August 2011 Archives

Here I am again with the final batch of Summer follow-up episodes. Do the series I've previewed most recently live up to my high (or low) expectations?

Mawaru Penguindrum

The penguin hat tells Shouma and Kanba that they need to obtain an item called the Penguindrum, and that it's in the possession of a girl named Ringo (probably). They discover that Ringo attends a local all-girls school, and they take the day off from school to tail her using their invisible penguin servants. The trail leads them all over town until the brothers discover that, much as they've been stalking Ringo, she's been stalking one of her teachers.

Much like the first episode, the second ends on a decidedly creepier note than it began. The questions start to pile up: who is Ringo and why is she important? Why does she (supposedly) carry the Penguindrum? Why does the hat need it? Why is SEIZON SENRYAKU so fabulous? It's difficult to tell how things will unfold at this point, but I'm certainly intrigued. This episode features some mild fanservice (the suggestion that the brothers are getting glimpses of girls' underwear via their penguins' spy cameras) which provoked an eye roll or 3 from me, but having seen plenty of things that are much, much more foul, I have a difficult time getting too irate about it. Hopefully it won't be a habitual thing, though. I think I'm in for the long haul with this one, partly out of curiosity but mostly because I expect a certain level of quality, no matter which direction the story takes.

Will I continue watching? Yes, this was pretty much a given as soon as I knew of its existence. It's nice to know that my expectations of quality have been mostly panning out, though.

Mawaru Penguindrum

Number of Episodes: 24

Production Company: Brains Base

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Brief Overview: Twins Kanba and Shouma, and their sister Himari, live by themselves. The sickly Himari passes away after a trip with her brothers, but it resurrected by the spirit living in a penguin-shaped hat. To pay for the extension of her life, the twins must search for an item called the Penguin Drum, with help from 3 penguins who only they can see.

Usagi Drop (Bunny Drop)

Number of Episodes: 11

Production Company: Production I.G.

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Brief Overview: While attending his grandfather's funeral, Daikichi is startled to learn that his grandfather had an illegitimate child with a younger lover. When no one else in the family will step up to take custody of the girl, Daikichi, a bachelor, decides to take care of her. He learns soon enough that taking care of a small child is both complicated and rewarding.

No. 6

Number of Episodes: 11

Production Company: Bones

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This series is licensed for DVD distribution by Section23 Films

Brief Overview: Sion is a teenager living a privileged life inside one of the last 6 remaining city-states. One day he meets a fugitive who calls himself "Nezumi" (Rat), and is punished for aiding him. Later, the two meet again and Sion is poised to discover the secrets that lay hidden inside No. 6.

Sacred Seven

Number of Episodes: 12

Production Company: Sunrise

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Brief Overview: 17 years ago, alien crystals landed on Earth that had the ability to alter DNA and cause mutations. Alma Tandoji is a 17-year-old high-school student who has superhuman abilities as a result of this event. He's contacted by Ruri Aiba, a teenage girl who asks him to help her battle a mysterious enemy.

Uta no Prince-sama

Number of Episodes: 13

Production Company: A-1 Pictures

ANN Encyclopedia Wikipedia NicoNico

Brief Overview: Nanami Haruka attends a special music school to fulfill her dream of becoming a songwriter, but realizes soon enough that competition is fierce. Her teachers are former singers and idols and Haruka gets grouped together in class with three male aspiring idols. If that weren't bad enough, she's not allowed to date any of them!

Nekogami Yaoyorozu (Cat God)

Number of Episodes: TBA

Production Company: AIC Plus+

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Brief Overview: Mayu is a cat god who lives in an antique shop run by a girl named Yuzu. Mayu often has her other heavenly friends over and spends her days in idle luxury, playing games or dealing with wayward gods of every sort.

Kamisama no Memochou (Heaven's Note Pad)

Number of Episodes: 12

Production Company: J.C. Staff

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Brief Overview: Narumi is a high school boy who feels isolated from his classmates. A friend invites Narumi to the school gardening club, and there he meets Alice, a strange detective on the trail of an illegal drug called "Angel fix."

Another exciting batch of follow-up episodes. How do you think these series will fare upon further inspection?

Blood-C

Saya spends another quiet day going through the motions of her morning routine and school day. She encounters a new snack - guimauve - which her friends tell her has a texture reminiscent of a kiss. She makes a connection with the quiet boy in class, and almost pets a cute doggy. Her father explains that he can't find any info on the origin of the Elder Bairn, other than that they must have been around an extreme amount of time. Saya encounters one that night that's similar to a plant, and finds herself bloodied afterwards.

Second verse, same as the first. Since watching the first episode, I've fortified my expectations so that the incongruity between the slice-of-life and action/horror portions of the series no longer fazes me. Sure, I'd really like for there to be some sort of incredible mid-season twist or revelation, but I'm not going to bank on that. If the series turns out to be a 1-cour tease, well, at least I enjoyed the action-packed monster battles. I can't say that it would be time wasted, but I doubt that the show would leave itself with much replay value if the season passes without something revelatory happening.

Will I continue watching? I intend to. The show so far has been eye candy with little in the way of guilt (translation: I'm not braving boobs and misogyny for my weekly dose of cool animation), so I really can't complain.

Rather than attempt to spend a ton of time doing full write-ups on series with shorter episode lengths or sequel seasons to shows that I haven't watched, I'm just going to cover them all briefly in one spot. Here's a look at this season's two short-episode series, as well as the sequel to Nurarihyon no Mago.

Nurarihyon no Mago: Sennen Makyou

Number of Episodes: 24

Production Company: Studio Deen

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Summary and Thoughts: The first episode of the follow-up season to last Summer's Nurarihyon no Mago begins, not with a continuation of the current storyline, but with a flashback to protagonist Rikuo's past and how he came to first reveal his latent youkai powers to the skeptical youkai led by his grandfather. When a jealous youkai who wishes to serve as leader to the youkai clan threatens Rikuo's classmates with certain death, Rikuo, who to that point had never shown any special ability due to his mixed youkai-human bloodline, reveals the extent of his powers to save them.

When the first season of the show began I remember hearing all manner of complaints from the manga fans about the course the story had taken and how much it diverged from its source. I'd heard reports that it skipped a large chunk of the manga and instead started with filler material. This episode seems to be an attempt to remedy some of that by giving more information on Rikuo's backstory and providing a clearer picture about his relationship to the youkai in his family. I honestly have no idea why the people in charge of the first season chose to skip this, because it really helps to set up the story and introduce the characters in a more natural manner.

That said, as far as supernatural shounen series are concerned, I don't find myself compelled any more of this series. Its comedy is a bit stale and it doesn't have enough visual style to compete with things like Ao no Exorcist or Soul Eater (two shows which are held aloft primarily because they're nicely-animated and have a fun, unique design sense). There's some nice use of background CG in some of the scenes, but beyond that it doesn't really distinguish itself much from any other standard shounen anime series.

Will I continue watching? Probably not. I was curious about the first season, but not curious enough to follow-up on my desire to see more, and I feel as if the same would be true if I said that I might watch more.

Blood-C

Number of Episodes: 12

Production Company: Production I.G.

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Brief Overview: Saya is a seemingly normal, albeit clumsy girl living in a shrine, training to be a miko under her father. By night, she sheds her clumsiness and defends her village from strange creatures by the might of her sword.

Blade

Number of Episodes: 12

Production Company: Madhouse Studios

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Brief Overview: The 4th collaboration between Marvel and Madhouse, this series is focused on Eric Brooks, a human born with certain vampiric qualities, who himself hunts vampires under the pseudonym "Blade" and eventually hopes to conquer Dracula.

YuruYuri

Number of Episodes: 12

Production Company: Dogakobo

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Brief Overview: 4 schoolgirls take over the former meeting space of the school's defunct tea ceremony club to establish their own club - the aptly-named "amusement club." The club has no purpose other than to allow its members to have fun and do what they want to do.

A Dark Rabbit Has Seven Lives

Number of Episodes: 12

Production Company: Zexcs

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Brief Overview: Nine years ago, Taito, a high school student who's been coasting through life, made a pact with Saito Himea, the eldest of the vampires, though he no longer remembers doing so. Now, with his memories about to re-awaken, he'll remember a kidnapped girl who has been waiting for him to free her.