Seasonal Reviews: Fall 2014 Pt.1

The Summer is past, and now we move onto the Fall. Welcome to the biggest season for anime of any year, where the studios save their most promising or possibly profitable works to compete with the other major possible hits. Needless to say, the load was huge this time, but our staff is up to the task to bring you reviews of nearly every single airing anime of the season!

Unlike last season, I will be handling most of the review load, due to other engagements the rest of the regular seasonal staff have. However, we are also joined by Megan, Walt, Thom and our newest staff member, Tom, picking up for the lower loads of the rest of the team. This means that everyone only gets one drop this season, except myself and Lilac. Everyone else is covering five shows or less, while Lilac, Joe and I are covering six and twelve, respectfully. Lilac and Joe get the standard two drops, one at start and one after the third entry, while I get three at start, after our second entry, and one after the forth entry.

On top of this, I've changed the format. Instead of dividing all reviews by writer, all shows will be listed out alphabetically with the reviewer's name next to it, so you know who covered what. I'll also list all the dropped shows at the start of all entries, assuming there are any by that point. Second Opinions will still be at the end, where all staff are free to give their thoughts on shows they weren't set to review, but watched anyways.

Without further adou, let's get to it!

A Good Librarian, Like a Good Shepherd
Jonathan Kaharl

Ever hear of a studio called Hoods Entertainment? You probably haven't, but you've probably heard of some of their works. Seikon no Qwaser (the show with breast milk powered alchemy), Manyu Hiken-cho (the show where women fight each other to increase their breast size), and several Queens Blade projects (I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE TO BEGIN). Yeah, they're that kind of studio. They mostly help touch up other projects, but when they work on something themselves, it's usually that kind of show. Color me surprised when their newest project doesn't really fit into the mold they've set for themselves ...sort of.

A Good Librarian, Like a Good Shepherd is a harem comedy ...I think. The main character, Kakei, has the ability to see the future when someone will soon be in terrible danger, but he rarely uses it for anything. He's at home when reading in a library by his lonesome, but a mysterious figure known as the Shepherd won't allow that solitude anymore. The Shepherd manipulates Kakei into meeting a girl named Tsugumi, who's trying to overcome her introverted personality and interact with others, and creates a situation where he's introduced to new experiences that get him reconsidering his way of life. He decides to help Tsugumi in her plan to do something big (which is less a plan and more of a vague goal), unaware he's in the running to be the school's new Shepherd, a mythical figure that can grant the wish of whatever motivated student finds him. That weird element is the part that's sending my genre radar in a fritz, as is the first episode's prologue that shows Kakei talking with a grown man in his past, discussing some secret book of happiness that can only be acquired by helping others from the bottom of your heart. In other words, this series is dangerously in bad Key ripoff territory.

It's not that bad, honestly. Seems Hoods saved a lot of their budget for this series, giving it a very nice setting, with a good mix of soft colors. The animation is also quite good ...although most of the effort is in the scenes Hoods knows best. The show is pretty tame (I honestly can recall a single panty shot), but the animators can't resist giving every single boob physics, and Kakei first meets Tsugumi with an accidental grope while trying to save her life (which he does). Said grope had a ridiculous amount of detail in it. Also, close up of Tsugumi's lips. Yeah. This is probably going to be a pattern for this show. The weird thing is these moments are pretty rare for most the run time, meaning the humor has to pull through. There's nothing very original here, but I got some laughs from it. Not sure what to make of this show yet, but it's far better than I was expecting. Time will tell with this one.

Weak Recommendation

Ai Tenchi Muyo
Joe Straatmann

Apparently, only a city of around 34,000 people wanted to do anything for Tenchi Muyo's 20th anniversary. Seriously, these shorts that bring the original Japanese voice cast back together are sponsored by the small city of Takahashi and meant to enhance its tourism. It's like if my hometown in Nebraska put up some money to bring back episodes of Animaniacs centered on it. It'd be awesome if that happened, but strange nonetheless. I'm not sure Takahashi is even being seen in a positive light in this case, as the opening short frames up the setting of this anime as having dangerous hills full of poisonous snakes and leeches where Tenchi finds himself hopelessly lost and assaulted by the locals. Book your trip today!

I don't expect the shorts to satiate most people's Tenchi hunger should they have it. I liked the franchise well enough back in the day, and through the first barrage of four-minute episodes, I've found one minute of Washu being Washu that tickles my nostalgic fancy. Washu has been and always will be awesome. The rest of it is a confusingly-plotted claptrap of antics. Keep in mind I've had to watch through the shorts twice to piece it together, but the story involves Tenchi being sent to rescue a town that's trapped in some sort of dimensional cliff. Disguised as a teacher, his dominatrix boss throws him into a class where there is a war between the student council and the science club. The science club, desperate for funding, is digging mines underneath the school in search of treasure. Meanwhile, in the past, some alternate dimension, or whatever, Tenchi meets younger characters exactly like the student council, most important of them student council president Momo. Her importance in the series is underlined by the number of times Tenchi sees her panties, which is at least four. The alternate place is similar to medieval Japan except for when the locals have a battle with space pirate Ryoko, who doesn't seem to remember Tenchi at all.

If you're scratching your head at all this, I don't blame you. It's a string of weird events that the writers haven't begun to tie together yet, and whenever the viewer is comfortable with a place and time, it jumps to an entirely different point in the story for an episode, which is just enough to make things more confusing. The content is mostly a mix of sexual and physical comedy that hits the same notes over and over. Tenchi stumbles into something he shouldn't and is severely threatened, mostly with a club, a foot, or a knife landing near his genitals. I think the only time I laughed was when Momo was dangling over a ledge she doesn't realize is six feet from the ground. It's mostly nonsense digging up the Tenchi name for the odd cause of tourism, and I don't see this as being much more than a footnote to the franchise.

No Recommendation

Amagi Brilliant Park
Stephanie Getchell

An unlicensed KyoAni series? WHAT IS THIS WORLD COMING TO?!?!?! Yeah, as of right now this series hasn't been picked up. Which is weird since this is the first I've heard of a Kyoto Ani series not getting picked up for license or simulcast. Granted, that may or may not change in the coming weeks so we'll see what happens. Anywho, the first two episodes of Amagi! YAY!! Let me make this clear, first, I haven't seen a lot of KyoAni series. I have Air sitting around for me to finish, I dropped Tamako Market after one episode, and I watched the first season of Free! but I haven't had time to finish season two still. So don't mind me if I lack any kind of knowledge of KyoAni series. Anyways, how does Amagi start? Well we have a rather narcissistic guy who, out of no where, is asked on a date by a transfer student to a theme park. When they go on this date, Seiya learns that it is really run down and in danger of closing in three months and that he was called here to help restore and save it because it is actually run by magical people from a world called Maple Land. After some resistance, Seiya agrees to help and that's basically where the second episode leaves it.

When I started watching episode one, I had one thought in my mind: I really don't like Seiya. Aside from his narcissistic tendencies, he's also rude, unsympathetic, and just rubs me the wrong way. Doesn't help much that he's a former child actor (more than likely this will play a role later on). However, when he made his big speech to the characters at the park and pissed off the entire group, I began to notice something else about him. He's pretty smart. He wanted to try and motive them in order to make them want to work hard to save the park, that's why he went and irritated them. It's basic logic and, although it's a little cliched, I actually thought it was good. This helped Seiya become at least a little more likeable for me. Clearly, he is a last resort for this park but it seems like he may just be what it needs to stay open. What my be standing in his way are the employees that he pissed off and the Amagi Development group. More than likely, that will be the opposing force for Seiya as the new manager. As for the story, itself, it's nothing too complex though there are some odd pieces that I'm hoping will be clarified later on. More on the Maple Land magic thing end.

For a KyoAni series, I think we're off to a decent start. While Seiya's character has been rather questionable and some of the other characters in the series are a mixed batch, it's not trying to be edgy and cool. This isn't the kind of story for that. Compared to some of the other anime coming along this season, it has more of a simplistic side which is pretty much in line with some of the other KyoAni series I've seen. It has room to grow and show me what it can really do and what it really wants to be, which could be seen as a blessing and a curse. I'm just hoping it's not going to be the latter of the two.

Solid Recommendation

Celestial Method
Jonathan Kaharl

Here's one I don't really know how to make out right now, or at least as well as I'd like. Celestial Method is a colorful drama of some sorts about a group of kids who became disconnected from each other when one of them moved away, and they're all meeting again and reestablishing friendships. Also, there's a giant UFO flying above the town they live in, along with a little alien girl named Noel who's super excited to see lost friend Nonoka move back into town. The two made promises to each other, with Nonoka promising to meet her again, while Noel wants to grant Nonoka's wishes, whatever they may be. Heartwarming sadness soon to follow.

The series starts out focusing on Nonoka moving back and trying to regain her lost memories of the town and her old friends, while Noel pops in to be both adorable and Nonoka's memory trigger. There's a good bit of information given out, such as Nonoka upset by the passing of her mother and one of her old friends holding a grudge for not telling anyone she was moving, but there's also still a lot left in the air to be revealed later, particularly how the other kids who stayed in town still relate to each other. The show takes some time to establish all of their personalities, but they're all pretty stock (the excited girl, the quiet and moody one, the constantly cheerful piece of cardboard, the emotionless guy). Still, there may be more, and I liked the stuff between Nonoka and Noel. There is a genuine friendship there, although having to show it through unexplained memory loss and that old nugget of the dramatic misunderstanding is a tad grating.

This show will either be really good or run of the mill, I simply can't get a read on it yet. I can say that it's very pretty, with lots of bright colors and detailed backgrounds, even including sheets of dust, but the character designs bug me. Everyone looks like a really small child but the guy, despite the fact that seven years passed for these characters. I just can't get past that. Despite a few issues, this series got off to a good start with beautiful visuals and a strong main relationship to latch onto. I feel good giving this one a solid thumbs up.

Solid Recommendation

Cross Ange: Rondo of Angel and Dragon
Jonathan Kaharl

I am going to get so much hate over this one.

Cross Ange is the newest edgy mech show from Sunrise, which of course means that I really enjoy it, while everyone else despises it. I'm not going to try and defend this show from said people because I do agree with where they have their major problems, and this is a type of how that is incredibly easy to despise because it was built that way by its very nature. The first episode ends with an episode preview where a character complains that what they just saw was nothing like what they expected, so Sunrise knew exactly what they were doing with this series. To make things clear, Cross Ange is filled with horrific elements, and while they're all framed as obviously horrific things, the show goes so far that it's going to piss of a ton of people. I ...just have to be blunt here; if you have problems with the use of sexual assault as a plot device or stories completely devoid of "good" characters, you are going to *hate* this series, and rightfully so. Now that practically everyone is gone, fellow people who have been brainwashed by edgy garbage, here's my thoughts.

Cross Ange is a fantasy mech series about a society that uses magic and shuns those born without the ability to use magic, as these people can also destroy their mana constructs. The princess of the kingdom, Ange, is discovered to be one of these people, called a "norma," due to her brother's scheming to be the new emperor. Ange's people turn on her, while her mother takes a bullet for the poor girl and dies in the process. Now stuck at a prison and military outpost, Ange is forced to fight against dragons that poor in from some unknown dimension among other women who have the status as "norma," all while her former home is changing in increasingly horrifying ways. All she can do now is kill every enemy in front of her and survive. The first episode starts by showing some of Ange's fights against dragons, then segways into the story of how she fell from royalty. It sets everything up well, revealing how corrupt the magical society really is by simply showing that Ange really does believe their insane, racist beliefs with terrifying sincerity. Showing her as a soldier early on was a good call, as she would have been borderline unlikable otherwise, but that first scene does bring across that she's going to go through changes as the series moves on. I like the idea for the show, but even I'll admit that Sunrise is reaching new levels of purposefully shocking here.

It's amazing how openly evil Ange's brother is, the show not even bothering to try and give him any redeemable qualities. The society Ange is now forced to protect is made incredibly unlikable by just how vile their beliefs are, and that really has my interest as it puts Ange in a situation where it becomes harder and harder to find a belief to latch onto. This harsh grimness is something I like from Sunrise, but the first episode just outright goes too far with a scene at the end. Gah, it's hard tap dancing around this. Ange gets outfitted with a device at the end for mech piloting near the bottom of her spinal cord, but it also doubles as the symbolic taking of her rights as a human being, which uses imagery normally used for ...those types of scenes. Nothing is shown, only implied, but the credits including a short moment with Ange on the ground and bleeding is something that really didn't need to be added. The scene made its purpose clear already (Ange has fallen from power and to the same low status she once associated with monsters), that last bit was only Sunrise trying to get a stir out of people for publicity. It's the same reason the premise of Valvrave was closely guarded until it aired, shock gets response. It's really hard to say how this show is going to develop from here, besides the fully expected blood and carnage, but I'm definitely interested. If you're disgusted by what I described, though, just skip this one.

I will say one last thing; the reason I like this over garbage like Akame ga Kill is because Cross Ange is completely aware of what it is and how horrible its characters are. That's the point; the story is about Ange being reborn as a freedom fighter for a race of people (possibly two, if the dragons turn coat) that are unfairly put down by society at large. There's an easy to see arc with her. Evil has purpose here, instead of just being window dressing. Cross Ange goes full force in being trashy and offensive, but with a purpose that makes it work in a terrible way.

*throws hands in air* I DON'T KNOW

Denki-Gai
David O'Neil

Going into Denki-Gai, I had mixed feelings. On the one hand, it had some cute and unique character designs that I really liked, but on the other, the ads were giving me somewhat of a bad feeling. I guess you could say anime hasn't really earned my trust when it comes to not expecting icky, fanservice-y things to happen to young girl characters, especially when the main premise of the show is young girls working in a store that sells adult manga. But despite that, I'd heard good things so I decided to give it a shot, and now I can say that I....still feel sort of mixed.

One thing's for sure, the show is a hell of a lot of fun. Its quick pace and over-the-top humor kept me consistently entertained throughout each episode. The show is full of clever bits and crazy lines that are pretty much guaranteed to get some laughs. It's well animated too, showing all the energy and over the top style needed to compliment the humor effectively, and they've done a fairly good job adapting the manga's fairly unique art style as well. At the same time, each episode I felt myself just on the brink of being actually uncomfortable. It's always just so close to actually getting sorta creepy with all of its humor at the expense of the girls. A lot of the times, this creepiness is actually a set up for some sort of joke, like one bit involving a character's love of zombies, as it plays on the audience's expectations and then goes in a totally different direction. But still, when the girls end up in skimpy cosplay at least once or twice each episode, and there's some sorta weird maybe love interest thing going on between a character who looks twenty and a character who looks ten (I know the joke is she's actually sixteen, but still), yeah that's iffy.

If you can see past that though, again, it's actually a really fun show. The humor is crazy and unpredictable, the animation is cute and equally crazy, and overall the show is just pretty enjoyable to watch, and even has some sweeter moments on occasion, even if those sweeter moments are sometimes broken up with sorta iffy moments. If you're just looking for a good laugh, you probably can't go wrong with Denki-Gai.

Solid Recommendation

Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works
Jonathan Kaharl

Good news, people who aren't insane about the Type-Moon canon! I have never actually watched or read anything related to Fate/Stay Night other than hilarious doujins, so I get to judge this reboot of a show on its own merits and not as an adaptation! And my verdict so far is ....eeeeeeerrr it's pretty good? Let me make this clear; I really do believe this is going to be one of the better shows this season. All the cards are in place, the problems come from that weird conundrum anime studios have had when it comes to properly adapting Type-Moon works. To say they have a low batting average is putting it politely. The good news is that Ufotable is on this series, and they've had a past with adapting Type-Moon works well with their Garden of Sinners movie series, not to mention the much loved adaptation of Fate/Zero, so they might just be the guys to get this to work. Assuming the writing staff doesn't fuck things up, of course.

The first two episodes are like night and day to me. The second episode I felt was really good,pacing out a day in the life of the main character Shiroe, all while there's a steady amount of foreshadowing and hints of horrible things on the horizon, along with his awakening as a master in the Holy Grail war. We get an idea of Shiroe's abilities by watching him use them to fix appliances, we get an idea of what type of person he is, we see him interact with a bunch of other students and learn more about them in the process, and it all ends with a fantastically animated battle between his servant Saber and another one named Lancer. It feels exactly how a good first episode should, hitting all the right notes and creating some bonus atmosphere and intrigue in the process. This is partly why the first episode makes me so angry.

I should mention something very important; these first two episodes are each one hour long. Yes, really. Fate/Zero did this as well with its first episode, but I can't say if it used that hour well as I have yet to see it proper. As for this series, the second episode certainly did, while the first episode was a fucking insult to the audience. It follows Rin as she summons her servant and get ready for the Holy Grail war, and the majority of it is either empty time wasting, Type-Moon fanservice, or exposition. Mostly exposition. Oh my god, there is so much exposition. The most obnoxious part is that absolutely all of it feels so pointless. The concepts this series work with, like magicians using mana or commanding their servants with command seals, are incredibly easy to grasp, yet at least thirty minutes of the forty-eight minute run time is spent on hammering in these basic concepts. Most of the episode takes place in Rin's house, and almost nothing of note is accomplished there. The ending fight is great, but it was not worth all that bloody nothing to get to it. It doesn't work because Rin simply doesn't have enough chemistry with most the cast to really allow them to bounce off her besides Shinji, and Shiroe's episode shows a whole lot more of him. Rin's episode would be completely obsolete if not for little moments with Archer, but it's really not worth sitting through the full episode for. Thankfully, that first episode exposition dump now means future episodes will actually allow for character and story development, so I feel good about giving Fate a go. Just maybe skip that first episode and read some wiki entries instead.

Solid Recommendation

The Fruit of Grisaia
Joe Straatmann

It's not often I get to talk about a series based on a pornographic visual novel. I simply don't cross paths with them too often, mainly because I run a Mac and the world of visual novels in general is a bit closed off to me. I had very mixed expectations leaning towards negative since I imagine these shows as advertisements for the uncensored Blu-rays, but this one isn't half bad so far. The characters are predictably stock and the dialogue drifts in one ear and out the other, but as something made so the viewer can eventually see all the girls naked, I'm mildly intrigued to see where the story goes.

Yuuji is a "former dog of the Defense Ministry." As the early hints at his backstory suggest, he seems to be a teenage ex-assassin looking to have the normal life of a high school kid. However, the only "normal" school they find for him only has five students (All female, naturally), and has oddly strict security for a high school. While most of the students seem to be the average lot for a harem erogame (the maid, the little sister, etc.), they give subtle hints that they're separated from the general population for a reason. One girl, Yumiko, has more obvious signs of derangement as she spends much of the second episode trying to kill Yuuji with a box cutter. The first episode is surprisingly well put together. The animation is not top of the line, but it does have some particular attention to depth I rarely find in modestly-budgeted anime. The direction manages to pull the harem aspects as well as the darker tones together without making it seem like they come from two separate series. It even has some restraint and subtlety. SOME being the key word since the last five minutes are spent with one of the girls stripping nude right the next to the main character like it's a common thing, but the panty shots are not overly intrusive on the scenes in general and there's more nudity of Yuuji in the shower until the end of the episode than anybody else. What I'm saying is it doesn't lose its mind just to give the male otaku audience what it wants.

The second episode is much more conventional as it focuses on the "little sister" of the group, Makina, and does little to address the more interesting aspects of the plot. To give an example on how the pacing feels, I put a pizza in the oven at the episode's beginning and darn near burned it because the episode passed by so quickly without me noticing. So even when it gets banal and not a lot's happening, the viewings go by at a fast clip. Before I sound like I'm heaping too much praise on this, yeah, the cliches do become tedious at times. The introduction of Michiru, a wannabe blonde tsundere who spouts off all the conventions of a tsundere and then proceeds to destroy a classroom like the Tazmanian Devil, feels like a joke that wasn't entirely developed. I also have a hard time remembering a single line of dialogue as everything gets shuffled into a generic bunch of harem introductory spiels. Still, the fact that I'm still curious about where it's going makes it at least a small cut above the usual smut peddling.

Weak Recommendation

Garo: The Animation
Stephanie Getchell

I will be the first one to admit that I know next to nothing about tokusatsu. Sure, I know about Power Rangers a bit, but as for the many others that Japan provides such as Kamen Rider and stuff like that, I am clueless. However, Garo is a tokusatsu I have seen some of thanks to a live stream and, from what I saw of the series, I did enjoy it. So, when it was announced months ago that an anime adaptation of Garo was coming in the fall, I immediately added it to my list. Not only that, but it seems that I was the only staff member moderately interested in talking about it, so here I am talking to you about it! For those who don't know the story a young man assumes the title of Makai Knight and fights evil beings called Horrors as the golden armored Garo. That's the basic story line of the 2005 live action series. The anime takes the same concept, but sets it during a more medieval time where a massive witch hunt has taken the lives of so many people because, what the public doesn't know is that the witches they are hunting for are Makai Knights and Alchemists who fight Horrors. Enter Leon Luis, the son of one of the witches burned at the stake (his mother gave birth to him while being burned alive. No joke) and he is raised by his father in order to take on the title of Garo. Meanwhile, the prince Alfonso is on the run from his father's adviser, who is clearly the series's villain, after he and his mother are accused of something. That's pretty much the idea these three episodes have given off so far.

As of right now, this series is hitting all the right notes. The story has been really engaging, the characters enjoyable, and the animation is pretty freaking awesome! Even the CG work for the Makai Knights and some of the Horrors is pretty decent and flows rather well most of the time. I honestly have had the most fun with this series thus far in my fall anime search, and not just because I did like the live action TV series. This anime introduces the concept of Makai Knights and Horrors very well on its own so those who have never heard of the franchise before can come in and understand what's going on. And then there are pieces for those who have seen the TV series, like I have, that still manage to keep my interest. The two stories of Leon and Alfonso have been good so far, with Alfonso's still a little mysterious. There's also the maturity factor that this series has. I mean, for pete's sake, the first episode has German, Leon's father, in bed with a woman and is telling this story about the witch hunts and demons and such. He is actually our exposition into the story, believe it or not! It's not only clever, but it manages to help display that maturity very well. Then there's the cast. That lovely cast! Daisuke Namikawa, you may have seen him voice Chris from Ace of the Diamond and Waver from Fate/Zero recently, as Leon and Romi Park, Edward Elric himself, as Emma are great additions to the cast! Then, for those who have seen the TV series, JAM Project's Hironobu Kageyama DOES reprise his role of Zaruba. I'll just sit over here in my corner and just giggle because I honestly wouldn't have that any other way!

Garo is one of the strong ones this season, I can feel it! These first three episodes have set up the story nicely and the world we are seeing. Clearly our two main leads, Leon and Alfonso, will have some conflicts along the way but I am interested to know how Alfonso's story will play out. As of now, I have pretty much nothing to complain about! My huge concern after saying that sentence, however, is the possibility of disappointment further down the line. You never know, it could be a situation like Aldnoah Zero last season: The first three episodes are amazing! ...and then it just kinda dies by the end. Though I will keep my wishful thinking up with Garo. Just don't pass it up! Just don't.

Strong Recommendation

Gonna be the Twin-Tails!!
Jonathan Kaharl

This is quite possibly the singe most ridiculous, idiotic thing I have ever seen. I love it. Gonna be the Twin-Tails is a magical girl/toku style show about a group of superhero girls in techno battle suits fighting evil invaders who threaten the world. What evil plan do these monsters have? Destroying the pigtails (aka twin-tails) hairstyle by robbing humanity's ability to make up their hair that way through magic or technology or something. All of the girls fighting have twin-tail hairstyles. Also, the main character is a guy who's really into the twin-tails hairstyle who turns into a girl with twin-tails when he uses his battle suit. I am convinced the idea for this series was made while the writer was drinking bleach. I'm happy they did and I hope they're still among the living.

I haven't had so much fun laughing at a show like this in so long, and the amazing thing is that the series is completely aware of the joke as well. This isn't a show so bad that it's good, it's a show so purposefully stupid that I can't help but smile along with it. It's a really basic set-up for a formulaic magical girl show, similar to what Momo Kyun Sword tried last season, but it actually works here because the series is less interested in trying to please lonely otaku and more with getting whosoever is watching to laugh along with the big, long, dumb joke. The idea that a hairstyle is so central to the lives and plans of so many people is completely insane ...and most every normal character agrees. The main character is so obsessed with twin-tails that he instinctively brushes them when they're near him without realizing it. The woman who gives out the powers is absolutely terrible at spy work (she cuts a hole out of the paper hiding her face ...after she's already been noticed for several seconds) and a massive flirt who couldn't possibly be more awkward. And the villains ...my god. The first villain is just ...you have to see it to believe it. But when he died, at least he finally understood the strength and beauty of twin-tails, as did I. My only complaint is that the twin-tails themselves weren't used as weapons. That's a real missed opportunity. Letter Bee beat you to the punch on that, which actually explains why they probably decided against that because seriously fuck Letter Bee.

The show has pretty solid production behind it too. It's not high class stuff, like how little detail the villains have at a distance, or the poor use of CG minions, but the Twin-Tails attacks are really cool, and the human characters are all animated very consistently and on model. It's a cheap but effective method that sacrifices some detail or complex movement for mostly constant quality and cool battle animations that can be reused in future episodes (a lot of magical girl shows do this). The show looks fine for what it is, while managing to stick out with the lively character designs. I really dig the school uniforms and hairstyles, it really matches the light and silly tone the show is going for. There's very little wrong with Twin-Tails beyond animation limitations, because everything else is so tongue in cheek that most writing faults can be forgiven just for the sheer fun of it all. This is a stupid show I find hilarious, and I get it if you may not like it, but I implore you to at least give it a chance. At the very least, you'll get a chuckle out of something, even if you'll feel worlds dumber for it.

Strong Recommendation

Gugure! Kokkuri-san
Jonathan Kaharl

I've been really surprised by just how many good comedies have been released this year. Comedy is always a genre anime has trouble with, especially a few years ago when they tried too hard to be fast and random, failing to really let jokes build or breathe. Things have really started to change, and some amazing stuff has come from 2014 in the genre. Kokkuri-san isn't quite in those same levels, but it's pretty close, and it's definitely a good pick up if you want a laugh.

The series premise is that a young girl who thinks she's a robotic doll summons a fox spirit named Kokkuri on a whim one day, and the fox won't leave the girl (named Kohina) alone because he becomes genuinely worried about her health from the way she lives. At least that's how it starts. In the span of one episode, it gets revealed that Kokkuri is the lonely one and started watching Kohina because she was the only person who played at his dilapidated shrine, and Kohina is understandably disturbed by this revelation. This sets the tone for the show, as it mixes heartwarming little moments with strange revelations or the sudden application of real world logic to pure absurdity. It works really well, leading to some especially memorable visuals and gags (Kohina calls the police at one point in a completely out of nowhere bit of brilliance), but it has some problems in there.

The show has solid gag pacing and a good sense of absurd humor, but it doesn't do either spectacularly. The show is essentially a collection of what would normally be shorts, and the story beats in each section don't always flow with each other right. It's a tad distracting. The animation also isn't lively enough for the few bits of slapstick to really work. The gags also either are too grounded or aren't grounded enough at times, leading to a few jokes that don't work as well as most the rest. Despite that, the strength of the two main characters and their chemistry lifts things up, especially Ryo Hirohashi's performance as Kohina with that robotic, monotone delivery. It looks like three other regulars are on the way, and they all look wonderfully absurd, so hopefully things are going to get better from the first good showing.

Solid Recommendation

Gundam: G no Reconguista
David O'Neil

As I said in my review of Mobile Suite Gundam: The 08th MS Team, I'm not exactly a Gundam expert. The 08th MS Team, and Gundam 00 remain the only two series from the franchise I've seen in full. Despite that, Gundam: G no Reconguista piqued my interest due to the involvement of Eureka Seven's (a personal favorite of mine) character designer, and the director/writer/animator considered the main person responsible for creating and establishing the Gundam series in it's early days, Yoshiyuki Tomino. These factors along with my desire to watch more of the Gundam series encouraged me to give G no Reconguista a shot. And I'm glad I did.

I honestly think one of the most fascinating things about G no Reconguista is it's presentation, which don't really feel like any other show being put out right now. As I clarified earlier I haven't watched much early Gundam, but even I can tell that this series is going for what I'd consider a "Retro" feel. On the audio side of things, sound effects all sounds very classic, most likely being carried over from older Gundam shows. The music as well is refreshingly old fashioned, with the exciting orchestral score complementing the action well. It's visuals are really interesting though, they're almost contradictory in a way. I'd describe the animation in G no Reconguista as "conservative", never going all that over the top or fast paced in the action, often relying on things like extended still frames and motion lines in action that you just don't really see as often in modern anime. In concept I would expect to dislike this, to find it dated or lazy, but the show really does make it work, remarkably so. Maybe it's just that even when not much is going on, the way it's presented is very dynamic, or maybe it's that the more conservative, simple shots are broken up with incredibly well animated shots (which are worked in without clashing with the style may I add) but G no Reconguista is just a great looking show. It also helps that the fight choreography is interesting, the character designs are cool, and the art direction is fantastic.

In terms of story G no Reconguista is yet another where it's just too early to really tell where they're going with the story and if it'll pay off all that well. The exposition can feel convoluted at times (maybe it helps if you have more expansive knowledge of Gundam lore), but I have a pretty good idea of the powers at play and their motivations, I feel like I could use a few blanks filled in but that may just be a result of the show rarely ever dumping exposition and preferring to work it into the dialogue more naturally. Speaking of the dialogue, it's pretty well written, some of the characters get some legitimately funny moments in there and I like both the main character and the supporting cast quite a bit. It's still early, but so far G no Reconguista is very promising. If anything it's just worth watching for it's very strong presentation that channels the classic feel of early mecha anime while also managing to look and feel high quality, which is an impressive feat.

Strong Recommendation

Hi-sCool! Seha Girls
Walter Holleger

I feel I should start this by saying one thing; I didn't find this funny, charming, or anything really. I sat and watched the first episode of this short series ready to take whatever it threw at me, good or bad, and instead, it just kind of existed and then stopped. Emotionless is really the best way to describe it, a corporate drone of a show that feels like it's marketing the consoles that have been out of production for over a decade.

At Sehagaga Academy, three girls (Dreamcast, Sega Satrun, and Mega Drive) meet up and take classes together. In order to graduate from this academy, they must pass tests involving journeying through classic Sega games and franchises, and collect one-hundred credit medals. The three girls themselves are pretty one note; Dreamcast as the happy ditz, Mega Drive the quiet smart girl straight man, and Sega Saturn the comedic reaction, an overly stale combination that's only new contribution is how they work Sega into all their jokes and bits, such as using characters from Sega games to misinterrupt one of the girls interest in boys. It all feels very shoehorned in, nothing about it seems to flow right from one gag to the next, and entering games is only briefly touched upon at the end of the episode with a rather bland and boring transformation sequence squeezed in.

I've said this already, but it does bear repeating; I don't find this show funny, and since this is a show where the comedic value is the strongest selling point, I can't give this show a recommendation of any kind. I'm only really interested in seeing what the show does with the characters entering the video games, but I'd be lying if I said I had high hopes.

No Recommendation

I Can't Understand What My Husband is Saying
Thom "Tama" Langley

So. I Can't Understand What My Husband Is Saying. Based upon a 4koma manga, involving an office worker and her otaku husband ...it’s everything you’d expect from the genre. NEET blogger husband, office going wife. Episode one begins with our couple getting married. And then their honeymoon. And then ordinary life. Which mostly involves injokes and references, with otaku husband. Episode one also involves: PORN! IN THE LIVING ROOM! And the line “WE are boobs.” And moe. Lots…of moe. And reviewing. I’d say this is a parody of the fanbase that will PROBABLY watch this, if it wasn’t partly from the angle of “otaku are weird”. Episode two (And seriously, with these episodes lasting just THREE AND A HALF MINUTES, they go past at a hundred miles an hour) meanwhile has: a visiting friend! Her manga drawing issues! The boys love fandom! Otakus! Visiting friend being kicked out! More BL references! The protagonist being drawn as a uke! That horses’ head from the internet! More visiting friends! (And friends from the internet).

Um. So far, so…ok.

On the plus side, I Can't Understand What My Husband Is Saying is a pretty accurate view of the otaku fandom, and how those outside the fandom may view it. The protagonist and his wife are likeable enough, at once, that they’re decently fleshed out for only seven minutes of screen-time, but slip into caricature from time to time. The other characters are …less developed, but that’s to be expected. The animation is decent, but nothing spectacular. What really shoots this series in the foot is its spectacularly short running time. Hetalia seems like the director’s cut of Lord of the Rings compared to the three and a half minute (of which thirty seconds is credits, complete with the dysfunctional duo sharing a bath) that I Can’t Understand has, which further shoots it in the foot is the whiplash style of the series; we’ve barely finished with the punchline of one (short) scene, than we’re given the next. A couple more minutes in running time would have improved this greatly. That said, what we do get is enjoyable enough, I just wish there was more of it.

In short; it’s not bad, but it’s over too quickly. If you’re an otaku, or know one, it’s a quick bite of anime silliness.

Weak Recommendation

In Search of Lost Future
Jonathan Kaharl

This is going to be an interesting watch, at the very least. In Search of the Lost Future is another visual novel adaptation, and those always have iffy chances on being good or bad. It really depends on the strength of the original game, and very few rarely manage to pull it off because they're taking far too much of their DNA from other popular games, like the Science Adventure franchise or the works of Key. I think this series is somewhere in the middle of those two, and I'm interested in what direction it plans to take. The basic premise is that a group of five kids are running an astronomy club and two members, Sou and Kaori, are dealing with feelings for each other. The show looks like it's going to be something related to the romance genre ...except the first scene shown is of two unseen figures doing some sort of experiment on a girl in a tube in some dark laboratory. This makes the big first episode twist much easier to take in; Kaori gets run over by a bus on her way home after admitting her feelings, and then the show goes back in time to the first meeting we see of the club as the Earth shakes and Sou finds a naked, white haired girl who just seemingly fell from the sky.

That's certainly one way to start a show. It's obvious this series is going to be filled with time travel, and I'm interested in that aspect of it. My first impression of the characters is also solid, with everyone at least having either an understandable conflict or likable set of traits. Kaori is a pretty dull character, but there's thankfully everyone else around her to make things more interesting, especially Airi and Kenny. Airi constantly finds herself in fights, while Kenny is from the US of A and speaks in random English to my constant enjoyment. Sou is also pretty solid for a main character in these types of shows. Still, the drama between the cast is pretty been there, done that and generally uninteresting, leaving the mystery to hook.

I think it did the job for me. I want to know more, and I'm interested in seeing how this all comes together. Granted, it will probably be bad, but I suppose I'll find out soon enough. The show looks very nice to boot, except for a weird animation issue where it sometimes looks like the show is using 3D models. It doesn't look bad, exactly, but it's very distracting. I'm going to be nice here and give the series a solid recommendation, but keep in mind I've only seen one episode, and this is the type of show that only really makes its quality clear with time. Approach with caution, but I have a good feeling.

Weak Recommendation

JOKER
Walter Holleger

If there was ever going to be a season that can prove whether or not this is a big enough world for multiple of the same thing to exist at the same time, it would be this season with two shows about a phantom thief using an array of gadgets and magic tricks to steal priceless gems. JOKER, however, is clearly marked for a much younger demographic than the other show.

JOKER, rather than focusing on the robbery's themselves, features a stronger focus on the gadgets used in the robbery, such as transformation bubble gum and super cars, all very child-like and cheesy in nature and is actually used to make some great moments of action in the show. The show also goes to lengths to show Joker as a thief with a heart of gold, giving the person being robbed an overly dastardly back story for how he obtained the gem in question and showings off Joker's more honorable sides, while also showing how arrogant he can be. And naturally, a show about a thief isn't anything without it's own Zenigata clone, Oniyama, and that's sadly all he is, a clone of an already well establish character.

The first episode was focused mostly on gadgets and making Joker look cool, so I'm hoping in future episodes we get a bit more focus on the other side characters while Joker continues to look cool. As a show, it's got plenty of suspense and thrills for a young audience, and some decent action and a lighter mood to relax to for the older folks, and however the series goes, I'm looking forward to seeing how JOKER plays out.

Solid Recommendation

Laughing Under the Clouds
Joe Straatmann

While it has far from the best introductory episode, I must say Laughing Under the Clouds has some of the most potential for the season. The transitional Meiji Era going from the historical Japan most are familiar to the rush to become modernized is a fascinating period, and the clashing of cultures no doubt can produce some great stories and in some instances, already has. Rurouni Kenshin, for example. Added into the mix is a mysterious island prison created to hold the swell of wandering ronin and other criminals created after samurai were disbanded and the use of the sword was banned. Unfortunately, the first episode has to get through lot of clunky expository dialogue before it can even hint at the better things to come.

The story centers on a three brothers whose run a shrine and ferry government prisoners to Gokumonjo, the largest prison in Japan. They mostly have to catch the prisoners themselves, as the local law enforcement literally says, "We're a disgrace to the police force!" As any villager will randomly tell each other throughout the day, their parents died of consumption and it's been rough going for the family. The elder brother Tenka has been doing the brute force work and holding the family together while Soramaru tries to pull his weight and become his brother's equal, as he constantly states. Chutaro is the youngest brother and still la child who Tenka is severely overprotective of, as is the case when Chutaro acts funny one and morning and Tenka dresses in drag in order to spy on his sibling at school. This sequence, it should be noted, leads to absolutely nothing of consequence and is mostly pointless.

If you couldn't tell by now, I'm more interested in what the series might be instead of what it is at the moment. I really commend the look of the the whole thing, as the characters are detailed, the settings layered and interesting, and everything is punctuated by the ending credit sequence which puts all the major characters into gorgeous Ukiyo-e styled paintings. The only nitpick I can find over aesthetics is the series tends to edit around fighting sequences, using the reliable flashing through still images and showing the aftermath. After seeing the second episode, there's nothing I can see in the faults of the initial episode holding it back in the future save maybe the use of comedy as a stall tactic when it feels like it's going to address plot relevant things. Then again, it is called LAUGHING Under the Clouds. I generally like the characters, the story shows promise, and I do anxiously await everything to unfold. The first episode simply commits a lot major writing sins in introducing an audience to the story, and the end result suffers for it. I'm a harsh judge right now, but I have to deal with what's front of me and not what could be waiting in the coming weeks.

Weak Recommendation

Lord Marksman and Vanadis
Jonathan Kaharl

This is early the most "light novel" of the light novel shows I'm covering, by a mile. At the same time, I kind of like it. Lord Marksman and Vanadis is a fantasy series about an archer warrior named Tigrevurmud Vorn (get used to these ridiculous names) and the woman who beats and captures him, Eleonora Viltaria. Tigre tried to kill Ellen on the battlefield after a crushing lost for his country, but was ultimately captured alive, out of Ellen's respect for his will and strength. Ellen's also a Vanadis, a warrior maiden who watches over a dragon, gaining incredible magic powers as a result. In other words, Tigre is stuck under her thumb, wanting to get back to his own slice of land left by his family. Despite their status as enemies in a war, the two form a bond and Tigre begins to question his alliances.

I'm having a hard time making up my mind of this series from just one episode. Most of the first episode is necessary exposition to explain who are the people involved in this war, along with giving some insight into the politics of this world. None of it is particularly that interesting, besides what immediately affects Tigre. There's also a ton that needs to be filled in, particularly the importance of the Vanadis, and the use of overly imaginative fantasy names is more an annoyance than a little fun bit of world building. Still, there's a solid amount of time spent defining who Tigre and Ellen are, and they're both pretty fun characters, even if Tigre is pretty stock. Ellen's confident, assertive and joyful attitude is a breath of fresh air in a genre saturated by fake strong women, especially in how she almost never shows anger. She's truly confident in her abilities and loves a challenge, and I almost never see that from female characters in works like this. She and Tigre have good chemistry with each other, a chemistry that really elevates the show from most its contemporaries in just a single episode.

I liked what I saw, but I also feel like I don't have a real idea of what this show is going to be just yet. I'm wondering if the better qualities are what's going to get the most attention, or if the series will devolve into the usual harem trash with a dull main character made for audience wish fulfillment. Out of everything I've seen, this has the most potential to be something special, but it's equally likely it trips up as it starts to devolve into the lesser tropes of its ilk. I'll watch with interest. I'm going to avoid recommending this series until next installment, when I have a better idea of what the show is going to be like.

No Recommendation

Magic Kaito 1412
Joe Straatmann

I wasn't expecting a throwback to late 90's anime in this group of shows, but here we are! The sharper noses (I would call them genuine snozzes by their size), cornball sayings ("Let's meet again in the marvel of moonlight"), and general feel invoke anime of years past. If you took the scenes of obvious modern CG work out, you could play this next to episodes of Cardcaptor Sakura and nobody would be wise to the fact that they come from different eras. Maybe the nostalgia of sick days where I could watch old school Sailor Moon on the USA Network got to me, but I'm having a pretty good time with this one.

Kaito is a teenage magician whose father disappeared eight years ago. One night, a passage in his bedroom opens to reveal his father's secret identity as legendary thief the Phantom Kid. In order to smoke out the people who may have killed his father, he assumes his father's secret identity and resumes a spree of robberies, baffling the typical buffoon police these things usually have, though he returns everything he steals. By day, he maintains a screwball romance with his next-door neighbor Aoko who happens to be the daughter of the police chief. Based on a manga by Detective Conan creator Gosho Aoyama, this series is bent towards a younger audience and its content is lighter than air, but I can't help but enjoy its breezy simplicity. The first episode is extremely fast-paced to the point where the music changes tones three times in one scene, but it never feels like it's rushing the audience. If you think about it too long, there are questions that pop up like how does Kaito not notice a room large enough to hold a fancy car seemingly built into the middle of his house for eight years, but this is the kind of series that just goes with it. It's a pure weekly serial action/adventure cartoon that doesn't fret with complexity and has enough wit, charm, and fun to make it worth the time.

If there is one thing I take issue with, it's that Kaito's relationship with Aoko begins with sexual harassment. We're introduced to them by Kaito using magic tricks to see her panties and report their color to his classmates. Classy. Fortunately, they have a good enough repartee to mostly make amends for the rocky introduction. That's not to mention his birthday present to her in the second episode is as good of a gift as any. It's a moment where composer Taku Iwasaki breaks out his warmly stirring strings that almost cause me to shed a tear every time he puts them in a moment, and I can't say they're unwarranted. Magic Kaito 1412 is made from a lot of well-worn parts, but they're still reliable enough to work. I'm surprised nobody has shown any interest in licensing it. Maybe it aims too young for the current anime demographic. Maybe some people are still snakebitten by the failure of Case Closed to catch on in the States. Who knows. What I do know is the series good enough to go through the less-visited parts of the Internet and seek it out, especially if you remember the anime landscape of the late 90s.

Solid Recommendation

Orenchi no Furo Jijou
Megan R

It all started out so innocently. Tatsumi just happened to be walking past the river when he found a strange blond man washed up on the shore, barely conscious. He decides to help the poor man out, only to discover that the man is in fact a merman called Wakasa. Now Tatsumi is stuck with a merman who would rather eat his food, monopolize the bathroom, and waste all the hot water than return to the wild, which Tatsumi accepts with deadpan resignation. Those three sentences sum up all you need to know about Orenchi no Furo Jijou (“The Circumstances In My Home’s Bathtub”), which is good because that’s literally all you get from the first episode. Whatever potential this series might have held as either a character piece or as a slice-of-life series is undercut by the four minute running time.

I know this is an odd complaint to have about a short series, but this is a premise that really demands a longer running time. Like Wakasa himself, the viewer is meant to lovingly soak in all the details and gentle humor of a slice-of-life series like this. Instead the episode rushes its way through the backstory, barely giving the viewer any time to learn about the leads themselves before the credits roll. I could have forgiven the rush if the vocal performances were more lively, but this is far from the case. Yuchiro Umehara does his best with what little he’s given as Wakasa, but Nobunaga Shimazaki’s performance is so ludicrously deadpan that you almost wonder if he’s awake half the time. Those who know him as lively, bubbly Haruka on Free! would be quite shocked at the difference. The animation is unremarkable and stiff, which I guess would make it all the easier to appreciate the effort put into detailing and shading the character models. It makes it all the more of a shame that their hair is so hopelessly overdesigned and angular, resulting in things like the weird hair horn that Wakasa has on the back of his head. The only notable visual here is the opening, a strangely moody collection of well-detailed black and white clips set to a fervent J-rock tune. Still, we’ve gotten the backstory out of the way, so I remain cautiously hopeful that Orenchi still might be able to turn things around and bring the focus back around to the characters or to the humor.

Weak Recommendation

Parasyte -the maxim-
Stephanie Getchell

You know how I said I was lucky that no one on the staff really picked Garo? Well, I can say that I'm extremely lucky to get Parasyte because quite a few staff members were interested in it. For us here at Rainy Day, Parasyte was one of the few that we all have high hopes for this season. And as of right now, at least for me, I am liking what I am seeing. Here's what I have seen so far after one episode. Izumi is a regular high schooler until he encounters a "snake" in the middle of the night while he sleeps. This "snake" tries to crawl up his nose, but is suddenly sneezed out and Izumi wakes up and starts freaking out. The "snake" then tries burrowing into his right arm, but Izumi manages to cut off the circulation to his arm and somehow everything seems ok. At least until his right hand starts acting up. Ya know grabbing a girl's boob, playing with your cell phone in class, saving a little girl from getting hit by a car. The usual. Izumi finds out that whatever the "snake" was, it actually ate his right arm and replaced it with itself. Now, Izumi and Migi (name isn't actually said in episode one) must learn to coexist with each other while at the same time deal with more like Migi who managed to take over a person's brain and now feasts on other humans as this weird mouth and eyes thing that disguises itself as a human head... Yeah I can't describe it very well.

The last time I saw a recent work from Studio MadHouse was with Ace of the Diamond (which I'm currently very behind in). They're taking Parasyte on this season, and I have to say I am perfectly fine with this. Here's the thing, MadHouse has actually created some of the better horror/mystery/psychological series that I have seen in a long time, including Monster and Paranoia Agent (or anything Satoshi Kon, in general). This kind of series isn't one to take lightly based on the material and what I've currently seen, so I'm glad MadHouse is going all out with it and making it so entertaining. The first episode itself begins to set up the story rather nicely. Notice how I said "begins"? I say this because we don't 100% have our current plot direction and instead we get character and a bit of background. That is perfectly fine here! Because of the circumstances we are currently seeing here, just having this kind of background helps out a lot. Not only do we spend this time with Izumi as he comes to terms with what happened, but we also get to see the effect these alien things are having on society as we see the pretty gory results. Normally, I would be iffy about it, but since the writing is, at least, above average I don't really have much to complain about.

Oddly enough, I managed to make some comparisons to Tokyo Ghoul thanks to how similar parts of the first episode seem to parallel the other. Does that mean that I think one did it better than the other? No, that's a stupid question because the circumstances are much different. What Tokyo Ghoul's Kaneki and Parasyte's Izumi are going through may seem a little similar, but the world surrounding them and the consequences that could occur are drastically different. Right now, out of the five series I've seen while writing this (the other four being Trinity Seven, Yona, Bahamut, and the new Trigger series), Parasyte is my favorite. There's really something good going on here, and I am actually surprised that it hasn't been officially licensed as of writing this entry. I think this would be a good addition to Tokyo Ghoul and Selector Infected from this year. Don't you think so too, FUNimation?

Strong Recommendation

Rage of Bahamut: Genesis
Thomas Zoth

This fall season has had a lot of surprises, but nothing has been quite as surprising as Rage of Bahamut: Genesis. After looking forward to a Parasyte anime since the late 1990's, I'm rather amazed to find myself more excited about a series that just two weeks ago seemed to be beneath notice. It's not particularly hard to be skeptical. Good Western fantasy anime has been in short supply, with most recent attempts at the genre coming in the form of science fiction with modern teens playing MMORPGs online. This is to say nothing of the fact that Rage of Bahamut is based on a freemium card game app, and that said app is a confusing mess with an interface hailing from web-based games from 1996.

But no, Bahamut is a title that has me as excited as Redline did four years ago. Much like Redline, the story of Bahamut isn't especially new or ambitious. It's all in the level of polish and care in which that story is told. Instead of a production committee, Cygames, the developer of the game app, managed production all by itself, giving MAPPA apparently free reign in its adaptation, even allowing episodes to be musically scored after animation was complete, suggesting a fantastic production schedule. The show plays out like an animated Pirates of the Caribbean, with a similar light-hearted tone and dubious source material. Ne'er-do-well rogue Favaro is a bounty hunter, a braggart and liar who uses street smarts and deception to capture demons and crooks for pay. He has a rival in Kaisar, a former knight whose family has fallen on hard times, and who blames Favaro for causing his problems. In between dueling with Kaisar and capturing kidnappers, Favaro runs across the mysterious Amira, a seemingly innocent girl who just so happens to be an all-powerful demon. Amira hears Favaro bragging about a secret route to the legendarily dangerous frozen wastes of Helheim, and taking him at his word, recruits him to be her guide.

There are several fantastic setpieces here, from a duel on the rooftops and a giant waterwheel, a nighttime battle with fire-breathing demons, and a jaw-dropping duel between demon Amira and a gigantic ape creature. The animation is fantastic, with even the CGI well-integrated. But the real source of Bahamut's appeal is the writing. It doesn't rely on the stock archetypes of anime, instead combining tokusatsu action with Hollywood swashbuckling. The man in charge of series composition, Keiichi Hasegawa, has worked on a few classic anime, including Big O and Devil Lady, but may have more acclaim from his work on Ultraman and Kamen Rider Fourze. I'm really not a fan of fantasy at all, but I can't recommend checking out Bahamut enough. With a single episode under it's belt, it's already assured a spot on my top ten of the year.

Strong Recommendation

Ronia, the Bandit's Daughter
Joe Straatmann

It would be easy to nitpick this thing to death. Let's face it, when Studio Ghibli announces a television series and it's based on a relatively well-known book by a beloved author, expectations go through the roof. It doesn't matter if the director is Goro Miyazaki, the person who brought a story involving dragons, drug addiction, and sex slavery to the Ghibli repertoire and ruined it by making everything so dreadfully dull. It's the event of the season, and, well, the brass taxes of it all is if you can look beyond the obviously subpar character animation unbecoming of such prestige, it has enough of the studio's heart to be considered well worth watching.

Since the first footage has been released, it's been no secret Ghibli's completely CG character animation for this series is lacking. Everything is too rounded, too perfect, and the character designs which would thrive in the studio's normal approach now appear too simplistic. It's a little dispiriting, especially seeing the ending credits that show all the characters sketched the old-fashioned way. I played a little bit of Ni no Kuni just before writing this to be sure my memory wasn't playing tricks on me, but I'd prefer the in-game engine graphics of that to the characters here, if nothing else because the backdrops would blend in better.  If I could say one thing to the animation's credit, though, the faces are surprisingly very expressive and manage to make up for some of the shortcomings. The first two episodes are not much of an attention grabber and would be more suited to be considered a prologue of sorts (They were aired back-to-back on Japanese television). That said, they have all the little character delights most studios forget. The story during the outset centers on Mattis, the most cuddly bandit leader in existence. He rules the forest with his band of merry men in a castle so large, somebody once got lost in it for four days. Despite his career as a bandit, he finds it difficult to do his job and bicker with his rival Borka with the birth of his daughter Ronia. He coddles her and will rush back home for the simple opportunity of feeding her, much to dismay of his wife, Lovis, the usual Ghibli strong, no-nonsense mother.

To be honest, that pretty much describes most of what happens. There is some smattering of the more fantastical elements, but the "real" story only begins at the end of the second episode. The rest is building character, and I can say it's worth savoring every moment Mattis is on screen. I hesitate to describe specific moments since they're based on spontaneousness and surprise, but he is a delightfully goofy person whose love for his daughter betrays his brutal trade. He is surrounded by equally enjoyable people, and it's hard to reject their company even if the most they're doing is cooing over baby Ronia. If you're expecting the Studio Ghibli that takes your breath away and makes you smile, well, you only get half of that. I still think it's one of the titles worth watching this season, but it's biding its time a bit more than many event anime titles would. If you can handle the relaxed paced of The Secret World of Arrietty, it shouldn't be a problem.

Solid Recommendation

Seven Deadly Sins
David O'Neil

It's a rare occurrence that I read a manga before the anime adaptation of anything, I have sort of a rule that I don't read any manga that's in the process of getting adapted into an anime because I just prefer anime over manga, and would prefer not to have stuff spoiled before watching the anime. Seven Deadly Sins is one of those rare occurrences though. There's no special reason, I just happened to give it a try before an anime adaptation had been announced. I didn't get that far into it (only about fifteen chapters) but I rather enjoyed what I read. Now that the first few episodes of the anime adaptation are out, I'm happy to say I rather enjoyed them as well.

The show takes place in the kingdom of Britannia, which has been ruled by the "Holy Knights" ever since seven immensely powerful knights known as " The Seven Deadly Sins" supposedly attempted to overthrow the "Liones Kingdom". But years after all of that, the Holy Knights themselves overthrow the king, and the king's daughter, Princess Elizabeth, escapes the castle in order to find the only people who could challenge the Holy Knights and regain the kingdom: The Seven Deadly Sins. The first of which who she discovers to be Meliodas, a traveling bar owner with the appearance of a young boy, who agrees to help Elizabeth find the other Seven Deadly Sins and save the kingdom. When it comes down to it, Seven Deadly Sins is a pretty typical shonen adventure manga from a story standpoint. Let's just say "A powerful, immature boy and his talking animal sidekick go on an adventure across a fantasy land to find important plot device things" isn't exactly breaking new grounds for anime. Although Seven Deadly Sins may be pretty typical stuff so far, it's well done typical stuff.

It's animated by A-1 Pictures (Fairy Tail, Anohana) and it's easily one of the better looking shows this season. It has a colorful, unique art style that stays true enough to the manga's great art while also transferring well to the new medium. It's also just really well animated, especially during the action scenes which feature some really cool, interesting animation. In addition, it features music from composor Hiroyuki Sawano (Attack On Titan, Kill la Kill) which is always a treat. Overall the first few episodes were just fun and well made, tactfully introducing the characters and world without piling on exposition or getting too boring. And while Meliodas's perverted hijinks can be a bit off putting at times, he really is a likable main character for the most part. Seven Deadly Sins may not be one of a kind, but so far it's well executed enough to be enjoyable despite that.

Solid Recommendation

Shirobako
David O'Neil

The opening scene of Shirobako feels like something you'd seen in a dozen other high school slice of life shows. A group of young girls, filled to the brim with passion for what they love (in this case, making anime), excited for the future that lay ahead of them making anime together in Tokyo some day. And then, a sudden jump cut to one of those girls as a young adult, clearly tired and unhappy, that youthful bliss gone from her eyes, waiting for a stoplight to change to deliver some key frames. And that's the start of the somewhat strange, but consistently interesting anime about making anime, Shirobako.

I was relieved to see that the show doesn't go the route of another high school slice of life show and instead choses to focus on an actual anime studio making a television anime. Now, that said, how much you enjoy Shirobako will largely depend on how interested you are in how it is anime is made, that being the primary focus of the show. The show does have a quite large cast of characters as well, most of which have a lot of personality and I'm really looking forward to learning more about, but at it's core Shirobako is about all these characters working together to reach a common goal: to get an anime made and meet deadlines. And if you couldn't care less about anime production, I could one finding this show somewhat uninteresting. But as someone who is very interested in anime production, I'm absolutely loving this show. From key animators discussing differing animation styles, to voice actors/actresses trying to decide on the perfect reading of a line, to the director and animation director disagreeing on how to shoot a scene, I found myself deeply interested in the conflicts the team faced and the parallels to actual anime production, and from what I've heard it's actually fairly accurate, though spiced up a bit to make it more entertaining for a TV audience (I would assume rival anime studios don't actually street race to deliver their key frames first).

And adding on to all that, this is a P.A. Works show, so everything looks great as well. Incredibly diverse character designs (if a bit too heavy on the moe in some places), strong animation, and an overall pleasing visual style, it's a quality show to be sure. I find myself really enjoying Shirobako. It treats the subject matter in a respectful and somewhat realistic manner, has a large but distinct cast of characters, and is as entertaining as it is interesting (especially if you're interested in anime production).

Strong Recommendation

Terraformars
Jonathan Kaharl

Editor's note: The actual image censoring is just two black circles, but I found this too hilarious and I really needed some levity.

Terraformars was one of the most hyped up shows of the season. It's based on a popular manga, it's ultra violent, it includes multinational characters beating the crap out of alien monsters; It just sounds like a great time, and it sounded like a surefire hit and must watch. Then people saw the first episode and Terraformars has become one of the lower performing shows this season. Why? Censorship. Oh my lord, the censorship. This is a gore heavy, B-Movie sci-fi action series about people with superpowers and cockroach people bashing each other into paste, but whenever the fun parts start up, the series makes it impossible to see anything.

The story of Terraformars actually started in earlier OVAs, but you don't need to watch them. The long and short is that mankind is under the threat of an alien virus from Mars, and they need to head up there to get samples of the virus (it dies fast on Earth) to make a cure. Of course, they've done this a few times, but always in failure; there are roach aliens living on Mars due to failed terraforming experiments, and they're all horrifically powerful. Add in the ability to fly, and things are a mess. However, this mission has to be completed, and Earth's plan is to use a series of people who have the ability to use a super-mode based on the power of insects and animals. If you're wondering why I haven't mentioned any main character, it's because there's not really one; Akari is presented as one, but he's barely in the series once the crew is in space, with more focus being put on the various officers and their insane power, along with various other minor officers. The premise is a lot of fun, and the series is visually awesome. There's a ton of really cool effects and character designs, not to mention those stylish coats. The score gets a lot of points as well, especially this creepy insect-like hymn that grows louder and louder. The problem, and why the show is so hated right now, is the censoring.

Tokyo Ghoul definitely had censorship issues last season, but gore was not what made that show interesting. The sheer brutality of Terraformars is the big draw, and almost all of it is impossible to see due to how the show is censored. The minute a body part is about to become detached, over half of the screen is blocked out by a lazy gradient, which also has the added problem of blocking out most every action going on. This is already a huge issue, and its only going to get worse as the series gets bloodier and bloodier. Just wait for the blu-ray or read the manga, and consider this my first drop.

No Recommendation, Dropped

Tribe Cool Crew
Jonathan Kaharl

I am infinitely amused that this Sunrise show airs the same season as the one with a military prison filled with bisexuals and lesbians.

With that out of the way, Tribe Cool Crew is a dancing themed anime from Sunrise. That's pretty unexplored territory for anime, so the series instantly gets points for originality. The show follows Haneru, a kid with a love for freestyle dancing, who meets a girl named Kanon. She's the complete opposite for the endlessly energetic ball of enthusiasm, born in a family that moves slow and puts value in study, but she loves to dance so much that she posts her moves as the masked dancer "Rhythm" online. She also has a habit of watching Haneru practice from behind a one way mirror window in a reserved room near his hidden spot, going so far as to try and dance with him while he's trying to learn her moves from her videos. The sun eventually reaches the proper position for the two to see each other, and Haneru decides to try and make a dance crew with Kanon, which is easier said than done by her own shyness and reservations.

This is one of the kid aimed shows of the season, and it's definitely one of the best I've seen for that demographic. The show is very colorful and energetic, with designs heavy on jolts and shapes, with music that matches. There's a lot of techno and dubstep, but it fits well with the dance theme. Some of the tracks themselves are surprisingly catchy to boot. I also love how diverse the cast is, there's even one fat guy in suspenders who's treated as one of the coolest characters in the cast, that's something I never see from any media. There's just a nice feel to the show, and while there's nothing mind-blowing about the cast, they're all very likable and fun to watch. Haneru is particularly fun, especially how he gushes about his favorite dancer or how he mimics a cat on the way to his practice spot. Ironically, the show's weak spot is the entire premise; dancing.

None of the dancing is done in 2D, only CG. This can work, but the character designs are so exaggerated that they tend to stick out far too much with the CG used. Some movements also look a bit stiff, while others are flowing and well choreographed. When the dancing works is when the show leaves behind the trappings of the setting and goes into music video mode, where the editing speeds up and the camera angles hide some of the CG shortcomings. I'm disappointed that the main event of the series was done with a cheaper option, but at the same time, I'm really getting a good vibe from everything else. This makes a good family show in a really unconventional way, and that's respectable. Hopefully there's more abstract style dance scenes over grounded ones in the future. Solid start, and I hope for more.

Solid Recommendation

Trinity Seven
Stephanie Getchell

So. Trinity Seven. It's a thing. It's a thing that I can't seem to form proper sentences in order to talk about. To be completely honest, when one of the first things that happens is the main character waking up to him grabbing a girl's boob, you have already rubbed me the wrong way. When you decide to keep going with this and have a main character that is a pervert but is completely blunt honest about it, then you make me worry even further. Add the seven rather trouped female characters into the mix (granted we've only actually met three of them and at least seen two more) and the grave this series keeps digging just gets deeper and deeper. Can you tell this is one of the series I'm not too fond of?

Honestly, there are some good points. The premise of the story seems interesting and I am curious about that mysterious gravitational influx thing that happened prior to the start of the series. At first I was some how reminded of 11eyes and was ready to have a panic attack but I think I've calmed down... I hope anyways. Then there's the character designs that, for some reason, went and reminded me of Soul Eater. It's probably the facial expressions that stood out and made me think of that comparison. And, as much as I don't really like him, I think Arata's blunt honesty may be seen as a welcoming change if written the right way. The overall big problem I have with this series right now, however, is the writing. The first half of the episode I thought was really interesting. Seeing this world that was magically created and then you find out that it was actually destroyed only days prior. That half I liked. That half I wanted more of. The second half tosses Arata into the school for mages and has the majority of my problems. I don't want this to be another high school, harem thing that tries to be cool. I don't want that. I want something much more than that. If you had left the series in the post apocalyptic world, then I would have been all smiles and may have had more interest! But right now, good god I don't like this.

I will admit, stoic/monotone character Arin in the male's bath with her little "Eek" was a highlight for me this time. But, really, that's the only high point. Trinity Seven is really a train wreck just waiting to happen as of now, and it will need to do something to prevent that from happening. Because, if this keeps up, the next Fall Report may be the last time I talk about Trinity Seven. As of now, the premise is drowning from these cliched characters; something I really hate to have happen here. But, honestly, I'm not expecting this to get any better. I guess I'll just prepare myself for the worst.

No Recommendation

When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace
Jonathan Kaharl

Trigger raised a lot of confusion when they announced that their next series after Kill la Kill would be based on a light novel. That rarely boles well nowadays. Looks like our fears were unfounded, as ...whatever the short name for this series is, as proven itself as a plenty fun ride. The premise is simple; one day, out of the blue, everyone suddenly gains superpowers, and life goes on mostly as normal, but with more wacky shenanigans coming from those incredible powers. The hilarious irony is the one guy who lusted for superpowers, Jurai, get the most useless superpower in the cast. It's called Dark and Dark, and it makes a black flame that does absolutely nothing. Meanwhile, his four club member friends are able to control creation, the elements and even time itself, leaving the poor delusional dope in the dust.

The energy of this show is great. The animation manages a good amount of speed and motion at all times, while the designs are all really colorful, contrasting well with the backgrounds and giving the characters a touch more personality. The characters themselves are all ridiculous and a blast to watch, with a good cast chemistry. Jurai's nerdy attitude is a lot of fun, while Sayumi's collected facade that breaks to reveal her hidden sadism gets a lot of good laughs in one episode. Hatoko and Chifuyu's status as living gods, despite having the most innocent personalities or designs, makes them endearing pretty quickly as well. Tomoyo is the only member of the club that didn't really gel with me much, a pretty dull girl meant to play off Jurai's endless optimism with her cool head and maturity. She's not unlikable, but she's just not as interesting as the other lunatics around her.

The humor comes from the characters interacting with each other, mainly Jurai living in his dreamworld and loving every second of it, despite his useless power. How relaxed everyone is with their insane abilities is actually kind of interesting, as they really have no reason to use their abilities to fight anyone (just yet). So, they just practice with each other and solve mundane problems via said abilities. The show has yet to reveal that many other people have powers just yet, but the few hints suggests all the villains will be just as silly as the main cast, and that has me excited. I've never seen a superpower based comedy before without the trappings of genre conventions and elements of genre deconstruction, so it's nice to see something fresh from that angle. Also, the action that's present is absolutely fantastic. Trigger is really good at staging big, explosive fights, even with cute looking designs and abstract powers. I have a lot of faith put into this one, so hopefully it can keep this early promise fulfilled.

Strong Recommendation

Wolf Girl and Black Prince
Joe Straatmann

How bizarrely twisted has the "wallflower gal meets handsome guy with severe issues" formula become? I'll admit romantic comedies aren't my forte, but I do like a fair share of them such as Nana or Honey and Clover. However, this one seems doomed from the premise.

Erika is a shy high school girl afraid of being alone in her new class, so she compulsively lies her way into getting two friends. Because her newfound friends like to constantly talk about their older boyfriends and their interest in bondage before class (Uh huh...), Erika takes a picture of a random guy on the street and passes him off as her perverted sweetheart to keep up with them. Unfortunately for her, not only is the boy a student in her school and discovers her ploy, but he's also sadistic and a potential sociopath. The boy in question is Sata Kyoya, and he offers Erika the option of pretending to be a couple and will agree with whatever lies she spews about their relationship in exchange for her becoming his trained dog. Or slave. The terms are used fairly interchangeably in the series. Most comedy isn't built on normal, well-adjusted human beings doing average things, but even if the series is self-aware of its dysfunctional aspects, it seems to want to have it both ways in playing it as a comedy of two terrible people who deserve each other as well as building the foundations for a genuine romance. The opening animation has Erika giving those long, loving looks at Sata, so the show seems to be serious about turning the corner into the realm of the lovey dovey.  Yeah, this guy literally picks up a stick, throws it, and makes her fetch it. Good luck with completing that turn without crashing and burning.

I was willing to give this series some benefit of the doubt in that there is one oasis of sanity. Sanda is Erika's best friend in another class who is constantly the voice of reason that sometimes gets dragged into Erika's misadventures (To the point of sharing a bathroom stall in the first episode). However, since her advice makes sense and she acts like a decent human being, the second episode has to give her a brief conversation at the beginning and then bar her from the rest of the episode because it has to make it very clear to Erika that everyone is AWFUL. Her new friends are jealous and will throw whatever wrenches they can into her relationship. She is assailed by members of the Sata fan club. Even the cute boy she meets who seems to treat her nicely has ulterior motives. All of this builds up to the point of where she looks at the guy who makes her play fetch as well as smashes her cell phone and thinks, "You know, maybe he is the best option for me." From a technical level, Wolf Girl and Black Prince is an average romantic comedy series, but the content I find neither romantic nor comedic. It doesn't have enough of a connection with reality to be a satire, it's too mean-spirited to be a straight-up comedy, and the romance-such as it is-causes my skin to crawl. The way things are right now, no way do I ship this.

No Recommendation

World Trigger
Stephanie Getchell

Originally, I didn't have this series to cover. I only had five new series to start with. But, when I noticed Johnathon taking on pretty much the entire season on his own, I offered to at least take one off his load. Just trying to be helpful and all. Hence how I get the ever wonderful World Trigger! Can you tell I'm being sarcastic? Here's the thing, I was very much looking forward to this series. Truly I was. The premise seemed like something fun and new for the SciFi genre, and I could feel the potential for something great looking, animation wise. After seeing the first episode, however, I'm not so sure about that potential...

The two biggest hindrances this series has right this second is the writing and the characters. Here's how the first episode kinda went: opening scene has main character being saved by role model Border agent, opening theme, exposition/background about Neighbors and Border, then four years later where we follow our main character in school as he meets the new transfer student, both of them get into trouble and SURPRISE SURPRISE main character is a Border agent and transfer student is a Neighbor. GASP!!! The writing of the first episode is just, honestly, a mess. The opening sequence followed by exposition just doesn't make much sense and then add on the twist that our lead is already an agent just makes me even more confused with the story structure. As for the issue with characters, Osamu and Yuuma are, to be completely blunt, unlikeable. Osamu seems rather cold with a hero of justice complex that isn't really developed all that well. Meanwhile, Yuuma just switches personalities like crazy that his silly, dumb side isn't all that amusing and his more serious side is just boring. I have nothing to go on if they really want me to attach myself to one of these two characters.

Bottom line: World Trigger's first episode is a mess! The story structure is jumbled and confusing while the characters are either boring or unlikeable. I can see possibilities with this one moving forward and I really do hope it improves A LOT, but I'm not getting my hopes up. With Toei the company responsible here, it's going to end up as a hit or a miss series. And with the director of Outlaw Star at the helm of this series, I'm not so sure if this is really up his ally. It will need to really improve in the next couple of weeks or else I may just drop this instead of Trinity Seven. That's how bad the first episode was. Yeah....

Weak Recommendation

Yona of the Dawn
Jonathan Kaharl

Pierrot has been uncharacteristically good this year. The long running studio is mostly known for poor adaptations and increasingly cheap projects (Naruto Shippuden may be one of the most embarrassing projects ever for animators), but sometimes, just sometimes, they're capable of amazing things (late series Bleach is a cinematic treat for the eyes, it's nuts). However, that's something that happens maybe once a decade, and that's if we're really lucky. Yet here we are, five shows released in the span of a year, and only one of them can be considered poor, and even then, there's a ton of interesting things about it (Sabagebu, why must you hurt me). Tokyo Ghoul is already in my top ten of the year, and The World is Still Beautiful was a contender for a spot for a good while. It's just nuts, especially because both of those shows get major points for presentation, usually Pierrot's largest problem. Akatsuki no Yona does not break this quality streak at all, but I'd put it somewhere in the middle of the year's offerings from first impressions.

The story here is that a princess named Yona is forced to flee her kingdom during a violent coup that results in the death of her father. She's accompanied by six male warriors who aim to keep her safe, while she's forced to learn to survive in a harsh world. There's little I can say yet, sadly, because with only one episode under my belt, I'm only just learning the circumstances that kick off the series proper. What I can say is that the show makes a good early impression with its two main characters and one of the major villains. Yona is spoiled, but she's relatable. Her desire to be with the one she loves makes some good early drama, while she's shown to not be completely oblivious from her sheltered life style. When she becomes aware she hasn't seen any palace guards in awhile, she gets much more cautious instead of panicking or remaining in the dark, which is usually the norm for characters like this. She's also really funny, saying incredibly stupid things at just the wrong times and carrying a short temper. She feels very balanced, and her first bodyguard, Hak, does a good job at the cynical jerk with a heart of gold. I don't want to spoil who the villain is, because the show does initially present it as a twist (even if it is heavily hinted), so I'll just say the guy leaves one hell of a first impression. This is not going to be light and fluffy shojo; There are already bodies dropping.

It's well animated, colorful, has lots of really nice looking outfits, and some solid action. The music is also loud and overpowering, but excellently arranged. I think the same sub-studio that handled The World is Still Beautiful worked on this series, and I can see a lot of the similar techniques and styles if that's indeed the case. That gives me a lot of hope for this one, especially with a twenty-six episode run planned. As strange as it sounds, if it's Pierrot this year, it's probably worth checking out, and this is not exception.

Solid Recommendation

Your Lie in April
Stephanie Getchell

I've always loved music. The Arts, in general, are something I enjoy immensely. So, of course, I would jump at the chance to take a look into a music themed series. Enter Your Lie in April. The basic storyline so far, after one episode, is a piano prodigy loses his desire to play after the death of his mother. This causes him to avoid playing unless he has to work (he writes sheet music of popular songs for karaoke purposes). One day, after getting dragged out for a double date with friends, he meets this girl who plays classical music as a violinist. That's all the first episode has told us so far. Though, if I recall correctly, this series is more than likely headed into the direction of "boy loses way, meets girl, girl helps boy find his spark again". It's a story that has been done before.

Out of all the series I've seen so far, I'm having the most difficult time talking about this one because I don't have enough to go on. Sure, I have the basic story and the premise is simple and predictable, but I think the writing has me a little bummed out. Not only that, but the characters, so far, are a little flat to me. I guess if I had to describe it better then what I just said, the series is kinda dull. The story isn't too exciting or engaging and the characters are the same way. I mean, we spend the opening scene with this girl (the leading lady, if you will) as she follows a cat around. Anyone see the point of that outside of a character introduction? Don't get me wrong, I love cats and anime that use them are awesome, but the sequence was rather boring. It did look pretty at least, thought. But, then again, A-1 Pictures. Don't really need to say more than that.

Right now, Your Lie in April is on the weaker side of the anime spectrum this season. More than likely it's not going to be the worst series I end up watching, but it's currently not a strong one either. It needs to give me more to work with here in both story and characters. If anything, I won't drop this series at the start because of wishful thinking (also because I have Trinity Seven to deal with and that one is worse than this) and just give this one a few more episodes to try and capture my attention. I kinda wanna chalk this up to the first time director trying to carve out a way through since this is the directorial debut of Ishiguro Kyouhei, but even then they would at least try a little harder then this. I don't know, folks, but I'm not ready to kick this one to the curb just yet.

Weak Recommendation

Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru
David O'Neil

I'd like to start by saying, Yuki Yuna wa Yusha de Aru is one of those shows where I'm gonna have to go into some stuff that happens in the first episode that'd probably be considered "spoilers". It's pretty much the set up the show, so I can't really avoid talking about it, but I'd probably suggest watching it blind instead of having everything given away for you beforehand. So anyway, Yuki Yuna wa Yusha de Aru opens with a group of middle school students who make up their school's "Hero Club", a club that volunteers doing shows about valiant superheroes defeating evil for kids. They're the best of friends and live simple, happy lives performing these shows. But then time freezes for everyone but them, some sort of rainbow nuke envelops the city, everything gets covered with weird multi-colored trees, and it turns out that they have to use magical girl powers to defeat giant Angel-esque monsters called "The Vortex" to protect the tree god keeping the world alive. What's that, this is from the Akame ga Kill creator? Who would'a thought.

Sudden, bizarre twist aside, I actually quite liked the first two episodes of Yuki Yuna wa Yusha de Aru, even if it's title is annoyingly difficulty to remember in full. The show boasts some really cool visuals with a lot of style, at least during the action scenes. Not to say the normal world scenes look bad, just pretty basic and lacking the incredibly varied color palette. It's pretty well animated, though some of the transformation sequences border on being a bit too fan service-y. It also uses a decent amount of CG in the action scenes, which would bother me more if they weren't used so carefully, pretty much only for quick, long distance shots, sticking with 2D animation in closer shots. It also features some strong music from "Monaca", the same company responsible for Monogatari's score. Even though the action is cool, and I actually like the characters quire a bit, it's still too early to tell what exactly it's intending to do with it's concept. The first two episodes seem to be fairly basic from a story standpoint, and it's difficult to tell what direction exactly it's going. It's throwing around some interesting concepts (like the girls actually fighting for "National Security" as they say it), but being from the creator of Akame ga Kill I do worry that I won't end up liking where it goes. At the same time though, he also worked on Samurai Flamenco, which did some really interesting stuff with the concept of heroes, so I'll have to see.

Yuki Yuna wa Yusha de Aru certainly was this season's biggest surprise, early visuals I'd seen had me expecting a slice of life show with fantasy elements, and instead I ended up getting an action packed superhero show with magical girl elements. The action is fast paced and visually interesting, but it's hard to tell at this point what it'll end up doing with the ideas and story elements it's bringing to the table. But for now, Yuki Yuna wa Yusha de Aru certainly has my curiosity.

Solid Recommendation

Second Opinions

Denki-Gai

Jonathan: This is a damn funny show, but also surprisingly crude. The first episode has a lady make a speech about the beauty of hentai, and the second includes at least two long gags of thinly veiled sexual harassment that every single doujin fan will instantly get. The little girl character designs do not help things. Despite that, the show gets a lot of laughs and has great pacing between jokes, and it's really good at playing with expectations. The second episode had an honest to goodness waifu race, which ended with the winner giving a lecture about the importance of being loyal to one's waifu, so it is literally impossible for me not to like this show at least a little bit. Only those familiar with otaku culture need apply (also, shark teeth girl is best). Solid Recommendation

Rage of Bahamut: Genesis

Jonathan: Now this is what I think of when I think of fun. Bahamut is a fantasy series with incredible production values and a real cinematic flair, along with a ton of exciting action scenes, some feeling they were taken from a lost Indiana Jones film. This is easily one of the best premiers of the season, and if it keeps the pace up, one of the best of the year. Strong Recommendation

Stephanie: Here's the thing, I expected a weird card game adaptation here since that was originally the only piece of information I had before watching this series. With these two episodes, I have a small case of whiplash thanks to the fast pace and the 180 in Amira's character. Otherwise than that, it's been fun so far. I'm just hoping to get a tiny bit more explanation next time. Solid Recommendation

The Fruit of Grisaia

Jonathan: Well, I certainly didn't expect that. Grisaia starts out with a bunch of tired visual novel harem tropes, but with a constant sense that something's not right. It raises questions, and then the first episode ends with a small explanation to the nature of this show, along with a complete genre shift. This series should be entertainingly insane, at the least, but I'm wishing it can pull something really unexpected out of its hat. Strong Recommendation

Garo: The Animation

Jonathan: Despite some poor CG, there's a lot to like here. The premise is dark but cheesy, and the main leads have a lot of personality. I love the thick, grim feeling throughout the thing, along with the witch hunt theme. As far as pure action shows go, this is definitely the best of the season so far. Strong Recommendation

Laughing Under the Clouds

Jonathan: It's interesting. I haven't really seen a series in recent years dealing with the relationship between brothers, and I'm always a fan of post-samurai Japan settings. The weird prison plot and Orochi stuff seems to not mesh right now, but I think that's the point. Good action, bad comedy, and a really interesting mythology. I want to see what this is going to be. Solid Recommendation

Parasyte -the maxim-

Jonathan: This is one of those series I've always meant to check out, but never got around to. Now I wish I read the manga sooner. The premise of alien invaders taking over human bodies and turning them into sentient flesh balls of horror is brilliant, and the show is being really faithful to that gruesome idea. I also love how fast the hero is getting used to having a living right arm of a monster. There's a good balance of horror and humor, and I can't wait for when the bodies start dropping. Strong Recommendation

Shirobako

Jonathan: Damn fine slice of life. There's a lot of neat references and injokes on real people in the anime industry, along with a focus on the production troubles that come with producing a weekly series. It's not cute girls fluff like I always fear for this genre, but instead putting them as background characters in a much larger situation with a massive cast of characters, all a bit unhinged but dedicated. A must for any anime fan. Strong Recommendation

When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace

Stephanie: I thought that this would be one of the first series I end up dropping this season after just an episode, but I'm actually surprised with this one. The opening sequence was actually done well, and the characters have been rather fun so far making my brain stay away from a possible harem kind of series. The only thing is that six month jump seems a little off to me because we don't see the first reactions to their new powers until that time skip and then the story is a little off. Still a fun watch, so far, though. Solid Recommendation

World Trigger

Jonathan: This is just an embarrassment. Toei didn't even try to animate most of the first episode, and it was enough to drive me off and fast. Otherwise, this show just looks like run of the mill shonen. Nothing special about it besides the complete absence of production values, or even a lot of basic animation. No Recommendation

Yona of the Dawn

Stephanie: You know, I didn't have high expectations going into this series but I'm at least glad to know there's some potential here. The humor was fairly enjoyable and I am interested in seeing Yona grow considering the opening scene of the episode. My expectations still aren't that high here, but it's a start. Solid Recommendation

Your Lie in April

Jonathan: One of my favorite premiers this season. This show is simply gorgeous from the first frame, and it never lets up. I already really resonate with the main character and love the musical performances, which manage to get more emotion out of me than I ever could have anticipated. I'm putting most of my faith this season right here. Strong Recommendation