Summer Season 1st Impressions Pt. I

No rest for the wicked!  The Summer season is well under way, and several new shows have already aired.  Here’s part one:

What I Watched:  Ro-Kyu-Bu

What I Expected:  Basketball lolis

What I Got:  Another trashy lolicon show with a couple of bright spots

What’s with the Japanese obsession with basketball?  They aren’t the tallest people, and they rarely do anything at all internationally.  I suppose they are compensating for perceived inadequacies, and trying to keep up with trendy America.  Anyhow, this show is less about basketball, and more about the plucky 6th grade girls who are striking a blow for woman’s equality.  In the first episode, we are treated to continual fanservice shots of the girls in various states of undress.  But if you can suppress your “squick” reflex, you’ll find a group of talented seiyuu trying to tell a story.  The girls are all cute, and they have chemistry.  Let’s see if they tread the path of typical sports anime (underdogs overcoming great odds), or just focus on loli boobies of various sizes and textures.

Chances I’ll Keep Watching:  Fair.  I’ll give it another couple of episodes to drive me off.

What I Watched: Kamisama no Memochou

What I Expected:  A goth loli Nero Wolfe

What I Got:  More Detective Conan than Raymond Chandler

So, we have a shut-in genius detective who solves crime from her heavily tech’ed out apartment, a group of outcast NEETs, and a milquetoast MC who is caught up in the whole mess.  By all rights I should hate this.  However, something clicks about this series.  I was more intrigued by this world they’ve created than the rather tasteless mystery (dead teen prostitute).  It’s part film noir, but the darkness doesn’t overwhelm it.  It’s part cyberpunk, but they seem to be poking fun at hackers.  It’s part tsundere love story, but Alice doesn’t grate on the nerves.  We’ll see if they can keep up the pacing.

Chances I’ll Keep Watching:  Fair to Good.  Fall into one of several plot traps, and I’m gone.

What I Watched:  Sacred Seven

What I Expected:  Super teen saves Japan

What I Got:  A trope-laden Ultraman ripoff.

The Trope Police need to raid the production house that made this mess.  Let’s count them down:

1. Edgy loner with a secret power he can’t control
2. Secret organization run by wealthy loli with a team of combat maids.
3. Mysterious evil that threatens Japan.

It even has a perky girl interested in the edgy loner.  Make no mistake about it.  This is trashy.  Now whether it becomes good trashy (guilty pleasure) or bad trashy (cringe) remains to be seen.

Chances I’ll Keep Watching:  Fair to poor.  I’m on the fence with this one.

What I Watched: Ikoku Meiro no Croisée

What I Expected:  A Japanese in Paris

What I Got:  A healing-type travelogue a la Aria

So, a Parisian blacksmith travels to Japan to buy interesting things to sell back home, and he returns with a loli who wants to work in Paris.  Granted, Yune is the cutest loli in many moons.  But this fish out of water tale has many more layers than at first glance.  She melts the heart of grouchy grandson Claude, and captivates the denizens of the shopping arcade where the smithy shop is located.  No apparent plot presents, other than Yune’s daily snapshots of life in 19th Century Paris.  Like Aria, there should be little conflict and maximum cuteness.

Chances I’ll Keep Watching:  Good.  This a relaxing palate cleanser.

What I Watched:  Yuruyuri

What I Expected:  Cute girls in high school

What I Got:  An inoffensive show that has its moments

When I read the description as four girls who take over an abandoned club room for their own enjoyment, my first thought was another K-ON.  However, it isn’t that organized.  It’s more like a hybrid between K-ON and A-Channel—another underrated show about high school girls.  The good news is it’s actually funny and energetic.  With creative uses of dream sequences and other clever tricks, the pacing never lags.  There’s just not much plot to be had other than “today’s minor adventure”.  That puts it above many similar shows, but just below what you might consider good.

Chances I’ll Keep Watching:  Fair.  This has so many ways it could go wrong.

More shows are on the way.  I’ll cover them in part two.