Winter 2014 Anime Season Overview Week 1 – Thursday through Saturday (Anime Power Ranking)

(Shows Covered – Buddy Complex, Kill la Kill Episode 13, Nagi no Asukara, Samurai Flamenco Episode 12, Magical Warfare (Mahou Sensou), Gin no Saji 2nd season (Silver Spoon), Log Horizon Episode 15, Nisekoi, Sekai Seifuku  – Bouryaku no Zvezda (World Domination – Zvezda Plot), and Pupa)

Anime Power Ranking is no longer held, so here are the shows I’ve watched this past week and how I order them. Each link leads to my episodic write-up of the relevant show. You will notice half the shows do not have descriptions, these appear in this post, covering the Sunday-Wednesday shows, while this post describes the episodes that aired during the latter half.

Now, I have too many shows, so I’m going to be dropping shows each and every week until I’m fine with the amount of shows I have left, so keep reading for summaries of new shows, how the shows stack up against one another, and which shows had been eliminated!

Anime Power Ranking Thoughts – Fall 2013 Week 12 (December 15th-22nd)

Due to the holidays, Desu ex Machina which runs the weekly Anime Power Ranking (APR) where anibloggers get to submit ballots on the episodes/shows of the past weeks, didn’t run an APR last week, so I’m going to share with you the ballot I would have sent. Each link in this post is to my write-up of said episode.

Samurai Flamenco Episode 11

Sentai delivered so straight that it’s crooked!

This is the weakest anime of Samurai Flamenco thus far, and my least favourite (no, the two do not necessarily go together). While every other episode up to now maintained the themes of the show, and even when we had the “craziness” it was a logical continuation of the themes (what people wished for) or had a new thematic discussion (the growth of evil), this episode hadn’t done either of these things. The crazy sentai references didn’t bug me (and in fact reminded me of my childhood TV-watching), but it was “just an episode where things happened“, rather than one where the show advanced, or even paid any attention to its themes.

I hope that after using one episode for it, it’ll return to its normal nature next episode.

Anime Impressions Grab-bag (Fall 2013 Week 9)

I’ve decided rather than use a never-ending list of shows, that I’d talk each week (or so) about a few different shows. Though I wanted to make a post about several shows that need to “pick up”, I’ll cover the latest development in four shows, which I want to give some more time to. About a paragraph or two per show.

The shows I’ll discuss in this post are Samurai Flamenco, Kyousougiga, Log Horizon and Nagi no Asukara. Expect spoilers for these shows.

Kyousougiga / Capital Craze

Episode 5 begins the thematic journey in earnest – an image upon which more than a thousand words could be written.

This is a wonderful show, and the last three episodes had been especially great. We’ve spent much of the show slowly building up the setting and the chracters, right? Episode 5 gave us Myoue’s past, how he came to be there, how alone he feels. Episode 6 showed us his story in a more complete manner, and then it showed how the siblings are finally ready to move forward. These episodes had been full of beautiful and very rich imagery, and aside from showing us a family, had also shown us what it is to be human.

Episode 7 though, wow. Mother is back, an event they all waited for, and then she has to leave. This episode breaks down what being a family means, in all its glory, in all of its simple casual cruelty. This show is amazing, right now. The concepts of family, of cycles one can’t escape from (which is also family), it’s all so great.

You can see my write-ups for the show here. I especially suggest reading the writeups for episode 5 and episode 6 where I go over the symbolism, and episode 7 to just see me opine on how families are, according to the show, and sometimes according to me.

Watched: 7/10 + Episode 0.
Current Grade: A++ – If you’re not watching this, you really should.

Fall 2013 Anime Mid-Season Impressions (Part 2/2, L-V)

So, another season of anime reached its half-point and it’s time to watch my mid-season impressions, where I talk a bit of the show and rate it. This part’s shows have some really catchy OPs/EDs, so you’ll get more of them.

Due to how many shows I have to cover (15), I’ve cut them into two halves, sorted alphabetically. The shows within each episode are sorted roughly by excitement generated within me or how good they are. I’ve also bolded in the following lines what shows I’ll recommend people without reservations.
The first post will cover: BlazBlue: Alter Memory, Coppelion, Galilei Donna,Gingitsune (Silver Fox), Kill la Kill, Kyoukai no Kanata (Beyond the Boundary), and Kyousougiga (Capital Craze).
The second post (this one!) will cover: Log Horizon, Nagi no Asukara, Outbreak Company, Samurai Flamenco (Samumenco), Strike the Blood, Tokyo Ravens, Unbreakable Machine-Doll, and Valvrave the Liberator’s 2nd season (Kakumeiki Valvrave).

Samurai Flamenco:

 

Samurai Flamenco in a striking pose, telling us all we need to know.

I think this show is a classic in the making, which isn’t as surprising since the art style, the direction, they all make me think of shows from the glory days of Manglobe shows such as Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo.

Well, putting that aside, the characters have great chemistry, so the show is enjoyable to watch. The mixture of naivety and cynicism amongst the characters and within each characters helps make them interesting, both as people and as characters, and further enriches their relationships.

The comedy in this show is pure gold, in a manner similar to Genshiken Nidaime last season the comedy isn’t reliant on gags that’d work in any show, or references to outside material, but is actually built on the solid foundation of the characters’ personalities, relationships, and situations.

The exploration of growing up, ideals, and wishful thinking also lend this anime a more serious side even during moments of high hilarity, and help me in thinking it’s a great show not just for younger audiences, but older ones as well.

Episodes Watched: 5/22. I’d marathon this show right now if I only could.
Current Grade: A to A+. I think you should be watching this.

Anime Impressions – Some Top Show Thoughts (Fall 2013 Week 3.5)

I’ve decided rather than use a never-ending list of shows, that I’d talk each week about a few different shows. This week I’ll pick three shows I think are pretty good, or surprising, and which I feel need more love in order to be picked up – meaning, Kill la Kill, Log Horizon and Kyoukai no Kanata, for instance, are all out. I’m also going to be a tad swamped with things for the next couple of weeks, so I’ll use a couple of such posts to tide us over while I work on some content in the background, and real-life related stuff.

The shows I’ll discuss in this post are Samurai Flamenco, Gingitsune and Kyousougiga.

I’ll also add a paragraph per show which is more of a “Sales pitch.”

Samurai Flamenco / Samumenco – This episode is good in ways that remind me of one of my two top shows of last season, and considering I gave a whopping 6 shows a score of 8 or higher last season, that’s saying a lot. The show is Genshiken Nidaime, and what the two share is comedy that isn’t entirely reliant on gags or generic moments that could and often would appear in dozens of shows a year, but comedy which rises, seemingly in an effortless manner, from the characters’ personalities and the interactions between them.

Crossing in red light will not be tolerated!

The characters seem to be either naive or cynical, but they’re all likeable for it, rather than feeling anyone is either too stupid or too much of an ass. The characters, especially the two main characters, seem to interact well with one another. What is the show about? A boyish model who believes in justice like in cartoons from the 80s, and sets out to spread it, and his friend the cop who can’t help but facepalm. The show makes me think of older shows such as Samurai Champloo and Cowboy Bebop – it is solid, without resorting to wild colours or a crazy art style.
The show knows what it wants to do, what it wants to be, and it doesn’t try to be anything other than that.

Sellin’ it: Amazing character interaction, classic art style, discussing issues that have to do with adulthood – And it’s all done so well. Target crowd? Have you liked Cowboy Bebop? Have you liked Samurai Champloo? Are you over 20 years old? (Note, only one needs to apply), did you like Kick-Ass (I sure did)? Whatever, just watch this – unless all you’re after is lolis and comedy, then you might want to skip it.

Watched: 3/22
Current Grade: A. If I could marathon the whole show right now, I would, and considering how busy I am, that’s high praise.