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Ryoji's Winter Season Review!


Ryoji

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Winter 2013 Season Review

Hey guys, with the winter 2013 season coming to a close I thought I would give a brief review of each of the shows that I have enjoyed. There are a couple shows that I didn't watch or dropped for various reasons and since this is my review, I am going to just leave them out.

I don't believe in giving spoiler filled reviews so this is just going just to be my opinions and thoughts on each show. If you don't want to be spoiled, have no fear, read on and enjoy.

These are not in any sort of order.

Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo:

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Plot Summary: Sorata is kicked out of his high-school dorms for keeping a cat, and moves into a small dorm called Sakurasou. It turns out that all the residents, in addition to being uncontrollable and weird, are outstanding in some way: a well-known animator, a scriptwriter, a programmer. A beautiful girl called Mashiro moves in who is an internationally known painter but is so devoted to art that she can't even dress herself, and Sorata is given the job of looking after her. Through her and the other residents, he learns who he is and what he wants to do.

Anyone who has known me for a while and read my posts in the Anime/Manga forum knows that I enjoyed this show immensely. The plot started out, to me, as your typical comedy/slice of life anime but as the series developed, the characters, story and awesomeness just grew and grew. By the end of the show, I was emotionally invested in these characters and cared about what happened to them. A story about finding a place to belong and doing anything to protect it. Amazing, Amazing, Amazing!!! The closing 5 episodes were among the very best Anime episodes, I can remember seeing, in the last couple years. And that's saying something!!

I have to say, Misaki Kamiigusa is THE best support character EVER. Every time you see her you smile. Her impact as a character to this story was massive and it wouldn't of been the same Anime without her. Perfection!!

Story 10/10

Art 10/10

Music 10/10

Overall Rating 10/10 An absolute must watch for any slice of life/comedy fan. Perfect Anime that Ill be buying subs or not.

GJ-bu:

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Plot Summary: GJ-bu, or GJ Club, revolves around five members of a vague high school club, where on any given day they may be playing Twister, taking naps, or reading manga. The show outlines the relationship between the protagonist, a boy named Kyōya, and some rather interesting girls, including a tiny tsundere president, her calm kind sister, a genius chess player, and a girl who is always eating meat and resembles a cat.

This was an odd and very cute show. Its plot was pretty much non-existent but I ended up enjoying it none the less. Fans of Moe will definitely enjoy it as well as fans of Slice of Life. The last episode was especially good and surprised me in a good way. A nice heart warming end to a light, cute and funny show. I recommend this to everyone who wants a light and cute show.

Story 6/10 (i liked the girls and there personalities)

art 7/10

Music 8/10

Overall Rating 7/10 Short, cute and enjoyable.

AKB0048 Next:

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Plot Summary: In the year since the 77th generation understudies joined AKB0048, the Deep Galactic Trade Organization [DGTO] and DES have stepped up their attacks on entertainment. In response, AKB0048 brings back the general elections and the center nova position. The understudies are now thrusted into a new competition directly against the successors. But as AKB0048 brings back policies not seen since Acchan's disappearance, a new more powerful enemy is quietly moving behind the scenes.he

OK this one is kinda difficult to review. As a fan of the first season I went into this with the expectations of more cute girls singing and living the idol life. What i got was TOTALLY different. This anime was more of a space drama with music in it anime then your typical idol/music filled fare. I was completely surprised with where they went with the amazing storylines and in the end really enjoyed it. The last episode was very satisfying in that all the unanswered questions from the first and second seasons. The songs were amazing and you gotta love the message that "Music can save the world"!! It's wonderful. This one is perfect for music/idol fans. PLEASE NOTE: Even though its not required to watch season one, I Highly recommend you do to get the full impact as you wont know exactly whats going on and the whole story!! I enjoyed it very much and im sure ill be buying the blu rays (because Kotomi will order me to.) Very good!!

Story 9/10

Art 9/10 (the performances were unique)

Music 10/10 (yeah im a sucker for AKB music)

Overall Rating 9.2/10 Great show that was VERY entertaining!

Kotoura-san:

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Plot Summary: Haruka, a girl who suffers during her childhood due to her ability to read people's mind, is starting her high-school life in a new school. When she transferred in, she feels that her life will be the same as ever, but then she meets Manabe, a guy who always think about erotic things, and a club consisting of people who don't afraid of her ability. With Manabe and her club-mates around, her gloomy life slowly start to bloom and enjoyable.

This show was not that interesting to me at first. But the comedy elements were well placed so the more serious drama seemed more balanced. Not much to say here without giving spoilers so ill just say that its a very enjoyable show with one of the better ED songs of the season. A short story about friendship and learning to be true to yourself.

Story 7.5/10 (though the last 4 episodes were very good)

Art 7/10

Music 9/10

Overall Rating 8 Worth a watch

Vividred Operation:

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Plot Summary: In Oshima the happy, carefree 14-year-old Akane Isshiki lived a poor but well-loved life together with her reliable little sister, Momo, who does all the housework, and her grandfather, Kenjirou, a genius inventor who only created useless devices. When the weather is clear, they can see the artificial island, Blue Island, across the sea. In the center of that island rises the revolutionary Manifestation Engine, a discovery that solved the world's energy problems, and leads to some major problems.

While this show started out kinda silly it ended up being a story about friendship. It was a tad over-dramatic at times but it ended very good and I would love to see more of this Anime. I hope they make a 2nd Season as the battle scenes were pretty cool and the characters are endearing. Very enjoyable.

Story 8.5/10

Art 9/10

Music 8/10

Overall 8.5/10 Very enjoyable Ill watch it again.

Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai NEXT (Haganai Next):

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Plot Summary: The adventures of the Neighbor's Club continue, with more understanding of their members, new friends, and of course, lots of laughs.

Ug where to start with this one. Several funny and cute moments that continued where the first season left off. The season started off great then felt rushed and the end was... yea. There better be a 3rd season as there is a lot left to the story. (I have read the Manga and Light Novels!) Very disappointed with the end of this season and it felt very unsatisfying and flat to me. Very disappointed.

Story 6/10 (was an 8 until the end)

Art 8/10

Music 8/10

Overall a 7 due to the craptacular ending.

Oreshura:

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Plot Summary: A young boy called Eita enters high school aiming for the National University School of Medicine. Because of his parents' divorce and his goal, he shuns anything to do with romance or love. One day Masuzu, the school beauty with the silver hair, who's just returned to the country, enters his life in a most unexpected way. Chiwa, his childhood friend since elementary school, will not let this go without a fight.

sigh, another show that had such a great premise, comedy and Moe, yet had a very disappointing end. The characters were cute and the music was OK. The story... this was pretty damn good in the beginning but it seems, as with Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai NEXT, this one also decided to go with a non-ending. Waste of my time unless they make a season 2. Which i kinda doubt as im sure this ending had to of pissed off some otaku. I am probably in the minority about the ending. I know some people were satisfied but i thought it would of been better. A lot better.\

Story 6/10

Art 7/10

Music 7/10

Overall 6.5/10. Only reason its not lower is because i liked the art and the music.

Love Live! School idol project:

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Plot Summary: Honoka Kōsaka loves her school. That's why it's bad news for her when she finds out it's being shut down due to lack of new students. In order to bring in more students, Honoka decides to start a "school idol group", which is certain to get the eyes of the public. To make this dream a reality, she gathers together her close friends and classmates to make the best idol unit possible.

This was an enjoyable Anime. Was it deep and thought provoking? Absolutely not. Its a cute show about 3 girls who set out to save their school. Music ensues and cuteness is on full display. The real star of this show is the Music. I also liked how, compared to AKB0048, the animations from their performances are much better. Basically a show about fighting for something and not giving up no matter the odds. Likable characters and awesome music make this a very enjoyable show to watch. Id recommend it if you like Idol Music and all that genre entails. Yet another series that Kotomi will make me buy. (not that ill mind all that much :) )

Story 7/10

Art 7/10

Music 10/10 I cant help it, I love it.

Overall 8/10 Great music makes this a must watch.

Da Capo III:

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Plot Summary: Hatsune-jima is an island formed from a dormant volcano and is known for its cherry trees that bloom out of season. Some people believe that one of the trees is capable of granting any wish. The newspaper club has been challenged by the unofficial newspaper club as to who can write the better story that investigates the supernatural. Kiyotaka and the five cute girls of the newspaper club take up the challenge, but the girls have more on their minds than just the story.

Im such a huge fan of the Da Capo series. Da Capo III is a good anime from the start. Because this is a spoiler free review I cant say much here other then fans of Sakura will not be disappointed. Decent mystery/romance elements throughout make it interesting. Driven by the wonderful art and music this makes an excellent continuation to the Da Capo franchise everyone loves. While its not my favorite of the Da Capo series its definitely worth a watch.

Story 8/10

Art 8.5/10

Music 8/10

Overall 8.5/10 Great continuation to the Da Capo series. And all of it's fans should watch it.

Robotic;Notes

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Plot Summary: In 2019, Kaito Yashio and Akiho Senomiya are the sole members of the Robotics Club at Central Tanegashima High School in Kyushu, Japan. Kaito is a laid back student and a skilled gamer who is just trying to help Akiho, his childhood friend. She is an energetic positive-thinking girl who yearns to complete the ongoing project of the club: building a functional replica of Gunvarrel, the main robot of a once popular TV series. As they gather new members and try to assemble the robot, Kaito starts stumbling upon secret reports that might reveal a conspiracy of large proportions. Unaware of what he is actually dealing with, Kaito little by little starts discovering clues laid by the mysterious Ko Kimijima.

This anime certainly showed a lot of promise. Having said that, there were gaping holes in the story but that does not mean that the plot is not enjoyable, or that the conclusion is not satisfying. I would recommend at least trying this anime. It sucks that they tried to squeeze it into 22 episodes instead of spreading the story out over the full 26 like some anime. 24 episodes and maybe a 2 OVA release later. This could have been really amazing. Dont get me wrong it was still good. I recommend it to fans of Sci-fi.

Story 8/10

Art 8/10

Music 8/10

Overall 8.10 Good

Psycho-Pass

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Plot Summary: The series takes place in the near future, when it is possible to instantaneously measure and quantify a person's state of mind and personality. This information is recorded and processed, and the term "Psycho-Pass" in the anime's title refers to a standard used to measure an individual's being. The story centers around the "enforcement officer" Shinya Kōgami, who is tasked with managing crime in such a world.

Absolutely amazing anime. Engaging, Exciting, Amazing. Thats all im going to say. GO WATCH THIS ANIME. For all of the light hearted, cute, fun shows this season, this one was dark, deep and twisted. Science fiction, action, detective genres are all there but its soo much more then that.

Story 9/10

Art 9/10

Music 9/10

Overall 9/10 Total opposite of every other anime this list. Just for that reason you should watch this. NOW.

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The rest will be just a short summary

Maoyuu Yuusha

Good premise. Hope they extend the story somehow because it has potential.

Senran Kagura

Just bad. Ecchi garbage the only reason i finished this series was because I wanted to see how the story ended. Even that was meh

Amnesia

Finished it because Kotomi wanted to know how it ended. It was forgettable.

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a good review, i like most of what was said. i disagree about sakurasou and kotoura though. i found half of sakurasou's characters completely unlikeable for most of the series, and the ending didn't really make up for it. would have given it an 8 at best. kotoura i thought was heartwarmingly cute, the music was great, and i loved the ending. would have given it at least an 8.5-9.

overall good post. Eldin Approved™.

oh, i also would have done a longer review for maouyu. i thought it was really good.

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a good review, i like most of what was said. i disagree about sakurasou and kotoura though. i found half of sakurasou's characters completely unlikeable for most of the series, and the ending didn't really make up for it. would have given it an 8 at best. kotoura i thought was heartwarmingly cute, the music was great, and i loved the ending. would have given it at least an 8.5-9.

overall good post. Eldin Approved™.

oh, i also would have done a longer review for maouyu. i thought it was really good.

I really liked Kotoura. 7.5 might be a bit low I had planned to rewatch the last 2 episodes again. The score might be adjusted.

I liked maouyu it just didnt get started enough for me. Seemed like it stalled out towards the end. Thats why I said i hoped for more.

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oh, and one more thing:

The story... this was pretty damn good in the beginning but it seems, as with Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai NEXT, this one also decided to go with a non-ending. Waste of my time unless they make a season 2.

i prefer they end like this and leave who the main character ends up with to the imagination. i am really tired of watching X episodes of "honest and endearing childhood friend does cute things, only to have her feelings shit all over at the end of the series."

as much as steve is a loli, i am a fan of childhood friend moe. stop breaking their hearts, japan, or i am going to start kicking kittens. :angry:

and the ending theme is the best song of the season imo. it makes me smile every time i listen to it, supoer cute and whatnot.

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I finished Sasami-san@Ganbaranai. What a freaking mess of a show. So much happens with no explanation at all and the characters are wasted completely. We get very little development from our main characters and a plot that is about as ugly as me trying to do the Riverdance. The show is pretty and the humor is fun. But that is about all it has going for it. Shaft would've done well to animate this as a 2 cour show instead of cramming it all into 12 episodes (the first two of which dont even advance the story).

All in all, 6/10

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I finished Sasami-san@Ganbaranai. What a freaking mess of a show. So much happens with no explanation at all and the characters are wasted completely. We get very little development from our main characters and a plot that is about as ugly as me trying to do the Riverdance. The show is pretty and the humor is fun. But that is about all it has going for it. Shaft would've done well to animate this as a 2 cour show instead of cramming it all into 12 episodes (the first two of which dont even advance the story).

All in all, 6/10

yeah i dropped it after 6-7 episodes. Just couldnt do it. And thats VERY rare for me

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I liked maouyu it just didnt get started enough for me. Seemed like it stalled out towards the end. Thats why I said i hoped for more.
i don't think they could have done it any differently without ruining the story though. this season was supposed to be more about fighting a war without fighting a war, if it skipped the details it wouldn't have been as good. most of it is just filler, but unlike a great many anime, this filler is a good thing. it adds more depth to a story that otherwise wouldn't have much of one at all. it's a fantasy story that takes place in a warring era, but there's less emphasis on the war and more on preparing for what will happen after the war is over.

i think the political and economical side of the anime is what makes it special, and would take filler for the sake of story over action for the sake of action anyday. if i wanted cool sword fights and magic explosions, and don't get me wrong i loves me some explosions, i would have watched something else.

also, chibi maid. chibi maid, bro.

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wow Just happy to see that my favorite from this season (Psyco pass) got high marks. But still I find the end lacking. And with the anime's setting (world) in leaves space for a second season. Which I really look forward to but have no idea if there will be one.

Also about the review it'd say that the art should be an 8 (the art isn't that good for a 9 considering that in some scene you could hardly see the objects).

Great philosophy and paradoxes which many people will enjoy.

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Great reviews! You're convincing me to check out Sakurasou, too :P~ Man, 10 out of 10, hm?

Yeah, I'd be up for watching Vividred again, too. Generic but pretty enjoyable, and the production quality was high.

Haganai season 2 was a huge bleh for me. I'd say count me out of season 3, unfortunately.

Love Live got a pretty decent score in your books! It's certainly entertaining. I would've given it a 7 I guess. It feels like nothing really happens in that show.

I almost dropped GJ Bu but ended up enjoying it quite a lot. Once you get used to the characters they are pretty likeable.

I agree that Sasamisan is a bit of a mess~ Feels like it tried to be all different, and in the end it just hardly made any sense. Kagami is still awesome, though :D.

Looking forward to the next season B)!

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Great reviews! You're convincing me to check out Sakurasou, too :P/>~ Man, 10 out of 10, hm?

Yeah, I'd be up for watching Vividred again, too. Generic but pretty enjoyable, and the production quality was high.

Haganai season 2 was a huge bleh for me. I'd say count me out of season 3, unfortunately.

Love Live got a pretty decent score in your books! It's certainly entertaining. I would've given it a 7 I guess. It feels like nothing really happens in that show.

I almost dropped GJ Bu but ended up enjoying it quite a lot. Once you get used to the characters they are pretty likeable.

I agree that Sasamisan is a bit of a mess~ Feels like it tried to be all different, and in the end it just hardly made any sense. Kagami is still awesome, though :D/>.

Looking forward to the next season B)/>!

Shaft should just animate "The Adventures of Kagami" and just have Kagami running around being awesome and stuff. Like a super-hero anime!

Maybe she teams up with Batman... I'm just saying

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There are still some shows I have to finish from last season, but I watched the final episode of Vividred today. As Ryoji said, it's pretty silly, but it's still fun somehow. The girls are cute, and they did same like they had a good idea in mind. I don't regret watching it.

GJ-bu and Minami-ke ended up being my SoLs for this season and I loved them. It's a shame GJ-bu got the Lucky Star treatment, though.

Now I just gotta finish Tamako and Sasami-san.

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  • 2 years later...

Shin Sekai Yori is conspicuously absent from this topic.  This heresy can't be allowed to persist.  Necro powers activated!

 

Shinsekai Yori: Eclipsed's Episode Commentary&Thoughts Compilation

 

My own thoughts:

 
I found Shin Sekai Yori very interesting because it presents a compelling security dilemma: In a world where a single person can kill hundreds of thousands of innocents with a single thought, how does society respond?  Psycho Pass's solution (Psycho Pass aired the same season) is a police state, where crimes are prosecuted essentially before they are even conceived by measuring a person's temperament (their potential to commit a crime).  Shin Sekai Yori's solution is genetic manipulation and rigorous childhood brainwashing to suppress violent tendencies, with systematic elimination of deviants that these measures fail to control.
 
I find this theme fascinating because it won't be long before we as a species face a similar dilemma.  Imagine a world where nuclear devices become concealable in a suitcase and fissionable material is as easy to come by as traditional explosives.  A single deranged individual could wipe out an entire city and make it uninhabitable for years more.  As a society, how will we deal with that threat?  My bets are on the police state solution.  Expect agencies like the US National Security Agency (NSA) to grow increasingly powerful as weaponry becomes increasingly advanced, to the point that even letting a single psychopath slip through could result in unacceptable economic damage and loss of human life.  And at that point--who will watch the Watchers?
 
This was something I was thinking about after watching this anime--only a few months before Edward Snowden exposed the NSA's massive domestic spy network.  If that doesn't show that anime and VNs have literary merit, I'm not sure what can.
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