...what are you watching...

A lot of this season's anime have really pretty characters...with pretty clothes...



Katsugeki Touken Ranbu 2-10! New pretty boy characters are constantly being thrown into this story. And while consistently very pretty, it's moving sort of like an RPG now rather than a show with a plot. The mindless demons aren't really doing anything for the show. In episode 7, we get introduced to Unit 1 who have much stronger members than Unit 2 who are basically the main characters. It would be nice if there were 'bad guys', but we find in episode 10, that the anime is really about the character's internal struggles with being time travelers who try to prevent distortions in history based on their master's decisions whether they agree with them or not. The writers are terrible at conveying the plot.



Ballroom e Youkoso 2-9! Generally speaking, the set-up of the show isn't unique. There's the hard-working, naive, main character; the strict, but knowledgeable teacher; overly-serious & talented rival(s), and possible love-interest. The above-average production with its exaggerated facial expressions comedic and otherwise along with the stylized dancing scenes probably make this show stand out. Unfortunately, none of the dances were animated in full. They relied mostly on still frames. In episode 3, Tatara stumbles into a competition. The set-up was a little too obvious, but the tension and portrayal of stage fright were pretty brilliant. Tatara's feelings are portrayed well; you feel indirect embarrassment with him. The show moves quickly as Tatara starts an amateur competition with Makoto against her brother and Shizuku.

Hitorijime My Hero 2-9! Episode 2-3 focuses on the dense idiot and moody, quiet guy. Of course, the moody one forces a kiss(and more off-screen) on the dense one. Episode 4 turns its focus back on the older brother turned teacher and main character who of course, is an excellent cook. The anime does a nice job of creating some semblance of a story out of the almost-PWP manga. Wish they had aged them up to college students, but it's a nice, fluffy BL love story with some really funny moments.

Youkai Apartment no Yuuga na Nichijou 2-9! The parallels to Natsume Yuujinchou are numerous, but this show has a more slapstick sort of humor. A lot more supporting characters/Inaba's neighbors are introduced in episode 2. Inaba also develops supernatural powers. I read some of the manga to see if this was supposed to be a shonen anime, but it's not. It is a supernatural slice-of-life story. Inaba's dorm is eventually fixed and he moves out of the yokai apartment...but naturally realizes he misses the place and returns. There's an odd BL aura around his best friend that I think is supposed to be humorous, but is cute...I guess. In episode 6, he acquires a tarot book a la Cardcaptor Sakura and is able to command the creatures inside. I think the show tries to be a parody of the magical book shows?...but doesn't try hard enough for the laughs.