Final Thoughts – After the Rain

Yeah, yeah, I know, Winter 2018 show, but it was the most notable one I hadn’t covered yet.

From Wit Studio and the director of a lot of Doraemon projects (and also Mysterious Girlfriend X, apparently) comes the story of a high school girl whose track career was put dramatically on hold by a sudden injury that leaves her with a lot of free time and not a lot of friends, so she fills that void with a new part-time job…and a massive crush on her middle-aged manager. Ultimately it’s a lot more nuanced than that – there are many implications that her father isn’t in her life, the manager is divorced with a son he doesn’t see as often as he wants to, and our heroine Akira is not the loner she thinks she is, having very close friends that she essentially abandoned for this part-time job and an obsession with a man thirty years older than her – and it’s nice to see that the show does not intend to let Akira go unpunished for her behavior. This concept is ripe for exploitation and it gets very little, being that manager Kondo is rightfully confused about the entire situation and is now faced with the problem of letting this teenager off without completely destroying her fragile emotional state.

I wanted to like this so much more than I did, though, because it doesn’t quite commit by the end to a resolution. It leaves things very up in the air by only really resolving one plot thread. While we do get what is definitely meant to be an emotional climax, it feels too ambiguous to really hit home the way that it should, and the ramp-up to it is underwhelming, and if you’re going for straight drama the way After the Rain is, it’s really important to make your climax feel like one. This issue might be a problem with the source material – it seems like After the Rain is intended to be a complete adaptation, but with ten volumes of material and only thirteen episodes, it was inevitable that it felt rushed. (That being said, if it does diverge from the manga I don’t know yet, as only the first two volumes have been published in the U.S. thus far.)

As it is, though, it is still enjoyable drama, but it’s hampered from being great by its lack of a meaningful conclusion. The production work (and direction, for that matter) are both certainly up to the standards of Wit Studio, but the story feels unfinished – like they got about 90% of the way there and called it a day, so that a continuation is unlikely since all that’s left is the very end of the story and unlike, say, Working!, it doesn’t seem like we’ll get the last part.

7/10.

Updated Final Thoughts – IDOLiSH7

You guys strongly suggested I give this one another shot, so I finally got around to it. While I wouldn’t say it was “great” (more on that in a bit), I will say that I liked it.

IDOLiSH7 is a good-looking production that has better character writing than any male idol show I can think of, and that’s at least partially because a) it isn’t completely overstuffed with characters compared to its runtime, and b) because unlike UtaPri, it’s melodramatic but without completely shattering your suspension of disbelief.

I can appreciate this one for a lot of reasons – for one, the heroine isn’t obviously a stand-in for an otome protagonist, she’s a character in her own right who manages the group and has to deal with their frequent screw-ups, and none of her employees are in love with her for no reason. I also like that the group (like the boys of Side M) are a mix of different ages and backgrounds, some of which actively contribute to the plot. I really like that the rival group TRIGGER (no relation to the studio) aren’t evil, they’re competent and are not responsible (and actively condemn) their company’s dirt-throwing behavior. Basically, if you’re looking for a legitimate, continuous drama about the idol industry, this one isn’t a bad choice at all.

The problem is that the shiny production completely stops once you get to the actual performance aspect. We never, ever get to see a complete performance (the show likes to feature the first few measures and then just transition to individual still shots or something), the largely forgettable songs are often just background music for montages, and the choreography we do get to see is really lackluster and rendered in poor-framerate CGI. This is still my biggest problem with this show – an idol-genre work needs this element especially to display a lot of effort, and IDOLiSH7′s just don’t, at all. There’s a sequence near the end where the title group’s dance expert is watching TRIGGER do really basic show choir steps and commenting on how difficult they look, and I legitimately had to force myself not to burst out laughing.

So, ultimately, IDOLiSH7 comes across as a good drama with tacked-on, lazy performances. I’m glad I watched it, and I’ll probably watch the upcoming second season, but if you’re really craving some decent male-idol genre goodness, this year was kind of lacking for you, and I’m sorry. Next year we get extra seasons of this, StarMyu, and B Project, so we’ll have to see how that goes, considering I’ve never been urged to finish either of the other two.

6/10.

Final Thoughts – March Comes In Like a Lion Season 2

I’m not late! I have all year to finish the multi cour shows since I count them separately.

I had a lot of praise for the first season of March last year, most of which carries through for this one. Akiyuki Shinbo has created what is, directorially speaking, his masterpiece, with a deeply affecting, emotional work that maximize the effect of every individual shot to draw as much feeling as possible off of the screen. His habit of overloading scenes with visual information is toned down enough here to be more bearable than the sometimes headache-inducing Monogatari series, and it leads to an overall much more moving piece of artwork.

The story is absolutely no slouch, either, as a well-partnered work that explores all facets of humanity through the eyes of a lonely prodigy, and does it extremely well. The characters we meet are almost all very well-defined people with complex emotions and a lot going on in their lives, and the story gives them all more than enough room to demonstrate themselves to the viewer.

Honestly, the big issue March continues to face is its pacing, as some arcs just don’t stand up next to others and the final episode wraps up only one side-character’s plot, and we hadn’t seen him in ten episodes. I’m really hoping that this adaptation is merely waiting for more of the source material to be drawn (being a very strict and faithful translation of the manga to the point of the episodes being named and numbered by chapter), because completely cutting it off here will not give this show the legacy it should have, but overall it’s still certainly worth watching.

8/10, with a potential score bump if a third season ever comes.

Quick Final Thoughts – A Place Further Than the Universe

I guess I have a habit of procrastinating on shows that are definitely going to make me cry.

And this one accomplished that in spades, thanks to its brilliant ability to make you completely invested in its characters. These four girls are as well-developed a team as Houkago Tea-Time (and will remind you a lot of them), and their story is flawlessly constructed to draw the right emotions out of you.

And my God, does every element here work together to punch you in the gut. I watched the last two episodes back to back, and cried over and over again. What these girls find when their journey is over is a lot more than any of them could have expected, and made for a pitch-perfect finale. I might end up talking more about this one in the future, because it’s one of the most deeply affecting stories I’ve ever experienced.

10/10. A masterpiece.

Quick Final (?) Thoughts – IDOLiSH7

From the studio that brought you Re:Creators comes a male idol show with almost nothing going for it.

The characters are likeable enough, but the dance numbers are all rendered in godawful sub-10 FPS with dreadfully boring costume design, and in a world where we have iMAS Side M and Love Live Sunshine demonstrating how phenomenal animated dance and spectacle can look, both with better design and more interesting characters to boot, there’s just no room – and, given TROYCA’s previous work, no excuse – for how awful this looks.

The only thing even slightly interesting is the character drama, but it’s just nothing compared to what we got with LLS!, and I have no idea if I’ll finish it when I have so much other catching up to do.

Dropped after 4 episodes.

Quick Final Thoughts – Laid-Back Camp

Nearly everything one can ask for from relaxing slice-of-life.

This one was a strong effort from episode one, because not many slice-of-life shows can get me so excited just to watch the next episode, while maintaining such a calming effect. Laid-Back Camp doesn’t go for anything too ambitious, sticking with a group of genuinely likeable characters exploring their hobby and being really good friends to each other.

Basically, it’s wholesome as fuck.

And while there are some failings in the animation department, they’re mediated by great background work (I suspect from Silver Link, since Non Non Biyori is famous for its backgrounds of similar settings) and really good character design (I’m really attached to Nadeshiko’s camping outfit, it’s a little kooky like her, but very coordinated at the same time).

Basically, there’s nothing tremendously new here, but there’s absolutely something to be said for excellent execution of ideas that work.

8/10!

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.