First Impressions: Spring 2011 Anime I've Tried

This is by far the best season ever so far since I've been actually keeping up with currently airing anime in Japan, which has been about a year, out of the 12 anime I tried this season, there were only 3 I didn't like...not really much to say to preface this surprisingly, sept that I'm gonna go out of order cuz there's one anime I'm really itching to rant about. Sorry this is so late by the way, I've been busy, and I'm 1-3 episodes behind on all of these because I'm so busy, but this is as usual all written w/ the impression of the first 2 eps.

C: The Money of Soul and Possibility Control

In a nutshell this is some really trippy shit. It's like Alice in Wonderland on shrooms, which is pretty insane cuz I'm pretty sure Alice was on LSD so I guess this anime is on both LSD and shrooms. It's completely sick and trippy, best way I can describe it. I'm not going to even try to explain completely the Financial District but that purple-haired guy (Masakaki) takes the brown-haired kid (Kimimaro Yoga) there and...well of course that place is pretty twisted as well. But there are these battles called "Deals" in which people fight with these summoned beings called "Assets". Like everything else about this anime it's really quite creepy and strange. Told ya, trippy.

So yeah despite it being totally creepy, it's creepy in an awesome sort of way and I quite enjoy watching it thus far. It also has a mysterious aspect to it, but that could just be because Kimimaro has no freaking idea what's going on for the most part, and I can't say I blame him. The fight scenes or Deals are pretty cool and the "special effects" are awesome too, the anime overall actually is quite visually appealing, albeit the trippy bit that I mentioned before. And of course the main character is a prodigy and then there's the older more mysterious former prodigy who confronts him, to which he freaks out and is all like "I don't want any part in this", fairly standard in that respect, but still good, I'll be watching this through to the end, really curious as to how it's gonna unfold.

Deadman Wonderland:

Hands down one of my favorites, if not my favorite, this season. This is absolutely sick and screwed up but it's excellent on so many levels. It revolves around this prison called Deadman Wonderland, where the prisoners are entertainment for people who come to see. And when I say entertainment I mean gladiator type entertainment, watching the prisoners get brutally killed and maimed in sport-like events. Like that picture is from the second episode during an obstacle course race, Ganta trips and is looking at those swinging axes figuring they aren't real then he sees this guy get splattered by them and he's like "shit they're real". This obstacle course also featured bunjee jumping w/ a cord that may or may not be too long, electric panels and spikes. It's absolutely sick, and so twisted, but it's very good for some reason. It's got a great, yet pretty small cast of characters thus far, Ganta has his moments, but Shiro I enjoy quite a lot because unlike Ganta, she's happy-go-lucky all the time and not being a whiny emo. Granted I can understand being pretty emo in his situation, he is on death row, but I mean c'mon, you're the main character in an anime! You wont die...unless this is Death Note which it isn't.

A-Channel:

So. Much. Chibi. Oh my god it's like the chibis have taken over O.o Now don't get me wrong, I think chibis are adorable, but an entire anime done in chibi (or...well I'm gonna call this pseudo-chibi cuz it's not really chibi) is a little excessive.

The first episode bored me sooooooo much I don't even know how I sat through it all. The characters were also very annoying, and the girl with the bat, yeah not cool, she was a complete creeper. Then there was some weird accidental misunderstanding of a lesbian sex scene...with girls who look like they're five years old -.- I've grown to just say 'what the hell ever' to accidental sex scenes or what people misunderstand to be a sex scene in anime, but when the characters involved look like pre-pubescent children, no thanks I'll pass. Other than that though, it simply wasn't entertaining in the least, there was absolutely nothing that held my interest for anymore than the first 5 minutes.

Ao no Exorcist:

Good ol' fashioned shounen demon ass-kicking? Hell yes! This is so action-packed thus far like any good classic shounen series should be, and God knows I love a good classic shounen title. In the first two episodes there have been great fight scenes in both and as per usual for Shounen Jump series' the characters are immediately real and likeable even in the first episode.

Rin, the guy in the picture, finds out that he's the son of Satan after being teased and called "a demons child" his whole life and after being raised by a reverend, you can imagine he doesn't like that so much. He also has this strangely InuYasha-Esq sword that contains his demonic powers and the sheath keeps those in check so when it's unsheathed he goes into crazy demon mode. Overall pretty cool so far, can't wait to see more.

Aria Scarlet Ammo (Hidan no Aria):

Given my normal distaste for guns and tsundere I'm surprised I like this one as much as I do. This surrounds a school for butei, which are essentially detective mercenaries, and a butei student who is...honestly annoyingly apathetic, hence that I can't remember his name and then his pink-haired stalker Aria who is  a world-renowned butei.

I feel the need to talk about Aria on her own, cuz she makes my opinions conflict. I hate tsundere bitchy girls, she is most definitely that; but she is also really bad-ass and not only wields dual pistols with immense skill but if those are disarmed she has dual katanas that make her nothing short of awesome. She's also super strong as you can probably imagine. So I don't know whether to love or hate her, cuz I quite like her...but she really pisses me off sometimes.

But yeah anyway, this has some pretty intense scenes so far that while they aren't the psychological thriller-Esq moments I'd like to see in a detective anime, they're still suspenseful. Your average 'disarm this bomb under these impossible circumstances' bit, but it is in fact pretty good nonetheless. The ecchi isn't too heavy, its bearable for those like me who have a strong dislike for it, just some bouncy boobs here and there and a couple panty-shots. I'll be seeing this one through to the end as it really does look quite promising and I've enjoyed the two episodes I have seen so far.

Dog Days:

This one is honestly far too happy...sickeningly happy actually to the point where you're left being like "Come on I wanna see some bloodshed!". And yet somehow it still manages to be entertaining. In this fantasy land its basically the dog-ear kingdom vs. the cat-ear kingdom in an "all out war". Which you know would be pretty neat if it wasn't essentially an athletic competition (much to the thrill of the jock-like protagonist, Shinku) and instead of dying the combatants get knocked out by being turned into either cat heads/tails or dog heads/tails that make strange noises. The two sides are also apparently friends at some level and when the princess was taken hostage, they treated her like an honored guest. And the male protagonist Shinku is actually quite annoying at points.

Despite this though there is enough good points and interesting, non-annoying characters to make it entertaining enough to watch and somewhat enjoy. This is the type of anime that draws me to the antagonists because they're not actually evil, and quite frankly they're a lot more bad-ass and less obnoxious than the protagonists. Take the guy on the left for example, Gaul, waayy cooler than any of the protagonists. Plus the antagonists are the cat-ear kingdom, and given that I prefer cats over dogs because dogs are well...annoying, I'm also quite partial to the cat-ear kingdom. This is one of those that I'm gonna see through, but just barely, like I could not watch it and be happy and not miss it, but I figure why not, it holds my interest enough.

Hoshizora e Kakeru Hashi:

Yep, this was pretty much exactly like what I thought it'd be, very very boring. I had a problem figuring out whether it's made for the creepy otaku perverts who like to masturbate to ecchi shots of young girls or young girls who like to swoon over pathetic and not-the-least-bit-cute romantic stories. But either way it was really very obnoxious a majority of the time and the short-haired bitchy girl who's friends with the pink-haired girl OH MY GOD she was so obnoxious! Let your friend live her own life for cryin out loud! I'm honestly beginning to get tired of anime girls sqealing "pervert!" any time a guy does anything, perverted or not! Its so obnoxious, and even I'm not that bad...I call my boyfriend a pervert a lot, but not if it's not perverted or not his fault, I mean really, c'mon, I feel bad for the guys. So yeah as if this wasn't obvious I'm not watching this one.

Sengoku Otome (Battle Girls: Time Paradox):

This was one of those anime that I thought I was going to hate because it would be a senseless ecchi romp. And I was actually pleasantly surprised in one of the few times I've ever been glad to be proven wrong. There isn't too much ecchi in it, honestly Hidan no Aria has more I think, and the fight scenes for the most part are pretty good.

Now, coming off watching Sengoku Basara as the last historic anime I watched, it's quite strange to see those very same characters, whom I've come to know as Sengoku Basara portrays them, switched into women. Especially Oda Nobunaga and Date Masamune, Toyotomi Hideyoshi I can deal with. Speaking of her, she is an absolute ditz I'm surprised she doesn't piss me off more because she is the classic complete airhead female

lead.

Anyway though I absolutely love most anime centered around feudal Japan, especially the Sengoku period since I'm a huge fan of Date Masamune (female or male XD just a cool person). And girls fighting without your view being obscured by flying skirts, shreadding clothes, panties and boobs is always a plus too, I can actually focus on the fight instead of cursing anime creators for being such pigs. The characters and their designs are enjoyable and there is a talking dog with a Date Masamune helmet and perverted sense of humor whom I quite enjoy. This is definitely on my watching list for the season.

Sket Dance:

I'm honestly not quite sure why I'm watching this one to tell you the truth. I guess just cuz it's not good enough to be like "Hell yeah I gotta see this!" but not shitty enough not to watch.

It's in an episodic format, the characters are pretty enjoyable, not awesome, but enjoyable. Honestly it just reminds me of a watered-down version of Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakama tachi because it has the same exact premise of a school club existing to help the student body, just not as good. This one said club also does a lot more goofing around, I'd say this is more humor based than Ookami-san but personally I don't even find it funny, thats just me though, I have a weird sense of humor. I figure I may as well continue watching this, I don't really know why, just cuz.

Steins;Gate and The World God Only Knows 2
I'm not gonna really talk about these just cuz Steins;Gate I watched only 10mins of and hated so not much to talk about with only 10mins. And The World God Only Knows 2 is...well a season 2 that I've already written my opinion of the first season, this is pretty-much exactly the same so again, nothing really to say.

Toriko:

Aaand last but most definitely not least is this wonderful gem. Meant to be more overflowing with action and pure GAR than to tell any particularly riveting story, it manages to be just as entertaining as reading the manga had lead me to believe. My only complaint is that it seems a tad rushed so far and the stupid reporter girl they decided to put in there just for the anime really annoys me. She reminds me of a far more obnoxious April O'Neil from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (the old episodes).

It is set in the Gourmet Age, where basically the entire world revolves around food, chefs who prepare it and the Bishoku-ya or "Gourmet Hunters" who catch it. Among these Bishoku-ya there are...I forget how many but these heavenly kings who are the best at their trade. Toriko is one of them and as you can guess it follows his story of beating the snot out of various giant, dangerous creatures to get them for food. And of course Toriko being as insanely manly as he is, has to have a pathetic weakling traveling partner right? Well that would be the little wimpy chef, Komatsu. All in all it's really great and I highly recommend either watching the anime or reading the manga (if you can handle some shit artwork), it really is very good and pretty original in concept. It's especially enjoyable if you love food.

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So yeah sorry I'm soooooo late with this, but my life has been hectic lately and I'm behind on everything, anime, school-work, videogames, blogging, sleep, various other things I need to get done, you name it and I'm probably behind on it so yeah. Thankfully though, summer is coming which means I'll have more time for everything, including watching more anime and blogging more. Tell me whatchya think! =D