The Impression Series: Spring 2011 [Part 3]

Finally the last part of Spring 2011 Impression.
part 1
part 2


Deadman Wonderland
MAL/Official
Genre: action, thriller
Studio production: Manglobe
Number of episodes: 12

Comments: Since I've never read the manga, the first episode kinda gave me a mixed impression - great animation but the story begin in a rather intriguing, yet distressing manner - the bloody scene in the classroom with only a single student survived, Igaraki Ganta, which were then accused as the main suspect; and with no room to defend himself, sentenced in the form of life imprisonment at a unique theme park-like prison called Deadman Wonderland. Since I'm not entirely convinced that I would enjoy the series, I decided to give a few chapters of the manga a try; and damn, I would say the story really exceed my expectation, in fact I would even say the anime did better in visualizing the motion to fit with the mood of the scenes depicted in the manga. And episode 2 certainly erases my worry as I started to enjoy the show. From being framed to the imprisonment at Deadman Wonderland, we see how Ganta tries to survive the ordeal and life at the prison, whilst also making a few friends in the process, including a mysterious albino girl named Shiro (who had the personality of a typical Kana Hanazawa’s cheerful character). Then many mysteries and questions started to appear, starting from the origin of the gravitational collapse in Tokyo (which now become the location of Deadman Wonderland), the identity of the Red Man and Shiro, the reason Ganta was left alive in the incident and then framed for the crime, the power that awakened within him, as well as the conspiracy, darkest secret of Deadman Wonderland itself. Many thrills and intriguing incidents that would keep me at my seat, definitely don’t want to miss this.
Verdict: 4/5 (watching)

Ao no Exorcist
MAL/Official
Genre: action, drama, supernatural
Studio production: A-1 Pictures

Number of episodes: 24
Comments: A Child of Satan, becoming demon's greatest enemy, an exorcist, to get rid of demons. Okumura Rin has been a problematic man since his childhood, a stark contrast to his gentle twin brother Yukio. Living under the care of an exorcist, little did he know that his real identity is an illegitimate child of the god of demon, Satan. An incident which reveals his true self, and saw his adopted father sacrificing himself eventually led Rin to the path of exorcism, against Satan itself. It was a great introduction to the series, coupled with good usage of visual effects in the battles. Off the battle, there's also a few mild comedies that tickle my sense of humors. The 2 episodes so far were enjoyable (to some degree), and I'm expecting more interesting things to happened next, now that Rin is enrolled in True Cross academy, although for now this series is not likely to be put in my higher priority watchlist.

p/s wtf Mameshiba ads
Verdict: 3/5



Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Boku-tachi wa Mada Shiranai
MAL/Official
Genre: drama
Studio production: A-1 Pictures
Number of episodes: 11

Comments: Ano Haha, aka We Still do not Know the Name of the Flower we Saw that Day. In short it was about 6 really close childhood friends, whom after the death of one of them, Meiko Honma (aka Menma), changed as years passed and become somewhat distant to each other. The main character Jintan become a shut-in, and it was him who met the reincarnated Menma (ghost), thought to be the embodiment of his own stress. Another girl, Naruko become more involved in fashion stuff, although her old hobbies of collecting games and manga remained. Deep within herself, she still has great care toward Jintan. Another guy, Poppo who used to be the smallest when he was child, now is a big guy and likes to travel around the world with the money he earned from his part time job. And the last two, Yukiatsu and Tsurumi seems to change the most, with both taking their life and study seriously. The reappeared Menma had a wish she wants Jintan to fulfill, but it can only be granted by reuniting the distant old friends. A really refreshing drama if you asked me, seeing how the appearance of Menma brought some vigor to Jintan, and with all the things Jintan done trying to grant Menma's wish, eventually also brought the friends that has become distant in recent years closer. In the end, although everyone seems to change drastically (appearance and personality-wise), they still had a piece of their former self, all which were bound together by Menma. So far things went well for Jintan, Poppo and Naruko, and I am looking forward to how Jintan would deal with (probably) the more serious Yukiatsu and Tsurumi.

Verdict: 4/5 (watching)



Hidan no Aria
MAL/Official
Genre: action, comedy
Studio production: J.C Staff
Number of episodes: 13

Comments: My, another Kugimiya tsundere lolo (with scarlet hair too), now with a pair of gun. The story is promising, in a sense that it somewhat mirrors the life of students at a special academy in Toaru series. To be precise, it is about a seemingly normal guy, Tohyama Kinji who enrolled in a special academy that trained Butei, an armed detective force. He dreams of leading a peaceful life (and even plan to quit Butei altogether), but an encounter with an S-ranked butei named Kanzaki H Aria forced him out of his wishful dream. I like the premise, and even more because the main character Kinji is not a wuss (thanks to his conditional Hysteria Syndrome which triggers his godlike combat abilities). The only problem I had so far with the series is that aside of Kinji, the other characters (As far as ep2 goes: Aria, Shirayuki and Riko) were very stereotypic, in particular, Aria who had the vibes of Shana all over her, so there's no need for me to decribe more. Well, on the good note, the series was made by J.C. Staff, hence the animation quality was always something to admire for. I wish the OP song could have been better composed though, the song by May'n sounds out of place with the series.

Verdict: 4/5 (watching)



C -Control - The Money and Soul of Possibility
MAL/Official
Genre: science fiction, thriller
Studio production: Tatsunoko Production
Number of episodes: 11

Comments: Other title was rephrased as The Money of Soul and Possibility Control. Regardless, this is one of the strangest anime title I've ever heard, in that it made little sense, and it was reflected in the story. Being an original series, it had a compelling theme, relating money and wealth of a person to their own future in the era when financial recession become a huge problems. The story centered around a college student Kimimaro Yoga who wished to lead a normal life, but an encounter with a strange man changed his life, as at the cost of his future, he was granted access to strange realm called Financial District, which allowed possibilities for him to make lots of profits/money. His role in the District is to battle (with the help of his Assets) against other people like him, with their money/future at stake. I really fancy this kind of strange story, along with the peculiarities that were brought from the Financial District, for example the black money which can only be seen by people who had gone through the District, as well as the mysterious guy that invite Kimimaro in the first place. The battle that took place in the District so far wasn't really the strong point of the series, but I do like the striking colors used, kinda give the prefect sense of strangeness to the world of Financial District.
Verdict: 3.5/5

Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko
MAL/Official
Genre: comedy, seinen
Studio production: SHAFT
Number of episodes: 12

Comments: Another amazing work by SHAFT, again with their world full of strangeness. When the story begin, we're shown a normal high school student, Niwa Makoto, moving to her aunt's home and is looking forward to his new life. But what we seen after he and his aunt Touwa Meme arrived home bring us to complete bewilderness - a girl about his age, wrapped in futon, lies at the entrance. The dialogue that follows afterward, with Niwa asking so many questions about the girls, gave him little answers. Then we know that his new life at his aunt's place is nothing short of extraordinary, filled with many kinds of strange girls. Just as the title suggest, the girls that Niwa encountered so far has been pretty weird in many sense. The futon girl, Erio claimed she is an alien, while girls he met at school, Mifune Ryuuko and Maekawa have their own kind of oddness too. Part of the twist involving Erio's disappearance in the past that led to her present state is really intriguing, in fact I would say the same for the whole story. As expected from SHAFT I guess, and they really did great with the beautiful animation. Strange and extraordinary was the central figure of this anime, and the OP reflected it. I personally do like the song though :3

p/s: futon moe.
Verdict: 4.5/5 (definite watch)


That's it for the impression. There's a few more series that I actually watched, but I guess it's too much to add into these posts.