Liones Yelistratova is the naive princess of a small nation, who goes to Hokkaido to enter ALCA, an educational institution dedicated to teaching Logicalists who uphold world peace. Liones enters Class S, and encounters many unique classmates, including Logicalist Nina Alexandrovna. – ANN
Copyright 2017 (c) Doga Kobo
Streaming at: Crunchyroll and Funimation (Simuldub not yet available)
Summary of Episode 1: Liones, a princess from an unnamed nation, arrives at her new school having stowed-away on a freight ship and hitchhiked in the back of dirty farm carts to make her way through Hokkaido. She’s a total mess when she arrives on the doorstep of ALCA, an academy dedicated to taking talented individuals and training them in the ways of contracting with individuals from “foreign” dimensions, a role referred to as a “logicalist. Lion, as she prefers to be known, doesn’t seem to have any inherent talent, and in fact most people who meet her peg her as an airhead. But she’s assigned to class-S, meaning that she’s already formed at least one contract (even if she might not remember actually doing so). During lunch on her first day, Lion demonstrates some aptitude with the process, though whatever being with whom she contracts seems a little bit malevolent. Classmate Nina knocks Lion back to her senses; Lion is just happy that she truly belongs in class-S now.
Impressions: Over the last couple of years there have been a few anime series that have drawn their narratives at least in part from the real-life world of anime voice acting. Shirobako, Girlish Number, and Seiyu’s Life! all feature scenarios in which actresses lend their voices to anime series of somewhat questionable quality, though only the latter two really put the situation front and center. These meta “anime-within-an-anime” are typified by their one-note characters, defined more by tropey archetypes than any sort of actual humanity. These shows also tend to be built by committee, with product tie-ins and other commercial concerns given more weight than creating something that can stand on its own. These situations are humorous and relatable because at some level as anime fans we know them to be true; not every anime creation can be a piece of art for the sake of art – sometimes it’s just meant to make money and give people a quick dose of something goofy and simple.
Liones arrives at school. Copyright 2017 (c) Doga Kobo
Hina Logic is like the purest real-life expression of this idea. The visual presentation is competent, the heroine is stupid and sort of likeable because of it, and her friends all run the gamut of moé archetypes – there’s a strong, emotionless girl, a snaggle-toothed goofball, a set of twin sisters with opposing temperaments, and a snooty ojou-sama who’s the class rep. There’s a little bit of a magical girl element, a little bit of clunky fanservice, and an incredibly thin plot that revolves around magical cards (product tie-in!). It’s all just kind of frothy and vapid, without much of anything to grasp onto and seriously be critical about. While it may just be me projecting, I almost feel as though I can hear from within the workmanlike performances the strained smiles and forced enthusiasm of the actresses as they try to talk up this show at a press event, internally aware that “hey, it’s just a paycheck after all.”
This was my poor attempt at being funny about something that used to make me very irritated. Toy commercial cartoons aren’t scarce in the West by any means (I mean, dear lord, G.I. Joe and TMNT were almost nothing if not a mechanism for getting kids to beg their parents for cool toys, and I used to eat both of those up), but I used to get really bent out of shape whenever my chosen form of media entertainment would deem it necessary to waste its time and mine churning out cash-cow advertisement entertainment rather than hoity-toity high art aimed directly at me. I’ve definitely gotten over it at this point, and now I’m just sort of fascinated by the anime production system itself and how adver-tainment is just one of its many facets.
The class rep and her cronies grill Liones about her situation. Copyright 2017 (c) Doga Kobo
As for this episode’s actual merits, the entire thing is much the same as the acting – workmanlike. Adequate. Mostly inoffensive. There’s some trashy fanservice that didn’t sit well with me; in one case, the mascot creature burrowed into a character’s blouse wreaking havoc for an uncomfortable length of time while the camera focused on her chest, which felt par for the course. There was also at least two and I think three bathing scenes with a lot of steam and light beam censorship, the issue being that the characters are rather young and look even younger, which makes it all feel extra gross. While I think really heinous and upsetting fanservice has mostly gone out of style since the previous incarnation of this website, which I’m extremely thankful for, I still find that most of that kind of content doesn’t make the show more appealing. It mostly just feels like a band-aid hastily-applied to a show that doesn’t have much of merit.
In any case, aside from the few sad attempts at pubescent sexual humor, Hina Logic is the type of anime that doesn’t prompt a lot of thought or reaction, because none of it stands out and it’s not really meant to be thought-provoking or unique. It’s these types of anime that are always so difficult for me to write about, mostly because I want readers to know whether they’d be interested or not but I can never really find an angle to latch onto. I will say that, while Katsugeki! Touken Ranbu gave me the impression that the game on which it’s based might be kind of interesting and fun, Hina Logic doesn’t do anything to flatter its associated game properties. And that’s perhaps the most damning thing one could say about an anime meant to sell something.
Pros: The show is exceedingly inoffensive.
Cons: This episode feels strained in several different ways. There are a couple examples of fanservice that are very shoehorned in.
Me in one of the dresses I received in the previous lucky pack from L&SEars.
It’s been quite a while since I posted anything related to Lolita Fashion here at the blog. I might have mentioned at some earlier point that, now that I’ve been paying rent again and having all sorts of actual financial responsibilities, I just don’t have the means to be throwing money around anymore. Well, life has been fairly generous to me the past several months, and things are going well at my job, so finances haven’t been as tight as I’d anticipated. I’m certainly not buying every single new release that strikes my fancy, but if I see something I really like or find a good deal, I don’t tear myself up with guilt for wanting to buy it.
That said… this is from literally almost six months ago. There have been a few other undocumented purchases since (and if I’m feeling so inspired, maybe I’ll go back and take some photos of those as well), but this was the last really big one that arrived until I put together a huge Bodyline order more recently. Anyway, here were my goodies. Apologies in advance for my garbage photography and the tragic lighting to go along with it (I have a better phone camera now, but it was too late for these items).
Accessories/Miscellaneous
First up was a book/mook/catalog of some of the brand’s releases. A while back on their facebook page, they asked people to submit photos of themselves in the brand’s clothing, and some some of those are included in the book, as well as many cute illustrations and model photos. The text is in Chinese, though, so I can’t speak to any other details.
There were two acrylic keychains in the pack, one of each of the store’s mascot characters. They’re of decent quality, kind of like some of the nicer ones I’ve been seeing lately at anime convention artist alleys. I still have them in their packaging since I have about a zillion keychains currently, and the wad that’s currently attached to my car keys is unreasonable enough as it is.
There were also a set of wrist cuffs. I originally only saw the one and thought that it might be a hair scrunchy, but once I found the second one and took them both out of the plastic wrapper, it became obvious what they were. They’re cute and made out of a light material, but I don’t currently have much that matches so I’ve kept them in my accessory basket for the time being. They’re kind of an peach-pink, which is kind of a difficult color, in my opinion.
Additionally, I also received a set of cute stickers featuring the mascot characters. They were the same as the ones I received last time in one of their lucky packs, so they’re not pictured here.
Blouses/Outerwear
I received a blouse and a fur capelet in this particular lucky pack. I really like both of them!
The blouse is a black chiffon material with a separate collar that ties in the front with a brown grosgrain ribbon. It doesn’t appear to physically attach to the collar in any other way, so it could be used with other blouses and this blouse would likely look find without it (and would be a bit cooler on a hot day). I’m not normally all that interested in black and brown as a color combination, but I think this would go well with some of my more “steampunk” pieces. The blouse is from Long Ears and Sharp Ears’ sister brand, Pink Up, with tends to skew a bit more otome/casual. I have a couple other blouses from them and have worn them to work before.
I was very pleased to receive this fur capelet! It’s made of a very soft faux fur material, is fully lined, and ties shut using a ribbon at the front of the neck area. Oh, and there are cute kitty ears on the hood! Since I’ve tended more towards sweet lolita lately and already have a lot of pink in my wardrobe, this was a truly a lucky find!
Main Pieces
I received two really nice main pieces in this pack.
The first main piece I received was a wine-colored JSK with a really lovely side bustle. The fabric has a flocked pattern to it which is probably difficult to see in the photos, but is very nice and understated. There is some corset lacing in both the front and back of the JSK, held together with a thin satin ribbon. There are waist ties attached with buttons, and the shoulder straps are also buttoned, which allows for some length adjustment (I have a longer torso, so I almost always have to have the straps on the longest buttonhole for the dress to look correct. There’s a lovely lace and chiffon ruffle at the hem and a border of faux pearls for some extra detail. There is also lace on the bodice and three ribbon bows down the front of the bodice. Inside the bodice is a little bit of boning for structure (it’s plastic boning so it’s not meant to really hold anything in place so-to-speak).
I have noticed that some of the brand’s standard JSK’s are a little short on me, and this one is no exception. Luckily, I have a wine-colored underskirt that I could wear with this JSK, so I’m not showing off any knees.
The other JSK I received is a high-waisted pink and wine dress with a faux suede bodice and full back shirring. The skirt has a pattern featuring the brands mascot characters. The shoulder straps, as with the other JSK, attach with buttons, and there are narrow waist ties which are also attached with buttons. There’s a nice applique on the bodice as well. The cut is one that’s difficult for me to wear and might be more suited to someone with a smaller chest, but I might give it another try.
This lucky pack cost me $157 (including shipping), which I thought was very reasonable. I intend to keep all the items (at least for now). I’ve found the quality of this brand’s items to be pretty good for a Taobao brand, and I’d recommend their lucky packs and their regular items. Their clothing comes in multiple sizes, too!
You can find their English-language Storenvy HERE.
At Hyakkaō Private Academy, the sons and daughters of the wealthiest of the wealthy engage in a unique curriculum geared to teach them to how to read their opponents. Specifically, students have a rigorous curriculum of gambling where the winners live like kings, and the losers are put through the wringer. When Yumeko Jabami enrolls, she’s decides to teach the students what a real high-roller looks like. – ANN
Copyright 2017 (c) MAPPA
Streaming At: Netflix (assuming it will be a late-cast in the US)
Summary of Episode 1: Ryota Suzui is in dire straits. After losing 5,000,000 yen to the devilish Mary Saotome at one of Hyakkao Academy’s after-school gambling sessions, he’s fallen deep into a debt that he’ll be unable to pay back for a long time. For now, his status is that of a lowly housepet, and Saotome-san is taking advantage of that as much as she can. When a kind-hearted young lady named Yumeko Jabami transfers into his class, he can only look on as Saotome strikes swiftly to try and take her out of the equation, but during a specialty game of “rock, paper, scissors,” the entire class discovers that Jabami-san is a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Impressions: Several years ago, Madhouse produced an (informal) trilogy of gambling-related anime series that featured characters who demonstrated an almost devilish amount of luck. Akagi featured a teenage mahjong prodigy with a demonic ability to psychologically dismantle his opponents and cheat death when his very life was on the line. Kaijiwas about a hapless debtor whose inherent gambling skill only revealed itself when he was backed into a proverbial corner. And One Outs (which to this day I don’t believe has seen any official release in the US) starred a baseball pitcher whose skill made him rich in spite of sports managers who tried to take advantage of him. All three anime were really fascinating for their examination of human psychology, specifically the ways in which people act when they’re faced with overwhelmingly negative odds in situations where much of the results are left up to the luck of the draw. On the other had, each one was also an unrepentant sausage-fest, with hardly a woman in sight (and sometimes when a woman made an appearance, one wished that maybe she hadn’t). It always left me wondering what the same setup might be like with a cast full of young women.
Saotome turns Suzui into her personal “dog.” Copyright 2017 (c) MAPPA
In both the East and the West, when we think of gambling, we think of smoke-filled mahjong parlors populated by old men, or Texas Hold’em tournaments starring poker-faced and often quirky male players. Women can sometimes be seen as lacking the cunning and guile that it takes to gamble an opponent into oblivion. While previous series like Saki have avoided the discomfort of the situation by moé-ing things up and making the characters at least look non-threatening, or turned the gambling scenarios completely comedic like the awesomely-trashy Rio: Rainbow Gate, it hasn’t been until the moment that I watched the first episode of Kakegurui that I felt like I’d seen something that captured the same sinister tone of the aforementioned gambling trilogy. The show just happens to accomplish this while still inhabiting that most popular of anime settings – high school.
The premise of the show is inherently unbelievable in that, while I’m sure elite high schools exist in Japan, I’m almost positive that there are none with such a bizarre curriculum (I hope). But within a medium where there are plenty of series about magical high schools, haunted high schools, high schools with clubs that battle with one another or those that band together to solve mysteries, it’s ultimately not that difficult to suspend my disbelief. What Kakegurui does manage to accomplish with this not-quite-believable premise is to demonstrate a fairly decent sense about how ijime/bullying operates within a classroom social system, even if the type of bullying itself is unrealistic. Jabami-san is picked out as an easy target by the class bully and her cronies, is seemingly turned into a victim to the point where it seems like she’ll be banished to a life of subservience, much like our poor POV character Suzui. Of course, the sick pleasure to be derived from the narrative is that Jabami isn’t innocent whatsoever, and completely turns the tables on her antagonist.
Jabami gets turned-on by the thought of a challenging risk. Copyright 2017 (c) MAPPA
Jabami’s two-faced character is probably where the show demonstrates its biggest issues, however. There’s a problematic concept that shows up a lot in Japanese media but can be found in books, TV series, and films from all over the place, and that’s the figure of the woman who expresses her threatening, violent, or cunning nature via her hyper-sexuality. Suzui is drawn to Jabami when she seems demure and innocent, but is threatened and horrified when she switches into high gear – her eyes gain a sinister gleam, her skin flushes, and her lips plump and moisten. There’s also some “moist” visual symbolism that shows up briefly when she gets the upper hand on Saotome. It’s weirdly uncomfortable in that it ties together the idea of the sexual woman with an evil, aggressive, and cunning woman, and likewise conflates chastity with goodness in a way that places value on women’s state of being. This is something you just don’t see in Akagi or One Outs – when the protagonists of those series go into “battle mode,” they’re threatening and frightening because of their almost supernatural knowledge and their ability to think and manipulate themselves out of a corner, seemingly with ease. Here, Jabami also thinks her way out of her predicament using some amount of logic, but she does so while (figuratively) sopping wet. Our milquetoast POV character is put off by this demonstration, and I feel like we’re supposed to be also. It’s an unfortunately weird sex-negative scenario and a problem that’s much bigger than this show.
That aside (if you’re able to set it aside – it’s likely that many won’t and that’s understandable), this episode is something that I wouldn’t describe as “good” but might be tempted to describe as “awesomely-trashy.” It’s entertaining and problematic, and deals with characters who are awful people. It’s not normally my jam to watch stuff that’s quite so cynical about human nature, but I’m still morbidly curious about this truly strange title.
Pros: It’s a gambling tale with mostly young women as important characters. It does a decent job of demonstrating the workings of bullying in an unrealistic setting.
Cons: In this setting, women’s sexuality is seen as threatening. The fact that our POV character is a personality-less dude probably spells trouble.
The year is 1863 as the tumultuous samurai era is coming to an end, Japan is split between the pro-shogunate and anti-shogunate factions. The fate of the world is threatened as an army of historical revisionists are sent from the future to alter the course of history. In order to bring these forces down and protect the real history, two sword warriors, spirits who are swords brought to life by Saniwa (sage), rush to Edo. The polite and thoughtful Horikawa Kunihiro and the short tempered yet skillful Izuminokami Kanesada, who served the same master, confront the invading army along with a lively gang of other warriors including Mutsunokami Yoshiyuki, Yagen Toushirou, Tombokiri, and Tsurumaru Kuninaga. As the fate of history lies in these hero’s hands, what meets the blade is yet to be uncovered…ANN
Summary of Episode 1: Kanesada and Kunihiro are two warriors who exist outside of time and outside of the bounds of normal humanity. Both men are warrior spirits summoned from powerful blades by the sage Saniwa, and who have been sent backwards in time into historical Japan to prevent the malevolent Retrograde Army from meddling in and altering Japan’s history. The problem is that they are but two individuals, and the Retrograde Army continues to send more and more demonic soldiers to murder important people. It’s becoming more difficult to accurately predict where these creatures will appear and what effects they might have. It’s during a particularly dire battle that Saniwa makes his appearance in person, and he comes bearing gifts – three more weapon-based warriors to aid in the good fight. This may just tip the scales in the right direction, but only if Kanesada and the gun-wielding Yoshiyuki can get over their rivalry and work together.
Impressions: It’s easy to go into an anime viewing with prejudices, especially when the type of source material on which it’s based tends to have its own set of tropes. The Touken Ranbu game is described as a gender-swapped version of the game Kantai Collection, which anthropomorphizes historical military warships as sexy young women, for the consumption of a mostly male audience. Touken Ranbu does the same for famous swords, turning them into various flavors of attractive men for an interested female audience. Turnabout is fair play and all, but in past cases this sort of thing has resulted in anime that’s almost always kind of goofy and based around a one-joke concept that has to be manipulated all over the place to provide enough basis for an actual story. It’s not meant to provide a pithy plot, it’s meant to show attractive characters doing a thing and to justify merchandising. Which is great and all, but I don’t buy a lot of merch so that doesn’t really resonate with me.
The team analyzes who the next target might be. Copyright 2017 (c) Ufotable
Touken Ranbu is an interesting case in that it’s received two different types of adaptations. There was a more light, comedic adaptation (that I didn’t watch) a couple of seasons ago called Touken Ranbu Hanamaru that seemed to exist in order to get the sillies out of its system, and now there’s this adaptation, which appears to be taking things more seriously and concentrating on the supernatural action elements of the plot. It’s kind of an unorthodox approach to adapting a property to animation, but I think I kind of like it; there will always be people who just aren’t interested in doom-and-gloom seriousness and who wouldn’t watch something where characters are legitimately getting hurt and drawing blood from their enemies, while others just aren’t down with goofy humor and mostly plotless shenanigans. Now that some game companies are using their zillions of dollars to commission and oversee adaptations of their own material (see: Rage of Bahamut), maybe it’s something we’ll be seeing more often.
All that stuff is just background, though. The question is, how does the first episode of this show hold up? I was surprised that, when all was said and done, I was pretty impressed by what this episode has to offer. Anime in general, especially when the background plot points are sort of complicated, has a tendency to info-dump via expository dialog. Even really good series like ACCA:13, for example, can trip themselves up by awkwardly inserting minutes upon minutes of plot setup into character conversations (any time I hear or read “As you know…” in a show, I get a little embarrassed for the writers for being so obvious with what they’re trying to do). There’s a little bit of that here, but it feels more natural than in many cases. Since Kunihiro is a noob sword-guy on his first mission, the guidance he receives from old veteran Kane-san serves to fill us in on a lot of what their general mission is and the workings of the time travel element as it relates to what’s happening. A lot of what we learn comes in the characters reacting to the realities of their situation – the Retrograde Army is going to kill some important dudes in a general location that’s been narrowed-down as much as possible (though not enough – just the realities of trying to predict these things from a couple hundred years in the “future”), and they have to get rid of the enemy without intervening in the normal day-to-day stuff that’s going on. Since they’re from the future, they also have some notes regarding things that historically happened every day so they can cross-check that history hasn’t been altered. It’s a good system, doesn’t try to nail down the time-travel stuff in too much detail (because if you try to “logic” that all out it stops making any sense), and allows us to concentrate on the things that are really important – namely the cool action scenes and other exciting things.
Kane saves Kunihiro from getting skewered. Copyright 2017 (c) Ufotable
Since adapting the Fate series over several different anime incarnations in the recent past, Ufotable has gotten a reputation for its high-quality cinematic anime productions that present cool, well-animated action sequences with a lot of excitement and polish. Try as I might I’ve never really been able to get into any adaptation of the Fate series, which is unfortunate since I like watching cool action choreography and animation as much as the next person. At least judging by this episode, Ufotable has given us something that retains and shores up their reputation in this area, but without the added baggage of people trying to convince me that Saber is a feminist character (please stop doing this; I will not agree with you). While it’s not quite Sword of the Stranger quality action (seriously – if you love amazing animation, you can definitely watch around the middling samurai-movie plot for the sublime sword fight choreography in this film from BONES), the glistening swords and characters racing across the rooftops is exciting and fun to watch. A lot of care has gone into making this episode look good; if the job of an opening episode of anime is to put the show’s best foot forward and get viewers hooked on its best qualities, this definitely accomplished that.
The other side of this is that there’s a lot of reliance on computer generated components (creatures and settings) to help make many of the shots possible. Anime cinematography has gotten so much better over the past couple of years that this is really almost a non-issue; the hand-drawn characters and the 3D backdrops mesh together really well thanks to judicious use of visual filters and what is probably very conscientious storyboarding and layout construction. In short, it looks great! But similar to a lot of modern live-action films (especially superhero or disaster films that, by their nature, require a lot of effects work) there’s always that subconscious sense that the two pieces don’t exist in the same world, and that can be ever-so-slightly distracting (at least for me). But don’t let that dissuade you – I think this is one of the better examples of what can be done in the modern era when the two animation techniques work together.
A good-looking rival appears. Copyright 2017 (c) Ufotable
I was incorrect in thinking that this show was an Anime Strike exclusive; I learned that Aniplex USA has got it playing on several different streaming outlets, so while you won’t be able to afford to buy it when it’s released on disc, at the very least you’ll be able to scrape together enough pennies to watch it on your favorite streaming service (I added it to my queue on both Crunchyroll and Anime Strike, so we’ll see what service I default to in future weeks).
While I’m usually more interested in quieter, more thoughtful, or “iyashi-kei” or “healing” entertainment, it’s definitely fun to branch out and watch something that does nothing more than get my heart pumping. A well-constructed action series with attractive anime dudes is really the very definition of what gets my kokoro going doki-doki, so there you have it. Even if bishounen aren’t exactly your thing, though, I think if you enjoy swordplay, historical fantasy, or just really cool hand-drawn animation, Katsugeki! Touken Ranbu might have something worthwhile for you.
Pros: The visual presentation is slick and high-quality, the fantasy and time-travel elements don’t bog things down too much, and the characters are attractive.
Cons: There’s a sense that the characters and backgrounds are not of the same world.
It’s Summer, which means that intolerable humidity is hanging over the Midwest causing me to sweat myself to death. So it’s a great time to stay inside and watch some anime! Below are some impressions of upcoming series that seem interesting to me. Will all of these pan out? Probably not. Will some shows surprise me later on, even if they’re not on my gotta-watch list? Probably. Every season brings with it something new and interesting. Even though the Summer anime season tends to be pretty small in comparison to Spring and Autumn, there are still likely a few gems waiting to be discovered.
One interesting development that’s occurred in the past few months is what seems like a partnership of sorts between Sentai Filmworks and Amazon’s Anime Strike. While Anime Strike is controversial on its own due to being cloistered behind a pricey double paywall (first you pay for Amazon Prime, and then you pay a few more dollars to add Anime Strike to your channel list), it seems like this might be a big boon to Sentai Filmworks, who hasn’t had a go-to home for its acquisitions. I can’t say I’m happy having to add to my many video streaming subscriptions (Hulu, Netflix, Crunchyroll, Funimation… there are so many) but I see what they’re trying to do and I’ll play along for the time being, even if I think that it doesn’t set a good precedent for either convenience or price
Anyway, here’s a hastily-assembled list of the new shows I think might be interesting:
Copyright 2017 (c) Production I.G.
Welcome to the Ballroom/Ballroom e Youkoso
Begins: July 9th
Streaming At: Amazon Anime Strike
Synopsis: The setup seems typical for a sports or sports-type anime; the protagonist, a middle school student named Tatara Fujita is kind of mediocre at most things that he tries (sports in particular). He’s “rescued” from his mediocrity (and his bullies) by Kaname Sengoku, a professional ballroom dancer. It’s this encounter that draws Fujita into the realm of ballroom dance, perhaps something where he’ll discover his talent (spoilers: I’m guessing he’ll end up being pretty good at it).
Impressions: This is the show this season that I’ve been anticipating the most, for reasons that are as simple as me being interested in more offbeat takes on the sports genre and liking to look at attractive dudes doing fancy things. The various trailers have featured great music, sharp animation, and more elongated necks and bodies than you can shake a stick at. According to Sakuga Blog, there are some pretty big names associated with the project as well. It’s kind of fascinating to be in the fandom at a time when we get to see series that have clout with both fans of popular anime, and fans who like to follow individual creators and the animation process. I think this show will at least satisfy on looks alone.
Copyright 2017 (c) Zero-G
Dive!!
Begins: July 6th
Streaming At: Amazon Anime Strike
Synopsis: The Mizuki Diving Club is in dire financial straits and in danger of being shut down. Their only hope for keeping things running is to send one of their divers to the next Olympic Games on the Japanese team.
Impressions: I was just about ready to call this one a poor rip-off of Free!, but the novel and manga predate KyoAni’s bishounen cash-cow by a few years, so that’s probably misguided. Remember what I said above about anime that revolves around unusual sports? This is another series that might scratch that itch. Judging from the PV I just watched, the visual presentation isn’t quite as clean and crisp, but there are an awful lot of rippling abs on display, so the anime junk-food quotient for someone like me, a not-quite-but-kinda fujoshi, might be enough to keep it interesting, if there aren’t also some decent character moments (which is something that’s hard to get a sense of during a 2 minute preview where the characters are speaking in metaphors about “flying” and telling each-other how cool they looked).
Copyright 2017 (c) Haoliners Animation League/ Emon Animation Company
A Centaur’s Life/A Centaur’s Worries/Centaur no Nayami
Synopsis: Himeno is a centaur girl with a sweet, quiet personality. All of her friends and classmates are also supernatural or fantasy creatures, with wings, tails, horns, and other physical traits that set them apart from the human beings we’re used to. This is the story of Himeno’s daily school life.
Impressions: I like monster girls a lot. From the time I was a sullen teenager doodling in my sketchbook, to the current day during which I mostly just appreciate the art of others, I’ve thought female characters with demon horns or snake bodies or mermaid tails were just the cutest. But I’m still waiting for a really good “monster girl” anime to come down the pipeline. Monster Musume was gross, Interviews With Monster Girls started to give me a bad feeling a couple of episodes in, and Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid, despite having its good moments, still managed to bungle the good will it had built with a couple of non-con scenes that turned me off (I love that it’s inspired a lot of really cute cosplay, though). I’m hoping that this will just be kind of cute and innocuous and give me my fix. I haven’t decided whether or not the fact that there are also monster boys in the characters’ school will be positive or negative, but I’m willing to give the show a chance.
The anime is produced by a Chinese animation studio (though it seems to be managed by Japanese staff), and their track record isn’t the best (I see the dismal Spiritpact on their rap sheet – not a good impression to leave). If anything, I’m interested to see if the end result of this particular endeavor is any more pleasing to the eye or satisfying to the soul.
Copyright 2017 (c) Ufotable
Katsugeki!: Touken Ranbu
Begins: July 1st
Streaming At: Amazon Anime Strike
Synopsis: It’s 1863 in Japan, an era during which forces loyal to the Shogunate and those wishing to bring its power to an end were clashing. Historical revisionists from the future begin to invade in order to change the force of history, but they’ll have to get through two sword warriors who have come to Edo to defend the sanctity of the true timeline.
Impressions: So you’ve heard of guys who use swords, but how about guys who are swords? This series, one of two anime based on a collectable card style smartphone game, personifies historically significant blades as hot warrior dudes of various personalities. A more comedic take, Touken Ranbu: Hanamaru, premiered during the Autumn season last year, and this version appears to be a more “serious business” take on the concept. Considering Ufotable’s involvement, it’ll probably look pretty slick (it’s difficult to say for sure, since the most lengthy trailer I could find was mostly animation sketches put to dramatic music). I can’t predict how much staying concept the central premise might have, but at least the characters are attractive and the action might be fun.
Copyright 2017 (c) Kinema Citrus
Made in Abyss
Begins: July 7th
Streaming At: Amazon Anime Strike
Synopsis: The Abyss is an underground cave system, the last bastion of unexplored territory in the world. It contains treasures and relics from long ago that current humans cannot re-produce. It’s Rico’s dream to become a cave explorer like her late mother. One day she finds a robot who has the appearance of a young boy.
Impressions: Whereas there’s a lot on this list I think I can probably take or leave, I’m actually really excited about Made in Abyss. I found the trailer to be absolutely haunting, and the plot synopsis suggests that the story might take place after humanity has undergone some kind of technological decline, which is one of my favorite set-ups (see: Nausicaa, Sound of the Sky, Humanity Has Declined, and many others). There’s an edge to this one that makes it seem a little spooky in spite of its lush setting and cutesy character designs, which is another production aspect that gets me excited. It’s a little bit difficult to put my feelings into words any better than that, since this type of show really hits me in a deep place that’s based in old 1980’s sci-fi and fantasy that I saw as a small child, but maybe there are some of you out there that can relate.
Copyright 2017 (c) Studio Deen
Hell Girl 4/Jigoku Shoujo: Yoi no Togi
Begins: July 14th
Streaming At: Amazon Anime Strike
Synopsis: The fourth season of the long-running supernatural horror revenge story. Those seeking revenge on those who have caused them harm may access a secret website to call upon Hell Girl. She drags her targets to Hell itself, in exchange for the immortal souls of those who call upon her to help them. This season will feature 6 new episodes, and 6 “reminiscence” episodes.
Impressions:Hell Girl is one of those properties I’ve always been aware of but which I’ve never watched much of. From the time the first season aired it’s cropped up as a favorite pick at anime club Halloween events and so I’ve seen several episodes here and there because of that, but never entire seasons. I do, however, enjoy stories about human nature, even those bits and pieces of it which are uncomfortable to look at and experience, and this series is notorious for presenting those kinds of stories. The titular character doesn’t judge on morality, she just does a job; it’s up to the viewers to understand and interpret who’s in the right or wrong in each situation, and that can be unsettling.
Copyright 2017 (c) MAPPA
Kakegurui – Compulsive Gambler
Begins: July 1st
Streaming At: TBA
Synopsis: When you’re a child of the mega-rich, normal school sports and clubs don’t teach you the tools you need to keep your position in society. At Hyakkao Private Academy, the students’ education is geared specifically towards the skills of negotiation, manipulation, and deception – the students participate in a rigorous curriculum of various forms of gambling where the winners end up at the top of the class and the losers are punished accordingly. Yumeko arrives on campus and decides to show her classmates what a real gambler is capable of.
Impressions: This is a situation where I find the plot concept of the anime sort of interesting, but I have a strong suspicion that the execution will end up being too grotesque and/or mean-spirited for my personal tastes. The trailer features the protagonist in a kind of weird sexualized ecstasy that I suspect might get old (I’m not big on cruel sadism, and this feels like it might be toeing the line there as well). But hey, maybe there’ll be a little bit of Kaiji in there somewhere, too. I’m definitely game (ha!) to give it a try.
Synopsis: Yoshoku no Nekoya is like any other normal restaurant during the week, and is patronized by the working people of Japan. But on Saturdays, when it takes a day off, it becomes a gathering place for people from another world. When members of non-human races patronize the restaurant, they find that even the most mundane of Western-style dishes seem exotic and wonderful.
Impressions: I like stories about cooking and I enjoy light fantasy elements, so this series which seems to combine both things looks like it might be kind of episodic and cute. It’s amusing to think about how an elf or a demon might react to something commonplace like chicken soup. I’m also heartened to see that this is sort of a twist on the “isekai” sub-genre that’s been so popular lately; instead of some loser dude making his way into a video game or fantasy world and having several women hot for him, the people from another world are finding their way into ours. I can’t help but think that might be an improvement.
How about you? What have you been looking forward to this Summer? Let me know in the comments!
I don’t talk about video games much anymore, mostly because there are many other people online and in person who are better suited to do so. I haven’t owned a current-gen game system in quite a while (except for Nintendo’s systems, but most people don’t count those). But I’ve found a pretty decent gaming home on Steam, where one can find all sorts of things that scratch that retro-gaming itch – crucial for people like me who perpetually long for the SNES era of classic gaming – without breaking the bank. I usually only poke around when there’s a sale going on; a couple of days ago when the Summer Sale got into full swing I stopped to look at my discovery queue, which is a function of Steam that pulls together some tailored game suggestions for the user based on their preferences. Usually I find a couple of new items to add to my wishlist, and I maybe make a purchase or two (or ten. I have issues). This time I was intrigued by a game in Steam’s early access program (the games in this program aren’t finished yet and it functions like something of an open beta) called Dead Cells, which purported to combine Castlevania style platforming and exploration with elements of rogue-like gaming (in short: you die and that’s it).
Since I purchased the game a few days ago, my partner and I have put close to 30 hours into it collectively. For two people who both work full time at stressful jobs and who come home most nights with little desire to pour hours into a video game, it definitely says something that we’ve spent such a chunk of our free time forgoing activities like anime and television that require little active input in order to play this one.
The player starts off each playthrough with the barest of essentials. Dead Cells Copyright 2017 Motion Twin
In Dead Cells you play the headless animated corpse of a prisoner, your body given life from an infusion of green goo extruded from a mysterious tube. It’s implied that you might be the subject of some sort of experiment; a theory given merit by all the strange creatures around who seem to be observing you and taking note of your accomplishments. There isn’t much more of a story at the outset, and pretty soon you stop caring too much about the narrative since enemies start coming at you quickly and constantly. You start the game with a paltry 100 hit points and not much in the way of weaponry, but that changes quickly as you uncover upgrades to your health and battle power, find blueprints for better equipment, and begin to collect “cells” – glowing blue orbs that serve as a kind of currency for unlocking upgrades.
Though rogue-like and “rogue-lite” games are characterized by ever-changing, procedurally-generated environments and perma-death, Dead Cells gives you the opportunity to uncover and unlock certain things that are available upon each new playthrough (unless you decide to wipe your game file). There’s a health flask, a necessity as you start to work your way through some of the hairier stages, and various runes (at the time of this writing, 2 are available in the game) that provide the player character with more ways to navigate the terrain. There are also a huge number of weapons, skill weapons, shields, and general gameplay upgrades that, while not always available during every playthrough, become one of the random drops that could appear throughout the game. My favorite skill item is something called the “meat grinder,” which lays down a carpet of sawblades that causes bleeding damage to enemies that try to traverse it. There are some truly sadistic items in the game’s arsenal, and the arsenal is fairly large even though the game is in an unfinished state. The variety of weaponry allows for many different playing styles and lots of effective weapon combinations. The one criticism I might give the game in this area, though, is that the frequency of drops isn’t necessarily consistent, so I might go quite a while without a serviceable main weapon in one run, and have way too many good choices in the next one. That’s just the nature of randomization, I suppose.
Just some of the many items you can unlock, taunting you just out of reach. Dead Cells Copyright 2017 Motion Twin
If you’re not used to this sort of game, things can get a little bit frustrating. A couple of years ago I poured several hours into Rogue Legacy, which is a similar sort of gaming experience with a more humorous, cartoony exterior. I got very used to getting into the groove with my character, only to get my butt handed to me a minute later, thus booting me back to the beginning. The first couple of hours in Dead Cells are similarly difficult, and it can feel very repetitive since the time between runs is so short. What makes things tolerable and even fun is the fact that there are so many incremental improvements to be had right from the get-go and the game seems tuned to let you unlock them at a pace that keeps you coming back for “just one more round.” After gaining some confidence and speed, you can try for one of the game’s time doors, which cannot be opened after a certain time has passed on the game clock – the first one closes at 3:30, so you really don’t have much time. After figuring out some good weapon combinations, you can try fighting some of the boss creatures or tackling the more serious game areas – there are currently about 10 areas to explore and two really, really difficult boss creatures to fight.
Even though Dead Cells is quite fun in its current form, there’s still the question of why someone would want to purchase the game now in an unfinished state, rather than wait a while for the rest of it to be completed and polished. Someone I know voiced some concerns that the developers were getting paid for people to beta test their product for them, and there’s some merit to that when viewed through the lens of game development and finances. There’s one thing worth mentioning here, and that’s that Dead Cells feels like a complete experience the way it is right now. I haven’t encountered any bugs, the platforming and other aspects of the gameplay are tuned very well, and I feel like there are still several hours of fun to be had. Some of the weapon combinations might be ridiculously powerful right now, but I assume that’s something that will get addressed and I’m certainly taking advantage of it while I can. I think there’s also something appealing about watching the development of something unfold it real time and potentially being able to have some input on that. I really like Minecraft, and one thing that I’ve always found fun about that game is that the developers have always been very responsive to the things that fans have asked for. I have played the game since before the first “full” version was released, and love popping back in from time-to-time, just to see all the new things that have been added and fine-tuned. Dead Cells is maybe not the exact same sort of gameplay experience but, much like watching an anime series from week-to-week and discussing each new episode with the fandom, it’s fun to be around for each new addition, upgrade, and change, and be able to share that with an enthusiastic fandom for the game.
Dead Cells is available to buy and play on Steam. The MSRP is $16.99, but you can get it cheaper during the Steam Summer Sale. Check it out!
Hi all. It’s now been a couple of weeks since Anime Detour 2017, and I figured it was about time for me to post all of my goodies for everyone to look at (not my physical goodies, baka, my panel materials!). Below are panel materials from panels that I (Jessi) and/or J.C. presented throughout the course of the convention, along with a description and some thoughts and reactions. I release these free of charge (obviously) but ask that, if you re-appropriate these materials in some way, please give us a shout-out and perhaps link back to this webpage. Many of these contain clips from copyrighted anime series, used for the purposes of education or criticism. We do not own them, but they are presented because we appreciate them! Info on where to purchase them or watch them online legally is included where applicable. If any of the links have expired, just leave a comment and I can update them.
If anyone has any photos of us that they are willing to share, let me know! We are terrible at taking photos or getting them taken of us at conventions because we’re so busy, so being able to capture those memories with the help of others is always a necessity.
Friday, April 7th
Prior to my arrival at the convention (it’s a long story, but the short of it is that I could not arrive to the convention hotel until later on Friday evening), J.C. and our friend Helen ran an annual quiz-game of J.C.’s invention called Anime by Numbers which apparently went over extremely well! It’s a trivia game that works much better than any anime trivia I’ve seen, for one very good reason – to play, one does not really have to have seen any of the series in question. Scoring points relies on being closest to the numerical answer to the questions, and even people very familiar with the shows will have a hard time remembering the exact numbers (I should know, I’ve helped to write some of the questions, and I’ve only been able to do so by re-watching and counting things very closely in several anime series). J.C. wrote the game program himself and added in a timer this year, which kept things moving. It sounds like he also had some good teams with great participation. I wish someone had gotten some video of it since I couldn’t be there, but alas!
“Manga for Grown-Ups” is a yearly recommendation panel that I give in order to highlight available manga that might appeal to older or more experienced fans. As I mention before both of my “Grown-Ups” panels, this isn’t meant to somehow make a quality judgment about manga I deem for “grown-ups” and manga for a wider audience, but I do think it’s worthwhile to point out pieces of media that might appeal to fans who don’t have as much of an interest in series that focus on the exploits of middle-and-high-school students in a more basic fashion. Personally, I have pretty wide tastes, but I also know that, once you start to creep into your late 20’s it can become more difficult to relate to the anime fandom at large and many of the popular series unless you have something keeping you in the loop, so that’s kind of the point I try to make.
This year I think all the manga I featured are available in physical form, with a couple of titles also available in some sort of online form (Crunchyroll or Comixology being the main ones). I’m going to have to check out Crunchyroll’s new paid manga distribution service (currently in beta I think – I got an update to the Android app a few weeks before the convention and only just noticed that it was there) since there might be something on there that’s not available otherwise.
This is a yearly game we do which serves to poke fun at the fact that many opening or ending animations attached to anime series don’t make sense or are deceptive in some way. We try to get people to think creatively because the point isn’t to “guess” what the show is actually about – it’s to come up with something hilarious and give everyone a good laugh.
We had a great year this year, since we were able to utilize a program that J.C. had written to randomize the entries and clean things up again (much better than me pulling numbers out of a hat and clicking on videos in a Windows folder!). I also got rid of some of the old random manga that was clogging up my shelves, so win-win.
Saturday, April 8th
I run the AMV Contest for the convention, so much of the morning was taken up with those activities. We had a great set of entries this year! A list of finalists and winners is available in my previous post if you’re curious. Local AMV Editor SliceofLife uploaded a video she recorded of the Sunday awards ceremony to her YouTube channel, if you’re interested in hearing J.C. talk and present awards (the mic wasn’t working, and I didn’t want to strain my voice too much, so I let him be loud!).
The Cosplay/Masquerade was also on Saturday, but we weren’t around for it. I haven’t attended the Cosplay competition in many years, probably since I stopped being a greenroom volunteer however many years ago. We tried to catch some of it on the hotel’s closed-circuit TV feed, but that wasn’t working, and neither was the live stream… so we ended up getting dinner instead. Luckily I’ve seen most of the costumes in photo form online at this point, thanks to the great photographers at the con.
This panel is much like “Manga for Grown-Ups,” though it naturally focuses on the anime side. Once again, it’s not a quality judgment in and of itself, just something to help keep older anime fans in the loop and in the fandom. I do this panel annually and normally like to include some older stuff, but there was a lot of great anime from the past year or so that really fit the bill so I didn’t have to reach too far back into the archives. I think next year will probably swing back towards older anime though; so much of it is getting picked back up by companies like Rightstuf and Discotek that there are tons of options out there!
I got to meet a lot of great fans as a result of this panel; people even stopped me in the hallway to talk, which is something that I haven’t experienced much in the past. I no longer have a strong online footprint due to many factors, so it was really nice to feel like I was part of a strong local fandom group again.
This was very much J.C.’s baby, but as tends to be the case when one of us is more the “show-runner,” I served as color commentator while he provided the meaty bulk of the presentation. This was inspired somewhat by the “Every Frame a Painting” focused on director Edgar Wright’s visual comedy; our idea being that anime often does a great job of conveying ideas, moods, and story through visual means rather than just script and dialog, especially since animation in general is a medium that is so reliant on care being put into the visual presentation since it’s created from scratch. There are lots of good examples in there of anime you’ve probably seen and heard of, as well as some you might not be as familiar with (but that we both really like).
I think probably one of my favorite parts of the panel talks about background/setting; I find that it’s often one of the markers of a quality anime when there’s care put into establishing the setting, whether that be your typical high school setting or something a little more fantastic. Some anime are recognizable immediately from their background artwork.
In helping out a bit with this panel, it got me wanting to take a crack at the subject myself sometime. Whether or not that actually happens is up in the air, since I’m a terrible procrastinator and have trouble following-through.
This is a panel we presented at Anime Fusion 2016. I wanted to try to make a few edits since we ran slightly over our time at that convention, but I ran out of time leading up to Anime Detour and couldn’t make the cuts that I wanted to make. And then we ended up going even longer and I didn’t even get to play all my videos. Oh well. Usually I’m better at time management, but there was just too much we wanted to say and not enough time to say it.
Anyway, this panel (unofficially known as the “Shirobako fan panel”) focused on anime that tells the story of how anime itself is created, and what we can learn about the industry from that. We go into more detail about the anime creation process (at least in a general sense; there’s a lot of variation and obviously I don’t work in the animation industry so can’t speak from my own experience). I would have liked to also have added something about Girlish Number, which is a newer anime from the past season about voice acting with some peripheral and very cynical ideas about the anime industry, but like I said I ran very short on time. So if this subject is of interest to you… go check out Girlish Number as well! Sakuga Blog is also a great resource about the animation aspect itself; I’ve learned a lot about the animation process and specific animators more recently from that website.
Sunday, April 9th
For whatever reason, Sunday always feels most busy of the three days of the convention. Maybe because it’s the shortest and our biggest panel (Shiny New Anime) is usually on that day. Maybe it’s because I’m already tired by that point and usually schedule myself up to the final time slot. Either way, though I’m happy when it’s over with, I’m also sad that it’s done, if you understand what I’m saying.
This is the panel I’ve been a part of the longest (with a rotating set of co-panelists), and is usually the biggest panel that we do as well. It’s interesting to me, because there are several other “recommendation” style panels at the convention focused on newer anime, and even newer anime that’s not entirely mainstream (though with Crunchyroll, Funimation, Netflix, Amazon… it feels like almost all anime is mainstream nowadays!). I don’t feel like we are filling in some sort of niche any longer or telling people something that they don’t already know, but people are very kind and supportive anyway and I feel privileged that so many people like to come to this one!
Last year was a great year for new anime, as this list attests (there were even enough great shows that there were some I know I didn’t get to in time for the convention – look for those at Anime Fusion later this year). Most years are pretty good for anime, and there’s always at least something out there each season worth watching. But this past year had a ton of great shows for fans of almost all anime genres.
We got more joke comments about this one than any other panel we presented, I think. And for good reason – why put a panel called “What is Anime?” on the schedule for an anime convention at all, let alone on Sunday afternoon of an anime convention? I know it sounds silly. The panel itself actually grew out of a discussion that J.C. and I had been having one day following some stupid internet drama revolving around an anime-inspired music video. The idea of what actually qualifies as “anime” has grown and changed throughout my time as an anime fan, and been debated over and over again as Western artists become more openly-influenced by the visual aesthetics and storytelling styles prevalent in Japanese animation. So this panel was kind of a discussion about that, with the goal being to try and open people’s minds a bit or at least get them not to worry so much about it. I used to be very much on the conservative side of the “anime” definition, but now that anime has been around in the world’s consciousness for a while and there’s so much intermingling between animators (at least the big-name famous ones), it seems pointless to be so strict (though I’m still not to the point of thinking it doesn’t matter at all, since without at least a few vague guidelines, why bother making a distinction at all?).
The point is really that it’s a more complicated question than one might think at first, and though our audience was pretty small, I think we ended up with a pretty decent discussion. Take that, haters!
We, along with Dave (Anime Detour head of Programming), ended the con with a small (but surprisingly well-attended for the time of day) panel focused entirely on the anime series Erased. I liked the show quite a bit before that, but participating in the discussion about it and hearing others reflect on the various things that they enjoyed or didn’t enjoy about it made me appreciate just how successful the show was at so many things. We’re currently re-watching it in anime club, and even I was sort of surprised by how suspenseful the show remained despite the fact that I already knew all the big twists and turns the story was going to take. When I originally bought it I grumbled about the high price of the Blu-ray sets ($90 a pop for 6 episodes each, ugh), but even though I still think that it’s too expensive I don’t feel bad about it, since there’s clearly some re-watch value.
Closing Thoughts
I went into the convention this year with a terrible attitude, mostly because my prep time was truncated and I felt like I just wasn’t 100% going into the convention. J.C. and I are likely looking at starting a family in the near future (something I never thought I would want to do, but sometimes time and circumstances change one’s outlook on those things), and while I won’t let that completely take me away from the convention activities that I enjoy doing, I do realistically realize that I won’t be able to put my full self into it for a while after babby is formed. So that thought was on my mind as the convention loomed on the horizon and I also felt like my career was robbing me of my precious time (not worth going into it in detail because it’s not the job’s fault, but I knew a year ahead of time that I wouldn’t be able to take time off for the con and that ended up sucking).
I have to say though, for as crabby as I was when I showed up to the hotel on Friday evening (and I was really crabby), I had just an incredible weekend. All mishaps were minor, all successes were greater than expected, and I for once felt that I was on my game and knew what I was doing, at least in the moment. I have a terrible case of impostor syndrome, partly just because that’s how I am, but partly because I’ve encountered rudeness online and in person that have made me question my ability to talk competently about anime. Even though I love anime more than just about any other fandom I’ve ever been a part of! But people were so kind, encouraging, and open all weekend, and it really reminded me why I love conventions and Anime Detour in particular. I don’t really believe in luck as an active force in the universe, but I do consider myself incredibly lucky to have been able to know so many of the people I have in my life, because it’s through them that I’ve gotten to be the type of fan I am now (seriously – if my friends hadn’t invited me to help out on Anime Detour staff like 10 years ago, I probably never would have done so many panels and all the things that have come with that). I’m glad I get a wonderful yearly reminder of those influences (also a reminder of how I should try harder to stay in contact with people, since otherwise I turn into a homebody who never leaves the house!).
I’m looking forward to the new location for the con next year. I know a lot of people are a little apprehensive, and it’s a big change – from the suburbs to downtown Minneapolis, it’ll be a big cultural shift – but I’m positive the con will continue to be the great event it’s been for the many years I’ve been an attendee and staff member. Here’s looking towards 2018!
Hi all. As some of you know, I run the AMV contest at my local anime convention, Anime Detour. I’m posting the list of finalists and the results here in order to have them in a public place (many popular AMV forums require registration to access the posts, which makes it difficult for those who are less interested/passionate about the fandom).
We had a ton of great submissions this year, and I had to narrow things down to about 1/3 of the total entries (not an easy job).
Trailer
“Your La La in April” by 1jasmineb
Audio: “La La Land” trailer audio
Video: Your Lie in April Trailer Audio – Lionsgate
“Someone on the Ice” by Miikitouu
Audio: Epilogue, Another Day of Sun, Credits, Someone In The Crowd – Justin Hurwitz
Despite the title of this website, I rarely stop after watching intro episodes of anime (unless the show is so terrible or offensive that it doesn’t deserve a second look; there have been many of those over the years). Here are some collected thoughts on some of the second and third episodes I’ve watched of selected series. This post will be updated as I conduct more follow-up viewings, so stay tuned.
I was fairly unimpressed with the first episode of the series, since it seemed to glorify violence and to specifically fetishize the fact that some of the most violent acts of war were being committed by a character in the body of a pre-pubescent girl. “Young girls in horrific situations” could be a sub-genre unto itself in anime, considering all of the series whose main point of interest involves thrusting youngsters into roles way above their emotional pay grade in order to look edgy or wring some sort of unearned emotional response out of the audience. In this case, I’m totally baffled why the first episode begins where it does, because Tanya’s origin story is much more compelling, and puts a totally different slant on what’s actually happening.
We learn that Tanya was originally a (male) Japanese middle manager who was known for being ruthlessly devoted to the health of his company. This meant taking a very uncaring attitude towards other employees, especially when firing them. A disgruntled former employee of the company pushes our protagonist(?) in front of a train early in the second episode. Time stops, and he has a lengthy conversation with God(?) regarding the existence of any deities (I have to hand it to the main character – his ability to maintain skepticism in the existence of God while speaking directly to him requires guts). Refusing to soften up, God (or “Being X” as the main character dubs him) causes him to be reborn in another world, but with all his memories intact. He scrapes by, does what he can to survive, and then joins the military, eventually reaching the point at which we joined the tale in the first episode.
What stood out to me was the fact that the story was less focused on the actual war than it appeared at first. Instead, my main take away from these follow-up episodes is more related to the main character’s conflicts with Being X regarding the need for faith, and Being X’s incredibly manipulative ways of forcing the main character to acknowledge the miraculousness of “God” and the situation God has forced him into. Tanya is compelled by Being X to pray each time the calculation jewel (which hones her magic powers) is used, otherwise it remains unstable and could kill her through its malfunction. This is supposed to eventually instill in her (and in the mentality of the man who still exists within her mind) a sense of humility and faith. On one hand I can see that the character truly needs to learn this lesson, because he’s a total jerk who caused a lot of upset in the lives he supervised. On the other hand, this manipulative deity who pulls strings to get humans to “believe” is pretty abhorrent. I gained a lot more sympathy for Tanya over the course of these episodes, simply for trying to hold onto a worldview while essentially being forced to let it go (or die in the process). This is certainly a lot more complexity than I would have expected originally.
With the way I watch anime, there’s always the danger of being so put off by something right away that I miss out on an anime’s better side by not wanting to bother with it anymore. Personally I think that there are some things that are beyond forgiveness, but there are also cases like this where I feel like maybe whoever was handling the series composition just didn’t do a good job of putting the story’s best foot forward. It’s not as if there aren’t still problems (I’m curious whether reviewers, including myself, can really speak to the genuine nature of the female-female professional relationship between Tanya and her subordinate when Tanya still houses the mostly-unaltered mentality of the Japanese salaryman she once was), but I think I might be up to following this through now.
ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Department – Episode 2
Watching the second episode of ACCA helped to reinforce some of the general feelings I had about the particular construction this show seems to have. While, again, not a whole lot actually “happens” as far as action-y plot-related stuff, there are a lot of subtleties that seem to be leading in a particular direction.
Jean is still ostensibly the focal character, but there are many scenes throughout the episode where he is present but the POV appears to be held by someone else. This time we’re introduced to “photojournalist” friend of his named Nino, actually an undercover agent hired by Jean’s superiors to follow him around. There are several scenes here and there of Nino reporting on Jean’s whereabouts when normally we the audience would be privy to a firsthand what Jean was doing instead. There were a lot of scenes where I thought to myself that it would have been nice to know about Jean’s activities after going inside his home or turning the lights off in his hotel room; being on the outside and not knowing exactly what’s going on is disorienting, but I also suspect that we’re meant to develop a healthy suspicion of Jean in preparation for some bombshell later on. I’ve been trying to stay away from any plot spoilers to ready myself for this eventual surprise, so I hope that my interpretation is correct. There are several references to his possible involvement in a coup d’etat; whether that’s actually what’s going on or not is the question here.
This episode has similar pacing to the first, so viewers who found themselves frustrated with the slow-moving story in episode 1 will probably not be especially compelled to keep up with the series any further. I feel as though I’ve made my case as to why I find this type of anime series compelling already; the fact is, I haven’t found it boring at all, and I can feel the makings of a good thriller bubbling under the surface of what I’ve seen so far.
I had the feeling that the unique humor element of this show might wear down pretty quickly, and that was confirmed for me after watching the second episode. The show is reliant on one central gag, that being the opposing (and typically unexpected) personalities of the angels and demons in the main cast. This in itself admittedly remains pretty chuckle-worthy when I think about it, but the second episode falls into a rut that so many anime comedies do, in that it relies too much on its central gag and dances around it without doing much to expand or escalate any of the humor.
In this episode, Satania continues to be haunted by the bread-stealing dog, and thinks she knows more than she actually does about eating lunch in the school lunch room. Raphiel picks on Satania some more. Vigne and Gabriel bicker about Gabriel’s lack of motivation. The girls have an adventure trying to prepare a meal in their cooking class (using some… unusual ingredients). It’s all fairly standard sitcom stuff, with the flavor being the characters’ particular personalities. The issue I’m having at this point is that their personalities could really exist in any similar ensemble comedy, regardless of the characters being heavenly or hellish beings. Remove the horns, wings, halos, and upside-down crosses from the mix, and this is just another typical anime comedy without much worth recommending it above other similar anime series.
I probably won’t watch more of the show at this point, but I’ll try to keep an ear to the ground to see if anything actually ramps-up over the next few weeks.
The second episode of Dragon Maid continues in the same vein of being mostly cute, humorous, and primarily harmless. We meet a second dragon, a juvenile named Kanna, who’s been nursing a crush on Tohru and who wants to punish Kobayashi for monopolizing her time. Jealousy can be a dangerous motivator, but Kanna’s feelings are pretty simplistic and she gives up the pursuit once Kobayashi-san makes her feel welcome (and feeds her some chocolate). The dragons take miss Kobayashi out to play (dragons playing together can be a little dangerous, as we find out). Tohru also uses her dragon strength to capture a thief while out shopping (it’s also very evident that she’s well-liked by all the merchants, though she doesn’t really understand why).
I was really glad that there wasn’t a repeat of the uncomfortable, non consensual nudity from the first episode. It was a stain on what was otherwise a pretty enjoyable first outing for the show. The second episode continues to be fairly cute, manages to feature some really great animation during Tohru’s and Kanna’s play date, as well as during Tohru’s confrontation with the thief in the shopping arcade, and demonstrates a certain charm that makes it fun to watch despite the fact that it doesn’t really get me laughing all that much.
The one aspect that I don’t really like actually forms the basis for the show, which is a little problematic, I suppose. I’m not a big fan of characters who immediately proclaim their love for another character, especially against all logic and their target character’s wishes. Tohru is very forthcoming with her desires and there’s clearly some reason why she’s become fixated on Kobayashi (little bits and pieces of Tohru’s backstory have been peeking through already, so I’m guessing there’s something going on), but her fervent love and overwhelming jealousy is tough to handle without having some of that background to grasp onto. I’m hoping that a little more nuance develops as the show moves on. I’m not familiar with the manga, so I don’t know how realistic I’m being.
I will likely continue along with this show since I’m a fan of the KyoAni aesthetic and animation.
In a world separated into 13 wards, with each ward having an observation division controlled by the organization known as “ACCA.” Jean is known as the craftiest member of ACCA. – ANN
Summary of Episode 1: The Dowa kingdom has been experiencing a period of unprecedented peace for many years. The king is celebrating his ninety-ninth birthday and there are no signs of political unrest. This makes the government’s observational division, known as “ACCA” obsolete, or so say those in charge; without a need to utilize the employees of ACCA to help maintain political control, why not just trim the budget and get rid of them? Jean Otus is one of ACCA’s most recognizable members, known as the “cigarette peddler” for indulging in a smoke here and there while on the job. ACCA’s imminent closure doesn’t come as a surprise to Jean, and he has the family business to fall back on. But after being sent out on an audit and discovering some hints of low-level corruption within his organization, he learns that ACCA is to remain open. Jean also begins to notice that he himself is under observation. What could possibly be churning behind the scenes to prompt the change?
Impressions: Though my interest in anime and manga tends to be pretty broad, I do have a small stable of creators whose work I follow more closely. Most of these are the more auteur-style anime directors, such as Masaaki Yuasa, or Akiyuki Shinbo (though his actual directorial involvement is questionable – I just really like the Shaft aesthetic so take that how you will). Natsume Ono is one of the few manga-ka whose body of work has really resonated with me, though unlike Yuasa her particular style is a bit harder to define. Aside from her character designs, which most people can identify by their general lankiness and round, almost protruding eyes, the settings for her stories run the gamut from Asia (modern and historical), to Europe, to the fictionalized nation depicted in ACCA. The unifying trait between her many disparate works is difficult to point out from the surface, but it’s definitely there in the pacing and feel of her stories – they all tend to depict adult characters involved in often mundane, slow-burn drama (romantic or otherwise). This type of character-based drama is something I seek out, and it appears that ACCA will likely demonstrate that sort of structure. In short, ACCA, with its lackadaisical pacing and (currently) low-stakes drama is (maybe counter intuitively) just the kind of thing that gets me going. That said, this is also the type of opening episode that’s likely to turn away a large portion of the anime-viewing audience, because it doesn’t have a lot to offer upfront.
Very little happens in this episode, plot-wise. We’re introduced to the setting via a fairly standard “as you know…” info-dump, presented to a sub-set of characters who would likely not need to hear the basic breakdown of how their society works. I’m always a little bit amused when this happens, as the Japanese language is based so much around inferences and indirect, implied meaning; it’s always seemed odd to me that the plots of so many anime are blurted-out awkwardly rather than revealed organically. In any case, we’re introduced to Jean Otus, a protagonist with a cool demeanor who leads a relatively unassuming life. He shares an apartment with his sister; their family serve as landlords for their luxury apartment building, which they’d otherwise be unable to afford. Jean is good at his job as an ACCA observer, and he’s also known for his smoking habit (tobacco is an expensive luxury in their society).
The primary bit of drama in this episode comes as the result of one of Jean’s audits, during which he discovers some low-level illegal activity cropping up from within the organization. The resulting kerfluffle isn’t huge – even the highers-up don’t appear to be all that concerned about it – but during the fallout it’s revealed that Jean is actually surrounded by an air of suspicion and that there are some people in positions of power that suspect him of some sort of wrongdoing. He remarks that he feels as though he’s being watched, and while it’s not quite obvious whether or not anyone is yet, it’s at this point that the show establishes an unsettled feeling in the viewer. Is this setting really so peaceful and bland? Will the entire series be just a serialized account of Jean’s travels with bureaucratic commentary thrown in? I doubt it. There’s also an odd sort of separation between the audience and Jean right from the get-go. While he’s ostensibly the focal character, it feels as if we’re looking at him from the outside, seeing him from the POV of the other characters around him. It’s a bit disorienting, but I can’t help feel like it’s intentional.
This seems to me like the type of anime where the viewer really has to be willing to read between the lines to gain a sense of what the story might involve. I’ve seen quite a few complaints aimed at ACCA about how “nothing happens in the first episode,” and yet to me the entire set up seems inherently intriguing and I feel like the groundwork is solidly in place. I also admittedly enjoyed watching Jean perform his mundane job duties, since my day job sometimes involves auditing and performing tasks in line with strict procedural outlines, so there’s a certain familiarity there that I’m guessing maybe a lot of anime fans might not connect with as well. This isn’t to say that I think I have every detail of the show nailed down simply because I’m an adult with a compliance-focused job – I’m definitely left with a lot of questions on my mind, too, and I feel like there are still a lot of hidden details that haven’t come to light. But rather than being frustrated about that or feeling as though the show hasn’t provided me something to which I’m entitled, I feel drawn in by the mystery and even just the sheer openness of the various directions the series could take. I’ve never been shy about saying that I find very few anime series directly relateable, since most anime just isn’t made to directly appeal to adult audiences. When something like this comes along that seems to be aiming for more mature appeal, I just don’t feel bad about it.
If I had to point out something that I did find frustrating, it would probably be the occasional tonal shifts throughout the episode. The bulk of the episode reads as tonally serious to me, not in the sense that major things of gravity are happening all the time, but this definitely isn’t meant to be a funny series. There are a couple of scenes, though, that read more like an office ensemble slice-of-life comedy, since several of Jean’s coworkers are very focused on their ten o’ clock break time and eating cakes from the local patisserie. These scenes do a good job of establishing how mundane things currently are, but I find that it’s rare when comedy and drama in anime truly mesh, so while it wasn’t a complete turn off, it was a little eye-rolling.
If I haven’t made it clear by now, I’ve pretty much already bought into what this anime series is selling. That’s a confidence that only really comes as a result of having meshed with the author’s style many times in the past and appreciating being in the target demographic for once. I will say, though, if I were trying to trick an apprehensive fan into giving this show a try, I’d definitely mention that the series director also directed the (also quite excellent) One Punch Man. It’s a bit tricksy, since the shows otherwise have nothing to do with one-another and are profoundly different in plot and style, but I’m admittedly kind of hoping that we might get some moments of very neat, more subdued character animation out of the deal. From what I understand, people like working with Shingo Yamamoto, so we’ll see.
There are times where I get kind of bummed that other fans don’t seem to get much out of certain anime series as I do (*cough* The Lost Village *cough*), but there are also times where I completely understand, and I’m not too torn up about it. This is one of those times. I really appreciate the slow pace and the little mysterious bits floating beneath the surface, but a lot of people likely won’t. I’m looking forward to seeing the story unfold.
Pros: It has a unique look and setting. There are inklings of unrest beneath the calm exterior. There’s a level of separation between the viewer and the main character that feels somewhat intentional.
Cons: There are a few tonal shifts that seem unnatural. There’s some “as you know…” info-dumping. The episode is slow-paced and not very much “plot-y” stuff happens to draw people in.
