Category Archives: Initial Impressions

Siúil, a Rún OAD 1 [The Girl From the Other Side]

Initial Impressions, ,
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PLOT: In a world split between the Inside and the Outside, those living in both realms are told never to cross over to the other side, lest they be cursed. A young girl named Shiva lives in a vacant village with a demonic guardian known only as “Teacher.” Although the two are forbidden to touch, they seem to share a bond that transcends their disparate appearances. But when Shiva leaves Teacher’s care to seek out her grandmother, the secret behind her mysterious living arrangement comes to light. ~ANN

Production Details

Animation Production: WIT STUDIO [Animation Production on the following works: The Ancient Magus Bride, Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan), Koi wa Ameragari no You ni (After the Rain), B: The Beginning, Bungo Stray Dogs, Empire of Corpses film, The Great Pretender, Hal film, Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress, Owari no Seraph (Seraph of the End), The Rolling Girls, Vinland Saga, Under the Dog ONA“]

Directors, Screenplay, and Storyboards:

  • Yutaro Kubo
  • Satomi Tani

Based on the Original Manga by: Nagabe

Music: Schroeder-Headz

Sound Effects: Noriko Izumo [Sound effects on Boogiepop Phantom and Others / Mushishi / Sakamoto desu ga? / Sakura Trick / Vampire Knight Guilty]

Ever since this was announced back in March I was overjoyed it’s an excellent manga. The manga has received numerous awards for its telling dark love story of a young girl, Shiva, and a mysterious creature named only as “Teacher”. Loosely based on an Irish folklore story of romance the manga of the same name focuses on a relationship between a human girl and demon and their connection through touch that can never happen.

This OAD (Original Animation Disc) is more of a test of a new expressionistic approach. Balancing between light and dark colors. An advertisement for the manga –so if you don’t really know the story you can still enjoy this however, if you’ve read the manga up to at least volume 7 you will notice parts of the manga they’ve animated and have an understanding of these characters. Nonetheless, watching this is a visual feast that is unique and beautifully captivating.

Directed by two up and coming directors– Yutaro Kubo and Satomi Maiya. Kubo has been directing animated shorts and music videos since 2013 including the amazing Kicking Rocks which you can watch here. With Kubo, he’s got this way of animating that feels real with an edgy tone to it. When you see movement you can notice it would take that long amount of time for the movement to occur.

Satomi Maiya has been following the same path in career that Kubo has and she’s often collaborated on many of his works including Amazarashi’s music video Tarareba which can be watched here. Alongside a few commercials, a personal favorite of mine is her work on Miyagi Cooperative commercial animation which can be watched here.

With Siuil a Run, Kubo’s sketchy frenetic drawing/animation style provides a lively and bizarrely nurturing view of its two characters, the nature that surrounds them and objects especially clothing.

Maiya’s painterly form is very expressive. Heavily, showcased in this with one sequence that focuses on a dream Shiva has. Relying on pastel colors to define a wondrous world that is quickly consumed by darkness. Thanks to the use of some incredible chalk-es

Schroeder-Headz musical style suits this animation experiment wonderfully. A band that is comprised of mostly of drums, bass, and a piano. Named after Charles’ Schultz’s Peanuts piano player Schroeder. Their style pays tribute to this character through the use of a variety of genres– jazz , electronic, and classical. It’s as if you could envision a young person with all this talent performing these songs.  A mystifying release of imagery through sound that channels the unique wet ink drawings of Siuil a Run to great heights. I can’t imagine how good this would be as a full fledged series! Mushishi’s sound director Noriko Izumo matched with Schroeder-Headz’ experimental sound makes this one to check out. The effects of grass swaying in the wind, the footsteps that move from heavy to soft– from Teacher to Shiva. Without a single line of dialogue, Izumo had to establish how this world would need to be presented to its viewers to tell a story.

WIT Studio relied on various art techniques to reflect a storybook presentation that retains the artistic nature of the manga. A cleverly imaginative approach to depict sugar cubes dissolving in liquid to parallel her fears. Life is sweet but can be scary at times. Siuil a Run’s background art holds this pale warmth to it. A combination of faded brush/cross-hatch style. Mixed with object motion that carries a lighter weight. Brighter colors that stand out to in the foreground and you get really strong animation frames especially with the fire sequence with the cooking pot.

This short, with a runtime of around 10 minutes, is an enchanting story exploring Shiva and Teacher’s everyday life in a rural countryside. A pictorial perspective of a world of fantasy. Where fairytales aren’t always good. This is depicted by Shiva’s character’s clothing choice. A white robe illustrates her innocence– that there is a large world out there waiting to be discovered. Teacher, a demon that acts as her guardian wears a formal attire to attract the idea that he isn’t all that scary even if he’s a demon. Not much is shown in the way of the manga’s story–without the use of dialogue but you still get a good perspective on their relationship.

I hope one day WIT STUDIO returns to this project for a full-fledge animation work. It is extremely unique and the manga’s story is excellent!

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: [98/100]

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Carole & Tuesday Episode 1 [Initial Impressions]

Carole & Tuesday, Currently Watching, Initial Impressions, , ,

 

 

 

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PLOT: Fifty years have passed since mankind began migrating to the new frontier: Mars. It’s an age where most culture is produced by AI, and people are content to be passive consumers. There’s a girl scraping a living in the metropolis of Alba City, she’s working part-time while trying to become a musician. She’s always felt like something is missing. Her name is Carole. There’s another girl. Born to a wealthy family in the provincial town of Herschel City, she dreams of becoming a musician, but nobody around her understands. She feels like the loneliest person in the world. Her name is Tuesday. A chance meeting brings them together.

Animation Production: BONES [Animation Production for the following works: A.I.C.O. Incarnation, Akagami no Shiraiyukihime (Snow White with Red Hair) Angelic Layer, Kekkai Sensen (Blood Blockade Battlefront), Bungo Stray Dogs, Captain Earth, Chaika The Coffin Princess, Concrete Revolutio, Cowboy Bebop the Movie, Darker than Black, Hisone to Masotan, Escaflowne: The Movie, Eureka Seven, FullMetal Alchemist and BROTHERHOOD remake, Ghost Slayers Ayashi, GOSICK, Jyu-Oh-Sei, Kurau: Phantom Memory, Mars Daybreak, Mob Psycho 100, My Hero Academia, No. 6, Noragami, Otona Joshi no Anime Time Episode 2, RahXephon, Show by Rock!!, Soul Eater, Space Dandy, Star Blazers 2199, STAR DRIVER, Sword of the Stranger film, Tenkai Knights, The Skull Man (animation assistance on Episode 11 with MANGLOBE studio), Tokyo Magnitude 8.0, Towanoquon film series, UN-GO, Wolf’s Rain, X’amd Lost Memories, Zetsuen no Tempest (Blast of Tempest)] [In-Between Animation on Episode 1 of Real Drive / 2nd Key Animation on Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru (Run with the Wind) 

Chief Director: Shinichiro Watanabe [Director on the following works: Blade Runner: Black Out 2022, Kid’s Story OVA (part of the Animatrix Stories), A Detective Story OAV (part of the Animatrix Stories), Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, Baby Blue OVA, Kids on the Slope, Zankyou no Terror [Terror in Tokyo], Space Dandy] [Music Producer on Michiko e Hatchin] [Opening Sequence Director on STAR DRIVER OP 1] [Storyboard on Episode 12 of Birdy the Mighty Decode / Director on Death Parade Ending Sequence / Storyboard on Episode 19 of Ergo Proxy / Co-Producer and Music Producer on Michiko e Hatchin / Music Director on Mind Game / Director on [cancelled project T.A.T.u.] opening sequence / Storyboard on Episodes 5, 8 , 12, and 16 of The Vision of Escaflowne / Episode Director on Episodes 3, 7, and 9 of Dirty Pair / Music Producer on Lupin the Third: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine / Storyboard on Episode 22 of Noein]

Director: Motonobu Hori [Key Animator on Episode 11 of Atom the Beginning / Storyboard, Episode Director, Animation Director on Episode 24 of Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad / Storyboards on the BERSERK films / Key Animator Episodes 1 and 3 of FLCL: Progressive / Unit Director, Key Animator, and Prop Design on Ghost in the Shell: Alternative Architecture Film / 2nd Key Animator on Episode 7 of Kemonozume/ Key Animator on Episode 16 of Michiko e Hatchin / Storyboard Episode Director and Key Animator on Episodes 2 and 8 of Paradise Kiss / Key Animator on Episode 8 of Paranoia Agent / Key Animator on Re:Cutie Honey OP Sequence / In-between animator and Clean up Animator on Spirited Away film]

Series Composition: Aya Watanabe [Digital Painter on Berserk films 1 and 2 / Finish Animation on Episode 8 of Demonbane / Finish Animation on Episodes 1-4 of My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU TOO!] 

Character Designer: Eisaku Kubonouchi [Original Creator and artist on the following manga: Cherry / Chocolat] [Original Creator and Character Designer on Sono Toki, Kanojo wa TV anime] [Character Designer for Cup Noodle ads featuring 17-year old Kiki from Miyazaki’s Kiki’s Delivery Service]

Original Creator: Shinichiro Watanabe

Music: Mocky (Canadian singer, music producer, songwriter and composer) (Co-writer on the following songs: Bittersweet Melodies, Graveyard, and Caught A Long Wind” off the album Metals by the artist Feist.)

Chief Animation Director: Yoshiyuki Ito (Character Designer and Chief Animation Director on Concrete Revolutio / Key Animator on Episodes 1, 5, 7, 9, 12, 15, 18-20, 22, 24-26 on Cowboy Bebop / Character Designer and Chief Animation Director on Hisone to Masotan / Planning on GANGSTA / Key Animator on Kaiji Opening Sequence /

Episode 1 Production Details

Episode Director: Motonobu Hori

Storyboard:

  • Motonobu Hori
  • Shinichiro Watanabe

 

The time has finally come. Another Shinichiro Watanabe anime series. It has been five years since Space Dandy and Zankyou no Terror have aired and with that time of absence it has given the acclaimed director plenty of time to craft together his next story. Carole & Tuesday. The story of two girls from entirely different backgrounds that find a connection to the meaning of their lives through the use of music. Singing and songwriting specifically.

Shinichiro Watanabe holds a special place in his heart for music. He used jazz in Cowboy Bebop–this not only put his name on the map as a sensational director and creator but also for Yoko Kanno’s career as a composer. Bebop was a huge hit in the United States (in its original run on Japanese TV not so much) and this allowed the viewership of Japanese anime to expand to a wider market.

With his next series, Samurai Champloo he infused the traditional sounds of Japan–the shimasen, taiko drums, etc. with Nujabes, FAT JON, and many others using hip-hop against a samurai backdrop with a story of a girl in search of a samurai that smells of sunflowers.  In 2012, he turned to Yoko Kanno once again to Yoko Kanno for her acclaimed work on Bebop’s jazz score in order to faithfully adapt Yuki Kodama’s award winning manga Sakamichi no Apollon (Kids on the Slope). 2014 was high big year to shine, because he put together two series in the same year. Zankyou no Terror, a story about two teenagers on a journey of retribution. This time Kanno’s score turns to Icelandic atmospheric music to setup a modern day drama. Now we’ve got music at the forefront again and this time in a very special way. One might notice that this show maybe shifting it’s musical influence towards pop music.  Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors” (the name of this episode title and also shown in the intermission artwork) becomes Teusday’s inspiration in the pursuit of music.

Carole & Tuesday was initially announced in March of last year as a 10th anniversary Flying Dog and 20th anniversary Studio BONES production. Worldwide auditions were held for the lead characters (Carole and Tuesday’s) vocal parts. And we get the fantastic Tokyo born Japanese pop and R&B singer Celeina Ann for Tuesday and  Nai Br.XX (from New York) for the role of Carole’s singing parts.

Now onto the premiere episode!

Tuesday is a shy and timid girl trying to make her life something special–with her guitar and robot luggage she begins her journey to Alba City for a different life. Did anyone catch some of the callbacks to Shinichiro Watanabe’s previous series? The narrator portraying a more integral comedic part for this show indicates the callback to Space Dandy’s narrator. The robot charging was an homage to QT from Space Dandy running out of power–the comedy in that was pure genius and we get this first glance at how Tuesday reacts to things that don’t exactly go as planned. Tuesday is this shut-in living life in a rich family household but even in the first five minutes of the show we see her struggle–this is especially reflected in the character animation and expressions.

Carole’s introduction is wonderfully timed–Mocky’s soundtrack (which is reminiscent of Michiko e Hatchin’s score by Kassin) fits this perfectly as we clearly see her wildly cool energy she gives off. Heck, the framing in this compared to Carole’s is heavily angled (especially during her skateboard sequence) to establish her character a little bit more and this “I live on my own, have a job, so I’m forced to be an adult out of circumstances). She has her own place and her early adulthood gives us some inkling that the parental situation is something of a stepping stone for her through her music. The restaurant sequence provides a nice look at how nefarious people can be–balance that is foreshadow to the next scene with Tuesday. It seems to me that one of the larger motifs in this show will be the empowerment of teens being true to themselves and singing out their hearts. Tuesday is breaking away from the sheltered life that she has been living up to this point. Carole yearns for a brand new life— from the boy trying to steal to the men treating her like trash in the restaurant outlines this quite clear. It wasn’t until the commercial actress Angela is riding in the car with her mother that the motif hits the nail in the coffin for this series. Trying to reach your dreams. Her mother not wanting to achieve singing pours out this fact that she’s playing right into the hands of her family as some doll. I’m glad we get to see the parents already and they aren’t shoved into the story too late.  Given the mother’s reaction that the guitar is missing might suggest that Tuesday is an AI. Angela’s mother mentions how she could turn all of her managers into AI, and the fact Mr. Tao’s line of work looks more than meets the eye validates this theory I have about Tuesday. AI’s are replacing the singers of the entertainment business, in Carole and Tuesday it is a story of a world without music and art. A world tied by the boundaries of society dependent on emerging technologies–many of which that have removed any kind of free thought of expression with a voice to shout out with. I find it really intriguing when Carole starts playing on the bridge that no one notices her singing and the police officer chasing after them just adds more cause to this. Confined by the companies that have built these AI’s on a higher pedestal than human entertainers.

The chance encounter between the two girls, Carole and Tuesday is well timed. The soft grainy editing is a smart choice to quickly introduce us a meaning behind their dreams in becoming musicians. An entire episode focused on a heartfelt buildup to their first song performance at Carole’s place. One that is beautifully animated by Takashi Mitani. These two girls aren’t creating music for some higher meaning or fighting off society rather it is how they want to express themselves. We clearly see the beginnings of this and a blossoming friendship where Carole posts their very first selfie on Instagram. A real instagram for Carole_and_Tuesday was created some time ago  which you can check out here (As of writing this its at 21.3k followers within the span of a few days!) and follow Carole and Tuesday’s journey together! Keep in mind that this series’ backdrop is set in the future with some incredibly detailed art but I want to point out how the new media affects the society structure and people’s interactions with others. That small instagram post allows for these two smaller artists to gain traction. Social media can be skewed in favor to those that have money and the resources–it’s who you know and in Carole and Tuesday’s case this is only the beginning of their influential change to the world(s?) and their popularity.

Like I said before this show is about spreading the freedom to express one’s self and for these girls it goes from a small indoor practice session to shouting at the rooftops just learning that they can be anything they want to be even if society won’t accept it.

Also want to say how shocked I am that this show is going to be 2-cour! 24 episodes!

 

ED: “Hold Me Now” by Carole & Tuesday (Nai Br.XX & Celeina Ann)

 

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Directed by: Norimitsu Suzuki

Storyboards: Norimitsu Suzuki

Animation Supervisor: Norimitsu Suzuki

Animators: Norimitsu Suzuki

 

Norimitsu Suzuki is a freaking awesome animator. Having animated the UN-GO ending sequence, the adorable Soul Eater ending 2 with Maka’s walking cycle, among many others! His walk cycles are incredibly fluid and give a lot personality and physique through the attention to a character’s clothing and movement in the arms and legs. He animated this entire sequence by himself. Incredible. This is a treat because the song gives us an idea of how their music might turn out in future episodes once they are heavily produced. The lyrics that bubble through the background shows this off as some kind of pop music video. The grey transition into color of Carole and Tuesday and its background choice sets a charismatic tone that adds layers to their music to greater heights!

 

OVERALL IMPRESSION: 11/10

Did I do a typo? I think not!

Yagate Kimi ni Naru (Bloom Into You) Episode 1 [Initial Impressions]

Currently Watching, Initial Impressions, Yagate Kimi ni Naru, ,

 

It has been quite some time since I have reviewed a series. The last time was Koi wa Ameagari no You ni (After the Rain) episode 2. I have a lot of backlog reviews to go through and edit and post. Real life obligations have taken over but that doesn’t mean anime is out of my life. I’m still hosting anime events for my club, attending regular theater screenings and watching shows on a seasonal basis. Just not as much as I had before. Japanese anime is still a large part of my life so I hope that once in a while I can keep updating this site with new reviews and other content. I am always looking for people if anyone is interested in writing reviews for my site.  Please. Please contact me at beatslars@gmail.com if you are wanting to become an anime blogger. Now onto my review of a series currently airing.

 

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PLOT: Yū has always loved shōjo manga and awaits the day she gets a love confession that sends her heart aflutter with bubbles and blushes, and yet when a junior high classmate confesses his feelings to her, she feels nothing. Disappointed and confused, Yū enters high school still unsure how to respond. That’s when Yū sees the beautiful student council president Nanami turn down a suitor with such maturity that she’s inspired to ask her for help. But then the next person to confess to Yū is Nanami herself.

Animation Production: TROYCA (Animation Production and CG Work on Aldnoah.Zero / Photography on Anthem of the Heart (film) / Animation Production on Sakurako-san / In-Between Animation on Bungou Stray Dogs / 2nd Key Animation on Shokugeki no Soma Episode 6 / Photography on Inari Koi Kon / In-Between Animation on Mob Psycho 100 / In-Between Animation on Boku no Hero Academia/ Animation Production, Finish Animation , Photography on RE:Creators / Production on Kimi no na wa (Your Name)]

Director: Makoto Kato [Director on Sakurako-san no Ashimoto ni wa Shitai ga Umatteiru / Storyboard and Episode Director on RE:Creators Episodes 2 and 10 / Episode Director on Aldnoah.Zero Episodes 3 and 12]

Series Composition: Juuki Hanada [Script on Accel World Episodes 6, 7, 13, and 20 / Scenario Planning on Ah! My Goddess Episodes 4, 7, 10, 13, 17, 20, and 26 / Series Composition on Kyoukai no Kanata (Beyond the Boundary) / Script on Chobits / Script on Fate/Sta Night Episodes 5, 7, 14, 18, and 21 / Screenplay on K-On! Episodes 4, 5, 8 and 12 / Series Composition on the Love Live franchise TV series and films / Series Composition on Nichijou / Series Composition on Kuragehime (Princess Jellyfish) / Series Composition on Sora Yorimo Toileting Basho (A Place Further Than The Universe) / Script on Sound! Euphonium / Script on Saber Marionette J / Series Composition on Steins;Gate TV series and feature film / Series Composition on Yozakura Quartet]

Character Designer: Hiroaki Gohda [Director on Ah! My Goddess TV series and film / Character Designer on Amagami SS / Key Animation on Aldnoah.Zero Episode 3 / Series Director on Bubblegum Crash / Animation Director on Sakurako-san Episode 12 / Key Animation on Dirty Pair: Project Eden film / Key Animation on Dream Hunter Rem Episode 1 / Animator on Leda: The Fantastic Adventure of Yohko OAV / Key Animation on Neon Genesis Evangelion / Character Designer on Onegai Teacher / Animation Director on RE:Creators Episodes 19 and 22 / Key Animation on Urusei Yatsura: Remember My Love film]

Original Creator: Nio Nakatani (Original Creator of Eclair: Anata ni Hibiku Yuri Anthology (Eclair: A Yuri Anthology to Resound in You)]

Music: Michiru Oshima [Music Composer for the following works: Arc the Lad, Aura: Koga Maryuin’s Last War / BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad / Zetsuen no Tempest / Boys Over Flowers / Buddha films / Casshan: Robot Hunter Casshern OAVs / Le Chevalier D’Eon / Fancy Lala / FullMetal Alchemist original series / Fuse: Memoirs of a Huntress film / Gokusen TV-Live Action / Haikara-san trilogy films / Hal film / Kaze no Tairiku (The Weathering Continent) / Legend of Crystania / Little Witch Academia / Maho Tsukai Tai! (Magic User’s Club!) / Massage ni Iko / Nabari no Ou / The Night is Short Walk on Girl / Patema Inverted (film) / Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Live Action film) / Project Blue Earth SOS / Queen Emeraldas / Rokka no Yuusha / Akagami no Shirayukihime (Snow White with Red Hair) / Sora no Wo To (Sound of the Sky) / Speed Racer X / The Tatami Galaxy]

Chief Animation Director: Hiroaki Gohda

Episode 1 Production Details

Episode Director: Makoto Kato

Storyboard: Makoto Kato

 

Before I dive into Yagate Kimi ni Naru I want to discuss one of my favorite genre. Yuri. Girls love as known to English speakers. An entire genre of manga and anime about girls and women falling in love.  There are many people that might think that yuri automatically connotes stories about sex, however that is not the case. And Shoujo-ai focuses on the romance portion of it. Yuri is meant to express both sexualized and non=sexualized stories. Some fantastic examples of the genre are Aoi Hana, a realistic portrayal of two high school girls (that were once childhood friends) falling in love. Simoun, a series about women pilots that are fighting in a war and have relationships with other women pilots. Two other yuri anime that are highly symbolic series come from its director Kunihiko Ikuhara which are Revolutionary Girl Utena and Yuri Kuma Arashi (Translation: Lily Bear Storm). While Yuri Kuma Arashi, which you can read my full review here contain sexually suggestive themes doesn’t shove it down the viewers throats, that these scenes are meant strictly for the story. These shy far away from what many would see tackle “in-your-face” sexual situations for pure fan service intentions. This include series such as Valkyrie Drive. About the only romance series that I can relate with Yagate Kimi ni Naru is Kimi ni Todoke–how they both handle relationships more realistically– speaking your mind and either agreeing or disagreeing with the other person.

A large reason that put Yagate Kimi ni Naru on the map this season for me, is its music composer. Michiru Oshima. A composer in my Top 10 is probably getting knocked off this list because of her. Her music is incredibly moving and works like Akagami no Shirayukihime (Snow White with Red Hair) and Hana Yori Dango (Boys over Flowers) contain some very powerful and enriching songs.  She writes some of the best classical music in TV anime. I only say this because she is the one that heavily carries the hearty romance of this series. The drama is light in this first episode and we clearly can see that Yuu is confused about love because she doesn’t know what it is and how she feels. The violins play a large part with Yuu’s emotional level in this.

We have all the build up we need for a strong romantic melodrama. Yuu Koito feels isolated from most of her friends–this can be clearly seen in the first 10 minutes where we see her discussing confessions with Akari and Koyomi. Akari is head over heels for Oogaki, and Koyomi yearns for romance but hasn’t found that someone yet. I love the framing in this because we get this view of the three of them from the outside and Yuu is divided by her friends and the soft white brush of the clouds illustrate her being separated from the others–a beautifully visual motif of this.

Throughout this episode we get close up shots that aren’t fully in frame–especially with objects in focus and backgrounds sometimes out of focus to depict Yuu unsure about her own future when it comes to love. While we do have a few tropes–girl Yuu witnesses Touko’s confession scene with the boy, the backdrop of the student council allowing the two lead characters Yuu and Touko closer together (another anime/manga that does this is Citrus) and of course the Touko confession towards the end. Like I said before Oshima’s music delivers the acting, and the soft character designs to a new height. A mature perspective in telling a high school love story between two girls. Not to mention the emphasis on flowers [establishing this yuri theme  and the change of seasons showing that these two have been in the student council for quite some time without wasting time with “just a phase” and very sexualized viewpoint of yuri romance. Something important to note about Yuu in this premiere is the constant focus that she doesn’t understand people’s obsessions with love poses this question about sexual identity. The balance to Yuu and the love interest is charismatic senior Nanami Touka and while being in the mind of Yuu in this episode points out that Touko has ALL the answers–that she is very mindful and Yuu respects her in appearance, smarts and more.  Sayaka and Seiji are some of the minor cast in this that I am sure will add to the melodrama nicely. Given the treatment of this premiere and how faithful they were to the manga I have to wonder where they will end this with only 1-cour (at least announced for now). As for the animation, it has a cute art style that keeps up with the character art from the manga, has a few interesting first person shots and extremely detailed backgrounds that pull this characters into the show more strongly than the super thick lines of the cast in Citrus. Yagate has a softness to its visuals that compliments its beautifully arranged Oshima soundtrack.

 

OVERALL IMPRESSION: 9/10

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Koi wa Ameagari no You ni Episode 1 (Initial Impressions)

Currently Watching, Initial Impressions, Koi wa Ameagari no You ni, ,
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PLOT: The protagonist 17-year-old high school student Akira Tachibana is a girl who barely expresses herself. She harbors a secret crush on Masami Kondō, the 45-year-old manager of the family restaurant she works at part-time.

Animation Production: Wit Studio

Director: Ayumu Watanabe [Director on Ace Attorney, Mysterious Girlfriend X, Space Brothers]

Series Composition: Deko Akao [Series Script Writer on Akagami no Shirayukihime [Snow White with Red Hair] Amanchu!, Arakawa Under the Bridge, Flying Witch, Noragami,

Character Designer: Yuka Shibata [Character Designer for Kimi ni Todoke, Key Animator for Shikabane Hime: Kuro, Storyboards for Little Witch Academia Episode 1]

Original Creator: Jun Mayuzuki

Music: Ryo Yoshimata [Shin Megami Tensei Devil Children TV Anime / High-profile live action TV composer and producer]

Episode 1 Production Details

Episode Director: Ayako Kawano [Storyboards for Ace Attorney’s Sequence Ending Sequence, CG Digital Artist on Final Fantasy XV: Kingsglaive film, Episode Director on Durarara!!x2 Ten Episode 19, Storyboard on Blend S Episode 4]

Storyboard: Ayumu Watanabe

Chief Animation Director: Yuka Shibata (worked at GAINAX in the 2000’s following much of the staff to work at TRIGGER. She left after storyboarding iDOLMASTER episode 17, then working for UFOTABLE where she was a character designer for the Majocco feature film. Now she does freelance work.)

Every once in a while a series comes along and sweeps you off your feet just by the first episode. It’s been well over a year and a few months since I have last posted anything. I will try and get at least a few posts out every once in a while.

Koi wa Ameagari no You ni has a unique premise–immediately after I heard it was receiving an anime adaptation I was intrigued. A relationship between a 45-year old man and a 17-year old high school girl. First thing is first I really like how this show doesn’t focus on sexual intentions. At the moment, Ameagari delivers a strong coming-of-age romance story. If you are a fan of the manga animation director Yuka Shibata does a faithful job at keeping with the source material’s art style.

Plus, the quality of this series is about the best out there. Dare I say it’s better than Violet Evergarden? That series has the usual Kyoto Animation style to it and while it does look pretty Ameagari has a charming tone to its overall presentation.

Akira Tachibana is a shy high-school student that clicks with a few of her friends and was once on the track team. This episode calmly introduces us to its cast with a strong focus on sound effects and the choice to not heighten the music score. Tachibana works at the cafe her crush (Masami Kondo) manages at–and we quickly get the idea that she is head over heels for him. Masami Kondo on the other hand is a carefree man and we see that when he sees his old self in  how he yearns for romance.

The very first moment is spectacular because it establishes an air to how this series will handle itself in telling a love story. Framing plays a large part in this. Akira’s beginning the next chapter in her life–the sharp attention to details and incredible direction key in this idea by showing a bit of her past in a subtle way. This show masks a lot of her background on the track team while at the same time hiding her emotions about it all. The great part about this is he doesn’t show it–neither does he realize it himself. The introduction of his son plays with the charm of this show by sliding in some comedy and Akira’s interest in him. Also lying down some groundwork for the two of them to be couple material later on in this series.

That second half was directed wonderfully! Especially when Akira remembers how she first met Kondo and how this is depicted by the shirt he left on the chair! Great visuals, emotionally-charged music and a nice way to end it–with a comedic scene between the two of them!

OP: “Nostalgic Rainfall” (ノスタルジックレインフォール) by CHiCO with HoneyWorks

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Directed by: Ayako Kouno

Storyboards: Ayumu Watanabe

Animation Supervisor: Akiyo Okuda

Animators:

  • Kouta Fumiaki
  • Yuka Koiso
  • Keita Nagahara
  • Masato Hagiwara
  • Takemoto Yoshiko
  • Kawazuma Tomomi
  • Maeda Kyosuke
  • Erika Nishihara
  • Sachiko Matsumoto (Chief Makeup Animator on Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress)
  • Yuko Sera
  • Hideyuki Arao
  • Mayuko Kato
  • Kana Ito
  • Tetsuya Hasegawa
  • Naohiro Osugi
  • Chikashi Kubota
  • Tomoyoshi Tsuchiya
  • Hiroshi Tomioka

This opening sequence is fantastic! The very beginning represents spreading your wings and discovering your dreams. How should Akira act around him? Akira shows her personality in a big way through this entire sequence–from calm and shy to extremely expressive. The change of clothing acts as a tool of excitement for her. She wants to express her feelings towards him and this comes across nicely with the dancing animation. The use of bright colors was a strong and smart choice for this entire opening! A fun fact the scene towards the end showing heart fragments to each other was animated by Chikashi Kubota. An animator for feature film A Letter to Momo and some of the explosion sequences to Space Dandy. The heart fragments combining into one was an entirely different animator–Fumiaki Kouta. As for Kouta is known for animating a lot of sequences of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. A great animator that uses a detailed approach on effects such as fire, liquid and smoke during fight sequences.

A bit of background behind the music group Honeyworks. They first got their start on streaming service site, Niconico since 2007 using the Vocaloid system. To this day they still remain active on their channel. They’re a circle of performers consisting of composers Gom and shito and their illustrator Yamako. The guitarist Oji  (Kaizoku Ou), illustrators Mogelatte and Rocoru act as support members. The style of music is rock songs with a positive form to them. The band also writes light novels based on their songs. as part of their Confession Executive Committee Love Series. As for this song it’s particularly bright, remaining in their style from their previous works with a rock-pop sound using Chico’s voice with her fantastic vocal range!

ED: “Ref:rain” by Aimer

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Directed by: Ayumu Watanabe

Storyboards: Ayumu Watanabe

Animation Supervisor: Chiaki Kumakura

This is by far one of the best songs that Aimer has ever done. I may be biased here because I don’t think there is a single song of hers that I don’t like. This song translates to this series’ story extremely well. The lyrics and piano hits a tender view on love with beautiful visuals to match it! The line art of Akira is stunning!

 

OVERALL IMPRESSION: 10/10

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Sangatsu no Lion Episode 1 [Initial Impressions]

Currently Watching, Initial Impressions, Sangatsu no Lion, ,

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PLOT: The protagonist Rei is a 17-year-old professional shōgi player, who lives by himself, not having a real family, and has scarcely any friends. Among his acquaintances is a family, which consists of a young woman, Akari Kawamoto, and her younger sisters, Hinata and Momo, who also keep several cats. As the story progreses, Rei deals with his maturing as a player and as a person, while developing his relationships with others, specially the Kawamoto sisters.

Animation Production: SHAFT

Directors: 

  • Akiyuki Shinbo
  • Kenjiro Okada

Series Composition: 

  • Akiyuki Shinbo
  • Fuyashi Tou

Character Designer: Nobuhiro Sugiyama

Original Creator: Chika Umino [ Honey & Clover]

Music: Yukari Hashimoto

Episode 1 Production Details

Episode Director: Kenjiro Okada

Storyboard: Shinsaku Sasaki

Script: Yukito Kizawa

I decided to change things up a bit and not post so much information on production staff regarding previous anime they’ve worked on.  Hope you all enjoy it!

One of the most anticipated series of the season finally arrives! This adaptation is quite different than what I expected from when it was first announced. This turned out to be quite a solid piece of work.

An incredible use of sound and SHAFT uses creator Chika Umino’s slow-paced story to its advantage with director Akiyuki Shinbo at the helm!  Per Umino’s request! From the trailers and now this first episode I can tell that SHAFT put a lot of restraint on how they typically animate their shows like the Monogatari series.  The first half is a beautifully animated and very subdued long morning for the protagonist Rei Kiriyama.  SHAFT certainly was the right choice in this because they were able to breathe life into Rei’s dark objectified view of the world and flip it with a superb second half.  The animation is simply designed–using a solid palette structure for its backgrounds.  At first glance this isn’t an anime with a large budget like what we’ve been seeing with Yuri!!! on Ice! , but when you see this episode you can clearly get a clear indication that a lot of time was spent on the direction of the animation.  Closeup shots of objects (especially the drinks) and facial expression techniques.  The most important develop of this show is through its use of sound effects!  From the very first scene it’s clear that there is a certain level of discomfort in Rei’s home. He’s internalized all of his emotions (if he has any) and through a very smart stylistic choice in visuals and sound direction that Rei is suffering.  Without the addition of music until the shogi match illustrates a larger picture that Rei enjoys his isolation.

I think it says a lot when a series chooses little dialogue to capture an audience into its narrative. We don’t know the man he’s playing is his father until he sees a news report later on from a tragic unrelated event. Sound was crucial here–the report established Rei’s disconnect from his own circumstances perfectly!

This transitioned nicely into the Kawamoto family’s introduction. Bubbly music score and strikingly bright animation.  Hues of pinks and yellows represents how lively the family is–the antics with the younger children remind me of 7-year old Naru from Barakamon.  The animation in the second half of this episode reverts from the dismal and dark tone that Sangatsu no Lion originally went for!  You either like the style or you don’t. 3-Gatsu no Lion is different than what we’re used to seeing with shows like Honey & Clover.

Akari Kawamoto, the oldest of the three sisters notices Rei’s disconnect from society–it is seen when she, right after Hinata had texted him, requests that he pick up vegetables for the dinner. I like how this show doesn’t force the interpersonal relationships down our throats–we given small details in doses.  The news report, the text messages, even by the end of this episode we see that Rei is gradually crawling out of his shell through the use of shadow effects and dream-state imagery.

I’m actually quite glad that this premiere didn’t shove Shogi matches to explain his character in-depth.  Using a visual narrative and a down-to-earth family to establish his grounding in the world succeeds wonderfully!  Posters of the manga on the train, Sangatsu logo on the grocery store sign. Perhaps SHAFT was taking the source material advertising a bit too literal.  Although, it certainly is one way to do it.

OP: “Answer (アンサー)” by BUMP OF CHICKEN

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Directed by: Naoyuki Asano

Storyboards: Naoyuki Asano

Animation Supervisor: Naoyuki Asano

Key Animators:

  • Hironori Tanaka
  • Tsutomu Shibuya
  • Shintaro Douge
  • Kazuki Ito
  • Atsushi Saito
  • Nozomu Abe
  • You Yamamoto
  • Naoko Masui
  • Tomohiro Shinoda
  • Naoto Nakamura

Notable Key Animator: 

  • Hironori Tanaka [ BLEACH #166 (specifically Ichigo and Grimmjow fight sequence)
    • Known for character acting and expressive animation particularly with line-work animation and hair animations.

Hironori Tanaka animated many of the opening scenes for this, notably, Rei’s drowning and the majority of sections featuring water sequences.  A bit of history about this animator. He’s well-known in the world of sakuga having worked on some very popular series including School Days, Fate/Stay Night Unlimited Blade Works, Gurren Lagann, Bakemonogatari and one of my favorites The Tatami Galaxy.   I believe what stands out best as his best work as a key animator is on director Kou Matsuo’s Kure–nai.  Episode six to be exact–featuring a musical sequence.  Sometimes there doesn’t need to be -in-between frames when there are many key frames used.  Typically TV Anime do not produce this level of quality, however, there are times when this style of animation is utilized. This seems to be Tanaka’s style resulting in a very smooth flow to his sequences. He’s one of a few animators to be experienced and designs scenes with a purity to them . I say pure because he is able to draw 50 to 80 frames just to get a sequence nailed down properly.

Sangatsu‘s opening has very beautiful animation with varying shades of blues and other dark tonal colors that mesh together with a powered pigment influence.  BUMP OF CHICKEN are back for the anime adaptation reprising their role in 3-Gatsu no Lion material with both a well-designed opening and ending sequence.  They definitely delivered an emotionally-charged and well-written indie-styled rock song that matches these visuals beautifully.  Rei is drowning without a pathway to follow in life–the visual cues with the doorways represents that he has many choices in life but doesn’t have a grasp on his own life yet. I really like how the song gives an uplift with the chorus and suddenly the animation changes to firefly visuals and the family that has taken a chance on him might just give him the push he needs to figure out his life goal.

ED: “Answer (アンサー)” by BUMP OF CHICKEN
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Directed by: Ryosuke Nakamura

Storyboards: Ryosuke Nakamura

Animation Supervisor: Takumi Yokota

Key Animators:

  • Takeshi Ninomiya
  •  Hiroshi Hamasaki
  • Akito Asai
  • Yumi Shimizu
  • Shigeru Fujita
  • Sawako Miyamoto

Extremely uplifting visuals. BUMP OF CHICKEN does a fine job in the music department here–using an emotionally engaging song about having the courage to trust another person and open up your heart. The visual style represents the color hues of Nisekoi‘s opening sequences. Beautifully drawn backgrounds! I really like the neon outline of Rei’s shadow as he’s flying through the air– the blue seems to represent that he’s finally found his courage.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: 10/10

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Yuri!! on Ice Episode 1 [Initial Impressions]

Currently Watching, Initial Impressions, Yuri!! on Ice, , ,
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Yuri!! on Ice effortlessly ignites an engaging story about figure skating with fluid animation, a compelling soundtrack, and a creative charm that works perfectly.

PLOT: Yūri Katsuki carried all of Japan’s hopes on his shoulders to win at the Gran Prix Finale ice skating competition, but suffered a crushing defeat. He returns home to Kyushu and half feels like he wants to retire, and half feels like he wants to continue ice skating. Suddenly the five-time consecutive world championship ice skater Victor Nikiforov appears before him with Yuri Plisetsky, a young Russian figure skater who is already defeating his seniors. Victor and both Yuris take up the challenge on an unprecedented Gran Prix series.

Animation Production: Studio MAPPA [Sakamichi no Apollon [Kids on the Slope], Teekyu, Zankyou no Terror [Terror in Tokyo], Garo: Honoo no Kokuin, Shingeki no Bahamut: GENESIS, PunchLine, Ushio and Tora, In This Corner of the World, Days, Hajime no Ippo: Rising [co-produced with MADHOUSE])

Director: Sayo Yamamoto [Storyboard and Episode Director on Samurai Champloo Episodes 5,11, 18, 22 and 26 / Storyboard on Death Note episode 22 / Series Director and Storyboards on Michiko e Hatchin / Storyboard on Seikimatsu Occult Gakuin Episode 11 / Storyboard and Episode Director on Space Dandy episodes 2 and 7 / Director and Storyboard on PSYCHO-PASS‘ first opening sequence / Director and Storyboard on Shingeki no Kyojin [Attack on Titan]’s first ending sequence / Director and Storyboard on Space Dandy‘s ending sequence / Director and Storyboard on Shingeki no Bahamut: GENESIS‘ ending sequence)

Series Composition: Sayo Yamamoto

Character Designer: Tadashi Hiramatsu (Animation Character Design and Animation Director on Cutie Honey [Live-Action Film] / Director, Storyboard, Animation Director [OP; episode 1] on Re: Cutie Honey OAV / Key Animator on Darkside Blues film / Key Animator on Master Keaton episode 28 / Key Animator on Neon Genesis Evangelion episodes 15,19, 21, 23, 24, 25 and 26 / Storyboard and Assistant Animation Supervisor on Mushishi episode 8 / Key Animator on Mushishi episodes 16 and 20 / Storyboard and Episode Director on Denno Coil episode 10 / Key Animator on Kimi ni Todoke episode 5 / Key Animator on Space Dandy episodes 2 and 17 / Animation Supervisor and Character Designer on Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakkuritsu / Storyboard on Kuromukuro episode 5)

Music: 

  • Taku Matsushiba (Composer for the following advertisements and animation projects: Asahi The Dream, Oono he Kaerou, Yokai-Watch “puni puni”, Toyota Vitz, JR Toukai, Nissin Cisco, Mix Channel)
  • Taro Umebayashi (Composer for the following works: Space Dandy [credited as ‘milk’]

Episode 1 Production Details

Episode Director: Jun Shishido (Storyboard and Episode Director on Sakamichi no Apollon [Kids on the Slope] episode 6 / Storyboard on Kingdom episode 32 / Series Director and Storyboard on Hajime no Ippo: Rising episodes 1,2, 21 and 25 / Storyboard on Kiseiju: Sei no Kakuritsu episode 11 / Episode Director on Death Parade episodes 1, 6 and 11 / Storyboard on Death Parade episodes 3,6 and 11 / Director on Ushio and Tora‘s first and second opening sequences /

Storyboards: Sayo Yamamoto

Script: Sayo Yamamoto

From the director of Michiko e Hatchin and Lupin the Third: Fujiko Mine comes a story about competitive figure skating.  Originally this project by Sayo Yamamoto was created as a music video entitled “Endless Night” for the Japan Animator’s Exhibition project from Studio Khara [Neon Genesis Evangelion] and Dwango last year.  The visuals are stunning and some of the best this year has to offer. I knew this season would be huge considering that my favorite genre Josei [Sangatsu no Lion and Fune wo Amu] would be getting the spotlight but this knocked out just about every show that’s aired so far out of the water!  Yūri Katsuki is a timid 23-year old skater admiring the talents of skating legend Victor Nikiforov.  This episode does a fine job in establishing Yūri Katsuki as someone with much to learn.  He’s more relatable than many male protagonists and adding to this realism are a few qualities that outlines director Yamamoto’s attention to characterization–he has problems managing his weight. Not to mention the effects of his dog’s death weighing on him too. Which I’m sure the anime will explore this avenue later on.  His issues can clearly be seen as we see him crying in the bathroom and during the childhood segment alongside Yuko–he’s emotional and hasn’t quite come to terms with his loss at Gran Prix. Russian figure skater Yuri Plisetsky didn’t help the situation either. However, it does set up a nice rivalry between the two of them.  We also see how affected Yūri is after losing at the competition through the episode’s stylistic direction affixed on Yūri’s own physical appearance.  This is highlighted in his face perfectly.  From a downward spiral to an ultimately uplifting skating performance that turns out very rewarding in the second half.  As the story progresses we see that Yūri still has passion for figure skating.   Spending the remainder of this episode at the Hasetsu skating rink and an unexpected encounter at the hot springs provides a solid start to the story.

The visual quality is superb–the cast is attractive and this comes across during the skating scene as well.  Transitioning from Yūri and Victor Nikiforov’s skating performances.   MAPPA and Yamamoto didn’t mess around with staffing for this anime.  Picking  two time Japanese national ice skating champion (now retired) Kenji Miyamoto to choreograph all of the skating scenes and the visual appeal is breathtaking.  This isn’t the first time Miyamoto has choreographed either as he’s choreographed show programs for Japanese figure skaters Shizuka Arakawa, Daisuke Takahashi, Akiko Suzuki and Yuzuru Hanyu.  Working as a coach and choreographer gives him a chance to shine on projects like Yuri!! on Ice!

The ice skaters move freely across the screen–extremely life-like.  From hand gestures to flowing hair, Yūri and Victor’s curvatures and clothing embellish a style that’s physically charming and sensually engaging. In other words this is a fine example at what animation can achieve–a physical style that comes off more beautifully than to sexualize its characters through fanservice framing. What’s interesting is how artistic the entire sequence is–you can see his passion through his skating and this is depicted in his slimmer figure on the rink and top-notch performance.  The animation choice during this scene was beautiful on purpose.

Off the ice, this show explores body language in a variety of ways–closeup shots of expressive facial animation and quick comedic caricatures capture ballet teacher Minako-sensei and Yūri perfectly. Hopefully, we will get to see a ballet performance from Minako in a later episode accompanied by a originally-composed Taku Matsushiba piece.  This show couldn’t be all pretty like the previews let on. The goofy animations were done by famous Ranma 1/2 and FLCL animator Hiramatsu Tadashi.  Reminding us that we’re still watching a Japanese anime.  The background designs are a pencil-sketch style and very colorful. Object are highly detailed as well.  These characteristics in animation transitioned nicely to the natural movements of the characters giving off the idea that there is beauty outside of ice skating.

Overall this was a beautiful piece of work that is an extension to “Endless Night”.  One that I highly recommend checking out.  A charming additional to the Fall 2016 Anime lineup!

 

OP: “History Maker” by Dean Fujioka

Directed by: Sayo Yamamoto

Storyboards: Sayo Yamamoto

Animation Supervisor: Sunghoo Park

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Absolutely incredible. This is one of the coolest openings I have ever seen. Beautifully animated and on-point with the song by Dean Fujioka!  I love his voice it’s very smooth sounding and his English is amazing. The song was written in cooperation with Taku Matsushiba.  His style is astounding–this song is heavily inspired by classical and contemporary pop music. Providing a nice introduction in the anime’s backdrop–a modern day skating story.  Very inspiring lyrics and visuals that are filled with huge amount of artistic passion!

ED: “You Only Live Once” by Wataru Hatano

Directed by: Yoichiro Hayashi

Storyboards: Yoichiro Hayashi

Animation Supervisor: Tadashi Hiramatsu

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This was a surprisingly good ending.  Really good. Coming off from the modern day musical styled opening sequence this one focuses on life outside of the ice skating element.  An entire sequence of instagram posts of the famous figure skaters featured in Yuri!! on Ice! Looks like a sequence taken from  FREE! but with a lot more heart to it.  This ending comes off super smooth with the addition of an electro-pop sound for the ending song and seiyu Wataru Hatano’s singing. Enjoyed this ending a lot. Anyone notice the “bae” acronym? Very funny.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: 10/10

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91 Days Episode 1 [Initial Impressions]

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Animation Production: Shuka [Durarara!!x2 Shou and Ketsu / Natsume Yujin-Cho Go Season 5)

Director: Hiro Kaburagi (Storyboard on Guilty Crown episode 6 / Series Director on Hozuki no Reitetsu / Episode Director on Kaze no Stigma‘s Opening Sequence / Series Director and Script on Kimi ni Todoke and 2nd Season / Director on Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun / Storyboard on Rolling Girls episode 9 / Episode Director on Speed Grapher episode 19)

Series Composition: Taku Kishimoto ( Series Script Writer on Gin no Saji / Series Composition and Script on Boku Dake ga Inai Machi [ERASED] / Series Script Writer on Haikyuu!! / Script Writer on Prince of Stride: Alternative episode 2 / Series Composition and Script on Usagi Drop)

Character Designer:  Tomohiro Kishi (Key Animator on Baccano! episode 1 / Character Designer and Chief Animation Director on Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun / Key Animator on Gunparade Ochestra‘s Opening and Ending Sequences / Animation Director on Space Dandy episode 5 / Animation Director on Zankyou no Terror [Terror in Tokyo] episodes 4 and 6)

Music: Shogo Kaida ( Music Composer on S.A. / Uragiri wa Boku no Namae o Shitteiru)

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Episode 1 Production Details

Episode Director: Hiro Kaburagi ( Director on Dededen Specials / Episode Director on Fantastic Children episodes 2, 5, 9, 11, 15, 20, 24 and 25 / Storyboard on Guilty Crown episode 6 / Director on Hozuki no Reitetsu / Episode Director on Kaze no Shoujo Emily episode 19 / Director on Kimi no Todoke / Episode Director on NHK ni Youkoso! [Welcome to the NHK!] episodes 5, 13 and 22)

Storyboards: Hiro Kaburagi (Series Composition on Boku Dake ga Inai Machi [ERASED]/ Series Composition on Gin no Saji [Silver Spoon] / Series Composition on Joker Game)

Script: Taku Kishimoto

I remember how spectacular Zankyou no Terror‘s premiere was. Full of dramatic action and sequences that left me wanting so much more from a 25 minute episode run-time.  This was the case with 91 Days.  A revenge story about a young man Angelo Lagusa vows to take a revenge on the family that murdered his own. Script writer, Taku Kishimoto nailed the human relationships in this first episode wonderfully. For the first few minutes we are gently brought into the drama surrounding Angelo and his curiosity towards the Vanetti family.  He receives a picture of his younger brother claiming that the Vanetti family is in the town of Lawless.

The first ten minutes of this episode as beautifully written, incredibly drawn and the camera angles were a stylistic choice that comes off like you’re watching a high-budget 1920’s crime film.  Angelo’s brother Luce Lagusa and his friend Corteo playing with the candle are a small piece of what makes 91 Days a step up above many shows that are airing this summer season.  Shogo Kaida handles the music in this anime and I’ve got to say I’m impressed.  The use of strings during the murder scene weaves together nicely between shots of the kids looking through the crack of the closet doors witnessing the traumatic event unfolding. I also love the slow-motion effects the creators decided on using–Testa slashing at Vincente Vanetti to Luce running out of the closet to a well-lit room to save his mother.  The framing in this was spectacular!  Three Vanetti members were involved in the killing of his mother, father and brother and it creates potential in developing these characters further when (or if) we are introduced to them in some way or another.

An original story and I’m glad to see a newer studio tackle it too–they produced the previous Durararax2 Shou and Ketsu seasons so I can clearly see where their budget was being used on. It was for this. The lighting between many dark scenes of the house and landscape of the woods fit together.  I’m glad they decided on a TV route for this rather than a feature-length film.  So much story is involved!  Hopefully, they will make this longer than 1-cour (91 episodes is wishful thinking).

After the murder scene we are treated to an introduction reminiscent of the Godfather films that sets the tone and atmosphere of a 1920’s world.  Also this acts as a gradual build in time jump that begins Angelo’s revenge on the Vanetti’s. Creteo being a moonshiner was a nice choice.  It reminds us of the time this series is set in and opens up a door for Angelo to get involved with a ragtag team of bootleggers that turn out to be none other than Nero Vanetti himself, one of the men that helped with murdering the Lagusa family!

 

OVERALL IMPRESSION: 10/10

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Spring 2016 Anime Series Preview

Initial Impressions, Thoughts

I’m still behind on posts but that won’t stop me from writing about some of the newest animated works coming out of Japan. This season isn’t much different from last season. There are a ton of terrible series airing this Spring.  Gone are the days that we would have between seven and fifteen series a season and only one or two of them would be horrendous.  If I recall that was around the early 2000’s that we had a lot of gems.  Even though we still get really great series like last season’s Boku Dake ga Inai Machi and Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu I’m still eager about what will be exceptional this Spring. I’m always for anime shows that surprise me. Here’s a breakdown of what’s been airing for the Spring 2016 anime season!

12-sai.: Chiccha na Mune no Tokimeki

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ANIMATION STUDIO: Oriental Light and Magic (OLM)
DIRECTOR: Seiki Taichu
ORIGINAL CREATOR: Nao Maita
SERIES COMPOSITION: Fumi Tsubota
CHARACTER DESIGNER: Shouko Hagiwara
MUSIC: Motoyoshi Iwasaki

PLOT: The story begins with Hanabi, a sixth-grade girl who is neither an adult nor a child. She deals with issues such as accidentally witnessing her homeroom teacher kissing, and worrying about experiencing physiological changes before her friends. The anime depicts a 12-year-old girl’s innocent worries and first love. ~ANN

A continuation of 12-Sai. I have never read nor seen this show. It doesn’t look too promising as it tackles melodrama at an early age. Fumi Tsubota has never written a full-fledge series on her own aside from assistance work. The good thing is that there’s a regular children’s series music composer working on this. So at least they have THAT going for them.

LIKELY TO BLOG: 0%

Aikatsu Stars!

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ANIMATION STUDIO: Bandai Namco Pictures
DIRECTOR: Teruo Satoh
SERIES COMPOSITION: Yuuko Kakihara
CHARACTER DESIGNER: Yukiko Aikei
MUSIC: onetrap

PLOT: Yume Nijino aims to become a top idol, and she enrolls in the Yotsusei Gakuen (Four Stars Academy). This academy has a special group called the S4, who are the top four active idols in the school. Yume and the other first-year students aim to become a part of the S4. ~ANN

The fifth season of Aikatsu. And another idol series focusing on music? Sheesh. How many of these do we have a season now? The upside about Aikatsu is that occasionally it has some stunning animation. Every once in awhile I check this out solely for this reason alone.

A perfect example of this is a really neat dancing animation by animator Shingo Fuji from episode 127 of the Aikatsu series!

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LIKELY TO BLOG: 5%

Anne-Happy

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ANIMATION STUDIO: SILVER LINK
DIRECTOR: Shin Oonuma
SERIES COMPOSITION: Hitoshi Tanaka
ORIGINAL CREATOR: Cotoji
CHARACTER DESIGNER: Miwa Oshima
MUSIC: MONACA

PLOT: Tennogofune Academy’s is a home for students with “negative karma,” otherwise known as misfortune. The school’s class 1-7 has collected students burdened with negative karma. Hibari finds her first day of school ends in bad luck. Hanako noticeably suffers from poor health. Together, the two unlucky high school students might find their school life will become a “blessing.” ~ANN

This I might have to check out. Only because it’s SILVER LINK and MONACA. What is MONACA doing in a show like this? The animation studio impressed me with 2015’s Yuri Kuma Arashi and 2012’s Kokoro Connect with a varied style. Here we’ve got a series following the anime industry’s trend of “cute girls doing cute things”. If Bakuon! misled you into this style then this will be right up your alley. A comedy series rife with misfortunes. SILVER LINK might not be on the same tier as Kyoto Animation or MADHOUSE when it comes to designing its characters but it does have a niche in creating characters that are bright in tone and color. Looks like a warm and inviting series about school-life.

LIKELY TO BLOG: 52%

BAKUON!

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ANIMATION STUDIO: TMS Entertainment
DIRECTOR: Junji Nishimura
SERIES COMPOSITION: Kurasumi Sunayama
ORIGINAL CREATOR: Mimana Orimoto
CHARACTER DESIGNER: Isao Sugimoto
MUSIC: Ryousuke Nakanishi

PLOT: Hane Sakura is a high school student who looks a little bit like an airhead. On the way to her all-female high school one day, she is worn-out climbing a hilly road with a bicycle, but she sees a girl named Onsa Amano who is riding a motorcycle. Sakura immediately becomes interested in motorcycles, and she and Onsa join the motorcycle club at the school. Then, Sakura sets out to get her license. ~ANN

Think K-On! and the take on everyday life but with girls entering a motorcycle club. Huge worry is that this is Junji Nishimura. The same Nishimura that ruined Glasslip and had little to no character development. Considering that he wrote the series composition to that series I sure hope MONSTER’s script writer Kurasumi Sunayama can smack some sense into Nishimura and develop something halfway decent with this show.

LIKELY TO BLOG: 40%

Battle Spirits: Double Drive

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ANIMATION STUDIO: Bandai Namco Pictures
DIRECTOR: Kunihisa Sugishima
SERIES COMPOSITION: Katsumi Hasegawa
ORIGINAL CREATOR: Hajime Yatate
ORIGINAL CHARACTER DESIGNER: Naoki Iwamoto
CHARACTER DESIGNER: Yoshinori Yumoto
MUSIC: Nobuaki Nobusawa

PLOT: Shunta Mogami loves the Battle Spirits game. One day he is transported by a light from a Battle Spirits card to Spirits World, the origin of all Battle Spirits. He meets a girl named Eto, who claims to have summoned him to Spirits World in order to prevent its destruction at the hands of the revived Evil God-King, who once plotted the destruction of Spirits World before being defeated and sealed away. Together with the confident, green-deck-wielding Yoku Albatrosa, who also came from another world, Shunta sets out to find the twelve God-Kings whose power originally sealed the Evil God-King. ~ANN

A children’s series about spirits and looks stereotypical for Beyblade director Kunihisa Sugishima. Not interested.

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Beyblade Burst

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ANIMATION STUDIO: Oriental Light and Magic (OLM)
DIRECTOR: Katsuhito Akiyama
SERIES COMPOSITION: Hideki Sonoda
ORIGINAL CREATOR: based on the original series by Takao Aoki
CHARACTER DESIGNER: Toshiaki Ohashi
MUSIC: Yuusaku Tsuchiya

PLOT: Bart Aoi is a hot-blooded kid who loves to attack and wields a Beyblade named Valkyrie. His close friend Shū Kurenai is an elite Blader who is a genius but still puts in a lot of effort, and wields the Beyblade named Spriggan. ~ANN

It’s strange that Kunihisa isn’t doing this series and transitioning into the Battle Spirits anime. Make no mistake though. This series will do really good for kids. It’s insanely popular and has expanded into over 880 countries selling in total for the franchise US$1.6 billion. I’d like to see Masaaki Yuasa do a kids series for once just to change this genre up! Aside from his work on the Adventure Time series in the US.

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Big Order

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ANIMATION STUDIO: Asread
DIRECTOR: Nobuharu Kamanaka
SERIES COMPOSITION: Katsuhiko Takayama
ORIGINAL CREATOR: Sakae Esuno
CHARACTER DESIGNER: Chika Kojima
MUSIC: Evan Call

PLOT: Eiji Hoshimiya is an introverted high school student with a huge secret — he wished for the destruction of the world when he was younger. Fairies give certain people special powers called Orders. What Order Users can do with their power depends on their wishes. 10 years after the Great Destruction, Eiji struggles to come to terms with his immense power.~ANN

From the animation studio of Mirai Nikki and Ga-Rei Zero, this has the designs of those characters written all over this! I’m really interested in this! Love the key visuals for this anime! I’m really eager to see what Kamanaka does for this series. In the past he directed one of the most amazing episodes of Birdy the Mighty Decode I’ve ever seen. In a rarity where the sequel is better than the original series and Big Order’s director played a lead hand into that! Venturing into a style that Kemonozume didn’t even risk to go! Birdy episode 20 was marvelous and I hope to see that powerful episode direction translate to a full-fledged series like this one entirely! Also the music is going to be intriguing as it’s by California-born musician Evan Call. He began his career as a classical musical theatre singer before getting into writing music. Proficient in Japanese and Spanish as well as his native language English. He taught voice at Berklee College of Music and is branching out into other styles including rock, jazz and latin. Currently living in Tokyo as a member of the production talent Elements Garden. The works he’s done previously aren’t the greatest I’d like to see him do music for a unique series and (hopefully) this might be it! Now I really want to check this out!

LIKELY TO BLOG: 85%

Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon: Crystal – Death Busters-hen

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ANIMATION STUDIO: Toei Animation
DIRECTOR: Chiaki Kon
SERIES COMPOSITION: Yuji Kobayashi
ORIGINAL CREATOR: Naoko Takeuchi
CHARACTER DESIGNER: Akira Takahashi
MUSIC: Yasuharu Takanashi

PLOT: The third season of Sailor Moon CRYSTAL! ~ANN

I finished the first two seasons of CRYSTAL. That was a horrible mess with super thick animation that never allowed the sailor scouts to move freely in any of the episodes! Everything about the show felt extremely forced and stiff! Apparently I’m not the only one who felt this way as the committee took it upon themselves to fire the director Munehisa Sakai. I hope he never works in this industry again! He tainted the story of Sailor Moon! This third season looks very promising! We’ve got the return of everyone who worked on the 2015 series (including the exceptional Mononoke composer Yasuharu Takanashi!) except we’ve got a new person in the director’s chair. Chiaki Kon. The director of Nodame Cantabile:Finale and Paris-hen!!! Yes!! Judging by the previews the animation looks absolutely stunning and freeform!

LIKELY TO BLOG: 90%

Boku no Hero Academia

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ANIMATION STUDIO: BONES
DIRECTOR: Kenji Nagasaki
SERIES COMPOSITION: Yousuke Kuroda
ORIGINAL CREATOR: Kohei Horikoshi
CHARACTER DESIGNER: Yoshihiko Umakoshi
MUSIC: Yuuki Hayashi

PLOT: Mankind has developed superpowers known as “Quirks” with 80% of the population having some kind of superpower. These new abilities see the rise of both superheroes and villains. A prestigious school known as the The Hero Academy trains superpowered hopefuls into the heroes the world needs. Middle school student Izuku Midoriya wants to be a hero more than anything, but he’s part the 20% without a Quirk. Unwilling to give up his dream, he plans to take the exam and be accepted into a high school for budding heroes. Through a series of serendipitous events, he catches the eye of the greatest hero, All Might, who agrees to train him. ~ANN

I am excited to see this series! I’m a huge fan of BONES and love just about every show they do! I have yet to read the manga to this so I will leave myself surprised when I start watching the anime! We’ve got a promising staff on this one! TRIGUN script writer, Gosick episode 15’s storyboard Kenji Nagasaki in the director’s seat! And of course one of my favorite composers this year. Death Parade’s Yuuki Hayashi!

LIKELY TO BLOG: 100%

Bungou Stray Dogs

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ANIMATION STUDIO: BONES
DIRECTOR: Takuya Igarashi
SERIES COMPOSITION: Yoji Enokido
ORIGINAL CREATOR:

  • Kafka Asagiri (story)
  • Sango Harukawa (Art)

CHARACTER DESIGNER: Nobuhiro Arai
MUSIC: Taku Iwasaki

PLOT: After young man Atsushi Nakajima saves a man from his wish of suicide, he and his friends join the “Arms Detective Company,” a league of literary figures that also harness special powers. ~ANN

Literary figures with supernatural abilities! I’m sold. This reminds me of the Hollywood film League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. From the trailers the visuals look insanely good, and with STAR DRIVER director at the helm I have no doubt this series will have solid characterization. Revolutionary Girl Utena series composition Yoji Enokido and music [C] the Money of Soul and Possibility CONTROL’s and Gatchaman CROWDS’ music composer Taku Iwasaki! What the hell?! This is a dream team right here!

LIKELY TO BLOG: 200%

Concrete Revolutio: Choujin Gensou – THE LAST SONG

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ANIMATION STUDIO: BONES
DIRECTOR: Seiji Mizushima
SERIES COMPOSITION: Shou Aikawa
ORIGINAL CREATOR: Shou Aikawa
ORIGINAL CHARACTER DESIGNERS:

  • Hekiru Hikawa
  • Noizo Ito
  • Ryo Hirao

MUSIC:

  • Kakeru Ishihama (MONACA)
  • Keigo Hoashi (MONACA)
  • MONACA
  • Yohske Yamamoto

PLOT: Titans from outer space, life forms from a mystical world, phantoms and goblins from ancient times, cyborgs created by scientists, relics that rose out of the ruins of ancient civilizations. In another Japan, it’s not just a question of “what if”—it’s a reality. Some of the superhumans choose to keep their identities a secret, while others bask in their superhuman fame. Jiro Hitoyoshi, member of the Superhuman Bureau, keeps track of their doings. ~ANN

BONES sure is doing a lot this season. I haven’t even finished the first half of this show. I’m curious how this will turn out. Maybe I will marathon this entire series once it’s finished airing. Looks really good.

LIKELY TO BLOG: 90%

Duel Masters VSRF

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ANIMATION STUDIO:

  • Music & Digital Entertainment
  • Ascension

DIRECTOR: Shinobu Sasaki
SERIES COMPOSITION: Yoichi Kato
ORIGINAL CREATOR: Shigenobu Matsumoto
CHARACTER DESIGNER: Yosuke Yabumoto
MUSIC: Jun’ichi Igarashi

PLOT: The band-aid on Shōta Kirifuda’s forehead — used to suppress his uncontrollable power — has peeled off. There seems no adverse effect at first. Suddenly, Shōta’s pet hamster Hamkatsu starts talking, revealing a big secret.~ANN

The director Shinobu Sasaki worked under Animation Studio Duame for a little while and he’s been working on Duel Masters for the past couple of seasons recently. What ever happened to Duame? Seriously. They animated Shiki and that turned out amazing. Speaking of amazing, one of the studios behind this work actually did handled the animation on the Colorful film. Talk about a surprise! Never got into the Duel Master series. I tried. I really did. It’s a mediocre show based off of a popular card game in Japan. How many of those do we have now? The only redeeming factor about Duel Masters is the 3D creature designs and animation are pretty neat. Aside from that there isn’t much here.

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Endride

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ANIMATION STUDIO: Brain’s Base
DIRECTOR: Keiji Gotoh
SERIES COMPOSITION: Touko Machida
ORIGINAL CHARACTER DESIGNERS:

  • Kazushi Hagiwara
  • Nobuhiro Watsuki

MUSIC:

  • IMAGINE PROJECT
  • Kouhei Tanaka

PLOT: Endra is an unknown world beneath the surface of Earth itself. It is another world, where the giant Adamas shines above and seven-colored bands drift across the skies. One day, Shun Asanaga — an ordinary yet positive and bright 15-year-old middle school boy who lived in the “Land Above” — discovered a mysterious crystal at his scientific businessman father’s company, and the moment he touched the crystal, he was transported to Endra. He meets the recently captured 16-year-old Prince Emilio, who strongly despises the current King Delzaine and was imprisoned after seeking vengeance against the current monarch. ~ANN

This has been done to death. From the trailers the animation looks shoddy and very bland. The whole idea behind a mysterious object transporting the lead male character to a fantasy world is the same premise for about 4 series this season and was the story of at least 3 that I can recall last season! Come on Brains Base try something different! At least the studio is redeeming themselves with another Natsume season later this year!

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Flying Witch

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ANIMATION STUDIO: J.C. Staff
DIRECTOR: Katsushi Sakurabi
SERIES COMPOSITION: Deko Akao
ORIGINAL CREATOR: Chihiro Ishizuka
CHARACTER DESIGNER: Masato Yasuno
MUSIC: Yoshiaki Dewa

PLOT: Aomori, Japan. In a land blessed by nature’s bountiful beauty, bizarre things begin to take place. Makoto Kowata, 15 years old, is a professional witch. She left Yokohama with Chito, her black cat, to live in the house of her relatives in Aomori. This is where she begins to train as a witch. Even though Makoto’s powers are still limited to just flying through the sky, she and her second cousins Kei and Chinatsu surely make the most out of each and every day. ~ANN

This looks absolutely adorable! There aren’t many series you can sit down and have tea and just relax. This would be one of them. A slice of life coming of age story about a young girl becoming a witch. This will be good I can say that for sure. The charm is that it will have a nice balance of humor and sincerity. No huge Urobuchi plot twists to mess with your mind just all around light-hearted fun! The visuals look pretty good and just hope Deko Akao can keep up the momentum from the amazing Akagami no Shirayukihime! Which I still need to finish reviewing. *laughs*

LIKELY TO BLOG: 85%

Future Card Buddyfight DDD

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ANIMATION STUDIO: 

  • Oriental Light and Magic
  • Xebec

DIRECTOR: Shigetaka Ikeda

SERIES COMPOSITION: Masanao Akahoshi

ORIGINAL CREATOR: Yoshimasa Ikeda

CHARACTER DESIGNER: Kumiko Ozawa

MUSIC: Hiroaki Hayama

PLOT: Gao Mikado, a 6th year student of the Aibo Academy Elementary Division, is partnered with Dragon of the Sun, Bal Dragon, a monster born from a mysterious egg. To earn the coveted title as the strongest fighter in the world, Gao and Bal team up to challenge other fighters in the “World Buddy Cup”. The two will have to battle others in a card game called Buddyfight, which allows monsters to fight alongside humans as buddies. Their rivals include ex-Buddy Police Tasuku Ryuenji, and the self-proclaimed strongest combination, Gaito Kurouzu and his buddy monster Black Death Dragon, Abygale. ~ANN

Another children’s series. This looks awful. It amazes me how Xebec can go from animator 90’s and 2000’s classics like Martian Successor Nadesico and The Third. Hell even Space Battleship Yamato 2199 to shows like Upotte!!, Triage X and now this. When will we get another Masterpiece Theater animation?

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Gakusen Toshi Asterisk 2

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ANIMATION STUDIO: A-1 Pictures
DIRECTOR: Manabu Ono
SERIES COMPOSITION: Yukito Kizawa
ORIGINAL CREATOR: Yuu Miyazaki
ORIGINAL CHARACTER DESIGNER: Okiura
CHARACTER DESIGNER: Tetsuya Kawakami
MUSIC: Rasmus Faber

PLOT: Upon Rikka, the academy-city above water, or what many call the “Asterisk,” students of the six schools prepare for the Festa. These annual comprehensive battle tournaments are held on a worldwide scale and each of the six schools place their hopes in their teams to bring them victory. In the Phoenix Festa (tag-team battle) category, Seidoukan Academy’s Ayato Amagiri takes up the challenge along with his partner Julis, the Witch of the Resplendent Flames (Glühen Rose). ~ANN

After hearing Rasmus Faber do the work of his jazz anime theme song albums it’s so strange to hear him do chiptuning and dubstep for Gakusen Toshi’s soundtrack. It would be cool to hear compose for a Shouwa period anime. That would be incredible! I saw the first season and it was terrible. Six schools right next to each other that only escalate further to some of the worst melodrama I’ve ever seen. A-1 Pictures does hits and misses. Last season’s Boku Dake ga Inai Machi was awesome. Having nother season of this crap. Oh boy. -_-

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Gyakuten Saiban: Sono “Shinjitsu”, Igi Ari! (Ace Attorney)

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ANIMATION STUDIO: A-1 Pictures
DIRECTOR: Ayumu Watanabe
SERIES COMPOSITION: Atsuhiro Tomioka
CHARACTER DESIGNERS:

  • Keiko Ota
  • Koji Watanabe

MUSIC: Kaoru Wada

PLOT: Rookie lawyer Ryūichi Naruhodō faces his first murder case; the accused defendant is his grade school classmate Masashi Yahari. With limited evidence, logic has become the only weapon Naruhodō has in order to turn the case around when all the odds are stacked against him.~ANN

I feel bad for Wada. The composer to D.Gray-man doing a lawyer series. Wrong move. Just wrong. Videogame adaptations are rarely ever good. Unless it’s Steins;Gate. This series I would not recommend it if you weren’t playing the games. Judging by the style of the show it looks as though everything is made in reference to them. I don’t have high expectations for this at all.

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Haifuri

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ANIMATION STUDIO: Production IMS
DIRECTOR: Yuu Nobuta
SERIES COMPOSITION: Reiko Yoshida
ORIGINAL CREATOR: Takaaki Suzuki
ORIGINAL CHARACTER DESIGNER: Atto
CHARACTER DESIGNER: Naoto Nakamura
MUSIC: Shigeo Komori

PLOT: Childhood friends Akeno Misaki and Moeka China want to become Blue Mermaids, a new female force established to protect the remaining coastal towns after many countries have sank into the sea. Together with others who shared their dream, they enrolled in Yokosuka’s Marine High School.~ANN

Another “cute girls doing cute things” series. Based on what I’ve seen of episode 1 it feels a lot like Kantai Collection. No thank you. This will be heavily animated due to the fact that Aniplex is producing this. Judging by their track record I can tell that there’s going to be a lot of merchandising efforts involved with Haifuri down the road. Perhaps Yuu Nobuta should ask Tomohiko Ito [Boku Dake ga Inai Machi] on how to establish “cute” in an anime series.

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Hundred

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ANIMATION STUDIO: Production IMS
DIRECTOR: Tomoki Kobayashi
SERIES COMPOSITION: Hideki Shirane
ORIGINAL CREATOR: Jun Misaki
ORIGINAL CHARACTER DESIGNER: Nekosuke Okuma [from Nitroplus]
CHARACTER DESIGNER: Norie Tanaka
MUSIC: Shuhei Naruse

PLOT: Hundred is the only weapon that can counter the mysterious Savage life form attacking Earth. To become a Slayer who wields this Hundred, Hayato Kisaragi successfully enrolls in the marine academy city ship Little Garden. However he feels a strange yet familiar sense of incongruity towards Emil Crossford, his roommate who somehow knows him from somewhere. On top of that, as soon as he enters the school, he is challenged to a duel by the “Queen” and the school’s most powerful Slayer, Claire Harvey.~ANN

After seeing this first episode. I really wish I could get that time back. What the hell was this?! Awful. Absolutely awful! A girl crossdressing as a boy is actually a boy. What? Not to mention there was not research done on how school systems function. A student council president can expel students? Oh Production IMS don’t even get me started on your fanservice with this show. Flashbacks after flashbacks and does Kobayashi even know how to handle pacing? If there’s an example this season of how to write a terrible episode this would certainly be it. And as such I’m giving this show negative percentage. You want to know what the sad thing is? This will probably get another season. It’s based on a light novel and otaku eat that crap up like pocky.

LIKELY TO BLOG: -75%

JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken: Diamond wa Kudakenai

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ANIMATION STUDIO: David Production
CHIEF DIRECTOR: Yuuta Takamura
SERIES DIRECTOR: Toshiyuki Kato
DIRECTOR: Naokatsu Tsuda
SERIES COMPOSITION: Yasuko Kobayashi
ORIGINAL CREATOR: Hirohiko Araki
CHARACTER DESIGNER: Terumi Nishii
MUSIC: Yuugo Kanno

PLOT: It’s the year 1999, 11 years after Jotaro Kujo’s desperate fight against Dio in Egypt. Jotaro meets with Josuke Higashikata, the illegitimate son of his grandfather Joseph Joestar. He discovers that Josuke also has the same “Stand” power and that a new threat is surfacing in Morioh City.~ANN

I’m actually not sure why I haven’t written about the previous JoJo series. The series is really funny. It’s highly entertaining! This looks even better than the previous seasons of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure series. You know this will be good when you’ve got the entire team behind the previous ones working on this. Plus, they’re in higher positions so they can direct any newer staff coming onto this series. One of the reasons why I like watching JoJo is for the over the top action. It’s ridiculous and for good reason. Visuals look cool and the music still sounds awesome. Considering its coming from Yuugo Kanno. The composer to PSYCHO-PASS.

LIKELY TO BLOG: 80%

Joker Game

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ANIMATION STUDIO: Production I.G.
DIRECTOR: Kazuya Nomura
SERIES COMPOSITION: Taku Kishimoto
ORIGINAL CREATOR: Koji Yanagi
ORIGINAL CHARACTER DESIGNER: Shirow Miwa
CHARACTER DESIGNER: Toshiyuki Yahagi
MUSIC: Kenji Kawai

PLOT: In 1937, before World War II begins in earnest. Lieutenant Colonel Yūki of the Imperial Japanese Army forms the “D Agency,” an army intelligence outfit under his command and tutelage. Army General Staff attaches Lieutenant Sakuma to observe the unit’s performance. D Agency casts a wide net to find agents beyond Japanese military personnel, and Yūki establishes D Agency’s tenets, which go against IJA doctrine: “Don’t kill, don’t get killed, don’t get captured.” With this, Yūki trains a team of operatives who conduct missions against domestic and foreign powers. ~ANN

One of my favorite composers working on a shouwa spy period piece! Yes! I’ve been waiting for someone to adapt the 2011 novel series and the live-action was top-notch! Boku Dake ga Inai Machi’s series writer Kishimoto will be handling the overall writing of Joker Game. Now I know these characters will be handled nicely. The visuals look stiff but as heavy as GANGSTA was last year. Be sure to look for my post on this first episode soon!

LIKELY TO BLOG: 95%

Kaitou Joker 3

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ANIMATION STUDIO: Shin-Ei Animation
DIRECTOR: Yuukiyo Teramoto
SERIES COMPOSITION: Dai Sato
ORIGINAL CREATOR: Hideyasu Takahashi
CHARACTER DESIGNER: Miho Shimogasa
MUSIC: Yusaku Tsuchiya

PLOT: Mysterious Joker continues his tour around the world: escape from luxurious cruise ships; survive at southern islands with mysterious relics; against ninja, chef, and idol dancer; last but not least, the Timeslip, the ultimate goal. ~ANN

The staff. This is strange. I’ve never actually seen this show but it sounds like a less mature version of Lupin the Third. What makes me interested in this is the series composition is done by Space Dandy writer and Ergo Proxy screenplay writer. Bizarre. I wonder if this will be good considering those two series were incredible. Perhaps I should start with season 1 first since its handled by the same team.

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Kamiwaza Wanda

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ANIMATION STUDIO: TMS Entertainment
DIRECTOR: Mitsuo Hashimoto
SERIES COMPOSITION: Katsumi Hasegawa
ORIGINAL CREATOR: Sakae Esuno
CHARACTER DESIGNER: Mayumi Watanabe
MUSIC:

  • Hideyuki Fukasawa
  • Takatsugu Wakabayashi

PLOT: In a world where every event has been turned into programs, there are mysterious monsters known as “Promin” that maintain the world. However, many Promin who have turned into bugs known as “Bugmin” are responsible for many of the world’s real-life bugs. Left alone, they may eventually turn into a big problem. The boy Yūto encounters the space dog Wanda, and the pair use a camera-like device and key items to capture Bugmin. Promin themselves are able to do things like “accelerate objects,” “spew fire,” or “create objects,” through an ability known as “Kamiwaza” (miracle), and are able to fend off Bugmin with it. At first, the Bugmin only cause small, bothersome things, but it will soon elevate into a global scale threat. ~ANN

Another tournament series created by Japanese toy company Takara Tomy and TBS. The reason this series was made was to sell more merchandize. Not really into children’s series unless it really catches my eye. This looks to be more of the same that we’ve seen before in previous seasons.

LIKELY TO BLOG: 10%

Kidou Senshi Gundam RE: 0096

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ANIMATION STUDIO: Sunrise
DIRECTOR: Kazuhiro Furuhashi
SCREENPLAY: Yasuyuki Muto
ORIGINAL CREATORS:

  • Hajime Yatate
  • Yoshiyuki Tomino

ORIGINAL STORY: Harutoshi Fukui
ORIGINAL CHARACTER DESIGNER: Yoshikazu Yasuhiko
MUSIC: Hiroyuki Sawano

PLOT: U.C. 0096. Three years after Char’s Rebellion, Banagher Links, a boy living at the manufacturing colony Industrial 7, meets a mysterious girl who calls herself Audrey Burne. Audrey claims that she is trying to stop the Vist Foundation from handing over Laplace’s Box to the Neo Zeon remnants known as the Sleeves, an act which could spark another war, and Banagher decides to help her. But the colony becomes a battlefield as fighting breaks out between the Sleeves and the Earth Federation Forces, who have also come to stop the handover…~ANN

I really enjoyed the OVA film series. This looks to be a more expanded version of it. Retro style with some fascinating visuals. Looking forward to seeing this one.

LIKELY TO BLOG: 75%

Kiznaiver

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ANIMATION STUDIO: Studio TRIGGER
DIRECTOR: Hiroshi Kobayashi
SERIES COMPOSITION: Mari Okada
ORIGINAL CREATOR: Mari Okada
ORIGINAL CHARACTER DESIGNER: Shirow Miwa
CHARACTER DESIGNER: Mai Yoneyama
MUSIC: Yuuki Hayashi

PLOT: The fictional Japanese city named Sugomori City is built on reclaimed land. But as the years go by, the city’s population is decreasing. One day, Sonosaki tells her classmate Katsuhira: “You have been selected to be a Kiznaiver.” The Kizuna System, which allows Katsuhira to share his wounds, connects him to the classmates whose lives and personalities completely differ from his. The Kizuna System is an incomplete system for the implementation of world peace that connects people through wounds. All those who are connected to this system are called Kiznaivers. When one Kiznaiver is wounded, the system divides and transmits the wound among the other Kiznaivers.~ANN

This looks really good. It caught me by surprise that Imaishi isn’t working on this one. He’s too busy with his other shorter length series Space Patrol Luluco. Good to see this is going to be in capable hands. Interesting sci-fi premise and some of the best visuals this season! It’s not wacky and wild and far away from TRIGGER’s usual style! Love this! I am a bit worried that this is a creation of Mari Okada as she’s done some pretty poor series in the past. She does however know how to deliver solid drama at times–GOSICK, Red Garden, Simoun, Toradora, Anthem of the Heart. I hope she knows what she’s doing with her first ever TRIGGER series.

LIKELY TO BLOG: 100%

Koutetsujou no Kabaneri

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ANIMATION STUDIO: WIT STUDIO
DIRECTOR: Tetsuro Araki
SERIES COMPOSITION: Ichiro Okouchi
ORIGINAL CREATOR: Tetsuro Araki
ORIGINAL CHARACTER DESIGNER: Haruhiko Mikimoto
MUSIC: Hiroyuki Sawano

PLOT: On the island country Hinomoto, humans hide themselves in fortresses called “stations” against the threat of zombie-like beings with steel hearts known as “Kabane.” Only armored locomotives known as “Hayajiro” go between the stations.~ANN

If anyone has seen the live-action Korean/U.S. film Snowpiercer then this might be right up your alley. This is basically Shingeki no Kyojin [Attack on Titan] meets Princess Mononoke. It’s by the same team that did Shingeki. Really the same exact team down to the key animators! I wonder if Tetsuro Araki has known for awhile that the second season of Shingeki was going to be delayed and decided to make this. Perhaps the original announcement of Kabaneri was much different than what we’re seeing in the final product. This has his style written all over it. Steampunk and post-apocalyptic. Fantasy and action. This would be as if he though Shingeki was a great introspection into human fear and decided to “up the ante” with feudal Japan character designs in the mix. This team knows exactly what its doing. Getting Hiroyuki Sawano to compose for another Araki anime they know exactly how to develop works that sell. I will say this premise with zombies does sound intriguing. I’ll give this a shot. I love the character designs. Finally a WIT STUDIO got someone that knows how to use shading techniques properly. It will also be interesting to see how Amazon Prime’s deal with this show will be handled from here on out. Looks like a lot of series are following this trend of simulcasting.

LIKELY TO BLOG: 75%

Kuma Miko

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ANIMATION STUDIO:

  • EMT Squared
  • Production I.G.

DIRECTOR: Kiyoshi Matsuda
SCRIPT:

  • Masao Iketani
  • Pierre Sugiura

ORIGINAL CREATOR: Masume Yoshimoto
CHARACTER DESIGNER: Hiroyuki Saida
MUSIC: Akiyuki Tateyama

PLOT: Machi is a middle school student who serves as a shrine maiden (miko) at a Shinto shrine enshrining a bear (kuma) in the recesses of a certain mountain in Japan’s northern Tōhoku region. Machi’s guardian is a talking bear named Natsu, and one day Machi says to Natsu, “I want to go to a school in the city.” The worrywart Natsu then gives Machi — who is ignorant in the ways of the world — a set of trials that she must pass in order to be able to survive in the city. ~ANN

This looks adorable. I like those background designs and it’s got an interesting opening and ending song judging from the previews. Looks like a cross between the cuteness of Inari Kon Kon and Shirokuma Cafe. I might give this try. I’ve never heard of EMT Squared. Wonder how much Production I.G. will be doing since they’ve got a few other series they’re working on this season.

LIKELY TO BLOG: 45%

Kuromukuro

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ANIMATION STUDIO: P.A. Works [with 3D cooperation by BONES]
DIRECTOR: Tensai Okamura
SERIES COMPOSITION: Ryou Higaki
ORIGINAL WORK
CHARACTER DESIGNER: Yuriko Ishii
MUSIC: Hiroaki Tsutsumi

PLOT: During the construction of the Kurobe Dam, an ancient artifact was discovered, and so the United Nations Kurobe Research Institute was established. Intellectuals from all over the world gathered to study the object, and the children of those researchers attend Mt. Tate International Senior High School, including the institute head’s daughter, Yukina Shirahane. In the summer of 2016, a lone samurai once again awakens.~ANN

Yes P.A. Works is finally doing something different! It’s about time! I only hope they don’t decide to focus on the school life rather than the mecha series its advertised to be. If things go well for them we might be seeing more like this series in the future. Animation is P.A. Works usual–all in-house animation, music, sound effects. They’re betting a lot on Kuromukuro considering its being simulcast worldwide by Netflix.

LIKELY TO BLOG: 60%

Kyoukai no Rinne 2

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ANIMATION STUDIO: Brain’s Base
DIRECTOR: Seiki Sugawara
SERIES COMPOSITION: Michiko Yokote
ORIGINAL CREATOR: Rumiko Takahashi
CHARACTER DESIGNER: Kazuhiko Tamura
MUSIC: Akimitsu Honma

PLOT: Rinne and Sakura’s wacky shinigami adventures continue, with the young shinigami trying to scrape together any money possible to survive. Their daily lives get more complicated with the appearance of Renge, a shinigami-in-training turned damashigami who is in love with Kain. ~ANN

The return of Rumiko Takahashi’s series.  She’s popular worldwide with her previous works including Ranma 1/2, Inuyasha and Urusei Yatsura.  Then the incredible Maison Ikkoku. Everyone from the previous season of Rin-ne.  If you are a fan of BLEACH or supernatural series such as Natsume or Nura then you’ll definitely enjoy this one! I may write a full season review of this once it finishes airing.

LIKELY TO BLOG: 70%

Macross Δ

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ANIMATION STUDIO: Satellight
GENERAL DIRECTOR: Shoji Kawamori
DIRECTOR: Kenji Yasuda
SERIES COMPOSITION: Toshizo Nemoto
ORIGINAL CREATOR: Shoji Kawamori
ORIGINAL CHARACTER DESIGNER: Chisato Mita ( from Capcom)
CHARACTER DESIGNERS:

  • Majiro
  • Yuu Shindou

MUSIC:

  • Mina Kubota
  • Saeko Suzuki
  • TOMISIRO

PLOT: Macross Delta is set in the year 2067, 8 years after the events of the latest Macross TV series, Macross Frontier. The story focuses on Walküre, a team of talented idols and the Delta Squadron, a team of experienced Valkyrie pilots as they battle against the Var Syndrome, a mysterious phenomena that is consuming the galaxy and there is also the mysterious Aerial Knights Valkyrie fighter team of the Kingdom of Wind. ~ANN

The original Macross was a classic, Macross Frontier which surprisingly enough was never released in the U.S. due to the Harmony Gold issue including previous Macross works was an amazing series.  What the heck is this?  Pop idols piloting mecha?!  This show will sell I can tell you that much but whether or not Shoji Kawamori can get his team to tell a good story that’ll be something else.

LIKELY TO BLOG: 30%

Magi: Sinbad no Bouken

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ANIMATION STUDIO: Lay-duce
DIRECTOR: Yoshikazu Miyao
SERIES COMPOSITION: Taku Kishimoto
ORIGINAL CREATORS:

  • Shinobu Ohtaka
  • Yoshifumi Otera

CHARACTER DESIGNER: Souichirou Sako

MUSIC: Tomohiro Okubo

PLOT: Thirty years before the events of Magi, a brave and handsome young man named Sinbad set sail and started his adventure. The future High King of Seven Seas gradually matured through various encounters and farewells, taking him towards kingship step by step. ~ANN

Magi is an entertaining series.  A fantasy series based on the story of Ali Baba.  This season will take a huge time leap.  I wonder how mature this show will be compared to its predecessors because the OVAs on the Sinbad arc were pretty good.

LIKELY TO BLOG: 50%

Mayoiga

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ANIMATION STUDIO: Diomedea
DIRECTOR: Tsutomu Mizushima
SERIES COMPOSITION: Mari Okada
CHARACTER DESIGNER: Naomi Ide
MUSIC: Masaru Yokoyama

PLOT: 30 young men and women come together on a shady bus tour. The tour’s destination: an illusive, possibly nonexistent village called Nanakimura. In Nanakimura, one can lead a utopian existence, free of the world’s obstacles, or so it was rumored, like an urban legend.~ANN

This show is trying too hard to be like ANOTHER.  I was unimpressed by the trailers and from what I’ve seen of episode 1.  I initially was excited about this show because Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso’s composer is finally doing a horror series. This felt more like a P.A. Works production rather than a Diomedea work. I’m sure the setting will be good because this is coming from staff that originally were a part of Mushi Pro and Group TAC.  Gilgamesh was an interesting post-apocalyptic setting wrapped around dreadful characters that were done by a few of the writers of this show. Aside from that there isn’t much here. My biggest worry is that Mari Okada could favor this show over Kiznaiver.  Let’s hope that is not the case.

LIKELY TO BLOG: 40%

Netoge no Yome wa Onnanoko ja Nai to Omotta?

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ANIMATION STUDIO: Project No.9
DIRECTOR: Shinsuke Yanagi
SERIES COMPOSITION: Tatsuya Takahashi
ORIGINAL CREATOR: Shibai Kineko
ORIGINAL CHARACTER DESIGNER: Hisasi
CHARACTER DESIGNER: Naomi Ide
MUSIC: Maiko Iuchi

PLOT: Hideki Nishimura confessed to a person he thought was a girl online, only for that person to turn out to be a boy. He keeps this “black history” secret and swears to never to trust a “girl” online again. However, one day a girl online confesses to him, and it turns out she’s actually a beautiful girl named Ako Tamaki. Ako cannot tell the difference between the online world and reality, and she is a loner who has trouble communicating. Hideki and his friends from his guild decide to work together to “correct” her.~ANN

My jaw dropped when I saw the title for this.  What?  The sad thing is this series is probably going to sell strongly.  I have no anticipation for this at all.  This will be terrible plus the designs are done by popular hentai artist Hisasi.

LIKELY TO BLOG: 0%

PriPara 3rd Season

ANIMATION STUDIO:

  • Tatsunoko Production
  • Dongwoo Animation

DIRECTOR: Makoto Morikawa
SERIES COMPOSITION: Michihiro Tsuchiya
CHARACTER DESIGNER: Shoji Hara
MUSIC:

  • Rei Ishizuka
  • Tsuneyoshi Saito

PLOT: One day, a huge UFO suddenly appeared above the PriPara town. While hovering, in addition to lots of shiny jewels, a mysterious baby also descended from the UFO and immediately started calling Laala “mommy.”~ANN

Another children’s series.  And it’s about idols. Nope. No thanks.

LIKELY TO BLOG: 0%

Re: Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu

ANIMATION STUDIO: WHITE FOX
DIRECTOR: Masaharu Watanabe
SERIES COMPOSITION: Masahiro Yokotani
ORIGINAL CREATOR: Tappei Nagatsuki
ORIGINAL CHARACTER DESIGNER: Shinichirou Otsuka
CHARACTER DESIGNER: Kyuta Sakai
MUSIC: Kenichiro Suehiro

PLOT: Subaru Natsuki is an ordinary high school student who is lost in an alternate world, where he is rescued by a beautiful, silver-haired girl. He stays near her to return the favor, but the destiny she is burdened with is more than Subaru can imagine. Enemies attack one by one, and both of them are killed. He then finds out he has the power to rewind death, back to the time he first came to this world. But only he remembers what has happened since.~ANN

This sounds interesting. A bunch of cliches that many fantasy series follow and this series doesn’t do that at all.  He meets a strange girl who pretty much ignores him. And the only power he has is that when he dies, he goes back to the start of the day again.  That sucks. I really like it when series do this.  They repeat a series of events that could last a span of episodes with minimal changes in between–that is if the main character doesn’t do anything drastic to change his fate.  I’m curious to see how this one is going to turn out.  And from the looks of it the premiere will be two episodes instead of one. It’s also going to follow a 1A and 1B route rather than episode 1 and 2.  Clever!

LIKELY TO BLOG: 80%

Sakamoto-desu ga?

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ANIMATION STUDIO: Studio DEEN

DIRECTOR: Shinji Takamatsu
SERIES COMPOSITION: Yasuhiko Fukuda
ORIGINAL CREATOR: Nami Sano
CHARACTER DESIGNER: Atsuko Nakajima
MUSIC: Yasuhiko Fukuda

PLOT: Sakamoto, a gopher to his upperclassmen in middle school, is suddenly accepted as the coolest guy in high school, with everything he does thought of as art.~ANN

This looks funny. People having issues with Sakamoto–the perfect (and very ridiculously over-the-top) student. I haven’t read the source material but I have to say seeing the trailers I kept laughing.  This will be excellent!  Hope these stories are episodic because that would make his small adventures at school land a larger impact as a whole for this series!

LIKELY TO BLOG: 95%

Sousei no Onmyouji

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ANIMATION STUDIO: Studio DEEN

DIRECTOR: Tomohisa Taguchi
SERIES COMPOSITION: Naruhisa Arakawa
ORIGINAL CREATOR: Yoshiaki Sukeno
CHARACTER DESIGNER: Kikuko Sadakata
MUSIC: Mikio Endo

PLOT: Rokuro is from a family of exorcists who remove the evil Kegare, but his real dream is to be a singer, a soccer player, or anything other than an exorcist. When another exorcist name Benio arrives, Rokura is suddenly inflamed with competitive spirit and decides to put his natural knack to good use. Their rivalry gets more complicated when they both learn they are the destined “Twin Star Exorcists,” two ultimate fighters fated to marry and create the prophesied child who will eliminate all the Kegare in the world. ~ANN

It amazes me sometimes how quickly source material can receive an anime adaptation or feature-length film for that matter!  A standard shonen series but with an upside and a downside to this.  The upside is that the characters are finally going to fight together as a team.  None of that BLEACH 3 to 5 episode long fight sequences.  The bad is that Studio Pierrot is animating this.  They are sub-par and seeing as how horrible Tokyo Ghoul turned out to be aside from the premiere episode back in 2014 I don’t see this changing anytime soon for the studio.  Too bad MAPPA couldn’t animate Tokyo Ghoul that would have been awesome.

LIKELY TO BLOG: 55%

Seisen Cerberus: Ryuukoku no Fatalite

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ANIMATION STUDIO: Bridge
DIRECTOR: Nobuhiro Kondo
SERIES COMPOSITION: Hiroshi Ohnogi
CHARACTER DESIGNER: Gou Toutsuki
MUSIC:

  • Hideakira Kimura
  • Nobuaki Nobusawa

PLOT: On a continent ruled by sword and magic called Kunaaan, there are three kingdoms with a fragile power balance that could spell disaster and war at any moment. Another power, the evil dragon Daganzord, also resides on the continent, and no one is powerful enough to stop him from spreading destruction and charred land in his wake. Bairo and Kismitete, and a party of wizards attempted to seal the dragon, but were foiled. This event was known thereafter as the Balbagoa Tragedy. Bairo and Kismitete’s son Hiiro is saved by Giiru, and Hiiro swears to avenge his parents’ deaths and trains himself with the sword. When Hiiro turns 16, he sets out on a journey to slay the dragon, and Giruu accompanies him, having no choice. Along the way, they meet many types of people, and gain companions on their journey. ~ANN

The only redeeming aspect of this series is its composer.  From the same that gave us the solid score for Eureka Seven.  Aside from that I don’t hold too much hope for this one.  Based on a card game and this premise feels like every other card adapted to anime that’s ever been done before.  The only recent one I can think of that was good was Shingeki no Bahamut: Genesis.

LIKELY TO BLOG: 10%

Shonen Maid

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ANIMATION STUDIO: 8 Bit
DIRECTOR: Yusuke Yamamoto
SERIES COMPOSITION: Yoshiko Nakamura
ORIGINAL CREATOR: Ototachibana
CHARACTER DESIGNER: Kana Ishida
MUSIC: Tomohiro Yamada

PLOT: Chihiro Komiya is an energetic elementary school student who was living with his mom. Chihiro is very good at doing housework and chores, and his mother’s motto is “No work, no food.” After his mother suddenly dies, a man named Madoka Taketori who claims to be his uncle shows up, and asks Chihiro to come live with him. Chihiro initially refuses, but when seeing the horribly dirty state of Madoka’s rich home, he decides to start cleaning it. Then Madoka makes another offer to Chihiro: that he comes to live with him, but in exchange Chihiro will do the housework. Chihiro accepts this deal, but suddenly finds himself in a maid uniform. ~ANN

This sounds like a horror series.  Unfortunately it isn’t.  A comedy series that focuses on the lifestyle of a maid.  Too bad Duame couldn’t animate this and have it directed by either Masaaki Yuasa or Kunihiko Ikuhara. That would make this show gold.  I am curious how the composer Yamada got into this profession since he’s been doing producer for the past twenty something years even on the Love Hina series.

LIKELY TO BLOG: 0%

SUPER LOVERS

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ANIMATION STUDIO: Studio DEEN
DIRECTOR: Shinji Ishihara
SERIES COMPOSITION: Yoshiko Nakamura
ORIGINAL CREATOR: Miyuki Abe
CHARACTER DESIGNER: Miki Takihara
MUSIC:

  • Yasuharu Takanashi
  • Shūji Katayama
  • Kenji Katō

PLOT: A high school boy named Haru and his mother are living overseas. His mother orders him to take care of and “civilize” his adoptive brother Ren, a wild young boy who dislikes talking with other people. While their relationship is adversarial at first, they grow closer as they begin to understand one another. ~ANN

Studio DEEN is known for making yaoi series so this was right up their alley.  Not too interested in this show because one, this series has been done before and two the romance in this sounds very creepy.  The visuals do look pretty good for Studio DEEN and considering their track record it’s not all that surprising.

LIKELY TO BLOG: 0%

Tanaka-kun wa Itsumo Kedruge

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ANIMATION STUDIO: SILVER LINK
DIRECTOR: Shinya Kawatsura
SERIES COMPOSITION: Akemi Omode
ORIGINAL CREATOR: Nozomi Uda
CHARACTER DESIGNER: Haruko Iizuka
MUSIC: Hiromi Mizutani

PLOT: Tanaka is a high school boy who sighs (with a hand on his chin), dozes and sleeps just about anytime and anywhere: in classroom, in PE classes, and even after school hours he is too lazy to move. In contrast, his friend Ohta and other classmates around him are quite energetic, despite of their numerous failed attempts to “wake” Tanaka up. ~ANN

A series about a guy who is lazy.  Sounds boring. Pass. SILVER LINK should stick with totally obscure series like Yuri Kuma Arashi that was their best animated show rather than all of these slice-of-life series they’ve been doing lately.

LIKELY TO BLOG: 0%

Terra Formars

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ANIMATION STUDIO: LIDEN FILMS and TYO Animations
DIRECTOR: Michio Fukuda
SERIES COMPOSITION: Naruhisa Arakawa
ORIGINAL CREATORS:

  • Kenichi Tachibana
  • Yu Sasuga

CHARACTER DESIGNERS:

  • Atsushi Ikariya
  • Masahiro Aizawa

MUSIC: Takafumi Wada

PLOT: 2620 A.D. In order to find a vaccine for the virus from Mars with a death rate of 100% called the Alien Engine Virus, Hizamaru and the crew went to Mars to get a sample of one of the giant cockroach creatures, otherwise known as Terraformars. An unforeseen accident happens, and while Akari and the others fight the roaches to try to escape, humanity is fighting with each other behind closed doors. ~ANN

Sequel to Terra Formars. Couldn’t get into the first one. I think it was because this series heavily relied on deaths being as gruesome as possible.  Losing any sort of integrity this series built for its characters only to have them die in future episodes.  Not my cup of tea. Plus the pacing is terrible.

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Ushio to Tora 2

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ANIMATION STUDIO:

  • Studio MAPPA
  • Studio VOLN

DIRECTOR: Satoshi Nishimura
SERIES COMPOSITION:

  • Kazuhiro Fujita
  • Toshiki Inoue

ORIGINAL CREATOR: Kazuhiro Fujita
CHARACTER DESIGNER: Tomoko Mori
MUSIC: Eishi Segawa

PLOT: Sakamoto, a gopher to his upperclassmen in middle school, is suddenly accepted as the coolest guy in high school, with everything he does thought of as art.~ANN

The visuals of the first season looked amazing.  I still have yet to finish that one. I’m glad to see this manga getting a faithful adaptation and with an extremely capable animation studio to produce fluid styles and heavy sound effects during the fight sequences.  One day I will write a full review on this series.

LIKELY TO BLOG: 80%

 

 

ONE-PUNCH MAN Episode 1 [Initial Impression]

Currently Watching, Initial Impressions, ONE-PUNCH MAN, , ,
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Animation Production: Studio MADHOUSE ( BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad, Boogiepop Phantom, Aoi Bungaku, Barefoot Gen, Black Lagoon, Bio Hunter, Casshern SINS, Cardcaptor Sakura, Chobits, Chihayafuru, Gungrave, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Hajime no Ippo, Hellsing Ultimate, Highschool of the Dead, Hunter x Hunter 2011, Kaiba, Kurozuka, Denno Coil, Last Order: Final Fantasy VII, Death Note, Death Parade, Neo Tokyo, Ninja Scroll, Paradise Kiss, Paranoia Agent, Kiseijuu, Record of Lodoss War, Paprika, Prince of Stride: Alternative, Monster, Moryo no Hako, Summer Wars, The Tatami Galaxy, Tokyo Godfathers, Trigun, Wicked City, Demon City Shinjuku, X, Wolf Children)

Director: Shingo Natsume ( Series Director on Space Dandy / Key Animator on Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann episodes 1, 5, 10, 14, 22 and 27 / Key Animator on FullMetal Alchemist: BROTHERHOOD episode 23 / Episode Director, Storyboard and Key Animator on Space Dandy episodes 1, 13 and 26)

Series Composition: Tomohiro Suzuki ( Script Writer on Lupin The Third 2015 episodes 2, 4, 8 and 14)

Character Designer: Chikashi Kubota ( Key Animator on Monster episode 57 / Animation Supervisor on Shinsekai Yori episodes 1, 8 and 25 / Animation Supervisor and Key Animator on Space Dandy episodes 12, 8 and 10 / Key Animator on Ashita no Nadja‘s opening sequence / Animation Supervisor on Toki o Kakeru Shoujo / Key Animator on Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann‘s first and second opening sequences / Key Animator on Shingeki no Kyojin‘s second opening sequence)

Music: Makoto Miyazaki ( Music Composer on Dragon Crisis! / Theme song composition on Hyoka‘s opening sequence / Music Composer on Triage X)

—

Episode 1 Production Details

Episode Director: Shingo Natsume

Storyboards: Shingo Natsume

Script: Tomohiro Suzuki

MADHOUSE this was amazing.  This is one of their top productions of 2015.  Saitama is a hero that trained in the simplest of ways to gain the title of “One Punch Man” and its the hilarity of his situation that breaks the mold and destroys every action series out there.  Studio Pierrot should learn from these animators and bring back BLEACH.

Saitama lives a simple life in an apartment and lacks a strong personality.  I like how the three years before he goes bald is a cliche backstory.  He saves a kid from death and realizes he wants to become a hero.  Giant crab monsters, Vaccine Man, the Giant brother and little evil doctor brother–everything about this anime screams cliche.  It’s so ridiculous that it works because visually it’s one of the prettiest series I’ve ever seen and it molds together monster-of-the-week formula and packs it into an adrenaline rush of 24 minutes!

I’ve read the manga’s first volume and from what I can tell the jokes that were not as funny are portrayed hilariously in the anime.  That’s when you know this is going to be a stellar series.

Director Shingo Natsume is perfect for this!  He’s got a style that’s very loose and full of charisma.  That’s the charm of this show–a visually stunning adaptation.  Shingo Natsume learned how to bring life to ONE’s manga from his TV animation debut in Yojō-Han Shinwa Taikei and this show looks freeform from anything that aired in Fall 2015!  We’ve also got a handful of animators from Space Dandy on this–Saitama’s fight with Vaccine Man was impressive but the impressive part had to be his fight against the Subterraneans!

The Blu-ray volumes look stunning in 4K and its great to see retail company Emotion adding English subtitles to this release like what they did with GANGSTA and Space Dandy.

 

OP: “The Hero!! ~Ikareru Ken ni Honō o Tsukeru~” (THE HERO!! ～怒れる拳に火をつけろ～;The Hero!! Set Fire to the Furious Fist) by JAM Project

Directed by: Shingo Natsume

Storyboards: Shingo Natsume

Animation Supervisor: Chikashi Kubota

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Jam Project.  This band is a good pick for the action theme of this series.  Tons of monsters show up in this and its great to see how heavily detailed they are. Fantastic illustrations and smooth animation provide a short but sweet look at Saitama’s abilities.  

ED: “Hoshi Yori Saki ni Mitsukete Ageru” (星より先に見つけてあげる;I’ll Find It Before the Stars for You) by Hiroko Moriguchi

Directed by: Shinichiro Ushijima

Storyboards: Shinichiro Ushijima

Animation Supervisor: Chikabi Kubota

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This reminds me of Kisejuu‘s ending in that it offers a glimpse of simplicity.  Life far removed from the supernatural and downright strange monsters that appear in this show.  I like how toned down it is compared to the rest of One-Punch Man and its opening.  Vocals by Hiroko Moriguchi are beautiful.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: 10/10

—

Shōwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjū Episode 1 [Initial Impression]

Currently Watching, Initial Impressions, Shōwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjū, ,
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Animation Production: Studio DEEN ( Ranma 1/2, Maison Ikkoku, Ehrgeiz, Rurouni Kenshin, Shadow Skill, Fruits Basket, Read or Die, Getbackers, Mouse, Zipang, Gravitation, Law of Ueki, Jigoku Shojo, Fate/stay Night, Simoun, Amatsuki, Vampire Knight, Giant Killing, Nurarihyon no Mago, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai, Sankarea, Meganebu!, Rozen Maiden: Zuruckspulen, Pupa, Sakura Trick, Hybrid Child OVA, Super Lovers, Sakamoto desu ga?)

Director: Shinichi Omata (credited as Mamoru Hatakeyama) ( Storyboard on Arakawa Under the Bridge episodes 1, 2, 5, 11 and 13 / Animation Producer and Director on Campus OAV / Episode Director on Phi-Brain Kami no Puzzle episode 9 / Episode Director on Puella Magi Madoka Magica episode 4)

Series Composition: Jun Fumagai ( Series Script Writer on Aquarion Logos / Script Writer on Galilei Donna / Series Composition on Hamatora / Script Writer on Junrui wa Suitai Shimashita episodes 5, 6, 7 and 8 / Script Writer on PSYCHO-PASS 2 / Script Writer on Zankyo no Terror episodes 5 and 7)

Character Designer:  Mieko Hosoi ( Assistant Animation Director on Air film / Character Designer and Chief Animation Director on Aoi Bungaku episodes 9 and 10 / Key Animator on BLEACH: The Diamond Dust Rebellion / Character Designer of Hai to Genso no Grimgar / Key Animator on Metropolis film / Key Animator on Michiko e Hatchin episode 17 / Key Animator on Moryo no Hako episode 6 / Key Animator on Yojō-Han Shinwa Taikei episode 5 / Key Animator on Sasami-san@Ganbaranai / Key Animator and Drew Illustration scene on Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso‘s first opening sequence )

Music: Kana Shibue ( brand new composer for the anime industry!)

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Episode 1 Production Details

Episode Directors: 

  • Hiroaki Akagi ( Key Animation on Cybersix / Episode Director Hetalia The Beautiful World / Storyboard and Episode Director on Prince Mackaroo episode 7 and 9 / In-Between Animator on Porco Rosso)

 

  • Kenichi Takeshita ( Director and Storyboard on Amon- Apocalypse of Devilman / Episode Director on Final Fantasy: Unlimited episodes 1 and 13 / Storyboard and Episode Director on Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex episode 15 / Episode Director on Hunter x Hunter 2011 episode 4 / Animation Director on Taiho Shichauzo You’re Under Arrest episodes 11 and 19)

Storyboards: Shinichi Omata

Script: Jun Kumagai

Anime isn’t what it used to be.  Stories about real people.  Solid characterization and most importantly animation that translates well into a strong story.  Josei is a genre that is somewhat of a lost breed in the anime industry.  The 90’s was a decade that flourished with astonishing josei anime from MADHOUSE’s Pet Shop of Horrors to Versailles no Bara.  The 2000’s gave us the acclaimed drama NANA, romance comedy Nodame Cantabile and the inspirational sports karuta-based Chihayafuru.  Josei is without a doubt my favorite genre.  Without all the moe and unnecessary fanservice we get to see shows focusing on adulthood from parental challenges, relationships and achieving your dreams as you grow older.  The rewards are great because there’s fantastic direction and some top notch characterization!  The last few years we haven’t had a memorable josei series aside from a few Expo shorts and OVAs (Original Video Animations).

Enter Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju a historical josei series based on the manga by Haruko Kumota.  This is the first manga that she is branching out with and doing a story that doesn’t heavily feature yaoi (boys love) connotations. Her art is amazing and her work on this showa time period is fascinating.

The Showa era is the time period during the reign of the Japanese Emperor Hirohito from Dececmber 25th, 1926 through January 7th, 1989.  It was the longest reign of any emperor previously and it was a time where Japan was moving toward a restructuring of its country.  Political totalitarianism and facism became the backbone in Japan’s invasion of China in 1937.

A lot of series use the showa period as a backdrop.  The decades after 1945 are usually overlooked but the few that have tackled this time frame have done exceptionally strong.  Showa Monogatari set in 1964 and follows the Yamazaki family around the time of the Tokyo Summer Olympics.  It’s a good dramatic slice-of-life series if you are looking for a showa period to get into.  Moving back to Showa Rakugo the narrative is the second time, Joshiraku being the first, that I know of, that tackles rakugo.  Rakugo is a comedic monologue form of entertainment. The structure is laid out in three parts–the makura (preliminary comments), honmon (main story) and the ochi (the punchline).  The makura was the most important aspect of rakugo storytellers during the Edo period as to aid the audience in two-ways.  Draw them into the mystery of the stories and to ensure the audience would understand the jokes throughout the stories.  In anime format the makura is correlated to information drops at the beginning of the story.  For Showa Rakugo the show doesn’t highlight this first part as much and with good reason.  I believe it would distract the viewer and make them bored of the story on screen. There’s the difference between good rakugo and bad.  This first episode does an amazing job with this by contrasting Yotarou and Yakumo’s relationship and their own rakugo.

Showa Rakugo should have been the other series to air alongside Boku Machi on Noitamina’s timeslot.  One is seinen and the other is josei–what a better way to introduce these two genres to new and old viewers than run them side-by-side.  This was the only premiere to have 47-minutes of storytelling and omit an opening and ending sequence all together.  Remember the two OVA’s that came out last year?  This is a re-telling of it.  More in-depth and combines the two episodes together.  Watching this I felt as though I was seeing a feature length film!  The splendid mood and its setting was resembles the strength Mushishi carries on screen!   I really like how there’s no definite year that this show is set around.  We just get an idea based on the setting and the dialogue.  It’s definitely post-war era and judging by the look of the cars we are probably seeing this premiere from the 1970s.

The introduction is paced nicely.  The young ex-prisoner knows his dream of becoming the apprentice of Rakugo master Yuurakutei Yakumo so he stalks him.  He’s carefree and reminds Yakumo of an old friend that once mastered Rakugo theater. The seiyuu involved reminds me that there still is hope for powerful voice acting with anime actors.  Boku Machi also has talented actors!  We sure are lucky this Winter season!  I bet Akira Ishida trained for a few months to nail down that Rakugo performance!

Yotarou is very energetic and we see that from the very beginning of this episode as he’s causing Yakumo’s driver Matsuda grief. He’s been in prisoner for awhile and after a visit with Yakumo decides he’s going to change his ways.  He changes his whole outlook even down to his appearance!  Nice way to build up the mystery surrounding Yakumo’s rakugo as Yotorou describes his performances as “scary”.  Konatsu’s rakugo provides a strong primer into the entertainment this show will dive into.  This show does what many anime this season are incapable of doing–balancing the structure of “showing without telling”. Too many premieres this season have beaten a terminology backstory to death especially with Divine Gate‘s horribly laid out first episode.

Showa Rakugo introduces us to Yotarou’s former crime boss and in an odd-twist he represents the viewer’s perspective of being brand new to the art of rakugo.  Such an incredible way to deliver Yotarou’s “Dekigobokoro” with sheer brilliance! Rather than showing us scenes of the thief and the homeowner describing his situation to the landlord we’re given very expressive animation from Yotarou and superb acting by Akira Ishida!  Then there’s the audience laughter that breathes a ton of life to this entire scene!  I felt as if I was right there with the crowd laughing at all the jokes!

The best out of all of this has got to be how its directed.  Shinichi Omata (also known as Mamoru Hatakeyama at Studio DEEN) has his background in a few ecchi series and a select amount of SHAFT produced anime.  Omata’s photographic style is defined by his biggest influence–the director of Bakemonogatari Tatsuya Oishi.  He was working at SHAFT studios in 2011 and 2012 on the hit Monogatari series and it wasn’t until 2012 he received a promotion under Studio DEEN that he would become the director of Sankarea. He’s got a fair amount of experience in key animation and episode direction so seeing as how spectacular Showa Rakugo‘s first episode was I am definitely going to be keeping an eye on this director’s future works!

Showa Rakugo is patient in its delivery but the reward by the end is amazing.  I’m glad to see we’re getting a bit of background about Yakumo’s relationship with the deceased Sukeroku through Yotarou’s actions and rakugo.  Yakumo doesn’t seem to be happy about this.  I’m sure this show will delve deeper into his friendship with Yakumo and the reasons why Sukeroku’s daughter Konatsu feels bitter about him.  Overall, it’s the best premiere this season!

Judging by the preview it looks like we will be traveling to the past and seeing how Yakumo and Sukeroku got into rakugo.  I certainly hope that we get back to Yatorou and Konatsu as they’re just dynamite to watch on screen!

That song during the credits. Wow. Megumi Hayashibara on vocals and Sheena Ringo writing the song was a great collaborative effort! The soundtrack to this series rocks!

I’ve watched this twice now and I hadn’t notice this before but it was a smart move cinematically to have visuals during Yakumo’s performance.  Yotarou’s rakugo is passionate and extremely comical we didn’t need much help gathering what the story was about.  Yakumo’s on the other hand was fierce, detailed, and gripping!  The dark images that represented his story illustrated this divide in rakugo style.  A strong visual choice that paid off greatly at the end of this episode!

OVERALL IMPRESSION: 11/10