Sunday 20 July 2014

First Impressions: Summer 2014

It's that time again.... lets see
I have heard Summer tends to be full of small shows that the companies don't have confidence in but i think that either they were wrong or the idea has changed...
Spring 2014 started strong and quickly fizzled.
Summer 2014 could go either way but it has a few titles i'm excited for.

First lets see whats continuing from spring.

The irregular at Magic High School.
I'm a little behind, i've been finding the main characters lack of emotions a bit annoying as well as the whole sister who loves her brother a little too much.... but i'll probably continue i just hope they stop hinting at them being together.

Haikyuu!
Please don't start sucking.... please! i'm already worried that Kuroko has gone into the "okay this is stupid now" realm... i don't want that to happen with you!

Captain Earth
I have to watch this show in a way where i can close out quick but despite the chance for panic attack so far so good... i'm loving everything about the show...
but that can easily change so i just have to hope that I can make it throug... though i'm worried it'll pull a gurren lagaan on me....... that would not be fun.
The secodn intro isn't as good as the first but thats ok.... maybe i'll be able to watch the ending song now (i can't watch the first one... saw it once.... not a fun time)


And that looks like it... everything else either finished or i stopped watching.

NEW SHOWS~

Hm... just going to say this now.... no... i'm not giving sword art 2 a chance... is it unfair? hell yes... i don't care... after the bullshit of the ALO arc.... and the rage i was sent into after reading the description.....
so the show description sais theres a new MMO where if people are shot with a certain gun they die in the real world.
Kirito is contacted by someone to investigate but he doesn't think things in the game can affect the real world.
i'm sorry.... what?
trapped in a death game for 2 years.... but a game can't affect the real world?
Girlfriend in coma cause her conciousness is still trapped in a game but a game can't affect the real world.
plot of brainwashing via the games headset.... but a game can't affect the real world
a ingame pain slider that if turn up all the way can send a person into shock and be felt even after exiting the game..... but a game can't affect the real world are you F*cking kidding me? are you seriously saying that kirito doesn't think that games can affect the real world....
If i were strong enough to flip a table... i would.
also apparently all the avatars have to be female.... GEE i wonder why. i'm sure that wont be used and abused for fanservice purposes.... at least this time there shouldn't be as many tentacles. 

Free: Eternal Summer!
yeah i didn't like the first season of this show but in the end it was harmless stupid fun... i am just curious if it continues to be a plotless mess or if it gets better..... i'm betting on the former.
well the proportions are still freaky....
... this is starting almost exactly the same... did they just reuse the animation? guess they had to pay for the CG water somehow.
so much fanservice... but the proportions are so wrong.... plus wow these characters are more anoying then i rememeber.
ugh.... it's fine and harmless but still smacks of stupid... unless there is nothing this season i can't see the need to continue. 

Samurai Jam-Bakumatsu Rock
...
what?
it's set in the past.... but they have speakers... TVs.... electric guitars... and they are samurai?
I don't even know.
oh and there is pizza... cause..... why not.
apparently the only type of music thats allowed to be played is Heavens song... and the mian character plays rock which is bad...
... and then they play and their shirts are ripped off....
so it's like uta pri but like... a million times more crazy.
i don't think i can stomach any more but if you just want a random fun time this show will probably work for you.

GLASSLIP
Well the animation is pretty lovely but it's PA Works so thats expected... hopefully this ends up being another title added to NISA's lovely line of boxsets... oh it was licensed by Sentai.... oh.... well... okay... *pout*
it's nice to see a show where they show a person working on their art and not just being amazingly talented right off the bat.... though she would know that chickens move around and you just have to keep working despite that. Also glass blowing in summer.... i know people who do it but boy it must be rough... i've just walked by the glass blowing department at my old school and it was sweltering hot.
Also pretty sure it's not terrible sanitary to keep a chicken in your room... just saying.
buit yeah even though not a lot of info is given in the first episode i liked what i saw and look forward to seeing more... the ending song sounds like the same artist that did hanasaku iroha... lets check, yep! it's a pretty unique sound so that's not too surprising.
but yeah seems like it'll be a fun little summer slice of life type show.

ARGEVOLLEN
Ok so we have badly CGed mechs and war... okay thats unfair... the cg isn't terrible it just doesn't feel like it fits.
It's just so dijointed, they are showing all the sides... i have no idea whos who or why i should care.
oh and new guy to the army has a hero complex and ends up getting a super cool mech by chance.... yeah cause that NEVER happens in mach anime.
I dunno... Mech anime are rarely my thing but maybe i'll give it another episdoe? but right now it didn't do enough to make me continue to watch the show. 

Locodol
Oh wow this is so cutesy... this is another one of those plotless moe girls eating cake shows ins't it...
it's worse... it's an Idol show.... why are there so many of these lately? also you can't just go to someone "get on stage and sing"... you have to give them time to prepare and practice.... plus it's two strangers... they need time... i swear if she's amazing right off the bat i'll be out so fast.
oh god this is painful.... at least theri hands are proportionate.... normally moe shows have the tiniest hands...
If you like moe shows or idol shows then this will be for you.
i don't like either.... so yeah... not for me.

Sailor Moon Crystal
Quick Aside, Sailor moon is the show that pretty much got me to love Anime. even many years past when it was popular i still loved every moment of it.
I have been looking forward to the reboot ever since they announced it like... 2 years ago?
some of the stuff they previewed had me a little worried cause even though the style does look more like the manga...... i don't really like it cause it looks....... wonky.... especially the eyes.
but still i knew i was going to watch it all no matter how good or bad it is... it'll be a year long run (26 episodes every 2 weeks) so waiting will be hell but hey... i'm just happy it's finally here.
now that i've seen the episode.
1. still not a fan of the style... i'm sure i'll get used to it but the only time you see the white of the eye above the persons pupil is when they are surprised or purposfully opneing their eyes a lot.... so everyone in the show looks surprised.
2. Intro song is fun, i think Revo's sound mixes well with the singing.
3. The transformation sequence is too long and look hideous.  I do not like it and i hope the other senshi don't get CGed Transformations (i know they will) cause it just looks bad... the style does not mesh... especially considering there isn't much CG anywhere else.
4. the colours are all very bright and somewhat pastel... especially true with the teacher and Usagi's mom... again i feel this is somthing i'll just have to get used to.
5. Who wears a tuxedo during the day!?
5.5. probably the same guy who wears one at night.... right Usagi?
6. i know it's her voice but it sounds very very high pitched and i almost wanna rewatch my old set to see if it was always so high.
7. it's really close to the manga but still has some differences... it's a nice balance so far.

I like it... i do but i know i'm in it for the long haul. At least Crunchyroll is putting it out cause if it were anywhere else i would fall behind without reminders.

Aldnoah Zero
not a big fan of how they rendered the moon but i didn't panic... as long as there are no flashbacks i should be able to watch.
So, 15 years ago there was a thing called Heavens fall.
There is a civilization on Mars and their princess is coming to earth as a mission of good will.
Things are not that easy and shit hits the fan.
 Due to the subject matter i don't think i'll be able to stick with this one but it looks decent... at least compared to Aggrevollen.  Still not a fan about shows dealing with War.
the end was hard.... just.... not a fan of that kind of shit.... can not deal.

Rail Wars!
Look pretty bad from just a first impression of the poster.
Apparently it's an alternate reality where the railways aren't privately owned and people strive to work for the train station..... sounds like another "oh look how cool this totally uncool thing is... isn't it just the best ever?"
You know whats better then a show about work and how awesome a job full of repetition is? Pretty much ANYTHING else.
You know whats better then "did you know this exposition?" followed by "why yes, it's because of this exposition!"..... every other show ever.... i would rather watch sword art 2 then more of this....
Yeah.... this show is pretty terrible... no better then propaganda for the railway... and the strange thing is this isn't the first time i've tried to make a show about how cool the trains are....

*looks at sword art 2*
it's just gunna piss me off.... i know i'm just going to be angry.... no.... sticking to my guns...

Akame ga Kill!
it must hurt to get balloons sewn to your chest....
So it's about a boy who comes from a small village to seek fortune and fame in the capital to save his village....
I think it's trying to be funny... but it really isn't... it's just so forced.
well it's rare to see a show now a days where it's not censored... there is a lot of blood.
actually it kind of reminds me of Dangan ronpa.
Honestly i wasn't enjoying it till the reveal... i think this show has some potential i just hope the pacing and story get better.

DRAMAtical Murder
Accoring to tumblr this is Yaoi but i don't think thats the actual case? I honestly know nothing about it...
well other then animals talk and the fashion sense is........ odd.
okay so... theres a game that seems to take place in the physical world too...
and there are gangs...
and spirited away cases.
i may give it a few more episodes but right now it hasn't given much away.

Monthly Girl's Nozaki-kun

Oh great another show where a male author is using a female pen name to get their shoujo manga out there... i bet he has to keep it a secret and-- wait he told everyone? it's not a secret... no one believes him cause he is super tough and blunt? ok thats kinda funny.
Honestly i have never seen a show about manga i like... the closest is Genshiken and the manga is the side plot so i don't count it.
OK this show is pretty funny... lots of little "lets try it like this" that all artist do made me laugh.
so far the show is cute, i'll try and keep up with it since so far it's not looking like i'll be watching much this season.. or atleast not as much as last season.

HaNaYaMaTa
Looks utterly adorable... and moe...
any time a bunch of moe girls start playing in a band i get worried... but at least the song was good unlike another show... and so far no sign of cake...
Well so far it's really cute and sweet... i hope this isn't another Kiniro Mosaic bait and switch... i think i'll keep watching.
It's about a girl with no self esteem having a chance encounter with a forigner and taking a potential interest in a type of traditional dance known as yosakoi. hopefully it continues to be cute and i look forward to seeing more.

Blue Spring Ride
I love when shows look like watercolour paintings... so pretty.
oh.... this show is going to make me cry isn't it.....
I think, if this show continues to be as good as this first ep... it'll be my fav of the season (not including sailor moon since it's a yearlong thing)
Meeting up with people from the past is so hard and so to see a show where thats one of the major themes... as well as who you are infront of others vs how you really are... it's just some things you don't tend to see much in shojo cause it's so focused on the romance.
it should be interesting.

Sabageba! - Survival Game Club!
.... was't there a show like this like... just last year or two years ago? i think it was about airsoft (i remmeber rambling about how i prefer paintball to air soft)
but seriously why are there shows about this? I mean aside from "omg girls with guns" thing some people are into... it's not a fun thing to watch.... just go out and play! 
Also pretty sure you can't bring a marker that looks like a gun around or wave it around without getting arrested... there are laws against that kind of this... hell i've seen lockdowns happen cause of airsoft guns.
You know what.... this is really quite disturbing... such romanticism regarding gun culture.... it creeps me out....
also the art is shit.

Love Stage!!
Thats an interesting way to render eyes...
also this is Shonen ai which as i have mentioned i'm not the biggest fan of but as long as they don't use one plot device used in every single Shonen/shojo ai i have ever seen maybe i'll be able to watch it.
So far it seems really sweet and cute.  The story is that 10 years ago Izumi was used in a commercial as a quick replacement for a girl that couldn't make it... it worked cause he was so cute and everyone was fooled.
His entire family is in some kind of entertainment and they are pushing him to be an actor or singer or something.... he much rather be a manga-ka.... too bad he can't draw.
Suddenly an offer for a job comes his way, a 10 year later version of that commercial.... he doesn't want to do it but after being bribed with a custom voice actor alarm clock he agrees.... the catch is he has to dress up like a girl again.
the other catch is that his co-star, who has loved him since the first commercial also thinks he is a girl.
The reason why i'm actually not worried about this turning out rapey at all is cause it just all feels extremely sweet and sincere.... unlike other shows where the one guy pretty much forces himelf on the other regardless of what they want... which is not cool.
Hopefully it continues to be good... If not then i'll have a few other shows at least.

Momo Kyun Sword
I know I shouldn't judge shit before i watch it... i mean thats why i try all the new shows... cause sometimes it can be deceiving... i will be amazed if this show isn't just a fanservicy mess
*sighs* you know.... if you don't know what breasts look like... maybe don't draw them... fun fact... they do not look like balloons attached to ones chest and they do not have as much momentum as a raging river.... in essence what i'm getting at is breasts don't work like that.
Also yeah.... this is just gunna be 30 mins of fanservice.... better shit to do with my time.

Shin Strange+
First webshow i've come across this season... and i don't watch those... so pass.

Persona 4 The Golden ANIMATION
If this is just Persona 4 anime but with Marie i will be more then a little annoyed.
i liked the persona 4 anime from a year or two ago...
i like the game
but seriously.... what could the golden animation possibly give us.... UNLESS it's a post game story... but i doubt thats whats going to happen.
Ok so have you seen Persona 4 The Animation? 2011, good times.
This is the EXACT same show.... but with Marie....
so just like the Golden game... it has some extra stuff but whether or not it's worth it is dependant on you having experienced the first iteration.
well okay it's not exactly the same... it's way faster cause it is half the length...
the game is easily 80 hours
80 hours is hard to get across in 12 episodes
i'll still watch it... cause why not.... it's on crunchyroll... but i will continue to be perplexed by it's existence.
would have been nice to get a show that was the inbetween of p3/4 and the fighting games but again... thats just me being greedy... better to redo a show thats 3 years old....
17 mins in - credits.
....
show are you even trying?
like theres a chunk after the credits but honestly the marie stuff could have been 5 mins web series.

[after watching ep 2]
So... it's an animated dedicated to the new content in P4 golden? whats the point... maybe it's supposed to be watched interspersed in the original p4 anime?
it's fine i just don't understand why it exists.

INVADERS of the ROKUJYOMA!?
The art style really reminds me of Shakugan no shana and haruhi but there doesn't seem to be any connection... at least nothing mentioned on Myanimelist
Ah another story about a ghost who lives an an apartment.... we are getter a lot of these lately.
oh and a magical girl.
ugh.... wonderful unflattering fanservice... i don't think guys are into broken spines so i dont get why this is a thing.
and now we have a race of underground people.
and now an alien... er princess... whos main role so far has been for a extended panty shot.
so... it's a harem show where all girls are something mythical and this room is the most important room of all time.
sad thing is it was fine right until the girls started to poor in one by one... i'm just not a fan of harem shows and to be fair i'm not the target market anyways.

Magimoji Rurumo
SO the premise is be careful what you wish for. The main guy apparently wished for something and the one who granted it will claim his life in two days...
though we all know she'll get to like him and wont take his life cause..... otherwise it would be a short show.
I do not like the art... it's so boxy....
Also "it's so funny cause he's so perverted" yeah... cause he's the only guy ever who could be even a little perverted... but yeah... just another shitty Fanservice heavy Moe show.... again... better shit to do with my time.

Bladedance of Elementalers
Wow... they all have the exact same eye type.... in a lot of shows thats the only thing that they change cause changing face shapes is hard...
So we start off with the guy accidentally seeing the girl bath, the girls reaction being to burn him to crisp... when she knocks down a tree behind her he saves her but oh no... accidently puts his hand where it didn't belong... oops.
he gets knocked out and i swear for the next few minutes we just get a talk about what type of pervert he is.
i'm getting early Aughts flashbacks... seriously these types of shows didn't do well then.... why would they think thats changed?
 oh wow and the midcard is a close up picture of her ass.... lovely.
Again.... obvious 'fanservice' trope filled harem and yeah.... not my thing.

Tokyo Ghoul
Oh look... lots of censorship.... i'm sure the Bluray ver will not have the black covering pretty much the entire screen... but in the tv version it takes away a little of the impact.
So this is a Horror show... i don't tend to care for them... this goes for live action Horror as well... i just find it all kinda silly.... sometimes because they take themselves way too seriously but mostly cause the premise is just too stupid or out there for me to care... i can't like any characters cause i know they probably wont make it so what's the point.
Yet i've always had friends who love it... just never got it.
So i didn't really care for this show... the premise is scary i guess... being targeted as prey and then after an accident turning into the predator.... but yeah.... not my thing.

Shonen Hollywood -Holly Stage for 49-
Did... Uta-pri do really well? yet another pretty boys singing show.
wow.... that sure is an interesting hairdo you have there president
The animation is really detailed but there is something off and i can't quite put my finger on it. it's both way more fluid then normal and incredibly stiff.
So one episode in all i know is that these 5 boys are in an idol group.
i don't know why any of them joined... i barely know their names
and whats worse i don't really care....
it's not a bad show but it's also not good... completely forgettable.
And seriously these idol shows need to stop... they are all pretty blah.

Nobunaga Concerto
it's all 3D.... and looks awful.
I want to try.... but it's just so distracting. The music seems dencent from what i heard but yeah... not the type of show for me.
If you like anime that try to look different this show may be right up your alley.

Terror in Resonance
Well... if i did watch this show it would have been my WTF show of the season...
But.... no, the subject matter is just a bit too dark for me and i don't want to see a show that has the main characters doing atrocious shit just cause they feel wronged... the animation was good... they sunk a lot of money into this but yeah... i find it hard to believe that there is something in the rest of the season that can make up for what they did in this first episode.
i dunno... this actually kinda bugs me...  I have a feeling thats the point but still... the fact that the subject matter in this show is a show.... just gotta wonder "why was this made?"

Last show... and the sad thing is it airs on friday but because i'll be at a con i wont see it till sunday at the earliest... and it's one i actually am curious about.

~after con~
so... tired... want to post... stupid long blog post...

Tokyo ESP
 There is a very large cast so far and not much reason why i should care but it is interesting enough where i hope to continue, it's on funimation so i may forget about it. but i did like what i saw.

Um.... final thoughts...
uh..
lots of good stuff this season, hopefully i'll be able to stick with all the shows i want to.
And yeah.... still not goingto watch sword art unless i hear from others who hated the Alfenhiem arc as much s i did but are ok with it.... and i have a feeling thats not happening any time soon.
For now though i just need to recover from the con and this cold.

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