Anime

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.

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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 →

Summer 2013 Midseason Report

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We are now rounding the bend on the Spring 2013 season of anime and I still am watching 12 shows. So, to help you figure out which shows you should go marathon and catch up on, I present the Spring 2013 Anime Midseason Report. You can find my current watchlist here.

This post isn’t meant to be a ranking system for the season’s anime (that will come later), only a report on what’s been living up to expectations and what’s falling short. So, in no particular order…

The Eccentric Family (Watch)

The writing in the show is wonderfully strong and has a natural Japanese feel to it that gives a very nice sense of culture. That trait is an extremely important one, as staying true to the Japanese lifestyle, language and approach is what makes this show so unique. Despite the more serious turn lately, the anime has not lost an ounce of its charm from the beginning of the show. Rather, the introduction of new characters has deepened the experience and adds layers to the wonderful complexity of the main characters. The Eccentric Family also holds the viewers’ trust faithfully, gently following up on its promise to unravel the web we’ve been shown. It is an exceptional bit of storytelling and well worth your time.

sxs

Servant x Service (Maybe Watch)

Still funny, although it has taken a turn out into relationship land, away from workplace humor. That being said, the narrative is plenty entertaining & has actually shown some moments of real emotion. The OP song is certainly one of the best of the season and overall Servant x Service is a really enjoyable addition to a Thursday afternoon. Small warning for some innuendo type humor, but other than that, I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a light-hearted show with good laughs.

The World God Only Knows: Goddesses (Watch)

Keima’s still at it and, albeit a couple episodes in the middle, TWGOK has maintained an admirable amount of dramatic tension and a sense of urgency throughout the entire season. Far better than the first two seasons in terms of emotion, the third season has also continued to develop Keima. Despite the rather odd premise, there is a strange, lovable charm about this show that effectively causes you to invest in every single romantic relationship. Strong recommendation for anyone who like romantic comedy.

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Soul Eater Review (Part 1)

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A few days ago, I finished with my first rewatch of the BONES series Soul Eater, and I must say that, as with many good pieces of art, a review of something already experienced is almost always a good thing. As we age and grow, our perceptions of the world and the art we experience change. Now, I won’t say that I emerged from my rewatch of Soul Eater with a totally new understanding of the show. However, I was able to draw forth some new pieces and new nuances to the show that I had missed before. I also took time in the middle of the rewatch to read the manga, which was an interesting experience in comparisons. But I want to review the 51-episode anime series, which is one of my top 10 anime, and tell you why you should take the time to watch Soul Eater.Soul Eater

Soul Eater is focused on three sets of main characters, headed up by our main protagonist, Maka Albarn and her partner, the titular character Soul Eater Evans. They are joined by Death the Kid, with his partners Liz and Patty Thompson, as well as the outrageous Blackstar and the ever flexible Tsubaki. Maka, Kid and Blackstar as classified as meisters, which makes them weapon-wielders, while Soul, Liz, Patty and Tsubaki are humans with the genetic ability to transform into weapons (a scythe, twin pistols and a ninja sword, respectively). The anime sets itself up in the first three episodes to be a quest type plot, where the three sets of characters must collect 99 evil souls and the soul of a witch to transform their weapons into Death Scythes, the personal weapons of Lord Death, or Shinigami, as he is known in the Japanese. However, their quest quickly expands to become a much more global conflict. Continue reading →

Catholicism in Anime: Soul Eater’s DWMA Motto

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Welcome to Catholicism in Anime, the series which will be examining Catholic elements of various anime. If you wish, consider these as Catholic anime reviews, although they aren’t proper reviews, simply examination and analysis of the “seeds of the Logos,” that I see within these shows.DWMA

The first show I want to look at is Soul Eater, the 2008-2009 series from the studio BONES, which has produced several of my other favorite anime. Based on the manga (which I believe is still ongoing) by Atsushi Okubo, Soul Eater, on the surface, doesn’t look like the type of show to have any Catholic elements. The animation isn’t your typical, clean-cut style. And even the title, Soul Eater, doesn’t see to be particularly Catholic or religions. Despite all this, there are several themes running throughout the show which line up beautifully with Catholic teaching and several interesting parallels than run analogously between Soul Eater and Catholicism. Continue reading →

Catholicism in Anime: The Explanation

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I am currently preparing and writing the first few posts for a series which will be titled, Catholicism in Anime. As a practicing Catholic, I see many values and truths in anime that are applicable to my own life and rest gently and soundly within the Truth offered by the Catholic Church. I have been personally challenged to grow in my humanity and faith by many anime I have watched, and many more offer beautiful stories that reflect the Truth on what it means to be human and to be alive. Is this practical? Is it possible?

Can this:

CrucifixtionBe reconciled with this?Hoenheim Saves EdRead on to find out. Continue reading →

Hunter x Hunter Impressions: Archetypes in Action

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Note: at the time of writing, I have watched through episode 76.

I was about to start off this post by saying I didn’t know why I began watching Hunter x Hunter, but I remembered before I started down that erroneous path. I began watching this popular shounen when someone on Crunchyroll began a topic debate on whether Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood or Hunter x Hunter was better. Now, I had heard good things (not great, but good) about Hunter x Hunter before, but when someone asked this question and people began saying that HxH was the better of the two, I was intrigued. Why?

Killua and Gon

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, in my book, is one of the best anime I have ever watched. It’s one of three shows which I have esteemed enough to spend my hard-earned money to own. For me, buying an anime is a sign that I have claimed ownership of the show, that I validate it and respect it. While there are a few anime which I personally like more than FMA: Brotherhood, I have not yet seen another show that deals with the diversity of themes, portrays the range of emotions, has the intensity of suspense and action, all in one, like it. To challenge FMA: Brotherhood is to challenge the best anime has to offer. I had my suspicions about a simple shounen (one I had seen classified with Bleach and Naruto) being able to take on the crown jewel of anime, but people seemed to think that the claim was justified. And so, I began to watch.

Continue reading →