- WARNING: THE FOLLOWING POST CONTAINS SPOILERS -
Overall the summer anime of 2015 is giving me mixed feelings. Some of the stuff that are showing right now are pretty good, and I have tons of good things to say about them. However, there's also a bunch of anime that I don't particularly like. While this is a common occurrence in any given season, my thoughts and opinions are a lot more "passionate" and stronger for this one in particular (meaning that this entry will be quite long).
I won't be covering leftovers from last season, since I already did so in the concluding post.
Let's hop to it and start yet another anime review, this time, of summer 2015.
This Season:
Akagami no Shirayuki-hime
Aoharu x Kikanjuu
Charlotte
Classroom Crisis
Danchigai
Gakkou Gurashi!
GATE
Aoharu x Kikanjuu
Charlotte
Classroom Crisis
Danchigai
Gakkou Gurashi!
GATE
One Sentence: Fantasy anime that follows the adventure of Shirayuki, a young woman who receives unwanted attention because of her rare red hair.
One of the better entrances to this season, Akagami no Shirayuki-hime shows loads of potential, and already has given a great performance with its first two episodes. We've already caught a glimpse of what the show has in store for us, with its enticing action scenes and superb art.
I personally love the characters. They each have their own little quirks and charms, and while we've only been introduced to two leading roles, I'm sure that there are other diverse characters to come. The mood and atmosphere are conveyed exceedingly well, and I just find Akagami no Shirayuki-hime a well done anime.
The art looks gorgeous, especially any nature scenes or backgrounds, and I found myself enjoying it extremely so. OP and ED are fine in their own rights, and the soundtrack is above par. While this anime won't be scoring anything much higher than an 8.00, it's definitely a solid watch.
Best Girl: the energetic and charismatic Shirayuki
Aoharu x Kikanjuu (3/12)
One Sentence: There's something about the mixture of: a girl-who-is-actually-a-boy-trap, one good looking host, a doujinshi artist/oktau, and survival games that really works well together.
Aoharu x Kikanjuu is a fast paced and exciting show, and so far I'm loving every single bit of it. It's pretty much like any other anime of its kind, which involves a group of friends trying to overcome obstacles in a hobby (ex. Kuoroko's Basketball, Haikyuu!!). Generally these are received pretty well, because the anime gives viewers somebody to root for, and while Aoharu x Kikanjuu hasn't quite hit the big-tournament-that-everybody-loses mark, it's bound to. In fact, we already saw in the latest episode that the trio are setting up for the invitational and that we have our antagonists established.
Like Akagami no Shirayuki-hime, the characters that we know of so far are intriguing and great to watch in their own respects. The main character, Tachibana, is a tomboy who is actually thought by others to be a guy, and has a very strong sense of what justice is. While this may be a turn off to some viewers, I think that it adds to the comedy (which isn't bland and timed well here) and adds to the show.
The opening and ending both are accompanied by fitting music, and I have to say that the OP was fantastic. I liked the song quite a bit and the OP did well to the portray what the show was about. Can't wait to see what comes out of this later on.
Best Girl: I just like Kanae because of her looks
Charlotte (2/13)
One Sentence: Promising show by P.A. Works, about kids who have supernatural powers throughout their adolescence.
Charlotte seems like the kind of anime that is perfectly funny for the first, let's say, 3/4 of the season, and then it takes a turn for the more feely and serious side, eventually leaving you in complete despair and tears. In a way, it kinda sounds like another one of the P.A. Works' more memorable show, Angel Beats.
The anime starts off the first episode by introducing the viewer to the main character, Yuu. He seems like a bit of a narcissist, and has a terrible personality (setting him up for a huge intervention or something later on). Yuu has the power to swap bodies with somebody for a few seconds, and using this power he rises to the top of his class in academics and gets into a prestigious institution. There he is discovered by Nao, and ultimately has to transfer to a special school for kids with abilities.
So far everything has set up for comedic and enjoyable watch, and we've already had our first sort of issue solved (with the archery captain and his photo memory or whatever). Nothing really pops up at me when thinking about Charlotte, but it can definitely go somewhere.
Charlotte seems like the kind of anime that is perfectly funny for the first, let's say, 3/4 of the season, and then it takes a turn for the more feely and serious side, eventually leaving you in complete despair and tears. In a way, it kinda sounds like another one of the P.A. Works' more memorable show, Angel Beats.
The anime starts off the first episode by introducing the viewer to the main character, Yuu. He seems like a bit of a narcissist, and has a terrible personality (setting him up for a huge intervention or something later on). Yuu has the power to swap bodies with somebody for a few seconds, and using this power he rises to the top of his class in academics and gets into a prestigious institution. There he is discovered by Nao, and ultimately has to transfer to a special school for kids with abilities.
So far everything has set up for comedic and enjoyable watch, and we've already had our first sort of issue solved (with the archery captain and his photo memory or whatever). Nothing really pops up at me when thinking about Charlotte, but it can definitely go somewhere.
Best Girl: Nao because she's cute at the right times and seems to be serious at the right times
Classroom Crisis (3/?)
One Sentence: Uninteresting anime that seems to be going nowhere because of a lack of development and character.
I'mabout eight minutes into done episode 3 and I can still say that Classroom Crisis is a complete dud that is tasteless Classroom Crisis may have a small glimmer of hope into becoming a very decent watch. I saw some improvement in the third episode, and now that some of the randoms side characters are gone, I'm expecting a much more thorough introduction to the leads. However the first two episodes were a mediocre sight, and here's why.
The characters are uninteresting and I feel kinda underwhelmed by what should be the main conflict in the show. None of the people pop out at me and there have been wayyyyy too many unimportant characters introduced, making me dread Thursdays. The conflict that has been presented is the looming demise of a special class of engineering kids, and it doesn't seem exactly urgent. If I had to say all of the problems in one sentence, it'd probably follow something like: "Nothing is executed properly and for that reason it's a poor watch."
Now, there were good things that actually happened in the third episode. We have a new character introduced, and ironically she's the one who seems the most dynamic and fleshed out right now. The cold and stony Nagisa shows weakness and a chink in his armour during the last few seconds of the episode, and ATEC (the abbreviation for the group of special engineering kids) facilities have been downsized. Something actually happened.
While Classroom Crisis is still far far away from being any good, at least it might turn out to be a very okay watch. Personally I think that the next stretch of episodes will turn out pretty well, only to have its progress dismantled by a bad ending, but if Classroom Crisis manages to surprise me, then that's all for the better.
I'm
The characters are uninteresting and I feel kinda underwhelmed by what should be the main conflict in the show. None of the people pop out at me and there have been wayyyyy too many unimportant characters introduced, making me dread Thursdays. The conflict that has been presented is the looming demise of a special class of engineering kids, and it doesn't seem exactly urgent. If I had to say all of the problems in one sentence, it'd probably follow something like: "Nothing is executed properly and for that reason it's a poor watch."
Now, there were good things that actually happened in the third episode. We have a new character introduced, and ironically she's the one who seems the most dynamic and fleshed out right now. The cold and stony Nagisa shows weakness and a chink in his armour during the last few seconds of the episode, and ATEC (the abbreviation for the group of special engineering kids) facilities have been downsized. Something actually happened.
While Classroom Crisis is still far far away from being any good, at least it might turn out to be a very okay watch. Personally I think that the next stretch of episodes will turn out pretty well, only to have its progress dismantled by a bad ending, but if Classroom Crisis manages to surprise me, then that's all for the better.
Best Girl: I don't like anybody too much, but it goes to Mizuki
Danchigai (short, 2/?)
One Sentence: I was sitting on the couch and had nothing to watch so I picked this up, and it didn't turn out bad at all.
I'm not going to lie, one brother, three sisters, and slightly bland comedy actually makes for a decent watch (for whatever reason). Maybe it's because it's my dirty pleasure, or maybe it's just because I didn't have particularly high standards while watching.
Really it's, nothing more than a bunch of mindless stuff happening, revolving around siblings that never have their parents around. Watch it if a) there's nothing else and you have four minutes to spare, or b) if you're into this kinda stuff.
I'm not going to lie, one brother, three sisters, and slightly bland comedy actually makes for a decent watch (for whatever reason). Maybe it's because it's my dirty pleasure, or maybe it's just because I didn't have particularly high standards while watching.
Really it's, nothing more than a bunch of mindless stuff happening, revolving around siblings that never have their parents around. Watch it if a) there's nothing else and you have four minutes to spare, or b) if you're into this kinda stuff.
Best Girl: Onee-chan Mutsuki Nakano
Gakkou Gurashi! (2/12)
One Sentence: Moe slice of life infused with zombies and dark psychological undertones (the last part may be stretching it a little bit).
Gakkou Gurashi! makes a tremendous and memorable splash into this season, with it's twist ending in the first season and it's unorthodox style. I absolutely love everything that has been done with this anime and I really can't wait to see how the rest of it goes.
My favourite thing about Gakkou Gurashi! is how effectively they play the psychological aspect of Yuki. It's apparent that Yuki is in some state of shock, still believing that she's living her days as a regular student, and deceives herself to believe so. To represent this, the near entirety of the first episode is played from Yuki's mind, with everything normal. There are subtle hints, that indicate that not all is as it seems, and at the very end of the episode it's revealed (in a dramatic and great fashion) that the four girls are actually in a zombie apocalypse. In episode two, there's constant changes between the mind of Yuki and reality, providing contrast.
Even though the style and appereance of Gakkou Gurashi! is moe SoL, it doesn't affect how well the undertones of psychological stress are portrayed. It provides quite a dark and scary undertone to the lighthearted air of your typical moe SoL, something that hasn't been done yet.
Gakkou Gurashi! makes a tremendous and memorable splash into this season, with it's twist ending in the first season and it's unorthodox style. I absolutely love everything that has been done with this anime and I really can't wait to see how the rest of it goes.
My favourite thing about Gakkou Gurashi! is how effectively they play the psychological aspect of Yuki. It's apparent that Yuki is in some state of shock, still believing that she's living her days as a regular student, and deceives herself to believe so. To represent this, the near entirety of the first episode is played from Yuki's mind, with everything normal. There are subtle hints, that indicate that not all is as it seems, and at the very end of the episode it's revealed (in a dramatic and great fashion) that the four girls are actually in a zombie apocalypse. In episode two, there's constant changes between the mind of Yuki and reality, providing contrast.
Even though the style and appereance of Gakkou Gurashi! is moe SoL, it doesn't affect how well the undertones of psychological stress are portrayed. It provides quite a dark and scary undertone to the lighthearted air of your typical moe SoL, something that hasn't been done yet.
Best Girl: Rii-san is just so perfect
GATE (2/24)
One Sentence: Show seems very boring with few interesting elements, and to add on, the main character is an otaku (for what reason?!?!) and a nobody.
Before I say anything else, I really want to state that I don't get why the main character has to be an otaku. It adds literally nothing to the story, and if it's to serve the purpose of adding a relatable character to the anime, then it's doing a poor job. MC Mr. Otaku makes dislike the show even more, adding onto the already bland premise.
Having a random gate being opened up, that leads to a different realm of time and space, seems interesting, but it seems that GATE is geared for pandering of the fans. This is (at least for now, can't say anything about the rest of this tiresome 24 episode format) evident, with its focus on the three girls who are currently being introduced.
But we're only two episodes in, and there's still a lot of time for things to change. Who knows? Maybe GATE will become one of the more interesting watches this season, if it focuses more the civilization and relationship between the two realms. It's a big if, but definitely possible. For now though, it's forgettable.
Before I say anything else, I really want to state that I don't get why the main character has to be an otaku. It adds literally nothing to the story, and if it's to serve the purpose of adding a relatable character to the anime, then it's doing a poor job. MC Mr. Otaku makes dislike the show even more, adding onto the already bland premise.
Having a random gate being opened up, that leads to a different realm of time and space, seems interesting, but it seems that GATE is geared for pandering of the fans. This is (at least for now, can't say anything about the rest of this tiresome 24 episode format) evident, with its focus on the three girls who are currently being introduced.
But we're only two episodes in, and there's still a lot of time for things to change. Who knows? Maybe GATE will become one of the more interesting watches this season, if it focuses more the civilization and relationship between the two realms. It's a big if, but definitely possible. For now though, it's forgettable.
Best Girl: haven't met any yet, but judging from the OP it'd have to be the blonde elf girl
- CONTINUED IN PART 2 -
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