Summer 2015 Anime

I must say that of the shows I am watching this season Himouto! Umaru-chan has to be my favourite

Is it surprising that Umaruun~, being the simpler and more honest quirky comedy this season is actually the better one overall? (imho that is)

…Something doesn't make sense in that phrase.

Might take a look at Gakkou Gurashi after having read the synopsis. Makes me wish I hadn't read the synopsis beforehand actually. =[

Things like these make me happy I didn't read any spoilers or anything before the big reveal of Meguca. At least Gurashi brings the twist to you from the first episode.

Yes. I am not usually a fan of straight-up comedies but there is just something about Umaru-chan that I can't help but love it.

Umaru-chan is hilarious. Love Umaru, spoil Umaru!

I think it has to do with a vibe of honesty that permeates everyone and everything in the show. For as many cliches or old tropes are present, I can't actually find anyone unlikable or unreal. They are quirky and cartoony, sure, but none feel mean-spirited either.

... you just want a can of instant Umarus don't you?

edited 27th Jul '15 1:41:52 PM by Rareitor

Popura > Umaru, IMO.

But it's close, I'll grant you that.

And when I say just disappointing enough, I mean not quite disappointing enough to stop watching. I probably will eventually drop it though, yeah. Its art style is super distinctive though.

UPDATE: Pillow boys, ep 3! Wow, I did not care for this guy. I mean, I get it, that's his character. But ugh. But then he showed some vulnerability and it was moe moe kyun.

UPDATE 2: Classroom Crisis ep 4. "Unions are bad mmmkay, because politics!" Yeah okay whatever. Not an uninteresting episode, but it sometimes feels like this anime is a bit too political.

edited 28th Jul '15 2:16:25 PM by TheyCallMeTomu

Pillow Boys Ep. 3: In which they could not put the actual Wiegenlied despite it being public domain. I mean, like, wow. That's a whole new level of They Just Didn't Care. Boo, this guy sucks. Bring back the senpai pls ;_;

Classroom Crisis ep. 2: I can't actually make it through one episode of this because damn, this is really boring.

Classroom Crisis is something of an acquired taste.

Snow White with the Red Hair, on the other hand, is pretty decent but just all around forgetable. I feel the same way about The World is Still Beautiful; it's a series I only remember because I was trying to remember a series I don't remember.

Wrap your heads around that one!

Edit: Gakkou Gurashii continues to deliver the feels. SO MANY FEELS! I have to say, I vastly prefer this approach to zombie apocalypse than the general horror vibe. The Walking Dead games delivered THE FEELS!!! too, but this is all about background. "The before time." It really reinforces the notion that the tragedy isn't the protagonists trying to survive and their difficulties in doing so, it's that the world is already gone.

Edit Edit: Woooo! Yes! Yes! Ranpo Kitan finally got its writing bad and hackney enough that I can decide to stop watching it. Just, holy crap, that last episode was all sorts of predictable and just abjectly one dimensional character writing and just mrrrgrrrgrrrr.

I know I've complained about the series a lot, because I really really wanted to like it. But if it's written based on Edogawa's works or something, well, maybe they should have picked a better writer, because all of the thematic elements of the series are just offensively bad.

edited 30th Jul '15 1:17:27 PM by TheyCallMeTomu

So... Kuusen Madoushi Kouhosei episode 4 was a huge improvement. Zero harem cliches or pointless fanservice, instead we've got a character based episode that took advantage of the setting, explored character motivations, provided an emotional back story and brought a resolution to conflict that didn't feel forced or made everyone involved look like idiots.

This in all probability won't be the anime of the year, but compared to shows that occupy the same niche in recent years, this is raising the bar pretty high. I can actually tell that the writers gave a shit instead of just putting the least amount of effort possible.

Still got more episodes to go in the season, they have plenty time to fuck it up, or rather, for the actual story to be as crap as these kinds of shows/novels usually are.

Then again, I just noticed that the art for the novel was done by Yuka Nakajima, and while that is not a mark of quality for the work as a whole, I can't help but feel curious about it.

FYI Nakajima is usual an ero doujin maker, but one of those rare kinds who honestly write IC or unexpectedly elaborate stuff with a very solid style.

Danmachi had art by Suzuhito "Yozakura Quartet" Yasuda, and don't get me started on how much I hate that show (altho J.C.Staff decided to radically alter the artstyle. Protip: You can't improve on perfection).

edited 31st Jul '15 2:41:36 PM by Logograph

Eh, Yuka has done art for:

• Papa No Iukoto O Kikinasai which I haven't watched but sounds/I've heard is pretty mediocre and or ruined by misplaced pandering
• Amagi Brilliant Park , pretty ok to good from what I´ve heard

I liked Amagi Brilliant Park, but the ending was kind of "wut"

"Recent manga heroes tend to appear to be hard workers, only to be revealed later they had a special lineage or talents"

Kuusen Madoushi Kouhosei ain't some awesome anime but that blatant Take That! has my approval. On that note, it's getting better as a whole. Or maybe I just hate this season so it comes off as good relative to almost everything else.

edited 31st Jul '15 8:45:54 PM by DestroDertell

The only good way the "crappy harem light novel adaptation" goes is a refinement of the genre over endless repetition and even that is debatable, but self awareness helps like a boss. There is also the fact that what that quote lampshades is old as dirt in the anime world.

On another note: Prisma Illya ep 2...

...

OH GOD I CAN'T CLUSTERF-*joysplosion*

edited 31st Jul '15 9:04:05 PM by Rareitor

Issei Hyoudo appears to be the exception, and not the rule, for modern Light Novel protagonists.

I finally got around to watching Prison School and... Well, sadly, it didn't manage to keep the comedy of its first episode onto its second and third. Oh well.

Meanwhile, I am absolutely fed up with Ranpo Kitan and Imma drop it harder than the Hiroshima bomb.

I dropped Ranpo the moment where in what's his face's backstory,

when the obviously introduced to be killed off by backstory imouto-chan was obviously going to be killed off by backstory, and the criminal who's like "Herp de derp, it doesn't matter if I go to jail I'mma be out again soon anyway" immediately changes to "ha ha ha, Imma murder your family"

Wretchedly terrible writing.

But Prison School actually remains super funny if you ask me. Well, mostly in just that it tends to subvert its lewdness occasionally.

I can see the appeal of Prison School, but it is just not my thing.

But hey, there's like 4 new episodes of stuff today, kinda hype...

[UMARU INTENSIFIES]

Edit: also, that thing that Ranpo was trying to do with the warped mind of the trap character? Shimoneta's Anna did it better; that kid in Shirayuki did it better; fucking GURASHI does it like a baws; even Umaru is more believable than that excuse for a character /mikedrop

edited 1st Aug '15 9:20:57 AM by Rareitor

I have a FULL DAY AHEAD OF ME today. So I'll be procrastinating on anime until later.

I still haven't caught up on Jitsu Wa anime, but I assume it's as bad as its ever been.

Kinda. Not sure what they're trying to do with this anime; they rearrange the order of events, add new scenes or alter existing ones, but it doesn't really work (though episode 4 did it a tad bit better than episode 3).

edit: Watched Gakkou Gurashi 1… wow… that's… something. I unfortunately already knew about the twist, but even before it is unveiled, you can already feel there's something wrong. The atmosphere in the first 80% of the episode is so relaxed it feels… empty. For example, even before the reveal that the students and teachers are Yuki's imaginary friends, there's an undescribable something about the general directing, that made me feel like those people weren't actually there. Like they were shadows…

Now it's cool and all, but I'm not sure what to expect after the reveal has been made…

edited 1st Aug '15 3:08:07 PM by Lyendith

Meanwhile, Chaos Dragon is just awful. There's not much more to say, it's really shitty.

edited 1st Aug '15 3:17:15 PM by Shlugo_the_great

tears

At this point, you can't recommend it. Just go scrounge for what little of Red Dragon is translated.