Posts Tagged ‘early impressions’

A Channel
Studio: Studio Gokumi
Premiere Date: 4/7
Genre: Yuri Slice of Life

First Impression: Oh what’s the fuss about? That was cute!

Separated from her yuri love by graduation, middle schooler Tooru works hard and gets into the same high school as her best friend Run. Only she’s dismayed to find out that she’s made new friends with Yuuko and Nagi. In this episode, the four some will have to learn how to be friendly with each other as Tooru continues her quest to make sure everyone knows that Run is HERS.

Good and the Bad

That’s probably the shortest story description I’m going to write this season but what do you say about this series? Yet another slice of life school comedy, this one stands out against the rest because of its cast of characters. For once, I’m watching a series where I can’t clearly categorize the characters. I’m not describing one as the tsundere, or the sporty one. All of the characters in this series are their own unique personality that is sometimes shy, sometimes flighty (admittedly, Run abuses this one) but overall fun.

Produced by Studio Gokumi, the look of the series is one of the better I’ve seen this season. A Channel is heavy in the moe similar to the style of K-ON. The animation is crisp but it’s specifically designed to create the perfect world for the girls to be cute in. From the opening animation to the backgrounds, no spot is missed and for all of the school comedies that I’ve watched this season, this one looks the nicest.

A Channel does occasionally suffer from scenes stuttering from one to the next but it makes up for it with strong writing. Each scene is a slow build to an extreme punch line that always managed to get a laugh. Based around the still rocky relationships between the characters, the physical comedy came across as just a bit more original than the usual bonk on the head or the more extreme freak outs that we’ve seen in the past. This is the second season to make me laugh simply by catching me off guard with its humor (My Ordinary Life was the first).

Music

I was really impressed with the strong musical presence throughout this episode. Carrying a soft jazz theme, Satoru Kousaki once again creates a score that stands out on its own. Instead of matching the mood of the scene, the music creates its own mood that carries the episode from one scene to the next. Seriously, this man is talented.

Overall

A Channel is one of the cuter and more unexpectedly pleasant series of the season. With the season just crammed with school comedies and slice of life, there has to be an original element to a series in order to make it stand out. A Channel manages to find that unique angle and rides it all the way through a successful first episode. This is an easy one to pick up and enjoy.

Astarotte no Omocha
Astarotte’s Toy
Studio: Diomedea
Premiere Date: 4/11
Genre: Ecchi Comedy
Available via Crunchyroll

First Impression: That… wasn’t terrible?

The main character of this episode is the 10 year old succubus princess Astarotte who is just starting to come into maturity for her race. Unfortunately this means that she needs to start sucking the ahem life juice from men of various races in order to survive. Also unluckily for her, she hates men and absolutely refuses.

Pushed to the brink of frustration, the princess finally relents by saying that the only way she’ll accept a man into her harem is if they are the fantastically mythical race of human. Taking on the challenge, one of her caretakers opens a gate to the human world and retrieves one just for Astarotte in the form of a Japanese boy named Naota who was the first she saw looking for a job.

Good and the Bad

This was supposed to be the throw away series of the season. The one that everyone pretty much figured was going to be only for the hardcore otaku who needed loli fan service. I had pretty much written it off as soon as I started in on the premise. Then I watched the episode and lo and behold, Astarotte’s Toy is actually kind of cute.

Getting it out of the way, this is still a fan service series with an overly youthful female lead. It proves this almost right away by delivering all of its exposition during a bath scene. It didn’t really need to be a bath scene but there it is anyway. Interestingly though, despite the very obvious connotations of the premise the fan service and innuendo is very rarely overt. The animation is bright and steamy to begin with but as I watched I found that there really wasn’t a whole lot to be covered up to begin with. This caught me off guard early but still I kept forward.

Then I ran into surprise number two; this series tried to tell a decent story and manages to do just that. While I’m sure as the roles are further developed this will change, at first very few of the characters really stand out as cardboard cutouts. Instead they act a little more decisively and take actions that bring about change to the story instead of letting it happen to them because of strange, unforeseen events. Sadly this isn’t as true for the lead characters but I digress.

The biggest place where Astarotte’s Toy manages to fail is in its comedy. This is a series that is not trying to be clever in the slightest. Any humor you take away from this series is going to be directly proportional to how moe you find the princess to be. If you can get behind the latest blonde female tsundere lead character (played by Rie Kugiyama, naturally), this could be one of the funniest series this season for you. A lot of very cute things happen to her this episode which I could have seen myself laughing at if I found her to be a bit more likeable.

To be fair though, I’m already wondering if my enjoyment of this series could have been heightened if I hadn’t been spending the entire episode trying much harder than usual to read the subtitles on the screen. Very bright animation paired with unbordered white text can make reading very difficult and I would love to see the subtitler to make a new font decision before the end of the series.

Music

As with the story and animation, I also found myself surprised at the high quality of the music throughout this episode. While occasionally letting itself drift into the cartoony, there were also just as many places where the music played a great role in the episode. The OP (Tenshi no Clover sung by Aimi) is a mellower piece and the fantasy flutes and strings that follow Zelda are a nice touch. I can see myself enjoying this series for the music for at least a little while longer.

Overall

I admit it, I liked this episode more than I thought I would. That still doesn’t mean that I liked it a lot though. It was cute in places but this doesn’t feel like a breakout moe romance just yet, it feels much more standard than that. If you need to know where to find the latest tsundere, this is where she is. This will get its full 3 episode test run but I’m not expecting greatness from its future.

SofuTeni
Studio: Xebec
Premiere Date: 4/ 8
Genre: Ecchi Tennis

First Impression: If Asuna were gone this could be a lot more entertaining.

At a middle school in Japan, the soft tennis team is made up of four girls: the air headed pervert Asuna, the enthusiastic but not quite talented Kotomi, the always hungry and even less talented Chitose and finally the bizarre Kurusu who enjoys wearing oversized animal masks. Togeter with their coach, they are aiming to take the national championships. If they can ever manage to get some practice in.

Good and the Bad

If this episode is an indication, this might as well be titled ‘The Perverted Asuna Show’ now. For most of the episode, everything is centered on her perverted thoughts and misunderstandings. The good news is that this is an ecchi comedy that is happy to play those notes perfectly and with the girls as part of a tennis club, there are all sorts of legitimate reasons for them to be wearing short skirts and chasing balls.

And if that’s your sort of thing, you’ve found the right series.

For what it is, SofuTeni isn’t a terrible entry into the genre, just a cliché one. It has everything that a fan could want include moe bait characters, pointless fan service comedy and requires absolutely zero mental digestion. Naturally if you’re looking for something with slightly more substance, I’m sure that I’ve already long since lost you.

Very occasionally, SofuTeni tries its best to be clever by not relying on a fantasy sequence. Occasionally there is a bright spot of predictable comedy which led to a chuckle. When Chitose, for example, can’t hit a ball tossed to her but will take an 8 foot sideways leap to capture a dumpling in mid air, that’s silly comedy I can laugh at.

Music

There’s really nothing to write home about in the music department for this series. Bland and common, nothing ever stood out for being particularly memorable. It does its job by staying in the background and selling the visual humor. After that however, it’s just simple themes that you’ve heard variations of in many other series.

Overall

A few things will have to happen before I can really get behind this series. Asuna either needs to stop talking or more attention needs to be paid to the supporting cast. Second, something has to happen to make me absolutely fall in love with these characters because right now, I’m looking for just one more reason to drop this series like a bad habit. Empty and completely fan service based, there’s nothing of substance worth picking up here.

Reposted from Ani.me

Sket Dance
Studio: Tatsunoko Production
Premiere Date: 4/7
Genre: Comedy
Available via Crunchyroll

First Impression: I just feel like I’ve seen it before.

At Kaimei, the students are protected and supported by the Campus Support Group also known as Sket-dan. Within this club is the fearless leader Yuusuke being supported by the ex-hoodlum Himeko and Switch, the human encyclopedia that speaks through his computer. In this first episode, a new transfer student arrives and is a prime candidate to be the newest member of Sket-dan. Before he can join though, he has a request: find the person who attacked him with paint!

Good and the Bad

So here we have another campus support group; this time its made up of three members who want to help everyone and be supportive of people’s lives. But alas, no one wants to get their help and so they spend most of their time in the club room just hanging out.

For what it is, Sket Dance doesn’t get off on a completely wrong foot. Another episodic series, this series relies entirely on its characters to keep things moving and so it spends this entire episode introducing each character’s unique quirks and why they’re funny. There’s boss Yuusuke who has incredible concentration when he’s wearing his goggles but too bad he has such a problem with words. Acting as his comedic foil, we have Hime Onizuka who carries a large pipe everywhere she goes, I’m guessing to prove that she used to be a tough fighter in the block. Then finally there’s Kazuyoshi Usui who is capable of finding any information about anyone but communicates entirely through his computer.

And for 25 minutes, it’s pretty much these three running around fighting and trying to solve the paint case. For what it is, Sket Dance is pretty below average attempt. While occasionally the dialogue manages to get a laugh, there’s just not enough new here to make it feel like a particularly fresh take. You can obviously tell that people wanted this to be a strong first episode but the pacing just makes everything go past in a not that funny blur. It’s just that writing and jokes have all become so trite that it’s hard to give this one a laugh even out of nostalgia of watching a male and female lead make fun of each other and get pissed off about it. For new, Switch stands out for being the robot character of the bunch.

Music

As with others this season, this isn’t a series that is aiming to blow you away with its musical pieces. It’s there to be background filler and it does that very well in its own standard way. While the character introductions were matched with a high energy rock piece, most of the episode had cartoony background music similar to an Azumanga Daioh episode.

Overall

I wasn’t entirely bored by Sket Dance but I can already tell you that I’ll be leaving this one behind. While occasionally getting a chuckle, there are few things here that make me believe this series can support an entire season. You can call it boring but I’d rather go with uninspired. This is an easy one to just let pass by.

Steins;Gate
Studio: White Fox
Premiere Date: 4/5
Genre:  Sci-Fi
Available via Crunchyroll

First Impression: Alright, I know I just watched something.

Okarin is a self professed mad scientist ready to change the world his inventions along with his assistants Mayuri and Daru. While visiting the lecture of another professor, Okarin is pulled aside by a girl who claims to have cornered by him with something important to say just a few minutes earlier. Naturally Okarin has no idea what she’s talking about and suspects that it’s the secret Organization that he is convinced is out to foil his every move.

Then the world changes. The girl that he saw stabbed in a hallway is now alive, the lecture he attended is canceled due to a mysterious satellite crashing into the building and a text he sent went into the past.

Good and the Bad

In the first episode, Steins;Gate really tries to be a lot of different things. In the first half, the series wants to be a simultaneously hilarious and creepy. In the lead character, the audience gets a man who is obsessed with his inventions and convinced that there is a conspiracy out to get him. Everything he says, no matter who he is speaking to, is based around these two simple premises which lead him into a serious amount of mad rants.

In the second half, the mood changes as Okarin starts to realize that things are different. Now suddenly Steins;Gate wants to be compelling and creepy. The memories people have of the past are different from his and the text he sent alerting Daru that a girl had died were sent to a completely different time.

The problem is that no matter which half of the episode is playing, and in spite of moderate amounts of success late in the episode, it always feels like the episode is supposed to be funny or supposed to be serious. Instead of feeling natural, the mood of the episode always feels forced instead. 

Allowing the characters to almost completely carry the story, Steins;Gate has little in the way of exposition here beyond introductions. If you were looking for a clear explanation of what is going on, you’re going to be in a world of mental pain as things very slowly unravel in front of you. That is unless you consider the initial outbursts from Okarin as exposition in which case you’re probably onto something before the rest of us. Once again though, they may seem funny but really they are just a random guy shouting conspiracy theories to someone that he barely knows. As I mentioned, once things begin to calm down a little in the second half there are moderate amounts of success to be had. There really is a compelling story here, it’s just that it’s currently so jumbled up that it’s hard to tell what it is. 

Music

One thing that I did like about this episode is that there is very little music. In fact, it’s almost an entire 8 minutes before the first music can be heard. Only catering to mood, Steins;Gate is happy to let its characters completely fill things in by themselves and I gather that this is going to be a running trend throughout. While the mad rantings of Okarin fill more than enough of the foreground, there are also quiet moments when the lack of music really captures the moment such as when the mad scientist looks up and finds himself in an empty city.

Overall

While the early comedy felt entirely too forced, Steins;Gate manages to find lots of early traction once it gets into the second half. Curiosity is mostly what’s driving me forward at this point but with so many shows appearing this season, anything that makes the audience move forward is a good thing. This is a series with a lot of initial promise and I’m already curious to know if it will be able to live up to its potential.

Hanasaku Iroha
Studio: PA Works
Premiere Date: 4/3
Reviewed: 4/4
Genre: Coming of Age
Available via Crunchyroll

First Impression: This won’t be an easily earned coming of age.

Ohana is searching for something. While other kids in her high school are trying to find their careers, she wants to find a new path that will lead her to herself. One night that path is created for her when her mother has to leave town with her debt ridden boyfriend. Not willing to take Ohana with her, this leaves her with no choice but to move in with her distant grandmother at her Taisho style hot springs inn.

What she thinks is going to be a dramatic meeting between her and her grandmother turns out to be hard labor as she gets off on the wrong foot with everyone she meets; whether they’re family or her new co-workers.

Good and the Bad

For the last few months, PA Works has been hailing this to be their big 10^th anniversary project and watching the first episode I can see why. Just the look of this episode is enough to create an amazing feeling of grandeur that pulls you into the world. Throughout the episode, it’s impossible to not watch this and be completely pulled into the lifelike world that the residents inhabit. The backgrounds are clear and the city views are detailed to the point that you can imagine all of the people as real instead of just characters on a screen even if they don’t say a word.

Beyond the beautiful animation, Hanasaku Iroha sets up what is seemingly going to be an interesting tale of self discovery. The lead heroine, Ohana, is already more than a little jaded with life but doesn’t show it with a grating personality. The first few minutes of the series she spends her time staring out with an annoyed look and speaking poetically of her future. Sadly the audience is watching her do this while completely missing out on the life that she does have due to a demanding mother who wants to live her own life with her boyfriend.

You would think that in this circumstance, the heroine would have a right to be completely whiny and self obsessed. For once though you’d be wrong. Ohana is a heroine who just wants to find out what it means to live life without being tied down. She isn’t obsessed with just wanting to have the latest fashions or other shallow things, she wants to see life beyond the city and find out who she is and what she is made of.

Facing her challenges head on (and there will be plenty), her biggest crime is arriving at the inn expecting her grandmother to be a kindly old lady who will treat her warmly. When she finds that this isn’t her fate, she instead finds herself less than ready to work hard and walk down the new path that life has been given to her.

Music

Matching the entirely not typical animation, the music composed for this episode is a gorgeous mix of arrangements. In the beginning the city scenes are filled with soft European tracks filled with soft guitars and accordions. In the latter part of the episode, the mood changes again to soft tones that evoke the relaxing nature of the inn without giving away the tension behind the scenes. A wonderful time for the series to just completely sync with each other that makes things work so beautifully.

Overall

I didn’t know what to expect from the debut episode but I feel like I’m on a hot streak. This was another gem that really made me stop and take notice. The animation and landscapes give a feeling of breathlessness as you watch which only compliments the dramatic story and strong writing. While I remain uncertain for its future, people who are looking for another strong coming of age story should be making time for this release.

Reposted from Ani.me

Nichijou
My Ordinary Life
Studio: Kyoto Animation
Premiere Date: 4/2
Reviewed: 4/4
Genre: Slice of Life Comedy
Available via Crunchyroll

First Impression: I love this series.

In this very surreal slice of life, we follow the every day lives of students in high school, Yuuko and Mio. Their lives involve walking to school, getting motivated to do work and getting random food stuck on them in someway. Meanwhile on the other side of town there is a loli inventor leading her life along with her wind up robot that she invented that does all the cooking, cleaning, toe shooting and exploding.

Good and the Bad

Before I even knew what hit me, My Ordinary Life had me hooked in. Within seconds of the series beginning, I was feeling so taken in by the animation. While most fans who follow Kyoto Animation are used to bright, shiny moe; this series takes a much different tact. Using an older animation style filled with muted colors and lines, the style seems like it could be almost out of place against the moe landscape of today. But the easy going nature and sense of humor makes this style work.

Once I was done being pulled in by the art style, it took only a couple of minutes before I realized that I really enjoyed the sense of humor in this series. From there, I was hooked and knew I would be watching this series. Completely off the wall in a style reminiscent of Lucky Star (only without the otaku humor), this is a very surreal series that isn’t afraid to make the absurd into the completely normal. In the first two minutes, we’re introduced to a loli professor and a robot that looks like an entirely normal girl except for the wind up key in her back. It’s not that she needs it but it is there for a purpose. But just moments later we’re also already witnessing a massive explosion that will send everyone and everything (or 3 things in particular) right back to Yuuko and Mio.

There is a quiet genius in this first episode that always managed to keep me laughing throughout the episode. Everything is a short gag that rarely takes much more than a minute or two to complete. Some towards the middle are even shorter vignettes that don’t even appear to have relevance to the overall episode (the eggheads with the jump rope was my favorite) but still manage to get chuckles or even full laughs just for their absurdity.

Where My Ordinary Life fails however are when the jokes start to delve even further into the culturally absurd. While much of the humor are sight gags that anyone can laugh at, there are an equal number of cultural gags that only natives are going to understand without liner notes. While still retaining some of the visual humor that can get some laughs, there aren’t many fans who are going to genuinely understand what it means to be randomly hit with raw food.

Overall

This is a quiet winner that I already know I’ll be following all the way. A comedy that will catch you off guard with its wit and off the wall sense of humor, this is going to be a fun series. While sometimes going a little too far into the obscure, this is a series that also knows how to time its jokes to get the best possible impact. This is the quiet and capable comedy that will have everyone laughing and smiling along the way. This is worth looking at!

Tiger and Bunny
Studio: Sunrise
Premiere Date: 4/2
Reviewed: 4/3
Genre: Super Heroes
Available via Viz Anime

First Impression: Maybe not the next big thing but certainly a good first step!

In the city of Sternbild, the people have the police for small crimes but when things become epic they count on a band of real super heroes. All sponsored by a different corporation (all of which are real in Japan, one of many fun smaller details), the heroes compete against each other for the citizens entertainment on a popular reality program called Hero TV. Their mission is to be the best and most popular in order to keep bringing in those sweet sponsorship dollars with life or death stakes on the line.

One veteran hero, Wild Tiger, is the only one to still work for a small company. With the changing of the seasons however, that changes as the man with a daughter to raise is sold to a larger corporation. Now Kotetsu Kaburagi, not Wild Tiger, has to decide to go along with the offer to team up with a younger hero who shares his same power or walk away entirely.

Good and the Bad

On its very first day, critics were hailing this series as the next big thing. I remained unconvinced of this as I started the episode. In the first half, Tiger and Bunny establishes exactly what type of action you can expect. Introducing all of the heroes breaking up a crime in progress, the action in the first half reaches epic proportions. Escapes, multiple foiled heroes and hijacked vehicles (which get progressively larger from a taxi all the way up to an airship). Buildings are destroyed, special powers are used and some come very close to checking out of the competition permanently. And I was left rolling my eyes, still completely unconvinced that this could possibly be the next big thing. The eye candy in this series is a welcome treat but the powers and explosions were just not pulling me in as questions started to rise. Why would a criminal even bother working this city? Why aren’t these heroes at each others throats trying to get the arrest points?

But then the second half started. The heroes who were a few moments earlier acting strong and brave are mingling at a cocktail party. The heroes who were a few moments earlier all about the people are standing around timidly doing everything in their power to curry more favor with the presidents of companies.

Once the cameras are off, these heroes are nothing more than marketing gimmicks for their companies. They are there to boost the profits and keep ratings high, they all know it and they all play their roles in order to keep their jobs. And that’s the brilliance of this series. This is an amazing satirical look at the inner workings of every major entertainment field put into the context of super heroes.

What makes this series fun to watch however are the larger wrinkles and smaller details that keep the second half just a much more entertaining watch. When he’s not saving lives, Wild Tiger lives as Kotetsu Kaburagi. While Wild Tiger is dashing and brave, Kotetsu is a man who has a daughter to raise and gets to watch his own trading cards literally given away by children. Now he’s working for a corporation or end his career. To put that into perspective, imagine having a successful indie band suddenly being given to a larger corporation. Now there are many more demands, none of which are flexible. Do you give up what you’ve worked so hard for or do you sell out and play ball with your new president?

Getting into the finer details, what keeps Tiger and Bunny looking fresh are the great characters designs from Kenji Hayama and Masaki Yamada. Really selling the big city aspect to the series, the cast of characters are all so different from the standard mold that you’ve grown used to. There are characters of different races scattered throughout the series and no one is used as a comedic stereotype. Everyone feels like they could be a genuine person, even the heroes who are just trying to keep the cash coming in.

Music

Playing into the entertainment TV vibe, all of the music in this episode is fairly generic. During the first half, the music was a high tension full orchestra piece complete with horns to mark the rising tension moments. Later though, these themes started to shift into much softer pieces as we started to get to know Kotetsu Kaburagi. Now, as much as I’d like to bag on this series for using such generic music I can’t think of a better time than now to use exactly that. When you’re specifically aiming for the cheesy reality entertainment genre, that’s the music you go with.

Overall

I was impressed with this. It took me awhile to get to that point but impressed is the right word to describe how I feel. There were a lot of questions that I want to have answered regarded these heroes but the human element is what pulled me in. Is there an easy answer for the hero who barely gets to see his daughter as it is? I can’t call this the next big thing yet but this is going to be a stand out this season.

Sengoku Otome
Battle Girls – Time Paradox -
Studio: TMS Entertainment
Premiere Date: 4/3
Genre: Action
Available via Crunchyroll

First Impression: How can one girl be so dumb?

Hideyoshi just wants to have fun. She’s in middle school, the prime of her life, and she’s stuck trying to get to school on time in spite of her terrible luck. Her teacher just wants her to do her best and either pass the next test or face make up classes all the way until summer. On her way home, Hideyoshi tries her luck at a local shrine but stumbles across a woman conducting a strange ritual. Thanks to her terrible luck causing her to get involved, she is transported back hundreds of years to the warring states period.

After she wakes up, she finds herself in a female dominated world and the female version of Oda Nobunaga inviting her to join her search for the legendary crimson armor. With this armor, Nobunaga thinks that she will be able to unite Japan into one nation while Hideyoshi thinks that it might help her get home again.

Good and the Bad

I tried not to expect too much from the debut episode and wasn’t disappointed in that regard. Here’s the thing about Battle Girls, it has its moments. Starting with an initial battle setup, the first half of the episode is filled with lots of little things that are standard set up tropes. The heroine is a clumsy, unlucky girl but very cute so you just want to sympathize with her. Sadly that honeymoon is over really quickly as Hideyoshi drops the typical dumb student routine on the audience and things just start to slide down slightly from there.

Despite the premise being just a slight tweak on a very standard plot, the writing manages to get a few chuckles along the way. The writers do their best to capture a girl getting caught in the past which leads to plenty of confusion with electronics she has with her and Hideyoshi’s general culture shock. Initially Battle Girls isn’t so bad with creating this atmosphere and generally having a good time with it. There is only so long that a girl can remain in a state of confused shock however and Hideyoshi crosses that line. Repeatedly. As in oh my god please make this girl stop thinking stupid things.

From the animation, it’s obvious that this series is going after a very core male demographic. In this episode alone, Nobunaga will fend off mighty warriors wearing the skimpiest of armors while carrying the biggest sword. Her special attack will send forth energy that destroys a wall of enemies and smite her foes. But that doesn’t mean that she can’t be sweet on the new girl that she finds along the way too.

Music

There were only a handful of themes used throughout this episode and only a couple of them actually stand out for particularly positive reasons. While fairly standard, the battle theme used to start the episode is a positive way to start things off while the string melody that follows Hideyoshi’s introduction manages to get her off on the right foot as well. From there though, the background themes started to melt away and stopped leaving a mark on the episode. Always present but never obvious, the music here will always be more of an accent than a point in itself.

Overall

Normally with a weak first episode, I might be hesitant to get back into things but I honestly enjoyed myself enough with this that I can stick it out awhile longer. It does break the streak of strong first episodes this season but this is still an average little skin and action piece. It’s not going to blow anyone away but there are redeeming moments if you look for them. It’s not ultimately worth going out of your way for but if you are bored, this could be pass the time.

Dog Days
Studio: Seven Arcs
Premiere Date: 4/2
Genre: Fantasy

First Impression: What the hell is up with this hero??

In this series, middle school student Izumi is super athletic and wants everyone to know it. His dream is to win the ultimate athletics competition (which looks amazingly similar to Ninja Warrior) and trains every day in order to do it. Originally from Cornwall, Izumi is all set to return home to train more over spring break. Before he can catch his plane, he is transported to an alternate realm. The Biscotti empire of dog people are under attack from the Galette cat people and need a hero to save them. He’s been summoned by Princess Biscotti herself leaving Izumi no real choice but to agree (and get some more training in while he’s at it).

Good and the Bad

This series, for the most part, is very similar to things you’ve seen in the past. Produced by Seven Arcs, the animation here is bright and very moe in design. The characters are all sugary sweet but there’s rarely a wrinkle in the overall design that screams originality. In fact, the entire premise has been making me have flashbacks to El Hazard for weeks. On the surface, this is just another empty moe series.

Now here’s why that doesn’t matter; it’s actually not a terrible first outing provided that you have no use of your brain for 25 minutes. This isn’t deep and there is nothing to indicate that this will change in the slightest down the line. In the first episode, the climatic battle to gain control of the castle is fought but it’s also established that in these wars no one is ever hurt or killed. The very thought of it is enough to cause the Princess Biscotti make her shocked face when Izumi asks about it. This creates plenty of opportunities for small laughs at the battle’s expense while getting in super ultimate attack techniques that look impressive but don’t actually do much.

Speaking of Izumi, I would be amiss if I didn’t spend a little bit of time talking about the wacky gaijin who spends this entire episode being… well, dashing! It’s not uncommon to see characters who are athletic in some way but Izumi sets his own little standard within the first few minutes. You’re familiar, I’m certain, with the idea that all anime heroes have to be weak willed and generally unable to defend themselves but luckily for us, Izumi is a weird foreigner who wears his heart on his sleeve and was born to run. Within 8 minutes not only has he pulled some fancy athletic feats but he’s even already asked out the best friend character! Some heroes can’t pull that off with 26 episodes!

Even with all this, Dog Days manages to insert just a little bit of humor along the way. You’d think that just the ridiculous names would be enough to roll your eyes at but you’d be wrong. Since the wars are essentially one big competition, that means that there is time for the rival forces to broadcast their battles via sports radio. Complete with special guests. I have to admit, I laughed at this.

Music

With so many things on this series being of a standard variety, it’s no surprise that the music falls into this category as well. From the opening theme until almost halfway through the episode, there is little to suggest that music will be given a significant role to play within this series. At one point, you can even distinctly hear the series completely rip off the Super Mario Bros theme which just left me sad.

Overall

This is my pick for mindless entertainment this season. It’s not going to be deep or particularly good even. Unfortunately, it’s going to be fun and that’s really all I expected from this series. I’m not expecting there to be thrilling twists along the way but I can’t help but want to see more of the ridiculousness of it all and turn off my mind for awhile. I’ve been bitten and they’re dragging me in.