Been gone for awhile

So I have been gone for pretty much a month now due to my studies and other things such as music getting in the way. I just graduated yesterday and most of my musical projects just finished up so I should have some free time coming up to post about some of the anime I am currently watching.

Oh Bioware and your sh!$$y customer service

So I have been on hold for literally 3 hours now trying to get my early access to the new expansion that I paid for within the bounds of their deadline. It should be a simple "Oh you did pay and receive a conf. email on the 7th of Jan. Let me enable this for you." Done it would be that easy but no here I sit typing this out and still waiting for someone to pick up. Even the in-game service is slow and I have yet to receive a response there or even on the forums. Seriously thinking about canceling my sub this is the worst service I have ever encountered.

More New Airing Anime Initial Thoughts: "Namiuchigiwa no Muromi-san", "Zettai Bouei Leviathan", "Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai", "Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Come wa Machigatteiru" and "Shingeki no Kyojin"

So I have watched pretty much everything that has been released thus far and I have to say that although there is some crap mixed in, there are a couple shows that I just know I will end up liking.

So starting with the not so impressive we have Namiuchigiwa no Muromi-san. It is going to be using the twelve minute format rather than the full twenty four so I initially wasn’t going to get my hopes up. This is however going to be that super raunchy and perverted show (may not be the only one) for this season. All of the jokes are sexual based and while every second of the show tries to throw in some sort of gag, I did find myself somewhat enjoying it. The animation was actually to my liking; the lighting is very well done and the overall design of the scenes seems pretty unique. I cannot really say anything else about this show just yet; for now it will stay on my watch list.

Next on the not so sure list is Zettai Bouei Leviathan. This show is going to essentially boil down to a trio of girls who will most likely go on some sort of adventure together in order to defeat the bad guys. The three main characters seem to work well with each other so hopefully the story flows well. The animation is pretty average but with some good aspects slipping in like lighting and the fight scenes. So far all I can tell is that this is going to be your average comedic adventure.

Now the next show is one that I did not enjoy very much when it first aired but for some reason I feel sorta obligated to watch it. Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai is the bother sister comedy from 2010 that send a shockwave throughout the anime community. While there are a vast amount of supporters for this show, I just cannot get behind a show that has such a repulsing main character. This character Kirino is the reason why I hope to god I do not have a girl if I ever decide to have children. I do not get why anyone would like her she is abusive, manipulative, and two faced. In some positive news the animation seems to have gotten a slight boost from its previous season. Reflections are nicely done and the character models look great. I’ll be sticking this one out just so I can write a horrid review on it in the end.

Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Come wa Machigatteiru (god these anime titles are getting longer and longer) while not coming off as crap certainly did not come off amazing. The first thing I noticed was that the main male character looks exactly like the one from Sankarea. He even has somewhat the same personality. Essentially our main character is forced to join a club due to his last of effort on an assignment. In this club, he and the club leader must help people that come for assistance (Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakama-tachi anyone?). Umm the chemistry between the two club members seems to be good so hopefully they will bring some interesting moments. Animation is ok nothing else to really say on that. Looks like it has potential to be good so I’ll stick this one out.

Ok so the one anime that has just screamed out at me as something worth watching is Shingeki no Kyojin. The entire episode does a great job setting up what the focus of the entire season is going to be; revenge. While the whole “I must avenge my family” thing has been done a billion times, I honestly felt for the main character when sh!@ got real towards the end of the episode. The main character seems head strong and actually has balls unlike some other male protagonists. The animation is very good as the giant titans look amazing and all the shots done at sunset have an amazing quality due to the lighting. If you are going to pick one anime to watch this season I would put your money on this one. It looks like it is going to be a straight up action bloodbath will no unnecessary ecchi stuff thrown in.

New Airing Anime Initial Thoughts: "Aku no Hana" and "Devil Survivor 2"

So the new anime have started rolling out and I am still in the process of deciding what I will stick with. Of the plethora amount of new airing anime, I have only seen episode one of Aku no Hana and Devil Survivor 2 and I have to say they both seem pretty unique.

Starting with Aku no Hana I really don’t know what to think about it so far. I was very interested within the first two minutes due to the very unique animation style and the very airy and engaging piano track that gets repeated throughout the episode. The animation is shooting for a much more realistic approach rather than what most anime try to go for (you know super slender character models with outrageous bust sizes with lights and reflections going crazy). It depicts a much more real feeling Japan since the atmosphere feels much blander and you see many different characters with very different statures. The animation itself though I am not a huge fan of. The refresh rate is quite low so when you see a character changing their expression, it is not a smooth transition at all. Also whether or not you see facial features is totally dependent on how far away a certain character is from wherever the camera is. So if a character is walking towards the camera, you will see a blank face from far away but as they approach closer and closer, you will see the eyes then the mouth. It is unique I will give them that but all in all it is quite distracting. As far as the plot goes, I cannot really comment on it since I don’t know what the fu#@ is going to happen.

Devil Survivor 2 as far as I can tell is going to feel a lot like Xam’d: Lost Memories since they seem to have the same general plot device. We essentially have three fish out of water characters that are forcefully introduced and thrown into a situation they did not want but they will have to learn how to deal with it. Each of the main three characters was involved in a train crash that should have killed them. They were given the option to live on and thus they were granted these “avatars” to use in whatever situation they see fit. They end up fighting different monsters that they just label “demons” and at the end of episode one, they are arrested by some government type people. Right off the bat I was really digging the animation. The scenes are bright and have some awesome reflections especially off of the eyes. Speaking about the eyes, I love how they are drawn. I cannot tell you why I like them so much it’s just a personal quality I like about animation. The sound was good at best; I like the voice actors but the music seems kind of generic thus far. Characters start to grow closer to each other as the episode progresses so I hope they keep up the character development throughout later episodes.

Out of these two anime I can already tell that this anime season is going to (hopefully) bring much more than the typical high school drama stuff that we got force fed last season. As more anime get released I will try to comment on each one and by early next week I should have a list of what anime I plan to stick with. Also look for some more reviews on last season’s anime sometime this weekend.

Winter Anime Season Review

Well guys (and of course gals) this past anime season has pretty much ended with some mixed feelings. It way by far one of the most moe filled ones I have ever taken part in and while a couple shows caught my attention in the beginning, most of them ended up being average in my books. My early pick for favorites Kotoura-san, OreShura, and Maoyuu Maou Yuusha all ended up disappointing my overall expectations. I had extremely high hopes for both Kotoura-san and OreShura but they both took their interesting premise and awesome first episodes and just decided to go full on blaaa shortly after. Maoyuu Maou Yuusha started out ok and never really rose above or below that so overall I wasn't too disappointed in that particular instance. The other shows however ended up even worse than these three. Sasami-san in my honest opinion was just a huge mess trying to be clever, Problem Children started out decent but never "wowed" me, and the new season of Boku wa Tomodachi was just average since nothing really progressed. I picked up Suki-tte Ii na yo pretty late on so it was kind of enjoyable since I was able to speed watch the entire series but I feel as if it would of been a little worse if I had to wait an entire week for the next episode since each one did not progress very far. (I am such a noob since I just realized that Suki-tte Ii na yo aired during the fall season of last year...) Ahhh and the total crap anime award goes to Da Capo III since I never liked it at any point during the season. I mean come on the only people who are going to like this are the people who played the games. The anime was so completely lifeless and I had absolutely 0% invested feelings towards any of the characters. AND THE ENDING OMG (mouse over to see the hidden text) "Uhhh well I don't want to choose one of you so lets all stay friends." God I hate protagonists who cannot make a decision.

Well anyways the only shows I genuinely ended up liking were Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo and Tamako Market for their characters ability to provide interesting scenes. Also the soundtrack in Tamako Market might be the best one I have heard in anime [sorry Aria :(]. I haven't finished Initial D: Fifth Stage yet since it seems very hard to find them but I pretty much like it even if it feels the most lifeless out of all the Initial D's. As for reviews I have already uploaded ones for Tamako Market, Kotoura-san, and Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo and I intend on trying to put out a review for each anime I watched this season (people HAVE to know to avoid Da Crapo). This season was a disappointment overall but had a few hidden gems. I haven't really looked at what to watch for this coming season so here I go hoping that there are some decent ones -___-.

"Tamako Market" Anime Review

In our world today, most people turn to anime for over the top action or thought provoking thrillers (Dragon Ball Z, Death Note, Naruto, ext.) but there is something that anime has brought that most people glaze over. Aria was one of the first anime I experienced as a child and while it contained a very slow paced plot (since it was a slice of life), it literally made my day watching it. It contained characters and music that were so in synch it made it such a unique watch. Years later we have Tamako Market which in a lot of ways mirrors what I loved about Aria.

Story: 6.5/10
In a slice of life anime, it is hard to get a large amount of appeal unless they rely on moe type stuff to get a large viewer base. While Tamako Market does have some moe elements, it is the very spot on pacing and character development in which Tamako Market in my honest opinion becomes a spiritual successor to Aria. Both shows follow a small cast of characters on their daily routines while also taking place in a seemingly conflict free world in which they are free to do whatever they fancy. Both shows also bring out the question, “What do I want to do in life?” Both Aria and Tamako realize by the end of the show what and where is their true calling. Since all the show does is follow the main characters, you might think it would get boring real fast. Well you are wrong on that front because the character interactions are all funny and/or engaging. The character Dela who is a bird who talks usually steals the spotlight in the scenes he takes place in since he is usually both the starter and resolver of conflicts due to his all mighty personality. The anime does rely on some gag type comedy but nothing is overused beyond their usage. One recurring gag is when someone sneezes on Dela, he takes it as an act of courting since it is such an action in his home country. The plot does start out a little slow in the beginning but the show steadily brings in new elements to add towards the final episode. While it isn’t the most thought provoking plot, you will still hopefully enjoy the interactions between the characters.

Animation: 7/10
The animation is a little lacking but by no means horrible. The colors are on the plain side but in terms of the actual animation the show does a really good job of keeping a smooth frame rate especially on the scenes where there are objects in motion. Character models are nice throughout the entire season; nothing really else to add.

Sound: 9.7/10
So I happen to be very much into acoustic qualities and how it affects film. A lot of people do not understand how an amazing score/soundtrack can really make something shine. Visuals are important but it is the sound that makes your chest shake during an explosion or the emotions you feel when a character is crying and the voice actor is doing a great job expressing the in-film character’s emotions. In the case of Tamako Market it happens to all of these things but the music takes the main prize. The music used in this show is light, cheerful, and used perfectly in all the scenes. The opening song is also amazing as it is catchy and has great instrumentation. The soundtrack is so good that I plan on buying the OST when it comes out.

Best opening song...EVER

Characters: 9.5/10
Slice of life shows HAVE to have a good cast or it goes to sh!%. Unless you have a show like Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei that has a character for literally every possible situation, your limited size cast has to provide scenes that are pleasing to the audience. In my honestly opinion, I think that the characters of Tamako Market did an astounding job providing thirteen funny and enjoying episodes of goodness. All four high school students (plus the bird Dela) do an excellent job interacting with each other in both mundane and unique ways. The scenes where Mochizou and Tamako talk to each other from their rooms using the two cups connected by a string reminds me of my youth when that seemed like the cool thing to do. The interactions between Mochizou and Midori were interesting to watch since Midori is overprotective of Tamako and Mochizou is so fu#$ing clueless about girls. The star Dela really brought the show together with his personality and lack of knowledge. I don’t want to sound fanboyish but I am having a hard time trying to find anything wrong with the cast. I am pretty sure that anyone who watches this show will enjoy the characters.

Overall: 8.2/10
This show is not going to appeal to everyone. I and many people are getting fed up with the anime industry’s push for more and more slice of life anime with a heavy emphasis on moe. It seems as if studios are becoming more reserved on making a new amazing action adventure or thriller type anime. When Fate/Zero came out it was a breath of fresh air because it was awesome, fresh, new. I want more anime that takes risks BUT in the mists of all the moe crap going on currently, something arose from the garbage and gave me something to look forward to each week. Tamako Market is the rainy day anime of the 2000’s. With an amazing soundtrack and cast, I honestly cannot think of any reasons why someone might not like this show. Don’t go into it thinking it is going to wow you with emotions and actions; just sit back, relax, and watch some youngsters live out their life. You might even laugh along the way.

"Kotoura-san" Anime Review

Well it’s finally over. I hate to say it but I had such high hopes for this show after seeing the opening episode but while Kotoura-san is energetic, beautiful to look at, and full of interesting characters, it falls far short of what I feel it was striving for.

Story: 5/10

This anime takes many steps forward in trying to make this drama/slice of life interesting but unfortunately falls down the stairs one too many times. The show opens up in such an amazing fashion; Haruka is a very young girl who was born with the ability to read peoples thoughts. Unknowingly she spreads out everyone’s feelings and soon finds herself all alone at a very vulnerable stage. She also in the process ruins her parents’ marriage by babbling out their personal plans with some not so ok people. She ends up at rock bottom with no one to turn to except her grandfather. Flash-forward a couple years to high school and she is still very shy and scared of reading people’s thoughts. Just when she is about to give up all hope, she is introduced to Yoshihisa who takes a liking to Haruka despite her ability to see and hear every one of his thoughts. So this premise is freaking awesome right!? The first three episodes had me completely hooked because the premise was interesting and it felt like it was going to be a semi-serious high school drama. Well though luck kids because this show runs down stale lane after about the fifth episode. What the show turns into is your typical “This is what our club (the ESP society) did today” which don’t get me wrong isn’t a bad thing for some shows. Why it doesn’t work in Kotoura-san is because there was this big whole setup to make me think this show could be more than a romantic comedy. Speaking of comedy, the slapstick style humor and running gags in this show were funny the first time they were introduced but when the main gag of a show is the main character thinking of really pervy stuff and getting slapped for it…like every episode, it gets a little boring. With crap airing right now like Da Capo III and Little Busters, I was really hoping this was going to be that somewhat awesome drama that Maoyuu Maou Yuusha also could have been (I found out that show was just all about boobs). After revising all the airing anime this season, I have to unfortunately agree with the rest of the internet in saying that there was just way too much moe stuff this season.

Animation: 7.9/10

Grr this is a tough thing to talk about because the animation in this show is both really basic looking but also fantastic…all at the same time. There really isn’t a lot of work done on the character models and in typical anime fashion when a comedic scene pops up, the facial expressions on the characters turn extremely basic looking for an added effect. Why I also fit in fantastic as an adjective is because the lighting, quality of the backdrops, and how the eyes were animated was just so…awesome. “What this guy is giving a good score based on eye animation?” Yes, yes I am because like I said in my Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo review the show has a “normal” feeling towards it but the little elements make it shine. The animation while a little too cartoony for my tastes was still unique and very pretty to look at. It would have scored even higher but I didn’t find some of the character models very appealing.

Started out awesome

Then turned into this...

Sound: 6.5/10

The sound design was in my opinion pretty average in this anime. I did enjoy the opening theme quite a lot as it was both catchy and the instrumentation was to my liking. The voice actors also did a pretty good job but I got so fu#$ing annoyed with Haruka saying in her high pitched voice “Ewww Manabe!” over…and over…and over again. Also the music used during the show was very generic and just not very appealing.

Characters: 6/10

The problem with the characters in Kotoura-san is that the ones that are interesting and unique don’t give you a reason to like them and the main characters (Haruka and Yoshihisa) annoy the fu#$ out of you. So see the problem here? Yuriko and Daichi are both interesting but Yuriko’s hidden agenda and true feelings just make her feel no remorse on my end and Hiyori is just an annoying tomboy third wheel. I do have to say that all the characters had good chemistry and created some funny and interesting moments throughout the season but as individuals not one of them stood out to me in an overly positive way.

Overall: 6.4/10

Yeah a 6.4 sounds just about right for this show. The only noteworthy things I can praise this anime for was the amazing opening episode, catchy opening theme, and the unique art style. Believe me I REALLY wanted to like this show but it really did fail on me. God I really hope there is some new unique anime coming out soon because while I like a romantic comedy just as much as the next person, I don’t want like five of them like this season. Go watch this though if you get bored because…well it’s better than watching School Days right?