Here we are again
at the end of a season! This one's seen my crazy busy with events
and issues both family- and work-related, so apologies again for not
posting more in the meantime. I'll try to write a bit more this
entry in return, okay? A shame this season seemed like a really
mediocre one in retrospect.
Sweetness & Lightning
Enjoyably sweet,
though it doesn't linger long in the memory. Focusing on a
recently-widowed father who tries so hard to raise and cook for his
daughter, I wish this show tried for a little more emotional bite
than what we got. Still, it did a great job of showing events from
the child's perspective as well as the father's. I'd recommend this
one if you loved Usagi Drop from a few years back, and are
looking for something similar. It too takes a realistic look at
single-daddy issues, although the earlier show didn't seem quite so
optimistic in its worldview. Also, the two little girls act quite
diffferently. All in all, one of the season's more pleasant
diversions.
The Morose Mononokean
This
one let me down, because I was pretty interested in its premise. I
love Bakemonogatari and
Mushishi; something
about dealing with supernatural occurrences throughout everyday life
just does it for me. There's such a great opportunity for metaphors
here, and the two above shows had such an interesting way of looking
at the world. TMM has...shades
of that, with the main character
being encouraged to look at things from the perspective of the yokai
he's exorcising. But, wow, is this show filled to the brim with
annoying characters. The everyman protagonist's one of those
“lovable” idiot types who says all his thoughts out loud and gets
flustered at everything. His master is one of those experts who is
constantly verbally abusing his minimally-competent employee, but
it's okay you guys, because he really cares deep down. The yokai
themselves may have feelings and reasons for doing what they do, but
that doesn't stop most of them from being stock over-the-top
personality types given form. My favorite part is when the show's
leads are conversing with an old lady, then start talking with a (to
her) invisible/inaudible yokai that's been hanging around. She just
stands there silently until the conversation moves back to her, then
acts like nothing happened! Now that's quality
writing! I'd say don't bother with TMM when
the aforementioned better shows are out there.
Active Raid: Season 2
Hey,
remember when I wrote a really negative review of this show's first
season a while back? Well, like Sailor Moon Crystal and
Terraformars, this
continuation is actually much better. The plot feels more focused
and more personal for our heroes as a politician friend from their
past may be going down the wrong path after finding the limits of
justice and rules. Though I really wasn't looking forward to its
return, I found myself enjoying not only the overarching story much
more, but the comedy; everyone just seemed to have much better
chemistry this time around. Not that I'd exactly recommend sitting
through the first installment, but if you already have, might as well
keep going.
Mahou Shoujou Naria Girls
And
now for this season's dose of weirdness! If you've seen gdgd
Fairies, this is pretty much the
dubbing lake portion extended to full episode length. If not, think
an improv comedy show starring anime voice actresses hanging very
loosely off the framework of a
magical girl show. Consider checking it out if you're looking for
something a little different in your comedy.
Twin Star Exorcists
Two seasons in,
I'd have to call this one lackluster on every level. Most characters
still aren't anything more than irritating gimmicks, and action
scenes rely on shonen power-ups instead of give-and-take
choreography. Things aren't looking good going forward, either;
nothing at all's changed following a two-year timeskip, and each
episode is now spent fighting a series of gimmicky mini-bosses. At
least most aren't flat-out annoying like the first season's villain,
but at least he was memorable. Each time one of these guys escapes
promising to “fight you once you've become stronger”, I feel sure
I'll have forgotten them by that time. Speaking of which, the show
has an unhealthy obsession with getting stronger for getting
stronger's sake, and it seems intent on punishing our heroes for
wanting to live quiet, normal lives. Give it a pass; there's no
shortage of better shonen action out there.
Saiki Kusou no Ψ
Nan
If
not for last year's Osomatsu-san,
this would've been the best comedy I've seen in a while. What with
exploiting every weird power a psychic could conceivably have, and
adding odd little limits and rules to some of them, setups, and
punchlines were rarely what I expected. It does a great job with the
title character of Saiki, who could easily be nothing but an
overpowered cynical asshole, but has just enough human quirks to make
him likable all the same. The writers will go to amazing lengths to
deny him solitude or his beloved coffee jello, but on occasion
reminds him that having an over-the-top group of friends (another fun
part of the show) is sometimes worth all the trouble. It's cruel,
heartwarming, unpredictable, and definitely worth a look. So glad
it's continuing!
Ozmafia!
Uh,
what the hell was this show supposed to be? Based on a reverse harem
game, the Ozmafia
anime follows a bland main character who is surrounded by various
bishonen, a handful of which are supposedly based on Wizard
of Oz
characters. Despite being in the show description, the mafia turf
war aspect is barely mentioned. I find it odd that this even made it
onto the preview chart since it's worthless to all but the most
diehard fans of the (presumably better) game. I'm just the wrong
target for Ozmafia.
Kuromukuro
All
in all, a solid sci-fi drama. The ending was a lot more low-key than
I expected it to be; instead of crazy action, most of the time was
spent on characters and their reactions to events. I feel like this
show skirted a lot of anime and mecha tropes subtlety, without
broadcasting, “You know that one thing all other shows do? We're
not
gonna do that because we're genre-savvy!” Look to the hot springs
episode for evidence, where the obligatory peeping plot is
overshadowed by emotional development and events that push forward
the actual
plot. Look it up if you're looking for a mecha show that's off the
beaten path; I'm eager to see what this crew does next.
Orange
The
biggest problem with high school shoujo romance in general? There's
nothing
appealing if you don't like the characters or worldview, and I grew
to hate both.
The heroine is perfect in every way, though the side characters
treat her like an everywoman who “needs to have more
self-confidence”. They exist solely to unite her with the mopier
of two pretty boys, at the explicit
expense of
the other pretty boy. This is accomplished with all the finesse of a
bad dating sim: get mopey alone with the heroine as often as
possible, awkwardly badger him to open up about his feelings on a
constant basis, risk over-the-top backlash and a bad end if you pick
the wrong dialog choice. Oh, and the sci-fi hook of time travel is
really poorly-integrated. The very
few
times it's mentioned in the show, they explain the concept like
they're reading off a Wikipedia article, sometimes in the middle of a
conversation about people and feelings. It's implied once that the
characters get their letters to go back in time by throwing them in
the black hole in the Bermuda Triangle. Yeah, I spoiled part of
Orange for
you. Fuck this show; that's what it deserves.
Mob
Psycho 100
I'll
get it out of the way right now: this is no One
Punch Man.
The animation never reaches the same heights, the characters are
uglier, and espers just aren't as popular as superheroes. That said,
I really enjoyed it for its message. I think the original creator
has some interesting things to say about power, regarding its place
in society, how people view it, and how it should be used. This show
had more downtime to explore these ideas than One
Punch Man,
with characters both physically and emotionally more vulnerable; I'd
recommend this as more of a companion piece than more of the same
crazy awesomeness. It'll never enjoy the same popularity, but Mob
Psycho 100
is definitely worth checking out on its own.
91
Days
Shame
on me for wanting another Baccano,
I guess; 91 Days
is
a completely straightforward mob drama/revenge story. The problem is
really couldn't connect with the characters, especially the hero.
He's just a revenge robot, fueled by revenge, with no memorable
traits or personality besides revenge. There's one guy who acts so
crazy you'd swear he just stepped out of Baccano,
but oddly he just annoyed me. It felt like they were trying too hard
to make a “fun” character and ended up with a collection of stock
traits, like “kills people randomly” and “likes S&M”.
One or two big plot twists were forced by people acting out of
character. I just didn't think 91
Days had
much flavor to it, which is too bad since a decent revenge story will
practically carry itself.
ReLife
I'll
have to dig in my memory banks for this one, because it aired all at
one at the season's beginning. Admittedly, I remember less
characters and plot details than general feelings of warmth and
regret, but that's a hell of a lot more than Orange
gave
me. Everyone was a lot more respectfully and realistically depicted,
from the hero looking at highschool life trough adult eyes (a la
Erased)
to the students themselves as they dealt with life. Though
marathoning leaves less of an impression on me than weekly doses, I
would love to watch more ReLife
if
more came out (ReRelife?)
Planetarian
If
you like adaptations of Key visual novels, this'll be your jam. If
you're alllergic to sweetly tragic girls, steer clear. I'm neutral
on the matter, and I generally liked this one. The post-apocalyptic
setting definitely helped the dramatic tropes go down easier, and the
five-episode length means it didn't overstay its welcome. I even
might look up the movie continuation or alternate re-telling or
whatever it is. If you know where you stand of Key shows you know
where you stand on this one, but if you've never watched one,
Planetarian is
a good bite-sized sample.
Macross
Delta
The
only thing that could've saved this show in my eyes would've been a
giant, cheesy, blow-the-doors-off finale. We didn't get that. Sure,
it may have repeated the franchise's theme of emotions conquering
all, but was there really any heart in it? The Windermere
antagonists were annoying to the end, and never saw any consequences
to their little “let's brainwash and enslave the whole galaxy”
plan. No Windermeran even admits they were wrong. Not that all the
character drama was all bad all the time, but I just couldn't bring
myself to care about anyone. And making the viewer feel nothing is
probably the biggest sin a Macross
anime can commit.
DAYS
At
times this show gave off a similar vibe to Haikyuu,
and I feel like that's the show it really wanted to be. But I also
think that DAYS'
protagonist held the show back. Sure, I love the idea of hard work
and optimism trumping innate talent, an idea he embodies very well.
But he never stops doing anything but his best, never gets really,
truly discouraged, and thus he doesn't feel quite human. There's a
good dramatic scene later on when he recounts the lessons each of his
teammates taught him. What stops it from being a great
scene,
a real emotional peak, is that he's not acting any different from any
other point through the season; we have to be told he's changed and
grown as a person, because we can't see it ourselves. The supporting
cast is perfectly fine, although not as interesting as that of
Haikyuu
and more prone to comedic hijinks. There is, at points, some
hilariously over-the-top female-oriented fanservice, which may or may
not cheapen things in your eyes; personally, it makes me want to
watch more, to see if they ever go beyond fetishizing the tears of
young boys who wanted so
badly to
win. I wouldn't call this a great show, but it is a very capable and
lighthearted entry in the sports genre.
Thunderbolt
Fantasy
And
what an odd turn of events we have here, where one of the better
anime of the season turns out to not be anime at all! Though written
and voiced by Japanese staff, this Taiwanese puppet show might not
have made an impression at all had it been animated given its very
by-the-books plot of stopping an evil lord from obtaining an
all-powerful magic sword. While I'm sure plenty will enjoy plot
twists aplenty brought about by the characters' constant scheming, I
was into it mainly for the action. How
do
you make a puppet do
that with its little toothpick of a sword? I'm curious about a
possible U.S. Release, since extensive behind-the-scenes making-of
extras would be well worth the price alone. It's great when a show
like this or Blue
Blazes
forces us outside our little anime bubbles, since I know I can get
tunnel vision from watching mostly Japanese cartoons all the time.
Look it up now if you want a straight-up great action show, and look
forward to the sequel.
And
there we have it! A decent balance of good and bad without too
many
outliers on either end. What will the next season bring? Will I get
off my ass and actually write more articles, or will the holiday
madness kill my spirit and free time once again? Only time will
tell!
