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Retrospective posts are back and exactly 3 years since Divine’s last post. As hinted by some of our writers already, for the past few months the RC staff members have been discussing ways to bring something new to RandomC. After revamping the podcasts and bringing in fresh blood, we still wanted to do more. So we took all your ideas and feedback, put them into a hat and picked a winner! The end result was to bring back the monthly digest. Yay! For everyone new to RC, the goal of these posts are to summarize our impressions of all the shows that we’re watching regularly. This includes shows that might not be covered on a weekly basis, and hopefully spark some interest and discussions outside the daily posts. For those of you that have seen the previous Retrospective Posts before, these new ones will be a litte different.
Of course, these posts could not be completed without the help of a few individuals. The impressions below are brought to you by Divine, Enzo, Stilts, Zephyr and myself. Thank you guys, you’re incredibly awesome! Each of the shows include our impressions of the episodes that have aired this month (the episode count is indicated). Please note that this not representative of all the writers on RC but only those participating. This also means that each of us are not necessarily blogging each of the shows that we’re writing about below. The post is not comprehensive of what each of us are watching (only mine) but highlights a good selection of shows that are currently airing. If you would like to hear our daily impressions of shows, we all update regularly on twitter:
As always, this new concept is a work-in-progress and any suggestions are welcome. Please let me know what you’re liking, disliking, and hopefully I can make accomodations for it next month. As a long-time reader of the site myself, I always thought these posts were value-added and it’s a shame that Divine couldn’t keep it ongoing (it’s a ton of work in his defense though!). As a result, I’ve opted to cover less on a weekly basis to bring the audience something new. I’d love to know if others find these posts helpful as well so any feedback would be appreciated!
Housekeeping Notes:
| Haikyuu!! Episodes 14-17 |
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Divine: A series deserving of more attention is definitely Haikyuu. Its depiction of adrenaline-filled emotions, relatable characters, and the spirit of competition is spot-on, and the animation by Production I.G is absolutely gorgeous. I’ve waited a long time for a volleyball anime adaptation and Haikyuu delivers in spades. This past week’s latest episode gave me goosebumps and got the manly tears flowing when Karasuno High School shocked the crowd–and their opponents Datekou–with how much their team has improved. The sight of Azumane rising up behind Hinata for a back-row “pipe” pretty much said it all, and was also a prime example of how the series’ screenplay and music is able to pull viewers into the heat of moment. Even if you’re not a regular sports anime fan (which I’m not), I strongly recommend “experiencing” what has proved to be one of the most enjoyable series this season (and last). If you happen to play volleyball, then you absolutely owe it to yourself to. I got so caught up in the story that I watched the first 13 episodes in just a little over a day. And hey, Haikyuu even got me to start blogging again. |
| Sabagebu! Episodes 01 – 04 |
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Stilts: Sabagebu! is a shoujo manga adaptation about a survival game club. This I knew going in. What I didn’t realize was how out of control bonkers the comedy is! For those with certain comedic tastes, this is the funniest show of the season. It’s crude, it’s rude, it’s violent, and every character is either crazy, vengeful, warped, or five cans short of a six-pack. Think Namiuchigiwa no Muromi-san with an ultra-violent main character who always gets her revenge. Always. There are no good guys in Sabagebu!, but since everyone is nuts and we’re just in it for the lark, it works. To me this and Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun are tied for best comedy of the season, and which one you prefer is a matter of taste. If irreverent slapstick comedy that isn’t afraid to joke about anything is your thing, this show is as well. |
| SPACE☆DANDY 2 Episodes 01 – 04 |
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Enzo: You’d be forgiven if you figured you knew what to expect from the second season of Space Dandy, and to a certain extent you’d have been right. It’s been a superficially seamless transition – same OP and ED, same episodic narrative style, with a new creative team every week ensuring a constantly shifting stylistic experience every week. But once you get under the hood, some fairly significant changes can be detected. After a hilarious premiere that definitely focused on the comedic side of the ledger, the most recent episodes have been among the most somber and unsettling of the entire series. We’ve seen a more overtly antagonistic role for the main guest characters – both of whom have met with grisly ends – and Dandy himself is noticeably more in on the joke this time around. There’s a stronger sense than ever that the chickens are coming home to roost, and the underlying plot suggested by the ED is indeed going to reveal itself fully in the last several episodes. Whatever happens, Space Dandy remains a gem – a showcase for some of the best and brightest in the anime industry behind the camera and behind the mic. |
| Akame ga Kill Episodes 01 – 04 |
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Cherrie: I never thought I’d pick up another show with so much going on already this season, but I made an exception for Akame ga Kill. From the get-go, this anime tells you that it’s not afraid to kill off characters and no one is safe. It’s a very plot-driven show about the Night Raid and how Tatsumi adjusts to the team that he was |
| Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun Episodes 01 – 04 |
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Cherrie: I’ve mentioned it time and time again, but comedy in anime rarely makes me laugh – except in rare cases. Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun is a rare case and I find myself looking forward to it every week because it’s usually just what I need after a long week. The characters all compliment each other in a good way and they’re all pleasant to watch without being overly annoying or awkward. The comedy all revolves around Nozaki’s shoujo manga and if you understand the different archetypes in anime, it makes the show that much more entertaining. Chiyo is also adorable in her own right and her unrequited relationship with Nozaki makes you both laugh and feel bad for her all at the same time. Definitely one of my favorites this season so far; I highly recommend this one for the general public if you’re looking for a comedy. |
| Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance Episodes 01 – 02 |
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Stilts: So far, Blade Dance is a fairly typical fantasy/action harem show. If you like series such as Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou, Infinite Stratos, Hagure Yuusha no Estetica, or Sekirei (to name just a few), and would enjoy something on the upper-middle part of that scale – around Daimaou or Sekirei – consider watching this. The first two episodes weren’t as stereotypical as the first episodes of Dragonar last season, which is a plus because it means I’m still watching it. The action is decent and the introduction was smooth, though most of the seiyuu could use some work. The main differentiator is main character Kazehaya Kamito, who is the rare harem lead who is neither meek no spineless, and who doesn’t spend the whole time getting kicked around by his haremettes or constantly saying “Huh?”. (He’s no Ichika.) He has his pride, and he even flirts back and teases the girls a bit, which is fun to see. The other characters are fairly stereotypical so far though. |
| Ao Haru Ride Episodes 01 – 03 |
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Cherrie: To cut through all the comedy and action-packed series this season, Ao Haru Ride delivers a very consistent anime about young girl and her coming-of-age story. The first few episodes have really focused on Futaba and who she is and what kind of person she wants to be. Kou has been a great companion for her as he encourages her to try new things and step out of her comfort zone. I don’t think story has really gotten too deep into the romance department yet, but slowly and surely, it builds up Kou and Futaba’s relationship. With the end of episode 3, the core five characters have grouped together to become the class representatives. We’re finally getting to the good part of the story! The entire atmosphere of the show fits very well to resemble what I would expect out of a shoujo romance manga – throw in some insert songs every episode and my stomach fills up with butterflies. |
| Hanayamata Episodes 01 – 03 |
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Zephyr: Just on a passing glance, it’s easy to get lured in by the assumption that Hanayamta’s just another show where “cute girls do cute things”. That’s not to say that’s not a part of the charm, but it’d be a travesty to leave it at that. The OP sequence is one of the more fabulously executed ones of the year, the distinctive art style is complemented by superb animation that leaves you drooling, and it’s a kind of visual vortex that just sucks you in. Once you’re in, there’s a full course of comedic moments that’ll leave you in stitches, priceless interactions to be had between a cast of characters with some pretty interesting quirks, and it touches upon some serious topics to boot. The series might “just” revolve around yosakoi, but one could spend all day discussing its importance culturally and as a medium of expression, and that’s essentially what the show is really about—the seemingly magical nature of dance and the effect it can have on reality and on people. If you haven’t already, get on Hanayamata. With a little bit of practice, you too can yosakoi. All the RC Writers are already doing it. |
| Momo Kyun Sword Episodes 01 – 03 |
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Stilts: To be perfectly honest, I don’t know why I’m still watching this. Momo Kyun Sword is a reimagining of the Momotarou tale where the main character is a busty girl named Momoko, who fights with a sword and doesn’t have a lot going on upstairs. Nothing stands out about this series; the action is average, the plot is uninspired, and even the fanservice is light by today’s standards. What it is though, is easy watching. I find myself watching it for the same reason I watch slice-of-life, as something to pop on when I have a few minutes to kill and I don’t want to think real hard. If that doesn’t seem like a swimming endorsement, it’s because it’s not. The transformations are kind of cool though, I like Momoka’s god companions, and it’s funny in an early 90’s Nickelodeon kind of way. |
| Majimoji Rurumo Episodes 01 – 03 |
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Enzo: I’ll be the first to admit that I might not have paid much attention to Majimoji Rurumo if it hadn’t been for the fact that the mangaka, Watanabe Wataru, wrote one of my favorite recent series in Yowamushi Pedal. The premise sounds like a fairly generic light novel setup (though it’s a manga) and the artwork seems quite plain. And the premiere episode certainly didn’t do anything to knock my socks off. This is a funny series, though, in that what looked like weaknesses turned out to be strengths. Rather than playing as generic Majimoji Ruruomo comes off as unpretentious and old-fashioned (in a good way). It’s like a cheeky ecchi comedy from 10 or 20 years ago (and looks the part). Watanabe’s trademark heart and wit shines through, the heroine is cute without being pushy about it and the hero is a genuinely good guy despite being a bit of a goof. Simple charm is not to be overlooked as a selling point for a series, and Majomoji Rurumo has it to spare. If you’ve been wavering on this one and have a taste for comedy, I urge you to give this show a chance (and stick it out for at least two episodes, as the premiere isn’t the equal of what comes after). |
| Yama no Susume: Second Season Episodes 01 – 03 |
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Stilts: What surprised me about the first season of Yama no Susume was, though each episode was only three minutes, main character Aoi actually had a character arc. With four times the episode length (13 minutes each) and double the episodes (24 total), I was curious whether the second season would have a message and growth along with the fuwa fuwa cute-girls-doing-mountain-things fun. Because the cute is still there, the art and animation are still good, the seiyuu are still top notch, and its admirable fidelity to the craft of mountain climbs is very much still in evidence. So far it’s looking like Aoi will continue to receive character development. The first mountain looks poised to teach her a new lesson, and it’s one anyone who runs, bikes, swims, lifts weights, or does any kind of physical sport will be familiar with – even when the going gets tough, even when you’re exhausted, thirsty, and just want to go home, you’ll be glad you didn’t give up when you reach your goal. |
| Free! -Eternal Summer- Episodes 01 – 04 |
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Cherrie: Free! has honestly surprised me a lot this month. As a direct follow-up from last year, the story jumps straight into the potential of each of the MCs and where swimming is going to take them. Even with the introduction of new side characters, the main cast still shines through and the story extends beyond the school life aspect and develops them further outside the swimming pool. I love the latest episodes which focus on Rin and how much he’s changed since the first season (especially episode 3 with Rei). He’s a great example of a character that’s built upon his initial development and how that impacts his future. I never thought Free! was that strong of an anime when it originally aired last year, but its sequel is quite enjoyable and really builds upon what the viewers already know. It shows that the anime is not all about muscles and tight suits. |
| Fate/kaleid liner Prisma☆Illya 2wei! Episodes 01 – 03 |
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Stilts: The second season of Prisma Illya is proceeding as the first began, only with more! More action, more comedy, more fanservice, and the same great Silver Link animation and direction. The fun so far stems from the introduction of new main character Kuro, a tanned Illya wielding the Archer card with a penchant for yuri kisses. Not quite an enemy, she’s proving to be a hilarious spanner in the works of Illya’s life, when she’s not giving us more of that superb Archer Illya fighting from season one. Only the episode count gives reason for concern – ten episodes is what I’ve been hearing – because the 2wei manga is twice as long as the original, and 10 episodes of anime will only get us about half way if they continue adapting faithfully. |
| Glasslip Episodes 01 – 04 |
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Cherrie: This is one rom-com that I’ve been looking forward to since RC posted the preview. Since then, Glasslip has had its fair share of ups and downs and I think its main issue is that I feel detached from the story and its characters. I don’t mind the love triangles/squares, but the fact that Touka just happens to develop such a strong crush on Kakeru right off the bat, doesn’t feel natural to me. The progression of their relationship is what I would like to see – or better yet, what if she ends up with someone else? Luckily, with the latest episode, I still have high hopes for the direction of the show. It’s finally starting to grow on me, especially with Yuki’s unrequited confessions. Who doesn’t feel bad for the boy that’s gotten rejected twice? The thing that sticks out like a sore thumb to me is the supernatural aspect of this show. I fail to see how it serves any type of purpose in the show at all other than to unite Touka and Kakeru. This can definitely be integrated better. |
| Shirogane no Ishi Argevollen Episodes 01 – 04 |
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Cherrie: What do I say about Argevollen other than, I have little words to actually describe what’s going on. Although the show is quite action-packed, I still don’t feel very anxious, or excited to be watching it every week. It’s not boring, but I don’t feel motivated by either side’s cause in this battle. The protagonist is not necessarily one that stands out either but at least his rebellion keeps the action interesting and I was actually surprised by the latest episode’s turn of events. He’s someone that reacts first and thinks later and thus, it’s almost like he single-handedly drives a lot of plot so far. He got off unpunished for disobeying orders too! Instead, Jamie got the bad end of the stick (forced to stick with Tokimune!). With that said, we’re 4 episodes in and for an anime original show, I was expecting a better overarching story. One thing that keeps me going though, is the fact that this will be 2-cour and there’s plenty of time for it to redeem itself. At the least, I’m still enjoying the OP and ED, it’s just everything in the middle that needs improvement. |
| Tokyo Ghoul Episodes 01 – 04 |
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Cherrie: I’m not a fan of horror anime, but when I read about the hype around Tokyo Ghoul, I was immediately sucked in. The first episode was especially great at capturing the horror elements of the story and it gives a good indication of what kind of world ghouls live in. Since then, the story is not so much horror as it is thrilling and action-packed. Ken has real internal struggles and I can appreciate how the story doesn’t gloss over that. He’s honestly fighting for his humanity and tries to find a balance between what he thinks is right and what tastes right. I also like how the ghouls have their own established society within the city and there are so many characters that are integrated together. At the speed which everything is going now, the anime has honestly exceeded my expectations so I only hope that it can keep delivering. |
| Zankyou no Terror Episodes 01 – 03 |
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Cherrie: These are the types of anime I love – true thrillers that make me feel like I’m on the edge of my seat every episode. You know the antagonist, the protagonist and yet, how they play this game of cat and mouse is what drives me to watch every week. Nine and Twelve challenge the police force with a riddle every episode and although I don’t necessarily follow along with the guessing games, it’s still amusing to watch how the conclusion is derived. It’s almost like they want to be found because Nine and Twelve wouldn’t be doing this without an objective in mind. I want to see a psychological profile done for each of them and I think that’s usually the starting point for detectives to help them predict that actions of criminals. Then there’s Lisa who is the wildcard amongst all the bombings. What’s her role within the anime and is she ultimately going to help Sphinx or be their downfall? This is definitely one show this season that I’d recommend to anyone that loved watching Monster, Death Note or even PSYCHO-PASS. It’s all about the game that they’re playing and in most cases, the winner doesn’t really win. |
| PSYCHO-PASS (New Edit) Episodes 01 – 03 |
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Zephyr: Coming into the new season, PSYCHO-PASS’ New Edit advertised itself as a recap with added scenes. The question was, how significant would those additions would be? Three episodes in, I can say this: PSYCHO-PASS’ New Edit is essentially a director’s cut/definitive version of the original. Every episode offers a few additional minutes (typically at the beginning and in the mid-episode transitions), and they’re not insignificant in terms of their content. Some changes are merely cosmetic in regards to object placements or background music, but most are additions of the narrative/dialogue variety, and have included things from flashbacks to outright new conversations. What this does is provide a different perspective we weren’t able to see previously at this point in time and they’re good additions that add a sense of completeness to the series in terms of the characters, their motivations, and their overall mindset. It doesn’t change the fact that people who watched the original series don’t have to tune into this New Edit (the overall content remains generally the same), but for those of you that have yet to watch the original and are looking to get into Gen’s lauded dystopian Sci-Fi, the New Edit’s the better way to go at this point. |
| Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? Episodes 01 – 03 |
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Cherrie: Another romcom to add to the list this season! But don’t be fooled, because even with a harem, Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? is definitely more com than rom. The story mainly focuses on the 4 girls + 1 very fortunate fellow who are all fighting over one room. There’s also the fantasy aspect that the girls bring because obviously, they can’t be normal humans but are in fact – the undead, a underground dweller, an alien and a |
| Tokyo ESP Episodes 01 – 03 |
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Cherrie: I haven’t seen a cold opening in a long time and I’m not sure if Tokyo ESP is the appropriate show to actually start with one. For anime-only viewers, I highly recommend you see episode 2 and 3 before judging the show too prematurely. For manga-readers (like myself), I was actually pleasantly surprised that the show would jump so far ahead but I guess it adds something new for people that think they know what’s coming. The adaptation so far has actually been quite true to the manga source and if there are some minor edits here and there, I’m not fussed by it. Rinka totally stole the show for me straight from the get-go and I continue to adore her (and Peggy I guess; who can say no to penguins?). She has a great head on her shoulders and accompanied by Azuma, the duo have great chemistry and bring each other up rather than down. The anime has been incredibly fun to watch so far and I even find myself looking forward to secondary characters (like Rinka’s father) to make their appearance. |
| Sailor Moon Crystal Episodes 01 – 02 |
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Cherrie: It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of the original Sailor Moon anime that aired back in the early 1990’s. It’s one of the reasons that I watch anime to date and I treasure this childhood memory dearly. However, with that said, Sailor Moon Crystal is not like its predecessor. Audiences will be disappointed if they keep comparing the two as if they’re interchanging because they’re quite different – especially in the atmosphere that Sailor Moon Crystal has created for itself. The characters don’t necessarily have the same personalities, and the plot varies greatly from the original. The animation (which most people seem to have a gripe with) is also more suited towards what the Sailor Soldiers use to look like in the manga. I recommend that viewers watch this one with an open mind; don’t judge it based on what you think it should be or was. Watch it for what it is – which is a magical girl fantasy manga targeted towards young girls and imagine yourself seeing this for the first time in their eyes. |
| Sword Art Online II Episodes 01 – 04 |
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Cherrie: Let me warn you that I am indeed a fan of the first season of Sword Art Online. It’s not “the best anime ever” but I don’t see why it deserves all the hate that it gets. That aside I find these first few episodes good as a refresher, but still slow to get to the action. The second season has really taken its time to tell the tale of who Sinon is and how Kirito gets tied up in another “death game”. True to his name, Kirito continues to excel at what he’s good at and a lot of coincidences help him bump into Sinon, and buy a weapon, all within his first login. No surprises there, but what I did not see coming was Kirito’s womanly appearance in GGO. I like my bada** protagonists to stay as manly men… but clearly everyone likes to see different things so perhaps this is a way to attract a different target market (e.g. female Thor anyone?). Asides from the obvious, I’m still excited to see what GGO has in store for both Kirito and Sinon. I’m an Asuna fan at heart, but Sinon has a chance to change that. |
| ALDNOAH.ZERO Episodes 01 – 04 |
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Cherrie: No doubt, the show with the most hype around it is ALDNOAH.ZERO. I cannot deny that it has great animation and the soundtrack is to die for! There is such a high production value for this anime that it amazes me every time I tune in for this show. I’ll admit that even though I have gripes with the main character and I still don’t fully understand the history nor the need for war, I still continue to watch every week – just because. There’s a ton of action every episode and a lot of build up with the secrecy around the princess and Slaine… almost like the drumroll to an epic story that’s waiting to be told. I pray that I’m not disappointed because with all the anticipation around it, I truly hope that ALDNOAH.ZERO delivers. I’m just glad that this is an anime original and everyone’s on board trying to guess and speculate different theories of what could happen. One of the great things about it, is that there are no true spoilers and we’ll just have to see how much further the show will go in terms of matching everyone’s expectations. |
| Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei Episodes 13 – 17 |
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Stilts: While I was blogging the first half of Mahouka, the refrain I constantly heard was “It gets better starting with the Nine Schools Competition!” But the first half of the Nine Schools arc was sloooooow, at least in the anime. So did it get better? Yes, it did. At least to a degree. The showdown against the Crimson Prince and Cardinal George was awesome! Hyper-competent characters like Tatsuya and Miyuki need extraordinary enemies to work, because otherwise they devolve into Mary Sues/Gary Stus. That showdown was what I wanted Mahouka to be, and it was a treat to watch. The other antagonists of the arc, however, are more akin to those from the first arc, and likewise uninteresting. I want to see titans clashing, so the more they do that, the more it works. Everything else is more of the same old Mahouka. |
| Barakamon Episodes 01 – 04 |
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Cherrie: An anime has never made me smile so much while staring at the screen. Naru is seriously the most adorable, naïve, and straightforward child in anime and I find her so endearing. There is no other character that I love more than her this season and you have to watch the show to understand how she captures the heart of everyone around her. I don’t think Barakamon is meant to be a comedic slice-of-life anime, but that’s definitely how it comes across recently and it does it well. Besides the obvious humor, the delivery of life lessons for Seishuu is well done and there’s always moments in every episode that hit all the right buttons. I really feel like I want to be a part of their life on this island and watch Seishuu experience different things to help encourage him to do better. If nothing else, you better be watching Barakamon this season! It will be sure to surprise you with its heartwarming stories and Naru – there’s no one else like Naru. I think the image I selected says it all. |
I like trains.
sure… trains on the brains! CHOOOO CHOOOOO!
NAWTTTT…
I like boobs. BIG BOUNCY BOOBS. MOAR PLS.
http://moesucks.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/this-is-an-anime-about-trains.gif
Dere dere~~~
Dere dere~~~
Dere dere~~~
TSUUUUN TSUUUUN!!!!!
Loved this post guys! Great to see your impressions on which shows are worth picking up. By the way, could anyone help offer any insight? I really want to start watching Tokyo Ghoul after reading all the good comments about it but I can’t handle anything horror/creepy 🙁 I don’t mind gore though!
Honestly, I’ve never been much of a horror fan either (if at all =S) and I’m still watching Tokyo Ghoul. If by “horror/creepy”, you mean things popping up and scaring you or loud sounds, there’s not much of that. There’s not even that much blood and gore because it’s actually quite censored… to the point that sometimes there’s scenes of complete darkness o_o So no… like I said, I think it’s definitely more thriller/action-oriented rather than horror. The scariest episode so far was episode 1 for me and it wasn’t even that bad.
Tokyo Ghoul doesn’t take itself too seriously, IMO. It’s got gore, and it can certainly be scary, but it’s not a super-sinister creeper. It’s more brash and in your face.
Guess I will do one too.
For me in general the Summer thus far has been better than I expected it to be. It is still not a “great” one for me, but it is still a nice surprise as a whole.
Show Spoiler ▼
Great post. Reading your impresions mid season is a very welcome change. I’ve been wanting something like this for a while now. Keep up the good work guys. All the very best.
there’s someone on the team watching M3? It began airing later so I guess it didn’t have a chance to be blogged so i would like to know your opinions about it.
Hmmm. Off the top of my head I don’t think anyone’s caught up with M3. I watched the first few episodes and intend to get back to it at some point, but unsure as to how that’ll work out over the next few weeks.
Just note that you must not be fooled by the presence of mecha. M3 is about character growth in the midst of tragedy. It’s a pretty low-key series, I found but I enjoyed every moment of it.
I had my hype about barakamon and aldenoah.zero and both have fantastic so far and are probably my fav of the season along with the continuation of haikyuu which I’m greatful devine coming back to cover. These are the shows I can’t wait to watch next.
Also I’m still invested in shirogane, we are almost out of the intro arc which has been ripe full of start up mecha tropes. Hopefully it can start being it’s own thing now and with ep 4 it’s finally heading somewhere. Another kinda decent show is rail wars, it give off that early 2000’s team shows with is subtly in story telling, the only other thing that’s not subtle is all the low camera angles and ass shots of the females, hell I’m enjoying it and fanservice is extra icing.
As for most disappointing so far I think it belongs to glasslip and persona 4 golden. I’m liking golden but I think it’s just a mess of show. Definitely not friendly to people who didn’t watch the first series or at least played the games (more for fans only). I really wanted it atleast to be like a phsycho pass edit with more eps to account for missed stuff the first time (ie pacing problems of the first anime, i wish they slowed it down a bit) and introduce golden stuff, and I guess at the most I was expecting too much for a full metal brotherhood type remake with decent ep count dedicated to the whealth of material. I guess i can hope if it sells well we might get a persona 4 arena adaptation.
As for surprise shows I definitely liking hanayamata and thank RC for introducing me to that show. The other one is Ao Haru Ride which I was suprised no one picked up, it’s really good so far.
Also I really like the idea of these monthly updates, it’s a nice way to briefly mention stuff you might be watching just no time to blog. But most importantly to find how a show fared after 3 ep rule oe intro ep. The psycho pass edit info and how people should give tokyo esp after first ep beacuase ep 2 was really good are exactly type info we need.
Hmm…I was wondering, since there’s already the usual poll on which new series you’re looking forward to before the start of each season, how about an opposite?
Eg a poll on which series did you enjoy the most around the end of each season.
Then consider only the top 10 names from each season, meaning the polling list for AOTY should be less complicated with only around 40 names.
I like the idea of quick poll after season. sometimes what we were excited for disappoint and another less obscure show under the radar turned out to be your fav. it would be interesting what people ended up liking and whether it’s the same or completely different then what people looking forward to poll.
Looks at what Stilts covered and what genre the series is sometimes associated with:
-Sabagebu ——————————————–>Haven’t watched this, therefore not sure
-Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance ——————> Harem
-Momo Kyun Sword ———————————> PLOT
-Yama no Susume: Second Season ———–> Mountain climbing lolis
-Fate/kaleid liner Prisma☆Illya 2wei! ———-> Yuri
-Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei —————–> Incest vibes
Ara ara. The ecchi is strong with this one.
Why isn’t Rail Wars on the list? （＾＿・）
On another note, Taketatsu Ayana singing the ED for Momo Kyun Sword is really catchy.
(She voices Kirino from Oreimo for those who aren’t familiar with the seiyuu name)
OR, you could look at it like four fantasy shows, a comedy, and a slice-of-life. You see what you want to see!!
Seriously though, me’n the others are just filling in some of the shows Cherr isn’t watching. They have the rest of my watch list covered, so I ended up with a couple of service shows and some other jazz.
tl;dr I’m not the ecchi blogger dammit! Fantasy blogger!! *stamps foot*
Yes Stilts, you happen to watch ecchi shows, definitely more than the other writers, and since thats a fact, you have no reason to complain about being the current ecchi blogger of RC, since your shows happen to have the most ecchi in them, not rarely either nyahahah. ;P
Awwwww… Stilts shouldn’t be typecasted like that… although sometimes I think he likes the title of ecchi-blogger! >_>
It was mainly my list of shows that I wanted to talk about + anything else that the writers wanted to add. Stilts just happened to be watching them and had something to say. That’s not to say that he only likes that stuff. Stilts is pretty well-rounded when it comes to watching shows ^^ except the really popular ones for some reason… Did you finish Steins;Gate yet onii-chan?? =P
I have now! We talked about it on a podcast a while back. I could not stop marathoning it once I started :X Sooooo good!
Crap, now I have this picture of Cherrie (Kirino) giving Stilts (Kyosuke) some disc insisting him watching “that” >_<
*runs*
Usually there’s a dud amongst every season’s comedy shows, but surprisingly not this time around. Sabagebu! definitely leads the pack IMO just for the narrator, the amount of fourth wall breaking, and an MC almost out of Binbougami ga!. Majimoji Rurumo has also improved greatly in the last episode, mellowing out the ecchi to now favour the interactions between the MC and Rurumo; actually look forward to Wednesdays now because of it (Fate Kaleid only provides so much excitement :P). Rokujouma is a mixed bag, it’s funny yes (especially the last episode), but it cannot throw off the Kore wa Zombie desu ka copycat label. There’s too much similarity between the two to make Rokujouma unique rather than a “seen it already”-esque show. Doesn’t mean it’s bad, but it definitely lacks the charm Zombie had when it came out. And little needs to be said about Space Dandy, it’s awesome, period 😛
Only real disappointment for me has been with Sailor Moon Crystal and Glasslip, the former because of both a biweekly schedule and shoddy production, and the latter because it doesn’t seem to know what it wants to be, resulting in a shallow story plastered over with good artwork. Both of these pale in comparison to the continued Captain Earth and Mahouka though. Captain Earth has just stagnated and offers nothing new nor interesting; it says something when Puck the AI of all things is the most interesting character, and he’s not even an MC! Mahouka continues to cut source material like no tomorrow and finally has dispensed with the notion of Tatsuya being anything other than an OP Gary Stu. The latter is not the issue ironically, it’s the former and the complete lack of character development combined with things such as Miyuki’s incessant Onii-sama hollering and out of place, episodic plot lines that give little sense of continuity. Mahouka IMO is fully deserving of being called the biggest disappointment of the year.
Otherwise it has been a good season all things considered so far. Ghoul, Zankyou, and Aldnoah are leading the pack and we have a few good comedies to offer some downtime. Although with the powerful lineup for next season it makes me wonder just how much will be remembered about this one 😛
Yay! Monthly Impressions are back! 😀 I was a fan of when they were still going on (good lord, 3 years ago already?), so I’m glad to see it return!
I’ll include my own impressions below. :3 (They’re short, I promise.) Overall, Summer 2014 is looking good and I’m excited to see where it’ll go. I’m thinking it’ll be above average by the end, in comparison to the last few seasons, which were average at best and terrible at worst. Viva Summer~
Show Spoiler ▼
Cherrie, I agree with your opinion on Sailor Moon Crystal rather strongly. The characters are slightly different, the plot is a bit quicker, but it still is what it is: Sailor Moon. Just like its previous reboot, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (live-action), it has its differences. But isn’t that what a reboot is? A newer version of show with slight changes and improvements. That’s what it is.
It’s nice to see what you guys are watching that aren’t also blogging and what your opinion of those shows are.
Cherrie in particular,was on a roll with the impressions here 🙂
Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance really picked up with the third episode. (Est!)
Also, you guys didn’t mention Jinsei. It’s cute, but a bit odd.
You also didn’t mention Locodol, which is quirky but it’s growing on me. (And I don’t like idol anime.)
So far, I have a few As, a lot of Bs, and a few Cs. My measuring system is simple: How badly do I want to see the next ep?
A: Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun, Hanayamata, Yama no Susume
B: Blade Dance, Rokujouma, Sabagebu, Zankyou no Terror, Aldnoah.zero, Barakamon, Majimoji Rurumo, Locodol, Jinsei
C: Glasslip, Momo-kyun Sword, Tokyo ESP, Sailor Moon Crystal, Tokyo Ghoul
Est is the best girl. I’m calling it! I mean seriously, she’s got the best chemistry going without needing to be outspoken or exaggerated about it.
Wow, no idea that my suggestion got picked (I think). Still, try to not over do yourself Cherrie~.
Anyway, the one that actually had me rate worse than expected was Argevollen, it felt slower than the other mecha / Sci-fi shows that I bothered the watch this cour. Otherwise, they’re good with me for time being.
ie.
-PSYCHO-PASS
-SAO II
-ALDNOAH.ZERO
-Mahaouka (slight pass since the LN was just as tedious to set through)
A lot of readers have great ideas that we juggle around for a bit until we find time to do it. This is one of them. We still have a lot of initiatives on the backburner that we’re waiting to launch… so keep the suggestions coming!
Don’t worry~ I won’t burn out too quickly. If I did, I would’ve stopped blogging a year ago lol. Other writers are also helping me with the post so that’s a huge load off my shoulders *phew ^^”
Thanks for posting this. Really helps me get a feel for what the anime will be like. Now I got more to watch
My main beef is in Tokyo ESP, where the first episode shows a time skip to literally the climax of the first major arc. It was out of place, makes no sense, and dont even do a good job at setting up the premise, and anyone who didnt read the manga will be confused as hell. I never understood why studios thinks these timeskip first episodes are a good idea when the first episode of any show should be laying out the groundwork and/or introducing the characters.
Just a thought since you’re talking about shaking things up a bit. How about guest bloggers? There’s certainly enough out there that would probably relish saying a few words or a thousand. 🙂 Make it invitation only so you don’t get inundated.
It’s fun to contemplate, but sadly it’s something that just doesn’t work out logistically in regards to selection and getting each of them up to snuff on how to post using the tools/format we have here. There’s also the issues of how many posts to let them guest blog, why they were chosen over others… the list goes on eh.
To quote Cherrie from last time though, we did have guest bloggers a while back, but the intent of that was to have them cover a particular show only, and it was because Divine didn’t have expertise about the series personally (Persona 4). If another case comes across like that we may look for someone, but yeah, as she also mentioned, our overall coverage is pretty comprehensive now so we don’t have a particular need for guest bloggers. Might as well recruit for a full-time blogger instead, ya know?
That sounds too akin to me to be comfortable.
I was thinking more about specials. For example the Girls und Panzer Anzio OVA, a movie, or an overview of a series rather than a weekly episode post. Given that, it wouldn’t have to specifically follow your normal format. You might even have a repost from a different blog that you enjoy. Just something to provide a bit of a change up with minimal effort on your part.
Eh, the point still generally stands. If you want another new guest, there’s logistics of giving them access to the site in order for them to make the post. You could argue doing it under someone current’s name, but then that’d kind of defeat the point because then you wouldn’t know they’re a guest at all from first glance…
As for re-posts, yeah… I’ll just say for me personally it’d feel a tad bit odd reposting something from somewhere else.
The way it stands, most major Movie/OVAs do get covered at some point. Some do fall through the cracks, but that was also part of the reason why we did the new recruitment run and Divine came back, as Passerby adds someone extra who could potentially do some later and Divine already came back to do Gundam Unicorn and what not. In regards to Anzio in particular, the big thing for me has been waiting for a proper version of it that most people could agree is accurate, which I haven’t seen yet.
@Passerby – Hue hue hue. （ ´‿ゝ`）
WOAH AWEMAZING POST RC TEAM! THANKS for all the GREAT EFFFFORTS! and you go gurl frand!
oh hey side note… nothing from the special p4 man? jk jk. hahah theres always next post!
Obviously it’s been decided that I’ve already said everything worth saying about Persona 4 the Golden. Ever. It’s a hard act to top.
Serious answer: P4GA is a rather niche show, and on top of that it’s decided to go all in on its niche. So although that makes it an inaccessible series it’s also easy to decide if you want to be watching it. Already a Persona 4 fan? Watch it. Not? Don’t watch it.
Since P4GA caters solely to its target demographic (and it does do this well) its narrative has, so far, been rather disjointed. It relies solely on meta-knowledge to fill in the gaps. As such the first three episodes have felt more like OVA episodes bundled as bonus content than a cohesive series. This does seem to be changing, however, and as we go deeper into things (after disposing of the slice of life character development and all that) the plot should start to ramp up. Probably.
YAHHH! I SEE! OBIOUSLY!
I got even better idea tho 😛 SAVE UP AND WATCH IT ALL AT ONCE cuz its all about the binge watching these days! YA KNOW? well hopefully the show shapes up then!
Honestly this is one of the strongest seasons for me in a long time. I haven’t been this excited about watching weekly anime in a few seasons. The only shows I’m still iffy on in terms of long-term commitment are Akame ga Kill and Glasslip.
Right now I’m watching:
-Glasslip
-Tokyo Ghoul
-SAO II
-Aldnoah.Zero
-Barakamon
-Space Dandy 2
-Akame ga Kill
-Nozaki-Kun
-Ao Haru Ride
-Illya 2
-Zankyou no Terror
-Tokyo ESP
-Hanayamata
I’m thinking of catching up on Haikyuu as I missed out on it last season, but we’ll see what I can handle time-wise. Overall, fantastic season.
1-Have to agree that Sabagebu! is the best comedy this season, everyone who likes comedy must watch Sabagebu! .. in fact everyone should watch it, it’s damn hilarious and the narrator’s 4th wall breaking antics are worth it alone.
2-To me Aldnoah.Zero is already delivering and showing both great production values, solid well-thought action and a lot of promise .. as for the war, it’s obviously happening becasue of several reasons, first .. the martians of Vers look down on Terrans and consider them a lower species (eventhough the Vers are also human) and they think they deserve to rule earth and enslave all humans becasue Vers is more advanced and powerful .. second .. they also happen to be stuck-up arrogant bigots (kinda like the Nazis) .. and Third .. they have been stuck in the moon orbit around earth for 15 years so they will eventually need to land somewhere to resupply and expand .. and where else other than earth, as for the rest of the back story and history .. we only know the basics which were explained at the 1st episode (i suggest you watch it again to refresh your memory, i did), but i hope we get to learn more about how Vers came to be and what really happened on the moon 15 years ago.
I’m really glad, that the monthly impressions were picked up again. They give a good insight into anime for people that are not sure, what to watch, also after the shows already started and for the ones, that are busy and don’t have all the time to look and figure out what to watch the current season, it does give one quite a fast overview. However, I do have a complaint.
It’s a pity how Re:_Hamatora gets silenced to death compared to other shows this season. (didn’t get an introduction post either)
Being the continuation of a good show, it is not understandable how you guys missed out on that one. Especially you Cherrie,
I remember how you started looking into the first season and in the summer preview, you sounded like you were gonna watch it.
Also that the 2nd season of Hamatora was pretty much the only anime I was highly anticipating this summer season, with me being busy. Out of all new shows and other continuations that have been mentioned significantly, Hamatora was even left out in the recent podcast as well.
I am having a hard time seeing why it doesn’t interest anyone of the male writers at all, since it does have good mystery, crime, supernatural feels and touches serious subjects and issues that we have in society, that truly deserve (and are worth of) being talked and discussed about, while BL and molestation and so on did get their (well-deserved) attention.
Sorry to hear that. The only writer I know of who’s watched any of it is Zephy, and if memory serves he wasn’t super enthused about it. Or maybe I’m thinking of another show, not sure on that. I’ll prod him and see if he wants to weigh in.
Yeah, generally I watched the first season and am caught up on Re:_Hamatora atm, but I’m not quite enthused about it at this point in time.
I wrote about my experiences with the series briefly in the preview for the second season, which could generally be summarized as “I felt it was alright.” There were definitely a few interesting topics the story touched upon in terms of prejudice, discrimination, and the responsibility of those with power to name a few, but it lost a lot for me because of the fair amount of filler they included in between everything. Solid story overall if you tune out the filler, but if you take the series as a whole, I felt like it was a little bit wide of the mark execution/enjoyment wise.
Looking forward to the second season, one of the primary reasons I wanted to watch was to see how the cliffhanger resolved itself, and so I’m glad we actually got a resolution to that. So far though, I’m admittedly quite down on the series for one reason or another, as it feels like the series has been turned into kind of a piecemeal mis-mosh of various little threads (those eyecatches aren’t helping). It’s interesting to watch when Show Spoiler ▼
comes into the picture, as his appearances seem to be the catalyst that ties in most of the story plot and the deeper topics mentioned in the first season, but I don’t know… it just hasn’t jibed with me much this season so far, and as such, I didn’t have much to say about it for this round of retrospectives.
I have to agree with Zephyr on the first season not being that great but not bad. I honestly kinda liked the main characters, but by jove did I HATE the main bad guy. He easily made the show worse because of his crappy justifications. I will say that I like the second season more since it seems to be forming an actual plot (that and I’ve gotten used to it).
On a personal other note, Hamatora just kind of feels disjointed story-wise. Like I don’t think we really got any character introductions and stuff kind of…happened and we had to accept it. By no means is it terrible, but it needed to be more coherent at points, or at least for the background of the world. :/
Yeah, I totally agree with you Zeph, Id have loved to see Hamatora using up the whole potential it hides beneath its fillers.
I mean, the character development is quite interesting at some point and also for example that cliffhanger was one of the most significant ones, I have witnessed and the reasons behind it.
To me it looks like every new part of the story can twist the whole plot outta sudden all over again. Hope they are gonna end up turning it into something which is gonna surprise positively and/or leave us 100 % satisfied.
And thanks for the fast response to my post you two~
If I’m not mistaken, it was part of a mixed media project of which the manga started out in November shortly before the January debut of the anime, and part of the issue lies within the lack of source material. Grain of salt, but would explain a lot of what’s happening. Not sure if it’s actually adapted from the manga though.
But yeah, overall… lotta potential, just lacks the full execution.
Mahouka’s vol 1 Bluray sales currently range around 10K+, not a complete financial failure.
Also how does everyone think of the new OP and ED?
Prior to the new op and ed, I like the new ending, Mirror, by Rei Yasuda, her voice kind of reminds me of Miho Fukuhara.
H-holy shit, Divine actually talked about Haikyuu.
Dude, he’s blogging it.
Divine’s blogging it? Oh well, that tell you much I’m up to date around these sites 😛
I don’t even watch or care about Haikyuu, but Ima gonna read his posts now for good ol days’ sake.
Dude, where have you been the last couple of weeks? Haikyuu’s been an excellent outlet for Divine to release his inner volleyball fanboy- a part of him that no one knew existed till a few weeks ago. XD
I’m glad he’s doing that : ) These news gave me a big grin now.
I watch 16 out of those 25 anime, with the disappointments like Akame ga Kill and Tokyo Ghoul’s adaptations filling up my backlog to watch when I feel like it. Haikyuu fills my backlog too, but that is not a disappointment at all. I still got Soul Eater Not in my backlog from EP 2 till the end to watch ;/
Not watching Free, Fate/Stay Night spinoff, rurumo, momo, Gekkan, Yama, Ao Haru, Sailor Moon remake/reboot, or the Psycho Pass Director’s Cut.
Something not on this list, like Rail Wars, Nobunaga Concerto, Sengoku Basara Season 3, and RE:Hamatora, which I like.
I still haven’t watched Season 3 of Kuroshitsuji yet, but it’s in my backlog. Hell my backlog is so bad right now. I still haven’t watched the last two episodes of Knights of Sidonia yet D:. I added Ga Rei Zero to my backlog and I started reading Ga Rei just so I know how it ties into Tokyo Esp, which is apart of my backlog too -_-.
I don’t know why I haven’t dropped M3 yet. I probably just want to see how it ends, which is why I still read Naruto >.> Screw Bleach though, I dropped it after they kept going after defeating Aizen. Troll Kubo and his Quincies… One Piece ftw!
You guys forgot “NOBUNAGA CONCERTO”. It’s one of the few anime i anticipated in this season. The story is refreshing, the character are good, and the animation is like the Sidononia no Kishi 2.0 Version. 😀
Yes they only aired 2 episode at the moment. But, Come on guys. This anime is great, it deserves more love. At least 100 times better than “mahouka”. 🙂
I really like these type of monthly posts, Now I have a better insight of what is around to watch.
Thanks RC writers! Love ya all!
my favourite this season is barakamon 🙂
Here’s my ranking of the shows I watch this season (so far, based on my weekly anticipation):
1. Barakamon
2. Tokyo Ghoul
3. Aldnoah Zero
4. Sword Art Online 2
5. Zankyou no Terror
6. Akame ga Kill
7. Tokyo ESP
Such a great season, been awhile since I’ve been following so much for a season.
There are about 4 anime that are promising in my eyes. Aldnoah Zero is continuing to strive as the consistent mecha anime. Barakamon is just solid. Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-Kun is unexpectedly funny and endearing. Fate Kaleid Prisma Ilya 2nd season seems to be funnier than the first thanks to the Kuro Ilya but in the action department, it has yet to prove itself whether it will surpass the first season.
On the other hand, Zankyou No Terror leaves me in the middle. I like to be engrossed in it but whenever the girl Lisa appears, it’s goes nowhere. I hope they do something with her, for now we already have established that both her home and school life is troubling.
Tokyo Ghoul feels too over the top that I can’t find myself caring for any of the characters. I appreciate the dark and gloomy atmosphere but I’m going to hold off for now and see if it gets better.
The purpose of Monthly Impressions is to give viewers a critical analysis. An analysis they can use to determine whether they should be watching something or not. There is as near as makes no difference to zero criticisms. Almost all the posts read like the show is the best thing since sliced bread; which I can guarantee is not true.
TLDR: This post is effectively redundant.
EASY THERE BRO! This is only a gist of whats to come most shows are in 4th ep still kind hard to be all too critical when most of these shows are either like you say the awesome slices of bread (barakamon, sao2lol?,Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun for the ladies) … or you just dont know if it can turn for worse or the better! shows like Zankyou no Terror,Tokyo ESP. tokyo ghoul, Glasslip, akame ga kill, ALDNOAH.ZERO kinda on the bubbles 😛
TL;DR some series are kinda too early to say if its BAD or GOOOD…
Criticism can be given based on the released episodes. Maybe introducing a ranking system and/or grading system would be beneficial for next time to inform the reader what shows to watch and avoid.
they could rank it… but point was for some shows in the first month it might be more based on your personal preference if you want to watch it or avoid it cause it might get better or might not some people stick it out some dont… you gotta decide that on your own 😛 they give you hints if they tell you its not bad … then you already know Your miles may vary! IF they say something like If nothing else, you better be watching Barakamon this season! then you know what to do right?
Wait… what o_O? Did you read my initial paragraph? I pretty much stated the purpose of these posts right there: “For everyone new to RC, the goal of these posts are to summarize our impressions of all the shows that we’re watching regularly. This includes shows that might not be covered on a weekly basis, and hopefully spark some interest and discussions outside the daily posts.”
There is no mention of critical analysis or to say “Hey! This show is bad/good, go watch/drop it”. It’d be great if it leads to viewers to watch shows they wouldn’t have otherwise, but that is still not the general point of the post. We want to converse with people that also watch anime. We are not critics nor do we claim to be – that’s why these are not “reviews”, they are “impressions”. Like you said, whether or not someone truly has interest in a show or what they will ultimately get out of it, is their own opinion. If you want to know more about what we thought, just ask.
Also, we don’t rank shows because as you can tell – not a single person is watching all 20+ shows on that list (and if you are, good for you! I can’t do it T__T). Also, a ranking system is very subjective based on the writer and their tastes. This is why we don’t offer a rating or ranking system on the site because we’ll never create something that’s will encompass all our preferences. I think other than the AOTY post (which is only done by 2-3 people anyway…), there’s nothing that indicates what RC would represent as the best or worst.
oh so sorry I forgot about that paragraph. hehehe well said, well said…
oh, just thought of better way to express what I said before … some shows can go either way… and depending on your tastes it could be better or worse in your own opinion 🙂
My bad, didn’t read there was a different goal for the post.
But still, I’d opt for a ranking list (it could be formed by a collaboration of people, no need to watch 20+ shows per person), since it probably leads to more fun, perhaps heated, discussions. I think it’s a lot more interesting to see how shows compare to each other quality-wise from your point of views then reading general remarks which say that every series has some good points and a few bad points.
Basically, I think you guys are trying to play it too safe by taking absolutely no risk to offend anyone and it may be deemed as respectful, but it’s also a tad bland.
The reason I don’t like to rank things is that the exercise is patently ridiculous. Putting aside the problem of objectivity–spoiler alert: It’s an illusion–how would I compare ALDNOAH.ZERO and Hanayamata? They’re both excellent shows in their own way, and I can’t say one or the other is better because they’re simply too different to be compared fairly.
It’s not an apples and oranges problem, because they’re both fruit; it’s more of an apples and quiche problem. Sure, they’re both anime, but any comparisons between them is frankly a joke. Maybe that’s useful on a longer time frame – we do a ranking of sorts in the Best of Anime yearly posts – but it’s unnecessary on a monthly level.
I don’t think we need to tear some shows down in order to elevate others, and that’s what pointless ranking lists do.
I’m trying to imagine the li
Uh, my bad. I was going to say “I’m trying to imagine the likes of Divine and Enzo doing the Yosakoi and I can’t help but crack up.”
I am really happy to see posts like this, it gives a feel for us readers of the website how the writers actually think in a whole for the month(4 eps) rather than constant per episodes too. If possible do keep this up. I am really interested in reading more 😉
I’m a fan of the mahouka LNs but I stopped watching the anime when Stilts stopped covering it on a weekly basis. So now I hear him gushing about Tatsuya’s fight against Masaki and Kichijouji and am thinking of just watching the episode with their fight.
So are there any fans of the LN who are still watching the anime care to give their take on the fight and if I should give that episode a watch? I know that an episode is just 24 mins of my life, but I’ve been mostly dissapointed with the first 12 episodes. I really don’t want to watch the episode just to feel disappointed and annoyed at how they butchered it all over again.
gandalf8, is the best episode so far, with slight differences but ok. After that show remains the same as ever, unfortunately.
Thanks Everaldo. I’ll probably watch the episode, just to see how they animate the fight. Probably after I finish rereading that part in the LN though. I’m thinking of reading through the whole series for the nth time now, just to cleanse my disappointment of the anime adaptation.
@gandalf8: Same here. Dropped MKnR anime when Stilts did. Had more than enough of what is in IMO a bad adaptation.
@Everaldo: Thanks for the update. My guess is that a few battles turn out pretty good (such as the one mentioned and possibly the volume 7 stuff as well). Still, after 12 episodes, I’m not surprised all all that the overall adaptation remains the same as what I saw in the first 12 episodes.
I wasn’t intending to gush per say. It was a good battle, but it didn’t do anything for the rest of the adaptation’s (or underlying story’s, to a degree) problems. If you’ve read the LNs you can probably watch it while you’re doing something else though. I think it was ep16.
I’ve been keeping up with MKnR in spite of my lukewarm feelings about it. The fight was really good, but then it went back to where it was.
The whole No-Head Dragon plot felt like a lot of buildup for “meh.” NHD is all, “We’re going to release out ultimate weap–” *Squish.*
Oh well, so much for that.
The female Thor comment could not be more appropriate in the SAO Post.
I’m glad someone caught that! When I was writing the post, I was suddenly reminded by Marvel’s latest announcement… it’s so odd how they’re trying to warp genders now to have a different appeal =S
Thanks for the post! It’s very helpful!
Just a suggestion: It’d be nice if you could include the day of the week it airs and a separator line for each day since you chose to order the series that way and a lot of people don’t remember that order. So next time I’ll be able to scroll down to like “Saturday” easily, since it’s usually the day with the best shows.
Ctrl+F –. Baby…. No Baby Steps comments?! and this month Baby Steps was great… Eeennnzoooo >_<
Anyway, great post guys!
PS.: Good to see Stilts keep watching Mahouka despite all flaws. Sabagebu is great too.
Hey, I’m still blogging it. But apart from Takaii, no one else at RC is watching, so bringing it up on this podcast would have been fruitless…
Just kidding, I’m following your posts in LiA. A pity that so few are watching this show…
That it is.
Me too! I’m also reading the manga – just read “Weather Advantage.” Ei-chan is awesome!
Great monthly impression post. It’s refreshing to see various genres of anime premiering this summer. Each Barakamon episode makes me smile too and yes Naru-chan is so adorable. I’d have to give best comedy to Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun because I adored the manga and really like the mangaka. I was glad there was a horror genre to watch like Tokyo Ghoul. Also I agree that Terror of Resonance is looking to be a great suspense thriller. Also even though I haven’t read Tokyo ESP, I wasn’t surprise about the cold first ep after I saw the cameo from the people from Garei and Garei Zero. It reminded me of the what the.. moment at the end of ep 1 of Garei Zero.
Seriously Stilts… I’m disappointed in you…
There’s no mention of Rail Wars???? What have you become Stilts????
There’s plenty of plot and railway lines leading back to the central station….
Dere dere~~~
Dere dere~~~
Dere dere~~~
TSUUUUN TSUUUUN!!!!!
Yeeeeeah, not even watching it sorry. I’m not watching as many pure fanservice shows anymore. Too many other things to do to watch em all.
Also, I don’t understand the whole train thing. They’re just not that fascinating to me.
Anyway when will the Anzio battle be covered?
@c2710: “Anyway when will the Anzio battle be covered?”
If your interested, here’s a Girls und Panzer Anzio OVA review.
I enjoy Sabagebu for its American directed references like Chuck Norris and Michael Jackson.
Serious question, can we have some negative critique on animes?
I know I would like to read a flaming review of disappointments on the likes of Glasslip (a.k.a. Ass lips) and Samurai Flamenco, etc, but RC at best gives you lukewarm reviews until the blogger fesses up and drops it (but more likely s/he does not, and silently curses the decision to cover it before fulfilling the three episode rule).
Something like “Trash talk fridays”, “worst anime of the year” or “biggest disappointment of the year” would sit well for me.
No.
Sorry, but that’s not our style. We prefer to damn series with faint praise rather than roast them. We’re critical when need be, but what about the people who are enjoying/enjoyed the shows you pointed out? It doesn’t feel very nice when someone shits all over something you enjoy. We don’t want to encourage that kind of atmosphere around here.
When something is good, we revel in it if we feel the desire. When something is not good, we discuss why. There’s no need to get nasty about it. Sorry, but that is one suggestion we will not take.
While I’m more incline to agree with you Stilts, I kinda see some merit in Tadbiscuit’s suggestion.
I will give 2 extreme cases of how one can go about writing a monthly impression. Each has its pros and cons and serves different purpose for different type of readership.
1. Be open minded and try to highlight as much positive aspects of the shows that received less attention compared to the more overly hyped ones. This is what I think RC is doing.
Pros: It helps promote sleeper hits to attract more potential viewers to notice shows they may have missed out and broaden their horizon.
Cons: Some viewers have a limited amount of time they have on watching anime, so they would like to spent it on just a couple of shows they really really enjoy. Rather than wanting to broaden their horizon, they want an effective filter to help them screen out ones that aren’t worth their time. Some of the viewers may have higher standard than general RC writers, and they may find themselves disappointed after wasting their precious time on shows they may otherwise shouldn’t be watching in the first place.
2. Be critical and highlight as much negative aspects of the show and grade them accordingly.
Pros: It helps more indecisive and/or panicky viewers from wasting their time on shows they don’t like and minimize the number of shows to choose form. It also helps keeping some potential viewers from facing disappointment since they’re now more wary of the shortcomings of the shows they are planning to watch.
Cons: Fans of particular shows may not want to hear RC writers saying negative things about their shows. Rather they would want RC writters to persuade more people to at least give shows they enjoy a try. There are also those who wishes to broaden their horizon from reading the monthly impression, and they may get turn off by the amount of negative criticism.
*****
So the key is to find the balance between these two extreme cases. I would suggest next time, write 2 paragraphs similar to the ones above for each show, one on the pros and the other on the cons. Grading is unnecessary since the matter is subjective, but I think it’s important to make people aware of both attractive features and shortcoming of the shows they may or may not consider picking up.
Fair enough, I respect RC’s decision Stilts, but I’m not seeing the “When something is not good, we discuss why ” discussion very often, if ever.
Slightly off-topic, but I think the amount of criticism both positive and negative, including the speed of anime reviews is going to decrease by next month.
Japan seems to be launching a huge campaign soon.
Announcement ——————> http://tinyurl.com/nfefybr
ANN highlight ——————–> http://tinyurl.com/omvxewf
More description —————->http://tinyurl.com/onkzgdo
Committee names ————-> http://tinyurl.com/o6rkc98
Part of the hunt list ————-> http://tinyurl.com/prkrsxb
Sort of reminds me of that American SOPA a while ago.
Wow…curious how far they are gonna go with that..
@Tadbiscuit: No need for RC to go down that road. Plenty of other sites for that sort of stuff. For example, you might try here. Aroduc pretty much hates everything. I’m sure there is some anime he likes, but what that might be remains a mystery. On the plus side, depending on your sense of humor you might find his comments funny.
—————————–
Techim: Thanks for the info. Interesting… I missed that bit of news for some reason.
I thought I was pretty harsh on Samurai Flamenco… but what I noticed (even though I pretty much dreaded blogging it every week) was that there were still a fair amount of people that liked it. When I read the comments, a lot of people would say things like they liked that it was different and crazy and some people would even try and make sense of it. I think it was one of those shows that had such a polar audience in terms of like/hate that it demonstrates why we can’t just go “hating” on everything that we don’t personally like. It alienates a huge portion of the audience that come to RC. I think one of our greatest traits is that since we have such a diverse group of different preferences, there’s always something that people can relate to one of us about. I rather come to a site that finds something to like about everything than nothing to like about something. That’s not worth blogging about then – not to mention watching.
Oh yeah Samurai Flamenco was a very fun watch and you covered it very well! I kind of miss it. It was sort of refreshing. The characters in the show were older than high school age, no one had white hair, etc. Was tough to see where it was going. Show Spoiler ▼
Was a fun watch
@Techim
That crackdown will fail, look how well the more rigorous policing against pirated movies/music/games/everything digital is working in the US. A few websites shut down, a few files removed, a few people caught, and the pirating just keeps on growing. Not to mention the attempts have led to an explosion in streaming in place of actual downloads which is even harder to stop. Did we mention proxy server usage and the wonderful digital laws here in Canada and over in the EU that furthers the frustration?
Some of the smaller streaming sites devoted to anime/manga might be affected if they feel action will be taken against them, but it then won’t be long before three more pop up in place of each that voluntarily removes content. Not to mention stuff like The Pirate Bay, Nyaa, and other torrent sites will simply laugh in their faces and continue on as normal (especially for sites with servers located outside of the US). It’s a constant game of whack a mole that only bleeds money for the enforcers. You’d think the Japanese would have learned this lesson watching the piracy enforcement attempts of other states already.
I have a feeling we won’t be feeling the effects of this for long, if at all. A pathetic amount of anime and manga series are being targeted and most is being directed at Chinese sites which given the current geopolitical situation aren’t likely to, ehm, give a sh*t. Plus it’s going to be hard for the Japanese to actually force removal because almost all these targeted sites are not located within Japan. As long as something is digital and in demand it will not be long before it’s made available for free online, period.
Besides agreeing with you, I do not completely understand how the Japanese government could launch this campaign so fast, while other topics are being neglected.
Japan has many other problems, which are not necessarily only economy, including the fact, that Manga and Anime do not have top-priority compared to the other things.
I mean come on, whats with the urgent need of finding an alternative for those damn nuclear plants they have, or stopping the illegal brutal whale fishing, or a compensation for the Kyoto protocol, which expired. Despite many other economical problems they have like every other country, the non-employed part of the population, fighting natural catastrophes etc. etc.
Many of these things harm the economy and the population greatly indeed, yet they are having a hard time giving top-priority of looking for solutions as fast as possible where it truly is necessary. People suffer from that. Nobody suffers from watching anime and/or reading manga for free, just because some licenses aren’t available.
So looking at ALL that, it feels to me like there should not be any time for fighting anime and manga piracy, nobody got hurt from that and most likely wont.
Do not get me wrong, it is definitely not like I am for piracy, its just seeing how the Japanese government goes up against it so vehemently, like they really don’t have any other issues in the country anymore, which is not the case, makes me pretty sad.
This crackdown wasn’t launched quickly, it’s likely been in the works for a while. The American “crusade” against music (and later movie) pirating for example only took shape following Metallica’s suit against Napster and the jewels in their crown–the shutdown of Limewire and Megaupload–took several years to do; these types of actions are not fast and require substantial amounts of evidence to instigate, let alone bring before a court.
Why it’s being brought up now like you mention of course has to do with public image, it’s easier to distract than deal with sensitive issues, especially in democratic states like Japan where dealing with these issues can lead to loss of power. More importantly it also helps to maintain corporate support for political parties. Considering the financial strength of the anime/manga/LN industry it’s likely hefty private donations are made to certain parties. The support is maintained by then helping these companies with their grievances. What better way than by trying to increase revenue which has been admittedly stagnant in the industry for a while now? Kills two birds with one stone, gives the populace something new to chew on in the media (guaranteed the focus on Chinese websites will be played up for all it’s worth) and scratches the back of one industry supporter.
Yeah well, I guess you are right, I also know such campaigns take years of preparation to get em running.
However, for example alternative solutions for an environment, without nuclear plants is taking more time than necessary (decades) and if you take average, I believe you can say the Japanese government was faster with the anti manga/anime campaign than any other before, which does make me wonder.
And to be honest, the suggestion of the government to make up for the piracy….paying for each single episode of an anime, a couple of hundred yen (few dollars every episode), Id be watching, I could just as well wait for blu-ray/dvd to come out, which would make me a little sick to the stomach.
@Yato
Your argument that there are more pressing matters to attend is a logical fallacy. You’re not wrong that there are more important things to do, but that doesn’t mean this initiative will in any way detract from those getting done, or its cancellation would help them. The Japanese government is very big, and I doubt anyone working on nuclear issues has anything to do with anime & manga, and even those who do (at the very top) only intersect with both broadly. It’s a false choice to say that one thing must be done before the other; it’s a false choice for individuals much of the time, but it certainly is for a government. They can focus on many things at once.
The problem is it’s not going to work. That’s enough of a pillar to stand on without dragging straw men into the argument.
@Stilts
True the Japanese government is large enough to take on more than one problem, but often bureaucracies will go for easy targets especially when they can’t solve more pressing problems. Given the struggles they’re having with Fukushima and the economy, attacking anime piracy is small stuff but good publicity. Few will check or care if they succeed or not.
@Bear
Thanks that you answered Stilts for me.
@Stilts
As for my example with the nuclear issue, that is one out of many I mentioned above (that have been put aside for a little without meaningful progress for the population)…..the “solutions” the Japanese government found for Fukushima are more than just unsatisfactorily but okay…
It was already harsh to believe they still intended to continue with power plants even after this incident, so saying “they are working on it anyways” is definitely not the -point and blank- truth you tried to describe.
And as for my part, people suffering from a catastrophe – that urgently needs to be dealt with and should have top priority, not money from licenses, anything other than human beings sake comes second, not same. So actually I don’t really know what you wanted to say with “Its false to say, one thing must be done before the other”, if there clearly are things that would need to be taken care of first.
I’ll simplify. My point was that, unlike individuals, governments can multitask nearly endlessly. Nothing needs to be taken care of first because pretty much everything can be taken care of at the same time. Unless the tasks are linked – to give a (semi-)recent American example, you can’t put up a health care website before the law is passed – they can all be done at once.
Individual humans are horrible at multitasking. Our brains are single-core processors, so we’re better at tackling one thing at a time. A large organization can multitask though, because it has a lot of those single-core processors to make use of.
To clarify: I don’t know a damn thing about the Japanese government’s recent initiatives. Honestly don’t care. I have more important things to focus on than the actions of a government I don’t vote for. I was just pointing out a logical fallacy.
I understand everything you say, 100 %.
What I tried to point out actually was how it looks like, that the Japanese government is not focusing enough on pressing matters like Fukushima, where progress is barely noticeable, compared to this huge anti piracy campaign of theirs, they are launching now.
I did not question their system and how they work on things simultaneously, which is common sense, but that it made me sad seeing progress in the rather not so important matters only. All I meant was how it would be actually better, if noticeable progress was made there, where human beings suffer.
And now that its about websites going to be confronted with that big campaign, I got curious on which website(s) the bloggers of RC, are streaming their regular dose of anime?
I get the feeling that this topic really needs its own forum of discussion but let me chime into it for a bit because I suddenly feel the urge to use my degree.
Government works a bit differently from theory. Not to say that my Stilts-senpai is wrong here–wouldn’t dare, milord–but while the concept is sound, things don’t usually go that smoothly. The process of turning policy into law into action is long and complicated. I have done no special study on Japanese government but a parliamentary system generally does not make law quickly, both because of inbuilt democracy fail-safes and just general bureaucracy. Not to mention the stuff that happens behind the scenes: drafting, redrafting, and endless rounds of negotiation.
Even if we accept that government is huge and burgeoning and can do a lot of stuff at once (and on many levels, this is true) there must still be a practical limit of what it can achieve, if only because you can only allocate so much money in the budget. A big and dedicated programme takes not only a lot of work and parliamentary focus but also a lot of money.
Which is why the point that the Japanese government is aiming at a ‘soft target’ may be valid. I know very little about the Japanese political climate but it may very well be that this piracy thing is an easy issue with lots of support (possibly from both from private and public interests). This makes it easier to get a bill turned into law, which gives the illusion that government is actually doing something.
Lastly, because Stilts is quite right in that government is a burgeoning mass I will never underestimate what it can do if it puts its mind to it. The Japanese government can very well succeed in clamping down on the internet to some extent; it just depends on how much they are willing to sacrifice. Even if it doesn’t completely succeed it can still cause a lot of collateral damage. Which is why, again, it is important that the ‘pirates’ be a soft target (and whoever invented the term ‘software piracy’ is a propaganda genius). It’s for the same reason that governments will always drum up law and order when they need popularity because criminals and terrorists are also soft targets. It allows them to get away with a lot of things.
Haikyuu! is just incredible! Animation, the intensity, spirit of the team and how well they are translating volley to the screen is just a treat. Man the emotion and the way the point give and take is just hair raising. Loving it!
The best decoy ever~
Oh and when Asahi-san performs the pipe and gets his point…..booya!
I would recommend that people skip the first episode of Tokyo ESP, since the second episode feels like a real beginning.
Hey thanks RC this is a great article! Good read. I must say this summer anime season is feeling very strong. Much better than spring (at least for the type of shows I enjoy- Primarily Action)
Dang, RC has nothing but positivity for this season, huh?
For me, as of now, the best of the season are:
– Aldnoah.Zero
– Barakamon
– Sabagebu
– Hanayamata
– Fate/Kalied Liner Prisma Ilya
– Yama no Susume S2
I feel sorry for all the food that Cheerie ate while blogging almost everything in this post.
Lol I do eat quite a lot… >_>
Thanks for bringing this feature up. I think the positivism in the post is alright. For me, this post or feature is like a good place to see if there was something good (or bad) that happened on the animes that I have dropped, put on hold, or not watch. It saved me a lot time. Compared to those people who can abide to the three episodes rule, I don’t have much time and patience.
If the show has a bad first episode, I’ll drop it. If the description/premise of the show is bad, I’ll not watch it. If the show is under a genre (that I perceive) that I don’t like, I’ll not watch it. Some say that I might be picky or something like that or any negative adjectives that they can up with. However, in my defense, I can always watch them anytime if someone credible (or has the same tastes that I have) would give me a recommendation. An anime show isn’t a one time offer that I can’t get once it finishes.
On the other hand, I have trust on those people involved in writing this post. It’s okay to hear positive things about the show. Not including them on the list could already be a good indicator that they might be bad. But of course, it might be just accidentally left out since not all writers participated and some do really get left out. Also, it’s fine to leave out the negative parts. After all, it’s their impressions and that’s how they write. The only thing that might make me irk is that if the positive statement can be considered a total lie.
And as some have said in other posts here in the site, if I’m looking for critical reviews, there’s a lot of sites (and some of them dwell too much on the negative). Unfortunately, those places aren’t my cup of tea. For regular viewers like me who likes to enjoy watching and ‘extending the magic’ as Stilts said, it is discouraging to read those things.
However, I’m not saying that I don’t like to read negative comments about a show or desire to hear only the positives. Here on RandomC, I get both. The writers shell out the good stuff (and some glaring to sometimes minor bad stuff). And if I need to find some of the things that the writers missed to mention (or avoided to mention if that happens) I’ll just check out the comment section. The community here are good at discussing stuff anyway.
On the lighter side of things, this post is pretty much spoiler free (okay, not that much). I just discovered Blade Dance thanks to this and I just reaffirmed that it was not that bad decision to drop Glasslip.
I think this was the perfect season to start writing these posts again! I’m really happy with so much of the material being presented; this is probably one of the most impressive lineups I’ve seen in a while. Series I’m currently watching are
★ Tokyo Ghoul
★ Zankyou no Terror
★ Aldnoah.Zero
★ Space Dandy
★ Free!
★ Haikyuu
★ Ao Haru Ride (how many series is IG spitting out this season???)
★ Sailor Moon Crystal
…along with a few others I’m still following. I am considering adding Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun, Tokyo ESP, Barakamon, and the edited Psycho Pass to my list as well.
This is a great idea to help me see if there’s shows I’d like to pick up. Instead of critical review judgement, these personal opinions are better to see if the watcher is enjoying it and a little into how the story is unfolding. Looking forward to next(this) month’s post!