Spring 2015 Anime Pre-Season Impressions!

As of this moment, we are getting dangerously close to the start of the new season, so there's no better time to publish this than now.
I know I didn't do one for last season, and I'm actually glad I didn't, because this Winter season was awful. But hey, Spring is a time of new beginnings, so let's take a look at some of the shows that will be hitting Japanese airwaves soon and my thoughts on them! All pictures and information gotten from http://anichart.net/spring, so go check the page out!

I am actually going to watch a few shows for sure this season! This is the start of me actually watching simulcasts! (Although they're all squeals)


In between the time I published my Fall Impressions post and now, I actually went and caught up to the Fate canon! The first half of Unlimited Blade Works was great, and I can't wait to see how it ends.


My body is ready for more colorful boys dancing and singing in Uta no☆Prince-sama♪ Maji Love Revolutions! At least I get more of Mamoru Miyano singing in his heavenly voice. *Fangirl sigh*


Just out of curiosity, I picked up the first season of this anime and did enjoy it a bit. And hey, the episodes are short, so I can look forwards to 4 minutes of Danna ga Nani o Itteiru ka Wakaranai Ken 2-sure-me this season. 


I am watching the first season of this show right now, so hopefully, I can catch up before Sidonia no Kishi: Daikyuu Wakusei Seneki begins. 
UPDATE 30 March 2015: I finished the first season, just need to wait for this now. 

And here are the rest of the shows I'd like to give my thoughts on: 
Full TV Originals:

Arslan Senki sounds a bit (okay, quite a bit) like a generic fantasy. And I would say something about this sounding like Akatsuki no Yona, but I haven't finished that show yet. 

Do we really need more anime that express the fantasy of a male otaku ascending to become so much more than your average NEET? Well, Denpa Kyoushi is taking a leaf out of Ken Akamatsu's book by having a young prodigy become a teacher for a whole class of bodacious babes. Well, A-1 Pictures is handling this, so at least it will look nice. 

J.C. Staff is going to give us Dungeon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darou ka? a somewhat generic sounding fantasy-adventure anime which combines western mythology with moe in a way only anime can do. 

Etotama personifies the animals of the Chinese Zodiac, has the cat(girl) wanting to join the Zodiac (Geee, real original) and then has our catgirl become a freeloader at a guy's place in da-da-da-daaa, Akihabara. This is most likely a show that's nothing but otaku pandering. Skip.

Gunslinger Stratos: The Animation looks and seems like a watered-down version of either a certain famous series by Sunrise or Production I.G. It seems interesting, but this could easily be ruined with excessive fanservice or overused anime tropes. 

Hibike! Euphonium is one of the most anticipated shows this season, probably because it's got KyoAni's name attached to it. As a longtime musician and band geek, I might actually watch this. The PV looks good, too. 
 
I can feel the hype, but please, please, please, please, PLEASE don't let us down! Kekkai Sensen is looking to be one of the most promising shows on this chart, and this thing has got Funimation's name all over it. 

Is this Kyoukai no Rinne just going to be a re-skin of Bleach with Rumiko Takahashi's art style? Eh, well, generic shonen is generic. The least it can do is be enjoyable, and we'll have to see about that. 

Mikagura Gakuen Kumikyoku. Ehhh, I've seen this "school where abilities are granted through fighting each other" shtick many times in anime. Skip.

Ore Monogatari!! is another promising show from this chart. This time, by being a shojo that "breaks the boundaries and tropes" where the main character is a not-so bishonen big guy. I really hope some good writing and character development happens here.

Let's hope WIT once again gives us some great action animation with Owari no Seraph. The premise doesn't sound terribly original, but at least is provides a viable excuse as to why all the people doing the fighting are kids and teenagers.

And we've got another anime that deals with humans loving humanoid androids! The only way I think Plastic Memories could be good is if they put in some legitimately good and emotional writing. However, being a believer of Sturgeon's Law when it comes to anime, I am doubtful that will happen.

I don't really have many thoughts on Punch Line. So I'm just gonna leave this here... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bD0nFmu2jKc

Uggggghhhhh, now you're not even trying trying anymore, Re-Kan! You're not even trying to sound original!!!

In this corner, we've got Shokugeki no Souma a tournament-style battle shonen revolving around...cooking. Yes, you read that right, folks! Unfortunately, what turned me off from this anime was finding out this was going to be an ecchi. *Sigh* At least make the food look amazing...

Bones. What are you doing. Stop. You're not Toei. Please tell me you haven't resorted to kid shows like Show By Rock!!

UPDATE 30 MARCH 2015 It's actually not a kids show, and it's got pretty boys as well as moe girls. I saw this: http://www.funimation.com/blog/2015/03/28/funimation-acquires-rights-to-show-by-rock/ the day I originally posted this, actually.

Oh, boy. I think we've got another "super-edgy" show here with Triage X. I mean, Violence! Hot girls! Ambiguous morals! But I really don't think this anime will be anything spectacular. It might just be the next Akame ga Kill, though. 

And to finish off the TV originals, we've got Yamada-kun to Nananin no Majo, a comedy about two polar opposite characters switching bodies, and then hilarity shall ensue. Yeah...I think this will probably fall though the cracks of anime obscurity after it airs. 

And for the sequels...
 
A friend of mine is looking forward to High School DxD BorN and Nisekoi: this season. (He likes harems). So, this is for you, Alex.

These are sequels to shows and franchises that I've heard are good, so I'll just list them here.

Baby Steps Season 2


Diamond No Ace Second Season


Lupin III (2015)


Mahou Shojo Lyrical Nanoha ViVid


I thought Nagato Yuki-chan no Shoushitsu was going to be a movie. And IT'S NOT DONE BY KYOANI. WHAT IS THIS BLASPHEMY???

There's also quite a few franchise add-ons with the movies, specials, OVAs. I just don't feel like talking about them. I did not list everything that was on the chart on this post, so, again, go to http://anichart.net/spring to see the full chart along with plot synopses and when the shows start airing.

What are you looking forward to this coming Spring season? Is there anything on the chart I didn't talk about here that you would like me to give my thoughts on? Please leave your comments below. I read every one. But I've been having problems with a spammer in my comment sections, so PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE NO SPAM.

Cheers,
~Selena

Last Updated: 13 April 2014
Originally Published: 28 March 2014

Anime Milwaukee 2015 Photos!!!

I KNOW THIS IS REALLY LATE!!! LIKE A MONTH LATE!!! (Sorry)

Still gonna put the pictures up though...

(And yesterday was my birthday!!!)

I did have the chance to be at the con the whole day on Saturday, but I was lazy and didn't get up in time because I was tired FROM THE GYMNASTICS MEET I HAD PARTICIPATED IN LAST NIGHT that also happened to be on the third floor of the exact same convention center that was hosting Anime Milwaukee that weekend. And I seriously regret not being there the whole day.

Cosplay:

Yes, that is ME cosplaying as Rin Tohsaka from Fate/Stay Night on the left. If you're wondering why I blocked my face, it's because I just don't want my face on the internet. But it's a good thing I found an Archer at the con too! You should have seen his reaction when he spotted me. 

Here's a better picture of my Rin shirt. The shirt itself was from Goodwill, the white detailing was cut from athlete's tape, buttons were sewn on, and I even pinned the hem to make it angled. 

These three all went/go to my school

Same with the two on the right here

When I told him Tamaki was my favorite host, he told me he thought Rin was the best master. 

Panels:

Attack on Titan Q&A

Left to right: Caitlin Glass, J. Michael Tatum, Bryce Papenbrook, and Joel McDonald.

I also asked a question, and the video is here: http://youtu.be/5_-SkgCtmlI Apologies for the bad quality.

Steve Blum Q&A

This man has the BIGGEST VOICE RANGE EVER. 

Another horrible quality video I took from this panel: http://youtu.be/-3etTeBXjRY

Obligatory Con Pocky. I don't seem to like chocolate Pocky very much, but the berry one was great. (Oh don't worry, I've had Pocky before this.)

THE DEALER'S ROOM and ARTIST ALLEY

Seriously, I could spend HOURS (and hundreds of dollars) here. It's my FAVORITE part of a convention. And THANK YOU CON STAFF for making the dealer's room even BIGGER and making the aisles wider! (Last year was SUPER crowded!)

Don't LOSE YOUR WAYYYYYYYYYY

(Took this as I was running)

This is just a bit of a warning here. If you see these kinds of figures for sale anywhere, ones in these kinds of boxes or with the name "Xinzhida" on them, know that THEY ARE COUNTERFEITS. THEY ARE BOOTLEGS.

The rest of the con: 

Some random panel

This here was playing K-Pop the whole time. And had lots of con goers dancing by it. 

Tabletop room

CON HAUL

I bought...

Makoto Tachibana Plush: $15

Kyoko Sakura Keychain charm: $6

8 buttons from Rubberpunk: $10

(Team Gurren, Ace Attorney Objection, Garrison Brigade, Water Bender, Konoha Leaf, Rukia's glove symbol, Shion Kaito, and Kamui Gakupo)

Free! Iwatobi Swim Club tumbler: $15

I wish I bought more stuff... (;_;)

Free stuff: (By free, I actually mean free)

Animecons/Anime Midwest Lanyard

Crunchyroll Lanyard (Came with the con badge)

Crunchyroll bracelet

Daisho Con button

Mini versions of the DVD case covers for Karneval and The Devil is a Part-Timer

Wall scrolls were supposed to be $20 each, but there was a 2 for $35 deal going on, and for some reason, I went for it. I saw 3 different Ouran wall scrolls at the con, but this one was by far the best one I saw. There were no other wall scrolls that I really wanted that the vendor had, so I got the Death Note one. If I don't want to hang it up, I'll save it as an extra-special birthday present for an otaku friend.

And, I decided to buy prints. I actually kind of regret it, but oh well. There was a reason why I wanted prints and wall scrolls this time around, a reason I hope comes true later this year. The one in the top left was $15, and her prints were gorgeous. The other guy I bought the other 3 prints from was selling them for $12 each, but had a buy 2 get one free deal. 

And, to finish things off, two tiny con stories: 

I got to meet David Vincent at his booth in the Dealer's Room. I asked him, "Since it's Valentine's Day, can you say a cheesy pick-up line as Archer from Fate/Zero to Saber?" I attempted to record his response, but the lady at his booth said that I would have to pay $20 to record anything. I stopped recording, but she didn't say anything about typing on the internet what he said! "Hello Saber. Mongrel. Come here often?"

A friend of mine could not make it to the con, so she asked me to ask Bryce Papenbrook to propose to Klein as Kirito. She wasn't entirely serious, but I did it anyways. "Klein, will you, marry me?" and then he laughed. I was supposed to record it, but my phone was being dumb and wouldn't load the camera. Then I tried just the Voice Recording function on my phone, and THAT didn't work either!!! So, I had nothing to show for my work, but I tried as best to imitate what I had heard as possible in front of her. She was impressed.

And that about wraps up this long post! I really wish I took more pictures, but the past is the past. There are quite a few things I regretted about Anime Milwaukee this year, but all I can do is look forward to upcoming cons and make sure I'm more prepared. I've got 5 months to wait for Geek.Kon, and I actually plan on hosting a panel there.

So, did any of you see me at the con? (If you can remember). What's the best and worst thing you've ever gotten at a con?

Right now, I don't think I'll be able to come off my massive reviewing hiatus yet, but you will see a Spring Impressions post from me soon. I'm actually planning and preparing myself for a little project that I hope can get started this summer.

Cheers,
~Selena

Last Updated: 13 March 2015
Originally Published: 12 March 2015

3,000 Pageviews!!!

 

It's been another 1,000 pageviews, and what have I accomplished? Not that much, to be honest. (Reviewing hiatus intensifies)

But, yeah, thanks for the support, your comments, and here's to another great 1,000 pageviews!!!

Cheers,
~Selena

Last Updated: 18 January 2015
Originally Published: 18 January 2015

Sailor Moon Crystal Halfway Point Thoughts

Because I am extremely lazy, this will sort of count as a review for me. Also, this post will contain SPOILERS. 

As I write this, we are 13 episodes into the 26 episode ONA remake of Naoko Takeuchi's precious shojo series, Sailor Moon Crystal. It was created in honor of the original series' 20th anniversary, (though the start dates aren't actually 20 years apart for either the manga or the anime) and so far, has been more of a bed of controversy than one would imagine. These 13 episodes encompass the "Dark Kingdom" arc, with the "Black Moon" arc to be covered in episodes 14-26. We were supposed to be 14 episodes in by this point, but episodes were delayed a week twice so far.

First and foremost, I WOULD NOT have gotten into this anime, had I known the episodes were supposed to be released every two weeks. Quite often the wait for the new episode has been painful, especially those two times where the wait was three weeks, not two. If I wanted to experience the true Sailor Moon story, I could have read the manga. I actually thought about doing that quite often. But, I guess there's some part of me that wished I could have experienced the Sailor Moon boom back in the 90s, and this is sort of my way of "making up for" the experience.

During the first few episodes, I was often smiling uncontrollably, because what was on the screen was really cute, if not a little stupid and superficial. I loved seeing each of the Sailor Guardians get their episode spotlight, although I thought the antagonists were a bit repetitive. However, looking back on the 13 episodes so far, the story came off to me as very cliche, because it borrows tropes and plot points that have been used time and time again, particularly ones involving romance, that came before and after Sailor Moon. Tragic lovers, love triangles, reincarnation, forbidden love, etc. The story was all right up until about episode 9, where the Sailor Senshi actually felt like they had different personalities and the plot actually stuck to the manga. But, the producers decided to deviate from the manga, and that's when the story really fell apart. Sure, this adaptation of the manga is much more faithful than the 90s series, but I am not fond of the changes that were made here, the most prominent change being the worst offense. In episode 12, Usagi uses the holy sword to kill Beryl. However, in the manga, it was Venus. My guess as to why this change was made was to make Usagi seem less useless. For every episode I was engaged and glad I was watching this anime, there was an episode that made me feel extremely unsatisfied and felt a bit angry that I would have to wait at least another two weeks for an episode. The best example I can give is episodes nine and ten. Episode nine just felt so superficial, while episode ten gave us a major plot point that actually surprised me. The pacing was fine in the beginning of the anime, but then things slowed down considerably, which is part of the reason a few of the episodes felt unsatisfying. So, overall, do not expect a good plot from this anime at all.

Usagi is not a good "strong shojo protagonist." I realize she does change a bit, but Usagi is just as much of a whiny crybaby relying on Mamoru to save her in episode 13 as she is in episode 1. Sure, people make the excuse that she's just a lovestruck 14-year-old girl, but it just feels like she's completely dependent on Mamoru to be there for her. The rest of the Sailor Senshi are better characters than our protagonist. Personally, my favorite is Ami, though Makoto is a close second. My problem with these four girls, however, is they seem to all be connected to Usagi, rather create this sort of web of friendship. Here, let me show you with diagrams.

This is the friendship web in Sailor Moon Crystal:

 

And this is what the friendship web should look like.


This problem becomes much more noticeable when Usagi doesn't care as much abut her friends as they do her. She expects them to help her, but she doesn't help them when Evil Mamoru was attacking them in episode 11. Heck, she even thought of "joining" him, and abandoning her friends. Mamoru Chiba started off as a fabulous, but adorkable male protagonist, and I finally felt that feeling plenty of girls felt when seeing him in the original series from the 90s. I was really, really liking him, (yes I think he's hot) but he just doesn't have that *heart* I've felt from better male characters. The villains are all very cliche, but I did not expect the plot twist regarding the four kings. That was without a doubt one of the highlights of this anime.

I do appreciate the cleaned-up artwork to Crystal in comparison to its 90's counterpart, but the manga, in my opinion, has the best artwork. However, countless people have pointed out art and animation missteps in the past 6 months, ranging from little tiny things to stupid shortcuts.

Up top is the original, on the bottom is Japan's Blu-Ray edit. *sigh*

I really don't know why anyone thought animating the transformation sequences in 3D was a good idea, because a) it's much more effort, and b) just doesn't look good compared to the rest of the show. I don't like how it makes the sailor fuku or their hair look like plastic.

I actually like the soundtrack to this anime. The soundtrack overall feel very classic, very fitting for a fantasy-romance anime. I actually appreciate this feeling,in comparison to the original anime's soundtrack. Some of my favorite tracks include the Moon Tiara Boomerang, and the *MOON PURISUMU PAWAAAA...MEIKUUUU APPUUU!* (I'm sorry I had to). The opening and ending themes are good, but not as iconic as the original Moonlight Densetsu.

The biggest point I'm trying to stress here is Sailor Moon Crystal doesn't stand up other shojo and magical girl anime, even to its original manga counterpart, because we've seen what's come since, and what it has inspired in the 20-something years since it first came out. The Rayearths, the PreCures, the Mew Mews, the Peaches, the Mermaids, the Sakuras, the Charas, the Utenas, heck, even the Madokas all have Sailor Moon influences within them. Before Sailor Moon, magical girls rarely teamed up super-sentai style, and didn't necessarily have to use their powers to fight evil. Sailor Moon paved the way for a lot of anime, we owe it that much, but it's just that the stuff that came after it is just better than the original by building on the original concept, and taking it to greater heights.

If I were to give a score to these 13 episodes, I would probably say around a 6/10, but I will not completely judge this anime before it has the chance to redeem itself. Do I recommend this anime? For now, no, mainly because of the two-week wait. But once it's done, I would probably recommend this to little girls who haven't really seen a whole lot of anime. All the hardcore Sailor Moon fans are already watching this, so there's really no one for me to recommend this to. If you want to experience the Sailor Moon story, go read the manga. You know what, I'm probably going to do that eventually.

If you wish to check out this series for yourself, you can do so legally on Crunchyroll and Hulu,

Cheers,
~Selena

Last Updated: 13 January 2015
Originally Published: 13 January 2015