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You’ll have noticed a bit of an absence from our fellow writers this month and that’s because it’s been a busy time in all our lives. Whether it be moving, traveling, graduating or just working a lot of overtime, we’ve done it all so we’re appreciative that the community on RC has been so patient and understanding. With that said, the month of May came and went very quickly for us and it’s time for another monthly wrap-up. As a house-keeping note, please refrain from simply stating that shows are missing from the list. Keep in mind that we’re human and we don’t watch and blog everything. If you have suggestions, we’re more than happy to engage in conversation as to why a show is worth a peek (or maybe other readers are watching too). Thanks!
This post could not be completed without the help of a few awesome individuals. The impressions below are brought to you by Samu, Stilts, Zephyr and myself. 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 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, feel free to leave any comments or suggestions of what you’d like to see. Please let me know what you’re liking, disliking, and hopefully I can make accommodations for it next month.
Housekeeping Notes:
| Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
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| World Trigger 6:30 EX (10/5) |
Hibike! Euphonium 24:30 MX (4/7) |
Ore Monogatari!! 25:29 ntv (4/8) |
Punch Line 24:55 CX (4/9) |
Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha ViVid 22:30 MX (4/3) |
Sailor Moon Crystal 19:00 Niconico (7/5) |
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| Arslan Senki 17:00 MBS (4/5) |
Danna ga Nani wo Itteiru ka Wakaranai Ken 2 Sure-me 25:00 TVS (4/2) |
Dungeon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatte Iru Darouka 25:05 MX (4/3) |
Owari no Seraph 22:00 MX (4/4) |
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| Grisaia no Rakuen 23:00 AT-X (4/19) |
Yahari Ore no Seishun Rabukome wa Machigatteiru. Zoku 25:46 TBS (4/2) |
Ansatsu Kyoushitsu 25:20 AT-X (1/9) |
High School DxD BorN 23:00 AT-X (4/4) |
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| Hello!! Kiniro Mosaic 24:00 AT-X (4/5) |
Re-Kan! 26:16 TBS (4/2) |
Sidonia no Kishi: Dai-kyuu Wakusei Sen-eki 25:55 TBS (4/10) |
Fate/stay night Unlimited Blade Works 2nd Season 24:00 MX (4/4) |
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| Shokugeki no Souma 26:40 MBS (4/3) |
Plastic Memories 24:30 MX (4/4) |
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| Kekkai Sensen 26:58 MBS (4/4) |
| World Trigger Episodes 29-32 |
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Samu: The countdown begins for the crossroads of the future. Everything has been building up to this point, and it’s nice to see an improvement in animation when it matters most. The editing is still choppy and amateurish, but the important fights were handled just as well as I’d hoped. Aside from the forced recap, I’d say this batch of episodes were an improvement on what we got last month – there was more action, more strategy, and some heavy consequences to the battles. Enedora is the first on-screen death in the series, and although it was censored (in the manga he was bleeding quite badly, which is very unlike what we’d seen from World Trigger before) it still was a moment of heavy impact. The fact that the Neighbours would kill their own incompetent allies to benefit their cause is a striking moment that will resonate as we head forward. The countdown continues, with Hyrein and Mira now entering the battle. Both have peculiar abilities – portal manipulation and animal-shaped bullets – but both make the Aftokrator threat even more dangerous than it already is. |
| Arslan Senki Episodes 06-09 |
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Stilts: Since last month the capital of Ecbatana has fallen, Farangis has been introduced, she and Gieve joined Arslan’s merry band, and they’ve faced off against Kharlan. We’ve also learned more about Silvermask’s origins—his real name is Hermes, son of Osroes, who was the previous King of Pars and the brother who Andragoras slew to claim the throne. So much happens in Arslan Senki that’s it’s hard to condense it into a small paragraph. My favorite part was—okay, I won’t lie. It’s Farangis. Farangis’ cold, no-nonsense interactions with Gieve’s self-aggrandizing arrogance has been hilarious! But the battle against Kharlan sticks out as a demonstration of exactly how powerful Team Arslan can be together. They defeat a small army with half a dozen, pull out Kharlan, and defeat him, with each doing their part. I’m surprised the revelations surrounding Silvermask have come so quickly, but I’m pleased—the pace of Arslan Senki is so measured that they fit perfectly, ensuring that Silvermask is more a character, less an enigma. I’m glad this series is running for two cours. |
| Grisaia no Rakuen Episodes 04-07 |
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Cherrie: Wow, is there anyone still watching this crazy show with me? This feels like my guilty pleasure every week because there’s practically no reason for me to recommend this anime other than for pure entertainment value. It’s like a trashy soap opera where everyone sleeps together and everything that goes wrong does and yet… you keep watching because you need to know what’s going to happen! Grisaia no Rakuen is not all about the sex, but Yuuji… poor Yuuji, this kid cannot catch a break. His past is just full of decades of bad luck and now we’ve finally caught up to the present which invites the five girls back into the story. Not only that, but you hear the story from another person’s POV and what happened to Yuuji’s sister. So many potential spoilers and so many revelations but I’m going to avoid them all here. Let’s just say that Grisaia no Kajitsu has got nothing on its sequel. Just when you think you know everything, it’s just the beginning. If you’ve seen Grisaia no Kajitsu, then I highly suggest you finish off this story by hearing about Yuuji’s past. It takes a complete 180 spin. |
| Hello!! Kiniro Mosaic Episodes 05-09 |
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Stilts: This show reminds me of how hard it is to blog pure slice-of-life series; I don’t know how Takkun does it every week. The last four episodes of Kiniro Mosaic were great, but I’d be hard-pressed to tell you exactly why. Comedy is always subjective, but I feel like Kiniro Mosaic has hit a stride better than any stretch of episodes I can recall. Highlights: The teachers-back-in-high-school flashback in episode six, the Alice and Karen flashback in episode seven, and all the Aya-being-tsundere-Yoko-being-genki-baka in every episode. Like Takkun, I was offput by Karen acting like a spoiled, whiny ojou-sama in episode seven, complaining about not getting an expensive necklace and her dad lying to her. The lying was no good, but that aesop was totally ignored. Everything else, though, has been rock solid slice-of-life goodness. It’s so warm and fluffy. I could watch this show all day. |
| Hibike! Euphonium Episodes 05-08 |
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Cherrie: I don’t think it’s a secret that musical centric anime are not my forte. It’s definitely not a preference when it comes to subject matters, but I often watch anyway because it comes with a good side of romance or slice-of-life and Hibike! Euphonium delivers on that front. One of the things that irk me though is my inability to really care for any of the main characters – asides from Reina. None of them truly stand out to me and I have a hard time connecting to the passion they have towards their band. Their relationships with one another and the “drama” they’re experiencing has taken it a notch up this past month and that’s probably what’s keeping me interested. Reina and Kumiko are a new controversial topic and while I like the bond that they share as friends, I’m in the camp that can’t see beyond that friendship. If that’s the path that the author and KyoAni want to take, then it’ll be a shock for me since I wasn’t under the impression that romance was even that prevalent in the series. |
| Ore Monogatari!! Episodes 05-08 |
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Cherrie: The first month of Ore Monogatari!! really took me by surprise by how it wasn’t your typical romcom series. Every week I tune in to see how it’s going to defy my expectations of typical shoujo anime and every week it does. It’s not the comedy that’s especially funny, but it’s actually the situations the characters find themselves in that give you a realistic look at relationships. The characters respond in a genuine manner of how people would react if faced with these issues and I admire the writer for painting this kind of story. Something like worrying about holding hands and touching or supporting your significant other are real dilemmas that people in first relationships may struggle with. As we follow Takeo and Rinko along in the early stages of their relationship, I can’t help but feel like their partnership is so ideal. Personally I love to watch couples that are more about opposites attracting or Romeo & Juliet types, but this a refreshing take on how other couples may get along. Honestly, I would probably go for a nice guy like Takeo myself. |
| Punch Line Episodes 05-08 |
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Stilts: Punch Line went from goofy, to an absolute mess, to something approaching interesting. It’s still a mess, though. Most of the problems are structural. It keeps bouncing about like a dating sim, and I’m not sure the time travel aspect works in this context. In a way, Punch Line reminds me of Robotics;Notes, where the main characters are a complete mismatch between the scale of the problem—even with a robot and some superpowered kids in the cast, they don’t feel like they should have anything to do with saving the world. Which brings up a comparison to Steins;Gate, where the time travel works much better. (Haruhi’s Nagato 15,532 repeats also had a lot more effect than Yuta’s billions, which are basically a throwaway detail.) There are interesting aspects, though. I liked that Yuta was revealed to be a girl (Yu), then revealed to be a boy in a girl’s body, and then we found out that it was him that was possessing his body—him from the future. It sounds crazy, but those elements sort of (kind of) works. Over all, I still have no idea what to think of this show. It’s not good, but it’s not precisely bad, either. Or rather, it’s at least interesting. I want to know how it will end, but to be perfectly honest, I probably would have already dropped the show if I hadn’t decided to cover it for these monthly posts. So that’s probably not good. |
| Danna ga Nani wo Itteiru ka Wakaranai Ken 2 Sure-me Episodes 06-09 |
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Stilts: I keep waiting to get back to the pregnancy plotline, but they’re jumping further and further back! Though I’m not actually disappointed, since episode -108 may have been my favorite of this punch. I’m a sucker for KuguRie, and the story of Rino & Nozomu’s romance was a sweet one. We also got the (by now mandatory) weird episode, where the art shifted and we got a story more overtly deep than Danna is accustomed to. This time it was about Hajime and Mayotama, and it was good, if somewhat clichéd in the underlying story. Older brother saves younger brother, and they learn to understand each other better … seen it before, but it’s effective. They keep teasing us and not giving us what we want, but what they’re giving is both adult, funny, and heart-warming. I’m still enjoying it. |
| Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru. Zoku Episodes 06-09 |
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Zephyr: It’s been said that human cannot truly understand one another—an inability to read all but ensuring that something will be lost in translation. Not being able to fully convey all our thoughts and feelings doesn’t mean it’s not worth trying however, and it’s this notion that ends up being the centerpiece of Oregairu’s second season. As Hachiman and Co. begin to realize, it’s more important having the mutual desire to understand more than anything, and there aren’t enough words to emphasize how big it is to see our entire main cast willingly admit not only that they have issues they’re dealing with, but that they need some support and want that support from each other. It’s a big development that culminates the bonds that our Volunteer Club members have been building with one another this entire series, and it’s one that ultimately also shows how Hachiman has found people he values so much that it’s changed not only him, but the methods he’s willing to employ to preserve his bonds with them. This past arc has been arguably the best of the series so far—it’s certainly been the one with most depth—and it’ll be great seeing how our cast feels their way through unfamiliar territory as they grapple with Iroha’s situation and their newfound openness with one another. |
| Re-Kan! Episodes 06-09 |
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Stilts: Re-Kan is one of the most poignant shows I’ve seen in a while. Each episode is self-contained, but by the end of the episode, the characters and unique dramas introduced in it are fully realized and resolved. It’s both satisfying and saddening, reminding one of the ephemeral nature of life, and of its beauty. If it feels like I’m waxing too poetic about a slice-of-life show with yuri leanings, that’s because I just finished the ninth episode, which featured one of the best uses of silence I’ve seen in a while. I literally held my breath during the final scene, when the old man wiped away a tear and thanked his wife … who had died a year ago. The story of the ko-gal ghost stung in the right way—a mother shouldn’t outlive her daughter. The desperation of Amami, wanting to find the lost child but not wanting to lose Inoue as a friend, was heart-warming. The story of the child ghost and their sensei, soon-to-be-married, was sad for the potential life that was lost. And the old man… Re-Kan is the sleeper I thought it might become. It’s telling beautiful stories. |
| Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha ViVid Episodes 06-09 |
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Stilts: As a series, ViVid is coming into its own. Before it was mainly about nostalgia, but now ViVid is thoroughly revealing its sports anime / martial arts tournament leanings. First was the practice matches in episodes six and seven, which were interesting in showing off what some of the characters could do—particularly Rio and Corona—though they were still firmly rooted in nostalgia, and I found the draw ending of the one match we were fully shown to be a bit disappointing; it doesn’t impact the series much, just a missed chance to me. But the past two episodes have been all about the Inter-Middle Tournament, introducing new characters (the main four girls’ tournament rivals), and in beginning the matches. The main problem is that the rush is on. Episode nine in particular paved a blistering pace, and some of the nuance was lost in the process. I also found Miura’s match against Micaiah deeply troubling from a narrative and character standpoint, which I’m told isn’t an uncommon reaction to Miura. I’m enjoying ViVid more now that it’s acting like a series in its own right rather than nostalgia bait for the Nanoha franchise, but hopefully they’ll slow down and give us the full ride. The next episode will likely determine how this series will proceed. |
| Dungeon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatte Iru Darouka Episodes 06-09 |
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Cherrie: This is an odd one for me after I’ve noticed what a huge audience Dungeon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatte Iru Darouka has. It’s not a story that blows my mind away; if anything, it’s just an average comedic, action/adventure series about a boy and his harem. It’s far from being terrible (I’ve seen far worse premises in the past year), but if anyone could explain the hype around this one, I would appreciate it. What I like is that each episode has been consistent with my expectations so far. Bell continues to develop as an adventurer in this month’s episodes and that’s one of the highlights for him as a protagonist. He is not the strongest fighter, but to make up for that, he has a kind heart that captures the attention of all the ladies. Lili is unsurprisingly one of my favorite new characters and that’s because they did a great job on her centric episode. I think it demonstrated both a change of heart for her and also what kind of guy Bell is. Hestia is still not my cup of tea, so I’m hoping she’ll get more development in the final month. |
| Ansatsu Kyoushitsu Episodes 16-19 |
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Cherrie: Another challenge for the E-Class and the results came a little too easily for our students. While I was cheering for the E-Class to win and do well, I thought their high scores were too “perfect”. Not to say that they didn’t deserve it, but the resolution just didn’t seem possible considering that they’re against the best students in the school. Nonetheless, they made it and the only student that I was surprised to see fail was Karma. That boy is probably my favorite character, but he needs to start putting in the effort too. As for everyone else’s efforts to murder Koro-sensai… well I can’t say that I like the direction that they’re going with because I honestly don’t’see how he’s evil or bad. The more I see Koro-senai, the more I sympathize him. He genuinely just wants the E-Class to do well and surprise everyone this year. At the same time, they’re trying to kill him for money and well.. I’m sure he has a history of secrets that’s just waiting to be told soon. |
| Sidonia no Kishi: Dai-kyuu Wakusei Sen-eki Episodes 05-08 |
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Zephyr: It’s been said that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, and that’s certainly true when it comes to Tanikaze. He started out as a rice thief for a reason, and these past few weeks have been a wild ride for various heroines as they embark on their respective quests to charm our ace pilot. Things have taken a different turn following episode four’s “cliffhanger”—we all knew Tsumugi would make it out alive—and it’s been an interesting ride with the serious elements of the series taking a back seat to more light-hearted moments. One would think it strange to have multiple episodes in a row filled with almost nothing but comedy given the genre and premise, but they make it work, and there’s much to be said about how much I’ve laughed out loud these past few weeks. The fact that Tanikaze’s essentially living with Yuhata, Izana, and Tsumugi now just takes the cake, and I’ll say that Sidonia no Kishi wouldn’t have been a bad romantic comedy given different circumstances. Either way, it looks like they’re setting things up to culminate the season in climactic fashion with the battle for Planet Nine, and here’s looking forward to what should be a exciting ending filled with epic mecha combat. |
| Shokugeki no Souma Episodes 06-09 |
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Cherrie: Now that we’re already a month into this series, we’re starting to see more arcs and rivals for Souma come up. That means there’s a good episode spent for anticipation and buildup before the big battle and challenges come to an end. I normally patient about this these types of things, but when it comes to food, if I ain’t getting any in some episodes, then I’m not pleased. Some episodes are either hit or miss for me when there’s no food involved but at least the foodgasms have been entertaining. The new characters introduced are neither terribly interesting or completely boring. I like Takumi, but only because he comes from a different background than the other students and more similar upbringings to Souma. While I like the rivalry that he poses against Souma, I’m not a fan of him personality. Megumi has made herself more prominent in these latest episodes, but Erina has gotten little to no screen time. I haven’t seen her do much of anything so her elite status is starting to slowly fade on me. |
| Sailor Moon Crystal Episode 22 |
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Cherrie: Sailor Moon Crystal is in its final stretch of the Dark Moon arc and this month I only had one episode! Chibi Usa gets tricked by the Wiseman and we’ll see what happens to her next week. Since the beginning of this arc, the story has been very different from the original anime so I can’t spoil the rest of the story even if I wanted to. I have to admit though, the villains were given a lot more depth in the original series – to the point that I even sympathized some of them. In Sailor Moon Crystal, the only one that really gets some development is Prince Damande and that’s because he’s in love with Neo Queen Serenity. I’m still enjoying this second arc though. However, I’m ignoring all the “What if” questions. When stories start to tangle up with time travel, it’s almost always a miss for me; there tends to be a lot of plot holes and unanswered questions. Sailor Moon Crystal is a miss for me, but hey! It’s not meant for adults so I’ll just roll with it. |
| Owari no Seraph Episodes 06-09 |
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Cherrie: I’ve been loving the action in Owari no Seraph this month. The earlier episodes took a little longer than I would’ve liked on the introductions and setup, but now that we’re here, I’m no longer complaining. We’re finally fighting real vampires! Although I’ll admit, the fights can be anticlimactic when you know who is going to come out victorious. There are instances where you know that characters just aren’t going to die and it takes the urgency away from the scenes as well. With all that said though, I’m still happy to see Yuu on the battlefield (as hot-headed as he is) and I even support the relationship between Mitsuba and Yuu. I definitely don’t see them as a likely couple or any romance in the series at all, but if there is any – you know who I’d ship. This show is going to be a split-cour (with the second half airing in the fall of 2015) and even though I haven’t read Owari no Seraph’s source material, I have a feeling I know where this cour is going to end off. It’ll probably be a cliffhanger but hey, I’m hoping I’ll be proven wrong. |
| High School DxD BorN Episodes 06-09 |
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Stilts: The Astaroth / Juggernaught Drive arc has been great! It really has embodied most everything that’s fun about High School DxD: The comedy, the ecchi, the harem antics, the magical battles, the strong emotions, and Issei kicking ass without becoming a Gary Stu, because he couldn’t do much or anything without Rias and the others kicking ass with him. The weakest part was Astaroth himself, who was a one-dimensional villain who deserved a curbstomping. Fortunately, he got one. The rest of the plot also gets shifty once you start thinking about it too much, but the emotions on display, especially during the latest episode, were excellent. And the Juggernaught Drive … wow! The hype was deserved. Perhaps the most surprising part (at least to some LN readers) is that some of the anime original changes are actually kind of working. Maybe it’s not as good; even the best anime original changes are wonky at best, since they often conflict with what the source material intended. But they’re working decently well here, at least during the last couple of episodes. I’m looking forward to a strong finish. |
| Fate stay/night Unlimited Blade Works Episodes 18-21 |
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Cherrie: A lot of talk this month… not exactly the reason I watch Fate/stay night but it leads into some pretty fight scenes and some revelations I didn’t see coming. I don’t remember the ending for the Unlimited Blade Works route (which should be a good thing) but I’m dying to know what happens to Rin and Shirou. I recall being an avid Rin fan when I watched the original Fate/stay night from Studio Deen, but I can’t say that the romance between Rin and Shirou has been that evident in this remake. Of course, the route is more about Archer vs. Shirou so you can really see their difference in opinion there. Archer feels like an old soul to me who’s more experienced and seen so much that it’s hard to deny that what he’s saying is inevitable for Shirou too. At the same time, I really see how Emiya has shaped him into who he is today (and in the future) and I loved seeing the flashbacks to Fate/Zero. I can’t wait to see the exciting conclusion for this route now that it’s back down to Saber vs. Gilgamesh. |
| Plastic Memories Episodes 06-09 |
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Zephyr: When it comes to Plastic Memories, mixed feelings are the name of the game. The series has mellowed out following a dramatic start, and its recent episodes a hybrid of romance, slice of life, and comedy more than anything. The lack of a serious follow up ends up a tad disappointing given the potential of the series, but there’s much to be said about how enjoyable the series has been to watch regardless, with much of it being because of Plastic Memories’ straightforward storyline. The series has been a testament to how you don’t need convoluted plots to create something worth watching, and while it may not be everyone’s cup of tea anymore, it’s been a joy to watch Isla and Tsukasa’s relationship develop the way it has. The notion of seizing the moment, of cherishing the time you spend with the people you love are things that strike a chord no matter who you are, and what’s particularly amazing is how the series manages to tug at the heartstrings despite its choice to keep a cheerful atmosphere and setting. One would think such a thing would be less effective than a darker backdrop with the same premise, but it turns out that this is just as effective, and I’ll say—out of many of the shows this season, this is one of the series whose conclusion I can’t quite pin down. The potential endings are many, and I’m excited to see just how things end here. |
| Kekkai Sensen Episodes 06-09 |
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Cherrie: It’s taken a while, but Kekkai Sensen has finally warmed up to me. Actually what really got to me was episode six with the mushroom dude and his love for burgers. Anyone has a passion towards food, makes an immediate great first impression on me. That episode was the first time that I felt an attachment to the characters on Kekkai Sensen and it’s made it grow fond of the other members of Libra as well. For example, Zapp is someone that’s gotten a lot more screen time and focus this month which I can appreciate. I still don’t really care too much about his actions because he behaves much too prematurely and immaturely for me to even register what he’s thinking of, but at least development is right up his queue. The show has definitely grown on me and although I’m not usually a fan of this type of storytelling, the setting is different and used very well for this type of anime. I absolutely love the insert songs that they throw in as well; it’s timed so perfectly each time. |
I’m sad how time flies by so quickly, because it means Kuroko no Basuke is ending soon.
Here’s hoping the sequel manga will be adapted as Season 4 or an OVA.
Ah… gonna wet myself if it gets animated…
Show Spoiler ▼
Any reason Enzo didn’t give any impressions? I miss it! Cherrie does a whole great work on these, but most of them very superficially. How can you miss Ore Monogatari is almost more a friendship story than a love story?
I give Enzo the option to opt in every season. This season he’s very busy with stuff IRL and hasn’t been able to contribute. The bulk of these summaries are what I’m watching plus whichever shows Enzo, Stilts, Samu and Zephyr want to write about. Just because they’re not writing about them doesn’t mean they’re not watching (Enzo is still blogging on his own site). It’s a lot of work to compile these every month so they may not write as much as they’d like.
As for Ore Monogatari, I still think first and foremost that it’s a romance story. There is a strong friendship story that I love as well but we’re only starting to get to that now. Perhaps next month they’ll showcase more of Takeo and Suna and their bromance =)
Don’t worry Cherrie, I’m still watching Grisaia too. Mostly for Amane and Asako though.
And how are you liking it? 😉
I was watching it for Kazuki but now I just want to see how it ends!
I can say with absolute authority that it’s the best show playing at 11pm on Sunday.
I started watching it because I love Mizusawa Kei’s voice and Yuuji’s harem is pretty good. That’s about it though, Grisaia is not bad enough to drop but not good enough to get excited about.
That was how I felt about the first season. I’m liking this season of it much more. It’s still not a great series, but it’s entertaining enough to get me to watch it at least every other week.
I’m enjoying Grisaia this season. Though I do like how Yuuji’s not the typical harem lead, Kazuki and Amane’s backstory were pretty much the only highlights for me last season. It’s a bit disappointing that my top two favorites (Kazuki and Asako) are dead though, but despite just being an AI now, Kazuki remains my favorite. Her interaction with Yuuji and finding out what’s gonna become of her are pretty much the only things I look forward to in this show now. Kinda odd how I find Yuuji’s interactions with the secondary characters (Kazuki, Asako, JB) more entertaining to watch than the main ones. Maybe it’s cause the show was able to show how close of a bond he had with them in just a few episodes (And it’s not just cause of his “intimate” relationship with them xp) – compared to the main girls, who I still think he just thinks of them as five girls he saved, nothing more (well, aside from his new “daughter”).
I can’t agree with you this time Cherrie. Maybe it’s because I haven’t played Meikyuu and Rakuen yet but I’m enjoying this Grisaia MUCH, but MUCH more than the first season, and it’s one of the shows I most looking foward to see every week (losing maybe to Fate, Oregairu and Soma).
The first season was a mess, I have to say, and I kept saying every episode that it was because the romance must remain platonic, but every change and all the rush they made with the routes was getting me really mad. However – again saying that it’s probably because I haven’t played the other games – I’m thinking that Rakuen is much more enjoyable, and all the people that played the rest of the trilogy are saying that the pace and eveything is much better, and it’s honestly making me even more anxious for the release of the next two novels by Sekai Project.
Anyway, that’s just my opinion. I have to admite that every week I cry thinking that Rakuen didn’t get covered by Random C.
World Trigger – Much better animation than the previous month aside from the lengthy and unnecessary recaps. Show Spoiler ▼
Arslan Senki – I like how the production team has changed some of the scenes in the manga. It’s going at a quick pace, I don’t remember how long it took to get to this stage when reading the manga (seemed forever).
Ore Monogatari!! – Nice series with nice characters, though I do prefer the focus to be on the bromance than romance. Loved the latest episode with screenshots of lush desserts.
Sailor Moon Crystal – Like Cherrie, I am enjoying the current arc a lot more than the old series, probably because of more Sailor Pluto moments. I heard that she is to play a bigger role.
Ansatsu Kyoushitsu – Animation quality remains high and the soundtrack has also improved in last week’s episode.
Owari no Seraph – Yuu and Mikaela are the only characters I’m interested in. Shinoa is a great non-typical female character, but I don’t like her personality. The battle with the helicopters lack impact and was uninteresting.
Kuroko no Basuke – I am enjoying this season a lot more than when I was reading it in the manga (my love for this series never faltered). Production IG is doing a good job in making a coherent story whilst cutting out a lot of scenes from the manga, creating the right tension and stirring emotions. It uses the right soundtrack at the right moment to add to the mood and draw you in. Don’t want this to end!!!
One question: where are you watching Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha Vivid at?
This is the first time I am watching so few shows in season (due to various things including the fact that I personally did not have a lot shows this season that seemed like my cup of tea, so to say…)
Watching World Trigger and Arslan as soon as they come out 🙂 Oh, and Sailor Moon
Buuut…Reviews made me check out Hibike and I really like it so far 🙂 (still have to check last 2 episodes)
Also started watching Oregairu because of reviews. So thank you all for good recomendations because I had totally different picture for these shows and never really thought to give them chance 🙂
When it’s all done gonna watch Fate, Kekkai Sensen and other shorts.
Also, recently my schedule became more hectic with job along with college so I really understand how dedicated you are to this because it isn’t easy 🙂 Thanks and keep it up !
Explaining DanMachi for you? Uhh.. Well
Perhaps it is some sort of hidden “Old School” telling story. Guy is weak, poorly and has only his Guts and Proud. He experience some Life changing and want to become a Hero like how saved him. A Boy that is trying his best to become one pf the same Hero class or better. is it not the same for our own drives in Life? This Boy just found the Drive he need to become better. He found the “Light/god voice” to fighto!!
Uhm.. i hope i could explain my art of this Show for you.
Labyrinth/Eden is definitely better than Fruit of Grisaia. A rare sequel which is superior to the first.
In that case, I’m sorry Cherrie, but it will be impossible to explain to you why so many people like the series. Without the ability to recognize the
perfectionappeal of Hestia, you simply won’t get it.After deciding to watch Ore Monogatari on a whim I’m quickly coming to the conclusion that is is single handily the best show of the season. Typically romcoms either swing too hard towards fantasy (i.e. harems, wish fulfillment, or plain refusal to abide by suspension of reality) or comedy, leading (at least me) to simply pass them by unless the humour is enough by itself. Monogatari is probably the first that I eagerly anticipate every week because it dispenses with the fantasy, nicely condenses the humour, and gives what is by far the definition of cute; I ain’t one for emotion too often, but the manly tears are real here, let’s just say. Without a doubt the best rom(com) to have been animated in a long while and the standard all future ones should strive towards.
Otherwise Oregairu and Sidonia no Kishi continue to be the highlights behind Monogatari for me, followed up by Owari no Seraph in part due to the fantastic use of background artwork. I really want to give Plastic Memory the benefit of the doubt, but every passing episode just seems to further confirm the series as “could have been so much more”. As for Fate/Stay Night not much to say, it’s the popcorn blockbuster that has met all expectations and continues to provide the weekly dose of well-funded action 😛
This thread is missing a whole bunch of DIO.
Amen to that!!! ZA WARUDO!!!!!!!!
TOKI WO TOMARE!!!
I do apologize for that, as I haven’t been able to keep current with the series (I’m a few episodes behind) given my full-time work schedule, and thus haven’t been able to say much about it for the monthly impressions. I assure you though, that if the series keeps it up and year end post format stays the same, it’ll get a mention before the year is over.
First thanks for a nice update ! I thought RC was behind but a very good explantion . The writers do a good job when they post! So thanks for what you give us!
I will just comment on a few shows not that anyone is more important but what has steady and surprising! BTW only 2 shows not on this list I am not watching!
Grisaia no Rakuen / Cherrie I renjoyed the first half a lot with Asako and JB but kinda got trashy when we got back to the girls but gas rebounded! Stiil a good watch!
Hello!! Kiniro Mosaic / Stilts Yes they found a formula that keeps me ROFL but stiil has some life lessons
Re-Kan! / Stilts It a shame more people arent watching ! Started how slow but is heartwarming / sad / funny and many life lessons BTW the episodes are much better w/o Pervy cat! V ery underated!
Ansatsu Kyoushitsu / Cherrie The first thing it does a great job of manga to anime adaption! So what seems like filler is straight up from ther manga! You know what’s crazy its still warming up ! Not a spoiler but beware all is not what it seems! Oh the english dub is so good !
Sidonia no Kishi: Dai-kyuu Wakusei Sen-eki / Zephyr This another anime that follows the manga a lot ! We have disagreed from time to time but I stiil rate this as one of my favorite Space / SciFi adventure ! The romance is like the manga . But a lot of this is the calm before the storm!
Shokugeki no Souma / Cherrie Another straight from manga to anime ! So there arent skipping anything! Dont worry Erina wiill be around more! Its story building!
My short-short summary for May…
World Trigger – Still chugging along whether the way they’re showing it is agreeable with the masses or not. It’s touching a few of my own nerves now, the most recent episode not-withstanding (THAT was back to standard, somewhat).
Punchline – It’s full of crazies! (And it’s filling gaps that we didn’t see when Yuta was a ghost too! that’s a plus.) It would be terrible for this show to drop the ball now (remember, it wasn’t that big on radar apart from the VAs hype…)
Sidonia no Kishi: Dai-kyuu Wakusei Sen-eki – It’s different, yet not different at the same time. Imokaywiththis.jpg
Gunslinger Stratos – It’s rather close to being dropped even 6 episodes AFTER the usual dropping point. Shame it’s still trying to redeem itself with the (semi-expected) plot twist in the recent episode.
Fate/stay night Unlimited Blade Works 2nd Season – It has it’s ups and downs this month, so I rather not comment too far. Still, it’s still one of THE shows to watch.
Plastic Memories – The funny bit’s trying, but the gags are still hit-or-miss. Still, the emotional parts are there, hooked me on and trying real hard to squeeze another tear out of me (after the first episode).
Post is lacking something. I know!
YEEEEAAARRRRTTT!!!!!!!!!!!
Kind of sad no one else is watching Ninja Slayer from Animation, it’s a great show even if people can’t get past the interesting and creative animation choice Trigger has gone with.
The Assassination Classroom manga recently covered Koro-sensei’s past, so hopefully Season 2 gets to it. All I can tell you is Koro-sensei is definitely NOT Show Spoiler ▼
.
That is exactly what was delivered the next episode. Great pacing, great build up, and overall great adaptation of the manga.
They finally slowed down and collected their thoughts, much like the first few episodes. Hopefully they will keep this up.
I wish a different blogger wrote his monthly impression of Danmachi instead of Cherrie. Better if they didn’t make any monthly impression of it at all of its only Cherrie who’s available.
Danmachi just had its strongest month this May, most notably episode 8, and Cherrie entirely missed the point. And no, Danmachi’s charm doesn’t revolve around Hestia. She’s just a blatant fanservice device.
Yeah, while I get that one person can’t cover everything about a show, it’s almost disheartening to read some of the impressions given. They seem superficial or gloss over important aspects ie Danmachi or Hibike.
Disheartened to say the least. The impressions about DanMachi, Hibike and Shokugeki were all missing obvious points of the shows and to me it almost felt like, they are meant to make you dislike what you are watching. So I gotta agree with Raiu, rather no impressions, than that.
That’s rather unnecessary, Cherrie’s entitled to her opinion (and has the right to state it, double so on the site she’s blogging on) just as much as you do.
Besides, she herself asked for someone to explain why the series is popular. Since you seem to know the answer, could you share it? I would like to know too.
I’m not criticizing her opinion about the show or even challenging it. I’m questioning the way Cherrie does her blog. It’s like a tired old man just waiting for his retirement. It’s as if what her doing is more of a chore, a duty, than something that she would genuinely enjoy as a blogger. As if watching those animes are a pain in the butt for her.
Other blogger here most notably Stilts, Samu, Zanibas, Zephyr and Passerby have more gusto and personality on their blogs even on the short monthly impressions that they write. They all tackle the good, the bad, the ugly of the animes that they blog notwithstanding their own personal preferences (stilts being a hentai guru for example). It evokes criticla thinking. As for Cherrie, its dry, superficial and points out the obvious like a newscaster on a morning newsfeed. It’s fucking empty.
Danmachi’s appeal might just be for the same reason stories about heroes are liked.
Other than that, no clue what the hype is about.
Is Re-Kan! really that good? I ignored it because its section of the season preview didn’t really catch my attention enough.
It depends on how much you like episodic comedies, IMO it has the same “feel” as Goguri Kokuri-san and Majimoji Rurumo from the past few seasons.
Nothing really new, but decent if in need of a quick midweek breather.
I’ve never seen either of the things you’ve used as a comparison but seeing the positive recommendations for it I will definitely look into it.
I’m really enjoying it. It surprised me too, because it didn’t especially stand out when I previewed it, but the anime has been very poignant and well done. It’s still slice-of-life, but I suggest it.
I’ll just echo the guys above in saying that it’s been surprisingly enjoyable to watch.
Danmachi: The novels give a bit more explanation on Lili and Freya’s situation.
On Lili:
Show Spoiler ▼
On Freya: Show Spoiler ▼
Ansatsu Kyoushitsu – Business as usual, Koro sensei is cool and funny enough, and the class he teaches keeps going on, fun watching with a curiosity factor: Koro sensei’s origins
Arslan Senki – I had heard a lot about an epic amazing story and this anime delivers it. Nice animation and nice characters. The whole crusade vibe gives it an extra point. I’m portuguese and the fact that the Europeans are known as Lusitanian, which was Portugal’s name before the Roman conquest is just funny :p
Denpa Kyoushi – This one is a funny show, an otaku, past overachiever, that ends up affecting people’s life around him in a good and kind of inventive way whenever someone drags him into teaching duties.
Danmachi: For me this one is just amazing, it has a kind of SAO vibe, great character development, the story is good overall and the fighting sequences are well executed. It’s the story of a boy who has a dream and a goal and works hard for it, giving it all and that’s charming in a way; therefore the allure from all of the girls. Hestia is funny and caring for our hero, she also has a huge crush on him… And yeah, let’s face it, she’s a bit of eye candy, but she’s in no way the only reason to watch this show!
Fate-Stay Night – Unlimited Blade Works – My favorite route when i played the game 🙂 It’s masterfully done, everything is just brilliant. The UBW route is said to represent the loss of innocence when faced with the harsh realities. When compared with the Fate-Stay Night original and first route it’s understandable why. It’s a dream vs reality kind of thing. Two words: Perfect adaptation!
Gunslinger Stratos – The Animation – This has been a downer -.-‘ My curiosity for how they will end this one, is the only thing that keeps me going.
Kekkai Sensen – Great, fantastic, it has action, it can hit you right in the feels (the hamburger episode for eg. ) and it’s funny. It even goes to the point of making you believe that it can be almost as good as Cowboy Bebop was… almost xD
Mikagura Gakuen Kumikyoku – School clubs that fight against each other, students with powers, some decent character build and a yuri factor (this last one done in a comedic way). I like it.
Owari no Seraph – Whatever Cherrie said except for Mitsuba, i’m a Shinoa/Yu kind of guy :p
Plastic Memories – I believe we are headed for a tearful finale, whether it ends in a happy note or in a sad one… The experience of loving someone who is doomed to disappear is daunting.
Sidonia no Kishi – Love this one, and also believe we are headed for an epic finale. The almost slice of life vs military tests/conspiracies/attempts from a “revived” “long gone scientist” to come back, work out like a charm 🙂
I find Danmachi a strange anime, its all cliche, but since I started watching it, I couldn’t stop.
It should only get better from here on, as later volumes are considered much better than the first ones.
The way I see it, it’s a bit cliche, but there’s a straight-forward nature to it that’s ultimately charming, and a kind of innocence to the main character that makes him an interesting watch. Hestia being Hestia adds a bit to it all, and the animation + action aspects are actually done quite well, supported by a soundtrack that really kicks in when you need it to.
“Hestia is still not my cup of tea…”, you don’t need the tea. You just need the cup.
Highschool DxD
As a LN reader, I am totally dissatisfied on the Anime of DxD. The anime is starting to divert from the LN and it is not satisfying. Although I am glad to see Rias starting to have Jealousy from Issei. It still doesn’t change the fact that we didn’t have a Gremory x Sitri fight. That fight proved that Issei’s potential that came through hard work. We didn’t see a proper Saji. We didn’t met the Chichigami-sama (Breast God and I’m not even kidding). I’m also very dissatisfied about the Astaroth arc because I didn’t hear a particular song. That song should be the Hype of the season. Dragon’s love it you know.
Grisia no Rakuin
I have a Love-Hate relationship with this novel series. On a first note I was not able to play this novel, so this would be an outsider’s point of view. Yuuji reminds me of
the Magic JesusTatsuya. They have many background setting that resembled each other like them being the unwanted child of the family while their sibling is the wanted child. They are both the “succesful” products of a human experimentations. They both have their mind fu**ed when they were a child. They are both soldiers. etc. Anyways what I’m trying to say here is that Yuuji they have such tragic pasts that should have broken them down. (Actually Yuuji and Tatsuya broke down. Yuuji shown on Grisia no Meikyuu. Tatsuya indirectly said when he said he doesn’t feel anything towards his mother (In the novel Tatsuya’s monologue says I don’t feel Hatred, Attraction, Envy or any type of feelings except for his PURE Brotherly Love towards his sister.)Yahari Ore no Seishun RabuKome wa Machigatteiru
This one keeps getting interesting as the story flows.
BatmanHachiman’s Fu**ed-up RomCom get’s even darker as the story progresses. Well it does get lighter from time to time but at the every end of each episode brings out its darker side again.Two-Face’sHayama’s personality keeps getting better as well. He doesn’t want to be the Hero for the things he did not even do. They even madeJokerHaruno even more Ruthless! How scary. Then again,JokerHaruno is only one personification of the bad side of today’s society. I still wonder though will Hachiman create another Martyr social suicides not because of a request, but because he wanted to save his… Wait do he even consider Yui and Yukino as friends? Or just fellow plain Club members?Caught up with Hibike after seeing how much praise it was getting and glad I did; Owari lost me quite quickly, while Plastic Memories continues to keep me attached to most of its characters. OreGairu’s slipped off my must-watch-list, however, since Episode 8 involved a climax that made me feel anything but climactic.
Should go back to DanMachi soon, just not in the mood for that sort of thing atm.
I warned you guys in the past that Dungeon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatte Iru Darouka was gonna be a huge disappointment. Why humans don’t believe in someone who’s lived in the future is beyond me.
I love the shit out of it so… Fail on your part?
I’ve been busy the past few days and I finally have the time to check out and catch up on Randomc. I checked the impressions above and the comments as well and am greatly surprised, and saddened, that I don’t see a single mention of Houkago No Pleiades (Wish Upon the Pleiades) here. So I figured I’d give my impressions of it.
Houkago No Pleiades
Let’s start at my initial expectations before the show aired. I had already seen the ONA so I was expecting them to fill out some details and lengthen the fragment hunt without really changing anything. I was expecting something simple and comfortable without anything new or exciting.
Let’s move onto the show. The first few episodes of Pleiades were the worst in my opinion but as the series went on, as each of the main characters were filled out as whole characters rather than simple archetypes, I felt that the series was growing on me. Sure there wasn’t anything new directly related to the plot but character development is very rarely a bad thing. I feel that good, relatable characters and a decent plot is much better than a new and exciting plot with poor, shallow characters. So far the series was exactly as I expected, nothing new, but good nonetheless.
Then episode six aired. It wasn’t something I had expected at all, Show Spoiler ▼
It was exciting, and the episodes following have been, in my opinion, even better than the other episodes. It was probably around this point in time when I realized that Pleiades had become my AOTS, Anime Of The Season.
Let’s move on to the animation itself and the directing. The anime does make use of CG animation for some scenes but it is handled wonderfully, they tried their best to minimize the impact it had on the visuals. Mostly far shots where things are small. The traditional animation seems, to my casual eye, nicely done. There are no glaring mistakes and the color choices are nothing new or exciting, but neither are they bad. In terms of directing I find that Show Spoiler ▼
The atmosphere of the each episode fits the episode, but small details here and there connect together to create the aforementioned tone. It is easy to predict the direction the show is most likely going to take, aside from the obvious collect all the fragments plot, but that it’s already proven me wrong twice so I can’t say anything for certain.
In summary I guess it would be safe to say that literally everything – the animation, music, characters, plot – has surpassed my moderate expectations in the best way possible and I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes from here.