"Mondai-Ji-tachi ga Isekai Kara Kuru Sou Desu yo" (Anime) Episodes 1-3 Thoughts

Well once again I have picked up an anime from this season to watch. Mondai-Ji-tachi ga Isekai Kara Kuru Sou Desu yo (translated Problem Children Are Coming From Another World, Aren't They) continues with these past years of anime tradition; long titles and a all too familiar story. Essentially three people, Asuka, Izayoi, and You (errr not YOU but someone named You...) get sucked into a new world and are asked to help a faction. Sound familiar yet? Maybe a little similar to Dog Days? Well after the first three episodes I can tell you that it is Dog Days but with bigger boobs, real violence, and some actual characters with personalities. Now this anime is by no means a series toned one (Guilty Crown, Death Note, ext.) but if I keep up the comparisons to Dog Days it is by no means laid back. The show does a decent job introducing the characters and their powers. Izayoi can shoot fire out of his hands and is very athletic. Asuka can apparently command anything to do what she wants. The final main character You can talk and take the powers to/of animals. Out of the three, only You seems to be kind hearted while Izayoi and Asuka seem to have hidden agendas. The chemistry between the main characters is quite good as they do not agree on everything but when the time comes to work together, they do so very well. So keeping up with the references to Dog Days, the character in this anime playing Millhiore’s role as the “summoning princess” is Black Rabbit. She called forth to the three main characters and wants them to help get her faction back to the top of her world. The world she resides in uses games to acquire wealth, power, and in some cases life. Her clan was wiped out by another and she wants her people to live peacefully. Hmmm….SOUNDS JUST LIKE DOG DAYS. 

So all relations aside, the anime is actually enjoyable to watch. Each characters shows off how much of a badass they are and after being introduced to the remaining members of the clan, Izayoi is keen on helping them reach the top. There are hints of fanservice as well as a harem setting so hopefully the anime won't go too far off to the deep end and keep it at least watchable. The world seems playful yet serious at the same time which is good because in Dog Days (last comparison I promise) I would of liked the series more if the whole thing was a little less happy-go-lucky. It seriously got a little boring because no matter what I knew that no one was going to get hurt or if some country lost a war they wouldn’t go into a depression and die out. Hopefully this anime will shape up to be an interesting tale.  

"Sasami-san@Ganbarani" and "Kotoura-san" (Anime) Initial Thoughts

A lot of people from various sites have been criticizing how this anime season looks to be the most generic and “Moe” heavy one yet. At first I agreed because my first impressions of some of the anime were not that great but just when I thought there was no other anime worth picking up this season, Sasami-san@Ganbaranai and Kotoura-san revealed themselves to me. The site I use happened to showcase these two on the home page and after reading various comments for each series I decided that it wouldn’t hurt to add two more anime to my watching list.

Let’s start out with Sasami-san@Ganbaranai. The first episode made me very interested in what this anime is trying to achieve. The only way I can describe this show is that it is trying to have the randomness and witty conversations of Bakemonogatari while also having strange and likable characters such as the ones in Humanity Has Declined. The main character Sasami seems to be able to change the world around her based on her current feelings. This sort of plot device is just like the one used in The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya…in fact it almost completely mirrors it in many ways. The main character is a likeable but pushy female lead and her surrounding “friends” have to do various things in order to keep the surrounding world in check…yeah sounds exactly like The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya…Well anyways the show is interesting, good looking, and has a really good soundtrack. This anime has the potential to be the good non-“moe” anime of this season.

Finally we have Kotoura-san, my favorite new anime of this season (pending more consideration). This show does something that I think a lot of anime tend to forget; first impressions can be almost more important than the whole show’s running. If you are not initially drawn in by something then it doesn’t matter that the show has an amazing last arc or ending (like Guilty Crown). Every show/movie needs to grab your attention at the start so that you are emotionally invested and actually care what happens in the show/movie. Kotoura-san’s first episode will pull on your heart strings and make you want to seriously rough up some messed up parents and kids. While I will not ruin the experience for you, the first episode does an amazing job setting up Haruka’s unfortunate situation while also introducing her new best “friend” Manabe. While the first episode has a very serious tone, the second (and from what I can tell every episode for now on) shows the anime’s true form; a romantic high school comedy/slice of life. Now don’t go and immediately write this off as a generic copy like I did at first, there are a lot of things Kotoura-san is doing correct. The show quickly introduces all the main characters and sets up where Haruka and Manabe will be spending most of their time; at the ESP club. The very pushy club president Mifune will most likely be a source of bringing Haruka out of her shell because in the second episode she pushes Haruka a little too far with the fortune telling booth. The animation and sound of this anime are both very good so far. Overall this might be my favorite anime of this season so far (or a close tie with Ore no Kanojo to Osananajimi ga Shuraba Sugiru). This is an anime you want to pick up regardless of how you feel about high school “moe” series. 

Currently Watching Anime (Jan 2013)

It's the new year which means new anime!! So far the only new anime I have picked up is Ore no Kanojo to Osananajimi ga Shuraba Sugiru (man what a mouth full) but I will be researching the other newly airing anime. Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo, Initial D Fifth Stage, and Little Busters! are all continuing on (looking forward to Initial D and Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo but I am not sure about Little Busters though...). I have picked up Dog Days and Guilty Crown due to some recommendations by some users on Anime-planet. Hopefully they turn out to be worth the time.

Kotoura-san 3 out of ?
Sasami-san@Ganbaranai 3 out of ?
Chihayafuru 2 3 out of ?
Ore no Kanojo to Osananajimi go Shuraba Sugiru 3 out of ?
Maoyuu Maou Yuusha 4 out of ?
Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai NEXT 3 out of ?
Initial D Fifth Stage 4 out of ?
Little Busters! 16 out of ?
Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo 15 out of ?
Da Capo III 4 out of ?
Seto no Hanayome 10 out of 26
Guilty Crown 22 out of 22 FINISHED!!!
Dog Days 13 out of 13 FINISHED!!!
K 13 out of 13 FINISHED!!!
Oda Nobuna no Yabou 12 out of 12 FINISHED!!!
Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun 12 out of 12 FINISHED!!!
To Love-Ru: Darkness 12 out of 12 FINISHED!!!

Edit: I have now also picked up K (no idea how I missed this one last anime season...) and Oda Nobuna no Yabou which is surprisingly fun to watch.
Edit 2: Finished K, Oda Nobuna no Yabou, and Dog Days. I enjoyed all three and plan on reviewing them. Also picked up Seto no Hanayome because a lot of people have said it is uniquely funny. Kind of stalling on Guilty Crown but I intend on watching some more over the coming weekend. Just a heads up school is starting up again so there might be periods of time where I will not be able to get content out. Don't hate!
Edit 3: Just picked up Kotoura-san and Sasami-san@Ganbaranai; both look like they will be very interesting to watch. Kotoura-san especially got me hooked within the first ten minutes.