Summer 2013: Quick Halfway Thoughts

I'm heading back to school really soon, which means my life's about to get busier. However, I will not abandon my blog like I did for so long during this past school year. While I won't blog with the same frequency I did earlier this summer, you can at least expect my weekly "Rewind" posts.

I'm not sure how much anime I'll be able to watch. I'll have to see if I have enough anime time to warrant keeping a Crunchyroll membership. I've enjoyed keeping up with this season using a free trial. At the very least, I want to finish up this summer's anime before I go back to being a week behind on everything.

What's got me following this season so closely?

First of all, Naruto Shippuden. But if you've been following this blog at all, you already knew that.

Attack on Titan. Well, duh. This anime is super popular right now, and for good reason. The animation is beautiful. The story is captivating. The action and violence evoke both excitement and shock. The suspense has me teetering at the edge of my seat. If this quality keeps up, Attack on Titan will make my list of all time favorites.

Hunter x Hunter. The ninety-third episode just aired. So far, only three of those episodes have been of the flashback/filler variety. It has everything I love about stereotypical shounen anime, and very little that I don't. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: if you're a fan of shounen anime, and for some pathetic reason you haven't tried Hunter x Hunter, then stop what you're doing and go to Crunchyroll. Now. 

Servant x Service. When I heard that this gem was thought up by the same person as Working!!, I knew I needed to try it out. I was not disappointed. The animation, the humor, and even the music has the same fun flavor to it as Working!! does. Yet it has enough differences to keep me entertained.

Watamote. It's painful, but I watch it regularly anyway.

Shiori in episode 2 of KamiNomi.

KamiNomi. Keima and the girls are in serious trouble... but this is still a lighthearted, fun anime. Great to watch right after Watamote. In recent episodes, I've particularly enjoyed Shiori, the library girl.

Space Brothers. I've gotten a couple weeks behind on this one again, but I still really like it. It's just one of those shows that's more fun when I marathon several episodes at a time.

There other anime that I'm following (or sort of following) this season, but they don't get me quite as excited:

Brothers Conflict. Why? Because I'm going to finish what I started. Yeah, that really is the only reason I'm still watching this reverse harem.

Silver Spoon. I love watching city folk when they're outside their natural habitat. Whether they're worried about cougars in the empty lot in their neighborhood or, in this case, freaking out about where chicken eggs come from, they are quite entertaining. I'm sure they'd have found me just as entertaining during my first trip to New York City or LA, so I don't feel bad chuckling at their antics. Despite that, I haven't gotten excited enough to keep up with this one each week. It was good, but... I guess I just wasn't in the mood last time I started an episode.

Monokuma, one of the strangest
antagonists I've ever seen.

Danganronpa. This is quite entertaining. Its wackiness, from the pink blood to the entire premise, makes me smile despite all the homicides. Whenever these kids are investigating to see which classmate killed the latest victim, I think about the ending of the board game Clue: It was _____! In the locker room! With the candlestick! It's not the greatest show this season, but it's still fun to watch. I find it noteworthy that the evil "principal" in Danganronpa and the boss in Servant x Service are both stuffed animals.

Recorder to Randoseru Mi. When I first found out that Recorder and Randsell got another season, I thought, "Seriously? How?" I got the answer quickly enough: Even folk like me who don't always enjoy the humor are willing to waste three minutes on it each week.

My summer vacation is coming to an end, but we're still only halfway through the anime season. I look forward to seeing what these shows have to offer over the next couple weeks! 

KamiNomi Returns

This shot of Keima in ep 1 sums up how I felt upon hearing
the music.

I loved The World God Only Knows, aka Kami nomi zo Shiru Sekai, when I first saw it a few years ago. In fact, this amusing anime inspired me to Google free, clean, girl-oriented dating sims (aka otome games). The game Re: Alistair++ brought me great joy as I tried to get all the endings. If I wasn't so reluctant to expand my entertainment budget (read: slightly tightwad-ish), I'd support the wonderful, kind, generous creators at SakeVisual by buying their for-profit games.

Anyway, the second season of KamiNomi was just as enjoyable as the first, as far as I remember.

When I found out that another installment would air this season, I was tentatively excited. Why "tentatively"? I'm afraid that certain American movies have beaten me down, teaching me not to expect too much from sequels. The disappointment started early on, with Disney's Cinderella 2, and has returned several times. Yet I rarely have this problem with anime series. It's unfortunate that bad experiences in other media would follow me to anime.

The World God Only Knows: Goddesses arc (Kami nomi zo Shiru Sekai: Megami-hen... oh, for heaven's sake! Let's call it KamiNomi 3) starts out wonderfully. The use of the first OP music releases happy chemicals before I can form the words "I like this." Oh, sure, much of the first episode is annoying. It makes me feel like I missed a whole season of anime, or forgot half of what I'd already watched. In truth, I just missed the OVAs and the manga. This comment on Crunchyroll helped me and many others feel better:

Nuclear42, you probably won't ever read this blog, but I thank you for being among the Crunchyroll users who think about their fellow fans. Thanks to the rest of you who take the time to clear things up, too.

Anyway, the makers could do anything short of completely butchering the episode, and I'd still forgive them. Happy feelings linger from their use of the old OP (which, conveniently, is titled "God Only Knows"). The second half of the episode had less flashbacks, leaving room for interesting scenes. We learn more about the mythology behind the show, which loosely employs some elements from various religious traditions about heaven, hell, demons, and goddesses.

We get to see old pals again, including Kanon-chan, who seems to be living a more balanced, happy life thanks to her time with Keima in the first season... of course, life would probably be even better balanced without Apollo taking up residence in her. But I think Kanon would take a slightly air headed goddess for a bodymate over a loose soul any day. I sure would. Besides, she finally has an excuse to get Keima-san's attention again.

If all that sounded ridiculous, go here to read the Anime-Planet description of the first season, and here to watch all three seasons on Crunchyroll. Things will clear up pretty quickly. If you're a fan of anime about otaku, harem anime, dating sims/VNs, comedy, and/or fantasy, then trust me, this show is worth a try. Even if you hate one of the those categories I listed (like harem), you might like this one.

KamiNomi: Megami-hen looks like it may have a little bit more action than previous seasons. I'm not expecting epic battles or anything, but this could be exciting!

I thought I'd wait to post this until I watched all the episodes released so far, but it looks like I had plenty to say just after the first episode. I might post more on this show... or I might not. But, barring an unforeseeable disaster, I will be posting another "Rewind" post on Thursday. Stay tuned!