Winter 2013 anime season

[Gaston]

The seasons is over and here what I saw so far

Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai NEXT: A very good series thought I would have prefer the final episode had more humor and half of the girls just made an appearance ! Hope it will get a third season.

Kotoura-san: That was a good series with a good mix of drama and comedy.

Sakurasou No Pet Na Kanojo: I liked at the beginning but after become more serious and I started being less interested in the series. That still correct at the end thought.

Now I plan watching soon Cuticle Detective Inaba , Sasami-san@Ganbaranai and Tamako Market.

[Tenchi Ryu]

Finished my Winter Season almost a week ago, was just lazy and putting off the reviews. But anyway, let's do this johnny. Luckily this season was pretty small for me and only 8 shows, so it was a lot easier compared to my usual ridiculously large 12-13 anime show seasons where I'm usually watching new anime episodes just about everyday. Being a NBA watcher, this extra time really benefited me. (Links to MAL PAGE in anime titles)

Psycho-Pass


So this continuing it's second cour from last Fall season, my thing was trying to break away from my typical ecchi-comedy genre, and watch some more thriller/drama anime. Psycho Pass was pretty much everything I asked for. I like to consider it a fusion between Minorty Report and Training Day, basically a futuristic Police Force with the new recruit starting to realize the dangerous world she's in. Similar to Minority Report, the Sybil System is a A.I mechanism that judges people's Psycho Pass, and this is used to decide if they are latent criminals. With this system, you also have enforcers, people who have been deemed latent criminals who are now sorta like "hunting dogs" for the police force. Although at first with it's expected controversy, after years of having success low rates of crime, it has been accepted by the world. But as you know, this being directed by the same guy who did Madoka Magica, of course you know something will go wrong...And boy does it.

If you're someone who doesn't care for Moe, or at least like to enjoy some action filled dramatic anime with some real PLOT, I definitely recommend this. Kept me on the edge of my seat every week, having me wanting more from the next episode at each credits roll. The ending was also satisfying and understandable, but most importantly realistic.

Rating: 9 out of 10
Saved to Harddrive?: YES

Senran Kagura


Well, I knew what I was getting into, cause frankly, I still love ecchi. So I expected this to be my guilty pleasure of the season. Problem for me was just that it wasn't a pleasure. Coming off the successful game series, I knew this had a following coming in. And as far as the action, it definitely did not disappoint. The action scenes were pretty good, and probably the main thing that made me continue watching. A ninja show should have good action right? The ecchi is what ruined it for me. Mostly cause it served no purpose other to just be there and sell tits and ass. One of the reason I love Harem is because the ecchi usually goes side by side with something. Most of the time Comedy or Romance. So when you see a panty shot, and boob shot or a butt shot, its usually coming with a response from the Harem MC. But here, you'd see a tit shot just to see it. Not like the girl was flaunting her sex appeal, or even having a comical misunderstanding. They'd just start jiggle the boobs just to jiggle them. Didn't even have a joke to go with it, so to me it just felt dry and pointless.

In fact, I could pretty much use that to talk about most of the aspects of the show. But like I said earlier, at least the action was decent.

Rating: 5 out of 10
Saved to Harddrive?: No

Cuticle Detective Inaba


I didn't know what to expect from this show, in fact, I even mentioned that way back at the beginning of this thread.

Typical mystery/suspense Shounen anime. Will give this a shot, not expecting much, but who knows, maybe it will surprise me like Beelzebub did.

So imagine my pleasure to know this was absolutely hilarious. I was not expecting this at all, but it was built on slapstick style comedy, and it worked very well. Found myself laughing hard each episode. All the characters brought something to the show that really complemented each other and just made the show work. The best part is that at times, even the show itself didn't take itself seriously, and it probably worked better that way. Breaking the fourth wall really helped in that regard. A great series and I definitely recommend if you want a good laugh and got a good sense of humor.

Rating: 8 out of 10
Saved to Harddrive?: No

Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo


Sakurasou, well at least I can say it wasn't bad. Similar to what Gaston wrote, the "drama" that they tried to invoke in the series, especially around the second half just didn't really entertain me. In fact I was getting annoyed with all the shouting and crying during certain episodes. But other than that, the series was still entertaining as a whole. Just didn't like how at times it felt like I was watching some MTV teen drama shit...."Oh my god, this high school drama is so important. Let us act over extreme to the max over some teenage bullshit". Now of course that's not exactly what was said, but that's how it felt. I'm sitting to myself thinking at time, "Wait til you actually have real problems like debt and shit, then come talk to me". Plus I wasn't necessarily a fan of the main female character. The quiet strange girl works for a while, but if the character doesn't really develop, it gets meh. The main thing I enjoyed was the background character, they really pulled the show where at times I felt the main characters were dragging it down.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10
Saved to Harddrive?: No

Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai NEXT


The big show of the season, and pretty much what everyone was watching. I must say, I left this very pleased and would love another season, although it looks pretty far off at this point since the anime has caught up to the novels. Anyway, let's start off with my absolute favorite part of the show this season, Kodaka. One of the things that really makes Harem good for me is not just the female harem members, but the guy who herds all this girls. It's the reason I love Tenchi, not only are most of his girls badass, he's even more badass than them. Kodaka might not have super powers, but his character development really shined this season. In fact, it was a major topic of discussions on anime community sites. Personally, I agreed with Kodaka the entire way because I understand how he felt. People get so tied up into the  "who will he choose" argument that it was really refreshing to see a guy who honestly didn't care about choosing, causing he was satisfied with the friendship and bonds he's already made. And was pretty much willing to go to the extreme to keep it that way.

Another great part was the development of Rika. In the first season, she was pretty much just the horny crazy scientist girl with glasses. That was why I loved her. But this season, she became pretty much the mouthpiece for the audience, and in many people's opinion, currently the best girl suited for Kodaka. She understands him, is not oblivious and most importantly, can read the situation around her. It in turn makes the drama segments work very well compared to other shows where the drama feels forced.

So yea, definitely a keeper and I definitely reccomend it.

Rating: 9 out of 10
Saved to Harddrive?: YES

Zetsuen no Tempest


Made by Bones, the folks who brought us the Full Metal Alchemist series, this was definitely high expectation for many, myself included. And it did not disappoint. As expected, we we're presented a great story, some great action and even a sprinkle of humor every now and then. The ending was also very satisfying. Again, I would definitely recommend.

Rating: 8 out of 10
Saved to Harddrive?: YES

Maoyuu Maou Yuusha


Well now we come to the show with mixed opinions, particularly from light novel readers. Apparently a decent amount of source material was left out, and left people unhappy. Some on the other hand found themselves bored with the show all together, granted that much action didn't happen and was more speech driven than actual action. Luckily, I don't read source material so when I watch anime, I'm using solely that to judge it. As for the heavy talking, for the same reason I loved Spice and Wolf, I loved this. Economic in generally really interest me when I can actually see it in motion compared to hearing it from my boring ass professor. Seeing the towns actually make profit, sell, trade and even shake up the foundation was quite pleasing. The background plot was the relationship between the Hero and Demon King. The flow felt pretty realistic, as after to getting to know each other, it didn't take long for them to realize they had feelings for each other and even openly acknowledged this. Then you add other characters like the knight and Maids who just bring more light this play. So while this is defintiely a show for a acquired taste, it was great in my book.

Rating: 8 out of 10
Saved to Harddrive? YES

Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic


My last show that I wrapped up a few days ago, and with the news we are getting a season two in a few months, I definitely look forward to following this series. While the main characters were great, the plot and action also great, there is one thing that keeps me hooked to this series. If you've been following this thread, you should probably be able to guess....


SINBAD DA GAWD!! This man is a gift from the anime gods who like strong, funny and non wuss guys in their anime. The whole time, whether he had me laughing, kicking somebody's ass with his GAR overpowered strength, or just being lazy, I enjoyed watching him. What's funny is that considering the main character is a 10 year old is named Aladdin, Sinbad felt closer to Disney's Aladdin character than Aladdin did. Hell if I could, I'd give him his own show. Apparently someone in Japan feels the same and giving him his own well deserved spin-off Manga. As with some of the other shows, one of the main criticisms came from Manga fans who were disappointed with the changes. But also once again for me, I don't read source material so this wasn't a problem for me. And for what I saw, I enjoyed the whole ride. Look forward to the next season.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10
Saved to Harddrive?: YES

And with that, we say goodbye to the Winter season, and welcome the Spring.....

[Dr.Soviet]

once again I didn't watch anything 

I do wanna see the new DBZ movie and new Sailor Moon series.

[Tenchi Ryu]

Since we covered Boku Wa Tomodachi here, figured this was a good spot to post a clip of the Dub. Kinda mixed feelings on it....Iunno.

http://www.youtube.com/v/9hUahlVJYwI

[Tenchi Ryu]

Well, that took absolutely no time at all.

http://www.nyaa.se/?page=view&tid=461682

[Tenchi Ryu]

SINBAD DA GAWD!! This man is a gift from the anime gods who like strong, funny and non wuss guys in their anime. The whole time, whether he had me laughing, kicking somebody's ass with his GAR overpowered strength, or just being lazy, I enjoyed watching him. What's funny is that considering the main character is a 10 year old is named Aladdin, Sinbad felt closer to Disney's Aladdin character than Aladdin did. Hell if I could, I'd give him his own show. Apparently someone in Japan feels the same and giving him his own well deserved spin-off Manga. As with some of the other shows, one of the main criticisms came from Manga fans who were disappointed with the changes. But also once again for me, I don't read source material so this wasn't a problem for me. And for what I saw, I enjoyed the whole ride. Look forward to the next season.

Thanks to Shades, notified me that the Blu Rays finally finished. So was FINALLY able to make a clip of the super badass transformation, probably my second favorite in anime history after Tenchi's.

https://www.youtube.com/v/wgVQOqK8Yos

[shades of blue]

SINBAD DA GAWD!! This man is a gift from the anime gods who like strong, funny and non wuss guys in their anime. The whole time, whether he had me laughing, kicking somebody's ass with his GAR overpowered strength, or just being lazy, I enjoyed watching him. What's funny is that considering the main character is a 10 year old is named Aladdin, Sinbad felt closer to Disney's Aladdin character than Aladdin did. Hell if I could, I'd give him his own show. Apparently someone in Japan feels the same and giving him his own well deserved spin-off Manga. As with some of the other shows, one of the main criticisms came from Manga fans who were disappointed with the changes. But also once again for me, I don't read source material so this wasn't a problem for me. And for what I saw, I enjoyed the whole ride. Look forward to the next season.

Thanks to Shades, notified me that the Blu Rays finally finished. So was FINALLY able to make a clip of the super badass transformation, probably my second favorite in anime history after Tenchi's.

https://www.youtube.com/v/wgVQOqK8Yos

I'm finally watching it myself, and I gotta say, it's pretty damn good. Reminds me of Nickelodeon's Avatar and apparently I'm not the only one of that opinion. Since I'm almost done with S1, I wanted to get an idea of where that ends, in the manga, and took note of others commenting on the similarities. And naturally, wouldn't you know it, your typical cartoon hating weaboo was going out of his way to claim there are no similarities, etc. Then making himself out to look even dumber, by claiming Japanese never watch cartoons. Stupid kids. Anyway, I noted S1 ended around chapter 111. So I guess that means S2 will end right around the most recent chapter and that'll be where anime viewers get the shaft... well, at least there's Sinbad's adventures to look forward to, after S2 ends.

EDIT: Started watching season 2 and it is such a disappointment. From the shitty child pirates arc to to the level up episodes to this romance of the three kingdoms knockoff arc. It all feels so broken & like the author ran out of ideas to base his story on.

EDIT #2: First half of S2 SUCKED! But, it has gotten much, much better. Thou it feels like they've skipped over a lot of character building stories.