Winter 2015 Anime First Impressions (Anime Power Ranking) – KanColle, Yuri Kuma Arashi

After taking a break during last season, it’s time to resume the weekly overview. I usually post these on Wednesdays. Sadly for this season, very few shows have had their premiers in the “anime week” that just ended. So instead, I’ll spend more time talking about each of the entries. What I thought of them, and my thoughts on their content (themes, direction, etc.)

First impressions for Yuri Kuma Arashi (Lily Bear Storm) and Kantai Collection (KanColle), as well as the weekly opinion on Parasyte: the Maxim (Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakuritsu).

The list is organized by how much I’ve enjoyed each episode, and the link in the title is to a more thorough write-up on the episode. For first impressions it means mostly more about production and presentation, but also about themes.

1) Parasyte: The Maxim / Kiseiju episodes 12-13:

I feel this show suffers from being talked about weekly. It’s a slow process, and multiple episodes just remind you that stuff is going on with the parasites, so there’s not always a very concrete “thing” to speak of, in terms of plot or otherwise. It does remind one of the earlier Hunter x Hunter episodes, in that sense.

Winter 2015 Anime Season Preview and Expectations

Fall 2014 is over, and I’ve barely watched any series, roughly 7. But enough with that, the season that just ended was apparently pretty great, but we need to look ahead! Winter 2015 begins officially tomorrow, with Tsukimonogatari’s release. Most everything else begins on January 4th, which is next Sunday. This season is a bit sparse, but continuations (Shirobako, Parasyte) and returning shows (Durarara!!, JoJo) pick up some of the slack.

As always, in these posts I cover shows I plan to follow, or have thoughts on why I will not follow them, or considered following and decided not to. As always, I try to strike a balance between giving you enough information on the show, and telling you why I think it is or isn’t worth watching. Shows ordered by day, and by expectation within the day, since I might pick or not pick a show up based on how busy that day is. That’s only sensible.

Most of the information about the shows can be had from RandomCuriosity’s page, the helpful Neregate Chart, and what I’ve happened to see on various sites, such as The Cart Driver. Check them out if you want more information, or information on shows I didn’t cover (such as follow-ups to shows I don’t watch).

Sunday:

Junketsu no Maria / Maria the Virgin Witch – The Hundred Years’ War. Maria decides to stop the war by summoning a succubus and incubus to sleep the armies’ commander into a happy stupor. Heaven intervenes and decrees Maria will lose her powers if she were to lose her virginity. Manga-based. I am often tired of “non-humor gags” that proliferate through anime, but I actually laugh at many such gags when they appear. Speculative pick of the season for me. Of special note is the director behind the show is Taniguchi Goro, knows as the director behind Code Geass and Planetes. Not exactly known for comedy, but a solid pick.
Interest Rating: 1.5/3. I’m not a huge fan of anime comedies, but I do enjoy them when they work. It seems the combination of humor and comedy might work out for me. Hope springs eternal.
Airing Date: January 11th. Preview.