sickVisionz (Level 24)
The Spring 2012 anime season is kicking into high gear. Some shows have already started airing and a glutton will be arriving this week. This season has more shows that I want to check out than usual and as they air, I plan on writing a quick first episode impressions on them. Now, it's important to note that these are not reviews of the entire series. They are simply my quick opinion on on the impression that the first few episodes gave me.
Saki: Episode of Side A #1
Quick Summary
A group of middle school girls team up to start a mahjong club.
Quick Thoughts
I enjoyed the original Saki series immensely and was very excited to to see that a sequel was coming, only to have that interest lessened when I found out it was merely a prequel. I'm happy to say that while this spin-off focuses on the character I cared about the least, the series is off to a good enough start. The art and animation are in line with what I remember from the first series, although I believe the show is a bit more colorful and bright than its predecessor. The original series featured duels that took the mundane game of mahjong and stylized it to a point that was somewhere in-between Yu-Gi-Oh! and Sengoku Basara. These battles were by far my favorite part of the series, so it was a bit of a bummer that nothing like that was in this episode. Things are just getting started so I'm sure that they are just around the corner. A few changes that I did like were the lessening of the unneeded yuri content that littered the first season and the reduction of Nodoka's bust to a non-ridiculously comedic level... although it's still pretty over-the-top considering that at some points in the episode she is an elementary school school student with a Christina Hendricks sized bosom.
Quick Verdict
2.5/5 Still Watching It
This episode wasn't the greatest, but it was a decent enough start to the series and it gave me faith that things I enjoyed about the first one are going to appear soon. The new characters seem enjoyable enough, and while Nadoka was in it, she seems to have been relegated to non-existence by the end of the episode, which is something I welcome.
The Spring 2012 anime season is kicking into high gear. Some shows have already started airing and a glutton will be arriving this week. This season has more shows that I want to check out than usual and as they air, I plan on writing a quick first episode impressions on them. Now, it's important to note that these are not reviews of the entire series. They are simply my quick opinion on on the impression that the first few episodes gave me.
Yurumates
Quick Summary
A high school graduate moves into an apartment building filled with crazy college kids.
Quick Thoughts
The opening theme was incredibly short for this series. That should have been the first sign. Anyways, this episode kicked off decent enough. The animation was good enough, the art style reminded me of Hanamaru Kindergarten a bit, which was a bit of a let down due to me having seen an image somewhere that looked like it was ripped straight from Scott Pilgrim. Anyways, things seemed decent enough to continue on and just at it seemed like it was going to start getting to the funny, the screen went black and I saw the familiar Crunchyroll "replay" symbol. I had no clue whatsoever that this was a three minute anime series.
Quick Verdict
2/5 Dropping It
Nothing really grabbed me, but it did seem like it was about to get pretty good before it ended. I'm not interested in watching a three minute series though and, unfortunately, I'll probably have completely forgotten about this once there are 30 minutes worth of episodes that could be watched back-to-back.
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Sengoku Collection
Quick Summary
A teenage tsundere Nobunaga Oda is teleported to modern day Japan.
Quick Thoughts
Many will either write this series off or fall in love with it based off that summary and what it brings to mind. After enjoying some goofy moe fanservice shows, I'm willing to give stuff like this a shot and I'm glad I did. I really enjoyed this episode. The tone reminds me a lot of Cat Planet Cuties (I hate that name change more and more every time I hear it), but with less fan service. The second both of them kick off you know what to expect, but there is a surprising amount of heart and genuine funny bits to be had in both along with your typical girl and boy comedy gags.
I also really enjoy the art style of it, especially the backgrounds. They have an almost watercolor look, which isn't particularly unique on its own, but there is often a cloth-like texture underneath it that gives it the impression that it was drawn on tapestry or some other similar surface. When combined with the relative simpleness of the art (including the characters), it really creates an inviting tone that I fell in love with over the course of the episode. The animation ranges from average to good, with the best element usually being Nobunaga's hair blowing in the wind with a level of fluidity that really draws your attention to it.
Quick Verdict
3.5/5 Sticking With It
Who knows how things will go in the future, as the show apparently will have a new historical figure put in the role of an anime stereotype every week, but this episode ended up being far more enjoyable than I thought it would and I'm glad I checked it out.
The Spring 2012 anime season is kicking into high gear. Some shows have already started airing and a glutton will be arriving this week. This season has more shows that I want to check out than usual and as they air, I plan on writing a quick first episode impressions on them. Now, it's important to note that these are not reviews of the entire series. They are simply my quick opinion on on the impression that the first few episodes gave me.
Rock Lee and His Ninja Pals #1
Quick Summary Rock Lee rescues a young girl whose family is being harassed by loan sharks. |
Quick Thoughts  After watching this episode I had the same expression on my face as she does. I like goofy comedies. I truly do. The more random and nonsensical they, the better. Pani Poni Dash, Animaniacs, Eek the Cat, Tiny Toon Adventures, Hayate no Gotoku, etc., are some of my favorite series when comes to animated shenanigans and the one thing they all share is that they are very much whatever type of series. Anything goes in them. Things don't always make sense. In fact, things often don't make sense, but that's the entire point. No logic, no reasoning, just comedy. They are willing to do whatever it takes to get a laugh out of the audience, everything else be dammed. So, I came into Rock Lee with a pretty open mind and looking for something ridiculous and it certainly delivered that... but it wasn't funny. I was only supposed to tune in for 24 minutes and I called it a wrap at about the 13 minute mark when I hadn't laughed a single time. In the shows defense, I truly believe it's targeted at children who might find normal Naruto to be scary, so we're talking kids aged 4 to 7. I'm a good 20+ years past any end of that spectrum. I could go on and on about how lame it is, but at some point I think it would be like an adult complaining about the lack of sophisticated storytelling in Teletubbies. |
| Quick Verdict 1/5 Dropping It I watch a comedy to laugh. That's the only purpose of them. That's the only thing I expect to get from them. They can fail at every other aspect, but if they make me laugh then they've done their job. This one didn't. |
The Spring 2012 anime season is kicking into high gear. Some shows have already started airing and a glutton will be arriving this week. This season has more shows that I want to check out than usual and as they air, I plan on writing a quick first episode impressions on them. Now, it's important to note that these are not reviews of the entire series. They are simply my quick opinion on on the impression that the first few episodes gave me.
Ozma (Episodes #1-3)
Quick Summary
A mysterious woman escapes from the military and is taken in by sand pirates who vow to protect her.
Quick Thoughts
I'm a Leiji Matsumoto so this one was a guaranteed watch. Leiji's signature art style is in full effect and is very pretty to look at in HD. The colors in the show are vivid and bright, which really makes the screen shots lovely. The animation is a mixed bag of quality where a single scene might have beautiful and fluid elements (for example, someone on a motorbike with their hair blowing in the wind) combined with something truly awful looking (in the same example, the actual movement of the bike may be perfectly still and clearly a motion tween). All in all it makes the animation average out to being good enough.
The story so far has been tense, yet still has a sense of fun and adventure to it. Nothing is reinventing the wheel by any stretch of the imagination, but it's been an enjoyable ride so far. The characters are your standard Leijiverse fare, which means very tropey and everyone looks like someone from another Matsumoto series. Gido (voiced by Sho "Aizen" Hayami who does his best to compete with Rie "Insert Tsundere" Kugimiya for the title of Most Typecast VA) could pass as Captain Harlock cosplaying as a masked Gundam baddie, Bainas is a pretty clear cut yet awesome clone of Emeraldas, and Maya is a tall and slender woman with mysterious background just like Maetel, but these similarities are par for the course in Matsumoto's works.
Quick Verdict
3.5/5 Sticking With It
Matsumoto is one of my favorite creators and I've enjoyed everything that I've seen by him. Ozma is no different, although it being based off of an unfinished manga from over 20 years ago and only scheduled for six episodes pretty much guarantees that the series will simply stop rather than reach any type of conclusion. Still, it's been a blast for its first three episodes and I plan to stick with it for the long haul... if you can call 6 episodes a long haul.
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Space Brothers #1
Quick Summary
After losing his job, one brother returns to the dream that he and his brother shared of becoming astronauts.
Quick Thoughts
I can't quite put into words what I expected coming into this series, but the first episode left me pleasantly surprised. The level of humor was something I wasn't expecting. I was expecting something more serious, and honestly a little dull, but what I got was a sitcom with some heart to it. I find Mutta, the main character, to be easy to relate to. He just lost his job (for headbutting his boss who was talking crap about his astronaut little brother) and is forced to move back home with his parents. I've had that as a nightmare ever since I moved out of my parents house so I totally feel for him there. Additionally, he's having an incredibly hard time finding a job, something many people can associate with in the current economy. Despite some of the comedic or fantastical elements of the series, it's very down to earth in a way that I don't usually see in anime and is a nice counter to Ozma, which is a much tropier series.
As far as production values are concerned, the animation is nice. Not quite as high as a series like Nisemonogatari, which was something along the lines of a master class in animation, but everything was appropriately fluid and I didn't notice anything that I would call a negative. The animation essentially bottomed out at good, so no complaints from me. I don't usually care for most anime opening themes but this Space Brother has a a flat out great opening song that came off as a nice combination of Radiohead and modern Duran Duran. Definitely my favorite opening song that I've heard so far this year.
Quick Verdict
5/5 Sticking With It
I can't think of a single negative thing to say about the series so far. When people say that modern anime has fallen off or is nothing but moe and fanservice series, I feel like series like high quality shows like this one are always forgotten or ignored. Hopefully this one won't suffer that same fate of not counting.
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- William Taylor ( sickvisionz ) is lazy by nature, procrastinator by trade. You can also find him on Twitter @mrsickvisionzand on Tumblr at In My Lifetime.
Articles
Winter Watch: Another #1 Who would have guessed that spending 25 minutes in the dark with a dead school girl could be so good? Summary: Fresh out of the hospital, Kouichi begins attending Yomiyama North Middle School where he meets a mysterious girl names Mei Misaki. |
Winter Watch: Another #2 He just learned that the call came from inside the house. Summary: Kouichi continues to mingle with the students in his class and does some investigating of his own, which leads him to a doll shop that Mei frequents. |
Winter Watch: Another #3 This episode features some of the most shocking umbrella usage seen since Mary Poppins. Summary: Kouichi discovers the ghost story surrounding Class 3 and one of his classmates shows why your parents always told you not to run while holding sharp objects. |
Winter Watch: Another #4 What?!?!? But if we help you and people stop dying, what will the show be about? Summary: Kouichi continues his search for answers after Yukari's death. Meanwhile, Sanae redefines what it means to have a dropped call. |
Winter Watch: Another #5 Another one bites the dust. Summary: Kouichi finally unravels the mystery surrounding his class. |
Winter Watch: Another #6 A little Pulp Fiction inspired dancing and budding teen romance makes everything better. Summary: Kouichi and Mei's relationship grows as they bond over their nonexistence. |
Winter Watch: Another #7 It hasn't rained blood like this since the rave scene in Blade. Summary: After Class 3's countermeasures fail, Kouichi and Mei rejoin the class and search for another way to stop the calamity. |
Winter Watch: Another #8 The requisite beach episode that ends up as a nice change of pace. Summary: Kouichi and friends head off to the beach for some fun in the sun but find that everything isn't as peaceful and serene as they hoped it would be. |
Winter Watch: Another #9 & #10 Even with one eye closed you can see what's coming from a mile away. Summary: Death continues to swirl around the students of Class 3 as Kouichi and friends discover a way to stop the calamity. |
Winter Watch: Another #11 & #12 "Out in the streets, they call it muuuuuuurder." Summary: The entire class finds out about the "kill the dead person" rule and goes on a murder spree during their class trip. |
