Dropping Macross Delta

The decision to drop Macross Delta didn't come with much difficulty.  It was really more a matter of confirming assumptions and understanding the qualities it possesses that bothers me.

    In a blunt statement, a series that had at one time been a pioneer in story telling and design has now reduced it self to being a clone of current trends in popular anime.  While the power of singing idols has been a cornerstone of the franchise since the very beginning the shows, with the exception of 7, have not focused on that aspect as much as Delta does.  On top of that the idols are a group of magical girl soldiers.  The enemy they are fighting is little more than a zombie infestation.  The series is having a really hard time trying to figure out what type of story it wants to be.  At once it is Love Live, Kancolle, Madoka Magica and The Walking Dead.

    On top of the haphazardly constructed genre's the animation is far below the standard that I would expect out of Macross.  The CG is some of the worst I have seen in a long time and is poorly integrated with the background animation.  The character designs are cheap, cosplay inspired, otaku fodder.  The personalities of some of the key characters differ little from ones you would find in a galge.  Over all the series seems to be poorly produced with a script compiled from suggestion box submissions of people who take walking tours of Akihabara.

Ajin - season 1

Ajin (亜人) is a 13 episode super natural action series based on the manga of the same name by Sakurai Gamon.  The series was produced by Polygon Pictures and released over the winter of 2016.

    Seventeen years prior to the start of the series the existence of humans who were unable to die became public knowledge.  The governments of the world began to seek these people out for various uses, and in many countries they were presented to the general public as monsters to be avoided and reported to the authorities.

    Nagai Kei is a normal high school student in Japan who discovers his identity as an Ajin after he is hit and killed by a truck.  Understanding that his freedom is in danger he immediately flees to avoid capture.  As he escapes into the mountains he makes contact with another Ajin hiding from the government, a man named Satou.  He meets Satou and a recently escaped Ajin named Tanaka, but is soon captured by the government.

    While in the governments hands continuous and merciless experiments are performed on him.  Satou facilitated Kei's capture as a way to mold his mind to his own will.  After a time he breaks Kei out of the government facility, ready to make him a soldier in his soon to begin war on normal humans.  Kei refuses his ideals and escapes.  In hiding he watches as Satou begin a campaign of terror and destruction in a bid to control all of Japan.  Kei must decide if he will continue to live in hiding or put a stop to Satou and his goal of genocide.

    Polygon Pictures does full CG animation using motion capture technology for the characters movements.  While still not as natural and fluid as traditional animation is, their level of detail is amazingly high.  A lot of people hate the animation Polygon does but I think we need to get past the fact its full CG, especially when so much of the animation out now is CG.  As they keep pouring money into the technology and techniques it will become more natural.  In recent years they have made a name for themselves for producing anime so they are seeing some success.  That said, the anime sticks closely to the look and feel of the manga, which is an import aspect.

    Ajin is an interesting take on the standard super human story.  Much of it deals with questioning societies biases and the rationality of humanity.  The rest is an over the top action vehicle with twists and turns at every corner.  Kei is a pretty weak leading character and not the reason I watched the anime or read the manga.  I could really care less for his plight.  Fortunately he isn't exactly the under dog hero that is typical in this type of story.  You're not going to see some Naruto type personalities or progress out of Kei.  Everything he does is for selfish reasons and he spends most of the anime avoiding conflict.

    Satou on the other hand is what makes this series enjoyable.  He is one of the best villains I have ever seen in an anime or manga.  Cunning, crafty and purely unsympathetic to everything but his own ideals.  The series boils down to how well either party can out think the other one.  Satou has no qualms and in fact revels in murder.  Everyone else is auxiliary to these two characters and only offer themselves as convenient tools.

    If you are reading the manga the anime does a decent job of following what has been written.  The most glaring alteration was how Satou attacks a pharmaceutical companies head quarters.  In the manga he hijacks a commercial jet and crashes it into the building.  I won't spoil how he does it in the anime, though I still like the manga version better.  The anime covers about the first 20 or so issues of the manga and ends with it wide open to be continued at some point.  They are probably waiting for the current major arc to be completed before starting work on a second series.  Polygon Pictures also released a movie version covering part of the TV series in November of 2015 and a second movie is releasing in Japan in May of 2016 and a third later in 2016.

    The anime is currently available on Netflix in North America.  The manga is available on Crunchyroll and in hard copy by Vertical.

Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju

Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju (昭和元禄落語心中) is a 13 episode historical slice of life drama based on the manga of the same name by Kumota Haruka.  The anime originally aired in the winter of 2016.

    Lowly yakuza underling Kyoji leaves prison with one goal in mind, to become an apprentice to the rakugo master Yakumo the 8th.  He tracks down and throws himself at the wary elderly man, but something causes him to consider allowing Kyoji to be his apprentice.  Something he has never done in the years since he has been a full fledged rakugo performer.  Rakugo is a one man story telling performance that saw a resurgence following World Was 2 but has almost faded in modern times.

    Yakumo the 8th see's in the energetic but dim witted Kyoji a chance to make reparations for a promise he was unable to keep to the man who grew up with him in the art form, a man who's daughter he adopted when she was young and raised as his own.  He decides to recount his life's story to Kyoji and his adopted daughter to explain how he became the person they know.  It is also a way for him to reflect and atone for his difficult life.

    After putting off the praises from all corners of the otaku interwebs I finally broke down near the end of its simulcast and started watching this series...I was sorry that I waited as long as I did, but grateful I came around.  This is an excellent drama that is driven by its characters and their lives.  The story spans decades of time and beyond the first episode and parts of the last, lives entirely in the past.  Yakumo the 8th recounts his life from when he was forced into rakugo apprenticeship after his prostitute mother abandoned him.  It details the struggles he encounters in his apprenticeship, his personal relationship with the man he apprenticed along side and the challenges the art form faced during and after the reconstruction.  It paints a vivid story of a handful of characters and how the drastically changing world affected them.

    The artwork isn't the greatest but it fits the story perfectly.  It reminded me of a cross between House of Five Leaves and Kids on the Slope honestly.  The character designs are simplistic, Yakumo the 8th is a little strange looking, but the backgrounds and directing are excellent.  What really drew me in was the rakugo performances themselves, of which each episode usually has segments of at least one performance.  I can only imagine how mesmerizing it is/was to see it in person with how entrancing it is in the anime.  The power of the story is through the performer being able to convey the different characters he is performing, separating out their personalities, as well as painting the scenery of the story through the dialogue and minute miming.  You can close your eyes, focusing on the words themselves and life with in the world that is being expressed.

    The anime handled the performances with grace, allowing the dialogue and the characters movements to paint most of the picture.  It would have been easy to drift off and fully animate the stories instead very little was done to enhance the words themselves, which added so much more to the performance in my mind.  If possible, I think the next time I am in Tokyo I may have to see if rakugo is done any longer, I would love to experience it at least once.

    Anyways, this was amazingly well done and it really sets its self apart from so many other anime out there, past or present.  It isn't for everyone though, as there is no action and a whole ton of well done dialogue.  It is a cut and dry drama about characters with unique and well developed personalities and the way they struggle with themselves and others.  It is a fascinating period piece about a unique art form and unique circumstances of Japan before the modern era and leading up to it.  I highly recommend this amazing series.

    It was simulcast on Crunchyroll and I believe Sentai will be releasing it on video at some point.  No word on the manga though, which is a shame.  However, there is fantastic news that a second season will be produced and aired at some point, this time telling more of Kyoji's tale.

First Look at the New Titles for the Spring of 2016

Space Patrol Luluco: Starting off with a 'bang' Space Patrol Luluco is a short gag comedy dealing with a perfectly normal middle school girl who is forced to work for the Space Patrol after her father was accidentally frozen.  When she took him to the Space patrol office where he works his boss, Over Justice, forces her to join the force to help pay for her fathers thawing and revival fee's.  She is being tasked to patrol her school, which is harboring new criminal activity.  Stepping back a little bit, her town is the epicenter of intergalactic commingling on earth, where aliens and earthlings coexist together as part of a greater galactic organization.

    This is shoddy in design, hectic in pacing and dialog and absolutely welcomed by me.  I love these off beat, idiotic comedy shorts that are becoming more and more common.  There is zero substance here, this is something to watch for the stupidity and absurdity.  In some ways it has a similar feel to aspects of Kill la Kill...which it should as its by the director of that series, Imaishi Hiroyuki.  I have never really enjoyed his other works, but the shorter time format may be just what is needed to get me to enjoy his brand of nonsense.

 

The Lost Village:Thirty people embark on a journey to a lost and mythical village where they hope to restart their lives for a variety of reasons.

    The first episode really introduces the premise of the show and does a brief introduction to all of the characters and a little more in depth introduction for a few as well as setting up some of the conflicts and suspense.  The animation is standard fare, nothing amazing.  The voice acting and character personalities range from idiotic to generic.  Everyone on the bus seems to personify the worst traits of netizens.  All of the characters introduce themselves with online handles and each have their own reason for wanting to disappear and start over.  Most of them seem like pampered kids who don't feel their life is the way they want it to be and are willing to throw everything away for this mystery trip based on nothing but net rumors and conspiracy theories.  It could be interesting to see how the mystery unfolds but i fear many of the characters disagreeable personalities may make the story unbearable.

Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn RE:0096: A longer TV based retelling of the MS Gundam Unicorn OAV series from 2010.  The story takes place 96 years into the Universal Age and with Gundams deals with mobile suit based political intrigue and maneuvering.

    This is the most proper Gundam installment we have seen in a very long time.  Very happy to have this as part of the Spring line up.  Classic artwork, classic mobile suit designs, classic Gundam.  What more could you ask for?

Pan de Peace:  A short moe slice of life story about four high school girls who find friendship over obsessive fascinations of bread based products.  Honestly, not so sure about this one.  The artwork is rather boring and there is little draw for a series even at 3 minutes a pop.  I'll give it a few episodes to see if it actually developed into anything.  On a side note it reminds me a little of Yuyushiki for some reason.

Macross Delta: The preview episode back in January is the first episode of the series that aired this week.  So if you want a break down of my thoughts on it go here.  Yes, I know I called things by HG names, which was also on purpose.  HG deserves this Macross...  I am not amused with Macross really trying to tap into the Love Live market.  Even if idols have been a central plot point of all the prior series' it hasn't been this bad.

Kuma Miko: Kumade village is a remote hick town somewhere in the Tohoku region of Japan.  Village legend speaks of an ancient practice of sacrificing a maiden to the bears of the mountains to keep them from attacking.  One maiden was 'taken' by a bear and children were spawned who could speak human languages.  The decedents of that bear/human mating have gone on to maintaining the peace between the villagers and the bears.  Machi, a descendant of that family is the current shrine maiden.  It is her job to pray and bring offerings to appease the bear of the shrine, Natsu.  One day she approaches Natsu about attending high school in the nearest city, 2 hours away.  Natsu stoutly refuses, not wishing to have his shrine maiden leave him for the big unknown...Natsu speaks fluent Japanese and has a strange sense of humor. 

    There is some potential for an enjoyable comedy in this show.  Natsu is an entertaining character but Machi embodies some annoying moe/otaku girl character personality traits.  One bright spot with this is how it handles ecchi humor.  The ecchi isn't purposeless and isn't absurd.  It is a well integrated part of the comedy in this off beat slice of life super natural story.  In short, I think this one will be enjoyable and strange.

12-sai Chicchana mune no tokimeki: Hanabi is a normal 12 year old girl.  She struggles daily with boys flipping skirts, first kisses and the troubles of menstrual cycles.  She seems a bit less mature than most others around her and she has a hard time grasping the reality of a 6th grader.

    Not really sure about this one.  The animation is pretty bad, like Pokemon from the 90's bad.  Hanabi is a completely unlikable main character and some of the supporting characters aren't any better.  Her 'boyfriend' Takao seem's like some high school senior instead of a 6th grader as well.  The series seems to have a hard time trying to figure out what it wants to be, unless its trying to be some sort of anime health class primer for girls.  Something tells me my 12 year old daughter wouldn't even want to watch this one.  I'd probably be better of watching Kyo no Go no Ni.

 

Tanaka-kun is Always Listless: High school student Tanaka embodies the ultimate level of slack.  He goes through the day being as motionless as possible, even working on improving his physical structure and strength for better slacking abilities.  The show explores how the nearly motionless teenager deals with normal every day activities.

    There is no point to this show beyond some entertaining slice of life humor.  It's grounded in reality more than some of its peers but is no less ridiculous and entertaining.  While not continuously funny I had a grin on my face through most of the first episode.  This will be fun to watch.

Rin-ne Season 2: The return of Takahashi Rumiko's latest supernatural adventure comedy.  The first episode jumps right back into the fray with all of the shinigami antics and just in case you forgot who everyone was in the six month break, all of the main characters are re-introduction.

    The first episode of the second season though was a bit of a weak one, which doesn't detract from the series over all.  Rin-ne is one of those that will have some bad episodes but the product is over all worth the time if you are a fan of this style of humor. 

Flying Witch: Witch in training Kowata Makoto moves from her home in Yokohama to live with distant relatives in Aomori for high school.  The somewhat clueless and cheerful Makoto tries her best to integrate to life in northern Japan while she finished schooling and works to become a full fledged magic user.

    This is what you get if you mix Minami-ke with Maho Tsukai Tai.  The characters are very laid back and chill.  Makoto is almost aloof to the reality of her surroundings, frequently being picked on for getting lost.  She doesn't grasp the oddity of being able to use magic in normal life and she doesn't understand the confusion of those who are just meeting her.  She isn't coy with her abilities either.  This looks to be a chill and fun slice of life comedy that has some elements of Makoto being a fish out of water.

Neko Neko Nihonshi: This NHK anime uses cats to tell Japanese history aimed at small children.  The first episode of what is possibly the second season of this show, deals with the semi-mythological ruler Himiko and her efforts to quell social unrest, unify her kingdom and ward of foreign attacks.  The story doesn't stick with strict historical documentation, instead implementing cat-like problems into the history lesson.

    It's cute, its simple and it's pretty light when it comes to history.  No one is going to translate it so I will probably not really watch it, but it's fantastic that it exists!

Haven't you heard?  I'm Sakamoto: Sakamoto is the coolest person in school, earning the admiration and awe of his classmates.  Others in his class decide that his attitude and admiration pisses them off.  They plot to knock him down a few notches, but his cool over rides their attempts at every turn.

    This series reminds me a little of Cromartie High.  Mostly in the pacing and character designs.   WHil different than Cromartie, its still entertainingly ridiculous.  This could be a fun series but who knows how long the pacing and writing will last.

Shonen Maid: Grade school student Chihiro finds himself and orphan after the death of his mother.  Left to wonder what he will do moving forward an estranged uncle comes to tell him he will be living with him.  At first he doesn't want to live with his incredibly wealthy uncle.  He is convinced otherwise when the dirtiness of the mansion drives him insane and he begins to clean.  His uncle convinces him to stay with him in exchange for being the house keeper, something that appeals to the work ethic his mother ingrained in him.  The caveat...he has to do it while dressed as a maid.


    Its hard to get a feel for how this series will be with the first episode.  It has potential to be a comedy akin to the humorous segments of Toradora.  Or it could turn into something off track and somewhat genre confused like Hayate the Combat Butler.  Time will tell, I'm not holding my breath for it being anything amazing, but it may prove entertaining enough to stick around in my cue.

Netoge no Yome wa Onnanoko ja nai to Omotta: Nishimura is an MMORPG otaku who falls in love with random 'female' players all the time.  When he found out the girl he proposed to in game was a MAN he decided that every female character in the game is a man in real life.  Now the female in his small guild wants to marry him he refuses her.  The members of the guild decide to meet in public and he learns the truth about his team mates.

    Not sure about this one either.  I like that its making fun of all the MMORPG anime out these days, but there's also some annoying shonen character tropes in it.  This could very quickly turn into a really annoying harem anime.

Big Order: Hoshimiya Eiji was given the ability to realize any wish.  The wish he chose was the destruction of the world.  Ten years later, the remnants of humanity carry on amidst the waste land.  Eiji wasn't the only one to gain his wishes, other people who receive the power appear and are labeled as Orders.  The general public views Order's as dangerous and aberrations.  Eiji, knowing that he caused this terrible world hides the fact he is an Order from everyone, trying to help his terminally injured sister.  His peaceful life comes to an end when a group of Order's begin to hunt him.  He is now faced with the power he was granted to survive and correct his mistakes.

    This is a straightforward super natural shonen action series.  The only new thing with it is the way the characters gained their powers, via their selfish wished being granted by a malevolent being.  On top of that Eiji is the epitome of current otaku self identification.  He struggles with his personal guilt and feels strongly that he must right his wrongs with only his own power.  He also has a crippled, semi-incestuous younger sister.  Eiji also suffers from chunibyo syndrome.  This one isn't going to last in my cue.  I will give it maybe 2 more episodes before axing it.