First Look: Summer 2012
Hello again everyone after quite a long break time and allowing myself to get pretty situated into the anime this season I figured I should probably get going on those first looks. Of course I wasn’t able to watch all of the anime this season so I picked out the ones I did check out. For a quick little guide I’ve color coated all the titles for ones work picking up, on watch, and dropping. Hope you enjoy!
Binbou-gami ga! • Campione! • Chouyaku Hyakunin Isshu: Uta Koi • Hagure Yuusha no Estetica • Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita • Joshiraku • Kokoro Connect • Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon II • La storia della Arcana Famiglia • Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse • Natsuyuki Rendezvous • Oda Nobuna no Yabou • Rinne no Lagrange 2 • Sword Art Online • Tari Tari • Yuru Yuri ♪♪
Binbou-gami ga!Binbou-gami ga! ended up being a lot better than I originally thought from the summary. I’ve laughed every episode and absolutely love the parodies they make with other anime. The story isn’t the most drastic or complex, but it has its merit. The characters are the reason I come back to this show week after week. The leads Momiji and Ichiko make the perfect comedy duo. I’m also a lot more fascinated by Ichiko’s character than I thought. The absolutely amazing, brilliant, sexy girl who has a twisted personality never really did it for. I generally don’t like being pulled the sympathetic card, but this anime does it right. It doesn’t fill you heavy on drama, just enough to keep the story moving. More importantly the voice actress Kana Hanazawa is unimaginably talented.The way she switches between sweet and innocent to mean and bitter is astonishing. A show I plan to keep on watch for the whole season and excited to see how it turns out.
While I find this anime entertaining it isn’t one of the best this season. I give it credit for bringing mythology into play, rather accurately at that, and for its exciting action scenes. However, the characters aren’t really doing it for me. On the one hand I’m glad the male lead isn’t some cry baby who seeks the approval of a stunning girl coughAccel Worldcough, but on the other the stunning girl isn’t all she’s cracked up to be. He quick character transformation between episode one and two took me a bit back. I can’t help but wonder if she is up to something. The problem is, if she really does end up being a twist, it will be completely random. There aren’t any character traits that push her in that direction. I’m going to keep it on watch because it is fairly entertaining and I would like to see where they take things.
Chouyaku Hyakunin Isshu: Uta Koi
I’m yet another person who decided to watch this anime because of Chihayafuru. Even if it was for the wrong reasons I’m really glad I stuck with it. The stories are not only sweet, they are funny. I have enjoyed every single one of them so far. The art style is also something I can get behind. Bringing out a very simple, artistic style for old poems was a brilliant idea. A very bold stand that brings the anime to a unique level this season. I can’t wait to see what they have in store for us later.
I watched one episode of this and knew it wasn’t for me. I was interested in the story from the summary, but it only ended in disappointed. At first I chuckled at the guys ability to snatch girl’s bras without them noticing and playing it as if it was nothing, but then it just got weird. I didn’t get behind the story so I wont comment too much on that, but I could see where the anime was going. Long story short I dropped it for its high ecchi factor and subpar art.
Another great anime that came out this season that I suggest people to pick up. I’m not sure how strong this comedy will finish but so far it has given me the most laughs. I was really curious how this anime was going to turn out, and I never expected it to be a dark comedy. The scenarios were so strange that I never couldn’t even wrap my head around the world yet I couldn’t stop laughing. The dialogue in this anime was top notch. It also didn’t rely on a specific character set. The characters didn’t really stand out like some comedies. It was more about how they reacted to the situations they were put in. A taste of what comedy should be aiming for.
Another decently done comedy that didn’t catch my radar during the Summer preview. So far it is holding my attention and I laughed at most of the jokes. However, I don’t know how long the glory will last. The series seems to be playing off the same jokes over and over again. I already noticed repetition in the second episode. While repetition can be used as a great tool for comedy, it doesn’t work if they over play it. It’s like when someone keeps saying the same inside joke over and over again. After a while you realize it wasn’t all that funny to begin with. Still, I keep it on watch for now because it could turn around.
I’m actually sad to say that I dropped this anime. I have nothing really against it, but it just ended up being one of those anime I had to cut due to time restraints. As you can tell I’m already lagging behind a bit on posts, so this anime wouldn’t help any. It was unfortunate enough to be the last anime I ended up checking out this season and didn’t hold my attention in the first episode. I chuckled here and there, but nothing worth while. Plus, as Hikaru mentioned, I’m not sure how long they can keep up with the story before you stop caring.
I’m watching this one because I really enjoyed the first season. The ending to the first season also had audiences craving for a season two. Low-and-behold it ended up being quite a bit like the first. I see it being very light hearted, a bit ecchi, and politically confusing at first. I’m following the story a little better than before, but I’m still quite lost. The negotiations between the nations take a comedic turn and I start to forget what the point of it was. However, I’ve gotten a little more situated in the roles of each character which helps tremendously. I wont suggest picking it up just yet if you haven’t started the series, but it is looking to be a good one.
La storia della Arcana Famiglia
When I saw the first episode I was planning on giving this one a suggested watch after an amazing opening. However, the anime soon lost standing when the first episode’s plot device didn’t really get mentioned again. The story wasn’t as continuous as I had hoped. It seems to be focusing on character development, but it isn’t really doing it for me. Only time will tell if this anime is worth watching. My assumption is the anime will have an epic ending where the family battles to win the title of Father and score a beautiful bride. Then again, we all know assuming does…
Muv-Luv Alternative Total Eclipse
A mech anime with aliens, what’s there to complain about? Probably a lot actually. Like the anime ripping your heart apart by killing everything and everyone you ever loved in the first episode. I think that was the reason I continue to watch this anime. It didn’t seem afraid to kill people off, and I think it will continue that streak. It’s exciting when you don’t know who is going to be the next victim. The characters so far haven’t really done it for me, but then again you don’t really know them very well. I’m expected a good turn around over the course Summer anime. Unfortunately an anime like this is on the fence when it comes to being a complete disaster or an amazing feat.
Such a strange love triangle we have going on here. I never expected this anime to be so drama filled even though one of the main characters is dead. I expected it to be a little more light hearted after the first episode. It is turning out to be one of those anime where you don’t know who to route for. I’m torn between seeing a reunion between the living and the dead, and seeing a new relationship blossom amongst the already living. I’m afraid that the anime will lose my interest from heavy drama and awkward situations. Nevertheless I want to continue watching this romance (since it is pretty much the only real romance this season) and I’ll let you guys know how it goes at the end of Summer!
Now I’m sure I know what most of you are thinking, “Oh great another cliché anime taking place during the Sengoku period”. And for the most part I would say, you’re right. This anime really is cliché when it comes to a single male protagonist and a bunch of different girls. Yet it has struck my fancy and I’m actually excited to watch it every week. Why? Probably because the guys perverse nature doesn’t stop him from leaning toward one girl. The anime in general was pushing Yoshiharu to be with Nobuna and doing so in a convincing manner. A part of me even sees this anime having a bittersweet ending. So far I’ve liked all of the characters, action, and story. I don’t see this one fading in entertainment value either. For once its nice to see a believable male lead. And let’s be honest, his witty liner about women’s breasts was awesome.
This season has turned out better than I expected. Oh who am I kidding I had such high hopes for this season it’s not even funny. I was holding thing up on a pedestal the minute I heard about it at the end of season one. I’m just glad to say that it has met all of my requirements and continues to be one of the best anime this season. If you haven’t picked up the first season I need to ask, why? Not only did I give the first season such a high rating, Chidori3souske and I have both been praising and hyping this second season. The characters were better than I remembered and the story is moving along considerably. Sometimes I need to hold back rewatching the episodes I just watched a couple weeks ago.
Another anime that took me by surprise. A lot of people were comparing it to .hack//SIGN which by the way I have never seen. I don’t plan on doing a comparison either because this anime needs to stand by itself. It needs to be seen as an anime that doesn’t just touch the world of gaming. I think I’ve been more taken back by the amount of chaos and death in this anime than one with tons of gore and decapitation. In the world of Sword Art Online the characters generally don’t die in a glorious fashion. There isn’t some epic battle or bloodshed. In fact, everything and everyone dies like fading pixels. Yet everyone time I feel like I saw someone die right before my eyes. That feeling is credited to the script writers and artists. Not only do the expressions bring a dark atmosphere to the anime, the sometimes vacant dialogue also adds to the effect. It’s hard to say what someone would say when they see a complete stranger, or a close friend, die before their eyes. This anime captures that by sometimes having no words to say and only responding through action. Now it is possible that the anime catch botch everything up, but so far it seems to be doing perfectly fine. For that, I suggest you guys pick it up as well. Trust me, you’ll be glad I let a few episodes come out before getting started because you wont want to put it down.
To be honest I had to Google this anime’s name because I forgot which one it was. That’s how bad I thought the anime was. It was really boring and the story didn’t catch me at all. The characters were ok and it had some pretty good parts, but nothing solid. It didn’t seem like an anime worth my time compared to the other ones I’m watching this season. The type of drama they were trying to bring out just made me sick to my stomach in a “Oh God I care so little about these people it hurts” sort of fashion. Thankfully Hikaru is keeping it on watch so you can hear from her what she thinks.
Eh, I’ll be honest I keep this on watch for the lawls. I kind of liked the first season and the second season is doing pretty good keeping things going. It isn’t anything amazing, it isn’t even an anime I would suggest picking up. If you really have nothing else to watch this season or just don’t want to listen to any of my other suggestions than give it a go. You don’t really have to watch the first season but you might miss out on a few of the jokes if you go skipping it.