Several weeks ago, I thought about writing a summary post for 2008’s winners and losers, but after thumbing through the lineup I realized that it would be a pointless exercise. After all, there were no winners, and distinguishing between various degrees of failure in this case would be much like trying to rank piles of shit by their smell – even if it can be done, you’re still dealing with piles of shit. Pretty much every “watch” recommendation I made turned out to be mediocre at best, and most of the “skim” shows should have been filed under “skip”. One could have skipped literally the entire year of anime without missing anything really noteworthy (Macross fans will object at this point, but I’ve got a whole list of reasons for why Frontier was terrible overall.). What’s worse, a look at the release calendar for January 2009 suggested that the industry was on-track to deliver yet another decisively bad season. Would I have to wait until April 2009 to finally watch a good show, following five consecutive seasons of garbage?
That’s still an open question, but I’ve encountered a number of surprises now that January shows are actually airing. My enthusiasm is somewhat dampened given the number of past shows that have sputtered-out after just a few episodes, but at least these shows aren’t as immediately and shockingly terrible as I was expecting. Interestingly, this season appears to be extremely action-heavy; nearly all of the shows I’ve seen thus far have been combat-centric, with a number of them also set in post-apocalyptic worlds. Given that action shows generally require copious eyecandy to succeed, production values, fight choreography and animation/art style are all going to be critically important.
Watch
» Ride Back. This is a MADHOUSE project with production values easily surpassing most OVAs and even some full-length films. I’m not a fan of the character art due to the flat and oddly-shaped faces, but that’s really the only complaint I can muster against the aesthetics; as should be immediately apparent from the opening scenes, this show promises great visual appeal overall. The heroine is instantly likable, and while the rest of the cast is full of the usual suspects, none of the characters are particularly irritating yet. I actually expect to like the Ride Back Club members, even though there’s nothing obviously special about them. At the very least they’re likely to be better than the motor club in Aa! Megami-sama. The Ride Back machines themselves are well-designed, well-rendered, and well-animated, which goes a long way towards making riding scenes the highlight of the first episode and a complete joy to watch. Granted, sticking a pretty girl on a flashy bike has always been an easy way to grab instant Cool Points (see Ga-Rei episode one for a recent example), but the additional mobility provided by the Ride Back machines makes these scenes really stand out. Unfortunately, skirt + suspicious camera angles = constant panty exposure, but it’s treated in an understated, matter-of-fact way. The only question I have at this point is how the Ride Back Club is going to tie into the oppression and anti-government rioting. Maybe I should have read the manga.
Now is NOT the time for that!
» Viper’s Creed. Another transforming motorbike show, but with heavy combat emphasis; pretty much Ride Back, Badass Edition. Some subtle Ghost in the Shell vibes here with the hi-tech government agency, highway battles against an autonomous tank, and overall futuristic feel, but no cyberhacking (arguably GitS’s most compelling subject matter). CGI is above-par and production values are high overall, but there are some glaring contrivances in the combat itself, including the enemy being unable to hit anything with chaingun fire even from point-blank range. Essentially the entire first episode takes place on a deserted highway system built above water, so the environments are somewhat stark, but there’s actually a fair amount of detail if you’re watching closely enough to notice it. On the other hand, the character designs are nothing to write home about, and the stereotypical personalities are all in attendance. Having an all-female operator staff is somewhat quaint as well, especially with the unnecessary office drama. However, these weaknesses won’t really matter as long as the show maintains its focus on action rather than character interaction. Let’s hope the studio didn’t blow too much budget on the awesome first episode.
Muzzle flash ftw
Skim
» White Album. I actually like this show quite a bit so far, but given that this is an idol drama I don’t expect my fondness to last the entire season. I’m reminded somewhat of the I”s manga, which had far too many irritating moments, but White Album at least has the advantage of having older characters and generally broader scope. The most remarkable characters in this show are the Ogata siblings, and Rina in particular really carries the show. The entertainment industry is almost universally depicted in anime as being a terrible work environment, where practically anyone of any standing is arrogant, selfish, or just straight-up evil. The epitome of this caricature is the Idol Princess character stereotype, which is so thoroughly detestable that it’s killed every idol show I’ve ever seen – and I’ve watched quite a few, against my better judgment. Compared to this standard, Rina is quite refreshing – she’s the sort of near-perfect character that’s attractive, talented, and well-connected, and exudes confidence and assertiveness without excessive arrogance or cruelty. She’s also girlish enough to be cute, but not enough to be irritating. In fact, her only real flaw is that she isn’t the main heroine. Of course, I’m aware that some people don’t like “perfect” characters, because they’re allegedly unrealistic and boring; fortunately, I’m not one of those people. I will continue to watch and enjoy this show for as long as Rina remains awesome, and not an episode beyond that.
<3 Rina
» Maria Holic. SHAFT parody, so everyone should know what to expect. Holic attacks the Yuri Princess Academy genre, so it’s especially fitting that this show is airing in the same season as Maria-sama ga Miteru. The funny thing here is that SHAFT’s unique style is, by now, so (in)famous that there’s really nothing left to say. Maria Holic is an extremely typical SHAFT comedy, so if you aren’t a fan of the standard SHAFTisms and general off-the-wall stylistic shenanigans, this show is not for you. Everyone else should absolutely be watching this – but then, you already knew that. Matsurika is my favorite character by far, and I suspect I’m not alone; shocking profanity delivered in an otherwise polite monotone is just too damn funny.
Uh
» Sora o Miageru Shoujo no Hitomi ni Utsuru Sekai. Based on the Munto OVAs. I’ll make this clear up front: I’m only watching this show because it’s one of just a few action shows that Kyoto Animation has ever done, and I’ve been saying for months (years?) now that they should ditch visual novels and high school comedies to pursue other genres. But aside from the studio credentials, this show doesn’t look like anything special, which is incredibly disappointing for a KyoAni project. Production values are not particularly high – poor, even – and character art is mediocre at best and almost unbearable at worst. It certainly doesn’t help that the male lead dresses like a flaming homo. There was only one short fight scene in the first episode, and combat animation was fluid but otherwise unremarkable. The characters are boring for a fantasy show and the whole “You Are The One” angle is overused, tired, etc. The setting reminds me sharply of Escaflowne, which I have never liked, but I’ll wait and see how the whole “mirror world” scheme is leveraged. Suffice to say, it’s going to take more than reflective rain puddles to save this show.
More please.
» Koukaku no Regios. I’m fairly certain that this is going to be a poor show overall, but this rates a “skim” simply on the strength of the opening scene (and ending continuation, of course) in the first episode. The more this show resembles that scene and the less it resembles the rest of the first and second episodes, the better this show will be. Regios really has nothing else to offer; it is thoroughly terrible in literally every other aspect. It’s entirely possible that, like Ga-Rei, only the first episode ends up being watchable. What’s irritating here is that the setup for a good action anime is all there: post-apocalyptic world filled with high-tech mobile cities, giant monsters with h4xx0r regenerative abilities, and a group of superhuman fighters tasked with protecting the rest of humanity. It’s painfully obvious how to build a good show on that kind of platform, but the anime industry repeatedly insists on failing to do the obvious.
Great, more loli ass for our viewing pleasure.
Skip
» Akikan. This show is about soft drinks that turn into nubile young women. I’d be willing to bet money that this show was inspired by the inexplicably common “indirect kiss” delusions of the mentally handicapped. In any case, I don’t think this show requires any further explanation or time investment. Simply having a character named “Melon-chan” is instant /facepalm.
gtfo
I’ve already watched most of the other shows airing this season, but I’ll cover them in part two. The highlights of that batch will probably be Kurokami the Animation and Kemono no Souja Erin, but as we all know by now, a whole lot can change in just one episode. There are a number of strong sequels as well, including Minami-ke, which last aired a year ago, and Tetsuwan Birdy Decode, which turned out to be one of the best shows of 2008. In the end, there might actually be more shows under “Watch” than under “Skip”, which would definitely be a good start to the new year. That’s assuming, of course, that my watch picks don’t suffer a repeat of last year’s delayed catastrophic failures.
