Absence makes the heart grow fonder?
It’s been a long premiere week and I’m quite sleepy, so I won’t spend too much time on these, but, as usual, I wanted to pop in and let you know where I stand on sequels this season. Most of the deluge this spring are for shows where I never saw the early seasons, so no “panning” posts there, but there are a trio that I am watching, at least. Hit the jump to get reacquainted!
I’ll give Spring Premiere Week this much: It sure didn’t end on a boring note.
As if to make up for a few of my previous posts, this one has three whole meet-n-greets, and two of them surprised even me. Has my brain overloaded from a long week of watching and writing about premieres, thus seriously hampering my judgment? Or is there actually something worthwhile in each show of this batch? Well, they’re only premieres, and I am pretty exhausted, so the jury’s prob’ly still out on that one. But you’re welcome to hit the jump and decide for yourself.
Must’ve been a hard winter, given how puny this spring crop looks.
We’re getting dangerously close to the end of the licensed spring premieres, and pickins remain slim. It’s not even that most of them are terrible (although Triage X very much is)—they’re just run-of-the-mill, safe, and uninspired. Still, we’ve got one that’s a little off the beaten path, so we can talk about that in some detail, at least. Hit the jump for some light potential and a trio of “no, thank you”s.
How to improve your spring anime? Just add cherry blossoms!
Two full meet ‘n’ greets in this one, huzzah! One was exactly what I expected, while the other was something of a pleasant surprise (although we’ll see if it can hold up over multiple episodes). Also, apparently if you throw an exclamation point (or two) into your title, good things happen. Take note, aspiring writers. Then hit the jump for some sweet music, some sweet cakes, and a little bit o’ bland.
A romantic comedy so adorable its title needed TWO exclamation points!!
I’m guest blogging this series over at Anime Evo this season. I’ll go ahead and include the full posts here too eventually, just so I have my own copies, but for the first several weeks I’ll only be providing a quick blurb and a link to the AE page. But yes, I am planning to do episodic posts on this one, so you’ll get to hear all my reactions and analysis as they come.
…Oh, and just so you know, these will have anime (but not manga) spoilers since I’ll be discussing plot points and character beats in the episodes themselves. I’ll have a spoiler-free meet ‘n’ greet up tomorrow for anyone who just wants to get the basic stats and find out if it’s any good (hint: it is). The rest of you can hit that jump and get ready for one delightful little shoujo.
This… could stand to go a little better.
I’m to the point where I’m marking anything that didn’t send me running for the hills as a “bubble candidate,” because my watch list is looking pretty darn slim at the moment. I’m not sure if I just came to expect more ambition from my anime after this past winter or if these shows are just that weak or what, but it’s slim pickings, and once again I’m left with only one series that warranted a full meet-n-greet. Hit the jump to say hello to girls who see ghosts, girls who shoot guns, girls who are robots, and girls who should be robots but aren’t anymore, those cheaters.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before…
All three shows on this list feel a little like something I’ve already seen, whether it’s a Dark Supernatural Dystopia, a Dungeon-Crawling High Fantasy, or An Unorthodox Teacher And His Students. Of course, most stories are influenced by (and will therefore remind you of) others, and there’s nothing wrong with a tried-and-true concept as long as there’s a spark of original wit or style to go with it.
So how did this batch do? Less than stellar, though slightly better than expected. Hit the jump to see what (surprisingly) sparked, and what maybe didn’t so much.
Spring has sprung and brought with it an April shower of new anime titles.
As a reminder, I watch every licensed premiere and do at least a brief writeup about them. I’ll do full meet ‘n’ greets for shows that caught my interest enough to warrant it. Everything else gets a blurb explaining what I liked, didn’t like, and why the show might not or didn’t make the cut.
Of course the anime deluge would begin on Easter weekend, when my days are morning-till-night packed with family and friend gatherings. I’ll be playing a bit of catch-up for the next couple days, so you’ll have to forgive me if some of these are a little late to arrive. I’ve got two posts coming at you today with a trio of titles apiece. So let’s get the ball rolling with a new take on an old classic, a show that is almost as stupid as it is entertaining, and a big ol’ pile of Nope.
The Josei Next Door 