The Impression Series: Summer 2011 [Part 2]

pardon the long wait, rl owns.

Finally the second and final part of my Summer 2011 anime impression. At first I planned to make it a three-parts entry, but I am considering to limit my watchlist to about 10 series this season, hence I ended up dropping/holding about one-third of the amount I initially watched.

Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu 2
MAL/Official
Genre: comedy
Studio production: SILVER LINK
Number of episodes: 13

Comments: Well well, it’s Bakatest season 2, how much do I need to comment on this one? The first season already made me laugh a lot (only marginally lost to Mitsudomoe as my best comedy anime of 2010), so I had high expectation from the second season, knowing how much I could laugh from watching this show. And fortunately the few episodes so far delivered, right off the bat, I had a burst of laugh. On a side note, for some reason the more I watched the anime, the less I remembered about the importance of those class battles.

verdict:4.5/5



Mayo Chiki!
MAL/Official
Genre: comedy, romance
Studio production: Feel
Number of episodes: 12

Comments: Aka Mayoeru Shitsuji to Chikin na Ore to. The story is about a gynophobic Sakamachi Kinjiro, who accidentally discovered that his classmate Subaru Konoe, also a butler to Suzutsuki Kanade, is actually a girl. Thanks to the horrid time he had at home with his little sister and mother constantly using him as pro-wrestling guinea pig, Kinjiro somehow developed some kind of allergy that made him nosebleed whenever a girl touched him (lolwat). And with the discovery of Subaru’s secret that’s supposed not to be known (or else she will be removed from her butler position), you bet it’s going to be good (or bad, depending on how you see it) for Kinjiro. A generic comedy romance story which has probably been recycled, tweaked and used many times in other anime/manga/novels, but still never failed to amuse me if done right, like Mayo Chiki did. I mean, it’s not the first time you see a trap like Subaru, a sadistic yet caring ojou-sama like Kanade (Kitamura Eri ftw :3) and a main character with some kind of allergy/phobia like Kinjiro, yet these three blended well to make the story interesting. Kinjiro’s little sister, Kureha (Kana Hanazawa again, huh?), the bunch of Subaru’s admirers as well as the fujoshi defectors made things even funnier. So I would say that I will keep on watching as long as the anime continue to entertain me.
p/s: Can’t help but thinking about Charlotte (IS)/young Minami Haruka whenever I see Subaru in female outfit.

verdict: 3.5/5



Itsuka Tenma no Kuro-Usagi
MAL/Official
Genre: fantasy, romance
Studio production: ZEXCS
Number of episodes: 12

Comments: Okay, another series that gave me a mixed impression. The pros: 1) The story – it was intriguing to say the least, from the point the main character Kurogane Taito remembered his old promise, the fight that ensued, and the involvement of the student council president Kurenai Gekkou and his twins. 2) The ending song, because it’s Shikata Akiko. The cons: 1) Massive cliché that bored me out. The easygoing, reckless main character (oh hi I got a new power and I’m so conceited I think I could beat the bad guy in a hit), the moe female friend that likes to hang with him, the forgotten old promise, the cool student council president, the transferring of the old lover to his school.. 2) The battles. Maybe it’s just me, but I think the battles lacks cohesion and proper flow. Kinda hard to explain, but let’s just say that I really don’t feel the tense of the battle in episode two. And the flashy animation and special effects didn’t help me either. 3) The colourful art and generic character designs (just me and my preference). 4) Cheap panty flash. This didn’t exist much in episode 2 though. In the end, I don’t think I would do anything with the series anymore, except downloading the ED single once it is released.

verdict: 2/5 (dropped)



Kamisama no Memo-chou
MAL/Official
Genre: mystery, psychological
Studio production: J.C. Staff
Number of episodes: 12

Comments: In short, the story tells how an average guy named Fujishima Narumi who longed for average life and avoiding major attention, somehow found himself involved with a group of weirdos – a pro gambler dropout, a military university nerd, a gigolo, yakuza affiliates, and finally the biggest of all, a NEET detective called Alice. The lengthy episode 1 provided the necessary introduction of the major and support characters, and from then on we could probably see similar pattern being played out in future episodes – Alice accepting a request/case and used her extensive network to solve it, with Narumi playing the sidekick role (or bigger one when the time arrived). Okay, I had some problem with Narumi's personality, but so far I could safely say that I’m liking what I am seeing from the series – nice semi-detective story, great animation (J.C.Staff, duh) and some funny moments (I lol’d hard when a simple “God Hand” computer work by Narumi totally amazed the thugs at Soichirou’s place). The story seems to put quite an emphasis in NEET theme (with Alice insisting to be called “NEET” detective), but I personally didn’t see this term having bigger influence than the term had in, say, NHK ni Youkoso. One thing that got me interested is how Alice deliberately mentioning the term “Kamisama no Memo-chou” – memo pads of the Gods in episode one. It could be a metaphor of the vast, extensive network that Alice had, but for a moment I also thought how it might relate to Alice at one point talking about the tainting of the living and the dead (Shigofumi, huh?). Anyway, finally a show from J.C.Staff that I could enjoy, after Bakuman (note that I was not that impressed with their Yumekui Merry and Aria).

verdict: 4/5



Dantalian no Shoka
MAL/Official
Genre: fantasy
Studio production: GAINAX

Number of episodes: 13
Comments: Look, another loli detective show! Dantalian no Shoka is about Hugh Anthony Disward (aka Huey) who was given inheritance of an isolated mansion and massive library from his deceased grandfather’s, and met a mysterious girl named Dalian. The atmosphere of the series screamed Gosick all over the place that it doesn’t feel right to have Dantalian aired right after Gosick concluded, though after awhile you get the sense that these two are never the same kind. How do I summed up my thought after watching the first 2 episodes: Interesting, but at the same time, it is also uninteresting? Although I like the mystery/supernatural element in the series, I feel that the story was rather confusing and weakend by plotholes. The first episode was okay, but then the second episode repeated the similar pattern, giving there’s little chance for us to understand the questions like who Dalian really is and how she ended up at the mansion, the history of those Phantom Books and many more. Then we were stuffed with lots of (uninteresting) long winded text that Huey read whenever they summoned a book from within Dalian. Basically a quarter of the episode (and half of the battles) were filled with Huey reading books! It’s amazing that Huey and Dalian remained composed even during the most dangerous situation in battle. The animation and special effects in battle was great, but the weakness in the plot kinda hold me back from giving this series a higher rating. And by the way, the ED was creepy, but I LOVE it, seriously!!!
p/s: I swear if they repeat those same door-unlocking scenes in the next 10 episodes, I'm gonna throw up. My god this is not mahou shoujo anime where enemies would give you 1 minute to do some flashy transformation =_=

verdict: 3.5/5



The IDOLM@STER
MAL/Official
Genre: slice of life, music (?)
Studio production: A-1 Pictures
Number of episodes: 12

Comments: Hm..I’m not sure why I decided to include this anime in the list. I’ve never played the game, so I really don’t have any kind of expectation toward the anime. Caught in the hype again, I guess. From what I saw, the story is about 12 girls who aimed to be real idols, and with the help of the unnamed producer-san, we see how they went through their everyday life as idol wannabe, with each episode focusing on one or several of these idols (along with their specific character ED song, which is kinda nice), what they do in the studio (everyone seems so disorganised huh?), preparing stage performance and other activities. The animation quality is somewhat lesser than what I expected, but as a whole I don't have much problem of having the show in my watchlist, although the priority is not high in my list at the moment.
p/s: Azusa has always been my favorite :3

verdict: 3/5



that's all I think for this season. There are also other series that I initially watched, but decided not to include full impression on these series:

- Mawaru Penguindrum - hm...weird series? I had real problems with the coloring and perspective of this anime.
- Nurarihyon no Mago 2 - I like the 1st season (minus the pointless ep26 recap), but I think I'm gonna wait till the 2nd season finished and marathon it in a go.
- R-15 – tbh I don’t mind watching a few more episodes of this one.
- Manyuu Hikenchou - omfg you do not tell me that I need to comment on this?
- Nekogami Yaoyorozu - another comedy slice of life of this season, but I personally like Yuruyuri more.

The Impression Series: Summer 2011 [Part 1]

Finally a post for the new anime season. As the tradition goes, here's my thought on the recently aired Summer 2011 anime. Some are very interesting and intriguing, while others were rather disappointing, at least from my point of view.

Ikoku Meiro no Croisee
MAL/Official
Genre: Slice of life
Studio production: Satelight
Number of episodes: 12

Comments: The story took place near the end of 19th century in Paris, when a young Japanese girl, Yune accompanied a French traveler named Oscar back to France. In Paris, she was placed under the care Oscar’s nephew, Claude who owned an ironwork shop. And from this on, things can only get interesting. Both Claude and Yune were total stranger to Japanese and French culture respectively, and it was interesting to see how they perceived the foreign culture, trying to understand it. For Claude, it was the uneasiness of suddenly having an attendance at his shop, especially his initial thought that they didn’t understand each others' language. In Yune’s case, she was trying her best to adapt to French’s living style, even though it was uncomfortable for her at first (eg bitter coffee and breakfast with bread and cheese). Overall, how do I describe the first 2 episodes: calmness, harmony, great atmosphere and beautiful art. Yune was simply adorable especially seeing how she was trying hard to be dependable, be strong and get used with the new lifestyle while trying not to upset Claude (although Claude never really mind with what Yune did). I would be interested to know the little bit details like why Yune went to France at such age, but for now I am content with what I am seeing, and with new characters set to make their appearance in episode 3, I was definitely looking forward to the rest of the anime.
verdict: 4.5/5

Usagi Drop
MAL/Official
Genre: comedy, drama
Studio production: Production I.G.
Number of episodes: 12

Comments: Officially one of my favorite show this season. Some of my friends actually recommended me to try the manga last year, but it was not until I watch the first episode of the anime that I actually decided to give the manga a try, and my, what a nice read. I was pleasantly surprised with the story that it made me read the manga much until near the end. Anyway, back to the anime. Briefly, Usagi Drop is about a 30 years old hardworker Daikichi Kawachi who went to his grandfather’s funeral, only to met an unfamiliar kid named Rin Kaga, which to his surprise, is actually the illegitimate child of his grandfather (ie that kid is his aunt). Annoyed with the way his family treated Rin, Daikichi decided to take care of Rin himself, even though he is single and has no experience of handling kid. And the story went on, showing their everyday life, how Daikichi struggled to balance between his work and taking care of Rin, and various problems he never faced before, coupled with funny and cute moments to liven things up. The story was definitely refreshing for me. For a kid like her, Rin (they even use a kid for her voice) was quite mature and always try to be independent, despite (or because of) the hardship she face with her family situation (her mom missing, and just losing her dad). The animation art is mediocre at best, but I don’t think it really matters since the story and characters were nicely adapted without major changes. One slight concern for me is how much of the manga could fit into this 12-episodes long anime. I guess we won’t be seeing stuff from the 10 years later. Better this way I guess, since I actually like this part more than the latter.

verdict:5/5



Yuru Yuri
MAL/Official
Genre: comedy, slice of life
Studio production: Dogakobo
Number of episodes: 12

Comments: The premise is simple – a group of friends (Akari, Yui, Kyouko and Chinatsu) using an unused Tea Club room after school for their own Amusement Club, which essentially had no purpose other than having fun. A K-ON in disguise, blended with the randomness of Lucky Star. As people said, cute girls doing cute things, moeblobbing like a pro. Now how do I ended up watching this? For one, I was looking for a comedy slice of life, and I guess Yuruyuri is the closest to come in this aspect (Nekogami Yaoyorozu comes close though). Not saying that I didn’t enjoy it, because I certainly had a good laugh, especially watching the eccentric Kyouko (probably my favourite character in the series) doing crazy things. The vice prez Himawari and the yuri fangirl Chitose also made me laugh, as did the two rivals Sakurako and Ayano. Now, where’s the main character Akari, I wonder. I don’t mind the mild yuri as long as there’s comedy in it, heck I even thoroughly enjoyed the whole of Maria Holic, so what can I say? So I guess the only thing that’s really not to my liking in this show is the generic, unmemorable OP and ED theme.
p/s: several new seiyuus were used, and that's a good thing.

verdict: 3.5/5



Kamisama Dolls
MAL/Official
Genre: action, science-fiction
Studio production: 13

Number of episodes: Brains Base
Comments: Okay, this one certainly gave me a mixed impression. For one, I’m glad that finally there’s a fair bit of thriller/action series this season that I could enjoy. Or would I? The series is about Kuga Kyouhei, a former Doll contractor (aka Seki) from an isolated Karahari village who tried to forgot his past and come to Tokyo to study, only to find that he’s still haunted by the people from his village. The summary was pretty vague, and I wasn’t expecting much out of the series anyway, until that bloody scene took place in episode 1. That, along with the brief fight at Kuga’s apartment reignites my interest toward the show. I was hoping that the heat between Kuga and the culprit of the bloody scene, Aki would continue for a bit, but ep2 slowed down with new character Kuuko Karahari introduced, Kuga’s little sister Utao sometimes acting all moe especially in front of Kuga, practicing to control her Dolls and saving Kuko from an unfortunate lab blast. The fairly average animation quality didn’t help much to help the score either. For now this series is just at the border of being in my watchlist, but in the future I was hoping that Kuga would step into the spotlight quickly (probably returned as Seki) and settles his issues with Aki. By the way, I think I’m liking the melody that played the Doll played when they move. Love the OP and ED song too.

verdict: 3/5



Sacred Seven
MAL/Official
Genre: action, supernatural
Studio production: sunrise
Number of episodes: 12

Comments: Wow, I’m not even sure how I managed to last 2 episodes. At first I was curious because of the stark resemblance with Code Geass’s art (well, it’s CLAMP’s after all). But as the story goes, I know this show is simply not for me. And may not for many others too, who had probably enjoyed things like Tiger & Bunny. The story was cliché in every way (oh yeah, I’m an emo boy who awakened my super power and I’m gonna beat some monsters!), the characters were unoriginal (roflol Maid squadron?), and the superheroes suit? ....I was left speechless. I would have probably enjoy the series (only by a bit) if the story is not THAT generic (honestly it’s way overused), and those flashy, crappy battle suit were changed. I didn’t last through Kurogane no Linebarrel, I didn’t last through Star Driver, and I definitely will not going to last through Sacred Seven, particularly considering it is the worst of the three in my book.

verdict: 2/5 (dropped)



Blood-C
MAL/Official
Genre: action, supernatural
Studio production: Production I.G.

Number of episodes: 12
Comments: Maybe I just got caught with the hype surrounding Blood+ that I decided to give Blood-C a try. But my god what the hell am I watching? I’ve never watched Blood+, but I know Blood-C is far from replicating the impression that Blood+ gave to the general mass. I had way too many problems with Blood-C that made me unable to resist the urge of dropping this show. Half of the episode is wasted on nothing. We heard Saya praising his fabulous dad, visit the café, singing on the way to school (oh god that song made my ears bleed), and at school we saw how she interact with the twins, the tomboy, the class rep and the teachers. Little to no useful thing related to what Saya did at night, who she was and why she fights. Speaking of her night activity, it was great directing of battle scenes. At least the battle was cool for episode 1, but they repeated the damn pattern for episode 2, plus the eating lunch together. Things might change in later episodes, but the first 2 episodes already gave me a weak impression, so I really cannot expect to continue watching this.. oh and did I mentioned that I hate Saya's hair?

verdict: 2/5 (dropped)


Part 2 to come...later.