Infinite Stratos - IS - 01
Story: In the near future, a Japanese scientist engineers a powered combat exoskeleton called "Infinite Stratos" (IS). The IS easily defeat the world's military powers. Since only women can operate an IS, the power balance between men and women is broken, with women coming to dominate society over men. The peace is shattered, when a 15 year old Japanese boy, named Ichika Orimura, is discovered to be capable of operating an IS. Realizing the potential, Ichika is forced by the Japanese government to attend the prestigious Infinite Stratos Academy, an international academy where IS pilots from all over the world are trained.
Genre: Mecha, school life.
Comments: The 3D CGs were poor when not viewed in motion, but this ep was mostly about 2D school life, and that was ok.
Unlike in "Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou", the introductions were not rushed, I enjoyed this episode.
Aria the Scarlet Ammo 01
"The story takes place in Tokyo Butei High School, a special school where armed detectives ― "Butei" ― are trained to use weapons. Kinji Tooyama is a second-year-student who has a special ability, but he keeps it a secret to maintain an ordinary, peaceful life. However, when he gets caught in a bombing on the way to school, he encounters H. Aria Kanzaki, the most powerful S-Rank Butei student in Assault Studies."
Moe gunners.
Great action sequence, very good intro music, but then when the girls open their mouths, the quality drops below B-rated movie level.
It seems that there was nobody around to write a script, so they recycled old lines from last-year anime.
The voice actor for the guy does a decent job, but the girls' VAs were probably mis-casted or that no director was there to direct them.
I get the feeling they didn't care for human interaction, so I'm not sure I should care too... but, that action/music was awesome!
Ok, this was only the first episode, let me see another ep before I decide to drop it or not.
Hoshizora e Kakaru Hashi - 01
"Kazuma's brother Ayumu needs to recuperate from an illness, so they move from the city to a rural mountain village. They plan to board at their father's inn Yorozuyo, but get lost on their way. Wandering in the mountains, Kazuma stumbles across a girl named Ui Nakatsugawa. It's the first of many encounters in his new country life."
Dating sim moe.
Uh, I lost interest after 2 minutes. Too boring.
For the fans of the game.
Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko - 01
"The story revolves around a highschool boy named Niwa Makoto. He lives with his aunt’s family since his parents are away on business. It is there where he meets his mysterious cousin of the same age Touwa Erio ― who happens to tie a futon mattress around her upper body and is a self-proclaimed alien."
Crazy moe.
Amusing. "Origins of the Penrose Four-Dimensional Twisted Life"? Did she really read those books? I need to see another episode.
Yondemasu yo, Azazel-San - 01
Akutabe, a detective, summons demons to solve the troubles of his clients.
Comedy.
Gah! The secretary may be cute-ish, but most of the crew is ugly as hell.
For the fans of bawdry slapsticks.
Ano_Hana_-_01
Six childhood friends grew apart in high school. One of them is Jin-tan, now a shut-in. He gets a request to fulfill a wish from Menma. But in order to grant her wish, he will have to meet the others...
Overcoming social withdrawal.
Ah, I recognize that art style, it's from Toradora. Beautiful, and the animation is very nice. This looks like a winner.
Now the question is, is Menma a product of Jin's imagination? Nobody can see her, but that could be because as people grow up into the material world they lose contact with the spiritual side of life. She can create poltergeist-style effects, but this could be Jin's powers, or the powers of the group who are stuck in the loss of their old friend. I'll need to see more episodes to find out. :)
Blue Exorcist / Ao no Exorcist 01
This world consists of two dimensions joined as one, like a mirror. The first is the world in which the humans live, the other is the world of demons. Demons can pass over into this world by possessing anything that exist within it. But there's something that they doesn't have...
Battling demons.
High quality animation. Great ED. But, not much substance in this so far... Is he going to battle demons with his blue aura power and that blessed sword? Defeat the Final Boss (who will probably be his brother), and close the inter-dimensional door at the end? Then go back to work in the local supermarket as a normal human? Yawn...
Deadman Wonderland - 01
"Ganta Igarashi has been convicted of a crime that he hasn't committed, and sent to a new, privately owned and operated prison, where the inmates are the main attraction in a modern day twist to the gladiatorial coliseums of ancient times. Throw in a healthy dose of weird little girl, some new-found super powers, and a little conspiracy theory, and you have Deadman Wonderland."
Deadly games.
Death is now a marketing instrument to feed the masses with deadly entertainment. But luckily, our hero here is now superhuman, which is very handy. "Bread and Circuses"? Or, Candy and Circuses? And who is that white girl? I need another episode...
Blood-C - 01
Ep1: Saya meditates. Saya eats cake. Saya goes to school. Saya comes back from school. Saya battles monster. The end.
Slash of life.
Clamp. Noodles characters. Yaoi-looking males. Girl gets a sword, it's not explained why. Girl goes to kill a monster with it and almost gets killed there, but dad stays at home. Oh, and she doesn't even change clothes, she does it in her school uniform. And with her huge twin ponytail. And with her glasses, which stayed on her nose all the time...
Too creepy for me.
Ro-Kyu-Bu! - 01
"Subaru Hasegawa is a high school freshman, he joins the basketball team but soon finds out the team is inactive because the captain is being suspected as a lolicon. He miraculously is entangled with the job of being the coach of an elementary schools basketball team. With these girls and their love for basketball Subaru will have a hard time getting acknowledged by each of them."
Loli basketball.
Animation is nice. But it doesn't look like it's going to appeal to me, so I'll pass.
For the fans.
Sacred_Seven_-_01
"Arma Tandoji is an outcast in school and his life is a mess. But when Ruri of a powerful finance organization meets him, his life become a bigger mess!"
Battling monsters.
Pretty good. Is the Sacred_Seven related to higher dimensions? I noticed that when the crystal transforms into a mecha, there is a hyperdimensional effect like in NGE.
Ikoku Meiro no Croisee - 01
(La croisee dans un labyrinthe etranger)
"The story takes place in the second half of the 19th century, as Japanese culture gains popularity in the West. A young Japanese girl, Yune, accompanies a French traveller, Oscar, on his journey back to France, and offers to help at the family's ironwork shop in Paris. Oscar's nephew and shopowner Claude reluctantly accepts to take care of Yune, and we learn how those two, who have so little in common, get to understand each other and live together in the Paris of the 1800s."
Life in Paris.
Luscious art and ok animation, but...
A young girl who goes in another country without any relatives, in the second half of the 19th century? My suspension of disbelief is dropping.
The main incident is about selling clothes? My interest level is dropping too.
YuruYuri - 01
Four young girls take over the former room of a tea ceremony club for their own Amusement Club.
Drinking tea after school.
This looks like it's from an alternate universe where men don't exist. I didn't see even -one- male around. Animation looks nice, but nothing happens, it's just talk-talk-talk. Likely a female mangaka fantasy.
I tried to stay awake till the end of the episode, but those weird pupils and the incessant babbling made me give up half-way.
For the fan.
Kami-sama no Memo-chou 01
(God's notebook)
Narumi Fujishima is a student who happens to meet a loli detective and to become one of her assistants.
Loli solving mysteries.
Art is nice.
But, the mystery was not for the viewer to solve, it seems? We didn't get much clues.
So, like Narumi Fujishima, I'll have to just go along with the story...?
Ok, this was only a pre-airing. Lemme think again when the real series starts.
Kamisama Dolls - 01
Kyouhei, after moving away to Tokyo from his old town to get away from the events that happened, discovers a dead body in the elevator. He is then told by his little sister that an old friend of him is the one responsible.
Playing with dolls.
Animation/story are looking good.
But the girl he likes has big bazoongies... and his sister is jealous... and the guy who is in love with him is psychotic... and they all have high-tech weapons of mass destruction. Does this mean she's gonna die very soon? She has better wise up very fast. On the other hand, she is from the same village, so maybe there is a surprise...
Usagi Drop - 01
"When thirty-year-old Daikichi returns home for his grandfather's funeral he learns about the existence of Rin, his grandfather's illegitimate six-year-old daughter by an unknown mother. The girl is an embarrassment to all his relatives and is treated as an outcast. Annoyed by their attitude, Daikichi decides to take care of Rin himself, even though he is single and has no experience raising a child."
Daddy-bear dorama.
This gives a Honey&Clover vibe, which I didn't like. Yup, same studio. But ok, different authors.
And we have here an old guy who "conveniently" takes the loli for himself. Yeah, yeah, sure, he was not initially willing, but... I'm not sure I'm gonna like this.
Or is the anime going to do a time-skip for the next episode?
No.6 - 01
"The story is set in "No. 6," a future model city in 2013. Raised as a top-ranking elite since the age of 2, a boy named Shion lives in an exclusive area in No. 6. On the night of his 12th birthday, he rescues a boy who calls himself "Nezumi" ("Rat"). Nezumi ran away from the city's Special Security Area. From that moment on, Shion's life is changed forever... "
Boy-love sci-fi.
Eh, does neuroscience say the brain creates the soul? No wonder the students go crazy in that school...
Computerized bracelets? This may be interesting...
Eh wait, this turns out to be a boy-love story, completely out of the blue? And the ED is about the two guys looking at each other lovingly? Probably a female author fantasy.
The iDOLM@STER - 01
"The arduous struggle of the 13 girls from Talent Production 765 who dream of one day becoming idols in the competitive Japanese entertainment industry."
Idols management.
Based upon a raising simulation game.
Very nicely animated, it looks like that galge sold successfully. It looks like a big noisy nursery... but ok, that was just the intro.
Uta No Prince Sama - 01
"Nanami Haruka wants to be a song writer, so she attends an idol training school filled with beautiful bishounen. The school pairs each aspiring songwriter with an aspiring idol, but Haruka finds herself paired with 3 idols! To make things more difficult, Nanami is also not allowed to date any of her beautiful partners!"
F-a-b-u-l-o-u-s male harem.
...(For the fans.)
Mayo Chiki - 01
The story revolves around the life of a 17-year old young man named Subaru Konoe, who is the butler of one of his classmates, Kanade Suzutsuki. The story takes a dramatic turn when a boy named Kinjiro Sakamachi discovers Subaru's secret!
Comedy-lovedy.
Very lively animation. I like!
Mawaru_Penguindrum_-_01
"A terminally ill girl named Himari Takakura is miraculously saved from death by a strange spirit who resides in a penguin-shaped hat. However, in exchange for extending her life, the spirit tasks Himari's brothers, Kanba and Shoma, to seek out an item known as the Penguin Drum with assistance from a trio of strange penguins."
Fantasy.
Erm... Confusing. Not sure where this is going. I'll have to see another episode.
A Dark Rabbit has Seven Lives - 01
Kurogane Taito is a freshman. After an injury that prevented him from practicing sports, he had always believed that he was an ordinary guy. But since a (forgotten) pact with a vampire nine years ago, he was in fact no longer ordinary.
Vampires vs anti-vampires.
Heavy monotone voice acting... Newbie VAs, or bad directing? I'm leaning toward bad directing, as the story is being laid heavily too. Not sure I'm going to keep an interest.
R-15 - 01
Takuto Akutagawa has a special ability for writing porn novels. He applies to Hirameki Gakuen, a school which only accepts special people with unique talents.
Comedy.
Fog, fog everywhere. Is it part of the storytelling? Nah, they fogged up even panties, so it looks like a cheap plot to force DVD sales, which may mean they are not confident the DVDs will sell on merit alone, so possibly a bad omen. But some parts were good, so I dunno. Let me see another episode.
are you going to review Manyuu Hikenchou?
it sounded like a cool anime
>are you going to review Manyuu Hikenchou?
When is the uncensored version coming out?
I tried to watch one version, but I couldn't watch it, the lights blinded me, so I shut it down immediately to avoid major damage to my eyeballs.
Dantalian no Shoka - 01
(The Mystic Archives of Dantalian)
"Hugh Anthony Disward inherits an old mansion and a personal library from his grandfather. In the basement of the mansion, he meets a mysterious girl\Dalian. She is a Dantalian and a gateway to the Dantalian's bookshelf, which stores the prohibited books of the demons. "
Fantasy.
Pretty good. Animated by GAINAX. Animation is nice. Text is poetry-level. Several scenes and the ending were not animated tho, so I wonder if the budget was running low for this series. The two Voice Actors were good, but there was no real chemistry between the two. Will they warm up to each other, or will they remain stiff till the end? Tsun-tsun, or tsun-dere?
Manyuu Hikenchou 01 semi-DC
"The Shogunate employ the Manyu Clan, a group of samurai who know the endless intricacies and knowledge of the human breast, to keep the rich and poor in their place. Using knowledge and techniques passed down through the generations, the Manyu Clan nurtures the future aristocracy to reach their buxom potential. They also dispatch of the poor who develop massive, magnificent mounds through the use of their secret slashing technique, which rips the "soul" of the breast out of the target's body. Without harming their supple body, of course.
Chifusa, the future successor of the Manyu Clan, becomes disillusioned of the crazy society in which she lives, and flees with the sacred scroll of the clan, which explains all of their breast-growing secrets, as well as the technique to destroy the breast."
Tits slashers.
By the studio who made Qwaser, and it's another ultra-violent, loveless story.
The animation is good, but I didn't like any of the characters, the interactions are sketchy, and the plot looks like it's going nowhere. I think I'm going to flee too.
For the fan.
C3 (C-Cube) 01
Haruaki Yachi is a high school student who lives alone.
One night he finds a girl in his kitchen. The girl says she is a "cursed tool", sent to him to break the curse.
Hijinks.
Whoa, the plot looks stale! We see the old tsundere switcheroo, the last-year blue-haired invader mess, and so on. Is this is even based on anything? Oh yeah, there's a manga. Let's see... Uh, it looks like the anime isn't following the manga too closely, if at all.
Too many things annoy me in the anime. For example, you can't make only one side of a Rubik cube, it's impossible. If this is a Kodomo-anime, it teaches stupid things to the kids. If this is an adult anime, it insults the adult.
Not sure I'm gonna keep an interest.
Phi Brain - Kami no Puzzle - 01
Kaito, a puzzle-loving high school freshman, finds an unsolvable puzzle near his school. The puzzle turns out to be a life-threatening philosopher's puzzle, created by a mysterious group.
Puzzle buzzle.
Puzzle solving, but the viewer is not given time to solve anything. The hero is doing it all alone. For example with the puzzle on the door lock, we are not allowed to see the puzzle more than a fraction of second, it's solved off-screen.
Is this based on a manga? Ah yeah, "Phi Brain: Saigo no Puzzle".
Maji de Watashi ni Koi Shinasai! - 01
"Kawakami City is famous for its strong dedication to its samurai ancestors. A healthy fighting spirit is always valued and it's even an important factor for success at school. Yamato, a second year student from Kawakami Highchool is always with his close friends."
Samurai school.
First ep was an all-out "historical" battle with cellphones and internet support and mecha and stuff. I'm guessing it's not representative of the series and was only used to present the protagonists.
Kimi to Boku - 01
Shun, Kaname, and the twins Yuuki and Yuuta have been friends since kindergarten. It's a little hard to tell if they actually get along or not - but even as high-school students, they hang out together. This is really just about their daily lives, which aren't particularly passionate or exciting.
Slice of boredom.
Boys meet boys, watch sakura falling, and eat sandwiches together... Zzz.
A very diluted type of yaoi? I dunno, I couldn't manage to finish watching the first episode to find out, it was too coma-inducing.
For fangirls.
Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon - 01
(=Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere)
"Set in a distant future when Japan is divided into feudal territories and conquered by other countries, there is a floating city named Musashi that is composed of eight ships in the skies. A war that will determine the fate of the world will be fought by students on the Musashi."
High-tech high-school high-jinks.
Nice action scenes. High quality visuals.
But, I understood nothing from the infodump... Who's doing what, and why? Are they in a normal world time line, or an independent outside time line?
Hopefully the next episodes will make things clearer.
Chihayafuru 01
Chihaya wants to create a club where one plays a card game, karuta.
How to deal love cards haphazardly.
Nice animation and good direction.
But, let's see, the meek guy tells her to stop trying to take the dream of someone else (making her sister become a top model), so she steals his dream of becoming a top card player instead?
And, the alpha male tells her that if she wants, he can break with his gf he doesn't like to go with her, and she does nothing but wallows?
That's shoujo for you, I guess.
Haganai and P4A air tomorrow, expect speed subs.
Mashiro-Iro Symphony - 01
"Shingo's school is decided to be joined with a girls' school. As a selected student, Shingo temporarily transfers to the girls' school until they officially consolidate. He meets various unique girls there, but all girls dislike male students..."
Galgame tv adaptation.
As usual with this kind of ero-game promotional anime, the ero is heavily stripped off. We didn't even see one panty shot, and the sister had a towel when she walked in the bathroom. So what's left is the wafer-thin plot, which made me lose several IQ points.
For the fans of the game.
Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai 01
(=I Don't Have Many Friends)
Hasegawa Kodaka has transferred schools, and he's having a hard time making friends. It doesn't help that his blond hair tends to make people think he's a delinquent. One day, he runs into his classmate Yozora while she's talking to an imaginary friend. Realizing that neither of them have any actual friends, they form a club.
Club activities.
Nice scenery, and solid directing. It was very good.
But those weird lips... is that from the same studio who did Denpa Onna? Ah no, it's from AIC Build, who did OreImo.
Persona 4 - 01
Persona 4 takes place in the rural town of Inaba. Unexplained murders have taken place in the small town, where bodies are found dangling in tv antennas. At the same time, rumor has begun to spread that watching a switched-off television set on rainy midnights will reveal a person's soulmate...
Game promo.
I was not too impressed by this first ep. The pace was initially glacial, and when things started to move, they moved too fast. And the faces have a weird gradient to them, it looks like they have an unshaven beard - even the girls. On the plus side, I watched it till the end, they were interesting parts in it. So, good ideas, but weak adaptation. I'm guessing this anime is for people who have played the game.
Maken-Ki! 01
"Oyama Takeshi happily enrolls in a co-ed school that didn't required any entrance exams and has hostels to boot... Only to find out that there's more to the school than he thought!"
Magic-powered battles.
Pretty good adaptation. The manga was borderline tedious, the anime made it much more lively.
Ben-to_-_01
You Sato finds himself beaten up on the supermarket floor, the last thing he remembers being going to get some half-priced bento. The next day, he encounters a silver-haired girl who warns him not to go to the store again. But he goes again, and finds himself beaten up again upon reaching for the half-price bento...
Cheap food battlers.
Will You manage to grab the coveted boxed lunch? And is You going to live to tell the tale?
Nice action-packed first episode. But let me see the next ep. to see how it evolves.
UN-GO - 01
"The story follows Shinjuro Yuki, a detective who solves mysteries with his strange partner, Inga."
Fashionable detectives.
A tale where bankers and politicians wear Napoleonic clothes for style, where truth serum are magical pretty girls, and where murders are solved within a few minutes by a random self-styled detective yuppie.
I dunno, is this going to be a shoujo love-love story, a gruesome series of post-mortem investigations, or something else?
Guilty Crown - 01
In 2029 a virus plunges Japan in chaos, and GHQ, an international organization, takes over Japan. Ten years later, Shu Ouma meets Inori, a singer he likes, and discovers she is a member of a resistance group that wants to liberate Japan from GHQ's control...
Freedom fighters.
Ok, the guy looks like a wallowing wimp, and the girl looks so weak I wonder how she manage to lift her arms. But before the end of the episode he lifts a hella huge sword like it's nothing... Whee.
I guess I should only pay attention to the lullabies and the big explosions.
Last Exile - Fam, The Silver Wing 01
Set as a sequel to the original, the story is about great air battles with flying machines, powerful armies, and mysterious organizations. The main character is Fam Fan Fan, a fifteen-year-old girl who gets caught up in a war between two nations.
Steampunkish air battles.
Very nice.
But, what happened to all the high-tech from the priesthood caste? I see the army is still fighting with cannonballs. Are the priests still in exclusive control of all upper technologies?