Month: January 2017

Winter 2017 Simulcasts

Winter 2017 Simulcasts

Bleeeeeehhhhhh…I know it’s a few weeks late but I was hoping things would get better. They didn’t. So, let’s talk about the latest simulcasts!

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All Out!! is a continuation from the fall and while it kind of got obscured by the abundance of strong shows in the fall season, All Out is stealing the spotlight for the winter. It seemed like it took a while for this show to pick up speed but now we’re really into the “good stuff.” I realllly hope people give this one a chance.

Akiba’s Trip I really had no reference for this going in but I thought I’d give it a try. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t keep it either. I just didn’t care enough.

Blue Exorcist We’re three weeks into this one and it keeps getting better. It was a little hard getting back into things since it’s been so long since the anime ended and the manga is in a completely different place but it’s been worth it. I love the depth of the characters.

Masamune-kun’s Revenge unlike Blue Exorcist, has no depth to the characters. I had read the first volume of manga when I’d heard this would be getting an anime and I didn’t hate it as much as I hate this. Three episodes in I feel more strongly about that than ever.

Saga of Tanya the Evil I actually had pretty high hopes for this one because I thought the premise was really interesting. I don’t want to say it’s “disappointing” but every time I have a “this is great” moment, it’s followed by half an episode of “I’m bored; I wonder what I have for snacks.” I’m still holding out hope that as the series progresses we get more substance.

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Seiren This might have been one of the most boring first episodes of my life. So much so that I thought, “Nothing can be this boring, there has to be some twist or catch coming up.” I can put up with a lot of lousy shows but after finishing the third episode…I hate it. There was one good line in episode three: “Do all girls lie through their teeth?” My answer: Yes. Now move on, no need to finish the series. I’ve solved the mystery of life for you.

IMG_0576.PNGShowa Genroku Rakugo Shinju thank all that is good and bright and holy in the universe for this show. Especially in a season where I find myself getting increasingly pissed off slogging through shows, the return of SGRS was a godsend. The series came back with a vengeance, episode one as strong and amazing and perfect as if it had never left. The first series was one of my favorites in its season and now this is one of my favorites of the winter. I CANNOT SAY ENOUGH ABOUT HOW TOTALLY PERFECT AND AMAZING THIS IS.

Interviews with Monster Girls I did not expect this to be good. I LOVE IT. Episode one snagged me, episode two was cute, and I just finished episode three where I laughed my ass off. This one kind of came out of nowhere for me but I’m so glad I gave it a try; it’s one of the few I look forward to every week. Thank you, Junichi Suwabe, for convincing me to watch this.

IMG_0615.PNGGabriel Dropout This is the opposite of Monster Girls for me in that I had actually looked forward to it but it’s not living up to my expectations. It can be really cute/funny at times but for the most part I get bored.

Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid First episode followed the manga pretty closely. I think it does benefit from being animated; everything is pretty cute. This show is nothing amazing but it’s entertaining enough.

Hand Shakers Seeing the character designs and voice casting, I was actually really excited about this. And then I watched the first episode…and tried not to puke. I don’t know why this is so excruciatingly painful to watch or why the story is pretty close to nonsensical or worse, why no one noticed that and turned this thing loose into the wild. I have actually watched two episodes so far and the whole time I think, “How did this get made..?”

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elDLIVE We got a few chapters of this in JUMP and never saw it again so I was pretty stoked that we’d get an anime. I loved Reborn so I wanted to see more of elDLIVE. It’s…been a pretty slow start. But I try to remember that Reborn took seasons to really get good so I’m giving elDLIVE the benefit of the doubt.

Yowamushi Pedal New Generation I’m just gonna say: I miss the old generation. These first two episodes have been kind of a bummer. I joked that the title of this season should be YowaPeda: Mourning Makishima by the depressing tone and theme of the first two eps. I want to love it but so far the new characters are rubbing me the wrong way.

Chiruran 1/2 Anyone who’s followed me at all knows I’ll watch pretty much anything Shinsengumi related. This is no exception. While Chiruran 1/2 is funny in its short-form way, I would reallllly love the actual Chiruran manga to get an anime adaptation. *fingers crossed*

ACCA I was super stoked for this one and after a couple episodes…I don’t really know how I feel. I “like” it plenty; I just hope it does something soon that makes me LOVE it. Besides cast Junichi Suwabe and Kenjiro Tsuda, I mean.

Super Lovers ah, BL with your complicated yeah-we’re-brothers-but-not-by-blood-and-we-sleep-in-the-same-bed-and-none-of-us-can-communicate-for-shit-so-it’s-week-after-week-of-misunderstandings. Welcome back.

Onihei This is a much-needed show this season. It scratches a certain manly itch.

Tiger Mask W Also manly and also a carry-over from the previous season. Just a couple episodes into the second cour it appears that Tiger Mask W is getting more ridiculous by the week. I want to call it “mindless fun” without sounding insulting.

GINTAMA this is in caps for obvious reasons. Because it is the best. Picking up after the Shogun Assassination & Farewell Shinsengumi arcs, we’re still in the thick of “serious stuff” and every week my heart is broken and put back together. I don’t know if there is anything in this world more perfect than Gintama.

Bye, Fall 2016

Bye, Fall 2016

Fall 2016 Simulcast season is over…so who were the winners and losers? Due to time constraints I dropped a lot more shows than I usually do…which means this post is mostly about the winners (or what I liked the most). In no particular order…

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable

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One of my absolute favorite shows of the season. And I lost my shit when, in JoJo’s of all places, Rohan dares to say that the key to a great manga is “reality.” I still haven’t gotten over it (obviously). This is JoJo’s hitting its stride; a JoJo’s that’s at its best, most comfortable, and most outrageous and owning every minute of it.

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DAYS

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I don’t give two whits about soccer but Days won me over from the first episode and NEVER let up. Every week I was amazed at how invested I was in this show and how it sucked me in. The pacing was excellent and it had a great balance of drama/comedy/intensity/man-tears. And I will never get over the power of Daisuke Ono’s voice to score a goal. I feel like I should say more about it, about how great it is, how fun it is, how sporty it is…but just watch it!

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Haikyu!!

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Speaking of magnificent sports anime with perfect pacing, there’s Haikyu!!. This third series was a bit shorter at only 10 episodes but those ten episodes were packed with…everything. I don’t think I’ve held my breath so much in my life. I might’ve teared up every episode. I’ve said since the beginning (and when recommending this show to people) that this is one of the most perfect sports anime I’ve ever seen…and I stick to that. It’s absolutely amazing. You can’t go wrong with this, unless you hate boys, awesome, and feelings.

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Uta no Prince-sama: Legend Star

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Well, it was very UtaPri. And apparently we’re getting yet another season of it..?

Magic-kyun Renaissance

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A bit sleepy at times but I felt like Magic-kyun did some new, twisty things with a generally trope-y genre. Of the idol/reverse-harem style anime this season, I think this was my favorite. I had several genuine laugh-out-loud moments and I really enjoyed how ridiculous it got at times.

Yuri!!! on Ice

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WHAT IS THERE TO EVEN SAY ABOUT THIS SHOW?! If you’ve watched it, you know it’s amazing. If you haven’t watched it, well, I’m sure you’ve heard it’s amazing and I can’t imagine what you’re waiting for. I loved a lot of shows this season and rewatched many, many episodes…but this is the show I rewatched the most. I have lost count at how many times I’ve seen each episode. I can’t talk about this anymore or I’ll cry.

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Drifters

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And for another show that I watched repeatedly…DRIFTERS. Because the manga comes out on a pretty slow schedule we were cautiously optimistic…and blown away. Drifters was absolute perfection, every episode, and I can’t wait for it to return…whenever that is…

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Keijo!!!!!!!!

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For a show that looks built on fanservice, Keijo!!!!!!!! was totally worth the watch. It was hilarious, over the top, and very well done and savvy all the way.

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It was fast-paced with a feeling of chaos but everything seemed to fall in place at the end. I wasn’t as invested/involved in this series and was a bit relieved when it wrapped up.

Kiss Him, Not Me

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As a fan of the manga, I had high hopes for this one. However, like the manga…it had its ups and downs, its hilarious episodes and its kinda slooooow episodes. But I felt like the final episode ended on a high note reminiscent of the humor in the first few episodes and felt very true to the essence of the show.

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Poco’s Udon World

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How can something be so heartwarming and yet heartbreaking all at the same time?! Although I was looking forward to this one, it was kind of a surprise for me. It was way better than I’d anticipated and I found myself looking forward to it every week. I thought it would be one of those “background shows” and instead I fell in love with it.

Touken Ranbu: Hanamaru

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Naturally, I loved the Shinsengumi episodes/lean of Touken Ranbu. Since I don’t know anything about the game except its general premise, I wasn’t sure how much I’d like the anime. But it was a lot of fun and now I wish I could play the game. And name-dropping Hijikata will always pique my interest.

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So that’s what ENDED this season…but don’t forget we have a few that are marching on, like:

Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans

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All Out!!

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Nanbaka

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So there you have it! Pretty pared down from how I started the season…but now it’s time to make my picks for winter and overload my schedule once again!

What were your fall favorites? What did you drop, what did you keep? …And what can’t you wait to see this winter?