Apparently, several weeks ago, I started a post on Sekirei’s second season, and never finished it. Given that we’re now past the third episode, and this is turning out to be one of the surprise quality shows of the season, I decided to resurrect it and complete the post.
First though, what I originally wrote, from the viewpoint of having watched only the first episode and catching up on the manga.
I don’t normally do this, but I’m going to post Jason’s thin slicing review of HOTD in its entirety, given its brilliance:
BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BREASTS BRAIN BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS BRAINS
Well, I’d have added “BLOOD” at least once, and the ratio is off a bit, but still, you get the picture, I’m sure.
I have to say that this season has turned into a stunning winner to make up for the last two crappy quarters we’ve had to endure. Strike Witches 2 and Sekirei 2 have both turned up the quality. HOTD has just about the perfect mix of horror, blood, and breasts. Asobi ni Ikuyo is keeping me in stitches with its zany Illuminati hijinks, and Occult Academy had a good first pair of episodes to start before the reportedly atrocious third episode.
Losers: Mitsudamoe (too-perverted kids); Seitokai Yakuindomo (too-perverted teens, and derivative of recent series); Shukufuku no Campanella (too boring, wake me if anything happens).
Edit: I don’t know what happened to the 2nd half of this article; it was there when I opened the edit screen but not displaying until I re-saved it. Weird.
(edited for spelling and clarity)
Lately, its not been that I have had nothing to say, I simply haven’t had the motivation to say it. Wait, I said that already. Ok, fine, so here we go on another stream-of-alleged-consciousness post about anime.
Since it’s a bit late to do anything like a serious post, I’m just going to throw some odd thoughts up here.
Disappointed in Railgun lately. Indeed, it’s lost in fillers. The first two weren’t bad; at least they involved Mikoto, and fleshed out a secondary character. The last one was a total waste. The primary four weren’t in it at all, other than cameos. Index got almost as much screen time as Mikoto. And too much Komoe. The tiny teacher is just a bit weird.
The new OP and ED songs are almost as good as the first set, but I’m disturbed by the implications of the shots that accompany it. No Touma at all. No sign of the Sisters. No sign of Accelerator If anything, the scientist from the Level-Upper arc may make a reprise and another woman also might appear as a villain. This would suggest that the writers are afraid of an Endless-Eight style backlash if they re-tell the Silsters Arc from Mikoto’s point of view. That’s a shame if so, because it’s not the same. Haruhi retold the same exact story over and over; Railgun would be telling the other side of the same story. We know the ending, but not how Mikoto got there, and from the manga, it appears to have been quite the trip.
Edit: And I meant to mention, the OP suggests a more up-tempo story with more combat than the fillers are delivering. Also, there’s hints that Mikoto might manage to do what I speculated about a while back: learn to fly, or at least hover over something with a lot of metal, such as rebar. The manga is also making it obvious that she’s capable of 3d movement, given enough metal around her. At this point, it’s still in terms of large “leaps” though.
Omomori Himari is beginning to look up. Before episode 4, the only thing that made it different from the rest of the harem shows out there was that one of the haremettes wanted the lead, Yuto, in no uncertain terms. Another is deeply conflicted, and with good reason; her entire village was wiped out by a clan allied to to Yuto’s. The childhood friend may be the yandere of the bunch, but she’s not kidding herself about whether she wants him even as she takes a poor-woman’s Excalibolg to his head.
The weaknesses and generic aspects to the story are the fault of the source material, but it looks like one of my hopes came true; based on episode 4, they’re moving up his getting a grip, as well as the appearance of the big bads. They also appear to have fixed a very confusing segment around the time Yuto starts to get it together. This isn’t prime material, but if it follows the manga, it will continue to improve. Too bad it’s only 12 episodes; there isn’t enough story yet to do a full season, but the manga is steadily improving.
Baka to Test is again, not the greatest material in the world, but I’m getting some laughs out of it. Not so much from the idiot male lead and his mini-harem of two girls, but the secondary couple of the Class A and F presidents. There’s a woman who knows what she wants, and intends to get it. Even if she has to use a stun gun and drag him to the theater in chains.
Fans of the Vampire Bund manga have railed against the differing plotline of the anime, but that was apparently at the insistence of the manga-ka. So far, the anime story appears to be an odd mish-mash of typical school hijinks, interlaced with a much darker storyline. It’s not bad, but I wish it would stick to horror. Although that did provide the setting for an unfavorable, but humorous comparison between the Japanese government and the school council.
I downloaded a couple of episodes of Seikon no Qwasar, but haven’t watched them and probably won’t. If you’re gonna do sexploitation, stick to the good stuff, like KissXSis(!). (Ok, maybe I’m not entirely serious there…)
Ookami Kakushki is failing for me; the protagonist is too much of a nebbish. If you’re going to have epic horror, have an epic hero. Otherwise, you’ve got a slash-flick This isn’t exactly epic horror, but the mismatch is not encouraging. I’m getting Amityville Horror vibes, or maybe Stepford Wives.
Durararra! struck me originally as a refugee from Shonen Jump. It’s worse — the male lead is romancing a headless motorcyclist. Good God, what if he finally manages to restore her head, only to find out she looks like Nancy Peloisi in drag? Not even all the bad jokes over at Jason’s can get me interested in this.
Sora no Woto and Hanamaru Kindergarden have debuted to positive reviews, but I haven’t been motivated to do more than download a couple of episodes of the former, that I haven’t watched.
I note Scrapped Princess DVD rips have been showing up on the torrents. What a waste of an ending, ruining a perfectly good story. Not going to DL it (originally borrowed it from Dr.Heinous); I prefer not to do so if a series is already available at retail in the US. Which, frankly, I’m still behind on obligation purchases, but seeing as I’m out over $1k in vehicle maintenance (and not done yet), an order to Robert is going to have to wait.
A post in which I chose to snark or not at the offerings this fall. (more…)
No, it’s not a review, and I’m too lazy to add screenshots tonight. I just wanted to make a quick post that it’s strange how this show has been the winner so far, when I ridiculed and ruled it out to start.
I still have doubts that the concept can carry an entire season, but from what I read, they’re skipping the early “no plot” novels and quickly jumping into the later ones, which were more eventful. And in the meantime, they’re still playing against expectations. So far, Ken is, if not a manly man, at least not totally crap and an embarrassment to the human race as a leading man. (Heaven’s Lost Property, I’m lookin’ at you.) He’s focused on “winning the game” yet nice to the girls, a hard worker even if he has to sneak around to do it, and surprisingly perceptive for someone whose reality seems filtered through ero-games.
Still, it’s an indication of how weak this season is, if this is the best we have for autumn.
Yay, Tenchi spin-off.
As expected, the only thing it’s got in common is the main character’s design and name. Oh, and a harem that comes into being for even LESS reason than Tenchi’s. Of course, all the girls, queen included (but not the the suspicious tsundere), start falling for Kenichi the instant they lay eyes on him. It must be in the Masaki genome.
Random thoughts and screenshots below the fold: