Final Thoughts: Summer 2012

Final Thoughts: Summer 2012

Summer has come and gone and I am back in school. This must mean the summer anime season has ended, and it is time to look back at all I’ve watched. First of course are the shows that are still going on. Hunter X Hunter is doing an excellent job of interpreting and using the material from the manga, and we are getting some great fights from it. I really can’t wait to see the Greed Island arc, it will be awesome. Poyopoyo is still going strong, and you have to love that round cat. Polar Bear’s Café is also still going on, but it is starting to outstay it’s welcome. I fully expected this show to just end this season, but no, it will continue on. I will probably still keep up with it, but I have no clue for how long. Sword Art Online is entering its second half, and the first half was really enjoyable. I loved the MMO humor, and the world they created is very well done. I look forward to the second half. Toriko is still as enjoyable as ever. As a simple shonen action show, it does it’s job perfectly and I will keep up with it for a while. Space Brothers is also continuing. We are starting to get to some of the major NASA and JAXA parts, and I will continue to look forward to this show every week. And that’s what is continuing to air. Lets move on to the main dish proper. These are my final thoughts on the shows that ended this season.


Accel World- Looking back at my first impressions of Accel World I feel kind of bad for past me. He had no clue what he got himself into. The best summation of Accel World is frustrating. Every bit of it is just pure frustration. The main character, who like many I have started calling Porky, is incredibly depressing, self-depreciating, and just boring. He is a character with less self confidence then Shinji, with a harem about the same size as his. He is everything about the underdog nerd character without any of the substance. When the military nerd from High School of the Dead is a better written character then you, you have some major problems. Porky is just a whiny emo kid who just wants attention. Unfortunately, he is the main character, so I have to put up with his bull. And then there is the game itself. They introduced the incarnate system, which is basically a way of cheating and breaking the game to do whatever you want. But since the game is all about mentality and stuff, I let it go. It was a bit clever, though the things they did with the idea, like refueling a jetpack just because you believe the jet back had fuel, were incredibly dumb. And then we found out what happens to you if you loose at Accel world. In the final episode. But I will get back to that in a moment, because I have to talk about Nomi. Nomi was the villain for the end of the show. He was a bully, arrogant, despicable, honorless, and the only character I hated more then Porky. He was sneaking onto the games servers by using a back door he created with a brain chip with the game installed on to. This was a big plot point, that ultimately felt under whelmed. Now he looses the game and all of his boost points, after stealing Porky’s wings and doing other incredibly douchy things. And the next time Porky sees him in school, he doesn’t remember anything about Accel World or Porky or anything. Now, when Nomi lost, someone mentioned that the chip in his brain would dissolve into his brain liquids. I though this was to show how dangerous those brain chips were, and how they can cause brain damage and memory loss. But that is not what happened. No, instead, when you loose at Accel World, the game uninstalls, and all your memories of the game are deleted…somehow. THAT SOUNDS DANGOUROUS. I mean, if I were to play a game, I would like to know that I am at risk for severe brain damage. And they tell us this on the FINAL EPISODE. I was watching this show for 24 episodes thinking there was no consequences to loosing this game, outside of not playing it again. There were moments where I was wondering why Porky, in his moments of infinite emo-ness, didn’t just uninstall the game and go back to being his pathetic old self. And the worst part is, he didn’t even know! And apparently only a few know that when you loose the game, you loose brain cells. How messed up of a game is it when the players have to fear a lobotomy if they lose! God  this show frustrates me. And when they inevitably announce a second season, I will probably watch it. It has good side and background characters, the world is interesting, if really dumb at times, and the fighting is great. I just hate the main character and the game itself, which is most of the show. GAH!

Arcana Famiglia- Oh god, I finish one rant, and now I have to go on another. Well, to be fair, Arcana is not actually bad. It just promises something, barely delivers on that promise, and then is mostly just  pretty average, to really boring. The major plot of Arcana, the whole tournament to decided who will be the next head of the family, isn’t even shown until the final episode. Every episode I was waiting for this god damn tournament, a good one with a gaggle of interesting characters with interesting powers, and each fight we would learn more about the characters and their history, and it never happened. Instead we got a bunch of episodes exploring the characters, or having them derp around, and never really learning about the world and their powers and stuff. And there powers really needed an explanation. Hell even they don’t know how they work most of the time. I mean they give a vague explanation, and I would have loved to actually watch an episode or two that goes into the explanation of where the cards came from, and how the Mondo got his hands on them. But no, we get a five minute explanation and then more derp. I honestly think that if they hadn’t mentioned the tournament in the first episode, and this was more of a character piece that developed the characters a bit better, this could have been a great show. But no, the show was just boring at the end of the day. It wasn’t god awful, but it was pretty dull.

Knight in the Area- I feel kind of bad about this show. I started out really liking it, but then I watched Giant Killing, and I started to not like it so much. I’ve already gone into detail about this in my Giant Killing review, so I won’t say much about the subject. Knight in the Area had a lot init that I really liked. The side characters were great, if under utilized, and the soccer, while getting close to early Prince of Tennis at times, was usually down to earth and realistic. The show itself had a few to many faults for me though. They focused a bit to much on other, less important parts, taking away from what we should have been watching. The Nadeshiko Japan sections were usually a waste of time. I would love to watch a show where the international Japanese female soccer team plays, but that is not what Knight in the Area was about. And the whole worshiping of the main characters older brother was getting creepy at times. They toned it down towards the end, but still. Also, the love triangle they were teasing at the whole time was completely unneeded. And really, the show just didn’t have any heart to it. I mean, I wanted the main team to win at the end of the day, but I never felt like cheering for them. Giant Killing made me a supporter of East Tokyo United. Knight in the Area just never connected that way for me. If and when it has a second season, I will probably watch it. But for now, it is over.

Bimbougami Ga!- God this show was brilliant at times. Not all the time mind you, but when it was, it was hilarious. I enjoyed Bimbougami ga. It was honestly funny. The reference humor was usually spot on, with a special note going to the everyone turning into Fist of the North Star gag and the excellent Death Note gag. What really sold me on this show though were the sadder, softer moments. Ichiko had some great moments, and I felt actually grew as a character, despite her best interests. She is a sad little girl who just wants friends, and she is moving past this. And when that wasn’t the main focus, Momiji was just stealing the show. I swear, the god of poverty was the best character in this whole show. I loved Bimbougami ga, and I am really hoping for a second season.

Chouyaku Hyakuninissha: Uta Koi- The love poems form the collection of Hundred poems, as seen in Chihayafuru (which is getting a second season, color me excited) was great. The love stories were usually tragic and sad, with a few truly happy moments sprinkled in. unfortunately there is not a lot of substance there. I mean, each poem, and the story behind its meaning and its creation, was really interesting. But at the end of the day there was not much there. Just a few scattered stories, some great stories, but still. I completely recommend this show, but it is a show I can see people either getting board with or just not digging. Also, it is super depressing at time. I mean, I think there were like four or five times I was just yelling at my screen, telling the characters to just be together and be happy. But love doesn’t always work out. Sad but true.

Humanity has Declined- Best show of the season, hands down. Every episode was a beautiful critique at humanity and the world around us, leading to some great realization by the audience no less. The characters were interesting and engaging, and there was a time travel episode. What more could a boy ask for!  Honestly, this show was fantastic. It’s bright colors and wonderful animation against the legitimately depressing idea of the decline of humanity were wonderful. The short stories that made up the series were all wonderful. While there were a few that were less then perfect, they didn’t, or more accurately, couldn’t bog down this show. If I had any hope for humanity as a whole, I would say this show will become a classic. It was just fun and beautiful and smart. And the fairies were brilliant, becoming darkly comedic at times. It was just a great show.

Kuroko no Basket- Kuroko no Basket was a surprisingly good show. For me, it was the better of the two sports anime this season, and I have to attest this to the characters. While Knight in the Area didn’t have bad characters and characterization, Kuroko’s Basketball just did a better job. The shows characters were engaging and interesting, and just popped. Everything they did made me want to watch more of the show. The Generation of Miracles especially exemplified this. Every one of the six members we got to meet were interesting and fun characters, who I enjoyed. Even Aomine, who is a complete dick, is a character I kind of love to hate. And the basketball is pretty good too. They do go a bit Prince of Tennis nonsense with the Generation and Kagami, but most of it is at least grounded in reality, if exaggerated for those 7. My only worry is for the future of the show. I really hope it gets a second season, but even if does, the end goal of the series is vague. It is to beat the Generation, but then what? Just keep playing more basketball? I mean that kind of works, but it means more powerful and powerful challengers will have to come out of the woodwork, and I fear with it’s high popularity Kuroko will become the next Prince of Tennis. But we will have to wait and see.

Moyashimon Returns- I really had fun with this show. It continued the practices of teaching about fermentation, this time teaching more about food based fermentation and even went to France to talk about wine making. And I really liked how they both completed the Hasagawa arc, while leaving a lot of room open to go places with her character. The art shift didn’t get to me all that much, though there were times I felt the older art style could have worked or would have made the scene more interesting. The characters remained interesting, and Kei got a bit more to do this season. I am really hoping this show gets a third season, especially with the little cliffhanger they gave us at the end of the last episode. I know I will be on the look out for any info about a possible third season.

Phi Brain: Kami no Puzzle 2- At its core, this is basically the same show as the first season, with a very similar plot. Phi Brain has the problem that it isn’t bad, it really isn’t, but it is boring as sin at times. I stand by what I have said about the show in the past, and reiterate, if they go more episodic storytelling, and less large plots, I feel the show will work better. But they probably won’t do that. I know Phi Brain is getting a third season in 2013, so I will probably be watching it. But they really need to do something new with this series.

 Sket Dance- I really didn’t think show was going to end this season. I mean, what show stops after 77 episodes. And they ended it without solving the relationship issues! I mean, I have shipping wars to fight, they can’t just end without telling us the official pairings! But seriously, Sket Dance was a great show. The episodes were hit or miss once in a while, but I still thought there was more good then bad through out the series. It really evolved past it’s initial Gintama light feel and became something completely of its own. This was a show I looked forward to watching every week. It was silly and funny, but when it got serious it was at its best. Though it couldn’t have done that without the silliness. Though they did leave a lot of plot threads just hanging. Many of them were romantic in nature, but I still want to know what happened between the major event that happened in Switch’s life, and him joining the Sket Dan. It was never actually said, and I would love to find out. I might actually go and read the manga for this at some point, I had that much fun watching it. Sket Dacne, you will be surly missed, until you get a second season that is.

Yuru Yuri 2- You know, one of the main reasons I didn’t initially drop Yuru Yuri when it first came out a year ago was that one scene with Akarin’s sisters room. It was creepy, scary, and I wanted it explained. But I eventually forgot about the question and fell in love with this show earnestly. It is still dumb moe fun, but god is it fun to watch. But then guessed who made an appearance? Akarin’s sister. And oh my god is she creepy. Her secret love for her sister was done so straight faced, it was hilarious. And I think I finally have closure on that little chapter. But that doesn’t mean I will stop watching this show. The second season was just as funny as the first. The characters were great, and the slight change of focus on characters that were more minor in the first season lead to some great moments. And the time travel episode was just plain fantastic. If they keep putting out episodes of this show, I will keep watching it.

And those were my final thoughts on the shows that ended this season. There were some really good shows, and some shows that will lead to me yelling for weeks to come. I can only hope that the next season brings with it even better shows. Until next time, have fun watching.