Series Review: Yumekui Merry (and J.C Staff)

 I don't really have beef with J.C Staff because I still have a pretty good impression on many of their works, like Nodame, Railgun, Kimikiss, Toradora, Asatte no Houkou, etc. There's also plenty of positive reviews on Milky Holmes, although I have not seen that yet. What J.C Staff's good at is presentation, even when the animation's not up to par. Currently airing Hidan no Aria has a good mix of ecchi and action on first impression. I really like how they bring out character's charm in Ookami-san and Hatsukoi. Stuff like Index and Yumekui Merry has an impressive setting and concept on the get-go.

But they fail terribad at story execution, particularly when the story reaches the conclusive arc. To be precise: they just tend to fuck up the conclusion of the show (not exactly ending of the story) with a terrible direction. I'm talking about Otome Youkai Zakuro, Kaichou wa Maid-sama and yes, Yumekui Merry.

Go read the manga. You'll see how every characters plays a role in the story, how they actually relates to each other on the deeper scale, some explanations on their backgounds. There's much better character development on Chaser John Doe and Threepiece Engi too.

Now I won't exactly say no to anime original characters like Mistletein or Leon (Lestion), or even an anime original ending for that matter. But this is what J.C Staff did; they took the primary characters and the beginning arcs from the original work, created their own characters and story and practically created their own anime. Now that won't be a problem if the characters and story doesn't plainly suck, but they are. Mistletein and Iijima are painfully underdeveloped characters with absolutely zero depth, Chizuru and Leon served absolutely NO PURPOSE in the show, and the ending is a if-I-believe-I-can-do-it-I-will-gain-immeasurable-power wankfest.

I've written a post complimenting the characters in the show, too. It's too bad the anime as a whole doesn't justify the characters' potential.

The animation was average, but I like the character designs... as far as the characters from the original work goes. Daydream Syndrome was apparantly pretty popular, but it never caught my attention... since I like the ED "Yume to Kibou to Ashita no Atashi" better, after all. (It was the previous featured OP/ED).

The anime as a whole wasn't horrible, but the only reason you ought to be watching it is if there's a good sequel (which is highly unlikely, judging from the reception).

Plot/Concept: Very good, until it screws up in the end.
Story Style: Fairly good
Audio/Visual: Good
Value: 5

How every Winter 2010 shows I watch becomes shiiiitttttt

Two season ago, it was Otome Youkai Zakuro and Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru. That was 50% of the shows I was following that season. And these two shows isn't that bad, it's just that they got off a great start but didn't manage to carry on the momentum all the way to the end.

Last season, it was every damn show I watched. They got off a great start and had generally positive reviews over the span of the season, on the blogosphere and amongst the Japanese audience as well. To me, endings makes a lot of difference in the overall experience of the show, but somehow none of these show delivered what I wanted.

Ranked from bad to worst are:

5. Fractale

Two of the main characters are in the pic. What do you mean you can only see one?

Okay, unlike many people out there, I don't think Fractale is a total crap. But it's no doubt a disappointment and definitely doesn't deliver what it has promised, or what it could have achieved with the story settings. Too many questions had been left unanswered until the last episode, too much needless drama at the end, and the twists at the end feels like it's being pulled out of Yamakan's ass at the last moment. The writing wasn't there, too many pointless stuff happens and any build-up towards the finale didn't work with all these distractions. The animation could have been a LOT better to, seeing how much Yamakan gambled with this project. I wanted to see a Last Exile.  I got a Allison & Lillia.




4. Kore wa Zombie desu ka?

Best thing in the ending.

I'll touch my heart and say that despite the pretty awesome first episode, I'm expecting this series to suck anyway, because of the people involved (read: DEEN). When I first got into the show, I liked the way they do things, like giving a dead guy magical girl powers, and making a chainsaw their primary weapon. That was fun in being random. But they went overboard with it, to the point where things doesn't even make sense anymore. Their attempt at serious storytelling is a joke. Anti-demonic music out of nowhere? And how did Eu suddenly decide that it's ok to kill off the bad guy in the end after all? And, well, I love epilogue episodes like ep12, but it turns out to be a pain to sit through. The 15 minute of concert stuff was beyond randomness... it was bullshit. And the ability to drain Eu's magical powers become a giant plot hole if you think about it.




3. Infinite Stratos

Getting in touch with inner Ichika.

Everything was going alright until they're done with the character introductions and started getting an actual plot at ep10. Ichika suddenly becames retarded and reduced himself way below a typical harem lead stereotype. The dialogue was so bad I feel like I'm watching a high-school orientation skit. Ichika's dream sequence and Gundam-styled nekkid talk was so hilariously bad, I feel that they weren't trying anymore. With the amount of CG and suit designs they had, the fight was nowhere was awesome as it could have been. And where did that rogue IS come from? Was Tabane behind everything after all? I could hire my niece to write something better. I expected it to be the next Macross Frontier, but all I got is a good harem.




2. Yumekui Merry

CHECK OUT MY HAX TRUMPET SKILLZ

I ranted in the recent post so I won't be explaining it here. But when I got the feeling that the other series are going down south, I expected this to be the most enjoyable show this season. I was wrong.




1. Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Homerun traveled one and a half month into the future, bringing the last two episodes with her.

Well, it wasn't the show that sucked, it was the viewing experience. What's more, I can only blame mother nature to put a one-month break right before the (supposedly) epic ending of the greatest show for a long long time. I'm not even anticipating the last two episode airing this Thursday anymore, I'm just dreading that I might forget critical parts of the show.

What the fuck, Merry?

And to think that I tried putting the series in a better light. J.C Staff, now you proved that you totally suck at writing anime original storylines.

Kawanami and Leon are pitiful characters. Despite what seemed like a important plot device, the gun does absolutely nothing, Leon bit the dust and Kawanami simply got brainwashed. In summary, they might as well have absolutely no purpose in the anime, other than eating up screentime. Perhaps that's the precise reason they are here; to make up for lack of story by filling up screentime.

I tried to screencap the stupidest line in the episode, but there were too many of them.

And wtf is with the power of thoughts thing? Engi's wounds simply healed by itself, Merry gains enough strength, and Yumeji summoned a fucking weapon? YOU WANNA BE MATRIX DAMMIT? And Yumeji's power should be left for the manga storyline. Maybe they realised they fucked up and won't get a chance for a second season anyway.

I really expected the action in the last episode to be better. This is just sad, and I guess it really shows that they've really ran out of money or something. And wtf is with the BGM? WTF is with the invisible trumpet Yui is blowing?

Yumekui Merry, you failed. I expected better.

We are anime protagonists, and anime protagonists gain imba powers for the sake of writer's convenience.

Yumekui Merry Ep11: So in the end...

... everyone's up against a crazy overpowered bitch and a (very very stereotypical) sadistic villain, who loves killing dream demons and torturing people because why the hell not. And they don't seem to have any other motive doing so, making this a typical good-guy-fight-bad-guy-to-protect-friends kind of show and devoid of any originality in the story. Because despite all the concept of dreams they had for the show, it doesn't seem to matter anymore.

But it ain't so bad, because of Treesea isn't such a talkative bitch, Isana would be "dead" three times over. Then again, if she did crush Isana's dreams, it would have lead to a more dramatic finale where Yumeji gets revenge on Treesea.

We need more Yui's cuteness and Engi's awesomesauce to make up for this. Too bad they only got, like, two minutes of screentime.

Anyway, the animation this week is really all over the place. The fighting scene was bad enough, where the camera angle are all shaky and disoriented, but even the slower scene where Isana is in the school seemed really choppy. Budget problems again, JC Staff? Come on...



And... wtf? Ijima ripping the clothes off Treesea? Are they trying a romantic angle between these two? UGH.

Yumekui Merry's uniqueness

If only I could make Engi blush in that first pic with photoshop -.-

I've never really talked about Yumekui Merry after the season preview because unlike the controversial Madoka Magica, moelicious Infinite Stratos or widely debated Fractale, there isn't really much to talk about for every single episode. Not that its boring in any way; Yumekui Merry is kind of predictable, but the series took a rather slow and comfortable pace developing the story and the characters thus I don't find the necessity or motivation to write about that. That's unlike Zombie where nothing exciting seems to happen though. But the point of this post is to talk about how much more interesting it has became after the unimpressive verdict I gave it in the season preview and how it's becoming one of my favourites; even if I don't talk about it much.

If I would describe what's the best thing about the series, it would subtleness... That's something very rarely seen in anime nowadays, which mostly rely heavily on archetypes, cliches and fomulaic dialogue to create those funny or cute moments. That is what led to the failure of that one eroge adaptation every season... boring old reused scenes and situations. Not that it always didn't work out; Infinite Stratos found the perfect combo of character design, voice actor, personality and situation for that one character everyone can't help but love: Charlotte.

Yumekui Merry's subtleness is in the way the series create the cute, moe or funny situations not in the predictable manner that other series usually do. It was only in the most recent episode (nine) that I have a strong opinion on this though. Most of episode nine is information dumping and setting up for the next (final) part of the series, yet it's full of the cute moments of Yui and Engi that I can't help but love. It reminds me of K-ON where they can make every scene lovable, but that is a slice-of-life moe blob series; this isn't.

Yui's seiyuu is surprisingly likable. Her VA, Akiya Tomoko, is an unfamiliar name and after a bit of research, her only big role is in Ojamajo Doremi... a kiddy show I'm sure hardly any one watches. Although many might disagree, I just really like the way she can act out many different situations in the dialogue without having a drastic change in her tone, and maintain the cuteness in the voice all the time. That's somewhat similar to the charm of Omigawa Chiaki, although the tone of the voice she maintains is more towards hysterical.

Engi quickly become one of my favourite characters this season and honestly right now I can't tell whether I like Charlotte or her more. Engi have this strong and impersonal front, but can be really caring, gentle and warm inside. And it's so cute when she gave that rare smile above.

Onward to the final leg of the story. Don't let the hype bring down the amount of cuteness this series has!

Bonus:

The eyes says it all.

An overview of Winter 2011 (and rankings)

A summary of what I've came to watch, what I've dropped and what I might catch in the near future.

The Keepers

1. Puella Magi Madoka Magica (5 episodes)
It's the most searched and most discussed topic on the blogosphere for  a while now so I do not think I have to discuss this much further, so I will just say this: Puella Magi Madoka Magica totally changed the way one would look at the Magical Girl genre that includes big names like Nanoha, PreCure, Sailor Moon, Cardcaptor, etc because beyond its cute and fluffy appearance and designs, there is the very real element of death, trauma and tragedy affecting the main characters, that was non-existent in this genre until now. Combined with great writing and story direction, you can tell they weren't kidding then they said this anime would be a breakthrough.

Outlook: Awesome!

2. Fractale (4 episodes)
Despite Yamakan's ramblings, Fractale is a pretty decent piece of work. I do not know why everyone keeps talking about the adventure that did not happen, but I think they are making headway now that all the main cast is gathered... well except Nessa, but I guess her exact location is not an issue.

I must admit Nessa's the core reason I came to really enjoy Fractale, because her unlimited energy and cheerful character with a mysterious tinge makes her extremely likable. Besides Nessa's overwhelming cuteness, the other thing that really draws me in is the setting the story of Fractale is set in. It is not the most original and it might feel too Ghibli for it's own good, but I am waiting to see how the Fractale system allows the series as a whole to stand out.
Outlook: Fantastic!

3. Infinite Stratos (5 episodes)
From the looks of it, I guess I was wrong after all (and everyone else is right). It does seems like it would turn out to be a pretty mindless harem. But that doesn't mean I cannot enjoy the anime, I just need to adjust my expectations a little. The little rooftop lunch thing in episode five was pretty cliche, but I cannot wipe away the stupid smile on my face, which usually only happens with stuff like K-ON. I do not quite appreciate how fast they tried to squeeze in the last two supporting characters into the story, and how they seem to dumb down Rin's presence (RAGE!!), but if it's done to push forward the story I think its better to at least inject the series with more substance than carry on with more of the character relationship development. While I think that the core of the story will have to be the relationship among the key figures of the battle (Macross Frontier) rather than a chimerical battle (Strike Witches? Gundam?), I do not think many will appreciate it unless it has the kind of potential Macross Frontier has.

Outlook: Very Good

4. Kore wa Zombie desu ka? (4 episodes)
The series is pushing the boundaries of being random and extreme, using absurd combos that you do not people dared to use: A magical girl that is actually a guy? And a zombie at the same time? That uses chainsaw as its main weapon? A ninja that is also a vampire? A flying whale wearing a school uniform? It's like a harem version of Cromatie High School, plus fighting scenes.

But what makes Kore wa Zombie desu ka really shines beyond its comedic elements... is the unexpected touching scenes in episode four. Eu's own back story changes the way you look at this series, but not in a bad way; you will see it more than just a comedy action series. I may be expecting a lot, but I am hoping that the series might outshine something like Seto no Hanayome.
Outlook: Very Good

5. Yumekui Merry (5 episodes)
Yumekui Merry never did impress me as much as it did for others, because putting it bluntly, I just do not see much beyond a girl from another dimension fighting fantasy monsters. The animation in the dream world does make it pretty unique, but not enough to make it stand out. Still, it was watchable enough and I hoped the story would take a more drastic turn to spice things up a little... Luckily for me, the latest episode (5) did just that. With the revealment of a difficult truth for Merry and the critical injury of Yumeji, it looks like we will see a lot progress in the storyline and character development of Merry for the coming episodes.

Outlook: It feels like things are getting a lot more interesting.






Dropped

6. GOSICK (2 episodes)
The main selling point (and only one for me) of the series is Victorica and not detective work that is going on in the story. And the show seems to want to keep it that way. I find it hard to follow the series when a seemingly simple plot can only be solved chibi girl who would otherwise only make snide remarks. It would have been more realistic if she is been drugged by APTX 4869, which might have explained why would such a young girl possesses the kind of knowledge needed to solve "complex" crimes. Despite some of the good stuff I heard about the series, I cannot see how GOSICK would sell without the Victorica moe and I should not consider giving it another chance... though pics like that above makes a lot of room for consideration =P

Another chance?: If any other part of the series besides Victorica receives enough praises and can convince me that it's worth it.

7. FREEZING (2 episodes)
I am sure a lot would like an all-girl shounen-style action series with plenty of fanservice, but aside from the crappy animation, the show has plenty of issues. First, the show suffers from the Queen's Blade disease; the clothing around the important parts always gets ripped off for no good reason, and the girls never seems to mind. Second, by following closely to the manga (which should deserve some praise), the series is battle after battle and that leaves little room for any story; which is also a problem for the manga. Thirdly, the story suffers from the typical shouen symdrome where the main character never loses. She just need to be wounded thoroughly and angry enough to hax her power level to 9001. There is a few other issues (i.e. the male lead is a pussy) but I will not go there...

Another chance?: If the characters actually develops more (which I don't think would).

8. Dragon Crisis (4 episodes)
I don't care how good Kugimiya Rie is supposed to be voicing underdeveloped flat-chested tsundere lolis, but Rose is the main reason why the series is as irritating as hell. And it's largely due to her limited vocabulary and devotion to main character Ryuji. Eriko and Hocchan allowed me to last as far as the 4th episode but even they could not soothe the pain in my ears that is Rose.

Another chance?: Only if the heterochromia girl becomes interesting enough, Eriko become irresistible or I become desperate for more Hocchan.

9. Onii-chan wa something something (half episode)
It did not occur to me that watching an incest comedy could be so... disturbing until the first minute of the first episode of this series. The manga was ok; but when it translates into the anime medium, I just cannot ignore the incest sexual innuendo that was implied so strongly throughout the series. I cannot ignore that fact that they are pretty much real siblings even if in fact they are not blood-related; they've been knowing and treating each other like so since young whether or not they actually share the same blood now doesn't really comes into question. Though I must say I am not giving this a fair review because I am not giving it a fair chance; it's just something that I just cannot find interesting.

Another chance?: Only if I'm stuck in a nuclear bunker for a week and this is the only form of entertainment I've got.




What I might catch in the near future

#1. Level E
Due to the sore lacking of females in this series I've never thought of giving this a chance, until psgels hailed it as the best show this season. It wasn't just him (or her), but a couple of bloggers at Random Curiosity also thought so. I wasn't ready for a character like Prince but... who knows? Maybe one day...

#2. Hourou Musuko
I've already expected it from the preview, but the super light colors used in the show stopped me from even seeing the first episode. Look at the picture up there; I've darken half the image, doesn't that make it a lot livelier? Sure, it might lose the feel of the show but cannot help but me bothered by their style of animation.

First Impression: Yumekui Merry

Yumekui Merry hasn't quite proved to be a real seller but has at least proved to be interesting enough for me to continue watching it. Not that I'm real impressed with these dreaming stuff though. It might have been a pretty original idea, but the idea of having non-humans coming from another reality to fight has been done to death. Yumekui Merry needs something more than lucid dreaming and something more creative related to the topic of dreaming to really bring out appeal.

I've only realised in episode 2 that Merry has slit eyes. I must say that itself made her a lot more interesting for me as it is something you don't always see. Episode 3 shows another character with crossed eyes too. I don't know if the character Minato will have anymore roles in the future episodes, but if she has, her introduction comes off pretty weak. Despite her role in the episode, her character is almost formulaic to the standard supporting character; nothing more than that.

Also in the third episode, we finally got an idea of how the term "Yumekui" comes from, albeit it's just a silly nickname Yumeji thought of.

If the rest of the episodes carry on like this, I won't say it's really a show worth watching unless they planned for an epic ending, which I highly doubted. I do hope they would ramp up the action and story a little, and provide more eye candy =)

(Eye candy does not equate fan service!)

Outlook: Fairly Positive