Fall Season 1st Impressions Part 1

The flood gates have opened, and the Fall Season is underway!  Here are my first impressions of the new series:

What I Watched:  Shinryaku! Ika Musume Season 2

What I Expected:  More squiddly hijinks from the spawn of Cthulu

What I Got:  The best slice of life with the weirdest setup

After the surprise success of season one, season two picks up right where it left off.  Our favorite oceanic invader again has her plans for human domination thwarted by her childlike curiosity and basic decency.  I wasn’t expecting many surprises, since they seem to be following the manga.  I only hope they will devote an episode or two to mini Ika, since that was the most remarkable seven minutes of animation I had seen in ages.

Chances I’ll Keep Watching:  Good.  It’s a known quantity.

What I Watched:  C3 (Cube, Cursed & Curious)

What I Expected:  A fighting anime a la Fate/Stay Night

What I Got:  A magical girlfriend and harem

An industrial-sized suspension of belief is required to accept this one.  In this world, cursed objects can take on human form when they receive enough bad vibes.  These “worse” can remain human if the curse is lifted.  Haruaki is the son of an archaeologist who receives an interesting box.  This box transforms into a cute girl named Fiya (Fear).  Haruaki promises to help lift her curse.  There will be fighting, and it won’t make a lot of sense.  However, the harem elements are present, and the girls are cute enough.  It shares the same character designer as Baka to Test, so that’s a point in its favor.

Chances I’ll Keep Watching:  Fair to Good.  I’m not getting stink vibes from this yet.

What I Watched: Maji de Watashi ni Koi Shinasai!

What I Expected:  An ecchi comedy with female warlords a la Koihime

What I Got:  Wall-to-wall action for 24 minutes straight

Majikoi achieved the unenviable task of introducing a ton of characters while keeping the action flowing.  You might not be able to discern what’s going on, but you can’t say it was boring!  Starting the series off with war games between classes got the blood pumping, and setup the next few episodes in flashback.  It sort of ran out of steam at the end.  But if they keep the pacing up, it should be an interesting watch.

Chances I’ll Keep Watching:  Fair.  This might fall off the rails after a promising start.

What I Watched:  Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon

What I Expected:  A dystopian battle between shadowy forces

What I Got:  A combination of Needless and Gintama

I had to re-read the description of the series three times to make heads or tails of it.  To be honest, I still don’t understand it.  As I can gather, a floating city/state trains warriors from other countries.  It’s embroiled in intrigue, and various nations fight over the only inhabitable land left on Earth.  Like Majikoi, it decided to forgo exposition in favor of wall-to-wall action.  The characters are numerous, and the story should unfold over the next few episodes.  The humor was a little smoother, and the action was impressive.

Chances I’ll Keep Watching:  Good, until the drama starts laying it on thick.

What I Watched:  Maken-Ki

What I Expected:  A better Ikkitousen

What I Got:  Ikkitousen + harem

So the producers decided to take all the panty shots and ecchi fanservice from Ikkitousen and eliminate the Dragonball-Z nature of the show.  They also wanted to build a harem around a screw-up of a weak hero.  Add it all up and you get the ultimate pander show for basement dwellers.  This is more along the lines of Maburaho, with a weak lead with a special power surrounded by hot, overpowered women.  And as with that show, the male lead is the weak point.  This has no other reason for existence than fanservice, and as such, shouldn’t be taken too seriously.

Chances I’ll Keep Watching:  Fair.  It has a good VA cast, and it might be a guilty pleasure.

What I Watched:  Kimi to Boku

What I Expected:  Cute boys doing cute things

What I Got:  Homoerotic undertones and dull action

Japan has series by the truckload featuring cute girls doing cute things.  What happens when they turn the table and put boys in the same situation.  If Kimi to Boku is to be believed, not much --  save for some uncomfortable BL vibes.  I’m not sure who this series is aimed at.  Girls won’t like it because the boys aren’t BL enough.  Boys won’t like it because it’s boring.

Chances I’ll Keep Watching:  Nope.  Pass.

What I Watched:  Mashiroiro Symphony

What I Expected:  Eroge adaptation #7693062

What I Got:  Warmed over tropes

Like last season’s Hoshizora, and series like Da Capo, this show follows cute, young boys and girls at high school.  Drama is implied, and never too heavy.  There are quirky characters, like a teacher who is afraid of boys, and a Student President who has two sides to her personality.  This is setup like a bad dating sim, and I’m sure it will play out like a bad dating sim.  Seen one, you’ve seen them all.

Chances I’ll Keep Watching:  Fair.  These series sometimes have good comedy, I’ll give it a few episodes.

More series coming – part 2 is on the way!