Second week. So far so... somewhat exciting. ^_^ While the overall quality of this season seems higher than last, it lacks a clear 'star' so far.
After the second week of episodes, I can safely say that most of the anime I am following are at least a crop above the average of last season. In fact almost all of them are somewhere in the decent to good range (or around between a B+ and B-). Only Pleiades – sadly – falls a little short. Unfortunately in exchange for that, there is nothing I'd term Very Good or Excellent like last season's Maria. In fact this season is full of anime that are light, fluffy, easy on the eyes but not incredible exciting unless you are looking for extremes like Seraph of the End which I did not continue as said last time. At the very least I believe I won't get bored or frustrated this season even if it continues to lack a clear star player.
Is It Wrong To Try And Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?: Nope, still not wrong. Very much not so. Already this is shaping up better than a lot anime last season. It's interesting to see various pantheons together this like and the interesting combinations and frictions this can cause. Already we are seeing some nice handling of mythological relationships, like having Hestia (Goddess of the Hearth) and Hephaestus (Fire, Smith) being friends. The cast so far is altogether likeable and probably already got more potential than the main cast of Rolling Girls in the entirety or at least the first 3/4 of its run.
Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha Vivid: Einhart is so kawai! ... Okay, had to get that out. Personally I think Einhart is pulling the story of Vivid more than Vivio herself, so I was looking forward to this episode and her first real appearance. I think her voice matches well. The fight was okay. It will take some time to get used to mostly hand-to-hand combat compared to MGLN usual flair for impressive magic blasts but there is still room left. All in all... I can live with it. A first for me though: I've liked every single Nanoha song from Mizuki-sama but I may, for the first time, actually pass on this one. While there is a chance it might still grow on me, I can't say it hasn't even remotely caught my interest so far.
Plastic Memories: Considering how often one Coeur shows have a problem establishing at least a decent relationship of the MC between more than 2 or 3 people, this episode already made a lot of progress and handled itself well doing so. Nothing felt forced or hastened but we got a good feel for the work crew while still advancing the main duo. Nice, solid pacing. It is so good to see anime with good pacing again after last season. If there is potential for a star player in this season, I'd say it might be this one.
Highschool DxD BorN: Finally some Koneko focus. Being my favorite among the girls, I am really looking forward to that part.
Kyoukai no Rinne: While I still like this return to old school... it needs some direction soon. Frankly if I compare this to say Inuyasha a whole lot more had already happened after two episodes than here. These episodes so far lived off the humor mostly, everything else was somewhat uneventful. Apparently this one goes more the Ranma road... I can live with that but frankly I wouldn't mind have minded another fantasy epos the likes of Inuyasha.
Sound Euphonium: It's definitely a nice series but I cannot quite comprehend the straight "A" given on ANN for the first two eps. It feels a tad too slow-paced/crawling to me at the moment. I can agree that the main character is surprisingly relatable and the artistic quality is top (it really looks gorgeous, even to someone like me who is not that stingy on these things). I dunno, something is still missing for me but we just started, so... I'll keep watching at least.
Show by Rock!!: Alright... After seeing some positive reactions to the second episode, I gave this another chance. I still cannot say that I like the SD CG thingie but the rest was okay. I'll give it a few more episodes after all.
Mikagura School Suite: Still very delightful and as long as Eruna does not suddenly deteriorate into a straight character, I will still enjoy this very much for the very original take on what is otherwise a crazy mix of tried, used and washed down tropes. It's interesting that by doing this kind of setting with a Yuri-inclined female lead, it gives the whole thing such a fresh feeling. ^_^ I liked this episode and the fight was nice as well, looking forward to more and still praying Eruna keeps being herself.
Hougako no Pleiades: I still really want to like this but sadly I can't. The cohesion is not working out. Things happen almost randomly and with very little explanation. Said explanation are often cut off for no reason... It makes this anime needlessly confusing, really. I dearly hope it's one of these shows that needs just a bit more time to get really started but so far, it's the only real disappointment so far.
And now for the actual continuing stuff/real episode comments.
Assassination Classroom: This was a nice take on the 'totally outclassed team faces professional/serious players' sports episode. Right along with this anime's unique brand of humor and also focusing successful on one of the more unassuming number of students in the class which are easily forgotten. Unfortunately I also found that the girls' match being entirely neglected both by the writers and consequently Koro-sensei bad handling and OOC for the latter. It would have been better to not even include the girls' match in the concept to begin with because I honestly cannot see Koro-sensei neglecting one group of his students in favor of the other.
Go Princess Precure: Why am I getting the impression that the new attack is a combination of Fresh (the rods, ugh... at least they don't get stupid names), Suite (rather reminiscent of the first attack from Melody and Rhythm), Heartcatch (spinning the rods at the end)? Why, because it probably is! That aside... It's quite early for a rather decent combo attack. Yui definitely stole the show though. Such bravery without even having any physical skill (like Seiji in HP). Unfortunately no new transformation from the keys, just an upgraded dress mode.
Fairy Tail: Do not underestimate the power of Treasure Hunters... ahem! And here comes Chiba Erza. Of course I already know what happens for the next few episodes at least but I am still so glad we are finally in good plot territory again.
One Piece: Luffy, sometimes you are just too trusting. Then again, I guess it wouldn't be the same without that. While I have nothing special to say, I'd like to harp on the preview. Honestly, they practically spoilered the entire next episode as far as I can tell. I think I'll have to go back to cutting off the stream before seeing the preview again.
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