Well, since I’ve been delaying this post since June, and now that were more than half way through august, this may as well be a summer anime review, instead of the “previewish” type of post I do when only a few episodes of the anime are out, given that most anime series are at least into their 6th episodes.
On the other hand, I really haven’t been having the amount of time to watch anime as I have been before, mostly because of getting back into WoW, the acquisition of a PS3 (mostly playing Soul Calibur IV) and other stuff. Accordingly, the amount of series I can cover in a season has been reduced drastically, but also because many spring-season anime are still running. But on with the list.
Sekirei – Based on the manga. Think pokemon except the monsters are all humans. Basically it’s a battle royale of people who acquire ’sekirei’, and our male protagonist is a loser who just failed his application for university for the 2nd year and suddenly meets his first sekirei. Proceed to meeting and collecting more sekirei. In the end it’s another harem type anime with a little (very little) bit of combat. Combat will always involve clothes being ripped apart. Our protagonist’s sekirei are all female. Well, you get the idea. Art is very so-so. I suggest reading the manga if you’re interested in this series. (6.5/10)
Strike Witches – Brought to you by the soon-to-be-bankrupt Gonzo. Who in their final attempt to get out of the bankruptcy cycle, has brought to you the finest fanservice anime series EVER. It’s totally up there with Kanokon from last season. If you have a fetish for pantsu (female underpants), this anime is for you. It’s basically the same idea as sky-girls. Except for the fact that any type of clothing worn by females (and btw there is an apparent lack of male characters) is normal top clothing along with nothing but pantsu or skuru-mizugi (school swimwear) for their legs. Yes. No pants, no skirts no nothing. All your pantsu fetish satisfied in 20 minutes each week. On the bright side, Gonzo has given us high-quality animation, and I found the story much more acceptable compared to sky-girls. Besides having to face-palm every five minutes because of the excessive fanservice, I would say that this is actually worth watching. (8/10)
Zero no Tsukaima (3rd Season) – From the light novel series, 3rd season of anime. Skips all the crap about Saito going missing after battling the 80k army, goes straight back to school and we’re then introduced to Tiffania (the busty half-elf). Lots of tsundere action from Louise, and lots of busty fanservice from Siesta and Tifa. Story moves slow as hell as always. Lets hope the action picks up. (7.5/10)
Koihime Musou – Based on the ero-game. Basically takes all the characters from Romance of the Three Kingdoms, makes them all female, then puts them in a medieval China setting. Proceed to a normal story about a few people adventuring to kill bandits that are starting to become a huge problem for the country. For an anime series with little to no male cast (there is no male protagonist), there is actually not a lot of fanservice, but this totally has become a yuri (girl x girl) series. It’s OK, but the story is pretty bland (if there is any plot at all), it’s pretty light hearted and comedic, so it should be bearable to watch. (6/10)
Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu – Based on the light novel series. Normal guy meets his classmate who is super-popular, cream-of-the-crop, super-beautiful, and the daughter of the owner of a mega-corporation. He finds out of her secret: she’s a mega otaku. Events happen and they become boy-girl friends (though they don’t admit it). Aside from the fact that Haruka (the girl) is near-perfect (she may as well be the perfect mate for every friggin otaku out there) to the point where it’s a bit unrealistic and disturbing, this anime series is well done. It’s pretty funny, lighthearted, and the love relationship should be entertaining (on the other hand it’s sorta a harem anime…) . It’s actually pretty interesting just to watch an otaku-themed anime from a completely different angle (compared to, lets say, kenshiken). (8/10)
Tetsuwan Birdy Decode (aka Birdy the Mighty) – Based on the manga. There’s apparently an OVA series out there, but this is a new adaptation of the manga and starts fresh. Starts off with Birdy, the female lead, who is a galaxy law-enforcement agent (she’s an alien) killing the male lead, Senkawa, by accident, and to compensate decides to let his spirit reside within her while the agency’s headquarters tries to rebuild his body so they can effectively resurrect him. Story continues with their interaction and the sharing of the body (“she” can switch between the two forms – herself and Senkawa), as they continue the life of Senkawa as if he is still alive, whilst at the same time still performing Birdy’s duties and investigations on earth. Animation quality is pretty mediocre but I thought this series came out actually pretty well. For one Birdy is not another one of those bland female leads you see in modern day anime series (she’s has a pretty 80’s manga female personality) and it’s refreshing to watch. (8/10)
Mahou tsukai ni taisetsu na koto – Sora no natsu (aka Someday’s Dreamer) if you remember the anime series about Yume from few years ago, this is the TV anime series set in the same world but about another girl who is going through her magic training. Sad to say but, so far this installment hasn’t been living up to the high quality standards that the original series has set. The background is very photo-realistic while the characters are drawn with very minimal details, from the set-go it feels very very awkward. The story moves disgustingly slow and instead of focusing on the female lead (Sora) like the original series did we’re introduced to a few newbie magicians and the story tries to illustrates ‘their’ growth. I do hope they can turn this series into something thats really good because I really enjoyed the original series and it would suck to see this go downhill. On the bright side, music is good. (5/10)
World Destruction – Goes hand in hand with the RPG for the NDS by Sega. Basically a fantasy world where humans are being ruled by humanoid beasts, and a group of ‘heroes’ set out to ‘destroy’ this world where humans are suffering. It’s a pretty typical fantasy setting adventure series, and a pretty mediocre one at that. The only real twist that’s here is that instead of trying to save the world they’re trying to destroy it, and the talking kuma (bear) is super-cute. (6.5/10)
Best Anime of the Season: Strike Witches (but no, I don’t have pantsu-fetish)
Recommended: Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu, Tetsuwan Birdy, Zero no Tsukaima
