Final Impressions / First Impressions / Retrospective Look

Retrospective Look – March 2011

After further health-related delays on top of the endless wave of new spring shows, the last monthly post of the winter 2011 season is finally here. Included are mostly final impressions, along with some quick thoughts on the episodes leading up to a given series’ conclusion.

Changes for each of the writers over the course of the season are listed below.

  • Prooof picked up Madoka Magica.
  • Takaii dropped Dragon Crisis, put Yumekui Merry and Onii-chan no Koto on indefinite hold.
  • Kiiragi dropped Beelzebub, FREEZING, and Hourou Musuko.
  • Divine dropped Starry Sky.

    • Note: Once again, please be considerate of others who may be interested in picking up a series after reading about it here by placing discussion of any major spoilers in <spoiler></spoiler> tags. There will be little to no tolerance for anyone intentionally spoiling the enjoyment of others.

    Final Impressions / First Impressions / FREEZING

    FREEZING – 12 (END)

    「Satellizer vs. Pandora」

    Who says an anime can’t improve upon its manga counterpart? Just when I thought Freezing was going to ride out the remainder of this arc and conclude around Satellizer’s battle with Cathy, it throws in an added twist that further develops her connection to Kazuha, shows the entire Pandora cast banding together, and foreshadows what’s to come with cameos from the most powerful Pandora in the world, Yi Suna (Saitou Fuuko), and Kazuya’s grandfather, Aoi Gengo (Ono Atsushi). Sequel please.

    Final Impressions / First Impressions / STAR DRIVER

    STAR DRIVER: Kagayaki no Takuto – 25 (END)

    「僕たちのアプリボワゼ」 (Boku-tachi no Apuribowaze)
    “Our Apprivoise”

    It was a bit abrupt, but this was a finale to remember. Unexpected twists and a galactic battle in space are just some of the things that had me on the edge of my seat. While there was little doubt about Head’s plan to use Sympathy’s ability to make Samekh his puppet, Keito’s revelation that she’s the one who sealed off the King of Cybodies was the first of many surprises.

    Final Impressions / First Impressions / Super Robot Wars OG

    Super Robot Wars OG: The Inspector – 26 (END)

    「貫け、奴よりも速く」 (Uranuke, Yatsu yori mo Hayaku)
    “Pierce, Faster Than Him”

    It took twenty-six episodes, but we finally got to see the long-awaited Aussenseiter and Dygenguar “Tatsumaki Zankantou” combination attack where “real men ride one another”. It was the perfect follow-up to SRX’s Hyper Tronium Buster Cannon failing to kill something in one-shot like it’s known for, and brought about “Einst Beowulf” emerging from Stern Regisseur’s ashes.

    Final Impressions / First Impressions / To Aru Majutsu no Index

    To Aru Majutsu no Index II – 24 (END)

    「武装集団（スキルアウト）」 (Busou Juudan (Sukiru Auto))
    “Armed Group (Skill-Out)”

    For a short two-episode arc that coincides with the conclusion of this second season, there was actually a fair bit of lead-in to what’s around the corner, suggesting that this is the foundation for a third season sometime down the road. We’ll probably be seeing more of GROUP after Touma and Accelerator cleaned up most of Skill-Out, after the latter cornered their leader Ritoku and caused him to commit suicide over being killed.

    Final Impressions / First Impressions / FRACTALE

    FRACTALE – 11 (END)

    「楽園」 (Rakuen)
    “Paradise”

    There was definitely no shortage of surprise developments to make this episode befitting of a finale, but I admittedly found the impact of them all much less than it could have been. I attribute that primarily to quickly tying up all the loose ends and leaving little time for anything to sink in, such as the deaths of various characters.

    Final Impressions / First Impressions / Hourou Musuko

    Hourou Musuko – 11 (END)

    「放浪息子はどこまでも ～Wandering son’s progress～」 (Hourou Musuko wa Doko made mo ~Wandering son’s progress~)
    “Always a Wandering Son ~Wandering son’s progress~”

    This was certainly a satisfying finale. Slice of life doesn’t really ever conclude since there is no central plotline to start with, but there was some closure and previous events were alluded to, making it feel somewhat like the conclusion of an essay. For one, I would say the three main characters Nitori, Takatsuki and Saori have definitely made up, after their friendship broke up before the events of the anime.