Following my Mid-Season
Reports I shall make small assembled comments each week about what I thought
about the episodes of the anime I followed. It's usually going to be very short
unless I do have more to say.
For your information, these
are in relative order of watching them from Monday to Sunday... I do not always
watch everything on the day it comes out. Most notably World Break usually gets
pushed to Monday or so because the weekend is so packed with everything (plus
potentially SMC).
Absolute Duo: So, the girl
from first episode didn't disappear after all, would have been a waste
anyway... even if I had almost forgotten her. As usual with harem anime,
Absolute Duo suffers ugly pacing issues and I really loathe the intrusion of
Julie while another has also now made her feelings fairly clear for Toru. This
shifts the anime back to clear harem status and contradicts somewhat my
analysis from last week. Julie needs some more shining time and soon to
reinforce why she is Toru's true partner.
Seiken Tsukai no World Break:
At first I liked this episode, then I read some comments and kind of had to
agree. The fight was boring for its supposed thread level. It was mostly a
gigantic monster and the flashiness of the battle scenes seen in episodes
before was rather absent and that is one of the few things that keeps this
series entertaining. The metaphysical was mostly a means to an end, to show off
the hero's powers to the doubtful elite... World Break can do better.
Yuri Kuma Arashi: I'm not
sure I should even make comments. I am hardly qualified in the field of Ikuhara
analysis, I leave that to the experts. I do, however, share the sentiment of
feeling sympathy for poor Ginko who seems to be doomed to the role of eternal
fifth wheel or something...
Shinmai Maou no Testament:
Definitely a step up from all the censored fanservice of late. This episode
showed why Testament may still be the best of the lot among the harem anime
this season. If only it could maintain this level instead of falling back into
the world of offensive light beams, censor bars and other cheap tricks as the
title of next episode leaves to be dreaded.
Kantai Collection: Here too,
a definite up again. In this episode it was interesting to see how the new unit
was getting more bonding in, only to have another roadblock thrown in. The
battles were nice... even if it still disturbs me that they shoot arrows
transforming into planes...... Oh well. This episode showed that KanColle can
make at least an enjoyable episode when it stays with a central cast.
Unfortunately, even in these episodes the average viewer that does have no
knowledge about the game often stays in the dark about all the relationships
and minor details that get thrown around, I certainly am. I enjoyed watching
this one though, if only it could stay on track for once.
Assassination Classroom:
Things are definitely getting more interesting. We get a first hint of some
deeper meaning behind the assassination, the personality of Koro-sensei that is
in such direct contrast to the threat he has supposedly lingering over the
world has always seemed weird. And now there is also the conflict with the rest
of the school, adding further substance that goes beyond the rather base and
not quite so funny humor of the first episodes. I am leaning to upgrading this
a full grade already now that finally some real direction is applied. ^_^
Fairy Tail: Another filler
with rather pointless humor which would have been okay if it hadn't been one
enormous series of fillers in a row already. It's sad to see one of my beloved
anime tumbling into the deep trap hole that it had so graciously avoided last
summer.
Rolling Girls: This anime
still has a problem with having a fleshed out main cast. The four Rolling Girls
still feel rather unrefined and we are almost halfway through this season
already. Granted, the last episodes have done a little more to rectify this but
it's still not enough. I can sort of see the direction the show wants to take
but I can't say I am really on board with it...
Dog Days: I am not quite so
sure about the inclusion of the bunny boy here. Especially in light of that we
haven't seen the dragon priestess again at all and she's actually prominent in
opening and ending. For all its lighthearted fluff and plot, it feels like Dog
Days is running out of ideas other than repeating the same routines over and
over again. I can still excellently relax with this series but it really needs
a bit more direction soon. The prospect of hearing about the Hero King's party
though makes me look forward to next week.
Log Horizon: An excellent
finale to this arc. The last episodes featured some excellent character
development, while also bringing us face to face with the issue of those
players not wanting to accept living in this new reality. This arc, while
starting rather slow, pushes the world of Log Horizon which had come to a
somewhat comfortable standstill with establishment of Akihabara's Round Table
into motion again. Conflict is coming. Too bad Isuzu's song which was build up
to for awhile was rather lacking... It was nice but not really... special.
Still, this has perhaps been one of Log Horizon's best stretch of episodes in a
long time.
One Piece: Took a break this
week, darn...
Seiken Tsukai no World Break:
And since I got around to it tonight, after all, for a second time this.
Definitely a step up. Here comes Laura Bodvig... oops, wrong anime. Clearly a
much better episode than last time even if the initial outset had me really
worried. It was actually kind of funny too, only to end in sudden tension in
the end.
Nanatsu no Taizai: Just like
Log Horizon, this anime is also running strong as we near the final phase of
the second coeur. Unfortunately there isn't enough manga material after all to
make this a truly long-running series as initially predicted. Regardless,
Nanatsu no Taizai in its not even 20 episodes yet is probably already pulling
past Fairy Tail in quality (especially in light of what FT is putting its fans
through right now). This episode was great as well and I think I am beginning
to understand why King was voted as best character in Japan by a large margin.
Maria, the Virgin Witch:
Still best new anime this season. So Ezekiel is having doubts, Maria is not
stopping... and the grandma probably is dead... Such a shame it's so underrated
and misunderstood by the general viewers who only see this as a negative take
on religion without understanding the finer details.
Go Princess Precure: And
it's getting better! Cure Twinkle!!! Perhaps the best character intro episode to
date. She stole the show, totally. Such a delightful, dynamic and ambitious
girl! And then that ending, even if by that point somewhat expected... Just
glorious! I really, really hope this isn't just a flash in the pan because I'm
really starting to like this season already despite the theme and don't want to
see it jumbled by bad decision like Doki has been.
No comments:
Post a Comment