Final Thoughts: Spring 2012

                                               Final Thoughts: Spring 2012

Well it is the end of the Spring2012 anime season, and man was there a lot of shows this season. Lets get the ones that are still going on out of way first so we can get to the good parts. Accel World, the virtual fighting game anime with a pudgy main character, is doing alright. It’s nothing really special, but it is decent, and the fighting is pretty good. The main character is completely getting on my nerves though. He is spineless and depressing and has so little confidence that I find it hard for him to be a main character. But the first season ended with a pretty good bang and a promise for some interesting conflict next season. Knight in the Area is getting really boring. I liked it at first, but it is starting to get a bit to unrealistic for me. I mean, if they were throwing out super moves right form the beginning, I feel it would be better somehow. But now they main character is calling up the spirit of his dead brother to play, and it just feels oddly forced. That and half the characters are starting to get really creepy about the dead brother. But I will stick to it for a while yet. I think the real problem is that I watched Giant Killing, a truly good soccer anime. Hunter X Hunter is sticking to the manga, and this is working well for it. And they are finally starting to get to the Yorknew arc, the arc that I consider the arc where the story really started. I look forward to watching more. Phi Brian: Kami no Puzzle 2 is an odd beast. I love the concept of Phi Brain, and the characters are fun. But when it gets serious or way too into the plot, it becomes uninteresting. I feel I said this before but I think this show would be better with a more shonen anime structure with the plot becoming something more of an over arching story and less of an episode to episode thing. I still like it, but I am starting to see more problems with it. Poyopoyo, on the other hand, has been consistently one of the best shows I’ve been watching. Every episode is funny, the characters are interesting, and it just keeps being good. It is a fun little 3 minutes that I look forward to every week. Polar Bear’s Café has also been a consistently funny show. It is just a pun filled, strange, yet relaxing show that I find hard to get tired of. It is the one show that I watch to just relax. My only complaint is that they keep changing he ending theme. In one season they changed it three times. But that is seriously a minor complaint. Sket Dance seems to becoming a bit more serious. It is still silly and like Gintama in every way except vulgarity, but it seems to be leaning more into a romantic side that high school anime seem to go. It is still far from a harem anime, and the they way they are doing it seems natural, so I have no real complaints. My hope is that the show stays true to its odd jobs/ helping people origin, but still go ahead with the romantic subplots they are setting up. Toriko is over the top, really dumb at times, and I still love it. There is not much to say about the show. They are still hunting food, the powers are still incredibly ridiculous, and the characters are getting stranger and stranger. But it is still just as good as when it began. But man is it a stupid show. Unlike Space Brothers, which is one of more interesting shows this season. I said before the I really identify with the character, and fell like this still stands. But outside of that, the journey of a man trying to become an astronaut has been of the most intriguing plots this season. I like that we are still learning about characters who might be selected to go into space. I like that we are moving forward with the process, and that everything about the process just seem real. Yes it’s a bit into the future, but the process the main character is going through just seems like what real astronaut would have to go through. It is that realism, with the perspective of the main character, that makes this show so good. And that’s what I am currently watching. Lets go on to the stuff that just finished. These are my final thoughts of the shows that ended this season.

Recorder to Randoseru- For show that was only one joke, well that’s about it, it was a show with only one joke. But I will give it this, they made the joke last until right before they ended the show. If Recorder went on to a 3rd season, then it would just start to drag itself down and I admit I would I have dropped it. But it ended just at the right time. I would recommend it for anyone who likes those short 4koma style anime. I can see it getting annoying for some after a while, again one joke, but it is worth at least a look.

Mouretsu Pirates- I was pleasantly surprised by the second half of Bodacious Space Pirates. Again, it is not perfect, but it is fun. The show created a world that it never needed to fully explain, and because of this it allows the characters to explore it. Again, for me the characters where what counted in this one. Marika and her crew we all great characters. You felt for them, you knew there interests, and you routed for them in times of crises. If I had to complain about something, it would be the ending. It just didn’t feel like a real ending, and more like the whole “promise for another season that might never come” ending. And the final arc just felt like any other arc. There was nothing that showed the high intensity ending, where the Captain uses everything she has learned over this series to defeat the new and strange enemy. If you want to get technical, that is what they did, but I was hoping for something more, something I had thought they were foreshadowing. But that is my personal interpretation, and the show itself is good enough that you can completely overlook this minor faults, especially if they get a second season. I would highly recommend Bodacious Space Pirates if you are looking for a fun spacey action show.

Naruto SD: Rock Lee no Seishun Full-Power Ninden- I had to drop this one for two reasons. The first was just for time. But the second was that I swore something when this show first began. I swore I would keep watching this show as long as Neji was in a dress in every episode. And unfortunately there was an episode that I did not see Neji in a dress. It was a shame, but I had to drop it. If you like stupid comedy, which I do sometimes, and if you are fan of the Naruto characters and world, which I am, then I highly recommend it. If not, like if you like smart comedy and consider yourself more a Bleach person, then you should find something different.

Upotte!!- I didn’t regret watching this show. I loved Upotte. It was dumb, it was filled with moe, sex jokes, randomly occurring lesbianism, country wise “Hetalia” type jokes, random unnecessary fan service,  but for some reason I loved it. And it wasn’t so bad it’s good either. There is just some sort of stupid smiling happiness that the show has that I like. It is confident in its ridiculous premise. It is happy to be a show about girls who are guns. And it really shows. Oddly enough the show is only 10 episodes long. And I wanted more. I wanted to see more of the lovably fragile Eru, the over the top American Ichiroku, the intelligent and accurate Shigu, and the main character Funco. And every single side character the show offers up also. I loved Upotte!! I shouldn’t like Upotte, but I do. And as another plus, I learned stuff about guns! I know nothing about guns, I don’t care to know anything about guns, but I actually learned stuff about guns and history. I really want this show to get a second season, god help me.

Kuroko no Basuke- I can’t tell if Kuroko’s Basketball is becoming more of a super powered action sports show, like Prince of Tennis, or if it is trying to stay realistic. Well, it’s not trying to be realistic, I can see that much. The five great players with super special, yet super specific abilities work well in a next boss kind of way, I can’t tell if it will make for a good basketball anime. PoT can do it because every match is one on one. Basketball is a team sport. But it seems that they are doing a good job of fleshing out the enemy teams, at least enough that they aren’t just faceless opponents for the main characters to stomp all over. I do like the characters however. The main two do make a good duo, and I like the type of character Kuroko is. When it comes down to it, I like Kuroko’s Basketball. I also realize that, mid typing this, that this show should be in the “shows I am still watching section”, but I am the dumb, so it is here for now.

Tasogare Otome x Amnesia- I actually dropped this one mid season. It was boring, and I just stopped caring about it. I really liked the initial concept, but it just couldn’t keep my attention. I don’t even remember much about it, except for what they did in the initial episode, and a lot of inappropriate groping. It might be better if I watch it later, all at once, but for now, it was dropped.

Acchi Kocchi- I originally though I would like this show for it’s main heroin, who was not the usual tsundere. But it was her love interest that ended up stealing the show. He became this completely cool character who would accidentally spout those cool guy lines that no one can pull off, except he would pull them off. And he would do this accidentally, just trying to act nice. Like how Tsumiki, the heroin was a bit of a subversion of the standard moe, I felt Io, the love interest, was a really good subversion of that main lead in every romantic comedy. He is oblivious to love, he doesn’t realize that every women wants in his pants, but unlike those characters, he isn’t spineless and flat. He is interesting, a nice, and just a cool character. I really liked Acchi Kocchi. I feel I would like it better if it accentually ended, if Tsumiki actually admitted her feeling or if Io at least realized her feelings for him, but it had the standard non-ending, maybe a second season on the horizon, type ending. But I still really like Acchi Kocchi, and I recommend it.

Haiyore! Nyaruko-san- It seems that every season there is a show that I didn’t watch right away, but on the insisting of a friend I try it out. And I end up likening that show. This time it was Nyaruko-san. Nyaruko-san is basically about various dieties and monsters from the Cthulhu mythos, being reinterpreted as cute high school girls. Except for Hastur who is a boy. Except Hastur still looks like a girl. And is in the main characters harem. You see, the show follows Mahiro, an average guy who wants to live an average life, until he is randomly attacked by a starng emonster and is saved by a cute girl, who is really Nyarlathotep, the creepying chaos. And she is head over heals in love with Mahiro. Other characters include Cthuko, a fire diety who is in lesbian with Nyarko, Hastur, a boy who wants to have Mahiro’s babies, Mahiro’s mother, who is a demon hunter on the side, and many, many others. The shows strength is in its parody and reference based humor. Every episdoe had some sort of reference to other anime, popular tokusatsu, and Japanese culture. And it is always awesome. There is something just purely funny about a moe anime girl doing Kamen Rider OOO’s henshin pose, or saying Momotarous’ catch phrase, or calling an attack from Prince of Tennis. It is what makes this show. The story’s do get a bit predictable, there are about 4-5 arcs within the show, but they are all funny. This is just a fun, silly show, and I can totally recommend it. You might not get all of the references that occur, but the ones you do are well worth it.

Medaka Box- I actually found out a bit of a spoiler about Medaka Box, which completely changes how I looked at the show. Luckily for me I found out the kind of spoiler after I had finished the show. You see, Medaka Box started out as a student council, helping people show. Then it turned into an over the top fighting battle story. And then it turned into a parody of over the top battle stories. And that is really too bad. I liked the show when it was all about helping people, meeting strange knew characters, and showing Medaka as some, heavenly construct. I liked watching the other members of the student council assemble and interact. I got bored when Medaka went all God of war and nearly killed a student. But, when all is said and done, if Medaka Box gets another season, I will watch it. Because I like the characters, I like student council aspect, and I hope that it some how, even in a minor way, stays true to its student council helping people beginnings.

Kimi to Boku 2- Oh god this show got boring. The first season was simple, but nice. This season just got duller and duller and duller, until I decided to finally drop it. I mean, I just stopped caring about it.

Zetrman- I actually felt bad about this, but I dropped Zetman. I honestly didn’t care about anyone in this show, except for one girl with braces whose name I never cared to learn. But every single character was just boring, and dull, and god I just didn’t car about them. It started out looking like a commentary on dual interpretations on what it means to be a hero. Instead we got dull fighting with people I didn’t care about. God I wish this show was better.

Sakamichi no Apollon- This was one of the best shows this season, hands down. It was dramatic and soft, it was heartfelt and honest, and I loved it. The biggest complaint I have about this show is that it didn’t focus too much on the music. But I mean that it didn’t actually show the characters playing as a band enough. But that is such a minor complaint, because while they don’t actually play the music, jazz and blues are intricately tied in to what the characters are experiencing in their lives. They are feeling the sadness and solitude that is conveyed in the blues, they are feeling the joy and spirit of up beat big band jazz, and so much more. This show gets into you, and you want there to be a happy ending, you want the characters to just play jazz forever, and even if they don’t it is so satisfying. If you don’t like drama, or series shows, this is not the show for you, but seriously, you should watch this show. God is it good.

Tsuritama- Kids on the Slope was one of the best shows this season, but Tsuritama, is the best, or at least my favorite, show this season. Oh god was it good. Tsuritama, in the first episode, promised that by the end of the show the world will be saved by the power of fishing. And they lived up to that promise. They saved the world, with fishing! And it was glorious. Seriously, this show just so much heart to it. Kids on the Slope’s drama can get a bit much for some, I can completely see that. But Tsuritama never gets tiring, at least for me. The characters were all well written and went through believable and interesting character arcs. The story was interesting, and while crazy, was all the more fun for it. The art was colorful and bright and the comedy was near spot on. I completely recommend this show. Enoshima Bowl!

 Nazo no Kanojo X- Wow this show was weird. I mean, there was just so much drool. But it was good. I liked watching this odd blossoming romance between and idiot and a strange girl. The main lead was a bit of a spineless idiot at times, the female lead was a bit too out there at times, but they worked, for some reason. It is still a mature, yet romanticized look at the natural growing sexuality of young teenagers, but it seemed to become a bit more cliché at times from that initial starting point. Overall I did like this show. It is a good romantic story, but it does get boring at times. Really, it is just ok.

AKB0048- I didn’t talk bout this show either in my original first impressions post. That was because it started about 5 weeks after all the other anime did. The show is about an guerilla idol group in the future, where many places have outlawed entertainment, like idols. AKB0048 fights for the freedom for moe girls to dance and sing to their hearts content. Oh, and there is also mech fights with those whoa re trying to stop this idol group. This show is amazing in its ridiculousness. It is insanely over the top and it is fantastic. I’m not an idol fan by any means, I don’t follow the drama behind the real AKB48 or anything like that, so I don’t really know who the real inspiration behind these characters are. But I am really likening this show. The songs aren’t bad, the action is surprisingly good, and the drama is understandable and realistic with the confines of the show. And there is apparently this whole mystical spiritual thing, involving the soul of a true idol which is completely dumb, but makes perfect sense for the show as a whole. Also, there are fans of the idols who have mini glow stick missiles and cars that transform into mechs and wear badass long coats and they are insanely awesome. I recommend this crazy show. But it isn’t over, so it might become worse later on.

So that was the spring anime season. It was fun. Look forward to my First Impressions post on the summer 2012 anime season, coming soon, But, until next time, have fun watching.