A Brief Review – Spring 2017 Anime

The long-awaited sequel finally arrived after three and a half years for most people…though I personally binged through all of season one and two at once. I have to say that while I thought the first season was incredible, and it really drew me into the world, the second season was a slight letdown. Perhaps because much of the initial shock value of the series was now the norm, it had less of an effect on me. This season continues on with a steady stream of action, and splices in a bit of romance and character building. However, where it falls short is exactly that, with all that action and plot aside, the characters feel rather shallow, and are driven only by simple emotions or desires. Jean aside, none of the other characters rece mive much attention. Though, that’s fine withe. Attack on Titan’s strong point is its action, soundtrack, and plot. There are certainly more plot twists to keep everyone addicted, even if they do appear to be slightly more predictable now, but the gradual revelation of various details is what keeps this going strong.

The synopsis and the initial three episodes were actually quite interesting, especially Glenn’s character. But as the series progressed and we saw more of Glenn’s background and his interactions with the supporting cast, it became clear that this was yet another one of those ‘magic school’ anime. It certainly entertains and gave me a good occasional laugh, but in the end, it feels much the same as many others that I’ve seen. Neither the plot, characters or soundtrack truly stand out from the crowd.

Oh boy, where do I begin? This comes from the same author as OreImo, which was good in its own right, but Eromanga-sensei was plain in comparison. The entire premise revolved around a LN author MC and his imouto illustrator and their circle of friends/colleagues. Though humorous at times (in part to the references it makes), it felt as though there was no progression. Almost all of the female cast seems to be in love with the MC, and the entire season simply painted their everyday life. It is an over-the-top exaggeration of a LN author’s life which may appeal to some, but it was probably one of the least interesting of this season for me, despite its comedic value.

This one is actually a 2-cour, so it will continue into the next season, but I will provide my opinion so far. This has turned out to be one of my favourites for the season. It is a completely original anime with a rather unique premise and execution. The anime portrays a world much the same as ours – we idolise and devote our time to fictional characters and worlds, to these so-called stories. Re:Creators mirrors this, and presents its world as one where these fictional characters are brought into the world of their creators. The way creators interact with their own creations is certainly interesting, and the realistic depth of Souta is, quite frankly, incredible. It is only later on that we are fully exposed to Souta’s inner psyche, but the buildup until that point has been phenomenal. Definitely excited to see how the rest of this pans out next season.

Naruto has been something that I grew up with, alongside others such as Dragon Ball Z and Yu-Gi-Oh. It was enjoyable to see much of the cast from Naruto return in their mature roles, but I’m still waiting to see where this goes. While the next generation has taken the spotlight, the formula appears to be the same – Boruto essentially seeks acknowledgement from his peers and his father, much the same way that Naruto did. It feels almost like Naruto all over again, but with a new cast – so I do hope that this series has something to show for itself other than acting as a new take on its predecessor.

I’m still waiting on the last episode of this, but I have to admit that it’s not as enjoyable when Bell isn’t the MC. Lefiya and Aiz are both fairly shallow – Lefiya seems like a bit of a simpleton, while Aiz remains largely expressionless, not allowing us a glimpse into what goes on in her mind. As a standalone, it doesn’t really offer much, but it may be a necessary step for future progression.

This one started off with an interesting plot, but soon became quite generic. I don’t really have much else to say aside from the fact that its is quite similar to many others, and is overall just ‘average’.

I actually started out liking this one because the MC seemed to be a badass, but taking a step back to evaluate it revealed that it was filled with cliches, and was just another one of those battle school harems. Much of the plot is nonsensical, and though the MC’s fights with each of the Five Swords are something to look forward to, the plot never amounts to anything meaningful.

Whether this is the end of the anime or not, it was well done. While each of the characters fit into their own ‘trope’ and stereotype, they manage to break free from time to time, and the fourth wall is occasionally breached to deliver some great humour. The underlying plot of the VN that they develop is really just a vehicle for the drama that plays out, it is able to draw out a lot of detail in each of the characters, and that has made it worthwhile.

This one didn’t turn out quite as I expected it to, but that was for the better. It started off as what appeared to be yet another cliched setting, but that just helped to serve as a backdrop for story that captured the essence of a relationship and something deeper than the monster-fighting. The true worth of this anime is only brought out in the last episode, and I have to admit that all aspects of this blended together very nicely. The plot and the characters in this story aren’t nearly as important as the underlying message that is conveyed.

Hmm, this was an oddball. It had a unique setting, and humour stemmed mostly from Naoto’s obsession with clockwork dolls, but the plot wasn’t too bad either, and the characters were likeable enough. I think what this lacked was a single defining element, or something that could really make it stand out even more. It was enjoyable mostly for the entertainment value that it brought, but it could have been executed better in my opinion.

This one is another 2-cour, so this will be my thoughts on it so far. Along with Re:Creators, this was another highlight of the season for me. It’s a bit of a silent achiever – on the surface, it appears to be a rather ordinary tale of students in a particular town, but the way in which it presents the characters and their abilities is where this shines. It has nothing flashy, but the unpredictability and intelligence of the plot is what makes this interesting. I have to admit that almost all of the cast lacks depth and defining traits in their personality, and they appear to be somewhat emotionless overall, though it doesn’t seem like a major negative at this point.

Coming from the same studio that does High School DxD, I was hoping that this would be good, but it falls quite short of that. It is still airing, but from beginning to end, it is nothing more than a vehicle for fan-service. I never really complain about fan-service, but I dislike it when that’s all there is. This is one such case – though there appears to be an overarching plot, most episodes follow a formula in which Lucifer and co. compete against one of the other Sins in some manner that results in various fan-service scenes. Everything is rather shallow, and at times I think that this might have been better either as a full-on Hentai, or with more narrative focus.

As an anime-only viewer, I’m actually glad that Berserk is getting more episodes, even if the animation isn’t great. Nonetheless, I’ve gotten used to it, and this season has been quite enjoyable. It’s always nice to see more of Guts’ badass scenes and his journey with a growing number of companions. It’s kept interesting by the plot and the underlying themes, though this season felt somewhat more disjointed. I’d love to see this continue, especially since I don’t have plans yet to start the manga.

This actually turned out to be pretty lewd. It reminds me of a few other similar anime in the same vein, and that’s what I’ll remember it as. It isn’t spectacular in any aspect, and the pace was a tad too slow for my liking. The only thing that really stood out were the ecchi scenes and jokes, but it is otherwise ordinary.

I don’t really know why I watched this, but it’s probably because each episode was only four minutes or so. I honestly don’t know what the point of the show was as it didn’t do anything particularly well. The animation style was primitive, and the stories simplistic. I could only laugh at times because of how bad this whole thing was executed.

This is probably the first Chinese anime that I’ve ever seen, and it turned out surprisingly good. The animation was top-notch, although quite a few of the male cast looked too similar and their names weren’t particularly memorable. The show builds up a few expectations that it can’t live up to though. At the beginning, it seemed as though we would watch a man’s journey to becoming the best again in the eSports world, but many of the episodes simply seemed to show that he was already the best, and people were just salty or jealous of what he had. The pace was slow in terms of actual progression, but it did well in portraying its world and ideals.