Fall 2013 Week 11 – Thoughts and Impressions

Another week of anime has passed by us as we approach the end of the season. Many of the shows this week have reached a climax or are wrapping up their stories so it was quite a great week for many series in my opinion. NouCome was also the first show of the Fall 2013 season to end which saddens me since it was usually the highlight of my week. I don’t have much thoughts on the finale besides it was as ridiculous as the show always is and it was nice to see them bring all the characters back for an explosive finale! This week, I’ll be sharing my thoughts on White Album 2 episode 11, Kill la Kill episode 11, Samurai Flamenco episode 10, Valvrave S2 episode 10.

Fall 2013 Anime Season – Mid-Season Thoughts Part 3

Here’s the rest of my mid (now late) season thoughts for Fall 2013. I apologize if some of my thoughts seem rather plain or not that insightful but since a lot of these series I just watch for entertainment, I rarely find myself constantly thinking and analyzing the series.

Outbreak Company – At first I found it a little dull, but the more I watched, the more I started to like the show. Myucel, Petra, and Shinichi really grew on me as they tried to learn more about the otaku culture. I think the point in the series when Shinichi stood out to me was (can’t recall the exact episode) when he saw Petra treating Myucel poorly but before judging her he took a second to remember that he was an outsider and that in their world (culture), this was what was considered acceptable. He did end up resolving their issues in the end but I appreciated that he didn’t just force his view onto these people since they already had their own established system and culture. Overall, this series is really an enjoyable watch and every week I try to spot all the anime parodies throughout the episode.

Fall 2013 – Week 8 Thoughts and Impressions

I apologize for the delay between my posts. I’ve been working on posting more frequently and regularly but school has been a little overwhelming lately so I haven’t had that much time to watch anime and make posts. With that said, I’ll be continuing my Fall 2013 mid season impressions later next week when I have a bit more free time. Anyways let’s get to this week’s anime. I’ll be sharing my thoughts on Nagi no Asukara episode 8, Valvrave S2 episode 7, White Album 2 episode 8, and Samurai Flamenco episode 7.

Nagi no Asukara – I think that Hikari is quickly becoming one of my favourite main characters of the season. I’ve been saying this a lot but just the way he’s changed from being rash and quick tempered to considering the feelings of those around him has really impressed me. He’s even willing to sacrifice his own happiness for his friends and family. While at first we saw the kids between the land and the sea discriminating against each other, these were just the impressions they had gotten from their elders. After the kids got to know each other better, we can see that they really are no different from each other and they all get along now. The grown ups on the other hand are still stubborn and holding onto past conflicts and grudges against an entire race of people. While this episode was rather relaxing to see the kids work together to show that Akari was welcome to Miuna’s family, I can’t help but feel that the elders from the sea will cause trouble for them in the near future.

Fall 2013 – Week 7 Thoughts and Impressions

We’re now into week 7 of the Fall 2013 season! The end is approaching for many shows but at the same time we a lot of two-cour shows as well that will carry on into the winter season. I’ll do a series of post within the next few days to share my mid-season impressions on all the shows that I’m currently watching since I don’t really have enough to write about them on a weekly basis. Anyways, this week I’ll be sharing my thoughts on Monogatari Series: Second Season episode 20, Samurai Flamenco episode 6, Kill la Kill episode 7, and White Album episode 7.

Monogatari Series: Second Season – Okay while this show technically is a summer 2013 series, it was two-cour and continued into the fall season. With that said, I didn’t really discuss about it in the past because I didn’t feel emotionally involved or anything based on the first few arcs (weren’t my favourite characters). However, this past episode just blew me away completely. Hachikuji’s interactions with Araragi were always my favourite part of the show, just the way they go back and forth with witty comments, or their affection for each other. I was expecting this to be a more Shinobu focused arc since her name was in the title so I was not expecting this outcome until mid way through the episode. Hachikuji and Araragi’s final conversation was very heart felt and showed how much they meant to each other. You could hear Hachikuji’s voice breaking more and more as Araragi’s voice showed more desperation as the conversation progressed.

You can watch Monogatari Series: Second Season on Daisuki (May not be available in all regions)

Fall 2013 – Week 5 Thoughts and Impressions

We’re now approaching the halfway mark for a lot of series for this season. This week also managed to revitalized my interest in several shows.

Valvrave S2 – This was a pretty crazy episode after last week’s revelation of Marie’s connection with the Valvraves. You can’t help but feel bad for her, having lived so long but having no recollection of her past because of the tests. She finally has a place where she belongs with friends now only to lose everything once again. I was really impressed by the direction in this episode, bringing back one of the endings from last season and playing it to a montage of Marie destroying her own memories. This scene was one of the most powerful ones I’ve seen and reminded me that while Valvrave is pretty ridiculous, they can execute some emotional and powerful moments. I also can’t help but feel that they left something behind… (poor Saki and Akira)

Fall 2013 Anime Season – Recommendations

So now that we’re about a quarter of the way into the anime season, I thought I’d just share my opinion on series that I highly recommend to watch. If you’ve been following my posts in the past, then you should have a general idea of which series I found to be on top for the season.

Unbreakable Machine-Doll – I feel that Unbreakable Machine Doll is one of those series that combines many different aspects or types of anime into one series but manages to execute it very well. There are comedic moments, drama, battles, action, romance, and even some dark elements to it as well. It seems that battling with familiars is a common theme with the Fall 2013 season but I just feel that Unbreakable Machine-Doll offers the most captivating premise compared to the others supported by well designed characters (a MC who isn’t clueless and can take action)

Fall 2013 – Week 3 Thoughts and Impressions

With week 3 of the Fall season now pretty much coming to a close, I have to say that most series are starting to shape up and take form of what we can continue to expect from them. I’m finding myself enjoying series that I previously had written off and becoming more engaged in their worlds.

Samurai Flamenco – While this is only on its second episode, I can already tell it will probably be one of my favourites. Masayoshi’s character is just really likeable to me with how optimistic and innocent he is. It’s also a nice contrast from Hidenori’s more pessimistic and realistic attitude. I really enjoyed how Masayoshi was trying to prevent miniscule crimes that seemed to be just unnecessary (throwing garbage out in the morning, don’t steal umbrellas) but they ended up causing real problems for some people (himself). While the series is still starting off, I really enjoy the focus on small crimes or rule breaking as it gives the whole series a more light hearted feeling. However, I think it’ll probably escalate further and dealing with more serious and big crimes (gangs, drugs, etc.). In the end though, I just hope they keep it to somewhat realistic situations (no super powers or crazy technology) since I got the “ordinary” feel from the series based on the initial description, “This is a story of love and justice presented by the creators who failed to be adults for those “grown-ups” who don’t want to be adults either…..”.