As always, here are my first impressions of the winter 2012 anime I’m watching upon seeing two episodes of each…
Another
A horror/mystery anime with character designs by Noizi Itou? Sounded good enough for me to check out. Though nothing very suspenseful or horrifying has happened in Another yet, so far it’s building a nice and creepy atmosphere with enough foreshadowing to keep me engaged. Gorgeous setting designs by P.A. Works help, too…and I’m always up for ALI Project songs in anime XD Unlike other horror anime I’ve seen where there’s gore and shocks early on, Another seems to be focused on the subdued, creepiness factor rather than blood and scares. This may not work for everyone but I personally find it gripping. Unfortunately I’m finding the cast of characters rather bland, but I’m hoping that will change later on, or at least the series will give a satisfying story to make up for it. Again, kind of a slow-paced series that’s hard to judge at this point, but I think it’ll end up being worth my while.
Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou
Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but I think this is only the second slice-of-life/comedy anime with the focus on male characters instead of female, the first being Kimi to Boku. But either way, Danshi Koukousei has been a very funny show so far. Its humor is derived as much from parodying otaku and high school cliches as it is from the crazy quirks of the characters. Together it makes quite a refreshing mix of hyperbolic, slapstick humor and subtle, satirical humor. It even has a few unique extras such as gag-ifying the sponsor message in the middle of each episode and hiding the names and/or faces of many of the female characters. While the focus does shift to minor characters, most of the series is about the three cooky main characters Tadakuni, Yoshitake, and Hidenori, with Hidenori being voiced by Tomokazu Sugita, who thus far has had the most hilarious performances in my opinion. Each episode is made up of a series of vignettes, much like Azumanga Daioh, and while not every gag works for me, more are funny to me than not. I hope Danshi Koukousei continues to give me my weekly dose of comedy for the season!
Poyopoyo Kansatsu Nikki
My guilty pleasure for the season, Poyopoyo is about a cat named Poyo who’s unusually round. Each of the 3-minute episodes is a series of gags involving the cat and the family he lives with, mostly having to do with the cat’s round shape. While it’s no Chi’s Sweet Home, it is funny and cute if you like that sort of thing. I always enjoy Ikue Ohtani (voice of Pikachu) doing cute voices, and she happens to be the voice of the cat here. Poyopoyo is serving its purpose as a good, quick cuteness break in between more serious anime.
Nisemonogatari
I always thought Bakemonogatari was an entertaining but very…bizarre show. And its sequel, Nisemonogatari, is the same. It’s like the series knows how bizarre it is and knows that that’s where its charm lies. Shaft goes all out with the stylistic animation that ranges from flashes of on-screen text to seemingly random camera angles, not to mention the fact that the majority of the conversations in the series don’t sound anything like conversations real people would have. But all this savvy weirdness is probably what makes Bakemonogatari, and now Nisemonogatari, fun to watch. While it’s not my favorite cup of tea, watching a series so focused on style rather than substance is a nice refresher from time time. Not much has happened plot-wise in the first two episodes other than Araragi getting reacquainted, in typical weird Bake/Nisemonogatari fashion, with the female characters. It hasn’t caught my interest as much in these early episodes as Bake did, but you never know what’s in store with a strange show like this.
Mouretsu Space Pirates
My very first impression of this series upon seeing the above promo image of it and hearing that it’s based on a novel series called Miniskirt Pirates was that it’s probably just a silly, fan-service-filled, pseudo-space comedy. But after reading good reviews of it, I decided to give it a watch…and my first impression couldn’t have been more wrong. There’s no fan-service to be seen, at least not in the first two episodes, and it takes itself very seriously as a space adventure. In just these first two episodes, it immerses us in the space world it’s set in nearly perfectly, taking enough time to show us bits and pieces of the world’s advanced technology amongst the plot. And thus far it’s been paced very nicely, with the first episode establishing characters and background history, and the next episode setting the plot into motion. While Marika seems like a typical genki-girl protagonist so far, she’s at least likable and I find it interesting that any love interest she may have isn’t made apparent right away. The other characters look potentially interesting as well. All in all, Mouretsu Pirates has the makings of a great space adventure anime – a fun and creative sci-fi setting, a colorful cast of characters, and a premise that’s full of potential. I hope the rest of the episodes are as good as these first two!
*Dropped series* Digimon Xros Wars II: I’d also like to mention a series from fall ’11 that I decided to drop this season, Digimon Xros Wars: Toki wo Kakeru Shounen Huntertachi, the third installment of the Digimon Xros Wars series. While the first Xros Wars series was mediocre and the second was better, twelve episodes into this one and it was just bad. Too many things just don’t make sense; why do digimon have to be hunted by humans only to remain in their Xrosloader rather than sent back to the Digital World? The previous seasons show digimon living their lives in the Digital World and only joining humans if they wanted to, so why are they now being collected like pokemon? And now it seems like bad digimon can be turned good just by being hunted? If it was that easy, why didn’t they do that with the evil digimon in the previous Xros Wars seasons? What’s even going on in the Digital World now and how can Shoutmon reign as king if he’s back with Taiki again? Nothing’s really explained about why this hunting thing is important, Nene and Kiriha, the most interesting characters from the previous seasons, are put on a bus in this season, and in twelve episodes there’s no plot other than episodic stories…which wouldn’t be so bad if they weren’t all so silly and lame. If Toei wanted to go with this digimon hunter gimmick, they should have made this season unrelated to the other Xros Wars seasons. It’s a shame that I’ve now watched eight seasons of Digimon and this is the first I’m dropping. But I will give the franchise another chance whenever they make a new non-Xros Wars series.
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That’s all for now. Hope you’re all enjoying the winter season of anime. And, if you haven’t heard about it already, the main AnimeYume.com site is currently blacked-out as part of the massive online protest against SOPA and PIPA. Wikipedia, Google, and other major sites, and even fellow anime blogs are also participating. Please do what you can to protect the Internet!
Agreed on Another. It didn’t have the best first impression for me, but due to the source material, I’m sticking it out. Novels sometimes tend to be better when you re-read them, so things may pick up. Even the writer went “The third episode onward should be fantastic,” on Twitter.
A lot of the fanservice elements in Nise are what makes me hesitant to continue it. Thankfully, I read the quick summaries (somewhat spoiler-free) on Wiki and it made me feel better about what’s to come. I love the OP animations and the ED song though. Why must the music be so good and yet the animation not? I swear the K-On! movie had more animation in its OP than the first episode of Nise did.
I enjoyed the previews that were subbed of DanshiKo, but the show itself has fallen flat for me. I think I laughed two times for the second episode and that was it. It’s got nothing to keep me watching. It’s strange to say this, but the title of the pirate show got me too. Not the miniskirts, but the fact that it’s in space. Just not interesting to me. I realize the irony of saying that when I’ve spouted 宇宙きたああああ！many times already.
So far the winter season has been “meh.” Shana‘s the light in a dark season, and Zero no Tsukaima f has the best ED song/animation combo so far. Hopefully the others will pick up.
I agree that so far Nise does have more fan service than I remember in Bake, but because Shaft has such an interesting style, I don’t mind it as much as I normally would. It feels like the show is just that – more about style and presentation than trying to show believable moving pictures, which is why the animation doesn’t appear all that great. And yes, the OPs and EDs of Nise have been good.
Aw, you’re dropping Danshi Koukousei just because the second episode wasn’t up to par? Well, I’ll let you know if it gets better later on. And I’m assuming you feel that space anime is too similar to mecha anime, which is why it turned you off with Pirates?
Agreed about Shana, it’s still #1 of my current watches followed by Bakuman and Mirai Nikki. The winter shows still can’t compete with the fall ones XD
You know I’m not a big Shaft fan anyways, so the only reason I held Bake in high regard was the plot. Nise‘s plot wasn’t very visible at first glance, but I’m sure we’ll come back and see what we missed.
None of the skits that I didn’t see prior via webcasts made me laugh much in Danshiko. I’m just not a fan of that type of humor. As for space, it just doesn’t interest me very much. I’ve seen a few things that appeal to me in live action, but the rest has been meh. Plus I’m already packed with shows.
And you’re right. There’s nothing in winter that comes close to the combination of Shana and Chihayafuru. I’m more pumped for Spring with Saki and Hyouka.
I’m sure you already know my thoughts, but:
Another – boring. Tries waaaaay too hard to be creepy. Characters are also bland.
Daily Lives – humor reminiscent of Gintama, but I already like Daily Lives more.
Nisemonogatari – So far so good. Bakemonogatari is one of my favorites so I’m really glad to see this series back again. Looking forward to more plot progression.
Glad to hear that you are also liking Mourestu Pirates so far. Haven’t watched it, but I plan on picking it up when I have more time and college auditions are all over.
Symphogear is a bit of a guilty pleasure. It’s so bad that it’s good. Rinne no Lagrange is just dumb, Thermae Romae is….not funny, and the fourth season of Natsume is off to a wonderful start.
I read your thoughts about Another. Guess creepiness is in the eye of the beholder and its slow-pacing isn’t for everyone. And I’m glad you’re enjoying Danshi Koukousei so much.
Did Nana Mizuki compel you to watch Symphogear by any chance? ;) I heard the OP she sings for it ranked really high on the charts…I’ll have to give it a listen.
Slow pacing is fine, but I do wish it didn’t have the need to be perpetually creepy. The random still shots of the dolls are total overkill.
Yes, Nana-chan is indeed the main reason why I’m watching Symphogear. This makes the sixth time that one of her singles debuted at #2!
I just wish Another would turn off the music every now and then. There are scenes that would’ve been a lot creepier if they didn’t have the stereotypically scary music blaring. It keeps ruining the suspense for me.
I don’t usually pay attention to background music in anime, but now that you mention it, I do recall hearing a lot of music in Another. I’ll have to pay closer attention to it in future episodes and see if I feel the same about it.
Watching five simulcasts this season. I would watch Nisemonogateri but I haven’t seen Bakemonogateri so unless CR gets that as a library title, I will skip it.
Thoughts on shows:
Another, 2 eps in- The music direction is what is selling this for me. It really conveys the atmosphere, plus Noizi Itou’s designs are pretty good here. Mei Misaki is surprisingly moe for being a formidable character. And I liked how they mentioned Kouichi is a fan of John Saul. It is a slow-burner, but I have a feeling that things will be quite good once things start really happening. The OP by Ali Project doesn’t fit with the series, and that is my only complaint.
Ano Natsu de Matteru, 2 eps in- It’s a weird mix of romantic comedy, sci-fi and slice of life. The male protagonist is so far flat and boring but I am liking the supporting characters. Ano Natsu has been compared to the Onegai series(some are saying this is a lot like Onegai Teacher) Remon(some have her as Lemon) is a very interesting “troll” character. She sort of looks like Taiga too(I guess one of the people working on this had something to do with Toradora). OP and ED are best that I’ve seen out of the five.
Area no Kishi, 2 eps in- I have heard this soccer anime compared to Touch and Cross Game(which are both baseball manga by Adachi). The chemistry between the brothers is quite good, and I like how the potential love interest(Nana nicknamed “Seven”) is quite knowledgeable about soccer and a likable character in her own right. I don’t know much about soccer, so I expect to learn more as it goes on, and I think it’s sort of obvious that the mysterious alien-masked person who he secretly plays against in the park is Seven. The end of the second episode tells of tragedy ahead and I wonder how this is going to impact things.
Inu X Boku SS, 1 episode in- Female lead is a self-aware tsundere who looks a little like Kuroneko. She suddenly gets a bodyguard, and he’s a sparkly, hilariously masochistic bishie. The supernatural element is a nice additon to things, and I really am interested in the supporting characters. This looks like a fun quirky little show.
Moretsu Pirates, 2 eps in- This is the most anticipated series out of the five that I am watching. Marika, Ririka and Chiaki are all very watchable characters, and Chiaki’s reaction to chocolate parafait was the best moment of the first episode for me, and her saving the parafait and the girl at the start of the 2nd was great for me. Ririka’s teaching Marika about using a gun and why they bring them was a very good moment too. The restraint in fanservice was also another plus for me. This series feels like it has a whole world to show us, and it is taking its time to show us Marika becoming the privateer captain that she is very likely going to become.
I also feel that Another will get better in time. Heh, I like ALI Project songs, which is probably why the OP doesn’t bother me even though it doesn’t really match the atmosphere of the show.
Ano Natsu is by the same creator as the Onegai series and has the same director as Toradora!…so there ya go ;)
Glad you’re liking Mouretsu Pirates too. For some reason Chiaki reminds me of a mix of glasses-Homura and Kuroneko (she’s also voiced by Kana Hanazawa). My first impression of her was that she was going to be a stereotypical quiet, cold, stoic character, but I have a feeling she’ll be more than that. I enjoyed the part with Ririka teaching Marika about the gun, too. I hope we find out why she calls her “Ririka” even though she’s her mom.
Only show I have seen of the ones you are watching this season is Another. I’m moderately enjoying the show so far, but I can’t help but feel a little impatient with it. I can appreciate a slow-burning plot, but I honestly can’t see this going anywhere too interesting right now. It looks like its got the elements of a great mystery, but the whole “creepy dead girl” premise is a worn-out cliche in horror, something that Another is going to have to rise above if it’s going to become an A-tier show. On a more positive note, the art direction is fantastic so far.
Yes, it is hard to see what Another will do with its premise at this point. I think I’d still enjoy it even if it doesn’t do anything ground-breaking with the cliche, but I’m hoping it goes beyond that. And I agree that the art is great =)
Hmm! I was going to skip the pirates, but now I might give them a go.
Since it’s going to be a two-cour series, having a good first two episodes doesn’t mean the rest of it couldn’t fall flat. But I’m hoping it’ll continue to keep its current quality or get better =D
Hmm, based on what you’ve said, I might have a look at Poyopoyo and Nisemonogatari. Because cats are cute, and because Maaya Sakamoto is godly. I’m still watching Last Exile: Wings of Fam from the fall season and enjoying it immensely, so that’ll be my main series for the next few months. (Of course, Maaya Sakamoto sings the OP for Fam and has a cameo role in it too. But you knew that already…)
I’m sure you’ll like Poyopoyo, and since it’s only 3 minutes per episode, it’s hardly a time commitment :3
Unfortunately you’d have to watch Bakemonogatari before Nise, since Nise is the sequel. What’s funny is that the character Maaya Sakamoto plays – Shinobu, a little vampire girl – is also in Bake, but she never speaks. She’s credited as the seiyuu in Nise, so apparently Shinobu will speak in Nise and hopefully have a bigger role.
I just came back from a 2 week trip, so I have no idea what they are showing! This will help me get started back up. Another and the space pirates sound interesting. I think there is another season of Zero no Tsukaima, so I’ll check that out as well. Have to get up to date with what is going on :S
I hope you had a nice time on your trip! Let me know what you think of Another and Pirates if you do decide to watch them.
And yes, there is another season of Zero no Tsukaima airing too.
Another
Sorta on the fence so far. Yes, I do think it’s doing a good job building a creepy vibe. However, I think it’s trying a bit too hard at times. Especially with the “don’t tell the new kid what’s going on” routine by the classmates. Also, I’m really waiting for something exciting to happen. No, the “taking off the eyepatch” cliffhanger isn’t it.
Ano Natsu de Matteru
Really enjoying this one so far. The premise isn’t original; It has a very strong plot similarity to “Onegai Teacher”. The execution is really smooth. It has a ToraDora storytelling vibe to it. The art style seems a mix of Ano Hana and Toradora as well. Those who like the other series I mentioned should definitely check it out. There is “some” fanservice; but it’s not really out of the realm of normal.
P.S. Ano Natsu is filled with production staff members that have worked on Toradora, Onegai Teacher, and Ano Hana.
Nisemonogatari
Oh wow, talk about seduction. Hitagi is such a dominatrix. Sengoku was doing the full court press in her seducing attempts. And Koyomi and Kanbaru are such perverted molesters. The end of episode 2 is both disturbing, yet poetic. Even with all the sexual tension, you are starting to see the beginnings of the plot unfold. I can understand some fans being squeamish about the immense amount sexual tension this show has shown so far. Even though Bakemonogatari had its share of fanservice, it was never as concentrated like Nisemonogatari’s fanservice has been so far.
The artwork seems much better this time around. It seems like having big BD sales numbers gives you extra budget when you do sequels.
Mouretsu Pirates
Not at all what I thought it would be. My initial thoughts were fanservice comedy. Outside of some cutesy cosplay maid outfits, there is no fanservice. I like that the show is committed to 26 episodes and they’re doing a good job developing the story. Though the story does feel a tad slow at this point. I’m enjoying the characters, Chiaka being my favorite. The only downside is the absence of any romance as the director already stated there wouldn’t be any. Even with that absolute statement, I’m enjoying the series so far.
High School D&D
Ecchi fest. I equate it to something like “Freezing” but with demons and fallen angels. I know people who frequent this blog tend to avoid these types of shows so I’ll move on.
Lagrange Rinne
I sorta think this is like a cross between mecha and magical girls. I’m enjoying this series a bit. I do like Madoka’s personality. She’s quirky and cute. I like Madoka’s cousin as well. I’m a sucker for Trance music so I’m digging the OP. The Mecha batter scenes are pretty cool. I think it’s definitely worth a watch.
Senki Zesshou Symphogear
I’m not sure what to think of this one. It’s like a nonsensical anime musical. I’m not digging the main protagonist, Hibiki, at all. She seems rather bland and poorly drawn. They’ve already killed off one “main” character and another “main” character is a mess emotionally and is turning into a bitch. They seem to be going with the cryptic “Guilty Crown” after-the-fact story telling style.
I mentioned Guilty Crown cause I’m still actually watching that mess. I just don’t know if I want to keep watching this one as well. I hate having to sit thru two nonsensical cryptic shows at once.
Zero no Tsukaima F
Yep, it’s still the same show. If you seen any of the first 3 seasons you know exactly what this one is about. I have watched previous seasons. So I’m going to marathon this season near the last week of the show. I’m hoping the story has a good conclusion.
2nd season continuations
Guilty Crown I regard the show as a comedy at this point. It still has it’s exciting moments. But, It is such a train wreck. Sadly, I just can’t stop watching.
Chihayafuru I fallen behind on this one a bit. I think I’ll marathon to catch up with it soon. The episodes got a tad boring with the formulaic intro of new members.
Persona 4 I’m going to marathon it at the end.
Mirai Nikki Also going to marathon it upon completion.
Fate Zero Waiting for this one to restart as well.
Thanks for sharing your review list.
I’m actually looking forward to the eyepatch cliffhanger in Another XD But yeah, I do agree that the “don’t tell the new kid what’s going on” thing needs to be done now. And I find the random images of creepy dolls interesting…someone on Twitter said that the faces on the dolls are supposed to be whatever face you have right then, which I think is hilarious when you really look at their faces.
Totally agree about the sexual tension in Nise. It’s not my cup of tea but I can take it with a grain of salt since I enjoy the way Shaft stylizes it to make it artistically compelling.
And here I commented on how I found no romance implication in Pirates XD That’s funny that the director flat out stated there won’t be any.
I guess I’m one of the few people who honestly likes Guilty Crown and doesn’t think it’s as bad as everyone says. Sure, it has flaws and is cheesy at times, but I’ve seen other anime with these qualities in worse amounts that don’t get nearly as much hate.
I dropped Persona 4 a while ago, mostly due to what I described about it in my first impressions review.
And I’m still watching Mirai Nikki and also look forward to the next Fate/Zero =D
I’m definitely going to watch Another now…. Noizi Itou + P.A. Works is going to be incredible. I haven’t seen a lot of horror style anime so it will be new for me.
It’s a shame you dropped Digimon – I think that it’s a great series if you try not to compare it too much to the original Xros Wars seasons. The recent episodes have been giving us a lot more story and background information than we had before, and there’s also gonna be a crossover with the return of Taichi, Daisuke, Takato, Takuya and Masaru from the first 5 Digimon series.
Well, I explained why I don’t like this current season of Digimon, so unless by the end of it my issues are cleared up, I can’t imagine getting a desire to watch it again. And it’s hard not to compare it to the original Xros Wars seasons when it’s a sequel of them. That’s why I said that if Toei wanted to go with the whole hunting digimon gimmick, they should have made it a brand new series with new characters, unrelated to Xros Wars. Even the return of the original main characters from the old series isn’t enough for me to get excited…I was excited when Nene returned only for her to leave again. Besides her, Kiriha, and a few of the digimon, the Xros Wars characters just don’t do much for me. Do you really think the character development and drama in Xros Wars compares with the old Adventure and Tamers series? Guess I’m just spoiled by having seen the old Digimon seasons already.
But on a more positive note, do check out Another, I’m sure you’ll like it =)
I’m also finding the characters in Another to be a bit bland. Hopefully things will pick up soon or I might stop watching it.
Hearing your comments about Mouretsu Space Pirates makes me happy. I was elated when I found out that Satou Tatsuo was getting back into directing so I had high hopes for this anime and it hasn’t disappointed me so far. I’ve been telling people to go watch it, but the title and description seem to turn them away.
You’re right, I’m having trouble finding much buzz about Pirates too. Maybe it is the title and brief description that’s giving people preconceptions, much like it did with me at first until I saw near perfect reviews of it on ANN. I know they’re elitist there, so if they rated an anime with such a premise so highly, I should give it a try. I don’t know much about its background other than it’s produced by the same studio as Macross Frontier (which I love) so that’s a plus =) I hope more people decide to give it a chance.
MAN! ANOTHER! WHAT A SHOW. I almost hate myself for watching this, reason being… ITS SOOO GOOD. How am I supposed to control my want and need to watch this?! I know its a little pre-mature and maybe not an opinion that most agree with, but it is my seasonal favorite already probably’ll end up the best, even POSSIBLY best of the year. It’s one of those shows that is so good, that to say it’s the best of the year before the end of the year is hardly crying wolf. You get a show like this MAYBE once a year if your lucky. This could(along with Chihayafuru) end up in my list of favorite animes ever. A perfect example of HAVING music(forgettable, just there) and USING music(this show every episode as it doesn’t frivolously play it in the back ground and the music makes you feel dread and heart beat quicken, and “another” show example is Guilty Crown occasionally) and coupled with, AMAZING BAR NONE ANIMATION AND VOICE ACTING ALONG WITH A FANTASTIC PREMISE AND GREAT DIRECTOR TO BOOT! And it’s horror, my favorite genre, and only 2 episodes in is probably the pinnacle of horror beside SHIKI which I really enjoyed. Not only that, the suspense and slow build up is RIGHT up my alley being more into slow paced build up and then BAM chaos that turns the show on it’s head with a less bloody approach. Its more psychological and eerie than bloody and gory which i dont care as much for. MY GOD. Sorry to rant but I have RARELY enjoyed an anime this much. It is a perfect show for me. *catch breath* I’m basically watching what you are and enjoying it just as much minus pirates and I’m watching Aquarion and kill me baby. Lagrange is good too…