Forum - View topicThe Spring 2015 Anime Preview Guide
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Ohoni
Posts: 3421 |
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There are outliers on both sides, that's always inevitable. Yes, there are some with huge splits, and others with almost no dissent, but outliers don't make a case, there are a lot of reviews with a lot of redundant consensus positions. It's not even so much about the scores as the similarity of views expressed in the prose.
Yes, but it's also reflected in the forum threads, in which there are plenty of people with positive things to say about panned series. Who is their voice on the panel?
And that's the voice we need. I mean, Mikagura, for example, is definitely not a perfect series, the art is crude at best, but it does have a lot for it, which most people outside the panel seem to indicate. More of a "yeah, it's kind of crudely drawn and a bit hokey, but it's a lot of fun and well worth a try" attitude would be great. Plastic Memories, on the other hand, was no less crudely executed, and yet got universal acclaim from the panel. It may be a bias of drama over comedy, similar to that which infects various award shows, I don't know, but it just seems off.
That's pretty ridiculous. If you go to a GOP convention and ask six people their views on a politically charged issue, you're likely to get the same general position back at you six times. Having six people discussing a topic is no guarantee of a diversity of viewpoints on it. I think that perhaps some form of selective bias may have resulted in accumulating a panel of largely similar, and therefore redundant viewpoints. It could be three, six, or sixty, and it wouldn't matter if they all shared similar tastes. I'm not saying that any of them are bad at their job, just that in the current configuration, some of them are a bit redundant. It's like if you have a superhero team made up of all Flashes. Yeah, they can run fast, we get it, but maybe throw a Batman in there, a Wonder Woman, an Aquaman or two.
Because it's Anime News Network. I expect them to present a broad and balanced perspective on all aspects of anime, not to skew towards a particular subset of it. The site shoots at a broad target, the seasonal previews should as well. I have no problem with ANN as a site, I just feel that the seasonal previews could do a better job of reflecting the rest of the ANN community.
This is something they do for one week every three months, if any of them make their living off of it then I congratulate them on finding the easiest job in the world. I'm not suggesting anyone lose their job, just that some people not be asked to participate in this particular quarterly event, and other people be brought in from somewhere else to present a more diverse collection of views. And yes, having my opinion parroted back to me from at least one of the panelists is exactly what I want, personally at least (realistically I expect at least some deviation), because I'm reading these previews before watching the shows, to see whether I will be interested in watching them. That's the entire point of the exercise. If there is no one that I can point to on the panel as a similar judge of quality with similar tastes, then it is of significantly less use to me. Does that not make sense?
And yet by singling him out, it would seem that there are other reviewers on the panel that you DO agree with, and for whom their opinion does have some resonance with your own? That's my problem, I don't have anyone like that at the moment. Theron, ironically, would be the closest, but not quite. That's all I'm asking for, some new voices that fill that gap in their coverage, to more accurately reflect the views of ANN followers who are not currently represented on the panel. They don't have to remove anyone if they don't want to, I only suggest it because adding people without removing anyone would presumably increase their budget, and removing redundancy would be a solid way of balancing that out. |
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CrowLia
 Posts: 5505 Location: Mexico |
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You do realize that everyone working the preview guides does a lot of other reviewing jobs in ANN right? Rebecca, Theron, Nick and Hope review stuff all the time, Bamboo does Shelf Life and handles the Interest section and Zac is the head editor of the whole operation yes? It's definitely not a "once every three months" gig.
You mean, do I have someone who mimicks my exact opinion of every show out there ever made and ever to exist? No. Because there are no two people who have the exact same opinion about anything. I agree with some of Hope's reviews, but I certainly disagree with how she reacted to Parasyte's 2nd half and we definitely don't see eye-to-eye regarding YKA. Zac's reviews are entertaining, but he often hates stuff I really like. I may often like the same shows as Bamboo or Rebecca, but for different reasons. Nick is a 50/50 I may occassionally agree with him completely like with Punchline or that SAO EP. Review that got everyone's panties on fire, or be completely opposite like the Rolling Girls preview. There is no single ANN writer for whom I can say "Yeah, this person shares my exact brand of taste 100%, so if (s)he likes this, I'm definitely gonna like it too" and I'm certainly not asking for them to be fired because of that. The most perfect example is last year's Best of Anime Awards in which most of the staff gave their list of their favorite anime of the year. None of the critics' list matches mine, and I imagine none of them match anyone else's. The point of reviews is not getting someone who caters to your one and only specific tastes parrotting your opinions back at you but to give people first impressions on the new stuff. ANN is not the only site that makes first impressions on the new anime seasons. I'm sure if you dig around you'll find your anime taste soulmate. Maybe try to do that instead of suggesting people get "discarded" like trash because their opinions don't aligne 100% with yours |
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Ohoni
Posts: 3421 |
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And you do realize that nobody is talking about any of that, right? We're talking about the seasonal reviews here. If they want to add or remove people from doing this one quarterly task, they can do so without impacting anything else that happens to go on in their lives. I never once even suggested that anyone be removed from all activity on ANN, just that the make-up of the panels for this one event could use some tweaking. As for the weekly reviews, so long as they can pair each show to someone to which it is well suited, someone who enjoys the show for what it is and can comment fairly on each episode as to whether it lives up to the standards of the series itself, then they can use whomever they like, but that's an entirely separate discussion.
Or at least do you have 2-3 reviewers that, between them, tend to have a general resonance with your views? Given the multiple redundancies in the reviews, I would not be shocked if there were several people who might be off 1:3 times, while still having at least one reviewer in your corner each time. How often is there a review in which it seems like every reviewer must be writing from an entirely different planet from you?
Right, but how much value can that first impression have if their viewpoint is catastrophically skewed from your own? I mean, if you read five glowing reviews of a show with narry a bad thing to say about it, and the premise seems even slightly within your wheelhouse, then you would have a reasonable expectation that you would enjoy it, right? So if it turns out that you found the show sloppy and boring, wouldn't it seem that maybe it would have helped you to have someone in that panel who would also find it sloppy and boring? If they had raised those concerns in their own review, wouldn't you have had a better idea what to expect going in?
Again, you're inserting personal drama where there is none. That's entirely your own issue to deal with. I'm talking about the site here. |
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Cptn_Taylor
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You need a reviewer to tell you wether an anime is interesting or not ? Especially based on 1 single episode ? Just read the description to the series, that should give a 50-60% idea wether it's worth looking into it or not. As for the reviewers, unless they're following the show week by week and posting their opinions episode per episode I wouldn't care to much about what they say. Especially in the preview thread. You cannot tell wether a show will be good or bad based on only one episode. You can tell wether it's going to pique your interest or not. But reviewers that say "this is the best show since sliced bread" or " this show is a trainwreck" after watching just 1 episode of a 12, 24 or + episode series are better left for late sunday night laughs. |
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Hameyadea
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OK, I finally managed to catch-up with this Season's shows. So lets get started:
Danna ga Nani wo Itteiru ka Wakaranai Ken 2 sure-me The funny, lovey-dovey show for adults from Fall 2014 is back for a 2nd season,I and it's still good. The humor was nice and felt natural, and the dynamics between the 2 leads remains as good as it was in the 1st season. It is a nice, bite-sized weekly show. It's on my Watch List. Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Come wa Machigatteiru. Zoku The Service Club is back, and (hopefully) in full glory. Hikigaya Hachiman's design looks a bit different from the 1st season, as people have mentioned (especially the less-slanted eyes), but I didn't mind it so much since the overall design is largely the same, as well as the seiyūs. In the 1st season, the Club aided in operating a Summer Camp, that, while technically achieved its goals, caused a rift between Hikigaya and the other, non-Service Club members of the Summer Camp. That rift grew considerably and expanded during the Culture Festival at the end of the 1st season to most of the other student body. Now, with the School Trip coming up and Hikigaya's reputation is more-or-less in tatters (not that he particularly dislike the current situation - it helps him avoiding people and inter-personal interactions), it will be interesting to see which methods he will perform to complete the Requests. I'm eagerly waiting Episode #2. Shokugeki no Sōma For the second consecutive cour, I'm watching a food-themed show (the first being, of course, Kōfuku Graffiti), and it, also, features seductive, and at times border-line erotic, Food-gasms (that scene with the peanut-butter-laced squid... I think I enjoyed it for the wrong reasons  ).
I've read about 5-6 chapters of the manga about a year ago, and the 1st episode follows the Kōfuku Graffiti's Food-gasm: 
Sōma's Food-gasm: 
The higher level of Sōma's Food-gasm (NSFW-ish) Since most of the first episode featured only one regular, Sōma, I can't really comment on the level of the overall VA, but in regards to Sōma, I was pleased with Matsuoka Yoshitsugu's take. It actually matches quite well with how I imagined Sōma to sound like when I read the early chapters. I'll keep following this one. Dungeon ni Deai wo Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darō ka? Ha, yes. Another show with Matsuoka Yoshitsugu in its lead for the Spring Season, as well as animated by J.C. Staff. I liked the first episode, as the main character, Bell Cranel, actually seems feeble, unlike the Gary-Stu that is Sword Art Online's Kirigaya "Kirito" Kazuto (also voiced by Matsuoka, BTW), which makes him much more relatable than the aforementioned The premise and settings, while similar to other video-game-themed shows (like Sword Art Online or Log Horizon), is executed in such a way that, as far as show openers go, seems unique enough to stand apart enough from other, similarly-themed shows to be called a copy. If I had to describe the settings, I would probably say it's like a cross between Log Horizon and Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, and I enjoyed both shows greatly. The plot itself seems pretty straight-up and common - a weak character is saved by a stronger character (usually from the opposing gender, but not always), developing feeling and/or sense of attachment or reciprocate - but, as I wrote, the settings and narrative give me hope that it'll be different enough from the herd. Another one I'll be watching Vampire Holmes Another short-form anime, takes the popular Arthur Conan Doyle characters of Sherlock Holmes & his assistant John Watson (renamed Holmes & Hudson, respectively), and reconstructing their settings in a more humorous tone. The animation is below-par, even for average animes (it looks like someone made the series using Adobe Flash or something), but since it's bite-sized show, I think I can tolerate it. I'll watch another episode or two before I'll reach final decision, though. Re-Kan! A show involving about the supernatural occult, and not the only one for this Season, too! If Shokugeki no Sōma is a continuation of Kōfuku Graffiti's Food-gasms, Re-Kan! is the continuation of the latter's vibe of randomness and Slice-of-Life-ness. The 1st episode felt like it was constructed from a few shorter stories, with no real coherent thread to connect between them. It was basically the start of a new school year -> some random (but amusing) scenes -> playing with spoiler[ghost] Kids in the park. Maybe because it was the first episode and the animation studio Pierrot+ tried to introduce all the main characters as soon as possible. If that's the case, the execution was somewhat lackluster. But since the middle part did made me smile (I liked that "automatic door" scene and the scenes of Amami Hibiki been Currently, it's on the Trial Time, in my book. Meaning that I'll watch another couple of episodes before deciding if I'm dropping it or not. Plastic Memories Okay, this show's premise and first episode seem both as loaded in emotional depth & drama, and with a more light-hearted tone (not too far off from the overall tone I got from Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso). Set within a department responsible of "recovering" nearly-expired Giftias, a lot of people (myself included) compared it, pre-airing, to the late-60's novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and its movie adaptation from the 80's Blade Runner. But now, after watching the 1st episode, I think it's more in line to shows that are dealing with spending the time togather, knowing that it's limited and its "deadline" (literally), like the aforementioned Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso, the even more light-hearted Amagi Brilliant Park or even Chobits, and less to shows about persecution, as such Darker than Black -Kuro no Keiyakusha-, Deadman Wonderland or Densetsu no Yūsha no Densetsu. Of course, with only one episode out at this time, judging the exact nature and tone of the series as a whole is both difficult and not recommended. But from that 1st episode I think I can guess a few possible plot elements:
The show's humor, while generally rough at places, is still nice to watch ("want some tea?"), but since I think that the overall tone is meant to be akin to that of Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso - that is to ease the mood, not to squeeze a laugh - I give it a passing grade. I'll keep watching this one as well. Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works Well, with Saber "hijacked" from him, Rin breaking off their alliance and having neither magical versatility (multitude of techniques) nor the stability to sustain the abilities he does know, Shiro's condition in the 1st cour's last episode was practically the lowest he could get. How does he recover from that? By being company to others' misery 
As with the 1st cour, the animation quality is still very high among the other shows of the Season (at least those that I've seen). The sound effects still have their impact on the ears and on the scene, as is Fukasawa Hideyuki's BGM. I enjoyed the episode so much that the time just flew-by. Definitely a keeper. Owari no Seraph From the same author that brought us the aforementioned Densetsu no Yūsha no Densetsu (and the ecchi-er Itsuka Tenma no Kuro Usagi) comes the next adaptation of another one of his works - Owari no Seraph. And as with his previous animated works, this one also feature and protagonist in the gutter and alone in the world (did I mentioned torture and subjection? Happy memories, indeed). It might be odd to describe it that way, but the 1st episode felt like a prologue. Now, I know that it was the 1st episode out of the planned 24, but what I meant is that this episode was all about laying the groundwork towards the story itself, which - apparently - will begin proper (or at least feel that way) next episode. Despite that, I don't think that the 1st episode was bad, by any means. It introduced the world and the MC (and possibily Hyakuya Mikaela as a future ally, or enemy) quite well, set the overall tone & narrative of the series, and served as a good show-opener, IMO. What I wasn't so impressed was the art style - while colorful & vivid and dark & grim in the brighter and darker scenes, respectively, felt somewhat dated. I can't explain it too well myself, so I can't exactly convey how it felt a bit dated to me, but that was the feeling I got from the 1st episode. However, Junketsu no Maria's art also felt dated to me, and I still enjoyed the show, so I'm not basing any opinion on the art style, yet. The OST was OK to listen too, but not too impressive or memorable, at least for now. As I wrote, with the total of 24 episodes planned, there's more that enough airtime to show-off the OST & BGM. The VA was good, and the seiyūs delivered their lines believably. Another one that I'll continue to watch. Gunslinger Stratos: THE ANIMATION First off, I like hearing Abe Atsushi's voice. It somehow reassuring, and fits well with level-headed & calm characters (Toaru Majutsu no Index' Kamijō Tōma, Bakuman.'s Mashiro Moritaka and B Gata H Kei's Kosuda Takashi are good examples). The story is about guns, explosions, time-travel, the disintegration of Japan (quite the common theme, like in Black Bullet, Rolling☆Girls, Tokyo Ghoul and more) and School Life (argh...  ). Since it is based on an online, multiplayer shooter, the anime can practically choose its own plot, so I won't try to guess the direction of the show just yet.
The BGM was nice, and the VA was mostly OK, if a bit corny/clichéd (like the overprotective sis-con Katagiri Kyōma, and his little sister, the infatuated-with-the-regular-MC Katagiri Kyōka). But generally I didn't find any problems with the VA. While the art style and character movements were generally above-average, I don't have much hopes that it'll improve much, being the adaptation of an online game, and they usually aren't too impressive (note: I'm referring to games other than VNs). For the moment, it goes into a Trial Time. Nagato Yuki-chan no Shōshitsu Quite a lot of hype surrounded this show pre-airing (and pre-revealing of the visual art  ), but while I enjoyed the 1st episode as a Slice-of-Life, it felt somewhat disjointed in places. Especially with the first third being introductory, the middle part felt like a gag show (actually, with the male lead being voiced by Sugita Tomokazu, Gintama's seiyū, and retorting/commenting on the unfolding scenes, it felt like I'm watching Gintama. Which, while was great, I don't think that it was the intended purpose of those scenes), and the last third being a humoristic rom-com of-sorts.
The change in Kyon's design is probably the biggest thing I think will take me time to adjust to, since glass-wearing Nagato was featured in the movie Suzumiya Haruhi no Shōshitsu, so the image is already in our (those who watched the film) heads. The visual art also shows changes to Haruhi's face, but they aren't as noticeable Kyon's, and she wasn't shown completely yet, we only got to see her from a profile angle, and her total screen-time lasted about 10 seconds-or-so. Suzumiya Haruhi no Yūutsu's character designs: 
Nagato Yuki-chan no Shōshitsu's character designs: 
A little interesting facet of information - the book Kyon was reading in the clubroom was Amy Thomson's novel, published in the early-90's, Virtual Girl. In this novel, the protagonist illegally builds a robot and installs it with an advanced A.I. A nice wink-and-nod to Nagato from the original timeline/universe. However, the show-opener managed to intrigue me, so I'll keeping it on Trial Time for now. Denpa Kyōshi Another show that got its fair-share of hype, but didn't fulfilled on the expectations. The premise itself is a bit different - a super-smart character is forced to pass his knowledge to the next generation, against his will. Theoretically, hilarity should ensue from the characters' weird ideas, interactions and conclusions & behavior. In practice, though, the show feels dry, a bit forced-down-the-throat humor, and out-of-place at times. When I read out-of-place, I mean that the series (or more precisely, the 1st episode), felt like it was based off a script from one of those "wacky", 90's animes, without much of updating it to the 2010's (as opposed to Kiseijū -Sei no Kakuritsu-). At times I felt like I was watching Great Teacher Onizuka knock-off, and that left a bitter taste in my mouth (but not a bad taste that would cause me to avoid the show. More on that later). The character design looked either 90's-ish or similar to other shows, particularly the sister's, Kagami Suzune. She looked quite similar to another character in a show that A-1 Pictures once animated - Ore no Imōto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai.'s Kōsaka Kirino Kagami Suzune: 
Kōsaka Kirino: 
Additionally, the MC, Kagami Jun'ichirō states that he is sick with "YD", translated to English (quite cleverly, if I might add) to "things that I Yearn to Do", and yet still shows-up to school and continues teaching. It is possible that his sister is holding him (or his collection, that heartless woman  ) within the range of her bat. However, towards the end of the episode he lectures to the Bullying Trio that they weren't really bullying, but performing bona fide crimes, and then committing a crime himself by using extortion in the form of appearing to leak personal & private information to the net. As I wrote, those kind of actions fitted better in the 90's characters, like Great Teacher Onizuka titular character, Onizuka Eikichi, not to the modern times of the 2010's.
Also, the VA was dry, and felt phoned-in in placed. There's a difference between voicing an apathetically character and voicing a character in an apathetic way, and it sounded to me like the two characters with the most screen-time this episode, Kagami Jun'ichirō and Kanō Minako, lacked any emotional impact or significance. For example, when Minako was in the infirmary after consuming the drink "spiked" with chalk, I didn't feel neither her duress nor "for her" so to speak. Ironically, I think that the seiyū who voiced Jun'ichirō in the drama CDs, Ono Daisuke, would have been the better choice for this show. I liked his performance as Barakamon's Handa Seishū or as Working!!'s Satō Jun. But the content being was it is, I don't know how much difference there would be. About the story within the episode, it felt, as I wrote, disjointed. The MC was introduced in the clichéd, but tried-and-true, way of the MC giving the exposition. It is a valid vehicle of narration, albeit lacking in originality. But my displeasure with the episode starts afterwards, when Jun'ichirō meets Minako on the roof, she punches him and then sees that he's her new teacher. Later, they interact in a somewhat-familiar way (at least as familiar as possible within the awkward interactions between characters in the episode) like the episode skipped a few in-universe days' worth of content (in other words, like 2 episodes were condensed into one). Now, I wrote that despite all that, I was left with a "bitter" taste, not "bad". Call it gullibility, optimistic-thinking or being a bit obstinate, but I don't drop shows after one episode, and I usually hope that they'll improve or - if they're at a somewhat reasonable level - that they'll keep their current level & quality. At times that attitude pays off (Suzumiya Haruhi no Yūutsu's Endless Eight. In hindsight I'm glad that I watched it in its entirety, since it gave a lot of context to Nagato's actions in the movie Suzumiya Haruhi no Shōshitsu), at times it was barely worth it (Baka to Test to Shōkanjū. The humor was dry, the plot almost numbing and no clear conclusion), and at times it backfires, badly (Maken-ki! Tsū and Mahō Sensō. 'Nuff said  )
So, in closing (damn, I really poured myself on this show, ha?  ), I'll keep as a Trial Time.
Show by Rock!! a moe show with weird, plastic figurine-like CG and music. The music itself was nice, but prolong usage of that CG style, which resembled CG from the 90's kids shows - like Thomas & Friends or The Noddy Shop - made me feel a bit peculiar towards the show. Thomas & Friends: 
The Noddy Shop: 
Show by Rock!!: 
The story is quite simple: a shy girl, who is good with the guitar, wants to join the Music Club, but because she didn't registered in the "proper time" (usually right after the start of the new school year in Japan, early April until mid-/late-April, when Golden Week in about to start). She is biding her time, acknowledging that it'll only get harder to register (due to her shyness) the more she puts it off - that was a good character flag in my book, she's calm and aware of her position, which not many characters in those kinds of shows do - and after playing a bit in a music app to ease her worries, she gets sucked-in into a strange world, donning car-ears and tail. At this part, and lasting for about half of the episode's total runtime, starts that retro-looking CG. Depends on the frequency and situations that CG is used, it'll either make or brake the Show (by Rock!! )
Overall, the story seems nice, the VA solid enough to keep me wanting for more and the music sounds good. It might've been an automatic follow by me, but that CG down-grades my opinion to Trial Time for now. High School DxD BorN (This opinion piece is based on the viewing of the uncensored version) Breasts, breasts, and breasts. 1 second into the episode and we already have mammary glands plastered all over the screen, and by the 5-seconds mark with have the chests of all 5 female leads in plain view to awe (and compare). WELCOME BACK, High School DxD. WE'VE MISSED YOU.
The art style & quality is high, the movement is smooth and the character designs are the same as they were in the previous season - which is a good thing. The story this time seems to revolve around Tōjō Koneko/Shirone and her history. The story (note: not "plot") was quite interesting, with Rias Gremory discontent being called "President" by Hyōdō Issei, while he refer to everyone else in the Occult Research Club by their names, and the fight with the dragon Tannin was a cool fight/training. Definitely going to watch this. Arslan Senki Another show that I anticipated to watch, Arslan Senki's show-opener was a nice episode to watch, as well as introduced the story elements quite well. Based on the ancient history around modern-day Iran/India, and set initially in the year 317 A.D. (by the episode's end, it was stated that about four years had passed, and the year was 322), Arslan is the crown prince of the Pars Kingdom. True to its time, some aspects are prominent, such as slavery made from POWs and other subjected tribes/countrymen, as well as the overall inability to understand what today is considered wrong and amoral. The art style of the show is a bit odd, when on the one hand there's the conventionally-drawn cuts & shots, and on the other hand there are some scenes with clunky, KanColle-style CG. The VA was clear and music used in the episode was OK. It left a good impression on me. I'll keep watching. Baby Steps (2015)* * Because there isn't a subtitle, I might occasionally use both Baby Steps (2015) and Baby Steps 2nd Season interchangeably. With almost exactly one year after Baby Steps's 1st season started airing, and with a similar number of episodes planned, the continuation of Maruo Ei'ichirō's endeavors in the road towards becoming a professional Tennis player bring him to the place he left for on Episode #25 of the 1st season. (Damn, 9 months by plane from Japan to the U.S. )
The art style is pretty much the same, and that's good. Like with most split-cour shows, I can see this series being marketed and released later down the line (about 5 years or so) as a single 50-episode show - like how Kuroko no Basket's episode count continues from the previous ones, despite a break of more than 6 months between Episodes #25 & #26, and #50 & #51. With the characters from the first season being voiced by the same seiyūs, it helps giving the 2nd season a sense of familiarity and like there wasn't a break of about 9 months from the 1st season's ending to this one's start. I'm expecting that Ei'ichirō's journey will continue to be entertaining, thus I'll keep watching this show. Kekkai Sensen Just like Owari no Seraph, this show is also based on the work of a notable author, Nightow Yasuhiro. The same author who created Trigun and designed the characters for the game (which also got an anime) Gungrave. The art style (or more precisely, the quality) is actually similar to that of Owari no Seraph's, IMO. And both shows deal with a supernatural element that brought disaster to the world, and despair to the MC in some capacity (Kekkai Sensen, despite being more lawless than present-day New York City, seems to be in a better condition than Owari no Seraph's. Even KS' protagonist, Leonard Watch is in an overall better situation and condition than OnS' MC, Hyakuya Yūichirō). After aliens invaded/entered Earth and integrated with the society, a mysterious creature with a lot of eyes appeared before Leonard and his sister Michella Watch, who is wheelchair-bound, offering some kind of ability (hinted throughout the episode and shown in the end of it that it gives incredible eyesight and object-tracking perception) to one of them, with the other one will be regarded as "unneeded" and will be "discarded" somehow (again, it is implied that Leo's heightened eyesight came at the expense, or reducation, of his sister's, after she proclaimed that she will be the "unneeded"). So far, the story had me on the edge of my seat, making me eager towards the next episode, the next battle, the next scene. As an added bonus, a lot of Gintama's regulars are in this series as well, giving off some vibe, albeit faint and mostly imagined by me, with a bit of a Gintama-esque feel, which actually made it a plus for me. I'll keep watching this one. Daiya no Ace ~Second Season~ [rant] A quick note: I, personally, don't like referring to this show with the subtitle ~Second Season~ when the "first season" ended on March 29th 2015 and this one started on April 6th 2015, 1 day later than the regular time slot of the "first season". [/rant] And we're back for more Baseball! One of the more interesting, and successful, adaptation of a sports manga in recent times continues for more adrenaline-pumping action and intense, dramatic moments. However, the animators think that the aforementioned one-day change in the show's air date caused the fans to be confused, disoriented and without focus, for the 1st episode was about the Seidō vs. Yakushi game (Episodes #34-40), and the preview suggests that the next episode will recap the Seidō vs Inashiro (Episodes #51-63). For this reason, while it lowed my opinion of the new "season", I know this series, and if I need to tolerate a couple of recap episodes before returning to the Autumn Tournament. I'll endure the upcoming recap episode(s), and I'll continue to watch this show. Kyōkai no Rinne Another one of Takahashi Rumiko's mangas got animated, and this time it's Kyōkai no Rinne (you probably know, but just in case: it's pronounced "rin'ne"). The manga's art style looks dated, liked it was brought over from the mid-90's, and that's probably since Takahashi's art style remained largely the same. Fortunately, the anime has updated the look and feel of the characters, while keeping the overall design similar to the manga's. Kyōkai no Rinne's first tankōbon (volume) cover (2009): 
Kyōkai no Rinne's anime visual art: 
The VA, the dynamics between the two main leads, and the tone of the 1st episode formed a pleasurable experience. The comedic moments were actually pretty nice to see and didn't felt forced, the premise was shown in a understandable way, and not in a thrown-in-your-face way. All-in-all, I'm was pleased with the 1st episode, so I'll keep watching this show. Hibike! Euphonium Kitauji Kōkō Suisōgaku-bu e Yōkoso Yes, another show animated by Kyōto Animation is already a plus in my book. This show is, as you probably guessed from the title, about music & Music Clubs. More precisely, about a Music Club, that of Kitauji High School. After getting a Useless Gold Medal in the 3rd year of middle school (a Useless Gold Medal is a medal that, despite winning Gold in a category, doesn't lead to advancement in the ranking/ladder), and making an off-hand remark about their chances of winning, Ōmae Kumiko unintentionally made a discouraged fellow Club member, Kōsaka Reina to run out of the Award Ceremony stands, and thus Kumiko's, the MC, middle school year ends. As with recent Kyōto Animation works, their art style is very vivid and colorful, and their choices of viewing angles and scene cuts are both interesting and giving the feeling that the show was filmed by a hand-camera with the animation traced over. Being an anime centered around music and a Music Club, sound plays a bigger part here than in most of this Season's animes (Show by Rock!! being other one), and while I can't give an honest review of the quality of the music heard in the episode - since I both don't have a musical sense, and I never played an instrument - but if you want the opinion of this layman: It's good on the ear, it's good within the scene. I mean, in one scene the classical score of Jacques Offenbach, Orpheus in the Underworld, was played (excerpt, the famous bit is from the 7:23 mark). Another keeper. Gintama° YES, YES, YES! One of the most useless MCs in recent anime history is back yet again to cause more mayhem and anger just about everyone: from the producers, to the manga editors to local (and national) politicians. The 1st episode begins with Gintama satirizing a real-life press conference held by a Hyōgo Prefecture politician Nonomura Ryūtarō. And with a little Psycho-Pass "love" ( ), and episode starts proper (as much as the word "proper" applies to this show).
By this point, if you don't aware of what Gintama is, than either rewatch the series from the start, or ignore this series. For anyone else, dig right in! Your favorite dish of stupid, moron, and idiotic is awaiting you 
A must-watch. Triage X (This opinion piece is based on the viewing of the censored version) As you most likely have already heard, there's a difference between the manga's original art style, and Xebec's style used in the anime adaptation. Interestingly, that discrepancy in the art styles quickly subsided for me - not having read the manga probably played a big part here - and I was focused on the show proper... Oh, wait. We have a well-endowed female agent in a swimsuit on the rooftop, and when she was asked why she was in a swimsuit, her response was basically "photosynthesis: and "just 'cause". Let us return for a bit to the anime's art style - it wasn't the greatest, it wasn't even in a "quite good" level. You probably saw this gif in the forum: 
...and while the gliding does look odd and the result of low budget and editorial oversight, in fact it isn't. The girl in the background, Nashida Oriha, is gliding on some kind of retractable Inline Skates (better known as Roller Blades): 
...with the sound of Oriha I was somewhat engrossed by the story elements, until it was revealed that the cast is still in high school... *sigh* If used in the proper way, or for the right circumstances, I don't particularly mind a High School/School Life settings. Good examples would be (but not limited to) SoL shows. But when there're characters that are highly trained, very deadly, have combat experience and are highschoolers, that's when any semblance of reality and belief in the story (note: not "plot") goes away, and I'm left watching with a lesser opinion of the show. Is it prejudging the show? Yes. Is it wrong? Maybe, but since I'm merely offering my take on the matters, and I'm not in a professional position, one can ignore this paragraph, or take note of it.
Other than the high school-setting thing, I thought that the show was mostly OK-ish. High School DxD BorN is already my Guilty Pleasure of this Season, but that doesn't mean that Triage X can't take 2nd place. For now, it's on Trial Time. Hōkago no Pleiades What happens when one takes the car manufacturer Subaru's car noises and builds an anime around that? Seriously. Well, the answer is Hōkago no Pleiades (trivia note: in Japanese, the Pleiades constellation is called Subaru). Its 1st episode was more akin to Sora no Method than to a moe-fied Magical Girl show (like Mahō Shōjo Madoka Magika). The story is about about a girl named, what else, Subaru and how she's suddenly thrusted into a magical world, which her (former?) friend Aoi is also part in. In this show, like in Arslan Senki and Show by Rock!!, there's a mix of traditional 2D anime art and CG. The 2D art is pretty average, not too impressive, and alternatively not too bad that it's immediately noticeable. At times, the show utilizes a CG similar to that of KanColle, so take that as you will. Hearing the magical brooms "voiced" by Subaru's car model noises (including: engine start-up, acceleration, turn signals and more) is pretty funny, at least it wasn't worn-out by the episode's end. However, I wonder how long it will keep-up its "funny" value. For now, I can't see myself making a clear decision now, so it goes into the Trial Time. Ore Monogatari!! Another one of my highly-anticipated shows for the Spring Season has finally began. The art style looks appealing and, how should I put it? "Warm"? "Soothing"? Something along those lines. The MC, Gōda Takeo, looks unique from most of the other, male MCs of the shows that premiered this Season, and the Best Friend, Sunakawa Makoto, looks like your average Shōjo-manga MC. The VA was quite good and pretty much what was heard in the PV, with one, noticeable difference: Han Megumi's rendition of the main female lead, Yamato Rinko, is actually lower-pitched than how she is heard on the PV, making her character easier to listen to, and isn't as squeaky. That was a big plus as far as VA goes, since I was worried that the higher-pitched tone will make render her character, and by extension the whole show, as unlistenable. The BGM used was calm, and at times with a pinch of sadness - originating from Takeo's repeated experienced with the lasses. Also, the small , manga-esque text that appear on-screen is somewhere between "didn't bother me" to "helped bringing out some the humor in a few scenes" (like the "I can't see" text in the flashback  )
Keeping watch. Mikagura Gakuen Kumikyoku Firstly, this show's art style and character movements reminds me those seen in Gekkan Shōjo Nozaki-kun. Not too surprising, considering this is animated by the same studio. Like how Hibike! Euphonium Kitauji Kōkō Suisōgaku-bu e Yōkoso resembles K-On! or Tamako Market, or Kōfuku Graffiti resembles somewhat to the Monogatari Series. The presime is quite easy to understand: a (fujoshi) middle-schooler needs to decide on the high-school she wants to enter, and is shown the pamphlet for the titular school, Mikagura Private Academy. The "twist" (quotation marks because that's the show's entire premise, not a hidden fact) is that the school's Club presidents do battles with one another in a ladder-like system, with over-the-top abilities, like in Kill la Kill, Rolling☆Girls or FLCL. The VA is pretty average for the most part, and without too much impact or memorability. But on the flip-side, it didn't leave a strong impression for the worst. (BTW, remember Yoshitsugu Matsuoka? If you didn't notice it yet, he's voicing the weird cat-principle Bimī). For the mean time, I'm wasn't too "wowed" by the show-opener, so I'll keep it as a Trial Time. Urawa no Usagi-chan Another short-form anime premiering this Season. This one is about promoting the Urawa Ward of Saitama City. It revolves around the daily life of high-schooler Takasago Usagi. The 1st episode was nice and easy to watch, as most short-form animes are. I'll keep watching it. Punchline Another "big fish" that was promoted quite extensively. The show about the Killer Powers of Panty-Gazing! (damn straight).
The MC's, Iridatsu Yūta, body was hijacked by an evil spirit, leaving Yūta as a metaphysical existence. But should he see female lingerie, an asteroid will impact Earth (more precisely, right on top of Yūta's location (Yikes, talk about bad luck). The premise sounds cheesy as they come, but it plays up its part in such a way that I view it as a parody, tongue-in-cheek style rather than trying to actually be funny by throwing panty-shots at the viewers. For that reason, I'm OK with the show's direction, so far. The art style & quality should be complimented for their level. The models look solid, and the action scenes flowed smoothly. The design of the series is cartoonish, "over-the-top"-ish, a la Kill la Kill or FLCL, which goes quite well with the general tone set by the show-opener. The VA is also very nice, with Inoue Marina voicing the male lead, and manages, IMO, to deliver the lines in a tone appropriate to a high-schooler character. I know there're some who dislike it when female voice male characters, but I think Marina delivered the lines with a tonal range that is believable, or at least passable, for the character. Amamiya Sora's Narugino Mikatan also sounds good as a cheery, happy-easy-going character (quite the difference from her role as Plastic Memories's Isla). The other girls are voiced by Kotobuki Minako (Hikiotani Ito, also Baby Steps' Takasaki Natsu), Kugimiya Rie (Daihatsu Meika, also Gintama's Kagura) and Tomatsu Haruka (Chichibu Rabura/Lovra, also Sword Art Online's Yūki Asuna). I'll keep watching this one as well. Etotama Another tongue-in-cheek series this Season. Etotama is about the 12 Chinese Zodiacs, the trickery (by some accounts of the tale) done by the Rat to the Cat, and the Cat's attempts to reclaim its seat among the 12. The first thing the episode presents to the viewers is its East Asian sounds, which I'm a suck for (just remembering all those OSTs of shows centered around the Sengoku Era... So much Yes). The male lead, Tendo Takeru, is voiced by Shimono Hiro, which I find as a very good fit to the tone of the series. The MC is level-headed and somewhat easy-going (he's quite accepting of the Mysterious Hole leading to the God World, The art is good and each Zodiac character looks distinct enough from each other. When they enter Battle Mode (loved that part  ), the Zodiac's chibi-form is done in a CG not dissimilar to other, popular 2D fighting games, like Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3
Etotama's Battle Mode: 
Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3: 
The more humor-oriented scenes actually made me smile a few times, and for the intended reasons, so that's a plus in my book. The character interactions felt natural and pseudo-plausible (since, it's the Zodiac Signs we have here ), and were quite engaging.
Like with, Punchline, I'll keep watching this. Phew..... That was waaaaaaay longer of a post than I originally intended
All that is left for me to check out from the shows premiering this Spring Season are:
'Til next time. Last edited by Hameyadea on Sat Apr 11, 2015 2:52 am; edited 6 times in total |
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SailorTralfamadore
 Posts: 499 Location: Keep Austin Weeb |
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Why is everyone entitled to "a voice" here? And how can ANN possibly account for every single possible opinion? How are they supposed to predict what those people would say? Personally, I think it's ridiculous enough to expect that reviewers reflect popular opinion. That's not the reason I or, I would imagine, most people who are really into media reviews follow certain critics. But then someone points out that they do reflect that and you're insisting that's still not enough because they haven't accounted for every single thing someone might say about these shows. I'm just wondering how you expect ANN to implement that. Along with wondering why you insist upon that so much, when you can just read those people's opinions here on the forums. That's why forums and comments sections exist in the first place. |
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor
 Posts: 7912 Location: Anime News Network Technodrome |
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I'll rephrase: I am not going to dismiss anyone from the current preview guide lineup so I can hire either you or someone who shares your exact opinion, Ohoni.
This is almost exactly what I said about that show. Christ. |
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addiemon
Posts: 93 |
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They are? Right here? Is that kind of thing not precisely what forums are for-- to provide an outlet for readers to express their opinions as they differ, coincide, or overlap with the official reviewers'? I mean, I see an awful lot of people who are agreeing with this or that review for this or that show, and only one or two people saying "not a single show has a review that is even remotely close to my opinion." This has been true in every season's thread for yeeeeeears. On top of that, as has been pointed out, the official reviewers' scores average out to similar scores to the fan-voted scores. (Digging that feature, by the way!) Maybe you and I are just weighing things differently, but all of the evidence I've seen over the years and in this thread suggests that ANN is doing a pretty good job reflecting the varying opinions of both its silent, non-commenting readership and its commenting readership by and large. The site can't be expected to represent every individual viewpoint in its official editorial. And the site certainly shouldn't be expected to make business decisions based on a vocal but (all evidence points to) small minority, right? |
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18224 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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And I have absolutely no problem with this. Recognizing when your opinions consistently don't align with those of another can be just as valuable as knowing that your opinions usually will. (For instance, I know that my opinions align with those of Rush Limbaugh approximately 1% of the time, which is why I know to ignore anything he ever says.) Besides, it would be no fun if my opinion was always the same as those of others.
And why wouldn't or shouldn't there be redundant consensus? Most of us don't read each other's previews before writing our own (and Hope consistently points out that she does in cases where she does), often because we're writing them simultaneously. So what does it say when you have four or five reviewers, many of whom have substantially different tastes, saying almost precisely the same thing about a series? Perhaps that those actually are, in most cases, easily-recognizable characteristics? EDIT: And as addiemon kinda pointed out, having that automatically-updated poll feature at the top of each thread (and I'm loving that, too, BTW) is a great way to measure when the "silent" opinion is and isn't aligning with reviewer ratings. |
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Princess_Irene
ANN Reviewer
 Posts: 2617 Location: The castle beyond the Goblin City |
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Which makes it even funnier (to my tired, bread-deprived brain) that you and I both used the word "saucy" to describe Punch Line.
...I may need to get more sleep. |
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Hameyadea
Posts: 3679 |
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Did you mean nothing? |
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giao_su
 Posts: 27 Location: Great Lakes, USA [near, not in] |
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One nit to pick here.
"Wish Upon the Pleiades" is a problematic title. The Subaru cluster as depicted in the logo and name of the Subaru automobile company consists of six stars. The brightest stars in the Pleiades (Messier 45) cluster represent the Seven Sisters (Sterope/Asterope, Merope, Electra, Maia, Taygeta, Celaeno, and Alcyone) in Greek mythology, and their parents, the nymph Pleione and the Titan Atlas. [The name Asterope or Sterope is shared by two stars separated by 0.047°, 21 Tauri and 22 Tauri.] |
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Ohoni
Posts: 3421 |
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[Edit]: Ohoni, you were told back on page 3 of this thread to mind yourself. Your anti-ANN-reviewer crusade is mean-spirited soapboxing. Any further posts by you in this thread will be deleted. Errinundra.
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justsomeaccount
 Posts: 471 |
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I finally ended up watching BBB, with all the high expectations, and...... to be honest... I was very "meh" to it. I thought this weird mix of Durarara-Tokyo ESP-Space Dandy would be more entertaining, but for the most part I thought it was kind of dull, info dumping, and even then head-scratching and confusing, but not confusing in a good way, but in a messy one, where scenes are supposed to have much more weight and information that hasn't been built up. The direction in general feels off, except the last 3/4 minutes with cool animation the rest feels "trying too hard on making it weird and eccentric and crazy stuff happening 24/7 but still a little dismotivated".
If some people thought Punch-Line was to FLCL what Rolling Girls was to Kill la Kill, that's how I felt with this one to the other three shows I mentioned. I'll give it one or two episodes to see if I can dig it, but this didn't work for me. 2,5 / 5. |
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Hameyadea
Posts: 3679 |
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About the Survey:
I've noticed the absence of some shows (I'm sure there're more, but those are the shows that I know about):
When I asked about One Piece's absence in the Winter Survey, I got the response that there wasn't anyone up-to-date with that series. Has the situation changed since then? Also, a suggestion: while I love it that I can pick & choose any number of shows, I think that limiting the number of active check boxes at any one time might give better results, since it will force people to consider which show they really want to read about. I think that placing the limit at the 5-7 sounds reasonable. |
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