First Impressions: Autumn 2012

CODE:BREAKER
5/5

Really looking forward to this series. It's theme include supernatural and mystery. It has some cute humour and heroine has good character, that is not to say that she is a good character - she's a bit too perfect - but I'm not too picky on it. The introduced characters thus far (just Ogami and heroine) are interesting. Of course Ogami is shrouded full of mystery and as the first episode proceeds through events I definitely can't decide if he's good or bad guy - though I'm speculating he's a different kind of bad guy. The plot was pushed quickly at the end which I don't mind, they built the introduction of characters well and got right into it and of course leaving a cliffhanger that no one can turn away from. Themes seem to be very dark - I have no idea what to expect but I'm excited from thinking about it.

Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun
4/5

This series is very sweet and cute. It seems like a typical shoujo - where the heroine is in a state that needs growth and change and main male character will be the reason that she will so. The characters are very interesting, especially the heart-throb - he's strange, weird...just not how heart-throbs usually act - it's a romantic comedy alright xD The first episode hasn't done much except introduce characters...oh and did I forget to mention CONFESSION AND KISS ALL IN THE FIRST EPISODE ?? Ahahah definitely a good series to watch if you love your shoujo and romantic comedies !

Shin Sekai Yori
4/5

Another supernatural series but I think it will concentrate on friendship themes in a world that they live in. The first episode has a lot of context you have you digest - they put down a lot of information in one go for you - the aspects tat surround the supernatural nature of the series was a little fast-paced and so ou may be slow to grasp the concept (watching the episode a second won't hurt ;D). It definitely has lots of mystery (kind of a 'Another' feel though not too murderous...I think). Don't really have much to say about it since we hardly know anything about the characters either but I am definitely looking forward to where it's unique concepts will go.

BTOOOM!
4.5/5

So far so very good, this series. It's another virtual-game-turns-reality type of game, but don't go thinking SAO - this is no MMORPG in fantasy land - first-hand combats and bombs are the only way to fight, defend, and ultimately, kill. Our hero is a 21?YO guy, unemployed but he's in the Top 10 of players in the game BTOOOM!. He wakes up in a rainforest or something and he's got amnesia, then bam he's forced to use bombs and connections between the game and reality are made as he attempts to regain his memories. Definitely a different approach form SAO so don't underestimate it :P The female character hasn't appeared yet, neither am I keen. the only thing stopping a good action series is a big-breasted girl

[K] / K-Project
4/5
This series has received a lot of anticipation it seems. I for one freaking love it (I'd give it a 5 if I could xD). From the animation, it is clear that this series has an extraordinary budget. It's got a fantastic opening, great character designs an actually very mysteries - I haven't been able to find any extra information about characters or the series so definitely loving the mystery. Critically, the first episode has no substance at all - just a massive introduction to so many characters we still haven't grasped the names of all of them yet (although we see too many relatives of characters we know and love in other series' *cough*ShizuoKandaShion*cough* But by the end of the episode you are so lost about everyone and everything you really want to get to next episode to find out more (not to mention that cliffhanger). This series has a lot to live up to for this season !

Sukitte Ii na yo
4/5 (critically, since I would give it 5 regardless xD)

This manga has been long awaited from fans of the manga for a loooooong time (me included). The introduction to Mei was a little bit different from the manga but main point of the story were stuck in the anime which I am grateful for Of course art is a little downer but it's better than I expected. /stahps comparing/ Characters are typical - anti-social female character, popular male character and then the others that will fall in as the female character changes and makes friends etcetc. It is  pretty predictable I guess but I look forward to them /forgets anything about being critical/ SO ADORABLE I LOVE SEEING THE MANGA COME TO LIFE UWAHHHH AND FIRST KISS IN FIRST EP AS WELL /drowns in flail/

Zetsuen no Tempest
4.5/5

As the name suggests, there will be a tempest - looks apocalyptic :P And yes there is a Shakespeare reference you will pick up in the first episode. Characters's behaviours and set up do reflect on Shakespeare's character but not just to The Tempest. The two main characters, Mahiro and Yoshino are quite the pair, Mahiro, as expected as a main has lots of drive and personality. Yoshino on the other hand, we hardly know nothing about - he seems apathetic and boring though friends say there will be more - so I look forward to seeing what type of character Yoshino is and what he will show of himself. Series is of magic and action genre.

BAKUMAN 3
5/5

BAKUMAN IS BACKKKK ! ! ! So happy it's returned for a third season. I wouldn't recommend new-audiences to watch it from here (YOU MUST GO TO THES FIRST SEASON!!). It picks up straight from where Season 2 left off. There is no hesitation of the story - they dive straight to it. And they even give us female viewers some relief - MIHO x MASHIRO SAH ADORABLE >wwwww< Old characters that we both love and hate has returned (not all seen yet) and so begins the third part of this Slice of Life Romantic Comedy :"DDDD SAH GUD TO HAV YOU BACK GOIS !!~

Kamisama KISS / Kamisama Hajimemashita
4.5/5

Another romantic comedy which witnessed the two female and male characters' first kiss kekekeke >www< It's a romantic comedy which is definitely cute but better than I expected. The heroine has great character (I love her so much!!) Although her personality kinda changes a bit here and there. But it's typical love of master and servant...better yet, love-hate relationship :"D /sucker/ Characters have all such great personalities and I look forward to how their relationship develops and how our heroine deals with her current situations :3 Definitely one of the tops in my list this season.

Litchi DE Hikari Club
3.5/5

Has received negative feedback from followers of the manga. Litchi E Hikari Club is supposed to be a horror-genred manga and after watching the first episode (2 minutes long btw) I think it may be a parody of some sort. The characters are chibi and it's quite cute and funny. Not much to write about since it only ran for 2 minutes but I suspect it may be something like Daily Lives of Highschool Boys where it's senseless humour but a friend that followed the manga said it does reference the manga's main events :)

PSYCHO PASS
5/5

From the artist of Katekyou HITMAN REBORN! I was super stoked that this would be a good series and yes, I am definitely loving it ! It has pretty cool futuristic concepts in terms of weaponry. The series opened to what I suspect may be the main arc of the series but quickly changes to the starting of the series - introducing the female heroine and setting the context of the series. The heroine is a newbie in the Police force of some sort. In this setting the Force use criminals to hunt criminals. Loving the characters and the events that took place in the first episode has me at the edge of my seat. It brings up ethics involving the legal/enforcement system with the presence of technology. May look into humanity theories or something. The themes in the series seem to be quite dark and serious. BUT SO BAMF !!

MAGI
4/5

Another manga-turned anime that's been highly anticipated. A friend of mine had told me that the company that took on MAGI was a company more known for their moe stuff so I was a bit anxious. Well...Aladdin's voice is super girly xD But it wasn't so bad, the art was great and even though there were details that were different from the manga to the anime, the feel of MAGI was still there. It's an adventure shounen to those who are new to the series. It has very appropriate comedy bits in there and characters you will come to love so much !!

First Impressions: Summer 2012

Hagure Yuusha no Estetica

3.5/5

It had an interesting opening plot and had a few things I'm a sucker for - different worlds, futuristic-type civility, etc. Of course the pink-haired girl was unfavourable for me because she seemed weak and such but then you learn who she is and well, let's just say I'm expecting great things from her. Only the two main characters have been introduced and a hazy intro to possibly the antagonists but that still needs to be confirmed. I can be confident in the fight sequences that will come will be great, with out-of-this-world powers to wield weapons - always a sucker for those xD Not much was exposed in the first episode, so I can just guess what could happen :)

Tari Tari

4/5

I really like how this show has introduced it's characters and motive behind the plot were established. The issue that was introduced in the first episode was resolved very quickly within the first and second episode which threw me a back. What I thought would take the whole season to see resolution, was sought at the end of the 2nd episode, so I actually have no idea where this series is going now, but I'm anticipating for it :) It's a great SoL type of series. 

Binbou-gami ga! 

4/5

This series is definitely one for laughs and tears. It has a very God Only Knows vibe, though very different. I think the characterisation was developed very well and it's a series about self-learning, etc. It's about a girl who has immense good luck (and sucking it from other people too) and so the god of Bad Luck has come to collect her excess GL...though she's not some nice girl-next-door girl. Nope. She's a rich snob who's not going to give away her luck away so easily. But I don't see the story will get into an actual continuing plot until the middle of the series. Until then, it'll be hilarious plots of chasing and grabbing Good Luck :)

Chouyaku Hyakunin Isshu: Uta Koi 

5/5

If you were a big fan of Chihayafuru I guarantee this is a great series for you. Of course I was a big fan of the mentioned series and so, this series helps in understanding the poems of Karuta (aka, the Chouyaku Hyakunin Isshu). Though the series only focuses on mainly the love poems of the 100, it's no worry because the selector of the poems was a bias to romance poems xD I definitely love the visuals of the series. The use of colours play a big part in the presentation and so the art is very simple. I see the series as a more educational/informative type of series so unless you are interested in Feudal Japan culture, karuta or poetry, etc. you may find this a tad boring.

Oda Nobuna no Yabou

3.5/5

Here is another Genderbend of the feudal warlords type of anime. The main character (male) ends up in a warp, going back into the past. He is a sucker for historical battle games and ends up in the same time as he'd played over and over again. So of course, he knows all the legends and heroes...but most of them are all female Σ(゜ロ゜;) He has no way to get back home and so stuck to being the 'monkey' of one of his now-turned-female heroes of history. I don't know what to expect from this series as I don't know Japanese History but I definitely see romance, harem & comedy.

Sword Art Online

5/5

I am confident to say, this is the series of this season. When I watched it, it was like watching a more badass version of Angelic Layer fused with Deadman Wonderland - revolutionary game tech where you risk your life. Anyone who's logged into the game cannot log out. If someone releases the headgear off you IRL or if you die in the game, you are dead in the real world too. All you have to do to survive, is complete the game (at LVL100) Now our hero is a 16?YO that was a BETA tester of the game, he though, only reached LVL8 in many months and died. Of course the BETA didn't have the 'die in real life' option. So what will happen now? 

La Storia della Arcana Famiglia

4/5

Reverse harem/otome-turned-anime of the season ! I actually very much like this series because our heroine is no damsel-in-distress (which I can always respect). She is part of a vigilante organisation (her father being the head). The time of the series is where her father is to retire soon, and so to decide the next head, all the members have to battle it out. The prevailer, obtaining the position, will also be entitled to her hand. She of course wants no such thing as a marriage, but is also obliged to battle since she has a power that all the participants must have in order to be in the duel. Will she win? Will she have her freedom? At current, the series seems to be introducing the boys to us more as well as our heroine.

Natsuyuki Rendezvous

4.5/5

MY FIRST JOSEI ! It seems very sweet and unpredictable at the moment. We've got a florist, a guy who likes the florist, and the florist's dead husband's ghost floating about...which, not to mention, can be seen by the guy who likes the florist xD It's definitely very interesting. The characters and relationships with each other are also intriguing and I keep wanting to know more of their past. Being a josei, it's very much aimed at mature woman so it's very relaxed and will definitely be focusing on the romance and domestic issues/worries of women. It is a promising series that I think will develop very well.

Dakara Boku wa, H ga Dekinai

4/5

It's the H series of the season :) Lots of boobs and close skin shots, etc. I do not recommend it to under 16s unless you're into that stuff LOL The story is definitely interesting to an extent. Our hero is a definite H, but there would be no story without our hot demon girl ;9 She's looking for a soulmate (or something of the sort) and our hero is the stand-in until she finds one. The first episode really jumped into the action straight away (and not just the action). It does have it's humorous points (you'll have to read between the lines though) and the last seconds of the first episode were definitely enough for me to want to watch the next. If you're into ecchi or don't mind it & like demon action type stuff, I recommend :)

Hakuouki: Reimei-roku

4/5

The third season of Hakuouki ! I was actually not anticipating it's story because the 2nd wasn't very satisfying and not to mention Hakuouki's heroine isn't really one of my favourites of otome heroines ^^;; But I was wrong, I like where the series is heading, or at least how it started. Our main character is a young samurai. Not much is known about him at all. And so with him, there is no Chizuru. Also because this season is a prequel and so is about the dawning of the Shinsengumi. I'm excited for this series and looking forward to knowing more of Ryunosuke and the backstories of our most loved ikemens ヽ(愛´∀｀愛)ノ

Kokoro Connect

4.5/5

I'm definitely loving how this series is heading. I'm not sure what I watched of the first episode wall all of the first episode as it was cut abruptly and not sure if that really was the end, but, I love it's concept of body switching. It's about a group of students who probably are on a journey to self-learning. They're introduced as students who can't place themselves into a mandatory club to be part of and so a new club in created for them (Cultural Research Club) I think it's a newspaper type of club. But anyways, the members start body switching. Of course, with a Boy-Girl group, there's got to be a swap between the different gender, and yes there is "I'm touching a girl's breast" type of thing that happens LOL It seems promising and has been enjoyable !

Spring 2012

I haven't been able to update nor have I been able to follow many series from this season. I will review what I have watched (which is two) and try my best to catch up on the rest of series along with the new season that should be out already.

Kuroko no BASUKE

4.5/5

This is another great sports series with great characters. I think having Kuroko and Kagami are a great duo combination for main characters. I love how every member on the Seirin team as well as the middle school & competing teamshave have a focus like Inazuma - it's not just the main characters and a few other players, it's most of them and I think that really emphasises team play :) It's a great anime if you enjoy sport anime regardless and also people who love having varied characters. It has numerous humour and Kagami and Kuroko is very cute and hasn't developed which is always good to have at the beginning of a series.

Ginga e Kickoff!

3/5

I haven't been following the series, and only watched the first episode. It seemed very cute and quite motivational~ The beginning didn't appeal to me very much so it didn't give me a huge impression. I am willing to still follow it's following episodes just for the fact that it's a sport anime.

Other series I wish to watch from this season

Kore wa Zombie deska? Of the Dead

Tsuritama

Hyouka

Tasogare Otome x Amnesia

Sankarea

Shining Heearts

AKB0048

Zetman

Series I will be watching from the Summer 2012 Season

Hagure Yuusha no Estetica

Tari Tari

Aruvu Rezuru

Binbou-gami ga!

Chouyaku Hyakunin Isshu: Uta Koi

Oda Nobuna no Yabou

Sword Art Online

La storia della Arcana Famiglia

Natsuyuki Rendezvous

Dakara Boku wa, H ga Dekinai

Hakuouki: Reimei-roku

Kokoro Connect

Rinne no Lagrange Second Season

ちはやふる

"Chihaya Ayase is a girl who has spent most of her life simply supporting her sister in her model career. That changes when she meets a boy named Arata Wataya, a talented karuta player. He thinks that Chihaya has a potential to become a great player. As Chihaya takes on a new dream of becoming Japan's best karuta player, she is soon separated from her karuta playing friends as they grow up. Now in high school, Chihaya still continues to play karuta in the hope that she will one day meet her friends again."

- Wikipedia

I've been dying to talk to you guys about this series ! It has been my favourite series ever since it's airing 2 seasons ago. Now I haven't felt ******(unknown feeling) from an anime ever since AnoHana finished, so you know how good this is yeah? ;)


It's genres are romance and sport (as in Karuta) but I feel there's an aspect of SoL somewhere in there, I feel it within me *U*


Because of this show, I got hooked onto the sport and started watching real games and everything, it's super cool and I even got myself a set of cards ! It was quite expensive but worth it ! Because I have a disadvantage - that I'm not a fluent Japanese speaker - I've still tried to memorise the poems. But my tactics at the moment are waiting for the first half of the poem to be read then finding the respective card as the line's read ^^;; (I've been playing by myself...)


But yeah, the romance aspect isn't very strong, it's just a tingle of romance through out but as of late, it's getting a little warm :) Usually, you'd have people you'd ship together, though I think with Chihaya, you really can't decide who you like better with her, Arata, or Arata Taichi?!

    VS

LOLOLOLOLOL Off in my own little world~ Of course I think people tend to lean over to Taichi because he's always with her, and it's obvious he likes her. And of course Chihaya is a air-headed girl that doesn't really know what love is :S As in like-liking someone, sure she loves both boys, but their like her best friends. But then throughout the series, the way Taichi reacts with Arata makes it seem like he's convinced that Chihaya likes Arata and other hints from herself that make you think so too...but then I'm kind of a Taichi bias because they'd make a aesthetically good couple ^^;; Not to mention Taichi is really sweet to her and you're able to witness their relationship on a day to day basis, compared to Arata's relationship with Chihaya. Sometimes I think Chihaya sees Arata as a closely connected friend and teacher seeing as Arata was the one who got her into karuta. But then since Arata lives in the suburbs and not the city the two are quite far away and their only communications are through email and phone, which don't happen often :/ And like they meet three times when Arata takes Karuta back on...

Okay, I think I'm spoiling xD

So yeah, I think you'll enjoy this series a lot, I can guarantee you'll love the sport as well the series and you'll be frustrated as to who to ship together, right?!

LOL Who do I ship? ;)

HELLO BOYS~♥