Fall 2012 Pre-season Impressions

Someone said that all the Summer and Winter seasons would be good, and all the Spring and Fall seasons would suck. I took it with a pinch of salt back then, because while I do know about the trend, it wasn't big enough to affect my anime habits. Until now. Spring 2012 was nearly unwatchable, and Summer 2012 had more stuff than I had time to watch. Well... depends on how this season goes, I might spent most of my time marathoning older titles instead.

As usual, the list of anime (and general order) follows Neregate's chart. Whadaya know, there's a ton of new titles, and most of them I know next to nothing about, so I'll only be talking about the ones I'll be watching and the ones I'll be avoiding.

Stuff I'll watch:

Jormungand: Perfect Order
Have I mentioned that Jormungand is my favourite title in Spring 2012? The season may be so bad that I couldn't even name the top three titles, but Jormungand itself made the season bearable. I've been looking forward to this ever since it's announced.

Hidamari Sketch x Honeycomb
Hidamari Sketch is one of my favourite anime of all time. It was one of the first titles that got the shaft treatment, and the creativity (and popularity) increased dramatically every season. That probably isn't even why Hidamari got as popular as it did. It's one of the best, uniquely entertaining "healing" anime out there, after Aria. Of course this isn't something meant for everyone, but having a 4th season just shows how good it can be.

Girls und Panzer, Teekyuu
I know very little about these two, but it's okay. Like I've pointed out in my previous post, dumb premises like these could be mind-numbing fun if you don't over think it; it's not trying to boast a good story anyway. It's not like I'll hang on to it if it's full of bad moé or comedy. Seems like Tank would do pretty well and Tennis would be pretty bad, but we'll see.

Stuff I'll avoid:
Battle Spirits: Sword Eyes, Chou Soku Henkei Gyrozetter, Wooser no Sono Higurashi, Monsuno, Oshiri Kajiri Mushi, Cross Fight B-Daman eS, Aikatsu!

Who cares?

Hayate the Combat Butler: Can't Take My Eyes Off You, Gintama, To Love-Ru: Darkness, Bakuman, Medaka Box Abnormal, Hiiro no Karera S2, Initial D 5th Stage
Sequels I didn't catch. Well, I actually went through Hayate and Medaka for a bit, but I had to stop before my brain decay any further. I actually (really) liked the Hayate and Medaka manga, but they are one of those that became absolute shit when animated, like Naruto.

Btooom!
It's one of those many, many titles that puts a bunch of people in an isolated place (usually an island) and make them kill each other, and the winner walks away a rich or a free man. I thought the trend died as quickly as it came, and this is a straggler that's still trying to milk a dead cow. I've read a fair bit of the manga and nope, there's nothing that sets this apart from the others. Except for a fuckton of rape, so unless that is your thing... well... I won't touch this with a ten-foot pole.

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure
Jojo's one of the most famous and longest running title that somehow doesn't made it on screen. Can't blame anyone; Jojo's isn't exactly a pretty face by today's standards. And with that same reason I'll be avoiding this. David Productions have a way of surprising people's low expectations, but it's virtually impossible to win me over with this one.

Onii-chan Dakedo Ai Sae Areba Kankei Nai yo ne—
I think OreImo effectively spawn a whole new genre of incest between a guy and his little sister. It's a pity that literally all of them sucked. But of course, the rise in popularity means that it has its own market to cater to.

Suki-tte Ii na yo
I hate smut. Especially shoujo-styled smut.

Haitai Nanafa
So far, I've tried a fair number of 5-minute comedies. None of them were worth it, and it's unlikely this would be.

Seitokai no Ichizon S2
Although the first season ended in a pretty nice manner, I struggled to finish it. I didn't get all the references and it just isn't as funny or as interesting as Joshiraku.

Series Review: Jormungand (9/10)

Instant Summary: Protagonist is a weapons dealer with nine bodyguards.

Jormungand was the only title in the entire season that I truly enjoyed all the way. I'm not surprised that I don't see much chatter about the title online, probably because of the unorthodox character designs, but in the end I'm glad to see that most people agree with me that it's one of the better, if not the best, title of the season.

Jormungand doesn't have a general storyline. Every arcs last only about 3 episodes, each depicting a different adventure/mission that Koko and her team of bodyguards goes to. Every now and then we learn a little more about each of her nine bodyguards, be it their background, their characteristics, their history, or their future plans. So, it's really the premises that makes it interesting. Koko is a businesswoman and her product kills people, sometimes her own. But being an arms dealer allows her to keep her men well-armed at all times. So, expect to see tons of action.

And boy, did it rock. The level of action is at least on par with that of Black Lagoon, but less superhuman and more realistic. Well, if you ignore the fact that they all had horrible accuracy until the climax, of course. From the grenade launchers to the sniper rifles to the handguns, Jormungand has gotta have the best small-arms battles in anime I've ever seen. And it's cool to see the level of skill Koko's men has, especially the sexy Valmet and her close combat knife fights.

Koko herself is also an exceptional character. Not only is she really young for a businesswomen, she is also shown to be cunning enough to outwit older and more experienced opponents, fearless in a firefight, and has no qualms with murder, even if she if she is the one to pull the trigger. And there's her trademark smile she always wears on her face, brimming with the confidence you won't expect such a young girl to have. It's easy to see why she could have earned the fierce loyalty of her men or why she is able to make a huge amount of money in such a dangerous business. Using Itou Shizuka's gentle voice for Koko is a GREAT idea; in fact, I feel that this is her best role yet.

But the real interesting thing about Jormungand is how well they blended the less serious elements of the title with the action. For a title with plenty of gruesome deaths, there's actually quite a lot of comedy in it. Stuff like Koko's occasionally childish behaviour, Valmet's one-sided love for Koko, Jonah's inability to count, and Lutz's tendency to get shot in the butt often use humor to break up the seriousness of the story. Stuff like Jonah's math lessons also allows them to go for more character development, and that makes the characters much more familiar and likable, considering how many there are.

The animation gets a little funky every now and then, especially with the last episode, but considering the level of the gunfights I'll say the animation is still great. "Borderland", the OP, also became my favourite song in the season.

I can't wait for the next season, which is already announced.

Plot/Concept: Awesome!
Story Style: Awesome!
Audio/Visual: Excellent!
Value: 9

Top 3 Bishoujos of Spring 2012

3. Nyaruko (Haiyore! Nyaruko-san)

The series itself is pretty damn boring, but Nyaruko does help liven thing a lot. Without this fun, energetic and incredible cute character, there would be no value to the show at all. The other characters simple doesn't measure up to the main character herself. Her appeal might just make me give the show a second chance.

2. Kanoe Yuuko (Tasogare Otome X Amnesia)

Yuuko's an incredibly shameless character, having no problems with being groped or seen naked. But she's only shameless to one person, and perhaps that what makes her so sexy. She's would be the prettiest example of a high school beauty this season, followed by Rea. Too bad she's dead... (wait, Rea's dead too. What wrong with this season?) The show wastes no time to consistently remind you of her incredible bust size, and how they keep exploiting that. I won't deny that she's really a mix of popular moé traits, but I guess her back story does helps sets her apart somewhat.

1. Valmer Sofia (Jormungand)

It feels a little weird to put Valmet in first place, but I cannot understate how sexy this character is. It's not everyday you get to see a lady with a 8-pack. I'm not sure if she even fits the description of a bishoujo; she has enough muscles to make her look revolting to some. Despite being the only female in the group, she probably has the greatest physical power, and it's a group where everyone from the old man to the kid has at least a 6-pack. And it's not like this is a show with any kind of superhuman powers; that's her raw strength.

But together with her beastly muscular body, she also has quite an attractive physique, with her giant boobs and long legs. Together with her hilarious devotion to Koko and normally gentle nature, she turns out to be very likable. Perhaps we need less of stereotypical female archetypes and more of such unique characters like this.