I suppose I should be thinking up something insightful to say at this point, but I’ve really got nothing for you guys in terms of summing up the past week of anime. The season’s off to a good start and I’m enjoying pretty much everything that I’m watching, but as a season I’m not overly impressed or disappointed. Everything just kind of is, and if your kind of anime is airing (like it is for me) it’s a pleasant time to be keeping up with the shows that we’ve got.
Gakkou Gurashi, Episode 2: So, after the premiere’s big reveal, the question for Gakkou Gurashi was whether or not it could keep its premise interesting, entertaining, and appropriately tense. For now, the answer seems to be a resounding yes. Beyond the meta-level tension between cute girls doing cute things and zombies that want to eat human flesh, Gakkou Gurashi is mining a lot of breath-holding gold out of Yuki’s obviously shattered mental state. Right now, the priority seems to be keeping Yuki from realizing what’s actually going on—but it seems that can’t last. The look on our energetic pink-haired protagonist’s face after they encountered the ‘ghost’ in the library seemed to imply to me that, at least in her subconscious, Yuki knows the reality of the situation and is afraid of coming to terms with it. I’ll admit I’m fascinated not only by the show itself, but simply by wondering where it’s going. I haven’t read the manga, so every classroom door Gakkou Gurashi opens hides a surprise for me.
Classroom Crisis, Episode 3: I watched this episode with a friend, and it was a pretty cool experience—besides being an excellent episode of the season’s best show. We knew, as my high school AP US History teacher always said, the crap would hit the fan sooner or later for A-TEC…and apparently sooner it is. There was a whole heckuva a lot packed into this episode, but I think the biggest takeaway is that nobody directly involved with A-TEC (that is, Kaitou, Nagisa, and the Lady from Accounting) is altogether wrong about the way they approach this class of irresponsible geniuses. The cold reality of business is out there, bearing down on A-TEC, and some of the kids can’t take the pressure. More importantly, they can’t take not being treated as special. And they are special! But being special doesn’t always guarantee you everything you want. Half the class taking their leave after losing their technological playground hurt, and now it’s time to see how those who remain cope with what they have left. It’s compelling, it’s emotional, and I’m loving it.
Gate, Episode 3: Gate continues to be oddly fascinating in its ability to stave off complete and total degradation. There were even a few moments of genuine warmth—like the otaku commander flashing back from a crying fantasy world child to the crying child from the invasion in episode one. A crying child is the same, no matter what world you’re in. But, more importantly, this was the debut episode of a handful of cute anime girls. Lelei’s a bit more reserved than I had hoped, but her radiant blue eyes more than lived up to my expectations. Rory, who it seems because an instant audience favorite (surprising no one), is actually the more compelling character of the two so far—the image of a death-dealing oracle sitting with a trollish face in an army tank is just too hilariously weird to forget. And what are her motivations? It’s impossible to parse her when all we hear from her are mischievous giggles and cheeky grins. Either way, she brings an wilder kind of entertainment value to Gate that compliments well its generally blockbuster ways of going about its business.
Charlotte, Episode 3: This was…not that great an episode of Charlotte, to be entirely honest. Yu’s character felt off the whole time, and the side-story feel of the episode’s plot didn’t contribute very well to the entertainment factor of the whole deal. However, Charlotte did kind of strike gold with the very odd dynamic of an idol channeling her deceased pyrokinetic sister. How we ended up getting there wasn’t all that great (and, to be frank, Nao bullying the archery guy from last episode into submission wasn’t a super stellar bit either), but the final scenes with the the red-haired guy confessing his feelings to the sister rang surprisingly true to me (as did her admonitions for him to move on with his life). That was easily the highlight of an otherwise banal episode, although Nao’s incredibly self-confident way of going about her student council duties have made her consistently the most fun character to watch. It’s actually kind of a shame that Yu’s been pushed into such a sideline role—I miss his arrogance dominating the storytelling.
Gatchaman Crowds Insight, Episode 3: Wow. What a whopper of an episode from Gatchaman Crowds this week. In any other show, this would have been a midseason climax or a penultimate episode, but we’re getting it in episode 3! Which is good, because holy hell this show has a ton of ground to cover as it moves forward. There are so many different ideas and ideals and motivations and modes of communication bouncing around right now that it’s almost dizzying—Rui, Rizumu, Tsubasa, Hajime, Katze, Joe, Pai, OD…everyone is doing the best they can to live the best they can in a volatile and increasingly discomforting world. But the killer scene was, of course, Rui’s face off with Rizumu and seeing that orange-haired trash take the gesture of Rui’s faith in humanity and drive literal knife into it. It’s painful both to see it happen and to see Tsubasa leap into action against Rui’s will. But it’s also relieving to see Tsubasa, perhaps the truest hero-hero of all the Gatchaman, leap in to save a life. It’s delightfully and awfully complex. It’s Gatchaman Crowds.
Akagami no Shirayuki-hime, Episode 3: Masahiro Ando’s fantasy shoujo took a step in the right direction this week after a couple weeks of spinning its wheels a bit. Things are really starting to happen now, despite the veneer of peacefulness and understated romance (which I’m loving, by the way). People with opposing motivations are starting to show up in Zen and Shirayuki’s pleasant fairy tale world, and the ways each of them individually respond start to help fill in their characters beyond “happy-go-lucky prince” and “hardworking herbalist.” Of course, the climactic moment was the superbly directed scene between Shirayuki and the noble, as Ando’s timing of the cuts between foot, sheathing sword, and the result capped an already intense moment with a few seconds of sheer directorial brilliance. Michiru Oshima’s OST continues to be an incredible highlight for the show—it’s approaching making Shirayuki-hime recommendable for that factor alone.
Short Takes~
- Danchigai, Episode 2: Still liking it, although it’s much closer to being dropped than it was last week. But, at 3 minutes a pop…
- Miss Monochrome, Episode 3: The Fake Yui Horie and moe Kana Asumi show continues on full-steam, with a crapload of references to Yui Horie anime OPs show up to make Hocchan fanboys like me get real giggly.
- Ushio to Tora, Episode 3: Probably the show’s greatest display of vintage shounen anime power yet—the dynamic between Ushio and Tora continues to improve, although I wish we’d got a little more time just with them being jerks to each other. Tora laguhing his head off at Ushio getting beat up was gold.
- Durarara!! x2-2, Episode 3: Akabayashi’s story was interesting (although I’m not exactly sure how it lead into the “he hates drugs” thing, but whatever). Durarara!!‘s kind of at the point where too many things are going on for it to be able to handle them all effectively and the lack of my favorite characters (Mikado, Anri, Kida, Celty) and focus on characters that have only been bit players to this point in the story is starting to weary me a little bit.
- Rokka, Episode 3: Basically good for a whole bunch of Flamé Speeddraw quips and not al lthat much else. When a side-character literally says, “Let me explain in more detail,” you know you’re in for a rough ride.
- Working!!!, Episode 3: Actual romantic progression is overshadowed by Yamada being Yamada. What else is new give me more Takanashi x Inami plz.
- Overlord, Episode 3: Continuing to impress in bits and pieces—there’s definitely been enough in the last two weeks to merit weekly blog posts. Might try and catch up on this one.
- Castle Town Dandelion, Episode 3: And, closing down the post with my pet show of the season. I know a number of people have complained about the split-episode format, but I personally am liking the flexibility it offers the show. I’m not watching this for a long, drawn out, thoughtful plot. I’m watching it because the characters are cute in design and behavior and I want to see them be funny every week.
This is actually everything I’m watching this season, so if it’s not here—I’ve dropped it. Still unsure if I’m going to be picking up anything for weekly blogging; super backlogged on reviews I need to write, so finding room for those seems like it’ll be tough for a little while longer. Bear with me until then. If you can…
Mage in a Barrel 
I agree that Durarara seems to have bitten off more than it can chew with regards to its cast. There’s just too many characters to be able to give even all the main ones the amount of screen time they deserve, and it frequently results in many of them getting pushed completely out of the frame. I miss Kida a lot, although it looks as though Simon might finally be making something of a comeback after being almost totally absent from the previous cour, so that’s something at least. I’m still very much enjoying the show, but there’s definitely a lot going on and not enough time to have it all fit as tightly as that first season did.
Like you, I’m also loving the lack of melodrama in Shirayuki-hime. It’s fabulous, not to mention a rarity, to see such an understated shoujo romance like this. Shirayuki’s integrity impresses me more with each episode, and it was great to see Zen taking a conscious step back this week and letting Shirayuki resolve things in her own way without any interference.
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I think how much the current way Durarara!! is going about its business appeals to viewers or not depends on the characters they like. I know a lot of people didn’t really care much for Kida, Masaomi, and Anri, but I liked them a lot and probably have more investment in them than in most of the other characters.
And yup, Zen’s still learning not to just bull over the obstacles in Shirayuki’s way with his princely power, but he’s getting better—plus, Shirayuki continues forge a path that’s veering farther and farther out of his control in an attempt to get closer to him. It’s pretty darn cool, I think.
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I’d have to say that I’ve probably taken a rather Izaya approach to Durarara, funnily enough- each character has their own kind of story to tell, from romances to action-cop flicks to supernatural mysteries, and I love all of it. Even the weird incest threesome, somehow. I still wish it could slap itself in the face and get on with the main plot, but these sorts of one-shot episodics are the same sort of material I loved in Death Parade.
(Don’t really have much to say on Shirayuki-hime, I’ve been reading the manga and as such am currently 50 chapters ahead of the anime.)
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And, it’s off to the races…
Akagami no Shirayukihime ep3; Indeed, Akagami took a huge and brilliantly executed step forward this week. It continues to go from strength to strength.
Castle Town Dandelion ep3; Continues it’s character roulette… a very common flaw in shows with large ensemble casts, only executed markedly below average. If it weren’t for the fact that it’s at least somewhat humorous and the individual characters aren’t that bad, it would be in the dumper.
Classroom Crisis ep3; Let’s recap shall we? A ludicrously plotted first ep. A massive infodump second ep. And now in the third ep things are really happening, but only because of a deus ex machina. Crisis is now on probation under the three ep rule, one more episode as flawed as what has aired to date, and it’s outta here.
Danchigai ep2; Basically a very cute slice-of-life that brought out more of the characters and their relationships.
The IDOLM@STER: Cinderella Girls Second Series ep1; An ensemble show to remind us of the personalities of the characters after a season long break. Only, curiously, they concentrated on second tier characters that didn’t have much revealed personality to start with.
Gangsta ep3; Another show that just goes from strength to strength. Brilliant characterization, beautiful animation, and writing that keeps the plot moving forward while exposing the depths of the world and backstory without getting bogged down – and that’s just this episode. Stand by Bless, we may have another Saekano on our hands. That is, a show I just won’t shut up about and will remind you on multiple occasions that You Should Be Watching.
Gate ep3; Very, very good episode this week, from “fighting giant monsters is a Defense Force Tradition!” to the mystery of just what the hell Rory really is. On the other hand, just as it’s finding it’s feet – all the fanservice characters are now on stage.
Million Doll ep3; Despite it’s many flaws, there’s just enough going on each week to keep me coming back for more. (Much as with Castle Town Dandelion.)
Miss Monochrome 2 ep3; Meh, not the best episode. On the other hand, that’s generally the worst that can generally be said of any individual ep of MM…
My Love Story ep 15; Continuing their formulaic (if well executed) list of Romantic Roadblocks we encounter… the Romantic Rival. Only Takeo is so smitten with Rinko, the Rival doesn’t even stand a chance, it’s not even close. Rinko however has her usual trust and commitment issues. (I can grok though, twenty five years married and I still get those twinges, completely without reason.) It’s not on the list, did you actually drop this?
Non Non Byori Repeat ep3; As usual, cute, comfortable, and well executed. In the B part, Renge’s interaction with her sister was just simply darling as hell.
Overlord ep3; Not bad at all… I wonder if Momonga will start having issues confusing the game and real life? He’s making some decisions as if it were a game, some as if he were a real Overlord settling in for the long haul. It’s no SAO, but it’s definitely going much better now that we’re not confined to the Tomb.
Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal ep26/finale; Well, after a long dreary year… we finally say finis. Or maybe “À bientôt”… it’s not actually clear if they’re done yet or not. Either way, this has been a huge disappointment overall, they may be able to fix up the many animation flaws for the BD release… but not the multiple missteps and missed opportunities in plotting and characterization. A show as toweringly important to the history of anime (and especially to the history of the American otaku community) deserved so much better than this.
The reviews of the re-released and re-mastered DVD sets have been equally dismal, bad sound quality, worse video quality, and boxes being shipped missing parts and with misprints. What should have been a happy celebration of Moon‘s twentieth anniversary has turned out to be rainout.
Sore ga Seiyuu! ep3; Totally cute and funny. The best part each week though is the ‘cameo’ appearance of a famous seiyu… I’ve taken to watching this with a tablet in hand to look them up.
Venus Project; Ep 1 (nausea), Ep 2 (shudder). Dropped.
Wakaba*Girl ep3; Wakaba encounters her first video game… and it’s a BL eroge. Hilariousness ensures.
Working!!! ep3; You go Sauto! And of course Yamada is front and center as earnestly clueless as always. I’m ok with getting away from Takanashi x Inami (two steps forward, 1.9999999999 steps back) for a bit, even if they do ‘reset’ Sauto x Yachiyo, it’s been a welcome breath of fresh air.
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In all honesty, I’m totally baffled by what in Classroom Crisis you’re considering a deus ex machina. Everything that happened seemed to be intrinsically, almost painfully organic given the show’s circumstances thus far.
And yes, I’ve dropped Ore Monogatari!! My fluffy, likable shows queue is totally filled up this season between Castle Town Dandelion and Working!!!—and I like both of those shows better than I ever liked Ore Monogatari!! Might be something I go back and finish someday when I’m in the mood for just that particular brand of cuteness, but I’m not interested in spending deliberate time on it every week anymore.
The whole Sailor Moon disaster over the last year has really been a huge bummer, even for someone who really has no nostalgia factor at work or any prior experience with the show.
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Yeah, this season has been a bit disappointing for me. Not just due to the lack of a truly great anime airing (maybe Gatchaman for some, but I’m not watching that so I don’t know) but the last week some of the anime I’m watching starts to show its flaws more obviously. Anyway:
Ranpo Kitan:
I really want to like this show, but the mysteries aren’t really there for me to enjoy. And it’s not like the rest of the stuff are things I really like either, so they’re not enough to hold me. Dropped, unfortunately.
Rokka:
Yeah, the writing issues I was hoping they weaned off in later episodes kinda gets worse if anything, and Adlet definitely feels more annoying. I’m not dropping it yet, but to be honest it’s definitely losing some of the hype.
Akagami:
It’s not bad, and it’s definitely doing many good things (or at least avoid doing bad things in its story), but I never felt like this is something I have to watch as soon as possible. I’ll probably let it run and watch it at my own pace.
Charlotte
I also like the heartfelt moment at the end, but it does seem to come a bit out of nowhere. I mean, obviously they have their own life that we have no knowledge of in the past, but I don’t even remember the name of the red-haired kid at that point.
Also, the biggest problem is the loss of what makes the pilot ep so entertaining – how Yu feels like the perfect clone of Lelouch and Kanie, and even more evil. Now he’s just reduced to a tsukkomi, and the humor in this episode feels a bit more misses than hit.
Yugioh Arc-V
It’s nice to see Yuya analyzing his previous loss, but I’m not optimistic that anything concrete is going to come off it. Also, the whole contestant have to be completely isolated thing feels a bit forced. That’s probably my main problem with the latest arc – there’s nothing actually bad with what’s happening itself, but the way they come about feels lackluster. Oh well, a Gon duel is usually always good, even better if he can kick the useless Crow out of the tournament. No way that’s happening though, because BUY BLACKWINGS.
Working!!
I feel the opposite of you – I like InamixTakanashi, but SatouxYachiyo is the best ship for me (I’m pretty much self-inserting into Souma now, he’s literally voicing my thoughts as I’m watching). I’m still not optimistic there’s even a step forward even after this episode though, Yachiyo seems denser than most harem leads. Oh, and Yamada keeps on being the best.
Ushio to Tora
Don’t have much to say about it, except how it continues to still be enjoyable week after week. Which, after a relatively disappointing week, is pretty great.
Classroom Crisis
I have to say, I’m liking this more and more with each new episode. Like you said, the antagonists actually have a point too, and as an engineering student this is possibly the realest most relatable anime I’m watching right now. I mean, I was in charge of the budget for my last project and I feel like I spend more time on it than on the actual technical part…anyway, what’s up with the accountant teacher openly lusting over Nagisa though? Not just creepy, it just feels a bit out of place compared to anything else in this anime.
Durarara
I get the complaint that there’s too much character, but Akabayashi is so cool anyway that I don’t really care. Besides, he’s involved in more threads as this episode shows – obviously he’s our eyes to how the yakuza group is involved, but it’s surprising to see her having connection to Saika (and Anri by extension) so he’ll definitely be involved in future plotlines with her too.
Oh, and regarding drugs, I think it’s because his dead yakuza boss introduces Anri’s mom to drugs. She was relatively fine enough handling Saika inside her, but because the yakuza boss wants the land her house is in for some reason (it’s the original reason Akabayashi was sent there in the first place) he got her addicted, which makes her even more unstable and lost control of Saika, killing her and her husband. She’s probably the first and only love Akabayashi ever had, and he feels that if there were no drugs, then she’d still be alive. That’s why he did nothing when Anri’s uncle stabbed the yakuza boss to death.
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Yup, Yu has been totally eviscerated of the things that made him interesting and entertaining as a character—Nao has totally overwhelmed him with her own brand of shockingly arrogant self-confidence.
DEFINITELY agree re: the accounting lady and Nagisa—I hope there’s at least an attempt at a backstory between them to even superficially pretend to explain it.
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I found the Sam/Jack part of this week’s Arc-V much more interesting, though I do think that Yuya’s self-reflection will pop up (15 episodes) later as a plot point. Jack’s motives, though, are probably distorted by Sam’s perception of him, which is representative of the Common’s perspective of him as a whole. I don’t think Jack meant anything bad against Sam, but he just doesn’t realize the true worth of the card- and himself. Jack Atlas, the MASTER OF FASTER and KING OF GAMES, has always been a tough-love kind of guy.
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I’m on vacation visiting family right now, so my anime-watching pace has slowed a bit with other things to keep me busy. But as for what I can report on…
Yuki Nagato is finished. Finally. The last episode kind of encapsulated this entire show: teasing a whole bunch of potentially interesting ideas without ever actually following through on any of them. As a Haruhi fan, I’d say that Episodes 10-13 are well worth watching even if you skip everything else, but that one arc and episode 4 were about the only highlights in an otherwise pretty boring series. 5/10, and I still might eventually drop that to 4.
Food Wars gave us a solid if unexceptional episode 15 that added a little more depth to Erina’s character and gave us some backstory on Souma’s dad. Turns out he went to Totsuki Academy himself, which probably surprised approximately zero people watching the show.
Finished Gunslinger Girl, and it’s still just as good as I remembered. First time around I watched it subbed; this time I watched it dubbed and still found it every bit as compelling. Luci Christian’s performance as Rico was probably my favorite – I hardly recognized her from her usual more boisterous roles. Strong 8/10 series on my scale.
So I usually bring an anime or two with me to show my Mom whenever I come to visit. Last time it was a few Miyazaki movies, and the time before that I introduced her to GitS:SAC. This time I’m showing her Kanon. I always thought she’d like that series, but I’ve been waiting until I was in the mood for it again. Proving my instincts are still good, Mom’s thoroughly enjoying it so far at around the halfway point. She commented after last night’s viewing session that she feels like there’s a certain fairy tale quality to the storytelling, and I remember even from when I was a kid how much she’s always loved fairy tales.
Also, this area where my parents live has a good used bookstore, and when I popped in there on Monday I found a sweet little treasure: a near-mint Revolutionary Girl Utena OST 1 CD (Japanese version) for just $5. I’m actually listening to that right now as I’m writing this message.
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Might give the Disappearance arc from Nagato Yuki-chan a shot at some point, if only to tide me over until Funimation actually releases its BDs. PLEASE FUNI.
Cool story about your mom! Now, when are you showing her Monster Musume?? 😛
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Probably around the same time you decide to show it to your Mom. 😀
You might be surprised how much mine will tolerate, though, as long as the story is good and she likes the characters (a lot like me in that respect). Out of the 10-odd shows and movies I’ve screened for her so far, the only one she didn’t like was Toradora, and that was almost entirely because of the slapstick violence – even played for comedy it was too close to real-life domestic violence for her comfort.
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Akagami no Shirayuki-hime – I am beginning to wonder if I am being unfair to Shirayuki. The thing is that in theme, characters, and story it is very similar to Saiunkoku Monogatari. Only Shirayuki is worse along every dimension. Saiunkoku is one of my favourite shows, and is one of my handful of 9/10 shows. So am I unfairly punishing Shirayuki for not meeting the bar set by another show, and not judging it on its own merits?
Or is it just a bad show featuring the “soft bigotry of low expectations” where we give points to a female lead for at least trying, even if she needs to be rescued by the male hero in every episode? Seriously, even in episode 3, the writers can’t let Shirayuki face down the nobleman on her own. She almost does so, but then the prince swoops in and caps her, sealing the victory. Imagine that same scene, only Shirayuki calls noble’s bluff, and forces him to retreat, keeps on walking, and only then does the prince meet her. I.e. No interaction between the prince and the noble at the end. Would that not be a far stronger way to write that scene?
Gakkou Gurashi – This show is glorious. I hope it keeps it up. I’ve have it at a 9/10 so far. Kurumi the Shovel Knight is Best Girl so far this year.
Classroom Crisis – I like this show a lot as well. It’s interesting, and it’s good to see heros being heroes because of their skills and talents, rather than because they were given random powers.
Charlotte – The problem with this show is that the most interesting aspect of the MC’s character, his arrogance and slyness, isn’t really present with the people he interacts with the most. He doesn’t act that way with his sister. And the student council has called his bluff and exposed him, so he can’t act that way around them. So for the majority of screen time in an episode, the MC is inhibited from acting the way we enjoy.
Castle Town Dandelion – Enjoying this one as well. Which sibling would you vote for? So far, I’m rooting for Kanade. She has a touch of ruthlessness that a good ruler needs, as well as a strong notion of the costs of her action (due to her power), but at the same time she truly cares about her siblings.
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Hmm, which sibling would I vote for? I dunno if I’d thought of that…probably Kanade or Shu at this point. The rest of the siblings are probably too young or too airheaded to rule a country without a huge crisis ensuing soon after they take over.
As far as Shirayuki-hime goes, it seems to be trying to walk the line between having Shirayuki be independent and self-sufficient and having her be in a friendship-becoming-romance with Zen at the same time. For now, the understated nature of the romance is holding the show back from becoming entirely banal in those terms…we’ll just have to see where it goes from here.
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In honor of that Aniwords, I’ll do ratings….
-Ore Monogatari (8/10)
Still a great heart-warming chillax time after work. It’s worth noting that the quality of action/story revolving around supporting characters vastly outweigh the Takeo-Yamato part by this point, and the problems you have with it are still there.
-Arslan (6/10)
Damn, this show’s losing me. Animation’s as bad as ever, and Arakawa’s shonen-ified approach really doesn’t gel with the material.
-Laplace (4/10)
Episode 3 is goddamn awful. Doesn’t work as murder mystery, doesn’t work as ero guro horror, doesn’t work as self-aware parody. Laughably cheap and crass attempt at emotional manipulation and/or satire of cute girl glorification.
-Gangsta (8/10)
Episode 3 is great, especially after somewhat weak Ep 2. Basically only exposition/backstory stuff, but the delivery is outstanding and final 5 minutes of so gave me genuine chills. The simmering tension level is off the charts.
-Gakkou Gurashi (8/10)
Ep 2 was the ultimate test whether I’m keeping it or not, and it passed with flying colors. Really pleased with how they’re taking the zombie invasion seriously and maintaining tonal balance.
Also watching 1980s Astro Boy (7/10 after 4 ep) after discovering a legal streaming access to it. There are stuff in this season that I had to backlog (Insight and maybe Classroom Crisis) b/c schedule restraint and these seem to be dense, theme-heavy, shows that I would have more enjoyment watching on my own terms.
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Yeah, I think backlogging Gatchaman and Classroom Crisis for optimal watching experience is a good idea. Both of them are well-worth holding out to watch on your own terms—as far as I’m concerned, they’re the two best shows airing this season and it’d be a shame to ruin your experience with either of them by forcing yourself through them each week.
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Anime Weekly: Summer 2015, Week 3 / My thoughts !
I am still in the summer of getting better next an eye procedure to see out of my right eye and it’s not lasik ! So my views are with one eye closed Just kidding I wiil be out for a day!
So I am going to flop my take around by saying this is one of the best( TOP 5 ) seasons ever! Back to your Aniwords of last week!
I have been watching anime since Pokemon / DBZ and got more invnled with Adult Swim And on Demand followed by Funimation on Demand then the Website! Started watching Anime on the Anime News Network which ked TO CR So i have followed anime a while ! I remember any new shows were always on Friday that was it! So it has come a lomg way . Even back in 2011 we were lucky to have 10 at the most new shows a week So I have a lot of back ground to make a view!
Now a season is in the eye of the viewer but I got close to 50 shows .From very good to gutter anime which I am watching too! There is nothing cutting edge but some shows are top notch and a bunch of good shows
Shows that help my view ! Not on your list
Senki Zesshou Symphogear GX / Ober the top action Rock Oprea Symphony withe best cliffhangars every week Tied at #1
Arslan #3 / Just gets dismissed too much! As good as Yona / Seven Deadly Sins
Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma # 7 This a cool anime and have actully cut down on the fanservice / follows the manga quite well / gets points for that!
Gangsta. 8 / Just a great crime drama ?? Or Maybe study of the underworld
Baby Steps 2 #9 one Of the most realistic sports animes / again follows the manga
World Trigger #12 A very good anime underated IMO / It must be doing good to greenlight a spinoff!
Sore ga Seiyuu! #18 Up and coming / yes it follows Shirabarko but the best guest VA’s in the industry make cameo’s
So a mix of other shows to back up my view
I will post my TOP 16 and only comment on your shows in that as this is long already! ****
TIER 1 Top Favorites
Weeks 2 / 3 Split
2 WAY TIE FOR FIRST
1 Non Non Biyori Repeat
1 Senki Zesshou Symphogear GX / S3
3 The Heroic Legend of Arslan Sun ONGOING
4 Working!!! 3 / Wagnaria!! 3 **** Continues to be fun
5 Gakkou Gurashi! READING MANGA **** Its gets even more intersting BTW Manga sales incraesed by 10 after anime grwat news for this show
6 Gate: Jieitai Kanochi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri READING MANGA **** A good episode and great lines / The JSDF has lot of experience fighting monsters ROFL / BTW the original movie Gate was on and is so similiar !
7 Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma ONGOING READING MANGA
8 Gangsta. /
9 Baby Steps 2 ONGOING READING MANGA
10 Akagami no Shirayuki Hime / Snow White with the Red Hair **** Weeks 2 / 3 I agree Shirayuki is a great female lead!
11 Gatchaman Crowds Insight **** Lots happened in this EP needsc a liitle more direction for me to move up!
12 World Trigger ONGOING
13 Jokamachi no Dandelion / Castle Town Dandelion**** I like the split episodes The segment with Teru and Shiori was really nice!
14 Durarara!!×2 Ten**** I cant believe this so low / I agrre w/o the mainleads it’s not as fun however Akabayashi was a good study
15 Rokka no Yuusha / (Heroes of the Six Flowers)**** Was interesting but nothing to move it up!
16 Charlotte Moved Into Tier 1****After a good start a little letdown there is a show or twoin my Tier 2 that could push this out!
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Yup, I heard Gakkou Gurashi‘s manga has been pushing huge numbers (particularly for a Manga Time Kirara title), which is really neat to heard. Hopefully that gets more Kirara titles on the air—they’re so often more inventive and unique than the stuff published in more mainstream magazines.
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Dropped another show this week: Rampo Kitan. I really dislike the main character (Kobayashi) and after ep. 3 it seems like the show is more interested in being gruesome than in presenting actual mysteries. I like mysteries, I don’t like being gruesome just for the sake of being gruesome.
I’m probably also going to drop MonMusu. It’s nothing but fanservice at this point. I can handle fanservice when there’s also a story there, but when it’s pretty much just service, well, I’m not in that target audience.
But this season has some real gems for me. I have absolutely fallen in love with:
School-Live!
Gangsta
Working!!!
OreMono
Shows I’m on the verge of falling in love with:
Rokka no Yuusha
Prison School
Shows I’m quite enjoying:
Actually, I Am
GATE
Aoahru x Machinegun
Charlotte
Overlord
Ushio and Tora
Rinne
Food Wars
Shows that I’m kinda meh about:
Akagami no Shirayuki-hime
Castle Town Dandelion
Shows I’m way behind on, but still want to watch:
Durarara
Arslan Senki
Fairy Tail
I’d say don’t force yourself to do weekly posts on a show just because you have in the past. Write the kinds of articles you feel passionate about.
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That’s what I’m planning to do! I just do like having the regularly scheduled feel of an episodic post to kind of give my writing week a little more consistent structure, but still need something to jump out at me and demand to be written about the way Overlord‘s first episode did.
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