Category: 2009

Fall of the House of Anime: Fall 2009 Anime Guide

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It’s that time of the year again. You know, when everyone and their mother does a fall preview/review. So as to not be left behind, or because we were going to check these shows out anyway so why not get a blog post out of it, here we are. A new game we were playing this time around was pick an image that in no way represents the show. Remember the other rules for season reviews, we only watch the first episode and we only grab up shows that are brand spankin’ new this season.

If you were previously unaware I feel it is my duty to inform you that anime is over. Yup this is the final season of all of anime. No more after this. Pretty sad when you think about it. Oh wait. This may be a weak season but it is hardly the end of everything. I can’t say I went into this season super jazzed about anything but I can say I do see a glimmer of hope in a few series. But seasons like this will come every so often. We have had some great seasons lately so a less than spectacular season was a bit overdue. Still I will only start complaining when I don’t find at least 1 show to watch from any particular season. While there seems to be a good number of mediocre shows this season I hope we can help you find some shows that rise above the rest.

Letter Bee
(Winner of the Award for Most Stylish Use of a Bedazzler on a Hat)

Ah, Letter Bee. For some reason I feel that you will get the same reception in America that D.Gray-Man does. You are both stylish series with unique well thought out worlds and well made charters. But they are both not Soul Eater so no one cares. Letter Bee is set in the land of perpetual night called AmberGround. Letter Bees are mailmen who deliver items between the towns and are trained to fight the armored beasts that live in the wastes between. While on one of his mail runs Gauche Suede find a boy named Lag Seeing who has a package slip on him. So Guache takes it upon himself to successfully deliver the boy to his destination while they both brave the dangers on a sunless world. The animation is top notch and capture the feel of the manga quite well. Gauche is an engaging character so far with a gentle charm. Also I am very curious to see if they give any explanation to how this world came to be with it’s artificial sun and giant mechanical bugs.  They take a whole episode episode to go through half of the the first chapter of the manga. I appreciate the idea of faithfully adapting the manga but some things need to be sped up in animated form. I will probably just continue reading the manga but I might check back just due to the fact that it is legally streaming on the Internet.

I was looking forward to this show and then at the same time I wasn’t. For the most part I prefer to read Jump series, just because they often get so unwieldily long. However, Letter Bee may or may not fall into that pattern. The series has plenty of style to go around, and this is not lost in animated form besides it having a fairly good budget (the monster are CG-ified which I’m not a fan of though). I also really like the focus on these letter carriers, I’m not sure why maybe because it is just different. Unfortunately, while these things are cool, the first episode doesn’t do a great job of highlighting the actual story. It is rather slow-paced, with a large chuck of exposition in the middle, drawing out this first chapter doesn’t do anything for bringing in new watchers. Especially considering it only half-reflects what the overall plot is.

Nyan Koi!
(Winner of the Award for Best Chance to Get Scott VonSchilling to Watch Fan-subs)

Hooray for the power of lowered expectations. I went in thinking this was going to be a lame harem show with cat girls and fan-service. I got a bizarre comedy instead much to my pleasant surprise. This is the cat version of The 100 Lives of Black Jack Savage. Junpei Kosaka is allergic to cats so when he accidentally breaks the statue of a cat god he finds himself with a curse. He is able to talk to cats to helps facilitate him in aiding 100 cats in repentance. If he is not able to complete his task he himself will turn into a cat. Also Kaede Mizuno, the girl he likes from school is a huge cat lover in that Elmyra Duff way. The comedy is solid so far with some genuinely funny moments that made us both chuckle. The main problem on the horizon is if the show will stay funny or sink into horrible harem territory. There are a bunch of attractive girls that seem to hint that the show will go downhill but that is not necessarily the case.

Funnily enough, we watched this show first and it was a last minute addition to the list. We had a feeling it was going to be terrible but could maybe, sorta, be entertaining. Overall, we were kind of right. While the opening reflects everything I expected it to be, there in comes the terrible part, but the actual show was funny in moments. It has the potential to be a funny story about a boy who has to save his town (and the cats of said town) while trying to win the girl he is in love with at school. Junpei is a rather weird guy, but doesn’t fall either into the awesome or horrible human being category. And the girl of his dreams loves cats but her house is a dogs only place, so while I totally fault her for not loving those dogs, she was still okay. Then you watch the ending and you are back to the “Oh, yeah this is going to be a fan-servicy, harem show” parts. I liked this first episode, but I don’t trust it. It’s like it is lulling me into a sense of security and then will strike back!

Fairy Tail
(Winner of the Award for Most Light-Hearted Look at White Slavery)

Lets get this out of the way right away. All the cool kids have been saying that Hiro Mashima has been cribbing off of One Piece since he started writing Rave Master way before he started doing Fairy Tail. Lucy Heartfilia aka fake Nami is a summoner looking to join the prestigious Fairly Tail guild of wizards. After running into a phony member of the guild she is saved by a young man named Natsu Dragneel who is a skilled fire mage despite his goofy appearance. This is just another shonen show that follows the tried and true shonen formula. It is a fine formula that consistently produces many an enjoyable show but is also makes many a bland and boring show. While I feel that Fairy Tail will have it’s fans there was nothing that hooked me to continue watching. Lucy just struck me as a try a strong female character in a shonen show but feels more like a swing and a miss. Natsu and his blue talking cat, Happy did not stand out to me in any way what so ever. The fights were serviceable but did not pop with any excitement. Also the opening credits seemed really cheap as it was the level of in-show animation which is never a good sign of any sort of budget. A decent fix if you are thinking of picking up a new shonen show. But then again why not just watch Kekkaishi?

So since I kept hearing that this was a One Piece rip, I thought there was going to be pirates! It’s kind of pirate like but not and make everyone wizards. We even had to make the joke as we were watching the intro readying ourselves to hear about Gold Merlin (unfortunately this did  not occur). Lucy is the main character but you know this show is absolutely about Natsu. Lucy comes off as a not quite as clever as she thinks she is so most of this episode is spent with her bumbling things up and saying Natsu’s name whenever appropriate. Natsu reminds me more of Lina Inverse than Luffy, and that works to some extent. In fact, I found the show to have a much more Slayers vibe to it than anything else. But not as successfully since most of the gags fall flat and the fight seemed boring and too long since it was obvious Natsu was far superior. 

Armed Librarians – Book of Bantorra
(Winner of the Award for Repeatedly Talking about Meat)

There is a major lesson that the creators of Armed Librarians never learned. If the audience does not care about the characters they will not care about the complex mysteries surrounding them. In the world of Armed Librarians when people die they turn into stone tablets that detail the life of the person who left them behind. The Armed Librarians are an organization that protect these “books”. There seems to be a church group that that is feuding with librarians and is trying to gather the pieces of a book of one of their most important members. To show the church is made up of nasty dudes they use human bombs they call Meats. One Meat absorbs a fragment of the book the church is after. There are some other subplots but I don’t care. Everyone in the show looks like they were called into work while they were at a costume party were you got a prize for the worst outfit. The boss of the armed librarians is a woman who has the most incongruous bunny print cleavage shirt ever. The character you care most about is the unnamed human bomb who hardly gets any dialog. There might be a good story behind all this but I don’t care to find out what it is.

Truly, the main reason I wanted to watch this show was the title. After the opening, which I liked quite a bit, we are thrown into the midst of a battle which I assume we were supposed to be on the side of the eclectically dressed bunch. This became a running joke since no one seems to be dressed appropriately but like one random side guy. There was the throwing about of the word “meats” a lot. That’s about all that I remember about it, there was nothing worth thinking about. As far as first episodes go, I found this one poorly put together and trying much too hard to do much too much. And thanks to that connecting to anything or anyone on screen was virtually impossible. I have to agree the best character was the unnamed guy who appears for a totally of probably 2 minutes.

The Sacred Blacksmith
(Winner of the Award for Second-Best Use of Breasts in Combat)

Once, twice, three times a failure. Cecily Cambell’s father died so she took over as the guardian of her hometown. Too bad she is a useless female character masquerading as strong female knight. After she breaks her ancestral sword losing to a berserk knight she is saved by Luke Ainsworth a swordsman and blacksmith with a katana and his cute companion Lisa. When Cecily goes to Luke to reforge her sword he winds up saving her two more times from monsters unleashed on a local caravan. The animation is nice. Luke seems aloof but pleasant. Lisa is super cute and seems like a fun character. The problem is Cecily is a bottle of lame sauce all over this show. The only useful thing she does is block a fatal blow with her impossible shirt armor. If I felt she was able to grow as a character I would give this show a chance but I just get the feeling she is going to say the same unless mess she is at the beginning of the series. I love swordswomen so you have to go out of your way to make me dislike one. Good job The Sacred Blacksmith.

If there is a fantasy show coming out, I can’t help but give it a chance. Though truly, I didn’t really have any expectations going in. The episode starts with the end of a battle, which makes the ending of the episode less of a cliffhanger than they seem to realize. I rather liked Luke and his assistant Liza, they seem to have a very typical relationship of the quiet genius and his sweet supportive assistant. However, there is another piece to the puzzle, Cecily. Even though it is obvious that Cecily isn’t the brightest bulb, she still makes decisions that make no sense given her dialogue. She throws a tizzy about not being able to use any other sword but her family’s then turns around and wants Luke to make her a cool katana. She is very gung-ho which isn’t a bad thing per se, but the first episode gave me little confidence that she will ever back up her moxy with actual skill though I didn’t find this show without some bright moments.

Trapeze
(Winner of the Award for Best Documentary on Metal Disorders)

Wow. That was an unusual show. Ichirou Irabu is psychologist who helps patients with a  unique style. The first case is, Kouhei Yamashita, a trapeze artist that is suffering from insomnia and therefore cannot perform correctly during his act. I get the feeling that each week there will be another patient whose case tied in with one of the other cases. Next week seems to be the case of a government clerk we meet during this episode. That might not seem to unusual but first of all the animation is a strange mix of traditional animation, live action, and animation over live action, and some times all thee at once. Ichirou has two voice actors both male and female because he has three distinct forms that he switches from throughout the show. This show is distinctly for people who want to sit down and puzzle out why each shot is they way it is. What is the symbolism of each transition of Ichirou? Why Is Kouhei sometimes a man, sometimes a man with a bird’s head, and sometimes live action? This is not a show for everyone. Other than art house movie fans I am not sure who this it is for but if you are looking for something different here you go.

Hum, what to say about this…it is unique. With the combination of animation, stop motion, and live action there was always something visually interesting on the screen. At first the combination of styles didn’t strike me as purposeful but once you realize everyone is totally mental, it works much better. I was laughing hysterically when the Yakuza guy kept trying to poke out his eye but was continuously foiled by the goggles he was wearing. If saying that doesn’t tell you what kind of a show this is, well then nothing does. While it certainly adds something new to the canvas the show is not for me but I have to give it props on an artistic level.

Kimi ni Todoke
(Winner of the Award for Most Liberal Adaptation of The Ring)

If someone told me that Kimi ni Todoke was part of the noitaminA block I would have unquestioningly believed them. Kimi ni Todoke has fluid animation, great storytelling, lovable characters, and a strong but not exclusive appeal to a female audience. Kimi ni Todoke is the story of Sawako Kuronuma a socially awkward loner who is a dead ringer for Sadako from the Ring. Most everyone at school avoids speaking to the spooky girl until Shota Kazehaya tries connect her to the rest of the class. Could this be the start of a bit of romance between the most dashing boy and the scariest girl in the class? Production IG animates this series like it was Ghost in The Shell which is delightful for a shojo romance. Sawako is funny and charming and instantly has you rooting for her. We don’t learn a lot about Kazehaya directly though too much exposition but it is quite obvious why anyone would fall in love with him. The scenario is not particularly new but it is approached with such a refreshing grace that you can’t help but get sucked into this show. If they can keep up this energy and fun then this might be the show everyone is talking about this season.

I was struck by this show for a myriad of reasons, even before I had watched it. First, the manga has been talked about quite a bit though I haven’t had a chance to read it. Second, Production IG was working on the anime and if you take a look, Kimi ni Todoke isn’t their normal type of work. But that hasn’t stopped them from making a gem, they introduce you to Sawako, endear her to you, and make your hearts soar by the end of just one episode. Kazehaya is this wonderful combination of laid back and positive while still  not revealing too much of himself in this first episode. We, just as Sawako, will learn more as the story continues. This is a simple school romance story, but that doesn’t mean it won’t surprise you. It is subtle, but it takes these typical side characters and makes them break out of what you expect of them. Basically, an everything done right romance that makes it easy to declare: if I’m committed to watching one show this season, it’s Kimi ni Todoke.

Yumiero Patissiere
(Winner of the Award for Best New Excuse to Eat Cake)

This is a kids show and as long as you understand that can still mean enjoyable for everyone I think there is a lot to like here. Yumiero Patissiere has a simple, sweet, and richly delightful flavor just like the pastries in the show. Ichigo Amano has lived her life in the shadow of her sister the piano protege. Her only talents seem to be her extremely clumsiness and her incredible love of eating cake. After a chance encounter with a handsome pastry chef Ichigo realizes that her sense of taste would help her become an patisserie like her grandmother. So she sets off to become a pastry chef. This is just a heartwarming tale of discovering of talents and perusing your dreams. There is nothing super challenging so far in the show but it is not supposed to be filled with pathos and melodrama. It is supposed to leave you with a fresh and happy feeling and so far it has succeeded. There seem to be magical faeries in the opening but they have yet to appear. I am not sure how they are going to effect the dynamic of the show but I am sure they will just add more cute.

Let’s be very clear, this show is aimed at 8-12 year-old girls. Beyond Pretty Cure, few shows like this get released each season and the last time (Gokujou!! Mecha Mote Iinchou in the spring) was pretty horrifying. Yumeiro Patissiere however revitalized my faith. Ichigo is rather typical, she is very wide-eyed and cute and a little clutzy. But she has a very discerning palette, especially when it comes to pastry, but she doesn’t realize it’s a talent till she meets Henri (a totally hot blond chef!). This encounter, along with the memory of her grandmother, and her zealous mother push Ichigo in the right direction. It is unclear from the first episode whether or not this is a magical cooking show or whether the fairies seen in the opening are just a imaginary element, but either way this show has easy childlike appeal which is should, after all it runs in Ribon.

Kobato
(Winner of the Award for Best Attempt at Bringing the Rat-Tail Back in Style)

CLAMP does another magical girl show about collecting items. I have a feeling that you will know what your opinion about Kobato will be after you read that sentence. Unless you never saw Cardcaptor Sakura in which case go and watch that and then come back. Kobato is a strange girl who must heal people’s hearts with the help and guidance of her stuffed animal companion Ioryogi. If she helps enough people she will be able to have her wish granted but she seems not be be from Earth so she does not quite get things that should be obvious. Other than that is has a light airy feel much like most of CLAMP’s fun works. Kobato is cute and Ioryogi has the comedic effect of being a demonic task master in a cute blue dogs body. This is not going to be the series that wins over people into liking CLAMP or magical girl shows. But for people who want a new CLAMP series or a new magical girl show I recommend it. I had a good time and look forward to seeing what Kobato’s wish is.

The premise seems quite simple, heal those who have troubled hearts. Through this Kobato learns about humans and life on Earth. It certainly has a very naive quality about it but at the same time I wouldn’t call the show young. We don’t yet know where Kobato hails from nor do we know her motives beyond wanting to go “somewhere.” But it’s obvious that she has the purest intentions and works hard to become helpful in order to aid the people she encounters. She is also randomly saved from wandering rapists by a guy who I can only assume is important later. I thought the show had charm but the dog was used overmuch. I can’t believe I just said that about a dog.

11eyes
(Winner of the Award for Most Artistic Panty Shot)

Some shows never reach for the brass ring and still succeed at being thought provoking and exciting despite not trying to be intellectual or super innovative. 11eyes on the other hand shows up and does his job and punches out without standing out in any way what so ever. Kakeru Satsuki is an orphan with an overly elaborate eye patch and Yuka Minase is is wispy wanna be girlfriend who grew up in the same orphanage. They soon find that they keep slipping in and out of a strange parallel red tinged world filled with monsters. With mysterious students transferring to their class, strange girls stalking them, and armored knights talking about them it is obvious that they are going to be pulled deeper into some sinister. I can’t say anything really bad about this show but nor can I say anything good about it. The characters are all so very obviously from an erotic visual novel but none of them are horrible. There is a good deal of fan service. We get panty of Yuka shot so detailed the audience can tell if she has an IUD. The school nurses breasts bounce for no apparent reason other than to show how stacked she is. Maybe I can’t really even attempt to get mad at a show like this after watching Chaos;Head. My one word review is “Next”.

It’s obvious from the first scene of this show that it is walking in the footsteps of other shows which combine cute, cute, cute with gore and violence. Kakeru is an orphan high schooler (who somehow lives in a nice apartment) with a traumatic past and a very over-the-top stylish eye-patch. Yuka is his childhood friend on which he relies as well as protects. She is not totally dumb but not really that smart either, I’m not sure if Kakeru is smart, he just rarely talks. I’m not really sure what the plot is, but it certainly revolves around this violent mysterious past and how it will now come back. Oh and panty shots, definitely part of the plot. I was forgetting this show as I watched it.

Sasameki Koto
(Winner of the Award for Best Roundhouse Kick)

Yuri romance has finally come into it’s own when you can watch a generic yuri romance show. Ushio Kazama is a lesbian who loves cute girls but seems constantly destined to fall in love with other girls who want nothing to do with her. Sumika Murasame loves Ushio but does not have courage to confess fearing her rejection. Sumika keeps supporting her friend while suffering in silence. Narutaki put it best when he said this show would be an utterly boring and predictable romance anime if Sumika was a guy. Making her a girl does not make the story anymore engaging. Where as Aoi Hana immediately roped you in and made you want to know about the characters there is no such connection with the charterers in Sasameki Koto. It’s another show this season that is not bad it’s just not fun. I will state that there is no lesbian exploitation that I could see so far. If you need a yuri fix or a romance show in general it is serviceable but not extraordinary.

There has been quite a few lesbian centered shows popping up in the last few seasons, or at the very least with lesbian undertones. Sasameki comes out of the gate saying this is a show about two girls falling in love. Despite this strong intro, the show is rather bland and limp. I felt like I learned nothing about these characters in the first episode. Also, this is just random but Sumika looks almost exactly like Fumi from Aoi Hana. This show came off as extremely generic and making it two girls as apposed to a boy and a girl isn’t enough to set it apart (atleast not to me).

Sum-Sum-Summer Time!: Summer 2009 Anime Guide

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Ah, only ten shows to watch. Much less insane than the spring review. Hopefully this time we won’t lose days of work, twice, like with the spring article. I know on a certain level Narutaki’s heart weeps for there are no mecha shows on the list but that is how the roulette wheel of chance has decided to treat us this season. Still I am really exited about this season going in despite the smaller amounts of shows to choose from. I mean we have a show based on both Type-Moon and 07th Expansion games so I am super happy. I am also really curious about the choices for streaming simulcast in the U.S.

I am always sad not to see robots in the line up, but what can ya do! I swear as soon as we finish one season article I have already started planning the next season’s list. However, it’s good to always be on top of the premiere shows for each round. For one thing, it is fun to predict what may get a license. And of course everyone likes to have a new show here or there to talk up or get washed away in the hype of. Since this is an inbetween season we have far less to choose from but that means little in regards to goodness. As a reminder, ongoing shows or sequels don’t share in this spotlight!

Umineko no Naku Koro ni
(Winner of the Award for Creepiest Little Girl Smile)

Since I have been playing the Umineko games I have got to say this is my most anticipated series of the season. The real question was was it me or OGT that was more hyped. Umineko starts by introducing us to Battler Ushiromiya as he attends his family reunion on a island owned by his insanely rich grandfather. We soon learn that there is family members with large debts and long seated grudges; rumors of mountains of hidden gold; and legends of mysterious witches. Being a spiritual sequel to Higurashi the situation quickly seems to be heading into the territory of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. Overall I was satisfied with adaptation of the game. The show is seemingly in fast forward towards the first murder. Hopefully as they  go forward opportunities to flesh out all the characters will be explored. I love Ryukishi07 and all but he is obviously a writer first and a character designer third so the ability to see the Umineko characters with professional character designs is great. Plus this means that we will be getting Umineko figures and that makes me happy. The opening was pretty awesome although I like the original game opening a little more. I will answer the question I usually see asked: You do not have to see Higurashi to enjoy Umineko (as far as I can tell at this point) but one of two things will be a little more powerful later on in the series if you have familiarity with Higurashi. Still I look forward to epic finger pointing, chessboard thinking, and colony drop like plots twists in the future.

A murder mystery, on a lonely island no less, is it any surprise I was going to watch this? Of course something like this becomes very hard to judge based on just one episode. The key element in the first act is to convince me there is a worthy mystery to be solved. All the other details, including characters, are secondary when dealing with this type of plot. This was accomplished through tone and a quite creepy feeling that kept cropping up. I will say that there is a level of supernatural being implied from the start which is a bit of a turn off. As a mystery lover I want to be given the chance to solve the crime and this can’t happen if the answer is magic. On the reverse though, our presumed detective Battler, doesn’t believe in it. So if things go down a path of people being blinded by superstition, but the case having a grounded answer it will be acceptable. This is yet to be seen but I am curious enough to find the answers.

Geijutsuka Art Design Class
(Winner of the Award for Best Sentai Team)

I had bought the manga from Yen Press and enjoyed it quite a bit. GA follows the life of 5 art students as they attend classes. Being based on a 4-koma comic there is not much of an overall plot. It is an odd mix of gags, character interactions, and art theory. In fact there was much more art theory flying around that I really expected. My major question is why did I like this series but did not like Hidamari Sketch? I think the answer is two fold. One, I like the higher energy of GA. Hidamari Sketch is all about a serene atmosphere where as GA has more of a manic energy to it. I would not have liked Azumanga Daioh as much had it been a more relaxed show. GA can be gentle but it tries to always keep you moving and awake. Two, I clicked with the characters a little bit more in GA. Maybe if I had watched more Hidamari Sketch I would have liked their characters more but that would have to be tested to be seen. Also I really liked Miyabi Oomichi. It was an enjoyable little piece and I look forward to watching more.

Needless
(Winner of the Award for Best Post-Apocalyptic Fashion Design)

Narutaki and I had almost the same shared impression of Needless going in and after finishing the first episode. We both assumed that is was a mediocre action show going in. We both left with the impression that is was better than we thought it was going to be but still not good. After World War III the world is turned upside down and people with powers have appeared. Cruz Schild is saved by a bizarre priest named Adam Blade after his sister is presumably killed. Soon other super-powered killers come for Cruz and only Adam and his companion Eve Neusch Von Stein can protect him. The most enjoyable thing about this show is that it makes no attempt to rein itself in. People use crazy attacks and then it pauses to put Kanji across the screen to announce their attack names (although is really needed Shigeru Chiba shouting the attack names). The only thing more over the top that the attacks in everyone’s clothing. My goodness is everyone here guilty of crimes against humanity in the fashion category. But for some reason it never comes together to be crazy enough. I mean, props to the Bible with a hidden grenade compartment and the monofilament wire killer with the world’s most fabulous fur-lined coat but overall it just doesn’t click. A bizarre blending/homage/parody/rip-off of Fist of the North Star, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Gurren Lagann, and Yu-Gi-Oh! seems like a great idea but it just never melds. Oh and the ending . . . stabs me right in my soul. Note there is a reason I am not linking to the ending. It is because I like you gentle readers.

I actually found more to like about this show than I thought I would. “Like” being a relative terms here meaning it was so bad that it was good, sometimes. Easily the first reaction that comes to mind in this post-apocalyptic world is Fist of the North Star met up with Yu-Gi-Oh!’s fashion sense and had a not-so-smart baby. It has big crazy looking dudes with over-the-top action and some fan-service to tie it all together. In fact, that is really all the show needed. However, they throw in a rather wimpy protagonist. This type of show could really live without having such a character who will grow over the course of the series and awaken his latent capabilities. Yes, I am saying this show should cease actual character development and stick with what it was good at. Being ridiculous! If you aren’t busy watching Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds maybe check this out.

Taisho Yakyu Musume
(Winner of the Award for Best Musical Tour of Tokyo)

If I had use one word to sum up Taisho Yakyu Musume it would be pleasant. This is a fun show that is cute with peppy energy without being saccharine or filled with fan service like it all too easily could be. Koume Suzukawa is a young girl in Taisho era Japan with strict traditionalist parents. One day her friend Akiko Ogasawara talks her into joining the female baseball team she is forming to play against the boys teams. There problems are numerous including the fact that baseball is considered a boys only sport, they have no equipment or training, and no real clue as of how to play the game beyond the basics. So Koume and Akiko must recruit girls who are extremely reluctant to embarrass themselves and their families doing “that thing that boys do.” I was a little worried this was going to be a moe festival but instead it turned out to be a cuter version of Princess Nine. So far Akiko and Koume are very different but likable girls who interact well with each other and the rest of their class. The time period the series is set in also lends it a unique feeling. The humor is pretty strong and kept a smile on my face the whole episode. If that opening song and dance number that Koume does does not win your heart over you are made of stone and should take up another hobby other than anime. Golf or knitting perhaps.

Even though I went into this series with no real expectations or prior knowledge, after having a musical number showcasing the places in Tokyo made famous in the Meiji era, Taisho Yakyu Musume was going to have to try really hard for me not to like it. The show has a very light quality to it, even the humor while quite enjoyable is not over-the-top wacky. In the first episode, four of nine players are recruited and atleast another one maybe two were hinted at. Koume’s reason for wanting to start the baseball team is sort of hidden sort not. It is easy to infer a few things from her story based on the time period and I’ll be interested to see just how they pan out. Akiko is really being dragged along for the ride but it seems assured that with the enthusiasm going on around her, she will learn to love it. I am also glad to see that even though this show surrounds a girls team at a girls school the series doesn’t look to be without male characters and possible love interests. A lot of things done right in this first episode.

Tokyo Magnitude 8.0
(Winner of the Award for Best Portrayal of Jerky Adults)

Mirai Onozawa is a young girl who is unsatisfied with her life. She is a below average student that is unsure of any direction in her life. She has somewhat distant working parents and not nearly enough money to do anything exciting over the summer. When she takes her chipper younger brother to a robot exhibition in Odaiba an 8.0 earthquake hits Tokyo devastating the city. With the city in chaos what will she do? I see why people would not like Mirai. She is a snarky, introverted, and selfish teenage girl but I sort of expect these things. She is never unrealistically nasty and we see partially where all of her frustrations are coming from. If nothing else I see growth potential in her which I assume is on of the main points of the series. Her brother is certainly more likable and balances her out. I feel a connection to the both of them so I am curious to see how they are going to make it though this disaster. Like everything I have seen on the noitaminA block, a Fuji TV time slot, it has very good animation, music, and writing. While it could go down hill I highly doubt it. The only question is if it stays good or really hits it out of the ballpark. They have the potential to tell some very interesting stories so I am intrigued to see what they do with his unique but realistic premise.

The note to the audience at the beginning was interesting telling us that a lot of research was done in order to create a real scenario for the earthquake. I can’t say I really care whether or not the outcome is realistic or not but it seems like a lofty goal. We actually start with the disasters aftermath on the city then back track to one day before. Teenaged Mirai and her younger brother Yuuki are enough years apart to see the world differently. Through some very sparse scenes their humdrum and strained home life becomes apparent. Yuuki wants to bring them back together while Mirai wants to break it completely. Even lamenting on her cell phone, “The world should just break.” While I am certainly on team Yuuki, Mirai is portrayed as a rather believable teenage girl. The way adults are shown is also of note, essentially overbearing and often looking down on kids. They also run into a young woman a few times, who we know from the opening becomes the third in this party. Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 could be the disaster movie (err series) done right. The series has a nice allotment of visual stimulation which will surely be put to good use in the coming episodes but also establishes its characters quickly in the first episode. As long as the focus stays on the characters and their relationships to one another, and not on pure devastation this series could have real staying power. Hands down the show I am following this season. 

Aoi Hana
(Winner of the Award for Best Non-Stop Action-Packed Adventure)

Aoi Hana seems to be a slow but rewarding series. Fumi Manjoume and Akira Okudaira were inseparable childhood friends until Fumi had to move away. They meet again after many years when Akira saves Fumi from a train molester. How has time changed these two girls and how will their relationship change now that they have been reunited after so long? This is not a hyper-kinetic series by any means. It is a deliberately paced show that lets us slowly learn who the characters involved are and drink in how they relate to each other. That is not to say that this series will be all serious business character study and slow building drama. I think it is obvious that the three girls from the drama club will add some pep and humor into the series while still retain its overall serious mood. The art style not only captures the feel of the watercolored covers of the original manga but does well to reinforce the overall tone of the story. Still this is a probably one of the most realistic lesbian anime you are going to see for a long time so you should sit down and enjoy especially since it is streaming for free on Crunchyroll.

My interest in this show increased a bit after I found out the manga is done by Shimura Takako the same woman who does Hourou Musuko. While I haven’t read Aoi Hana, I know from Hourou Musuko that she is able to capture a look into growing up and finding your identity very well so I was looking for that going in. The first episode establishes a tone and distinction between our protagonists succinctly. Akira is a bit brash and energetic while Fumi is very shy and reserved. Their personalities are retained from childhood but not even they could recognize each other after so long. As far as I can tell this will be a nice companion piece. It is by no means a wacky-hijinx-we-are-lesbians show but rather a quiet look at the buddings of romance. Some may find it boring, but from my other experience with Takako, she excels at writing intense character analysis and really exploring the little pieces of the world that effect who people become. This seems to be present in Aoi Hana and I look forward to the rest.

Umi Monogatari
(Winner of the Award for Most Bum Shots of a Sea Maiden)

Umi Monogatari was certainly something I watched but I can’t say that I enjoyed it. It wasn’t horrible it was just so utterly uncompelling. Naive sea maidens Marin and Urin go to the surface world to return a ring they found in the ocean. After sticking out like a sore thumb at the local festival they find the owner Kanon Miyamori threw away the ring after her boyfriend broke up with her. The ultra depressed Kanon throws the ring into the forest which prompts the sisters to continue looking. In their search Urin unlocks a dark force sealed at a local temple. Marin and Urin are sort of boring. Marin is optimistic to the level of Kafuka Fuura but in a totally serious fashion. I think this is supposed to make her endearing but it mostly makes her very sad. As for Kanon, she has a cute character design and I want to like her but something that kept me from doing so. The directing is very uneven, sometimes jarring. Also they keep doing the same jokes again and again which kept falling flat after the first time. On the bright side, I see how this show could be interesting. If they decide to make one of the major themes Marin and Kanon learning from each other and becoming more balanced there could be some redeeming quality to this show. If they will do this is and can they do it well has yet to be seen. The first episode does not give me a great deal of hope. Plus everyone knows the best anime are based on pinball machines not pachinko machines.

So, thanks to my lack of research this show got a fair shot. This is based on a pachinko game. Yup, that’s what I said. However, not knowing that didn’t make the show’s flaws any less obvious. Kanon’s situation is atleast semi-interesting, you don’t see a ton of girls who have been dumped in shows. And her reactions are rather amusing, actually scratch that, they were amusing the first time and maybe the second. Unfortunately, we also have bland Marin and Urin making up the rest of the cast in this episode. They have zero reaction to life outside of the ocean. And Marin’s naive “wisdom” is not cutting it, it just made no sense. The transitioning between scenes is quite hit or miss leaving many scenes without lead-ins. I have watched far, far worse series. But frankly, the show is mediocre and I doubt it will ever distinguish itself more than that. It feels very throw away.

Sora no Manimani
(Winner of the Award for Most Ambitious (yet Ineffective) Recruiting Campaign)

Ho-hum best sums this series up. Saku Ooyagi’s family has moved back to the town where he grew up after many years. On the first day at his new High School he runs into the star-obsessed Mihoshi Akeno who is recruiting for the school’s astronomy club. Mihoshi is a somewhat spastic girl who used be be both Saku’s best friend and greatest tormentor as a child. No matter how much the bookish Saku tries to avoid her she is determined to recruit him into joining the club and bring him back into her life. I was at first glad to see that the male to female ratio in the club seems pretty even. I was worried that this might be a harem show with Saku being the one guy in the astronomy club that everyone fights over. As the show went on I realized this series does not really do anything wrong is just does not do anything right either. None of the characters are super annoying or even slightly objectionable but also none of them are all that interesting. The humor is never very grating but neither are any of the jokes particularly funny. The romance is just there and is rather inert. The art and music are always adequate but never stand out. Nothing about this show stands out in any way what so ever.  I am sure this show will have fans because there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. There are just no hooks.

Even though this show caught my eye for its astronomy club setting, I can’t say the actual content caught or held my attention for very long. None of the characters were engaging on any level. It has that I’m-trying-be-wacky-but-am-failing-to-really-do-anything feel, in other words it felt like it was trying too hard. I can’t actually remember laughing out loud except for possibly at Saku’s mom. The first episode plants this show firmly in mediocre romance comedy land. That doesn’t mean don’t watch it but if you do don’t expect much.

Canaan
(Winner of the Award for Best Artistic Scene of Children Playing in Blood)

My interest in this series was guaranteed with one simple fact. When I found out that Type-Moon had worked on the original game my interest was sealed. I had originally thought that the anime was an adaption of the visual novel for the Wii, 428: In a Blockaded Shibuya but it turns out instead to be a sequel (which is in turn a indirect sequel to the sound novel Machi). The story revolves around Canaan an assassin with amazing gun-fu who is currently working for a mysterious organization in Shanghai. A pair of reporters are also in Shanghai doing a piece on a local festival. When reporter Maria witnesses the strange death of a man during the festival her old friend Canann saves her from goons. How and why did that man die, who are the people trying to kill Maria, who are these other various groups also active in Shanghai, and how do they all tie together? I like what I saw but I am also hesitant to give it a full thumbs up because I am not sure where it is going and how everyone ties in. Also I am curious how much are we required to have played the original game. I must say that I am sold on Canaan being a pretty cool character and she’s obviously a Type-Moon designed character. Her similarities to Shiki Ryogi are apparent but I get a different feel to Canaan. I am looking forward to seeing how well this comes together.

This episode hit the ground running with a great scene of Canaan taking out somebody Golgo 13 style. And there is plenty of action thereafter introducing characters, mystery, and the underground of Shanghai. I love the idea of these two reporters trying to simultaneously scoop a big story and stay alive long enough to tell it. Maria and Minoru have a funny dynamic that will hopefully continue. They are really the only two we get to know even a little. I have a feeling Canaan’s personality and motives will remain a variable mystery to audience till the end. There are some characters that ended up already knowing each other which came off a bit lame, but I am still curious how their connections to the current canvas will effect things. Also this first episode had quite fluid animation. I too have a cautious optimism about this show, it certainly delivered a good and exciting first installment but whether that translates into something more engaging will remain to be seen.

Bakemonogatari
(Winner of the Award for Most Heavily Armed Art Supplier)

So we meet again Nisio Isin. The question on Narutaki and I’s mind going in was simple: Is this going to be based on the superior writing in Death Note: Another Note or his extremely aggravating writing from Zaregoto. Bakemonogatari lies somewhere in the middle. Koyomi Araragi is a former vampire and Hitagi Senjougahara is a girl who weighs almost nothing. Hitagi threatens to hurt him physically and destroy everything he cares about if he reveals her secret. He then reveals that his acquaintance Meme Oshino who cured him might be able to do the same for her. Not a lot happens in this first episode. Its main point is to show you the gorgeous style of the show. Much like Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei we see that Studio Shaft gives Bakemonogatari a lush and dense visual style and animation. The plot could be similar to XXXholic. Koyomi and Hitagi going on assignments for Meme with the ultimate goal being that Meme will cure Hitagi’s condition. Perhaps along the way Hitagi will also learn that her supposed curse is actually a blessing. The main problem is Hitagi is what I unaffectionately refer to as a Nisio character. An in your face bastard that is always insulting everyone around them in the most derogatory manner possible, for some reason Nisio loves these characters but they really get under my skin. I did like the fact that Hitagi has a large amounts of art supplies strapped to her body that she uses as weapons but I’m not sure that is a reason to watch a show. The art style fighting style might be but cool but I am not sure it is enough.

The style and direction of Bakemonogatari will hit you immediately. But visual style is the only thing I enjoyed about this show. And that is a credit to Studio Shaft. I have not read the original story that this show was based on but I was cautious nonetheless from my other encounters with Nishi. I want to like NISIOISIN but his way of characterizing combined with his odd dialogue makes it impossible. This show will probably pick up a decent following but it didn’t resonate with me enough to keep my attention for more than an episode.  

Spring Fever: 08th MS Team Hisui’s Report

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Sometimes there are tasks so horrific and horrible than only an expert who has been to hell and back can tackle them. And sometimes a show is based on an already established property so we don’t review it in the main season preview. That task is less frightening. So I the great detective Hisui shall attempt to look at some shows solo.

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