This post was written by Dark_Sage. He is Dark_Sage.
First ep impressions post, so we can all move on. Shows are listed best to worst. And yes, I’m keeping it short.
~Table of Contents~
Excellent (9-10/10)
Inou Battle wa Nichijou-kei no Naka de (When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace)
A fully realized teenage power fantasy in comedy form… by the people who did Kill la Kill?
Amagi Brilliant Park
Tamako Market x FMP Fumoffu x That one episode of South Park where Cartman buys a theme park =
Like jalapenos and cream cheese, it doesn’t make sense on the outset, but once you give it a try your calendar’s gonna revolve around finding out when your local grocer puts those TGIFridays jalapeno popper packs on sale. ($2.50 each or no buy, ofc.)
Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso (Your Lie in April)
Though the flashbacks and the impromptu concert were awful, the show makes a damn strong impression with characters that aren’t as cookie cutter as you’d think.
You liked Chihayafuru, right? Watch this.
Shingeki no Bahamut Genesis (Rage of Bahamut Genesis)
This is what I wanted Space Dandy to be. Stupid-fun action that doesn’t insult your intelligence.
Keiichi also did Tiger and Bunny, which I feel obligated to reference, as some of you are still living in 2011 and wouldn’t give this a shot otherwise.
Seriously, you’ll like it. Maybe.
Fate/stay night Unlimited Blade Works
Grinmace simulator 2014 delivers everything it needs to.
Well done, ufotable.
Good-ish (7-8/10)
Ookami Shoujo to Kuro Ouji (Wolf Girl and Black Prince)
Though this ain’t quite on the level of premier shoujo like Shigatsu, it’s still damn solid.
Watch it, cuz shoujo’s good.
Shirobako
I really wanted to hate this show. Japan’s ever-present naval-gazing in anime gets tiring fast. But as you can see from the below screen…
…this ain’t exactly that kind of show. The characters are unique and it’s not presented in a way the oversells the anime industry “product”. Well worth a look, even if just to find out that you aren’t sugoi enough to like it.
Nanatsu no Taizai (The Seven Deadly Sins)
Though it’s a dumb, generic shounen, I happen to like dumb, generic shounens.
But as far as generishounens go, it’s definitely worse than Fairy Tail or Hunter X Hunter, so don’t get your hopes up too high.
Grisaia no Kajitsu (Le Fruit de la Grisaia)
I expect this one to drop rather heavily in my rankings once I understand what it’s about. There’s no way Japan will ever make something that lives up to the premise of homicidal maniacs all trying to fuck their main target.
Madan no Ou to Vanadis (Lord Marksman and Vanadis)
If you’ve got any fond memories of Tears to Tiara, I can’t say you’d go wrong with Madan.
The show’s a bit old school, so I can’t see it attracting a lot of new blood, but it suits mine just fine.
Ushinawareta Mirai wo Motomete (In Search of Lost Future)
The animation may be low-budget, but the end of the first ep was pretty cool. I mean, so long as you pretend every other VN series ever hasn’t pulled that “twist”.
Kiseijuu – Sei no Kakuritsu (Parasyte – The Maxim)
It’s not bad, but read the manga instead. Based on how the anime’s been going (slowly), they’re not gonna get through anything worth noting.
Mehdiocre/Okay (5-6/10)
Akatsuki no Yona (Yona of the Dawn)
It’s mehdiocre.
Donten ni Warau (Laughing Under the Clouds)
It’s mehdiocre.
(And yes, I’m just going to be repeating this phrase for this section. Let’s pretend there are artistic reasons behind it and not just pure laziness.)
Magic Kaito 1412
It’s mehdiocre.
Cross Ange – Tenshi no Ryuu no Rondo (Cross Ange – Rondo of Angels and Dragons)
It’s mehdiocre.
World Trigger
It’s mehdiocre.
Daitoshokan no Hitsujikai (A Good Librarian Like a Good Shepherd)
It’s mehdiocre.
Fansubber social status-tier (0-4/10)
Gugure! Kokkuri-san
Nice try, Gugure. But I’m Team InuKikyo for life.
Garo – Honoo no Kokuin (Garo the Animation)
CG sucks.
Terra Formars
I nearly fell asleep while posting this screen. So goddamn boring.
Trinity Seven
Having read the manga, I expected to hate Trinity Seven.
The pacing’s even worse than the manga’s — a feat I didn’t think I would see accomplished in my lifetime — and the characters are just as paint-by-numbers as they were in black-and-white.
Not sure why they changed the name from Blood to Seven either. Must be a branding thing.
Ore, Twintails ni Narimasu
When I saw the promo art, I thought we’d be getting a lot of armpit shots.
But apparently the sole fetish being pandered to here is twintails.
Bad move, Japan. I can’t say I’ll be following this one closely until they rectify this situation.
Sora no Method (Celestial Method)
This show got me to thinking… is it really child abuse if the little shits deserve it? Gotta give the animators credit — the characters were frame-by-frame punchable.
All the character interactions were unnatural and grating, with the girls acting like inhuman cunts, to the point where I was seriously considering dropping the whole damn Fall season and breaking out my emergency supply of Seikon no Qwaser episodes instead.
Luckily, my whisky got me through the episode, but it was a close call.
Gundam – G no Reconguista (Gundam Reconguista in G)
If I wanted to watch girls cry, I’d go to a strip club at 2 PM.
It’s a Gundam that doesn’t end in 00. Why would you waste your time on it?
Girlfriend (Kari) (Girlfriend (Beta))
I don’t remember a damn thing that happened in the episode that I watched.
Honestly, I don’t recall taking this screenshot, and I’m not even fully convinced these girls were part of the show. Presumably the memory loss was my body’s self-defense mechanism kicking in.
Spare yourself the blackout. Skip this.
Summary Slide
10/10
Inou Battle wa Nichijou-kei no Naka de (When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace)
Amagi Brilliant Park
9/10
Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso (Your Lie in April)
Shingeki no Bahamut Genesis (Rage of Bahamut Genesis)
Fate/stay night Unlimited Blade Works
8/10
Ookami Shoujo to Kuro Ouji (Wolf Girl and Black Prince)
Shirobako
Nanatsu no Taizai (The Seven Deadly Sins)
Grisaia no Kajitsu (Le Fruit de la Grisaia)
7/10
Madan no Ou to Vanadis (Lord Marksman and Vanadis)
Ushinawareta Mirai wo Motomete (In Search of Lost Future)
Kiseijuu – Sei no Kakuritsu (Parasyte – The Maxim)
6/10
Akatsuki no Yona (Yona of the Dawn)
Donten ni Warau (Laughing Under the Clouds)
Magic Kaito 1412
Cross Ange – Tenshi no Ryuu no Rondo (Cross Ange – Rondo of Angels and Dragons)
5/10
World Trigger
Daitoshokan no Hitsujikai (A Good Librarian Like a Good Shepherd)
4/10
Gugure! Kokkuri-san
Garo – Honoo no Kokuin (Garo the Animation)
3/10
Terra Formars
Trinity Seven
Ore, Twintails ni Narimasu
2/10
Sora no Method (Celestial Method)
Gundam – G no Reconguista (Gundam Reconguista in G)
1/10
Girlfriend (Kari) (Girlfriend (Beta))
Unaired, undiscussed
Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru
wow, D_S
first time i admit your taste..
And what about Log Horizon 2 or Hitsugi no Chaika Avenging Battle?
Beside that, good taste.
“They both suck.”
I don’t really focus on sequels much, since I assume that people know what they’re getting into with those.
I hated Log Horizon and Chaika was okay, but nothing special.
What about log Horizon did you hate so much? While it didn’t rock my world I thought it was above average.
Log Horizon can be boring with lots of talking and explanations and not much other stuff. Put another way, the entire first thirteen episodes would have taken roughly one or two episodes in a normal “we ended up in the game world” story, and the rest of the season would have given a reason for the players to enter the world and something to do there.
This didn’t happen. It’s great for people who love world-building, but there’s no purpose, little action, and most of the characters seem to exist for little reason other than to say “Shiro’s amazing!”
Good taste, D_S.
What about Gundam Build Try?
>Shigatsu
>shoujo
Hehe.
Elaborate.
It’s a shounen.
Based on the outdated premise that if it appears in a magazine that typically plays host to action-adventures aimed at young boys that it must serve the same audience?
It’s a fucking drama romance with the pacing of a young girl’s heart. Shit’s shoujo, get over it.
That’s like saying all romance is shoujo, the whole premise of the show is the boy getting over his PTSD, you could argue it’s a music themed anime and that’s probably better for girls than for boys but eh.
Only thing that made me think this was a shoujo was the character designs and covers for the manga.
>That’s like saying all romance is shoujo
I know. That’s why I said it.
Fair enough.
Too bad Inou Battle already forgot it had powers and remembered it was an harem romcom, probably dropping it if this keeps up.
I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that, and will continue looking forward to watching the second episode when work gets off. \o/
Most of what you said is pretty on point. The only thing I’ll disagree with is the shitty ass Inou show. I think Parasyte or w/e show should be higher.
Psycho Pass 2 where?
(inb4 D_S not even watching the first one)
I watched the first one, which is the reason why I have no interest in the second.
Edit: I watched the first one, which is the reason I have no interest in the second.
Redundant use of “why” is redundant. “That” would also work to smoothen the sentence.
Don’t censor me, bro.
n0pe 8D
Shigatsu’s similarities with Chihayafuru end with the character designs. I’m pretty skeptical about this one.
If I cared about anything other than character designs, I’d just read LNs.
0/10
Too much/too little sarcasm.
The Garo anime is mediocre so far, watch the vastly superior live-action series instead.
I don’t understand why Amemiya made an anime and decided that the suits needed to be CG. If I wanted to see CG suits I’d watch the live-action show.
And weird you haven’t played Grisaia yet, but just so you know no one is trying to kill anyone, it’s just an harem where the girls have a “daaaaaaaaaaaaark” past and the MC has so many PTSDs it’s not even funny.
I don’t even have enough time for my site. Throwing a VN into the mix would be a bad idea.
Obviously, this reader is telling you to get your priorities in check.
The pic for cross ange, for a sec I thought it was that Prince Clovis from code geass.
It is. I just posted the wrong pic.
>You liked Chihayafuru, right? Watch this.
Oh, DS, fuck you.
Heck yeah! Shingeki no Bahamut is awsome! Love The Seven deadly sins as well.
DS, I’m honestly surprised you didn’t say Ookami Shoujo is an abusive relationship, which it clearly is.
I think the difference is that in this show the writers aren’t trying to cover it up.
Like Kamica inferred, I don’t mind so long as the anime’s not lying to my face about it. Not a big fan of having my intelligence insulted by cartoons — I’m an adult, dammit.
Wow… God-tier taste as always. Pretty much spot on.
Btw do you really have armpit fetish, D_S?
Who doesn’t have an armpit fetish?
I don’t, but I do have underboob fetish though, so close enough?
That depends, do you have kawaii armpits?
Whatever happened to Kokujin-kun and Calyrica? I especially liked Koku’s TL reviews.
Died like D_S.
Jobs like D_S.
Totally understandable. Are they still part of the staff then?
Mentioning Fairy Tail and HXH in the same sentence is blasphemy. At least use an example of a good manga like One Piece.
One Piece is to Fairy Tail as Qdoba is to Chipotle. Deal with it.
I honestly don’t understand that reference, but if you’re implying One Piece is worse than Fairy Tail then you should seriously consider getting a psychological evaluation.
/deleted/
He’s saying that One Piece has better chicken but if you’re looking for carnitas you should probably stick with Fairy Tail.
Wow, I agree with basically everything except Twintails but that’s perfectly acceptable. Quite a surprise considering the track record so far.
Since you read the manga, I understand your opinion for Trinity Seven. But Twintails is more of an otaku parody than an anime about fetishes.
“the characters are just as paint-by-numbers as they were in black-and-white.”
That’s a nice line. I bet you can use it in upcoming articles and nobody would notice