The Impression Series: Spring 2011 [Part 2]

Part 2 of Spring 2011 anime series.
Part 1


Hen Zemi
MAL/Official
Genre: comedy
Studio production: Xebec
Number of episodes: 12

Comments: aka Abnormal Physiology Seminar. And the story went exactly as the title went. It's about a university student Nanako Matsutaka, who joined a seminar/research team consisted by strange, abnormal people; and led by a rather perverted professor. And that’s pretty much what’s the series is all about - strange, somewhat funny and perverted fetish in many ways, showcased by the very unique characters in the series. The ideology and personal interest of the people in the group (except for Nanako, who seems to be the most "normal" one) made little sense, maybe none at all. How would a research proposal like "Secretly urinate in various locations in diapers"; "catch fart underwater"; "raising fruit flies in the auditory canal"; "studying borders that connect various part of body (aka indirect/long distance touch)" could make a decent article/thesis is beyond me. The OVA released last year gave a rough idea of what the series like, and despite the mediocre/simplicity of the animation art, I do find myself enjoying the comedies. A 15-minutes run for each episode barely hurt, right?
p/s: beware of scat element.

Verdict: 3/5 (still watching, for now)



Sket Dance
MAL/Official
Genre: comedy
Studio production: Tatsunoko Production
Number of episodes: 12

Comments: School Life Support Club (SKET-dan: Support Kindness Encouragement Troubleshoot) - a school club that accepts request for help and aids in order to provide a smooth school life. Not many people actually turned to their club to ask for help, hence they often did nothing at the club room, although once in awhile they do ended up doing odd jobs (kinda like Otogi Bank in Ookamisan). Three (and only) unique club members - the vice president Onizuka Hime (aka Onihime), a banchou who specializes in brute force; club member Usui Kazuyoshi who always has his laptop with him, and would speak with a voice synthesis software; and club president Fujisaki Yuusuke, aka Bossun who, if concentrate, can use his brain to solve various things. The series focuses more on the daily life of SKET-dan at school, filled with many ridiculousness and comedies, and occasionally the requests that they took and how Bossun often ended up using his "intelligence" to solve it (one of the few things I like about the series). It amazed me how the three of them can casually dressed like that compared to other student, but...ah well, who cares about logic. To some degree I did enjoy the show, but to me much of the comedies looked unnatural/forced (like many other shonen series like this) that it took away part of my enjoyment. The musics were nice and fit with the mood of the scene, but I feel many times the music was way too loud and hinders the character's voices, and that also was a bit of a turn off for me. I guess it's just me and my preference.

Verdict: 3/5 (candidate for drop)



Oretachi ni Tsubasa wa Nai
MAL/Official
Genre: comedy, romance
Studio production: Nomad
Number of episodes: 12

Comments: I've never read any other material about this series, so the anime was new to me. After watching 2 episode, I am still not entirely sure of what to make of the series. Is it a harem split into 3 separate stories (like Ef), and how much random comedies affect the story? But one thing for sure, I do like what I've seen so far. Apart of the three main male characters (Takashi, Shuusuke and Hayato) and the girls that they try to deal with, the many others likeable characters involved in the series were really refreshing. The comedies (some which are slightly dirty, coupled with mild fanservices) are really amusing, and I guess this, together with the appealing animation art, are all I need to consider adding the series in my long-term watchlist. Well, as long as the next few episodes didn't disappoint me, and hopefully the plot would take its pace soon.

Verdict: 4/5 (watching)



Dog Days
MAL/Official
Genre: adventure, fantasy
Studio production: Seven Arcs

Number of episodes: 12
Comments: Downgrading nation war into athletic event is the dumbest thing I've ever seen in fantasy series. And this is what Dog Days is essentially about...It's a magical world, and like Zero no Tsukaima/MAR and many similar titles, our athletic hero Izumi Shinku was summoned from the modern day of Japan to the magical world, with the aim to help the nation of the summoner, Republic of Biscotti, a nation of dog, which was at the brink of being invaded by the nation of cat, Galette. But as stated earlier, the war in that world followed certain "rules/treaties" that prevent bloodshed (defeated soldiers turned into furball rather than dying), so it ended up as athletic event where soldiers poke each other, jumping and racing to the flag, and eventually the good part, "safe" combat battle with various kind technical skills and magical powers. So, the OP sequence is kinda deceiving, in a sense. I'm not even know whether to take this series seriously or not. Come on, would you say battles between factions in Takeshi Castle a war? There's twists involved (eg kidnapped princess, inability to return home etc), and unless the the story would deviate from the sporting event into some sort of proper war in a fantasy world (i.e. battles that didn't take place in the holy ground), I seriously would consider dropping this.

Verdict: 2.5/5



Yondemasu yo Azazel-san
MAL/Official
Genre: comedy, supernatural
Studio production: Production I.G.
Number of episodes: 12

Comments: Not sure if this really fit into a TV series impression, since each episode runs relatively shorter than average at 12 minutes per episode. The animation whatnot is average at best, and that's what expected for a gag show like this, but damn this series is awesome. I seriously ROFLOLMAO throughout the episode, and the last time I had this much laughter was when I watch Mitsudomoe (both seasons). The story is about a detective firm where a college girl Rinko Sakuma (Rina Satou) worked as part timer. Her employee, a “demonic” detective named Akutobe has the ability to summon demons from the netherworld. Things happened and to make it short, Sakuma ended up contracted with some of the demons which pretty much made her the master of those demons, instead of Akutobe. It is these demons that made the series epicly funny – depicted in funny deformed form, with unique personality. Azazel, a perverted demon of lust, specializes in sexual harassment but he often ended up screwing up the job. Beelzebub, a so-called prince demon, had the power to make any animal dump its load (aka shitting), though his real power is Bakuro – bringing anyone’s darkest, dirtiest secret to light. And also a scat freak, a shit-eating demon. A few more demons were later introduced, each with various fucked up abilities. This seriously is one the best comedy show I’ve watched, it's a shame that each episode runs for only a short 10 minutes.
Verdict: 5/5 (definite watch)

Seikon no Qwaser II
MAL/Official
Genre: action, supernatural
Studio production: Hoods Entertainment
Number of episodes: 13

Comments: Shamelessly, I admit that I like the first season ┐￣ー￣┌ It’s not a good comparison, but I like the Mai-hime vibes that the first season had, especially near the final battle. The story, animation, music and battles were excellent, and considering the theme/essence of the series (Soma empowering Qwaser), it is inevitable that massive fanservices existed. Well I’d rather had it this way than series were the fanservices were added for the sake of fanservice (eg Kanokon, Sekirei etc). The first season ended in what I thought separate the manga halfway through, with Sasha and Mafuyu parting ways. Now in 2nd season, Sasha returned with a new mission: to infiltrate an all-girl Seirei Private Academy, and find a woman endowed with Madgalena of Thunder (which the Adept were also looked for). For this, he had a new Maria – Katsuragi Hana (Hikasa Youko), who apparently was dumped (lol) by Katja for awhile. He also had to disguise as female, named Alexandra Hel. Sasha’s fetish toward boobs never recedes, still a breast pervert as usual. This is probably the series I don’t mind giving impression based solely off episode 1, since I’d rather watch the “director’s cut” version, and it took time for them to be released. Seems like several new characters were added in this 2nd season, and I am looking forward for Mafuyu (Ayumi Fujimura) to make her (re)appearance again. The OP by Faylan and ED by Shoujobyo was nice, though I do secretly wished for Faerie Yui (aka Yousei Teikoku) to sing another... maybe not in this season.
Verdict: 4/5 (watching)

One more part to go.