Review: Kyousougiga, Episode 00

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It’s generally against my philosophy on reviewing shows to do any sort of review after one episode (other than drops), but Kyousougiga‘s episode 00 is something I just couldn’t let go by without saying something. After Crunchyroll so graciously picked up the show a few episodes in, I gave it a shot out of boredom, knowing nothing about the plot, characters or anything else. I could try to describe the episode, but it’d be better for you to just watch it. Click the picture to take off on 25 minutes of excellence.

Kyousougiga

http://www.crunchyroll.com/kyousougiga/episode-0-646481

In case you need more convincing, allow me to highlight the strengths of this episode. Continue reading →

Working!! (Wagnaria!!) Review

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It can be tough sometimes to sum up the overall impression of a show in a single sentence. So, instead, I’m just going to throw out a few words that represent Working!! (also known as Wagnaria!!): Smiles, laughs, kindness and, ultimately, joy. I’d be hard pressed to find another show that is simultaneously bursting with such energy without crossing into the realm of the absurd. Working!! straddles this line, and the fusion of comedy, romance and true-to-life workplace relationships blends into an energetic, heartfelt experience that is truly deserving of the descriptor “joy.” To see where Working!! ended up in my list of ongoing rankings, click here. It’s cracked my top ten, with potential to be moved up.

Working!! Cast

There are a few important things that Working!! is not. It’s not a romantic comedy. It’s not a harem. It’s not an ecchi. It’s a workplace comedy, although it might be more appropriate to call it a relational comedy set in a workplace (with the typcial shades of romance). Despite the fact that Working!! spends most of its time set in the family restaurant Wagnaria (adapted to be the working English title for the series), the food service setting provides relatively few gags. Most of the jokes come from the cast of characters themselves, each of whom have one dominant characteristic. Continue reading →

Best of Summer 2013 Anime Votes

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A little late, but here were my votes for the Best of Summer 2013 in several different categories for the Crunchyroll voting.

Best Story
1. Attack on Titan Most immersive and intense plot of the season. Say what you want about pacing, but the actual story itself is inventive and told in a way that keeps you wondering How? Why? That’s good enough for me.
2. The Eccentric Family Delicate, wonderful storytelling throughout, backed by a great POV & superb writing.
3. A Certain Scientific Railgun S Highlighted by the incredible Sisters Arc, Railgun was in the lead until it ended. Although Silent Party wasn’t bad, it just couldn’t keep up with the rest of the show.

Best Animation

1. Free! Spectacular animation from sexy hair to sexy toes. Everything in the water was beautiful.
2. Sunday Without God Loved, loved, loved the ethereal color pallete they chose.
3. Gatchaman Crowds Not as amazing all the way through, but it’s delightfully colorful and has moments of brilliance. Continue reading →

Top Anime Fall 2013 Season: Keepers and Drops

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The fall season is roaring up on us, with a ton of anime premiering in the next couple days, so here’s your quick and easy guide to the best anime of Fall 2013! Shows are still being added as we speak, so the list should grow over time. If you need links to shows, head over to my current watchlist page.

Nagi no Asukara Poster

Keepers:

  • Golden Time
    • From the author of Toradora!, Golden Time has Yuyuko Takemiya’s fingerprints all over it. Instantly likable, and notable for its setting at a university (not a high school!), the first episode set up played no tricks. It’s not a guessing game what this anime is going to be about, but the fun will be watching the story unfold. High expectations and recommended watch. Golden Time Poster
  • Beyond the Boundary
    • The dark-fantasy anime from KyoAni had a strong first episode, setting up the main characters as likable and fun to watch. As expected, the animation quality is phenomenal and the plot interesting, at the very least. Beyond the Boundary is a recommended watch.
  • Kill la Kill
    • The novelty of this show alone is enough to keep me watching. Kill la Kill is like no anime I’ve seen recently and approaches FLCL levels of insanity. Fortunately, however, it seems be a little bit more lucid that FLCL, with a plot that can actually be followed. For now, it’s a recommended watch because you’ve probably never seen anything like it. Also, it reminds me of George Orwell’s Animal Farm, for some reason.
  • Nagi no Asukara
    • Was it a foregone conclusion that Nagi no Asukara would end up here? Well, not exactly, but pretty close to that. The animation is superb, maybe the best I’ve ever seen. It is just absolutely beautiful to watch. The story has already raised some interesting questions and character relations, and has the potential to go pretty much wherever it wants. Overall, the sheer beauty of it all is the overwhelming charm, but I expect great things from the story. Nagi no Asukara is a recommended watch.
  • White Album 2
    • No, you don’t need to have seen White Album to understand what’s going on, and that’s a good thing. I was hugely impressed by the first 3 minutes of the episode, and continued to enjoy it through the end. I’m always a sucker for good music as an important part of the story & I especially appreciated the portrayal of music bringing people together. Expecting at least one major cry fest by the end. White Album 2 is a recommended watch and I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

White Album 2 Poster Continue reading →

Attack on Titan Review

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Attack on Titan Jump

Hello, hello everyone! It is time for reviewing the most popular show of the past two seasons, Attack on Titan. It’s a monster of a task, so I’m going to quote myself a bit to start off. I wrote a review of the first six episodes a while back, so take a quick break away from this post to see what I had to say a quarter of the way through.

To see where I dropped Attack on Titan in my overall rankings, click here. That’s right, folks, I have four (4!!!) shows from the Summer 2013 season ranked ahead of Attack on Titan (Railgun S, Silver Spoon, TWGOK, Gatchaman Crowds). But before your outrage gets the better of you, allow me to explain myself. Continue reading →

“in the rain” by keeno, feat. Hatsune Miku (Dark)

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As it’s been raining and drizzling outside all day, I’ve spent today in my room doing homework and listening to music, which really is not as lonely as it sounds (denial?). However, considering the weather, I thought it would be appropriate to share this beautiful tune.

It’s been a while since I found a Vocaloid song that made me say, “Oh, I want that,” but when I heard this track, I immediately went out and got it. Featuring the darker toned Hatsune Miku, “in the rain” takes full advantage of the lilts that seem to populate Vocaloid songs. The moments when you can tell that it’s an electronic vocal, not a human one actually add to the song’s laid back, peaceful charm. The title really tells you all you need to know about the track. The instrumental backing, featuring piano, synth and guitar, rides secondary to Miku’s gorgeous melody and captures perfectly the mood of standing in a peaceful rain.

“in the rain” clocked in at number 7 on Tower Records’ weekly anime song rankings (if you want to see the full list, go here). It is by the producer keeno. Enjoy the music and have a great Saturday!

Gatchaman Crowds Review

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Today, we saw the ending of Gatchaman Crowds, which probably holds up the title for quirkiest anime of the Summer 2013 season. And yes, the very end was weird, but the ending was exceptional. So let’s get to it. If you want to see where Gatchaman Crowds ended up in my list of rankings, head on over here.

Hajime Icinose

Want an example of a character taking over a show? Hajime does just that.

Gatchaman Crowds, a reboot of the 1972 series Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, is not your typical superhero TV show. Early on, it reminded me a lot of Teen Titans, but as the show went on it differentiated itself as something totally unique. Noted throughout the season for its deconstruction of many cliches of the genre, Gatchaman Crowds continually and deliberately avoids many tropes and dodges expectations time and time again. What we end up with is an intelligent, engaging and ultimately hopeful message on the inherent goodness of humanity and a clear message that violence isn’t always the answer. Continue reading →

Kiniro Mosaic (Kinmoza!) Review

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Following the lead of Silver Spoon on Thursday, the second anime to pull across the finish line this season is Kiniro Mosaic, a delightful bit of moe girls doing cute things and having fun. I picked this one up late, and while it wasn’t the most-thought inspiring thing I watched over the season, it did provide a number of laughs and a generally bright, inoffensive story.

Kiniro Mosaic Karen Waitress

Kiniro Mosaic follows the high school adventures of Alice Cartalet, a blonde-haired English girl who comes to Japan to study with her friend Shinobu Omiya. They are joined by Shino’s classmates, Yoko and Aya, as well as Alice’s friend from England, Karen. As far as plot goes…well, I’d be hard pressed to distill an overall plot line from this compilation of 12 episodes, as each episode is really just a number of gags centering around a common theme. It’s not a bad way to do a show, especially when the main draw of the show is clearly riding on the cuteness of the characters and the overall silliness that occurs. Continue reading →

Silver Spoon (Part 1) Review

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The fall season is beginning to draw to a close, and the first show to finish up is the excellent Silver Spoon, or Gin no Saji. Chronicling the high school adventures of Hachiken Yuugo at Ezono Agricultural High School, this anime with a seemingly strange premise is from the writer of Fullmetal Alchemist and lived up to EVERY expectation I had.

silver spoon

Silver Spoon is a show all about farming, which means it has three main themes. Food, animals, and food. How do you make a compelling story out of that? With excellent writing. The show is written masterfully, and all season long I would finish an episode and go, “Wow. That was perfectly written.” The coming of age story has been done over and over again, but Hiromu Arakawa puts a spin on it that I have never seen before. Hachiken, who was a perfect student in middle school, is initially way out of his element at Ezono. He’s never really been around animals before; all he knows how to do is study. But he is immediately faced with the challenge of realizing the pigs (specifically a runt, whom he names Pork Bowl) he is raising will soon be slaughtered for food. Taking the life of anything is serious, and even at the end of the initial 11 episodes, Hachiken still hasn’t completely come to terms with the matter. Continue reading →