Summer Anime Overview
Monday, August 01, 2011
Image by Ichikawa Masahiro
Will be doing this different from what I usually do to save a bit of time.
This time around, I'm going to be trying something that'll save me the trouble of writing a post for every series. It'll be organized in catergories, where (by personal opinion) I'll rank and put in series. I'd ask Zelos for some help, but he didn't like this season very much, so he wouldn't exactly be of much use.
#1. Most Anticipated
Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu Ni
Entertaining as always, BakaTest 2 makes us remember how much we really missed the series. The series has been giving lots of time to individual characters; one giving us plenty of Hideyoshi and Yuuko, and backstory for Akihisa and Hazuki (with inevitably entangles Minami in it too). Second season hasn't disappointed, and hoping it stays this way.
Natsume Yuujinchou San
It's been a long time since the second season ended, and season three felt like coming home after a long day at work. The atmosphere and feeling of this series is what really makes it one of my all time favourites, and this season nails it right from the get go. If you haven't watched the previous seasons, I strongly urge you to do so. You won't regret it.
#2. Most Entertaining (also includes the above two)
The moment you compare this one to K-ON! you've already made a mistake. Where KyoAni dared not take the series into, Yuru Yuri has in it's very title. The character dynamics in this one are great; the triangle over Yui, the tsundere vice-pres and Kyouko, the love-hate relationship between the two Student council interns and we can't forget about -
Mayo Chiki
If ZEXCS was doing this, I know exactly how this one would've turned out. Bad. Yes, I don't have much faith in them, after a few woeful series endings. Animated by Feel, which has been around for longer than I thought, it's strangely enticing. It's probably just Subaru and Suzutsuki, but it hasn't been that bad. Fanservice isn't in your face and Suzutsuki is awesome. Jirou's not an aggravating protagonist, and that really helps me stay in the series.
Mawaru Penguin Drum
The penguins. They're crazy. Should just title this one 'Penguins Gone Wild' and I'd still watch it. While the transformation scene does get old after the second episode or so (stock footage doesn't help it either), the mystery of what exactly the penguin drum is is keeping me stuck to this series. The story only gets better later in the series as more of the cast being making their appearances after the fourth episode.
#3. The 'Meh'
I know, I know. It's got superb animation, but I really don't like Arma's 'true form'. It doesn't sit right with me after I know what his darkstone form looks like (really cool). Bad guys always look cooler than good guys, but Arma really looks like a cross between Megaman and St. Seiya. Still need to catch up with it, but it'll stay in the 'meh' catergory until I start enjoying it more.
Yeah, yeah, don't hate. It follows the game much closer than whatever Xenoglossia was, but I can't say I'm enjoying it too much. Reminds me a bit of K-ON!, not in the characters, but the fact that both series were music based and yet neither have delivered all that much in the music department. Looks like each character will get an episode or so for introduction, so I guess I'll just have to truck through those before anything really happens. Oh, and Yukiho's pretty unbelievable.
#4. Slice of Life
Usagi Drop
A series that feels more realistic than real life at times. Probably only enjoyable by the older folk, and even more so for parents. It's wonderfully animated by Production I.G., and is probably more slice of life than anything most of us have watched before. Not sure where they'll end the series though as the manga had ended a little bit ago. There's no action or magical powers in this one, so I'm only going to recommend this one to people who can stomach straight drama-slice of life. And if you do, Rin is freaking adorable. Seriously.
Ikoku Meiro no Croisée
I admit that I'm fairly far behind with this one. Been neglecting it for the other series. Like Usagi Drop, it's very slice of life-y, albeit with more comedy and perhaps less drama. Can't say too much about it since I didn't watch too much of it other than Yune's freaking adorable.
#5. Stuff I'm Watching
Nekogami Yaoyorozu
Features a very impressive voice cast. The series itself is fairly entertaining, but if we were grading things it'd be maybe a C+ to a B -. As the title dictates (titles has something about a myriad of gods; shinto buddhism has many, many gods and spirits), most of the characters are gods or spirits, some of them recurring characters, some of them may be one episode wonders. Not too fond of Crunchyroll's English name though. Simply calling it Cat God really...well it really sucks the life out of a series. I've more or less lost all faith in a North American company being able to come up with a decent English title for series.
神様のメモ帳
Kami-sama no Memochou
When J.C. Staff sticks to the original story, things usually turn out pretty good. It's when they decide to make a fanservice-y filler episode that things start falling apart. Three episodes in, we find ourselves face to face with our first filler episode, and it has lots and lots of Min-san (at times either in the buff or towel clad). It could've been worse, so I'm hoping future filler episodes won't ruin the series for me. After the latest arc, it's entering new territory for me (I'm familiar with the Meo arc) so I'm hoping that I'm going to enjoy the rest of it (and that Narumi becomes something like Rock in Black Lagoon).
#6. Stuff Not Mentioned
森田さんは無口 TV (lol 5 minute episodes)
Because I'm not watching them or not following them. That's a lot of series I'm not following, which is fairly rare for me. Zelos was right about this season not being that great. Spring, however, was freaking awesome.
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