S.W.A.T. Reviews: Spring 2015 Pt. 1 (Did I Say That Out Loud?)

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The premise of these reviews is simple: watch the first episode of a series and then immediately sit down to record a review mini-podcast. The reviews are five- to ten-minutes long and entirely off the cuff. As always we only review new shows (so no sequels or continuations) and try to avoid anything that just looks outright awful.

These are the first batch from the new season and now we’ve broken them into (helpful?) categories:

Sentence: Free to Go

Listen – First impressions of The Heroic Legend of Arslan from Liden Films. It is streaming on Funimation and Hulu.

Listen – First impressions of RIN-NE from Brain’s Base. It is streaming on Crunchyroll.

Listen – First impressions of My Love Story!! from MADHOUSE. It is streaming on Crunchyroll.

Listen – First impressions of Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches from Liden Films. It is streaming on Crunchyroll.

Sentence: On Parole

Listen – First impressions of Re-Kan! from Pierrot+. It is streaming on Crunchyroll.

Listen – First impressions of Show by Rock!! from Studio Bones. It is streaming on Funimation and Hulu.

Listen – First impressions of Seraph of the End from Wit Studio. It is streaming on Funimation and Hulu.

Listen – First impressions of Sound! Euphonium from Kyoto Animation. It is streaming on Crunchyroll.

Listen – First impressions of Saint Seiya: Soul of Gold from Toei Animation. It is streaming on Crunchyroll.

Listen – First impressions of Blood Blockade Battlefront from Studio Bones. It is streaming on Funimation and Hulu.

Sentence: Lock ‘Em Up and Throw Away the Key

Listen – First impressions of Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma from J.C. Staff. It is streaming on Crunchyroll.

Listen – First impressions of Punch Line from MAPPA. It is streaming on Crunchyroll.

Listen – First impressions of Urawa no Usagi-chan from A-Real. It is streaming on Crunchyroll.

 

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Ongoing Investigations: Case #041

Overall I really enjoyed Toradora!. The last episode capped off the series as well as I could have asked. Everything came together and there was a distinct feeling of closure. I may have not liked everyone in the show all the time but I came away with a positive reaction to all the characters overall. The ending wasn’t shocking because I felt it was telegraphed from episode one. Heck, just one look at the title should have given you a clue. The thing was every step of the way brought a smile to my face. It was a well done show. I liked the dialog and the humor. The series parts were often high melodrama but it worked even though I know it turned off some people. I will definitely buy this when it comes out on DVD and watch it again. It is one of the best recent shonen romance shows. I would also like to see someone license the light novels. I guess I have something to pimp at Otakon and AnimeNEXT now.

I saw some of the art from March on Earth at New York Comic Con and was instantly struck by its adorable quality. I resolved to pick it up instantly. The story follows Yuzu who is the sole guardian for her nephew after the untimely death of her sister (who had been caring for Yuzu after the death of their parents). So we aren’t starting out on the happiest of moments and the story is mostly a series of her trails through caring for a young child. Most of the comedy comes from the neighboring family who she often spends time with. The older son is hilariously in love with Yuzu and is constantly acting like a lovesick loon at an attempt to get her attention. It was a decent start but almost every chapter is about the same thing, the bond between her and her deceased sister, how she will stay strong, etc. and sometimes using the exact same dialogue and scenes to convey this. WE GET IT ALREADY. It comes off clunky and its most entertaining parts aren’t at the heart of the story.

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