First Impressions / STAR DRIVER

STAR DRIVER: Kagayaki no Takuto – 14

「アインゴットの眼」 (Aingotto no Me)
“Ayingott’s Eyes”

It’s the midpoint of the series and with it come new opening and ending sequences featuring songs by 9nine and SCANDAL. That’s not all though, as the plot moves forward with the highly sought after third phase in sight, and some on screen confirmation on who the fourth and final maiden is. Much like the bus scene back in episode eight foreshadowed, the end of this latest episode has all signs pointing to Keito (Ivrogne) as the east maiden.

First Impressions / Series Introduction / Snapshots

Onii-chan no Koto Nanka Zenzen Suki Janain Dakara ne!! – 01

p>「兄と妹のヨコシマな日常」 (Ani to Imouto no Yokoshima na Nichijou)
“A Brother and Sister’s Wicked Days”

The romantic comedy that plays up the incestuous angle without being incest is surprisingly more entertaining than its manga counterpart. I attribute that primarily to Kitamura Eri bringing out all the perverted silliness in Takanashi Nao, along with with relatively high production values on ZECXS’ part. With Inoue Marina as the childhood friend rival Tsuchiura Iroha, who’s slated to arrive next episode, things should get even more out of hand… in a good way.

First Impressions / Series Introduction / Snapshots

Beelzebub – 01

「魔王拾いました」 (Maou Hiroimashita)
“Picked Up a Demon Lord”

There are really only two things that set Beelzebub apart from the waves of shounen series out there. One is the off beat humor, and two is that it doesn’t exactly take itself very seriously. It’s like Three Men and a Baby, except with only one man, and the baby will one day destroy humanity. It’s also kind of like Gintama. Yeah. It’s that kind of show.

Bakuman. / First Impressions

Bakuman. – 14

「バトルと模写」 (Batoru to Mosha)
“Battle and Reproduction”

From what I can gather, it looks like Bakuman started moving toward a two chapter per episode pace rather than one to one and a half. What does that mean? An even better Bakuman that manages to keep your damn attention. With a combination of much needed drama and some real “friend” building moments, this week’s episode stands out as one of the better ones.

First Impressions / Mitsudomoe / Series Introduction

Mitsudomoe Zouryouchuu! – 01

「狙われた子供たち！日本滅亡カウントダウン！」 (Nerawareta Kodomo-tachi! Nihon Metsubou Kauntodaun!)
“The Targeted Children! Countdown to Japan’s Destruction!”

A series that needs no introduction, we are finally graced with the second season of everyone’s favorite comedy, Mitsudomoe (Zouryouchuu)! After a whole season without Hitoha’s evil look, Futaba’s ridiculous love for boobs, and Mitsuba’s stuck up attitude, I was so excited to finally be reunited with my favorite trio of siblings. But instead of giving me a triple dose of Marui madness, I get a full episode of the Gachi Rangers!

First Impressions / Tegami Bachi

Tegami Bachi REVERSE – 14

A heartfelt reunion that I’ve been waiting to see since the first season.

「瞬きの日」 (Matataki no Hi)
“Day of Flicker”

The truth behind the Day of Flicker is revealed and Gauche reawakens with his original memories intact? How could I possible let this episode go by without saying a few words about it? We have new opening and ending themes to boot, with Suga Shikao back for the former. For the ending we have a catchy song by Yamazaru, alongside a really cute sequence that busts it old school SNES Mode 7 style. Taking that all into consideration, I’m quickly reminded why I like this series so much.

First Impressions / FREEZING / Series Introduction

FREEZING – 01

「Untouchable Queen」

If you were only expecting big-breasted girls getting their clothes torn up in battle, you only have part of the picture for this adaptation of Dall-Young Lim‘s manga. Not only do the Void Texture “stigmata” embedded in their bodies regenerate their clothes, the female warriors known as Pandoras have to cope with getting their limbs chopped off, throats slit, and eyes gouged out too.

First Impressions / GOSICK / Series Introduction

GOSICK – 01

「黒い死神は金色の妖精を見つける」 (Kuroi Shinigami wa Kin-iro no Yousei wo Mitsukeru)
“The Black Reaper Finds the Golden Fairy”

Set in a fake nation smack dab between almost all that is Europe, a made up school with made up char- oh wait, did I go too far? Let’s just say it’s not a high school in Japan. I don’t know who or what was more serious about mysteries in this production, but someone out there wasn’t kidding around when they wanted to adapt GOSICK. The story does not wait for you, the characters do not wait for you, and you will get a mystery in the first episode, like it or not.

First Impressions / To Aru Majutsu no Index

To Aru Majutsu no Index II – 13

「使徒十字（クローチェディピエトロ）」 (Shito Juuji (Kurooche Di Pietoro)
“Cross of the Apostle (Croce di Pietro)”

All the jostling between Touma and Stiyl this episode may not have been just to throw Oriana off, as our righteous protagonist (except when it comes to hitting girls) looked like he was purposely prolonging Stiyl’s suffering. It was rather hypocritical, given that Touma was telling Oriana to place more value on other people’s lives. I guess that doesn’t apply to the guy behind him swimming in a pool of his own blood.

First Impressions / Series Introduction / Yumekui Merry

Yumekui Merry – 01

「夢現」 (Yume Utsutsu)
“Half Asleep & Half Awake”

Hello ladies and gents. Look at Madoka, now back to Merry, now back to Madoka, now back to Merry. Sadly, it isn’t Merry, but if you ignore the Shinbou and SHAFT and purely look at the story, it could be like Merry. In all seriousness, they’re obviously both completely different shows. However, one thing does link them, and that is the theme of dreams. Dreams can make interesting concepts, and if you’ve never imagined such a thing, a certain movie proved it can be quite the plot device. Yumekui’s spin on it might not be as mind bending, but dreams becoming reality can be a scary thing.