Image by nodoame1215

Just a little wrap up on the few series I did watch for the spring. 

After the jump: Yuyushiki, Hataraku Maou-sama!, Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet, Azazel Z, Attack on Titan, and SNAFU. 

Bonus: The series I dropped and a short reason as to why.

Yuyushiki

Easily my favourite series of the season. An cute, light hearted series with great quirky humour. The chemistry between the three, Yui, Yuzuko and Yukari drives the show and really leads to some nice, tender moments. The shining point of this series is it's subtly in animation. Little things here and there really feed the series' charm. My favourite example of this comes in the 3rd episode with a pair short contrasting scenes after two corresponding sections. The first has Yukari and Yuzuko at a vending machine and running off, passing the can around. The second has Yuzuko alone at the machine. Other little things include body language, the ways the characters look around and a few other fleeting moments that give the series it's charm. I'll definitely miss this one. Haven't had a series like this in a while. 

Hataraku Maou-sama! / The Demon King is a Part Timer!

A fun series with a rather zany cast of characters. It's definitely above average, but I don't think I'll be rewatching it any time soon. The cast of character is certainly fun, from the nice-guy Maou Sadao, stalker-ish, wife-keeping-an-eye-on-her-husband-like Emilia to the painfully average Chiho, the colourful cast really drives this show more than any plot could. Best part of the series: Chiho's confession. Pure, tender, sweet, uninterrupted and so very relaxed. A refreshing scene to have her be so frank and forthcoming about her feelings without being super mushy about it (and not being interrupted by a laser beam or something). It's a funny series, but if you're looking for an action series try the next series.

Shingeki no Kyojin / Attack on Titan

This. Easily the biggest series this season, and maybe even the year. It boasts impressive and dynamic action scenes, as well as a tense, gripping story that makes a 20 minute episode fly by like it's half the time. All of this is great, but production and pacing issues drag the series down. The series is great for the first...five or six episodes before it started to lose steam for me. It really lost me when I started to notice entire episodes dedicated to what is essentially one or two dialogue scenes, and an increasing use of stills in the episode. Not sure if I'll continue with this one, but I certainly hope it does well. The industry really needs a series that comes out of the gate as a new smash hit, as we haven't seen one for a long time.

Suisei no Gargantia / Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet

Urobochi's latest work, though it should be noted that he's not super involved with the final product. Looking at the credits, he did the scripts for the first and last episodes, original concept and series composition. It's an interesting series and, at least for this season, has the best character development in it's two main characters - Ledo and Chamber. Initally when watching the series week by week, I was slightly put off by day to day activities that occupy the first 6 or 7 episodes before the story really takes off. It all makes sense at the end. Showing the day to day actions cements Ledo's role in this world. They give him an attachment and purpose. We see him slowly learning the language and getting accustomed to the 'old ways' of Earth. In retrospect, it's rather beautiful series with a message of hope and encouragement. 

Yondemasuyo, Azazel-san Z

A direct continuation from the first season. It picks up right after Moloch's grimoire is taken by an angel and goes on from there. If you liked the first season, you'll be right at home with this one. They really turned the notch upon this one because the crude humour got levelled up. I haven't gotten around to finishing this one yet, but if crass humour if your thing, this one's right up your alley. 

Yahari Ore no Seishun Rabe-Come ha Machigatteiru / 

My Romantic Comedy SNAFU

Easily the smartest series this year. I was hesitant on picking this one up due to being tired of series with 'Ore' in them (OreImo, NakaImo, etc.) and rom-coms in general. This one is really a piece of work though. Hachiman's monologues present his twisted, yet accurate views on the world, and I found myself really agreeing with him on almost every occasion. Another interesting thing that the series accomplished is portraying Hayama, an all around nice guy who, if in any other series, would be the good guy, into seeming overly pushy, and unnaturally nice. The characters are all really quite interesting. Hachiman's personality and views on society are quite refreshing after far too many series where the main characters act a lot like Hayama. Haru (Yukino's older sister) is a fascinating character. Hachiman sees through her cheery exterior, and catches on to her scheme in the last arc. Spoiler: her plan was to put Yukino in charge, even if she wasn't the committee chair. 

 

Also, for those who have finished the series, this comparison is quite possibly the most suitable for the series.

Series I dropped:

 

Nyaruko W! - After the first season, I must say that I couldn't handle the zaniness of the series. Also, Nyaruko is so hyperactive that it irritated me.

OreImo 2 - Kirino. That's why.

 

Valverave - ANN summed it up pretty well. Turn your brain off to enjoy this series because it's logic doesn't always make sense. 

Image from Valvrave

Vampire Gundam Geass!

Oh boy, where do we start with this.

Typical of Sunrise the art and animation is top notch. The mechanical designs used for Valvrave are great, though it's wings (and other machine's wings) really don't make much sense. They look really dainty and fragile, and don't look like they even work. Small details though, all in all, art is good.

Weak willed protagonists have always bugged me. Guilty Crown's Shoelace Shuu is a good example of this, and I could kind of see him in Haruto. I know it's not exactly good story telling to have a main character (a high school student) being a clockwork soldier, but characters having weak motivations and being wishy-washy about everything rubs me the wrong way. It's still early in the series so I'm hoping that the characters get fleshed out well, and Haruto gains a backbone.

Story: 6.5/10

 Typical of Sunrise - if you don't see a body, they didn't die. Haruto's main motivation was to avenge Shoko (also driving the Dorssians off JIOR) , but when she somehow survives a beam cannon strike and is perfectly fine, we see Haruto more or less revert. I really liked his cold, calculated killings in the second episode. Maybe it's just me being tired of main characters being saintly. I don't know about you but body swapping vampires piloting mechs could be pretty cool if they pull the story and characters together.

That freaking opening. THAT GLORIOUS MIZUKI NANA AND TM REVOLUTION. I'd be sold on the OP alone.

Yes, I gave it a 7 due to the OP. Plus, vampires, body swapping, and the events that happen in episode 2 were pretty fun. Looking forward to the crazy places Sunrise takes this train.

Image by こよる

This time, we visit the 兎山商店街!

Tamako Market is KyoAni's latest creation after last season's wonderful Chu2. Bright colours and cheerful cast of characters make this series easily the happiest one this season. Like the others, I'll be rating it on a scale of 10 under various categories.

Think of Dera as Keroro. They're not exactly the same, but more or less end up in a similar situation. I consider the day to day happenings of the shopping arcade as a secondary string, that is almost always at the forefront of the story, while Dera's story to be the main string flapping around somewhere in the back. Giving this one a 6 not because it's a bad story (it's not great though) but rather because the story isn't a major focus of the series. 

Being a Kyoto Animation produced series, we're to expect a certain level of quality, and this one delivers to us KyoAni as usual. Vivid colours and great animation all around. Character designs are...typical of KyoAni at this point to be honest. Tamako's design is often said to be half way between Asuza, Mio (K-ON!) and Chitanda (Hyouka). Initially, they bugged me a bit because of how similar the designs are to previous characters, but as you stick with the series, the characters grow on you and you stop seeing other characters. I don't think I've seen any major flaws in the art or animation (as in oddly animated scenes) so far, and the art has stayed consistent throughout.

Characters: 7/10

Characters are where this one shines. The almost sickeningly upbeat and cheerful Tamako is your necessary air headed protagonist, much like Yui (K-ON!) but less so. Tamako's got a better head on her shoulder and is a lot more tolerable than the latter mentioned. My favourite character so far is the obnoxious talking bird, Dera. Without him, the show would be just another moe slice of life, something that's been run into the ground and beat with a stick more often than it should. Unlike the other characters, where we more or less see one side of them (Tamako's cheerful, air headedness, Mochizou's shyness, etc.), we've seen that Dera wears more than one hat in the series. He's one of the more comical characters (I'd say the only one who's actually funny), but he's perceptive and has a serious side. The characters don't really develop much (if at all, though some have more than others), but then again, the type of series it is doesn't really call for a lot of character development.

As for my least favourite character, it'd be Tamako's dad. God damn, I can't bring myself to like him. It's not because he's mean or anything, it's his freaking tsundere-ness. No. Just no.

An enjoyable series for sure. It's bright atmosphere makes this one always fun to watch and hasn't had a time where it drags on and on. The characters are fun, though I wish some of them could develop a bit. I'm looking at you Mochizou. Shiori's fine around Tamako, so why can't you? I'm looking forward to how this one plays out with the bird's story and the shopping arcade. I have two ideas on how it'll go, and both end with 'life in the shopping arcade go on as usual'.