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Thoughts on new fall season shows [message #354149] Tue, 10 October 2017 13:04 Go to next message
Chris Buckley is currently offline  Chris Buckley
Messages: 56
Registered: July 2012
Karma: 0
Member
I've seen an episode of most of the new season shows I might be interested
in. Here's my quick reactions to them, in decreasing order of probability
I'll finish out the season watching each.

Shows I expect to watch all of:
_Children of the Whales - Kujira no Kora was Sajou nu Utau_: I hadn't
heard anything of this, but it looks very nice from the first episode.
A fantasy featuring a society which has split itself from the mainland
onto a whale/island in a sea of deserts (with most of the island population
not knowing the real story.) I like stories that make you think, and the
main conflict here is obviously a clash of philosophies.

_The Ancient Magus Bride - Mahoutsukai no Yome_: This is the most
anticipated show of the season (based on the manga and OVA's released
several months ago). It should be quite good, a quieter character
oriented show (which I also like), with a well thought out world with
elements that are purposefully both positive and negative (like fairies).

_Fireball Humorous_: A series of shorts (Dave says there's only 3? Boo!)
about a very quirky female robot girl. I enjoyed the earlier series of
her a few years ago - this is a prequel series.

_Just Because_: A high school slice of life that is very character oriented.
The first episode shows that a lot of thought has been put into it.


Shows I'll watch more of, but may drop:

_Net-juu no Sosume_: Main character is a 30-year old female NEET, playing
a male character on-line, meeting a cute female character on-line (being
played by a real-life male). Might be good as a nice, quiet, enjoyable
series, but won't be deep.

_Kino no Tabi_: Looks like a well-done sequel to the 2003 _Kino's Journey_.
I think I'll have the same reaction as to the original - good, with occasional
excellent episodes, but I'm more interested in novels than short stories, and
this is very much a short story series.

_Kekkai Sensen & Beyond_: another sequel series from a year or two ago: I
liked it, but have started and never finished rewatching it twice!

_Houseku no Kuni_: A different original world, with the main characters
being (breakable, and mendable) jewels, in conflict with invaders who
value them only as jewels. Reasonable, but could be good or could be bad.

_Juuni Taisen_: Another conflict to the death among a dozen characters
with various powers. The first episode was interesting primarily because
the main character was so unlikable. We'll have to see where it goes from
here!

_Hozuki no Reitetsu_: A comedy sequel that I like individual pieces of, but
for my tastes would be much better as a series of shorts. (That's my
reaction to most comedies - may be good in small doses, but not in longer
pieces without something else to be thinking about.)

_Blend S_: A comedy cute girl series which has the girl waitresses all playing
roles opposite to what they are really (eg, a shy, apologetic girl being a
sadistic waitress). A nice setup for interesting issues, but I doubt the
director will go that way, so I expect to be dropping it.


Shows I've already dropped:

_Imouto sae Ireba Ii_: A over the top sis-con that exhibited some more
serious possibilities at the end of the first episode. I may keep tabs
on it to see what will dominate.

_Shoujo_shuumatsu Ryouka_: two girls in a post-apocalyptic world. The
setup as described in the first episode has too many holes in it - I
kept on thinking "that would never happen". Again, I could see checking
in on the show's reviews later to see if they supplied a different
background, but I'm not optimistic.

_Love is Like a Cocktail - Osake wa Fuufu ni Natte Kara_: an adult
social drinking series that looks pleasant, but nothing for me there.

_Amias Aite was Oshiego, Tsuyoki na, Mondaiji_: a series of shorts about
a relationship between a female teacher and male student. Unbelievable
and a bit unpleasant.

_Ousama Game - King's Game_: a horror series with loads of violence for
the sake of violence.
Re: Thoughts on new fall season shows [message #354296 is a reply to message #354149] Thu, 12 October 2017 17:56 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Chris Buckley is currently offline  Chris Buckley
Messages: 56
Registered: July 2012
Karma: 0
Member
On 2017-10-10, Chris Buckley <alan@sabir.com> wrote:
> I've seen an episode of most of the new season shows I might be interested
> in. Here's my quick reactions to them, in decreasing order of probability
> I'll finish out the season watching each.
>

Here's a couple more as the new show debuts are coming to an end, I think.

_Inuyashiki - The Last Hero__: A terminally ill 58 year old is rebuilt
by passing aliens who accidentally killed him, but they only had
weapon spare parts on hand. The first episode was definitely
emotionally driven, and done well in that aspect- you feel the despair
of the main character - but I have no idea how they will continue. It
could be one of the best shows of the season, or I could drop it after
one or two more episodes!

_Evil or Live_: This is just an ugly show, with ugly characters that
I can feel no positive empathy towards. I would drop it quickly,
but it's Chinese, and a show coming from that background about
re-education camps and indoctrination (to cure internet addiction
here) may have some interesting political points, so I'll watch
another show or two.

_Onyankopon_: A series of shorts evidently aimed at 5-7 year old
girls, and is not of interest to anyone else, even if it might
possibly be of interest to them (though I doubt it).

_Boku no Kanojo ga Majimesugiru Sho-bitch_: I surprisingly enjoyed
last season's _Tsuredure Children_ which was about the
misunderstandings of first relationships, as is this show. But they
have nothing else in common that would make this show watchable. I
have no empathy for the characters who are acting pretty much
randomly just to get a quick laugh (and a laugh at them, rather than
sympathizing with them.)

Chris
Midseason thoughts on new fall season shows [message #355484 is a reply to message #354149] Tue, 21 November 2017 18:38 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Chris Buckley is currently offline  Chris Buckley
Messages: 56
Registered: July 2012
Karma: 0
Member
Here's my mid-season thoughts, written as a followup to my initial
impressions.

On 2017-10-10, Chris Buckley <alan@sabir.com> wrote:
> I've seen an episode of most of the new season shows I might be interested
> in. Here's my quick reactions to them, in decreasing order of probability
> I'll finish out the season watching each.
>
> Shows I expect to watch all of:
> _Children of the Whales - Kujira no Kora was Sajou nu Utau_: I hadn't
> heard anything of this, but it looks very nice from the first episode.
> A fantasy featuring a society which has split itself from the mainland
> onto a whale/island in a sea of deserts (with most of the island population
> not knowing the real story.) I like stories that make you think, and the
> main conflict here is obviously a clash of philosophies.

A major disappointment (seen 7). Yes, it is a philosophical clash,
but not one that makes you think. A pacifist island vs warrior outer
world, with both sides treated very simplistically and
unrealistically. The minor characters completely change their
lifelong philosophies at the drop of a hat. Time and again things
happen just because it's convenient for the plot for them to happen,
not because there's any reason or likelihood of them happening.


> _The Ancient Magus Bride - Mahoutsukai no Yome_: This is the most
> anticipated show of the season (based on the manga and OVA's released
> several months ago). It should be quite good, a quieter character
> oriented show (which I also like), with a well thought out world with
> elements that are purposefully both positive and negative (like fairies).

A minor disappointment. We're 7 episodes in, and we're being told that
the main character is changing, not being shown why she's changing.
The changes are unbelievable just based upon what we've seen. Nice,
but nothing to grab me.

>
> _Fireball Humorous_: A series of shorts (Dave says there's only 3? Boo!)
> about a very quirky female robot girl. I enjoyed the earlier series of
> her a few years ago - this is a prequel series.

Still only seen the first one.

> _Just Because_: A high school slice of life that is very character oriented.
> The first episode shows that a lot of thought has been put into it.

Still watching (seen 6), still about the same. More angst and less
events than I would have expected.

>
> Shows I'll watch more of, but may drop:
>
> _Net-juu no Sosume_: Main character is a 30-year old female NEET, playing
> a male character on-line, meeting a cute female character on-line (being
> played by a real-life male). Might be good as a nice, quiet, enjoyable
> series, but won't be deep.

Enjoying this (seen 7), but is not deep.

>
> _Kino no Tabi_: Looks like a well-done sequel to the 2003 _Kino's Journey_.
> I think I'll have the same reaction as to the original - good, with occasional
> excellent episodes, but I'm more interested in novels than short stories, and
> this is very much a short story series.

Dropped. Not particularly well-done, unfortunately. I didn't get a sense
of consistency for the main character, and that's a major lack in a short
story anime.

> _Kekkai Sensen & Beyond_: another sequel series from a year or two ago: I
> liked it, but have started and never finished rewatching it twice!

Dropped. Just wasn't interested in trying to figure out the world again.

> _Houseku no Kuni_: A different original world, with the main characters
> being (breakable, and mendable) jewels, in conflict with invaders who
> value them only as jewels. Reasonable, but could be good or could be bad.

Enjoying this one so far (seen 7). Very different, with an appealing
flawed main character. The world is still being built even now; we don't
have a good idea of what's really going on.

> _Inuyashiki - The Last Hero__: A terminally ill 58 year old is rebuilt
> by passing aliens who accidentally killed him, but they only had
> weapon spare parts on hand. The first episode was definitely
> emotionally driven, and done well in that aspect- you feel the despair
> of the main character - but I have no idea how they will continue. It
> could be one of the best shows of the season, or I could drop it after
> one or two more episodes!

The jury is still out on this one (seen 6)! Meant for very mature
audiences and often unpleasant (from the creator of _Gantz_ and it
shows). Neither the good guy nor the bad guy is handling their new
superpowers well. It's interesting just as a more grounded
psychological study of what happens when you're given superpowers.

> _Juuni Taisen_: Another conflict to the death among a dozen characters
> with various powers. The first episode was interesting primarily because
> the main character was so unlikable. We'll have to see where it goes from
> here!

On the verge of dropping it (seen 7). No main character and no
discernible theme. Individual characters are interesting, but you
can't attach yourself to them because they might get killed off next
episode!

> _Hozuki no Reitetsu_: A comedy sequel that I like individual pieces of, but
> for my tastes would be much better as a series of shorts. (That's my
> reaction to most comedies - may be good in small doses, but not in longer
> pieces without something else to be thinking about.)

Dropped. As expected a comedy that is not my thing.

> _Blend S_: A comedy cute girl series which has the girl waitresses all playing
> roles opposite to what they are really (eg, a shy, apologetic girl being a
> sadistic waitress). A nice setup for interesting issues, but I doubt the
> director will go that way, so I expect to be dropping it.

Dropped. Nothing there.

>
> Shows I've already dropped:
>
> _Shoujo_shuumatsu Ryouka_: two girls in a post-apocalyptic world. The
> setup as described in the first episode has too many holes in it - I
> kept on thinking "that would never happen". Again, I could see checking
> in on the show's reviews later to see if they supplied a different
> background, but I'm not optimistic.

I've been keeping an eye on this, since others think it is the anime of the
season, but my sense of disbelief is too large. I can accept pretty
much any ridiculous setup to begin with, but then the characters have to
act consistently with that setup. They don't here.

Chris
Re: Midseason thoughts on new fall season shows [message #355487 is a reply to message #355484] Thu, 23 November 2017 09:31 Go to previous message
Dave Baranyi is currently offline  Dave Baranyi
Messages: 1057
Registered: January 2012
Karma: 0
Senior Member
On Tuesday, November 21, 2017 at 6:38:31 PM UTC-5, Chris Buckley wrote:
> Here's my mid-season thoughts, written as a followup to my initial
> impressions.
>

My comments are below, underneath your comments on the series that I'm still watching.

> On 2017-10-10, Chris Buckley <alan@sabir.com> wrote:
>> I've seen an episode of most of the new season shows I might be interested
>> in. Here's my quick reactions to them, in decreasing order of probability
>> I'll finish out the season watching each.
>>
>> Shows I expect to watch all of:
>> _Children of the Whales - Kujira no Kora was Sajou nu Utau_: I hadn't
>> heard anything of this, but it looks very nice from the first episode.
>> A fantasy featuring a society which has split itself from the mainland
>> onto a whale/island in a sea of deserts (with most of the island population
>> not knowing the real story.) I like stories that make you think, and the
>> main conflict here is obviously a clash of philosophies.
>
> A major disappointment (seen 7). Yes, it is a philosophical clash,
> but not one that makes you think. A pacifist island vs warrior outer
> world, with both sides treated very simplistically and
> unrealistically. The minor characters completely change their
> lifelong philosophies at the drop of a hat. Time and again things
> happen just because it's convenient for the plot for them to happen,
> not because there's any reason or likelihood of them happening.
>

I dropped this after three episodes and everything that I've read subsequently has convinced me that it was a correct move on my part.

>
>> _The Ancient Magus Bride - Mahoutsukai no Yome_: This is the most
>> anticipated show of the season (based on the manga and OVA's released
>> several months ago). It should be quite good, a quieter character
>> oriented show (which I also like), with a well thought out world with
>> elements that are purposefully both positive and negative (like fairies).
>
> A minor disappointment. We're 7 episodes in, and we're being told that
> the main character is changing, not being shown why she's changing.
> The changes are unbelievable just based upon what we've seen. Nice,
> but nothing to grab me.
>

I'm still watching this. It's cute, but not overly compelling. The best thing is that the anime is downplaying the angst that makes the manga impossible for me to follow.

>>
>> _Fireball Humorous_: A series of shorts (Dave says there's only 3? Boo!)
>> about a very quirky female robot girl. I enjoyed the earlier series of
>> her a few years ago - this is a prequel series.
>
> Still only seen the first one.

I found the second one the other day. Still as wonderfully bizarre as ever. ("C" is for "Convenience Store Bento"...)

>
>> _Just Because_: A high school slice of life that is very character oriented.
>> The first episode shows that a lot of thought has been put into it.
>
> Still watching (seen 6), still about the same. More angst and less
> events than I would have expected.
>
>>
>> Shows I'll watch more of, but may drop:
>>
>> _Net-juu no Sosume_: Main character is a 30-year old female NEET, playing
>> a male character on-line, meeting a cute female character on-line (being
>> played by a real-life male). Might be good as a nice, quiet, enjoyable
>> series, but won't be deep.
>
> Enjoying this (seen 7), but is not deep.
>
>>
>> _Kino no Tabi_: Looks like a well-done sequel to the 2003 _Kino's Journey_.
>> I think I'll have the same reaction as to the original - good, with occasional
>> excellent episodes, but I'm more interested in novels than short stories, and
>> this is very much a short story series.
>
> Dropped. Not particularly well-done, unfortunately. I didn't get a sense
> of consistency for the main character, and that's a major lack in a short
> story anime.
>
>> _Kekkai Sensen & Beyond_: another sequel series from a year or two ago: I
>> liked it, but have started and never finished rewatching it twice!
>
> Dropped. Just wasn't interested in trying to figure out the world again.
>
>> _Houseku no Kuni_: A different original world, with the main characters
>> being (breakable, and mendable) jewels, in conflict with invaders who
>> value them only as jewels. Reasonable, but could be good or could be bad.
>
> Enjoying this one so far (seen 7). Very different, with an appealing
> flawed main character. The world is still being built even now; we don't
> have a good idea of what's really going on.

This is the most intriguing series that I'm following this season. I didn't expect much, but I find it to be some of the most imaginative story telling I've seen in an anime in quite some time.

>
>> _Inuyashiki - The Last Hero__: A terminally ill 58 year old is rebuilt
>> by passing aliens who accidentally killed him, but they only had
>> weapon spare parts on hand. The first episode was definitely
>> emotionally driven, and done well in that aspect- you feel the despair
>> of the main character - but I have no idea how they will continue. It
>> could be one of the best shows of the season, or I could drop it after
>> one or two more episodes!
>
> The jury is still out on this one (seen 6)! Meant for very mature
> audiences and often unpleasant (from the creator of _Gantz_ and it
> shows). Neither the good guy nor the bad guy is handling their new
> superpowers well. It's interesting just as a more grounded
> psychological study of what happens when you're given superpowers.
>
>> _Juuni Taisen_: Another conflict to the death among a dozen characters
>> with various powers. The first episode was interesting primarily because
>> the main character was so unlikable. We'll have to see where it goes from
>> here!
>
> On the verge of dropping it (seen 7). No main character and no
> discernible theme. Individual characters are interesting, but you
> can't attach yourself to them because they might get killed off next
> episode!
>
>> _Hozuki no Reitetsu_: A comedy sequel that I like individual pieces of, but
>> for my tastes would be much better as a series of shorts. (That's my
>> reaction to most comedies - may be good in small doses, but not in longer
>> pieces without something else to be thinking about.)
>
> Dropped. As expected a comedy that is not my thing.

I'm still watching this. It's not as hilarious as the first season but I'm still having lots of fun with it.

>
>> _Blend S_: A comedy cute girl series which has the girl waitresses all playing
>> roles opposite to what they are really (eg, a shy, apologetic girl being a
>> sadistic waitress). A nice setup for interesting issues, but I doubt the
>> director will go that way, so I expect to be dropping it.
>
> Dropped. Nothing there.
>
>>
>> Shows I've already dropped:
>>
>> _Shoujo_shuumatsu Ryouka_: two girls in a post-apocalyptic world. The
>> setup as described in the first episode has too many holes in it - I
>> kept on thinking "that would never happen". Again, I could see checking
>> in on the show's reviews later to see if they supplied a different
>> background, but I'm not optimistic.
>
> I've been keeping an eye on this, since others think it is the anime of the
> season, but my sense of disbelief is too large. I can accept pretty
> much any ridiculous setup to begin with, but then the characters have to
> act consistently with that setup. They don't here.
>
> Chris

The other new shows that I'm still watching and enjoying are "Garo" and "Infini T Force".

"Garo" is a beer and popcorn anime and is being done well enough to keep me popping the popcorn.

"Infini T" is very retro in many ways, but surprising in many other ways. I'm enjoying it a lot.

Dave Baranyi
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