Spring Anime 2014 Weeks 2 & 3

Konichiwa!

So, I am finally back from my holiday! I had a great time and went to Barcelona, visiting the Juan Miro Museum. A very fascinating and engaging trip, Barcelona proves to me once again why it's my favorite city in the world other than Bordeaux. It was lively, cultural and overall a very fun trip. But anyway, now I'm back I'll be able to keep up with my anime-watching again. Once again, I'm on my Spring Anime Season Track. As you know, this is usually week-by-week, but I've had to sift through them all since 9 a.m Parisian Time today! And I've literally just finished, so enjoy my thoughts on this last fortnight of anime.

My Opinion of the Two Weeks (14th - 27th April)

This has been an absolute turnaround of a fortnight as far as anime is concerned. Many of the shows that I really liked at first have now become less liked because of several factors, whilst other shows I hadn't held in such high regard before have ultimately earned their respect from me as decent, solid shows with a strong focus on characters, story and animation.

Bones and Madhouse still lead the rest of the studios easily, as they are the two that have outmatched every other production studio this season. No Game No Life, Captain Earth and Soul Eater Not! are now three of the best shows at the moment. The effect that these shows have had demonstrates how they are still the giants they have been since their inceptions.

Selector Infected WIXOSS (J.C. Staff) is now starting to make me feel uncomfortable in how the audience is supposed to sympathize with the side character Kuzuki’s incestuous desire for her brother Yuzuki. I don’t at all agree with incest and if something has incest in it that’s supposed to make me feel for the partners, it drops down massively in my book. This is a real shame because I think the show overall isn't terrible and does have revolutionary intentions.

Brynhildr in the Darkness (Arms) is suffering from the same problems as its writer’s previous work, Elfen Lied: it became boring. The main characters have not had any major fight scenes up until this previous episode I’ve watched, which was a good comeback for the show. Unfortunately, this pushes the show out of the top five for me. If a television program can't maintain the consistency of substance that it had at the beginning, that unfortunately means that it loses its edge.

I have now dropped two more shows: Kamigami no Asobi (Brains’ Base) and Atelier: Escha and Logy (Gokumi). I dropped them simply because they were incredibly boring, but for different reasons. Kamigami was unoriginal. It’s a concept that’s been done to death, a basic reverse-harem anime. The only interesting thing about it was that the men in this harem were all Greek, Japanese, Norse or Egyptian Gods. However, many of the characters have absolute zero personality, especially Apollo, who is just overall nice with practically no depth. Atelier suffers from boring scenarios for episodes, such as fetching water for a nearby village or doing jobs around the main characters’ town. The characters are also especially weak, with Escha being too “kawaii” for my taste and Logy just overall as blank-faced and expressionless as Kit Harrington.

So these are my thoughts on what happened these weeks. Now, onward to the Top Five!

Top Five Ranking

1. No Game No Life (Studio Madhouse): This anime has just gotten better and better. Trust me when I say that if there's an anime whose main character reminds you of Lelouch Vi Britannia from Code Geass, then you should definitely watch it and sing its praises. No Game No Life isn't a show about action and fighting; overall it is an anime about intellect and combat with the mind. (Other recommended titles: Sword Art Online and Problem Children are Coming from Another World, aren't They?)

2. Black Bullet (Studio Kinema Citrus): Kinema Citrus have truly pulled out something wonderful with this Attack on Titan esque anime. The show has excellent story and character interactions between Rentaro and Enju allow the series space to breath before it's next animated action set piece. Developing the world and the mystery of Cursed Children also engages the audience. (Other recommended titles: Attack on Titan and Nobunagun)

3. Captain Earth (Studio Bones): An epic Mecha anime and the best by far this season, rising well above Knights of Sidonia and Daimidaler. Captain Earth has a great mech-building sequence that reminded me very much of Power Rangers. The characters are also fleshed out and allowed their own motivations and character traits to focus, with the center of the conflict being Humans vs. Aliens. (Other recommended titles: Eureka Seven and Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann)

4. Knights of Sidonia (Sidonia no Kishi) (Polygon Pictures): Packing a serious punch with tense action scenes and an absolutely kickass opening, Knights of Sidonia has risen to become a personal favorite of mine. Maybe it's the opening, maybe it's the likeability of Nagate, our main protagonist, but something about this show keeps bringing me back and hopefully it'll get better and better as time passes. (Other recommended titles: Attack on Titan and The Sky Crawlers)

5. Soul Eater Not! (Studio Bones): Despite a sudden shocking drop in quality, Soul Eater Not! still has just about enough charm and intrigue to make it one of the best on offer this season. The introduction of a conflict with an organisation of Traitors helps the anime along much smoother than before. The three main characters are also funny and have interesting quirks that sustain the show's charm. (Other recommended titles: Soul Eater and The Hentai Prince and the Stony Cat)

Thanks for reading. Sayonara!

Holiday Announcement

Konichiwa!

So, unfortunately for you guys, all of next week I will be on holiday. Now, don't start ranting and raving on your computers, but this does mean there will be no blog post this Sunday, since I am leaving tomorrow. However, this doesn't necessarily mean I've forgotten about you guys. I think I will have another blog post up today at some point, so please be patient.

Sayonara!

Spring Anime 2014 Week 1

Konichiwa!

So this section is where I follow Spring Anime on a weekly basis, with one blog post every Sunday. It contains my opinion on the week's worth of anime, which anime and studios are at their best and my ranking of the Top Five of the season at that point. Enjoy!

My Opinion of the week (7th to 13th April, 2014)

The season has been quite good thus far. Studio Arms and Bones have both pulled out something really spectacular from their shows “Brynhildr in the Darkness” and “Soul Eater Not!” Meanwhile, Bones and Madhouse compete for the top spot of best studio, which easily goes to Bones, since Bones has released three shows, two of which are in my top ten (“Soul Eater Not!” and “Captain Earth”).

I was extremely disappointed with J.C. Staff’s action-comedy offering of “Fuun Ishin Dai Shogun”, which has now been taken off of my list. The problem with it was that the animation and comedy were terrible and the almost-constant shaky cam was extremely annoying. It made Hunger Games look good! It’s disappointing because J.C. Staff have actually created an anime I like called Selector Infected WIXOSS, a dark and twisted take on the Magic Card genre, sort of like how Modoka Magica and Princess Tutu did the same thing in their respective genres.

Unfortunately, TNK, the same people who made “School Days” (and I don't need to tell you why anime fans universally hate it if you are one), have returned with an Ecchi Mecha Comedy called “Daimidaler: Prince vs. Penguin Empire”. Although not nearly as terrible as Brains’ Base’s “Kamigami no Asobi” or J.C. Staff’s unbearable action-comedy atrocity, it gives you what is promised on the package but with absolutely no charm, sub-par animation and the ugliest giant robot I have ever seen. Plus, the dick jokes are just immature and made in a bizarre way. It’s like TNK is the Michael Bay of anime: no shits given about story or characters, just made to appeal to testosterone-fueled man penis. Absolutely no intelligence whatsoever.

As for the rest, there’s not much that needs to be said. “Mekakucity Actors” has a very unique art style that almost reminds me of “Summer Wars” or “Samurai Champloo”. There are a couple of “Attack on Titan” wannabes that are actually not that bad (“Black Bullet” and “Knights of Sidonia”). “No Game No Life” has a resemblance to “Sword Art Online”, but only because they are both set in unique video game worlds. Madhouse actually surprised me because the anime they released I thought I would dismiss as “okay” was actually excellent and the one I thought would be “excellent” was actually only “meh”.

So, overall, this season has been fun so far. Though I know that there are going to be a lot of anime that I will stop watching after a while, I can’t doubt that there are some excellent quality anime on my top ten list.

Top Five Ranking

1. Brynhildr in the Darkness (Gokukoku no Brynhildr) (Studio Arms): Written by the same person who wrote "Elfen Lied", the first episode of this Sci-Fi Drama is as intriguing as it is beautiful. The animation stands out and while the characters may be a little bit boring, they still do stand quite well.

2. Soul Eater Not! (Studio Bones): Canon to one of my favorite Shounen, Soul Eater Not! reminds you why you liked "Soul Eater" so much. It has an interesting, cartoonish art-style, excellent fight scenes and hilarious comedic scenes. It also pulls more unexpected things out. For example, did you know that Death City had an airport? Neither did I and it totally surprised me, but in a good way.

3. Black Bullet (Studio Kinema Citrus): So many similarities to SNK! The wall, the external invaders, the near-extinction of mankind... It's practically SNK with a Sci-Fi twist. However, it still maintains enough originality and fight scenes to make it one of the best the season has to offer us so far.

4. No Game No Life (Studio Madhouse): As Lord Eddard Stark of Winterfell once said "Brace Yourselves, Comments mentioning Sword Art Online are Coming!" It's true, ever since SAO became popular, there has been an explosion of gaming-related plotlines and worlds in anime, as companies try to make a quick cash grab. However, what seperates SAO from No Game No Life is that NGNL is in many respects much better than SAO. The two main characters are much more likable than Kirito, the explanation as to why they have been dragged into that world is given in the first episode and the colors are much clearer and brighter. Just hope that it doesn't suffer from a really terrible arc at the end like SAO did.

5. Knights of Sidonia (Sidonia no Kishi) (Polygon Pictures): This is the other one with a lot of resemblance to SNK. However, like Black Bullet, it maintains enough originality to make it stand on its own two legs. There is also an air of mystery surrounding the main character, Nagate, which allows us to ask some questions that will ultimately need answering.

So, thanks for reading. Sayonara!

Welcome To My Blog!

Konichiwa!

I would just like to welcome you to my blog. Of course, you should probably know some things about me.

I love anime (the site name gives it away). I think it is one of the most interesting things I have come across in my life. I first discovered it last summer when I was just bored at home (I had watched "Naruto" before but didn't really rate it). Despite really nice weather, I was and always have been a bit of a shut-in. I've always liked being indoors more than outdoors and I am kind of a slave to the internet. I was introduced to anime this way. Bored and alone, I decided to watch a show that everyone on the net was buzzing about: "Attack on Titan".

"Attack on Titan" changed my whole perspective on anime. Before, I just thought that it was for immature man-children with a penchant for blood, perversity and unfunny humor. After watching SNK (the abbreviation of AoT's Japanese name), I realized that anime could be interesting and exciting. I began to watch more. As of 2014, I have watched the five essentials ("Cowboy Bebop", "Trigun", "Neon Genesis Evangelion", "Akira" and the majority of Studio Ghibli films), roughly 50 to 80 series (I lost track) and a ton of movies. Safe to say, I believe I have the qualifications to be identified as an "Anime Expert".

However, just because I love anime doesn't mean I specifically love all anime. I do still have my wits about me and the good grace to recognize a good show from a shit one. For example, I am not a fan at all of Harem or Ecchi anime, unless it does something to surprise me. I've also found that comedy varies between rib-achingly funny and painfully unfunny. It depends a lot on what I like, which is for the most part Sci-Fi. Something like "Cowboy Bebop" or "Code Geass" is what I would watch, whereas things like "Eiken" and "Toradora!" would be something I don't like.

However, I don't just watch anime, although it is the majority of what I watch because, well, there's so damn much of it. I am also a lover of Movies, Video Games, Books, Comics, Manga, etc... Basically, I am one of the biggest geeks you could possibly wish to meet (although why you would want to meet one is beyond me). I do love Western shows like "Game of Thrones", "Breaking Bad" and "The Walking Dead". I am currently reading "A Game of Thrones" by George R. R. Martin, "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel and "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens. I love being a nerd. It's one of the things that I hang on to. It's a part of me. My identity.

So this was my introduction to my blog, "Anime Nerds United". I do hope that I will build up a following over the time that I manage this blog, with both veteran and new anime fans.

So, for now, Sayonara!

P.S. Three Ground Rules:
1. At no point will I ever review or talk about "One Piece", "Naruto" or "Bleach" in detail. They are shows I have tried to get into but have ultimately found to be mediocre and too mainstream. There's no point talking about them because everyone else already has.
2. I will not review Hentai. No matter how brilliant you may think the story line of "Bible Black" may be, it's pornography. I enjoy Porn as much as any man but reviewing it would be like me reviewing a homicide: pointless, unenjoyable and extremely inappropriate.
3. I will only talk about anime. Nothing else. If I wanted to create a blog about something non-anime related, I could do it. But I am here to specifically talk about anime. I may reference a Western show or movie but the key word is "reference". I'm not going to talk about the latest "Game of Thrones" episode or a manga in detail.