I really tried to find anime from this season that I wanted to watch, but unfortunately I just couldn’t get into more than a couple…
I somewhat enjoyed Tokyo Ghoul from this past summer season, but not enough to say for certain that I would watch season 2. But seeing as how there wasn’t much else this season I was interested in, I decided to give Tokyo Ghoul A a try. I watched the first episode and it was just kinda “meh.” I haven’t found the motivation to watch episode 2 and have decided to put the series on hold for now. I also tried to watch episode 1 of Rolling Girls and it didn’t keep my interest for more than a few minutes. I don’t know what it was but something in the fast-paced, wild atmosphere of the episode was screaming, “This isn’t your type of anime!” And I know that Kantai Collection and Yuri Kuma Arashi are the more popular titles of the season, but I don’t think either of them are my type either, especially the latter considering my feelings towards Penguindrum.
But it’s okay that not many of this winter’s shows appeal to me because I have a solid four anime from the past season that I’m still watching and enjoying very much: Parasyte, Shirobako, Sailor Moon Crystal, and Shigatsu Uso. Plus I’ll be starting the next school semester in a couple of weeks, so my anime load should be light =P But as this post’s title implies, I did at least find a couple of winter anime that I’m so far continuing to watch, which are…
Death Parade
Episodes 1-2 so far
A funny thing happened when I watched the first two episodes of Death Parade. My thoughts on the series were kinda mixed after episode 1; it certainly kept me in suspense, but I can’t say it was a pleasant experience, mostly because, in the end, I didn’t feel like justice was served. I wasn’t convinced that Takashi was in the right and deserved to be reincarnated, while Machiko was totally in the wrong and deserved to be sent to the void. Takashi acted pretty aggressive and quick to violence when he suspected Machiko was cheating on him even though he didn’t have any solid proof, not to mention the freak out he had after it was all over. But the main reason I wasn’t satisfied was because of how Machiko suddenly changed her tune right at that moment, saying that she only married him for his money, etc,. After watching the episode, it kept nagging at me that what she said was a lie and she only did it because she saw how upset Takashi was, thinking that his unfounded jealously had caused him to inadvertently kill his family. Rather than have him suffer from those thoughts, she got him to hate her and think the baby isn’t his. I thought this could have been a possibility, in which case, it was wrong for her to be sent to the void when she actually did a very selfless thing. And then, lo and behold, in episode 2, the newly introduced assistant to Quindekim has this exact same interpretation! When she was explaining her opinion to Dekim and Nona, I was like, “That’s exactly what I thought!”
So after episode 2, I was satisfied to know that I wasn’t crazy for thinking that Takashi and Machiko’s situation was poorly judged and that Dekim seemed to feel bad that he may have made a mistake in his judgement. There are certainly flaws in the arbiters only having access to their clients’ memories before they died and not being able to tell when they’re lying. So I’m curious to see if this becomes a big deal later on, as well as more info about the mystery of Quindekim in general and what other interesting scenarios unfold there. So yes, Death Parade is pretty interesting so far and certainly has me invested as you can see. Hopefully it continues to do so and doesn’t leave me with too much of the unsatisfied feeling I had from episode 1! XD
Junketsu no Maria
Episodes 1-2 so far
I was on the fence about this series for a while, but since there weren’t many other winter shows I wanted to watch, I decided to check it out. Two episodes in, and I’m somewhat enjoying it. I like the premise of witches interfering with wars and the general fantasy setting – it’s interesting without seeming way too complex like many high-fantasy series can be. I was a little worried that the series might be fraught with distracting fan service (the title is “The Virgin Witch Maria” after all), but it really isn’t that bad. There are several scenes of nudity or near nudity, but they go with the show’s flow aren’t just random hyperbolic gags that shatter the otherwise serious mood. I did start to get turned off a bit though in episode 2 when Artemis was making Priapos “service” that guy, and then pushed Maria into the fray too. That scene carried the silliness a little too far in my opinion, but luckily the intense scenes that followed made up for it. I really liked the part where Maria is confronted by Michael and calls him and the other heavenly beings out for not answering people’s prayers and letting all these horrible events take place while she’s the only one who tries to stop it. It’s a very thought-provoking conflict that did leave me wanting to see more when the episode ended.
To conclude, as long as Junketsu no Maria continues to deliver with its engaging fantasy setting and conflict, while keeping the adult humor antics to a minimum, I think I’ll continue to enjoy it.
*Bonus pick* Youkai Watch
Episodes 1-2 so far
This is not a winter 2015 anime series – although it is still airing now, it started airing last winter in 2014. I heard about Youkai Watch recently and apparently it’s an extremely popular kid franchise in Japan right now. The anime has been getting great ratings, the recent movie had one of the best opening weekends of any Japanese film in years, and the games are insanely popular as well. I not only wanted to check it out because it’s so popular in Japan, but because people in the Pokemon community seem to feel that it’s “the next Pokemon” due to its similar theme of collecting various monsters, and because of what a hit it’s become. The games and anime haven’t yet had an international release, but they’re going to soon, and that will probably be the main factor in whether it can compete with Pokemon in worldwide popularity.
But as far as my viewing of the first two episodes, I think it’s…okay. Actually, comparing it to the Pokemon anime, Youkai Watch has more zany humor and fast-paced slapsticks, which makes it feel more like a kids show. Pokemon of course has its cutesy and comical moments, but it also has an equal amount of drama. I can’t recall any dramatic scene in the first two episodes of Youkai Watch, so I think that may work against it as far as having the kind of universal audience Pokemon has. Then there’s the fact that most of the youkai talk while most pokemon don’t talk, which gives them the kind of animal innocence fans love, so that’s certainly another edge Pokemon has over its new competitor. But besides the childish mood of the show, I do like the concept of all these youkai (commonly translated as “ghosts” but I prefer “spirits”) that are secretly causing strange events to happen that otherwise have no explanation. I can’t imagine any adult anime fan liking the show unless they’re like me and already have an affinity for kids anime, especially ones with lots of creative monsters =P Oh, and the opening song is ridiculously catchy!
But anyway, we’ll see how things go once Youkai Watch heads to the international market. Though I can’t say the anime is particularly good so far, I’ll continue to watch it sporadically when I feel like something really light and mind-numbing. There’s already 50-some episodes with no end in sight, so I don’t plan on catching up any time soon! I’m just watching it out of curiosity and because I’m a Pokemon fan, and I may even get the game when it comes out in the states for the same reason XD
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I actually took a look at the spring anime coming up and there are already a bunch I’m looking forward to! The new Digimon series, the second half of Fate/Stay Night, second seasons of Nisekoi and Kiniro Mosaic, the anime adaptation of Kyokai no Rinne, Kyoto Animation’s new series…it’ll definitely make up for lack of shows this season XD
As expected, I feel that I don’t have any shows in common obviously for the fact that they are rather niche shows. I do hope that spring will be better in that regard, especially since there are a good number of shows that I look forward to.
Yeah, we don’t seem to be watching any of the same shows this season (well, besides Shirobako =P) But next season we will! I’m sure you’ll be checking out the new KyoAni series, and maybe the sequels to Kiniro Mosaic and Nisekoi.
You know, I only watched Mawaru Penguindrum recently, and, although I did enjoy it, it didn’t have the same solidity I saw in Utena. I do think Yuri Kuma Arashi is more the former than the latter, but I’ve just watched episode 3 and have actually come away with a stronger impression of the series to date. It was focused, it seemed to actually introduce and develop ideas, and, most importantly, as this was the biggest thing I wasn’t crazy about with the first two episodes, it built more emotional content into it and the characters. Penguindrum just seemed to become vaguer and vaguer and meander more and more as it went on, but I’m cautiously optimistic about YKA.
More than when I said “even if you didn’t like TTGL, KLK is worth a watch”, I think even if you didn’t like Penguindrum, give YKA a watch. It’s only one cour, and you’ll be able to knock out a quarter in just over an hour.
That’s my one big show. Death Parade is the other one, though I wasn’t as wowed by episode 2 as you were. I think the character motivations are kind of vague and exaggerated, whereas, say, Death Billiards had it more anchored and affecting. But hey, we’ve only seen the darts game so far, and we look to be getting a new game next episode.
The last show I’m really enthused about is Yoru no Yatterman.
I intend to watch a few episodes of the original and 2008 Yatterman series and then rewatch episode 1 and possibly 2 of Yoru no, but it’s perfectly enjoyable with no prior knowledge. It’s really interesting so far, and plays with the whole superhero-villain thing in a cool way. More than that, Leopard is great, her childhood great to watch and even her development just in two episodes past that is really interesting. I guess “interesting” is the word for this show.
Not much else stands out to me, though I do like Military! a fair bit. I like the new Milky Holmes more than the original two series, mostly to annoy my friend, who doesn’t.
I watched Youkai Watch as it was subbed. It was all right. I don’t have much of a drive to watch the unsubbed episodes, though it would be a good one to watch, not like, say, the unsubbed Minarai Diva, which is fantastic, but which I simply cannot do without subtitles.
I forget: have you dipped your toes into Precure at all?
Speaking of Tokyo Ghoul, do you read Anime Maru? They wrote a good article recently about a cosplayer from that show: http://www.animemaru.com/tokyo-ghoul-cosplayer-literally-trapped-in-costume/
That’s good to know that you think YKA is better than Penguindrum, but I dunno…I’ve read about it and seen some screencaps and it just seems so weird! I doubt I’ll watch it as it airs but maybe another time if I keep hearing good things about it and feel like trying something that’s really out there.
I’ve never seen Death Billiards so I can’t compare, but yeah, there’s still many more episodes to go so I’m sure you’ll find some you like XD
Yatterman was one I was thinking about watching but didn’t. I’ve heard it’s good =)
I’m guessing you’re not watching Youkai Watch anymore? (it’s still ongoing) I’m gonna watch it very slowly right now, unless it starts to grow on me more than it has. Haven’t watched any Precure by the way.
That story about the Tokyo Ghoul cosplayer is crazy 0_o It’s hard to believe no one would help him and he’s supposedly still wandering the streets…that sounds exaggerated. I’m sure he was able to get help somewhere by calling someone on the phone or something.
FYI: Anime Maru is a satire website and none of the news are actually real.
Oh, I didn’t know XD I mean, I thought it sounded unrealistic but maybe something like that did happen and they just exaggerated the facts. But glad to know that’s not a real cosplayer tragedy =P
Anime Maru is great.
Youkai Watch’s sub group was just a one-guy effort, sort of eventually died off. If I liked the show more, I’d probably watch it in Japanese, but it’s too much effort.
I jumped into Precure with Happiness Charge!, the one ending on Sunday (Go Princess starts a week later), and I’ve watched the original series in the meantime. After I finish Dragon Ball, I’ll finish Max Heart and then sort of continue on through the rest of the series. It’s pretty good; and it’s the sort of thing I can see you getting into.
A fansub group called DeadFish is subbing Youkai Watch, albeit very slowly…it looks like they get one episode or so a month and are 20+ episodes behind. That’s fine since I’m sure I won’t be catching up with it any time soon.
Maybe when Naruto ends I’ll start another long-running series in its place…maybe Precure.
DeadFish is actually just an mp4 reencode group: they do everything so you can play it back on things like tablets. If you look at their release notes, they’ll say something like “Subs: LevelUpSubs”.
Precure is less a single long-running series and more a dozen 49-episode series, anyway
Yeah, this season is kind of weird… Not many shows that jumped at me to watch. I’ll check out Death Parade, sounds interesting. I’m also watching the Maria witch one, and it’s pretty ok so far. As you mentioned, the fan service is there but somewhat limited and even relevant. I’m also watching Aldnoah Zero, which is going pretty slow so far, and have checked out many others that are simply too generic (Absolute duo, unlimited Fafnir) so I’ll drop those. I did check out KanColle, and it’s ok so far. not much in plot, but some of the ship girls are quite likeable. Animation is also interesting, lots of 3D mixed with 2D, and it does not look that bad. Assasination classroom is also quite interesting. The plot is out of this world, but it somehow works with the show so far. It’s quite different, so it’s interesting in and on itself.
At least I’m having time to watch some of the piled up anime. Watching Mushi-shi (which is really good), and also discovered Akatsuki no Yona from last season which I’m liking a lot actually. There are enough mysteries to keep me entertained, so it’s actually quite good. But yeah, this is a weird season, not a lot of anime that are screaming “watch me!!” right now…
Yeah, I think you’ll find Death Parade interesting. It seems like it’s going to be episodic, like Cowboy Bebop and Mushishi, or at least 2-episode arcs. Speaking of Mushishi, good to hear you’re taking the time to finish the latest season – like all Mushishi seasons, it’s great =D
I didn’t watch any of these :-(
Death Parade does seems interesting and I’m interested to watch it if I can find some leeway in the current season. But for the moment, I’m getting myself pretty busy with current anime and 20+ episodes anime from Fall (Shirobako is awesome).
Yes, Shirobako is great =) And I recommend Death Parade if you can still add another anime to your watching list!
Does anyone have any information as to why Youkai Watch isn’t subbed for episode 27 and on?
Sorry, I don’t know about that. Maybe whoever’s subbing it is just really slow…
Sorry for the late response, hope you don’t mind!
It’s definitely slim pickings for me this winter anime season, and if it weren’t for the ongoing shows from the fall season that I’m still watching (Ronja, Parasyte, and Yona), I’d be watching barely anything at all. Maybe I’m growing more picky, maybe less patient, or maybe a mix of both, but I just didn’t find that many shows that hooked me from the first couple of episodes this season, and I ended up dropping a bunch so quickly that I didn’t even find it worth blogging about my first impressions of them. Now all that’s left from the new winter line-up are Death Parade, Durarara!!, and Yuri Kuma Arashi. The first two I’m thoroughly enjoying, the last one I still have some reservations about but will probably stick around for out of sheer curiosity.
Yeah, I think I’ve gotten more picky over the years too XD But that’s to be expected when you’ve watched so many anime throughout most of your life – the novelty of genres wears off and you start wanting to only see the ones that stand out to you. Next season, however, happens to have a lot of such shows…wish some of them were airing now so I won’t be overwhelmed in spring =P
I’m also watching Death Parade, and even though I watched and liked the first season of DRRR!!, I barely remember anything about it, so I’d want to rewatch season 1 first. Not sure when that will be…one day! Also watching and enjoying Parasyte, but I ended up dropping Ronja. I gave it several episodes, but just couldn’t get into it. I heard it took a dark turn though.
That’s also the first thing I noticed after seeing that infamous scene in the first episode of Death Parade, and the second episode proved my discovery. I think Death Parade is a pretty interesting show, ‘exactly’ because the judging system is flawed.