[Winter 2016] Season of Snow

[MomentOfInertia]

Divine Gate #1
Has potential. 3.5/5

Ojisan and Marshmallow #1
This is silly. 4/5

Active Raid #1
Entertaining antics. Could be a good popcorn show. 3/5

Schwarzesmarken #1
Meh. Mechs vs aliens could be cool, but but bleak philosophy and backstabbing politics means I may not even give this a second ep. 3/5


Durarara!! #1
Heyyyyyyy it's the wind up Celty show! 5/5
Who are all these people again?
I hope that OP grows on me, 'cu z it's pretty meh right now.

LUPIN III.4 #1-3
Good show. 4/5
So far the only fanservice is in the OP, friggin Fujiko shower mutter grumble....

[skreyola]

Swimsuit MG ep. 1 - I thought this might be weird. I'm glad it was short. I didn't care for the camera angles. Or the characters. Or the artwork. 2/5

Konosuba ep. 1 - Apart from the camera angles, that was pretty good. Player makes use of loophole in wish spell, GM is like NOOOOOOOO! Hard facts. One of the better We're-in-an-RPG stories I've seen. On the down side: too much fanservice. 3.75/5

Stride ep. 1 - I didn't have high hopes for this, but that was pretty darn good. I will watch another episode, at least. 4/5

[skreyola]

Marshmallow ep. 2 - She's creative, but doesn't she care about her reputation? Ah, well. This episode wasn't nearly as funny as the first one. 4/5

Luck & Logic ep. 1 - That was very good storytelling. This was a great episode. The only thing that makes me doubt I'll watch this show is the whole business of covenants with powerful outsiders. If this is the real world, but with supers, then that's pretty close to witchcraft. If it's a different universe, that becomes a little more muddy. That aside, they did a great job with pretty much everything in this episode. 4/5

Pandora in the Crimson Shell ep. 1 - They could have done so much interesting stuff with that concept, and they chose to do that? This show is almost ecchi. Run away. 1/5

Dimension W ep. 1 - Are you looking, Pandora? This is how you make a compelling story with the premise of commonplace androids. This was an awesome episode. Lots of questions, but they're all compelling. 5/5

Grimgar ep. 1 - And this is the worst we're-in-a-game beginning I've seen. Seriously, I bailed at the seven minute mark. There's just nothing here that's interesting. 1/5

That about does it for first episodes. I'm skipping Bahamut because it looks like it'll be ecchi, and the MA rating doesn't give me any hope I'm wrong about that. On to shows I didn't drop by the end of the first episode:

HaruChika ep. 2 - That was pretty good. The solution to the cube surprised me (I thought the white face would be the only one not painted), but it worked out pretty well. We'll solve your mystery if you join us. Final episode: it's revealed Haruta created all the mysteries! Jodan, jodan. 4/5

[skreyola]

Girls Beyond the Wasteland ep. 3 - That was pretty interesting and pretty good, in spite of the two characters who are into BL and yuri. I hope they're both just reading into the scenario and it turns out that isn't really in the game. This show reminds me a little bit of Bakuman. and Shirobako. Unless I end up with too many shows, I'll probably pick this one up (though I may have to drop it if they put too much emphasis on inappropriate relationships. 4/5

Tabimachi Late Show ep. 2 - Wha?! This seems to have no connection to the first episode. I didn't like this nearly as much, even though they figured out motion blur a little better. Okay, I've now read the description carefully and see it's a set of unconnected stories. Still liked the first one better. Content, for those who care: smoking. 2/5

Rakugo ep. 2 - This is a well-crafted story. Oh, the master's debut performance was painful. Maybe next time, he should go after the urchin. 4.75/5

[MangaRocks!]

Decided to indeed watch Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuku (and man, am I glad I did! ...More on that in a moment ); still on the fence with Dimension W (although I'll probably end up just giving in and checking it out this next week regardless, LOL). Also, Akagami... finally started airing for free.



Akagami no Shirayuki-hime, a.k.a. Snow White With The Red Hair S2 episode 1:
This was absolutely lovely. <3



Boku Dake ga Inai Machi, a.k.a. ERASED, episode 3:

Well, my opinion on this adaptation is definitely improving. *This* is the pacing the entire show should have (...although, given how they slashed the stuff that went into the first episode to bits, and also given the number of chapters still left to adapt, I'm unfortunately not at all convinced that they're going to keep it that way... ). Also, maybe it's just because I read the manga already, but it seems like they're making it easier to SPOILER: Highlight text to read: pinpoint the killer earlier (while at the same time throwing around more red eyes herrings)-- I mean, I suppose it's harder to do the obfuscation of the image of the culprit that was present in the manga when it's an anime, but they don't have to basically spell it out, either... Anyway, they did a pretty good job on this ep. (and the skating and fox/"Christmas tree" sequences were downright fantastic <3 ), so for now I am appeased.



HaruChika episode 2:

I have to admit that I snorted when Haruta just flat-out told Chika that he had no interest in her (as she and the viewers were already *well* aware ), but yeah... this episode did nothing to improve my already-stated opinion on it. (Particularly in terms of its 'mystery,' which this time did not even attempt to hide that it was completely impossible for the viewing audience to 'solve.') Next week is this show's last chance to improve my opinion before I drop it, but at this point I highly doubt that's going to happen...



Koyomimonogatari ONA episode 2:

Heh, so this really is just random little extra slices of dialogue/characterization, with amusingly anticlimactic explanations for each of the 'cases.' I don't mind in the least, though-- I'll take all the extra SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Oshino I can get, no matter how small , and the extra bits with the other characters are nice to see, too.



Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuku episodes 1-3:

Oh. My. Gosh. I *loved* this!! For having been in a gang and just gotten out of jail, the MC is unexpectedly hilarious and endearing <3 , and everything about the show (from the characters' personalities and interactions, to the setting, to the performances {even in another language, you really can tell the difference between them, both vocally and visually!}, to the plot, to the direction itself) is just done so darn well. That sequence where the master went toe-to-toe (verbally, that is) with the MC's former boss was a joy to watch, and the performance that the MC does in response (which is shown in its entirety) was absolutely brilliant and had me literally laughing out loud at several points! Not to mention, I was genuinely (and pleasantly) surprised at the last promise the master spoke of at the end of the first ep., and the multi-episode backstory of the original duo which follows (itself framed as a story being told) has been just as compelling, and provides some real depth to the master's character. Plus, I didn't know much at all about rakugo before this, but found it quite interesting (and indeed entertaining, when done right ) just in and of itself. This show is a gem, and I'm so glad I started watching it. Can't wait for next week!



And Durarara!!x2 Ketsu episode 3:

Thoughts on this in the dedicated thread, as always!

[skreyola]

BBK/BRNK ep. 2 - I couldn't get through this. It's just bad. Not going to pick this up. 1/5

Komugi-chan ep. 2 - Bleagh. That was stupid. If it's a send-up, it's not a very good one. 1/5

[skreyola]

Ooya-san wa Shishunki ep. 2 - This show is equal parts D'aww... and ^O.o^ The bit about the uniforms was cute. The tension between the characters... seriously awkward. 3.5/5

Schwarzes Marken ep. 2 - I so want to like this show, with its divided country political intrigue and mech combat. I just can't. The aliens are so hard to take seriously. The plot feels so obvious at every turn. And I'm just not enjoying it as much as the potential I see in the ideas. I don't think I'm going to pick this one up. 3/5

Swimsuit MG ep. 2 - LOL at the last line. But otherwise, a rather meh episode. It seems to be trying to be heavily deconstructionist, but I'm still not very interested. I probably won't pick this up unless someone says later that it turned out awesome. 2.5/5

Dimension W ep. 2 - This show certainly delivers on the promises it made in the first episode! Something's rotten in the State of Denmark. And the rabbit hole goes deeper than expected. I'm going to go ahead and say that this is The Show of the season, as far as I'm concerned. Also: SPOILER: Highlight text to read: A thousand voices cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. Ouch. Free energy isn't free, but I had wondered about its cost from the outset. Now, I think it may be worse than I imagined. 5/5
@EventualDay: The explanation is shoddy because the explanation you're seeing is the NT advert for the technology. Pretty nifty bit of world building, that.

[skreyola]

ERASED ep. 2 - I don't have much to say about this; I'm just along for the ride. I like the show. I hope he's able to save her. I wonder if that's what he's really here to do. 4/5

Stride: Alt ep. 2 - That guy's a jerk, oh, wait, he's just SPOILER: Highlight text to read: trying to incite greatness from his teammates. So, I feel meh about that point, but it worked out in the end, so maybe not so bad as I thought. Enjoying the show. 4/5

[KazeShiki]

I went through a lot more anime than I normally do so here goes a long list:

Shirayuki S2 - I liked s1, so of course I like s2. Not much to say other than I'm glad this is back.
BokuMachi (ERASED) - Really enjoying this so far. Since it's going to end with the manga, I guess what gets cut is the only potential problem.
Ao no Kanata - nothing special nothing bad? Looks nice and characters are sometimes fun but the plot isn't too interesting.
Active Raid - About as bad as I expected it to be. I'm mainly watching for the seiyuu though so if it gets anywhere interesting, I'll be happily surprised.
Schwarzesmarken - BETA munchmunch. Way better than TE was but not great either with how the politics are playing out. The pipe dream of a MLA anime continues.
Dimension W - considering how hilariously bad the synopsis was, this is turning out somewhat interesting. Expectations will be kept low but the fact I didn't drop it is a surprise.
Divine Gate - this on the other hand got dropped really fast. Characters were a pain to listen to and nothing interesting happened.
Shoujotachi - The VN jokes are fun, but other than that nothing much going for it. Tanaka Romeo advertising Baldr Sky just makes me sad.
Phantasy Star Online 2 - Yeah this is pretty dumb, but it's just an advertisement for the game (which worked really well, to be fair) so meh.
Phantom World - Eh, I normally consider myself to have relatively high tolerance for fan service but I just couldn't deal with it this time.
Luck and Logic - I would probably like this more if they just threw out the drama and bothered with the fight scenes.
Shouwa Genroku Rakugo - This caught my interest for being Josei then I completely forgot about it then it got recced to me and now I like it and feel bad about forgetting it. It's pretty unique with its focus on Rakugo, so I'd just say I recommend people to give it a try.
Haruchika - I couldn't get past the first episode. I know it's the type of thing some people will like but it's exactly the thing I don't.
Grimgar - This is sooo slow, especially considering it's 1 cour. Not sure I can keep watching...BUT the background art is really nice, I must admit.
GATE S2 - S1 was fun but s2 is quickly going down the route of dumb.
Bubuki - kids piloting giant robot-esque thing to fight adults. yeah this isn't going to go well.
Dagashi Kashi - I guess it's barely passable comedy, which this season is lacking.
Nijiiro Days - This is cute. I wouldn't mind it being a full length show.

Whew, and I think I might've missed some.

[skreyola]

KonoSuba ep. 2 - This was fun. That mage is totally a reference to the Chuunibyo show character. I wonder what's up with this knight. I think SPOILER: Highlight text to read: she's a female version of the MC, but I may be wrong. I hope I'm right. 4/5

Luck & Logic ep. 2 - Still not sure about the whole covenanter business, but it looks like this doesn't take place in our world, necessarily. MC has a good head on his shoulders, though. I don't know if I'll pick this one up or not, but this episode was pretty good. 3.75/5

[skreyola]

Oji-san to Marshmallow ep. 3 - That was pretty funny. Boy, she's head over heels for him. I wonder if she'll ever catch him. Nice inversion of the chest plant trope. 4/5

HaruChika ep. 3 - Okay, this isn't fun anymore. The mystery was contrived and the whole "The Play's the Thing" method of solving it (though he'd already solved it before they started) was really weird. The actual play-within-a-play was pretty neat until the end, but I doubt the audience would take it so well that the end just kind of plopped out like a big, fat bag of cement. Anyway, I'm not going to pick up this show. 3/5

[skreyola]

Tabimachi Late Show ep. 3 - That was really good. I didn't expect the twist, and it was a good one. 4/5

[MangaRocks!]

Akagami no Shirayuki-hime, a.k.a. Snow White With The Red Hair, S2 episode 2:

Sweet and funny as usual~ <3



Boku Dake ga Inai Machi, a.k.a. ERASED, episode 4:

This episode was so brilliant that I didn't even think about how it was adapting the manga until after it was over... and I can say now that it actually did a really great job in that respect -- IIRC, I think it adapted about 2 chapters, which is what I said from the start that each episode should cover to do it well. Unfortunately, though, at this point they have only 8 more episodes to adapt about 36 more chapters, which means that (unless they start speeding up the pacing starting with the very next episode-- which I don't want them to do, but it's better than the alternative) there's almost certainly going to be some serious butchering of the source material coming up (even more than episode 1 did!), which is really worrying me... Because the manga is downright amazing (and, IMO, perfect) in full; so if they ruin it... *shakes fists*



Dimension W episodes 1-2:

Heh, that OP-- most of it is quite cool, but the random dancing in it is LOL. Anyway: First, it's dead obvious that that energy is *not* 'unlimited,' since that would defy basic laws of physics-- clearly, that's going to come back around and bite them all in the behind on a cosmic scale at some point (likely SPOILER: Highlight text to read: episode 2-level horrifying, only planetwide... And, of course, the MC will be fine because he hates coils with a passion anyway... ). On a more general note, I like the sci-fi, I like the style and aesthetic, I like the fact that the protagonist is an adult (although I do wish he wasn't such a jerk... ), the fighting is fun to watch, and the explosions and such were impressive. However, I do not appreciate the fanservicey camera (boy, it just loves focusing on Mira's... ahem... hips, doesn't it? ); and there's something that feels kinda... 'generic' about the show even still. In thinking over what exactly it is that makes it feel that way, I think it's the lack of any real depth or weight to the story and characters (this is not a 'thinking' show, LOL). It's decent enough popcorn entertainment I guess, though, so for now I'll keep watching.



HaruChika episode 3 (DROPPED):

'The White Fairy'... *facepalm* ...*Ahem*-- anyway , yeah, that (and even the mildly-interesting addition of an SPOILER: Highlight text to read: adopted character SPOILER: Highlight text to read: {with American adoptive parents, no less!}, which as far as I've seen is fairly rare in an anime) aside, there was nothing here that encouraged me to continue. In fact, it was boring enough that I couldn't even be bothered to sit through the entire episode and turned it off with 10 minutes still left to go; so this is now officially dropped. *shrug*



Koyomimonogatari ONA episode 3:

This one was cute.



Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuku episode 4:

Calling it now: This is the show of the season. (If its adaptation was perfect, I'd give that honor to ERASED, but unfortunately that is unlikely to be happening, so the honor is easily Rakugo's instead.) Oh man, the back-and-forth dialogue between those two in the beginning had me smiling the entire time. And the rakugo performance afterwards was brilliant, too. I was laughing, then intently listening with utter seriousness, and then laughing again (even harder this time-- oh my gosh that SPOILER: Highlight text to read: 'samurai' line... ), and finally facepalming with a snort. Also: I love how so much about the characters and their personalities and their feelings in this series isn't even said-- it's *shown,* by their hesitations and expressions and little movements, etc. <3 Indeed, I was so enthralled by this ep. that I was actually startled when the credits appeared (I had no idea that much time had already passed!). Can't wait for more!



And Durarara!!x2 Ketsu episode 4:

Thoughts on this in the dedicated thread!

[skreyola]

Genroku Rakugo ep. 3 - Hard times. But progress is made on several fronts. 4/5

[skreyola]

Ooya-san wa Shishunki ep. 3 - This show consistently manages to be funny but a little bit creepy in every episode. The one minute later was cute. The neko was a cute bit. Good for her on the decision. What is wrong with this man? 3.25/5

Dimension W ep. 3 - Wow. A lot happened in this episode. Interesting things in the ED that show/don't show what happened in this episode. Small world. SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Poor Mira lost her head. And she faces a dilemma with "Put your hand on your chest," too. Aww, she made some little friends, though. 4/5

[skreyola]

Erased! ep. 3 - I hate what happened in this episode, but I love the job they did depicting it. And the fox/tree scenes were gorgeous! I haven't figured out who the culprit actually is, yet. 5/5

So, having seen a 5-star episode, I decided to watch a show I'm much more leery of.
Luck & Logic ep. 3 - I have extremely mixed feelings about this show. On the one hand, it has some great plot lines and drama. There were some great moments in this episode. On the other hand, the whole contracting thing bothers me a bit. I'm not sure if it should, because when I think about it as a mahooshoojo, that's not really uncommon at all. But the mythical beings they've chosen had all been from antiquity before this episode. Strangely enough, I don't think that's my main problem with this show. My main problem is that, as much as I like a lot of elements of this show, for some reason, it's just not as interesting as I think a show with those great elements should be. Which is odd, because I don't think they've done a bad job of putting them together. Perhaps it's the pacing. A lot of things happen with little concrete connection between them, and I found myself surprised several times that people did certain things. Not like, I didn't expect that, but like, Why is she doing that right now? So, I just think this show isn't grabbing me enough to pick it up, for all that I could probably look past some of its flaws. I'll decide later, but I probably won't pick this one up. 4/5

[KazeShiki]

Luck & Logic has a lot of weird problems in an otherwise okay-ish setting. It spent an entire episode having some mysterious character potentially up to no good only to find he's a completely normal ally. Which is normally an acceptable trope except in this case, any of the characters could've cleared up the misconception at any time instead of giving stupidly vague answers until the end. Like what was the point of that drama? There is also no sense of battle power or tactics involved at all, despite implying there should be with these numbers they throw out and training teamwork at one point. Instead, the battles proceed however the plot wants it to. A 4.5 gives trouble at one point and then a SPOILER: Highlight text to read: 8.0 gets taken out in 1 slash. Episode 1 showed some reasonable amount of teamwork and combo attacks yet that's completely gone. It feels like a different person writes the script every episode without trying to be consistent to the anime beyond the most basic things.

[Rusty Claymore]

PSO2 ep4 - because that'd really ever happen IRL. Sorry, but IRL meets never work out that well. This whole show is a "gamer's dream come true" and that should make me want to drop it, but maybe I still want to believe. That, or I really am watching a 27 minute anime to watch a dancing robot for 1:30 at the end. Which would be totally worth it. Seriously, my Dad recorded the thing on his phone. Overall, though it is extremely predictable, it's somewhat satisfying to see those predictions come true. And since SPOILER: Highlight text to read: a certain twin-tail is as attached to the game as we all expected/knew, it might get really interesting.

[skreyola]

KazeShiki: I think you're right. Thank you for pointing out those things. I think those are most of why I couldn't get into that show.

KONOSUBA ep. 3 - And another show takes a nosedive from bad writing. Too many ribald jokes. The wackiness would have been okay as a satire on low-level quests and event quests, but the rest of this episode was only just barely tolerable. 2/5

Stride:Alt ep. 3 - That was really great. I especially like that they SPOILER: Highlight text to read: didn't win their first race... though they did come close, in spite of getting totally owned in the psychological warfare. A great third episode. 5/5

[skreyola]

Okay, so I forgot to do this last night, but I've gone through three episodes of the shows I'm planning to pick up. So, here they are:
Watching:
1. Dimension W - 14
2. Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu - 14 (13.75)
3. Boku dake ga Inai Machi AKA ERASED! - 13 (13.5)
4. Ojisan to Marshmallow - 13
4. Prince of Stride: Alternative - 13
6. Shoujo-tachi wa Kouya wo Mezasu AKA Girls Beyond the Wasteland - 12
7. Ooyasan wa Shishunki! - 11 (10.75)
8. Tabi Machi Late Show (Only because there's only one episode left, so I'm going to finish it) - 9 (9.5)
Didn't pick up:
Too many to bother listing.

Tonight's viewing:
Ojisan to Marshmallow ep. 4 - That was cute and a little bit sweet. 4/5
Girls/Wasteland ep. 4 - Got a little bit of a Death Note vibe from Bunta-kun in this episode. About the artist: SPOILER: Highlight text to read: I can see getting in a groove and not stopping, but I think it's silly to know you're running yourself ragged and keep going. Not that I've never done that, myself, but it's still silly.. Nice tune. I wonder what it is. 4/5

[skreyola]

Tabi Machi Late Show ep. 4 (final) - That was sweet. It made me cry a little. Not like deep sadness, but just wistfulness. I never expected a storyboard show would do that... 5/5

Rakugo ep. 4 - I don't like where the plot is going, but I like the show. The pacing, depth of story and culture, and art style remind me a bit of House of Five Leaves. 4/5

[MangaRocks!]

Akagami no Shirayuki-hime, a.k.a. Snow White With The Red Hair, S2 episode 3:

Do I even need to say anything about this anymore? It's just heartwarming.



Boku Dake ga Inai Machi, a.k.a. ERASED, episode 5:

Hmm... I know there was a really important conversation between SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Satoru and Kenya at some point, but ATM I don't recall whether that was (MAJOR SPOILER) SPOILER: Highlight text to read: in his second trip back to 1988 or the first. If it was the latter, I'm going to be fist-shaking-mode annoyed, LOL; but I *think* it's the former, so for now we're good. Indeed, this was actually another fairly-well-adapted episode (and hey, they finally gave Airi some of the time she deserves! Although her SPOILER: Highlight text to read: trust in Satoru would have been better explained if they had just left in all of her scenes in the beginning that they completely cut instead... yeah, I'm still sore about that... ). That said, they did do as best they could with disguising SPOILER: Highlight text to read: a certain very obvious giveaway in terms of one character's innate traits in this ep. (that particular bit of obfuscation works *much* better on paper). Otherwise, they did pretty good on this ep., and I enjoyed it.



Dimension W episode 3:

The bit where Mira got her own little trailer was cute (although I did roll my eyes a bit at the walking-in-on-her scene afterwards ); however, the generic/predictable aspects of the show as well as the lack of depth are getting a bit boring now...



Koyomimonogatari ONA episode 4:

I snorted, good-naturedly-eyerolled, and smilingly facepalmed my way through this. As you might be able to guess from said reactions, this particular ep. featured Kanbaru.



Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuku episode 5:

I literally LOL'd when poor Kikuhiko took Sukeroku at his word and SPOILER: Highlight text to read: started flinging hot charcoal at him. (Seriously, though, I really feel for him, despite SPOILER: Highlight text to read: his own feelings being wrong... I mean, it's clear that it's never going to be reciprocated, so I don't mind it being a part of the plot; and it certainly adds another layer to his character.) I did also have to LOL at Kiku getting the disguised-via-cross-dressing-character role in the play-- that was pretty much the perfect role for him. Seriously, though, even shown in pieces (rather than in full, like the rakugo performances usually are), the play was great, and Kiku had an equally great performance in it. And it was also really great to see him finally realize that he *can* act, and finally get some real satisfaction from + enjoyment in performing and being watched/appreciated by the audience, too. <3 Also: I'm really interested in seeing how Miyokichi fits into all of this, since she's *really* trying to go after Kiku (despite knowing that he's not interested in her in that way at all {for obvious reasons to the audience... Speaking of which, that had to be the most apathetic kiss I've ever seen, LOL, poor guy }); yet, at the same time, she's supposedly the SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Seventh Yakumo's mistress, *and* she and Sukeroku also clearly have some history-- plus, I'm like 99.999% certain she's going to end up being SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Konatsu's mother-- but Konatsu is supposedly Sukeroku's daughter... so, yeah, it should definitely be interesting to see how that all plays out. This show is amazingly written, voice-acted, animated, and directed, and I can't wait for the next ep.!



And Durarara!!x2 Ketsu episode 5:

Thoughts on this in the dedicated thread!

[skreyola]

ERASED! ep. 4 - That was awesome. I just knew SPOILER: Highlight text to read: he was expecting it to be over too soon, but I kept hoping until the last moment. It was a very interesting episode, full of extremely interesting visual effects and concepts. I wonder what happens next. SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Is this even the change he's supposed to make? What if it's to keep the airplane guy from being accused of the crime? The waiting is hard, but I guess I'll make it. 5/5

[skreyola]

Ooya-san wa Shishunki ep. 4 - Meh, same as always. This is reminding me a lot of Recorder to Randseru: The show is cute and creative, but the main gag is getting overused, so it's losing its charm very quickly. Also, neighbor woman needs to make up her mind. 4/5

Dimension W ep. 4 - Wow. That was intense. I'm glad they didn't show any more skin than they did. Looks like Dimension W is more complicated than portrayed. I hope it doesn't turn out SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Dimension W is the land of the dead. Quite a lot going on here, but I was still surprised when I got to a cliffhanger. ARGH! 4/5 (would have been 5/5 but cliffhanger and "ghosts")

Stride: Alt ep. 4 - That was a bit over-dramatic. I wonder how they'll handle the whole SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Pyrrhic victory thing in the next race. 4/5

[skreyola]

Girls/Wasteland ep. 5 - That was pretty good, but I didn't feel it was as good as it should have been. The fishing scene was pretty cool, but the VO at that point seemed out of character for the show. I found Ando's attitude annoying. Bonus points for a wet T-shirt that didn't become fanservice. 3/5

[skreyola]

Ojisan to Marshmallow ep. 5 - What's wrong with her. She had him in the palm of her hand. Also, that seemed like a waste of propane. 4/5

Stride: Alt ep. 5 - Not much to say. 4/5

[skreyola]

ERASED ep. 5 - Whoa! This show is just full of layer on layer of complexity. I wonder if SPOILER: Highlight text to read: we'll add another body to the count in the present until he fixes the past and saves everyone in the present. I still don't know who the killer is, but I think that green button was important. It was shown in the close shot and the long shot. I want to figure out if the camera is cutting off everyone's heads or just the killer's. 4/5

[MangaRocks!]

Akagami no Shirayuki-hime, a.k.a. Snow White With The Red Hair, S2 episode 4:




Boku Dake ga Inai Machi, a.k.a. ERASED, episode 6:

...Okay, so I know that basically all I've been doing in my comments about this particular show is just harp on its adaptation, and I really don't want to sound like "that guy" (or girl, rather, in my case ), but I just can't help it. I mean, to be perfectly honest, I've actually been really starting to warm up to the anime over the past few weeks, despite its adaptational flaws (...indeed, aside from trimming a few extra chilling details, the whole thing with Satoru and Airi being more moving in the manga, and the translation of the "glad to have met you" line being off-- he's saying he's glad that he met her at all/that she's in his life, not that he met up with her on that day! -- this episode in particular was actually pretty darn good on that front ; and I downright loved how impactfully the 'encounter' at the end was directed ); however, a few new chapters of the manga were translated this week, and every time I read more of it, I am struck anew by just how much better-- indeed, IMO how much of a masterpiece-- the manga truly is. And, thus, I am also struck anew by just how much better the anime could've been had they just given it (at least) 2 cours, instead of cutting and cramming everything down into one. (Also, they really should have kept in more of the characters' inner thoughts... And all the stuff with Airi in the beginning... ) ...So, yeah, even though I fully enjoyed this particular ep., I still have really mixed feelings on it......



Dimension W episode 4 (DROPPED):

Welp, I only got about 5 minutes into this... aaand nope, was too bored to even bother continuing. Might as well drop this show now, then... *shrug*



Koyomimonogatari ONA episode 5:

This ep. was great! (Indeed, I think it was my favorite ep. of this little show so far.) First, because even though I know that Nadeko is actually SPOILER: Highlight text to read: a complete psycho (of the yandere variety) , I couldn't help but admit that the first part was adorable ; second, because the next part was actually quite intriguing-- the discussion centered around SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Kaiki and how he spreads rumors; and third, because SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Kaiki himself actually appeared (!) , and anything with him in it is automatically 100% awesome. (Plus, his conversation with Koyomi was fascinating just in and of itself...)



Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuku episode 6:

LOL-- for not having any real interest in women, Kiku sure is getting good at charming them... Seriously, though, where the previous ep. finally showcased just how great Kiku really can be as an actor in general, this ep. did the same for his own profession-- he just had to finally realize, understand, and embrace 'his own rakugo,' and the performance he gave once he did was brilliant. (I literally LOL'd at the SPOILER: Highlight text to read: 'can't swim' bit, too. ) The character writing in this series is amazing (and the voice acting and directing are equally so, for showing all of the little nuances in performance + character development and growth + etc. so beautifully and naturally). Now, as for where the plot itself is going: SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Was it just me, or did Miyokichi have a very interesting expression on her face at one point when the 'lovers' suicide' was mentioned? Speaking of which: Going by that next-time preview, it looks like things are going to come to a bit of a head with Miyokichi in the next ep.-- and I have a really bad feeling about it (...although I doubt that the 'event' it's all leading up to will happen in the next ep... it'll probably be at least 2 or 3 ep.'s before that, I'm guessing). Especially because, #1, they've mentioned/shown the infamous 'lovers'-suicide' rakugo story in both this episode and the previous one; #2, 'lovers'-suicide' is actually right in the show's very title ; and #3, y'know, neither Miyokichi nor Sukeroku are alive in the future... Once again, this episode felt like it was 5 mins. long, and I can't wait for next week!



And Durarara!!x2 Ketsu episode 6:

Thoughts on this in the dedicated thread, as always!

[John_Smith]

Why did I sign up for college classes again? To increase my general knowledge and for the receiving of a higher paying job of which I can actually become a productive member of society, you say? Well, I suppose that’s more important than anime.



Assassination Classroom episode 28: I wish the series would take itself more seriously. Of course, with a premise that it has, it’s not really surprising how wacky it is. But my problem with it is that, whether it has a serious episode or a funny episode, virtually nothing about the plot has changed in 28 episodes.

Grimgar episode 5: They forgot to turn off SPOILER: Highlight text to read: permadeath. The series has cemented itself as something I’ll watch to the end. I think some shows never push their characters as far as Grimgar has managed to do in five episodes, and considering how quietly they’ve hummed along only makes that more remarkable. The show is still lackluster, but the dedication to the characterization makes it worth watching for me.

Divine Gate episode 6: The awkward execution is increasingly wearing the show down. But, this last episode was probably my favorite, and it also promised a lot for the future.

Erased episode 6: Well Satoru, aren’t you lucky? Here I was expecting SPOILER: Highlight text to read: him to have to grow up again. And I was even wondering if this wasn’t a Madoka-esque horror in which he actually has already gone back multiple times, but each time failed and blotted it from his memory.

On red eyes: right, well that’s not going to narrow it down anytime soon.

That being said: SPOILER: Highlight text to read: The teacher. If it’s a character who we’ve already been introduced to, then I suspect the teacher. Unless it’s a kid, or I’m missing something, there isn’t anyone else, in both the 80’s and present, who really matches the description. Being the teacher, he would know which students would be the easiest to get to. He also would have known how to then blame Yuuki, and would have known that the one kid was really a boy. Then there was that shot with all the girls drooling over him, and when Satoru was speaking with him, Satoru said something along the lines to himself that the teacher was a observational one. He knew the birthday party. He knew about the abuse (and was waiting, to act on it?) And Satoru’s mother would have recognized him. How many others have access to the information that the killer needs? The only problem is, why doesn’t Satoru recognize him?

Dimension W episode 5: I’d like to think the show is holding back. It has a lot of the right pieces, but for me it’s only coming together in a passable way.

[EventualDay]

Why did I sign up for college classes again? To increase my general knowledge and for the receiving of a higher paying job of which I can actually become a productive member of society, you say? Well, I suppose that’s more important than anime.

Haha literally my entire life is dedicated to classes. And to figuring out what to do after college. And to figuring out how to feed myself. I don't want to be a productive member of society....




Dimension W - up through episode 5 - this is getting frustrating. It's a shame because I liked it up through episode 3 well enough. Or rather, I was intrigued by the relationship between Mr. gruff wolf Kyouma and the cute Mira. (I keep hoping that some day he'll act more like a puppy than a beast, but no luck so far. ) But anyway, apparently these first five episodes cover more than 30 chapters of the manga. So it makes sense that I thought the last two episodes were ridiculous and senseless, and that I didn't care about the side characters at all... really, if the producers weren't going to do the arc justice, they should have just skipped it Maybe one day I'll try to read the manga, since I imagine the pacing and development is much better. But I'm not sure I care that much.

Also, I had to look up what in the world Dimension W actually was. Apparently, according to some info I found on MAL, SPOILER: Highlight text to read: it's a "possibility wave," like the idea of Schrodinger's cat. As long as you don't know what it is, it can be anything at all. However, once you know what it is, it can only be one thing. So that scientist "discovering" that Dimension W was infinite energy is sort of like rigging the dimension. Confusing enough?




One of these days I'm just going to sit down and power through:
Grimgar
ERASED
Rakugo
Divine Gate
Norn 9
Prince of Stride

Haha. Yeah, right. Yay college.