Winter 2013 – Season Preview

The dawn of 2013 means the beginning of another new anime season, the Winter 2013 anime season to be precise.  Seeing as we’ll be spending the new few months with a number of these anime, it’s time to look ahead and examine these new show as a means to prepare for the upcoming season.  With a number of charts, lists and impressions already out there, here’s my personal take on the Winter 2013 anime season.

12 Days of Anime (2012) – Day 8 – Giving a Forgotten Anime a Chance

Much like last year’s Day 8, when I wrote about sticking with a bad anime to find it somewhat entertaining and certainly worthwhile, this post will be able an anime I never gave a fair opportunity to when it aired in the past only try it now and find it enjoyable and definitely worth watching.  It serves as an excellent reminder of the potential gems and stars among the forgotten or ignored anime of seasons or years bygone.  Resting in obscurity or uncertainty, these anime were rejected or dropped due to flawed research, lacking prospects, evolving tastes, time constraints, or for whatever reason we decide not to watch an anime.  However, when the opportunity appears, taking another chance with these anime may completely reverse our opinion on it simply based on the fact that we actually are watching the anime rather than just speculating about it.  For me, that anime is Yuru Yuri, an anime I gave a second (or first?) chance to in 2012 and have loved it ever since.

Summer 2012 – Season Review

So, yeah, the Summer anime season ended quite a while back, but it’s never too late (or is it?) to provide my final thoughts, opinions, assessments, and evaluations on the various anime that aired over our warmer, sunnier months.  We’ve had plenty of time to watch and enjoy these shows and now it’s time to assign their final scores before they become little more than fond or funny memories or entries in our detailed anime histories.  So, just how well did every show do according to my personal preferences?  It’s time to explore and score the 2012 Summer anime season one last time!

Dog Days’ (S2) – 13 (Finale)

The second season of Dog Days has concluded peacefully without any interruption or harm by any form of plot whatsoever.  The season was left to be carefree, directionless, and virtually an entire season of filler and character set-up that was never delivered nor resolved.  However, with several hints dropped during the finale, as well as embedded gracefully throughout the season, it appears that yet another sequel of Dog Days is within the minds of the creators and producers.  Should that be the case, then one can’t help but wonder what possibly could happen in a sequel to follow this season.  It feels like the series has already run out of ideas considering the lack of focus, structure, and planning that occurred in this season.  What can Dog Days do to make its next season worthwhile?

Moyashimon Returns – 11 (Finale)

What made the original season of Moyashimon a celebrated and beloved anime were its awkward and lively characters and the zany comedy that accompanied the lives of freshmen at a wacky agricultural university outside of Tokyo.  The second season, Moyashimon Returns, was doomed to mediocrity from straying from this effective recipe, instead opting to delve heavily into drama and introduce new characters who never assimilated to the golden standard of this anime.  However, this occurrence of a sequel failing in comparison to the original is not something exclusive to Moyashimon.  In fact, I’d be inclined to say that’s the norm for sequels in anime, a disheartening trend based on a number of critical factors.

Dog Days’ (S2) – 4

With the plot of the first season of Dog Days, that of an uncharacteristically aggressive and polarizing series of wars waged by Galette against Biscotti, the character relationships were merely established and remained static.  That is, we were introduced to citizens of Biscotti and Galette throughout the anime yet they rarely intermingled with each other and chose to remain with their association rather than socialize with the perceived enemy.  With that story thankfully concluded and the world returning to a familiar amiable one, the various warriors can rekindle their friendships with one another allowing for new character relationships to develop before our eyes. Not only are we seeing the other humans (Becky and Nanami) interact with the various inhabitants of Flonyard but we’re able to see members of Biscotti and Galette rekindle relationships that would otherwise be unknown to the audience.  And this gratifying trend asserted itself in this episode with a substantial focus on the relationship between Eclair and Noir.

Moyashimon Returns – 3

Moyashimon, an anime illustrating the various events of a group of students in at an agricultural university, has progressed in a fashion parallel to the experiences that many of us receive as undergraduates.  That is, both journeys begin with a comprehensive and unrestricted scope providing ample opportunity for students to sample the extensiveness of college which eventually leads to an eventual focus and dedication to a specific specialization to which the student commits themselves to.  Moyashimon has mirrored this pattern well with the original season detailing a general campus story while the sequel, Moyashimon Returns, has emphasized the students working and learning within Professor Itsuki’s lab.  And not only in terms of content of the anime, too, but this theme of transitioning from breadth to depth can be seen in terms of storytelling and other mechanics of this anime.