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.

Durarara x2 The Third Arc

Durarara comes to a close with the final 12 episodes in the x2 series (デュラララ!!×2 結).  This is the continuation of the long running light novel series of the same name by Narita Ryogo and Yasuda Suzuhito.  The final part of the series aired originally in the winter of 2016.

    Picking up where Durarara x2 The Second Arc left off we find things coming to a boiling point in Ikebukuro.  The Dollars are collapsing around Mikado as he shifts his morals even further to attain his goals.  The best allies from the dying gang have huddled together to figure out what is going on and how to get out with their skins.  The darker and more powerful personalities that have been lurking in the shadows for all of x2 are beginning to operate in the public.  What began as a way to cure boredom on Mikado's part has unleashed forces way beyond his comprehension and control.  As everything comes to a close who will make it out with their lives and will their be any chance of returning to normalcy?

    I have enjoyed Durarara the entire time, but this final part of the series was a much welcomed end to the franchise.  It maintained a good grip on its ensemble cast but some of their motivations and actions became more opaque.  The final arc of x2 continues with a more solid detachment of semi-realism the show has maintained.  Even with it's super natural elements there has been a good level of control in the antics of the characters.  Now though, everything is out of the window as stress pushes the neighborhood strongest beings into action, whether they want to or not.  In reality the series as a whole boils down to 3 things.  Orihara meddling with everyone to entertain himself, filling himself with a misplaced sense of loneliness.  Mikado thinking he's more clever than he really is.  And everyone fighting for control of Celty's head.  So, it goes with out saying that Durarara can't call it quits until these three things are addressed.  The Third Arc closes the story on all three issues, but does leave a small window open to revisit this twisted landscape.

    Over all Durarara is enjoyable.  The artwork has always be rough, particularly the character designs.  Some of the characters themselves were less than believable but what draws you in is the diversity of the cast.  The levels of intrigue.  In the end though, the plot strained a little too hard to make everything connect and some aspects didn't fit very well, to the point where they had to keep introducing more characters in order to make those strained connections.  So much was going on in the end and the way the story telling differed so much from the original series that I began to loose focus on who was doing what for which reason part way through.  It seemed the writers may have picked up on this and decided they would need to walk the viewer through the more obscure details in plain fashion.

    The climax of the entire series encompasses most of the Third Arc and delivers a satisfying, if only slightly disappointing ending.  Over all Durarara has been a fantastically entertaining series, but the minor flaws in the end seemed to have diminished its hold on me and I don't regret saying good bye to these characters.  Though, I may pick up the light novels at some point down the road.  Either way, still a good series over all, if it started to get a little out of hand in the end.

    The series was simulcast on Crunchyroll and the simuldub is half a season behind.  The video release should be coming soon after as well.

Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans

Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans (機動戦士ガンダム 鉄血のオルフェンズ) is a 26 episode mecha war drama set in the Gundam franchise.  The series aired between 2015 and 2016.

    Set more than 300 years after the Calamity War, in which Earths power concentration is drastically changed.  The story deals with a group of unwanted child soldiers employed with a security firm on Mars known as CGS.  Mars is under control of factions on Earth and has limited wealth and resources.  The daughter of an aristocratic Martian family, Kudelia Aina Bernstein, decides to head to Earth and plead for Mars to become more independent. When the strongest faction on Earth, Gjallarhorn, decides to stop Bernstein from leaving Mars they attack CGS headquarters.  Many of the deaths in the successful defense come from the child soldiers 'employed' by CGS. 

    One of the older kids, Orga decides to start a coup in retaliation for the attitude towards the worth of his fellow soldiers.  Through determination and cunning they succeeded in taking control of the mercenary group and change its identity to solidify their emergence as a new operation.  Orga, now the leader of Tekkadan, takes over the task of escorting Bernstein to Earth, believing in her goal and the possibility of it being successful.  The members of Tekkadan are children who live on the margins of Martian society, despised as little more than sewer rats.  They see a chance at earning respect and taking control of their own destinies under Orga's leadership and enthusiastically throw their support to continue to job.

    From the start everything is stacked against the upstarts.  Gjallarhorn sends reinforcements to succeed where the provincial forces failed.  Tekkadan leaves Mars, fleeing their vastly superior enemies.  Once they understand the level of threat aimed at them they join with a powerful crime syndicate for patronage, support and protection.  The lone Tekkadon ship partners with a sister group in the syndicate to continue the treacherous journey.  Along the way they are constantly attacked by forces trying to prevent Bernstein from publicly addressing imperial oppression.  Tekkadan facing lose and a greater understanding of the difficulty of others, not just on Mars, further empowers them to push on towards their inevitable death on Earth.

    This was a much needed return to quality story telling in the Gundam universe, following a few less than stellar TV series.  The core ideals of the series deal with child soldiers and imperialism.  The series deals with these powerful things with bi-shonen Caucasian looking characters.  Somewhat lessening the impact of real world issues.  There is a lot of freedom when it comes to Tekkadan's abilities as well, most glaringly when it comes to space flight and operating space-faring ships.  How exactly do discarded, lowest tier child soldiers who are abused and used as little more than cannon fodder understand how to not only launch but successfully operate an orbital vehicle?  This is one of the glaring and obvious lapses of reality that go to lesson the impact of the real world messages the series is trying to deliver.

    The character designs are some of the oddest that that the Gundam franchise has seen since the 80's.  The mechanical designs as well are rather sub-par compared with other recent series'.  The bread and butter for the die hard Gundam fans is also mostly absent in the series.  As the story progresses we don't see the constant equipment upgrading that has become integral in the franchise.  There are long pauses in the story in which a mobile suit is almost non-existent.  Instead we get a decent attempt at a Gundam story that focuses more on the characters and their plight instead of spending undue time on the mechanical aspects of the show.

    With all of that said, I actually enjoyed the series and eagerly await its return, as eluded at the end of the final episode.  There were some serious levels of plot armor through out, but its no fuss straight forward story telling was welcomed.  As it neared the end it did begin to pick up some less than useful obligatory characters which didn't do much for the over all progress and appeal of the story.  They seemed more as throw ins for helping develop a plot arc that wasn't fully developed.  Yet with all of it's flaw's it was still enjoyable.

    The series is available streaming in North America currently, with a dub being produced.  This is also a signal that video releases are pending.  The second season of the show is slated to begin airing in the Fall of 2016.

Mr. Osomatsu

Mr. Osomatsu (おそ松さん) is the 25 episode return of the long running gag manga series Osomatsu-kun by Akatsuka Fujio.  The series aired between 2015 and 2016.

    Osomatsu-kun is a comedy manga from the 60's that focused on unlikely sextuplets and their mischief.  The brothers; Osomatsu, Jyushimatsu, Ichimatsu, Choromatsu, Karamatsu and Todomatsu, interact with other kids and people in their area in disruptive and underhanded ways.  The manga saw a 1960's anime and another anime in the late 1980's.

    The Matsuno sextuplets are portrayed in the new series as adults; lazy, perverted, hopeless NEET adults.  They spend their days screwing off in their house basking in the freedom of being cared for by their aging parents.  All of the primary supporting characters from the original series' appear in the new series, supporting similar roles to those they help in the past.  There is no general direction through out the series.  Each episode is comprised of vignettes that are generally unrelated.  The first episode was a troll episode as well.  Featuring current artistic and character design styles and poking fun at every major anime brand currently.  In the second episode and the majority of the rest the artwork 'regresses' to a more simplistic style indicative of the earlier versions.

    This is a prime example of idiotic, tongue-in-cheek, regressive humor that is the hallmark of gag comedy.  The show was about pushing boundaries of decency and public acceptance.  But the most controversial episode was the first one in which it laid waste to many of the top anime franchises now as it lambasted them to the point of ripping them off.  Enough financial threat was aimed at TV Tokyo that they eliminated the first episode from further broadcast and purged it from the video releases.  Once the dust settled though it did seem that the most outrageous attacks leveled by the show lessened, much to my disappointment.

    The artwork is classical in design and fits with the series origins very well.  The Matsuno brothers all look like someone from Garfield.  It was refreshing to have a less stylized, simplistically animated series.  It was massively refreshing to have a gag anime arrive that has taken Japan by storm, reinvigorating interest in this classic series.  Yet this isn't everyone's cup of tea in the West, where comedy and anime are viewed differently than in Japan.  For me the series filled a niche I enjoy and even though there were some bad episodes and bad segments, particularly the ones focusing on Iyami, the series overall was a joy to watch and lose some brain cells to.

    Its success and popularity has been astounding, a testament to the staying power of anime aimed at general audiences instead of filling niche otaku genre's.  It has even seen some decent exposure and interest in the west as well.  This will not be the last we see of these adult iterations and expect a video release in North America too.  This may raise enough interest in at least the 80's version to resurrect it for Western audiences.

    The series is currently available for streaming on Crunchyroll.

Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash

Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash ((灰と幻想のグリムガル) is a 12 episode fantasy series based on the light novels of the same name by Jumonji Ao and Eiri Shirai.  It originally aired over the winter of 2016.

    A group of people suddenly find themselves in an unknown land with no memory of how they got their or where they came from.  To survive they must turn to the world of hired monster killers.  The strongest band together to forge their way into the world and the six remaining 'weak' individuals left decide to join up as well.  Each person must join the guild of a profession that they determine will benefit their survival in this new, fantasy set, world.  Once they are accepted and go through basic training they regroup to begin hunting monsters outside of their village.

    The party ends up being led by Manato who has chosen the path of Cleric.  The small band of four guys and two women struggle to combat weak goblins in order to feed themselves.  Killing doesn't come naturally for them nor does forcing themselves into danger.  Driven by survival they push on, fighting more low level monsters, to the point where they become more comfortable with their situation.  They become to comfortable and the death of one of their party members forces them to question the situation they find themselves in.  They have to come to terms with the reality of their existence and what it will mean for their future.

    There are a few things that separate Grimgar from the other recent shows that deal with modern people finding themselves trapped in a fantasy world were they have to hunt goblins to survive.  The biggest is that the characters have no recollection of their lives prior to this new world.  The most important is that these characters are reluctant to kill.  They do so out of necessity instead of pride and fame.  They struggle with the morality of their chosen profession and are driven more by need than want.  The characters are not presented as heroes, they are ordinary people struggling to adapt to an unusual situation.  The series focuses on character development above everything else.

   That said there are a few moments of pointless fan-service, particularly with the trainer for the theif guild and her attire.  The series is well done but that one in particular seemed incredibly pointless and more of a distraction.  Yet, its few and afar between and nothing like the garbage that fills so many shonen fantasy series.  So as a 'prude' I can ignore it and move on.

    The artwork is beautiful and works well for the series.  Designed to look like water colors with a muted palate of hues and shadows through out.  The character designs are simple enough yet conforming to modern aesthetics enough to not look out of place.  Action sequences are easy enough to follow but the real strength is in the background pieces and the natural world.

    Yet another fantasy series entertained me, this is something like 3 or 4 now in the past few years when previously I abhorred pretty much anything in the anime world that resembled Dungeons and Dragons. I grew up a basement dwelling dice rolling nerd and mostly read fantasy novels as a kid, so I don't hate fantasy just anime depictions of it.  What really got me with Grimgar is that the characters are not bad ass over powered egotists.  They struggled through the entire story and had personal flaws that resonated.  Mainly the series followed Haruhiro who was the most fleshed out, but the rest fit their stereotypical roles well enough.  The series didn't dwell on the characters trying to remember of reclaim their past lives either.

    The series was simulcast on Crunchyroll and Hulu.  I'm sure it will see a video release in North America at some point.  The real question is, will we see a translation of the light novels?

Please Tell me! Galko-chan

Please tell me! Galko-chan (おしえて！ギャル子ちゃん) is a 12 episode comedy based on the manga of the same name by Suzuki Kenya.  The series originally aired in the winter of 2016.

    Galko is a fun loving, air headed and promiscuous looking gyaru.  The series of shorts details random conversations with her best friends; the book otaku Otako and the proper rich girl, Ojo, along with the rest of her high school class.  Such topics as what the size of someones breasts represent and how slutty girls behave outside of school.  Galko my look loose but she's really a sensitive and private girl who loves flashy fashion.  Her attitude and appearance makes her the target of unwarranted suspicions from those around her.

    For a cheap and raunchy sporadic comedy this short anime was actually rather enjoyable.  There is little substance in the show and the dialogue is humorous if somewhat outrageous.  It's more like a candid snap shot at the dumb stuff high school kids think about.  The character designs are over the top and everyone's reactions are extreme but that adds to part of the shows charm.  It's a good dose of brainless and innocent/adult humor.  I was actually surprised with how well I enjoyed this show that seems like a exploitative waste of time in the beginning.  The final episode, where it explains how the three girls joined forces was really well done and unexpected given the flow of everything before it.  Almost made me sad to say good bye the show and wished more of it was done in that fashion.  But, its a pointless comedy about dumb conversations that was entertaining if nothing else.

    Don't expect a disc release, the manga is available though by Seaven Seas Entertainment.  The show is currently available on Crunchyroll.

She and Her Cat - Everything Flows -

She and Her Cat - Everything Flows - (彼女と彼女の猫 -Everything Flows-) is a new short series by Shinkai Makoto, revisiting and greatly expanding the concept established in his short film of the same name from 1999.  The four episode story came out weekly in March 2016.

    The story follows a young woman, Miyu, and her cat, Daru.  Miyu has moved out of her mothers house to become an adult but things become problematic when her roommate moves out a year later.  Faced with loneliness and an uncertain future Miyu falls into a deep depression.  Daru, who has been connected to the woman since she was young, does the best he can to help his lost owner.  But he understands that even he is limited in what he can do.

    This is Shinkai at his most basic form, a simple tale of the attachment two living things have for each other.  It is also an emotional trap as Shinkai thrives on weaving stories of loss, regret and sadness.  It goes with out saying that the story is a melancholy one.  The story simply conveys the mental struggles of the young woman and the reflection of her faithful cat as he tries to comfort her.  The artwork fits the tone of the story well and is less realistic than his other creations.  It has a soft dream like feel to it.

    This is a very enjoyable if sad tale.  It is unlikely that it will ever see a disc release in North America and is currently available on Crunchyroll.  If you are a fan of the things Shinkai does you will want to watch this.

Erased

Erased (僕だけがいない街) is a 12 episode supernatural mystery based on the manga Boku Dake ga Inai Machi by Sanbei Kei.  The series aired in Japan in the winter of 2016.

    In 2006 Fujinuma Satoru is struggling to be a manga artists.  He delivers pizza to cover his bills and sometimes finds himself repeating the last few minutes of time.  The 'revival' as he calls it, act as a trigger to help him stop accidents.  While on a delivery he experiences a revival that allows him to stop a runaway delivery truck from killing a child.  In the process Satoru is hit by a car and put in a coma for a few days.  His mother comes to Tokyo from her home in northern Japan to look after her injured son.  Satoru resents his mother and tries to get her to leave.

    While she stays with him she talks about a series of kidnappings and murders that happened when he was in 5th grade.  Satoru had all but pushed the incident from his memory since two of the victims were classmates.  He and his mother begin to look into the murders again, believing that the man convicted of them is innocent.  Satoru's mother strikes a chord with her research and the real killer kills her to protect his secrets.  Satoru comes home to find her body just as the police arrive.  Targeted as suspect number one Satoru flees the police only to have another revival, finding himself 18 years in the past living in his 10 year old self's world.  He see's this as an opportunity to stop the murders from then as a way to also save his mother back in the present.  But what will he be able to do as a 10 year old to the rest of the world?

    This is one of those rare shows that grabs you from the start and doesn't let go until it's over with.  You go into the first episode expecting it to be about a guy who stops tragic accidents in his spare time while he struggles to live his dreams, dreams he has failed to achieve as an adult.  Instead you dive head first into a who-dun-it mystery that plays on every ones anxiety about the choices they made in their past.  The story actual story isn't the best part, its the process of Satoru reliving his life as a 10 year old but trying to use his 29 years of experience to help his friends from being murdered.  He struggles with having a child's body and not being able to have any one understand that he's mentally traveled back in time.  The first time he see's his mother after he held her dead body is powerful and the show doesn't hold back through its course.

    A lot has been said about the artwork and directing of this series.  It was done by, Ito Tomohiko, who cut his teeth working for Hosoda Mamoru.  The background animation is very detailed while the character designs reflect the original designs of the manga and are a bit strange at times.  The real strength though are the camera shots and the way the scenery is used to help tell the story, adding subtle material to the dialogue and character interactions.  The only real complaint I have with the resolution of the climax.  Everything leading up to it, essentially the entire series, was so well done.  Just one thing with the final confrontation seemed a little cheap and a little over the top.  But its nothing to destroy the series and it in no way or shape lessens the impact of this show.  It's just something that annoyed me and seemed slightly lazy, stunt like if you will.

    The series will more than likely see a disc release in North America, while you wait it can be viewed on Crunchyroll and Hulu streaming in Japanese with English subs.  I also expect the manga, which wrapped up to coincide with the end of the anime, to be available in the near future in English as well.  The series was amazing and shows what good writing and directing can do.

A Quick Look at the Spring 2016 anime season

After combing through the handy upcoming list on Anime News Network here are all of the shows hitting the air waves in April that have perked my interest from vague information.

12-sai Chiccha na Mune no Tokimeki: What appears to be a slice of life comedy about the internal dialogue of a girl on the cusp of adulthood but still not totally out of childhood.  This could either be sweet and enjoyable or embarrassingly perverse...or maybe a mix of both like Today in Class 5-2 was.

Big Order: One boy received the ability to wish for what ever he wanted to when he was younger, he wished for the destruction of the world.  he has to live with that quilt in the aftermath of his wish.  I like post-apocalyptic stories and this is an interesting idea.  I don't expect this to go more than 1 cours.

Flying Witch: The trials and tribulations of a witch as she moves to a different part of Japan to live with family.  Kiki meats The Flying Nun?

Kuma Miko: A young shrine maiden suddenly has to help a manifestation of her shrines bear spirit understand the modern world.  This could go many different ways, most of the interest is in seeing what way it chooses.

Macross Delta: Even though I was severely let down with the teaser episode in January, I am going to give my oldest anime fandom a chance in its new, modern form.

Mayoiga: A group of people are on a bus trip to a town that may not even exist with the hopes of the towns ability to grant wishes being real.  This might actually be the most interesting show this season and somehow seems like a Japanese rendition of Canterbury Tales.

MS Gundam UC RE:0096:  Its Gundam, I need not say any more.

Neko Neko Nihonshi: Quick Japanese history lessons done with anthropomorphic cats.  I'm game, bring on the learning, nyaa.

Pan de Peace: The story focuses on some bread loving moe characters.  Could it be the bread version of Is The Order a Rabbit?  I hope not, but time will tell.

Rinne: The return of the latest series by Takahashi Rumiko, while not the best out there, it is fun and comfortable and welcomed to waste the time.

Sakamoto desu ga?: The wiping boy in middle school becomes golden in high school.  Not too enthusiastic, but it could be fun.

Shonen Maid: A kid who loves cleaning because his mother was psychologically abusive is offered a place to live with a relative following her death.  The caveat though is that he dresses up as a maid and clean his new house.  Uhm...not sure on this one.  Is it the trap version of Hanasaku Iroha?

Space Patrol Luluco: An average girl has her life turned upside down by catching the attention of an alien who is important or something...  I don't know, I think the episodes are short so whatever.  It probably wont last.

 

Tanaka-kun wa Itsumo Kedaruge: Slice of life comedy about a main character who slacks off all the time.  Something about it reminds me of Nozaki-kun so I guess its worth a shot.