spring 2014 season overview part five Island of little girls

While I usually like to choose my title to be something that spans several titles the last scene from black bullet to be something that really takes the cake for me. In this batch of shows there are two that I might continue watching and a short show.

The comic artist and assistants

This is the story of a perverted manga artist and the women who work with him. Although this show last about twelve minutes watching it made me fell like I watched three episodes of a four minute long show back to back. As most of the jokes center around on how the manga artist is a pervert I wonder exactly how varied the jokes in future episodes will be.

The Kawai Complex Guide to Manors and Hostel Behavior

Usa (just a guy not the country) is a high school student who stays in a crazy apartment complex because I girl he likes lives there as well. While this looks like it may be a Love Hina knock off at first glance I found this show has enough good humor and good animation to make the show worth watching. I find it good that there are also some decent characters who aren't love interests in the cast.

Black Bullet

 It is ten years after an insect apocalypse Rentaro is a gun totting mercenary with a super little girl side kick. This is a show with a little bit of everything as the first episode contains both a battle with a giant monster spider and weird high jinks between the two main characters.  I found this show to be rather fun and looks to be fun in the future. 

spring 2014 season overview part four friendship through cockfighting

One thing that has been a bit of an oddity is that this season I have been able to theme my previews for some strange reason even though I wasn't planning on it beforehand. This time I am covering kid fighting shows, the genre that teaches about friendship through magical cockfighting.

Dragon Collection

This time the protagonist get's trapped in a fantasy video game about collecting dragons. While I will say that it isn't the most thought provoking of shows this show is probably the least painful of the three here to get through if you are above the age of ten. It is nice in that it is tightly paced and vibrant. I would almost call it a poor man's One Piece in a way, but there is real rubber pirate action anywhere you care to check so this is probably going to be my last viewing of the show.

Oreca Battle

Another little kid collecting and fighting show. Just about anything you could say about Dragon Collection you can say about this show as well, that is unless you consider snide remarks about how this kids parents let him dress like a cat in pubic.

Hero Bank

A young boy is saddled with an enormous debt and forced to pay it off in the gladiatorial ring. This show is a bit different from the others in not only is the kid fighting himself (albeit in a super suit) it is about the length of most anime shows. This show also has a strage Scrooge Mcduck-esque facination with money. I might decide to continue with this show if there is something I feeling like watching Ironically.

Spring 2014 season overview part 3 dead and forgotten

I know I planned to have this episode up yesterday afternoon but few things can ruin the plans of mice and men like an unexpected retro gaming binge. However I have a brief overview of three more shows and this time they have a common theme of magic and girlfriends because the coming of age story of boy meets girl just almost needs some sort of magical twist.

The irregular at magic school

In the future there is magic used for wars and thus schools to teach magic. This show is a light novel adaptation with harem elements (in the first episode there is a clingy little sister and three other possible girlfriend types. Way to much of the first episode was set up so there is little indication of where it will be heading although it gives me not that much faith in the writing.

Brynhild in the darkness

Ryota had a childhood friend who died but a new girl who just like her who knows his possible death. I found this movie to have some pretty decent set up even though it still is your standard girl with magic powers shows up and hangs around your average high school boy. From the looks of the opening there are other elements that haven't been introduced yet and the show looks like it may take a dark turn.

One week friends

Hase wants to become friends with Fujimiyai but there is one problem, Fujimiya forgets her memories every Monday. This is a show that gave me a great sense of hope for future episodes. I find it hard to tell if the show is more of a romance or slice of life show but either way the show feels a lot more heartfelt than many anime shows of either genre. The art style of the show is a bit offbeat but I found it works with the show. I will definitely be watching future episodes of this show.

Spring 2014 season overview part 2 Pretty Jerks

Spring 2014 season overview part 2

Even though I try to cover three or four shows in every article of my season overviews anime's scheduling doesn't seem to always want to fit my plans and does stuff like dumping a bunch of shows on Saturday for everyone to watch. While I try to get through this new backlog I will start with some of the female targeted shows, if for no other reason than to get them out of the way like some loathsome vegetable on my heterosexual male metaphor plate.

The File of Young Kindaichi Returns

Hajime Kindachi is a brilliant but lazy student who get caught up in mysteries, because this is a mystery show.I found Kindachi to be somewhat forgettable as a character and knowing that this is a mystery most of the rest of the cast will go away once this mystery is cleared up. I found this a difficult show to comment on simply because show tosses the viewer into a veritable deep end without much explanation.  Then again this is often how shows like this work so it could still be fun for the right viewer.

Kamigami no Asobi

Yui is a girl who by some plot device is tasked with teaching a bunch of beautiful male gods about love. This is simply a show that is boy candy for girls and if I were a betting man I would put money on it being generally trite. Then again I have the feeling that many of my readers already suspect this about this show.

Still the world is beautiful

Princess Nike is princess of the rain kingdom and she was sent to marry the king of the sun kingdom. Now this is a shoujo show that inspires a bit of faith in me as the first episode is spent setting up the protagonist rather than bowl the viewer over with bishonen, even though it does look like there will be some attractive men in the cast. I will keep on watching this show for a few episodes at least.

Spring 2014 overview part 1 made of stars

Welcome to the dance that anime bloggers do every three months if for no other reason than that it gives them something to write about and good topics are hard to come by. The shows come out over the course of a week or so and these are the first shows out. At least they shouldn't be the worst shows of the season.

Majin Bone

Shou is you standard high school student just like you have probably seen a hundred times by now. This time a weird alien rock falls from the sky and he gets some suit and will probably be fighting other aliens along with some other guys that haven't really been introduced yet. I found the animation to be a bit lackluster and my spidey sense tells me that this is something mainly made to sell toys. I will be giving this show a pass.

Blade and Soul

Alka was a wandering warrior who was hired by a village who was hired by a village who is being threatened by the Palma empire, who wants them to sell their land. Things turn out pretty much as expected and things will be escalating into more supernatural battles in the future. This show has it's fair share of fan service and maybe a bit more however Blade and Soul looks like it will be worthwhile as an action show rather than using sexuality as a crutch.

Jojo's Bizzare Adventure

Jotaro Kujo is a young man who was thrown in jail for getting into a fight but refuses to leave because he says he is possessed by an evil spirit. As it turns out the spirit is a stand or power that Jotaro now has and it all ties into a generational fight with the vampire Dio. Even as a first episode set up this show looks like it is going to be some heavy fighting show and I like it better than the first season of Jojo's already.

Review Sakura Trick

Every episode to be precise

Haruka and Yuu are two girls who are going to a high school that is going to close in three years. To commemorate their first day at school they decide to do something very special, they kiss each other.  

 

Don't you just love anime clone genetics

If you have seen slice of life shows for any time you might have noticed that there is a reoccurring theme of lesbian subtext in said shows. Sakura Trick takes this subtext and ramps it up to the point of being not only obvious but being the selling point of the show. However this show is still a slice of life show as even though the two main characters are in a relationship that relationship doesn’t go anywhere in terms of plot.

That post fondling haze

Sakura Trick is a show that tries to win over the viewers with a combination of warm fuzzy feelings and some fan service. I say some fan service because while there is obvious sexual content it isn’t at the levels that shows that have fan service as their main selling point tend to reach. The humor in Sakura Trick is generally sporadic and not a main draw like in many slice of life shows. Perhaps the greatest problem with the show is that various episodes tend to feel like each other and the novelty of the concept may wear off.

So now we know why this character is so laid back

Overall Sakura Trick is a decent and unique slice of life show even if it is a bit of a one trick pony. 

Rating the bronze lily. 

Review Engaged to the Unidentified

No don't leave us

Kobeni was just a normal girl living with her mother and older sister Benio. One day two people come to live with Kobeni. One of them is Hakuya who has been betrothed to Kobeni for quite some time and it has been decided that the two should start living together. The other person is Hakuya's younger sister Mashiro who is there to look after Hakuya and make sure he can adapt to city life after living in the mountains all of his life.

 

That's right, it's all about Mashiro

Engaged to the Unidentified is a show that is oddly wedged between the slice of life and romance genres of anime. There is also a small supernatural element to this show but that manifests itself as nothing more than a plot device and a couple instances of really good jumping. In a sense It is something like a shoujo anime with a few changes like the extra sized role for the male character’s little sister. In fact I believe that the viewer’s impression of Mashiro is something that will make or break this show for most viewers.

 

I know she is the most important character

I found the other characters to relatively entertaining to watch. There might be some small concern over how the older sister character (Benio) is a bit of creepy stalker but her behavior is not something the show expects the viewer to sympathize with.I found that the main problem with the show is that even though it tries to be a romance at times the main couple tend to be quite lifeless. At least it works as a slice of life show.

 

Benio being Benio

Overall I found Engaged to the Unidentified to be a pleasant if generally average slice of life show.

Rating the bronze Onigiri (Fruits Basket) for being a nice laid back show with a supernatural twist.