Quick First Impressions – The Ancient Magus Bride

I have conflicting feelings about this one.

This show thus far has an amazing reputation, and is the other most-discussed of the season, but I can’t say that the whole child-bride-purchasing sits well with me, even though I’m sure Silas’ idea of a wife isn’t traditional. It looks incredible, sounds magical, and I love everything else about Silas, but the first episode leaves me in a strange place. I’m sure that a lot of my concerns will be addressed down the line, so unless the show takes a running leap over the line I’ll probably keep watching through to the end, but I don’t think I’ll come out quite as enamored as a lot of other people.

Quick First Impressions – Pop Team Epic

Are you upset?

Because I don’t know how the hell to react, which appears to be the prevailing opinion. No critic seems entirely sure how to approach a show that seems so deliberately unwatchable, and yet is the most talked about of the whole season.

So I don’t think I’m gonna get away with not watching this all the way through, but I’ll warn you right now, my rating for this will not be a number.

Basically, if you hate Robot Chicken, stay away, because this is the anime equivalent. If you’re down for a show that switches jokes every few seconds and will give no explanation, ever, for anything, sure, go for it.

Quick Final Thoughts – Blood Blockade Battlefront & Beyond

Now here’s an amazing show that still knows how to have a rollicking good time.

The first season was largely anime-original, as the source material doesn’t have much of an overarching plot, and it delivered a fantastic story that gets a few nods here, but this second season sticks to the manga’s episodic nature, and proves to be fantastic at telling human stories in its wacky, off-the-wall universe. These are common stories, but ones that haven’t been told this way before, from KK trying to be a good mother, to Zed getting marginalized, or a doctor making ultimate sacrifices to help her patients. It reminds me a lot of the first part of fellow Bones production Fullmetal Alchemist, particularly the more drawn-out 2003 version.

However, this does come at the cost of the building stakes that we got in the first season with its story about the second end of the world, and that’s something to come to terms with in order to get on board here.

Bones delivers more jaw-dropping action production here, but one thing it’s lacking in is the awesome opening and ending department. The first season’s opening, “Hello, World!” and ending “Sugar Song to Bitter Step” are legendary for their amazing production work, and while the new songs, both by Sugar Song’s artist Unison Square Garden, are a great time, they aren’t backed up with quite as ambitious visuals and creative direction, and that’s at least partly due to a change in director.

So, to summarize, while this followup isn’t quite as masterful as its predecessor, the show remains a fantastic time, and it’s still well worth a watch if you liked the first season.

Oh, and the dub remains one of the best I’ve ever heard, and Aaron Dismuke as Leonardo was a stroke of genius, and that’s before getting into the other great performances on display.

9/10!

Quick Final Thoughts – Made in Abyss

Heh, speaking of being late, the biggest show of last year and I procrastinated on it so hard.

Intentional discomfort is a fine line. Media which is intended to keep you on your toes has to have a really, really good hook to be able to keep viewers around, or else that discomfort will push them too far and make them give up.

You also have to leverage this feeling so that it’s spaced out, or the same thing happens. This is where I feel Inuyashiki went very wrong, stuffing tons of shock content in with essentially no break in between.

Made in Abyss wants to draw you into its fantastic, gorgeous world, but it does NOT want you to get comfortable. It wants you worried, it wants you squicked, it wants you sad, and it wants you terrified. You might enjoy the experience, but it will not be a happy one, and you will be unsure if you’ll even get a happy ending when all is said and done. These characters are going to be miserable, going to lose hope and get hurt and watch awful things happen, and you are going to want to keep watching, because it is a masterwork at keeping you invested. Despite being truly one of the most disturbing shows I’ve ever witnessed, probably even more so than Inuyashiki, this one has a better premise, better characters, and a story you’ll want to see to the bitter end, because you’ll want to know just as badly as the characters just what lies in the depths of hell itself.

My only issue here, is that it isn’t over. You won’t find an ending here, despite the original nature of the show, and so the biggest, most tantalizing mystery is still unsolved. So, for now, despite getting my highest recommendation if you’ve got the stomach for it, I can only give it a 9/10. If a conclusion is announced, however, it will be a 10/10 experience.

Quick Final Thoughts – Inuyashiki Last Hero

I took too long to watch this and not finish it, but I’m frankly just not enjoying this.

This show’s MAL score is almost an 8, and based on the overall quality of the first four episodes, I can’t say I get it. For having produced Yuri On Ice! and its remarkable skate sequences, Inuyashiki looks remarkably bad when CG isn’t involved. Tons of in-betweens seem to be just straight-up missing, and the show’s “realistic” art style just does not render well, resulting in something really ugly-looking most of the time.

And the content has gone from an interesting idea to a black-and-white good vs evil story with tons of content which seems to only exist to provoke shock, from graphic, callous murder to several implied rapes (and one actual onscreen one) and none of it connects as well as it should. Frankly, these elements are so distracting that it takes me entirely out of the experience every single time, and I just can’t remain invested in the story, especially not when the most commentary the show can provide is that the villain kills people for no reason, but the HERO is just so amazing and he heals injured cats and cancer patients, and is essentially Jesus.

4/10. What a waste of perfectly salvageable material.

Quick Final Thoughts – Himouto Umaru-chan S2

A definite improvement over the first season.

I’m aware that a lot of people found the first season of this show to be unwatchable and obnoxious, but even as someone who still enjoyed it nevertheless, the reason the show has improved is pretty easy to explain.

While Umaru remains nerdy and lazy, her selfishness and her negative impact on other people have been reduced dramatically, making her much easier to root for in the long run. We do see her growing and changing as a person, and we see a lot less misery on the part of her brother, retooling their relationship into a very friendly, coordinated one. This season demonstrates why he needs her around, and that her behavior has gotten a lot better, leaving us with a solid and funny slice of life comedy, even if the plot doesn’t resolve.

Maybe we’ll see more?

7/10

Quick Final Thoughts – Konohana Kitan

Yeah, I know I’m only getting later and later with these now we’re a month into the new season, but winter is a busy time.

This one turned out a little better than I expected from the first episode, where we got some strong episodic storytelling out of a neat concept. While the stories were a little uneven, it was never anything less than pleasant to watch.

Studio Lerche gives some fair production value to the project and the character designs are all nice to look at, and the traditional Japanese fashion looks awesome in the setting.

I wish I had more specific praise for this one, because I genuinely did enjoy it, but I wish it had been just a bit more challenging, because I can’t see myself remembering this one as much as I’ll remember, say, Flying Witch.

I’d still say it deserves a look if you enjoyed that show, though, or if you want a casual look into Japanese folklore.

7/10