2013-04-01, 04:50 PM
And wrapping up the season:
Tamako Market:
GJ-bu:
Kotoura-san:
Boku ha Tomodachi ga Sukunai NEXT:
Vividred Operation:
Maoyuu Maou Yuusha:
Ore no Kanojo to Osananajimi ga Shurabasugiru:
AKB0048:
Love Live!:
Mangirl:
Yama no Susume:
Sasami-san@Ganbaranai:
I still have to marathon Little Busters, and maybe Magi.
Tamako Market:
Spoiler
4/10
The overall slice-of-life kinda theme was okay. It wasn't particularly funny, or cute, or interesting at all. It started rather slow, with a possible plotline towards the song Tamako was always humming, and what the hell Dera was going on about. Finding the song was a pretty good episode. All those feels. The prince thing was just a jumble of blah. Not really interesting. Best parts of the show were Anko and Choi. Basically, every girl except Tamako actually. Too daft for my tastes, overall boring show, and rather underwhelming coming from KyoAni of all things. Also, look at them BluRay sales.
GJ-bu:
Spoiler
8/10
First off, whoever wrote the OP... I hate you. One of the best shows this season for me. I enjoyed the overall のんびり leisurely paced feel of the show. Despite being called GJ-bu, there wasn't really much trying at anything. If I had to say, it would be similar to Tamako Market in terms of ambiance, but actually funny, with interesting characters. I would say this series was similar to Yuru Yuri, which was produced by the same studio, or Acchi Kocchi as well, though less romantically based, and more gag-focused. Though sometimes Kyolo's interactions with the girls can have a boring reaction, I found the cast to be quite likable. I think this series heavily overshadowed Seitokai no Ichizon and Tamako Market in terms of the type of comedy produced, which I find to be in a similar style. In the end, I'm one of the subscribers to cute girls doing cute things and this fits the bill quite nicely. All dat imoutos. I'm rather sad that the series ended definitively, but at the same time, thank God there was some semblance of closure this season. I do hope there's more content from this though. Dem imoutos have a lot of potential. Also Mori-san. Oh God yes delicious Mori-san. Go look up Tenchisouha's Mori. *drool*
Kotoura-san:
Spoiler
7/10
I may have to say the show was overdramatized, but I enjoyed the whole friendship is power theme. The mix of drama and comedy was a bit odd, and really downplayed the seriousness, i.e. Haruka's abandonment issues, the assaults, etc.. I was somewhat surprised with the culprit situation, and I did find that interesting, though the playing with the victim to give time for rescue is too cliched. The whole emphasis of how Kotoura has friends means she won't walk down a similar path was well played. The final episode with the reconciliation with her mom was great, I think they did that really well with the crying flashback. Overall, I really enjoyed this show, especially with such a great cast with Kanemoto Hisako and Hanazawa Kana. Maybe in the future, we'll have a second season with less srs and more laughs and bawwws. Poor Yuriko. T_T The ED was quite good by the way. Very enjoyable. All three of them. Kibou no Hana has a really great ambiance, and hearing Kotoura sing it at karaoke was hilarious. The Tsurupeta song was great. ESP Ken no Theme equally hilarious.
Boku ha Tomodachi ga Sukunai NEXT:
Spoiler
5/10
I had the first season rated 8. I recall it being enjoyable, and Fall 2011 was a really good season, so it couldn't have been a relative rating. That being said, I did not enjoy this season as much. I didn't find it as funny this time through compared to the last season. The extensive use of English swears as a way to sound more... badass for a lack of a better word just hurt me on a metaphysical level. That being said, I can't really put my finger on much more specifics on why I found this season to be less interesting. What I can recall off the top of my head is Kate being introduced, Yozora's hnnnnnnnnnng boyish look, the Homoanime, Yusa, Maria & Kobato 'BFFs', and Kodaka being a spineless coward. Maria, and to a lesser extend, Kate, annoy the pomegranate out of me. The obnoxious annoying loud that is Maria is what I'd think is wrong with a real imouto. Kate is just lacks charm with all that... =S The episode with buying clothes and Yozora's hnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnngggggggggggggggggggggg boyish look really boosted her appeal to new levels. That was pretty good. I liked the implication that Kobato and Maria are such good friends, being able to argue and whatnot like they do but still play and have fun etc. I enjoyed Yusa Aoi quite a bit, and am sad she didn't get more screen time. It really bothered me how DENIAL Kodaka was about everything though, and then at the END WHERE EVERYTHING IS ABOUT TO BE SOLVED SUDDENLY OPEN ENDED NO CLOSURE pineapple YOU GUYS. Yeah. I'd like to thank Rika for beating the pomegranate out of Kodaka, but at the same time, the flying balls were stupid. I enjoyed a lot of the show, but I disliked a lot as well. I will watch whatever sequel they're pushing for, but I am in favour of Sena over Yozora by the smallest of margins. Though a harem end would be great. Might look into the LNs if I have time to read them. I find it rather tiresome to sit still for so long reading plaintext that is usually grammatically incorrect.
Vividred Operation:
Spoiler
7/10
I thoroughly enjoyed this show, with its gratuitous amounts of loli-ass, spats, and jiggle. The WakabaxHimawari pairing is so good. It might have had a needless episode or two, and I was wondering how they would fill 12 at the rate they were blasting through transformations (which were amazing by the way) and monsters of the week. The last two episodes really upped the stakes in terms of drama, but at the same time, the final episode was really drawn out. The amount of time between the monster going on the loose, and the girls jumping into action was staggering. The overall final fight with all transformations, and finishing with VividRed was expected, but still great. I am sad Rei didn't get her own transformation, but oh well. The overall closure provided, with her world being restored, but then returning to see Akane was so satisfying, especially after pomegranate like Haganai's ending. That being said, I have to be more objective with my rating, and weigh less on loli-fanservice, as amazing as it was. I wonder if they'll do a second season with Rei coming back... Would be interesting.
Maoyuu Maou Yuusha:
Spoiler
9/10
The obvious comparison here is to Spice & Wolf, which is an amazing series. I think the overall concept of bettering society, in such a setting is interesting. The viewer has a (general) understanding of the benefits of the technologies introduced by Maou, and empathises with what rejection may occur, as well as the successes afterwards. This series really played strongly on wanting to improve quality of life, with the Serf theme, Maou introducing technology, Yuusha not wanting to fight wars, and bridging the gap between Demons and Humans; combined with the (somewhat obvious) revelation that the Church is corrupt at the end and the lead-in to season 2 (all of that lack of closure) draws a lot of parallels with the real world developments in the similar era, and I think people relate to that well, whether they realise it or not, since it's such an obvious thing in retrospect with out current society. That being said, Onna Mahoutsukai didn't get enough screen time, combined with the confusing monologue and what appeared to be DID, made her character feel less developed. Yuusha was egregiously overpowered, with the nuke at the end...
Ore no Kanojo to Osananajimi ga Shurabasugiru:
Spoiler
2/10
This is by far the worst show I watched this season. I picked this up because the artwork looked interesting, Tamura Yukari, and I needed to fill some time on Saturdays, but it was just embarrassing to see. I'm not sure where to start. First off, the OP is not only dislikeable for being spineless, he also somehow attracts a harem and doesn't want it, "hating love" or whatever the pineapple. The first episode seemed okay, and really leads you off with a nopan Tamura Yukari character, but it just spirals out of control there. Of all the characters, Chiwa is the most normal, and she's given no chance at all. All that empathy the viewer throws at her is just tossed into the garbage whenever one of the other girls speaks. Himeka is obviously insane. I mean, I enjoyed the chuu2byou with Rikka, but you're given reasons to empathise with her. Himeka is just plain crazy. Ai is autistic or something. "I'm gonna go outside and run". "Epic win". pineappleing. It's not even the liberal take on translations, she's just that obnoxious and delusional. At least Masuzu is given reasons to be empathised with, but way too late into the story. 90% of the time, you just see her as a peach, and I felt almost no sympathy at the final episode when the crowd was whispering that. Masuzu's character type is one I like, actually. Beautiful, stylish, top grades, ojou-sama with nothing wrong, except deep down she has all these issues from the pressure of her lifestyle, lack of confidants, etc. But damn. Emphasize that, not her terrible personality that she hides behind. The only dere you ever see out of her for more than one second is in the final episode, and then they start the "bloodbath", which I though was too corny, even for this. Followed by a lack of closure. Poor Chiwa. At least she got a kiss.
AKB0048:
Spoiler
4/10
To be quite frank, I hate the idea of AKB48, and its derivatives. That being said, I did enjoy this show to some degrees. Friendship and entertainment > being Nazis, etc. I think they outlined the conflicts well this season, though last season was superior (5/10) because it didn't feel like they were peddling an agenda. The girls striving towards a goal, and then finally achieving it was great, but at the same time, I understand there's dozens of others there that don't make it, and you see them as background characters a lot, which is... heh. The trollfest mob-mentality at the end was trying too hard to make the audience empathise with the girls. I had a really NGE feel about it when Chieri was walking towards the soldier shooting at her. And then, she splits into three and teleports into the battleship... Totally not 3rd Impact there. Definitely. Right? And Yuuka about to kiss her crush, and then having to stop because she's in AKB0048. Ahahahaha. That gave a great laugh. "The girls are free to pursue whatever romantic relationships they want." Oh Lord. My sides. Anyways, I disliked the whole, "loss of individuality" on succession thing they preached. Because that's what it is. Your name means nothing. You're a nobody. But when you make it big, you can imitate this already famous person and be named after her instead. I did enjoy the OP&ED though. Every insert was garbage I believe.
Love Live!:
Spoiler
9/10
The true idol show. The characters drove this show really well. There was a lot of significance put behind in the individual character's personalities, especially compared to AKB. *shudders*. The animation was amazing, starting from the first episode, and keeping it fairly strong to the last. This really shows the prowess of the powerhouse that is Sunrise. They really focused on what it is to be an idol, but didn't make it a super serious dog-eat-dog thing out of it, since it's a School Idol concept instead. I think this is one of the things that puts it on a more enjoyable level. The slow accumulation of members, starting with their first 3-person live to their final full group, performing Start
ash both times was really satisfying. I think the drama near the end with Kotori leaving was a bit too sudden, especially the telling her to stay scene. I was half expecting a kiss with the seriousness thrown in there, and the cliched situation. The overall impressions left by this, combined with the inserts, and past singles, shows a very well developed brand that can be easily identified and consumed. Though there may have been a larger cast (9), the characters were specifically individualized for the audience to easily identify with the ones they liked most. Combine that with the slow introduction of each character throughout several episodes leads to a great developed attachment, while still broadening the overall plot with the conflicts that they have to overcome as the new member comes to help; the 1st years joining to actually make a group that will get an audience, Nico with her professional experience, and finally Nozomi and Eri, the Student Council members and saving the school at last. All of this mixed into school life and music =]
ash both times was really satisfying. I think the drama near the end with Kotori leaving was a bit too sudden, especially the telling her to stay scene. I was half expecting a kiss with the seriousness thrown in there, and the cliched situation. The overall impressions left by this, combined with the inserts, and past singles, shows a very well developed brand that can be easily identified and consumed. Though there may have been a larger cast (9), the characters were specifically individualized for the audience to easily identify with the ones they liked most. Combine that with the slow introduction of each character throughout several episodes leads to a great developed attachment, while still broadening the overall plot with the conflicts that they have to overcome as the new member comes to help; the 1st years joining to actually make a group that will get an audience, Nico with her professional experience, and finally Nozomi and Eri, the Student Council members and saving the school at last. All of this mixed into school life and music =]Mangirl:
Spoiler
5/10
Oh God what a terrible OP. A lackadaisical approach to manga editorial and publication. Some okay gags but not too memorable. Given the shortness, it was acceptable.
Yama no Susume:
Spoiler
7/10
Compared to the other shorts I watched this season, this piqued my interest more. I think it helped when I watched all episodes back-to-back. The overall story was decent, and existent, unlike a pure-gag like Mangirl or Osaka-okan. The cast was exemplary, Asumi Kana <3, Iguchi Yuka, Hikasa Yoko, Ogura Yui. More cute girls doing cute things. I hope this gets a full season one day, because I think it has a lot of potential for a good slice-of-life nature thing; hiking, camping, "mountain-climbing", etc.
Sasami-san@Ganbaranai:
Spoiler
7/10
I am once again amazed and confused at what SHAFT shoves down my throat, and why I keep asking for more. I think the most enjoyable part of this show was Asumi Kana and Hanazawa Kana interacting, not to mention Saito Chiwa and Nonaka Ai. The overarching story was a bit confusing, but when put together (carefully, with glue, tape, and staples), it's coherent and well done. That being said, it's a challenge, especially if you're not good with names and don't know anything about Japanese Mythology. I'm still not sure what to make of Sasami's brother, but I guess he really is Susanoo, given the clues Tsurugi dropped the last two episodes, and his appearance to kill the dragon. I enjoyed the initial developments of Sasami being a good for nothing hikkikomori who ran away from her responsibilities, but the eventual revelation that she honestly believes her responsibilities aren't needed etc. The arc involving her mom was quite well done. The final episodes with Edogawa paralleling Sasami's life, with the whole "you don't understand me" had some heart strings being pulled there. I think Asumi Kana really delivers that sad and lonely emotion really well. I hope they have a second season. The ED is quite nice as well. Can't wait for the release.
I still have to marathon Little Busters, and maybe Magi.