01.06
Welcome to the Winter season of this year’s anime! After a troublesome 2016, let’s hope 2017 has more to offer, shall we?
Akiba’s Trip: The Animation
Someone compared this to Keijo, and Keijo fans were offended. This show is looked down upon by Keijo fans. There’s rarely a bigger case of damnation than that.
Just watch fucking Akibaranger instead. – BloodyMarquis
Blue Exorcist: Kyoto Impure King Saga
Shin Boobzilla: A Hideaki Anno Joint.
Well, well, well look who came crawling back. >_<
Last time on OwBlech—OH WHO AM I KIDDING? THERE WAS NO LAST TIME!!! IT WAS A FUCKING ANIME FUCKING ORIGINAL FUCKING FILLER ARC THAT NEVER FUCKING HAPPENED BECAUSE FUCK ANIPLEX FUCK SEVEN DAYS WAR FUCK TENSAI OKAMURA FUCK THAT GUY WHO WROTE HONKY TONK WOMAN FUCK EM ALL!!!
Well anyway… it’s been 6 years since the last series and the manga finally got to a point where we can actually adapt it! So that means more shitty edge lord Rin whining, more Yukio being a useless cockblock, more Shura being a useless cocktese, and more Izumo being a bitch because HAHAHA that fucking beach episode. Also Shiemi because yeah whatever. So in other words… its still OwBlech and everything you hated about OwBlech is still there. But hey! The most important thing is this arc they actually get to do something! No more school! No more SOL shit! No more birthday cakes!!! No more weddy weddy weddy fo da tayk aaahf!
Well anyway might as well get this over with. We pick up the plot with Rin still being unable to control his flames (because he still hadn’t figured it out in the manga by the time the anime decided he had), Yukio NOT being a demon because again that never happened, and some new macguffin called the Left Eye of the Impure King being swiped from the Shrine of the Silver Monkey by fricken Death Gun from Phantom Bullet. Alas its all a trap and the real culprit is one of Yukio’s coworkers, an evil satyr guy named Todo. With the Left Eye snatched, attention is immediately re-diverted to the Right Eye, currently being held at a field office in Kyoto, and our band of plucky would be demon hunters are sent off to protect it. This in turns for some awkwardness as this is just after Rin went crazy during the camping trip arc and noone likes him anymore, especually Sugoro. Ah character development that got dumped because it wasn’t canon. Don’t ya just love it?
So basically it may have been five years since the last canonical episode of OwBlech but this show doesn’t seem to care. We pick up in medias res with a bunch of lousy unlikable characters we can barely identify with and a plot that seems barely any better than the “horrible filler” of the original series’ second cour. So honestly, I don’t give a fuck. For fans only…if this even has fans anymore .– Lord Dalek
Chou Shounen Tanteidan Neo
When Steven’s penis doesn’t save the day.
no goddamnit another one of these shows i swear to god whoever comes up with more of these goddamn ranpo shows needs to die a slow death why does this mohterfucker love ranpo so much but doesnt know hoe to write an anime about it thats fuking stupid and i hope a slow and painful end awaits him or them orwhat preferred pronouns they want i dont care if its actually a show about the kids of the kobayashi instead of actually kobayashi because fuck him figuratively fuck his girls ass i dont want anymore ranpo please no more ranpo i would rather another hundred isekai animes over ranpo – bloodymarquis
Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu Season 2
Well this relationship is in deep ship already.
Oh thank god! Finally something GOOD to watch! After a year long hiatus, its back to the saga of Yakumo’s guilt, Konatsu’s disgust, and Yotarou’s general childlike enthusiasm. Season 1 was all about Yakumo and his dark past with his friend/rival/possible lover Sukeroku in the 40s. Now its 1988 and the focus is on Yotarou and his attempt to follow in Sukeroku’s foot steps in an artform that’s quickly eroding in the age of tv and endless boke-tsukomi routines.
Actually things are a lot worse for our ex-con turned popular stage entertainer. Theaters are closing left and right. Many young artists are either giving up Rakugo early or never bothering to give it a try. And with his engagement to Konatsu imminent, trying to make ends meet is looking to be a hell of a lot tougher for young Yotaro/Sukeroku. However a chance encounter with a wealthy author interested in changing the nature of rakugo stirs something within him. Is this the beginning of a new relationship?
I love this show. If it wasn’t for Yuri!!! last year, season 1 might have been AOTY. So its great to see that not only does the first episode seamlessly pick up the drama from the previous season and deliver content that is emotionally involving and subtly crafted (if still not the most well animated, no surprise its DEEN). This is not a show with magical powers, explosions, or giant robots. This is about talking and communication, and the words it gives you are the some of the most passionate and poetic to come out of anime in years. Even if everything else in Winter is godawful (and that very may well be the case), Showa Genroku will always be regarded as a good show. You should watch it. — Lord Dalek
Masamune-kun no Revenge
His face looks like a cookie.
If you’ve read the description for this show, then you know very well what you are going to be in for. That statement isn’t a slight against the show. Just a simple declaration: if you are aware of all the usual tropes to be found in not only high school romance anime, but in non-melodramatic romance works in general, then you will have a very good idea of how things are going to progress. If not after reading the series synopsis, then after watching the first episode. And this isn’t me being a dismissive asshole, as I went ahead to check the manga. My suspicions were confirmed when skimming through the first thirty-odd chapters: many of the plot beats that you would think a romance plot like this would hit are hit. Yes, the main character falls in love with the girl despite trying not to. Yes, she comes to love him back. Yes, she is a bitch, but she will defrost overtime to become a nice person. Yes, the reason they grew apart as kids was due to a stupid misunderstanding. We’ve done this song and dance before.
If there is anything here to make this new Silver Link show stand out, it would be in the main characters, The titular Masamune tries to play himself off as a bit of a Casanova. And he succeeds at this, constantly being surprised at what he’s able to get away with just by virtue of being really attractive. And his goal of taking down Aki because she rejected him back when they were six is humorously petty in and of itself. Meanwhile, Aki is a horrible human being who humiliates anyone who dare ask her out by going to the school roof and screaming their deepest secrets over a megaphone for all to hear. Then gives them playground-level insulting names like Molelo or Pudding Prince. These character traits were enough to make me smirk, and kept my attention during the show’s proceedings, but they ultimately do little to mask just how predictable the anime is.
However, that isn’t to say the show is bad. What I am trying to get across is that this show is simply just your average anime rom-com, with no special twists or notable plot elements to speak of. It’s okay. It’s average. There are much worse ways to burn 22 minutes of your time. Personally, I’m fine with shows that are just average. Not everything that isn’t a masterclass work of fiction has to be dismissed as awful or not worth viewing. There’s a gradient in the quality of entertainment, not a steadfast line between good and bad. And in that light, I can recommend Masamune-kun no Revenge as a decent show for those who want to scratch that romantic comedy itch this anime season. Unless the anime takes a hard left away from the manga, the show won’t be going anywhere special. But you won’t have any regrets riding along either. Just remember to reduce your carb intake before viewing.
Oh, and there’s a loli mom in it. Like, the main character’s mom looks like she should be in elementary school. Not sure what that shit is about, but she doesn’t turn up much. Still. Loli mom. Terrifying. Why? I mean, I know I should be used to crap like this but now, but…fine. Whatever. NEXT SHOW! – RacattackForce
Saga of Tanya The Evil
Crom! Grant me revenge!
Hey remember that Izetta show that kinda fell apart really quickly last season? Well here it is again! Except now its a fake World War ONE, we’re supposed to root for the Nazis, and this witch girl is hitting on Ochaco from My Hero Academia! BIG DIFFERENCE!
So in alternate universe 1924, the Prussian empire is being assaulted on all sides by the good guys of World War I. However those wacky Germans have developed a secret weapon to fight the Allies: flying humans with magic powers!…where have I seen that before? Well anyway, our focus is on a group of mages being led by a nasty little blond bitch named Tanya Degurechaff and her frequently abused subordinate/chief eunuch Serebryakov. Tanya blows stuff and acts all high and mighty about keeping the Sudetenland pure while Serebryakov tries to act brave but mostly tries not get whiped to death by Tanya. So in other words this show really just is a metaphor for the abusive relationship between the two protagonists’ VAs Aoi Yuuki and Saori Hayami and I can only imagine the former was riding the later around like a pony in the recording studio.
So how does one approach a show like Tanya the Evil? If its supposed to be some sort of black comedy, its not very good at it. If its supposed to be another alternate fantasy war series its not giving me any incentive to come back. Really the only thing this fairly terrible first episode had going for it was the animation done by brand new Madhouse spinoff studio NUT. Its really good but really good animation can only you so far (one need only look at Wit Studio’s output for that). And frankly there’s only so much rah rah fascism I can take in this day and age. – Lord Dalek
Schoolgirl Strikers
Nudist Beach for the Disney Channel crowd.
First minute goes by, and I think this is going to be yet another show about girls fighting monsters with tacky brightly-colored weapons right out of a Bandai warehouse. Before I decide to doze off and plan to write the review based on whatever daydreams I had from watching the show, it shifts gears and becomes a slice-of-life for 8 minutes. I can’t tell if that’s for the worse or not, because doing that is just changing from one brand of “Oh look, another one of these goddamn shows” to another. As if they know anybody who wants to watch this show will regardless, and don’t need to lure casuals in with an exciting first episode or an intriguing arc. It’s a subtle brilliance on the producers’ part, where they know just as much as the astute viewer does how this is nothing more than a time-filler. Thus, easy money for minimal effort.
Checking the cast on MyAnimeList, I see some familiar faces like Hanazawa, Sawashiro, and other voice actors with more credits than your overly-ambitious debt and loans victim. Many, many familiar voices taking away the jobs of less accomplished voice actors who could desperately use that sweet smartphone money. So yet again, another way to keep viewers in seats without worrying about things like storytelling and characterization, because you can just lure them in with their favorite seiyuus. Then all you have to do is have the entire cast shout “Tsubame-chan!”, and you’ve got enough to keep your intended audience glued. You don’t even need to give them full sentences to say either. Just have Kana Hanazawa say “mm” or “ooh” or “uh”, and you have a successful commercial for whatever dakimakuras or onanholes you’ve got made and ready to ship.
If you’re the kind of person who’s easily amused by girls in silly outfits fighting monsters, or have some odd desire to ship girls together simply for standing next to each other, then go ahead and watch. Partake, engorge, bloat yourself. Then as soon as this finishes, throw it away and completely forget it while you wait for the next one of these shows to come along. Let this steady stream of forgettable, waifu shows be your religion, your mentor, and your lover. And one day, perhaps one day, you will find this show again by chance, tell your friends about it, and then go “Huh, that was a show I liked?” The ultimate legacy for series like these, where all of these production committees and animation studios will eventually wind up making something as insignificant as another mark off a MAL profile. – BloodyMarquis
Seiren
Ikuo gets sick of Jojo references and takes it to the source.
I didn’t watch Amagami when it first aired, or maybe I did watch an episode all those years ago and forgot, whatever. But the point is, I’m not sure I’m of a similar wavelength to these kind of shows. I get the sense people like me will just skim through future episodes and go on 4chan threads to see which characters the main character fucks than having to sit through a dozen 24-minute episodes to find out otherwise. It’s not the shows to blame for it, Amagami, Seiren, or whatever series this creator makes next, since they’re embedded into the J-drama formula of ridiculously slow story-building and hoping the characters can make up for that.
And what do the characters do? Play a game of Life where the main character Kamita goes “the ambiguity on what causes you to piss yourself is the beauty of this game.” Several more lines of dialogue regarding incontinence then there ever should while playing a game of Life. Then it goes into pondering on Kamita’s part as to whether he can accomplish what he wants after high school, because get it? He’s thinking about life while playing Life. Next, he’ll be having a personal financial crisis while playing Monopoly, or not knowing how to word out his feelings when playing Scrabble. That kind of juxtaposition can be done well if handled with self-awareness, but
I do keep wondering when something’s going to happen, but that’s my own fault for not being used to romance anime. But even then, I don’t sense much chemistry between Kamita and the other girls at the moment. He’s got more of a functional relationship between his friend Ikuo at this point, which leads to a few of the other girls thinking he’s “homo or immoral”. Of all the girls introduced, I didn’t see much of a connection between Kamita and either of them. It doesn’t even seem like he wants to romance them, but rather get them to serve him Korean BBQ while in a swimsuit as one of his dream sequences puts it. It’s that and the piss scene that becomes a roadblock for the show’s pursuit of chemistry, troubling for a show that’s otherwise smooth in tone (animation tone, not body tone, though that’s smooth too). – BloodyMarquis