Spring 2013 Anime Season: First Impressions

Spring 2013 Anime Season

The spring season is in full swing, and with that we get a gaggle of new anime. And I will look at as many as I can and judge them with a discerning eye. Or at the very least say what I like and don’t like. Here are my first impressions of the spring 2013 anime season. 

 Date A Live- This show might turn out to be more legit then I thought. We start the series with a catastrophic event the killed over 100 million people, and then 30 years later we meet our main character, the average high school student/ main character in any harem anime. He has a little sister who is far too attached to him, and vice verse, he is also far too attached to her. Also in this world there are spacequakes, disastrous events that no one knows the cause of. On the first day of a new school term, the main character promises to meet with his little sister at a family restaurant, but a spacequake hits the city, so he runs to save her, discovering that the cause of these spacequakes is a woman with immense powers, being attacked by a secret organization trying to stop the spacequakes. They recruit the main character in order to enact their master plan, to have a generic, average, high school student make the woman causing the spacequakes fall in love with him, so that she will no longer kill people. This show starts out entirely too stereotypical, having little sister fan service, creating the harem that the main would be interacting with, and then turns it all upside down. It is honestly interesting. If they make the series too fanservicy, too stereotypically harem anime like, then I will probably drop it, but if they continue it as kind of a parody of fanservice type show, I might keep up with it. It will probably suck at the end of the day, but let’s hope that I wrong and it is a fun ride.

Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge- A young man has an extreme fetish for cutting hair, so bad that he carries a special pair of scissors with him at all times.  He meets a girl with long, luscious hair that it turns out is cursed, and cannot be cut. Her curse extends to apparently killing all those close to her, so she is a watched over by two people from an organization, and are accused of being descendents of murders, and holders of special Killing Tools. It turns out that the young man is also one of these people, albeit unknown to her, with his murder scissors finally cuts the girls hair. And probably creams his pants doing so. This show is not what expected. When I first heard the synopsis I thought it was going to be a derpy, funny crime drama with the main character getting all hot and bothered every other episode over hair. Instead I got something that mirrored the creepiness of Mysterious Girlfriend X at first, and then mirrored the creepiness of Future Diaries by the end. This might be an interesting show, creepy, but interesting. I look forward for more of it.

Photo Kano- In simple terms, a romantic comedy harem show about a dude with a camera. He will take pictures of women; they will fall in love with him, and fanservice. What is interesting about this show is that it is obviously a fanservice driven romance, but it walks like a shojo romance, at least for parts of it. The girls are obviously suppose to titillate, but the pacing a colors and just the feel of the show reminds me of more female driven romance shows. It is soft spoken, but still speaking about boobs ultimately. I will at least watch the second episode, they left it at such a cliff hanger that I am actually interested, but I will probably drop it if it is just more of the same.

Hataraku Maou-sama! - In a standard fantasy world the Devil King has almost conquered the world, but a hero arises to strike him down. But before the final strike can be blown, the Devil King flees though a dimensional hole with his right hand man, and ends up in our world looking like your average Japanese dudes. They must preserve their magic, for they have no means of gaining more in our world, and live life until they are able to return home. This includes finding a house, getting documentation, and ultimately getting a job, in this case, at a McDonalds. And it is hilarious. This is honestly just a really funny show about the Devil becoming really domesticated, working happily at McDonalds, and hoping for a raise. It is a very well done fish out of water story, without boringly going over all the same jokes and stories that other fish out of water stories go though. I really can’t wait to watch more of this show, it looks like it will be a high light this season.

My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU- This isn’t the actual name of the show, but the actual name is 8 words long and basically translates to this anyway, and this is what some sub groups are calling it also. The show follows a misanthropic, nihilistic youth who has decided that life sucks, people suck, and people who think that youth is the time of their life really suck. I think it is because he sucks with women, he is almost the stereotypical nice guy who believes that girls are friend zoning him and all that bullshit. For being such a stick in the mud, his teacher assigns him to a club with only one member, a girl who is smart, attractive, and is basically the archetypal popular girl. She made this club to help people, because she believes that everyone can overcome their own weaknesses and become better people. She is basically Medaka from Medaka Box except kind of a bitch. Together they are going to help people with their problems and argue. I kind of like this show. So far everyone in it, with the exception of the first person they help, who I think is joining them, is a complete douchebag. The guy is a douche, the girl is a douche, the one teacher is a douche, and I really like it. The characters are all so stuck up their own asses that I think they will eventually just get over it a grow as people. I kind of want to follow this one, I have hope for it.

Ginga Kikoutai Majestic Prince- In the future a space colony is being attacked by aliens, and in order to evacuate the base they need 5 teenagers with attitude. Cut to those five young mecha pilots, floundering in a non-lethal sortie and getting yelled at by their principle. But all of a sudden these five youths are called into action and have to use the latest technology to save the space colony and defeat the evil aliens! What makes this show interesting are the five youths. They are all given a certain amount of personality that allow them to be deeper than most mecha pilots in the first episode, and the scenes where they just talk to each other really work. But what makes this show good is the twist half way through the episode. The entire first half they are setting up one of the five to be their leader. He is in the for front of most of the scenes, he is in the center or in the front of all their group shots, and he is completely the type of character who doesn’t want to be the leader but will take up the mantel if need be. And then they pull the rug out from under you by having someone else, a guy who likes to draw and make jokes, their leader. And he does a magnificent job! I am really interested in the characters of this show. The mecha fights are nice, but the strong suit of this show is all character based. I am looking forward to this show.

Namiuchigiwa no Muromi-san- A boy who likes to fish one day accidently catches a mermaid. Hilarity ensues. Seriously there is not a lot to say about this show. From the first episode alone, this show looks like it is just about a dude who fishes and hangs out with a mermaid who is really strange. To be fair, it is really funny at times. The entire scene where the mermaid is being attacked by jellyfish, and is actually getting off on it, is actually funny. Or the times when she is attacked by seagulls, which was hilarious. Or even the final joke of the episode, which I really don’t want to spoil. It is all just funny, just strangely funny. I think I will keep up with it for the time being, even if it is only for the lulz, as the kids say. Also, even if you don’t want to watch this show, watch the opening, it is incredible.

Zettai Bouei Leviathan- This show is about three girls who are all powerful in different ways in some fantasy world. You have the flame mage, the water mage, and the girl who is super strong. Together they will do… something; I am not sure yet, maybe fight evil. The first episode does a great job of introducing these characters, each has a strong personality that is interesting and it will be nice to see how they meld together. But there is little to no story yet. They are setting up some early plot points that might lead to a story, but as of the first episode there is really none. But I have hope for this show. As long as it gets an actual plot, I think I will like this show. The characters seem interesting, the world is magical, and the comedy was really funny. Actually, on the world a bit, it looks like it is taken straight out of an RPG, with an inn and a weapon shop, and an armor shop, it is actually really interesting. I look forward to more of this show.

Haiyore! Nyaruko-san W- The second season of the Cthulhu girls anime is here and I couldn’t be happier. The first epside we got a plethora of Kamen Rider references, including a wonderfully meta reference to AKB48 though the AKB48 reference they made in the Kamen Rider W Forever A to Z Gaia Memory of Fate movie. That is just little crazy, and that is why I love this series. I look forward to another season of strange love triangles references that only a few people get.

Arata Kangatari- In the real world there is a kid, named Arata, who is bullied and has no friends and wants to just disappear. In a fantasy world there is a kid, named Arata, who is witness to a revolution and murder of a princess, and accused of being the one who murdered her. He runs into a mystical forest and apparently switches with each other, though no one can tell the difference even though they look nothing alike. We, at least for the first episode, follow the real world Arata as he has to figure out what is going on and get over his trust issues and stop whining. I am not what you call a fan of this show. I love a good story where a dude from our world ends up in a fantasy world; they can be fun, dramatic, even really touching. But this is just boring. I honestly had to push myself to finish the first episode. I am going to drop it, it wasn’t fun and the main characters are just unlikable for me. It is not a show for me.

Mushibugyou- In feudal Japan, in the city of Edo, there is an infestation of giant monster bugs that prey on the innocent. The government has created a task force of strong people to take care of this problem. The newest addition is a young man from out of town. He wants to be a strong samurai like his father, and protect all those he sees, but he still has a ways to go. I like Mushibugyou, it has some really good visuals, the characters seem interesting, and the world seems heavily realistic with enough fantasy elements through in to make it interesting, but not so much that it is just straight up fantasy. I admit, I have a soft spot for shows like this, with enough realism mixed with just enough fantasy. I am really looking forward to this show; it looks like it will turn into a really fun show.

Yuyushiki- The moe comedy series of the season. This one is about three girls who go to high school together who all fall into the archetypal moe anime stereotypes that exist.  There is the one who tries to be wacky and comes off more annoying, the rich girl who is tired all the time and a bit of a space case, and the straight man, in this case girl, who makes you wonder why she hangs out with these two idiots. They join a computer club and talk about things while making, or trying to make, jokes. When I first heard about this show I thought it was going to be one of those micro series that last 4 minutes and have 3 jokes. And if it was that type of show I would love it. This show would be perfect as a micro series, about these girls in their club looking up random stuff on the internet and reacting to stuff. But with its length and just how stereotypical it is, it is just boring. I am going to drop it, it is not for me this season.

Aiura- You know how I was wishing that Yuyushiki was a micro series? Aiura is a moe micro series about three high school girls, and crabs for some reason. That has yet to be explained, but I have hopes. I actually really liked the first episode, it was simple but I wanted to follow the character a bit more, and I really liked the spicy food joke, it wasn’t over blown and because of that it got a good chuckle out of me. If the series was full length it might get boring or annoying, but with it as a micro series I think it will be cool.  

Kakumeiki Valrave- A mecha series that takes place in the future, where mankind has the Dyson Sphere. The Dyson Sphere, for all you non-SF junkies out there, is a scientific concept where a civilization builds this dome, or something similar, around a sun in order to harness nearly 100% of its power. People can live on the outside of the shell, with the inside protecting them. The problem is that for any civilization to have the technology in order to do this, they would almost certainly be far enough advanced that they wouldn’t need to make one. It is a paradox, but a good SF concept. In this future there are global factions, (global being the best word to describe their set up at the moment) and relative peace, at least that is what it looked like. We follow a high school student who is mostly spineless until they get attacked by space Germans and the main character finds a secret mecha and fights with it. There is a lot more to it but I honestly don’t want to spoil it. This show is for someone, the visuals are top notch, the SF is great, there are some legitimate twists, and even some tear jerker moments. But I am not really feeling it. It might be the high school setting, it might be the main character, I don’t know. But I will at least watch the second episode to see if I change my mind. Also the last maybe three minutes are amazing to watch, and really darkly funny.

Toaru Kagaku no Railgun S- I like the Index/ Railgun series a lot. I like the world that it takes place in, I love some of the characters, and I love the themes that are present in the series. While I prefer Index over Railgun, I still like Railgun, and its second season has me interested. So far they intoruded a new character, who I look forward to the investable fight with, and I think we will be continuing some of the overall story of the universe, using characters from Index like Accelerator and such. And we have already had a short cameo of my favorite character, Touma that man with the unlucky hand. I look forward to this season, I think it will be good.

Uta no Prince-sama – Maji Love 2000%- A friend introduced me to the first season of this show, and in short it  really fun but not especially good. The series is a reverse harem about a girl who wants to write songs and goes to a school where you are trained to either sing and dance or write music, and by the end you have to partner up with someone of the opposite talent. But instead of finding one person she wants to write for and make into a famous idol, she finds 6. And they are all in love with her… “music”. They aren’t allowed to date her because dating is prohibited at the school. By the end, they form a boy band and she basically gets the harem ending writing for them all. The second season starts with the boy band and their writer joining the schools equivalent to a graduate program, a place to help new idols get a hang of the ropes of the business. It is more of the same, but they introduced 4 new characters, older Idols who will become mentors to the younger idols. And the 6 will apparently, if the new ending theme is anything to go by, be joined by the cat boy. Did I forget to mention that there is a cat boy? There is a cat that is also apparently a guy who is also in love with the main character. He will be joining the boy band and singing along with them. Highlights of the first episode include the Principle, who is the greatest character, and the new ending theme, which has 1000% more awkward hip thrusting then their previous one. This show is ridicules, but I have such a fun time with it I can’t help but love watching it. I look forward to more hip thrusts and cat on girl romance.

Suisei no Gargantia- It’s the future again, a phrase I will never get tired of saying, and humanity has long left earth, going to the stars to colonize the universe. But there is a monster type thing/aliens that are super powerful and humanity must fight it, with cool robots with talking AI’s that if were in English I would assume would have an English accent. The mecha fight was really cool, and it paints a very militaristic scope of our future, where soldiers are trained since an incredibly young age to fight the enemy. And then our relatively young main character gets separated from his squad and, well, you have to watch it. I really can’t say with certainty about how good Gargantia will turn out to be, but its first episode alone set up a very interesting premise that I want them to explore. I am a little excited for this show, and I have high hopes for it.

Sparrow’s Hotel- A micro series about the goings on in a hotel. There is a girl who is a ninja, kind of, and loves the hotel and will protect it with the best of her abilities. She also has large boobs. That is all there is to it. There are better micro series out there; I know I am skipping this one.

So there we go, my first thoughts on the first episodes that I have seen this season. There is a decent amount more, but time has currently restrained me to only these shows. What are you gonna do? There seems to be at least some really fun shows this season, and I can’t wait until we get to the meat of some of these stories. So until next time, have fun watching.