Posts Tagged ‘spring season’

I admit it, the second half of the season wasn’t nearly as impressive as the first. While there are still a few gems poking out from the rough, it’s hard to tell with all of this fluff and rough around the edges comedy. In this half, we’ll be talking about series ranging all the way from the very boring Sket Dance all the way to the sporty Moshidora. Luckily for me, we’ll also be hitting some of the highlights of the second half including Deadman Wonderland and A Channel.

 

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

Summary: The sket dan is in charge of making sure the students in their school lead trouble free lives. If you have a problem, they can solve it.

Where I Started: So every episode is going to be like this? This makes my head hurt.

Where I Ended: It gets better which is more than I can say for a lot of other series this season. However, when I say that it gets better I mean that in the sense that it hadn’t really set a high mark for it to beat to begin with. It’s definitely a school comedy for those who love that sort of thing but the jokes are generally so on the nose that it’s hard to consider it particularly clever. It’s a nice attempt and some people are going to respond to it. Most are going to wish that they had looked the other direction.

Verdict: Not going to do it to myself. Fail!

 

A Channel
Premiere Date: 4/7
Studio: Studio Gokumi

Summary: Four cute girls doing cute things with some occasional yuri overtones.

Where I Started: Oh yeah, I can see myself watching this.

Where I Ended: This is K-ON with music replaced by yuri. It’s the slightly racier alternative to this season’s My Ordinary Life. It’s all of those things plus a little extra thanks to being hilarious! Yet another fluff series, this is the series for those who love their moe and need another strong dose of it in comedy form. Four girls in high school doing cute things in their everyday lives isn’t going to satisfy every otaku in the audience but if you do enjoy moe comedy, this is not going to disappoint you.

Verdict: Moe comedy win! Pass!

 

Softenni
Premiere Date: 4/7
Studio: XEBEC

Summary: Four other girls have ecchi comedy fun while training to reach their next tennis tournament.

Where I Started: I have to watch more of this? 

Where I Ended: There’s a line that certain series can toe around in order to remain a fun ecchi comedy. Some series take awhile but eventually they find that line. SoftTeni found that line almost right away but ignored it anyway. From the first few minutes you know exactly what you’re getting into with this one. Bottom of the barrel humor that isn’t afraid to rely on whatever tropes it can think of to get its point across, this isn’t even ecchi comedy for those who like it to enjoy.

Verdict: Fail, fail, fail.

 

Pretty Rhythm: Aurora Dream
Premiere Date: 4/9
Studio: Tatsunoko Production

Summary: Two girls are randomly chosen to be the new stars of the Prism Show which involves magical jumps, ice skating, dancing and being an idol.

Where I Started: It doesn’t always look great but I can see where it’s going.

Where I Ended: If it weren’t for this series being such a commercial, I could actually see myself watching and enjoying this. However as someone who looks at this series and sees a price tag on everything in sight it’s hard to enjoy it nearly as much. While the animation is questionable at times, this is still a not bad shoujo series aimed at selling toys to little girls.

Verdict: I won’t be following it but this was a solid introduction and deserves a pass.

 

Astarotte’s Toy
Premiere Date: 4/10
Studio: Diomedia
Available via Crunchyroll

Summary: A 10 year old succubus princess must suck life juice from men in order to survive and is given an adult human male to become friends with.

Where I Started: That wasn’t bad but still…

Where I Ended: I tried to like this one and by the end of 3 episodes I had even chuckled a bit at the various antics. This is still just a premise that I can’t get behind and won’t be continuing with. For the record, you’d expect a series of this nature to rely on fan service and sex humor a lot more than it does. This is still just far beyond the line of what moe and ecchi fans should look for in a series. Cute in its own way but be sure that you’re the type who can ignore character ages.

Verdict: Not as bad it could’ve been but still a fail.

 

C: The Money of Soul and Possibility Control
Premiere Date: 4/14
Studio: Tatsunoko Production
Available via Funimation

Summary: A poor college student is offered a chance to enter the seedy financial district where he could have all his money problems solved. All he has to do is sign over his future and take part in weekly battles without going bankrupt.

Where I Started: This could be interesting.

Where I Ended: I was right, it could have been interesting had they tried just a little bit harder. While the tsundere asset was a nice addition, there isn’t enough here to make this unique premise into what it could have been. With more time, this series might go somewhere but during its initial impression it left me with little curiosity to find out more. If there is a chance that it’s going somewhere I might catch it on DVD someday but for now, this is a rainy day series at best.

Verdict: Fail

 

Ano hi Mita Hana no Namae o Boku-tachi Mada Shiranai
Premiere Date: 4/14
Studio: A-1 Pictures

Summary: A dead girl comes back with a wish to bring together all of her old friends who have all grown apart.

Where I Started: Wow, powerful and beautiful.

Where I Ended: Another coming of age story, this one is one of the more powerful of the season as the lead character is just instantly likeable. Compelling writing brings together a sympathetic cast of characters in order to create a beautiful landscape of detail to get lost in. There is little about this series that one can complain about and is one that everyone should be checking out.

Verdict: A Noitamina series for everyone. Pass!

 

Aria the Scarlet Ammo
Premiere Date: 4/14
Studio: JC Staff
Available via Funimation

Summary: In a high school where students are trained to be international police, a guy runs into the elite Aria who wants him to become her partner (or as she calls it ‘slave’).

Where I Started: Where have I seen this before?

Where I Ended: Leaving behind the many times the series decides to steal the plot from the movie Speed, the series itself is a rehash of action series you’ve seen in the past. The tsundere lead is a cookie cutter of heroines who have come before her and the action is hardly worth getting excited about. The one place where this absolutely succeeded was in its music but I’m not watching a series for its soundtrack.

Verdict: Another cheap action that’s not even visually impactful. Fail!

 

Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko
Premiere Date: 4/14
Studio: Shaft

Summary: A high school student moves in with his aunt and cousin, the latter of which believes that she is an alien after going missing for six months.

Where I Started: I really want to like this but damn is it hard.

Where I Ended: It took awhile but I finally came to a certain peace with this series. After so many dark series, director Akiyuki Shinbo returns with this comedy that never quite finds its footing. The artwork is the first hurdle to overcome with the writing coming in on a close second. I have faith that this series is going somewhere but these first three episodes aren’t giving me much evidence of that beyond my healthy (hopeful?) hunch.

Summary: I continue out of faith that it’s going to get better but still fail.

 

Deadman Wonderland
Premiere Date: 4/16
Studio: Manglobe
Available via Crunchyroll

Summary: A kid is framed for the murder of his entire class and sent to a twisted amusement park where convicts battle for their lives in front of a live audience.

Where I Started: The grittiest series this season and I love it.

Where I Ended: Every season needs an incredibly dark and twisted series that leaves you captivated with just how far it’s willing to go. This season the title of that series is Deadman Wonderland. Dark and twisted, at one point I cursed that this series was so heavily censored but as I saw just how dark it was willing to go with its ideas, I became more and more grateful for it instead. Once you start getting into the violence and twisted story behind this series, it’s hard to take your eyes away.

Verdict: Pass!

 

[SinglePic not found]Moshidora
Premiere Date: 4/25
Studio: Production I.G

Summary: A high school baseball manager accidently picks up a business management book and uses it to coach the team towards the nationals.

Where I Started: Alright, I’m getting your point. Now make something happen.

Where I Ended: Once it stopped trying to introduce itself, Moshidora turned into a fun baseball series about doing your very best. Bringing together the best elements of sports and dramedy, this turned into a fun drama about thinking outside the box and doing something different. Then you add in some nice animation and a wonderful orchestral soundtrack and you have a surprisingly fun little treat.

Verdict: Shockingly this one is getting a pass.

So I am supremely late with this. Like really freaking late. How late am I? My deadline for this is usually the first of the month. I have a really good excuse though and that was there was just too much good anime coming out this season! Between the slice of life series proving much more interesting than previously imagined, the comedies being off the charts hilarious and the action providing more than enough to keep your eyes bugging out, I’m willing to call this the second good season we’ve had in a row. If this is what the first half of the year has brought, what will summer and fall bring?

For the first part, I’m taking a look at all of the series I was able to hit from the first half of the month ranging from Dog Days to Steins;Gate.

 

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

Summary: A foreign teenager living in Japan is summoned to an alternate world where dog people and cat people are fighting an endless war of cute. After being recruited to the dog side by the beautiful princess, he is crushed to learn that he won’t be able to return home.

Where I Started: This is so cute I think I just went into diabetic shock.

Where I Ended: This is my absolutely mindless series of the season. I can be totally upfront about this though; this is a monumentally sugary series and beyond that I can’t think of any real redeeming qualities. The story is laughably silly and the writing is shallow at even its best of times. It’s just that Seven Arcs has created such a beautiful looking world and adorable characters that it’s hard to care.

Verdict: Pick this one up! I’m going all the way!

 

Tiger and Bunny
Premiere Date: 4/2
Studio: Toei
Available via Viz Anime

Summary: Super heroes backed by corporate sponsors fight crime in a city where it is all televised on on reality TV. When an old veteran and a rookie are forced to team up, aggressive sparks fly between the two.

Where I Started: Wow, not amazing but still worth a wow.

Where I Ended: Anime mixed with western super heroes and buddy cop movies creates quite the impressive offspring. Helped in no small part by its amazing visuals, this is a series that caught critics and fans completely off guard. Unlike anything else this season, the witty writing and unique premise has won over plenty of fans including myself.

Verdict: It passes and lives to see me continue.

 

My Ordinary Life
Premiere Date: 4/2
Studio: Kyoto Animation
Available via Crunchyroll

Summary: Imagine Azumanga Daioh with edge that only comes from a weekend bender.

Where I Started: I love this series.

Where I Ended: I still love this series. I love just how far outside the box this series is willing to think in all of its scenes, I love the very simple animation style and I love the two separate stories telling student life and the world of the child professor living with her robot. This is the best random school comedy since Azumanga Daioh and is easily the comedy of the season you should be watching.

Verdict: Pass!

 

Toriko
Premiere Date: 4/3
Studio: Toei
Available via Funimation

Summary: In a fantastical world, Toriko is the greatest gourmet hunter there is. With his assistant, he travels the world finding the most dangerous, exotic animals to kill with his bare hands and create his ultimate dinner.

Where I Started: Well, that was definitely a shonen series.

Where I Ended: This series is filled with so much manly gar I had to shave after watching one episode. The comedy is juvenile but the premise keeps this series clever and fun. While I’ve never been one for shonen shows, I was getting into this one by the time I was done with it. I won’t be continuing this one but anytime I need a fix of weekly manliness, I know exactly where to find Toriko.

Verdict: Pass.

 

Hanasaku Iroha
Premiere Date: 4/3
Studio: PA Works
Available via Crunchyroll

Summary: A young girl is ditched by her mother and forced to live with her estranged grandmother who puts her to work in her inn.

Where I Started: This might end up being the best looking series of the season.

Where I Ended: A great looking series that is telling a strong story about growing up. As the focal point of the series, Ohana is serving as a memorable heroine that is growing up before the audience’s eyes. The emotion of the series is sweet and endearing even. The beauty of the animation only serves as a strong helper of the slowly forming story. This is worthy of being called PA Works 10th anniversary piece.

Verdict: Pass and I’m going all the way.

 

Without Wings – OreTachi ni Tsubasa wa Nai
Premiere Date: 4/3
Studio: Nomad
Available via Crunchyroll

Summary: 3 stories about couples coming together under the most different of circumstances including the handyman on the search for a girl’s lost bike, an angel who doesn’t want to leave his girlfriend and cousin behind and the restaurant worker who can’t stand her her co-worker.

Where I Started: Ok, didn’t expect those panty shots.

Where I Ended: Jumping from story to story, I was hoping that this series would have something that stood out as special. No such luck even with three different tries. All three of these stories are not nearly as interesting thanks to its reliance on fan service and terribly unlikeable male leads, it can’t even write a decent romantic hook. The angel story was the closest this series ever came to hooking me in but since most of these episodes were focused on the lesser two of the three, it became a struggle to even get through three.

Verdict: Cheap drama that relies on pointless fan service. Fail!

 

Battle Girls
Premiere Date: 4/4
Studio: TMS Entertainment
Available via Crunchyroll

Summary: Teen girl gets transported back to alternate feudal Japan that is made up entirely of women. She then proceeds to act like an idiot and gets rewarded for it with a quest.

Where I Started: I hate this and I hate those in Japan who made me watch this.

Where I Ended: I predicted an odd mix of Sengoku Basara and Queen’s Blade, I was not disappointed. Battle Girls wants to be a lot of things: it wants to be a fan service series but can never quite pull the trigger, it wants to be a comedy but only knows how to write jokes for the idiot female lead, it wants to be an action series but doesn’t do anything memorable with the sequences. There are just not enough things in this series to make it worth anyone’s time. The writing is poor and the story has been done better.

Verdict: Fail!

 

Steins;Gate
Premiere Date: 4/5
Studio: White Fox
Available via Crunchyroll

Summary: A mad scientist accidently creates a time machine with his microwave and sets about to discover its secrets before he is killed for his discovery.

Where I Started: If this finds some focus it could really turn into something.

Where I Ended: Yeah so much for that. Never finding a focus, Steins;Gate tells a haphazard story that is meant to keep everyone guessing and searching for answers. Instead it left me confused and wondering if there would ever be a point to this series. All I knew for certain is that after a couple of episodes I was ready to say that I didn’t care about the answers. It’s hard to judge if this series will be any good but then there lies the underlying problem: it never made me care to find out.

Verdict: Maybe it’s going somewhere but I’m not sticking around to find out. Fail!

So I’m a little late with this but it just wouldn’t be a complete month if I wasn’t late to the end of it. Due to a number of unexpected scheduling issues throughout the month of April I didn’t get to view nearly as many of the spring premieres as I wanted to. There were some series that I was able to view up to three episodes and some I was only able to view one, I’ve noted how many of each series I watched to give you an idea of how informed my opinion is. So without further ado… Spring Mop Up 09 starts after the cut.

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