First Impressions, Anime Winter 2013

[Haika 12]

Hello everyone.

 

Well the new season for this year has started in the world of anime. I decided to start up this thread here so people at this forum can write down their thoughts on first impressions and what they think of the shows as they come up. I've watched a few handful, and have plans to check out a couple more before the premieres finish up next week or so.

 

The first one I watched this season is Maoyuu Maou Yuusha. And I approve.

 

 

I found this to be very interesting. With a heavy dose of ecchi, in an art style that is much more artistic and almost 'Victorian' in nature. The concept of trying to stop a war that is fueling the economy is an interesting one, if a bit preachy. With having only seen the first episode, it's hard to say how good this will be, but it was worth enough that I want to see more. Even if only because of the 'bubblyness' of the Demon King.

 

 

 

Then I watched Senran Kagura. And while I think it had potential, I don't plan to watch anymore.

 

 

This is pure ecchi plain and simple. Plenty of bouncyness, very little depths to their story. Even a strong sense of shounen combat that we could potentially have.

 

Then they kicked you in the balls by throwing a magical girl 'transformation' in. Some may yet still like it, and enjoy it. For me however, that just ruined what little they had going for it. The magical girl genre is typically a complete waste of time for an adult male like myself. This is a market focused on really young girls, putting it in a very ecchi title clashes heavily with me. Even sailor moon had an aspect of sleezyness that kept me from appreciating it as much as it should have been. It was one of the first anime I ever saw, and I watched quite a few episodes, but once I found other things, I realized just how bad it was for my tastes.

 

So this anime didn't get past 3/4ths of the episode watched. As soon as that transformation scene came up, I had to stop, it was borderline sillyness before then, but the transformation was the last straw for me. This one is a no-go.

 

 

 

And then today I watched Love Live! School Idol Project. And really quite enjoyed myself.

 

 

That was... a whole lot better than I'd thought it'd be. It's obvious when you watch a music anime like this that you think of K-on, Kira*Kira, or even Deardrops. There have been several that try to capture that music meets anime feel, and most don't do it as well as the top few.

 

The concept of an Idol, is something that is extremely strong in Japanese culture, and while I feel a bit creepy watching the 'anime dance moves' of young high school girls, I think that's also part of the whole 'idol' thing.

 

This feels quite good to me. I really enjoyed the music parts, if they can keep up a decent balance between the dramatic reality(the fact of trying to do something so unfeasible), and great music and such, it will really hit it off I think.

 

However, we have yet to see just how developed all these characters are, and I worry that 9 girls is quite a lot in a group, I wonder if that will become a plot issue as we go along. Assuming that we've seen all 9 this episode: the main girl and her two friends, the two from the council, the music room girl, and the three that showed up to look at UTX. I see quite a few tropes in what we've glimpsed in them all, but only time will tell if they hold up in the future of the show.

 

Either way, this is going on my to-watch list. If nothing else than for a relaxing bit of random dancing ecchi and some decent jpop music.

 

 

 

There are still a couple more that I'm interested in watching next week. I'd like to see more deeper anime, something with a little more bite than these, Maoyuu might have some depth to it, but I think it may suffer a bit from trying to mix ecchi into a serious tone. And the Idol one is just pure lighthearted fun, not really something you should worry about looking too deep into.

 

As the season goes on, I'll go ahead and reply here and add thoughts about other shows as I watch them. And I encourage others to post their thoughts on new shows this season, even if they are ones I've mentioned or something I haven't seen yet. Who knows, we might even entice people to check out anime they may otherwise not have any interest in.

 

 

 

http://cdn.myanimelist.net/signature/Haika.png

Edited January 9, 2013 by Haika

[killerinsidee 14]

Nothing that I'm interested in came out yet. *sob*

[higguy 10]

Nothing that I'm interested in came out yet. *sob*

 

Tamako Market i guess?? , its first episode is going to be air on 9th in japan.

WHICH MEAN I GET TO WATCH THE SUBBED VERSION TMR !!

Kyo-ani , don't dissapoint me ( u guys did well with chuunibyou!!! )

 

i've watched Maoyuu Maou Yuusha and Love life

seems okay for now , i liked the love life song at the end.

Might watch D.C III...

But the only thing that im really really looking forward to is haganai next!

Edited January 9, 2013 by higguy

[desi 53]

Nothing yet. Although technically not Winter 2013, Zetsuen no Tempest is supposed to continue this season and looks like I might pick it up.. I'll probably wait until it's all done and finished.

[KuroCrow 10]

Nothing yet. Although technically not Winter 2013, Zetsuen no Tempest is supposed to continue this season and looks like I might pick it up.. I'll probably wait until it's all done and finished.

 

yeah i agree on the fact that a few fall 2012 season anime hasnt ended yet and im still waiting for some of them to finish

 

my want to watch list is:

Oreshura

Haganai next

LoveLive!(maybe)

Minami-ke

 

for now still not sure about other potential shows

[higguy 10]

my want to watch list is:

Oreshura

Haganai next

LoveLive!(maybe)

Minami-ke

 

for now still not sure about other potential shows

 

to be honest i think that mostly sum up the potential shows already

though i think i will add tamako market and maybe vividred operation to the list.

[Haika 12]

Just watched Kotoura-san's first episode, and let me say, that was amazing.

 

 

 

I doubt it will hold up in later episodes, but the seriousness of the main character's power and how it has effected her life(no matter how improbable), is strong in the dark and gloomy emotional department. Being able to read minds is one thing, but her real issue is the lack of control she has in reacting to what she reads. It's almost like a compulsion to respond to thoughts that you would think by now she could tell what was spoken and what wasn't. I think that issue should have been what the mother focused on when taking her child to the doctors, instead of trying to think she's sick. Then again, my mind is reeling at the different aspects of her power.

 

She has probably paid for her apartment with her powers, as if you can read minds, you can make unimaginable amounts of money(imagine gambling, be it the lottery, poker, simple guessing games, it would be crazy). And then there's the thought of being romantically involved with such a girl. This Manabe-kun is a brave, brave man. He wasn't joking about the pervy thoughts bit in most male heads. Could you imagine it further down the road and they get more intimate. I doubt it will happen in the course of the show, and even if it did, it's not even close to being rated for that. The ideas running through my head about a girl who can read my mind, and has accepted me enough to get to that point. My god. She would know exactly what to do, and when to do it. The real question is, is this a good thing... or a bad thing? And I think that question is what defines the character.

 

From this point however, I think we move into a typical slice of life show. The mind reading bit is a gimmick really, like the disabilities in Katawa, and like that game, it will be impressive if the creators manage to make the story outshine the gimmick by the end of it all.

 

 

 

Going on my watch list this season, however I worry about how much staying power it might have. The second episode really will be the clincher for me.

[killerinsidee 14]

Haika, you should check out Sasami-san. I've finished episode 1 just now, have to say that it seriously rivals Nichijou and even Pani Poni Dash in randomness. Pani Poni was also done by Shaft so I'm guessing they still know a thing or two about crazy nonsense comedy. Calling it - best anime of the (kinda sucky) season.

Edited January 11, 2013 by killerinsidee

[switch 13]

Haika, you should check out Sasami-san. I've finished episode 1 just now, have to say that it seriously rivals Nichijou and even Pani Poni Dash in randomness. Pani Poni was also done by Shaft so I'm guessing they still know a thing or two about crazy nonsense comedy. Calling it - best anime of the (kinda sucky) season.

 

sasami san is ok ...but ..ONE DOES NOT SIMPLY RIVAL NICHIJOU

nothing beats nichijou IMO

[OneManArmy 82]

I'll just do what I did last year, not watching any new anime that is.

[Haika 12]

Haika, you should check out Sasami-san. I've finished episode 1 just now, have to say that it seriously rivals Nichijou and even Pani Poni Dash in randomness. Pani Poni was also done by Shaft so I'm guessing they still know a thing or two about crazy nonsense comedy. Calling it - best anime of the (kinda sucky) season.

 

Randomness really isn't my thing. However I probably will give Sasami-san a chance. Though if it gets too random, I likely won't be able to keep watching it. For example, I've seen neither of the two anime you mentioned here. Both their art styles, and sheer randomness keep me away. Reminds me of shows like Bobobo, comedy is not random stupidity. At least not to me.

[Haika 12]

Time for some more first impressions.

 

I actually watched Sasami-san yesterday. This is definately a strange one.

 

 

It reminds me quite a bit of FLCL, it has that strange borderline randomness that will likely never be explained, but has enough of a touch of reality to it, that it's hard to dismiss as total stupidity. I didn't find it nearly as bad as I expected, it all worked, even with the randomness. Even the slightly washed out pastels of the background reminded me of FLCL's style, certain background things were almost depected as oil paintings slowly melting in the sunlight. And that's pretty strong imagry, intended or not.

 

It left me with some very obvious questions, like what the hell is up with the brother hiding his face. Or what exactly happened with the whole chocolate thing, is Sasami dreaming all of this? How are those three involved, basically I sat there with a big question mark floating above my head as the end theme played... and I have to admit, I want to see more.

 

 

 

 

Next I watched two new ones today before checking out the latest one piece and hunterxhunter as I usually do on Sat nights:

 

Mondaiki-tachi ga Isekai kara Kuru Sou Desu yo? - Fast paced, but still quite interesting.

 

 

I expected this to be pretty good, and so far it hasn't let me down. Though they are really not wasting any time with the pacing. I imagined a slower pace to the story, and this is coming very quickly. With only 10 episodes, I guess they don't really have much to loose, I just hope they keep up the pace and it doesn't fall off as the show progresses, because that would be a shame.

 

The art style is a strong clean anime type, nothing too goofy or serious. Even a bit of ecchiness, though more on the younger tame side like the rabbit rubbing her behind or the innuendo about the win condition. The story so far is great, I particularly like the apathetic attitudes of the three world travelers. It just goes to show how much I like a good confidant badass. So tired of the main characters whining and failing all the time.

 

As always, hard to say exactly from just one episode, but this is going in my to-watch list for sure.

 

 

 

 

Hakkenden: Touhou hakken ibun - Great atmosphere, finally something that isn't a slice of life high school anime.

 

 

This reminded me of two other stories, first the intro with the flames and the disaster that struck at the start reminded me a great deal of Fate/Stay night. Then as they were fighting whatever that was in the forest I got the feeling of Bleach and some of the early hollow fights before that series went downhill.

 

The music was quite nice with a good strong eerie tone to it. There is a great feeling of depth to the story, with enough darkness and mystery to keep it very interesting. The complex relationships with spirits, gods, and the Church have always lent some decent storylines to anime.

 

So, the one guy is a wolf, the other has the sword of life... makes one wonder what exactly the girl has(Wonder if the Muramasa is there?, being the counterpart sword of death). Let alone the bigger questions of what exactly happened in that village, and if they are really alive or not with all the talk of 'being around them too much'.

 

 

[ChexGuy 13]

Minami-ke Tadaima - YES THEY FINALLY GOT IT RIGHT

Tamako Market - Standard KyoAni moeblob kinda stuff, not bad.

Sasami-san - dafuq am I watching, not used to Shinbo's stuff but it's alright.

Haganai NEXT - More of the same, not the best but not terrible.

Ore Shura - Not sure yet, had some funny parts but I'll see how it goes.

Vividred Operation - yo this is friggin' loli mahou shoujo Rockman, I shit you not. Pacing's a bit awkward imo.

[higguy 10]

lolol just watch vividred operation

 

I LIKE THIS SHIT LOLZZ , i dont know why but from the start of the show i noticed the background art was great and i kinda was

attracted to it.The characters were ok , i liked the "strike witches" design and the "mecha?" theme it kinda had (at the end) , though i feel the last

part was kinda rushed ,i felt it was great as a first episode. I would be looking forward to each episode every week!

LOLIS BANZAI!!