The Impression Series: Winter 2011 [Part 2]

continued from part 1 of my Winter 2011 impression.


Kimi ni Todoke 2nd Season
MAL/Official
Genre: comedy, romance, shoujo
Studio production: Production I.G.
Number of episodes: 13

Comments: Starting with the release of episode 00 which recaps season 1 from Kurumi's point of view, Kimi ni Todoke returned with its second season. This series is one of the few shoujo series that I enjoyed watching, mainly because of Sawako's interesting and naive personality, added with the all around comedy in the series. Sometimes it did annoys me seeing the indecisiveness and hesitation that often brought Sawako and Kazehaya's relationship to nowhere (made me almost scream "just give the damn chocolate already!"), something is definitely needed to harden them. And now that a new student Kento Miura is in the mix, it is interesting to see how farther can they advance in this second season.

Verdict: 4/5



Level E
MAL/Official
Genre: Comedy, Science Fiction
Studio production: David Production, Studio Pierrot
Number of episodes: 12

Comments: From the creator of Hunter x Hunter and Yuyu Hakusho, comes Level E. The story mainly focus on the many aliens species that unknowingly (to human) come to earth for various reasons, and among other, a fateful encounter of a normal high school student with one of the alien who happened to be a prince of planet Dogura. I've never really read the manga, but it looks like a real deal. What I like about the series is that at first glance it looks like a serious series. Well, in a way it is indeed a serious, but for much of that seriousness, there's a lot of funny scenes that never failed to amuse me, in particular whenever Yukitaka get into argument with Prince Baka (lol@name) which often turned into a spontaneous jokes. Then there's Edogawa Miho, a seemingly normal highschool girl but always full of curiosity and did something unexpected. same with other aliens - serious, yet not serious. So yeah, the story was intriguing, but above all, it was the comedy that actually made me want to watch the series even more :3

Verdict: 4.5/5



Dragon Crisis!
MAL/Official
Genre: Action, fantasy
Studio production: Studio DEEN
Number of episodes: 12

Comments: Oh wow Rie Kugimiya? I definitely missed her squeaky voice, it's been awhile since I heard her voicing a loli main character lol. Anyway, Dragon Crisis focus on a middle schooler, Kisaragi Ryuuji's adventure to protect a red dragon girl he and his cousin Erika Nanao discovered after seizing a relic "Lost Precious" from an organisation named FANG. Not much to say about the story, but it develops at a relatively fast pace, and I'm looking forward to see how will Ryuuji deal with his past as a relic handler, and how he will use it to save Rose, the red dragon girl. Hearing Rose (with her Kugimiya voice) kept on calling "Ryuuji" really remind me of Shakugan no Shana/Zero no Tsukaima (because of the name, obviously). Nice animation (it's DEEN after all), and looked even more intricate when the power of the Lost Precious or the Dragon's power was unleashed. Kugimiya+Yui Horie+Yukana, there's nothing more I'd asked for. Love the OP song too, looking forward to Maruga's appearance :3

Verdict: 4/5



Kore wa Zombie Desu Ka?
MAL/Official
Genre: Action, fantasy, comedy
Studio production: Studio DEEN
Number of episodes: 12

Comments: SEEERAAPHIM-SAN!!! lmao I didn't self-fap, did I? OK, another light novel adaptation. Watching first episode, and I instantly fell in love with the show. Watching 2nd episode, and I was like, omfg lol name. The setup is no doubt a harem alright, but it was a unique one - a zombie (undead?), Aikawa Ayumu who looks for his murderer. His saviour, the necromancer of the Underworld, the emotionless, silent Eucliwood Hellscythe (aka Eu). Haruna, the tsundere chainsaw-wielding Masou Shoujo (she remind me to Rita Mordio of tales of Vesperia, really). A "slightly rude" kyuketsu/vampire ninja that live for swordplay Tsunamegaeshi, Seraphim (aka Sera). And one more to be introduced soon. The story which mostly deals with Ayumu trying to find his murderer, often filled with endless comedies - the daily lives and banter at his house filled with those girls with supernatural powers, Ayumu's mind vision of Eu speaking cutely as his imouto, and even the battle or unexpected events can turn hilarious. Needless to say, it's an interesting combo of moe+supernatural harem+comedy which will definitely kept me watching. Oh, and the gore of brutal body split.

p/s Wow it's DEEN again! I...just can't believe it @.@
Verdict: 5/5



Fractale
MAL/Official
Genre: Fantasy, adventure
Studio production: A-1 Pictures
Number of episodes: 11

Comments: At first I wasn't planned to try this, but upon watching the first episode, I was mesmerized by a few things - interesting setting in an island far in the future which people can interact via "Doppels", the "Fractale System" which governs the island, the mysterious girl Phryne which was chased for unknown reason and met the main character, Clain; and Nessa, another girl who could help Clain to search Phryne who suddenly disappeared after their short encounter. The world in Fractale was...strange and intriguing. The animation art was neat and not overly complex. Overall there's still not much that I know about the series, but it looks promising and so far I enjoyed watching the first 2 episodes.

Verdict: 3.5/5


That's all for Winter 11 for me. 11 series in my watchlist, but I'll probably cut 1 or 2 series depending on how well the series goes. But overall I'd say that I'm enjoying many of the shows : )


Most likely not included in my watchlist:

Hourou Musuko
MAL/Official
Comments: Aka Wondering Son. The boy want to be a girl, and the girl want to be a boy. The boyfriend was actually his girlfriend and his girlfriend was actually her boyfriend. Mindfucked. The theme of crossdressing/transgender among maturing boys/girls was definitely intriguing, but somehow my mind was having this sense of rejection that prevent me from watching this further -_-

Rio Rainbow Gate
MAL/Official

Comments: I don't plan to watch this in the first place but since I occasionally visit the Poker section in Gosugamers, that kinda spark my curiosity about this series. WAtched 2 episodes, not much to comment: fanservices and ridiculous luck. I'm kinda interested to know about Rio's journey on collecting the rest of the Gate Keeper's card, but seeing how lousy each game was played...

Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica
MAL/Official
Comments: Aka Puella Magi Madoka Magica. The title already suggest that I should not bother watching it, but for some reason i still give the first episode a try because, well, SHAFT factor (and Kitamura Eri factor too). Plus it was repeatedly advertised in Arakawa over and over again, so it kinda ignite my curiosity, a little. Anyway, the OP song is probably the only think that I enjoy from the series so far. Mahou shoujo isn't really my kind of thing after all -_-

Freezing
MAL/Official
Comments: boobs and massive pantsu-flash, nuff said. I like the OP song though.

The Impression Series: Winter 2011 [Part 1]

Since I mostly stay at home this month before continuing my post-degree stuff, I got the chance to try most, if not all, subbed winter 11 series. From my initial watch, it looks like this will be another lengthy season for me with quite a number of series in my watchlist.

IS Inifnity Stratos
MAL/Official
Genre: action, science fiction, mecha, comedy, harem
Studio production: 18bit
Number of episodes: 12?

Comments: Based on a light novel series with the same title. Due to his special ability to operate armored exoskeleton machinery "Infinite Stratos" which was supposedly only accessible to woman, a 15 years old boy Orimura Ichika somehow find himself in a special school to train his ability, which naturally consists of only girl students. An obvious harem premise which I usually am not quite fond watching, but somehow IS:Infinite Stratos gives something different that made me want to continue watching as some things in this series wasn't quite typical to the generic harem - added with interesting characters, funny scenes and lovely mecha (IS) design/battles. +1 for Hikasa Youko casting the main character Shinonono Houki. More points for having Mai Kadowaki+Yukana :3
p/s: for some reason I feel some vibes of VC2 from watching this series.

Verdict: 4/5



Yumekui Merry
MAL/Official
Genre: Action, supernatural
Studio production: J.C Staff
Number of episodes: 12?

Comments: Having watched 2 episodes, I personally find the story progressing rather slow for me to fully grasp the deal behind the connection between Dream and Reality, as well as the involvement of the dream demons, and that kinda made held me a little from praising this series more. But one thing for sure, although I personally thought the OP song didn't synchronize quite well with the visual (messy, if you will), it was absolutely awesome, easily one of my favorite song for this year's series. And the epic background music during battles and other tense scenes further added my enjoyment. The characters also caught my attention, especially Merry - a mysterious resident of the Dream World, seemingly strong and weak at the same time. I just wish the antagonist - whoever the dream demons are, have more "intimidating and evil" aura. Nevertheless, I'll reserve my judgement about the story until I've watched more episode. This is a JC Staff work after all.

Verdict: 3.5/5




Gosick
MAL/Official
Genre: mystery
Studio production: Bones
Number of episodes: 24

Comments: Based on light novel by Kazuki Sakuraba, basically this is a semi-mysterious detective series with a cute, adorable little girl, Victorique de Blois as the detective solving the cases with the aid with her important companion, Kazuya Kujou who happen to transfer into her school at a bad time. Seems like a great series to replace Shinrei Tantei Yakumo which coincidentally just ended. Having watched 2 episodes so far, the mysterious cases involved weren't complex (not as mind blowing as Umineko or Kindaichi so far) and probably something you can find in other detective novels, but it is still interesting to see how Victorique, with her unique personality and sharp vision, confidently dissect each puzzles without being affected by the tense atmosphere around the crime scenes. Oh did I mention how adorable she is? Coming from Bones, the animation was also splendidly done, often using the right visual to depict the mystery at the scene.

Verdict: 5/5



Mitsudomoe Zouryouchuu!
MAL/Official
Genre: Comedy, Slice of Life
Studio production: Bridge
Number of episodes: 8

Comments: My favorite comedy show of 2010 returned with the second season. Started with the ever popular super sentai Gachiranger parody almost for the whole episode 1., the series still retained the same formula and still caused me to laugh to no end in each episode. The Triplets didn't have much screentime in the first episode, but overall the episode itself was extremely hilarious. Quoting Mitsuba; "It's so stupid that it's pretty funny" XD

p/s: wtf 8 episodes total щ(ﾟДﾟщ)
Verdict: 4.5/5



Onii-chan no Koto nanka Zenzen Suki Janain Dakara ne!!
MAL/Official
Genre: Comedy, Ecchi, Romance
Studio production: Zexcs
Number of episodes: 12

Comments: Right after OreImo ended, immediately another series with similar (but more extreme) theme, similar long ass title was animated (coincidentally both began serialization in 2008). I randomly found the manga last year and quite enjoy the [sometimes] perverted comedies, so I might as well watched the anime adaptation. The animation was ok at best, and although some people might feel awkward with the disproportionated character figure (big head and hand), I personally don't have much problem with that since that's pretty much how the original characters were designed.

Verdict: 3/5



Beelzebub
MAL/Official
Genre: Action, Comedy, Supernatural
Studio production: Studio Pierrot
Number of episodes: 12

Comments: The story of a high school juvenile delinquent Oga Tatsumi who through some circumstances, find himself raising the child of the Demon King. It's been a long time since I follow a mainstream action/battle shounen series, mainly because I'm not fond with the (often) messy action, and having read a few chapters of the manga, I'd say the same for Beelzebub. But the comedy still cracks me a good laugh, so I'd probably give this series a few more episodes to watch.

Verdict: 3/5

Impression: Dragon Age: Origin

So since my PC and the rest of my PS3 games still had not arrived from Aussie even after almost 3 weeks (4 now, damn what the hell did they do to make the deliveries taking so long), I had to content with a few games I brought with me in my luggage (kinda regret giving Valkyria Chronicle to deady during CF lol), and among these few games are Dragon Age Origin, a game I bought from my ex-housemate just a few days prior to me retuning to Malaysia. Though, until last week I kept myself busy with Trinity Universe, FIFA11 and Front Mission Evolved before I finally decided to give Dragon Age: Origin a serious try.

Considering Dragon Age:Origin was an insanely popular game throughout the gaming world, I guess I didn't really have to put much into this entry. But I guess for someone who is so accustomed to generic jrpgs like myself, it was a fresh change of air to play a western RPG game like this, though you might argue games like White Knight Chronicles did has similar vibes. Based on story progression, it looks like I'm nearing the end of my first playthrough, just after recruiting all 4 allies through the Grey Warden Treaties, and midway through the Landsmeet. That's about 25 hours of play, I suppose. So my thoughts about the game, from a jrpg fan's point of view:

Title: Dragon Age: Origin
Developers: Bioware
Platform: PlayStation 3 (PS3), Xbox 360, Windows, Mac
Genre: role-playing
Release date: November 2009

Dragon Age Origin tells a tale of Grey Warden, legendary warriors who picks up swords and allies to battle against demonic creatures called Darkspawn which emerged every few hundred years in worldwide calamity called the Blight. And to start the story, you need to first pick your race (human, elf or dwarf) and class (warrior, rogue or mage), which determine where you start the story, either in the Noble Castle, the Circle's Mage, the Elven Forest etc; called the Origin Story. You are then recruited to be a Grey Warden, and following conflict at each of your Origin, you follow your recruiter, Duncan to be a full-fledged Grey Warded and proceed to the main story. where you're eventually required to gather allies according to the Grey Warden Treaties to fight against the Blight.

Usually in jrpg, I am accustomed with the plot-driven story in which main character's personality, plot and most other things had already been determined and it's a matter of progressing from point A to point B to advance the game. This obviously differs in many western RPG, including Dragon Age: Origin, where in most cases, you are free to shape your own character, free to make your own choice which consequently affect the stories throughout the game. Be a good, evil, polite, rude, it's all up to you to decide. I guess this is what fascinates the general mass gamers. What's they call a "true" role-playing games. Well, it doesn't matter much for me, I do enjoy either way as long as the characters are interesting and the gameplay are enjoyable. In Dragon Age: Origin's case, the characters are indeed interesting (Alistair, Morrigan and Zevran made some nice funny conversation), but, I guess, western character design didn't "quite" hit me in my favorite list.

As for the gameplay, I'm not sure how to precisely describe it, but I'd say the game uses similar combat system typical to most western rpg/mmorpg you might have played. In PS3 version, spells and skills can be assigned to circle, square and triangle button, whilst even more spells/skills/items can be used from the quick-access menu (forgot the name lol) by pressing L2. Various spells can be chained to create devastating effects. From the basic three classes, each character can specialise into 2 further class out of 4 possible options (eg: Mages can specialise into Shapeshifter, Spirit Healer, Arcane Warrior and Blood Mage), which unlocks as you progress into the game. Lots, and and I mean LOTS of spells and skills are available for you to choose, which sometime might cause you to scratch your head on which skill you want to invest in. Oh one more thing, those familiar with the Gambit system in FFXII instantly recognize a similar features in Dragon Age Origin, the Tactic Slot which as you guess, allow you to set up battle priority tactics for your party members. EXACT COPY and MECHANISM of the one used in FFXII, a no-brainer to use. Overall, my impression toward the gameplay? Not really impressed with it, most likely because as jrpg fan, I prefer fast-paced battle with real-time combat used, like those used in Tales series. Not implying the battle in DA:O is slow, it's just that I'm not overly favor this kind of gameplay.

So the originality of Dragon Age:Origin, or things that made this game so famous all around the world? I guess it's because of the epic story and massive options to pick that affect the story. Gameplay? Although I didn't play much western RPG, I personally am not too fond with DA:O's combat system. A matter of taste I guess, considering I'm heavily lean toward JRPGs and cherish the characters that can make me feel closer (or farther) to them because of their personality. But overall I would still say that Dragon Age:Origin is a solid game for a gamer who seek enthralling stories with flexible plot.

p/s: Hopefully I can finish the game by the end of this week, and probably start a new playthrough, this time following proper walkthrough to get all possible allies, quests and Trophies.

2010 at a glance: seraph's top 10 anime OP/ED

For the second year running, I feel compelled to make my personal favorite OP/ED songs from anime series aired in 2010 (Winter-Fall).

Top 10 Anime OP

10. Toki na Mukou, Maboroshi no Sora - Fiction Junction [Ookamikakushi]
09. Maxon - JAM Project [Super Robot Wars Original Generation: the Inspector]
08. Someone Else - Kana Asumi, Saki Fujita, and Eri Kitamura [Working!]
07. Go! Go! Maniac - Houkago Tea Time [K-ON!!]
06. Highschool of the Dead - Kishida Kyoudan and The Akeboshi Rockets [Highschool of the Dead]
05. Maikaze - Yoshioka Aika [Hakuouki Hekketsuroku]
04. Flying Humanoid - Nakagawa Shouko [Seikimatsu Occult Gakuen]
03. God Only Knows - ELISA [The World God Only Knows]
02. Calendula Requiem - Kanon x Kanon [Shiki]
01. Baptize- Yousei Teikoku [Seikon no Quaser]

Top 10 2010 Anime ED

10. Trust Me - Yuya Matsushita [Durarara!]
09. Kimi to Taiyou ga Shinda hi - Kurosaki Maon [Highschool of the Dead]
08. Return to destiny - Kurosaki Maon [Highschool of the Dead]
07. Tsukishirube - Yuuka Nanri [Ookamikakushi]
06. Bakurock ～Mirai no Rinkakusen～ - Ya-kyim [Bakuman]
05. Sparky Start - Katate Size [Nurarihyon no Mago]
04. Maid Sanjou! - Maids [Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru]
03. Passionate Squall - Ayumi Fujimura, Aki Toyosaki, Minori Chihara, Aya Hirano, Yōko Hikasa [Seikon no Qwaser]
02. NO, Thank You! - Houkago Tea Time [K-ON!!]
01. Hollow Men - Kurosaki Maon [Highschool of the Dead]

to be honest there's more Highschool of the Dead's ED songs that I like, but listing any more than three would mean I have to take out other songs that I like. In fact there's a lot of OP/EDs that I enjoy from this year's anime (eg those from Densetsu Yuusha and Vampire Bund), but there's so much that can be listed : (

2010 at a glance: seraph's best anime series

Another year passed, and even more series being aired in anime calendar. Although I've been relatively busy this year partially due to my Honours year, somehow I still managed to provide myself with a bit of time to watch anime, and among the series I've watched (which is many), for the third year running, it's time to list series that I find excel(s) in various categories. Do note that all of these are solely based on how I perceive and enjoy the anime.

Best Winter 2010 anime: Durarara!!
Honorable mention: Ookamikakushi

Best Spring 2010 anime: Angel Beats!
Honorable mention: Hakuouki: Shinsengumi Kitan, Kaichou Wa Maid Sama

Best Summer 2010 anime: Amagami SS
Honorable mention: Seikimatsu Occult Gakuin

Best Fall 2009 anime: Bakuman
Honorable mention: Shinryaku Ika Musume, To Aru Majutsu no Index II

And alltogether most of these series went into my top 10 2010 anime series.

Best Mecha Anime: Super Robot Wars OG: The Inspector
Honorable mention: -

granted, that's probably the only mecha anime I watched this year

Best Comedy Anime: Mitsudomoe
Honorable mention: Working!, Shinryaku! Ika Musume, Hanamaru Youchien, Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru, Arakawa Under the Bridge, Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu

Most of them really made me laugh, but Mitsudomoe got the final nod for me because, well, it was freaking funny. It's been quite some time since I enjoy an extraordinarily funny series after Bokusatsu tenshi Dokuro-chan :3

Best OVA series: Koe de Oshigoto
Honorable mention: Katanagatari

Best Movie (based on DVD release and fansubs): The Dissappearance of Suzumiya Haruhi
Honorable mention: Fate/Stay Night Unlimited Blade Works, Tales of Vesperia

Best Sequels: Tegami Bachi Reverse
Honorable mention: To Aru Majutsu no Index II

Best Sports anime: Giant Killing
Honorable mention: -

lately there's drought of sports series.

Best adaptation: Bakuman
Honorable mention: Durarara!!

Best ending: Shiki

I choose Shiki because it wasn't really a good or bad ending. And rather than the final episode, it was the whole events that leads to the final episode that made me gave somewhat nice impression to me.

Best Male characters of 2010: Nura Rikuo - Night persona (Nurarihyon no Mago)
Honorable mention: Kamijou Touma (To Aru Majutsu no Index II)

Best Female Characters of 2010: Kumashiro Maya (Seikimatsu Occult Gakuin)
Honorable mention: Ayuzawa Misaki (Kaichou wa Maid-sama)

Most Overrated 2010 anime: The World God Only Knows

Most Underrated 2010 anime: Densetsu Yuusha no Densetsu

Best anime OST: Shinrei Tantei Yakumo
Honorable mention: Ookamikakushi

Best OP song: Baptize (Yousei Teikoku) - Seikon no Qwaser OP2
Honorable mention: Calendula Requiem (Kanon x Kanon) - Shiki

Best ED song: Hollow Men (Kurosaki Maon) - Highschool of the Dead ED11
Honorable mention: No Thank You (Houkago Tea Time) - K-ON!!

my top 10 of anime OP and ED for 2010 should be posted in a few days

Best insert song: any of the Angel Beats insert