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.

Inari KonKon Koi Iroha

What does the fox say? Quite a bit in this show

Inari Fushimi is a shy school girl who has trouble making new friends as well as telling her feelings to a boy she likes. One day she makes a prayer to the local shrine and her wish is granted in the form of transforming her into another girl. When she finds out that it isn’t what she wanted Uka, the local god, gives Inari a fragment of her divine power which allows her to change forms. Thus begins Inari’s new adventures in dealing with the gods.

boys, in a slice of life show, le gasp

Inari Kon Kon is a show that is a slice of life show with a rather obvious supernatural twist being that it has gods and taking foxes in the cast. It is different from most slice of life shows in that romantic relationships are a significant but not overwhelming presence in the show. In this aspect this show is something like the shojo anime shows that used to air. This is not to say that Inari’s other relationships are given the short shrift as much attention is paid to most of the characters.

Friendship is divine, in more ways than one

 This show only lasts ten episodes and spends a good part of the later episodes wrapping the show up so there is no real hope of a second season. This means that there are several plot lines that feel like they have been cut before they really had their chance to really play out. Such is the fate of many anime shows that are adapted from an ongoing manga. However said manga is currently unlicensed in English so that avenue is closed to most people reading this blog as well.

Overall I found Inari Kon Kon to be a rather sweet and fun anime show that it is an offbeat slice of life show that can be about slightly more than four girls eating cake all the time.

Rating the silver Undine (Aria) for being a great slice of life show.

Review Witchcraft works

Takamiya Honoka was just another normal high school student until the idol of the school Kagari Ayaka started to pay attention to him much to the chagrin of the rest of school. However Ayaka is more than just pretty, smart and athletic, she is also a powerful fire witch. As it turns out other witches have reasons to want to hunt down Honoka and he needs to have Ayaka protect him from all sorts of arcane threat. Can Honoka manage to survive now that his life has turned into a dangerous and magical mess even though it comes with a wonderful new girlfriend?

Ayaka and Honoka's relationship in a nutshell

At first glance Witchcraft works might look like just another show were your average boy picks up a magical girlfriend. However there is a bit of a deconstruction here in that the girl with the magic is the one wearing the pants in the relationship (only figuratively though). Even though Ayaka is a different from your average girl in the role I found her a bit too stoic to be all that believable or compelling. Fortunately there is a rather quirky cast of side characters that take up some of the slack from the main characters.

This show can be down right weird in places

This show has a rather sizable action component which naturally expands as the show wears on being that the show starts off mostly episodic and then grows something more of a plot arc about six or so episodes in. Even though Ayaka can pretty much curb stomp many of the foes in the show (including a group of five witches that hang around and even sing the show’s ending song) the action scenes are fun to watch. 

Normally I don't use ED clips but I couldn't resist

Overall I found Witchcraft Works to be a decent show with a fun action show with a romantic subplot. 

Rating the Bronze Belldandy (Oh My Goddess) for being a worthwhile show with a magical girlfriend.