Non Non Biyori short people got no reason to live

 

Perhaps one of the most odd things about anime is the continued existance of certain kind of show which goes by many names but usually centers around for girls who don't do much of anything. It is the bane of certain kinds of anime fans but obviously the favorite of some others since said shows keep getting made. I think it is a type of show not well loved by English speaking anime bloggers for several reasons not the least of which is that they are often lacking much in the way of plot giving episode bloggers little to talka about. Non Non Biyori is the fall season's example of this kind of show and it is something that I kind of like.

 

I think we overdid the merchandise a bit

Non Non Biyori is about a young girl named Hotaru who moves from Tokyo to the countryside. There are only four other students in the shcool where she lives. They are the the Koshigayas, older (even if she is tiny) Komari and younger sister Natsumi as well as their brother Suguru who never gets any lines. To round out the cast is the cute first grader Renge who is also the little sister of the schools teacher.

 

A slice of life show needs lolis that are space

To be completely honest I am not the biggest fan of slice of life shows but I have found that Non Non Biyori is rather enjoyable and perhaps a bit better than many shows of this genre. Even though there is the normal four girls you find in almost every show of this type but it does a good job of mixing up the flow of the show by omiting some of the characters allowing the character dynamics to be shook up. Shows like this often depend on humor so having a large selection of dynamics for characters is a definite plus for the viewers.

 

But no catgirl statues

However I have noticed there is one thread that runs through most of the show it is that Komari is the eldest of the four girls in the cast but looks (and in some cases acts) younger than anyone except for Renge. Perhaps this is the show's way of injecting comedy, as this clearly subverts the usual social hierarchy that especially pronounced in Asian societies (and yes I know this happens in Asian cultures that are not Japan). In fact the authority figures in this show (other than the mom) have no real authority but if they did it wouldn't be the laid back slice of life show that Non Non Biyori is.

 

Coppelion and the temple of lesbian doom

 While I usually try to talk about shows that I like rather than trash shows I don't like but every so often I should post some negative reviews to remind everyone that I am not some Pollyanna sunshine who likes everything. This is especially depressing given that Coppelion is a show that looked liked it could be a genuinely good show but it turned out that this wasn't the case.

 

That winning smile

The show has several problems and not the least of the fact that even though there are three main characters only Ibara seems to be capable of anything. Aoi is particularly annoying and useless in this respects, perhaps to the levels of Willie from Indiana Jones and the temple of doom. Thinking about it while I am all in favor abolishing traditional gender roles turning Aoi into a typical love interest character would actually make her more useful to the show in general. It almost makes want to look into Coppelion Yuri (guess who is looking into Sakura Trick next season).

 

Like a less fun version of Outbreak company

In a more general sense Coppelion has a problem with matching the expectations that the show presented at first with the content the show has presented. To put it bluntly one should not expect a show that has a psychotic school girl with electric powers who plans to blow up the world with nearly as much seriousness as Coppelion expects the viewer to take said show. While I have heard several people complaining about the tone change of Samurai Flamenco, the tone dissonance of Coppelion is something that can not be explained by turning from a parody of a genre to a straighter portrayal of said genre.

 

It's not post apocalyptic until fashion sense goes down hill

As of this article Coppelion is clearly a tin rated anime show with few prospects of making it up to bronze. A lack of good characters and the tone of the show which presents itself as a hard science fiction show with the internal consistancy of a super hero comic.

Arpeggio of Blue Steel mid season review

 

The show so cool you have to wear a jacket

As it turns out the fall of 2013 is a rather strong season as I have found there are about a dozen shows than I am following and only a couple of them are shows I am even considering dropping. Arpeggio of Blue steel is one of those shows I am enjoying and perhaps more than I thought I would. Maybe you might enjoy it as well.

 

No one expects the yuri monocle inquisition

First of all I fully understand that the premise of battleship girls is kind of stupid and perhaps a bit pandering as well, with perhaps a lot of prospective viewers taking a look and dismissing it as just another harem show. I have watched the show and about halfway through it I can say that this is not really the case. Even though the female cast has grown It is actually kind of nice that only Takao acts like your traditional lovestruck girl as opposed to most of the cast.

 

The logical conclusion to defeat means friendship

This show seems to follow a pattern of one episode focusing on characters followed by a second episode that is mostly focused on a large battle, with episode eight being the exception so far. I have found these battles to be enjoyable as well.So far there has been two naval battles and  This is where the show's decision to go entirely cg has paid off the most in my opinion.

This brings us to the possible downfall of the show, that the fact that the show is animated entirely with computer animation. In truth I am finding it to be less of a problem than I thought. I think that part of this is due to the fact that everything is in cg thus making it less obvious than when it is contrasted with something else and partially because since everything is in cg the animators are getting more experience with how to make cg work well.

 

Hyuuga is every shipper ever

Overall I have found Arpeggio of Blue Steel to be a generally fun and interesting anime show. If I were to encapsulate it into a simple sentence I would say that it is "Like Infinite Stratos, only with less fan service.I give this show a solid bronze with the possible hint of silver if it gets even better.

Losing your head over Samurai Flamenco

(note this editorial assumes your have seen episode seven)

This wouldn't have happened if I was the star of the show.

This fall among my favorite anime shows has been Samurai Flamenco. It has been a rather fun comedic take on the Japanese super hero genre that can make you think from time to time. I did have one misgiving about the show, the question of where this show is going to go. Episode seven answered this in a big way introducing a villain organization, King Torture and whatever followers he has. However with one answered misgiving another arising, just how does one explain how a man can transform into a gorilla with guillotine in it's stomach.

Moe thinks the show will sort itself out.

In my mind one of the best comparisons to episode seven of Samurai Flamenco is the reveals in Madoka Magica. Both episodes radically changed how viewers think about the shows in question. However there is big possible difference in reveals in these shows. In Madoka Magica only two people knew about the true nature of what was happening before it was revealed to the viewer. In both cases made sense that they would hide what they were saying; with Kyuubey being truthful about the nature of a magical girl would have made his deal a harder sale and in the case of Homura it was shown that she already tried revealing information in another timeline and it didn't do any good. 

I like badguys with more guts.

So the question is who knew about Guilotine Gorilla and when? How Samurai Flamenco answers this will determine how the show will be viewed. There are currently a few factors in the shows favor. The first is than in the previous episodes the world has become slightly more fantastic, especially the heroes armaments. The show has evolved from a man being beaten up by middle-schoolers to a man with office supplies that allow him to mimic spider man. Secondly there is the fact that said gorilla transformation was only able to occur because of police interference. It is fairly understandable that King Torture wanted to keep his organization secret. So if most of the super science can be confined only to his organization some sort of plausibility can be maintained. At least as much as need for a sentai show parody.

See this drove our hero into a despression

Of course at this point all of this is speculation and hope. So far Samurai Flamenco has been a fun exploration of the human condition and morality. I can only hope that the last fifteen episodes. At least it can't be as bad a Coppelion. 

Review Mobile Suit Gundam Movie 1

In the 79th year of universal century war broke out between the Earth Federation and the principality of Zeon. It was a devastating war which cost billions of lives. The movie begins on site seven a space colony which comes under attack because it is holding new prototype weapons for the Earth Federation. A young man named Amuro Ray is caught up in the conflict and manages to save himself by piloting the prototype mobile suit Gundam. However he and the other people of site seven will have to escape aboard the Federation warship called white base.

Baby's first Zaku kill

The mobile suit Gundam movies are a trilogy that compiles a 43 episode television series into three movies. From what I remember of the television series this first movie tells what happens in the first dozen or so episodes of this show. This movie is very action-packed with about six fight scenes happening in the course of about two hours. It does allow for some basic character development even though it does feel somewhat rushed in points. Still from watching the movie I can understand why it is considered one of anime's seminal science fiction works.

Obligatory Char post

As an experiment I watch this number to view the with my father. He found the movie slightly confusing as he asked a few questions. Overall he thought it was a fun movie and very fast-paced even though he did note that the animation felt very poor.

But MOM I have the cap some guy

This brings us to the main downfall of this movie. The mobile suit Gundam movies were made from television great animation that was made in 1979. The said will be quite poor by today's standards. In fact it is the only thing keeping me from giving this a gold rating.

Overall if you can stand the animation and consider yourself a serious anime fan you need to see this movie.

Rating The Silver mecha because there is little to compare Gundam to even if it hasn’t aged all that well.

Gundam build fighters, I accept this selling out

 

When I first posted about Gundam Build Fighters I pretty much said that it was a pretty bold faced toy commercial. I continue to hold this position but even though I dropped over half of the shows I saw I continue to watch this show rather happily and will probably continue to do so. How can I do this?

 

Come on kid you could try and through the het shippers a bone here

I think it is somewhat important to note that Gundam build fighters is a different genre than most Gundam or even most mecha shows. It is more of a sports show than a war drama like other Gundam shows, even G Gundam. Mecha is a genre that is most definitely on a downturn since 2008 and maybe one of the reasons is that many of the conventions that are staples of the genre have become stale. Even some of the more prominent mecha shows such as Guilty Crown and Valvrave tend to behave like poor copies of earlier shows. Gundam Build Fighters, at least right now is a simple show about a few kids who enjoy playing a game but still has much of the feel of a mecha show. Not everything has to be some sort of artistic masterpiece in order to shake up genre conventions.

 

Ral is buried in no sand zaku boy, no sand zaku

The other thing holding this show up is the amount of references that are dropped in the show. Ever since I living through the Lucky Star Hype I know a show can stand almost entirely on references. Perhaps the idea of references to another show is the show appealing to prospective fan the same way that one anime fan could appeal to another. This is how a show as kiddified as Gundam Build Fighters can appeal to an older crowd of mecha fans.

 

Even with leg breakers the show never steers away from it's genre.

Even though I find Gundam Build Fighters to be fun it is still a rather shallow type of fun. While the right kind of fan might really dig the heck out of this show I know it's not for everyone. Right now this show is a solid bronze for me.

I was too harsh with Log Horizon

 

When I was reviewing the first episodes of nearly every anime show I watched the first episode of Log Horizon and pretty much panned it as a somewhat ripoff of Sword Art Online. It was not an uncommon opinion as the accusations of psuedo plagiarism are thrown about with wild abandon. However if you might guess I have watched the show further and am about to recant my old position. Although to lavish praise upon this show is still a bit premature things are looking up for the show.

 

The horror of cosplay

First of all Sword art Online isn't the best comparison to Log Horizon, Maoyuu is. It may seem a bit obvious given that they are both adaptations of novels by the same Author,  Mamare Touno. This is made all the more apparent in episodes five and six of Log Horizon as the show takes a turn into the social engineering that Maoyuu was so known for. My only real worry about Log Horizon at this point is the possibility that it gets too wrapped up with Shiro's grand plan to make the world a better place ignoring things such as character development and action.

Your nightmare but possibly Ron Paul's dreamland

 

There are some things in anime that seem rather stupid on first glance and only when you get further into a show does the reasoning become apparent. This of course applies to the resurrection scenario in Log Horizon. When I first saw it in episode two I thought it was an utterly stupid idea as it was something that drained the tension out of the show like few things could; for after all when the characters no longer have to fear death there is little dramatic tension to the show. However as the show progressed this helped with the show' main theme, asking if people just wake up when you kill them, what is the real consequence to murder, and thus facilitating Elder Tale's descent into a world of chaos and oppression.  

 

Attack on boars covered in vegetables

Currently Log Horizon is an interesting show that is finally starting to stand on it's own two feet. It manages to have some fairly interesting characters and possibly a good plot. It is hovering around a bronze rating or it maintains it's upward trend of quality I could see giving this show a silver rating. Hear is to being hopeful for this show.