Now that I’ve seen 2-3 episodes of the five summer ’12 anime I’m watching, it’s time to post my first impressions…
Natsuyuki Rendezvous
Episodes 1-2 so far
I picked up this series because the story sounded refreshingly good, with lack of the all too familiar high school setting and fantasy elements. I’ve adored both episodes so far – Atsushi butting in every time Ryuusuke tries to put the moves on Rokka, with only him being able to see Atsushi, has been great for both laughs and drama. In fact, I was impressed at how I was cracking up in the first of episode 2, while the second part made me cry as we see glimpses of the past relationship between Rokka and Atsushi before he died. We went from funny supernatrual antics to really feeling the deep love and sadness between the separated couple, and the fact that the series can blend the two so well is giving me high hopes for it. While I have an idea of how it will probably end, I don’t know how it will come about. I look forward to seeing that, with more good laughs and drama along the way.
Tari Tari
Episodes 1-3 so far
A down-to-earth school slice-of-life series that hasn’t been particularly engaging to me so far, but it’s not bad if you like the genre. The first episode didn’t really catch my attention, as it mostly just introduced the cast of characters and a little of the plot, with nothing much happening. The second episode was a lot better though, with the suspense of the impending choir performance and how it ended with the three main girls saving the day. Though not as gripping as the previous episode, episode 3 was entertaining with our five main characters trying to get their newly found club going and a random Spanish guy and pig pursuing an Engrish-spewing Wakana. As usual, P.A. Works gives us very luscious, detailed backgrounds, which can always lift my enjoyment of an anime. My only complaint about the animation is that the designs of the three main girls aren’t distinct enough from each other – they almost have exactly the same face except with different hair. But anyway, I don’t think Tari Tari will be anything ground-breaking, but certainly a nice show if you like pretty slice-of-life school stories.
Sword Art Online
Episodes 1-2 so far
Sword Art Online has all the makings of a great sci-fi premise with a fantasy setting. The first episode hooked me right away with its fast-moving and suspenseful plot reveal, interesting concept of a story taking place pretty much entirely (as of now anyway) in a virtual world, along with good animation and memorable music by Yuki Kajiura. But unfortunately, while it’s entertaining, people have pointed out many plot holes in the series so far, the most major one for me being the fact that the players’ physical bodies shouldn’t be alive after going a month without food, water, etc (unless I’m sorely mistaken, I don’t recall this issue being addressed). People have also pointed out solutions that could save the players, which leads to another issue that we haven’t seen or heard of any governmental attempts to try and save the players. I know the focus of the show is the fantasy adventure in the virtual world, but gaping plot holes shouldn’t be left in the “real” world part. However, we’re only two episodes in, so there’s a good chance these issues will be addressed later. If you watch SAO without a critical mind that’s looking for flaws, it’s definitely good, fun entertainment.
Kokoro Connect
Episodes 1-2 so far
The gender swapping gag that’s the crux of this series has been amusing so far. The characters seem like pretty standard anime stereotypes, but putting them within this funny body switching plot brings up the entertainment value of the show, at least for me. I just hope it’s not a gag that gets old quickly and they fail to focus on things like character development and unraveling the secrets behind “Heartseed.” The only thing that turned me off about the show was conveying the class rep as a token lesbian in episode 1, but by the the end of episode 2 it seems she’ll be more than that, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed. Like Tari Tari, I don’t think Kokoro Connect is going to be majorly impacting to the school/slice-of-life genre, but it’s a fun little show that will hopefully keep delivering.
Jinrui wa Suitai Shimaimashita
Episodes 1-3 so far
One of the most unique shows of the season but I wouldn’t call it the most universally appealing. I know that the appeal of Jinrui wa Suitai (a.k.a. Humanity Has Declined) is supposed to be satirical social commentary on Japanese (and perhaps other countries’) culture using the facade of cute looking characters and bright colors, so it’s naturally fraught with strange imagery and events meant to be symbolic rather than seen as something that makes sense. I think that I’m pretty tolerant of all kinds of anime, even weird ones full of symbolism like this one. But when things get so bizarre that I can’t figure out what something means as a symbol nor as a serious plot point, I lose interest. I know that the first two episodes of the show were a commentary on mechanized food processing, but the point where it got to skinned chickens walking, talking, and smoking cigars, it went a bit beyond the boundary of logic for my taste. But, still wanting to be open-minded and give the show a chance with the next story arc, I ended up quite enjoying episode 3. I could clearly understand the satire this time and thus far no extremely over-the-top weirdness has been seen. I really want to stick with this show despite it being hit or miss for me. Only time will tell if it’ll be more of a hit than a miss ;)
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In addition to these five, I’m still watching Space Brothers, Hyouka, Arashi no Yoru ni (me and, like, two other people XD), Poyo, and Folktales from Japan. Not planning to pick up any more at the moment as I’m attempting to watch some older anime I haven’t seen yet and I’ll need time for those. Anyway, I hope you’re all enjoying your summer and I’ll be back soon~
I’m watching Natsuyuki Rendezvous as well, and out of the handful of the new season anime I’ve taken a look at, I think it’s the most promising. As you say, it’s refreshing to watch something a bit different from the usual – I like how all the characters are fully-grown adults rather than kids or teenagers, and that everyone is actually acting their age as well. I think the art style is quite nice too – clean and bright without feeling overly saccharine.
I’ve also tried out Chōyaku Hyakunin Isshu: Uta Koi, Ebiten: Kouritsu Ebisugawa Koukou Tenmonbu, and Joshiraku. Unfortunately Joshiraku is simply too dull for me to want to continue despite it’s merits, and the first episode of Ebiten is just plain bad. Uta Koi is interesting though, and for now at least I’ll probably continue with that.
Yeah, Natsuyuki seems like a prime Noitamina josei series. I’m pretty sure I’m gonna like it the best out of the five summer shows I’m watching ;)
I was thinking about Uta Koi but ended up not picking it up. I hope you continue to like it~
Summer is a somewhat enjoyable season, although not on the same level of last year. Of course, I’m watching Tari Tari and Dog Days 2.
Tari Tari: Definitely starting at a better note compared to Hanasaku Iroha, mostly because we don’t have Okada’s crazy writing that somewhat ruined the show in some episodes. Still, the show is very promising and I really like the characters. Just hope that it doesn’t suffer the same fate and we get a solid slice of life show.
Dog Days 2: Currently more of the same from last season, except with the addition of Becky and Nanami. I’m quite interested on how they will pull it off with three heroes, although Becky’s transformation scene was downright creepy.
Aside from that, this is what I’m watching in addition to Hyouka… Still need to finish my backlog that is collecting dust.
I actually thought Hanasaku Iroha had a fantastic first episode while Tari Tari’s first episode was lackluster. But like I said, the latter’s second episode was much better. You’re right that some middles episodes of HanaIro weren’t written very well – hopefully Tari Tari won’t have that problem ^^,,,
“My only complaint about the animation is that the designs of the three main girls aren’t distinct enough from each other – they almost have exactly the same face except with different hair.”
And varying boob sizes, haha. But seriously, their proportions are so strange. Their heads are quite large and it kind of disturbs me.
SAO is ludicrously overrated and it bothers me that its ranking MAL is so damn high. Other than that, I’ve been enjoying it. Though the second episode was…not too spectacular. I can tell I’m already not going to like Asuna. Oh well.
Natsuyuki is undoubtedly my favorite summer anime so far. So many feels…;A;
are you still enjoying Space Bros and Hyouka? The latter is really starting to grow on me. And because of the cultural festival arc no less.
Konatsu’s head is oblong shaped and her eyes are oblique. Sawa and Wakana look alike until you notice Sawa’s pair of awesome….shoes.
Yeah, clothing-wise and color-wise the girls look different – I just meant that the shape of their face and facial features are very similar to each other compared to other anime.
Yeah, I have no idea why SAO got such high MAL ratings even before the first episode aired! I don’t think the original novels are all that popular among English-speaking fans, and I can’t imagine LiSA and Kajiura promotion of the series at AX making it get such premature acclaim…very weird. I agree that the second episode wasn’t as good as the first. I really hope they explain why Kirito started acting the way he did at the end of the ep ’cause it just seemed to come out of nowhere.
I’m still liking Space Brothers very much. I wasn’t thrilled with the “finding the correct ending to the movie” arc in Hyouka, but like you, I’m enjoying the cultural festival arc XD The new Sherlock Holmes style ending is adorable too.
My interpretation of the ending was that he was acting that way so that the two groups, beta testers AND normals, would have someone to hate/unite over, instead of the mistrust from the two groups ruining everything. He saw what was going on and decided to do the heroic thing and make himself a “villain”, or whatever.
Note how he stresses the difference between normal beta testers and himself, and then even goes so far as to say that beta testers are the same as regular people, with the exception of him.
Just my two cents. I’m reading the novels now, but the first book doesn’t seem to cover this part.
That’s what I was thinking too – that he was making himself the scapegoat – but I wasn’t totally sure. Thanks for the explanation, it’s probably right ;)
This Summer season has been pretty meh for me. I’ve decided to just stick with Yuru Yuri season 2 which is a delight, and I’m still watching Kuroko’s basketball from last season, along with the ever present Naruto Shippuden, since everything is picking back up and the end of my beloved show is in sight. Can’t wait for the next show that I’ll love as much as Cowboy Bebop for example, but it’s been awhile. Last anime I was passionate about was Nichojou, and here we are a year later…
Haven’t watched the first Yuri Yuri so I’m not watching season 2. I did hear good things about the series though despite the title and apparent premise.
I’m still watching Naruto Shippuuden as well~
Natsuyuki has been fun so far! And it is refreshing to see an anime that is not centered around school so much. Hope it can keep up!
Tari Tari is okish, and at least the guy speaking Spanish speaks a perfect Spanish, so that is a plus :P I also have issues with the character design. Apart from the brown haired main protagonist, the other 2 look too much alike. I have trouble telling them apart sometimes. Still, the pacing seems a bit quick, but could be good.
Sword art online. Ok, I heard so many things about it, and the first episode blew me away, that I had to read the light novels. Well, I was not disappointed. I have to tell you, it is not all sci-fi though, there is quite a bit of drama, romance, etc, in it. The setting is all in a virtual reality world, but the rest is quite “human”. I’ve only read the first 2 novels, but if it can portray that properly, I think it can be pretty good. Regarding the inconsistencies, they are explained much better in the light novel. The person that trapped the 10K players in the gameworld, also immediately alerted the authorities on what he was doing. He even explains how the device has a battery that can last for 2+ hours before frying their brains anyway. So it gives a chance to the government to take the trapped players to a more suited facility. The novel has a lot of philosophical thinking on what makes us tick, what is reality to us, and lots of other things, so depending how it is done, it could be good.
Kokoro connect can be fun. It reminded me a little of Natsuiro Kiseki, where the miracles were “harmless”, but that quickly change with Heartseed on the 2nd episode. Now we know where is someone/something behind it, so the body switching won’t be just for fun, but has some sinister purpose… I hope it has an interesting ending :)
Shimashita… Well, you probably liked the 3rd episode more because there were no elves involved until the last few seconds :P I’ll give it a few more episodes as well, I do not mind anime that tries something different, and I LOVE the spunky commentary from the main protagonist. Quite fun.
I’m watching a few more, but there are a a few fanservice/harem anime this season (Campione!, Koi to Senkyo to Chocolate, Kono Naka ni Hitori Imouto ga Iru, Binbougami ga!)… Not sure how long I will keep to those… Muv-Luv Alternative – Total Eclipse, mecha anime, the first 2 episodes were really, really good, and put humanity in the middle of a relentless alien invasion. It was going really well! and then the 3rd episode took us out of the front lines (no alien invasion to be seen anywhere), and introduced us to a cast of all the regular tropes to be seen anywhere… I hope it can get back to what it introduced in the first 2 episodes.
Last season was pretty good, so I hope this one can keep up with some good series as well :)
Glad to know that the Spanish in Tari Tari was good XD Heh, I had trouble telling Wakana and Sawa apart too because their hair is a similar color in addition to their faces being similar. I’m getting better though.
Good to hear that about Sword Art Online. So I’m assuming that, since the government was alerted, they took the players to a facility where their bodies could get nutrition from an IV or something so they don’t die while their minds are in the virtual world?
I had the exact same thoughts about Kokoro Connect’s similarities to Natsuiro Kiseki, again until Heartseed came along XD
Yes, he alerted the government, and probably even gives instructions on how to move them. Throughout the novel, it is understood that he does not simply want to kill all 10K people (he could do that easily if he wanted to). So he makes it easy to take all 10K people to hospitals and different facilities for care… And I won’t say anymore, I hope it is covered in the anime.
I’ll make this quick: I’ve watched all of the shows you’ve watched, but besides SAO I haven’t checked the latest episodes. But thanks to my backlog, I might be putting Tari Tari and Kokoro Connect on hold if their latest episodes don’t grab me :<
I see…well, I think the latest episode of Kokoro Connect may grab you because it introduces more plot about the body switching thing. I’m not so sure about Tari Tari since the third episode, while okay, isn’t as good as the second in my opinion.
Hazuki in Natsuyuki Rendevous is what makes the show for me. He’s just such a… guy, with that stoic face and his funny inner reactions, kind of like Kyon in Haruhi. Like others have commented, all three of the main characters are lovable, though they’re all in conflict with each other.
Humanity Has Declined is just brilliant. Really enjoying that one as well.
And Utakoi has really surprised me with its emotional depths. I thought it might be too mannered or stifling (Heian romance??), but it’s very deeply felt.
Yeah, the three main characters in Natsuyuki form a great love-triangle because 1) one of them is dead and can only be seen by his rival, which makes for a refreshingly fun experience, and 2) Hazuki is a funny guy XD
Glad you’re really enjoying Humanity Has Declined. I didn’t think that would be one you’d pick to watch =)
i´ve read almost all of SAO novels so far, so i can tell you that the fact that they´re hooked to a machine is a mayor plotpoint, later on it´s said that they´re moved to hospitals all over the country
as for the pacing for episode 2, the reason why it feels rushed it´s because they adapted it from a short novel, not from the main book, so they had to compact it a little, I´m kinda optimistic and think that it won´t happen much more (there are 1 or two sidestories were this could happen again though), in the main novel the first floors aren´t even given attention, only in the sidestories
in my opinion it IS a pretty good series, it avoids the cliches from series romances (read: zero no tsukaima) and has pretty good character development, so don´t loose hope, if they don´t screw up adapting it, you´ll love it later on
Cool, thanks for the info about SAO. I have more hope for the series now =)
Sword Art Online
I agree about some of the plot-holes. I do find it hard to be caught in the game endlessly with utilities not being completely stable. However, A lot of the major plot-holes are or will be dealt with in a very logical way. While i still was “meh” to those explanations, It didn’t bother me to the point of not wanting to continue.
I felt so enthralled with the first episodes that I checked out the light novel translations at Baka Tsuki. So I won’t get into any detail about anything. I will say I enjoyed this story immensely. It’s definitely worth sticking with if they stay somewhat true to the original material.
I’m re-reading the chapters along with the episode. So I get additional into along with the anime story. I hope that someone publishes the novels in English if the series takes off.
I will say this this Series is totally putting me in the mood to play Guild Wars 2 next month.
Tari Tari
Bleh, I’m bored with it already. It’s “too cutesy / slice of life” for me. Starting a singing club to thwart evil teacher isn’t engaging enough for me.
Kokoro Connect
The first episode I was like “WTF?!?” My first impression was that this was going to be “Natsuiro Kiseki” v2. Second episode made it much better because instead of pretending the phenomenon they were dealing with was natural, there’s actually a mystery to it that the group have to deal with. So the plot of the story is finding out why the mystery is happening instead of “Oh hey, rock grants us wishes. how is this possible? Oh, who cares! Lets be singing idols, YATTA!!”
I also want to understand the interpersonal relationships between the group. I feel the characters have some personality to them. I actually want to understand them better. I also wonder what’s up between red head girl and blonde guy. She can’t stand him. Yet he still adores her. Lori seems interesting herself.
Natsuyuki Rendezvous
I’m so getting in touch with my feminine side with this one. I just love this show. Very powerful emotions. The love triangle is amusing, especially when Atsushi is trying to thwart Haruki anyway he can. Lots of tough questions about living, dying, moving on, and remembering love ones. Ryokka really has it tough. It’s hard seeing her like that. It’s tough trying to be true to your lost loved one. yet, not dying inside and continuing on living and finding love again.
This has definitely been my ‘summer surprise’ series. Just like “Usagi Drop” was last year.
Koi to Senkyo to Chocolate
I’m watching this mainly to figure out who ran over The School President’s sister with the car. The rest of it is silly cutesy generic harem material. If they cut out some of the more retarded antics and stuck to the mystery aspects to the story, I would find it much more interesting.
Campione!
BWahahahhaha listening them bastardize Latin is hilarious. “pro mo tay us” “epi ma tay us” “Ah tay na” ?!?! LMAO!!!
The story itself seems decent enough. The romance seems fanservice-ish, somewhat hurried, and a bit forced.
I don’t really love the show. But i don’t hate it either.
Hagure Yuusha no Estetica
The story is crap. But my god the main protagonist is such a boss. It’s so refreshing to see someone like him. Especially seeing as Haru from accel world is regressing and is pissing me off. Very ecchi though. so if you hate fanservice pandering your best off avoiding the show.
Muv Luv: total eclipse
They spent two episodes on building up a mech team of teenage girls and then butchering them like a bad version of “Starship Troopers.” They could have easily saved the time and gave the one surviving girl, Yui, a 5 minute flashback. The third episode the finally introduce the main cast. It just seems like cliched military jock dialogue. Not really motivated to watch this show.
Binbougami ga
Hilarious slapstick comedy. It’s about a goddess of misfortune sent to earth to take away a girl’s fortune because she’s too blessed. The girl ain’t having none of it. so it’s a silly war of wills. The girl, who is a bit narcissistic, also grows up a little along the way. Great show. definitely on my top five of the season so far.
continued series….
Lagrange Rinne
The two girls are caught on opposing sides while Madoka trying to bring them together with the power of yuri love. That’s funny. The characters are still the same. The series is slowly shifting focus away from earth and more towards the conflict between the two alien worlds.
Accel World
Haru is going down the crapper. I swear he’s worse than Shu from “Guilty Crown.” What is it with these sniveling crying wimps in these shows? I was starting to like the show a lot after that Red King arc. But this Dusk Taker arc is taking this series to a new low. Chiyu is falling apart, the antagonist is a NTR sadist, Taku is losing patience, and Haru….ugg…. dear god man pull yourself together!
Hyouka
ZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzz………. wait wha!? Oh I must have fallen asleep. Well it because they got off the mystery and turned into a boring slice of life in the festival arc. I found the Movie arc entertaining, even the “uncle history arc” was decent. But the festival arc is painful to watch. Nothing is going on at all with this arc. They really need to turn it around quick. I hope this arc is over this upcoming episode.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on every seasonal show you’re watching ;D
I can see how one could find Tari Tari boring – it is very much a simple, light, slice-of-life school show, perhaps even too much so. It’s not really focused on comedy but not focused on drama either. So unless you like that easy-going air, I can see how it could bore.
I also made the connection (no pun intended) between Kokoro Connect and Natsuiro Kiseki with their premise of unexplained supernatural phenomena. But now that we know there’s some plot around Kokoro Connect’s mystery, they’re becoming more different.
I actually didn’t much like the movie making arc in Hyouka. The characters were making such a big deal about finding the “perfect” ending for a movie that they managed to give a decent enough ending to anyway, and it just felt weird that they were so incredibly intent on finding this perfect ending for the sake of a character (Hongo-san) that we never even see – I just couldn’t bring myself to care about that conflict. The uncle’s history arc was a bit slow but had great payoff. And I actually like the school festival arc – I like taking a break from the complicated mysteries and seeing the characters be their silly selves. Plus I love seeing KyoAni’s school festival animation XD
True, the protagonist in Hagure Yuusha is a real man instead of a wimp such as Haruyuki, or impotent boys as we have seen in most harem anime; but somehow, I feel annoyed by him. Something just doesn’t click / feel right. It seems to me that the author is trying too hard to make him boss-like. It feels too unnatural. I am probably won’t bother watching the 3rd episode. Bleh.
Binbougami is easily one of my favorite this season. Especially in episode 3, we can see a pretty good character development of Ichiko.
Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita sure is weird, but I love it. The commentary that the main character makes is so true and hilarious. My favourite so far was when she wrote down that meetings should never be held. I think anyone that has been in several meetings will agree with that statement.