Best episode of the week: Chihayafuru 2

Anime trending up this week: To Aru Kagaku no Railgun S

Anime trending down this week: Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai 2

Chihayafuru 2 (Episode 18)

Perhaps the most amazing aspect of Chihayafuru, more amazing than even the karuta players themselves, is the audience members that observe and commentate over the matches.  For the finals match occurring in these recent episodes, this role has largely been reserved to Kanade, among others, who is sitting out with an injured, swollen finger.  What I find absolutely astonishing about these audience members is that they are able to watch all five concurrent matches simultaneously and provide commentary for each.  What’s more, their commentary is always accurate, appropriate and insightful.  And whenever something significant or special happens to one of the players, such as after their internal monologue about how they need to correct themselves, they are right there to back up that moment with some worthwhile claim or commentary.  So while all these characters are subjected to sitting in the back of the playing hall, these characters are all eagle-eyed spectators who create roles for themselves in the anime despite being coaches, benchwarmers or other fans of the game.  What these characters are able to do, to watch, understand and commentate on 5 individual matches occurring at the same time, is nothing short of remarkable in Chihayafuru.

Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge (Episode 6)

Given the frequent reminder that Iwai’s hair is virtually indestructible, appearing to be susceptible to only a select variety of the Killing Goods, you’d figure that Iwai would learn to use her hair to her advantage.  That is, you’d hope that Iwai would learn to use her hair as an insurmountable shield or barrier during all these attempted murders.  Then again, from what we’ve seen in the story, it only appears to work against blades that try to cut, trim or shear the hair, but you figure that it would expand to other forms of attack given its role and purpose in the story.  Now, I’m not saying that the characters should test this theory out and try to fire bullets at her hair or burn it with fire or acid, but you figure that Iwai’s hair would defend against even those forms of assault.  So given the nature and indestructability of Iwai’s hair, you would think that someone would devise a plan to train Iwai in how to use her hair to ward off attacks and attackers to increase her survival.  And if any of the characters were intelligent enough to implement such a crazy and cunning strategy, who knows, maybe one day Iwai will be able to repay Kiri back for everything when she uses her hair to block a bullet or blade to save his life.  Then again, you figure Kiri would want something else from Iwai given his infatuation with her, but I’m sure saving his life is fine with him, too.

Hataraku Maou-sama! (Episode 6)

Given the duration of their extended stay and their acquired knowledge of urban Japan’s elaborate and perplexing society and structure, you can’t help but wonder why Sadao and Emi haven’t landed better jobs yet.  There are a number of factors present that would suggest the two could and would find better work, too.  From what we’ve seen in their decorative pasts, both characters are intelligent, charismatic and dynamic, skills that they could put to much better use than managing a fast-food restaurant and dealing with angry/stupid people on the phone all day.  Not only that but the two characters have both shown a desire to move up in this world, though Sadao is narrow-minded in his approach and could reconsider for something more along his goal of world domination.  And while it’s true that neither has any education, training or work experience, you could consider a host of jobs that Sadao and Emi would potentially qualify for if they just sought employment in those fields.  For example, Sadao would definitely earn more money working in the construction or manufacturing industries provided he demonstrated his competence, diligence and industriousness, not to mention that either would be better suited for his theme of world domination.  As for Emi, a career in modeling doesn’t seem outrageous given her appearance and charisma, though advertising herself like that would make her an easier target for assassins or something.  If not, Emi would also be aptly suited for construction or manufacturing too, among other occupations, considering her history as the Hero of an entire world.  But enough about trying to pigeonhole jobs to these characters based on the limited information we’ve been given, the point of this review was to highlight the fact that they’ve been living in Japan for several months now and have yet to find better employment than what they originally secured.  After learning, adapting and assimilating to Japanese culture, you’d think that Sadao, Emi and all the other characters from Ente Isla would be readjusting their position and moving up in the world.  Oh, and they have magic too, so why not use that a couple of times and fabricate a degree or some cash cards or something?

Kakumeiki Valvrave (Episode 5)

Every time you see A-Drei, you see H-Neun.  And every time you see H-Neun, you see Q-Vier.  Oh, and you also see X-Eins, too.  Like, any time you see one of these characters, you see the other three, too.  All four of those characters are always together… always together, whether they’re waltzing around a school during a mission, saluting their supreme leader or sitting around the longue watching highschoolers sing about how much better their lives are than their friends and families who are living under an oppressive military occupation.  It’s as if they’re all joint at the hip with each other, creating some awkward circumstances of a quartet of dudes walking in a square facing outward (and don’t even ask how they’d go to the bathroom, let alone sit in a chair).  But whenever you see those four characters, you only really see one: A-Drei.  Pretty much what I’m getting at is that these 4 characters are pretty much one personality at this point, which is dominated by A-Drei who has a personal vendetta against L-Elf.  The other three characters, though proficient soldiers and spies, have done little to establish their character in this series and are effectively just another piece of A-Drei’s character.  Sure, every time you see A-Drei, you see three other characters but, at the same time, you only see A-Drei since he’s the only one of the four that matters.  It’s kinda awkward at this point but all that needs to happen for these other characters to establish themselves is to break away from the group and have the anime spend some time on them individually.  But until then, I’m going to think of this quartet as some chimeric beast with four heads where only one matters, almost like a Legend of Zelda or Final Fantasy boss.

Shingeki no Kyojin (Episode 6)

Despite Attack on Titan constantly dealing with fear, torment and death, the series has some surprisingly good, intelligent humor embedded throughout.  Furthermore, the comedy is spread nicely throughout, even incorporating it into more serious or dramatic scenes.  And the types of comedy presented in Attack on Titan are incredibly diverse too, ranging from the wacky, nonconformist characters, to the visual sight gags (I am positive some of those Titan designs are done on purpose for this season), to the clever one-liners.  What’s more, is that the constant feeling of dread and danger throughout has a further enhancement of the comedy since it feels less predictable than when comparing it to straight-up comedy or slice-of-life anime.  For example, if this were a comedy, you might expect to see a silly Titan run down a narrow thoroughfare and not be as surprised.  In Attack on Titan, however, when you see the little girl point back and ask her mommy what’s going on, you figure it’s going to be some heinous, bloodthirsty monster ready to pounce on the crowd and devour the girl or her mother.  Nope, instead it’s some silly Titan speeding down the road without a care in the world.  It is moments like these where the humor in Attack on Titan is most effective and further enhances the entertainment aspect of this anime.

Suisei no Gargantia (Episode 6)

Even though Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet is debatably the best school anime of this season, with Ledo being the mysterious transfer student who can’t quite fit in at his new high school which is the sandbox that Gargantia represents, there is a surprising lack of generalized and specialized knowledge among the seafarers of this floating flotilla.  But then again, given the structure and functionality of this ocean-crawling society, is an education system really necessary?

The issue was originally highlighted when Ledo questioned Chamber on why all the children were running around and playing on the deck when they should be diligently studying in a military academy.  The fact that there is no education or training system in place on Gargantia (except for maybe a system of apprenticeship) means that this human society is largely uneducated and unskilled.  For example, there doesn’t appear to be much in the way of industry or manufacturing on Gargantia.  Instead, virtually everything obtained and used in this anime, from the skimpy bikinis the girls wear to the giant, underwater robots to the metal used to repair the ships, comes from whatever source the people are able to successfully salvage.  Ah, but this brings up a good counterargument to which one would address that an education system would be unnecessary on Gargantia.  Why would the people need to study and train when virtually every occupation on this ship is selling goods, providing services, and the trio of fishing, farming, and salvage.  There really isn’t any capacity for people to work in any industry on Gargantia given its unique situation nor is there a need for people to study and research the world given what’s going on.  Suppose that if the people were somehow educated enough to develop an electrical system to harness the energy of tiny, electric ocean bugs, these people wouldn’t have the resources or equipment to create such devices.

The fact of the matter is that an education system is largely unnecessary in Gargantia and that society is surviving and functional as it currently is.  The problem, however, is that this lifestyle is unsustainable and that they’ll eventually run into issues of scarcity, especially if there are issues with salvaging goods and materials.  But again, at that point, would an education system really be appropriate to addressing the problem that stems from a lack of resources?  Really, the topic is entirely debatable, but my stance on the issue is, even though it is somewhat surprising to see an advanced society exist without any form of an education or training system in place, it makes sense given the unique setting that is Gargantia.  Of course, it is worth noting that this argument is based off my own observations of this anime and that there is no industry/manufacturing on Gargantia, unless we want to believe that there are factories onboard creating nylon and spandex for revealing swimwear and others creating microchips for the variety of aquatic robots among other products.

To Aru Kagaku no Railgun S (Episode 5)

Misaka Imouto has always been the best character in the Index/Railgun franchise and now they’ve made her better.  Not only was Misaka Imouto 9982 clever, amusing and enjoyable as a character but her story, from conception to extinction, was very expressive and endearing, something that I greatly appreciate in an anime.  Watching her go from an indistinguishable and featureless clone, incubating in a status tube in some research facility, to whatever range of emotions she left before being crushed to death, was a character story that came across as disturbing, depressing but also entirely satisfying.  You can’t help but feel some compassion and empathy for the young girl, who makes a genuine friend with her original, before fulfilling her purpose and dying in a dubious experiment.  The whole story felt complete and appropriate, forcing Misaka to change and act in regards to the experiment, and with the added bonus of comedy that helped make Misaka Imouto 9982 both hilarious and engaging.  It is a shame to see such an enjoyable character meet such a premature demise, but hopefully we’ll see some other clones appear to help fulfill her void and continue to expand on the curious role that is Misaka Imouto.

Best episode of the week: Shingeki no Kyojin

Anime trending up this week: Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Bride

Anime trending down this week: To Aru Kagaku no Railgun S

Chihayafuru 2 (Episode 17)

The finals match against Fujisaki offers the cast of Chihayafuru the opportunity to play against themselves… or at least a doppelganger version of themselves with some minor quirks and differences.  Across from Taichi is someone who seems to be equally as smart but differs in their karuta rank (Class A versus Class B) and openness of their sexuality (obsessive versus reserved for Chihaya).  Nishida’s opponent is also heavy-set and playing with a heavy heart after his brother was removed from the line-up of the finals match.  Tsukuba’s partner is eerily similar to Tsukaba in that they’re both annoying and forgettable and Tsutomu met his opponent, Makoto, when he was scouting Fujisaki, so the two share some knowledge of each other though they seem to be the least parallel among the others.  And of course, Chihaya is matched up against Rion, who like Chihaya is somewhat of a prodigy in karuta though her love for the game is only observable when her grandmother is reciting the poetry.  So with this current set-up, it’s as if we’re looking into a bizarre mirror of Mizusawa when we’re watching them play against Fujisaki.  How this will measure or impact the characters has yet to be seen but, given how similar they are to our familiar cast except for certain specific differences, you figure some type of character development will occur for each player before the final card is claimed.

Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge (Episode 5)

I am aware that a majority of school-setting anime have a discernible lack of adults in them, but Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge has been completely devoid of all parents and teachers save for Kashiko’s mother who runs the local beauty parlor.  Hell, in this episode where the schools go out for a camping trip, there weren’t any teachers around, only high school kids who were helping out.  Sure, we’ve seen a handful of other adults in the series but none of them belong in the authoritative role that would otherwise be there to support our cast of characters.  This exclusion of trustworthy adults leaves Kiri and Iwai without anyone to turn to in these dire or zany situations.  Just think about how a parent or a teacher could help Kiri or Iwai, even if it was something minimal.  The fact that there are zero parents and teachers up to this point is somewhat significant in how it fits into the whole ‘death game’ model that Crime Edge seems to enjoy.  With the inclusion of helpful parents and teachers, there would be obstacles and barriers that would otherwise complicate scenes or make them more practical.  And of course, who’d want that in an anime like Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge?

Devil Survivor 2 the Animation (Episode 5)

The cast of Devil Survivor 2 continues to expand and expand with every passing episode and has ballooned to roughly 14 distinctive characters in the span of 5 episodes.  It’s no easy task to introduce so many distinctive characters while executing a story, several extensive battles, and a couple of infodumps that explain the setting and the mechanics.  Rather, I’m actually very impressed and pleased with how Devil Survivor 2 has presented its cast and how its characters fit together with each other.  Why do I feel this way?  Well, for starters, I actually know virtually all of the characters at this point whereas in virtually every other anime this season, I can’t name even half their cast.  Another point is that each has had some significant screentime where I’ve begun to establish a foundation for each character, and I have a general idea of their personalities, too.  The same can’t be said for most anime in regards to their cast.  And each passing episode of Devil Survivor 2 has had meaningful development on its cast, so seeing the various characters of this swelled up cast progress on their own is nothing short of fascinating.  I couldn’t be happier with how Devil Survivor 2 has introduced its cast in these introductory episodes but how it handles them from here out and in regards to the story is still up in the air.

Hataraku Maou-sama! (Episode 5)

With the first story arc of Hataraku Maou-sama! eseentially over, I have come to the realization that the two settings that constitute Maou-sama! will serve entirely opposite purposes in this anime moving forward.  Pretty much everything that comes from Earth will be related to the comedy or romance and anything that transpires from the fantasy realm will be related to the story or comedy for either Sadao or Emi.  We can infer this from Maou-sama! given that characters (and thusly, their problems) can travel back and forth between the two realms, thereby linking any events from the fantasy world with Sadao and Emi who are still on Earth.  This means that while the world progresses and the wars wage on, Sadao and Emi can be interrupted at any time for whatever purpose.  As for the events on Earth, not much can happen here that will impact these two characters besides more love-triangle mechanics and comedy.  It is extremely unlikely that a storyline will originate on Earth since we’ve already seen that it doesn’t have any considerable source of magic, that everyone here is already underpowered and that humans have no reason to target Sadao or Emi who are both financially-struggling young adults.  Should something stem from an event or person on Earth, they’ll likely have some assistance and motives that connect it back to the fantasy realm that Sadao and Emi are originally from.  So with that in mind, we can guesstimate how events and storylines will play out merely from the setting from which they occur.  Of course, with new characters being instituted in last episode, things may change slightly but this rule should be the norm from here on out in Maou-sama!

Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Bride (Episode 5)

The ‘beach episode’ is often regarded as one of the worst types of episode there are in anime; a non-essential, unnecessary episode filled with bikini-clad fanservice and recycled comedy that does little more than destroy brain cells.  But when it comes to a series that just doesn’t care what it does, it turns out that the beach episode is easily the best episode. Easily.  Hyakka  Ryouran knows its strengths and knows what its audience wants and it delivered with an episode heavy in both fanservice and comedy.  No, there wasn’t any of that nonexistent plot, lackluster character development or annoy harem antics going on in this episode.  Instead, it was just straight up fun and entertainment in the form of a series of amusing jokes at each character’s expense.  The end result is probably the best episode of this entire sequel (or even possibly series) of Hyakka Ryouran, though there is hope that it will retain this charm for future episodes to come.  Let’s hope the plot of this anime is forgotten and the series just churns out episode after episode like this one.

Kakumeiki Valvrave (Episode 4)

The real reason you keep watching Valvrave every week is to see how it will top itself from last week.  After four episodes of absolute absurdity and ridiculousness, Valvrave has quickly become one of the most exciting and entertaining anime of the season and it increases with every inexplicable and silly twist that it pulls out.  Not only that but there have been so many details and motifs embedded in the anime, there’s a sense of purpose to this reckless and ludicrous chaos.  The anime is certainly heading in a direction (which one exactly is yet to be seen) but it makes the journey there worthwhile with every twist and turn imaginable (with several unimaginable ones, too).  Even if it ends up with something messy or nauseating or something completely incoherent, at least the voyage that is the story of Valvrave will have served its purpose as being electrifying, amusing and unquestionably satisfying.

Shingeki no Kyojin (Episode 5)

Alright guys, I know you like your system of steampunk cables and that flying around the forests and cities makes you look cool and all, but… it’s about time we reevaluate your strategies and come up with something that, you know, actually works against these titans.  I mean, when you’re completely ineffective and lose an entire unit in the matter of a few minutes (part of it was their fault for not knowing here the hell their enemy was), you’ve got to step back, look at the situation and say, ‘We’ve got to do something about this.’  Think about all that time that was wasted training these soldiers only for them to end up being the hor d’oeuvers for the invading titans.  All that time and effort and resources… wasted.  And it’s mainly derived from an ineffective and complex method of cables and swords that is extremely difficult to master and even harder to execute in practice.  What’s more is I can’t help but notice is that everyone is using this method, too.  You know, we heard that the methods of cannons worked for a bit, even if it was able to immobilize them for a bit, so why not have a unit of gunners work to immobilize a titan and then have a spiffy sword-cables guy go in and finish him off?  Or maybe do something with fire?  Fire is always effective.  The point here is that mankind relies too heavily on this ineffective method of slaying giants and that you figure, within 5 years of the titans invading the outer wall and causing chaos and turmoil for humanity, that there’d be some better way of taking out these titans than what we currently see.  Maybe as the anime progresses, we’ll see some advancements in military technology that will replace this method of cables and swords and replace it with something much more successful.

Suisei no Gargantia (Episode 5)

I’m actually rather surprised at the amount of criticism and backlash that’s been levied against the fifth episode of Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet.  Whereas people have berated the episode for being nothing more than pointless fanservice layers on a superfluous and expendable narrative, I found the episode to be entirely appropriate for Gargantia, especially with its current placement in the series.  Really, isn’t this what Gargantia is supposed to be?  Consider the series thus far from Ledo’s perspective: he’s spent his entire life in the military, fighting against a freak alien race, and always thinks and evaluates everything in a strictly economic and effective manner.  Chamber informs him that, following the battle he participated in during the opening scenes of the first episode, that he would be given a chance to vacation which Ledo contemplated the purpose of.  With him crashed and stranded on Gargantia, he’s had to quickly adjust to a completely different lifestyle where he tries to find his purpose on Gargantia.  Furthermore, his own steadfast and failsafe philosophy is being challenged too, by Bevel, who asks him what he would do with his life once the war is over.  Not only that but Bevel is a chronically ill child who, according to Ledo, has no value and would otherwise be disposed of back in space.  What this has done is place Ledo in a very upsetting and perplexed situation, one in which he begins to question the foundations and teaching of his entire life.  And now, with the fifth episode of Gargantia, Amy and the girls decide to introduce Ledo to ‘fun and relaxation’.  Yes, the whole point of this beach episode was to place Ledo in another distressing situation, one in which he was searching for a purpose in his presence here but quickly escalated into a time of enjoyment and pleasure.  It just so happened that this episode turned out to be a bit sexy and wacky with the bikini-clad girls sunbathing and the regrettable crossdressers chase, but each of those points were there to heighten or enhance the amusement and entertainment of the audience.  In fact, the use of fanservice and comedy in this episode was likely a method of conveying the fun that Ledo was supposed to feel to the audience.  Hell, look at the two missions that Ledo and Amy were sent on: get steak sauce for the barbecue and turn on some sprinklers.  Like, the whole point of this episode was to show Ledo how to have fun and the anime wanted to have fun with the audience.  Now I completely understand that many anime fans don’t care to see underage girls prance around in skimpy swimsuits or see banal crossdressers acting flamboyant over a cute guy’s ass, but I feel that the intent and message of the episode was communicated to the audience effectively.  This episode is entirely appropriate for Gargantia and one of the best at forcing Ledo to question his past as a soldier in the military.  To say that this episode was a mistake or a disaster is to ignore what Gargantia is about.

To Aru Kagaku no Railgun S (Episode 4)

Really?  Did we get an entire episode of Railgun where nothing happened?  Like, some anime can pull that off with either comedy or general slice-of-life storylines, but nothing significant or worthwhile happened to Misaka the entire episode.  From start to finish, nothing literally happened.  I don’t mind that we saw the maturity of a Misaka Imouto clone and that Misaka came across one in the very final scene, but the rest of the episode was an absolute waste.  I don’t often contemplate dropping an anime after I begin it but these first four episodes of Railgun are really tempting me.

Best episode of the week: Shingeki no Kyojin

Anime trending up this week: Namiuchigiwa no Muromi-san

Anime trending down this week: Chihayafuru 2

Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge (Episode 4)

For whatever reason, color filters exist in Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge.  Though there appears to be no rhyme or reason why these oversaturating and often baffling filters appear, it seems as if they’re meant to denote a significant or dramatic scene.  That’d be an interesting choice of effect should the scenes that employ these filters be actually significant (or extrapolate to why these are more significant than other scenes) or dramatic.  Instead, these overwhelming colors consume our focus away from the scene in more of a distracting manner than anything empowering.  Not only that but the colors lack intensity and excitement and there doesn’t appear to be any sort of system that denotes what the colors represent, though that’s really the least of our concerns at this point in regards to the anime.  So without any clear indication to what these filters mean and a shaky execution of how they’re used, I can only hope that Crime Edge moves away from this regretful choice in art style and move away from something abstract and toward something tangible to help enhance the anime’s experience.

Devil Survivor 2 the Animation (Episode 4)

Although there are important characters dotted all across Japan, the constant cuts back to HQ and the other JPs departments significantly undermines the plot and action in Devil Survivor 2.  While it’s fine to flip back and forth to show people in different areas doing different things, it only makes sense when they are directly involved in the scene at hand, as it is when the anime switched between Hibiki and Nitta.  The same can’t be said when the anime alternates between the characters in Tokyo, the Kyoto branch of JPs, and the other members of the sizable cast of Devil Survivor 2.  The end result of jumping back and forth between these sites and these characters is an unfocused episode that seems easily distracted and impulsive.  Sure, the characters play an important role in each episode, but the anime doesn’t need to transition between these sites every couple seconds.  Although I don’t mind seeing Makoto a dozen times each episode, her role could effectively be replaced by her barking orders through a cell phone (although, I have to admit, I’d probably complain about this would be lazy animation).  We don’t need reaction shots of all these characters after every single development nor do we need to hear them speak some psychobabble about their computers being hacked or how close they are to being killed because things are suddenly theatrical.  No, what’d help Devil Survivor 2 from here on out would be to focus on the matters at hand, especially during action sequences and battles and save for the cuts back and forth between different sites and different characters for segments that require these characters to converse with each other.  Devil Survivor 2 should strive to have more seamless and uninterrupted episodes, ones that focus its concentration and attention to the characters and matters at hand and stop being so easily sidetracked and preoccupied with characters who aren’t there and aren’t affecting the story.

Hataraku Maou-sama! (Episode 4)

The fourth episode of Hataraku Maou-sama! played a fundamental role in solidifying Emi’s character and showing us reasons on why she’s so emotional and so conflicted at her current predicament.  After spending some more time with her character and exposing her backstory in a meaningful manner, we’ve earned some insight into what makes her character so complex, so compelling and so interesting in Maou-sama!  Really, Emi has the strongest personality and the boldest persona in Maou-sama!, but the reasoning behind her character seemed weak and lacking before this episode, especially since she was so intently focused on killing Sadao despite relying on him in this world.  But with the fourth episode spending some quality time on Emi’s past, one which shows her tragically removed from her father due to an escalating war and the eventual death of her father due to the demon armies, you can honestly begin to understand Emi’s motives and appreciate her character better.  In addition to that, you can merge this backstory with what we know of her character from these past three episodes to comprehend the conflicted and anguished profile we see before us.  And while Emi’s story isn’t the most glamorous or stimulating or expressive, it works well for the story and characters of Maou-sama!, especially when you consider that Emi was already the best character in this show.

Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Bride (Episode 4)

Considering that Hyakka Ryouran is a mindless action, ecchi harem anime that spends more time on boobs and panties rather than actual characterization or anything intelligent, it might be surprising to note that this episode successfully incorporated and expressed themes of forgiveness and tolerance in this episode.  Yeah, the episode had a message embedded within it that explored how Juubei’s forgiveness of Gisen and her tolerance toward her manipulation saved her life from certain death and helped Gisen gain acceptance in the dojo.  Yeah, the anime actually had something meaningful and expressive in it which is surprising since there were about a half-dozen pairs of naked breasts in this episode and a nude guy to go with it, too.  Then again, it’s not like this episode focused on this theme intently and developed it into a moral or the entire point of this episode.  Rather, the whole message of forgiveness and tolerance was woven neatly into the immediate story about Gisen informing the girls about Samurai Brides and trying to manipulate them against each other while she benefited from the controlled chaos.  But still, it’s rather impressive to see Hyakka Ryouran have something intelligent and meaningful in it, especially since I thought the anime was a source of purposeless entertainment where my brain could check-out for half an hour.  No, the fourth episode of this season won’t change how I watch this anime or how I appreciate it, but it does show that this anime has some merit behind it and some intelligence backing it up.  It still isn’t the reason to watch this anime nor is it a reason that makes this anime any better… it just means that Hyakka Ryouran has some positive messages in it, which means it’s somewhat more than just T&A for the better part of half-an-hour.

Kakumeiki Valvrave (Episode 3)

There’s what’s realistic in an anime, and then there’s suspension of disbelief… and then there’s Valvrave the Liberator, which is in a league of its own right now.  After the third episode of Kakumeiki Valvrave, you really have to wonder if all this hilarious, nonsensical bullshit is supposed to mean anything or if it’s camp-style fun taken way too far in a Sunrise-esque mecha anime.  Like, Valvrave has already gone past the point-of-no-return in terms of its silliness and its implausible actions.  No matter what it does from this point forward, it’ll always be labeled as a series that went too far.  Whether that’s a bad thing or not has yet to be judged, but so far, it’s worked in Valvrave’s favor for unintended (or maybe purposeful) hilarity.  To say that L-Elf’s absolutely perfect planning and escape, even though he had no clue where Haruto would be, when he’d be able to make his escape, how he’d find, carry, set-up and detonate all his explosive within that 15 minute time-frame from when he’d escape and be found, that the ship would be at the exact location and encounter the exact issue that’d render the collision as an earthquake… I mean, this thing goes on forever and this is only one episode.  You could do the same thing for episodes 1 and 2 as well and probably make one for episode 4 and 5 and all the rest if you really wanted to.  The point here is that Valvrave has a certain bizarre charm about it when it comes to being unrealistic and preposterous… but that’s what makes it enjoyable and amusing as a series.  Whether this is good or bad in the long run has yet to be determined, especially with fans evaluating it from differing perspectives and coming to opposing and often conflicting conclusions.

Shingeki no Kyojin (Episode 4)

The steampunk technology in Attack on Titan is quite unique and exhilarating, watching characters fly around with swords drawn that have controls for pressure-controlled hooks and cables that suspend them and launch them through the air.  However, you have to wonder if this is the best use of such a technology in regards to fighting the titans.  For example, what do the soldiers do when there are no trees or walls around for which to attack a giant?  Well, considering that the hooks from the pressurized cables are strong enough to pierce the brick/stone façade of the massive walls, you figure that they can easily pierce the flesh of the titans.  Well then, why don’t they just launch those cables at the titans and use them to pull them down, targeting the legs of these monsters from a couple angles to trip and disable them?  Or better yet, why not just invent guns that use the hooks as a projectile if they’re so effective?  The military technology in Shingeki no Kyojin is rather remarkable but its use and effectiveness really has to be questioned at this point, especially since we keep hearing how the Recon teams are easily decimated when facing even a single titan.  Maybe there’s something else going on that we don’t know about yet, but you figure that there’s gotta be better ways than flying around in only a few select settings and hitting them in the back of neck with swords.

Suisei no Gargantia (Episode 4)

Since the beginning of the anime, we’ve been in the dark about Red’s character, but the fourth episode of Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet offered us some clues about Red that help us understand his character a little better.  What we’ve seen of Red paints him as a traditional overzealous, self-assured, and straightforward soldier who has a set line of thinking and always responds in the manner that best suits him, his army and the entirety of mankind.  His steadfastness in this manner has shown him come into conflict and even begin to question his teachings, especially after meeting various members of the cast and getting to grow friendly with the bold and endearing Amy.  Couple this with the fact that we saw a flashback of him visiting a younger version of himself in some sterile, all-white lab with stasis chambers, and you have to really consider the fact that Red might be a cloned soldier to fight the Hideauze.  After evaluating his appearance and how long he’s been in military combat, how his straightforward way of ‘military thinking’ is almost programmed into his brain to be the best, most-economical fighter, the fact that there’s a younger version of himself somewhere in the universe, and the fact that he is forging an ocarina without knowing what it is or why its significant, seem to indicate that he is a clone or something incredibly similar.  Right now, I’m leaning toward the idea that the humans create clones, even from candidates who are sick and “would otherwise be disposed of”, to fight against the alien races as disposable soldiers.  These clones are designed in a way to be the ideal soldiers, not only in their training but also how they understand and evaluate everything around them.  In regards to the wind instrument that Red is carving, I’m not sure if memories are retained or transferred between the original and the copy, but it does seem like Red remembers his former self having one and wanting to make one too while stranded on Earth.  As for any other details or hints or clues in these past few episodes, I believe that they point toward Red being a clone, though I think it might be best to wait and see how this plays out in the next few episodes.

To Aru Kagaku no Railgun S (Episode 3)

One of the best aspects about Railgun is how this side-story provides an alternative perspective on certain events in Index and how the two series compare and contrast with each other.  Consider the story of all the Misaka Sisters who we were introduced to in the first season of Index.  While it seemed like the story was sufficient in that series, we’re able to go back and reexamine the Misaka Sisters again with this new perspective from Railgun.  With this, we’ll be able to learn more about the Sisters and be able to connect it with the events that happened later in Index.  And although this merely appears to be supplemental material to the story in Index, it appears as though there is its own story here for Misaka in Railgun that was never acknowledged (or possibly even through of) when Index documented its story.  It does make me happy to see a story be retold like this through another source and from another angle, almost like two people recalling a single event but from very different backgrounds and who saw very different things.  It’ll be interesting to see how this turns out, especially with how it connects to the Index story, almost as if this is a prequel to those events.

Best episode of the week: Shingeki no Kyojin

Anime trending up this week: Kakumeiki Valvrave

Anime trending down this week: Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge

Chihayafuru 2 (Episode 15)

Sound is essential to every anime.  Whether it’s in relation to the music, the voice acting, the ambiance or whatever, sound is a vital aspect to every anime.  In Chihayafuru however, the voices of the various karuta readers shows an even greater capacity in how the use of sound plays an imperative role in this anime.  As we already know per the rules of karuta, once the first sound of the poem begins, the players are free to swing their arms and aim their fingertips to the corresponding card.  With the rules of karuta structured like this, we find a great deal of significance placed on the readers in every match, often times amplified when Chihaya or another player pounces at the first syllable.  However, in this finals match, we’re treated to Yamashiro Kyouko, a grade 7 certified reader, which is pretty much the very best of the best.  For her character, not only does she need to be a talented voice actress but also one that understands and enunciates as a professional karuta reader does.  Not only that, but to have the impact that her character has and for her voice to have that imposing yet impassioning effect, she needs to be better than all the other karuta readers before her.  With this in mind, we can find a new form of appreciation in the karuta reader and in Kyouko’s voice.  In addition to that, it’s worth noting that the other karuta readers deserve recognition too, since each has had to learn the system and rhythm and pronunciation to be karuta readers in this anime, even the ones that turned out to be ‘bad’ readers since they had to learn how to do it properly and how they would flub it up.  Hopefully now, with the sudden appearance of Yamashiro Kyouko, there is a newfound appreciation of karuta readers and how the use of character voices plays a fundamental role in Chihayafuru.

Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge (Episode 3)

Let’s face it; we knew the fights in Crime Edge were going to be bad.  When the deadly weapons that the characters use to ‘kill’ each other are a pair of scissors, a syringe and a sledgehammer (I notice a pattern…), you figure that the fights are going to be a disappointing if not dismal.  And yes, this is before you factor in Kiri’s superhuman speed that materialized out of nowhere, like even the story wasn’t aware it was going to happen and wasn’t sure where the episode was going with it.  But the worst part about the fight in the third episode of Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge is how the opponent, the Sledgehammer of Crushing Disintegration, never had his character explained.  In fact, during the fight, he never spoke a single word.  Now I realize that people love to complain about how things aren’t realistic when characters say their names and explain their motives during fights, but there are a couple of reasons why we see it so often in stories like these.  First, this isn’t real life, this is an anime, so let your logic run loose and forgotten while you enjoy (or try to enjoy) this show.  Second, it’s an effective method of storytelling despite being clichéd and corny in nature.  Yeah, people don’t tell each other their secret plans and all that in real life but it’s the one chance the character had to elaborate on himself, explain why he appeared now and why this fight is necessary and to help relate his situation back to Kiri’s own as an Author.  Really, the decision to leave this first real opponent in the dark is a poor decision on Crime Edge, especially since there was amble room to explain what happens to an Author without an Instead and what the Author’s wish was that could tie back into the pain and obsession the Authors must endure.  But no, instead, we have a missed opportunity here for Crime Edge.  Without a doubt, this is the principal reason on why I found this fight to be a severe disappointment.

Devil Survivor 2 the Animation (Episode 3)

Is it just me or does it seem like everyone has pointy, elf-like ears in Devil Survivor 2?  At first, I thought it was just Makoto who had tipped ears like that, but in the third episode, you also see it’s prominent in Keita’s appearance as well.  After scanning back through the episode, there are instances where you see it in others too, like Daichi and Io.  So do these characters have legitimately pointy-ears or is there something else going on that’s causing it to only appear so?  Well, given its inconsistency with other characters, and the fact that doesn’t appear to be another race of humanoids in Devil Survivor 2, I figure that this is an impression or effect that I have with this particular character design or art style.  The way the ears are drawn here just seem to be pulled upward or inward, in a fashion that leaves them looking pointier than other, rounder anime ears.  Looking back at some of the summons, especially Lilim who has genuine pointy ears, it becomes clearer that this is merely an effect of the character designs or art style on certain humans.  So yeah, there doesn’t seem to be any significance on the shape of the ears in Devil Survivor 2 besides being slightly different than what we see as the norm in other anime.

Haiyore! Nyaruko-san W (Episode 3)

Why are there even fights in Nyaruko-san?  Unlike most other fighting anime, Nyaruko-san doesn’t have an emphasis on fights or even have a system that configures and organizes power levels, fighting styles, strengths and weaknesses or anything to that nature.  It’s just, ‘there’s gonna be a fight, let’s power up and win’.  It’s not like the characters train or anything to become stronger or better.  It’s not like the enemies are stronger and that there is some challenge or reward in these fights.  They’re just plot devices used to end these story arcs.  Really, Nyaruko-san would be significantly better without these fights and if they just replaced them with jokes.  And yes, I realize that the majority of these fights are comprised of comedic material and that they’re used in a way to set-up for other jokes, but this time could be managed better to include more jokes or better jokes that relate to the story arc and the characters.  To be, the fights in Nyaruko-san are always unsatisfying and disappointing and I hope that the series begins to steer away from them and use its time better, especially if it can include more comedy.

Hataraku Maou-sama! (Episode 3)

In the first three episodes, Emi has come across as a tsundere bitch who hates everyone and everything.  You’d think as a Hero of the human race, she would be a kinder, gentler soul with empathy and compassion etched firmly in her heart.  In reality… she’s exactly that: Emi is actually a thoughtful, caring, and kindhearted girl to everyone that isn’t Sadao or his underlings.  Pretty much every time we’ve seen Emi thus far is when she’s around her mortal enemy, Sadao, and so she reacts in a way that’s vicious, intense and hateful.  However, when she’s around other humans, the people that she herself is trying to protect and save, she shows her truer self which is one of a caring and benevolent nature.  Although you figure she exploded in front of Chiho out of pure jealousy, you could also see it as her concern of a human falling in love with Sadao, only to be stolen away, tortured and murdered by the Demon Lord himself.  Because of the way Maou-sama is directed and given the way the story has progressed, we never really see much of Emi by herself or when she’s around other humans and not pre-occupied with Sadao.  Given what we’ve learned about her character in the past and how she acts around humans in our world, we can ascertain that Emi is actually a compassionate and loving girl who just happens to be passionate or extreme in her feelings toward the world’s greatest enemy.  She really is a sweet person and I hope that we see more of this side of her soon.

Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Bride (Episode 3)

Sorry Kanetsugu but your competition of finding the #1 maid at the dojo is doomed for failure right from the very start.  There can’t be anyone who’s more maid than Hanzou because her character is always a maid.  Sure, right now, everyone is working as a maid in the maid café but these are only costumes worn by the girls to provide a better experience for their customers.  None of these girls are actually maids, they’re only pretending to be.  That is except for Hanzou who’s genuinely a maid and a samurai.  So by trying to hold a competition among the girls to find the #1 is completely asinine when you already have a character who is full-time maid in this series.  And when the plot device that is the maid café dries up eventually, Hanzou will be the only who’s still being a maid in this series since that’s what her character and her costume dictates.  After all that, do you really have to question who the #1 maid is in Hyakka Ryouran?  I think not.

Kakumeiki Valvrave (Episode 2)

I can’t figure out which is more intriguing in Valvrave thus far, the whole death/survival/vampirism mechanics going on that allow Haruto to live or the enchanted, supernatural powers that energize and operate the aptly named mecha, Valvrave.  Although both components are inevitably linked to each other, the two are being used to very different degrees in the anime and have fundamentally different roles in the story at this point.  To me, the whole aspect of Haruto’s bite-and-control-someone-else mechanics are more interesting since it can have a wide variety of applications in the story while also being unique in nature.  I’m curious to see how the anime employs this fascinating concept further, especially since I can see it being used for dumb, goofy stuff that Sunrise always likes to do with its stories.  The Valvrave system is the less interesting aspect to me simply because we always find these mobile suits powered with special mechanics that make them the strongest in the series.  Although I am interesting in discovering the source of the light, the operating system that requires the pilot to reject their humanity and the superpowered God-mode, I just find this to be the same old story as we see in any generic mecha anime.  Hopefully there’ll be something there that makes the mobile armor in Valvrave interesting but I can’t say that it captivates me like the life-and-death mechanics going on with Haruto’s character right now.

And yeah, I’m delighted to learn that Shouko is still alive after everyone was crying and complaining about her ‘death’ in the first episode.  Sure, it didn’t surprise me as much because I predicted it would happen after the events of the first episode, but I’m happy either way that she’s back in the series again after a brief absence.

Shingeki no Kyojin (Episode 3)

Given how crazy and fanatical some anime fans are, I seriously wonder if more potatoes will be consumed in Japan, solely because of Sasha’s character and her love of potatoes.  If you remember last week, I tried making my own black pepper fries after watching Hataraku Maou-sama!, and now I’m in the mood for some baked potatoes after watching this episode of Attack on Titan.  I can’t help but wonder if other anime fans around Japan are craving potatoes too, now that we have an endearing, delightful character who loves them and loves eating them.  I guess we should keep our eyes focused on the streets of Akihabara first to see if otaku and anime fans alike are developing a taste for potatoes, especially if any place starts some promotional or Attack on Titan-themed entrees where potatoes are the prominent feature.  And yeah, you can tell I’m really hungry at the time I wrote this piece.

Suisei no Gargantia (Episode 3)

Although the first three episodes of Gargantia have been relatively turbulent, the weather and the seas have been calm and clear.  Every episode thus far has shown brilliant blue skies above and a peaceful aquamarine ocean below for our heroes to travel on and travel through.  But how long will this tranquil excursion last provided that we know how forceful and terrifying the weather can be?  And seeing as that everyone in Gargantia lives atop this seafaring flotilla and knowing that Red’s mecha is built for space warfare and is not necessarily tailored to Earth, you figure that at some time in the future, stormy waters await our protagonists.  I believe that in some episode soon, a hurricane or a tropical storm of some sort will encroach upon this civilization that lives aboard these floating vessels and in these maritime cities.  And when this happens, I believe the humans will be faced with some extraordinary but remarkable challenges.  I’m not sure how the stormy weather will affect Red’s mecha or Chamber’s performance, but the combination of wind and rain will certainly play some role.  As for the cities themselves, you have to think that any powerful hurricane has the chance to capsize or sink these cities, especially depending on the size of the waves or the speed of the gusts.  If that were to happen, try to imagine how that would impact all the characters and how it would change the composition of their fragile civilization.  I’m already interested to see how these characters will perform against this vengeful and violent form nature rather than continuing stories against other humans or an alien species, especially since there seems to be an environmental message embedded in the story of Gargantia.  If it turns out to be true and there is some human versus nature sequence in Gargantia where the weather plays a vital role in the story, you know I’ll be excited and overjoyed.

To Aru Kagaku no Railgun S (Episode 2)

How do you define Misaka’s personality in Railgun?  In Index, it’s easy to define Misaka’s personality since she is the standard tsundere archetype, especially around Touma.  But in Railgun, the character dynamics are altered and her relationships are predominately with Kuroko, Uiharu and Saten.  Not only that but Misaka’s role in Railgun is unlike that of her role in Index with her being both the protagonist and hero here in Railgun.  As a result, Misaka acts differently between the two anime if only slightly.  But given this change, it’s nearly impossible to define her as a tsundere in Railgun since Touma plays a minimal role here and we hardly ever see her switch back and forth between the tsuntsun and deredere.  So how do you define Misaka in Railgun?  I’m perplexed by this issue and curious to see what others thing but the more I think about it, I suppose that Misaka fits the hero archetype in Railgun better than anything else.  Although she does match well with a number of different archetypes, she doesn’t fit one perfectly like she did in Index.  In fact, she’s a bit more plain and ordinary in Railgun compared to Index too, but Misaka is featured better as a character in Railgun and is able to do more as a character, too.  So just what exactly is Misaka in Railgun?  Maybe after another 24 episodes, I’ll have a better idea.

Best episode of the week: Shingeki no Kyojin

Anime trending up this week: Hataraku Maou-sama!

Anime trending down this week: Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Bride

Chihayafuru 2 (Episode 14)

Considering that the team tournament and individual tournaments are only a day apart, you really have to question how fatigue, both mental and physical, will play a role for competitors who play in both.  Consider players like Chihaya and Megumu who both play in several games on the day of the team competitions versus Shinobu who gets to relax all day and prepare for the individual matches the following day.  You really have to think players who aren’t in the team competition are at a significant advantage, especially since we see fatigue setting in for the cast of Chihayafuru after 3 or 4 or 5 matches compared to the distinct possibility of playing 10 matches in the span of 30 or so hours.  With this substantial handicap placed against Chihaya and Megumu, I don’t predict that they’ll go very far or perform very well when the individual tournament begins, but it will be nonetheless be interesting to see how they perform regardless of fatigue or other factors.

Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge (Episode 2)

Someone needs to take Yamane’s ‘death syringe’ away from her until she learns some proper syringe and needle etiquette.  For starters, I hope she switches out her needles after every poke in order to reduce the risk of blood-borne pathogens, like hepatitis or HIV, from infecting her friends or introducing bacteria to sterile sites and causing cellulitis or sepsis.  Not only that but changing the needle out after every injection will prevent the tip from deforming, which certainly isn’t pleasant.  And what’s with her injecting people in the neck and forearm?  That certainly isn’t safe or the preferred method of injecting someone.  Considering the needle she’s using, at least go for the deltoid muscle.  Like, you really have to wonder if anyone taught her how to handle the Killing Goods that she inherited or if she just picked them up and began injecting everyone with everything she could find.  And another thing, how exactly is she getting ahold of these medications?  Not necessarily concerned about the financing which is probably astronomical for a mere teenager but how does she hold the licensing to purchase these drugs, especially the sleeping on that she administered to Iwai and Kiri?  But whatever, it’s just dumb fun and mindless action, and trying to answer these questions usually means killing the fun and action itself, so let’s not go there, especially since those two are the best aspects of this anime so far.

Devil Survivor 2 the Animation (Episode 2)

Yellow and blue seem to be dominating colors for Devil Survivor 2, present as saturating overtones throughout the entire episode.  Really, if you go back and just scan through the episode, you’ll notice how much of a presence yellow, and to a lesser extent blue, has in Devil Survivor 2.  Thinking back to the other Atlus anime that aired last year, Persona 4, that one also had a very powerful presence of yellow throughout it, too.  In fact, it is almost overwhelming at times the amount of color that Persona 4 and Devil Survivor 2 uses in some situations.  From here, the question becomes, what significance do the colors yellow and blue play in Devil Survivor 2 or why use these colors to this extent in the first place?  There doesn’t seem to be any clues or any hints as to why yellow and blue play a predominate role in Devil Survivor 2, but it should be interesting to find out if the subject is ever explained or explored.

Hataraku Maou-sama! (Episode 2)

Okay, be honest, did anyone else try to make ‘Black Pepper Fries’ after watching Maou-sama?  I’m not sure if there’s a secret recipe at MgRonald with a dozen or so ‘secret spices’ or if they’re pretty much normal French fries with black pepper sprinkled all over them, but I tried this myself soon after finishing the first and during the second episode of Maou-sama.  Rather than ransack my spice rack and experiment with whatever I had, I sprinkled some coarse black pepper over a full-serving of fries and at them alongside my viewing of the second episode.  I must say that eating my version of Black Pepper Fries was a delicious treat while watching this delightful anime and I’m considering making this a habit for at least the next few episodes (or until they come out with a new type of French fries to serve at MgRonald).  If you’re curious yourself, I highly recommend trying it yourself, especially since it’s relevantly simple to prepare for something so yummy.

Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Bride (Episode 2)

You really have to feel bad for the forgotten characters of Hyakka Ryouran: Matabei, Hanzou and Kanetsugu.  Not only are these characters destined to be in the background of every fight, mainly because the series hates them and won’t let them become Master Samurai, but they’re destined to be in the background of every episode, too.  Every time there is an event or story going on in the anime, it revolves around Yukimura or Sen or Muneakira or Juubei or someone other than the three forgotten characters.  Instead, they’re stuck doing support jobs like helping these main characters with the least amount of screentime possible.  And when the situation arises that a new Master Samurai must be crowned, a silly monkey suddenly appears, gets an entire episode to itself (!!) and serendipitously becomes a Master Samurai for no justifiable reason.  Yeah, after helping out with everything for an entire season, the series just passes Matabei and Hanzou over and gives everything to a new character that never put in any work or effort.  Yeah, so much for being a bodyguard and friend to both Yukimura and Sen for all these years.  And let’s not forget Kanetsugu, the best character of this series; she deserves a power-up and an episode to herself, too.  Well, based on the preview for episode 3, we might just get that with a Kanetsugu-themed episode coming up next.  Hopefully the series doesn’t find a new way to screw us out of something good.

Kakumeiki Valvrave (Episode 1)

Quite a bit happened in the first episode of Valvrave, but one scene sticks out in particular for me as being the most significant and meaningful.  When we saw Shouko run from her group to help a pedestrian stuck in a car, we witnessed her death when an energy beam landed right beside her and blasted the whole area into nothing more than a silent, smoldering crater.  Yeah, so we can close the book on her character now, right?  Well, that’s where I want to say that Valvrave is wrong and that it only appears that Shouko is dead.  Sure, we saw the whole explosion and whatnot, but there are enough details present to suggest that she’s still alive and will make a return to Valvrave.  The first point is that we never saw her body.  It could be that the energy beam that killed her also vaporized her body but not finding a body after a death scene is always a flag that they might return later.  Another point specific to that scene is that the energy beam landed next to her, not on top of her.  This might be significant in that someone else (the passenger in the car) may have shielded her and protected her as her body was flung from the site of the explosion.  Furthermore, we know that Shouko is an important character to our protagonist, Haruto, so it makes sense to bring her back for whatever reason later on in the series.  Those three points alone are generally enough for most shows to have a character to reappear after a ‘fake death scene’, but Valvrave introduced one more concept that reinforces my idea that Shouko will return and that is the whole system of losing one’s humanity.

As we saw with Haruto at the end of the first episode, people who operate Valvrave reject their human life and become some sort of superhuman vampire-thingy that can survive what would surely kill any normal human being.  And seeing that the Valvrave mobile suit was underneath the school the whole time, what’s not to say that Shouko was a test subject and lost her humanity like Haruto?  Given how we only learned of this concept after Shouko’s ‘death’, I believe that she had gone through the same process once before and that we never thought that she could survive a blast through such a means since we never knew such a means existed until after the ending credits rolled.  Not only that but having Shouko survive through such a means plays well with the other three points listed previously.  Given that and everything else that we saw in this first episode, I have a strong reason to believe that Shouko is not dead in Valvrave and that we’ll be seeing her at some grandiose and magnificent time near the end of the first season, probably killing superhuman Haruto because she’s a villain or something and then having us wait 3 months between the two seasons of Valvrave.  Remember, you heard it here first!

Shingeki no Kyojin (Episode 2)

Having such a densely populated area located on the outer-most region of the walls is a terrible idea.  Even if this area were the slums or a township of disadvantaged or impoverished people, it doesn’t make sense for a settlement of such a size to be located near such immediate danger, even if the titans were unable to invade for over a century.  Not only that, but it doesn’t make sense for a village of such wealth (considering the appearance and structure of the buildings) to be located in such an area.  It’s not like being located on the edge of the walled empire provides an advantage to trade or resources or agriculture or anything.  I could understand if it were a military outpost to keep a watch for the titans and to maintain a milita, but it looks more like an urban city than a citadel.  And after taking a quick look at the population geography of the nation of humans, it doesn’t seem that there are really any densely populated areas around this specific hamlet, instead with most of the people choosing to live within the center-most walls and concentrating around that area.  So as to why the humans choose to build such a compressed and urban settlement right next to the least defensible area in the empire is beyond me.

Suisei no Gargantia (Episode 2)

Considering that the surface of the Earth is covered entirely with water and that mankind lives atop floating flotillas, you can’t help but wonder where the source of fuel comes from that power these seafaring vessels.  I’d like to assume that these ships are powered by some sort of renewable energy source, like solar power, because that would make sense given the extreme lack of resources that these humans face, but the structure and shape and just the general feel of these ships screams out to me that they utilize some type of fossil fuel like oil or coal or something.  Then again, you don’t see smoke billowing out of these ships and you already know that coal or oil or natural gas are probably impossible to harvest now, so it’s probably not anything analogous to what we use now.  But still, seeing these retrofitted steel behemoths and roaming the oceans, you can’t help but wonder what sort of dated fuel source they’re using, even if it’s something like solar power or wind power or something like that.  Either way, I’m curious to see more about the technology of Gargantia, how it impacts the lives of its crew and its citizens and how the people live sailing around the globe in this nomadic lifestyle.

To Aru Kagaku no Railgun S (Episode 1)

Who exactly thought that Academy City would be a good idea?  Okay, first things first, how does a city with over 1.8 million students, 80% of the total population, support itself considering how overburdened the adult workforce must be.  Not only do these students need to be kept in schools and academies of various sizes and structures, each having their own staff and faculty, but then you have to employ all the various shops and groceries and other commercial businesses in the city, not to mention government, police, healthcare, transportation and utilities, with the remaining population.  I don’t think Academy City could support any form of industry within its borders, including light industry.  Unless there is a massive population of commuters living in the suburbs not included in that population statistic, I don’t see how Academy City functions.  Furthermore, who’d send their kids to school there considering how dangerous and targeted the city is?  I’m not sure how far away the rest of civilization is but I’d worry about sending my 12 or 13 year-old kid there for the next decade of their life.  You have all these punks and hooligans causing trouble every single day, various organizations trying to take over or destroy the city and immature brats running around with ESP powers that could pose danger to anyone that looks at them the wrong way.  Now it makes sense why they have to enlist students as an ancillary police force.  And what happens when you graduate?  Do you get booted out of the city or are you forced to find a job there?  Are there places of higher education within Academy City, like universities or specialized schools or places for job training?  Just how strict is Academy City on its population policy so that it maintains a student population of 80% of the total city?  Oh, and one other major issue is that of taxation and how exactly the city is funded.  Considering how wealthy, clean and structured the city is, I assume that every one of the 1.8 million students are paying out their asses in board, tuition and taxes to stay at these private schools in Academy City.  You have to assume that the net flow in wealth coming into the city is well into the tens of billions based on the USD.  Really, the society of Academy City is intriguing to me, trying to understand how such a city is structured and how it functions.

As you can tell by the last three subjects on the last three anime, I have an undying fascination with the setting of anime with a particular interest in the geography of cites, especially in those that are similar or wildly different than the real world.  Unfortunately for me, these questions are hardly ever examined and, less frequently, answered.  But then again, maybe that’s the reason why I enjoy thinking about these subjects so often and why I look for the solutions on my own.  Either way, I always find myself enchanted with the various settings of all the anime I watch and I hope these questions and thoughts provoke or inspire you to think critically about the diversity of settings in all the anime you watch.

Before beginning, it’s worth nothing that almost all adventure stories are romanticized to some degree.  Whether in the form of ancient temples teeming with ferocious monsters and tormenting booby traps or evil villains and wicked wizards seeing control or domination or any form of magic that either helps or hinders, all adventure stories contain some amount of idealistic imagination to aid in its storytelling and entertainment.  Even adventure stories that are based on examples from real life are likely to be embellished or dramatized to a certain extent, especially those passed on by hearsay or distorted by time, or built up to make it so that the story is worth telling.  Of course, Magi is no exception with its story.  For example, you can take various elements of Magi, say the dungeons or the djinn, and replace them with real world counterparts to further illustrate how romanticized this anime is.  The action and adventure in Magi is essentially romantic, being used to represent its challenges and its rewards, its struggles and its triumphs in such a way to make everything seem more spectacular, more remarkable and above all, much more enjoyable.

The romance of adventure in Magi had an impact well beyond that of just the dungeons and magic.  The themes of searching for lost friends, rescuing slaves, preventing war and even saving a kingdom are all storylines that were portrayed as romantic idealizations in Magi.  And this is expected, especially considering that these ideas are what the story of Magi wanted to be.  Considering the presence and degree to which these stories are told and these adventurous elements were employed, its clear that Magi wanted to be a grand tale that catered to our desires, of a story that both intrigued and fascinated us.  Just as the stories of One Thousand and One Arabian Nights delighted audiences for centuries with its classic tales of might and magic, Magi too develops its story in a romantic manner that plays tribute to the work that inspired it.

To me, this post means more to me than the last individual anime post in the foreseeable future.  To me, this post symbolizes two characteristic of blogging an anime that pushed me in this direction, one being the perturbing lateness with my posts and the frustration that stems from it.  You see, I had the idea and theme for this post since midway through the very first episode of Magi.  However, instead of writing on this subject for the very first episode, I decided to save the topic for a later episode, one that’d be more appropriate and for one that’d be on time.  As the episodes rolled on, I began to juggle more on my schedule and subsequently, I began to struggle finding time to watch anime, let alone write about it.  Trying to watch over a dozen anime each season and write about them, even something as simple as a paragraph or two proved to be more challenging now than it was last year or even a few months ago.  And when I did find the time, I often found I was neither in the mood to watch or write about anime.  It had arrived at the point where I began to rationalize that I didn’t have the time in me to write individual posts like these anymore without sacrificing quality or value.  I do wish I could return to this format and style of blogging since it allows me to do develop ideas much better than my weekly posts, especially when exploring themes, explaining my opinions, and grasping certain practices and styles of anime and storytelling in general.  If you look back at the two-and-a-quarter years of which I have done these individual posts, you’ll see how my understanding, my writing, my voice and my appreciation for anime has evolved over these years from just this blog and these shows alone.  But it also represents a period of which I had more free-time than I do now which is why these posts are going to halt for now.  So when I think back to this post and this topic on ‘the romance of adventure in Magi’, I’ll always think of it more as the post that symbolizes what I want to do with blogging and the reality that I just can’t do it right now.  But rather than end this with something sentimental or emotional, here’s a picture of Morgiana to make you feel better.  I hope you enjoyed!

Watching:

Namiuchigiwa no Muromi-san

What Muromi-san lacks for in depth, complexity and characterization, it makes up for with its adorable cast of characters, its charming comedy and a handful of scenes with wonderful animation.  Perhaps the most notable aspect of this anime is its art and character designs.  To me, it seems like the anime plays tribute to an older or atypical style of animation which really helps emphasize the characters and helps out with the comedy, too.  The anime is cast with bright, vivid colors in a warm light giving the show an inviting and enhancing atmosphere that really appeals to one’s eyes.  It helps compliment the energy and exhilaration on screen too, especially when Muromi-san is present and acting as enthusiastic as she does.  The humor in this episode was rather simple but effective and is sure to develop when more mermaids join the cast and can allow the style of humor to expand beyond crazy girl meets lethargic boy.  There isn’t much value in terms of story and characters and, although that usually is a negative for me, it makes sense given that Muromi-san is a 12-minute comedy anime that doesn’t need a story or intricate characters.  Every episode of Muromi-san is supposed to be fun and enjoyable without needed to cater to any type of story or theme or whatever.  And as long as you’re having fun and enjoy watching Muromi-san, there’s no reason to stop.  It’s an easy choice to pick up for this season.

Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan)

There are six major categories for which I use to understand, evaluate and appreciate anime.  They are art, characters, entertainment, setting, sound and story.  All an anime needs for me to like it, or even love it, is to excel at just a few of those categories and even my favorites don’t measure well in all six.  So when an anime comes along that surpasses a majority of anime in all six categories, what does it say about that anime?  Well, after one episodes, it’s a bit too early to hail it as the best anime of the season, but it certainly speaks well for what to expect from this anime for the next 24 weeks.  What I enjoy most about Shingeki no Kyojin is its setting and how it is communicated to us.  Rather than waste some precious time for a narrator to tell us about this world, it shows us various details spread neatly throughout the episode and embeds it within the dialogue.  Not only that but the setting of Titan is uniquely distinctive and its threats and modes of warfare are both remarkable and thrilling.  The art and animation is nothing short of spectacular too, and the use of lighting and shading is phenomenal.  I won’t get too much into the characters or story since both are in their infancy but both show promise, especially with how unnerving and expressive the siege on the city was portrayed.  And though I was expecting the anime to be entirely serious, there were a few bits of genuine comedy tossed around in this first episode that made me smile.  I was expecting the entertainment to be solely through the battles and action sequences but there seems to be some well-timed comedy throughout, too.  Really, this is easily the most impressive anime of this new season and one I adamantly recommend to anyone and everyone who has yet to watch the first episode.

Suisei no Gargantia (Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet)

Gargantia is a fascinating, sensational, and passionate anime that is easily one of my favorites of this Spring anime season.  What enchants me the most about this magnificent anime is how it is written, not merely the dialogue alone but how the story is presented, how it is staged and how well the episode flowed from start to finish.  Not only did the episode flow in a logical manner, helping exhibit the situation, introduce our protagonist and the remainder of the cast, and detail how our hero learned about the setting through a lengthy hostage scene while communicating back and forth with his only friend, a mecha named Chamber, but the dialogue was expressive and meaningful (and even reaching to levels of hilariousness).  The world of Gargantia is also fantastically animated, full of motion and liveliness as seen through the space combat and chase scene.  Additionally, the anime is brilliantly colored too, featuring a bright and energetic color scheme that really differentiates the characters from the metallic setting and from Red who’s a bit monochrome in his battle suit.  As for the cast and story of Gargantia, there isn’t much to say at this point since we’ve just finished our introductions but each has the potential to be the best this season has to offer.  The cast features some enjoyable characters with strong, independent personalities.  On the other hand, the story seems a little ambiguous and ambivalent right now but I am dying to see how Red explores and merges with this new world and how it joins up with the space warfare from the first half of the episode.  Who knows, Gargantia might end up being my favorite anime of the season, especially if every episode from here on out is at this level or somehow improves.  This is yet another anime I vehemently recommend as I am sure everyone who watches it will not be disappointed.

Undecided:

Yuyushiki

Yuyushiki is a tale of two halves.  The first half of the first episode featured mundane comedy masking a tedious slice-of-life set-up where three girls wandered around their first day of highschool aimlessly.  It was incredibly boring.  The second half, when the girls got to the Data Processing Club and goofed around on the internet, was brilliant in its entertainment value, proving to be amusing and enticing almost instantly.  Really, it’s like I watched two different anime in the span of one episode of Yuyushiki with one being really, really bad and the other one being legitimately good.  As you can guess, I’m at a crossroads with this anime since I was certain I wanted to drop it after 12 minutes and certain I want to keep it if future episodes are just the girls surfing the internet for 20 minutes at a time.  I can see myself going through peaks and valleys with this anime depending on the skit and the jokes but if it’s still hilarious every so often, it’ll be a keeper.  I’m not terribly impressed or thrilled with the characters, especially since Yuzuko and Yukari appear to have the same personality and play the same role in the comedy (both are the boke or funny man) and Yui is a tepid tsukkomi (straight man).  It isn’t great like most other comedies that I enjoy but it’s functional if less than ideal.  There really aren’t any significant portions of animation to note after this first episode and the art style isn’t my favorite but it still is cute.  Depending on how the comedy performs in the next episode (really, it depends on how much time they spend in the computer lab), I’ll be deciding on keeping or dropping this anime.

Dropped:

Zettai Bouei Leviathan

While there were some positives from the first episode of Leviathan, it wasn’t enough to overcome the tremendous feeling of bored that overwhelmed me while watching its debut episode.  There was absolutely nothing in this episode that lit a fire underneath me or beckoned me to keep watching.  The story isn’t much of a story with three girls becoming friends and saving the world from an invasion of bugs or something (if this is wrong, sorry, I stopped paying attention somewhere before the bar fight).  And although the characters are incredibly cute and endearing, there really isn’t much in the way of personality or role in the story to keep me interested in their adventures or character growth.  I always have a soft spot for fantasy settings such as this and it seems like all the characters are human-shaped dragons or fairies.  It makes me wonder why these three magical girls were given the names Leviathan, Bahamut and Jormungand when those are some of the most storied and fabled dragons of the world’s folklore.  Maybe the parents of these girls knew that they’d save the world when they were in their teens?  Who knows.  The art and animation seemed to be a bit below-average which probably reflects the below-average budge this anime has and the fact that the voice casting for this anime is all A-list talent.  And while the anime features highly talented seiyuu voicing its characters, the dialogue is unfortunately simple and, at times, even shameful which made the episode feel awkward and sluggish more often than not.  I found it a pretty easy decision to drop this anime after the first episode but I do regret not being able to see these cute dragon girls for the remainder of the season, so hopefully someone out there will post dozens of screenshots every episode for all of us to enjoy.