Psycho-Pass 2 episode 1 – Systemic Symptomatic Failures

Blog will slowly truck back into activity as I recover from an extreme case of Diablo 3 addiction, and get caught up on the new season, weekly round-up, seasonal overview for Summer, September month in review, all coming up, but for now:

So, no Urobuchi, but we have an actual dystopian sci-fi setting, we have established characters, police drama, I’m all over this. Now just to hope it’s good. Now we get to see Akane reprising the role in which she was when the series opened, the mentor instead of the one being taught, and her mentor being one of the “guard dogs”. And we know she’s likely an abnormal. So, let’s see what’s up.

Thoughts and Notes:

Screenshot album.

1) Symptomatic Treatment and Commercials:

Commercialism is creepy. They try to paint it as cute, but still creepy.

1) So, see that commercial? On one hand, it’s very much a dystopian thing, but on the other hand, it speaks volumes about the society we live in in the real world as well. “Is stress creating a hue-change for you? Take this medication to help your hue!” – Is this medication actually going to help the cause, as in alleviate stress? Perhaps, perhaps not. And even if it helps stress, it’s going to do nothing about what caused the stress, you’re just going to medicate to not feel stressed. Considering your job is semi-assigned to you, it’s not too surprising, as you’re just a small cog in the machine here.

Fall 2014 Anime Season Preview and Expectations

Fall 2014 is nearly here, and the season actually begins on Thursday, October 2nd (Terraformars aside). So time to see what I’m more interested in. this post doesn’t really focus on my “predictions” for how good something will be,  but is about my interest levels, on what I think will be interesting, and why. Shows that “didn’t make it” are usually shows I’m slightly less interested in, or find it interesting to remark on.

What do I think of the season? It’s the season of sequels or returning shows! Almost everything I’m actually excited for falls under that purview, from Psycho-Pass 2, to Log Horizon 2, and of course, Legend of Korra Season 4 (not anime, I know). Aside from that? Some seasons have no comedies, others have no action. This season has it all, the only thing I see lacking is romantic comedies, but between straight comedies and straight romances, I think most people will be satisfied.

As always, organized by days of the week, because I might pick a show on an empty day or cut shows I enjoy on days already overfilled with other shows. Order is by expectation within that day. Continuing from Summer, I’m cutting down on my coverage of posts with episodic write-ups, so only up to a couple of shows will get that.

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.

Sunday:

The Seven Deadly Sins / Nanatsu no Taizai – This looks to be a pretty standard shounen fantasy adventure – a group of super-powered klutzes who must be convinced to save the kingdom from tyrannical Holy Knights, with the usual shounen manga gag humor. It’s going to be a long-running shounen, so don’t expect any real form of closure. Directed by Okamura Tensai and series composition done by Suga Shoutarou, who between them worked on Cowboy Bebop, Darker than Black, Kannagi, Sekai Seifuku, Wolf’s Rain, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, and OreGairu. That’s impressive.
Interest Rating: 1.5/3.  I like shounen action, and the people behind it make it likely for this to be on the more enjoyable end of the spectrum for a sort of show I already enjoy, even if it’s likely to be “nothing special”.
Airing Date: October 5th. Preview.

Summer 2014 Anime Season Expectations

Summer 2014 is nearly here, and the season actually begins on Wednesday, July 2nd. So time to see what I’m more interested in. I wasn’t very good with my Spring season predictions (M3 2.5/3), but it’s more about my interest levels, than how good I think it’d be. Shows that “didn’t make it” are usually shows I’m slightly less interested in, or find it interesting to remark on.

As always, organized by days of the week, because I might pick a show on an empty day or cut shows I enjoy on days already overfilled with other shows. Order is by expectation within that day. I plan to do write-ups for no more than 3-4 shows this season. Furthermore, I’ve realized I don’t enjoy action popcorn shows (shounens) as much when watching them weekly, so more are likely to only be watched when the season ends.

Descriptions will be short, more on why I find them interesting. “Didn’t make it in” could also be seen as shows I might pick up after dropping others based on buzz or free time. 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.

I’m liking the shape of next season, even if not a lot truly stands out to me.

Sunday:

Akame ga Kill! – A battle shounen in a medieval setting, corruption and mystery, reveling in over the top action and “grimdark”. I actually like this sort of thing. That’s what B-Movies are made of. So long the material knows what it is and embraces it, why not? Yes, the quest for “Maturity!!!” is usually pretty immature, but so long you know it. It looks pretty, and that’s the most important thing.
Interest Rating: 1.5/3. I’m not expecting anything great, just some fun. Might go on hold after a few episodes since popcorn shows do better in a burst.
Airing Date: July 6th.
Write-ups/Notes: Nope. Almost tempted to watch it after it airs. Trailer.

Media Month in Review – December 2013

Well, I’m resurrecting my old “Media Consumption” posts. Turns out it might be hard to remember what I watched when otherwise, and it’s also an opportunity to write 2-3 sentences about something, when I might not have more to say (or don’t have the time for it). I did watch more anime than usual this month, for the sake of the “Top Anime Shows ending in 2013” list.

Movies:

• Gravity – This movie is an experience, more than it is a plot-driven movie, and what little plot there is is focused on the very American message of the human triumph. Regardless, floating in space, seeing explosions while hearing nothing had been well-done. A good movie? Probably not. A great experience? Very much so. The use of silence had impressed me, as it always does when it’s used well.
• Kara no Kyoukai / Garden of Sinners 1-4 – It’s interesting, to treat this as films. I’ve watched it as part of an anime watching club online, but fell behind, so hope to get one more film watched and an essay for it written every week or two. It’s a supernatural mystery thriller, it’s very artistic, very pretty. Very interesting.
• Steins;Gate Movie (Fuka Ryouiki no Déjà vu) – This is a fan-service movie in the best sense of the word. We get more time with the characters we enjoy. In a manner very fitting with the show, we have a story quite similar to the one in the series, but now Kurisu is the one who has to go and save Okabe. It had some pacing issues, and it didn’t hit as hard as the series, but it only had 2 hours to do everything. The concept of memory alongside reminding us of stuff from the series at every turn made this a very welcome movie.

Top 13 Anime Shows Ending in 2013

Well, the year is ending, and I’ve actually watched a large amount of anime shows ending this year (over 60), so here is my list of the top 13 shows which ended in 2013. The shows and their positions are factored by how much I enjoyed these shows and how good (artistically, thematically) I think the shows are. Only full shows had been considered, no OVAs or movies of any sort. The names link to the show’s description and information on My Anime List (MAL).

13. Aku no Hana (Flowers of Evil)

This show is all about atmosphere. An oppressive atmosphere of self-inflicted fear, of being closed in, that one can’t escape. Not much actually happens in the show, but the constant fear of what is about to happen, of what is going to strike our protagonist drives both him and us as we watch the show. It’s hardly a “fun watch”, with each episode weighing you down until you seek respite elsewhere. Its masterful control of psychological horror and how well it conveys Kasuga’s life and the feeling of the town in which he lives make this show one that cannot be ignored, however.

It seems that had there been a second season a lot more would actually occur, and all that happened in this season was merely a precursor, but due to exceedingly poor sales, that is unlikely to happen. The rotoscoping is interesting, but believe it or not, the show I believe is closest to Aku no Hana is K-On! due to its absolute reliance on atmosphere over plot or character development.