- WARNING: THE FOLLOWING POST CONTAINS SPOILERS -
Wow the anime season of Spring 2015 has really popped out at me. There was a little bit of everything. Oregairu's second season performs spectacularly, despite the studio change. The tears of all were shed in the finale of Plastic Memories, while many howled laughter at the romcom that is Ore Monogatari!! And there was also that period of time where the world went into a brief frenzy over the blue ribbon in DanMachi.
All this stuff going on and I was dying to just write something about it. Now that the season has ended, I can finally announce the start of the great Spring 2015 Concluding Thoughts post. Sorta like a review, only a really bad one.
So here's MaL, and you should get yourself ready for part one of my great old anime post.
So here's MaL, and you should get yourself ready for part one of my great old anime post.
Note: From now on all anime posts at the start of the season will be titled "[Anime] Season Year First Impressions", while all posts at the end of the season will now change to "[Anime] Season Year Concluding Thoughts".
This Season:
One Sentence: Really bizarre comedy/action about a giant, earth-threatening, octopus that teaches an underprivileged class at an elite school.
The one thing that was very consistent through Ansatsu Kyoushitsu was the content. It stayed true to its comedy side, to the very end, without ever growing stale. Just the premise of a huge yellow octopus seems quirky enough to validate a watch, and once you start, it's interesting enough to hang onto.
Another really great aspect of this anime were the characters. It goes without saying that the main roles got the most development, screen time, etc., but what stands out is how much the supporting characters got. By the end of it all it felt like every character of at least slight importance had grown considerably. All the students were great in their own aspects, and that added a whole lot to the show. So there's more praise for Ansatsu Kyoushitsu.
Both openings were lively and upbeat, while the ending is nice and calm to listen to. Animation was pretty spot on, effectively showing off action scenes, and the art style very vibrant and fitting for the anime.
As a late finisher of the winter season, Ansatsu Kyoushitsu completes its first season off wonderfully. Personally I found the series very enjoyable and engaging. It had great comedy while providing a seemingly light-hearted show. There were moments of serious undertones, which sets the show up for its upcoming second season.
One Sentence: Action scenes give off SAO vibes (*shudders*), no real plot progression happens, and a lot of pointless things are added.
DanMachi was definitely the low for this season, although to be fair, there wasn't much to expect from this generic show. I tended to fall behind an episode or two, but did make it in time for the final, only to be utterly disappointed.
Let's start off with the biggest problem: the plot, or more so, the lack of plot. Pretty much n-o-t-h-i-n-g happens. When you finish an anime that didn't have at least a decent plot, you don't feel like anything has changed. Anime is supposed to invoke feelings and provide some form of entertainment to the viewer, but DanMachi fails miserably in both departments.
Somewhat tying in with the plot fiasco, we also have the characters. None of them are fleshed out properly, and fit into very generic and stereotypical roles. You have the main character who is this one-in-a-million guy who somehow is much stronger than every other single person. It's then a rule that this MC must have a harem, consisting (but not limited to) of: the loli, the overly attached, the stoic, and the shy and kind. Characters who did have even a little bit of potential are completely stomped out in favour of the leading roles, getting no development (I'm looking at you, Ryu Lion).
Honestly the only reason why I watched this anime was because Aiz looked a tiny bit like Shiina from Sakurasou, but I was sorely wrong in hoping that I would get much value from watching DanMachi. My advice is to skip it or drop it if you haven't already.
Best Girl: Mamma Mia, for being the only level head throughout this show
Danna ga Nani wo Itteiru ka Wakaranai Ken 2 Sure-me (short, 13)
I Rate: 6.8/10
One Sentence: Second season of shorts about the life of a wife and her otaku husband.
For what it's worth, Danna ga Nani wo Itteiru ka Wakaranai Ken 2 Sure-me, is pretty solid, if you're looking for something to watch within an hour. The show has 13 episodes, each spanning around 3 minutes. In that amount of time there's a whole bunch of soft comedy, and that's pretty much all you get. Goes without saying, but don't watch and expect something great.
Best Girl: Who else but Kaoru?
Grisaia no Meikyuu (special, 47 min.)
One Sentence: Great special that provides superb backstory on the life of the main protagonist, Yuuji, while giving some ground for the second season.
Without this special, I probably wouldn't have enjoyed the second season as much as I did. The thing that I really really liked about this special was that it was 47 minutes of building the character Yuuji. It goes through the events of his life up until he meets his mentor Asako. His time with Asako is covered in Grisaia no Rakuen's first few episodes, making Meikyuu a great bridge.
Characters are well built and their personalities and type are established through Yuuji's eyes. Animation and music were as typical of the Grisaia series (above average), and I thought that the dark and sombre tones of Meikyuu were a great addition, not seen in the main series.
There's quite a bit of violence and touchy themes in this special. Events of rape, sexual abuse, violence, and a whole bunch of other "mature themes" are heavily implied, making Meikyuu a watch that I would carefully approach. If you're known as the really sensitive type, I would stay away from this, and possibly even the series in general.
Best Girl: J.B.
Grisaia no Rakuen (10)
One Sentence: First half of the season finishes off the events in Meikyuu, and a new arc about Yuuji facing his most formidable enemy branches off that.
There are several factors as to why the whole of the Grisaia series is held in such high regard by me. Firstly, I find all the characters to be quite likable, even if some of them follow common archetypes. The second reason is because of the plot, which is riveting and in general, really good (due to the fact the series is adapted from a visual novel). And thirdly, the show knows how to keep its viewers interested.
Let's start off with characters. There's a lot of them, but every person holds quite a bit of significance. While that's to be expected of a series that has gone around for roughly two seasons, it's always something good to have likeable and relatable characters with depth. In Grisaia no Kajitsu (the first installment), the past and troubles of each girl was pretty much covered, in a series of mini-arcs (much akin to Clannad). Because that was done, Meikyuu had more time to focus on driving a plot to its viewers, resulting in 10 episodes that actually worked out.
While we can't say that the first season had a remarkable amount of plot (asides from the last arc), Rakuen makes up for it well. There's this pattern, where each installment leads into the next one. Mini-plots are present, but they eventually all connect in Rakuen, forming one large and beautiful cohesive plot. All this happening, while the main story of Yuuji vs. his "creator" is still told.
I believe that this is the last season for the series, as there's really no more source material to go off of and Rakuen ended things nicely.
Best Girl: Amane
High School DxD BorN (12)
One Sentence: Really, why am I watching this?
High School DxD, in general, is fitted for a specific audience. It would be an understatement to say that I'm not a part of that specific audience. For those who enjoy excessive amounts of nudity, suggestive scenes and sounds, and a really big harem, I would like to introduce you to a series called High School DxD.
Flat characters (no I'm not talking about that, otherwise you'd have some pretty big characters), the same plot repeated again, and lack of attention to supporting characters leads to this disaster of an anime. Characters don't get any growth, and stay the same as they were from the first season. The storyline of every High School DxD season (at its essentials) is 1) a mini-boss battle, and 2) a finale boss battle, both of which hold no significant value.
If you're really going to watch this series, please do so without thinking too much. There's nothing too complex, and any decent backstory is ruined. Off the top of my head, Kiba and Akeno had pretty interesting pasts, but they were lazily covered and "solved".
Best Girl: Akeno
Nisekoi Season 2 (12)
I Rate: 7.5/10
One Sentence: Everybody knows Nisekoi, but I see it as: so much wrong, but so much good.
Before I delve into why season two of Nisekoi gets a 7.5 from me, let me just say that I'm pretty sure that this season's ending hinted at a ChitogexRaku ending. Nothing really "official happens", but that's just the typical Shaft tease. If Nisekoi ends off here, I'll take it as a Chitoge ending, but Shaft is infamous for milking out series (AHEM MONOGATARI), so I dunno if it'll stay that way.
Alright, so the sole reason why the second season of Nisekoi has obtained a relatively high rating is because of my personal enjoyment of the members of Raku's harem. Hell, you could even say that each girl has her own value to add to the show's rating.
Nisekoi (plot, animation, etc.): 4.0
Chitoge: 1.0
Onodera: 0.6
Ruri: 0.6
Haru: 0.5
Marika: 0.5
Tsugumi: 0.3
There is little to no plot, but the art and animation are really nice (thanks to based god Shaft). Additionally the premise of just a guy surrounded by a harem of cute girls gives another bit of rating, adding up to a subtotal of 4.0 for the show at its core.
Now you can see the relative value of each girl. Chitoge leads the pack at a solid 1.0, with Onodera desperately attempting to catch up at her measly rating of 0.6. Really it's no contest.
tldr: Nisekoi season 2 gets 7.5 because of Chitoge and Shaft animation
Best Girl: the sole reason why I watch the show: Chitoge
- CONTINUED IN PART 2 -
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