Is the long Season of EPIC ANIME FAILURE finally over? Well, maybe. The lineup this season is certainly stronger than last season, stacked with big titles like Full Metal Alchemist, Guin Saga, Valkyria, et al. (and Haruhi? What the shit?) At the same time, however, none of the shows in the past year and a half have actually managed to deliver on their early promises; literally every series that should have been (could have been, would have been) excellent more-or-less failed (spectacularly, pathetically, etc.). By now, I should know better than to make recommendations, given anime’s bad habit of going sour the moment I GET HYPE; thankfully, I’m incapable of learning from my mistakes. After all, someday I might actually get one of these right.
Watch
» K-ON! High school girls’ rock band. KYOTO ANIMATION. Easy recommendation, frankly; the OP/ED alone are worth the price of admission, and the entire show evokes images of the Haruhi rockband that single-handedly redefined the anime concert scene. The girls are textbook anime archetypes, but adorable and scrumptious (yum) nevertheless; they haven’t gotten to seriously rocking-out yet, but just watching them goof off is already great fun all on its own. This show will fail if the music isn’t actually any good (BECK, I’m looking at you), but the ED music video (and Kyoto Animation’s track record) indicates that this is unlikely. On the other hand, the danger of the main character becoming unbearably irritating remains a distinct possibility. I’m honestly not worried though; Kyoto Animation is back in fine form, and high school comedy is a genre they’ve thoroughly mastered. This show will deliver.
YES YES YES YES
» Cross Game. While we’re all sitting around waiting for Taishou Yakyuu Musume, this is as good a show to watch as any. Very strong first episode that, in my opinion, would actually have worked better as a one-shot OVA. The wannabe tough guys will undoubtedly scoff and write this show off as sentimental garbage, but unless you’re a complete asshole I think you’ll appreciate the excellent chemistry between the lead characters and the emotional steamrolling you’re eventually subjected to. Cross Game is ostensibly about kids playing baseball, but character interaction and endearing personalities is what sets this show apart (let’s face it: kids+baseball is simply too mundane to support a compelling show on its own). Having not read the manga, I’m not sure where the plot goes from here; the applicable cliches are legion, and avoiding them all will probably be impossible. Nevertheless, the first episode at least is worth watching, and if that’s as far as the show goes, that’s fine with me.
Normally, I'd have laughed at a face like that, but it didn't seem appropriate here.
Skim
» Higashi no Eden. I actually have mixed feeling about this show, though my overall impression is obviously positive. The character art is decidedly unattractive, and the plot similarities to Bourne are a major turn-off. On the other hand, they actually managed to get people who could speak English to voice all of the Americans; the acting certainly isn’t anything special, but it’s real English. I’m not sure which gods I need to thank for this minor miracle. Another plus is the way nudity is handled (note: crotch eraser = EPIC WIN), and the thought of some cheeky brat flashing cops in Washington, D.C. just tickles me. The plot may eventually run into credibility problems, but just staying interesting is going to be the primary hurdle if the first episode is anything to go by.
I feel the same way, sometimes.
» Natsu no Arashi! SHAFT!!!111shift-one! I’m not a fan of the character designs at all, but I’m a big (and perpetual) fan of SHAFT’s standard use of subtly erotic camera angles and focus. As usual with SHAFT shows, the first episode is pretty funny, although I suspect the rampant use of time travel will eventually run them into problems. The premise (what premise?) and characters don’t exactly inspire confidence, but none of the standard metrics are useful when dealing with SHAFT productions. It certainly has been a while since SHAFT really hit one out of the park, but almost all of their shows have fallen squarely in the “skim” category at the very least. I have no reason to expect any different here.
Zetsuboushita! Okay, this is overused.
» Sengoku Basara. This show succeeds mostly because it doesn’t take itself seriously at all; naturally, this means the show gets to do really stupid stuff without being called on it. If you’ve played the games, you know what to expect in terms of characters designs and plot, and if you haven’t played the games … well, it doesn’t really matter in a show like this anyway. All of the serious combat so far has been absolutely terrible, but all of the intentionally comical stuff has been pretty good; go figure. How long this show stays interesting will depend almost entirely on how long it remains amusing.
FALCON PUNCH!
» Shangri-la. I was honestly expecting this show to be better, but in hindsight I shouldn’t have been surprised; GONZO has been slipping recently. The best part about this show is probably the setting: the environments and organizations have that distinctly odd JRPG feel with a sci-fi/fantasy mix, though I fully expect this show to strain suspension of disbelief. Several of the characters are also somewhat “unorthodox” (in quotes because nothing is truly unorthodox in anime; the industry has dabbled in everything, including things that are better left alone), and one of them is a Rachel Alucard look-alike (yay). Unfortunately, the animation quality isn’t particularly good, the plot is thus far uninteresting, and the main character is irritating. Oh, the combat flat-out sucks.
Run, if you value your worthless souls.
Skip
» Queen’s Blade. Completely over-the-top and dangerously graphic for a non-hentai production, but is anyone really surprised? I’m going to watch this fully expecting it to be utterly terrible in every way. Those of you who aren’t idiots or masochists should not follow my example if you value your sanity or your eyeballs.
This was not photoshopped. Yes, seriously.
» Tayutama -Kiss on my Deity-. I won’t keep you in suspense: the show is every bit as bad as the title would suggest. This is bullshit visual novel shovelware for otakus. Self-respect demands that you not watch this show.
Won't somebody PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN?!?
» Dragon Ball Kai. “But-but-but! It’s Dragon Ball!!!” Yeah, it’s standard DBZ with terrible art and eardrum-rupturing voice acting. We’ll have to wait for some real fighting (in like, thirty episodes) to see if the special effects have been upgraded at all, but I’m not holding my breath.
OVER NINE THOUS- ah, forget it.
» Phantom. Noir did it better, which about sums up my complaints for this show. I found the first episode utterly boring – a fatal flaw when it comes to entertainment. The show isn’t necessarily bad, just unremarkable – which means that I can’t think of any good reason to watch it, unfortunately. To be fair, most Super Secret Assassin shows fall into the same “boring and unremarkable” category, so this show’s chances were arguably slim to begin with.
Kirika would have choked him to death with his own tongue.
