Anime of Summer 2011: First Impressions

Seasonal Impressions, ,

For this season, I’m publishing a single post with my impressions of every show for the new season, instead of the usual post per show since I was away last week. In spite of all the usual complaints in the blogosphere that this is the worst season ever (which crop up every season), I actually think things look pretty promising.

We do have a bunch of crappy shows (don’t we always?) but I also feel there are a greater number of shows than usual which have the potential to become truly excellent. And I judge a season by its best offerings, not its worst. For reference, I would label the first nine shows on the list below crap, the last nine shows with the potential to become excellent, and I would consider only the remaining six shows “average”. Of course, some of the excellent shows will likely drop down to the average category as time wears on, but usually I would only put two to three shows per season in the excellent category (last season was also an exception, with four: Steins; Gate, Iroha, Ano Hana, and Hyouge Mono). With eight shows that could become great, and three of the best shows from last season carrying over, I would say that things are really looking up.

I’ve loosely ranked all of this season’s new shows in order from worst to best, and briefly given my impressions below.

24. Manyuu Hikenchou
Pure, unadulterated porn. Half of the episode appears to be censored with bright stripes. Dropped before the OP started.

23. Double-J
Two girls join the traditional arts club, where they carve the back ends of toothpicks. This one is as dumb as the premise sounds. The animation is horrible. The jokes aren’t funny, just pathetic. The only saving grace and reason I was able to finish the first episode is that each episode is three minutes long. But it still isn’t worth spending the time on. Dropped.

22. Morita-san wa Makuchi
This is pretty much the same thing as the OVA, for those who have seen it. Morita doesn’t say anything, people talk to her, and there is a misunderstanding. I didn’t fit it funny in the OVA and I don’t find it funny now. At least here the episodes are only two minutes long. But again, it isn’t worth the time. Dropped.

21. Nyanpire
Yet another short of several minutes. A cat becomes a vampire, and must drink blood. He drinks the ketchup and juice, but is stopped before he can drink tabasco sauce. His owner gives him a fish. What was the point of this? Nothing happened, the cat isn’t that cute, and it wasn’t funny at all. These three minute shows are so terrible I can’t figure out why they even bother making them.

20. Twin Angel –  Twinkle Paradise
Our lead characters transform into magical girls and fight crime. I think this was supposed to be a parody? But it wasn’t funny. At all. Not to mention that the girl in orange hair sounds exactly like Asuha from Astarotte no Omocha (and her voice was annoying enough the first time). Dropped.

19. Nekogami Yaoyorozu
Chibi cat girls in frilly dresses are the goddesses who protect the town. It’s not all that funny, just hyperactive. Dropped.

18. Ro-Kyu-Bu!
This one’s for the lolicons.  A high school boy becomes the coach for an elementary school girl’s basketball team. The characters seem interesting enough, and the execution is surprisingly decent. But that’s assuming you can look past the premise and the gratuitous fanservice with elementary schoolers. I can’t. Dropped.

17. R-15
A budding erotic novelist with vast literary ambitions begins attending the Inspiration Academy for geniuses. On one hand, this show is a thinly veiled excuse for porn. On the other hand, it does have an interesting cast of characters. The main character especially is not your typical harem lead: he actually has ambitions and a personality, even if his ambition is writing erotic novels. But the main focus seems to be on his perversions.

16. Itsuka Tenma no Kuro Usagi
A high schooler remembers that he made a dark magic pact with his childhood friend and lover, dies and comes back to life, meets his lover again and she is killed. I wasn’t  too impressed with this first episode. The male lead’s goal is to be a supporting character. He has a female childhood friend. The villain is a popular pretty boy who the entire school fawns over but who treats everyone like trash. The main female characters are lolis. All the fanservice is completely out of place, tactless and unoriginal. The only thing this show has going for it is that the original light novel is by the same author as Legend of Legendary Heroes, so I’m going to stick with it for a while just to see if it will pick up. But I think a lot of my problems are with the adaptation and not the source material.

15. Mayo Chiki
A high schooler walks into a butler in the toilet, and discovers that he is a girl. She tries to kill him to keep her identity secret. Her master turns out to be a sadist who proceeds to torture the pair of them and force them together. So this is another fanservice show where the main character is a spineless wuss who gets the crap beat out of him by lots of girls. Still, it did have a few funny moments and doesn’t lack for energy. Most of this energy is channeled towards violence and fanservice though.

14. Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu Ni!
This was a beach episode, so a lot of focus on the fanservice and proportionately less on the comedy. The episode had its funny moments, but not as many as I remember the first season having. I’m kind of worried that the humor in this show might be growing stale. All of the jokes have been repeated a million times by now. But the funniest parts have typically been when they were at school, so I’m holding out hope that this episode was simply the obligatory beach trip fanservice episode, and that the rest of BakaTest will be up to the usual standards.

13. Blood-C
The first episode had a truly amazing action sequence with a beautifully choreographed fight. It also had 15 minutes of a boring ditzy girl walking to school, complete with carbon copies of random characters from other CLAMP works. And the long CLAMP legs. The fight scene was great, but I don’t see all that much potential for the school life scenes. Why can’t CLAMP make new characters? I honestly just don’t get the whole CLAMP thing and why they’re so popular.

12. The iDOLM@STER
We follow a group of aspiring idols. So the characters in this show are walking stereotypes: we have the twins, the poor girl, the rich ojou-sama, the shy girl, the tomboy, the animal lover, the onee-san, the mysterious girl, the serious girl, the big breasted girl, and the clumsy girl. But, the production is really quite good. I like the idea of an interviewer following the girls in their day to day lives. The transitions flow smoothly, and everyone on the large cast gets a piece of the spotlight. Unfortunately, I don’t have much interest in the characters or in idols in general.


11. Sacred Seven
Sacred Seven is the corniest show imaginable. A guy has special powers and is feared at school because of them. He hates his powers and is afraid to use them. He meets a girl who he rescues with his powers. She joins his school. We have an army of maids. Still, it’s good dumb fun if you’re in the right mood for it. The fights were entertaining, and the characters are unique even if they’re one-sided.

10. Kamisama no Memochou
A boy transfers to a new school, and meets an underdeveloped girl who is a NEET detective. The characters so far seem a bit stereotypical, but I am optimistic that this show will turn out well. The mystery that they solved this week was interesting and not what I would have predicted. And second, this show has double the usual episode length. I think that this format has a lot of potential: another show that used it was Figure 17, and there they had a lot of time to fully flesh out each substory and all the characters due to the extended length. A single arc per episode can even work with this length. Still, I do hope that this show develops some kind of running storyline rather than an arc format.

9. YuruYuri
Another four girl tea-drinking comedy. But unlike K-On, the focus here is really just on the comedy. And the jokes work. The creators have an excellent sense of humor and comedic timing, and I would say that this looks set to be the best comedy of the new season. Kyouko especially is hilarious to watch.

8. Natsume Yuujinchou San
The third season of Natsume Yuujinchou follows the pattern of the first two: Natsume meets spirits, solves their problems and returns their names. If you liked the first two seasons, you’ll like this one as well. It’s a great character study with some excellent short stories. I haven’t watched the second season though (it’s on my list, just haven’t gotten around to it) so I’m going to pass this one up.

7. Ikoku Meiro no Croisée
Yune, a young sign girl, moves to Paris to work in a sign-making shop without speaking a word of French. This show is absolutely adorable. Yune is just too cute.  The animation is bright and colorful, and I love the historical setting. I’m hoping we get to see more of the cultural differences between France and Japan.

6. Nurarihyon no Mago Sennen Makyou
Man, this episode kicked things off again with a bang. The episode was a flashback to when Rikuou was a child, and how he decided to become the third heir. It served as a summary episode to reintroduce the cast, but also fleshed out Rikuou and his classmates.  It was interesting to see how much they have changed (or not changed, as the case may be). In the first season, Rikuo in his day form seemed to have little desire to be the Third, but now we know that he does have the motivation, and his day and night forms are more tightly connected than I’d thought. We also have a great explanation for why he (and he alone in his household) is so concerned with keeping the yokai a secret from his classmates. And kid Rikuou in his night form is bloody awesome. I would say that this episode was better than anything the first season had to offer. Let’s hope they continue this trend.

5. Usagi Drop
A 30 year old man returns home for his grandfather’s funeral, only to discover that his grandfather has a five year old illegitimate daughter, Rin. When his relatives decide to send his aunt to an orphanage, he decides to take her into his home instead. Usagi Drop looks like it has the potential to be very touching. It’s quite rare in anime that we get to see either middle aged men or young children, and the intergenerational gap should make this especially interesting. This show handles emotions right: many things are communicated without words, instead of the more typical (for anime) people yelling out their feelings. I really love the art style as well: it’s a bit reminiscent of Hourou Musuko. I think that Usagi Drop should be an excellent addition to the noitaminA timeslot.

4. Kamisama Dolls
A college student, while attending a party with his crush and neighbor from back home, finds a corpse in the elevator. He goes home to find his sister with a god, the village heirloom. They fight an escaped criminal, but their house is destroyed and they move in with the crush. I thought that this first episode seemed really promising. The show feels like the bastard child of Bounen no Xamdou and the Tsukihime dark side arcs. We have some promising characterizations (I’m loving the little sister already, so cute!), beautiful artwork, excellent music (one of the best OPs and EDs this season),  unique character designs, and a compelling,  mysterious and original plot. My only complaint is that the lead female’s chest is disturbingly large. Otherwise, I’m really looking forward to seeing where this goes.

3. Dantalian no Shoka
A young man’s grandfather dies and leaves the mystical Dantalian library as his inheritance. The library turns out to take the form of a young girl, and they work together to seal a phantom book which is running amok. This is yet another show this season with great animation (there sure seem to be a lot of these). The soundtrack is top-notch, and so are the action sequences. As for the plot, it’s hard to tell so far since it looks like it’ll be episodic, but the first episode was good at least. The characters seem promising, particularly the male lead. It reminds me of the characters in Gosick, except the male lead isn’t a moron. But the thing that really stood out the most for me in this episode was the scene where the male lead read the grimoire (his voice actor was superb here). If we can have that level of language, imagery and intonation every episode, I’m already sold.

2. No. 6
In a dystopian society, a teenage boy meets a wounded boy who is on the run from the Ministry of Peace. This seems to be quite promising, both for the setting and the relationships between the characters. Unlike Fractale, it appears that the creators know what they intend to do with the setting. The relationships between the main character, his friend and the runaway have already been fleshed out, and the plot is already thickening. A tantalizing preview of the setting has been given which gives us a peak at what’s really happening behind the scenes, but there is still much that remains a mystery. The main way I can see this going wrong is if it turns into yaoi (although I would still probably like it).

1. Mawaru Penguin Drum
Two brothers live with their sister, who will die soon due to an incurable disease. She passes away at the aquarium after they buy her an emperor penguin hat as a gift. While she is sitting in the morgue, the penguin hat possesses her and she returns to life fully healed. But her life comes at a cost, and three penguins move in with the family. This episode was seriously trippin’. It had some of the best animation I’ve seen in a TV series, with a staggering amount of detail. The plot is zany and the pace is fast. That scene where the sister was possessed for the second time was crazy. My main fears are that with that kiss at the end, this might turn into some siscon love triangle.

 

What do you think of this season’s crop of shows? Feel free to share your impressions in the comments below.

Mawaru Penguindrum 02 — Survival Strategy!

Mawaru Penguindrum,

Mawaru Penguindrum is going to be the third show I pick up this season. It has the best artwork of the season, with a great eye for detail, is ridiculously trippy (that penguin hat transformation sequence… wow, just wow), a great sense of humor, and also a plot that looks like it should have some depth. This means, unfortunately, that I’m blogging three shows on Thursday again, but they all look too promising to pass up. Don’t be surprised if (like today) some get pushed back to Friday.

In this episode, the emeperor penguin hat orders the two brothers to stalk a high school girl and recover the “penguin drum”. It turns out that the girl they’re stalking is also stalking their homeroom teacher. I was getting Onii-chan no Koto vibes of infinite chains of stalkers all over again, but here it remained entertaining. Those penguins are so cute! With the addition of taping walkie talkies and webcams to them, and getting squished between legs, stepped on and caught in bags… it’s just too adorable.

Once again, the animators have a great eye for detail, and the sense of humor is spot-on. They do an excellent job of interleaving the jokes with the story, so that the whole stalking routine doesn’t become monotonous, but also so that the plot and characters progress. Take as an example the part where Shouma is accused of groping, and Kanba covers for him by making the girl fall in love with him. This scene was hilarious, but we also get to see more facets of both brothers through their reactions, and we discover the target they are stalking through an offhand comment. Later, this is used for more of a comedic effect and development of their target as the one girl relates the story. Through this one scene, the creators managed to communicate so much.

I’m also hopeful that this show’s beauty isn’t just skin deep, and we’re in for a treat story-wise as well. The show has already dealt with some pretty heavy themes such as death, and now that the penguin drum appears to be a diary which predicts the future, I see a ton of interesting directions they could bring this in.

No. 6 02 — Bad Pickup Lines

No. 6,

Girls in the future are quite straightforward.

So this will be the second show I’m picking up this season, after Usagi Drop, mainly because I love the dystopian sci-fi setting in No. 6. Hopefully No. 6 will make better use of its setting than its predecessors Fractale and [C] did. The creators seem to have an idea of where they’re headed, so my hopes are high.

In this episode, we jump two years into the future to see what happens after Shion harbors the runaway Nezumi. He is found out in short order by the Ministry of Peace, and both him and his mother are exiled to Lost Town. Shion meets his girlfriend again, who still wants to have his baby, but he puts her off. Nezumi gets jealous and draws Shion away with his rat.

Shion finds a dead, aged body in the park and reports it, but is met with a mysterious coverup. Then, as Shion mentions that the city is hiding something, his friend has the same thing happen and dies, and a bee comes out of the wound. Shion is arrested for treason, but Rat frees him, and they escape together through the sewers. Shion appears to have marks on his throat in the area where the bee left his friend.

The setting continues to be great, and it is only expanding as they go outside the wall. There are still plenty of questions left, and the creators haven’t played all their cards yet. I’m looking forward to finding out more about the city. What is Lost Town, and what is the truth behind the cities? The plot is also good: the creators seem to know where they’re heading.

On the negative side, it looks to me like this show is headed for some yaoi content. I can take some, and it doesn’t seem like it should be that bad. Another issue is that the two male characters suffer from bishoujo syndrome. They don’t seem to have too much of a personality and are too perfect. Shion’s previously unstoppable curiosity appears to have been beaten into compliance by the government.

1860: The Japanese Ambassadors Visit the United States

Discussion,

I just completed the first episode of Ikoku Meiro no Croisée, in which a Japanese girl travels to France in the late 19th century. This brought to mind an earlier (and non-fictional) cultural exchange which I thought I should share, since most people are probably unfamiliar with the story, even though it was a big deal when it happened.

As you probably are aware, Matthew Perry opened up trade with Japan in 1854. Shortly afterward, in 1860, a delegation of Japanese ambassadors arrived in the United States to greet “his Majesty, the President of the United States,” a welcome distraction for a country which was edging closer and closer to civil war. I highly recommend reading this excellent article for an account and discussion of the trip.

I have a few assorted observations on cultural differences which weren’t mentioned in the article. All of the excerpts are from the Times articles linked to below.

  • The Japanese delegates are frequently referred to in the newspapers as “Japs”— my impression had been that this originated as a derogatory term during the second world war, but clearly the term has much older origins, and originally didn’t have its current insulting and demeaning connotations.
  • The shop owner in Ikoku Meiro no Croisée is not the only one who had the bright idea of using the Japanese as an advertisement. From the June 12 New York Times article (referenced below) on the delegations visit to Philadelphia:

    The occasion of [the Japanese delegation’s] presence in the street was, however, the signal for a popular rush, and had it not been for the strenuous efforts of the Police, they would have been quite run down. The shop windows on Chestnut-street are filled with various articles which are marked “to be presumed to the Japanese Embassy,” “To be presented to his majesty the Tycoon,” which attract crowds of the curious. Whether they will ever reach their pretended destination or not, they serve as excellent advertisements, and cheap. Indeed, the visit of the Embassy to Philadelphia seems to take a practical turn — a number of purchases have already been made, and private establishments visited, which affords an able prominence to some of the Quaker City merchants. The attractions of most of the jewelry are however wasted on all but the inferior Japanese. The higher classes dress in the plainest manner, and, if perchance they carry gold watches, they keep them out of sight. The exhibition of trinkets and ornamental jewelry about the person is considered vulgar in Japan. 

    Yune seems to wear quite a bit of jewelry. Does anyone know whether this is a misunderstanding by the Americans, this aversion to jewelry is limited to men, or this is an inaccuracy in Ikoku Meiro no Croisée? The delegation did appear to have a deep interest in clocks and watches, however.

  • The American hosts were taught Shogi by the Japanese delegation, and displayed a deep fascination with it, printing the entirety of the rules in the Times. The Japanese were also observed by their hosts playing Go.
  • The Japanese appeared to have a much stronger desire for privacy than their hosts.

    Measures have been taken to secure for the Embassy the utmost seclusion and privacy should they desire it. No one will be allowed to enter any part of the corridor of the second floor devoted to their use, without special permission. This rule will be strictly enforced, as it has been found by experience in other cities, to be absolutely necessary to the comfort of the guests.

  • The ambassadors developed a liking for western music.
  • The ambassadors couldn’t quite figure out what to do with western furniture.

    The after part is devoted to the Ambassadors, who soon after taking possession of it summarily kicked all the elegant movable furniture out, and then squatting down on the soft velvet carpets, resumed their normal positions.

  • Anyone know what to make of this, if anything?

    The Ambassadors while away the time in eating seven or eight repasts a day, puffing small whiffs of tobacco, playing chess and caressing their big toes — the last occupation affording them apparently the greatest solace and satisfaction.

  • The ambassadors weren’t quite sure what to make of Christian prayers.

    When the crew are summoned to evening prayers the Ambassadors regard the proceedings with extreme attention. At first, when our excellent Chaplain began, and as he would throw his head back in addressing the Supreme Being, the Japanese would follow the eye of the speaker and peer intently at the maintop or the mizzen-stay in the most inquiring wonder, and then turn one to the other, bob their shaved crowns and inverted pigtails, as much as to say the matter was entirely beyond their comprehension.

  • The Americans saw the Japanese as polished and refined, yet selfish. Only of them appeared to bathe, and had an astonishing way of going about it.

    They are, indeed, a very polished people in their peculiar way, and at the same time extremely selfish, never refraining from asking and taking all they want, and not unfrequently much more than they want; but yet they are the Nation’s guests, and it behooves us to smile upon them and put up with their exactions. Nor are they the scrupulously neat and cleanly people we had supposed they were; for although commodious bathing rooms have been provided for them, yet I doubt if a man of them has so much as wet his fingers since coming on board. I most except, however, the hawk-nosed Ambassador, who takes what an old Quartermaster told me the other day was a “spirt bath,” every morning. The process is simply this: The chief bather sits down before his lord, with a large teapot of warm water before him. After a decorous interval he fills his capacious month with the liquid, and then purls it in a spirting stream over the tawny skin of the Ambassador. The operation lasts about an hour.

  • The youngest member of the delegation, Tateishi Onojero, was overwhelmingly popular with the ladies, and the menfolk were not amused. He was quite upset to finally put America behind him and head home. One of his love poems is included in the Oct. 6 article.

    TATEISH ONOJERO, or TOMMY PUNERTERO, as he is commonly styled, is a very amusing young vagabond, and goes hoppling and toppling about the decks wherever he can find guzzling or edible matter to consume. He takes a lesson daily with the chaplain, whom that profane small Pagan calls the “Joss Pidgeon,” after the heathenish term applied to his own idolatrous worshippers. When not studying or guzzling he writes soul-touching love-letters to his sweethearts in America — lying in the most polished manner to all of them, and signing himself “Your lovely TOMMY.”

  • One of the delegates was a bishounen, and the public began to suspect he was a crossdresser.

    Another individual of this interesting Embassy has, however, caused more alarm than amusement. It is a soft, round person, with rather a pretty, beardless face, and black glossy hair. It is attired in a sort of blue blotting-paper gown, and from some outward indications we began to believe it was a lady in disguise. After a time her situation became apparently so very interesting, and knowing that amongst all the Purser’s slop clothing no baby linen was supplied, we thought it advisable to consult the surgeon. That gentleman being a practitioner of much obstetric experience, and a close observer, made some few casual observations, and assured us that there was nothing in it — that it was a simple case of adipose, and that we might set our minds at rest.

  • The delegates came to like American food, but would not stop eating rice.
  • One of the Times articles mentions that the Japanese bear a close resemblance to the American Indians.
  • Observers commented that the Japanese were industrious, busy and good-natured.
  • The ambassadors requested a warm fresh water bath for the entire delegation while on a ship offshore Africa, and were offered the use of the engine boilers but politely declined.
  • The Americans were also fascinated by Japanese acupuncture and herbal medicine.

Further Reading:

Usagi Drop 02 — Fleeing From the Moon

Usagi Drop,

Usagi Drop is the first new show I’ve decided to blog this season. I’ll still continue with Iroha and Steins; Gate, and pick two or three others as well. Right now one will most likely be Kamisama Dolls (contingent on the second episode), and the rest are still undecided.

The thing I like most about Usagi Drop is how the creators are developing the relationship between Rin and Daikichi. They aren’t shouting about how they feel to each other: the development is understated (at least by anime standards). For example, look at the scene in this episode where Daikichi looked at Rin’s drying clothes and put out his cigarette, or where Rin gave Daikichi a gift after he was late to pick her up. These scenes spoke more to Daikichi’s willingness to take care of Rin and Rin’s affection for him than any amount of talking could have.

The other thing I love about this series is how down to earth it is. Daikichi’s concerns at the moment are practical and immediate: where should he send Rin to school, what clothes does he need to buy her, and what should they eat. There’s no emoing out over whether he’s fit to take care of Rin. He just tries to do all that he can.

The interactions between Rin and Daikichi are cute and endearing. My favorite scene in this episode was when Daikichi called his cousin, and her daughter wanted to talk to Rin on the phone. It was only the last episode that she was bullying Rin and stealing her Jacob’s ladder, and now they’re best friends. It’s the small things like this that make Rin feel like an actual little kid and not another loli.

The other thing is that the main characters of Usagi drop are a girl in nursery school and a 30 year old man. How often do you get either of those age groups in anime, much less both at the same time? I’m looking forward to seeing how the creators deal with their age gap.