...what are you watching...

Totally acknowledging the fact that nobody uses LJ or DW anymore, but I find Tumblr and other trendy social media areas only good for images rather than writing. At least some blogs continued to survive and continue to provide interesting well-written posts. (not that you'll have that here...this is my own resource) ;)

Below are the new anime airing this spring and my first impressions:





Sailor Moon Crystal 27-30! The start of the Mugen/S series. The style of this season has changed as the director and most of the main animation staff has changed (for the better, I think). Gone is the odd CGI-ed transformation sequence, and a new cleaner transformation takes its place. The character design is a little more cutesy, too...actually closer to the original anime and farther from the original manga that the 1st two season tried to emulate. "Jupiter Coconut Cyclone"...hahaha..the attack names are still as great as ever. In these episodes, Phaorah 90 sends dark egg things to possess people. Michiru and Haruka are introduced. Their seiyuu sing the ending theme. This is probably the best story arc out of the whole franchise and despite the production still not being Macross quality, there is an improvement and I think I'll enjoy the silliness.



Boku no Hero Academia 1-3! has a ton of hype around the manga of the same name. Izuku Midoriya is quirkless in a world where 80% of the people have a quirk/supernatural power. He wants to become a hero despite that weakness. Crybaby main character - check. Rival/bully - check. Mentor - check. Multiple fight scenes - check. School/training setting - check. It's entertaining, but I'm waiting for the Izuku grows out of the crying stage and I'm also waiting for the story makes itself distinctive from all other shounen anime.



Sakamoto desu ga? 1-2! is about the perfect student, Sakamoto, and the classmates who are jealous of him or want him. Sakamoto's over-the-top perfection reminds me of Sebastian from Kuroshitsuji. It's mildly amusing, but not enough to hold my interest. Dropped.

Tanaka-kun wa Itsumo Kedaruge 1! is about a lazy, sleepy student, Tanaka. This is a slice-of-life anime that probably should be cute and funny, but I think you get as sleepy as Tanaka watching him not do anything. Dropped.



Flying Witch 1-3! is about a witch that moves to a relative's house as a part of her training to become a full-fledged witch. This is adorable and well-paced.



Kums Miko 1-2! A young, country miko wants to go to school in the city. The bear god at her shrine tests her knowledge of the city. I thought that this would be a cute, harmless anime, but after the story about the bear seducing a miko and them having bear offspring that can speak, this contains both typical Japanese kawaii and ecchi humor. The bear just had to mention he was neutered lest we think even more perverted thoughts about this show. The ending song is cute.


Joker Game 1-2! An army lieutenant oversees a group of trained spies, the D Agency, who enjoy playing a psycological 'joker game'. This is set in the 1930's. They are ordered to find proof of a potential traitor's activities, but the lieutenant finds that the joke may be on him. The tone is a little pretentious, but the actual weakness is that the suspense and intrigue are not as alluring as they try to make it seem.

Bungou Stray Dogs 1! A detective agency made up of pretty people who have special powers. They meet a boy who can turn into a wolf in episode 1. Nothing special here.

Super Lovers 1-3! The BL anime this season is about an orphaned boy who hangs out with wolves and a teen twice his age whose family eventually takes him in. The underlying icky age factor isn't as bad as what happens in Usagi Drop, but it's there.



Macross Δ 1-2! the latest from the Macross franchise. There is a disease that turns Zentradi violent and there's some sort of war going on. A singing girl group mitigates the disease's effects. An overly genki girl stows away on a cargo ship so she can audition to be in the group. A dock worker who likes to dance in his mech takes it upon himself to protect her. Like previous Macross series, the production quality is pretty high. There's plenty of Valkyrie air battles and catchy pop songs. But dropped anyway... Macross Frontier was genki enough for a lifetime.



Ace Attorney 1! I've never played the game but I think all the informational pop-ups are lifted from the gameplay. In episode 1, Naruhodo's first case is to defend his childhood friend from a murder charge. It's as overly dramatic and predictable as you'd think it would be. Dropped.



Enride ! A young boy with a crystal obsession gets sucked into another world where crystal stones in the body create weapons. He also meets his slash fanfic buddy, a prince of said world. A lackluster premise and generic characters make me sad. Dropped.

Koutetsujou no Kabaneri 1-2! the one also airing on Amazon Prime is a high quality production that about zombie-like creatures, kabane, that infect humans through their bite. Can't say that the characters or first couple episodes stand out enough to keep me interested, but the gore probably has a good audience out there.

Long weekends are so nice. Might as well post some late posts.





Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works 23-25! the end. At the finale, it's Saber vs. Assasin, Shirou vs. Gilgamesh, and Rin vs. the Holy Grail blobby to save Shinji despite him trying to molest her just a couple episodes back. She even apologized to him when she thinks that they are both doomed. The final fight scene with Shirou finally mastering his powers was pretty darn fun to watch. Archer gets the final say by sneaking in from the 'dead'. I'm a little sad that Saber didn't to show off her skills at all this season...other than the final blow to the Grail. Episode 25 is basically a throw-away, but cute epilogue as Shirou and Rin go to London/'Hogwarts' to attend the school for mages. There's a nice Fate/Zero cameo. Maybe there are some other fanbait things in the episode that I don't recognize. The episode confirms Shirou's resolve to become a hero of justice despite knowing how he may end up. ~9/10 rating~ for this arc of the Fate series. This was a huge improvement over the original series in terms of animation production and story. The original where Shirou crushes on Saber was a terrible route. There was less high school drama and Rin is a better companion for Shirou. She forces him to be a better character. All of the characters are stronger and more likable in this version. ufotable did a great job with this franchise.



Arslan Senki 11-13! In 11, we learn that the masked man is the true heir to Pars who supposedly died in a fire when he was young. Narsus saves the life of a random bandit and who obviously becomes a fangirl. Arslan and company make it to a faithful border stronghold, but find an incoming army.

Sailor Moon Crystal 24-25! Sailor Moon has some great characters; Tuxedo Mask is not one of them...he keeps getting brain-washed. Chibi-Usa lusting over her father is not great, too. The animation quality and 80's cheesey plot holes can be bad, but nostagia-vision is fun.

Some of the spring offerings...

Vampire Holmes 1! is another 3 minute gag anime. Vampire Holmes doesn't solve crimes despite how much his assistant, Hudson, pushes him to. It's not really funny nor is it produced well.



The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan 1! is an AU spin-off of the Haruhi series in which Suzumiya Haruhi is not a character (random background street cameo instead). It's a typical shoujo anime. Yuki has a crush on Kyon and plans the literature club's Christmas party. It's quite dull actually and the production is a step down from the original series. Probably not worth the watch.



Kyoukai no Rinne 1-4! has that old-school anime charm going for it. A young girl can see dead people. She meets a cash-strapped shinigami who guides the ghosts to the afterlife. From the creator of Inuyasha, we get another cute male and female lead characters who are instantly likable. The first episode is about a cursed cell phone and the caller who left something important behind. Episode 2 explains how Mamiya Sakura can see ghosts. There's also a cute talking cat...you can't not like him.

and the decent stuff...



Kekkai Sensen 1-5! The citizens of New York City get exposed to some sort of gas/fog and a few citizens gain powers or turn into mutant-like beings. Some are good and some of evil. Libra is an organization that suppresses the evil. A young boy joins to learn why his eyes were replaced by 'god' eyes. This show has a style like Baccano with its sometimes-jazzy music, flow to the scenes and variety of characters, but it's there's also an X-men-action feel, too. The first episode gave the viewer and good understanding of the whole story really quickly, but the plot doesn't progress too much through episode 5. The opening theme from Bump of Chicken and ending theme from Unison Square Garden are fun. I wish FUNimation's stream was sharper...or the production better. Can't tell who is to blame there.



Arslan Senki 1-4! Arslan is the young prince of Pars, a country at war with Lusitania. Pars uses Lusitanians as slaves. Lusitanians believe in a god that teaches that all men are equal...and it's ok to kill for that belief. The King of Pars is of course a harsh, undefeated king...until episode 3. Arslan is depicted as having a very gentle heart and healthy curiosity for all people. The show is the definition of an epic war fantasy..but darn, the novels that this show is based on are not completed, so I assume the anime will be left undone. (Again, I wish FUNimation's stream was a sharper quality..yes, the pirated show is sharper.)



Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works 13-17! back for the 2nd part of the story. Yes! My only gripe with episode 13 is the out-of-place fanboy service scene with Saber. But everything else with the return of the anime was up-to-par. Rin and Archer confront Caster only to have Archer betray Rin. We see a glimpse into Caster/Medea's past where she betrays her former master...a blond pimp. In episode 15, Illyaviel and Berserker face off against Gilgamesh and lose pretty badly. Berserker didn't really get to show off any real skill at all. Thankfully, Rin's battle with Caster and Archer versus Lancer were both lovely to watch.



Sailor Moon Crystal 19-21! So Chibi Usa takes Sailor Moon, Venus, Tuxedo Mask and the cats to the future to save her mom. Sailor Pluto takes a swipe at them. It's so sad that the animation quality sucks. They find that Sailor Moon is Queen of Tokyo in the future. When you can live hundreds of years and have the crystal of power, I suppose becoming the Queen eventually happens.

I guess I am posting monthly now....too many other distractions and lack of exciting anime:



Nanatsu no Taizai 1-15! Standard, but enjoyable shounen anime about the a young boyish-man, Meliodas, who comes to the rescue of a princess. It's fun to watch the seven 'sins' gang come together to fight the corrupt holy knights. So far the episodes are generally action-packed and funny. It's not completely fluffy even if they have a talking pig. There's blood and death that brings out the dark-side of Meliodas. Episode 13 brings out new opening and endings. A potential weakness to this anime is that it will catch up to the manga soon, but I think there's enough manga story to last another season. I enjoyed the twisted intro to the sins of lust character, because most of that episode was pretty confusing.



Durarara!! x 2 1-3! I know I liked the first season, but I can't really remember what actually happened (it's been like 4 years). I'm glad this continues the story..I suppose I'll have to rewatch or wiki the first season. Anyway, this episode takes place 6 months after the first season and introduces some new characters and reintroduces old ones. (I really wish they'd continue Baccano!)



Yuri Kuma Arashi 1! The title gives away the content of the anime clearly...lesbians, bears and a storm. Alien bears who can change into girls have come to 'eat' humans. An all-girls school is the setting. Ikuhara Kunihiko (of Utena fame) has created another weirdo anime with rather blatant sexual innuendos all over the place...there is possible deeper symbolism...but really, he just likes to create girl on girl action.



Yoru no Yatterman 1! A young single mother raises her daughter with a couple 'bodyguard' type friends. She tells her daughter stories of a lengendary hero. Well, no quest is born without the loss of parents, thus the mother dies due to poverty and the lack of medicine, and the daughter then decides to go to find why the 'hero' didn't help. Mediocre production, but somewhat interesting.



Death Parade 1! has a fun opening, but bland episode. A newlywed couple is brought to a bar where they have to play a death game...well, they find out that they are dead and the game's outcome determines their fate. The production is pretty nice.



Assassination Classroom 1! is about an octopus-shaped alien who destroys part of the moon and threatens to do the same to the Earth. He allows Earth a chance at survival if a student can kill him while he is teaching. Turns out the class he teaches is a delinquent class and that he is a good teacher. The class is motivated by the government's 10 billion yen prize for killing their teacher, too. Decent animation production and one of the more original twists in a GTO-like storyline make this interesting. The tone of the first episode is quite like GTO where a young boy is buillied into a suicide-bomb plot to kill the teacher, but the teacher is able to protect him while teaching the other kids a lesson.



Tsukimonogatari 1-4! the end. is the next part of the Monogatari series. Araragi has to refrain from using Shinobu's vampire powers so that he does not turn into one himself. Ononoki helps out when circumstances test him. This was definitely a blander story arc out of everything so far. ~7/10 rating~ I think I missed a story arc....was there a movie? Ah ha, Kizunomonogatari never aired yet...



Sailor Moon Crystal 14! the end of Metalia and the beginning of Chibi-usa. Go little gun-wielding girl!

Sailor Moon Crystal 8-9! Minako as Sailor Venus lets the other girls think she is the moon princess. When Tuxedo Mask takes a hit for Sailor Moon, the trauma restores the memories of her previous life....much kissing and crying is had. While I see the gaping plot holes, terrible animation and sub-standard characters (compared to characters created nowadays), I do enjoy the nostalgia.



Fate/Stay Night - Unlimited Blade Works 2-4! Rin takes Shirou to see Kotomine Kirei, so that Kirei can explain the Holy Grail war to him. Illyaviel and Berserker meet them outside. Berserker's regeneration makes him pretty invincible against Saber and Archer. Great fight nonetheless. In episode 4 Shirou take Saber to school...everyone is suspicious. I do like this version of Shirou and Saber more than the first Fate/Stay Night. Shirou doesn't coddle Saber as much. And the school teacher is toned down so she is likably outgoing rather than a loud annoyance.



Shingeki no Bahamut Genesis 2-5! Favaro is the orange-haired bounty hunter who grew a tail after promising a 'demon' girl, Amira, to take her Helheim. His rival, Kaiser, now thinks he is a demon, too and goes after him. Kaiser also thinks Favaro caused the death of his father. Favaro sells the girl out to knights that are after her, but in the end inadvertantly saves her. There are other parties interested in Amira because she has the key of god. The pacing of the show is a little awkward and the characters try too hard to be funny, but the characters and setting are unusual enough to keep me interested. I'll give it a few more episodes to get better. I like the fantasy elements of the show; the character design, creatures and setting are pretty high quality.



Garo: Honoo no Kokuin 3-5! Flame-boy and Wolverine go to an alchemist so that they can get a magic ring that can help the boy control his flame-iness. Stuff happens. The prince meets another knight and becomes his student in order to save his parents. Hoping that this ramps up soon.



Orenchi no Furo Jijou 2-4! is about how Wakasa, the mermaid, tries to help Tatsumi with his budget after he finds that his use of hot water puts them in a financial bind. The opening to this anime made me think it was going to be a drama, but it's just cute stuff. Episode 3 introduces Wakasa's octopus friend. I was wondering if there'd be a little BL flavor here...and yes, just a little. Episode 4 is a trick or treat episode.



Mushishi Zoku Shou 13-15! Haven't written about the previous episodes but enjoy the quiet story-telling. 13 is about a younger, more naive Ginko who makes a mistake in regards to a mountain god. 14 is Groundhog's Day for a man to whom Ginko gives advice...does he follow the advice? of course not. 15 is about the consequences of stepping on someone's shadow.

Hunter x Hunter 2014 144-148! the end...after 3 years of fun. Killua and Alluka reach Gon's hospital room while Pariston, Leorio, Mizu-cow and Cheadle are the top candidates for the Chairman/President position. Pariston wins but resigns to let Cheadle lead. If the recent manga chapters are any indication of what's to come for him, we've only seen a small part of his twisted personality. Gon is healed and finally meets his father. Killua had sooo many touching scenes in this series and the one with his sister is another great one (episode 146). I do enjoy the fact that Killua and Gon's goodbye isn't very sentimental. After the ant arc, it seems natural that they became independent of each other. It is also interesting that Gon was the stabilizing force for Killua in the beginning of the series, and Killua is that to Gon at the end. Out of the two, Killua's character developed the most. The episode with Kite is unusual as we see a slightly darker side of Kite that his previous self did not show. It was an interesting transition to how the show closes out.



Ging and Gon's episode is fittingly laidback. The series wraps up by showing little snippets of other characters where they are at now. I initially thought the coin-butler survived, but I suppose the animal-creature is taking his place for the sake of Killua? ~10/10 rating~ for this series. My only hangup with this retelling was the skippable theme songs. Overall, Hunter x Hunter is seriously on par with Full Metal Alchemist in quality storytelling and nail-biting cliffhangers. It's too bad the mangaka continues to have health problems as Ging and Pariston's arc looks very intriguing.



Sailor Moon Crystal 6-7! without the monster-of-the-day episodes, there is more of a sense of anticipation for each new episode. It's actually rather annoying to have such a drop in animation quality with the every other week schedule. Anyway, it's nice to see a more down-to-earth Tuxedo Mask. He admits to having no powers and thinks that the crystal is the key to lost memories. And Tuxedo Mask/Mamoru Chiba coming clean with Usagi was a good thing, too. Episode 7 was amusing in that Zoisite took advantage of Sailor Moon's speech to get her in a choke hold. And Tuxedo Mask got to show off his manly punch? LOL.

New season reviews are next...

Didn't one season anime used to last 11-12 episodes?



Kuroshitsuji: Book of Circus 7-10! the end. Ciel and Sebastian confront the man guilty of kidnapping and torturing the children. He has indirect ties to Ciel's past. The circus people attack the Phantomhive mansion but are confronted by the Phantomhive servants. The humor and dark aspects of the show are showcased. The servants are pretty brutal and kill all the circus people that attack. Sebastian burns the perverted guy's house, kills the circus doctor and Joker...and the drugged up zombie children. ~9/10 rating~ for this delightfully twisted arc. While sad, I thought it appropriate that Ciel goes to the orphanage to find that the circus people were supporting the pervert's deeds for nothing. I hope they animate the future manga arcs; no fillers please.



Love Stage 7-10! the end. After Izumi is rejected by the manga publisher, Izumi sulks in Ryouma's place. Ryouma being the nice guy that he is, doesn't take advantage and helps him get his life back together. Izumi is then encouraged to debut as an idol...zzz....He then realizes that he loves Ryouma, smut happens, the end. This BL anime was kinda cute. The main characters pretty much acted on their own without too much waffling and Izumi even fought off some perverts on his own. The character design was bland (actually ugly in my opinion), but the production was consistent and better than most anime. ~7/10 rating for a short, sweet boy meets boy story.

Sailor Moon Crystal 5! Sailor Jupiter's episode was pretty nice. Makoto is a more interesting character than the others.



Hanamonogatari 1-5! wraps up Kanbaru Suruga's story. A former middle school rival comes out as a 'devil' who is 'helping' people, and Kanbaru figures out her true motive. She also sorta resolves her feelings towards her mother and Araragi. Kaiki has a small cameo...which means he didn't die. And Araragi plays a small part...which means he also survived after graduation. Like the previous stories, Kanbaru's arc has a pretty satisfying conclusion.



Magi: Sinbad no Bouken OVA 1-2! is about young Sinbad conquering his first dungeon. His story isn't too original-- a young boy born to poor parents who is good and beloved by everyone is pushed into joining the army so that he can get the power in the dungeon to help fight against tyrannical rulers. Oh yeah, his father passed away and his mother is sick. Even though Sinbad's story is as cliche as it gets, he is still a likable character.

The new Juuni Kokuki illustration for the exhibit and new artbook (released 7/31/14) is really beautiful. Unfortunately, from the review on amazon.jp, the artbook only contains artwork to 2006 and mostly b&w illustrations; not the new illustrations from the re-released novels.

Hunter x Hunter 2014 138-143! The Hunter Association continue to have multiple elections runoffs to vote for the new chairman. Killua returns to his family's home to get Alluka to help save Gon. Hisoka and Illumi's conversations are pretty hilarious at certain points. Those two have an unexpectedly likable friendship. And Killua and Alluka are too cute! After the seriousness of the Ant arc, these scenes are quite refreshing.

Kuroshitsuji: Book of Circus 3-6! Amusing episodes as Ciel and Sebastian join the circus to try to find the culprits who are kidnapping children. A shinigami is standing by as a lot of deaths are expected. I like the consistency in the animation and good pacing of the episode. The tension between Ciel and Sebastion is nice when it is done well.



Love Stage 3-6! it ain't true love until someone is in tears while being molested. I am amused that Ryoma turned into a big blob shadow during that scene. Thought the story would degrade from there, but it's not that bad. It's nice that both characters are clueless about everything.

Sailor Moon Crystal 4-5! Sailor Mars joins the team. I'd forgotten how dull monster-of-the-day anime can get until now. I'm a tad disappointed at the animation quality. For show that's every other week and for its anniversary remake, it should be better.

Hunter x Hunter 2014 137! The Zodiac members including Gon's father gather to decide on how the new chairman should be elected. It's nice to see old characters during the election even the pervert, Hisoka. Despite my fondness of the series, the opening and ending theme songs are probably some of the worst anime songs ever. I did enjoy the new visuals...even though they essentially spoil the rest of the anime.



Barakamon 1-3! A cute show about a calligrapher who gets a bad review at an art show, and then moves to the country at his father's suggestion. He encounters a little scamp and the friendly locals. It's light fun...though a tad dull after the first episode.



Aldnoah Zero 1! Humans who colonized Mars want to start war with Earth..blah blah blah...their princess visits Earth, she is supposedly killed, war starts. Flamboyant knights from Mars are itching to take over Earth. And...zzz.



Kuroshitsuji: Book of Circus 1-2! picks up from where the original anime diverged from the manga which is good since the anime-only plot rather sucked; (ie. killing off Ciel and Claude?...ugh) . Episode 1 is a manga one-off and also serves the purpose of reintroducing us to Ciel and his servants. Sebastian is awesome as usual. As I recall, the circus arc was ok, but it's the cruise ship arc that was really good, so I hope the popularity of this anime yields another season.



Zankyou no Terror 1-2! Shinichiro Watanabe and Yoko Kanno team up again, so it's inevitable that I should watch. While far from light-hearted, as their other collaborations, the quality of the anime is great. This anime starts off with two troubled, young boys terrorizing the Tokyo with bombs. A young girl who is a victim of bullying by her classmates is pulled into their scheme. Unfortunately, the characters are a tad boring.



Tokyo ESP 1! think X-men with 'espers' instead of 'mutants'. A bunch of bad espers want to kill off humans or something like that. Near the end of the episode, some good espers show up to save the day. Not totally original, but somewhat entertaining.



Love Stage 1-2! it's yaoi! Most live-action boy on boy shows are pretty depressing, so if you want some uplifting, cheesy boy on boy romcom, you have to go to anime. From the opening visuals, this looks like your typical boy meets boy (accidentally dressed as a girl) story. It's cute. Even though I don't really like the character design, the production through JC Staff is pretty darn good. A crybaby male otaku whose family is full of talented actors and such gets roped into doing a wedding commercial. His costar has a crush on him. That CM splash should probably be more disturbing than it is. The show is pretty amusing.

Sailor Moon Crystal 2! ouch, the animation quality dropped...I've been spoiled; I thought shows didn't do that anymore. As in the manga, Usagi is able to accidentally find her other sailor soldiers fairly quickly. Ami is cute, but for all her brains, she doesn't really do much throughout the series, does she?

Sailor Moon introduced me to the addicting world of anime, so of course I'm watching the not-really-remake, but yes, it's a remake.





Sailor Moon Crystal 1! Just like Full Metal Alchemist and Hunter x Hunter, the Sailormoon manga by Naoko Takeuchi has gotten a more faithful anime production. As far as I can tell, it is more faithful to the manga with the updated character designs and the silly engrish attacks. I'm still amused by the pastel and sparkles when boy meets girl. Anyway, I am looking forward to more. The public outcry against any edits would probably louder now than...22 years ago...ugh, that old? so hopefully Viz knows better than to change Zoisite into a woman. (The new opening and ending themes were mostly forgettable. I wasn't too fond of the original's either.)



Hunter x Hunter 2014 127-136! Well, angry Gon and Pitou head off to their fight or to save Kite. Pouf and Youpi find the Ant King's body and feed themselves to him to revive him, but he has lost some of his memories. When they finally reach Gon and Pitou's fight, like all of HxH's 'big' fights, it was unfortunately short and one-sided with an interesting twist. Moving on, the way Welfin's character turned himself around was one of the best not-so-bad guy stories yet. And finally by the time you get to Mereum and Komugi's end, you've got to realize Togashi's brilliance at writing such one-of-a-kind characters and stories. Not many other writers could pair up an all-powerful evil creature with a little girl with boogers constantly hanging out of her nose and convince an audience of their devotion. Episode 136 is the aftermath of the Chimera Ant arc and the set-up for the Election Arc. The Ant arc was more thought-provoking than the prior arcs as it went beyond the simple revenge plots or strong versus strong. Togashi definitely tried to express his thoughts on politics, humanity and history through this arc. The only criticism is that with Gon's optimistic antics gone, the tone of the show was more complex and often sad. People have said that it is their growth out of childhood. Oh well, I think the next arc should come as a good follow-up story.