Schwarzesmarken – Episode 02

January 17, 2016January 17, 2016 Kosaten Winter 2016 action, drama, edgy, mecha, melodrama, muv-luv

I’m still riding high on my Muv-Luv fanboyism. So far this is great.
But man they’re really laying on the melodrama thick.
And the mecha battles are pretty much just the TSFs standing around shooting.

Things will get interesting later with the other classifications of BETA I’m hoping.

But it’s obvious the show is going to deal more with political issues and interpersonal relationships and the like. the BETA invasion is just the backdrop. Or, more like a catalyst.
Muv-Luv was the same way. Humans fighting Humans instead of forming together to fight an actual otherwordly enemy.

Good mix of political drama, and mecha action. Not great, but still good.
Unfortunately a cliffhanger was ruined by the next-episode preview. Classic anime crap. Haha.

Erased – Episode 2

January 16, 2016January 16, 2016 Kosaten Winter 2016 anime, erased, mystery, time travel

So if we remember, he normally only goes back 5 or 10 minutes. Well this time he went back 18 years, haha. He acts as one would expect, he of course doesn’t remember where he sits in class, what his friends did and the like. He only knows he has to do something, to change the future.

There’s enough foreshadowing and little hints to keep us all interested. Really enjoying it.

A nice touch I think, is how the VA for the kid and the adult talk at the same time on occasion, to show the times when the MC loses his composure.

Active Raid – Episode 2

January 16, 2016 Kosaten Winter 2016 action, anime, armor, comedy, mecha, power armor

What’s that? A realistic look at how this technology would function in today’s world, and the politics surrounding it?
Yup. From a circuit of ass-kissing to keep higher-ups happy, to ads and overproduction of technology. we get to see it all.

The music feels too good for a show like this, aside from that OP. ears bleed every time.

Main girl gets to see some action and we get to see DAT ASS.

Really has a buddy-cop type of feel. Looking forward to next week.

Boku Dake ga Inai Machi (ERASED) – Episode 1

January 13, 2016 Kosaten Winter 2016 abduction, murder, mystery, supernatural, thriller, time travel

Are you strapped in? Because here we go.
It wastes no time in showing us a broken man, who’s given up on his dreams. As he goes about his day, he monologues.
But this guy has a power, he’s always had it. For some reason he will be bumped back in time and he won’t get out of the loop until he fixes something. Usually it’s the prevention of a murder or death.

I don’t want to get too hyped up but I like the concept, I’ve seen it before, it’s as old as time, but it’s being handled well. MC is not a know it all. He doesn’t really question the power. He just recognizes it, finds out what he has to do, does it, so he can get back to normal life. Efficient. But he’s not perfect.

There’s a lot to like here, and a lot to take in. Spirlals of mysteries. Little details I missed on the first watch. Bits of dialogue. The ending, to me is a WHAM. What kind of show has a WHAM episode as their opener?
I am glad I got a late start on this one because I don’t want to wait a week.

Bubuki Buranki – Episode 1

January 13, 2016 Kosaten Winter 2016 action, anti-authority, cg, fashion, mecha, teenagers

Calm peaceful times, where marginally magical kids live in an apocalypse where giant robots move around on their own.
But they’re not on Earth.
They’re on an island in Earth’s Orbit.

I don’t know what’s going on. But it makes for an interesting show, and an excuse for spectacular sequences of these ‘Bubuki’ fighting. Apparently Bubuki can take many forms, a gun, a staff, a giant robot. And these fashionable kids are fighting an oppressive government with them. Seriously, they look like they just got back from an asian Pac-Sun.

The show is all CG, which isn’t that bad. Running animations look janky, but makes for some cool action sequences. And a lot of the shots are framed in such a way to really give you a sense of scale and wonderment, in the first half of the show.
I’m not sure how I feel about this one. It’s trying to juggle too much, with the backstory, the number of characters and the like. We’ll see if they pull it off.

Hai to Gensou no Grimgar – Episode 1

January 12, 2016January 13, 2016 Kosaten Winter 2016 action, anime, comedy, fantasy, game, sorcery, swords, trapped in a game, watercolor

It draws you in with pretty watercolor backgrounds and a bunch of level 1 adventurers failing to kill a group of goblins.

Then proceeds to just, do nothing.
The world is explained in a tavern, by a gay stereotype from 1980’s America. Seriously Japan, get out of the dark ages.

So in this take on the ‘trapped in a game’ concept, these poor kids don’t know who or where they are. In fact, their memories of the ‘real world’ are fading.
It’s an interesting concept.
I was really excited for it.
Then there’s 10 minutes of dialogue about one chick’s breasts and how she’s not fat.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you, Anime Bullshit.

You tricked me with ‘DanMachi’, I won’t let you trick me with this one. Show’s going nowhere, and going slowly.

Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm

January 12, 2016January 12, 2016 Kosaten Winter 2016 airhead, annoying tropes, cat puns, comedy, flying circus, ho-ho-ho, moe, romance, romcom, visual novel

I’ve played enough visual novels to recognize when an anime uses one as source material.

The main girl, with her adorable airheadedness just scream ‘visual novel heroine’. The taller sleepy/genki girl with the cat puns, also. And then the MC, helpful, honorable lad, who had a passion for something in the past, and begins to rediscover it through a girl.

Yeah, I’ve played this one before. Basically anything by KEY.

If it flows like the others, these light-hearted slice of life comedy moments will turn sad and drama will be created because of young hearts and misunderstandings and tragic backstories.

The art’s good and the characters endearing. It’s not bad, but I don’t see anything to set it apart from the other romcoms and similar shows out there.

Schwarzesmarken – Episode 1

January 12, 2016 Kosaten Winter 2016 action, aliens, beta, edgy, germany, grimdark, mecha, muv-luv, schwarzesmarken, tits

You had me at Muv-Luv.

It opens with a brief monologue explaining the emergence of the BETA(ugly-ass aliens hell-bent on our destruction) in an alternate history, and the split of Germany during the Cold War.
Then it’s time for GIANT ALIENS mindlessly EATING HUMANS ALIVE and GIANT ROBOTS shooting the EVER-LIVING FUCK out of said aliens.
It’s dark, it’s grim and I love it.
I got to thinking just how terrifying it must be, to be regular infantry, in this world. Like, damn. Your only option is to wait and die. You can’t run.
Okay, enough fanboy gushing.

There’s enough mecha action and blood to satisfy action fans. There’s an example of PTSD on the battlefield. Although, with a second watch, it comes off as ‘trying too hard’.
But overall it gets the point across. War is hell. And being selfish on the battlefield has consequences.

The latter half of the episode helps to develop the characters a bit more, establish the setting.
I have high hopes for this not being like Total Eclipse. Sure, it’s still muv-luv, so almost all the girls are busty, the backstories are tragic and there’s melodrama everywhere, but I think there’s a lot of potential.
Blond-girl captain is a hard-ass. Hot-headed male MC looks like he’s got layers.

Time will tell.
The TSFs look great, even if they are CG. Same with the aliens. Just as unsettling as they were in the VN. The music was really enjoyable, added a lot to the scenes. I think this will be good.
I do expect them to all die heroically, tragically and needlessly in the last episode, haha.

ACTIVE Raid – Episode 1

January 11, 2016 Kosaten Winter 2016 action, anime, armor, bishonen, comedy, Heidegger, mecha, police, power armor, ragtag misfits, secret police

We’re treated to lots of cool sci-fi trappings here.

The opening is all computer menus, the main girl is wearing Google Glass, there’s power armor. That’s kind of it, the world looks the same, dingy trains and same old cars.
Much like Bubblegum Crisis, the new technology here has run amok, or in this case, the people controlling them. So of course, there’s a secret police force of a ragtag bunch using this technology to combat problems caused by said technology.

We’re introduced to them one by one, the broody guy reading German philosophy, the quiet one communicating through texts, the somewhat pervy mechanic, the bishonen/fujoshi bait, the somewhat-loli genki chief, the old man, the busty babe, and the star, the uptight, easily flustered young maiden.

The cast gets along well, broody guy and bishonen playing well together. Reminds me a lot of Tiger & Bunny. The tone, also has the same feeling. Lighthearted, fun, but a small tinge of something darker and deeper under the surface.

So far it’s fun and has cool armor designs. The suiting up sequence was particularly cool.

Musaigen no Phantom World – Episode 1

January 7, 2016January 7, 2016 Kosaten Winter 2016 action, anime, battle, boob physics, boobs, combat, kyoani, supernatural

I took a hiatus from anime and returned to find, nothing changed.

Boring self-insert nerd MC, big-titted heroine, quiet girl, mysterious transfer student and token loli in a supernatural world allowing for some creativity in design and awesomely animated battles.
The MC is next-to-useless and gets beat up. The main group is a downtrodden bunch, the worst phantom-fighters in the school. The MC is found in compromising conditions at times. One girl is insecure about her flat chest.
It’s all there. We’ve all seen it before.

It’s not completely terrible. The battles like I said are fun. The effects are pretty. The ‘phantom’ design is inspired. The idea of a bunch of electrical poles doing the limbo is just, crazy. Seeing it, was the best part of the show.

So if you like the tried and true formula and would like to see some pretty colors, and some amazing anime boob physics and animation, KyoAni’s latest offering is right up your alley.
Me, I’m sitting this one out.

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