Sunday 12 January 2014

First Impressions: Winter 2014 [edit 2]

I have heard, many times... that Winter and Summer are the two worst seasons for anime.
yeah... um... thats a load of crap.... kinda

the thinking is that the block buster big shows almost always come out in Spring or Fall... meaning that the runoff of the good shows dribble into the next season but nothing huge tends to release otherwise.
In the past i have found this to be a load of crap and have had Summer and Winter be my busiest watching seasons cause there is just so much i'm enjoying. there are a lot more short 13 epsiodes shows and a lot more 'artsy' shows but my taste for whatever reason tend to enjoy those types of shows instead of the 500 episode behemoths.

however... this season... yeah okay i see what they mean.

Some ground rules for how i do first impressions.
I only watch shows i have easy access to... so if it's on funimation or Hulu i'm kinda screwed since don't get that here... most of what i'll be talking about will be Crunchyroll but if there is something on Anime on demand i can see if it's allowed in my area.

I am going to 'try' to watch one episode of each show.... this doens't mean i will watch it all but i will mention when and why i gave up.
no second continuing season of shows i haven't seen already. 
Not webshows either (though there may be one exception)
new rule: no anime with sister in the title
just.... no... I have never seen a show i like with sister in the title... it's all incest-y creepy crap and i'm just gunna draw my stubborn line in the sand.. i've heard that one show is decent (ore-imo i think it's called) i don't care, i didn't like the 5 mins i saw of it.

So first, what am i continuing from last season?

Kuroko's Basketball 2
Just imagine a giggling mess.... that was me during this episode... first hiroshi kamiya finally shows up for more then a line and hearing him all mean and sinister... ah i love it. (i could just rewatch durarara and get this same feeling but... i'm strange)
and then kuroko names another pass... and i just couldn't stop laughing... i love this show, it was my fav from last year and i think that will continue... but seriously stop naming moves... it's silly

Yowapeda
I'm amazed i like this show as much as i do, even with the dodgy 3d models for when they are riding it's just really well done and i am happy to hear that this will continue into spring 2014... i'm sad to see no more rookie'z is punk'ed into but the new intro is REALLY good so... i forgive it. 

Nagi No Asukura
last season at first i was unsure of this show... it had an interesting world but not much else
now that the second season has started i know this show is really really good. The animation, the music, the story... it's all so well done and i seriously hope that NISA licenses this cause they would do the best job of it. but yeah this may end up being one of my fav shows ever by the end.

Samurai Flamenco
To avoid spoiling anything from the previous season all i'll say is this show rocks. if you are unsure about it watch till episode 8 and if your not intrigued then yeah... stop.(i know 8 episodes is a lot to give a show but yeah... thats how long it took me to cement that i adore this show so thats what i'm suggesting) but yeah considering how the show is going... i think it's taking some interesting turns and i can't wait to see more.... also this episode had me laughign really hard by the end... when you see it you can guess why.

Golden Time
This is the make or break episode.... i seriously think 13 is more then enough to judge if i like or dislike the show. I just find Kaga koko really creepy... and if she is the main lead then yeah... i can't support the show.
still seems like she's the main but i'm curious about how it'll all work out... but yeah... if kaga koko gets held up for how creepy her stalker actions are it wont bug me anymore... i just wonder what happened to the writer between toradora and this...

New Shows:

Recently, my sister is Unusual
that's right the first new show available to me this season is a sister show... which according to some super early reviews is extremly lewd and uncomfortable. Also about half a week after it aired my friend told me "well i just saw the worst show this season" and yeah... it was this one... not surprised. also a lot of the reviews on crunchyroll are like "omg those people who gave it 1 star are wrong" no... that is called an opinion... we are all allowed to have one and we don't all have to match up.
So yeah... pass.

Seitokai Yakuindomo *
A second season to a show i don't watch and after a quick search is apparently about a boy who goes to a recently gender intergrated school. 
so... it's a harem show.
oh but it's funny cause they talk about all that icky girly stuff that men don't have to deal with and it's gross. 
. . . . *sighs* yeah..... pass

Mushi-shi OVA
I have gone on record to say that despite my love of Natsume Yuujinchou i pretty much hated Mushi-shi... the difference being that in one the episode is dedicated to figuring out a solution to a problem and in the other he just knows the solution and the rest is dedicated to implementing the solution and from what i saw it never ended well and oh look at how artsy we are. 
it's just not my cup of tea... still i'll go into the ova and try to put my bias aside. 
Again, he knows the solution and it's a matter of finding it... which is fine, if you like the show you will probably really love the OVA cause it references a lot of the show.... i just can't get into it
The animation is lovely and artistic but the pacing is slow and you will be lost if you haven't watched the show. for me... it just does nothing

Tonari no Seki-kun: The master of killign time
webshow, i don't like those so yeah... seems to be about a guy who does everything at his desk instead of school work... maybe it's funny... i really hate the look of it but considering it's just a webshow i understand why the animation isn't better.

oh please give me something good or interesting... please.

Nobunaga the Fool
Before watching:
*deep heavy annoyed sigh* so... yeah... they need to stop making shows about nobunaga.... like at least it doesn't look like it's a genderswap show but seriously... there are enough of them... and it looks like there are TWO right after each other... great... okay... lets see this. 
After watching: 
So... uh... *clears throat* steam punk mech old timey japan where nobunaga and all his boys are extremely pretty while on another parallel world/star where Jeanne D'ark is summond by King arthur by having leonardo da' vinci give her the message. then they fly in a space hip to see the king... but because of reasons they go in a little ship missle thing and go to the other world and...
no... i think it finally happened.... i lost any marbles i may have had. 
ok in all seriousness... despite the off the wall idea... i think this show may end up being pretty good, the animation is lovely and so is the music... the plot is nuts but i think this may end up being pretty entertaining if nothing else.

Nobunagun
Is this yet another reincarnated genderswapped nobunaga in current day?
nope...
it's a reincarnated big names of the past potentially genderswapped (nobunaga, jack the ripped, isaac Newton... ghandi ect.) in current day fighting monster of the week things with spheres that turn into weapons.
and... um... *shrugs* i don't know what to think after one episode... i don't think it looks terribly good but i plan to give it another ep or two before i make up my mind... even though it's way less crazy then the other nobunaga show this season i think the other one looks way more interesting.
but i think i've made clear i am sick of the Nobunaga anime... it's just been done to death.

The Pilot's Love Song
Hm... one episode isn't enough to make an opinion on. It's a good show... that much i can tell. It's got an interesting world set up and i plan to give it a few more episodes before i make up my mind one way or the others. The girl named claire sounds like madoka kaname but i can't seem to confirm that.... unless *does a reverse search* ah... i am right... and now i've spoiled myself... oh well i kinda figured that was the case.  still i think i'll continue with this show... even though it feels like the main charater was named after superman. (Kall-el)

Soni-Ani Super Sonico the Animation
this is looks pretty awful fanservice bait... lets see.
from what i understand she's a mascot character for a game company
and yeah... as i expected just a crappy fanservice show.. i mean they couldn't even get her a bathing suit that fits? *has a deep hatred for the underboob trend since it's just begging for wardrobe malfunction.* also... whats with the headphones... was she born with them on? whatever... i'm obviously not the target market for this kinda of show.

Hamatora
So colourful~ I don't know why but tonally it's giving me a Durarara! vibe... i don't think it has any connect-- HIROSHI KAMIYA~
sorry sometimes i write these as i watch the episode to get my honest first impressions and... yeah... i'm 90% sure i'll enjoy this show now. am i judgeing it just cause it gives off a similar vibe to Durarara and has my fav voice actor.... yeah pretty much... but yeah just checked and i can't find a connection to Durarara... it's just the feeling it gives off.
ok now that i have actually watched the entire episode yeah... i think i'm gunna like this show. it's very colourful with dark tones and interesting 'magic' (lack of better term) system and from the first episode i am intrigued.
and yeah... having my fav voice actor does not hurt.  i can't help my bias.

Witch Craft Works
So a friend of my told me this was probably one of his favs this season but then said i probably wouldn't like it.
he's wrong... it's been a while since i laughed this much during an anime... it's funny without being a 'comedy' anime meaning no pop culture jokes... just situational ones. Despite the main female being very well endowed there isn't a single frame of Fanservice and usually the first episode is where you get the most.
The premise is fun and a nice gender swap on the damsel in distress trope and all around this show is really really funny... i mean.... just the ending song had me laughing so hard.
i have a feeling i will enjoy this show a lot.

Engaged to the Unidentified
wow that animation is pretty, wow those designs are moe... and now she's engaged to a random guy... wow this is going downhil fast... but there has to be a catch...
well nothing revealed in episode one? based on title and ending song maybe he's an alien? i don't know... if i have nothing this season i may give it another episode or two but so far it's just moe fluff and yeah... i need a bit more plot.

Strange +
*looks at the promo art* i have a sinking suspicion that this isn't gunna be something i enjoy.
It's a webseries... good... after watching about a min of the 3 min episode... yeah this is not my thing, it's supposed to be funny i think but yeah... nope.

Z/X Ignition
well that went from super dark to extremly moe in record time...
so these gates appear all over adn kill thousands  of people and then time skip and now some people use these monsters to fight mosters from different worlds via cards they use to capture them and...
uh.
i don't get it... like i'm sure it'll be explained over time but at this point i don't care enough to learn what's going on... also (and maybe this is just me) but when there is this much action with no stakes or repercussion it just feels boring... i'll probably give it another episode or 2 but right now it was just a little dull.

Hozuki no Reitstsu
When i original saw the promo art i was realy excited for the show.
then i saw the commecial for it and wasn't sure anymore... this partially why i try to go into everything blind.
*pauses around 7 minutes* hm... ok so there are lots of shows that mention things/stories/legends that can only be understood by an audience who already knows a bit of lore before hand... most of the time it just adds to the enjoyment but rarely stops you from understanding.
this on the other hand is EXTREMELY japanese... if you don;t know about how spirits, demons and orgers or shangra-la (which is chinese isn't it?) work along side legends like momotaro... yeah you are going to be really lost.
to compound all this culture show i think it's also supposed to be a comedy show but i don't know the references to get the joke so i just feel lost. So yeah it's not a bad show, as someone who has a limited knowledge of Japanese Mythology i am just way too lost to enjoy it.
the plot seems to be hell society run like a government...

Onee-cha ga Kita
A sister show AND a webseries? no thank you! granted it's probably not gross and pervy cause
a) it's an older sister
and
b) it's only 3 minutes long
but i don't care... any show called "my big sister came" is bad news in my book.

Magical Warfare
hm... i need to give this one another episode or two. It's an interesting concept of if you are exposed to magic while young you become able to weild magic yourself... but it doesn't seem terribly special yet... so yeah gunna give it a bit more, it's mad house so it looks interesting if nothing else. apparently the next episode the introduce the magical school so yeah... just gotta give it more time...

Pupa
I am both intrigued by the art style of this show but terrified that it's gunna be awful.
wow thats one hell of a censorship shadow!
oh wow i didn't expect this at all...
IT'S A WEBSHOW?
well.... that... uh... happened.
well it's not a comedy webshow... it's most definately a horror one but still.. despite interesting idea... i can't stand waiting a week for something 4 mins long. also... this hsow could have built a lot more suspense with more time... oh well...

Sakura Trick
Not the biggest fan of yuri or yaoi simply cause more often then not (like 99.9% of the time) a certain plot device is used and that leads to love... that doesn't seem to be the case here... however what does seem to be the case is that this is a fanservice show with a crap ton of moe.. it's all just a bit too sugary for my taste... so yeah if you like super duper cutesy moe shows and yuri then this show is probably going to be good..
i'm going to have to pass though... and get my teeth checked for cavities.

Wake Up, Girls! - Seven Idols
this should technically be a completed but it fits better here. this is actually a movie and is 52 mins long.
the animation is a bit odd but the mix of real life stuff and cg and animation is well done.
not sure i get the whole warring idol thing but... who knows. i've never really enjoyed the stories where the focus is on idols... even love live which was okay wasn't very great.
hm... so close, it was really cute and sweet right up until the performance.
Mild spoilers: The manager of the girl group after going through a lot of hardship is unable to get the girls costumes and they are forced to do their debut in their school uniforms.
so whats the problem? well there's a spin that will show off their panties.
now i did dance for a few years, and yeah when you spin the skirt flies up and it's no big deal cause it's a costume.
their school uniforms are not a costume.
and the members range from age 13-17 or 18.
so i just find it kinda gross that a 13 year old is spinning and showing off her underwear to grown men. it doesn't help that the camera focuses on this (not for the younger members but every spin there is a close up of a girls skirt. )
maybe it's just my prudish westerner sensibilities but yeah... it just took all the sweetness of working hard to put on a performance and tossed it out the window.
lets see what the show does....

Wake Up, Girls
this takes place immediately after the film. it's an interesting idea to air the show immediately after the movie (at least thats how they did it on crunchyroll)... essentially a hour and a half of this one show.
and they show the song again in this episode... i guess for those who didn't watch the movie... but considering i did it feels like a bit of a time filler.
hm and the ending... probably wont continue with the show but it doesn't seem terrible... this is just a genre i don't tend to be interested in.
it is neat to see the actual voice actors at the end of the episode though.

Nisekoi
I've heard of this title but i know nothing about it so hopefully it's good.
Okay, i really enjoyed that.
Animation is lovely, characters are well designed and it's funny to boot. it looks like it'll have a nice mix of comedy and tragedy not to even mention that the way the art is used is really really clever... this will probably end up one of my favs this season unless they somehow screw it up... but yeah... really really good.
oh plot? Forced romeo and juliet to stop warring gang members.... and yeah it's a good time.

World Conquest Zvezda Plot
hm... i didn't hate it...
this one needs a few more episodes... it's a little crazy.. the costumes are a bit... *thinks* don't know how to describe it... kill la kill-ish? very revealing while also showing nothing (granted i didn't really like kill la kills look so yeah... but thats what this reminds me of.
but yeah... just overall i'm not sure... if you like crazy over the top shows... this probably qualifies.
that voice at the end...  it's familiar but i can't place it... and MAL doesn't have 'odin' up yet so i guess i gotta wait til lwe have his actual name...

oh well.. i think i only have one left (unless they announce more)

Wizard Barristers
well thats one hell of a disclaimer... i get that you have to mention that things aren't actualyl based on anythign real but still.. always surprises me to see it being said in anime... especially when magic is involved
i'm not the biggest fan of 3d animation in anime cause it almost never looks like it fits in with the world... this however looks stunning and while you can still tell whats 3d and whats not it still flows really really well.
also the main character is canadian so..... gotta give this show a bit of love~  *sees the address and chuckles* yeah... never seen anyplace in the world with names like that... let alone canada...
one guys is named hachimitsu? isn't that... honey?
hey that voice *grin* i could tell it's junichi suwabe~ i still can't hear him in other roles like aomine and andy but hey... the more i recognize him the happier i am.
okay now that i have finished the episode... it's an interesting idea... i have to give it a few more episodes but so far my only complaint is that all the characters have very round faces and it just looks a little odd. otherwise the show seems interesting enough.

am i done? they didn't announce more titles while i was writing this? okay good.
now time for the one acception... if i can find it...

Minna Atsumare! Falcom Gakuen
Yes.... i bitch and moan about webseries... i hate how you can't get any amount of story in the 2-4 minutes the shows end up being...
but being a falcom fangirl overrides that...
so this must be the alternative saga world considering they are talking about xanadu and all that stuff... oh and the fact that LoH/Trails and Ys are in the same universe...
I heard people complaining that none of the characters act the way they are supposed to... I respectfully disagree... i mean... dogi breaks through a wall... what more could you want?
if you haven't played any falcom games you will be lost but if you have and you enjoyed them then this is a really fun and funny take on these characters... now i just gotta way for Dark fact to appear... why is this only 2 minutes *cries*

so from the looks of it i have 5-6 returning shows (may or may not catch up with strike the blood... i'm about 4 or 5 episodes behind..) and about 3 new shows i think i'll stick with for sure and 5-6 i'm going to give a few more episodes before i decide.

most of this season seems to be kinda lackluster but all that could change with time... after all these are just first impressions of the first episodes.


EDIT
So i've mentioned before that i don't tend to look at funi's simulcast cause any time i have checked they use hulu as their video player which doesn't work in canada and the other times they only have the first ep up for free and their player, even though it works, hates my computer or connection... .so i'm less likely to pay for a subscription i can't use.
however i had been seeing a lot of promotional art for noragami and it seemed like the type of show that would be up my alley.

so i looked it up to see if anyone was simucasting or if i would need to wait/hope crunchy got it.
well funimation got it and i was like... if it works great but if not then i'll just check out the dvd [if it's resonably priced]

and hey, it worked, and the player worked too... no skips or studders or voice desynching.

so yeah...

Noragami
it's urban fantasy about a god who goes around helping people cause he's a pathetic god who doesn't even have a shrine and wants to make it to the big leagues.
the god is voice by hiroshi kamiya... so yeah.... i like this show... a lot.

okay voice actor bias aside i actually would like the story no matter who did the voice acting, like i said it is right up my alley. Also i've read a small chunk of the other thing this creator made... "alive" and while it wasn't really my thing i did think it was interesting and the art was really good.
but yeah, this show is interesting... interesting enough to get a subscription at funi? no, espescially if they go back to a hulu player... cause then i would be screwed. also they don't have very many titles.
but still check it out if you can.

EDIT 2
crunchy rolls added titles so yeah... *sighs*

Wonder momo
1:56
 that is the point in which i turned off cause i saw everything i needed to see.
  1. The animation is odd... it's not good or bad and at least it's colourful.... but it's just... strange. it's extemely flat and choppy looking... it doesn't seem like a cohesive vision.
  2. Oh i guess falling over yourself is supposed to be klutzy or moe? yeah no... being a klutz does not define you as a character.
  3. Lets dump all the exposiotion all at once shall we? Yes they seem to be getting it out of the way so they don't have to explain things later but you should weave your exposition into the narritive not just. "oh look that new idol is the girl in the class nextdoor who's a klutz"
  4. This is the actual reason i turned this off. The voice acting is painful to listen to for a few reasons.
    1. It seems to be the main voice actors first role, i'm sure with time and practice she'll sound better and less stiff but in the one it doesn't feel like a character saying stuff it feels like a person reading lines off a script. 
    2. the script is terrible and full of things you've seen before in better shows.
    3. none of the voices fit
    4. the foley and sound effects feel really forced
so yeah... wonder momo is probably one of the worst shows i've ever watched and dropped for reasons other then being offended or stupid fan service... it just isn't a good show. 

Robot Girls Z
This show looks like a lot of fun and even making fun of the mech and/or sentai kind of show. it's not bad but in the end it's not for me and i caan barely keep up with everything i'm watching, but yeah give it a few minutes and you'll know if it's random goofiness is what you enjoy.

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