First Impressions: Winter 2012/13

 First thoughts on watching the first episode of the series. 

Chihayafuru Second Season

The series I am most looking forward to this season ! After the first season I was super pumped for this season but instead I was being fed "Chouyaku Hyakunin Isshu: Uta Koi" - a series on the poems and its background, which I did really enjoy from that season. And so, I welcome Chihaya and co. back into my life ; w ;

First episode welcomes a new school year for the team and follows them with the goal to recruit new 1st year members to keep the club alive. A particular character is introduced as Sumire Hanano - the bitch we all love to hate. Her boyfriend has just dumped her and now has Taichi in her sights.

The first episode pretty much refreshes on the characters from last season and introducing Sumire, making your blood boil. Here's to another season of Chihaya, Taichi, Arata, the team, kimonos, and more shoujo plot lines I guess since that wasn't really seen in S1 ^^;;

Of course it's a definite recommendation from me :P

Sasami-chan@Ganbaranai
Pretty interesting series. It is clear that there was a huge lack of budget for the surroundings within the series. It's something like Bakemonogatari where it's unusual and only the characters move, though unlike Bakemonogatari, it doesn't have a major focus on dialogue  I thought it quite boring in the beginning when the only two characters you know are Samami and her older brother. And the fact that her brother has a little sister's complex and pretty much her slave ^^;;

Sasami is a 16YO girl that lives in her room 90% of the time. She's never really left her house and when she does try for certain reasons, she feels sick, barfs, collapses, etc. It does have it's humour and also some good action when the series' tables flipped to a whole new development.

I think I'll still continue this series just because the ending really got me intrigued !

Cuticle Detective Inaba
A good comedy I'm looking forward to ! You've got the Pretty Megane Wolf Boy, the cross-dressing boy, the ridiculous Police Captain, the ordinary boy that seems to be the only one with common sense, and of course an arch enemy for our hero.

It's very funny, very cute, pretty darn ridiculous and not much actually makes sense but it's all enjoyable to watch ! Nothing in particular that strikes me or intrigues me more than I need to, it's just a fun watch that will keep you out of a state of boredom.

Not too excited about the series but I look forward to more episodes :)

Amnesia
Otome gme turned anime ! This seems to be a popular game since I see a lot of people cosplaying from it. I had always wanted to play it too but I don't know how to get Japanese games TAT I had some high hopes for the first episode but really...it seemed I only reached the end because of the ikemen characters...

The female character is very boring at this point, and not because her head is blank of memories. She /is/ very boring - timid, meek, doesn't really think straight...LOL Typical of a otome female character maybe ? I tend to dislike them because they don't have personality. The first ep basically sets the story and introduces the main characters - She wakes up, has amnesia, meets a other-worldly creature called Orion who claims to be the reason her memories are gone and in an attempt to regain the girl's memories (whose name still hasn't been said), Orion follows her and gets her to go on about her daily life and interact with others. A little cliffhanger is left at the end where these jealous girls from the maid'butler cafe she works at come after her and it is revealed that she made some sort of promise to them (probably to stay away from Ikki...or the boys in general) and she regains a memory regarding the said girls and then collapses. Not so interesting in the first episode, more for the eye candy and I love the OP and EP :)

Tamako Market
I am definitely really excited for this series. I didn't know what to expect, in the visual chart it was noted to have a very impressive team behind the animation - and also you can see the similarities between the art of K-ON! and Tamako Market. Let's just say I didn't really find myself interested in K-ON! and mostly listened to the music instead than follow the series.

We are introduced to Tamako - a mochi-maker's daughter - who loves to make and share the goodness of mochi ! She stumbles across an oh-so-very-sassy bird that can talk and who is on a mission but has found himself astray and comfortable at Tamako's house. It is very cute and cheerful, I am definitely looking forward to this series a lot, I love the sassy bird, I love Tamako...though I love the boy next door most keukeukeu jk jk~~~

Definitely recommend !!! 

Vividred Operation
I am super excited about this series ! At first I wasn't so keen but I gave it a go since the intro on the visual chart had noted that the setting was in a futuristic setting where science solved everything (I thought it literally) though it turns out it's just a place with advanced tech f( ^^;;
I didn't even realise as well until I saw the credits, that Redjuice was part of the character design team, f course now I can see it's his art OTL And also the amount of close-up ass shots...
It's got everything I really like - something similar to Rinne no Lagrange.
It's about a young girl whose Grandfather developed a great system to use renewable energy across the globe. Suddenly there is a threat to the said system that may bring the end of the world and because the Grandfather had a past encounter with these "Alone", he had developed a System called Vivdred that can only be used by Akane - simply put, it makes her a magical girl.

Together with her friend who's just returned home, Aoi, they will try to defend their home and the world.

Really looking forward to future episodes ! ! 

Hakkenden: Touhou Hakken Ibun
This series looks really promising - lots of mystery, supernatural and lots of ikemen *333* If I remember correctly, this is an old-school manga that now, has finally got it's anime ! I don't know why it took so long but it is awesome ! I may look into reading it. The beginning of the episode shows a village burning down and certain characters dying - this event happened 5 years ago from the present time of the series. The characters shown dying were a girl, her younger sister, a boy & a wolf.

When in present time, we meet Shino, a young boy who shows great resemblance to the dying girl from the flashback and who lives in a sacred house with priests? Shino and Sousuke seem to be quite close and seem to also have supernatural abilities as well as in possession of a Black Crow. They are also in hiding from the Central Church I think~ Many things happened in the first episode I'm not sure about what was told but it is clear that there is a war between them and the Central Church.
Many connections with demons, supernatural stuff and fighting in a not-so-modern setting.

I really enjoy the characters, setting, themes so I'm ecstatic for future episodes ! !

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 !

First Impressions: Winter 2011/12

These are anime series that were aired during December 2011 to February 2012 :) I haven't watched it all so I'll just review the ones that I have ! Now most of these I've stopped because of the DDL site shutdowns  but I'll give you what I think anyways :P Also, BRS the anime is shit it seems, my friends have all complained fir it's shitness and everyone seems to prefer the OVA ^^;;

Rinne Lagrange

4/5

The show seemed quite interesting form the start, a typical loveable character that is suddenly called to pilot robots but then it turns out her mother had something to do with them and her cousin vowed to not let her pilot a robot and in the end lets her anyway :P ROFL/tired It had many eye candy for guys which I guess is aiming for for shounen audiences even though the main charas are female. A good watch though I stopped at the 2nd ep. I look forward to continuing this series.

Another

4.5/5

It's a horrific, supernatural type of series. I would compare it to something like Ai Girl :| I haven't been up to date but it's progressed fairly well. Mei is a girl no one can see except for the new kid. She is surrounded by absolute mystery and there's a horror story has has us guessing she has something to do with it. The dolls really give you the shivers. Though my friends have been disappointed in latest episodes because the story come to a halt it seems. 

Brave 10

3.5/5

Historical anime surrounding a priestess and some hot ass-kicking guy xD  I haven't been very updated on this series as you can see but the story seems good enough to give a try, the action and stuff are pretty good but I was really turned of by the female lead. She is super annoying and has no strong points to her...or so I've seen.

Recommend to give it a go and see what you think.

Nisemonogatari

3/5 

As always...it has some element of confusion |||orz Art is amazing again, it seems there's a larger focus on Araragi's sister's but then again, I never got around to finishing the first season to really expect anything from this season. Don't have much to say but it's still quite funny and quite "OH HOHOHOHO" B{D << that.

Ano Natsu de Matteru

3/5

An adolescent romantic comedy~ The main charas are two girls, Ichika and Remon, and a boy named Kaito. I was interested in the series because the art was pretty much Ano Hana style. It seemed to be ecchi too so I watched it. It's quite alright and funny. I stopped after the 1st episode but I will try to continue it. It seems the story may develop into something better because the last time I watched it, the pink-haired girl apparently was some alien or something x"D

Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou

5+/5

THIS.This you have to watch !! It is a completely hilarious and out of this world series. It's a gag comedy story that follows the humorous yet "realistic" /coughsarcasm everyday lives of three guys -  Tadakuni, Hidenori, Yoshitake +other students. I super super super love love this series, because it's completely hilarious and super short. In every ep there are about 3 different segments. Though with it being so funny I wouldn't mind if it were longer TwT It's the type of series that I'd love to cosplay and act out every scene because they're just so rich !! xDD

Inu x Boku SS

4/5

I quite like this series, it's a typical genre I'd watch. Ririchou is a demon girl that likes to be alone and then she moves out of the main house to be at this special loft but then an SS agent is assigned to her (Soushi) and he's a demon too (as is everyone in the same loft). She's a very yandere chara and he's like an annoying loyal dog. But you can't hate him with those looks :P I love all the characters and hoping to see developments with Ririchou's personality <3

Mouretsu Pirates

4/5

Set in a futuristic interpretation, Marika is the main character who finds out her father was the captain of the space pirate ship Benten Maru, due to some compact made years ago she is to inherit the position of captain.

Quite interesting, I stopped after the 2nd ep. I didn't get to see any sort of development in the first to episodes but Iw ish to continue the series online to see the development :3

Recorder to Randoseri

5/5

Another random out there series. Atsushi is 11YO yet he's 180 cm, his sister Atsumi is 137cm despite being 17YO. It's quite hilarious since Atsushi doesn't actually feel concious about his appearance and acts as an 11YO should but it usually leads him to trouble xDD Bloody hilarious :P

It's also split into small segments like Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou.

Senhime Zesshou Symphogear

3.5/5

In a distant futuristic city where music(singing) is powerful for the two girls (on the left) that are in a top vocal unit called "Zweiwing". Some occurrence happend at their concert and they ended up being super powered and I think they died but they were somewhat reincarnated or their power was transferred, I was super confused about that. I stopped after the first episode but I do intend to continue it.

 

Shin Tennis no Ouji-sama (New Prince of Tennis)

5/5

WEEEE~ Been waiting for this for a long time, I didn't get to finish the old series because it was too long and I had lost the episode I was up to TAT But I was able to quickly get into it because I could recognise most of the characters I know and love :") Even though it may be repetitive as Ryouma takes the Spotlight, you can expect anything but being bored. PoT is here again to convince you to play Tennis !! xDD

Hope you enjoyed my review today ! Sorry it's not very clean cut whether I like it or not except for a few exceptions. I seem to be indifferent to many series' now but I do enjoy watching it ! I'll be posting a few individual reviews of series' that I really recommend so look out for that ! Hope you enjoyed your Winter 2011/12 anime-watching I'm sure it was better than mine. And hoping you're looking forward to the new season ! I'll try to check out Ep1 of every release of the new season and post a initial reaction review to them :D