Spring 2016 Anime First Impressions

Well. I would say that it’s been a while since I’ve directly covered seasonal anime…but it really hasn’t. After making three videos about anime from 2015, which took up a lot of time and barely seemed to express my thoughts on any of the anime I was listing, I nearly vowed to never make content about seasonal anime again. Yet here I am, writing about Spring 2016’s season of anime. Why, you may ask? To put it simply, this season actually seems to be pretty fantastic. While I haven’t seen everything, many interesting shows have emerged, either as surprises or as expected, and everyone’s been talking about it. Why not hop on the bandwagon and share some of my thoughts, then? Let’s get started.

Space Patrol Luluco

Episodes Seen: 2

This show is probably the most adorable, zany, and charming show this season. While it is a short, and there isn’t a lot in terms of story and character to talk about so far, the world and scenarios are wacky and very entertaining. It reminds me of the more comedic scenes from Kare Kano or Kill la Kill, except that the over-the-top comedy is the entire anime. If those were your least favorite parts of those respective shows, you’re probably not going to like this one very much. However, if you’re in need of something that’s cute, funny, easily digestible, and feels very much like a Trigger-Gainax show, this is one to check out.

Rating: Will continue for now

My Hero Academia

Episodes Seen: 1

            THE HYPE IS REAL! YEEEEES!

            Okay, I won’t be like most of the people who are hyping it up for the sake of hyping it up. With that said, I was extremely satisfied with the first episode of My Hero Academia, and not just because it’s an extremely accurate adaptation of one of my favorite manga. Well, that is part of the reason, but more because BONES just captured what I love about this story: the genuine feeling of effort and care the creators have for it. It’s hard to describe what exactly gives me that feeling without spoiling everything, but this is probably the best popcorn material one can find in anime, as it has one of the best combinations of cheesy one-liners and genuine character emotions that I’ve seen.

The characters aren’t the most unique, but that’s not a problem when their personalities are well-developed, and they are. Each has their own reasons for acting the way they do, which is more than I can say for other shows that forget about character motivation entirely. The animation is great, and even though they probably won’t appeal to everyone, the character designs are unique and really make the show stand out among its peers. The story hasn’t gotten to the better parts yet – we are at only episode two after all – but the first episode was definitely a solid introduction. If you don’t like anime like this, My Hero Academia probably won’t change your mind, but as someone who does, this is a real treat.

Rating: Will watch until the end

Mayoiga (The Lost Village)

Episodes Seen: 2

            I haven’t watched any of the “actual” comedies of the season yet, but unless they’re truly hilarious, Mayogia automatically wins comedy of the year from me. The genuine level of terrible writing, awkward dialogue, strange and unrealistic characters, and out-of-place music is honestly baffling to me. Nothing about this show makes any sense, and it’s to the point where I’m wondering if it’s intentionally bad or completely ignorant of its blatant issues. It's open to both interpretations, since you can always make the argument that no one is stupid enough to mess up a piece of entertainment this badly, but just remember: Birdemic, The Room, and Mars of Destruction exist. Either way, I’m having an absolute blast watching this terrible/secretly brilliant show, and laughing all the way.  

Rating: Will continue for now

The Asterisk War: Season 2

Episodes Seen: 2

            Speaking of terrible shows, here’s the sequel to my least favorite show of 2015, The Asterisk War! Or…a mildly improved version of it? Before all of you immediately unsubscribe/unfollow/unfriend/block me for merely suggesting that I may somewhat like a show that I and everyone else previously deemed horrible, I would like to point out that I still don’t like this show very much. The characters are all hollow shells, the world doesn’t make any sense, the sound mixing and design sounds off, and it seems to follow every anime cliché in the book. In other words, this anime still represents all the aspects I hate about modern anime. However, this season of The Asterisk War actually isn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be – if anything, there are actually a few elements I like.

            For one, the directing and cinematography have taken a step up. The first season was extraordinarily boring to look at, but this season is trying out some new visual cues, like how you can actually tell what’s happening during the fight scenes! Speaking of, the animation has improved from the first season as well. The color pallet is still awful, but the movement of the characters is less clunky, and some scenes have some great lighting. Finally, and most importantly, the story actually decided to focus on its only remotely interesting aspect: Ayato’s missing sister. I particularly like the scene where Ayato learns that his all-powerful sister lost to someone. His genuine looks of shock and dismay display something this show has sorely missed: tension.

            Overall, while I still don’t like this show, I’d be remiss to completely bash it, because it’s finally starting to develop some interesting elements. It doesn’t stop the characters from being any less terrible or generic, but it’s a step forward. Besides, it’s still fun to make fun of the bad parts, which are still alive and kicking, and that’s what matters.

Rating: Will continue for now

Bungo Stray Dogs

Episodes Seen: 1 (watched twice)

            You know, I didn’t think I’d find something this season that I’d like more than My Hero Academia. That was the show I was most excited for, and it delivered all I could’ve wanted. And while there are other shows this season that look great, like Joker Game (which I’m saving to marathon), Sakamoto (again, marathon), and Jojo Part 4 (marathon), I still didn’t think anything would top it (well, maybe Jojo, but you get the idea).

            Then Bungo Stray Dogs decided to surprise the heck out of me.

            I’m going to say upfront that this show could go either way for me. It could be another amazing experience like Kekkai Sensen (a show that’s very similar to this one), or it could fall off an amazingly steep cliff because it forgets to have a point/keep up the intrigue. I’d also like to point out how there may be some complaints about accuracy– most of the characters are based off of Japanese literary figures, and I’ve heard that Bungo does not portray them accurately – but it personally didn’t bother me that much. Despite all that, as of right now, Bungo Stray Dogs is my favorite anime this season, and its first episode was the most enjoyable episode of anime I’ve seen in a very, very long time.

To give you an idea, it made me laugh harder than Mayoiga, the characters are all interesting and solidly characterized, and the story leaves a lot open for the animators and writers to explore different supernatural ideas through words and visuals (which is something I’m always up for). On top of that, the opening and ending songs are amazing, the animation is fantastic, the music is perfect (thank you based Taku Iwasaki), and the voice acting was top-notch. I can’t say that it’s very deep or thought provoking (yet), but this is a show that could prove itself later down the line with its combination of strange humor, potential for creativity, and solid foundation.

Rating: Will watch until the end

Well, that’s all from me. Are there any spring shows that I am sorely missing out on? What’s your favorite spring show so far? Leave you reply in the comments and I’ll see you guys next time!

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QuickThoughts: Stop Overhyping Anime!

Video Version:

Well, ERASED, or Boku Dake ga Inai Machi, or whatever the heck you want to call it, has just ended and I bet I’m going to get some requests to review it. I hate beating a dead horse, so if you know the words "overrated", "overhated", and "overhyped,” you've got the right idea. Of course, there’s more to that, but I’m not going to deal with that now. Instead, while this post certainly concerns the show, it's more a general message towards the community surrounding it, specifically all the people who hyped ERASED to the extreme.

I don't think hype is necessarily a bad thing, but recently, it's just gotten out of hand. I mean, rating One Punch Man as the greatest show on IMDB, which is above Breaking Bad, Rick and Morty, and Game of Thrones, before it's even finished? Its rating did fall after a couple weeks, granted, but still, don't you think that's presumptuous and rash?

The same exact thing happened with ERASED, where there was so much praise for it that it got into the top 5 anime on many sites by the 4TH EPISODE. This is almost as bad as completely dismissing an anime as an abomination after only 4 episodes (I mean, I shouldn't really be talking considering that I've dropped nearly 50 anime, but you get what I'm saying). Don't people realize that this type of omnipresent and overwhelming hype influences other people enormously? Yeah, you've got the people who can see through the hype and are able to not let it bother them, but most can't. You have to draw the line somewhere.

This especially pertains to currently airing anime, where everyone is basing their opinions off of smaller portions of anime, and speculating from there. Everyone should allowed to speculate, but it's just that: speculation. It implies uncertainty about the future, and letting yourself truly believe that a show will be good in the future isn't healthy. Eventually, it burns you out when you inevitably become disappointed. It's like expecting that you'll get into a really good college without preparing properly, but having way too much confidence that you'll get in. When you receive that rejection letter, it hurts. Badly.

However, being cynical without a speck of optimism is even worse, because then you just come off as a pretentious wannabe. The endless criticism of anime that get majorly popular is starting to tire me out. Popular doesn't always mean good, nor does it automatically mean bad. So, why do negative connotations always seem to follow the popular shows? Oh yeah, it's because clickbait, wanting to give off the impression that you’re smart and a hipster, and VIEWS. I’m no saint when it comes to this, since my first video was essentially clickbait, but I’ve (hopefully) improved since then. When you use triggering titles, like “The Force Awakens Stinks and Here’s Why” or “ERASED Was Never That Good,” it just seems shameless. At least let me be surprised by your content, or not allow me to preemptively judge it before I even click on it.

Criticism isn't and shouldn’t be about being completely negative, nor is it about being completely positive. I'm not saying that you should always take a neutral standpoint when reviewing or talking about a show (because that would be boring), but there needs to be balance. If anything, I have more respect for people who genuinely know what makes a piece of entertainment work. From this knowledge, henceforth, they also have an idea of what makes entertainment fail. I’ve heard many people talk about problems an anime may contain, but the real meat of criticism is describing what makes a show resonate with you, either positively or negatively. If you're able to show that you aren't too biased towards one side, and acknowledge that other perspectives exist, then you're on the right track, because you will become more approachable and not get as many insane comments.

There's a reason why you watch the shows you watch, whether it be for genuine enjoyment, intellectual curiosity, or to see how badly a show can screw up. There HAS to be some sort of positive feedback on your part, whether it be ironic or unironic, unless you truly believe that show to be completely unsalvageable and can prove it. Do not use buzzwords that make you sound pretentious, but actually prove your points by backing up your ideas up with examples and explaining your thoughts, instead of just stating them. The best way to get people to understand you is to show them your thought process, and then they can (hypothetically) reasonably respond.

I guess my point is, stop overhyping anime before they're complete, whether it be positively or negatively. Having such a black and white perspective of art defeats the entire point of art: its ability to be interpreted. So, the next time an airing anime comes around and interests you, feel whatever you want to feel about it, but always keep the opposite view in mind as a possibility. After all, you never know when an anime could surprise you.

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Movie Review: Creed

With all the reboots, sequels, prequels, spin-offs and rip-offs Hollywood seems to be pumping out each year, it can be very easy to become jaded with film and wish for some new, original ideas. Hollywood’s main objective seems to be capitalizing on nostalgia, as most of the hit films over the past few years have been revitalizations of old franchises. Just this year alone, we have received a new Terminatormovie, a new Star Wars movie, a new Jurassic Park movie, a new Fantastic Four reboot, the sequel to The Avengers, a new Rocky movie, and Pixels, a film that attempts to incorporate games from the 1980s into a working narrative. The audience reception has been relatively hit-and-miss; some love the new films, others hate them for “ruining” their childhoods. On the contrary, there is one sequel that most seemed to receive warmly: Creed, the new entry into the Rocky franchise.

Rocky Balboa (famously portrayed by Sylvester Stallone, from the original movie

Creed follows Adonis Creed, the illegitimate son of Rocky Balboa’s most famous rival, Apollo Creed, on his journey to become a boxer. There is a catch: Adonis wishes to rise to the challenge without using his father’s legacy. He takes on a fake name, goes to Philadelphia to train and lives modestly, and seeks out Rocky to be his trainer. He also meets a woman named Bianca, a beautiful singer who is unfortunately going deaf, and they form a romantic relationship. All in all, this sounds very similar to the original Rocky, but it is through its main themes that Creed simultaneously separates itself from and lives up to its own prestigious name, much like Adonis himself.

Adonis Creed, played by newcomer Michael B. Jordan

The main idea of Creedis how legacy shapes and affects people, from the audience’s expectations to how a person feels under the ridiculous pressure to live up to their name. In fact, the film’s existence and Adonis’ character parallel each other perfectly, which makes sense. If the film were not under the Rocky franchise, people would have different expectations for it, much like how people’s expectations for Adonis do a volte-face once the public learns of his father, which is the opposite of what Adonis wishes for. He wants to create his own name for himself instead of simply using his father’s legacy to achieve his goals, just like the film Creedwants to establish itself as a good stand-alone film without solely relying on being part of the Rocky franchise.

The film’s main message actually turns out to be a compromise between the two: If you have a legacy, take advantage of it and be proud of it, but also establish yourself as a separate entity. This is what Adonis realizes at the end of the movie, as he eventually embraces his name but is able to prove his talent in boxing through his own efforts and passion. In a way, Creed is a film that most remakes or installations into franchises should look up to. Most of the creators of these films only use their legacy to rise to success, and do not try as hard to create fantastic movies. Creed, on the other hand, is an exercise in what every film in a franchise should be: a film that can stand on its own as a fantastic story, but is not afraid to express its pride to be part of the famous Rocky franchise.

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QuickThoughts: Beautiful Bones (And Why I Dropped It)

Before I begin, I’d like to say a few things about this review. Firstly, I have only seen eight episodes of this show. I do not recommend reviewing an anime after only watching some of it, especially if you value accuracy in your writing. I am breaking my own rule because of reasons that will be explained further into the review.

Secondly, this is the only time I will break that rule. I am usually against creating a final review without watching an entire show, as the anime can still surprise you with how good or terrible it ends up being. The main reason I’m talking about it here is because I had scheduled to review this show in advance, and I don’t have time to completely reformat my plan for this February Special to fit around not reviewing it.

Thirdly, I believe I have enough of another relevant reason to talk about this show even without watching it in full. It adds an element I was looking to discuss in Figure it Out February, before I decided to completely drop the project itself, anyway: what makes a good mystery, and what elements have to be put in place to keep my interest.

Now, with all that baggage out of the way, sit back, relax, and read on as I talk about the first eight episodes of Beautiful Bones: Sakurako’s Investigation.

The characters from left to right: Shoutarou, Yuriko, and Sakurako

The Premise:

Beautiful Bones follows Shoutarou, a boy in high school (big shock), and Sakurako, a woman who loves bones. The two basically spend their time solving mysteries that mostly involve bones. It’s a very simple but attractive premise, sold mainly by the promise of mystery. It could just be me, but whenever I see the genre tag, I immediately become interested in that story just to see where it takes me. Shows like ERASED and Hyouka are able to draw me in not just by their premises, but because they promise an element of the unknown, something that adds suspense, and seem to feature interesting characters that can carry the story along. Whether those shows succeeded or not doesn't matter; the idea is that there is a promise of something good. I didn’t expect anything fantastic out of Sakurako, but I did expect something along those lines: a show that makes me question what’s going on, become interested, and solve the puzzle with intelligent characters. Needless to say, Sakurako failed to keep my interest after eight episodes, but let’s start off by describing the good aspects first.

Sakurako, and a human skull. She and Shoutarou (not shown) solve mysteries.

The Good:

Sakurako looks beautiful, and I don’t mean just the character. The presentation of this anime went far beyond what it should be. If TROYCA, known only for their work on Aldnoah.Zero, wanted to prove they could produce a good-looking show without the help of A-1 Pictures, they get an A+ no contest. The backgrounds are gorgeous-looking, with immense detail and beautiful coloring that gives off a feeling of warmth and comfort. The movement is almost always immaculate, with fluid animation and characters that don’t just stand around doing nothing while another person is talking. The CGI also isn’t an eyesore, so kudos for that. The only aspect that disappoints me about the animation is the character designs. They’re serviceable, but they look like the typical anime characters you’d find from any random show, especially those made by A-1 Pictures.

This is only some of the beautiful animation this show has to offer

The music is also quite fitting. I can’t judge it fully, mainly because I can’t find it anywhere so I can listen to it on its own, but I remember it being nice enough. It built tension and created a calming atmosphere when needed. I liked the pianos when they were used. The opening was okay, though very well-animated, as to be expected of the rest of the show. The ending song barely caught my attention while I was watching the show, but listening to it on its own, it’s actually quite a nice song. I recommend listening to it. Voice acting is fine, nothing too outstanding but fits the show.

Opening:

Ending:

And, well, that’s really it. Onto the bad!

The Bad:

The main problem with Sakurako isn’t that it’s badly written. In fact, there is actually some good writing thrown in at some points. For example, the dialogue between Sakurako and Shoutaro feels natural, and you get the feeling the two knew each other for a very long time. Few anime are smart enough to easily establish a relationship like this, and it works in the anime’s favor. There are also some clever bits in the first episode that characterize Sakurako well, creating an interesting but still mysterious character. In fact, the anime is mostly serviceable. There’s nothing so wrong with it that it deserves to be condemned to the darkest depths of anime hell.

What’s wrong with this Beautiful Bones is that it’s only serviceable, and refuses to go anywhere with its interesting premise. It’s like coming across a person who’s naturally talented at basketball, but doesn’t play basketball because they’re lazy and decides to take the easy way out. You can respect his or her decision, but you also can’t help but feel like a lot of potential was lost. Sakurako has the makings of a solid mystery; its main detective character Sakurako is interesting and enjoyable to watch, the individual mysteries could have been interesting on their own, and again, the animation is great. However, in the end, all it does is meander into completely irrelevant and hollow side stories that don’t develop the important characters, establish any story beats, or are even all that interesting as stand-alone stories.

Sakurako and Shoutarou solving a mystery

Episodic anime are not automatically a bad thing in my eyes. If the setting and characters are good enough to utilize in various anecdotes, then I’m all for it. Take Kekkai Sensen, for instance: all the characters are fun, interesting, and well characterized. The side stories the show develops may not always be incredibly relevant story-wise, but they are character and setting-wise. For example, in episode 6 of Kekkai Sensen, it is established that racism against supernatural creatures exists. Leonardo Watch is also further characterized, as the episode shows how he can easily establish relationships with other loners, and truly cares about those he forms connections with. It’s not relevant to the main story, but it helps you understand the characters and the surrounding world.

Speaking of story, that’s the main aspect that separates Kekkai Sensen from Beautiful Bones: the former has an overarching theme and story that ties everything together in the final episode. This is what keeps it interesting on a more substantial level. As good as those individual episodes are, they can feel pointless in the long run without something tying it together. As stated earlier, Kekkai Sensen ties them together by developing either the characters or the setting, while weaving additional story elements together in the background. Beautiful Bones suffers from the exact opposite; all it does it meander, and nothing feels all that important.

Kekkai Sensen Episode 6, featuring Leonardo Watch and Nej

The show does have a bit of an overarching plot, or it was hinting at one at least, but aside from one episode I watched, nothing was developed. In other words, Beautiful Bones spends seven episodes out of eight dawdling around while barely acknowledging any kind of plot. The side stories it does present don’t develop the main characters or setting at all, making nearly all of them feel like a pointless waste of time. And, when something is a pointless waste of time, the result is an inordinately bored audience or people upset at negatively spending their time. On top of that, the anime decides to ignore what could’ve made these individual stories good by focusing on the wrong aspects within those stories.

For example, the show decided to give Shoutaro a quasi-girlfriend, named Yuriko. This wouldn’t be so bad, but the show kept on pushing that she is an important character because she’s literally involved somehow in the majority of the mysteries they solve. Some kid she looked after previously is in trouble. Her grandmother’s untimely death was discovered by Sakurako. Her grandfather’s paintings ending up in a victim’s house. She finds an envelope with someone’s wedding ring, and that mystery takes up an entire episode. I don’t know about any of you, but that is some contrived writing. Or, they live in a world of huge coincidences, but in an anime that tries to be realistic, I highly doubt that.

Now, having recurring characters, no matter how forced their recurrences are, isn’t a deal-breaker for me. If that character is interesting or contributes to the plot in any way, then I’m typically fine with it. Yuriko, on the other hand, is the definition of a generic and personality-less character. She doesn’t have any defining characteristics besides just being a “nice girl,” and crying for the camera every so often. It’s like she was written in because the show needed Shotaro to have a friend, not because she was integral to the non-existent plot. In simpler terms, she’s a useless plot device that creates filler so the show can continue to meander into stuff that has nothing to do with whatever story the show was trying to establish. Why is she focused on so much if Sakurako, an infinitely more interesting character, is basically left in the dust for the majority of the eight episodes I watched?

Yuriko

Sure, you could argue that Sakurako could get more focus in the episodes I didn’t watch, which is a valid complaint. I did read the plot synopses of the episodes I didn’t watch before writing this, though. I’m not about to make assumptions about a piece of media that I haven’t watched without at least learning what happens in the parts I haven’t seen. As it turns out, at least according to the episode descriptions, the only additional insight into Sakurako’s character is in the last episode, which depicts Sakurako and Shoutaro’s meeting. Again, not too bad, but it’s the last episode. Maybe it’s a fantastic episode that I’m stubbornly missing out on, but that still doesn’t change the fact that the show didn’t develop its main relationship further until the absolute last minute, and probably broke off whatever plot it was building up instead of actually going through with it.

I think what particularly puts the final nail in this anime’s coffin, though, is that there is no substance. I’m not talking about a show like Jojo, where even though it’s not deep it can still be enjoyed based on how over-the-top and insane it is. I’m more talking about a show that’s hollow, lacks personality, and feels like it was made in a factory. The creators seemed to only care about its presentation, but forgot to give the actual content a point. It’s like looking at a perfectly-done “color-by-numbers” drawing. Sure, it looks pretty and well-organized, but the creator didn’t think of coloring outside the boxes, or using colors other than the ones he or she was instructed to use. If they did, they’d have to use some more creative energy, which is not something that exists in Beautiful Bones.

Lately, I’ve been growing more and more sick of anime like The Asterisk War (easy target, I know) that lack any sort of human passion, and Beautiful Bones just further reinforces that disdain. It has its nicer moments, like the ending of episode 3, and anything that has to do with Hector the Dog is plain adorable. Despite that, I can’t say that anything exceptional was done to make it a good mystery, or even keep my interest beyond episode 8. What I did watch felt like a giant waste of my time, and as someone who really values her time, that’s the biggest insult an anime series can throw my way.

Conclusion:

In the end, Beautiful Bones is exactly like the bones it lovingly presents. It’s clean, polished, and looks beautifully crafted; but it is also cold, meatless, lifeless, and boring to look at after a couple minutes. I do not recommend watching this show, unless you want something extraordinarily but undeservingly pretty to look at.
Well, that's all from me. I'll see you guys later!

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