Fall 2010 - Rest of the Rest (Tsundere Ver.)

What else do you want from me? I told you that I don't have enough time to watch everything, but you're still here! I've already said I'm sorry!

Fine! I'll review these shows, but don't misunderstand me, you dummy! I just...I just have time to finally get these done! I mean, they weren't exactly the best of shows out there, and the first episodes really disappointed me, almost to the point of not watching them anymore! But I'll review them already!

It...it's not like I'm doing it for you! Dummy!

Iron Man: The Anime

Synopsis: So this Tony Stark billionaire guy decides to go to Japan to set up a power station in cooperation with the Japanese government. While helping with the research and acting as his own press agent for his lavish events, Stark comes across a rogue pilot who has hijacked a prototype armor meant to be his replacement as Iron Man. At the same time, he has to cope with the attacks from the Zodiac, a band of androids and robots that have targeted Iron Man and the Stark Corporation.

Why wasn't it reviewed?: First of all, there isn't a rush to review the Japanese version of the show, as it will be released soon enough in the United States. This conversion to a dubbed English language may make the show a little easier to process and believable; Stark shows little to no problems with speaking in Japanese in the first episode. A little believability, if you will!

Second of all, there wasn't much appeal for the series when the first episodes were weighed as an entity. Each week, Zodiac poses a colossal threat to the nation, whether it be in a natural or digital form, but once that threat is neutralized, it seems to be forgotten. The only things that tie the episodes together are characters that aren't that interesting, and for some reason Tony keeps bumping into the same nosy female reporter. Aren't there any other people in Japan? And if there are, must they be inexplicably brought into the show? (Wait, what's Wolverine doing here?!)

Bakuman

Synopsis: Moritaka's got the artistic ability that his uncle used to exhibit when he was a mangaka in his own generation, but his uncle's death from overwork has been considered a "suicide" by Moritaka's family. While Moritaka would rather just join the working class, his classmate Akito, a bright guy with a knack for writing, would rather risk it to succeed as one half of a manga tandem with Moritaka. Moritaka's motivation to become a mangaka, however, comes from an urge to see his crush Azuki succeed at her goal of becoming a voice actress and for her voice to be paired with his animated creation.

Why wasn't it reviewed?: Okay, so Bakuman is an anime based on the manga about two guys making a manga in the hopes of making it an anime. It seems logical and ripe for tearing down some of the walls separating the industry from its readers, but the first two episodes just didn't feel like it was worth animating. It was as if the inclusion of time didn't really make a difference—there's no real gripping factor that differentiates the anime from the manga. It's a bit of a disappointment to consider there to be more drama in the manga than the anime.

The other big problem I had was actually with the opening theme, "Blue Bird" from Kobukuro. You have great harmony and play a mean ballad, guys, but way to seriously put the audience to sleep. Maybe things might pick up with the next half of the 25-episode series, but I couldn't get past two episodes. It's a serious shame, because the manga was solid.

Yosuga no Sora

Synopsis: Derived from the visual novel from Sphere in 2008, Yosuga no Sora tells the story about the Kasugano twins, Haruka and Sora, while they return to their grandparents' old house in the countryside. Having lost their parents to a car accident, Haruka is very protective of Sora, especially due to her own frail constitution, but life must go on. They attend the town's high school and befriend some past acquaintances and new faces, only for Sora to exhibit a fierce jealousy each time.

Why wasn't it reviewed?: I understand that the show contains an interesting way of unfolding, as each "arc" involving Haruka and one of the other girls in the show develops as if chosen through the alternatives presented in a visual novel. However, I found myself unable to get past the first episode after understanding that Sora totally has the hots for her twin brother. So far, shows have managed to dance around actual incest, but Yosuga no Sora doesn't sugar-coat. Actual brother-sister lip-lock here, folks.

Too creepy to really continue the story, even with the ridiculous cuteness that comes from the episode:

And that's all! No more reviews for the fall! If these reviews aren't good enough for you, then that'll be the last time I ever do them for you!

Baka.

Fall 2010 - Rest of the Rest

When I reviewed bad anime, I apologized.
When I didn't review the anime at all, I said nothing.

This is an ode to all of those we offended by not reviewing what we considered average. It wasn't the fault of these shows; it was our own fault. We just didn't have enough time for everything, and these shows just didn't charm us at the time. In lieu of flowers and monetary compensation, we provide snips of these middle-of-the-road anime shows from the Fall of 2010.

Hakuôki Hekketsuroku

Synopsis: Based on the "reverse harem" otome game of the same name, Hekketsuroku is a continuation of the first series, Hakuôki Shinsengumi Kitan. Chizuru, the daughter of a prestigious doctor of Western-based medicines, is taken in by the Shinsengumi during her trip to find her father. The protectorate of the shogunate vows to protect her from a scourge of demon-driven samurai called "Rasetsu", only to discover that Chizuru herself is one of the "Demon Clan" that contains the purest of blood, making her the ultimate prey for the Rasetsu for its continued lineage.

Needless to say, the good doctor may not be as good as considered. The medicine he has created, labeled "ochimizu", has the power to heighten senses and power, but its side effects are devastating to the drinker, as it turns them into a bloodthirsty Rasetsu in the process. The second series, treated more as a continuation of the first, chronicles the plight of the Shinsengumi as it tries to both protect Chizuru from the demon forces and deal with their own troubles as demonized humans who drank the medicine for its own survival.

Why wasn't it reviewed?: The show has some good moments, but there just hasn't been much exposure from the series in the US. Hakuôki is to be treated as a pretty good show in terms of its artistic aesthetics, but it requires a start at the beginning. The other burning problem in my mind is that this series seems to just use the famous name of the Shinsengumi in order to tell a story about vampires. Can't say I'm a big fan of revisionist history, so the interest to follow the show was never there.

(Also see: A Certain Magical Index II. I'll get to this shows in time, but it just didn't hit my senses enough to return to "Go". In due time, in due time.)

Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru

Synopsis: A "slice-of-life" show produced by the creative eye of Akiyuki Shinbo and Studio SHAFT, Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru (And Yet The Town Turns) covers the high-school life of Hotori Arashiyama, an aloof maid-cafe waitress who has a thing for detective stories and a thing against her math teacher. The show covers the various situations Hotori and her friends find themselves drawn into, most of them revolving around the operations of the cafe itself.

Why wasn't it reviewed?: There's...nothing to really review.

The opening and ending themes are rather fun and catchy, and the shifts in perspective that Shinbo emphasizes in his shows are quite pronounced, but Soredemo is a show that even his talents in direction can't float. The plot seems to wander aimlessly from episode to episode without really building direction towards a reason for its animation. Most of all, the whiny voice of Hotori, no fault to her actress, makes the show grating to follow. I've heard that some others have found charm in her annoying personality, but her lack of maturity gets me as mad as her math teacher gets.

Super Robot Wars OG: The Inspector

Synopsis: This show follows the plot covered in the Super Robot Wars: Original Generation 2 video game, but basically follows the timeline from the previous SRWOG series, Divine Wars. The war between the humans left on Earth after a series of meteor strikes and an alien race known as the Aerogaters unfortunately presented the opportunity for a rogue faction, the "Divine Crusaders" to challenge the Earth's government. While most of the civil war between the two factions has ended, there's now the reemerging threat of the Aerogater fleet...

Why wasn't it reviewed?: There is still quite a lot of potential for this series to be covered in the next few weeks, as it is being run online on Crunchyroll's website. The opening theme is a powerful force from the notorious "JAM Project", a unit that always cranks the volume of the show to eleven, and if that was the only reason to watch the show, I certainly would watch it daily. The flip of characters—a substitution of the main characters from the first series with its backup team—is also a pretty clever change to its format. I never would have considered seating the starting line-up for the bench players.

The show is directed by veteran Masami Obari (remember Voltage Fighter Gowkaizer?), so I should have been expecting the breasts to be polished to a brilliant gleam (even on the mecha themselves!), but a lot of the disappointment comes, once again, from the substituted characters. Emotionless Lamia Loveless can't seem to get her Japanese straight, and ATX member Excellen comes off as a ditsy pilot that just rubs against all standards of mecha shows. SRWOG: The Inspector's bound to have the action and energy mecha shows always exhibit, but I can't get into the mechanics if I can't get into the characters themselves.

Next time: We're sorry for not reviewing the disappointments!

Tokyo International Anime Fair: In Jeopardy?

The Mainichi Shinbun has reported that 10 companies involved with anime and manga production in Japan have decided not to participate in the 2011 Tokyo International Anime Fair, due to disagreements with the upcoming amendments to the "Youth Healthy Development Ordinance" for the Tokyo Metropolitan area. I've produced a translation of the original article that was put on Yahoo! Japan's website:

(Tokyo Anime Fair) Urgent Boycott Announcement from 10 Comic Companies

December 10, 2010, 8:53 PM (Mainichi Shinbun)

On December 10^th, Kodansha, Shueisha, Shogakukan and other companies that comprise a coalition of ten comic companies that produce and publish major manga magazines and compiled volumes released an immediate statement that they would not cooperate with the 2011 Tokyo International Anime Fair to be held in the end of March 2011, nor would they participate in it. This is in protest to revision to the Tokyo Metropolitan Youth Healthy Development Ordinance brought by Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara, who also works as the chairman for the TIAF planning committee. Kadokawa Shoten, also a member of the coalition, announced the suspension of its presentations for the same reason.

The announcement, in opposition to the amendments brought for the regulation of sales of manga and anime with extremely explicit content, expressed the danger that free expression would be stripped, stating that the amendments are being made “without any discussions with cartoonists and anime producers at all” and that “those items subject to regulation would be just as confusing as ever, if not more so”. The mayor and his administration criticized the statement, stating that they are “continuing to repeat disingenuous statements full of factual errors” about anime and manga.

According to the Metropolitan Tourism Department, the Anime Fair started in 2002 for objectives such as industrial development and personnel training. This year’s Fair in March had 244 production companies, television stations, and publication companies make presentations and an overall attendance of around 130,000 people. While they are predicting around a record 140,000 to participate in the Fair’s 10^th annual show in 2011, the non-participation of large publication companies that carry many anime creators would make or break the success of the event itself. Representatives at the administration told us that they “could not say if there would be an effect from non-participation”.

(Suzuki, Hideo; Dai, Hiroshi)

Anime News Network reports that these ten companies include the puublishers "Shueisha, Shogakukan, Kodansha, Akita Shoten, Hakusensha, Shonen Gahousha, Shinchosha, Futabasha, and LEED Publishing Co., Ltd.", as well as presenters Kadokawa Shoten. While Shueisha won't be there to present their own works, they will be asking for their works to be pulled from production companies' booths and presentations. Manga creators have also supported their publishers; three creator-group organizations have announced their opposition, and Bleach mangaka Tite Kubo also expressed his opposition publicly on Twitter, stating that "as an artist, I support their decision."

What exactly does this mean for the status of the show? I attended the Fair last year and was astounded by the volume of companies that this could affect. I couldn't imagine a TIAF event that didn't involve these companies, especially when you consider the extent of their influence on anime pruduction companies, art studios, and sales companies. While the Tokyo government stated its preparations to produce a guide that explicitly states the restrictions, this could open a flood of difficult judgments about what is and is not considered "healthy" for viewers and readers.

We'll have to see just how far the effect of such an amendment reaches.