Fall Season overview part 5 Stars of Shoujo

I wanted to piece together a shoujo related collection of anime shows and this was the best I could do given what there is out there.

Wolf Girl and the Black Prince

Erika is a girl who wanted to fit in so badly that she made up a lie that she had a boyfriend. To keep her lie from being discovered she became entangled with a boy named Kyoya who is a lot meaner than he looks. This show is a fairly typical shoujo setup with a girl and her jerk with a secret heart of gold. It looks kind of average from what I say in the first episode.

Gugure Kokori san

A bio mechanical doll (or at least that is what she says) named Kohina summons the spirit Kokori san one night and the wacky relationship between the begins as even though Kohina says she wants to get rid of him Kokori san knows that she needs someone to take care of her. This is a strange comedy that might have some attractive men in the show but still works as a comedy for a broader audience. If you have an anime club this show would probably be recommended by a woman but the show should be enjoyable for just about everyone there.

Your lie in April

Arima Kousei was once known as a child prodigy of the piano until one day pressures of the craft got to him. However he meets a talented violinist named Kaori who might rekindle his dreams. This is a romantic comedy that feels like it is written a bit more solidly than the standard fare of the genre. I will be watching this one.

Sora no method

Nonaka returns to the town where she once lived and fines the magical friend that she left behind, Noel is still there as well as the saucer that floats in the sky. I am not entirely sure what is going on with this show but I can safely say that it is cuter than just about anything else this season.

fall 2014 season overview part 4 at your fanservice

I start playing catch up by watching four shows at once for an overview. I intended to have this be the shojo section but I found out that two of the shows I was planning on watching were shorts and I usually don't review those. So I carried on by watching some other more male oriented shows with one possible gem if you are the right (or wrong) kind of anime fan.

Fruit of Grisaia

always wanted to go to a normal school and in a weird way his wish was granted. However the school isn't entirely normal as there are only six students, including him and all of them have shady pasts. While this show does have a lot of fan service in it I found something compelling in the main character and the show's foreshadowing that makes me think it could be something more than a show like Rail wars.

Cross Ange

Angelise was a princess until one it was discovered that she can't use mana thus was sent to a prison and made to fight dragons on a mecha. This is a strange sci fi action show that has quite a bit of fan service in it (what is the deal with those uniforms?). It does look like it has some decent writing behind it but be warned, the ending of the first episode can be quite uncomfortable for some viewers.

Trinity Seven

One day Arata found that the world was different and the sun had turned black. After finding out the truth he was enrolled into a magic academy. This has all the makings of a silly harem show that I still think this might be better than Magical warfare but honestly that isn't saying much.

Shiro Bako

Aoi and her friends dreamed of working in animation in high school and now they are adults and seeing what that dream is like. This feels like it is a different enough take on the whole "Four or so girls something slice of life" kind of show that I am rather interested in seeing how this plays out. Besides being about animation studio I feel I might learn something about how it is made.

Fall 2014 Season Overview part 3 Generic triggers

I would like to start this article with a bit of an apology. I would have liked to have this post out a lot sooner than I have had but a combination of long work shifts, a computer blowing up on me and a sudden and crippling addiction to stronghold kingdoms have conspired against me. However I have a set of decent-ish shows out to watch or wait for something better to come out.

Joker

There is a phantom thief called Joker who does what a phantom thief does. One day while performing one of his capers he runs across a young ninja burgler named Hachi and ends up taking him on an apprentice. This is a phantom thief show that looks really childish and looks like it is a bright and shiny show that depends on humor.

When Supernatural battles become common place

Jurai Andou is a chunibyo in the school literature club. One day one of his outbursts caused him and four other girls gain supernatural powers. This show feels like it is just another light novel adaptation and feels like is a harem lite show without much in the way of originality. You probably know if you like this show or not before you see this.

Wlorld Trigger

One day aliens called neighbors came through a portal and attacked a city in Japan. There is an organization called Border who has powers which allows him to fight the neighbors and the main characters are a part of the organization. This show feels like it is just another shonen fighting show and if you have seen anything like Naruto and Bleach you probably know what is going to happen, at least in the first episode.

Fall 2014 Season overview part 2 return to fantasy

Now the anime shows of autumn start coming fast and furious and I will have some trouble keeping up with all of them. However I have noticed a couple of sequels to franchises I have liked in the past and it looks like they are not failing me now. Hopefully they can keep up with their good first episodes.

Denkai Gai

There is a manga store called Uma no Hone and all of the employees there are big manga fans in one way or another. Follow them on their wacky day to day adventures. This show is your slice of life comedy this time it takes place in a manga store. While the show has it's requiste four cute girls there are also several male characters as well. The show is decent enough if you like the genre but it is nowhere near exceptional.

Log Horizon 2

When the first season of Log Horizon ended everyone was still trapped in the world of Elder tale and Shiroe and his guild were still working to bring order to the world. As it turns out they are running out of money and so they are trying the daring plan of seeking the source of the world's money. As far as I can tell from the first episode it is still the same old Log Horizon and I think that is a good thing.

Fate stay night unlimited blade works

This is the tale of mages who summon the spirits of heroes and do battle all for the chance to have the holy grail grant one wish. This show starts off with a double length episode details what happened to Rin Tohsaka at the beginning of the show. This version of Fate stay night looks like it is getting off on the right foot and I look forward to watching this. 

Review Sabagebu!

Cute girls shooting cute animals

At first glance Momoka was just another high school girl going to an all girls school. One day she caught the notice of the ultra popular girl Miou who just so happened to be the president of a club in need of members. After some hi jinks and pressuring Momoka agreed to join Miou's survival game club which is all about simulated military combat. As it turns out Momoka is well suited for this club.

Nico Nico douga has invaded this show

Looking at it Sabagebu might look like another onet of those cute girls doing cute things sort of slice of life show. However looks can be deceiving as this show is all about comedy and the plot is entirely subservient to trying to make the viewer laugh. Most often an episode is sliced up into three segments which are just long enough for a complex gag and little else.

Miou does it gangster style

As for the quality of the humor I found the show to work mostly off of a slightly dark form of humor that largely comes from the main character. Perhaps the biggest twist to the show is Momoka and the fact that she is one the most self and twisted main characters in anime, especially for a show that is a set of cute with the activity du jour. However even if a certain segment doesn't work just like the girls in the show it dusts itself off and has another go.

so much for Urara @notyourshield

Overall Sabagebu doesn't try to do anything more that try to make the viewer laugh but sometimes that is all that it takes

Rating the bronze notebook (Death Note) for a nice show that stars a deliciously twisted main character.

Fall 2014 season overview part 1 Early Adapters

I never thought I would do a fall season overview before October but as things would turn out there are three shows out for me to comment on. One thread that I have seen in these shows is the prevalence of CG in them and like all tools there are times when it is used well and sometimes it is simply overused. There are no real classics in the making with this batch of shows but there is possibly some shows that you might well enjoy.

Teraformars

In the future humanity is threatened by a virus that has come from space. So a task force has been assembled to go to mars and not only find a suitable virus sample but also fight giant cockroaches. It looks like this show is going to be a hardcore mature show that revels in graphic violence. If you have ever wished there was another season of Gantz this is a show for you.

Karen Senkai

In the future robots have risen up and started to kill people and one woman named Karen fights them. This is definitely the weakest show of the bunch. Not only is the whole thing in CG but it has all the plot depth that you would expect from a show that has three robot fights in ten minutes.

Tribe cool crew

Haneru is a middle school kid who love nothing more than dancing. It is assumed he will gather a dance troupe together and have dancing adventures. This is show is rather nice in how it has a different art style than what most anime have. There is some cg in the show but that is mostly for the dancing (which would be difficult to animate normally) and blends well with the rest of the show. If you are looking for something different in a visual sense you should check out this show. 

I am on NTR radio

A little while ago I was lucky enough to get a guest spot on NTR radio and we talked about anime reviews.
You can listen to it here