Welcome again to my usual article, as I bring you my first impressions of the new Spring 2012 Anime season. I realize I’m a little later than usual this time, but that’s due to the sheer volume of anime I’ve ended up picking up. There are just so many good anime that have aired this season that I couldn’t quite keep up immediately. After a little bit of a marathon however, I’m now ready to give my two cents. So, let’s get started, shall we?
Sengoku Collection
Yet another series where we’ve turned famous
leaders and warriors of the Sengoku era into moe girls. This seems to be becoming a habit these
days. The basic plot is that something
happened in this alternate past, and a majority of these famous figures were
flung into present day Japan. You know, like Sengoku Otome, just the other
way around. The series follows each of
them as they struggle to either find their place in this new world, or find a
way back to their own. I was a bit
surprised at this one, despite the slightly odd setup, and the fact that it is
apparently based on a cell phone game, this show actually presents itself
really well. Every one of the characters
has their own struggles, and gets fairly well developed over the course of
their episode. If you’re a fan of
interpersonal drama, then I recommend this series to you.
Sankarea
This series follows quite possibly the
strangest anime protagonist I’ve seen in a long time, a boy obsessed with
zombies. How obsessed? His dream in life is to kiss a zombie girl...
and presumably get his face chewed off immediately afterwards. For a zombie movie fan, I don’t think he’s
thought this through very well. Anyways,
he stumbles across a book that he believe contains a formula for a potion that
can bring the dead back to life, and so he attempts to resurrect his dead cat,
aided by a strange girl who apparently wants to become a zombie herself. Now, as weird as that sounds, I actually
think this may be one of the best shows of the season. The characters are likable, and believable,
and the drama going on in the series is very compelling. I thought the main character would creep the
hell out of me, but I’ve actually grown to like him. In fact, there’s a far creepier character in
this show. Don’t believe that’s
possible? Watch the series, you’ll
understand completely.
Ozuma
This is less of a first impressions review
as it is a series in review considering this has already finished its six
episode run. Ozuma is a post-apocalyptic
action series featuring submarines in the desert. Through technology, these ships can move
through sand as if it were water. The
series itself follows the crew of one such ship, and especially one crew member
named Sam as they try to discover the secrets of a mysterious woman named Maya. Ozuma could have stood to be a bit longer
than it was, with all that was going on, it would certainly have helped explain
certain things better. The plotline was
a bit lacking because of that, but the series still managed to be entertaining
right through to the end. The animation
was done in a very old school style, reminiscent of Space Battleship Yamato,
Night on the Galactic Railway, and Interstella 5555, and everything about it
had a very retro feel to it. Also, the
naval combat between ships was amazingly done, and just as suspenseful as a
submarine battle should be. I’d
recommend this to any fan of older anime styles, and with only six episodes, it
won’t eat up too much of your time.
Upotte!
A show about middle school girls doing
middle school girl things, except that these girls are actually assault
rifles. Yes, it’s time for another of
the anime industry’s favourite plot devices, taking something that already
exists and turning it into cute girls.
You know, like badass old men, soda cans, and Cthulu. Don’t worry, if you didn’t understand that
last one, you will by the end of this article.
Basically someone went to entirely too much effort to sit down, take
assault rifles from all over the world, and figure out what part of a rifle
represents what part of the human body.
If they jam, they get a stomach ache for instance, the design of the
stock decides what kind of underwear they wear, and instead of lunch boxes,
they have ammo cases. Not much really
happens aside from the odd gun fight, so it’s essentially your standard moe
series. So, if you liked shows like
K-On, and Ladies vs. Butlers,
you’ll probably enjoy this as well.
Lupin the Third: A Woman Named Mine
Fujiko
Unless you’re new to anime, or have been
living under a rock, you should be well aware of what Lupin the Third is. Lupin himself is the grandson of the famous
French master thief of the same name, and the series as a whole follows him and
his allies and adversaries through many adventures and heists. It’s essentially the Japanese equivalent of
Ocean’s Eleven, and it’s an old classic.
This series, however, isn’t about Lupin, it’s about his fan favourite
rival/ally/love interest Mine Fujiko.
That’s not to say no one else shows up, just the opposite in fact. Not an episode has gone by without at least a
cameo from either Lupin, Jigen, Goemon, or even Zenigata on his never-ending
quest to capture Lupin. Fans of the
original series will definitely be happy with this one, and dare I say it even
seems like a good place to start for new viewers as well since it shows how the
main cast met one another, and really takes its time developing each character
from scratch. If you are into elaborate
plots, and anime from the perspective of the criminals, then this is definitely
up your alley.
Natsuiro Kiseki
This is the story of four middle school
girls who have known each other for ages, and their discovery of a magic rock
that will grant wishes. It follows them
as figure out how they should use the rock, through arguments, and good times
leading up to one of the four of them moving away for good. The series so far keeps you interested in the
girls, and develops their characters pretty well, which is good considering
that they are the story. It seems like a
drama about growing up, and the power of friendship, with a little bit of
supernatural flavour to spice things up.
It seems like it will be a good show, I’d definitely recommend it.
Zetman
Billed as a dark superhero series, it has
definitely delivered on that much. Dark,
dangerous scenarios filled with action and creepy monsters for enemies make
this compelling to pick up. The
protagonist is a special being created in a lab to hunt a set of man-made
monsters called Players. However, he was
taken from the lab as a baby and raised as a normal boy by one of the lead
scientists who developed a conscience.
The series follows him and a friend of his as he comes to grips with his
powers and protects innocent people from the monsters. Tokusatsu fans will definitely enjoy this
series, as it is somewhat reminiscent of Kamen Rider and other Ishinomori
works. The only problem I see is the
pacing. Many things are happening way
too fast, and the characters aren’t seeing the development they need because of
it. It is a strange day indeed when the
main character’s love interest is more developed than he is. As far as I hear, they’re going through at
least one volume of the manga per episode in an attempt to conclude the series
in 12-13 episodes, and it is suffering a bit because of it. That’s not to say it isn’t enjoyable though. If you enjoy Kamen Rider, or Guyver, I would
definitely recommend you give it a shot.
Hyouka
The newest anime from Kyoto Animation, this
series stars an apathetic high school freshman who is essentially forced into
joining a club, and dragged around by a strange, yet attractive girl. Yep, never seen that before. Anyways, this is a mystery series, where the
three members of the Classics Club at a high school solve mysteries around
their school with the protagonist’s ability to draw logical conclusions from
very little information. The pace is
pretty slow, and not much seems to happen over the course of an episode, but it
at very least makes itself entertaining.
Or maybe I just find it interesting because I laugh at how much the main
character’s thought processes are like mine.
It could really go either way.
Anyways, it’s Kyoto Animation, so you know it’s going to be popular
regardless, so give it a look, especially if you liked Haruhi before the
Endless Eight fiasco.
Shirokuma Café
Quite possibly one of the strangest hits
this season, a series about a polar bear that runs a café. Don’t worry, this series isn’t meant to be
taken seriously. Especially not considering
his best customers are a Panda, a Penguin, and a Llama. This anime is set up as a gag series,
featuring the animals in various, common situations all the while downplaying
the fact that these are animals acting like people. The series is funny, and the visuals just
make it even better, and I must admit, I completely lose it every time Anteater
shows up on screen. If you like animals,
and enjoy anime like Nichijou, and Daily Lives of High School Boys, you’ll
enjoy this series.
Medaka Box
This is probably the oddball series of the
season, and that’s saying something after talking about a show about talking
animals running a café. Medaka Box is
about an absolute monster of a girl who becomes the student council president
in her first year of high school. She is
good at literally everything, and is super strong and super smart to boot. She also has a personality that draws
everyone to her, and makes them like her.
Followed by her childhood friend, a somewhat less monstrous guy who’s
mainly notable for being able to keep up with her at all, she seeks to make
their school a better place by taking on any request the student body has. There isn’t much story to this series,
choosing instead to focus on short segments as the student council goes from
request to request. Even then, some
episodes will start a story arc halfway through and then conclude it five
minutes into the next episode. The
series could be laid out a bit better, but otherwise it comes off as fairly
entertaining. Most of the laughs come
from the ridiculous abilities of the title character, and the attempts of her
student council to keep up with her pace.
Not the worst show I’ve ever seen, but it could still have been done a
little better. If you enjoyed Seitokai
Yakuindomo, or Haruhi, you’ll enjoy this series as well.
Naruto SD – Rock Lee no Seishun Full-Power Ninden
I hope I don’t have to explain to anyone
what Naruto is. I know I usually say I
won’t touch on second seasons, but this is a spin-off so I still think it
merits mentioning. This is a chibi
Naruto spin-off, starring Rock Lee, a side character in the main series who
barely got any screen time in the main series since around episode 120… of over
500 episodes. It’s a gag series that
follows Rock Lee and his team’s adventures in love, friendship, and being
ninjas. Personally, I could care less that
Rock Lee is the main character, but I’m just glad this gets Tenten some more
screen time by proxy. Being voiced by
one of my favourite Japanese VAs, I always wished she’d show up more. Anyways, if you don’t watch Naruto, this
probably won’t make any sense at all to you, but if you do, or have at very
least heard of it, this may be worth a watch.
Accel World
An anime about the almost inevitable future
where mankind can finally just plug themselves into the internet. With absolutely everything now officially
connected to the internet in one way or another, a mysterious program is making
its way around. A piece of software that
allows users to essentially stop time around them and assess the situation from
all angles. However, doing so costs
points that can be gained or lost by facing other users in online battles that
can get pretty vicious since you can’t refuse a challenge. The series itself seems well written, though
the main character seems to wallow in self-pity a little too much for my liking
sometimes. The battle avatar designs
seem very Kamen Rider inspired, and the battle scenes are really well
done. If you’re a fan of .hack or Kamen
Rider, I suggest giving this a look.
Haiyore!
Nyaruko-san
Getting back to what I was talking about
when I was talking about Upotte, this series is about a boy named Mahiro, and
the Lovecraftian horrors that love and surround him. A while back, I made mention of this series
because they came out with a quick five minute per episode flash anime for
it. It is a gag series at heart that
tries its best to have some sort of plot to it, or at least as much as you can
when presenting a story about gods from the Cthulu mythos as cute high school
girls. The basic plot is that the gods
from the Cthulu mythos are actually aliens, and have a serious fascination with
human forms of entertainment. Mahiro
finds himself the target of several kidnapping attempts for unknown reasons,
but winds up under the protection of Nyaruko, a girl who turns out to be the
Crawling Chaos, Nyarlathotep. The series is entertaining, even if the jokes
feel a little forced, or even stale at times.
For instance, how many times can you tag the word Space onto the
beginning of everything before it starts to get annoying? If you like gag anime with plenty of otaku
references, then this is definitely right up your alley. Hell it even got otaku reading Lovecraft in Japan, so it
can’t be too bad.
Tasogare Otome x Amnesia
This anime is about a high school boy who
discovers that he is capable of seeing a ghost girl that lives within his
school. Getting to know her better, he
helps her found a club to allow her to enjoy herself, and ultimately to help
solve the mystery behind her death, as she herself cannot remember how her
corpse came to rest underneath a classroom.
The structure of the series is a bit weird, despite setting itself up as
a mystery series, it tends to focus more on being a harem/romantic comedy type
series. On top of that, it has random
horror elements thrown in as well, but it’s always over the top and followed by
an “Oh, by the way, that’s not real.” In
my opinion, it can’t quite decide what it wants to do with itself, and if it
was attempting to pull off a whole new kind of series, it’s failing. Still though, it’s not terrible. The fanservice is a little overdone, but
that’s nothing new as far as some shows are concerned. A lot of people raged over there being
ghost-groping in this series, but even then I feel they put a creative spin on
it. If you enjoy supernatural romances,
you should give this one a try.
Kuroko no Basuke
An anime about a high school basketball
team, based on a manga from Shounen Jump.
Specifically it follows one member of the team, who lived in the US for
a while, and a mysterious boy named Kuroko, who was part of a legendary middle
school basketball team as they challenge other teams in a effort to prove
themselves against the rest of Kuroko’s old teammates. The plot sounds like your standard sports
anime, but there’s one thing that they did differently. The title character, Kuroko, isn’t an all
star player, in fact, he’s a support character at best. The only reason he was part of that legendary
team was because of his passing ability.
He’s one of those characters that tend to disappear on you, and he can
redirect the ball to pretty much wherever he wants in one fluid motion. I think that’s an interesting twist on the
usual sports anime formula, relying on teamwork instead of just a handful of
players who are awesome one their own.
If you’re a fan of sports anime, or just like basketball, you should
definitely check this one out.
Uchuu Kyoudai
A story about two brothers, one already an
astronaut, and the other still working on it.
The story follows the elder brother as he aims to become an astronaut,
much like his little brother, who is training for a mission to the moon. He encounters many obstacles in the way of
his dream along the way, mainly stemming from the fact that he was fired from
his last job for head butting his boss for badmouthing his little brother. The writing for the series is good, and you
can tell they’re putting a lot of effort into the animation as well. My only real issue with the series is that I
think they may be overplaying one of the background tracks a little bit. Come on guys, it can’t be too hard to come up
with multiple uplifting pieces of background music. I would definitely recommend this show to
anyone, especially those who are interested in space.
Jormungand
This series follows an Arms Dealer and her
group of bodyguards as they travel all over the world for business. The group of them get into all sorts of
trouble, selling weapons to the dregs of humanity. There’s a lot of action in this series,
mostly gun fights, but also some knife fights on occasion. There’s very few redeemable characters in
this show, there are no good guys.
Everyone is a bad guy in one way or another, and that’s kind of a
refreshing thing to see. The series also
manages some good moments showing how the Arms Dealers justify these things to
themselves. All in all, it looks like a
good series, though there doesn’t seem to be any major plot. It has been very episodic as of so far, with
one episode very rarely affecting anything after it. If you enjoy shows like Black Lagoon, this is
the show for you.
Nazo no Kanojo X
Last but not least for this list, one of
the outright strangest titles of the season.
This series is the story of a boy and his mysterious girlfriend who can
use drool to share emotions, pain, and dreams.
They never really explain how that works, but hey, it does and that’s
all we need to know. The show follows
the main character as he attempts to figure out exactly what being in a
relationship entails, not exactly helped by the fact that his girlfriend, and
by extension, their entire relationship is anything but normal. Oh, his girlfriend also carries a pair of
scissors holstered in her panties. Yeah,
not sure why, and yeah, that’s a major thing in this show. Anyways, the show itself is actually a lot of
fun to watch, if a little odd. Despite
the lack of an explanation on the whole spit thing, it actually manages the
suspension of disbelief very well. The
animation style is very retro on top of everything else, making it the third
anime this season I’m aware of to try and go back to basics. Even the opening theme sounds like something
you’d hear in a 90s anime. If you can
stomach large amounts of drool on screen, I definitely recommend you give this
series a try.
