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「ぽうらの意地」 (Popura no Iji)
“Popura’s Disposition”
Just like its first season, the sequel to Working pre-airs its first episode a month ahead of its scheduled fall season start. The opening and ending sequences along with their themes “COOLISH WALK” and “Itsumo no you ni LOVE & PEACE!!” were similarly withheld for the regular premiere, but this was otherwise a full 24-minute dose of all things Wagnaria once again — now with an apostrophe in the title.
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「Episode 1」
The live-action Ouran Hight School Host Club drama is here and boy is it a doozie. I thought an eccentric Suou Tamaki voiced by Miyano Mamoru was a bit much, but Yamamoto Yuusuke takes it to another level. Don’t even get me started about the twins, Hitachiin Kaoru and Hikaru, played by real-life twin actors Takagi Manpei and Shinpei respectively, who take their forbidden love act to uncomfortable extremes. That’s the number one thing that I wasn’t looking forward to at all. 3D can be pretty dangerous.
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「仕掛け絵本」 (Shikake Ehon)
“Pop-Up Picture Book”
Whenever a new GAINAX series hits the airwaves, that’s still an event for me – though not as much as it used to be. And I suspect the number of us who feel that way is no longer as large as it was. Whatever it means now, this is still the studio that gave us Evangelion, FLCL and Tengen-Toppa Gurren-Lagann, and even if I’m chasing ghosts, I still get a little thrill of excitement at the prospect of something new from them.
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「千房 離反す」 (Chifusa Rihansu)
“Chifusa Defects”
If I’m not going to give this anime an impartial and unbiased first look, is there anyone else out there who will? Chances are no, so if you’re still interested in hearing me out, bear with me for a moment before jumping to any predetermined conclusions. Strap yourself in. This is a long post.
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「ようこそ閃学園へ！」 (Youkoso Hirameki Gakuen he!)
“Welcome to Hirameki Academy!”
Going in, I would say my highest expectation for R-15 was that it would be a guilty pleasure. And after one episode, I can safely say that expectation was met, and possibly exceeded.
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「900秒の放課後〈前篇〉」 (900-Byou no Houkago (Zenpen))
“900 Seconds After School (Part One)”
So we have ZEXCS animating and the screen writer Morita Shigeru of Kore wa Zombie fame creating something? I’ll admit that I wasn’t too excited with the premise of this show but I was blown away with how well this first episode played out.
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「貧乏神インスペクト+」 (Binbougami Insupekuto)
“God of Poverty Inspection”
Local deities in the 21st century are what it’s all about in the adaptation of mangaka duo FLIPFLOPs’ 2007 fantasy comedy series. At first glance, the character designs are reminiscent of the ones seen in the Touhou Project anime. Replace the demons and youkai with gods and we have Nekogami Yaoyorozu — or at least, that’s the immediate visual impression that AIC PLUS+’s anime gives off.
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「僕とみんなと海水浴っ！」 (Boku to Minna to Kaisuiyoku!)
“Me, Everyone, and Sea Bathing!”
While I wouldn’t say that Baka Test came off the strongest during this first week of new shows, it was a really fun watch. Plus it has a strong back story going for it since it is a sequel. Here’s to a strong second season for this show!
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「エンド・オブ・アース」 (Endo obu Aasu)
“End of Earth”
When it comes to romantic comedies that tend to revolve around one, maybe two, gimmicky plot devices, the animation quality, character designs, and character personalities go a long way toward the overall appeal.
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「これからが彼女たちのはじまり」 (Kore kara ga Kanajo-tachi no Hajimari)
“It’s the Beginning of These Girls from Here On”
Fans of the IDOLM@STER franchise should be happy about this incredibly faithful adaptation, as it felt like I was watching someone play the Xbox 360 game it’s based on before my very eyes. The twelve aspiring female idols (and one producer) constantly broke the fourth wall to communicate with the nameless cameraman (soon to be producer), whose unvoiced lines were subtitled for most of the episode.