And I’m back with the second half of my first impressions post covering the other 11 12 new anime series of the spring season that I’ve watched. Sure, most every other blog has already completed their first impressions weeks ago but with the late start to Hyouka and AKB0048, I’m only fashionably late .

Living on the Edge

Sometimes it’s very difficult to accurately decide if an anime should be dropped or not based on the first few episodes and that makes my inner-Chiri (from SZS) come out – I want these anime series to take responsibility for their quality level and properly separate themselves. Luckily for the animators of these series, I live an ocean away from them or I might be inclined to help persuade them to declare their intentions so I wouldn’t have to watch the entire show .

Natsuiro Kiseki

Rating for episodes 1 to 5 – 7/12  B

I’ve actually enjoyed Natsuiro Kiseki a fair amount so far, even though it feels like an inferior Hanasaku Iroha because it has one thing truly going for it – a magic wish-granting stone with a sense of humor. And therein lies the problem. If the magic rock continues to grant the wishes in random, interesting and absurd ways then I’ll gladly keep watching; however, the moment this rock loses it’s trolling heart is the moment this anime becomes a chore to watch.

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Polar Bear Cafe

Rating for episodes 1 to 5 – 6/12  B-

Polar Bear Cafe features, shockingly, a polar bear that runs a cafe but that’s just the backdrop for our main character, who is a panda and happens to work part-time at the zoo as a panda. Don’tcha love anime . I picked up Polar Bear Cafe more out of curiosity then a desire to see a polar bear run a cafe. I was curious to see if the animators could create a compelling anime once the whole wow-that-cafe-is-run-by-a-polar-bear reaction grew stale and now I’m stuck. Polar Bear Cafe is only marginally funny at times; which would be okay if the characters were interesting but they’re not. The best one of the bunch is the llama played by Daisuke Ono who no one ever pays attention to in the zoo but, sadly, he’s only a minor character. Throw in the animation quality well below average and I think the only real reason I’ll continue watching; until the characters, comedy, and story decide to go one way or the other; is because I like the opening song/animation.

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AKB0048

Rating for episodes 1 to 2 – 8/12  B+

I almost put AKB0048 into the next category of series, which is a better group to belong too, but I have serious reservations about how this anime will unfold. I love the idea of a guerrilla idol group that will infiltrate oppressive regimes so they can give a concert. It’s the right mix of ballsy bravado and absurdity that I love to see in anime but, oftentimes with anime such as this, the creators only tepidly embrace the premise and the anime bogs down in it’s own mediocrity. If the creators push AKB0048’s story and plotting to it’s maximum silly, absurd glory – like the people behind Aquarion EVOL and Phi Brain did – then this will be a fun anime to watch. Will they or not remains to be seen.

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Guilty Pleasures

Amidst all the quality and not-so-quality anime this season there’s a few series that I’ve enjoyed well beyond what I probably should have. Compare them to the high-quality, excellent series of the season like Sakamichi no Apollon or the new Lupin series and it’s impossible to explain why these series rank so high on my list of series I can’t wait to see the next episode of but I guess that’s why they’re called guilty pleasures.

Upotte!!

Rating for episodes 1 to 5 – 9/12  A-

I will not pretend for even a second that Upotte is a quality series or that it will ever get lauded as a great example of the high artistic merit that’s possible in anime but at this point I don’t really care. Upotte has been genuinely entertaining and is, by a long shot, the funniest anime series of this season. It’s first episode even contained my favorite joke of this season and, even though, explaining a joke makes it automatically not funny, I want to share. It was when the main characters decided to film a little introduction for their new teacher and, as it got to Sixteen (an American M16A4), it was said that she speaks with an Osakan accent for no real reason. This reminded me of how the Osakan dialect is oftentimes dubbed into Southern-accented English because both carry a similar connotation by the speakers of the main dialect in each country and I couldn’t stop laughing.

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Mysterious Girlfriend X

Rating for episodes 1 to 5 – 9/12  A-

At it’s core Mysterious Girlfriend X is a fairly typical anime but the addition of said girlfriend having strangely super-powered drool and a significant contrarian’s outlook to life has made this anime a unique experience. Take the drool out and I’m not sure there’s much to distinguish it (for now, the characters still have the room to become interesting characters and if the anime can capitalize on it’s Arakawa Under the Bridge vibe then it won’t necessarily need the drool). Though, the especially perceptive viewers might argue that the characters having noses is the most unique aspect to this anime .

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Phi Brain: Kami no Puzzle 2

Rating for episodes 1 to 5 – 10/12  A

I give up; I can’t do it anymore. I’m sick of trying to hide that I’ve come to really enjoy Phi Brain. I started watching the first season as a lark and was sure that I’d drop it after a few episodes because I saw no chance for success with a shounen series that was about a high school boy that battles a mysterious organization through puzzle solving. I gave Phi Brain a fair shot and I haven’t stopped watching it yet. Sure, it hasn’t lost that – yeah, it’s a really dumb premise – but there’s several genuinely interesting characters and story moves along at a brisk pace and the plot makes intelligent use of the characters and the premise. I ended the first season with a couple gripes but Sunrise must have a mind-reader on staff because they have addressed those exact gripes in the second season. Compared to Hunter x Hunter, Phi Brain has turned out to be the better shounen series.

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The Heavy Hitters

They have the money. They have the talent. They have the ambition. And they have left the entire anime fandom all atwitter in their wake as a result.

Eureka Seven Ao

Rating for episodes 1 to 4 – 10/12  A

I watched the original Eureka Seven early in my timeline as an anime fan which might have clouded my ability to properly judge it but I found Eureka Seven to be disappointing. It had good build-up and great animation but as the series lurched to the end I found it unraveling, much like Bones’ first Full Metal Alchemist series, and completely ruined by a poorly handled ending. This cemented a personal belief/theory that Bones is incapable of making a decent ending to their series and since then there’s been numerous series that further prove this belief/theory. As a result, I was in the complete opposite mindset as most fans of the original series apparently were – I couldn’t wait to see Eureka Seven Ao because the first half of the series was going to be awesome. Of course the second half will probably follow Bones’ MO and fall apart but that was a worry for next season . And so far I’ve been properly impressed. The animation has been some of Bones’ best work in years and the story, with it’s political backdrop, is interesting and the characters have been very solid. One couldn’t ask for more from Eureka Seven Ao. If this ends well then I’ve already decided to give Eureka Seven a second try.

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Tsuritama

Rating for episodes 1 to 4 – 10/12  A

A year ago the noitaminA animation block was airing a Kenji Nakamura directed series called C – The Money of Soul and Possibility Control and it was a mixed experience. It had a number of very interesting and thought-provoking questions that it wanted the viewer to think about but this enticing nugget was wrapped in an anime that suffered from time constraints, unharmonious animation, and uneven story-telling. Ultimately, I was happy that I watched it but felt it was an opportunity lost. Now a year later Kenji Nakamura is back with another series for the noitaminA animation block and it appears that this one will be a winner. Animation duties have been shifted to A-1 Pictures, a young studio that’s already created many excellent series, and it’s beautiful to look at. The story feels like it’ll fit into the episodes allotted it and it’s being told in a much better manner. The only complaint that could possibly be laid at it’s feet is that Tsuritama lacks the big ideas of C but I don’t see the point of trying to squeeze a series that needs at least 2 cour (minimum) to be properly told into 11 episodes.

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Sakamichi no Apollon

Rating for episodes 1 to 4 – 12/12  Perfect

What I most love about Sakamichi no Apollon or Kids on the Slope is that I can just relax when watching it. We, the viewers, are in the hands of masters. I don’t have to worry if the ending will stink or if the pacing will feel rushed or if story will fizzle or will the animation get dodgy or will the characters get treated like walking clichés that need to adhere to certain stereotypes or will individual parts of the show like the soundtrack work against it. I know I’m not the only person that’s already mentally placing this anime at the top (or very near it) of their 2012 best anime list. I hope Kids on the Slope sells a million DVD/Blu-Ray discs because every time a great anime sells a bunch that helps pave the way for more great anime and because it’ll help the animation studio MAPPA, which is a new spin-off from Madhouse. Masao Maruyama, one of the original co-founders of Madhouse, started MAPPA as a means to animate those oddball, high quality anime series that Madhouse was known for like Kaiba, Blue Literature (Aoi Bangaku), The Tatami Galaxy, and Rainbow. Masao Maruyama has also said that MAPPA will finish Satoshi Kon’s final movie that he was unable to finish before his untimely passing but they don’t currently have the funding to do so. A financially successful series or two should allow MAPPA to find that funding.

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Lupin the Third: Mine Fujiko to Iu Onna

Rating for episodes 1 to 5 – 11/12  A+

I was super excited that Lupin was finally getting a new series and that it wasn’t going to be merely a continuation of the bland, halfhearted TV specials and movies. I was also worried that this new crop of creators and seiyuu wouldn’t be able to do justice to a Lupin series. Basically, the same thing every fan of a particular work feels when it’s revisited by it’s creator(s) or gets adapted. Turns out, I shouldn’t have bothered worrying; they knew what they were doing. I particularly like that this series is set as the Lupin “origin story” because this allows new viewers a point of entry into the Lupin franchise and because it gives preexisting fans the chance to learn more about their favorite characters and gives them something new to see. Now, if only they don’t muff the ending, more Lupin series might be forthcoming.

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Hyouka

Rating for episodes 1 to 3 – 10.5/12  Strong A

When Nichijou aired last year I remember saying that, no matter how it did financially, Nichijou was a success for Kyoto Animation because it allowed the animators room to experiment with different animation styles and that would improve the overall quality of KyoAni’s work and would help prevent them from stagnating like other formerly top quality animation studios (cough, J.C. Staff, cough). I didn’t think I’d be proven correct so quickly but here we are; Hyouka seems set to claim a large share of the attention (and yen signs), even in this incredibly awesome anime season, partially because of it’s spiced-up animation style. I’m kinda surprised that I’ve enjoyed Hyouka as much as I have, though. Normally, I find myself not really caring for mystery series because the answer to the mystery in a mystery series is always vaguely disappointing and why get into a book or show if it’s going to end in disappointment? Maybe it’s how the early little mysteries have been handled that makes me willing to invest in caring about what has happened to the Uncle or maybe there’s enough other stuff to Hyouka that has made Hyouka so interesting.

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Someone’s Been Reading My Brain

Get out of my mind Randall! Sorry, I just had a XKCD moment.

Several months ago Ghostlightning at We Remember Love wrote a post about the anime he would make if he was given the keys to an animation studio and a blank check. His creation was exceptionally brilliant and something I’d love to see. At the end he asked others what they would make and I’ve been kicking the idea around. Little did I know that I shouldn’t have bothered because Uchuu Kyoudai aka Space Bros is probably as close to my ultimate anime as is humanly possible.

Space Bros

I wear a Stetson now. Stetsons are cool.

Rating for episodes 1 to 6 – 12/12  Perfect

After voicing Tiger from Tiger and Bunny and now voicing the main character for Space Bros Japan should just pass a law proclaiming that each year at least one high quality anime is made which features Hiroaki Hirata voicing a middle-aged male character. He’s just that great. The only question I have left for this anime is how much of the story are we going to get to see and will it ever be revealed if the two brothers actually saw an alien as kids.

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And apparently I felt like rambling well over my target of 1500 words. Sorry, I’ll try to write a few short entries to balance it out .

For everything that happened in Star Driver’s hectic finale, the episode pretty much focused on two tried and true anime themes, youth and friendship, and in that order. Though there were a few things that made me question how the series was written, the copious amounts of action, the levels of character growth, not to mention the background music made the conclusion to Star Driver a satisfying one that clearly does NOT need a sequel.

Least Important Part of This Episode

First, the plot. Couldn’t say that I was a fan of the revelation that Keito was so childish in the last episode (though I mean, that Karaoke segment several episodes back made it pretty clear), but I thought all of that  really helped make the differentiation between all of the different sets of characters and their emotional state. I mean, by this time, you would have had to be blind not to see what, in general, Head was after, and thus the revelation that he wanted to end time and relive the past over and over again really wasn’t all that out of place with his character, even if it was just thrown in. And again, it would have been hard not see that Takuto was meant to be the complete opposite of his father, as he blindly ventured into the King’s Pillar to save Wako.

While that was all interesting I suppose, I thought that the real soul of the episode was the scene with all of the member of the Glittering Crux regaining their marks. Yeah, it was an interesting fight, but I thought that Simone’s monologue about how they were all too early in trying to move forward by defeating Takuto was really well done. What’s more, I loved how only certain characters were able to regain their marks (though I have to question where Mami is), and how others didn’t. Looking back on the series as a whole, it seems like almost all the other Glittering Crux Brigade members tried to defeat Takuto on several different occasions (see Vanishing Age). Perhaps, this end of series revelation was some sort of reward to those who realized that they had to wait to grow and become their true selves, before they could face the challenges ahead (by the way, totally called it back in Episode 2).

In a way the same thing happened to the main trio, but with the added friendship element thrown in. Ever since the play episode, it seemed like we had been waiting to see what, if anything, Sugata would do to change his situation, and in the end he wasn’t really going to do anything, just like Ryousuke. So when there was that moment between Wako and Takuto , who eventually then broke Wako’s seal, you could really see the difference between Sugata and Ryousuke; the differing strength of their friendships. What made that scene even more impactful, even putting aside the fact that the souls libidos of everyone at earth were at stake, was the huge shift in the dynamic between the three. I mean, you pretty much had Takuto making a move at Wako, which finally caused Sugata to do something. Though Sugata was eventually defeated, I thought that that last line or two by Takuto in which he mentioned that this would be the last time they would see this beautiful sky, but that they would one day see another even more beautiful suggests to me that both are ready to get rid of their masks/become their true selves (I’ve been watching Kare Kano recently, so…).

They really do mention Masks too often in anime. Still, if it works.

That in mind, some might lament not being able to see some sort of epilogue. Now while there may eventually be one, I don’t think it is really needed, nor do we want to see it. Clearly, Wako is one of the most indecisive people on the face of the earth, so Takuto and Sugata are probably going to pull out all of the tricks needed to win her heart, which will eventually cause rifts in their friendship. Though you know they would eventually all work it out and see an even more beautiful sky, we really wouldn’t want to watch that show, especially without Cybodies. Further, how the hell would the world react to the Cybodies, or more to the point, how would Takuto and Sugata get back to Earth.

Let the Real Game Begin

Still, this episode didn’t redeem the series completely. The biggest complaint I had was that Ryousuke really didn’t do anything in this or any episode. Was his purpose only to comment and observe the goings on of Takuto and Sugata, and to provide some sort of anchor to compare against other characters? There seems like there was a lot that could have been expanded upon in regards to his character.  There was also the aliens, things that might have or might not have happened in the past, or events elsewhere in the world, but I suppose that really never mattered (like LOST), plus I have to save some stuff for my series review (next week).

Overall, it was quite the finale that really used the emotional build up of its characters quite well, even if it took a bit too long, but somewhat failed to deliver on the larger main story that had been the focus of many of the questions out there. Though I guess what we thought was the main story really never was.

This post is mostly in sparked by Tsuki over at the Emory Anime Club.  In his post on this episode, he brings up how he doesn’t like Victorique’s increasing dependence on Kujo.  I can understand.  I think some of us want to have a strong female lead that can take care of herself.  However, I think her dependence is natural and her actions logical given the situation.  I figured using Tsuki’s thoughts would be a good springboard to explore Victorique’s personality.

Let's face it, she still the most interesting character here.

First, let’s tackle the fear aspect of her character.  One place she showed fear was around Ned Baxter, when he “died.”  You can note two important things about this outburst.  First, when Kujo came over to her, she immediately changed her composure and assumed control of the situation.  That isn’t the behavior of someone who is scared for her own wellbeing  Second, as AmberFebruary points out over at MAL, her outburst prevents Kujo from checking Ned’s neck for a pulse.  The tennis ball only stops the pulse to one arm, so the trick offers an obvious place to check: the wrist.  It worked really well on the kids, because they probably wouldn’t think to check elsewhere.  Kujo did.  Had he examined further, he would have learned Ned was still alive, and they all could have been in danger, as they were unarmed.

What’s more perplexing is her behavior when confronted by Maurice.  When he pulls a gun on the party, Julie and Ned react with shock.  Kujo, while a little more reserved, still has a change of complexion.  Victorique just stares at him.  In fact, the only reaction she even has is to call Maurice a fool when he finishes his little speech.  What you can see here is wildly inconsistent behavior.  It doesn’t make sense for her to show no sign of fear with a gun pointed at her head while trembling at other times.  At the very least, I don’t think she fears for herself or her own mortality.  Does she fear something else?

Your bullets cannot harm me!

In this episode, we find out a very important aspect of Victorique’s past.  She’s the bastard daughter of a woman who’s considered dangerous by the government.  As a result, she’s lived a life of isolation.  Studies have shown isolation can increase a person’s cognitive state, and sure enough, she has a strong, deductive mind.   Living in a library allows her to harvest even more knowledge.  However, it also leaves her at a bit of a disadvantage.  It’s likely she rarely, if ever, had seen the outside world before their little adventure.  All the book learning in the world won’t fully prepare you for the real world.  This is why she reacts with such wonder to the world around her.  She has a bit of a dependence on Kujo here, because he actually has experience.  He’s also her only route out of the library.

Isolation has another price tag, though, and the payment is quite steep.  Most humans have a need for some kind of social interaction.  We want companionship.  Her life has blessed her with an incredibly sharp mind, but it has also cursed her with loneliness.  She doesn’t mention having any friends.  In her position, I doubt her family would have wanted her to interact with anyone.  This makes Kujo a very important person in her life.  He is likely her first real friend.  Given this, it’s no small wonder that the genuine fear she shows is not for herself, but for Kujo.  When Kujo carries her across the water, she’s realized he’s willing to place himself in harm’s way.  When Ned was playing dead, she was afraid he’d attack her friend.  When the boy decided to fight alone, she feared he might die.  How would you feel if you lost your only friend?

Myself? I certainly don’t want to think about it.

Surprise, surprise, the Queen Berry is a setup.  Upon boarding the ship, they eat a drugged meal and all fall unconscious.  Panic ensues, most of the people on board end up killing themselves by proxy, and we’re left with five people.  Finally, we learn what happened on the Queen Berry a decade ago when it went missing.  A group of people invited eleven children on board, with the intention of playing a kind of game, one that would determine their survival.

Stuff it!

The game is multiplayer, with each player individually playing against every other player.  Each player can select one of two options, either trust or betrayal.  If both players trust each other, then both players will survive.  If one chooses betrayal, then he survives while his opponent dies.  If both choose to betray, then either one or both of them die.  From a game perspective, the last case’s outcome would be chosen at random.  When a player dies, everyone reevaluates their selections.  In the situation on the Queen Berry, 11 players exist.  This means there are 55 individual competitions going on from the start.

You might say, “But Rakuen, the obvious solution is for everyone to trust each other.  Then everyone survives!”  You would be right, if it were really so simple.  For this reason, the organizers introduce a disrupting event: someone dies.  Two problems are immediately apparent.  First, all of these children are from different countries and speak different languages, making communication difficult.  Second, when someone dies, guess what?  Yep, everyone might change their minds.  Maybe one of their companions is the killer.  As long as one person chooses betrayal toward any other person, the game will continue in a vicious cycle.

There are three ways for the game to end.  The first two are rather boring base cases.  Once you’re left with two people, one person can betray the other, winning the game.  Alternatively, both could choose to betray, ending with one or neither of them alive.  A far more interesting solution exists though.  If at any point in the game, everyone chooses to trust everyone else, the game ends barring another disruption.  Everyone remaining survives.  This could be any number of people, from two to all ten.  I think everyone has their own ideas for who survived.  Instead, let’s briefly reason why it happened in the first place.

What's behind door number two?

Simply put, the game works as a social experiment.  It had two goals in mind.  First, it wanted to see who, if any, of the children would cooperate despite all the confusion.  A very simple method exists for generating mutual trust: save someone from death.  The person in danger is probably not dangerous, and the savior is probably not a killer.  Second, if anyone survived, what would they try to do with the lives they had “earned”?  Well, they would probably decide to take vengeance on the ones who turned their lives into a game.  Several social experiments in the early and mid-1900’s involved children as well, so using them isn’t terribly out of the ordinary.

For those of you keeping score at home, there’s two mystery references in this episode.  First, the original situation on the Queen Berry mirrors Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None.  In both stories, a number of people are invited to a deserted area and setup to die.  However, in Christie’s work, one person orchestrated the deaths of all the others.  Second, Victorique’s ability to identify wine is similar to Sherlock Holmes’ ability to identify soil by the same means.

Let's have a toast, to me!

I have to say that Star Driver is beginning to have me question why I watch it. At some moments the show delivers kick but action scene after scene, but it increasingly seems to be borrowing frame rate lessons from Evangelion at other moments, though I guess if you’re a fan of two bishies panting for what seems like an eternity this is probably right up your alley. More on point though, this series is moving at quite the breakneck pace, what with fish girl (and her awesome battle song) leaving after only a third of the series is complete. Suffice it to say no one really knows where this thing is headed, but then again, did anyone ever really?

=(

Starting with episode 7, it seems like Mami was in reality nothing more than a one timer meant to induce Sugata into unleashing his King’s Pillar in the previous episode, though I guess you never know for sure. I mean the way Takuto completely ignored her during their fight, only to defeat her in an instant was surprising as it was awesome. That said though, it does seem like the series is breaking away from its established routine given that neither Mami or Benio were shown giving up their badges after their defeats. Speaking of breaking from the routine, what was more unexpected than the sudden departure of fish girl? Sure, I didn’t know what the hell she was talking about half the time, and I’ll definitely miss Monochrome every time Takuto summons Tauburn, but I guess the adventure of life must go on.

As most people have surmised, I also think that the bus scene featuring Wako, fish girl, Keito, and the newly introduced Mizuno has some sort of special significance, with the most likely scenario being that the four are the four shrine maidens on the island. While it certainly surprising to see a member of both the Midnight Flight and the Glittering Star as maidens (if that is indeed the case), it is certainly going to make for some interesting storylines, especially for Keito. I mean, as a member of the Glittering Stars, it seems that she may be one of the keys to unlocking either any phase or a phase after Wako’s. It will be interesting to see if other members of the Brigade already know this, or what will happen to Keito should they find out. Perhaps, she will be forced to change sides in the future.

I just like this shot.

But the most pressing matter on my mind is who will Head have replace fish girl, so that he won’t be bored before bed time. If he does need some sort of replacement, as it seems he does if the Glittering Stars are to move on to the next phase, who will he choose. Regardless of whether he chooses someone to be in his birdcage, I would like a little back-story as to how fish girl ended up in that birdcage in the first place (plus a whole lot of other things). If he does manage to “capture” another girl, I’d imagine the process wouldn’t be that different that fish girls, so that would also suffice as a pseudo back story, I suppose.

The series continues to expand on the use of the first phase, both in and out of zero time. I thought it was quite brilliant of Benio to come up with the idea of using her First Phase ability in zero time after kissing Sugata in the previous episode, even if she failed on the execution. However, I fail to see where the already introduced first phases (by my count there are four of them thus far: Kanako, Benio, Mami, and Midori, though if there are more let me know) will have any pivotal impact on the plot, unless perhaps they have enormous side effects as episode 7 hinted at. The last thing this series needs to do introduce new first phases right before using them at a critical junction, as that would be pretty cheap.

Though I’ve mentioned how I thought some characters were far less important than they initially appeared, Mami for instance and perhaps Kanako, it almost goes without saying that there are likely many characters that may be more important than I would have initially guessed. For example, it seemed like Sarina had a thing for Takuto during their conversation about Wako in episode 7. Perhaps, she may play a more important role as the series progresses, and who knows, if she does like Takuto and he doesn’t reciprocate the feelings, or even notice her, Sarina may join the Glittering Star. It wouldn’t be unlike a teenager to completely switch her group of friends over a boy because as we know by now, the adventure of life must go on.

I guess this post wouldn’t be complete without some mention of Sugata’s short lived fit from being slapped by Takuto. I guess if anything, this means that Sugata truly values bros before h*es, as he was able to overcome the power of Benio’s kiss, and do who knows what with Takuto in zero time. I’m a guy, and that seemed way too dramatic for any resolution to any disagreement I’ve ever had. That said, I suppose the overall concept of the idea was good especially considering Wako was at the center of it, but the execution again was poor. And what happens now? I mean, Sugata can apparently summon his Cybuddy in zero time now, so is that going to mean we are going to see Takuto and Sugata versus all comers, though tag team battles would be pretty cool. That sort of development would sort of mesh with the whole adventure of life goes on thing, but I don’t really know if it would work.

What is this guy's role?

Regardless, the next episode or two will tell us what the departure of fish girl means. Will the series enter some sort of second phase ala Utena and the Black rose arc, or will it squander its good foundation with too many unanswered questions?

This close to a zero time wardrobe malfunction

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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?

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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.

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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.

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To Aru Majutsu no Index II

Almost 30 episodes in and Index finally used the fact that she knows 100K+ "prohibited" books.

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.

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Yosuga no Sora

the skits at the end are pretty funny

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.)

Though by now we should be expecting a different level of insanity from this series, Star Driver just took it up a notch. Craziness aside, this episode was able to tell a real interesting story that fit well within the context of the bigger issue.

To go any further in this post without talking about how awesome Midori Okamoto is would be a crime. She is epicness personified. Then again, a lot of the female characters in this series could possess that title. Anyway, I can’t really understand why the school’s headmaster lets her get away with having posters of bishounens in her office, but whatever. Despite the silly premise, you could really see how upset she was about not being able to get with anyone from the male student body, especially after seeing Kanako. While that was all really easy to see, I loved how the one student who had ignored her when she was under its effects, came right back to her office after Takuto defeated her. I guess it goes almost without saying that there really is someone for everyone, so you shouldn’t try to be someone that you’re not (the whole teacher X student thing aside). But to get back on track, that last scene was LOL.

I hate to use the word cougar as she isn't that old, but you get the point

Then there was that fight with Takuto. She could have easily defeated him. As an adult she clearly knew every trick in the younger generation’s proverbial bag of tricks, which the precognition machine showed, but that wasn’t enough (On an aside, did anyone else get Bismarck Waldstein vibes when she used the precognition machine). Instead of seeing Takuto defeated, we witnessed one the most satisfying, but yet unsatisfying conclusions to a battle this side of ever. While I guess it is plausible you could have guessed as to why Midori would eventually lose, there is no way you could have seen the inclusion of a bishie mode camera. As great as that was, the reaction of Takuto and Keito during the battle were just as hilarious. Then there was the way Keito didn’t really seem that upset with Midori after the battle, but seemed to agree with Midori that there was nothing wrong with the way she lost, even if was hilarious.

Seriously?

As for the rest of this episode, there were a lot of great moments. The conversation the drama club had about the letters from Midori’s alter ego, Hina, and the resulting reactions were interesting to say the least, but it also let us know that just as much focus is being put into the school/comedy scenes as is being put into the still great looking action scenes. Plus, the entire conversation utilized a level of frankness that I don’t really see too much in anime, and it’s nice to see people trying new things every once in a while (I’m still waiting for my moving walkways). This, again, almost goes without saying, but I loved that he was going to do her, of course line.

Looking ahead, it would seem like the volcano to the north is going to play some sort of role in the future as it would seem that some first phases may have the power to mess with the space-time continuum. Just uttering the words “space-time continuum” reminds me of the movie Dude, where’s my Car, but I guess that isn’t the worst thing in the world. Also of note was how liberal Keito was in her usage of the Kiraboshi hand signal when she wanted to identify Midori as a member of the Glittering Crux Brigade. I mean what if Midori wasn’t who she thought she was, how embarrassed would you be making that sign to a normal person? Apparently, this also means that Keito couldn’t completely identify Midori as a member, which seems a bit odd given that only her face is covered, but I’ll allow it.

One final thing is that it seems a lot of people have been comparing this series to Revolutionary Girl Utena. To be honest, I had never even though about watching it until this series came out, but I’ve been semi marathoning it recently, though at the expense of my midterms. Perhaps the biggest comparison I’ve seen is how everyone is complaining about all the reused battle footage Star Driver has used, and how that has reminded some people of Utena. I really don’t have a problem with this sort of trick in either series, as the point of the show isn’t to show us the battle, but it’s to show us why they fight. There are some other similarities between the two I guess, but I’ll hold off for now since I’m not quite done.

Really?

If I had to take one thing from this episode to store in my memory, it would be the message on the chalkboard during the episode’s opening segments which suggested that we should all enjoy our adolescence. In reality, this show is likely going to throw way too many things at us and we probably won’t understand what is going on half the time or ever get answers. Instead, we should just accept these things as they are, and move on, like life. Thus, I am more than prepared to watch this show for 25 episodes, despite having every fiber in my being tell me this show will have some sort of Angel Beats like conclusion. And while in the end it may all be pointless, I’m still going to focus on the minutia of this series even if I am occasionally wrong, because what is life without a little whimsy.

Those legs.

One thing that many people have discussed about this episode is the scene with the leg crossings and the weird perspectives from which they were animated. I actually enjoyed this scene, and I would imagine that these brigade meetings will continue to employ some interesting techniques throughout the series. With all that said, I, in my usual style, am going to focus on what may in the end be something that turns out to be completely insignificant, and thus analyze the leg crossing habits of Mrs. Watanabe, who is hands down my favorite character of the new season.

During the Brigade meeting, Kanako was the only female member who didn’t have a scene featuring her crossing her legs, as she was instead featured bending her leg up upon her chair. That’s not to say she is unable to cross her legs, as she did so rather seductively at times during the pool scene. This observation alone isn’t enough for me to draw any conclusions, as who the hell ever contemplates why women do or don’t cross their legs. However, I will say that of the characters from the Brigade who have received more than one episode’s worth of notable screen time thus far (Watanabe and Shinada), Kanako seems to place far less importance on who will lead the brigade, and the brigade as a whole, than her counterparts.

That’s obviously easy for her to do, given that she has vast sums of money at her disposal, but it also seems that she is the only character, other than Takuto, who has referenced going to or being from the outside world. She seems especially interested in Takuto, maybe for that reason, going so far as to stay on the island after his defeat of this episode’s sacrificial lamb. Also of note, although only with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, was the possibility that Kanako gave some sort of advice to Takuto in his first fight with Takashi, offering the motivation of double pay for Takuto should he win, which Takuto did seem to give some thought to. Obviously, I’m linking this to the revelation later in the episode that Takuto is a dual blade wieldier, and this theory does have some holes in it, given that Kanako did seem a bit surprised, but also somewhat interested, in this revelation. Given the ancient anime ploy of sitting romantically involved characters together in the back of the class near a window, it would seem that this relationship is something we should keep our eyes on.

I thought that this was a pretty cool shot

As for Takuto, the outcome of his fight with Takashi was never really in question, but it didn’t come as easily as the victory in episode two. In fact, it seems that over the course of these first three episodes, the fights for Takuto have gotten progressively more challenging. I know that isn’t much of an observation, and many other series feature progressively harder fights for the protagonist. However, Star Driver seems to differ, in that Takuto’s vanquished foes seem to be taking their losses progressively better, as this post kind of pointed out. It would seem to stand to reason then, that it is only a matter of time before the Glittering Crux Brigade catches up to and eventually defeats Takuto. Then again, Takuto seems to be employing the “I possess whatever power you have times infinity” strategy that has been successfully employed by children in playgrounds the world over for decades, so who knows.

Taking the loss well

The one thing I am hoping for the most in this series at the moment is that an upcoming episode will feature Takuto having a battle with a woman. While there have been some subtle differences between the three crux members who have been defeated thus far, I would really like to see how Takuto responds to fighting a woman, and how a woman would handle defeat. At the very least, it may open up the story for some new possibilities. Any thoughts on the finer points of leg crossing would also be helpful.

I love doing these seasonal awards but I have to admit to feeling a weight falling off my shoulders now that I’m about to finish. But let’s not terry, it’s time to countdown anime.

4 – Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood

At the beginning of FMA:B there was no mention of it animating the whole manga (or that the manga was ending) so I kept wondering how Bones would finish the show without repeating the debacle that was the first Full Metal Alchemist. I figured there was a good chance at another poor ending since so many of their otherwise great shows end so terribly. Prior to the Spring season this wondering became worrying and started to intrude upon how much I enjoyed the show. I was relieved when it became known that the manga was ending and Bones was on-track to animate the ending.

I breathed a big sigh of relief; not only did I not have to worry about the ending, getting the manga ending promised to see Full Metal Alchemist go out with a bang.

Which ended up happening, gloriously so. And I even loved how they managed to make the ending completely satisfying while leaving themselves with an angle for a sequel (which I really, really hope they do).

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3 – The Tatami Galaxy

When I found out about The Tatami Galaxy, I was giddy because it was being directed by Masaaki Yuasa who’s last series was Kaiba, my pick for the top anime of 2008. I tried to keep the giddiness in check since sky high expectations often only result in disappointment but I was only partially successfully. Good thing for me that The Tatami Galaxy was able to beat my high expectations. It had the interesting animation style that hid how well-animated it was animation that I expected. It had the intellectually interesting premise while not forgetting to have good characters, solid character development and an entertaining story that I expected as well. It had that unique quality to it that set it apart from everything else even while reminding me of so many other books and shows vibe that I expected from an accomplished master of storytelling like Masaaki Yuasa.

I also expected that The Tatami Galaxy would be largely unwatched by people like Kaiba was but that turned out not to be the case. It was shown (as many people know) on the TV block Noitamina in Japan which has earned a fan following around the globe for it’s consist high-quality anime programing. This pushed many people to give the show a shot and, in a not very shocking to me turn-of-events, they liked it. Now, I hope the popularity of The Tatami Galaxy will spill over to Masaaki Yuasa’s other works and get people watching them as well (hint, hint go watch Kaiba ).

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2 – Rainbow – Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin

In the rush of trying to catch all the new shows at the start of a new season, invariably, there’s a few that I miss. During the spring season one of those shows that I intended to catch was Rainbow because Madhouse was animating but it somehow slipped through the cracks. Several weeks later, after the dust had settled some, I looked around at the various blogs to see which shows I missed and if t
hey were worth sampling. There wasn’t much coverage of Rainbow and most of what there was considered the show way too melodramatic to be any good. Star-Crossed had a more positive outlook about the show so I decided to give it a shot.

And I’m glad I did, Rainbow is an awesome show.

I had a moment of cognitive dissonance when I started watching Rainbow; I kept waiting for the absurd, over-the-top drama and waiting and thinking that surely I was watching some other show then everyone else. The moment passed and I realized that I was watching the same show but I got it. Granted, I was maybe more ready to watch Rainbow then some. I had just finished reading Samurai! and it touched on the brutal hardships faced by many after the war and how the war disrupted the basic fabric of Japanese society. Which fit well with what I learned of the time period from reading and from anime like Millennium Actress, Magical Arcade Abenobashi and Natsu no Arashi. I think the portrayal of the time period is accurate and anything less would be a fanciful fantasy that would paint over the despair and grittiness of the time period.

If I had to pick an anime to compare Rainbow to, I’d pick Gurren Lagann. The two share many of the same qualities that made Gurren Lagann more then just a dumb movie with giant robots. For starters there’s the single-mindedness of our main characters to overcome the perceived wrongs of their world with hard work and self-determination and the help of their friends. And let’s not forget that society is often a poor judge of people as both anime remind us as well as the hardships of trying to be a hero. Rainbow and Gurren Lagann also show the power, beauty, and majesty of a courageous person which always warms my heart to see.

It’s comes juuusst a bit short of the top spot but if it can continue on this same level over the summer season, it might just be snagging the top spot. Before moving on there’s another similarity the two anime shared that I want to mention. It was how both far surpassed what I imagined the end point of the anime to be. For Gurren Lagann, I thought it was going to end with the defeat of the Spiral King and for Rainbow, I thought it was going to end with the kids getting out of prison. I know I wasn’t the only person who thought this of Rainbow and it sounded like it might have kept some from giving Rainbow a chance which is why I wanted to mention it.

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1 – Arakawa Under the Bridge

Inching ever so slightly ahead of everyone else this season is Arakawa Under the Bridge. When Shinbou and Shaft get it right, they really get it right; not only was this my top show of the season, it was the one I would most look forward to between episodes.

It’s perfect. That’s the only word that feels right when describing why this show deserves to place in front of so many other fine shows but it’s not terribly descriptive. It’s perfect in the same way that the perfect way to end the day is eating your favorite ice-cream, on the beach, listening to the waves lap at your feet, as you watch a spectacular sunset with family and friends. Which is still not very descriptive but will have to do.

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So there it is. I finished the spring awards just in time to start considering the summer seasonal awards . I’d like to thank all the people that read my 5000+ word review of the Spring 2010 season; I hope you enjoyed it and maybe discovered an anime or two that you want to watch now.

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Spring 2010 Awards Part 1: Cast and Character Awards
Spring 2010 Awards Part 2: Genre and Misfit Awards
Spring 2010 Awards Part 3: VMA Awards
Spring 2010 Awards: Top 8 Anime – #8 – #5

Stan Lee has been responsible for a bevy of awesome superheroes and growing up I watched and liked the cartoon adaptations of his X-Men and Spiderman franchises. So, the fact that this anime is based on a comic that Stan Lee started serializing in the Japanese manga magazine Monthly Shounen Gangan was enough to make me interested and then I heard that Bones was doing the adaptation. This made it even more interesting to me because they’re one of the top animation studios in terms of quality animation and they are well acquainted with making an action anime series with Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood being but the latest example. Did this fusion of trans-pacific talent yield a shining new hero, as I hope, or will Heroman turn out to be just a Loserman?

Rating for episodes 1 to 5 – 3/12  D
Anticipation Level: 0.5/5  Very Low

The Story

Set in a smog-free copy of Los Angeles, dubbed Center City, our protagonist is Joey Jones – an androgynous, back-boneless middle school boy – who gets picked on by an All-American beefcake of a guy, Will, because Will’s younger sister is a cheerleader who’s into weak, androgynous, back-boneless boys. Luckily for Joey’s health his best friend, Psy, can protect him from Will. Watching the first episode it was obvious that something about Psy unnerved Will; though, I’m not sure if it’s the crazy hairdo or because Psy was obviously picked to be the token minority character or because Psy was also picked to be the token handicapped character or all three.

One day Joey finds a broken Heybo robot, the hot new toy from Japan, and decides to fix it up because he really wanted one but is too poor to even think about buying one. After he gets it repaired something very unexpected happens, it gets hit by lightning and the toy robot can now transform into a life-sized robot with superpowers and only Joey can control him. This is pretty cool and Joey thinks so too but, before Joey can start contemplating what he should do with this robot, aliens show up to take over the world and it quickly apparent that the world needs Heroman to save it.

The Fine Print

I really, really wanted to like this but no level of wanting is enough to plaster over it’s many faults. If it was a total failure, I wouldn’t feel so disappointed but there are parts to the show I do like. There’s the animation; it’s your typical high-quality Bones effort. I love the design of Heroman, it makes him look so cool and his red-white-blue paint job tickles the patriotic part of my brain. I also love the setting for the show; Center City is obviously an American city and it feels refreshingly different from the standard Japanese city setting that’s the default in anime. (I’m not saying I expect Japanese anime to be set in America but the difference is a nice change of pace.) Not all the characters are annoying; strangely, I like Will the bully and find little fault in him trying to keep Joey away from his younger sister. There’s also the Professor, Psy (who would have made a better main character), and my favorite, Joey’s grandma.

As I see it, there are two big problems with this show that combined sink any chance of this show succeeding. The first problem is the choice of enemies for Heroman to fight. An alien invasion is just too vast of a enemy for a single super-powered hero to fight so the aliens have to be unbelievably gimped to give Heroman a chance. There can’t be too many aliens to fight, especially since Heroman isn’t that super-powered compared to the aliens, so the aliens only bring one lousy ship to invade an entire planet with. If this is the summit of alien war planning, they’d’ve been wiped out by other aliens long before coming to bother Earth. Nor can the aliens be too effective in their destruction of Center City and presumably the world, so after shocking us with their amazing disintegrating rays they follow up with … wait for it – giant marbles. Seriously. The only way to make this a winnable contest for Heroman is to let the aliens fight with maybe 5% of their capability and that’s no fun to watch. The obvious answer to this was to pick a smaller threat for Heroman and Joey to fight.

The other major problem to Heroman is the complexity of the show. It’s very, very simple and shallow and the characters are so brain-numbingly one dimensional. If this was the first time I saw something by Stan Lee, I’d think he was a second rate hack that must of blackmailed someone important to get this anime made. Luckily for me, it’s not and I’m well aware of his earlier and much better work. It’s so below the typical quality of anime, especially for a Bones show, that I’d be tempted to say it was made as if it was for the American market but I’ve watched plenty of quality superhero series over here so I know it’s seriously under-performing even for an American market show.

And saying it’s a kids show so it’s supposed to be simple is not a valid excuse. The makers of Gurren Lagann said it was meant for kids and it’s one of my favorite anime of all-time. There’s also Kemono no Souja Erin, it’s also a kid’s show and it displayed no lack of depth and complexity and is one of my top titles of 2009. There’s also Studio Ghibli movies like Miyazaki’s My Neighbor Totoro, meant for kids but is every bit as good from an adult standpoint. Looking closer to home, Pixar films are kids shows that adults love and cherish as well; I seriously thought UP deserved to win best picture last year and I’m so excited about seeing Toy Story 3 when it comes out this June. And a look at comics, even if one just restricts themselves to other Stan Lee comics, shows that Heroman fails to even come close to the depth and complexity that’s pretty standard in comics.

I could go on but this show really isn’t worth wasting any more of my time. Heroman becomes the first and, so far, only spring anime that I’m dropping.

It does seem like someone was thinking about Gainax shows while working on Heroman.

Ditto

Ditto