And she’s has declared an all out war by attempting to steal Jun’ichi from Ayatsuji! Jun’ichi being the masochist that …

Continue reading »

The year has come to an end and everyone and their dogs are doing end of the year lists. Once again I didn’t prepare enough to join them. These are my quick Top Ten lists for 2010 (which includes Winter 2009). Top 10 Anime of 2010 K-ON!! -The ‘moe anime’ of the year! YEAH~ Hanamaru [...]

The best thing I can say about Tsukasa’s arc is that at least it was the best one next to Sae’s. Tsukasa was a far more complex character than any other heroine in Amagami SS, which made for some entertaining drama at the first half. However, as this show has done time and again, it failed to follow through on its potential, and the arc ended all too conveniently. The final episode, a separate story dedicated to a 7th girl Risa, was a fitting end to the series that brought forward everything that was wrong with this show.

It started off with promise, to be sure. The cliffhanger ending to episode 21 was well done (and really hot, by the way), giving us a glimpse of the selfish side of Tsukasa for the first time. And though her coming clean almost immediately at the start of episode 22 was a bit disappointing, it didn’t change the fact that there was still something dark, something interesting within her. Plus, that episode also had more of Tsukasa’s odd sister. The mystery of their relationship was actually intriguing.

But as has been the case so many times already with this show, all the potential from the first couple episodes was wasted and never amounted to anything. The notebook wasn’t brought up again until it was burned, without giving us much of a clue as to its contents. Tsukasa’s apparently strained relationship with her sister wasn’t explored further.

What was explored a bit in the 2nd half of the arc was Tsukasa’s bullheadedness and hubris when it came to preparing the Founder’s Festival. Her getting bullied was another plot point that had potential. But this was solved all too simply by Tsukasa seemingly flipping a switch and becoming a different person in episode 3. There was more potential with Junichi confronting her about this, saying that that wasn’t the Tsukasa he liked, but things just fizzled at the end with a good hug and crying about a bad Santa memory from her childhood.

Where was the real identity crisis? Where was the struggle to find out who she truly was? And, most importantly, where was the romance? At least in some of the other arcs, we got to see the romance between the couples develop organically. In this one, Tsukasa just ups and decides that she likes Junichi. And, of course, Junichi accepts. Who could say no to the hot class president?

This arc’s ending wasn’t downright offensive like Haruka’s, but it also featured a “10 years later” ending, which means that the series has been bookended with arcs featuring such endings. And just like with Haruka’s ending, this one served as a reminder that we missed out on all the interesting parts of the romance, the struggles and conflicts sure to arise between the two after they become lovers. Instead, we get to see them already with a family, happily ever after, etc.

So this was yet another unsatisfying, uninteresting arc. That’s 5/6 for those keeping score at home. To its credit, Tsukasa’s arc remained potentially interesting for the longest time with potentially the most complex and juicy character developments compared to the other failed arcs. But it couldn’t escape its seemingly inevitable fate as an Amagami SS story of hastily wrapping things up with no facing of the real issues and no exploring of meaningful plot or character threads.

Series End and Risa episode

If you’ve read this far down, it should be abundantly clear that I did not enjoy Amagami SS. The final episode really epitomized the attributes that made the show fail as a piece of romantic fiction. Risa’s stalking behavior was mysteriously successful, merely for the convenience of the show. Seriously, if girls were that easily swayed by one doctored photo shown to them by someone they didn’t know, the entire genre of drama would cease to exist. Furthermore, Risa’s disturbing and borderline insane behavior was accepted by Junichi without a blink of an eye because, well, she’s the heroine this time, which means he had to accept her. This also meant that this actually interesting aspect of Risa’s personality, one that could have been fodder for character development, was glossed over. And finally, everything got resolved easily by a few simple apologies.

I’m not even sure “wish fulfillment” would the proper way to describe this piece of work. Because, generally, works of that sort have people going through interesting lives, having interesting interactions with interesting people, reaching a resolution in some interesting way. Amagami SS gives just hints of those before skipping all that right to the “resolution” part. The only times when this show was actually entertaining was when it was actively making fun of itself – as was the case with Sae’s arc, the only good one of the lot – or presented some insane or absurd situation, such as the ramen eating scene from Ai’s arc. Everything else was sterile, devoid of humor, emotion, or drama. It was, in a word, boring.

As much as I hate the forced drama of a lot of anime – Key’s works such as Kanon or Clannad in particular – I think I prefer that to the complete lack of it in this show. Amagami SS isn’t just a show that underdelivers; it’s legitimately a bad show, void of what makes shows entertaining. Even Sae’s arc was only decent, made great by the fact that it followed – and was followed by – the very horrible arcs that it was parodying. Seen by itself, it was a slightly humorous self-referencing piece of comedy with a bad and borderline offensive romance story underneath. It may be too late for you or me, but please, tell your friends, tell your family, time spent watching this show would be better spent taking a nap. At least then, you have a chance of dreaming something with actual entertainment value.

As this year comes to a close, I have been thinking about what shows or works top my “best of” list for 2010. Well, I didn’t think too long when it came to TV shows: The Tatami Galaxy took the title easily. It occurred to me that, in fact, The Tatami Galaxy was not only my pick for 2010, it was the first one to surpass in my eyes 2006′s The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Other shows had come close, including 2007′s Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann and 2009/2010′s Bakemonogatari, but The Tatami Galaxy was the first both to match it and to surpass it.

Then it got me really thinking: what was it about these works that had made me hold them in such high regard? One thing that immediately popped out to me was that each one of them had a strong, focused denouement, one that not only provided satisfying closure to the events of the show but also provided a peek into the new beginning of the new beginning of the changed lives of the characters. That last part in particular is quite important; the denouement should not only close out the current story but also acknowledge that life goes on beyond what’s shown on screen. This holds true as well for the show that I see as being greater than any of those mentioned above, FLCL. And for (at least, a classic narrative based show) a show to join the ranks of the elites, to be considered one of the greats, it needs to have such a strong denouement.

(Please note that this post contains spoilers to the endings to Bakemonogatari, The Tatami Galaxy, Strike Witches 2, Angel Beats!, Gunbuster, and various arcs of Amagami SS)

Bakemonogatari was a summer 2009 TV show, but due to delays, its last episode came in the summer of this year. And it was a fine example of a denouement done right. After the climactic encounter between Koyomi and Tsubasa Cat, things return to normal, even if, as Koyomi’s narration stated, things have forever been changed. To drive in the point that this is the end of the story, Meme Oshino leaves, without even saying goodbye, but we’re still treated to the main characters reminiscing about him while exploring his now vacant home. They hardly even exchange words, but their mere actions give that all important sense of closure. And finally, the show ends with the two protagonists, Koyomi and Hitagi, looking to the future to their relationship together. Koyomi’s narration mentions not only this but the fact that he is likely to encounter oddities again – the story of his life is far from over. But he has taken a step forward, and this is a new beginning, where he can face the oddities without Oshino’s help. The show properly ended the threads of the main story while still emphasizing the fact that life goes on.

The Tatami Galaxy did very much the same thing with its last episode. The climax came, of course, when Watashi leaped to Ozu’s aid, followed behind by a swarm of moths, only to fall into the river. And, just as important, there was him finally returning that doll to Akashi, allowing them to take a step in their relationship. With Watashi having learned his true path to happiness and escaped from the maze of his constantly repeated timelines, he finally gets started on his new, happy life, with Akashi and Ozu both beside him. The show is explicit in that Watashi and Akashi really are in a relationship, but also emphasizes that that relationship is not part of the show (Watashi’s comment that “there is nothing as boring as a story of successful love” both rings true and tells us everything we need to know). Similarly, we see Watashi make peace with Ozu, coming to see him as another human and a friend. Plus, he now gets to turn the tables on Ozu and torment him just as he was tormented. But, importantly, the show only tells us that that’s what is going to happen. The story of the show is over, and the denouement performs its job to show us that what follows is a new beginning.

But it seems to me that this focus on the denouement is something that is all too often ignored by studios that seem happy to build everything up to the climax then call it a day. While a good build up and climax can make a show still be good, not having a proper ending keeps it from being great. There were a few shows this year that confirmed this to me.

Look at this summer’s Strike Witches 2, an otherwise excellent show that was happy with giving us a simple full stop immediately after the climax. The only glimpse at an ending we got was a brief scene of Yoshika taking care of a bird at her clinic back home over the credits. A real ending that showed how the lives of the members of the 501st went on afterward would have left the series on a high note and could have made the show great.

AIC’s other summer show, Amagami SS, had the same problem, but multiplied many times due to its parallel story structure. 2 of the arcs – Kaoru’s and AI’s – ended right after the climax with no closure or even an attempt at trying to show us how this marked the new beginning of their relationship. A couple others – Haruka’s and Tsukasa’s – gave limp attempts with brief “10 years later” scenes that showed the couple only after the real “next story” had occurred. These weren’t real endings; they were either awkwardly placed full stops or lazy failed attempts at providing closure. And though there was certainly a lot more wrong with Amagami SS, its failure to provide a competent denouement to any of its arcs was a major factor in why it is such a poor show.

On the flip side, what about Angel Beats!, a show that was just as full of problems as Amagami SS, but which devoted the entire final episode to the ending, the main characters saying goodbye to each other? Though the show may have been horrible, this final episode gave us some genuinely heartwarming and hilarious moments (I’m thinking Mapo Tofu) between the main characters and an amazing school gym scene as the characters disappeared one by one. And though that last twist involving the shared heart between Kanade and Otonashi was detestable, the very final scene hinting at a new beginning for these 2 main characters left us with hope, instead of the crushing despair that the time we spent watching this horrible show is something we’ll never get back.

It’s commonly said that the ending can ruin or make great a piece of work. At the same time, there’s something to be said for the idea that it’s the journey that matters, not the destination. Of course, the rules of fiction are not set in stone, and this is not a dichotomy. For most works, the rising action, climax, and denouement are all things that matter. But there are works that comfortably break these rules and come out ahead thanks to it. The End of Evangelion and Gunbuster are examples that immediately come to mind. The problem is that such works need to be exceptional in execution to pull this off, and most shows aren’t exceptional. For a narrative based work of fiction to excel, it needs to have a strong denouement, one that provides closure and adequately shows the start of something new. In 2010, The Tatami Galaxy and Bakemonogatari stood as shining examples of just how much a positive impact a strong denouement can have to a show.

Note:

• Other examples of anime works this past year that were enhanced by good denouements are: Durarara, The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya.
• Other examples of anime works this past year whose poor denouements took away from the works are: Ookami-san and Seven Companions, Black Rock Shooter, Highschool of the Dead, Kimi ni Todoke, A Certain Scientific Railgun.

HOLY MOTHER OF CRAP AYATSUJI 180 PERSONALITY CHANGE!! HNNNGGGGGHH!!! Late reaction is late. Dam, I haven’t posted anything in almost a month…what the hell have I been doing that I forgot about this little place? I don’t think I was even doing anything… >_> Oh well, leave it to Black Ayatsuji and M Junichi to [...]

Like Kaoru way back a few months ago, Rihoko was someone who already shared a friendship with Junichi, though, in her case, it went way back to childhood, not just a few years. At points while watching this arc and Kaoru’s, the same thought occurred to me several times: what if Junichi doesn’t “win” this time around? What if these girls who start out as friends, end up as friends as well? I thought it would be a great idea, the ultimate FU to the viewers expecting the couple to end up together as expected.

Well, be careful what you wish for.

The arc started off giving me hope, especially with Rihoko’s narration stating outright that she had an unrequited love for Junichi. The problem was that things never went further than that. Instead of focusing on the relationship between Junichi and Rihoko, the show focused on the succession of the tea ceremony club. With the ice skating and Christmas festival, the show showed sparks of impending romance at times, but in the end, Rihoko explicitly gave up – though I don’t know that she even tried – and remained “happy” remaining still with her unrequited love.

Rihoko’s arc was even more similar to Kaoru’s arc in that way – sterile and devoid of emotion, which is why they didn’t end up together in this arc and why everything felt so forced and artificial in Kaoru’s. Except Rihoko’s arc suffered in all 4 episodes instead of just the last 2. Also like the Kaoru arc, this one didn’t exploit the preexisting friendship between the 2 enough. Since Rihoko was a childhood friend, there was a lot more material there to use, but besides a few amusing flashbacks in the first half of the arc, the fact proved to be inconsequential. Really, for these 2 heroines, the “friends” thing was more of a feature to be checked off than a genuinely meaningful character trait.

It’s telling that the climactic moment of the arc and the final scene was about Junichi and Rihoko running the tea club. Where was the charged emotional content? Where was the romance? When I envisioned Junichi “losing,” I pictured it as a true loss, a separation of two people who have feelings for each other but who can’t be together for whatever reason. I was foolish to hope for such complexity and drama from Amagami SS, I suppose.

Another source of hope at the beginning that was quickly dashed was that Rihoko was narrating at the start. Could the arc switch around the main character, have it follow her instead of him? Unfortunately, no. That particular narrative trick was abandoned quickly. Shame, because it could have made entertaining what was otherwise rather boring, much like how the sarcastic narration made Sae’s arc not only good but great. This arc began and ended following Rihoko as the main character, but everything was same old run of the mill in between. Or rather, it was less than run of the mill.

And what of our heroine? Rihoko was great as a side character in the other arcs, but as a protagonist proper, she was just boring. Her spinelessness with respect to Junichi’s ignorance of her feelings – even in the face of constant encouragement from her friends – was what really took down this arc. With the parties lacking the desire or the initiative, no chemistry could develop. At least she always looked cute while eating. Speaking of which, her complex about her weight stopped being funny or endearing a long time before the arc even began. And like everything else about this arc, this trait of hers didn’t develop at all and remained nothing more than a running joke.

The ED was decent, nothing to write home about. Not as good as Ai’s, which remains the best. But the cutesy animation went well with Rihoko’s innocent aura. And as I learned just recently from watching Kurenai, in which she sings the EDs, Ryoko Shintani has a fine singing voice. Ironic that the one “real” singer of the lot – Haruka’s voice actor Shizuka Itou – has had the worst singing in her ED so far, excepting Sae’s squeakfest (though everything in Sae’s arc gets a free pass thanks to the fact that the whole arc was meant to be ironic).

So this one was just a whole lot of nothing. I do give credit to the writers for having one arc end in “failure.” And I did like how it twisted the now standard format of ending things on Christmas Eve, instead placing the festival in the 2nd episode, not even halfway through the arc. But high concept alone isn’t enough to make a work good; what really matters is execution, and the execution just wasn’t there.

We’ve got one arc left, Tsukasa’s. I’m looking forward to finding out if there really is something dark behind her perfect image, but I’m certainly not looking forward to seeing how the story will fail once again. At this point, it’s safe to say that Amagami SS has been a huge disappointment. In order to redeem itself, Tsukasa’s arc will have to be the perfectly told high school love story in 4 episodes. It can be done, but I for one am not holding my breath.

Making a list of the new fall anime that I still have to write impressions for, I discovered that nine more needed covered – or slightly more than half – and I’d already taken the ones easy to talk about. I was on pace for the last impression posts written to be series review posts; clearly, something needed done, something drastic.

Like combining all 9 shows into one post and just write the most pertinent items for each show. Madness I know.

Arakawa Under the Bridge 2

Rating for episodes 1 to 4 – 12/12 Perfect

Anticipation Level: 5/5 Very High

The Shaft/Shinbou series following of a community of “interesting” people living under a bridge is back this season and I was equal parts excited and fearful at this prospect. I loved the first season and didn’t want a poorly done second season to drag the first season down but I really wanted to see the lovable cast of characters again and there were a few story threads that were not resolved that I’d like to see resolved. Imagine my relief when the second season picked right back up and immediately started to address the very story threads that I wanted see featured. Can we add mind reader to the list of Shinbou’s abilities? Maybe, but either way, the result has been I’ve been enjoying this season even more than the first season. Highly recommended.

-

Hakuouki Hekketsuroku

Rating for episodes 1 to 4 – 5/12 C+

Anticipation Level: 1.5/5 Below Average to Low

Frankly, I was surprised that I finished the first season, Hakuouki: Shinsengumi Kitan, since it was never a really good show. I might have received it better if I didn’t have to rely on what I learned from Rurouni Kenshin about the history of Japan in the 1860’s to explain the story and the characters to me. So maybe it wasn’t entirely the show’s fault for being less than stellar. I decided to give the second season a chance because I actually kinda knew the characters now and there was always the chance that the story of the show would finally start making sense and it was, at least, different from everything else I was watching. And Hakuouki Hekketsuroku has been slightly better in it’s second season. Now it looks like the constraining factor is having Studio Deen doing it; once again proving that Studio Deen is the best third-rate anime company out there. Recommended only to those anime fans that absolutely love historical anime; reverse harem fans will be disappointed to find that the guys here have a tendency to die.

-

Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Girls

Rating for episodes 1 to 4 – 7/12 B

Anticipation Level: 1.5/5 Below Average to Low

Samurai Girls takes place in one of the most interesting settings of all new anime this season – an alternative history Japan where the Shogunate never fell and also did not lose WW2 because the Shogunate had the help of “Master Samurai,” people of extraordinary talent and battle prowess. Samurai Girls also has one of this season’s most interesting artistic styles.  It’s a shame that this setting and style is going to be, apparently, wasted on a boring fan service romantic comedy. Our hero is your typical generic young high school/college aged boy who has a female friend from childhood that’s clingy towards him, to us it’s obvious she wants to be his girlfriend, and gets thrown into a situation where a multitude of woman will fall for him. Seen it done many times already and done much better. Check out this season’s Sora No Otoshimono for just one better example. Even the fan service element is incredibly weak in comparison to other shows airing right now; seeing it included makes the show feel awkward and should just be removed. In it’s favor, Samurai Girls, does feature the vocal work of both Rie Kugimiya (who I’ve been really missing lately) and Yuu Kobayashi. It’s hard to recommend this to anyone other than Kugimiya and Kobayashi fans; if the story was a little better or if there was more fighting than I’d recommend it to people looking for that but right now it’s just not there.

-

Kuragehime

Rating for episodes 1 to 3 – 11.5/12 Near Perfect

Anticipation Level: 4.5/5 High

The best way I can praise Kuragehime, aka Jellyfish Princess, is to say that it’s so good that I’m not angry at Brain’s Base (the animators) for doing it when they could be doing a third season of either Natsume Yuujinchou or Spice and Wolf or a second season of Baccano. It’s that good. The most striking thing about the anime is it’s storytelling; it’s so effortlessly perfect that it’s nearly invisible to the viewer without scrutiny. No “hey, it’s time for an info-dump,” or “hey, it’s time to the character’s back-story,” or “hey, don’t question this completely illogical turn-of-events, we need to get the plot moving,” or “hey, just accept these 1D cliché characters, there’s no time to flesh them out,” or “hey, don’t complain, these 2D characters are better than those cliché characters.” It doesn’t matter the show is about a group of adult female nerds and a flashy male cross-dresser, by almost everyone possible marker, Kuragehime is one of the best anime of the season and a definite must-watch for anyone who likens themselves an anime fan. I especially recommend it to those pessimists out there that believe anime is just becoming a vehicle to peddle moe junk.

-

Shinrei Tantei Yakumo

Rating for episodes 1 to 5 – 7/12 B

Anticipation Level: 2/5 Below Average

I was set to really like this; I normally can’t get enough of anime that feature the supernatural, which is why I was able to enjoy Occult Academy as much as I was able to do, but Shinrei Tantei Yakumo left me cold. Five episodes in and I’m still waiting for Yakumo, the physic detective, to get an interesting supernatural case. I’ve been having trouble staying awake through the episodes and when I do, the show leaves no impression on me later. At least with Occult Academy, it was interesting and entertaining, even if it didn’t quite make sense. It’s hard to really dislike a show that leaves no impression which means I probably, really, should drop the score lower (to better reflect it’s quality) and drop it all-together (since I’m not even going to remember watching it later). Why couldn’t they just make Ghost Hunt 2?

-

Star Driver

Rating for episodes 1 to 5 – 9/12 A-

Anticipation Level: 3/5 Average to Medium

Star Driver appears to be what happens when the people at Bones decide to create a new anime series at 4 AM after spending a long day animating other shows and then going out for a night of drinking and using other recreational drugs. It’s entertaining, well-drawn, exciting, unique and nearly incomprehensible. It might make sense at some later point but right now I don’t let it bother me since it doesn’t look like it’ll go the route of X’amd: Lost Memories, the last Bones original show. A measure of how odd this show is having the 20-something aged school nurse being into high school boys to the point of her having a book full of pictures of male students that she likes and having posters of young men on her wall at school and it didn’t even bother me. Recommended for those looking for something different with the jury still out on the merits of the plot/story.

-

The World God Only Knows

Rating for episodes 1 to 5 – 8/12 B+

Anticipation Level: 2.5/5 Average

The story to TWGOK – obsessive visual novel playing H.S. boy tasked with getting “real girls” to fall in love with him – was never going to a great, compelling story but Manglobe, the animators in charge of adapting into an anime, are doing really good with squeezing every bit of entertainment out of the source material. If the entire series was as good as episode 4, it could have been one of the top shows and top comedies of the season but the episodes that focus on the girls that need “captured” by the main character just aren’t as interesting. Worth a look but don’t expect too much.

-

To Aru Majutsu no Index II

Rating for episodes 1 to 4 – 6/12 B-

Anticipation Level: 2/5 Below Average

I have a hard time believing Index and Railgun come from the same person; they exist on two completely opposite planes of existence. It makes sense then that I have completely different reactions to the two series. Railgun is a great series and Index is not. The same problems that plagued the first Index appear again in Index 2; the characters are needlessly verbose with nothing interesting to say, stuff happens completely randomly or in a coincidentally nice way that leads to lazy storytelling and the characters aren’t likable (even Misaka is a pain here which is weird because she’s awesome in Railgun). I really should just drop this now but the opening suggests that all the characters from Railgun will make an appearance and I want to see them again.

-

Yosuga no Sora

Rating for episodes 1 to 5 – 9/12 A-

Anticipation Level: 2/5 Below Average

Initially I didn’t like how Amagami SS was going the route of independent 4 episode arcs to cover each different path in the anime adaptation of the visual novel. It seemed like a cop-out but I’ve found in practice that it works nicely because the animators don’t have to make it look like the male main character can hang out with a half-dozen different girls at the same time. A side-effect of this novel structure is that it’s difficult to get tired of the show because the time investment for 4 episodes is much less than 26 or even 13 episodes. If I don’t like a particular match, I only to wait a couple of episodes and the focus will shift to a different match. Watching Amagami SS prepared me for the similarly constructed Yosuga no Sora. The pair also share scenes of rather explicit fan-service which I should mention to potential viewers. I’ve been on the fence about these scenes, they don’t add to my enjoyment of either series so they could clipped out but, at the same time, I like that they don’t censor it as a way to drive DVD sales. Neither of these shows, I realize, are especially great shows but the novel structure employed help ensure that I keep watching, at least for now. (This set-up also put my mind at ease about the brother-sister undertone the first episode had of Yosuga no Sora since if they do go that route, I can just elect to not watch those couple of episodes.)

Filed under: anime, first impressions

Really not a whole lot to write about this one. After the wonderfully self aware and ironic Sae arc, Amagami SS returned to its normal storytelling style, with a result that was all too predictable.

I’m having a hard time getting up the energy to write this post. Amagami SS’s story formula is a known commodity now, and the Ai Nanasaki arc followed the formula pretty much straight up. Junichi meets the heroine. Through a series of ridiculous and unbelievable events, the two grow closer. Some wacky, off the wall thing happens that makes you question what you just saw. The two have a perfect date on Christmas Eve. The End.

To its credit, this was the best arc next to Sae’s, which just stands on its own. Ai’s arc managed to have the crazy entertainment value of Haruka’s arc without all the misogyny that made the latter one so unbearable. Instead of knee pit kissing, we got the hallucinogenic haunted house with Ai turning into a bowl of ramen. That was actually pretty funny. And the events of episode 16 paralleled those of episode 4, with Ai leading Junichi up a mountain and to a hot spring instead of Haruka leading him up a hotel and to a bath. But what Ai didn’t do was get upset when Junichi didn’t try to jump her. Instead, we got a scene that was appropriately awkward and became genuinely emotional and, at times, downright erotic.

Also, I was a big fan of both Ai’s ED and the new OP. The ED was energetic and didn’t suffer from poor singing like Haruka’s or Sae’s, or from Engrish like Sex Hair’s. And speaking of Engrish, the new OP had none, while still having the soft, lighthearted romantic feeling of the first OP.

Of course, Ai’s arc had plenty of failings. The ending of episode 15 when Junichi inexplicably jumped into the pool, with the insert song? Terrible. Laughable, and not in the good way. To be fair, the whole story of romantic development involving Ai’s little brother was pretty laughable. It was somewhat similar to how the story in Sae’s arc developed, except meant to be taken seriously instead of laughed at. Sex Hair’s arc is the only one so far that had a halfway believable romantic story. A shame that one became a snoozefest in the second half.

What seems clear that the fantasy that I wrote 5 weeks ago about how Amagami SS could end up being a great show remains a fantasy. Tomorrow, with Rihoko’s arc starting, it gets another shot at the friends-into-lovers story. At the very least, I’ve enjoyed her aloof personality so far, and Ryoko Shintani‘s voice is always pleasant to listen to. I’ve never heard her sing, at least not by herself (she sang as Normal-tan in the OPs and EDs for the Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei series and as Sae in the OP to the Hidamari Sketch series), so we’ll see how that goes.

YUM~ ITADAKIMASU~!

TEACHER THANKS FOR SPANKING ME! *Paraphrased Not only did he thanked the hot teacher he drooled over for spanking him {teacher had no idea why she was thanked though} but he shouted out LOUDLY why the breast of a certain BEST GIRL IN AMAGAMI are the best breast in Amagami! AND IN FRONT OF A [...]

The fall season of anime has already started, which means that the summer season has come to a close. Of course, most of us watch more shows than we could – or care to – write about, and here are our brief thoughts about what we watched this past season.

High School of the Dead

Things started strong, with an engaging set-up, good action and a great sense of fun. Later, the series showed that while it could definitely be dark at times, it also revelled in the ridiculous; what went on wasn’t always to my taste but kept me laughing and coming back to see what would happen next. The downsides? I didn’t feel as though I connected much with any of the characters. More than that, the series felt directionless and incomplete, and, in the end, unsatisfying.
It was a fun ride, but man, was the ending bad. I know, story hardly matters to this show, but I did get invested in these characters and hoped things would go somewhere. Some crazy action and most Jello-like boobs ever, but overall left me with a bad taste in my mouth.
Saeko wearing an apron, and only an apron, was the only noteworthy moment of this show.

Seikimatsu Occult Academy (End of the Century Occult Academy)

I wanted so much for this series to turn what seemed like an obvious conclusion right on its head.  It didn’t do that, but I still thoroughly enjoyed the series.  Great characters, and shoot, great facial expressions.  It used the character art style really well to assist the comedy.  Then we’ve got Smile and his wrench, who need one of those 3-5 minute anime shorts time slots.
The last few episodes aside, I felt this series continually put me to sleep. While Maya’s begrudging acceptance of the occult provided for some interesting moments with Fumiaki and her friends, it seemed as if these character developments had no connection to the three episodes that actually focused on the main plot.
Anime no Chikara finally delivers! It started off hilarious but got mired in side stories in the middle, before the main story returned with a bang. The last 3 episodes were just wild, good fun. The ending came as a genuine surprise and delivered a powerful, heartfelt message.
To say the least, this was a wild, crazy ride. The series was continually hilarious, though, and it generally struck an excellent balance of silliness and seriousness. The main leads were also developed very well, and, while the first and last few episodes of the series were filled with much more energy than the middle ones were, I was always engaged and looked forward to the new installment each week. The ending, too, was probably the most satisfying of the season.

Giant Killing

The one show I consistently looked forward to week after week.  It might not be the best anime to ever air, or even the best sports anime, but it kept me consistently entertained.  I don’t think I’ve sat on the edge of my seat so much for a game where I knew how it had to end.  It had a lot of really good characters too, even the minor characters on the opposing teams.  I want a second season of this, and I want it soon.  I need to see them go all the way. (Editor’s note: Rakuen blogged/is blogging the entirety of this show)

Seitokai Yakuindomo (Student Council Officers)

Good raunchy fun. The hectic, ADD style of filling each episode with short gags worked very well, in the tradition of other 4-koma adaptations like Azumanga Daioh. The story heavy episodes were nice asides as well, connecting the random gags with a common theme. Suzu and Yokoshima-sensei are awesome, and Kotomi is the best imouto ever.
I really wasn’t keen on this at first, but I’m so glad I stuck with it. A week rarely went by without a few good laughs out of the series; its rapid-fire jokes weren’t always hits, but there were always at least a couple or so that were fantastic. It took a little while to get used to the show’s sense of humour but I’ll really miss it and its characters, who had awesome chemistry with one another. This was a lot of fun.

Sekirei ~Pure Engagement~

This season of the series focused on developing relationships between Sekirei and their Ashikabi. This was done well. Otherwise, there wasn’t much going for the show, with things seeming geared almost solely towards setting up a third season. There was a serious lack of forward momentum and, in addition, pretty much all of the characters lacked depth. I was hoping for a larger focus on battles (what few took place were excellently choreographed and animated) but they rarely eventuated, and antagonists tended to run away instead of finishing fights. Frustrating.

Strike Witches 2

Best show of the season! I write that without a hint of irony – for me, it was either this one or Seitokai Yakuindomo. I actually watched both seasons of the show this past summer, and couldn’t be happier that I did. It successfully told a heartwarming story of personal triumph and friendship, and the second season had some of the best directed action scenes I’ve seen in non movie anime in recent years.
This was actually a pretty good show. I was a bit upset that they pretty much went away from the plot of the first season, of which there was little, from the get go, but that is a minor complaint. I am hoping for a season three.

Shiki

Frankly, there are a lot of reasons why this show should really suck. From the stubbornness of the villagers, most notably Ozaki, who seems incapable of asking for outside assistance to the ridiculousness of practically every character’s hair style, though I admit I have a thing for Ritsuko. However, the last few episodes have provided an ever increasing level of tension which has made this my favorite show of the summer season.
The highlight of the season. There’s a fascinating and constantly shifting cast of characters, a tension-filled storyline that keeps you wondering, and some utterly amazing atmosphere. Not much is black and white, and things are constantly kept interesting. I was initially concerned about the unusual art style, but Daume have shown that they know how to make it work. I can’t wait for the show’s hiatus to end, and I’m very curious to see how things continue. (Editor’s note: Raph blogged the first 3 episodes of this series)

Rainbow

This whole series has been a love hate relationship for me.  I know a lot of people thought the first half of the season was far stronger than the second half.  I disagree.  I always had the feeling the characters were constantly getting hit in the head by the idiot ball while in the detention center.  The camaraderie was good, but some of the decisions just left me scratching my head.  I liked it a lot better once they got out and tried to find their own place in the world.  I’d say they matured up nicely.  Well, maybe not Cabbage, but he’s the lovable big guy, what can you do? (Editor’s note: Rakuen blogged the first 4 episodes of this show when it started in Spring)

Ookami-san and Seven Companions

Mediocre is the word. The show had a lot of potential, and when it had fun with its flexible premise, I had fun too. Unfortunately, it consistently disappointed at big moments, almost always managing to squander build-up or suspense – the ending in particular was a massive anticlimax. Similarly, the characters could have been the series’s saving grace, but most remained undeveloped. All that said, though, the show shone in its less serious moments, held my attention for the right reasons, and was a mostly enjoyable addition to my week.
The biggest issue I had with this series is that it never knew what it wanted to be. Almost from the get go, it seemed as though every episode attempted to form a weak, half assed link to a fairy tale for its plot to its detriment. In my opinion, if the show continually employed a lighter tone that focused on character development and helping people via the bank, things may have gone better.
As much as I enjoyed watching the series, I have to agree it was pretty mediocre.  It never pushed itself far enough in any one direction.  It seemed like it could do one thing well for an episode, but it would fall flat in other areas.  It leads to this roulette situation where you never quite know what you’re going to get, and that’s bad.  I think the cast could have used a little more work too.  Really, I think a lot of things, and I’m not terribly sure which would improve it because it’s just so middle of the road.
This is the one show I blogged every week, if you’ll recall. The word that I keep turning to is “disappointing.” It started off with promise, introduced some interesting ideas, then squandered everything it had. You can read my final thoughts on my last post.

Legend of the Legendary Heroes

You would think that after blogging this show for almost three months I would have formed some sort of a definite opinion, but I haven’t. For a non comedy (though it does have some comedic portions), this show does have the somewhat surprising ability to keep me fully entertained for 22 minutes and it has enough of a story for me to blog about. On the flip side, I feel as though this show spends a lot of time going nowhere and there are some animation cincerns. That said, all signs point to the pace picking up in the second half.

Sengoku Basara 2

Yeah, I started off covering this series… and it kind of fell off for me.  I loved the first season for the consistently over the top characters and battles. The second season had more of that, but it also attempted to tell more of a story to go with it.  I thought it might be something I wanted.  After all, strong characters with a strong(er) story must be a win-win, right?  I don’t think it was.  I guess sometimes all you want is to see a bunch of larger than life characters beating the tar out of each other.

Amagami SS

I dropped this show after the second episode of Sae’s arc. While I understand that many people need to exercise their knee kissing, feet sucking, or furry fetishes satisfied, I have better things to with my life.
Comeback story of the season; you can read my full thoughts in my posts. In short, started off hilariously bad, then got painfully bad before turning it all around at Sae’s arc. Ai’s arc looks to be a return to normalcy and complacency, unfortunately. There’s news of a possible imouto arc, too.

Asobi ni Iku yo! (Let’s Go Play!)

Probably one of the biggest surprises of the season, this really didn’t take itself seriously and managed to deliver something fun, humorous and self-aware. The series seemed to really enjoy both making fun of and embracing the cliches that come with harem/magical girlfriend comedies. It also knew exactly what it wanted to do, and it did that well. Things were bizarre and entertaining, and my low expectations were very much exceeded.

Mitsudomoe

In my opinion, this show just keeps getting better and I am looking forward to season 2. Though the comedy is by no means high brow, funny is funny. The only problem is that a few of the jokes fail to hit the mark. The show’s success, as many have pointed out is due to its misunderstandings, which why some of the scenes that dealt with bodily fluids seemed out of place and unneeded.

Digimon Xros Wars

Ah, my childhood.  Yes, I watched both Pokemon and Digimon, and I liked them for different reasons.  Pokemon had that constant adventure, while Digimon had an actual storyline week over week.  Watching Xros Wars is like going back to those days, in a way.  Yeah, it’s definitely nothing to write home about, but it just has that ridiculous (and stupid) fun factor.  I do kind of wish they could come up with something more creative for their digivolutions, besides tacking on a new number after Shoutmon’s name…

 

Phew! That’s quite a lot of shows we watched these past 3 months. And we even had time to write each week about some of them! We’re still deciding on our fall lineups, but I’m currently committed to Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru – Yet the Town Keeps Going (Shaft show starring Chiaki Omigawa with music by Round Table and OP by Maaya Sakamoto? Yes please!), so look for that next week.

The third parallel story arc, featuring the shy and quiet first year Sae Nakata as the heroine, finished up last week. True to form, the story was not compelling in the slightest, the characters were typical to a fault, and everything came together far too easily. But by twisting the storytelling formula just slightly, AIC turned the entire ship around and produced what is easily the best arc of the anime yet. In fact, the success I saw in this arc leaves me with hope that AIC is fully aware of how to handle Amagami SS, and it could end up being one of the best high school romance series in recent years. Do I sound crazy? Read on.

What a difference 4 episodes can make! After Haruka’s arc to start the show, my outlook on this show couldn’t have been more negative. Yet Kaoru’s arc had left me even more in despair by providing a story that started with promise before it fizzled out at about the halfway point. To quote myself from the previous post: “I do intend to stick with this show all the way to the bloody end.” I was not optimistic, to say the least.

But Sae’s arc was a complete turnaround, a great chapter of this anime that had been notable only for its extraordinary failings. In fact, the execution in this arc leaves me hopeful about the direction of this show in general, something I never would have predicted just a month ago.

Let’s start with the story: there was nothing about these past 4 episodes that were any better than the previous 4 or the 4 before that. Junichi was as uncharismatic as ever, and a little creepy if anything in how he dominated Sae from the very beginning. I did like how the story started out in the summer, showing just how malleable the formula could be, even if the core elements – Junichi’s rejection from 2 years ago, his star-decorated closet, the finale on Christmas – have to remain the same.

And our heroine Sae was somehow even more boring than our hero, with a personality defined solely by the one characteristic: shy. Especially compared to the relatively powerful figures of Haruka and Kaoru of the first two arcs, Sae’s meek and unobtrusive personality was frustrating at times. Seriously, the girl spent 3 weeks training for an interview to get a job as a waitress because she couldn’t talk to people normally.

Also, her squeaky, high pitched, so-soft-that-it’s-barely-there voice was hard to bear at times (alas, there is but one Mamiko Noto in this world). Her voice was about the same in her ED song, though the animation and art, sometimes reminiscent of Bakemonogatari’s Nadeko OP (Renai Circulation), made the sequence overall better than the first 2.

But none of the story’s glaring flaws ended up mattering in the slightest, thanks to the new approach to the storytelling taken by the show. Perhaps the simplest way of putting it is, the show “got it.” It came in on its own joke and successfully turned into a parody of itself. After Haruka’s awesomely miserable arc, I had decided to keep watching the show out of a macabre fascination, just to see how much it could fall. Perhaps the producers at AIC shared my macabre fascination and decided to make fun of the ridiculousness of the source material instead of simply accepting it and running with it.

“What if Amagami SS turns out to be good?”

Partway into the second episode of the arc, that truly shocking thought occurred to me. It was one of those things that seemed so patently ridiculous that I felt I should be committed for merely entertaining the thought, but somehow, it all made sense, and it still does.

Bear with me, if you will, and listen to the musings of someone who is likely insanely optimistic in the most literal way possible. What would you do if you were a creative, ambitious director handed the responsibility of adapting Amagami into an anime (remember, Amagami SS is directed by Yoshimasa Hiraike, the same guy who directed last season’s excellent Working!!)? A work that is so horrendously derivative, whose characters are insultingly flat, whose attempt at romance is so filled with cliche and misogyny that, well, it makes normal anime look positively feminist by comparison? What would you do?

Wouldn’t you want to make a big “fuck you!” to the original work and its fans? Wouldn’t you want to use this opportunity, to use this adaptation as a platform to criticize the very source material you are adapting? Get a bit of attention by announcing that each of the six stories will get its own adaptation. Then use the first 2 to show everyone just how disastrous straight up adaptations of these typical wish fulfillment dating sim romance stories would be. Next, you turn the tables on the audience. You use the 3rd adaptation to show everyone that you’ve been in on the joke all along. The 4th through 6th? We’ll see.

Anyway, as I wrote above, on its own merits, the story was bad. It was exactly what I’ve come to expect out of Amagami SS. There were times when I genuinely felt like cringing, when I really thought that there was no way that the show could bounce back from such a horrible turn of events (some scenes that pop to mind: ro sham bo game at the end of episode 9, speed changing in episode 10, public tentacoo wape in episode 11, gothic lolita + Engrish director in episode 12, I could go on). But each time, the narrator graciously guided us back up from whatever hole the show looked to be digging for itself.

Ah yes, the narrator. He was not just the most influential factor in turning this terrible romantic comedy into a satire, he was the one and only factor. From the very beginning of the first episode, when he made a small dig at Junichi (to which Junichi actually responded) he showed us that this arc wasn’t going to be like the others. He was there to provide balance to the ridiculous things that would go down, to laugh at them along with us, to affirm our disbelief and awe.

Yet he was not a cynic. His voice was always warm, and he spoke of the destined love story between our two protagonists without irony. He successfully portrayed the wise old man looking at kids experiencing the follies and adventures of youth, appreciating it for what it was, but also fully aware of how silly it was. He rooted for Junichi and Sae, but he wasn’t above making fun of them. In short, he was the proper companion with whom to watch this story unfold.

And again, he kept turning up at just the right times. He wasn’t overbearing or omnipresent like the narrator of Ookami-san and Seven Companions. He didn’t overstay his welcome. There were times when he would disappear for perhaps a bit too long, letting the tension build as the show started to go south. But that made the release during his return all the more satisfying. Prime example being the climax at episode 12, when Junichi and Sae were at the movie theater. The gothic lolita costume, combined with the movie director’s appearance and the tipping chair cliche threatened to put a cringe-inducing cap to the whole thing, but the narrator came back to describe in detail how the cuteness overload “killed” Junichi, putting a decidedly comedic spin on things.

And that really was all that was needed. Tragedy and comedy are two concepts separated by a hair’s breadth. Whereas first two arcs of Amagami SS were tragically bad – the first one was comedically so – Sae’s arc took that tragedy and spun it around to create a full-on self aware comedy. That is why it was successful.

Going forward, can AIC replicate this success with the second half of the show? There is the worry that this self deprecating approach to the storytelling may have been just a one-off thing, and we’ll go right back to the facepalm of Haruka’s and Kaoru’s arcs again. The cynic in me says to expect that. But the optimist in me says to hope for AIC to build on what they’ve done with Sae’s arc. Throw us a narrator who is more cynical, more ironic, more critical. Do that for the next arc, and then use the final 1/3 of the arcs to really throw the fans in for a loop by presenting complete deconstructions of the stories. In other words, instead of merely transferring the source material to a new medium, adapt it while also injecting its own criticisms of the original work. I know I’m hoping for too much. But it’s nice to want things. And the mere fact that I’m entertaining these thoughts is a testament to AIC’s cleverness and nimbleness when it comes to creating Amagami SS.

Death by Moe! The only way to die-nyan~! The arc was fun, more than expected thanks to the narration which made it that much funnier. Sae was cute but wasn’t really a fan of her voice, Konno Hiromi, couldn’t even watch the full ED sequence. Which is weird considering I love Satomi Arai’s voice, which [...]

The third arc of Amagami SS has one great thing the previous arcs didn’t, and that is THE VOICE OF GOD narration! The narration makes this arc a hella of a lot funnier than it’s supposed to be. Honestly, I wasn’t looking forward to this arc as Nakata Sae didn’t strike me as someone interesting [...]

I approached the second heroine’s arc of Amagami SS with both apprehension and excitement. If you’ve read my post on the first arc, it should be obvious why. The identity of the new heroine was actually not really on my mind, but she proved to be the one interesting bit in a story that felt almost sterile at times. Indeed, this arc was bad, but not spectacularly so like Haruka’s. And it was actually kind of good at times, which made it all the more painful to see it fall.

The Good: Sex Hair

Let’s start with the positives. Kaoru was a much better character than Haruka. She was energetic and playful without feeling forced. Her relationship as a friend with Junichi was fun to watch, as was the beginning transition into a romantic one, at least in the first couple episodes. Plus, she’s not called “Sex Hair” for nothing. That wavy hair was one of the things that drove me to this series in the first place, and it didn’t disappoint.

Having the path diverge immediately following Junichi’s failed Christmas Eve date 2 years ago to have Kaoru cheer him up was a pleasant surprise. If they were so bold as to change what was such a central element in the first arc, perhaps the stories would diverge so much as to leave the first arc but a bitter memory? Plus, it was much easier to cheer for someone who wasn’t still hiding in his closet from a singular event 2 years ago. Even if the star lined closet made a return in the final episode, not having the entire pretext of the story be of Junichi trying to get over that date by finding a new love made the story significantly easier to swallow.

In fact, the whole high level story of friends becoming lovers was handled pretty well for the first two episodes. The self doubts and struggles of emotions they went through seemed genuine, even if exaggerated. The second episode was kicked off by a refreshingly open and honest conversation between the two regarding the nature of their relationship (it’s a sad commentary on the medium that having a mature conversation about romance and friendship in anime stands out as exceptional). A shame that scene ended with the classic accidental kiss then embarrassment trope.

Even the fetish of the month – belly button this time – was handled much better. Under the context of these curious teenage friends and with Junichi basing it on the first thing he saw, I might even go as far as to say it was done tastefully. At the very least, it didn’t linger any longer than necessary and certainly wasn’t a key building block to their relationship as was the case with Haruka’s arc.

The Bad: The Entire Second Half

So that was the first two episodes. While nothing amazing, they were entertaining and provided a pair of protagonists we could really root for. It’s too bad that it all fell apart in the last half, where pretty much nothing happened.

Of course, this points to pacing – something that was also very problematic in the first arc – as the culprit. I could go on about its failures, stacking all the interesting parts at the front and leaving a pair of content free episodes to limp to the finish line. I could explain what a waste of time the third episode was and how the show lacked any sense of urgency given its unique time constraints and squandered what little time it had. I could get down to specifics, like how the entire set-up sequence at the start of the final episode was a complete waste of time.

But I think it would be most effective to sum it up concisely: All the interesting stuff happens either before or after the events shown in the anime.

Kaoru and Junichi have known each other for three years. The show is not shy about this fact and often references past events from their friendship, usually to hit on some sort of emotional note. The problem is that we never saw these moments. We caught the tail end of the friendship at the beginning of the arc, and it was fun. Hearing about these memories isn’t fun. Furthermore, since we weren’t a part of their history together, the impact on Junichi or Kaoru from being reminded of a past event is lost on us. You can’t shove years of character and relationship development into a few flashbacks.

But at least we got to see their friendship, with some ear biting and imaginary German suplexing and belly button licking. As I wrote above, the start to this arc was fine. The opposite end, on the other hand, called in sick. All the fun stuff regarding their romantic relationship happens only after the arc is over.

The last two episodes – the entire last half of the arc – were aimless. I wrote about the first arc that I felt that the show suffered from its lineage i.e. that it emulated the storytelling of a dating sim visual novel to a fault. This could not have been more true in these 2 episodes. It is common to go through the mundane in visual novels. Most of the time, it is trying to insert you into the life of the protagonist, after all, and most of life is mundane.

Unfortunately, this translated to episode 7 being able to be summarized by, Junichi looks for Kaoru and eventually finds her, and episode 8 by, Junichi and Kaoru go on a date on Christmas Eve.

OK, there are some details I’m missing, but they were entirely superfluous. Kaoru’s problem with her mother proved to be a red herring. Its purpose seemingly was to have Junichi look for Kaoru and be reminded of her on the way, and then help her through this little conflict, but those things failed in having any impact. I already wrote above about how the flashbacks and reminders to past events were not effective due to us, the viewers, lacking a connection to those scenes. But having Junichi show up and solve everything by saying a few cliche lines was borderline insulting.

And, of course, episode 8 had a very heartfelt conversation between Junichi and Kaoru as they stood on the glass at the top of the tower (psych protip: people tend to become more easily attracted when in situations that cause stress, such as being at a great height). Or rather, it would have been very heartfelt and sweet had it not been on their first date. When people on their first date declare that they want to spend the rest of their lives together, it’s more comedic than romantic.

And then, how did the episode (and by extension the story arc) end? When the day ended. Hey, that’s kind of like in a dating sim! There was no ending, no conclusion. The closest thing to a climax was the aforementioned humorous confessions of love atop the tower. Literally, the arc ended right after Kaoru teased Junichi with a climax before falling asleep. There was nothing of significance other than their first date. It was the start of something, and then, oh, The End. Kaoru deserved better.

The story of Junichi and Kaoru doesn’t end there. It’s just that our view of it does. We know that the two will go through the same things any romantic couple goes through. There will be fun times, sad times, angry times, happy times. Maybe they won’t make it past a second date. Maybe they’ll grow old together. Maybe they’ll marry each other, madly in love, at 20, then get divorced by the time they’re 30. These are the interesting stories that we are not privy to. Instead, we were served just the things leading up to it. And not even the good stuff like when they used to be just friends, but that magical, most boring moment in between, when nothing of interest happened.

In Conclusion: Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda

While watching the aforementioned conversation atop the tower in the final episode, I thought back to the first 2 episodes and regretted the potential that had been wasted. Already, with so little time remaining, I knew that things couldn’t end well (I was hoping for a 10-years-later segment like in the first arc, at least, but we didn’t even get that). There was content in here to make a genuinely entertaining romance story. One that was both funny and emotional. The rooftop conversation at the start of episode 6 was a breath of fresh air in its mature handling of romantic emotions in anime. Kaoru was fun without being fake. That conversation at the top of the tower would have made for a very good climax to any other story about middle/high school friends becoming lovers. There just needed to be more leading up to it. They needed to have been together a bit longer. Junichi and Kaoru were afraid of getting together. It’s telling that the final episode was titled Development and started with their friends forcing them together. All that’s fine and natural, especially given their preexisting relationship, but when that takes over the entire story, you end up with one very boring story. Or rather, a very boring portion of a story. And that’s the portion we got to see.

We’ve had 2 full story arcs now, enough to get a semblance of a feel for what to expect. I’m most surprised by how different the two arcs were. Haruka’s was back-heavy with almost all the content dumped into the last 1.5 episodes. Kaoru’s suffered from the exact opposite problem. Haruka’s fetish kiss was a hilarious disaster that proved to be a core part of the arc’s downfall, while Kaoru’s was barely a speed bump and actually kind of fun. What both stories had in common were that they both ended abruptly with a first date on Christmas Eve (though Haruka’s was kind enough to provide us with an epilogue), with all the good stuff of a romantic relationship left to our imagination.

Going forward – and I do intend to stick with this show all the way to the bloody end – I fear that that is exactly how every story will end. That this show will be all about the build up with no release. The first date is aptly named because it is the first of something. It is the start of something interesting. Certainly, the lead up to that can be entertaining – countless harem anime are proof of this – but when the curtain falls just as things get good, it just leaves a bad taste in your mouth. Amagami SS has nothing up its sleeve besides the core romance story between Junichi and whichever heroine it is focusing on at the time. The comedy is banal and passable at best. The 4 episode limit per heroine leaves no time for other developments. It is with that romance story that this show lives and dies, and the show simply can’t afford to keep messing it up. A continuation of this ending pattern is a surefire way to guarantee failure.