Monday, November 11, 2013

Lucky Star

Lucky Star: B



Really hard to give a rating to this show, since it's about nothing.  Lucky Star is a slice of life show by Kyoto Animation with a number of notable qualities: it was one of the first major discussions of otaku culture that gained significant popularity in the west, the art style is highly recognizable and the series was wildly successful.  Personally, it was the series that taught me the words 'moe', 'lolicon' and 'fujoshi', as well as introducing me to tsurime.  It still remains the only series I have seen with a character who is an American otaku.  If you're familiar with the 'X is mai waifu' meme, Lucky Star fans originated that during the show's first airing, proclaiming otaku loli Konata to be their waifu.

But really, it's about nothing.  The characters talk about whatever's on their minds.  Though doing so they reveal quite a bit about their personalities and what they think various things and each other, and that's kind of fun.  But there is no drama, no plot, no progress and no development.  If it weren't so deliberate I would criticize this, as it is it's more a factor that prevents the series from being 'genius' and leaves it as simply 'entertaining'.  It features dozens upon dozens of references to other anime, most especially the Haruhi Suzumiya series, which it aired shortly after, and shares a number of voice actors with (not to mention being made by the same studio).

Lucky Star is the sort of show that so long as you know what to expect (and are interested in that) you'll probably enjoy.  The writing is clever, the characters are entertaining and even a westerner will have a lot of moments of thinking 'yeah, that totally happens, heh'.  If the idea of just watching girls talking about whatever doesn't appeal to you then you shouldn't watch it.

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou

Everyday Lives of High School Boys: B


Man, between this and what'll be my next review I'm kind of left without much to say.

It kinda does what it says on the tin.  There's these three high school dudes and they talk about stuff and make each other do stupid stuff and get involved in weird situations.  It stands out among slice-of-life series for having a primarily male cast and its humor being wacky without quite crossing into inappropriate, at least most of the time.

It's pretty darn funny, but really, what do you say about everyday lives anime?  There's no plot to speak of, though there's a lot of wackiness and backstory and a fairly large cast that you won't get tired of.  The jokes and situations are often embarrassing as hell.  The girls (who are fairly present, despite the high school in question being all-boys) are variations on terrifying, rude or crazy, but in a way that feels honest (these particular girls are crazy) rather than derisive (this is what girls are like).

I should also admit that I'm a fan of the voice actors involved, who are probably best known as Sora from Kingdom Hearts, Zack from Final Fantasy 7 and Kyon from the Haruhi Suzumiya series.  They've all done lots of other work but those are the ones most likely to be recognized to a broader western audience, and they're all clearly enjoying themselves in this piece.

If you want something really random and silly that isn't trying to appeal to anything except your humor, the Everyday Lives of High School Boys is pretty much the perfect slice of life series for you.  If you want romance, plot, development, or emotions other than laughter then find something else.

Monday, November 4, 2013

My Cred

Due to having made the list, I decided I'd publish it for posterity.  This is every anime series that I've finished.  If I only name a franchise without specifying particular series, I've seen all of it that I'm aware of.  Obviously I haven't reviewed all of these, and a lot of them I watched before I started this blog, but maybe I'll get back to them so they can all have letters someday.

This Season!

So while I figure out how I'm going to even try to describe Everyday Lives of High School Boys, I figured I'd do a quick post on the shows I'm watching and not watching this season.

Infinite Stratos Season 2:  I know I said I'd watch a second season if they made it, but oh my god is it bad.  Provisional D.

BlazBlue Alter Memory:  As a fan of the franchise I appreciate the new medium and perspective the anime provides, but the animation quality is positively embarrassing.  Provisional C.

Kyoukai no Kanata:  Kyoto Animation's work is as usual gorgeous, and now that we're about halfway through the season we're coming up to what the story is about, and it's working for me.  Not a piece of staggering genius, but certainly fun to watch.  Provisional B.

Kyousou Giga:  I have to admit, the ONA confused the crap out of me, but the actual series proper is proving to be a really awesome eastern fairy tale, a story about magic and family.  Kind of hard to follow, but definitely fun to watch.  Provisional A.

Kill la Kill:  Being the spiritual sequel to Gurren Lagann and containing a lot of girls in skimpy clothing, it's an extremely divisive series.  Some interesting hypotheses on its meaning here, and I hope that this person is right.  It's definitely starting to pick up now that we're about a quarter of the way through, and I think it definitely has the potential to be A or even S rank.  Even if it doesn't live up to that, I'm still enjoying it.

Unbreakable Machine-Doll:  I haven't been able to get into it yet, much as I like the idea of cute steamagic robot girls, I was kinda turned off by them going to a high school for arcanotech.  Maybe I'll give it another try later.

Strike the Blood:  Tried to watch the first episode, couldn't get through it, the premise felt hackneyed as hell.

Friday, November 1, 2013

Sekirei

Sekirei (Both Seasons):  F

This is actually the most clothing I could find a picture of them wearing.

I am a firm believer that people are free to like whatever they like, and that not everything is for everyone.

Sekirei is bad and if you like Sekirei you are bad.

I watched one episode and I knew it was pretty bad, but I had to watch three to make sure.  And at that point, I had to watch all 26, because once I'd committed that much time, I might as well do the world a service and explain exactly what about it is so terrible.

So, Sekirei is a harem/panty fighter with superpowers.  I will be spoiling some things, but trust me you're better off this way.