forces him, but there are enough merits elsewhere to convince me to give this anime a chance.  The character designs are all striking and distinctive, which, along with being a Shaft anime, bodes well for an admirable art style, animation and aesthetics.  The cast looks fun too, though I have no idea what their roles will be in the story.  And although I am disappointed with the scenario of the anime, it does seem opportune for character growth, self-discovery and exploration, so it might turn out to be worthwhile if it goes in that direction.  We’ll see what it’s like after one episode.

Plans for this show: Doubtful but it gets a shot

Ping Pong the Animation

Opinion: Obviously, Ping Pong will be an anime with some remarkable animation and a unique, rebellious art style.  Visually speaking, this will be one of the most interesting anime to watch based on these two factors alone.  However, I do wonder how much animation the anime will offer since PVs are slated to feature some of the better, more exciting work to sell the product.  I’m hoping that the frequency of good animation is on par with this PV but I’m willing to bet that it will be lower.  Still, one can hope.  I’m not really interested in the characters or the story or the setting or anything else besides the art style at this point.  If those turn out to be good, then great, the anime will be fun to watch.  If not, I might still keep this anime if it’s eye-candy like this PV for every episode.  And if that’s not the case, then maybe the characters or the story can carry this anime.  We’ll find out after the first episode.

Plans for this show: Doubtful but it gets a shot

Ryuugajou Nanana no Maizokin

Opinion: It might be decent… but it doesn’t look very good right now.  There are some positives to glean from the synopsis and PV, but it looks very ordinary for an anime which isn’t the greatest of news.  The anime will be successful if its primarily female lead, Ruugajou Nanana, is able to carry the show in terms of its story and comedy… and from the looks of it, she just might be able to.  I’m not sure anyone else is capable of doing that, at least given the starting scenario, but there might be charming or amusing characters elsewhere, like the blonde detective.  All that remains are, the art, the animation and the music are all standard to above-average, so at least the production values are respectable.  Still, the anime will depend heavily on how the story and characters develop, so it’s hard to say at this point whether this will be good or just mediocre.  I just hope the characters and story are as good as the budget behind this anime.

Plans for this show: Doubtful but it gets a shot

Sadou Desu

Opinion: Sadon Desu is a 4-koma comedy manga about a girl joining a club to eat snacks and have fun.  I don’t see much of a story out of an anime like this, but it might prove to have some decent comedy painted over a slice-of-life backdrop.  Still, I can’t help but wonder if this anime will grow boring after an episode or two, so it’s slated for one to start before reevaluating it.  Also, this might be a short anime that’s only 3- to 5-minutes long, which would certainly help this anime since it would benefit from that time structure than 24-minutes of mild humor.

Plans for this show: Doubtful but it gets a shot

With those sections complete, all that remains are the anime that I have already decided against.  The reason why these anime are slotted here is because they either appear to already be flawed, boring, or simply outside my demographic.  While these anime may in fact be watchable to some, they do not appear that way for me.  I doubt I’ll watch any more than the PV linked in their sections, but there’s always a chance for me to pick one or two up every season, so not all hope is lost for these shows.  However, for most of them, there’s already zero chance I’ll even think about them after writing my opinions for each.

Baby Steps

Opinion: I’m going to wait to see what others think of this anime before trying it out.  At this point, it doesn’t interest me in the slightest but it has some potential to be good.

Plans for this show: No dice

Blade and Soul

Opinion: Yeah, no, doesn’t look good.  Don’t know anything about the game it’s based on either, so no real interest either way.

Plans for this show: No dice

Futsuu no Joshikousei ga [Locodol] Yatte Mita.

Opinion: Yeah, another idol show.  Yeah, another show I’m not going to watch.  Also, the manga design for these character is way cuter than the anime design, so another minus for this anime.

Plans for this show: No dice

Kanojo ga Flag o Oraretara

Opinion: It’s gonna be a bad and dumb harem anime.  Pass.

Plans for this show: No dice

Kenzen Robo Daimidaler

Opinion: Did this PV just make a giant robot battle boring?  How to you make a giant robot battle boring?  How??

Plans for this show: No dice

La Corda D’Oro Blue Sky

Opinion: I typically stay away from reverse harems and this looks to be a super reverse harem.  I wonder if that means I’ll super stay away from this anime.

Plans for this show: No dice

Seikoku no Dragonar

Opinion: It might be okay but the characters look boring and the fantasy setting sides on generic rather than unique.  That and the frequent fanservice (including awkward and ecchi tentacle scene) is more than enough to say no.  Dragons are cool, though.

Plans for this show: No dice

Selector infected WIXOSS

Opinion: It’s based on a card game, which is the reason I’m not watching it, but it doesn’t look like it’s based off a card game.  In fact, the PV makes it look pretty interesting with a rather dark and haunting theme overlaying some action.  The PV accomplishes its job in catching my attention but I still don’t think I’ll watch a card game anime.  Still, I’ll keep my eye out for this one in the first couple weeks.

Plans for this show: No dice

Sidonia no Kishi

Opinion: I don’t really care for the full 3D art style, so I’ll pass on this.

Plans for this show: No dice

And that concludes my preview for the Spring 2014 anime season.  Once the season begins and all the anime begin airing, I’ll document my thoughts, opinions and evaluations for each show in my First Impressions posts.  But until these anime are released, everything between now and then is just anticipation, speculation and calculated guesswork when figuring out where all these anime will fit into our viewing schedules.  I hope everyone has as much fun as much as I did when creating their previews and enjoy the Spring 2014 anime season as much as I do!

This week: the contrast between Aki’s family and Hachiken’s family in Silver Spoon, demonstrating Hiyori’s character growth through subtraction in Noragami, the humanistic personalities of djinn in Magi: The Kingdom of Magic, and the good half and bad half of the story in Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha.

Best episode of the week: KILL la KILL

Anime trending up this week: Magi: The Kingdom of Magic (S2)

Anime trending down this week: Hamatora

Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta (Episode 11)

I wish every anime had the equivalent of a movie’s budget for every episode, guaranteeing gorgeous, vibrant and consistent animation throughout. However, bad art and animation do not make-or-break an anime for me, and I watch plenty of anime with substandard visuals. That being said, the aesthetics of a series do play a significant role in how I enjoy and appreciate the show. And though Pilot’s Love Song is one of my favorite anime of the season, the atrocious quality of the art and animation has negatively impacted the show. At times, the visuals are bad and, at others, distressing. I never thought I’d want to rewatch an anime if it were reanimated, but I’d make an exception for this one. For an anime of such superior quality in all the other areas, it’s shocking to see how poorly animated this anime is with this episode being a perfect example. I’m going to keep an eye out for the BD versions of Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta to see if the art and animation are better through the various redraws. I’ve never really done this before, but I am considering rewatching this anime if they improve upon the art for the BD releases.

Space Dandy (Episode 11)

Whenever an anime experiments with an alternative art style, different directing, or use or colors and textures, I find myself excited. Many of my favorite episodes from some of my favorite anime (Needless, Sengoku Collection, Dantalian no Shoka) have utilized different art styles to their advantage and have turned ordinary stories into unforgettable episodes. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about this one with Space Dandy. While I am thrilled with the prospect of using a monochrome, textured art style for this episode, I found it to be difficult to watch the episode. The episode was relatively dark, obscured and frequently perplexing, especially after the psychedelic, colorful plant planet episode where everything was clearly defined. I do like that the anime tried something different, but I wish that the style was only used for a bit rather than throughout the whole episode. I appreciate that the animators tried something different, but I wonder if it was executed properly or if the episode was intended to be muddled like that. Still, Space Dandy has been one of the best anime this season in terms of its aesthetics, so seeing an episode or two turn out like this is well worth the price of some visually brilliant ones like earlier on in the series.

Silver Spoon S2 (Episode 10)

Although Aki and Hachiken both share a number of similarities in identifying and pursuing their dreams after high school, there is a major disparity in how they’ll begin the next step. No, no, this isn’t related to Aki knowing that she wants to work with horses and Hachiken still deliberating between all his options. Rather, the contrast between Aki’s family and Hachiken’s family and how they support their children will play the most significant role in each teenager realizing their dream. With Aki’s family, all the adults are open and receptive of Aki’s idea and are willing to support her on her endeavors. It might not be the most advantageous or idealistic option to them, but they love their daughter and want to make sure she has a happy and healthy life. Hachiken’s family is quite the opposite, being closed, silent and dominated by the father who lacks heart and emotion. Without his presence dominating the dinner table, I figure the family would be much better off, but nowhere to the level of Aki’s family. Part of that is due to Hachiken’s resentment to his mother and his brother, but they probably will never be at the level of Aki and her family. And with the tenth episode featuring Aki’s family discussing her future, the contrast could not be more apparent with Hachiken’s participation. Seeing him open up in front of other open characters really highlights the difference between the two families. Not only would Hachiken never experience discourse to this degree, but he would likely never speak out for his own well-being nor would he ever argue with his father. So witnessing Hachiken in a similar situation to himself but with another family highlights the remarkable contrast between Aki’s family and his own. I wouldn’t be surprised if the tenth episode of Silver Spoon S2 was my favorite in the entire series for how it revealed the two family and how it affects the two characters, especially how we’ve seen them portrayed lately. I almost wish this happened earlier in the series so we could see the long-term effects this conversation had on both Aki and Hachiken.

Samurai Flamenco (Episode 21)

With all the twists and turns of Samurai Flamenco’s story, ranging from supervillains to alien armies to ghosts and talking to the universe itself, I’m surprised that no one important had died yet. Although you can argue that Gotou’s girlfriend is essentially dead and that Hazama’s parents were part of an unsolved murder (say, whatever happened to that unresolved plot thread?), it’s not the same as having a character die during the series. I would have assumed that someone, somewhere would have perished in a way that would’ve changed Hazama, but no… none of his friends or allies have died or left a mark on him in anyway. In fact, no one around Hazama has really changed him besides Gotou steering him on the right course from time to time. Maybe it plays into the theme of the series where justice is true and everyone is saved, but I would have assumed that, for a story like this, that there would’ve been at least one death.

Noragami (Episode 11)

With Hiyori losing her memories of Yato at the end of the last episode, we return to seeing our heroine in her natural and default personality: a respectful, polite and friendly schoolgirl who loves to smile and make others happy. While we are more accustomed to a playful, outgoing and tsukkomi (straight-man) Hiyori, it’s fascinating to see her like this again despite how distressing it must be to Yato and Yukine. What this does for Noragami, beside introduce a story to end the anime with, is show how much of an influence Yato and Yukine have had on her and how her personality evolved throughout the series. Although the standard Hiyori is calm and smiles, we see that she’s actually rather distant and closed. This contrast is a clear display of she opened herself up to Yato and Yukine throughout the series and how she began to do more than speak politely and smile. I do miss the personality that we’ve seen recently in Noragami, but I do enjoy seeing her revert back to normal for a little bit, just as a reminder of all the character growth we’ve seen of her since she was hit by that fateful semi-truck.

Magi: The Kingdom of Magic (S2) (Episode 23)

Although the djinn are revered and respected in the setting of Magi, they do have casual or humanistic personalities that undermine their grandiose or intimidating nature. No, I’m not just talking about the comedy scenes when Kouen was threatening Aladdin, but that they are informal with each other, even in the presence of a magi. Perhaps the best example of this was when Leraje (Kouha’s djinn) was pleading to Aladdin to keep the history of King Solomon a secret and with Astaroth interjecting. It’s not something you’d expect from the djinn who are almighty and always shown in such magnificence and power. However, by showing these humanistic qualities to them does make these characters more likable and relatable, especially since they still are supreme, colossal spiritual beings. It’s too bad we don’t see the djinn more often since they seem to be more interesting than most of the other characters we’ve seen lately.

KILL la KILL (Episode 23)

Are Ragyou’s hair Life Fibers or has she always had naturally luminescent hair? Like, her bright, rainbow-colored hair does emit light and doesn’t seem to be generated by anything external, so everything that produces this light must be within Ragyou. The only things I can think of are that it’s either due to the Life Fibers that she’s fused with or maybe she’s always had bioluminescent hair. All the flashbacks of Ragyou have been muted with a filtered color, so it’s impossible to tell if her hair was shiny back then. Additionally, you can’t tell if or when she became combined with the Life Fibers either, so it might not be an immediate reaction and the results of years living with the Life Fibers. The one thing we can say for sure is that Ryuuko’s hair does change when she combines with Senketsu, going from a single streak of red in her hair to about fifty-fifty red and black. Perhaps something akin to Ryuuko’s red and black hair is going on with Ragyou, but I assume that this is something that will be unanswered by the time the anime concludes.

Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha (Episode 10 [Finale])

The story of Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha could easily be divided between Inari’s story and Uka’s story. The two halves of the series dealt with very different characters and their very, very different problems. Inari’s story is standard for a school-setting with friendships tested, romances never realized and the occasional issues with superpowers. Uka’s was more along the lines of young adults dealing with issues, like relationships, marriage, status, especially considering how Uka is a relatively high god in her society. However, unlike the story of Inari which revolved around somewhat normal humans, Uka’s stories revolved around rather silly characters and a society that is difficult to relate to. The two halves of the series were radically different from each other thanks to these two settings. I must say that the Inari half was more attractive and intriguing, though that isn’t to say I hated Uka’s half. Still, I wish the series spent more time on Inari and her issues and how she solved them with Uka’s power than dealing with Uka’s problems of laziness and not wanting to find a husband. I’m not sure how much better the anime would’ve been, but I know it would’ve been better with more of a focus on Inari than splitting it even between Inari and Uka.

Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai! Ren (Episode 11)

I wish that, when playing around with their coins and rocks and make-believe, that the characters of Chuunibyou actually summoned a real demon that appeared before them and began destroying Japan. I wish the whole series built up to a twist like that where they actually bring a monster to the real world that spreads darkness and evil across the land. Not only would it be hilarious to see something like that completely undermine the entire series, but it’d be fun to see Rikka’s reaction since she’d still be lost in her chuunibyou world and not realize the ramifications for her actions. That and it’d be fun to see Rikka attack some giant demon monster with her umbrella for a few seconds before it gets bored and wanders off to destroy a bridge or knock over some buildings. Man, that would’ve made Chuunibyou awesome. I would love that so much.

Back during the Winter 2014 anime season: what about the setting of Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta makes it one of my favorite anime of the season, thoughts on how people grew to tolerate or accept the excessive fanservice in KILL la KILL, how changing color schemes impacted the atmosphere in Noragami, and the ideal way to end Silver Spoon S2.

Best episode of the week: KILL la KILL

Anime trending up this week: Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta

Anime trending down this week: Sekai Seifuku – Bouryaku no Zvezda

Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta (Episode 12)

Although the overall story was somewhat weak and the artwork somewhere between awful and brutal, Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta ended as my favorite new anime of the season thanks primarily to its imaginative, descriptive and influential setting. As I’ve mentioned many times before on previous anime, the setting of an anime is a big predictor of success, not only on the physical environments, technologies and civilizations but how well the setting impacts the characters, the story and how everything builds up from this very essential foundation. And in regards to Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta, it accomplished both. The setting of this anime was vibrant and detailed, with unique technologies for the planes and an unparalleled world that was finally explored and explained in these final episodes. Furthermore, the setting was very significant on the characters and the story, centered around the history of Carl La Hire, Nina Viento, and the Wind Revolution. These details on their histories painted a fated hatred-turned-romance between the two that provided a backdrop to their adventure to the End of the Sky and war with the Sky Clan. But, again, the setting is just one component of how I evaluate anime and there were deficiencies and negatives in other areas that keep the anime from a perfect score. Nevertheless, it just goes to show how much I enjoy engrossing and original settings, and I can only hope that future anime will put as much effort into their settings as this anime.

Space Dandy (Episode 12)

How many other alien hunters are there in the universe? Throughout the series, we’ve hardly seen anyone else interested in hunting these aliens despite the fact that the Registration Center is always full whenever Dandy shows up. Perhaps that’s because, as Scarlett explained in this episode, that new aliens don’t fetch much cash for the capturer, but there’s still quite a few individuals there and even more space ships in the space port. And it’s not to say that there aren’t so big cash rewards like we saw in the third episode. So why haven’t we seen Dandy and other alien hunters fight over a new creature or something along those lines? I think the only thing that comes close was in the fourth episode with Adelie, but you’d figure there’d be more competition in the series beyond that episode. Then again, maybe everyone else is more intelligent than Dandy and have moved on to other careers that are more dependable. Then again, we haven’t seen much of other jobs than besides those at Boobies and a few other choice locations.

Silver Spoon S2 (Episode 11 [Finale])

With the final episode of the second season of Silver Spoon, we finally, finally had some progress with the Hachiken family coming together. Thanks to a surprise visit from his mother (following a surprise present from Yugo), the silent and distant family started to take steps toward each other in a means of finding a middle ground. To see the mother go out of her way to visit Ooezo is probably the first step in repairing the shattered and fragmented family. It’s a shame that the anime isn’t continuing since now I feel we’ll be making progress toward the central story in the anime, but it’s refreshing to see that progress was made before the end and that we have an idea what to expect should we receive a third season or pick up the manga. Either way, this is probably the best way the anime could have ended in terms of providing an uplifting finale and attracting readers to follow the manga.

Samurai Flamenco (Episode 22 [Finale])

The main reason why I watched Samurai Flamenco from Guillotine Gorilla onward was to see what the whole point of the anime was. I wanted to understand why the anime bounced around so much from style to style and story to story and completely out-perform itself with each passing episode. But in the end, there was no lengthy monologue explaining everything and putting a reason to every episode. Instead, the gaping holes in the series were left untouched, like the unresolved murders of his parents, the whole idea of superheroes existing all over the world, and becoming President of the World. Without any resolution, my idea that these were all caused by psychosis or severe hallucinations is unfounded. Without any resolution, you can’t say that any of this was done with a purpose. Without any resolution, it’s empty. So really, with this ending, what was the point of all this?

Noragami (Episode 12 [Finale])

One of the charming aspects of Noragami were its clean, bright and colorful backgrounds, depicting a modern, urban Japan that blended itself heavily with various gods, spirits and phantoms prone to explode in various kanji after dying. So the choice for this final fight to be in a completely grey and dreary visual style, on that completely contrasts the rest of the series, highlights how desperate and intense the episode was meant to be. The choice to change the art and color schemes for this episode did well in helping it differentiate it from the rest, especially in terms of how serious and severe it was intended to be. It isn’t the most beautiful color scheme and would be second to the colorful one in my opinion, but it did served its purpose in establishing a mood and atmosphere for this episode that showcased a battle to the death and an attempt to retrieve the memories and personalities of the series heroine. I love it when anime do something simple like this to showcase a powerful effect, even if it isn’t immediately obvious.

Magi: The Kingdom of Magic (S2) (Episode 24)

So, wow, there are lots of different people from lots of different countries. I mean, just look at everyone, from their differing appearances to unique fighting powers to their hierarchy between each other. Just how vast and inspirational is the world of Magi? It makes me wish we did not spend so much time in these previous cities, such as Balbadd and Magnostadt, and instead, explored the world to see these diverse cultures, kingdoms and characters. Imagine if, instead of the characters going off to these places immediately during the World Exploration arc (the last time we saw Morgiana before this episode), that the characters would’ve traveled through various kingdoms before arriving at their destinations. It wouldn’t have needed to be too long or too complex, but an episode for each character between their own would have been magnificent for developing the world and laying the foundation for future developments for the anime/manga. It’s a shame that the exploration was limited to a trio of episodes, but I should be thankful we had that much. Still, I can’t help but wonder what the rest of the world is like beyond the handful of areas we’ve seen.

KILL la KILL (Episode 24 [Finale])

One aspect that continues to amaze and delight me about KILL la KILL is that the series had excessive and over-the-top fanservice, yet was received well by many fans who dislike the filth. By incorporating the fanservice into the story and the humor, and by featuring so much of it that we essentially were numbed to the sights of semi-naked Ryuuko and Satsuki, I think many people forgave or discounted the ecchi elements in KILL la KILL. Unlike other anime which feature pantyshots, bouncing boobs and sexual tension for no other reason than to have them, KILL la KILL had an idea for most of the fanservice used throughout the series. It doesn’t mean that it was completely necessary for the characters and stories, but it was used primarily with a purpose or some design and for more than the sake of trying to be sexy by featuring naked girls in every episode.  But as for why Senketsu’s transformation was so skimpy on Ryuuko or why she was in her shimapan for a third of the series… that’s probably just gratuitous fanservice or fun for the sake of fun. Still, it goes to show that anime fans that would almost never enjoy ecchi anime can enjoy it if there’s some intelligence or meaning behind the fanservice. And it goes to show if you can make an anime well enough, people will be willing to try things they normally wouldn’t.

Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai! Ren (Episode 12 [Finale])

Since the anime is quite a bit different than the light novels, why not go for something completely off-the-wall for a finale for this series instead of paralleling the novel and ending with a story of a romance. Imagine instead that all these anime original character were actually apart of Yuuta’s chuunibyou and that it was only him, Rikka and the other characters from the novel the whole time. For example, that scene where Nibutani, Dekomori and Kazari were talking to Yuuta that, in reality, it was just Nibutani and Kazari talking to Yuuta but that Yuuta imagined Dekomori there talking to him. Imagine for a moment that the whole thing is so brilliantly orchestrated or that the series cheats a little at times and Yuuta imagines people talk to the other characters when in reality they’re talking to him and that the final reveal is that Rikka is pretending to have chuunibyou in order to get close to Yuuta to save him. Wouldn’t that be something? I think I’d fall in love with the series if it could pull off a stunt like that. But, of course, for that to work, that would mean Touka doesn’t exist, and that would be the worst thing to ever happen to Chuunibyou. Also, I’m sure there are other holes in this theory, but the Touka one is the most important to me.

This post reviews: Bokura wa Minna Kawaisou, Akuma no Riddle, Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei, Kamigami no Asobi, Captain Earth, and Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii.

In addition to the anime that are covered in this post, I am also watching Mushishi Zoku Shou and JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders. I tend to avoid covering sequels in these First Impressions posts, so I won’t be mentioning anything about them other than they both had phenomenal and magnificent first episodes. But since those developments were expected and rather than gushing on and on about them, I’ve reserved this post for all the new anime that debuted last weekend.

Watching:

Akuma no Riddle

The first episode of Akuma no Riddle is probably not the best indicator for what this battle royale anime will become, but it did enough to spark an interest in the characters and their scenario. The anime doesn’t feature a strong cast of characters with everyone being one-dimensional and lacking diversity (they’re all slightly different crazy assassins) and it’s doubtful we’ll see them with any level of complexity or character development besides Tokaku and Haru. However, it’s the dynamic and relationship between these girls that I find intriguing. Unlike most female-dominated anime where it’s all happy or shiny or whatever (or with artificial drama between mean girls and good girls), this anime has genuine hatred and malice between the characters. I’m not confident that the interactions between the characters and the rationale for fighting will be sound for every instance, but it provides a different flavor than most anime do. The art is charismatic and the constant use of darkness and shadows establishes an uncomfortable atmosphere which bodes well for this scenario. The brief glimpses of action we’ve seen do seem to indicate that the battles will be frightening and well-animated. The scenario is a bit… dumb, but it’s more of a concept or idea to segue into an anime where girls fight each other for the sake of action and entertainment than being anything intelligent or a critic of social norms. What I want from this anime is for there to be action and entertainment with anything extra will be a bonus. That being said, I’m not expecting great things or having high hopes for this anime, and I’d be satisfied if this ends up being a 7 or higher.

Captain Earth

As good of a series as I expect Captain Earth to be, the first episode was honestly underwhelming, and not just because this is essentially Star Driver -1. Without a focus story or an exhilarating battle to culminate the episode, the first 24 minutes felt very lethargic and haphazard. With the excessive number of flashbacks, the pacing jerked back and forth, starting and stopping and interrupting the flow of the story with limited importance for the first episode. The content of the first episode were also very cliché for a mecha anime, which is surprising since the first episode of Star Driver was tantalizing and marvelous (and fabulous). I can’t say I’m terribly surprised that we saw our shounen male lead go from normal highschool boy to giant robot pilot in space in the span of 20 minutes, but I will say it’s lackluster after seeing this pattern for the nth time in anime. It could’ve been better and should have been better. Still, the positives outweigh the negatives with Captain Earth and that’s about all the negatives I have with this anime. The first episode did more than enough to capture my attention and my interest and I’m fascinated in where this anime will go. I’m looking forward to exploring the characters of this anime, the technologies of this setting and see what the conflict is between the villains and GLOBE. The art and animation are gorgeous and there’s personality to the style that heartens and brightens up the characters. I’m positive the anime will improve once these introductions are over and that this first episode is more an idiosyncrasy than any sign of concern. I’m not lying when I say that this first episode was a bit disappointing, but I expect that this will be the last time I use that word to describe this anime.

Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii

If I had only one word to describe Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii, it would be “charming”. Just about every aspect of this anime can be accurately described by this word, from its charismatic and delightful main character, Nike, to its enchanting, intricate fantasy setting, to its amusing comedy and even at times to its art style, which featured many cute chibi or simplistic scenes. The dynamic and focus of Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii might change significantly now that Nike has met her future husband, Livius, but the atmosphere and the ambiance of the anime shouldn’t change all that much. I can imagine as the story progresses, the relationship will start off rocky but then slowly repair and that Nike and Livius combine to save the Principality of Rain from whoever the shadowy, evil military people were. The story for Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii has the potential to be quite good depending on how the romance develops and how they use it in this setting to save Nike’s homeland or expand upon Livius’ empire. We really haven’t seen much of anyone besides Nike, but her personality and attitude to her setting and surrounds bodes well for this anime, especially if some of the other characters are weak or uninteresting. The fantasy setting is elegant and depicted well, with a significant amount of effort used to design a world that will impact the characters and their story. I’m not exactly quite sure of how the setting will do this, but the idea of the Sun Kingdom being a rainless capital and a princess who can summon the rain is already promising. If I had any negatives with this first episode, it would be that the latter half was not as interesting or amusing as the beginning, but isn’t any cause for concern since the series will be different now that Livius is in the picture. Otherwise, this seems to be the most impressive new anime of the season for me, so I’m pleased to be picking up and keeping Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii for this season.

Undecided:

None in this set, which means…

Dropped:

Bokura wa Minna Kawaisou

Perhaps the most damning aspect of Bokura wa Minna Kawaisou is that I did not find any of the characters interesting. And the most damning aspect of that is that the only other male presence than the tsukkomi main character is the roommate who’s character bio could be summarized as “hilariously un-hilarious pervert”. His comedy is so tired and old in these types of shows that it’s painful to watch. Yes, we’ve seen perverts before in anime. Yes, they all tell the same, exact jokes. No, they were never funny to begin with and will never be funny. Please stop making these characters. As for the remainder of the cast, they weren’t nearly as bad but none were impressive. The male leads is plain and uninspiring, and it’s sad that this “Insert Yourself Here”-kun is the norm for anime in a school setting. The drunken adult will be a free-spirit who flips between manic and depressant depending on her dating scene. Yawn. The only character that had any potential was the heroine of the series, Ritsu, but I won’t stay around to see if that’s true or not. The scenario is pretty much like any of the other co-ed dorm anime out there, and nothing about the writing or storytelling seemed innovative or original. The comedy was banal, predictable and tediously boring. The only positives are that Bokura wa Minna Kawaisou has striking visuals thanks to its outstanding use of lighting and liberal use of colors. The anime is certainly nice to look at, but there needs to be more in order to keep me watching. The directing did elevate the product with its pleasant illustrations and choice cinematography, but everything else about the first episode was a quick turn-off for me. One episode is all I need to know that Bokura wa Minna Kawaisou is not an anime for me.

Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei

So, I originally thought the whole siscon/onii-chan/incest relationship between the male and female leads would be the downfall of this anime for me. Turns out it wasn’t, mainly because there were plenty of other elements to criticize, in conjunction with that, for this unsatisfying light novel adaptation. I’m not exactly thrilled at the dynamic of the relationship between Tatsuya and Miyuki, but it bothered me fall less than I had anticipated. It was still troublesome, but it’s not as bad as the relationships shown in other franchises. Instead, the worst offender for Mahouka is the whole ‘magical school’ setting, especially with the division in classes as a means to establish an artificial social hierarchy in school. The whole thing is such an unimaginative and routine setting nowadays in anime that I can’t help but feel bored when they’re reviewing their world history and the laws governing magic uses and whatnot. Couple that with the 10,000^th school anime out there and the setting turns into quite a powerful sleep aid. The male lead, Tatsuya, is supposed to have a cold and difficult personality, but it comes across as unwelcoming and uninteresting. With him being one of the stronger (strongest?) characters too, it just makes his character unappealing. Miyuki was markedly better, but still is flawed thanks to her attraction to her older brother while being the most beautiful/athletic/smartest/blah blah blah girl in the school. Seriously, it’s just light novel fanwank at that point, to have the two main characters be perfect like this. And without any real positives to counter these titanic negatives (the best aspects of this series are mediocre at best), I just can’t find a good reason to continue this anime.

Kamigami no Asobi

The best thing going for Kamigami no Asobi is that I absolutely lost myself during Apollon’s ‘way-too-long’ transformation sequence at the beginning. I haven’t laughed that hard at an anime in seasons. The next best thing was riding the giant, neon pink Pegasus through space into battle right after. The last best thing about this anime is that I stopped myself after about 7 minutes with the rationale that nothing would ever beat those two things. That and I was miserably, miserably bored. Kamigami no Asobi was a longshot for me to keep, but I thought it would be worthwhile to watch the first episode since Greek mythology is cool and the main girl was pretty cute. Turns out the anime was much more than I expected in terms of unintentional (or was it intentional?) comedy in the first couple minutes. Then, after that, it was pretty much what I expected with a reverse-harem scenario that registers a zero on my scale of interests. It did more than I anticipated, which is great, but I just can’t see myself watching this for an entire season, especially when I can’t even make it through half an episode.

I have also scanned through the first episodes of a few anime not included in this post, but I did not see anything worthwhile in any of those shows. That shouldn’t be terribly surprising since the anime that aren’t mentioned in this set were shows I was not seriously considering before the season began. That’s not to say some shows turned out to be better than expected, but that there’s nothing worth keeping or even thinking about keeping among those anime.

This post reviews: Haikyuu!!, Gokukoku no Brynhildr, Isshuukan Friends, and Mangaka-san to Assistant-san to.

Based on how the anime are airing this week, it looks like there will be four posts in total for my First Impressions and that I will start my Weekly Anime posts next weekend.

Watching:

Isshukan Friends

Isshukan Friends is a beautiful anime, both in terms of its visual style and how it utilizes perception and emotion. Together, the enchanting art and charismatic writing combine to make one of the better anime of this young Spring season. Perhaps the most distinctive and recognizable attribute of its art are the incredibly simple and somewhat incomplete backgrounds. That ambient light and white nothingness work perfectly to isolate the two main characters, Kaori and Yuuki, and feature the two of them with no outside noise or distractions to interrupt their intimate dialogues. Link that with the simple, pastel colors and attractive character designs and there’s no wonder why Isshuukan Friends is one of the most visually powerful anime of the season, even beyond how it establishes the mood and atmosphere. And having a visual style like this is significant in how it influences the writing. Already, we’re left wondering how the relationship with Kaori and Yuuki will evolve over time based on the zenith of the first episode. The writing was successfully able to toy with Yuuki’s emotions and with our own perception of Kaori from start to finish. Although the episode could be categorized as slow or relaxed, the content was fascinating and captivating. It is the subtleties and developments which turn this episode from potentially boring into something watchable and something worth continuing. It’ll be intriguing to see in which direction this charming anime will go.

Mangaka-san to Assistant-san to

Comedy is my favorite genre of anime, so it shouldn’t be surprising to see someone like me pick up something dumb like Mangaka-san to Assistant-san to. Yes, I know, I realize Mangaka-san to Assistant-san to is nothing more than unimaginative and simple otaku humor revolving around a perverted manga artist and the unfortunate girls who wish they could be anywhere else than working with him. But the whole point of comedy anime is to keep me entertained, to make me laugh and smile, and that’s exactly what happened with the first episode of Mangaka-san to Assistant-san to (I should really shorten this title to just ManAss but that would be a misnomer). Sure, every scene is full of derivative comedy and cheap ecchi fanservice (like the montage of pantyshots during Yuuki’s speech), but some of the jokes were able to make me smile and keep me amused throughout. Furthermore, this is a pure comedy, so there’s no need to worry about a story or something that’ll be boring or shitty. But actually, a story or something might not be bad in this since the writing and delivery were above-average for this level and style of humor. This is a good indicator of success with comedy anime since I don’t imagine the content of the jokes will ever become anything more than anime-related fanservice or anything intelligent or witty (and no, the Panty Wars monologue was nowhere near intelligent or witty). The techniques and styles of delivering comedy are just as important as the content itself, so I do feel strongly that this anime will be able to keep me amused throughout. As for the other aspects of the series, the characters are all likable and the art style is dazzling, especially during the punchlines. ManAss isn’t terribly impressive nor do I expect it to be near the top of the season, but I do expect this to be a serviceable comedy anime and keep me delighted throughout. If it can do exactly that, then this anime will be worth watching this Spring.

Undecided:

Gokukoku no Brynhildr

Gokukoku no Brynhildr is the first anime of the season where I feel largely conflicted. On one hand, the anime did cater to my interests with its pleasant sci-fi setting, the serene yet airheaded magician Neko, and the heavy emphasis on aliens, remorse, and destiny. Furthermore, many of these positives indicate long-term success too, as these are variables that are unlikely to change unless something drastic happens. So in that regard, I want to continue watching Brynhildr to see where this story is going and what will happen to these characters. On the other hand, I found the first episode to be tedious and boring. The writing, especially the lengthy exposition in the latter half of the episode, was a major turn-off, and the pacing slowed to tedium after the midway point. Additionally, there wasn’t really anything exciting in this episode, though I will admit the almost-drowning did catch me off-guard. However, the ending of the episode with the landslide and the boulder came across as ‘meh’, and I don’t have high hopes for future fights between characters with this as a reference to how Brynhildr will handle its action. So in that regard, considering my bored and disinterest with the second half of the episode, I won’t mind dropping it. With the two sides pulling each other, the best course of action is to give it another episode and evaluate which direction it’s heading in or how it addresses its weaknesses. The nice thing about Brynhildr is that there was plenty of material and aspects to evaluate from the first episode alone, which is always preferred over an anime that doesn’t show you enough in its first episode. Hopefully the second episode will show me more of the good than the bad, since that’s what will be needed for me to keep this anime around.

Dropped:

Haikyuu!!

I always figured that if I had enough time, I would watch just about every anime in every season. The reason for these posts are for me to identify which anime are likely to be fit my interests and which ones will be the most worthwhile based on my limited time. With this idea in my head, I always try to think about anime that I would like to watch but aren’t able to based on my circumstances. And that brings me to Haikyuu!! which is an anime that falls into this unfortunate category. The main issue with Haikyuu!! is that I know that I will lose interest in this anime at some point. My draw to Haikyuu!! will be the volleyball matches which, if they’re like the one shown here in the first episode, was brilliantly animated, had exceptional pacing and featured astute writing and directing. But alas, sports anime are more than just competitive games and the anime is sure to devolve into training, practices, conflict, drama and potentially romance or bromance between the players. It’s that where I know I’ll lose my interest in Haikyuu!! and that’s why I still have a positive impression of the anime despite dropping it after one episode. And going back to my original point of willing to watch every anime if I had the time, I’d be willing to suffer through all the training and teenage drama just to watch all the matches in this anime. But no, unfortunately, I’m not that fortunate, and I have to make sacrifices. For the sake of knowing how these sports anime flow and what the content will be, I’m going to drop Haikyuu!! for now. It’ll be best to wait and see how the anime is received by others in order to know whether it’s worth picking up again, but for the time being, I’m done with Haikyuu!!

This post reviews: Black Bullet, Soul Eater NOT!, No Game No Life, and Hitsugi no Chaika.

Since I never really talk about short 2-5 minute anime, I figure here is probably the best area to cover the few new shorts airing this season. Of the new shows, both Mahou Shoujo Taisen and Inugami-san to Nekoyama-san are quick yet enjoyable comedies. Neither are unique or special in any way but are worthwhile if you want a couple minutes of amusement. Puchimas!! makes a return with a sequel that’s more of the same (which are episodes too short for more than one or two jokes). There’s no need to watch the first season of Puchimas! or The Idolmaster in order to appreciate the show, but it doesn’t hurt to know who the girls and their chibi counterparts are. In summary, looks like all the shorts are decent to good but still nothing phenomenal like Teekyuu.

Watching:

No Game No Life

Although the setting and scenario of No Game No Life is not out of this world for anime (typical Japanese teenager [plus little sister] are transported into and stuck in a mysterious fantasy realm) it is the main character, Sora, that makes the difference between this anime being fair and being good. Whereas virtually all other anime where characters are trapped in these imaginary worlds with no chance of returning, we see Sora embrace his new home as it proves to be more interesting and agreeable than the modern Japanese society that he previously resided in. What this means is that the story will take a different direction than what’s expected, with Sora wanting to stay instead of finding a way back home. Additionally, Sora is interesting in that he does not behave like a typical protagonist in that he strives to satisfy the common good or his ideals of justice. Sora is a true competitor, even becoming a cheater, and doing whatever he wants to get what he wants. It’s satisfying to see a character like this in anime and even more rewarding to see him as the main character. Furthermore, the anime does feature a number of other positives, including a gorgeous and vivid fantasy world and a pleasant art style to complement it. I’m curious to see where the story will go as it has captured my attention, but I can see the story going either up or down at this point depending on what happens with Sora and Shiro. Still, there’s plenty to look forward to with No Game No Life and I’m looking forward to watching it this season.

Undecided:

Soul Eater NOT!

Since I am unfamiliar with the Soul Eater franchise (haven’t not watched the anime or read the manga), it’s taking me a bit longer to properly assess and evaluate the spin-off, Soul Eater NOT!. I don’t think I saw enough material and characterization in this introductory episode to give the anime a fair assessment, so I’ll delay my decision until after the second episode. The take-aways from this first episode though do bode well, as I am intrigued by the dynamic with the three main characters and their evolving relationships. Of particular note was the scene at the end of the first episode with Anya clinging onto Tsugumi’s sleeve and appearing conflicted, rejecting her superficial personality and stepping out of her character into stay with Tsugumi. That was the best part of this episode and I want to see where she goes as a character, as well as how Meme and Tsugumi develop as characters, too. I can’t really speak on anything else since I have a limited knowledge of the setting and scenario, but the art and animation are fine and I enjoyed some of the comedy. But really, I don’t think I’ll have anything meaningful to say until after the second episode… so until then, I am undecided on Soul Eater NOT!

Hitsugi no Chaika

Hitsugi no Chaika had an underwhelming first episode, but the anime flashed signs of potential towards the end, that it might be something more than what this introductory episode showed. Whether this anime improves or not remains to be seen, but that uncertainty should be answered before the end of the second episode. The main issue with Hitsugi no Chaika is its lack of anything interesting or remarkable, whether it be the characters, story and setting. Nothing about this anime seems extraordinary or exciting. The whole first episode was dull and predictable, with this being the thousandth time (probably an underestimate) when we’ve seen a random guy meet a strange girl for an anime adventure. The highlight of the episode, which I’m guessing was supposed to be the battle with the unicorn, was simple and unchallenging… and, in terms of excitement, was mundane at best. The character personalities are all cookie-cutter, so there’s nothing encouraging there. The setting has some basic creativity, but nothing that makes it memorable. I will admit, however, that the final scenes during the mansion break in were significantly improved compared to everything that had occurred prior, so the anime does show some promise that it can be better than what it showed for most of the first episode. If the anime can continue on this trajectory and carry this momentum into the second episode, then Hitsugi no Chaika might prove itself to be a worthwhile anime this season. If it reverts back to the uninteresting, unexciting garbage of the first episode, then that will be the final nail in its coffin (haha, puns).

Dropped:

Black Bullet

Black Bullet will probably be remembered as the most frustrating and disappointing anime of the season. While I did not have high hopes for Black Bullet, even calling it ‘generic’ in my initial assessment for my Season Preview, I did not expect this to flop so quickly and be dropped in just one episode. Perhaps the most infuriating aspect of this anime are the characters with the second-most being the writing. Nothing about the characters seemed realistic or believable, especially with how they acted or reacted, with the loli being the worst offender. The dialogue was elementary and abysmal, some of the worst I have ever seen in an anime. The funniest part about this anime is that it attempted to include comedy, which is something humorous to think about.  The fanservice was awkward and unwanted.  The world isn’t terribly interesting with its monsters and methods for fighting them, but it probably doesn’t help that all the action sequences sucked in terms of pacing, directing or satisfaction. Nothing about this anime was original or innovative. Instead, it was cliché after cliché. It’s as if Black Bullet is the bastard child of all the negative aspects of all the sci-fi anime from the past 5 years. There’s nothing good I can say about Black Bullet or that I am done with it.

This post reviews: Ping Pong the Animation, Ryuugajou Nanana no Maizoukin, Gochuumon wa Usagi Desu ka?, Knights of Sindoria, Escha & Logy no Atelier: Tasogare no Sora no Renkinjutsushi, and Mekaku City Actors.

Due to the timing in which anime aired in Japan last week, with the week being heavy on the first episodes for a number of new anime and only a handful airing their second episodes, I’ll be starting my Weekly Anime posts for Week 2 starting this week and hopefully out sometime this weekend.

Watching:

Ping Pong the Animation

Ping Pong will be one of the best anime of the year. Based only on what I saw in this first episode, I can say that this anime will be among the very top, if not the top, of the new anime airing this season. Ping Pong features an immediately distinguishing and effective art style that encourages passionate movements, ideal for depicting the lightning-fast pace of the table tennis matches. The directing is exceptional, utilizing cinematography to emphasize shots with motion and emotions, bringing the characters and games to life. Tsukimoto (“Smile”) and Hoshino (“Peco”) are both ideal protagonists for this type of anime, with raw but established skills, different enthusiasms and their own unique flaws, making them the perfect characters to watch as they develop and contrast each other throughout the series. What little we saw of the story is a promising indicator of events to come and the table tennis matches were engrossing and charismatic. I don’t think I could say anything bad about this anime besides it being in a high school setting, but it’s almost necessary since this is a school club and it does break away from the rest of modern anime by focusing on table tennis and being set in the late 90s (the manga was published from 1996-1997). Ping Pong has demonstrated enough to already become one of my favorite sports anime of all-time and, if it continues to impress like I anticipate it will, Ping Pong has the opportunity to surpass Chihayafuru as my favorite of this genre.

Ryuugajou Nanana no Maizoukin

What makes Ryuugajou Nanana no Maizoukin a keeper is that it is an anime that promises to be lighthearted, entertaining and make sure the audience is having fun. The whole setting, scenario and story are all quite silly and unrealistic, but the characters are enjoying their current situations with smiles on their faces despite the fact that one of them was murdered and is now a ghost. But even then, the only aspect that would be considered dark is a cheery girl who loves pudding, plays video games and desperately wants to make new friends. It comes across as quite simple, which works perfectly for an anime of this style. The cast is relatively small at this point with only Juugo and Nanana being significantly introduced, but the remainder of the cast will probably range from pleasant to wonderful with Juugo at the bottom (generic, pervy male lead) and Nanana being at the top (fun, active, compassionate female lead). I can’t really tell whether the story will be good or not at this point considering that it’ll be treasure hunting, but I anticipate it will fluctuate and be episodic, which can be either good or bad. The setting isn’t terribly unique with a futuristic and isolate city where most of the population are students, but the treasure hunting aspect should be enough to differentiate it from the rest. The fanservice was a bit of a turn-off, but thankfully, the anime did not go overboard besides the whole groping scene joke. But besides that one minor flaw, the episode impressed me and certainly left me in a good mood wanting more.

Gochuumon wa Usagi Desu ka?

Gochuumon wa Usagi Desu ka? is a delightful and relaxing anime, with some amusing comedy and nothing more. If you’re looking for something with dynamic characters, a thought-provoking story, some stimulating commentary or an insightful message, then this anime is certain to disappoint. Fortunately for Gochuumon wa Usagi Desu ka?, all I want from it is a cute and calming comedy that makes me smile for 24 minutes and that is exactly what I saw with this first episode. The characters are incredibly moe in terms of their designs and personalities, but each has their own charming attributes and the chemistry was unexpectedly good for something so shallow. The comedy never really produced laughs or anything remarkable, but the humor ranged from ‘they’re trying’ to big smiles with nothing producing a negative reaction. The style is very serene and the setting is picturesque, two aspects that help improve the soothing atmosphere and nature of the anime. The anime was surprisingly ecchi in that we had a character in only her bra and panties for an entire scene, the entire cast changing in the locker room and a bath scene at the end, so it’s clear that there will be mild and innocent fanservice throughout. I do wonder if the anime will ever become stale or stagnate once the entire cast is introduced, but I enjoyed the characters and comedy enough in the first episode to guess that it won’t become a major problem later on. I could be wrong, but I still predict that Gochuumon wa Usagi Desu ka? will be a pleasant and comforting anime to watch this Spring.

Undecided:

Knights of Sindoria

I’m a sucker for sci-fi, space and giant robots, so it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise to see me try Knights of Sindoria to see if it matches my interests. As for its compatibility with me… that remains to be seen after just one episode. The biggest drawback before watching the anime is that I don’t really care all that much for 3D animation for anime characters (I’ll get into the mecha and environment later), and that really doesn’t change after watching one episode. I will add though, that I did adjust to the character designs rather quickly, but it is still my least favorite visual style for an anime this season. The 3D style does, however, match very well with the setting and the mecha, though I’ll have to see a real battle first before knowing whether it’s merely nice or something more. I don’t really know much about or care for any of the characters at this point, but that’s largely because this first episode installed the setting. Still, I find the main character to be very standard and stereotypical for a male lead in a mecha anime, so hopefully he’ll prove his worth in the second episode. What fascinates me about the setting is the amount of detail and description we’ve seen in this universe, especially in regards to their history, the biology and social structure of humanity and the technology. It actually has one of the better settings this season and the setting is the main reason why I want to give this anime another episode. However, with the characters lacking, the story being nothing impressive and an animation style that I don’t like, I don’t see a bright future for Knights of Sindoria in terms of me keeping it or not this season. What needs to happen in the next episode is that there will need to be some meaningful improve on the characters or the story or for the anime to feature a kick-ass battle with giant robots in space. Or better yet, let’s just hope it can accomplish both.

Escha & Logy no Atelier: Tasogare no Sora no Renkinjutsushi

Another anime I am undecided on, Escha & Logy no Atelier: Tasogare no Sora no Renkinjutsushi is a show that had a decent and delightful first episode but lacks potential to significantly improve and shows signs of potentially growing boring or stagnant rather quickly. Although I am in love with the setting, I do not anticipate significant development for the characters or the story at this point. The anime just doesn’t present itself as one that will show the characters grow and mature over time or feature stories that challenge the characters and force them to make decisions while under stress. There was just very little to find exciting or dramatic about the anime with the episode teetering around boring and mildly entertaining throughout. I suppose there are some issues when adapting a JRPG into an anime, especially in terms of dialogue and exposition and when creating scenes which were intended for gameplay, but the anime was fairly successful overall in terms of its pacing and content. And while I still do enjoy aspects of the anime, I’m not sure whether this JRPG-adaptation will allow for the anime to develop or progress in a way that shows meaningful or remarkable difference and contrasts in its characters. So while I do still appreciate Escha & Logy as an anime, I think I might be better suited to pick up the game it’s based on and play that instead. I’ll give the anime another episode to see if it improves, but this one is likely to be dropped.

Dropped:

Mekaku City Actors

Something must be wrong with Shaft if since they’ve failed to impress me with their two latest anime, Nisekoi and now Mekaku City Actors. Perhaps repetition and a lack of significant change has caused me to develop tolerance and expectation to Shaft’s classic art and animation style, but there must be more to it than that. After all, Shaft continues to thrive as one of my favorite anime studios and I do adore their visual presentation and cinematography. Still, there was nothing innovative or distinct about the way Mekaku City Actors looked. Or rather, it seemed to be a medley of elements from previous Shaft anime, with bits of Monogatari Series, Sasami-san@Ganbaranai, and Hidamari Sketch blended nicely together (with a reference to Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei thrown in for good measure, too). Then again, if I were being fair (and when am I ever fair?), I could say the same thing about a number of other studios with P.A. Works being a worse culprit than Shaft. However, I’m already off on a tangent about aesthetic similarities within anime studios, so let’s end this here and refocus on why I’ve dropped Mekaku City Actors.

Besides the aforementioned point about the artistic style being nice but uninspired, Mekaku City Actors had a number of other faults that doomed it before episode one concluded. One of the biggest motives for dropping this anime is that it failed to inspire me or fascinate me in a way to make me care about its characters or its story. Virtually the entire episode was watching a loner talk to a shockingly intelligent and friendly bot (like a futuristic version of Siri or SmarterChild or something) and then venturing outside for the first time in 2 years to buy a keyboard. Thankfully, some terrorists showed and tried to make the anime interesting, but by that point, I didn’t care what would happen and, unfortunately, nothing interesting followed. I don’t really relate to or care about hikikomoris, so there’s almost nothing for me to like about Shintaro. The rest of the cast didn’t do much besides Ene, who’s best character element is that she is voiced by Kana Asumi. The setting and story were underdeveloped in the first episode, but I figure those elements will be introduced and implemented later, so I can’t really comment on them at this point. However, without finding anything likable about the main character, being indifferent with the visuals and finding myself bored from the content of the first episode, I think there’s more than enough to say that Mekaku City Actors is not for me.

This week: how altering one aspect of Captain Earth will greatly improve the anime, thoughts on why the setting is the best aspect of No Game No Life and how it makes it one of the best anime this season, rationalizing Chaika’s speech pattern in Hitsugi no Chaika and why it isn’t moe marketing and an example of visual details and symbolism in Ping Pong the Animation.

Just a quick note regarding the title of this review, I have named it the review for the third week since technically, this is the third week of the season and the third week of April. However, this is the first of my Weekly Anime reviews for the season, so rather than starting at 2 and ending at 12, I’ll be starting at 3 and ending at 13. Just because of how the anime aired this season, this is really the first week where these weekly posts are appropriate, but naming it for the second week would likely decrease views since people would think it is for two weeks ago (which will really screw things up once I fall behind later this season). So, don’t expect there to be a Week 2 post since this is the first one of the Spring, and I’m naming it Week 3 in order to increase clicks and drive more traffic. So with that said, onto the review!

Best episode of the week: Mushishi Zoku Shou

Anime trending up this week: No Game No Life

Anime trending down this week: Captain Earth

Akuma no Riddle (Episode 3)

How will Akuma no Riddle keep itself fresh with 10 more assassins to go through, especially with the ‘assassin-of-the-week’ style the series seems to be hinting at with the third episode? If every episode follows a similar pattern, with a new assassin targeting Ichinose, learning about their past and their wish and then being defeated by Tokaku and Ichinose and then being expelled/transferring/dying, the series will quickly become stale, stagnant and easily decline. I’m not sure what’s necessary for this anime to stay fresh since this a route that almost all death-games take and one of the reasons why death-games are among my least favorite genres. Also, considering that this is a school anime, I guess we might see some scenery changes like a beach episode, a field trip to a hot springs and other random stuff, so there’s that to disappoint us when the time comes. Hopefully Akuma no Riddle has learned from the mistakes of previous death-game anime and can figure out a way to survive for nine or ten more episodes. Otherwise, we might want to considering expelling this anime from out watch list if it just turns into mediocre garbage from here on out.

Captain Earth (Episode 3)

One area where if Captain Earth would improve slightly it would improve the overall anime greatly is in regards to how the anime views itself. Right now, Captain Earth takes itself too seriously and thinks of itself as dramatic, impassioned and gripping. In reality, Captain Earth is not. There are a number of elements in the anime that undermine this mentality, specifically the characters and its setting. There have been countless times where emotion and passion were demonstrated by the characters, but it has been relatively empty or failed to impact the anime in a meaningful way. And to add on it, the villainous duo from the moon weakens the serious style of the anime by being flamboyant in their appearance, personalities and dialogues. The heroes and the villains don’t match well with each other, and they both need to be either silly or serious for this anime to work. The setting is another issue that doesn’t match well with how Captain Earth sees itself. Every battle between the Earthlings and aliens is supposed to mean a battle to decide the fate of the Earth, whether it will be saved or destroyed or something. Yet, with all these battles, all we ever see are the main characters, GLOBE and the villains. It’s hard to weigh the consequences of their actions and the battles when Earth is never threatened, not with people evacuating, buildings being destroyed and characters or mecha dying. It feels artificial. It feels silly; to consider Earth in danger when all the battlefields we’ve seen have been in sublunar space. Additionally, there are other aspects which undermine the serious mentality of the anime, such as some of the comedy (Mutou walking around naked) and events (Mutou being naked [yes, again] in bubble, mysterious loli giving Daichi the gun). Because of all this, I see Captain Earth as a silly anime, and I haven’t even mentioned the silliness associated with giant mecha battles in space. However, the story and scenario and how Daichi act make it seem like Captain Earth wants to take itself seriously. The anime isn’t even in agreement with itself and that much should be clear to anyone watching Captain Earth. That’s why, once Captain Earth figures out if it wants to be serious or silly and acts on that, then we’ll see this anime improve significantly.

Hitsugi no Chaika (Episode 2)

Giving cute, moe anime girls curious speech patterns, like uguu or de geso, is nothing new for anime. Neither is making moe girls silent, mute or unrealistically quiet. And given the frequency and pattern of these incredibly moe elements, it shouldn’t be surprising to see a handful of these girls every season. So with the arrival of Hitsugi no Chaika, it shouldn’t be terribly surprising to see our main heroine, Chaika, speak Japanese with an abnormal structure. However, unlike her compatriots of speech impairment, Chaika doesn’t seem to be speaking as a way of appearing cuter and therefore attracting a mini-fandom or a horde of followers (though I wouldn’t be surprised if she already had one). Instead, her fragmented speech pattern, one where she communicates her messages primarily with nouns, is likely the result of some event related to her past or some detail linked to her characterization. Her style of speech is vastly different from the other moe counterparts and, while some might consider it cute, there are hints that it is related to her character rather and not just a marketing ploy. If that’s the case, then we might see her speech develop and improve throughout the anime or learn the reason why she speaks in such a fragmented and difficult way as a part of her character maturing. Perhaps it could be that she is indeed a foreigner (given her style of clothes as a gothic lolita, that could be one possibility) or she was secluded from society and unfamiliar with speech. Whatever the reason and whatever results from this, it seems that there is some creativity and meaning behind the way Chaika speaks. And given how often this stereotype is present in anime these days, it feels somewhat refreshing and innovative to see an unusual speech pattern like this have a purpose behind it.

Isshuukan Friends (Episode 2)

After watching the first episode of Isshuukan Friends, I thought to myself that this anime paralleled Chihiro’s story from ef – a tale of memories in a number of ways. After thinking about how Chihiro addressed her issues of anterograde amnesia (slightly different than what Kaori has), I thought that Yuuki should probably watch ef and learn to help Kaori like how Renji helped Chihiro. The first and most obvious thing that came to mind about Chihiro was her diary. And what did we learn this week with Kaori? A diary. Bam! Maybe someone recommended that Yuuki watch ef or maybe he’s seen it already. Regardless of whether this has some inspiration from or reference to ef, it’ll be interesting to see how these two anime compare and contrast in terms of how they address the issues related to memories and how their romances develop.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders (Episode 3)

One of the aspects that makes JJBA so entertaining and so much fun is that it is unpredictable. For people unfamiliar with the franchise, all the extreme and wild developments keep the series fresh and exciting. Every new detail and development is electrifying and remarkable. Even simple aspects have a heightened sense of drama, purpose and meaning to them. And unlike the previous two story arcs, these first three episodes have been a nonstop rollercoaster with little to no downtime and everything serving a purpose or greater meaning. Because of these developments and this style of storytelling, everything that happens has some degree of entertainment to it. And since there has been a timeskip and the advent of new powers (Stands), there has been more material to cover which has helped make this anime the most entertaining of this young season. What’s even better is that we know JoJo’s will be able to sustain this pace and this level of excitement for quite some time, too, since we’re still in the infancy of Stardust Crusaders.

Mushishi Zoku Shou (Episode 3)

I’ve always thought that the girls in Mushishi were hot, but never to the point where they’d burn the skin of a guy they touch. Ok, haha, lame jokes aside, I originally watched this episode at Sakuracon with a number of other anime bloggers and personalities from the ani-twitter community with Mushishi director Hiroshi Nagahama providing commentary. Not only was Hiroshi Nagahama a marvelous and beloved host, for airing this episode during the anime convention, but he provided some remarkable insight into the production of the episode and aspects that were meaningful to him. That isn’t to say he provided commentary over the course of the whole episode, but he pointed out aspects of the episode that stood out to him that I wouldn’t normally pay attention to otherwise, such as how happy he was with the animation of the snow falling. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect that he mentioned during the viewing was that no one on the production team wanted to watch the episode until it was completed because they did not want to cry in the middle of production. These details uncover another layer of passion and opinion that we don’t often consider when watching or reviewing anime and that is the thoughts of the fans in the anime industry. Hiroshi Nagahama is just as much a fan of Mushishi and anime as the rest of us (and quite big on American superheroes, too), so to hear his input during an episode was quite a special and remarkable experience.

No Game No Life (Episode 2)

Although the characters are fun, the story is amusing, and the colors fascinating, easily the single best aspect of No Game No Life is the setting. Not only is the setting influential to the characters, the story and the colors, but there is a high level of detail and effort that helps make this world seem more vibrant and lively than most fantasy or online-game worlds. Keep in mind, we’ve only seen a small fraction of this wonderland and there’s a whole new world to explore based on that picturesque montage in the first episode where we saw a wide array of diverse environments, cities and people. We’ve already been lectured about the history and mechanics of the world, the various societies, kingdoms and magic, and seen where the story will go based on the decisions and actions of the main duo, Sora and Shiro. Furthermore, with only a fraction of this world complete, we’ve yet to really understand the other social hierarchies and economies of this world as well as the games they like to play. We can already expect these different races and societies to have impacts on the characters and learn how to better cheat at board games and card games in real life (provided it’s not all magic). And given what we’ve seen thus far, there’s a good indication to predict that this world will continue to impact the anime greatly in every episode. I’ve always been a sucker for phenomenal settings and No Game No Life will end up being one of my favorite anime this season if its setting continues to expand and unfold like this.

Ping Pong the Animation (Episode 2)

Details and symbolism are quite prevalent in Ping Pong, one of the reasons why it’s one of my favorite anime of the season. One such detail that I’d like to point out is in relation to how the anime depicts Smile’s robotic personality. Through the story and through his speech, we see how Tsukimoto acts and behaves and can understand why people call him a robot. However, the anime helps us understand this visually too through a simple aesthetic detail. When the anime wants to show Tsukimoto as more ‘robotic’, we see his glasses as pale, white displays rather than seeing his human eyes behind him. Instead, without his eyes visible and a pair of white glass on his face, Tsukimoto looks more ‘robotic’. It’s such a small and simple detail but it has a remarkable impact on how we view his character and how it supplements his personality as one that is robotic. Now this isn’t the only minute detail or symbolism going on in Ping Pong, like the hawk, the hero and the butterfly, but each has their own meaning and purpose for the characters and story, especially as we move forward. Keep an eye out for these details as they will continue to build up throughout the anime and continue to play a role for both the characters and the story.

Ryuugajou Nanana no Maizoukin (Episode 2)

Is Nanana really bound to her room and, if so, what happens if she tries to leave? The main reason for this question is wondering what Nanana will do once the treasure hunting and thrill-seeking becomes the main aspect of this anime. Will Nanana be left at home and be moved to a minor role with Juugo and the others out having fun elsewhere? Or does Nanana have the power to leave her house (and just not tell anyone) and join her new friends on their wacky and exciting adventures? Or maybe she’ll be stuck at home with a walkie-talkie or headset and barking orders over the airwaves. Whatever the means, I have a hard time wondering what Nanana will do if her character is indeed bound to the room once the anime begins moving in its new direction. Hopefully Nanana will be able to leave after one or two of the items is found since it would be terrible for one of the better characters in this anime to be left out of the fun and adventures on Nanae Island.

Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii (Episode 3)

The world is indeed beautiful in The World is Still Beautiful, but I do wonder if we’re embarking on a journey too quickly with all the political turmoil, espionage and threat of war with our limited understanding of world history, geography and current affairs. Then again, the anime could be presenting to us this information on a need-to-know basis or we could be learning about the Sun Kingdom through the eyes of Princess Nike who is as unfamiliar with this as we are. Whatever the reason, I do wish we saw and understood more of the world before we began to see dukes and earls and other kingdoms since these names and relationship fall on deaf ears without any meaning or understanding behind them. However, given the quality of writing and the direction of the anime, there may be some reason why we have such a limited understanding of the world. Obviously this aspect of the series can change rather quickly if we receive a history lesson (for the better) or if someone from somewhere does something (for the worse). Hopefully we’ll learn more about the world as we need to learn about the world, but it wouldn’t surprise me if something complex arises before too long since we’re facing a number of nations at the brink of war with the Sun Kingdom and Principality of Rain at the middle of it all.

This week: why conflict is the best thing to happen in Isshuukan Friends, not being distracted to the real story in in Ryuugajou Nanana no Maizoukin, appreciating character developing for a strong, independent female lead in Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii, and some differences between marathoning Mushishi and watching Mushishi Zoku Shou weekly.

Best episode of the week: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders

Anime trending up this week: Isshuukan Friends

Anime trending down this week: Akuma no Riddle

Akuma no Riddle (Episode 4)

Will anything important ever happen during school in Akuma no Riddle? For an anime that spends about half its time in the classroom, not much happens. Virtually everything that moves the story along or is remotely exciting happens outside the classroom, whether it be in the dorms or wherever someone wants Haru to be murdered. I can only imagine that the school scenes are used as downtime between these scenes because the anime would be too exciting otherwise. But, I suppose that half this anime is about Haru and she is keen on making friends and graduating from her class, so there’s some meaning there to her character. It’s just everyone else is apathetic or indifferent to school that it makes these scenes so tedious. Then again, there was a bit of backstory on Kouko’s character in the classroom with this episode, so it isn’t a total waste. Still, Akuma no Riddle would be much, much more without these classroom scenes.

Captain Earth (Episode 4)

One of these days I should try eating human flesh because aliens (and monsters) are always saying that humans are the most delightful and succulent source of nutrition in the vastness of space… and I’m wondering if we’re missing out on something here. Then again, the real topic of this post is in regards to how Amara and Moco, the tag-team duo of the KILL-T-GANG, survived for so long without delicious, delicious human flesh? What did they eat before venturing to Earth and how did they survive for so long without earthlings? And to continue off that point, how do they know that humans are the most perfect food in the solar system? Have they even tried Italian food yet? Anyway, the point here is that it’s rather silly to have aliens comment about eating humans when they have little to no experience with humans, especially eating them. I would be more likely to accept this argument as true (and enjoy it much, much more) if the invasion had already occurred and they had devoured half of mankind. Learning about eating people after that would be something that the series could use to strengthen its villains and the story, but for two aliens to claim that humans are filet mignon without even a lick or a bite into anyone undermines the whole purpose of these villains. Then again, this is hardly the most prominent problem with Captain Earth at this point.

Hitsugi no Chaika (Episode 3)

I am struggling to understand the purpose of Akari’s character. Through three episodes, her single accomplishment is that she’s been a third wheel to Chaika’s adventure. But really, what has she done that Chaika or Tooru couldn’t already do on their own? In fact, if you completely removed her character, the anime would be the exact same. Akari has had no impact or influence on Hitsugi no Chaika. Not even a little. She’s just there. She just exists and follows her brother and Chaika around. Really, what is the purpose of her character and why does she exist now? I usually don’t have issues with characters who have minimal impact on an anime or are meaningful for comic relief or fanservice, but Akari has done nothing for three episodes now and is one of the most prominent characters being shown quite frequently. I figure that there’ll be a time where her character is important or significant in some way, but for now, she has no meaning or purpose, besides being the biggest third wheel in anime.

Isshuukan Friends (Episode 3)

I’m thrilled to see conflict in this lighthearted anime since conflict is exactly what this anime needed. Without conflict and without problems that arise, this anime would stagnate, grow stale and grow boring. But with conflict, thanks primarily to Shougo’s character, we’ll see the characters grow from this event and for them to mature as human beings. Instead of the anime being simply nice and boring every episode, Isshuukan Friends is moving along its story and its characters through meaningful interactions. Had Shougo acted the same as Yuuki, then the anime would have done nothing new. Instead, Shougo confronted Yuuki about Kaori and her condition and challenged him to view her through his perspective instead of his own. It pushed the characters in such a way that they had to react to this conflict. And as a result, we saw the characters become something more than when the episode started. I can only hope there continues to be conflict in every episode since that is exactly what this needs to continue to improve. It’s already one of the better anime this season and a simple conflict every episode will continue to help its characters, it story and its overall product, grow.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders (Episode 4)

Not only was Joseph Joestar the best protagonist in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure but he continues to be the best all-around character thanks to his brazen and flashy personality. He easily has the best presence of anyone so far in this season of JJBA, both in terms of his dynamic with the other characters and how his comedy is portrayed. It’s actually amazing to think but his character has actually improved from the last arc to this one, which is saying something since he was phenomenal as the lead character in Battle Tendency. It’s promising to see him again in Stardust Crusaders since his personality contrasts so sharply with Jotaro’s and the two complement each other by making up for the other’s weaknesses. However, given how much we’ve seen of Joseph already, I’m not sure if he’ll continue to improve as a character or if this is the pinnacle of his success as a character. However, if that’s the case, he’s leveling off at the right place and is certain to make this season of JJBA an unforgettable one.

Mushishi Zoku Shou (Episode 4)

Unlike every other anime airing this season, I find it odd to watch Mushishi only once a week since I marathoned the series prior to the second season beginning earlier this month. During that golden week, I would watch numerous episode of Mushishi together and the end of one would mean the beginning of the next. Now, each episode stands alone for a seven-day period and I dare not wait for these shows to pile up since every episode is an individual masterpiece. So with this new season of Mushishi, I found that I am watching the series different than I did before and I have much more time to digest the episodes each week than after six or seven or eight at a time. I’ve found new aspects and details to appreciate with the series and can enjoy it for a longer duration of time, yet the downside is that I know each viewing is limited to half-an-hour instead of several hours at a time. There’s now that sense of hunger at the end of each Mushishi episode, wanting to skip ahead to next week’s episode and watch it right after. Then again, I doubt that’s any different with any other anime that’s as remarkable as this one. Probably not, but it’s interesting to see how stark of a difference there is between marathoning an anime and watching it week-to-week, especially of an anime with such extraordinary quality as this one.

No Game No Life (Episode 3)

Watching Sora and Shiro play real world games in No Game No Life would be interesting but not as interesting as playing games with magic, made-up rules and chaos. Here, we’re able to see the characters go beyond strategy and employ emotion, personality and humor into these events to turn these common games into something more. And while I wasn’t expecting anything to the degree of this new game of chess (I was expecting cheating to various degrees), I found something new to look forward to with each new game in each new episode. So instead of watching people play checkers or slot or something normal, we can now expect Sora and Shiro to play crazy checkers or silly slots. It certainly livens up the setting and scenarios in No Game No Life, which is quickly becoming a pleasant surprise this season.

Ping Pong the Animation (Episode 3)

I often don’t comment on the music in anime, so the few choice times where I do mention it, you can tell it left a favorable impression on me. There were actually three noteworthy songs that stood out to me in the third episode of Ping Pong; the first being the melody that used ping pong balls as a rhythm, the second being a techno song during Kong’s first match and Tsukimoto’s humming at the end. Each had their own brilliance to it, with the ping pong ball song being beautiful, the techno song augmenting the visuals and the humming song carrying importance and implication. Each song displayed its own unique value to the episode and helped improved many different aspects of the episode as a result. It often takes quite a bit for a song to impress me in an anime, so for Ping Pong to do it three times in one episode, is nothing short of astonishing. Even though we’re still in the first month of the season, I think I’ve found my favorite sounding anime of the season with Ping Pong.

Ryuugajou Nanana no Maizoukin (Episode 3)

What I’m enjoying the most about Nanana isn’t so much the adventures, the puzzles and the treasures but how the series presented Nanana’s death, the role of her character and how the series is trying to move our attention away from her and toward these fun, little scenarios. To me, the series would not have presented the importance of Nanana’s character and her murder if it weren’t the central storyline of this anime, yet everything since then has been a diversion or distraction to take our mind off Nanana’s character and her death and LOOK, SHINY TREASURES AND CGI ANIMATION. You aren’t fooling me, anime, and you aren’t fooling anyone who’s curious about how this all points back to Nanana and her death. And considering the magnitude and imagination employed in Nanana, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Nanana’s ghost be a hoax or the phantasm of a magical treasure device. I mean, after all, who’s putting these treasures all throughout Nanae Island? Really, there’s a mystery presented in this anime that goes beyond searching for treasure. While the episodes present entertaining or amusing puzzles for the characters to play around with, the real puzzle is presented to the audience to understand what’s going on with Nanana’s character, the treasures and everything in Ryuugajou Nanana no Maizoukin.

Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii (Episode 4)

Strong female lead characters always bode well for an anime, and Princess Nike is one of the best at what she does. Rather than being a cute, innocent moe girl who goes to school, enjoys time with friends and fights monsters/aliens/whatever with magic or superpowers, Nike is an active, energetic, passionate and outgoing young lady who isn’t afraid to defy those around her, challenge authority and be a strong, independent woman. And because of that, it’s amazing to see her in the role she’s in and how she’s changing as a person. Whereas before, as princess of the Principality of Rain, where she was free to do what she wanted, now she’s the fiancé of the Sun King and is adapting to a life where her role will no longer be the tomboy that she currently is and into something more regal and royal and regulated. So while the anime continues to focus directly on how Livius I is changing as a king, it’s also an examination of how Nike is changing, too. However, Nike still possesses that strong, independent personality and won’t be remodeled overnight. Unlike many characters who have a weak will or multiple flaws, Nike has a defined and refined personality that is able to resist simple or straightforward character development. Her stubbornness and tomboyish nature aren’t going to fade away quickly, if at all, so it’ll be interesting to see what other traits of her personality evolve as she continues to live in the Sun Kingdom. And even as she changes, she’ll still continue to be the tough, reliable protagonist that will lead this anime to new heights. You can think of it more as adding details or touching-up a project that is in its final stages. Or at least, that’s how I view how the series is trying to improve and distinguish Nike’s character. A strong female lead is always appreciated in anime, but one that matures and grows as a character too, is something truly special.

This week: an analysis on whether the failed assassins live or die in Akuma no Riddle, the balance of fighters and Stands in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders, a question of time or limited opportunities in Isshuukan Friends, and the perception of beauty and how it differs between people in Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii.

Best episode of the week: Ping Pong the Animation

Anime trending up this week: Escha & Logy no Atelier: Tasogare no Sora no Renkinjutsushi

Anime trending down this week: Soul Eater NOT!

Akuma no Riddle (Episode 5)

Do the failed assassins of Akuma no Riddle die or simply just disappear? With three assassins now mysteriously vanishing from the Kurogumi class, and all in a rather ambiguous, off-screen way, the question continues to repeat itself at the end of every episode. Based on my limited research of the manga, it appears as though the anime follows in its foot-steps without being direct in either direction but providing subtle hints that could favor either argument. For example, the flowers left on the desks of the ‘expelled’ students are more accustomed for funerals and not necessarily appropriate for a student transferring. Furthermore, the anime portrays itself as dark and violent, so the theme of murdering the failed assassins at the end of every episode fits the profile of this anime. On the other hand, not every ‘death game’ anime kills its enemies, especially its female cast members. A central theme to the anime has been the topic of forgiveness, especially with Tokaku’s character changing from her time alone with Haru. Moreover, the anime is ecchi, from innocent yuri relationships to girls showering/bathing to Haru running around in her bra and panties for several minutes. You typically don’t see murder in an anime with considerable fanservice… but that’s not to say it isn’t out of the realm of possibility. And one final point, and the reason why I’m bringing this up now, is that we saw Haruki survive in this episode after failing to kill herself after the botched mission. You don’t really see an anime put that much emphasis into saving a character’s life just to kill them off-screen in the next scene with no resolution to their character.

At this point, the argument could be made either way and either could be correct. I believe the anime is depicting these exits in such a way to not reveal to the audience whether the girls are dead or alive at the end of every episode. After weighing the available evidence, from my perspective, I would argue that the girls remain alive after failing to assassinate Haru. Considering the themes of forgiveness, the fanservice and the emphasis we’ve seen on the girls singing their own ending songs, I would argue that the girls are all still alive and will reconvene at the end. And while this may not be true for the manga, which probably will continue long after the anime ends, I feel that such an ending would be more positive in attracting readers and expanding its fandom. So while this might end up being untrue in the end and the three assassins-of-the-week are dead, I’m willing to bet that they’re all still alive until the anime says, or shows, otherwise.

Hitsugi no Chaika (Episode 4)

Coffins are heavy. Like, really, really heavy. You always see images of four-to-six people transporting a coffin out of a funeral service, so why does Chaika carry one all by herself? The coffin is taller than she is and made of solid wood. Even if the coffin were empty (and not carrying her metal gun) it’d still outweigh Chaika by five-times her body weight. And I haven’t even mentioned that Chaika doesn’t drag the coffin around on the ground either; she supports the weight entirely on her shoulders and walks around unimpaired without putting any of the weight on her back or needing to leaning forward. The fact that Chaika can carry this massive coffin around without any assistance or support obviously means she’s the strongest character in this anime. Why she doesn’t overpower her opponents in close quarters combat is beyond me. But still, you can add her name to the growing list of young anime girls who possess the superhuman strength. Watching her carry that coffin around every day without a thought makes me wish I had spent more time at the gym (or possessed magical powers).

Isshuukan Friends (Episode 4)

With Kaori’s memory of her friends resetting every week on Monday, one has to wonder whether there is a race against time given the limited number of weeks in a school-year. Japanese schools, for the sake of this post, are roughly about 40 weeks long. That means that Yuuki has, at a maximum, 40 chances to introduce himself to Kaori before they finish this grade. However, we need to assume that several weeks passed at the beginning of the year before Yuuki summoned the courage to befriend her the first time and that several weeks have occurred since, through these four episodes. Although things are fine and dandy now and there is plenty of material left, one can’t help but wonder whether time will be an issue later on for Kaori, especially if she’s going to move/transfer schools at the end of the series (it’s what I’m expecting as the big finale for this anime). It might not be a pressing issue right now, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see time become a problem as the series progresses.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders (Episode 5)

The balance of fighters and fighting in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is an unquestioned strength and bodes well for the evolution of Stand fighters as this anime continues. With an amazing selection of styles, personalities, abilities and techniques, the fighting in JJBA has been phenomenal and will continue to be captivating and fascinating each and every time, never leaving a dull moment for the viewers. This is particularly encouraging since there is no single character who is significantly stronger than the rest nor are there fighters with inherent strengths and weaknesses against each other (such as one type being super effective against another). Instead, the field is level and the outcomes of battles aren’t as predictable as in other fighting anime. Of course, as the series continues and stronger fighters/Stands appear, there will be some variability (Dio) and creativity (D’Arby) that will deviate from this small sample size and shift the balance of power to the most important characters. However, at that point, the sheer thrill and excitement that occurs simultaneously with intense and sensational battles should begin to outweigh the advantages of balanced fighting. That’s not to say the fights aren’t exciting now, but that this balance of fighters will begin to fade as Jotaro as his companions inch closer to Dio and his cohorts.

Mushishi Zoku Shou (Episode 5)

Considering all the strange and haphazard inflictions or diseases we’ve seen people succumb to in Mushishi, I often wonder why humanity hasn’t died out yet. Perhaps that statement is a little too blunt, but how different would humanity be without the help of Ginko or the other mushishi? The frequency in which we see people contract these ailments from various indigenous mushi suggests that there is a need for wandering mushishi to save peoples’ lives. Without them, the rate of death (or disappearances or disability) would be significantly higher and in people of young ages, too. And given that these people live alone or in small hamlets, the morbidity and mortality of these young people would spell disaster for population growth or even sustainability (depending on their skills). So really, how does mankind persist in a world such as this?

No Game No Life (Episode 4)

I’ve always obsessed over the use of color and lighting in anime, so it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that I am fascinated with and adore the imaginative and inspired use of colors and lighting in No Game No Life. The anime illustrates its world through a kaleidoscope of vibrant gradients and the end result is backgrounds and environments that are both curious to look at and spectacular when looked at. The use of lighting is also remarkable, helping cater to the lighthearted quality of the show and helping augment the fantasy-setting with differing colors. The series even uses the absence of light to its advantage, too, such as when Tet abducted Sora and Shiro at the end of the episode. In terms of its visuals and how it presents itself using colors and lighting, No Game No Life is one of the most impressive anime that I have seen lately, perhaps the most since Watamote last year. So while No Game No Life may be mediocre with its character designs or mundane with its animation, the visual style, with bizarre colors and dazzling lighting, moves it from being another ordinary anime into one of the most gorgeous shows of the season.

Ping Pong the Animation (Episode 4)

Everything thus far in Ping Pong has revolved around singles table tennis. The games have been sensational and enthusiastic, gushing with emotion and purpose. There is no question that the story will continue with a focus on singles matches but is there also the opportunity for doubles matches? We’re constantly reminded of the emphasis on teams and schools and nationalities in Ping Pong and the protagonists are a pair of boys with contrasting personalities that would make for an interesting duo. Additionally, the advent of doubles Ping Pong would provide a differing style on how to examine Smile and Peco as characters. It could also potentially introduce a new conflict given their styles of play and how invested they are in their games, helping provide a new avenue for character growth that would otherwise be impossible through singles matches alone. However, since this anime follows the story of a completed manga, I suppose I could spoil myself the mystery and read ahead to find out whether doubles will ever be a thing in Ping Pong or not. Nonetheless, I still would be interested in seeing a doubles match in Ping Pong because it would add another dimension to the already thrilling matches of this incredible anime.

Ryuugajou Nanana no Maizoukin (Episode 4)

Why aren’t more people or corporations or organizations after the treasures in Nanana’s Buried Treasure? You’d think, given the unbelievable nature and ability of these treasures, that there’d be people tearing up the island over these world-changing devices… but no, it’s just a handful of high schoolers who are after these priceless artifacts. And given their proximity to high-traffic areas and the age of social media, you’d figure there’d be more interest in these items than what’s currently shown. I would imagine that there’d be this level of interest if these treasures were hidden in a mountain temple or in some lush, dense jungle, but these treasures are housed in schools and tourist destinations in a metropolis. Like… wouldn’t somebody have stumbled upon these things sooner and realized their potential? Maybe the story needs to progress more before we can answer these questions, especially behind who hide these treasures and designed their trials, but it’s pretty absurd that no one else is searching for these things besides a small party of teenagers.

Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii (Episode 5)

Beauty is relative. This quality is distinctive to whoever is judging whether something is beautiful or not, so beauty to one person might be unbeautiful to another. So for someone like me who finds beauty in bright, sunny days, I find it interesting to see that almost everyone in the Sun Kingdom finds beauty in overcast skies and downpours. To me, I find the Sun Kingdom to be beautiful on its own, with clear skies, warm weather and gardens around the palace. Rain, however, doesn’t necessarily hold that same level of beauty to me, especially in an arid, sunbaked desert. Rain goes well when there are snowcapped mountains or emerald forests to go with it, not with dry flatlands with minimal vegetation. So to me, it’s odd to see the anime put such an emphasis on the beauty associated with rain when I’d much prefer sunny days. However, as mentioned before, beauty is relative, and so to people who have never seen rain or experience it infrequently, it must hold some special value to them that I would otherwise ignore. Furthermore, Nike’s manipulation of clouds and rain have their own special beauty to them, too, such as putting a halo (or ring) around the sun for her ceremony. I do find those scenes beautiful, but probably to a different degree than what everyone else sees or feels. Regardless of my perception or that of the characters of this anime, The World is Still Beautiful uses and emphasizes beauty in truly interesting and meaningful ways, and it will be interesting to see what else the anime depicts as beautiful and Nike tries to reveal her world to Livius.

This week: difficulty with the ambiguities, interpretations and inconsistencies with the games in No Game No Life, the mounting evidence on why I think Yuuki has more problems than Kaori in Isshuukan Friends, envisioning what modern science and medicine would uncover about the mushi in Mushishi Zoku Shou, and looking at the differences between the late-90s and now with Ping Pong the Animation.

Best episode of the week: Mushishi Zoku Shou

Anime trending up this week: Gochuumon wa Usagi Desu ka?

Anime trending down this week: Captain Earth

Akuma no Riddle (Episode 6)

The assassins in Akuma no Riddle aren’t very bloodthirsty. Nor are they really creative. Nor are they really good. Nor do they really seem to care. Even at the prospect of performing an ordinary task and being granted a wish, the girls seem more content spending time with each other in the classroom and performing Romeo and Juliet. The general malaise and apathy expressed by most of the characters thus far illustrates these characters more as everyday schoolgirls and not cold-blooded assassins. And with this general indifference in their attitude, it makes it challenging or awkward to see them suddenly as the opponent-of-the-week when it’s their time to fail at killing Haru. I realize the anime wants to paint these girls in such a way to show this dichotomy (otherwise, there’s no point to the whole classroom/all girl setting), but it would certainly help their characterization if we witnessed the girls assassinating other people in the meantime before watching them suddenly transition from a pleasant and polite acquaintance to a world-renowned killer. To me, the transition is the most difficult, since we expect there to be some bloodlust, some creativity and some skill to these assassins, but you would never guess otherwise based on what we see in the classroom. The only hint we ever get that there’s more to their schoolgirl charm is when they have those evil grins with jagged shark teeth. Then again, maybe the girls are enjoying a simple life as a student and aren’t in a rush to complete their mission objectives. If that’s the case, then maybe the whole point of this anime is to soften up these assassins rather than to kill Haru.

Captain Earth (Episode 6)

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Hitsugi no Chaika (Episode 5)

Mysterious, white-haired anime girls with awkward speech patterns are always clones. Always.

Okay, maybe not always, but it happens more often than not. And these girls are often paired along with scientific/medical experiments or something magical/spiritual to make their characters even more mystifying. It shouldn’t be terribly surprising to see another Chaika in this anime given the storyline and the frequency of these parallel developments in other anime, though it is refreshing to see the stark contrast in the personalities between Red Chaika and White Chaika. Pretty soon we’ll be introduced to a whole rainbow of Chaikas with an every wider array of diverse personalities. Still, the girls will all have a few things in common and that will be their mysterious nature, their white hair and their unique speech patterns. That’s just how it works for these magical white-haired clone girls in anime.

Isshuukan Friends (Episode 5)

Considering the perspective of the anime, you might think Kaori has the most problems of any of the characters. But if you think that, you’d be wrong. Clearly, the character with the most problems is Yuuki. Yuuki’s insecurity and preoccupation over everything Kaori is growing to be borderline scary. Not only does he do everything in his power to spend every day with her, such as attempting to avoid a conference with his teacher over his failing grades to now stalking with her when she’s out with a friend for the first time. His obsession is growing worse and worse every day and is slowly developing into a predator based on this behavior. What makes this situation even worse is that Kaori is inexperienced with friends and identifying these abnormal behaviors. What’s gonna happen if Yuuki asks Kaori to go out on a date and she declines? He’s not gonna take ‘no’ for an answer, like with what we saw with the missing diary episode (episode 4). Fortunately for the series, it is a lighthearted and innocent romance, so we shouldn’t see Yuuki develop any of these darker traits that would see him turn into a criminal. But still, this obsession and now stalking is getting borderline creepy. Hopefully the anime can address Yuuki’s mania over Kaori before the end, especially if his behavior continues to get worse.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders (Episode 6)

Say, given the frequency of Stand Masters in the present-day in JJBA and given that there’s quite a few ‘normal’ people with them, one has to wonder if there were Stand Masters all throughout history, or at the very least, during Phantom Blood and Battle Tendency. Back when Ripple was the primary method of fighting, there could have been others around the world who possessed Stands that weren’t connected with the story and therefore, were just unknown to Jonathan and Joseph at the time. After all, we know that Stands are derived from Ripple (Stands are written in kanji as ‘ghost ripple’) and that Ripple is an ancient form of martial arts that has been practiced for centuries. Additionally, Stands in other time periods could have been used for methods other than fighting, especially if they were exclusive to monks during these two arcs. Still, the fact that Stand Masters were introduced in this arc and the fact that Joseph developed a Stand of his own (one that’s new to him now and not from Battle Tendency) seems to point that these are new and novel concepts, unique to this time period. Still, considering their connection to Ripple, I wouldn’t be surprised if there were some Stand Masters throughout various points in history. Right now, there’s just no way to confirm whether it’s true or not.

Mushishi Zoku Shou (Episode 6)

What would modern science think of mushi? That is to say, what would science be able to uncover about mushi to us, from performing tissue extraction, DNA sequencing, and applying the principles of modern medicine, pharmacology and pathogenesis? We’ve seen mushi afflict ailments and disease and oddities on people, much to the same way bacteria, viruses and fungi affect people, so what would science have to say about the pathogenesis of mushi? Additionally, we’ve seen mushi cure these infections in various people, so what about properties of these mushi are used to combat these illnesses? What if there was a tablet that could cure some of these ailments or, even better, a vaccine or other form of preventive medicine. Then again, considering the stories of Mushishi and how the mushi are symbolic of the humanistic struggles, there might not be a cure or application for every mushi in existence. Still, I’m curious to learn the genetic and chemical make-up of these various mushi and would love to learn what modern science would have to say about these beings. Then again, given the setting and the characters, I suppose Ginko’s explanations are the closest we’ll get to molecular biology, biochemistry and phase III multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials.

No Game No Life (Episode 5)

The games in No Game No Life are a double-edged sword. While I did rave about the idea of bending the rules with traditional games two weeks ago, I failed to mention the opposite: normal games would be mundane or boring. With the fifth episode of No Game No Life, we were treated to the traditional game of blackjack, which turned out to be pretty tame and uneventful. Furthermore, the rules of the game were left to be ambiguous, something that played to the advantage of the spectacular chess match but cheapened this card game. For example, the rule of winning back two-and-a-half times what you bet isn’t always true with one-and-a-half being the most common. Additionally, if Sora and Steph were playing by casino rules, Steph probably would’ve had eight decks of cards in a sleeve to prevent Sora from counting cards. And even if we ignore those two details and Sora wins two-and-a-half of what he bet in that final round, Steph would still have some chips left over and the game would not be over. You know I’m getting pretty petty when I’m counting poorly-drawn poker chips in an anime and arguing about how it’s unfair, but that’s the level of boredom I reached when watching this match. I couldn’t enjoy the game in this episode; it was ordinary. And instead of enjoying the wacky, silly game-of-the-week in this episode, I was too busy focusing on the flaws and realism instead of immersing myself in this delightful fantasy setting. I suppose the point, if there really is a point to this long-winded review, is that the games are what will make or break No Game No Life. These events and scenarios are a double-edged sword that will elevate the anime to greatness and sink it into monotony. However, with characters like Steph, Sora and Shiro guiding the way, I’m willing to place a bet that the games of this anime will finish with more wins than losses.

Ping Pong the Animation (Episode 5)

The manga for Ping Pong ran from 1996 to 1997. It took almost two decades for the manga to be adapted into an anime. And quite a bit has changed in the world between the final chapter of the manga and the first episode of the anime. Think about all the changes in technology, from cell phones to video games. Think about the different corporations and their logos. Think about even the changes in the rules of international table tennis, a significant rule change that occurred in September 2001 when they changed the scoring of matches from 21-point games to 11-point games. As a result of all these changes, and many more that were not mentioned, Ping Pong the Animation is probably quite a bit different than Ping Pong the manga. From scoring to cell phones to video game systems to the internet and even to Pepsi’s logo… are all updates from the 90s that reflect the world we live in today for Ping Pong. The manga may have taken place in the 90s and many attributes reflect it, but the anime is taking place in the present based on the observed technologies, corporations and how table tennis is played. It shouldn’t be terribly concerning to see an anime of this caliber updated after such a long break between the manga and anime, but it’s something worth pointing out for people who never paid attention to the differences between Enoshima in the late 90s and Enoshima now.

Ryuugajou Nanana no Maizoukin (Episode 5)

While Nanae Island is hailed as a paradise for teenagers, an impressive technological marvel where teenagers are a commanding majority of the population and a significant force on this floating metropolis, there are some major issues with it. And actually, when factoring in everything together, Nanae Island kinda sucks. The island is incredibly isolate and features limited transportation opportunities, meaning if a disaster strikes (massive tidal wave, typhoon, fire), then the students are stranded there and it would take quite a long time for other rescuers to respond and reach the island. The island is also probably ridiculously expensive, considering all the space is 1) limited 2) modern/new construction and 3) floating in the ocean (just think about the transportation costs of shipping all those materials/people/food/fuel/products). The cost of living on Nanae Island must be the highest in the world. Furthermore, the demographics of the island are probably not ideal either, especially when school is not in session and all the students leave to return to their families in Japan. Much like what happens in small college towns in the US, I could see the population of the island decrease by 75% during school vacations. Imagine the immense shift in employment and purchasing power (for example, how to staff restaurants or stock grocery stores) over those periods of time. And let’s not forget the poverty that we saw in this episode, likely a result of these and other social factors occurring on the island. To put it plainly, who would want to go there and spend maybe over $60,000 a year to go to school there on this troubled island versus going to an equivalent school in mainland Japan? I guess whoever is crazy enough to hunt Nanana’s Collection is a good enough answer for me.

Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii (Episode 6)

Considering Nike’s ability to control the weather and summon rain at will, why aren’t all the princesses of the Rain Principality sought after as prizes? Imagine what the princesses could do for arid farmlands or cities where water is scarce and a resource more valuable than gold. Think about how they could travel the world and help end droughts that cause starvation, turmoil and violence. Imagine what they could do to prevent rain from occurring, by diverting floods and storms elsewhere to save the lives and property of countless people. Imagine what they could do to the world and the lives of everyone in it. They would be among the most valuable and powerful people in the world. However, they girls are all severely underutilized, with three of them residing in a small principality and the other married to the Sun King. You’d figure that with such an outstanding power that the princesses would regularly tour the world and use their magic to make the world a better place. We see it somewhat with Princess Nike helping out the people of the Sun Kingdom, but what about the other three and all the other issues going on in the world today? What’s the deal with them?

Last week, if you still remember: understanding that Ping Pong the Animation is not a happy anime, what made this episode the best episode of Akuma no Riddle, detailing a game in which everyone would beat Sora and Shiro from No Game No Life and a super easy way of solving every mystery dungeon in Ryuugajou Nanana no Maizoukin.

Best episode of the week: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders

Anime trending up this week: Akuma no Riddle

Anime trending down this week: Mangaka-san to Assistant-san to

Akuma no Riddle (Episode 7)

What made this episode of Akuma no Riddle the best in the series (to date) was not the menacing time-bomb, the cryptic scavenger hunt, Suzu’s fascinating backstory or seeing all the girls in swimsuits. No, these pieces certainly helped, but what made this episode better from all the previous ones was the completely different dynamic. Rather than having nothing but backstory for the first half of the episode, then isolating Tokaku, Haru and the unlucky assassin for second part, this episode incorporated the entire cast the entire time and made the deadly assassin game the majority of the episode. By involving the cast in the event this time, the other girls were allowed to spectate and commentate on Tokaku and Haru playing Suzu’s deadly game rather than being non-existent like every other episode. The assassin-classmates were involved in this episode to a significant degree, adding a fresh and diverse feel to this episode and providing humor, nervousness and energy to the episode that would otherwise be difficult for the three primary characters. Sure, the other girls have been involved in previous episodes, but nothing to this level and never when someone was trying to assassinate Haru. Involving the cast like this made this episode the most enjoyable thus far and I hope to see future episode incorporate the cast like this during more of these events. That and more swimsuits, please.

Hitsugi no Chaika (Episode 6)

Frederica should be around more. Not only is she the first character in Hitsugi no Chaika to possess an amusing and delightful personality, but she’s also arguably the strongest fighter in Chaika’s gang of misfits. She has the ability to fly, making travel or escape much easier, and is the only one around to question whether Chaika, Tooru and Akari are doing the right thing or not. Having her around would make the adventures of Chaika much easier, too, especially with her ability to transform herself into anything she wants, whether it be another human, a cat, or her natural dragoon form. But really, think about having her disguise herself as someone important and steal the remains every time. It’d be too easy, really. And maybe that’s why we don’t see her around as much. Perhaps having Frederica around all the time would make the anime too easy (it wouldn’t be fun to watch Frederica do everything) or too dumb (if Frederica were around too much and wasn’t doing anything, she’d be underutilized). So maybe having Frederica pop in and out is the best use of her overpowered character in this anime. Then again, she still should be around more since she’s the only fun character in this anime.

Isshuukan Friends (Episode 6)

It’s a shame parents aren’t around more often in anime since mothers are frequently the best characters in the shows they appear in. For example, Kaori’s mother, Shiho Fujimiya, fits this archetype very well, being compassionate to her daughter and charitable to her new friends. Her benevolent personality shined brightly and she was able to have a positive effect and lasting impression on Yuuki, Shougo and Saki. Furthermore, she was able to disclose valuable information about Kaori to Yuuki in hopes that he continues to make her daughter’s life better. She already knows very well about how he has positively influenced Kaori’s life through encouragement and persistence and wants to help him continue by helping him understand more about her daughter and her special condition. And let’s not forget Shiho’s tender and gentle smile. Her genuine affection and honest devotion make her one of the best characters in this anime, if not the best, and I can only hope we continue to see her character in this anime as the series continues.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders (Episode 7)

Jotaro’s catchphrase of ‘yare yare daze’ can be translated and understood a number of different ways. It’s an expression of mild exhaustion, irritation, or disappointment and can even be used to express relief, similar to a sigh. When translating it into words, it can come out as ‘give me a break…’ or ‘how annoying…’ or even ‘good grief…’. All are correct… but some are more sensible than others. ‘Good grief…’, for example, is the unmistakable catchphrase of Charlie Brown, so by translating ‘yare yare daze’ as ‘good grief…’, we have the unintended consequences of seeing bits of Charlie Brown in Jotaro. Then again, there are potential issues with the other translations, too. If Jotaro’s catchphrase were ‘give me a break…’, we might expect him to break out into Kit Kat’s famous jingle. And constantly reading ‘how annoying…’ would get pretty annoying, too, you know? And just replacing ‘yare yare daze’ with *sigh* would be slightly awkward too, because Jotaro sighs a lot already, sometimes right before saying ‘yare yare daze’ (imagine that, two *sighs* in a row). So really, there is no exact or true translation for ‘yare yare daze’, especially when many of the translations for this expression have established uses or fame in English already. However, if you wanted to use a translation that was free from those potential issues, then something like ‘what a pain…’ would probably be the best.

No Game No Life (Episode 6)

The games are flawed in No Game No Life. Like, severely flawed. But rather than document the inconsistencies and arbitrary developments in the game this week, like I did with the review for last week, I will find another topic that relates to this episode. Specifically, what game could you choose and have an easy time beating Sora and Shiro?

Considering what we know, of their impressive supremacy and unbeaten streak, you’d figure it’d be nearly impossible to find a game where you’d have any type of advantage over them. In fact, the anime portrays them as unbeatable in all types of games and, after what we’ve seen, it seems to be true. But really, it’s quite simple to think of a game where you could be Sora and Shiro, and I’m sure anyone who has thought about this question for a little bit has a few ideas. To me, the simplest game to easily beat them in would be a foot race. It could be 100 meters, 400 meters, a mile or anything. Given that the two are hardcore otaku who never venture outside and spend all day sitting around, the idea of a simple foot race as a game is one where the median population would hold the advantage over Sora and Shiro. Additionally, it’s difficult to cheat or hold different interpretations to subjective rules in track, so there’s little they can do with their intellect and knowledge to gain advantage. Or if you wanted, you could really choose any sport or anything with considerable physical activity to win. The reason why we’ve seen Sora and Shiro be undefeated in No Game No Life is that all the games they’ve played have had zero to minimal physical involvement. And even if they know the ideal way to throw a discus, to shot a basketball, to hit a baseball, to do the front crawl or how to sprint, their bodies would be unable to handle the demand and victory would be guaranteed for the opposing party. Of course, the anime loves to introduce silly gimmicks to these games, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see something similar occur in this anime if sports are introduced. Still, the easiest way to beat Sora and Shiro, and probably the greatest chance of success too, would be to race them.

Ping Pong the Animation (Episode 6)

This episode of Ping Pong was particularly happy – unusually happy, even – watching everyone spend their time around Christmas differently and enjoying it in their own unique ways. The cheerful mood was augmented by the jovial music and laughter, and the absence of table tennis matches helped aid in this special atmosphere. However, the attitude and humor of this episode made me realize that most episode of Ping Pong aren’t happy ones. This episode was such a dramatic shift from the norm that I began to realize what the rest of the series was about. Rather than being a story of growth and happiness and accomplishment, the series is quite the opposite with most of the anime concentrating and focusing on the stress, disillusion and melancholy associated with playing competitive ping pong. I suppose it shouldn’t be terribly surprising considering the content and developments of the previous episode, but I never consciously thought that this was a dark or depressing anime. I came to the conclusion early on that this anime was realistic but never to the point that it was an unhappy one. However, after watching a happy episode and realizing how well it contrasts the rest of the series, I can’t help but figure that this anime is supposed to be some level of depressing. However, considering how powerful and outstanding the anime is, I wouldn’t have it any other way. It was refreshing to have an episode like this change the pace of the anime and offer some new perspective, like a one week vacation. However, the best elements of this anime are related to the competitiveness born through the table tennis matches. I can’t wait until the next episode when the anime returns to what it does best.

Ryuugajou Nanana no Maizoukin (Episode 6)

You know what’d make every puzzle in Nanana simple and effortless? Using a rope and grappling hook. Imagine that. Throw the grappling hook to the other side, tie the other end to something and just climb across. Ta-dah! Puzzle completed without having to waste time or energy thinking or doing anything. Oh, what’s this? A geyser puzzle with hot water and pillars that move around and spray water up your skirts? How will we get through this? Rope and grappling hook. Or what about this weird desk room with trap floors and whatnot. Rope and grappling hook. Or any other treasures that we’re bound to see. Again, rope and grappling hook. I mean, seriously, why not?

A couple weeks ago: understanding that Mushishi Zoku Shou is about how problems find Ginko, not Ginko finding problems, Kaori having the most amount of friends in Isshuukan Friends, Captain Earth finally trending in the right direction, and looking at wizards using the most modern weaponry in Hitsugi no Chaika.

Best episode of the week: Mushishi Zoku Shou

Anime trending up this week: Gochuumon wa Usagi Desu ka?

Anime trending down this week: No Game No Life

Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii (Episode 7)

Something to think about: Nike was a princess in the Principality of Rain, right? So why is she needing to go through all these courses to learn how to behave as royalty? You’d figure that growing up as a princess, that she’d learn these things in her home country and be competent when she marries the royalty of another country. I can understand her studying the history and culture and foreign relations of the new country, but why does she also need to learn table manners, the fine arts, and how to ballroom dance?

Ryuugajou Nanana no Maizoukin (Episode 7)

Something to think about: the most memorable aspect of Nanana will likely be the ubiquitous and persistent use of real video games and real anime (Star Driver) as auxiliary enjoyment. The anime could’ve gone the route of so many others and just shown blank screens or made-up video games (like what Smile plays in Ping Pong). But no, instead, Nanana utilizes actual video games and actual anime as a part of its story. And given how mediocre the anime is overall, there’s no doubt that doing something like this will be the lasting memory of this anime, provided it doesn’t do go bananas in the last episode.

Ping Pong the Animation (Episode 7)

Something to think about: we’ve seen how Koizumi coaches Tsukimoto and how their personalities conflict, but imagine for a moment if the roles were reverse and Koizumi was the personal ping pong tutor of Hoshino. I have no doubt that someone who loves the game as much as Koizumi would find it difficult to coach Hoshino but the differences in personalities and the contrast would be vastly different. Not only do the two have similar bouts of energy and excitement, which would be perfect for comedy between the two, but the professionalism of Koizumi and the laidback style of Hoshino would clash like nothing else in this anime. We’ve seen a few instances of Koizumi and Hoshino together and can guess at what a long-term relationship between the two would be like, but imagine if the anime evolved in such a way where Koizumi was Hoshino’s personal coach instead of Tsukimoto’s personal coach.

No Game No Life (Episode 7)

Something to think about: No Game No Life has spent an exceptional amount of time on its setting from explaining the history of the world to the various countries to the cultures to the magic to the games and much, much more. However, for such a vibrant, innovative and stimulating setting, we really haven’t seen much of the world besides the Kingdom of Imanity. That is to say, for all the setting that has been explained to us, we’ve only seen a small fraction of the world’s geography. I suppose at this point in the story, we don’t need to see what the other countries are like due to their hostilities toward Imanity, but it’s something to think about considering everything we’ve been told but haven’t seen.

Mushishi Zoku Shou (Episode 7)

Something to think about: virtually every episode of Mushishi is a tale of how problems find Ginko, not about Ginko finding problems. Think about it this way: every episode, Ginko is wandering around the world aimlessly without a specific issue or destination in mind. Whenever he comes to a village, he uses his keen senses and understanding of mushi to detect abnormalities or oddities. From there, Ginko invests himself in solving the issue and then, once everything is complete, he moves on to the next area. There have only been a few rare episodes where Ginko actively seeks a specific issue or person or mushi; almost every episode of Mushishi has occurred by coincidence. That is to say every episode of Mushishi is a spontaneous and serendipitous event, one born out of Ginko’s wayfarer behavior, his profound sense of helping people in need and his uncanny luck of stumbling onto the wrong problems at just the right time. It’s something fascinating to think about and one of the reasons why I am so engrossed in every episode of Mushishi.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders (Episode 8)

Something to think about: what if Jotaro and the others went a different way? What if, instead of trying to fly to Bangkok and encountering Tower of Gray, what if they flew to Beijing or Singapore or London before continuing to Cairo? Or what if they took a different flight out of Japan? You have to figure that Jotaro and the others are star-crossed, that their ill-fated luck has caused them to run into assassin after assassin just because of some poor choices and Dio’s curse. But still, imagine how uneventful everything would be if Jotaro and the others got to Cairo after flying unabated for a few days without any fights or challengers or dangers along the way.

Isshuukan Friends (Episode 7)

Something to think about: Kaori now has more friends than Yuuki. Think about it for a second and it’s actually quite amusing to see a girl with no friends now have more friends than anyone else in the anime. Of course, the anime is narrow in its scope, but Kaori now has Maiko and Ai as friends, in addition to Yuuki, Shougo and Saki. Yuuki has just Kaori, Shougo and Saki. You kinda feel bad for Yuuki but it’s more a testament to how Kaori has grown as a person and a character, to say she has more friends than anyone else in the anime now.

Hitsugi no Chaika (Episode 7)

Something to think about: Chaika and Selma are the only characters who use modern weaponry. With everyone else using swords, knives, hammers, needles, and whatnot, Chaika and Selma stand out as distinctive due to rifles. Even more curious is the fact that their rifles are mediums used for casting spells as both characters are wizards. Wizards are often associated with more classical or olden items, like wands or staves or books or relics, so it’s somewhat odd to see the wizards in this anime use the most modern weaponry, especially without any sci-fi element to the series that usually accompanies gun-wielding magicians. It makes you wonder if there are normal guns out there that shoot bullets instead of consuming magic fuel since the intricate design of these weapons lends itself to that idea. Still, at this point, it looks like guns are only used by wizards.

Captain Earth (Episode 8)

Something to think about: Captain Earth is finally doing what Captain Earth needed all along. What was missing from the anime were characters that actually did stuff and more robots fighting each other. Although Teppei and Hana are essential to the story, neither character really amounts to anything remarkable in each episode and just stands around and spouts exposition. Neither are characters of action or excitement, so by adding a new villain, Zin, Captain Earth finally adds another character with value to the anime. Additionally, we finally had a satisfying robot battle for the first time in forever and the battle animation was pretty snazzy, too. With the anime shifting its focus from space battles to land battles and introducing five new villains, I think Captain Earth is finally ready to correct a number of its faults. What this will do for the anime long-term remains to be seen, but it’s moving in a positive direction now.

Akuma no Riddle (Episode 8)

Something to think about: we’ll never get to know what Shiena’s wish is. Every assassin has had their wish revealed whenever they attempt to take Haru’s life, something that has been used to develop each character with a central and integral theme related to their personality. Shiena, however, never had a chance at her assassination attempt with Hitsugi poisoning her after finishing her assassination notice. As a result, she was incapacitated and taken to the hospital, never having a chance to kill Haru within the time limit. Because of this sudden development, her wish was never revealed and her character still largely remains a mystery. So unless something happens at the end, she’ll remain the most enigmatic character of the cast due to these unforeseen circumstances.

A long, long, long time ago, whenever these episodes aired: explaining why Ryuugajou Nanana no Maizoukin doesn’t need a villain, why the lives of Sora and Shiro are worse now than before in No Game No Life, thoughts on why the relationship between Tokaku and Haru isn’t a romance in Akuma no Riddle, and using variations in cinematography to keep the reaction shots interesting in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders.

Best episode of the week: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders

Anime trending up this week: Isshuukan Friends

Anime trending down this week: Hitsugi no Chaika

Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii (Episode 8)

One aspect of the romance in Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii that appeals greatly to me are the fights between Nike and Livi. To me, genuine character growth is born through conflict, so seeing these two lovers quarrel yet remain together is a huge positive for this anime. Many times, romances in anime are simple and tame stories, often beginning with love-at-first-sight, progressing to countless misunderstandings and then ending the anime before anything exciting happens. The romance in Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii circumnavigates this tired formula by forcing Nike and Livi together through an arranged marriage. The two are unnatural for each other and have been forced to work through their differences in order for the marriage to work. Nothing about their relationship has been easy. Nike and Livi have had to work to create the relationship that they have now. And as a result of this effort and sacrifice, the two have an honest romance that has been more than entertaining to watch. Because of the fights between these two, Nike and Livi have become better people and have developed a true romance between each other. It’s because of all this hard work that has made the romance in Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii one of the best attributes of this anime.

Ryuugajou Nanana no Maizoukin (Episode 8)

Ryuugajou Nanananananananana no Maizoukin doesn’t need a villain. From the beginning of the series up until this episode, Nanana described the story of a generic high school boy laboring to live a life on his own and attempting to help his new ghostly friend move on by solving her mysterious murder. The anime concerned itself with Juugo’s internal conflicts with his father and his gang, Matsuri, as he explored ruins, collected treasures and made friends with the wacky residents of Nanae Island. But now, with the arrival of a generic high school boy villain, the perspective of the series has shifted and gone from one centered around Juugo’s growth as a person to stopping this evil dude from finding random treasures. The focus is now completely different than the beginning of the series with only a handful of episodes left to go. And while the series will be clever and tie this back to Juugo and Nanana’s death, it isn’t necessarily the path the anime should go this late into the series. There are still plenty of potential left for Juugo and the other cast members, not to mention a handful of other ruins that we’ll never explore or material we’re now missing. It’s rather odd that they suddenly thrust a character like Ikusaba into the series when he doesn’t really add any value. It might just be my opinion, but I think adding Ikusaba in at this stage of the anime is a costly mistake.

Ping Pong the Animation (Episode 8)

Ping Pong the Animation has some of the most striking and outstanding visuals of the season. The tournament matches are gorgeous in terms of their animation, their cinematography and the overall directing. However, the topic of this review is the visual style and how Ping Pong utilizes techniques that are rarely seen in anime. Among the most obvious are the pencil lines used to denote contours, depth and shadows. It’s a style not exclusive to Ping Pong but one that Ping Pong uses remarkably well, especially with how it complements motion during scenes of extensive animation. It’s minimal but it’s highly effective. One style that is exclusive to Ping Pong, at least to me, is the heavy pencil shading shows in the lower-left screenshot. It’s an outstanding effect; a simple, yet bold shadow that enhances the moment we witness Hoshino’s trickery and aggressive return. It’s profound in how it supplements that shot and it is distinctive to Ping Pong’s unique style of art and animation. The cinematography is exceptional too, utilizing split screens more than any other anime I have ever seen. Likely a tribute to the manga and its panels, the split-screens are able to illustrate all the essential movements of a table-tennis match while simultaneously communicating the thoughts and emotions of the players and the spectators. The visuals of Ping Pong are brilliant and are truly innovative when compared to the standard anime these days. It’s thanks to this visual style that helps Ping Pong stand out from the rest… or rather, stand above the rest.

No Game No Life (Episode 8)

Although No Game No Life is one of the more entertaining anime of the season, the lives of Sora and Shiro aren’t particularly fun. While it’s true they don’t have to worry about food or shelter or interesting games to play, most of their time is devoted to learning about their world, studying the unusual races, and trying to identify all the different ways to win the various games they’ll play. It’s not like their old lives, where they resided in a small, cramped room all day and played various games merely for fun. Here, it’s actual work. Everything that Sora and Shiro are doing are related to these games and winning in general, but they’re putting a lot more effort into these games than ever before, especially with so much more at stake. Because of that, I can’t help but think that the lives of Sora and Shiro are actually worse off than they were before. Sure, it’s more exciting and thrilling and a nice change of pace, but considering the extra amount of work and stress that’s now a significant part of their lives, I’d have to say that their lives are worse now after being transported to this world.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders (Episode 9)

If there’s one thing you can predict from JoJo’s, it’s that it is unpredictable. And because the anime is unpredictable, with all its various twists and turns, you can expect there will be a number of reactions shots in every episode. And while reactions shots are an integral and essential aspect of JoJo’s, the frequency of these shots and the lack of significant changes in emotion or context mean they’re more likely to grow stale or boring or mundane than anything else. That’s where the creative expertise is most necessary and quite apparent in JoJo’s. By utilizing differing camera angles, a massive variety of colors and some unique effects, JoJo’s is able to diversify these similar shots to make each distinctive and unique. In actuality, all these are all shots of character’s face looking surprised. But in reality, these are all idiosyncratic and all unique. Each one of these shots looks and feels different from the rest. And as a result of this artistic merit, the numerous and often overabundant reaction shots in JoJo’s never feel tiring or overused. It’s a wonderful method of diversifying shots through simple techniques that manages to have a powerful effect on the anime in the long run.

Isshuukan Friends (Episode 8)

Watching Kaori’s memory slowly recover and her life steadily improve makes Isshuukan Friends one of the more heartwarming and encouraging anime of the year. However, what if Kaori’s memory never developed and the series was stuck with her forgetting everyone at the beginning of every week, like in the first few episodes. What’s nice is that we’re able to see Kaori improve as the series progresses, but how would things be different if her memories remained the same as they did at the beginning of the series. How would it affect Yuuki? And how would it affect Shougo and Saki, too? It would be a different direction to take the story and the anime in, and it’s something worth thinking about since that’s how the story began. However, it’s probably best to see Kaori’s character mature and develop in the series in a way to move the series forward. With only a limited number of episodes and a story to tell, it’s for the best to see the series move in the way we are seeing. Nevertheless, I’d still like to see what’d happen in a story where Kaori’s memory never improved.

Hitsugi no Chaika (Episode 8)

What are the limitations of magic in this world? From what we’ve seen so far, magic is able to be utilized for a number of pertinent activities, from driving a vehicle to operating a gun (casting spells) to even mundane tasks, like cooking or communication. But what else can magic be used for? We know that magic fuel is readily bought and sold in common marketplaces, despite it being a precious material derived from the memories of living beings (but hey, let’s use it for fireworks!) We’ve also seen it able to control weapons that can fly through the air and also used to cause explosions that would destroy military defenses. We’ve also seen it used for a number of other odd things, too, like with the valley of fog. So really, what are the drawbacks of magic in this world if it can be seemingly used for everything and is able to be bought and sold without the memories problem that happened to Chaika?

Akuma no Riddle (Episode 9)

For two characters who spend every moment with each other, he relationship between Tokaku and Haru hasn’t been very romantic. The two are essentially a couple, but Tokaku and Haru don’t display any genuine or honest affection toward each other. There doesn’t seem to be any love or romance or sexual attraction between the two either. Hell, it’s almost hard to call them friends given Tokaku’s cold personality and hindered social skills, but Haru makes up for more than that with her bright, outgoing personality. Still, the two don’t even hold hands or look passionately into each other’s eyes. It’s more like the two are business associates than anything else. However, there’s still quite a bit of content left in the series and things can change quickly, especially since the two have been together for the entire series. It will be interesting to see what happens to the relationship now with the series approaching its finale, especially with the mystery of Haru’s character still in the dark.

Back whenever these episodes of anime aired: how detailing the background characters in Isshuukan Friends represents Kaori’s growth as a character, wondering if Adashino-sensei is Ginko’s only friend in Mushishi Zoku Shou, being frustrated with the expositions in No Game No Life, and why I’m going to miss Ryuugajou Nanana no Maizoukin when it’s over.

Best episode of the week: Mushishi Zoku Shou

Anime trending up this week: Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii

Anime trending down this week: No Game No Life

Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii (Episode 9)

The anime may be named The World is Still Beautiful, but the anime has hardly focused on the world or anything beautiful in recent episodes. Remember back to when Nike first met Livi, that she claimed she couldn’t love him without him realizing the beauty of the world around him. Well, so much for that. The anime has apparently forgotten about that major detail and seen the turbulent and disorderly relationship of Nike and Livi develop without that essential prerequisite. Instead, we’ve been treated to empty conflicts from beautiful uncles and pushy princesses instead of learning about the world that Nike wants Livius to appreciate. And to make things worse, we’ve been forced to stay inside the Sun Kingdom’s gigantic castle without escape or a breath of fresh air. So with this most recent episode taking us to the Principality of Rain, we’re able to go back to that fundamental point of the series and see the land that Princess Nike so dearly loves. And the results have been phenomenal. Not only has this been the best episode of the series since its premiere episode but the anime was able to return to its roots in fleshing out Nike’s character and exposing her beautiful world to Livius. Furthermore, the episode was actually fun with Nike’s family providing genuine humor and showing the quirky, laid-back nature of her family and her country in contrast to the formal and steadfast style of Livi’s. The two nations do an outstanding job of revealing the stark differences between Nike and Livius and helped reinforce why Nike wants Livi to appreciate the world around him. I can only hope the result of this story arc is that Livius begins to understand and appreciate the world around him and why it means so much to Nike. Hopefully Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii can salvage this message before it’s too late.

Ryuugajou Nanana no Maizoukin (Episode 9)

Although Nanana’s Buried Treasure is in the lower half of anime for me this season, it’s a show I don’t necessarily want to see end this month. Even though I have had issues with the flimsy and often forgotten story and the lack of significant character development, the series has been surprisingly charming and entertaining. The anime has the right combination ingredients, from its setting, its adventures and especially its characters, for it to be fun, stupid and silly and all in a good way. And because of that, I’m sad to see it ending despite it being mediocre overall. Furthermore, we know the series still has plenty of content that will remain untold since the award-winning light novels is at 7 volumes and still ongoing. Even though I might be a little harsh on my grading for this series in the end, it’s one that I hope returns to television sometime soon since it is an anime that I enjoy. I don’t often say that about anime that I rank lowly, but I’ll be keeping my eye out for more Nanana in the future.

Ping Pong the Animation (Episode 9)

I don’t have much to say on the flashbacks in Ping Pong, but I am very happy with how they were used to support character development and thrilled with their impact on the story. The flashbacks were some of my favorite scenes in the anime, especially as the series progressed and we began to piece these scenes together and understand the complex friendship between Smile and Peco. The flashbacks were an essential aspect of the series and integral to the character development and the progression of the story. Each time a flashback happened, it helped connect a point from the present with a point in the past and helped link the whole anime together. In terms of storytelling, the flashbacks were utilized flawlessly.

No Game No Life (Episode 9)

If there’s one major knock on No Game No Life, it’s that the expositions have been poorly adapted. The No Game No Life anime is an adaption of a light novel series, so the original story is in an all-text medium that’s broken up by the occasional pages with cute girls on them. In literature, expositions like the ones we’ve seen in No Game No Life are fine, if not expected, since the ideal way to explain something in a novel is through a sensible monologue or discussion that provides clarification. Anime, however, is a visual-medium which depends heavily on pictures and voices to communicate its story. Because of these extra dimensions, anime can be more creative and inspired when presenting expositions. For example, Hyouka does an exceptional job when explaining its mysteries by utilizing dramatizations and illustrations to enhance the exposition and deliver a product that’s exciting to watch. With No Game No Life, many of the expositions are presented as characters talking without much else. Yes, there are accompanying visuals that help reinforce the exposition that’s occurring concurrently, but the scenes are largely lackluster with the adaption being a bit too strict and rigid. In literature, there really is no other way to present these expositions than to just lay it out in blocks of text. But that doesn’t mean that anime, a medium that is multi-dimensional, should adapt it in the exact same way, unless it wants to make these scenes boring and monotonous. Since anime are able to present graphics and illustrations, not to mention voices and music, why not try to add some innovation or inspiration to these expositions to make them more interesting like the comedy and action of the series? The anime has done remarkable work in regards to these other elements, so why not provide the same treatment for the expositions? Instead, it seems as though No Game No Life is fine with focusing on the monologues and adapting these scenes as just monologues. However, the series could do much, much more with these scenes, especially with how frequently these monologues occur. But really, if that’s the biggest complaint I have about this series, then the anime must be doing quite a bit else correctly. Still, these expositions are by far my least favorite aspect of the anime, so it’s not surprising that I’d be so harsh on something like this.

Mushishi Zoku Shou (Episode 8)

Is Adashino-sensei really Ginko’s only friend? With Ginko’s nomadic lifestyle and with so few recurring characters in Mushishi, the seaside village doctor makes a considerable impression despite the fact that he’s appeared in only a handful of episodes between the two seasons. Tanyuu, the scribe that’s been featured in the two seasons, is the only other notable recurring character in this anime, and her relationship with Ginko is a bit more formal and complex than that between Ginko and Adashino. The doctor’s fascination with the paranormal and occult allows him to have a different type of relationship with Ginko than everyone else. We see a different side of Ginko every time we see him paired with Adashino. So in that sense, Ginko is friends with Adashino or, at the very least, Ginko is more personal with him than anyone else. But is there no one else out there who has a similar relationship with Ginko? We’ve seen him communicate with other mushishi or partake in festivities, but his personality is always the same, distant and relaxed while still being kindhearted and compassionate. Really, the only time we see Ginko’s personality change for the positive – that is when he’s not getting angry at the foolish people he’s helping – it’s with Adashino-sensei. So based on what we’ve observed so far with Ginko, it seems as though Adashino is his only friend. Then again, for someone like Ginko whose purpose is to wander the round Earth and help those who need help, maybe it’s not so bad he only has one friend. After all, given his occupation and lifestyle, it must be difficult to maintain relationships like that seeing as he’s never in one area for too long.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders (Episode 10)

Stands in JJBA are the embodiment and visual personification of a person’s control over ripple (hamon). Essentially, they are powerful representations spiritual energy and ability that are dependent on the people who can summon them. So considering the relationship between person and stand, you’d figure each would be similar to their master. However, a majority of the stands are different from their masters and many stands are not organic in appearance with many featuring metallic components or being chimeras. Just a few examples thus far: Hanged Man has a metallic shell over its brain; Magician’s Red has the head of a bird of prey; Hierophant Green is certainly interesting, considering it looks more machine than man; let’s not forget about Strength, the stand controlled by the orangutan Forever… it was a giant freighter. For these to be extensions of their users is simply remarkable considering how often these stands are non-human or non-organic. Just what about these people and their control over ripple causes their stands to take such forms? I’d love to find out but I’m not sure anyone knows how or why these Stands take these forms. At least not yet, anyway.

Isshuukan Friends (Episode 9)

The background characters in One Week Friends were never really well defined. The reason for this could be two-fold. For one reason, it could be an artistic representation of how Kaori is isolated due to her repeatedly losing memories of her friends and the fact that she can’t reach out to others as a means of forming new friendships. Another reason could be that the series wanted to separate Yuuki and Kaori from everyone else and to solely focus on those two together. For whatever reason, it was interesting to see the classroom very featureless and vague. However, I noticed that the background characters are more defined and distinctive now. These characters that were simply ambiguous before now have discriminating features. And if there’s meaning behind it, it could relate to the points before. By having these background characters appear more human could be a visual illustration of how Kaori’s social skills are improving and that everyone around her seems more approachable or sociable. It could also mean that, as Kaori gains more friends, that the world is opening up around her and that it’s not just Yuuki and Kaori anymore. Whatever the reason, the fact that the background characters are more noticeable and recognizable is certainly significant as the series has progressed. It might not really amount to anything significant or noteworthy in the end, but there’s an interesting correlation there between the two. I’d like to think that having more distinguished background characters is a sign that Kaori is opening up and that she’s able to interact with people better, so I’ll imagine that this was intended for that very reason and that it is exactly as I described it.

Akuma no Riddle (Episode 10)

How interesting. After debating with myself earlier this season on whether the failed assassins live or die in Akuma no Riddle my theory was confirmed in this episode with Otoya making a surprise appearance. Even more surprising was to see where she was at the start of this episode and considering her objective. What was most interesting about her appearance was that she was in prison, possibly for having been caught after an assassination. She was able to escape and returned to the academy to murder Haru, despite having failed her mission and being expelled from the Black Class. So what does this mean for all the other girls who have exited the classroom? It appears as those Nio and the others organizing this game aren’t keeping a watchful eye on them and that they’re free to do whatever they want. Does that mean that the other girls will make an appearance before the finale? I can only hope that we see the entire cast again, one last time, when the whole plot of this anime is revealed and we learn what was truly going on between Haru and the others.

Back sometime, whenever week 11 was: questioning whether Ginko is happy or not in Mushishi Zoku Shou, why the infamous grins in Akuma no Riddle were perfect, examining the contrast between the different Kaoris in Isshuukan Friends, and a candidate for the best episode of anime of the year from Ping Pong the Animation.

Best episode of the week (and maybe the year): Ping Pong the Animation

Anime trending up this week: Mushishi Zoku Shou

Anime trending down this week: Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii

Ryuugajou Nanana no Maizoukin (Episode 10)

Although it’s been established at the beginning that Nanana was murdered, there’s reason to speculate that there may be more to this story than what we’re being told. As of right now, there has been little information on the cause of death (what killed Nanana) or possible culprits or even motives for murdering this bright and delightful teenager. Additionally, with all the fantasy and magic occurring as a result of Nanana’s treasure, what’s not to say that Nanana’s ghostly form is a side effect of one of those very treasures? Or maybe Nanana saw the bleakness in her endeavors, that no one went to her island for fun and adventure like she had hoped and that everyone was competing against each other for greed and selfishness, and took her own life (oh, how I’d love this anime if it were to become dark like this at the end). But really, we don’t know anything about Nanana’s death but we do know a lot about the magic attributed to the artifacts that are present on Nanae Island. And given Nanana’s connection to the island, the treasures and the fact that she’s the only ghost we’ve seen, there’s probably something going on that is more than a simple murder mystery. Unfortunately, with only one episode left, I doubt we’ll ever learn what happened without having to pick up the light novels.

Ping Pong the Animation (Episode 10)

The table tennis matches in Ping Pong have been the greatest thing of any anime this entire season, with this episode being the pinnacle, the unquestioned best. Not only was this episode free of flaws, but the indisputable passion, the mesmerizing kinetics and the exceptional imagery were all conveyed in the captivating animation and extraordinary art work that made this episode unforgettable. It was truly a remarkable experience, and I am confident we have a strong candidate for the best episode of the year, too, with Ping Pong episode ten.

No Game No Life (Episode 10)

It seems as though all the nations and federations in No Game No Life are that of the same people. Whenever we hear of another country, it’s not that it’s a nation that has different cultures or economies or technologies or geographic location… but instead, it’s that of a homogeneous race. When talking about the nation of elves or the nation of werebeasts, Sora and Shiro and everyone else are pretty much just saying ‘elves’ and ‘werebeasts’ instead. That leads to the question of whether there are any nations where different races live and cooperate together. You figure with each race having certain specific attributes that some intelligent nation would identify their weaknesses and cover it by inviting different races together to build a stronger empire. Or what about someone establishing their own country and inviting neglected or unhappy members of different races together in the name of freedom and equality? Or not even that, what about collaborations between the current countries as they are now? For example, suppose one of the other nations coveted the technology of the werebeasts and wanted to provide capital or labor or something in exchange. It’s rather odd to see how isolated each of these races/countries are and how there is little to no cooperation between each other. To date, the only nation that really accomplishes this is Imanity and they only have an elf and a Flügel. It’s no surprise that Sora and Shiro are able to capitalize on this diversity as they’ve utilized their special abilities to their advantage.

Mushishi Zoku Shou (Episode 9)

Is Ginko happy? Mushishi is a series that focuses primarily on Ginko’s influence on the people around him with only a handful of episodes focusing on him as the main character. Even then, the episodes are chiefly on the subject of how Ginko is affected by various mushi rather than his history, what he’s thinking or how he plans his adventures. And given how well he hides his emotions, if he has any beyond that blank gaze, it’s hard to say if Ginko is happy with his life and is satisfied with his work. That’s not to say he isn’t giddy or relieved when he cures a stranger of their ailments or resolves an issue between man and nature, but the satisfaction he feels is fleeting and he immediately shifts back into straight-faced Ginko as soon as he turns his back and wanders away. So is Ginko happy in the traditional sense? He’s certainly content and calm, two words I would use to describe Ginko before even thinking of the word happy. But, if Ginko weren’t happy with his life and his work, wouldn’t you figure he’d do something different with his time? Given his interest in mushi, he could devote his life to studying them alongside Tanyuu in the Karibusa family archives. He could also become a mentor to novice mushishi and transfer his knowledge to a new generation of healers. Ginko could also raise awareness of the dangers of mushi to the communities, in a role similar to modern public health. The point here being, there are plenty of other things Ginko could be doing with his life, with many related to mushi and utilizing his knowledge and professional skills. Still, the fact that he continues to wander from area to area and heal those who need his skills shows that he finds fulfillment and value in his work. It may not translate into happiness for Ginko and he may not display his emotions as such, but it points to an indication that Ginko is happy with his life. So returning to the question posed at the beginning of this review, yes, I would argue that Ginko is happy, though you wouldn’t guess it from looking at his face.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders (Episode 11)

One aspect of JJBA that makes it one of my favorite anime is that it manages to be both dramatic and silly simultaneously. It’s a quality that’s difficult to execute and largely depends on the cast of characters, the humor and the context of the scenes or the story. However, JJBA rises to the challenge and accomplishes this demanding task rather effortlessly. Perhaps the most integral aspect of achieving this feat is that JJBA knows that it is silly and that it embraces this characteristic. With its knowledge of the shounen/fighting genre, JJBA is able to exploit the quirky personalities of its cast and the diversity of the stands (and fighters) to create a genuine and amusing parody of the genre. And rather than shy away from this aspect or have it take backseat to the story, JJBA portrays this as a foremost aspect of the series, which provides both charm and entertainment. However, JJBA knows its boundaries and doesn’t go overboard with its silliness either. Instead, it balances itself nicely between the two spectrums of being silly and being serious and with a tip to one side usually means a tip back in the other sometime shortly thereafter. That is, when it gets either too silly or too serious, it often will correct itself with some humor or something meaningful before too long. As a result, JJBA has quickly become a personal favorite due to this outstanding feature of the franchise.

Isshuukan Friends (Episode 10)

The contrast between Kaoris is quite amazing. With normal Kaori, you have a sweet, thoughtful girl who’s bright, cheerful and engaging, which is astonishing considering she’s gone years without strong social interactions and was probably the target of bullying because of it. That’s right, you have the Kaori of the past, the suspicious Kaori who cannot recall memories of her friends or others around her. This default nature is the complete opposite of normal Kaori, where she’s cautious, apprehensive and distrustful. And all because of her memories. And only because of her memories. To see the contrasting personalities of Kaori, especially in an episode like this so late in the series, is nothing short of remarkable. These default personalities are so unlike, yet they belong to the same person and are both natural for her. It’s amazing what something simple like information can do to a person and how that can translate into how others react or interact with them. And after experiencing normal Kaori for so long, to go back and see the progress that she and Yuuki have made is truly heartwarming and inspiring. There’s no doubt that watching Kaori grow as a person is my favorite aspect of this anime and witnessing scenes like this is a reminder to how much she’s grown and matured over the course of this Isshuukan Friends.

Captain Earth (Episode 11)

So what’s up with these squirrels from outer space? From what we’ve seen of Pitz and Lappa, the two brightly-colored, this-can’t-be-good-for-camouflage squirrels, they’re able to accurately predict future events of immense Orgone energy disruption and communicate with humanoid aliens by squeaking like a children’s plush toy. So besides their usefulness to the plot and making Hana and Setsuna seem cuter by companionship, what’s the real deal with these creatures? I’m really curious if there are more of these things in outer space and if we’ll get a color-coordinated sentai team of them before too long. But the main question I have regarding these fluffy, little things are in regards to how they predict Orgone energy and why they’re able to communicate with Hana. What is it about them that allows them to be used as reliable instruments to predict future events? Did they obtain this trait through evolution or were they toyed with like so many other characters in the series? The follow-up to that is then how Pitz is able to communicate to Hana… or maybe I should be asking how Hana is able to understand Pitz. There’s clearly something going on with these squirrels and these girls now that we’ve seen two pairs now. And since we’re not even at the halfway point in the series, I’m really curious to see if there are any secrets or surprises regarding these seemingly innocent space squirrels.

Akuma no Riddle (Episode 11)

Without a doubt, the most memorable aspect of this anime will be all the times the girls made their amusing ‘evil grins’, complete with the jagged shark teeth and special lighting effects. A part of me wishes these grins weren’t so over-the-top, that they were more subtle or cunning, especially since most of the faces made didn’t fit the characters, their personalities, or how they were supposed to be super assassins. No, those evil grin faces were hilarious and easily became a talking point for the series, especially early on. Although they served no real purpose for the anime besides making the characters look slightly more villainous, these enjoyable smiles are probably what I’ll remember most from this anime whenever I think back to it. That’s not to say this anime was without its strong points or that I didn’t like it – quite the opposite, really, with it being among my top anime for the season at this point – but that the evil grins with shark teeth were so out-there that it created an unforgettable quality for this series. Had these faces only happened once or twice, it wouldn’t have had the same impact, but Akuma no Riddle employed this technique in virtually every episode and often multiple times. It was this constant emphasis on these ‘evil grin’ faces that helped create this fond memory of the series. I’m still not quite sure why they were used in Akuma no Riddle, but I am thankful they used them.