First Impression: Shingeki no Kyojin

This show is produced by Production I.G. That is enough reason for me to check this out. Besides, reading the synopsis at MAL, it seems like the kind of shows that Production I.G. is good at producing so this ought to be somewhat satisfying. Well, at least I hope so.

(c) 7tarooo

And after 24 minutes of sitting here watching the show, I have only two words to say: HOLY FUCK.

Kudos Production I.G. Kudos.

They managed to produced some REALLY GOOD SHIT in one episode of anime. It was mind blowing experience. So good man, so good.

I refused to spoil anything in this first impression post. This show deserved to be watched and appreciated, not read.

It is now in my MUST WATCH list for this season.

Episode: 25
Aired: Spring 2013
Producers:Production I.G.

arts & animation 10/10
story 10/10
characters 9/10
sound 9/10
enjoyment 10/10
overall 9.6/10

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First Impression: Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon

I heard a lot of shit about this one and I have no doubt that this will turn out as shitty as I have predicted in my Fall preview. However, knowing that Tomokazu Sugita is part of the cast makes me feel oblige to check this out. I wonder why does he has smaller roles nowadays. I miss him having a grand character that fits his awesomeness.

(c) Tori

I was almost fooled when I heard the song sang by a girl at the beginning of the episode. I must admit that it was sang beautifully. Thank goodness they showed us the face of the male protagonist. He looks like a retard. In fact, all characters look like a retard from up front. Apparently they don't have a nose >_>

After watching the first episode of Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon or Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere (the title itself is full of shit), I seriously has no idea what the story is about. They don't care to explain anything to us like Fate/Zero did but instead they decided to introduce us with the characters using a training method where the student must defeat the teacher to pass whatever class they are in. I assumed it's a training for becoming a soldier kind of thing since at the end of that training they have to fight a demon (yes, apparently they decided to put everything into this show).

It seems like these people being oppressed and the only freedom they have is when they are still a student since Musashi (the city they are in now) is an exile. These students have some sort of summon weapon, or a power boost for their weapon. Again, I can't be sure. There are also some mecha flying.

There is definitely too much visual to digest T___T

I can't say this show is ecchi but damn it that sounds of bouncing boobs are really distracting and annoying. Other than that, I'm fine with the whole ridiculous size of melon pans. The characters of the show are definitely a diversity. We have a naked man with bat ears running around, a robot, a heterochromia, a blonde girl who has a b0nar as a summon weapon, a juggernaut, an indian, a fatty, a talking red blob whose name is Renji, giga drill breaker, some dude with ninja skills, lesbians and of course our usual suspects of good for nothing male protagonist who-has-nothing-going-on-for-him-yet-he-is-a-pervert-who-gets-to-fuck-all-the-girls-and-be-a-hero, his quiet counterpart and few others. If nothing else, it is actually entertaining to see that many characters interacting with each other as they want to take down that nimble teacher of theirs. The fact that the Aoi Toori is a fucking retard who fondle his teacher's breasts without shame is kinda fun (and annoying at the same time because of that damn censorship!) because he's a total tool.

Well, in the end, I guess this wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It's still shitty with that overly dramatic story that it has in store for us. Perhaps they can balance it out with the diverse characters. Who knows, right though I doubt it?

arts & animation 6/10
story 4/10
characters 7/10
sound 7/10
enjoyment 6/10
overall 6/10

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First Impression: Mayo Chiki

I made a mistake of searching the fanarts for this post before I watch the episode. One look at those fanarts, it reminds me of what I read in the synopsis and thus I am already biased about it and not in a good way too >_>

(c) kikuchi seiji

Anyhoo, let's just get this done and over with, shall we?

Easier said than done. 2 minutes and 55 seconds in, I am already pissed off with everything I saw because it is just too damn predictable. Let see... we have Kinjirou, a fucking doormat who is the only guy in the school who is not affected by Kanade. Kanade is the rich bitch who has a female butler pretending to be a guy, and she brings her everywhere, even at school. Kinjirou will discovers Subaru's little secret by accident and for the first few episodes there will be riot before these two eventually fall in love.

But that would be too straightforward you say? How about the people around Kinjirou think that he is gay because he doesn't talk to girls (when in truth, he's traumatized by the rigorous training his sister put him up for every morning). So when he does get close to Subaru, they confirm the rumor is indeed true and he fights hard not to fall for Subaru because of that but will only succumb to love in the end.

Urgh, cliche as fuck.

I would watch this if Kinjirou falls for Kanade instead. That would at least be a tad unpredictable and more fun to watch. Or they can have a threesome. I'm fine with that as well.

And that accident that I talked about earlier, apparently it first happens in the boys bathroom. Who the fuck take a shit without locking the door? Subaru the dumpshit does! FUCK I'M RAGING!

The fact that Kinjirou wears a megane can't even makes me like this shit even for a second.

Fuck this. I'm quitting this shit at 6 minutes and 37 seconds.

arts and animation 6/10
story 4/10
characters 5/10
sound 4/10
enjoyment 2/10
overall 4/10

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Level E

All Level E did was trolling but damn it I enjoyed all 13 episodes, some more so than others. The fact that I enjoyed the trolling kinda tells you that this show is good at what it does which is bringing you shounen comedy. I appreciate that and honestly we need more shows like this and less that of Rio or Dog Days.

http://www.pixiv.net/member.php?id=868573

Don't let the title deceived you. The seemingly average, nothing special title of Level E was just one of it's way of trolling. It makes you skeptical of the content, especially when you read the synopsis. Yukitaka is definitely just a supporting character and not the protagonist, like the first episode suggested. All that plot I wrote in that first impression post was misleading. I only got to know this when I watch the second episode. The trolling continued until the very last minute of the show and I took pleasure in it.

The story has no central point and it lacks complexity however it was cleverly written to give sometimes quite an unexpected twist on that simple stories, employing witty humor that caught you by surprise as well as flavoring it with various genres such as thriller/suspense, romance and of course comedy.

Now lets get on with the characters. The show would have phailed miserable if it's not for the characters who give such vibrant colors to this premise but you only needs to know one important character which is Prince Baka, or as I called him Ki, who is the highly intelligent alien protagonist and seems to outwit everyone with his mischievous agendas and games just to keep himself from getting bored. He is the thread or the anchor that holds the story together. Yes, the story pretty much evolve around this jerk. There is only one person, or more correctly an alien who managed to outwit him. If I reveal that character, it would be too big of a spoiler so you just have to watch it till the end to find out.

I am not familiar with the manga from Yoshihiro Togashi so I dunno how true it was to the original work. Having said that but thanks to the anime blogsphere I came to learn that Studio Peirrot has did an excellent job with the adaptation. It used strong visuals, detailed character designs, streamlined narrative, and witty dialogues to make it more suitable for TV viewers of today. They experimented and they have succeed. If you phailed to appreciate this, then you are missing out.

The studio has also cast the right seiyuus for the characters and the cast is HUGE! It goes to show that this project got quite a budget hence why they can experiment. The seiyuus delivered their punchlines naturally whenever it was needed which is important in a comedy show like this one. This is the second time I see Daisuke Namikawa works his magic (the other one through Yondamesu yo, Azazel-san) as Ki. He, Yoshimasa Hosoya (as Yukitaka) and Takehito Koyasu (as Kraft) deserved special mention for their excellent job. They not only bring those characters to life but they also make them one of the most recognizable characters in recent memory. You can say that they completed each other.

(c) kaden

Just like the characters, the OP and ED are very memorable too, especially the OP: Cold Finger Girl by Kuriyama Chiaki (famous for Kill Bill). The animation in the OP have that Men In Black vibe to it which is awesome. Like I said, memorable and one of the best OP I've heard in recent time. It is up tempo and sets the right attitude for the episodes. The ED is a classic JRock by ViVid that kinda completed the whole premise. Having said that, there is nothing special with the background music that is worth mentioning.



The randomness of plot twists and the lack of central direction might throw you off your track but that would be your loss. To sum-up, the ingredients that made Level E so entertaining are the right combination of witty comedy, strong visuals and charming characters. If you can learn to appreciate that you will eventually agree with me that this show is definitely not your average comedy anime. It gives me hope and satisfaction knowing that amidst the inclination of stupid fanservice and moe oriented anime, I can still rely on some of the production house to bring me something clever and funny at the same time without over do it with slapstick jokes.

art & animation 9/10
story 9/10
characters 9/10
sound 9/10
enjoyment 9/10
overall 9/10

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First Impression: Sket Dance

At first, the only reason I was remotely interested with Sket Dance is because Keiichiro Kawaguchi is directing it, the same director that did Zettai Karen Children which I am a fan of. I still have my doubt though. Then I learned about the cast. The crossover makes a lot of sense all of a sudden.

http://www.pixiv.net/member.php?id=879083

They hire Tomokazu Sugita as one of the main seiyuu. That's decided it for me. I'm gonna watch this shit (If it wasn't for my outrageous working scheduled, I would have done the Sugita Quest like Glo does his Rie Quest. That's how big of a fan I am). Did you see how I choose my anime now? =3

Academy Activity Support Club or Sket-dan for short is just like Gintoki's Yorozuya. In fact Sket Dance is more or less Gintama in modern days. There are Himeko, Kagura double, Switch as Gintoki double and Bossun who supposedly to be the leader. They do odd stuff in that little club of theirs, solving mysteries and so on.

There are still few characters that haven't been introduced yet so that adds to the reason why I need to continue watching Sket Dance.

fappable character like this one
http://www.pixiv.net/member.php?id=879083

Though the jokes were a tad slapstick at time, they were able to make me chuckled. Mind you, it's not out right laugh out loud kind of thing. I have a feeling if this show is done by a much more experience production studio, it could turn out so much better. Or maybe I'm just being harsh towards Tatsunoko Productions for not hiring a strong capable writer than can do randomness like that of Gintama. I said this because it falls a little flat for me and it is kinda cliche.

The animation is nothing to boast about but I should give credits when it is due. They took it up a notch when it comes to the fighting and there are some slick moves going on. If only the effort is continuous throughout the episode. Then again it is all comes down to the budget. Having said that, the casts are pretty impressive and I am glad that they spend their money hiring the right people for the characters. Sugita is awesome as always.

Well, this show doesn't blew me away but for obvious reason I am going to keep watching this.

arts & animation 7/10
story 7/10
characters 8/10
sound 8/10
enjoyment 7/10
overall 7/10

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First Impression: Yondemasu yo, Azazel-san

I have been planning on checking this out later but since Glo asked me to do so, I figured I should see what's so great about this show as soon as possible. So here I am writing this mandatory first impression post for future reference.


Yondemasu yo, Azazel-san is about a detective company who used demons/devil to help solve their cases. As you can see, the demons aren't scary looking. In fact they are kinda... cute if that kind of thing is your thing.

Akutabe, the detective in question is also a demon summoner. I like him right away as I do with the rest of the characters. The demons, especially Azazel who specializing in sexual harassment, are funneh. Man, when he screwed up, he fucking screwed up.

This show is only 12 minutes long per episode but it provides you with plenty of shiznit. I love this kind of random shit even though I can do without the stupid OP. This show didn't take itself seriously so as an audience, you are expected to do so as well.

The art at time emphasize how crazy the situation is which in itself is funny. Coupled with great voice acting, it turns out as a masterpiece. I have nothing bad to say about Yondemasu yo, Azazel-san (yet) so I recommend this to everyone who appreciates humor.

There are so many hilarious screencap but that would mean spoilers. It is best if you see this shit for yourself XD

By the way, what kind of sex position is this?


art & animation 8/10
story 9/10
characters 9/10
sound 8/10
enjoyment 10/10
overall 9/10

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Fractale

I have high hopes for Fractale but with each passing episodes, I feel the hopes dwindling to nothingness. The only reason I watched from week to week was because of Sunda but they fucking killed him in the last episodes.

Everyone, meet the late Sunda and Enri Granitz

The story itself was what made this show lacking. It evolved around Phryne, Clain and Nessa and it shouldn't be so. Phryne and Nessa are the key to reboot the Fractale system. If Phryne didn't ran away and be a jackass about it, people won't have to die unnecessarily. Though she is (literally) a slut it is still no excuse for her to be so fickle about every damn thing. If she agreed from the very beginning to be the key and didn't change her mind every god damn 4 seconds, then the Temple will not declare wars on Lost Millenium (they are the one who are against the Fractale System - but not really). Sunda and Dias wouldn't have died.

As you can see, I'm very pissed right now and rightfully so. I am filled with rage when Clain ended up having a happily ever after ending with Phryne (with Nessa's personality). Damn these kids.

I can't believe I said some really nice things about her in my first impression post. 10 episodes later I have nothing but hate for her.

Characters wise, they are not lacking in term of personalities (except for the plain Clain). The character designs also helped built each characters' personalities while the voice actors compliment those characters, giving them souls. Thanks to her splendid performance as Nessa, I think I am a fan of Kana Hanazawa now. Credits for Yu Kobayashi as well for her job well done as Clain though I still wonder why didn't they pick a guy for the job.

The OP/ED, BGM and sound effects for this show is highly commendable. Both the OP and ED are sang by Hitomi Azuma. There are three songs featured in the single CD titled Harinezumi but I never heard the other one. Like I said, towards the end of the show, the OP grew on me and I can even sing along to it. Having said that, my favorite remains with the ED despite the poor Engrish pronunciation.


If there is one thing that blow me away regarding this show, it's the art and animation of the whole thing. I mentioned this several time during in episodic reviews. A-1 Pictures is really good at delivering these sort of stuff. Some of the scenes looks like they came from a beautiful painting, and the camera angle for certain scenes really stood out. Kudos to the animation production team. It was splendid.

But sadly, for a show that is featured in noitaminA, it certainly didn't live up to expectation. I am not entirely sure whose fault is it but if the story didn't evolved around Phryne, it could have ended up as a fabulous show. This show pretended to be deep when it's not. Yamakan totally lost the plot. I rage at how conceded it turned out to be.

arts & animation 10/10
story 7/10
characters 9/10
sound 8/10
enjoyment 6/10
overall 7/10

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First impression: Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Girls

Okay, lets be honest. The first few minutes after watching this show, it occurred to me that it looks similar to Strike Wicthes but instead of using something to help the girls fly in the air, this show used nothing. Absolute nada. They can pretty much stand on top of the plane with two samurai swords in their hands. It was like their feet have magnet or something.

That's logic #1 thrown out of the window.

Then they can pretty much cut the plane in two using only their swords.

Logic #2 fucked up.

Having said all of that, the art really got me excited. It is certainly eye catching.

The chart didn't say anything about this show being ecchi though so it was unexpected. With any other show I would have dropped it in millisecond but like I said the art made all the difference. I'm gonna stick around for at least a second episode then we can decide from there.

*edit: I did a background check on the production team. Arms are well known for ecchi/yuri/hentai-ish anime. I should have known -_-

5 minutes in, the male protagonist has already kissed the naked female protagonist thus pretty much claimed her as his. They happened to share the same name too. Fate? The rest of the episode is pretty much a flashback of how things came to be: Yagyuu meeting Sanada, the maid horniness for her master, naked chic, ninja chic, etc. It was a pretty decent episode and definitely have me geared up for the 2nd episode.

The title already hinted that this going to be a show with lots of girls. So like any other show like this, I will of course ended up with list of girls that I want to die. But I'm gonna save the name for the end review of this show, if I ever managed to finish it. This show is also a harem. I really don't like harem. It just retarded in my opinion so hopefully the story line will make up for it.

Though it says samurai, I am yet to see any real action going on. The fight scene was pretty much butchered by the ink dots and the production team took a safer road. No slashing, just the sound of it. Kinda lame though because I was hoping that we got to see lots of blood in this one.

The arts kinda remind me slightly of Tower of Druaga and some of the character sounds familiar especially that of Sanada but I didn't bother to check who are their seiyuus. The OP and ED kinda meh, not my cup of tea. *shrugs*



The good news is, by the end of the episode, I don't feel like I was watching Strike Witches anymore. Also yuri and ecchi fans would probably gonna love this one ^_^"

art & animation 8/10
story 6/10
character 6/10
sound 6/10
enjoyment 7/10
overall 7/10

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First Impression: Kaichou wa Maid-sama

I won't normally watch something like this but I promised myself that I'll check this out and form my opinion after I've watched it. Who knows that I might like it just like I did with Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou.

The story: Misaki is the bossy president of the student council. She is freaking poor. Ends up working as a maid waitress at a restaurant which forces her to become meek. She tried to keep it a secret from her school mate but Usui Takumi, the hottest guy in school (FUCKING CLICHE!!) saw her. She worried that he will tell the whole school about it, not knowing that Usui has taken an interest. Of course she'll pretend like she didn't notice it. Slut.


I seriously want to puke.


But Usui is kinda cute.

Dammit!

Why is it so damn predictable?!

art & animation 7/10
story 5/10
characters 6/10
sound 6/10
enjoyment 6/10
overall 6/10

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First Impression: Ookamikakushi

Heh the opening scene show Isuzu attempting to rape Hiroshi, claiming that it was love at first sight. The pervert in me chuckled because they both look like they are in middle school or maybe that was probably me in denial.

Then they were being chased by CardCaptor Sakura with a scythe. She is the Hidden God or Ookamikakushi. I remember saying that this could turn out to be quite interesting after I saw it in the Chartfag's chart. Let see if I am right.

Hiroshi, his dad and his disabled sister moved to Jouga where he met Isuzu who immediately groped him at their first meeting. Being a healthy young boy, he was of course turned on by her show of affection. I found her rather annoying.

But of course, what is a story without some love triangle, right? Right. So we have the whole class, including the teacher, who wants to be in Hiroshi pantsu and said it was kinship in pretense. All except one: Nemuru Kushinada. You can probably guess who she is.

In case you couldn't tell, the one getting grope there is Hiroshi

Halfway of the episode, I can guess why Hiroshi is extremely popular all of a sudden. It wasn't so hard to decipher since he looked like a sacrificial lamb. It must be the air in the town. Even the moon looks eerie and ominous.

Kinda looks like the moon from 11eyes. ne?

Since Nemuru/Ookamikakushi has identified her victims (those who want to rape Hiroshi) at the school, she gets down to work at night. Once the victim has been taken care of, his/her existence would be erased from the face of the earth. Heh, not really. They just made up stories like he/she moved to other town etc.

There she is, the Ookamikakushi ^w^

It wasn't bad I guess. I might watch another couple of episodes before I decide whether or not I will commit to this.

The art aren't splendid but I like the blurred effect. The OP and ED are forgettable. The characters were so so. Besides the Ookamukakushi, I don't give a damn about the others. As for the story, it certainly is promising. Interesting indeed.

art 6/10
story 7/10
sound 6/10
character 6/10
enjoyment 7/10
overall 6/10

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First Impression: Sora no Woto

Meet Kanata,Yui's twin sister. Well not really but you can probably see where this is going. Yeah, it's the serious version of K-ON!

We have the characters line up who looks the same, more or less, but maybe with a little bit more personalities. Not much but it definitely make a lot of difference. Kinda. Says a lot about K-ON now doesn't it?

Anyway, from what I have seen so far, they kinda have a story/plot. Looks like Kanata is looking for her mom, Rio (she's Mio in reality but with personality) has some very deep issue about something something that has to do with the bell, which by the way is the same bell that Kanata saw when she was a kid. They don't revealed much of anything. But they did introduced Phyllicia who looks like she's Tsumugi's twin sister and Kureha who looks like the hyper version of Azusa. There is only one character that seemingly has no relation to K-ON! and that is Noel. I like her right away.


These women/girls are assigned at the town of Seize. Their duty is to... blow the trumpet/horn in the morning? I don't fucking know man... but they kinda told the history of the village, something about the Fire Lady sacrificing herself to kill the wing demon. Rio was chosen to play the Fire Lady part in the festival.

Whatever.

Kalafina sings the OP song. Not really a fan of her but maybe the song will grow on me. I really like the insert song though and wasn't really paying attention to the ED.

I probably would continue watching So.Ra.no.Wo.To just like I did with K-ON! So far I am not impressed by what I have seen nor am I pissed about it. It really is just a feeling of indifference. The same when I was watching the episode. It just monotonous from start to finish *yawns*

art 7/10
story 6/10
sound 7/10
character 5/10
enjoyment 5/10
overall 6/10

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