Spring 2009 Anime – First Impressions

As you’re all aware of, the spring 2009 anime season is now officially underway. Zen and I watched the first few episodes for each series to decide on which series we wished to follow. There is now a list of series this season on the sidebar for your convenience. They are color-coded for your authors: blue for me, green for Zen. I do not plan to write episode summaries, but we’ll give our dull extremely biased first impressions. The illustration of K-ON’s Yui is by 一休. Some screen captures are courtesy of Random Curiosity.

Cross Game

The art gives me a retro feel, even though I don’t care much for it. The plot progresses nicely and I wonder where it will go from here on. I’m assuming that this will take a turn towards baseball now.

I suppose this is where I make it clear that I have a strong aversion to sports anime in general. So to be honest I did not even bother.

Full Metal Alchemist 2: Brotherhood

I didn’t watch the first series, but the first two episodes were pretty good at keeping me watching and also showing the past of the Elric brothers. The battle scenes were decent. I laughed at the Engrish during the eyecatch. Armstrong is SO awesome. I can see why people like this series so much.

Never really been a fan of FMA series. I always found it a bit well childish I suppose. The focus on really young kids being emo never really sat well with me.

Konnichiwa Anne

This one’s too kiddy for me.

Complete and utter agreement.

Hanasakeru Seishounen

There’s a definite shoujo feel about this series and I really hate the eyes. The plot seems forced and hard to believe. I really hope that the characters at the beginning weren’t introduced only to be never seen again. On the plus side, I like Li Ren. But that alone will not make me watch this.

Shoujo? No thanks.

Guin Saga

Guin Saga is epic. Epicly bad because it seems so forced. It did make me laugh since it was so bad. “Oh no! The coordinates have gone haywire!” Leopard man just wants some booty. Also, that’s her brother!?

Who wouldn’t love a show about the bastard child of He-Man and Cheetara? Not to mention effeminate males in short skirts. Good animation, boring characters, extremely forced cliche plot. Pass.

Shangri-la

The plot based on environmental issues appeals to me, but it was a bit too technical at times. I had a hard time believing the overreaction by the military. That being said, the characters are interesting and I look forward to seeing more of this. I also want Kuniko’s boomerang.

I find it funny that I disliked this series for the same reasons Micchi liked it. New age captain planet which makes just as much sense. So many things about this series made me want to rip out my hair with how silly it was. In addition to that, I find myself almost insulted by their thinly veiled environmental messages.

Tayutama -Kiss on my Deity-

One of my favorites from this season. Based on an eroge from Lump of Sugar (of Nursery Rhyme fame), it’s a standard love/comedy genre with a good plot. However, it is REALLY cute. The tayutai are so cute and appear out of nowhere. Chibi Mashiro is so cute. And there needs to be more of Yumina!!! I feel the art could be a bit better and I don’t like the sideway pan shots that make me turn my head 90 degrees. I like the ED.

I actually liked Tayutama. Comedy is good, as long as something is funny and interesting I do not mind the cute or romance issues. The characters feel a little bland but still seems like an enjoyable and somewhat lighthearted anime that is worth the time.

Tayutama ED (Veoh)

Natsu no Arashi!

At first I was wary about this series since I don’t like the animation. The eyes are way too close. However, I was pleasantly surprised that the first two episodes were quite entertaining with lots of comedy. Episode 2 also makes me want to learn more about Arashi’s past. While none of the characters really stand out to me, this shouldn’t be a bad series to watch.

Natsu is a fun anime. I appreciate the quality of the writing involved in a rather complex scenario. For me the story and the writing are the two aspects of this series that compel me to watch it most.

Tears to Tiara

Similar feel to Utawarerumono, which isn’t a surprise since they’re both RPG eroge made by Leaf. The first episode was mainly an introduction of characters and the plot. I’ll continue with this for now, but hope it doesn’t turn episodic.

Tears is rather difficult to gauge well on the first episode alone, as it is mostly character introductions. The plot seems interesting enough to keep up with however so I will probably be watching this series as well.

Saki

Woohoo! A mahjong anime! Since I like mahjong a lot, it’s natural that I’d like Saki too, since it’s combined with moe charas. This is probably tied with Tayutama as my fav this season. I like all the characters and want to find out more about Saki’s past. I also did some reading up on the Japanese rules and finally understand them (I think). I like the ED a lot.

I would be more interested in saki if I understood mahjong… Not having a clue about the game does dull the ability to enjoy a show about it.

07-Ghost

Nothing much was told in the first episode, but it was intriguing enough for me to continue watching it. Zen says the manga got boring later on, but we’ll see if the anime does any better.

I am probably going to wait for 3-4 episodes to be out before I start watching 07. The manga bogged down pretty fast though I have not kept up with it recently. I will give it a chance after enough episodes are out that I can speed through the boring moments.

Souten Kouro

I don’t like the art style nor the use of CG in the beginning. Not really a hardcore Romance of the Three Kingdoms fan, so I’ll pass on this.

After koihime I avoid anything Three Kingdoms related. It just feels so wrong to see the characters gender swapped around.

What? You didn’t like Chousen?

Ristorante Paradiso

A slow-paced slice of life anime with good music. Shoujo-style animation and a bit too many middle-aged men. It was a bit boring.

Boring. Shoujo plot. Mostly about some young girl trying to seduce older men. PASS.

Sengoku BASARA

If you like Sengoku anime, this one’s for you. It’s based off a game and goes overboard with the fighting scenes… which means they’re pretty good even if they’re tacky. The animation quality dropped a bit in the second ep. It’s entertaining if you’re looking for a series where half the time is spent fighting or you just want your daily dose of GAR.

DBZ with swords. Frankly I am extremely disappointed. I had hoped this would be similar in style to the Kenshin OVAs or  Samurai deeper kyo (Manga). But no, they went way too far. This could have been a really good one if they made it less silly. In the end I deem this series to be utter garbage.

Queen’s Blade

No.

Seconded.

Asura Cryin’

This totally wasn’t what I was expecting. I thought it was going to be light-hearted romance with some twists, but instead I got a lot of fantasy, action, mecha and well, a lot of other stuff. It made me very very confused (most notably, what’s with the Asura Machina), but also interested in where they go from here on. I’ll be checking out more episodes. What’s with Tomo’s hair?

One of those rare series that both Micchi and I have an interest in. So far it appears to have a good enough blend of comedy, story, and action. I like the characters as well, Kanade especially. The plot is intriguing and moves at a good pace. What IS with his hair hook?

Basquash!

While the art is distinct, it’s not really something I like. I could also do without all the boob shots. I generally don’t like mecha anime.

Silly, Pass.

Pandora Hearts

There’s a definite dark-themed Alice in Wonderland feel to this series. Scary dolls are scary. I feel the second ep was better than the first, but I can’t watch scary stories ><

I had read a bit of the manga awhile ago and now that there is an anime I will definitely be watching it.  I Like this series so far though the plot moves a bit slow.

K-ON!

The extremely hyped series of this season since it’s KyoAni. While I’m not sure if it deserves the hype, I did enjoy it. It’s based on a 4koma, so it’s a bit slow similar to Lucky Star. I personally feel the art was a bit sloppy at times. Yui is so moe. She is also scatterbrained and easily baited by sweets. All the characters are loveable and I can see why people like Mio so much (I do too, but just not as much as Yui). The light humor and moe chars are reason enough for me to continue following this series.

K-On has a sense of humor that vaguely reminds me of Azumanga Daioh. While not exactly the same it just has a similar flavor to the style of their humor. To be honest I found it fairly funny so I may end up sticking with this series for the humor. A good comedy is always worth watching in my book.

Phantom

Zen liked the original Nitro+ game, but the adaptation just comes off as tacky. While the plot does seem promising, I can’t help but laugh at the sudden collapsing, explosions and that kind of stuff. It kind of reminds me of Noir.

Phantom.. Wow disappointing. The major appeal of the original game appears to be completely disregarded for the anime adaption. As Micchi pointed out, it manages at best to come off as “Tacky”. I will stick with this series for a few episodes clinging onto a slim ray of hope that it will go back to the Bourne series feel of the game.

Eden of the East

I’m confused by the first episode following a naked guy with amnesia. I was surprised at how well the English was, as well as the interpretation of America. Many people seem to be following this series, so I’ll probably hear from them about any story developments.

Naked guys with guns running around DC borrowing clothes is a win in my book. Really though I am interested in how this plays out and what the story will be. Debating reading the novel.

Hayate no Gotoku!!

Second season for Hayate. First ep was spent introducing the whole cast since there’s so many of them. I didn’t watch the first season, but this series is one of those that you can pick up at any time and still enjoy it. And… there’s a Hina ED!!!

Cannot possibly go wrong with Hayate. I probably will not actively keep up with Hayate, though I do like the series. I keep up to date on the manga and I find it to be a good funny series well worth the time.

Arad Senki

The childish animation reminds me of Maple Story. The plot seems standard RPG style and nothing out of the ordinary. Roxy reminds me of Ryoko from Tenchi Muyo!. The 8bit ED was interesting though. “I FLY!”

A bit childish and cliche but not utterly terrible. I might randomly watch it when I am bored and have nothing else to do. But not something I will actively follow.

Gokujou!! Mecha Mote Iinchou

This one’s a bit too shoujo.

I made it about ten seconds into the opening of this series. The shoujoness repelled me instantly.

Shin Mazinger Z

Remake of an old series of the same name. Not interested in mecha.

While I do not really mind mecha, this series is not my style at all so not interested.

Senjou no Valkyria

The early 20th century Europe feel is very much evident in this series. I’m interested in how the legend will come into play. While I don’t care much for the tanks, I’ll keep watching this series to see what will happen now that they’ve joined the military.

Drama. Like we don’t have enough silly war dramas without throwing front lines romance into the mix. Seems to be a series filled with unecessary drama in an attempt to evoke an emotional response.

Shinkyoku Soukai Polyphonica Crimson S

I didn’t watch the other series and it seems like a standard mahou shoujo anime.

Mahou Shoujo is one of the things I avoid like the plague.

Hatsukoi Limited.

One of the surprises this season for me. I had expected this to be a boring drama, but it had plenty of comedy in the first ep. The animation is clean and I really like the voices. I’ll be following this one. Ayumi is cute ><b

Not my style but I can see why people would like it. The comedy was not bad although the girlish romance style of it was offputting for me.