[S2013] Shingeki no Kyojin Ep. 1

English Title: Attack on Titan
Season: Spring 2013
Type: Manga Adaptation
Projected Episodes: 25

I've noticed more and more than when a manga gets released state side, an anime adaption isn't far off. This season alone we've seen Aku no Hana, and Shingeki no Kyojin; which each had only about 2-3 volumes of the manga released in English before the anime adaptations were announced. We also got an adaptation of Devil Survivor 2 (don't let that 2 confuse you, it's just an indicator the second Devil Survivor is getting an adaptation instead of the first much like how Persona 3 got adapted and not the first 2). I think the same thing also happened with High School of the Dead when it came out (manga was released state side, then an anime adaptation was announced). Oh, and I've also noticed the reverse. When an anime comes out if the manga hasn't been released state side you might see it after the season ends (see I don't Like my Big Brother At All). Maybe this is a sign that the whole online movement of offering anime for free legally has been allowing more manga that otherwise would be really hard to sell to be released with English translations... ok I'm starting to ramble. Back to the matter at hand which is the intital impressions of episode one of Attack on Titan (I'm using the English title from here on because it makes more sense to me).

There isn't too much to say about this episode other than it sets up the main character... well kind of. All I can really gather is he was an angry little boy who really wants to join something life threatening and become a hero; but his reasons aren't really shown- well his first reason isn't shown but another reason is given to him in the episode. He clearly has a reason at the start of the episode, so giving him another reason just seems a bit like overkill but that is a story problem, not an anime problem because this is based on already existing material.

Attack on Titan is well animated (which is to be expected simply because Production IG is on the bill and I have yet to see a bad series from them), with a good soundtrack and a pretty decent start (even though it was a bit overkill for a first episode). Go watch it now so that if your friends start talking about this one which I can guarantee anyone watching this season will, you'll be in the know.

[check out the other S2013 impressions]

[AOW] Pretty Rhythm: Aurora Dream (4/7-13/2013)

The anime gods are probably having a fit right now knowing that I'm featuring an anime I haven't even seen one episode of. WELL, sometimes I like to take chances and by the looks of reviews on MAL this anime can't really be bad now can it? I did really like Kalido Star (sans that English dub) so a show about ice skating can't be too boring. I plan to start watching this one pretty soon, maybe after catching up on initial reviews for the current anime season.

You can probably call this one a mix of that PreCure style, Kalido Star and almost any other cutesy sports anime aimed primarily at girls (PreCure is a magical girl anime but the character designs in this AOW remind me of it). It has those awkward 3Dish animation moments from the looks of this video.

Type: Manga adaptation

Genre(s): Sports, Music, Shoujo

Episodes: 51

Synopsis:

Prism Stars are performers on the new popular ice show, Prism Show. They are superidols whose techniques, singing and fashion sense are a cut above all others. Aira and Rizumu are two Prism Stars whose goal is to become the best, the Prism Queen. However, the road to success is bumpy.

[Spring 2013][Anime] Initial Impressions

~NEW UPDATED~


 ~Past~

[S2013] Aku no Hana Ep.1

English Title: Flowers of Evil
Season: Spring 2013
Type: Manga Adaptation
Projected Episodes: 13

Generally, I've seen (and read) that most fans of the Aku no Hana manga despise this anime for only one reason- the rotoscoping approach. Rotoscoping is a film process where live footage is traced over frame by frame for use in both live film and animation. Normally this is used for studying movement rather than just for an animation purpose, yet Zecxs decided to use this process to adapt a really creepy manga... was this a good idea? I'd have to say yes as well as no.

Yes: because despite disliking the first episode to no end when I watched for the first time, I went back a few days later and actually enjoyed the episode more. From there I reread the first volume of the manga then re-watched the episode for a 3rd time... and I was thoroughly creeped out. There is a reason this manga is being released in the states by Vertical- it is not meant for the "normal" manga market. People who read Naruto and One Piece are not reading this (well some are, but those people are also reading things like Lychee Light Club, Elfen Lied and even Solanin). This manga is aimed at a market who likes to be creeped out while exploring the human psyche, rotoscoping seems to help with this aim. Now, I can't say that if this was purely animation I wouldn't be as creeped out at the end of the episode (there's a part where a poem piece is read in a really creepy voice... I can't say much more without spoiling the episode) but I have seen another anime that had some rotoscoping- Trapeze. The upside is, that anime combined rotoscoping and pure animation so I do have a good "what if" basis that I can consider.


Here's a pic from Trapeze. You may notice something different between this and the pic from Aku no Hana- there's way more color which lets the viewer know this is anime. This leads me to why I also think that rotoscoping could be bad for Aku no Hana in the long run.


No: simply because (using Trapeze as some research base) rotoscoping an entire show can wear down on the eyes, and also makes this not so much anime but an anime wannabe. I am going to watch a few more episodes before completely dropping this show, but at this point I am skeptical about liking it after having to watch the horrible animation. Trapeze had some color and a much more fluid look... but Aku no Hana is just awkward to look at. There are moments where faces are empty, then all of a sudden eyes appear followed by teeth. Basically, this technique of animation is very inconstant. I think Trapeze was actually traced over, which Aku no Hana is made by throwing love footage into a program- so Xecxs is cheating.

I can't say I love this anime... yet. I am a fan of the manga and like many other fans felt I had been slapped and raped with a banana (in the visual sense) because of the animation approach... yet this approach also seems to work after rewatching an episode more than once but that can also be a downfall. I don't want to have to watch an episode of anime more than once to be ok with it. Well see where the anime version of Aku no Hana goes.

Oh, you want to know if I liked the episode. Honestly, I actually don't but I can see this turning into a series I can like more. Zecxs animated one of the anime that got me into watching anime that has not received an English language release- Mushi Uta. While that series is disliked by most mainstream anime fans, I for one am not mainstream. I like anime that's different and makes me think. The Aku no Hana manga already does that, now I just have to wait and see if this adaptation helps to make me think as well as enjoy a story.

[AOW] RDG: Red Data Girl (3/31-4/6/2013)

Two episodes in, and I've learned not much about this Red Data Girl aka Izumiku; this could be a good way to go about the story or bad considering the series is only slated for an initial run of 12 episodes with no real sign that it will have a second season. I have seen a good amount of 12 episode anime, but they leave me feeling like I was gipped of a good ending or sometimes 12 episodes does work but honestly most of the time this short of a season leaves a series with an abrupt or rushed ending. You're probably wondering of that's the case, why am I featuring this after only seeing two episodes as AOW? Well, it's well animated and despite the slow starts this series seems like it can go somewhere.

Type: Novel Adaptation

Genre(s): Fantasy, Shrine Maidens

# of Episodes: 12

Synopsis:

A modern fantasy based on Japanese Shinto legends. Suzuhara Izumiko is a 15-year-old girl, who has been raised and protected in a shrine deep in the Kumano mountains. She is quite shy and destroys all the electric devices she touches. When she begins to think about going out of the mountains and moving to the city, her guardian Sagara Yukimasa recommends her to enter a high school in Tokyo and forces his son Miyuki to serve Izumiko for life. Miyuki and Izumiko repel each other but their relationship begins to change when a terrifying accident occurs on the school excursion. Izumiko learns her fate as the last representative (yorishiro) of a Himegami goddess and Miyuki learns of his duty as a guardian Yamabushi of Izumiko.

[AOW] Angel Beats (3/24-30/2013)

Soooooooooooo, thanks to Netflix I've been re-watching this series but in English. I thought this was the weaker of the KEY series of anime (which includes Air, Kanon, Clannad and more recently Little Busters!) simply because it tried to be way too saddening (I'll go more into that when I'm finished with watching in English because I plan to do a review) but watching in English the series is a bit more enjoyable and reasonable in English. Besides, I love the opening.

Type: Original

Genre(s): Comedy, Tragedy, After Life, Action, Supernatural

# of Episodes: 13 + 2OVA

Synopsis:

Otonashi awakens only to learn he is dead. A rifle-toting girl named Yuri explains that they are in the afterlife, and Otonashi realizes the only thing he can remember about himself is his name. Yuri tells him that she leads the Shinda Sekai Sensen (Afterlife Battlefront) and wages war against a girl named Tenshi. Unable to believe Yuri's claims that Tenshi is evil, Otonashi attempts to speak with her, but the encounter doesn't go as he intended.

[AOW] Ichigo Mashimaru (3/17-23/2013)

Rarely is there a moe show that isn't aimed at making lonely otaku guys horny (I'm staring at you Vivired Operation), yet shows such as Ichigo Mashimaru exist. I saw this quite a while ago, but RightStuf! sent out a swag package for my convention (the Fellow Anime Lovers Convention which is happening May 17-18, 2012 in El Paso Texas) that included a pencil board for the series... making me decide why not feature the show as AOW.

Type: manga adaptation

Genre(s): Comedy; Slice of Life

# of Episodes: 12; 3 OVA; 1 side story

Synopsis:

Everyday things make up the fabric of life whether its making friends, going to school, trying to make money, or celebrating a holiday. Ichigo Mashimaro is a heartwarming series that follows the daily lives of Itoh Chika, her sister Nobue, and her friends Miu, Matsuri, and Ana.