Review chronicles of the going home club, aka Kitakubu Katsudou Kiroku

Review Chronicle of the going home club

                                                                    It's so cute when they can't do stuff

Natsuki and Karin are new high school students and like all high school students is pressured into joining a school club. Natsuki says she wants to join the going home club (the going home club is a Japanese euphamism for not joining a club). Much to her suprise there is an actual going home club and like all clubs in anime they are eager to get their roster up to five members (which of course having Natsuki and Karin join would bring their total amount of member to). The other members of the club are, Botan who is a very powerful martial artist and lover of video games, The obscenely rich Claire, and Sakura, who is quite normal. What does this club do? Various activities that the members would think are fun.

                                                           take that vastly more popular show

The Chronicle of the going home club is a very obvious gag comedy anime where there is little to any plot or character except to make a joke. In fact most episodes are broken up into  I find shows like these hard to grade or review as everyone has a slightly different sense of humor, but overall I found the show's humor to be somewhat tepid. For a show that tries to cover everything, this show has an annoying habit of going back to a few jokes repeatedly. Particularly bad offenders in doing this are jokes about the ending song starting too early and a limited amount of character based gags. This is not to say that there aren't good episodes, episodes three, five and seven tend to stand out as good episodes in my opinion.

Overall I found The chronicles of the going home club to be a show that is not really bad but just isn't good enough to honestly be considered good. This show feels like such a giant pile of nothing (I stand by my adding paradoxes in my reviews) that I couldn't work up the energy  or motivation for a proper review.

Rating  The tine daddy hat (Azumanga Daioh) for being a mildly enjoyable but ultimately rote gag comedy show.

Fall Season overview part eight going backwards

Fall Season overview part eight going backwards

 Well here we are in the final stretch of the new fall season previews. This group of shows include both of this season's offerings from Noitamina, a block which typically features more artistic type shows. Fortuneately it looks like neither one will be the second coming of Black Rock Shooter.

 

Gallei Donna

 

Hazuki, Kazuki and Hozuki Ferrari are three sisters who are descendants of the famous Galleio. This may also be the reason why they are targeted by a mysterious group of men. Fortuneately for them they have their own talents which keep them from harm. From what I can tell about this series this is a science fiction action show set in the near future (just far enough to justify whatever gizmos this show has). While I don't feel that this show has the makings to be a classic of the ages it does feel like a nice light hearted (so far) show. While you don't learn everything about the characters, what I did see liked about them, particularly the oldest and youngest sister. I also found the animation for this show to be quite good and whatever cg was used was far less obstructive than it usually is.

 

Non Non Biyori

 

Somewhere in the countryside there is a small school where there are only four students, none of whom are the same year as each other. That is until another student, Hotaru transferred to the school. Non Non Biyori is this seasons moe girls doing cute things slice of life show. I am not usually a huge fan of this particular genre although I rather enjoyed the first episode of this show. Perhaps the one thing that really impressed me about this show is the use of nature and the enviornment and how that enhances the feelings of calmness that it tries to impart on the viewer. I wouldn't say that this is a great show but it might be a worthwhile addition to your viewing line up.

 

Noucome (my mental choices are completely interfering with by school romantic comedy)

 

Kanade Amakusa is a blessed or mostly likely cursed with a strange ability. Every so often he has to  choose between two choices or suffer pain until he does so. One day he faced with one of these choices and  girl falls from the sky. This sounds like it could be a decent romantic comedy but I found that the show's gimmick is is something that if anything drags down the show more than being something that props ups a weak show. Hopefully it will have less of a presence as the show progresses.

Samurai Flamenco

 

 Goto is just an ordinary cop working a boring shift in normal Japan, until one day he runs across a strange man. The man's name is Masayoshi Hazama (he wants to be called Masayoshi because it has the character for justice in it, that explains a lot of his character) who wants to be a super hero. The problem is he doesn't have any super powers and not enough combat training to pull off being someone like Batman. Still he tries to do his best by dressing in a costume and telling miscreants to behave themselves. Even though Samurai Flamenco is a show that is something of an homage to Tokusatsu superhero shows it doesn't seem to require the viewer to have seen power rangers and the like. The main hook to this show so far is the chemistry between Goto and Masayoshi and so far it looks like a winning combination. I can't seem to tell where this show will be going and given that there will be twenty two episodes of this it should be going somewhere.

Fall overview part seven Not so Funi anymore

Fall overview part seven Not so Funi anymore

Believe it or not there are anime shows that are streamed on other services than crunchyroll. While I generally use said service as my primary anime viewing portal I try not to ignore other sites. However for the most part they don't seem to be helping me as except for maybe Coppelion (see part two for my ideas of the show) there doesn't seem to be all that much in the way of great material.

Blazblu

In some crazy future there is some guy named Ragna Bloodblade who seems to have the same tailor as Cloud Strife from Final fantasy seven and he has a strange blue flame power in his right arm. He wanders about a mist shrouded world and is beset by an equally colorful assortment of foes. Apparently there is some sort of time loop business going on or at least that is what I seem to understand from the loli vampire girl and the secret agent guy wearing green. Blazblue is an anime show based off of a series of fighting games (as it should be noted fighting games have an even worse track record for good anime adapations than dating sims). This show is confusing as all get out with the inclusion of what looks like more characters than the plot can properly support at this point. This might get better as the show progresses but I hold out no real hope of this.

Gundam Build fighters

In a world much like our own Gundam models are very popular, the only difference is that there is some sort of technology that allows people to battle with the models they have built. Sei is the son of a gundam model shop owner who won a tournament years ago. Of course Sei wants to be like his father but gets defeated every time by the local psuedo bully. This is until Sei happens upon a mysterious foreigner (?) named Reiji who is really good at piloting Gundam models. At some level the Gundam anime shows were always a giant toy commercial but they were never this blatant about it. I wouldn't call the show to be entirely trash as the friendship between Sei and Reiji is somewhat interesting. There are also a bunch of easter egg type elements for long running fans of the show (such as the local man Mr. Ral who is a pretty obvious expy of Ranba Ral in the first series). While it may not be much I would sort of recommend Gundam build fighters to the right person.

Tokyo Ravens

Harutora is the decendant of a long line of Onmyouji whose line stretches all the way back to Abe no Seimei. However instead of choosing to learn magic Harutora decides to laze away the days in the countryside. That is until one day a strange lady shows up and forces his hand. I wasn't all too impressed with the first episode of Tokyo Ravens. It looked like a bog standard urban fantasy show that for the most part failed to live up to genre expectations and didn't have a more intersting hook to it. However as there seems to be several members of the main cast that haven't been introduced yet I might just attribute this boondoggle of a first episode to a pacing snag rather than the overall quality of the show.

Unbreakable Machine Doll

Raishin Akabane is a puppet master who works with his sentient puppet Yaya. Raishin has aspirations of being the wise man or greatest of all the puppeteers but if his grades have any bearing on things, this will be a hard road for him to travel. This anime show is a fighting fantasy show that appears to be setting in an alternate late 19th/ early 20th century. While the show isn't something that I would say is extraordinary I found the setting and the characters to adequate and fairly entertaining. I was especially pleased in that Raishin and Yaya had a decent character dynamic between them and both characters had a bit off fire to them, a nice change given the large amount of unmotivated characters in modern anime. Just as a note there is a fair amount of fan service in this show; enough that it might turn off some potential viewers although in my opinion it was done somewhat tastefully and wasn't used to obfuscate weaknesses in the show.

Fall Season overview part six Sports and Subs

Fall Season overview part six Sports and Subs

This group of shows that is special in that most of the shows are of the sports genre. Unfortunately with the exception of Yowapedal these shows aren’t all that great.

Ace of Diamond

Eijun was the pitcher on the Akagi middle school baseball team. When he lost the last game by pitching the ball too hard he was angry and when his team was insulted he assaulted the other team. The incident placed his high school career in jeopardy until he was scouted by a famous baseball school. The most noticeable thing that I noticed about this show is how Eijun is a very belligerent person in the vein of Eren in Attack on Titan. However such behavior is a lot more forgivable in a war is hell borderline horror series than your usual high school show about baseball. 

Arpeggio of Blue Steel

Seven years ago the navies of the world were defeated by a strange fleet called the fleet of fog and humanity can now no longer use the seas or communicate with other countries. The only possible hope is one young man who captains a fleet of fog defector submarine. While this is a show with a rather interesting premise I have found the first episode to be lacking in terms of character development although it is not enough to drop the show.

Wanna be the strongest

Sakura Hagiwara is the most popular idol in the group sweet diva. One day she had a job which took her to a pro wrestling ring. After getting her pride beaten badly she vows to become a professional wrestler herself. This show is soft core pornography held up by a weak plot. I remember that youtube videos of trailers for this show ere taken down for explicit content and for good reason. On top of this the protagonist is an idiot. You know when someone pretty much says “How dare you look down on people in my profession, I am going to quit my profession and do what you do instead.” You aren’t dealing with the sharpest knife in the box. So unless you want some cameltoe shots to the sound of erotic moaning I suggest you go elsewhere.

Yowapedal

Sakamichi Onoda is an anime otaku and general 98 pound weakling who is different than others of his kind in that he bikes all the way to Akihabara so he can save money on train fare. Little does he know that his destiny lies in competitive bike riding. I found this to be a somewhat interesting set up for a sports anime show with decent character arcs. I can’t really say too much about this show just yet but I am fairly hopeful for this show.

Fall overview part five Fox and Glasses romance

Fall overview part five Fox and Glasses romance

Here we are at the fifth part of the season overview and the shows are still coming out strong. Not only are there a lot of shows coming out there is at least two good shows in this group. Even though they might not be conventional I think I might have found my favorite slice of life shows of the season.

Gigitsune

When Makoto's mother died she inherited the ability to see the shrine's protector, a large white humanoid fox named Gintaro. Even though she has known Gintaro most of her life she still has the occasional dispute with him but they do their best to make sure the shrine is running properly. Gigitsune is a somewhat unusual slice of life kind of show. The main reason I say that it is a bit unusual is Gintaro, in that not only is she a supernatural entity, he also has an usual personality for a slice of life kind of show and for the first episode at least it show that both he and Makoto are pretty interesting and play off of each other well. In my opinion this is the kind of show that I think will have a good amount of cross gender appeal.

Meganebu

In a certain high school there is a special club devoted to glasses. They are five bishonen who are dedicated (okay maybe Hayato isn't that dedicated)to furthering glasses beyond just something to correct vision problems or to use as a fashion statement. Meganebu was a show that I liked for about five minutes. I was willing to look beyond the bishonen cast and flow with the show's energy. There is just one problem with the show. It is such a puddle deep gag show that it starts wearing out it's premise in just a few minutes. Perhaps this show would have fared better if it was just one of those three minute short shows that pop up every so often.

Walkure Romance

In x high school there is actually a program for jousting. Takehiro used to be a knight in the jousting program until an injury made him quit. An unlikely circumstance places him next to Mio a woman in the jousting program. Walkure romance is an anime show that was very obviously based off of a visual novel. While the premise of a modern jousting show may sound interesting the show is loaded with flaws including a dopey and annoying female lead (Mio) odd looking cg armor and even horses and some poorly placed fan service. Even if you are in the mood for a harem type of anime show, I would recommend either Infinite Stratos or White Album 2 (see below)

White Album 2

Haruki is a student who is also a member of a flailing light music club band. One day he is asked to convince one of the school idols, Setsuna Ogiso, to join the school beauty pageant. He graciously lets her off the hook. Later when he is practicing guitar he hears a girl singing on the rooftop and finds out that it is Setsuna. I found this show to be slow paced romance story that feels more realistic than most anime shows of this type. I know that this show had a slow start to it but it was one that I liked. I know that this show has it is White Album 2 but there is no need to see the first season to understand this.

Fall season overview part four same old song

Fall season overview part four same old song

In this group of anime shows I start getting into anime shows that are on a second or third season. I know not everyone covers these types of shows but both were continuations of shows that I rather enjoyed.

Hajime no Ippo the fighting

If you are not familiar with this very long running boxing franchise here is the heads up. Ippo Makenuchi is a boxer and he won the championship belt for his weight class a while ago. Fortunately this season opener doesn't really expect much knowledge from viewers as the first half is about Ippo's dead dad and the second half is a boxing match. While the match is fairly standard for the anime, it is majorly hinted at that he is starting to get fatigued from fighting and thus in the second episode viewers will see how Hajime's no Ippo's battle pacing compares to other shonen battles, namely that it takes a realistic view on what pain and fatigue do to a person and builds the drama from there. Also I am hopeful that crunchyroll will eventually make the earlier seasons of Hajime no Ippo available as it is there tendency to do so when they license an advanced season of an anime show before the earlier material has been made available. As you can probably guess Hajime no Ippo is a show that I am rather passionate about and I hope you enjoy it too.

Little Busters Refrain

Riki and his friends (who have decided to call themselves the Little Busters) have just finished their first baseball game and have decided to have a pancake party but all is not well as two metaphorical dark clouds are looming overhead, Yuiko dark past and the nebulous secret to the world and how Riki's narcolepsy relates to it. If you haven't seen the first season of Little Busters it might behoove you to watch some of the first season but a lot of the basics for character dynamics are quickly shown in the pancake party. As for the animation it seems that JC Staff might just be stepping up their game for this season, possibly following the trend of Clannad After Story by being a better season than the origional Clannad.

Log Horizon

 One day Shiro and several thousand other players of the popular MMO Elder tale were trapped in the game and the log out button would not work. Perhaps the first thing every anime fan and their brother would do when seeing or hearing about this show is to compare it to Sword Art Online. On the plus side I can safely say that the character dynamic to the show makes it feel like it isn't entirely a copy. However this first episode fails to capture the feeling of horror that the first episode of SAO had which made it intriguing (at least until the second arc when things fell apart) and doesn't have another strong hook to replace it. The result is a somewhat bland show that doesn't have much going for it because most of the other shows this season aren't plagiarizing SAO as well.

Outbreak Company

Shinichi is an otaku who has just landed a job just because he is such a great Otaku. Namely he is tasked with bringing Japanese culture to a fantasy land that Japan can access through a portal. I found this to be a somewhat decent show as it has it’s moe elements but doesn’t seem to go overboard with the fan service or stupidity so far. Also from watching the opening and ending there seems to be only two or three main girls in the show so hopefully the character development pie won’t be sliced too thinly. The animation was also pretty decent as well.  I will be watching a few episodes at least.

Fall overview part three I couldn’t think of a good title so I just made a bunch of boob jokes

So here we are at the third part of the fall overview and I am still going strong. I have run across my second bad show of the season but we will get to that later. With this article I am ten shows into to the fall season and I am glad that I have found one really good show with this group.

Strike the Blood

There have been several rumors surrounding the appearance of an especially powerful vampire known as the fourth progenitor. The truth of the matter is that he is just a high school student. A teenage girl with demon hunting powers is sent out to monitor him. Overall I found this to be a paint by numbers urban fantasy with slightly stock characters. However I didn’t find it to be terrible and the characters could grow to be more interesting.

I Couldn’t Become a Hero, So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job

There was a fantasy world that was threatened by a demon lord. However that demon lord was defeated and that left all of the prospective heroes out of a job. One such guy named Raul starts working at a general store. This show is a stupid fan service show. This doesn’t look like it has any quality behind it so it isn’t something like a Strike Witches or Pet Girl of Sakura sou. 

Nagi no Asukara

Due to a history with a sea god there are some people who can live under the sea. However there are not enough of them to keep their school open so they have to transfer to a school on the surface. There are several small problems and misunderstandings that occur as a result. Nagi no Asukara is a new show by PA works and it looks to be another one of their special brand of slice of life dramas. Features such as animation that really takes advantage of undersea scenery and a slow build up of characters look like hallmarks of what could be a great show.