A Seasonal Review: Spring 2013

I’ve loosely ranked the season’s shows from worst to best (rough guide: A=awesome, B+=great, B-=good, C=decent, D=bad, F=fail). I’ve tried to keep this post concise. Click on the show title for a full review. Let’s begin!

Dropped: Arata Kangatari,  Hayate no Gotoku! CutiesHyakka Ryouran Samurai Bride, Karneval, Namiuchigiwa no Muromi-sanPhoto KanoUta no Prince-sama: Maji Love 2000%YuyushikiZettai Bouei Leviathan

I had way less patience than usual this season for sticking with crappy shows.

18. Devil Survivor 2 The Animation — F
Horrible in every conceivable way.

17. Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai.  D-
Made the first season look good.

16. Aku no Hana — D
I hated watching this.

15. Red Data Girl — D
No clue what happened.

14. Majestic Prince — Ongoing
Not a bad mecha show but so butt-ugly it’s hard to watch.

13. Toaru Kagaku no Railgun S — Ongoing
Kind of dull, except for the fights.

12. Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Come wa Machigatteiru. — C
The school club harem with a twist— the main character acts like an ass.

11. Mushibugyo — Ongoing
Best romance of the season.

suisei_no_gargantia_03_05_4 suisei_no_gargantia_09_10_1

10. Suisei no Gargantia — C+
Lack of focus.

date_a_live_review_2 date_a_live_review_1

9. Date A Live — C+
DATE! DATE! DATE! Hilarious but still completely retarded.

shingeki_no_kyojin_05_6 shingeki_no_kyojin_12_1

8. Shingeki no Kyojin — Ongoing
Epic, but has become repetitive.

chihayafuru_review_2 chihayafuru_review_1

7. Chihayafuru — B-
Got too hung up in the matches to the detriment of the characters’ relationships.

hentai_ouji_01_2 hentai_ouji_01_1

6. Hentai Ouji to Warawanai Neko B-
Surprisingly strong showing from a harem show.

hunter_x_hunter_01_2 hunter_x_hunter_01_1

5. Hunter x Hunter — Ongoing
Things are really getting serious with this Chimera Ant arc.

nyaruko_w_review_1 nyaruko_w_01_1

4. Haiyore! Nyaruko-san W — B
Hasuta, please jump off a cliff. Otherwise hilarious.

crime_edge_review_3 crime_edge_1

3. Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge — B
Bizarre and terrible but I love it.

hataraku_maou_sama_02_1 hataraku_maou_sama_11_4

2. Hataraku Maou-samaB+
Witty and fun.

valvrave_02_5 valvrave_09_7

1. Valvrave the Liberator — Ongoing
POSSIBILITY.

What do you think of this season’s shows? Let us know in the comments!

18 thoughts on “A Seasonal Review: Spring 2013

  1. I watched Suisei, Hataraku, Valvrave and Shingeki and dropped Devil Survivor, HenNeko and Aku no Hana (for the manga). I pretty much agree on everything you said. I don’t know why I finished Suisei, I din’t find it particularly entertaining, I loved HAtaraku although the last episode was a bit weak and Valvrave has made me curious for the next season. Shingeki was my favourite, although it has been slow recently. I really liked the last episode (15) but I suppose that doesn’t count as Spring season.

    1. I only finished Suisei because I was blogging it. Otherwise I would have probably ditched it.

      Can’t wait for Valvrave S2 either.

  2. Your list is incorrect because Hunter x Hunter was not #1.

    Jokes this was pretty good. Have to agree with a couple of the observations here, like Chihayafuru being kind of disappointing and Shingeki no Kyojin dragging its feet. Also, it’s great to see someone who still likes Nyaruko-san, even if the second season was a bit worse than the first season.

  3. Date A Live not #1?!

    Agreed that Titan was getting a little bit repetitive when the Spring Season ended. Hopefully the Summer run will have things start moving again, since it looks like some more interesting stuff is beginning to happen.

    Also glad to see Maou-sama make a strong showing after it got beat on by The Cart Driver. Emi’s faces definitely made that show. Plus that scene with Maou riding the bike with the broom – that “knight on a horse” imagery was so ridiculous I couldn’t stop laughing.

    Hell yea Crime Edge making the cut! And Kuuko always Best Girl.

    1. Date A Live was pretty good but not quite that good. 🙂

      Emi’s faces were indeed the best part of Maou-sama.

      And Crime Edge and Kuuko are awesome.

  4. My favourite was Aiura. The legs! And Kuromajo-san was great again. For some reason I end up liking the shorts most, lately!
    From the regular shows I’d rank Railgun much higher on my list. It’s not as fluffy as season 1 but I like the darker mood, as well. Frenda is a great character.
    From your top spots I didn’t watch Valrava (but I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t like it) and Crime Edge (stuck at ep. 3 for lack of time). I hope I can catch up on Crime Edge one day, it seems to be really good!
    So you’re actually watching Mushibugyou? I love it. It’s so sleek. The colour scheme!
    Photo Kano wasn’t that bad, actually. Ok the premise is like completely creepy. But some of the girls were kind of cool, like the student council president or the gymnastics girl. The series was basically a slide show, though, as the main point were the photos of these girls.

    1. I haven’t watched any shorts. Can never get into them… Too lazy to acquire them for the length, I think.

      The darker parts of Railgun were much better than the fluffy parts of S1. The reason I didn’t rank it higher is that the first half of this season was pretty fluffy as well.

      I love Mushibugyo too! I never would have guessed it would turn out so well. And the insect magistrate is adorable…

      I have trouble believing that Photo Kano wasn’t that bad…

      1. I’ve been somewhat disppointed by the Mushi Magistrate. In ep. 10 she reveals her awesome power and announces the none of the bad guys will leave the island alive. Only to be shot down by the villains a few minutes later. Epic fail. Admittedly she looks cool in her butterfly outfit, though. But I like Hibachi much better.

        1. That was kind of lame but hey, if she were perfect it wouldn’t be interesting. And her eyebrows are awesome.

          Hibachi is cool but I can’t ship her with Junpei at all.

  5. Spring was spectacular, and it was all thanks to Valvrave.

    Maou-sama was all right.
    Will try to take a look at Crime Edge one day.
    Been watching Romantic Comedy is Wrong recently; overall I’m pleasantly surprised by it. Should finish it quick once I find the time.

    1. You know, swapping Titan and Mushibugyo seems like a good choice the more I think about it.

      But no Valvrave clearly belongs in the “A” zone.

  6. I can sort of understand your opinions on Gargantia, Majestic Prince and Valvrave, but to me, the order is exactly opposite despite the initial impressions on these shows by most people are quite accurate.

    Majestic Prince could have inane jokes, but the characters are properly developed alongside with the battle choreography. Gargantia might seem to have lack of focus, but to me it is focused on one thing: What is the best for the descendants whose ancestors were sworn enemies? It only gets clear at the later half, though. Valvrave has enormous potential, but at the same thing the twists and plot events, despite being properly developed, they are clearly inserted for the sake of it, which makes the show worse than what it is trying to pass off.

    You dropped Zettai Bouei Leviathan, which is quite understandable since that the OP managed to deceive me about its actual premise, but look past that, it is a good fantasy slice of life show with tolerable characters, solid plot progress and proper use of soundtrack.

    Then, I found Pretty Rhythm: Rainbow Live a good idol show. Despite the initial annoyance from the main protagonist (Ayase Naru), the use of CG which mesh well with regular animation, solid character development that fixes their flaws, good concert songs (albeit repetitive) makes it a must watch to the end.

    Also, I liked Danball Senki Wars. The main protagonist (Sena Arata) is the worst annoying main protagonist of this season, but he does grow into an idealist character in a very dark setting, which impresses his main rival (Hojou Muraku) who encourages him to stay that way. Add in slick battle CG & good battle choreography (which are still inferior to Majestic Prince) plus great soundtrack, this anime is a mechanical toy anime done well.

    I bet that our tastes are radically different.

    1. Majestic Prince was a decent show. My only complaint is that it’s ugly. Shallow, I know. For Gargantia, the fact that the focus only gets clear at the latter half is what I mean by a lack of focus. What’s the point of all the belly dancing and such? I don’t have any problem with Valvrave’s twists being inserted for the sake of twists. 🙂

      For Leviathan I am just not a big fan of slice of life shows where not much happens. I actually haven’t seenany of Pretty Rhythym: Rainbow live or Danball Senki Wars.

      Seems like our tastes are radically different, but hey, there’s nothing wrong with that.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *