2012 anime thoughts
There are a few other things I'd like to post, but I thought I'd get this out of the way first.
The 2012 anime season has been going on for a while, and I find myself caring less. I don't know if the actual number of shows I care about has dropped, though. I just can't find the energy to bother watching things anymore.
Shows that stand out:
Space Brothers -- The story of two brothers, the elder apparently born under a bad sign while the younger a good one. As kids, the two decide to become astronauts. Jump to the future, and the younger is now a NASA astronaut preparing for a moon base mission. The elder is unemployed, having just been fired from his job at a car company. The younger reminds the elder of their shared dream, and submits an application in his brother's name to become a JAXA astronaut. The series is the elder brother's attempt to fulfill his childhood dream. A straight-forward non-fantasy series, I'd call it more "adult", though it seems designed to sell careers in space exploration to children.
Tsuritama -- An outgoing self-professed alien has decided an introvert student is the one to save the world, through fishing. Fairly nice character interactions, and about as pro-fishing as Space Brothers is pro-space exploration.
Shows that are okay:
Accel World -- Based on a series of light novels, kids are now implanted at birth with neuro-interfaces for computer systems. A program called Brain Burst is being circulated that lets kids think at accelerated speeds, but also causes them to fight each other in a fighting game setting to keep that ability. The concept itself falls flat if you think about it. (The time difference between the real world and the accelerated makes even a one second difference in activation times become around 16 minutes in accelerated time. Yet characters constantly enter the accelerated world together, and matches in the accelerated world tend to have plenty of spectators just hanging around.) The implementation also falls flat if you think about it. But still, it is okay.
Haiyore! Nyarlko-san -- Haiyore! Nyaruko-san is a series of light novels where the Cthulhu mythos creatures have taken the forms of cute school girls. Haiyoru! Nyaruani: Remember My Love(craft-sensei) was series of cheap Flash animation style shorts. Haiyore! is the full-fledged full-priced anime adaptation. Surprisingly better than the theme would suggest, and fairly loaded with gags and references to various things.
Tasogare Otome X Amnesia [Dusk Maiden of Amnesia] -- At first appearance, it could look like another Another, but it isn't. A student who can see ghosts meets the ghost Yuuko, who he can actually touch. Cue romantic comedy, except with a mystery, as Yuuko cannot remember her past. There is a bit of darkness to it, but it isn't a horror story, despite the existence of Shadow Yuuko. I'm not sure how far the anime will go in the mystery of Yuuko though, as the manga has yet to finish it itself.
Sankarea -- Zombie fanatic guy researches a resurrection potion. Potential future love interest takes potion, and then gets killed by her abusive/restrictive father. Guy now has a zombie girlfriend. She just wants to experience a normal life for the first time in her life. He has to learn how to deal with concerns like stopping her body from decaying and how every now and then she wants to eat him. Based on a manga, but it is one of those adaptations where the anime was approved before the manga had even gone very far. I'm not sure what that will bode for the future, considering how anime tend to fall apart when they catch up with their manga sources.
Shows that are meh or below:
Nazo no Kanojo X [Mysterious Girlfriend X] -- A strange girl transfers to a new school. When Tsubaki tastes transfer student Urabe's drool, he becomes addicted, developing a fever if he fails to get a taste every day. The early story teases a lot of mystery, with Tsubaki's strange dreams, Tsubaki's strong addiction to Urabe's saliva, the eventual ability to read feelings through saliva, and all of Urabe's many strangeness. I've only managed to watch one episode. The problem is that I've read the manga, and if the anime follows suit, then the whole "mystery" part that is teased early on never goes anywhere. Instead, the series turns into a generic school life romance, except with a main character who can tell what a girl feels by tasting her saliva.
AKB0048 -- In a place where idol singers are outlawed, only outlaws are idol singers. Uhm, seriously. There is a place where entertainment is outlawed. A band of idol singers perform guerrilla concert, leaving an impression on four young kids. I didn't even make it through the first episode of this one.
Sengoku Collection -- Don't know if this deserves to be here, but it was another show that drove me away almost immediately.
Shows I can't bring myself to care enough about to try:
Medaka Box -- Read the manga for a while, and the Flask Plan arc drove me away. I'm not even going to touch this one.
The 2012 anime season has been going on for a while, and I find myself caring less. I don't know if the actual number of shows I care about has dropped, though. I just can't find the energy to bother watching things anymore.
Shows that stand out:
Space Brothers -- The story of two brothers, the elder apparently born under a bad sign while the younger a good one. As kids, the two decide to become astronauts. Jump to the future, and the younger is now a NASA astronaut preparing for a moon base mission. The elder is unemployed, having just been fired from his job at a car company. The younger reminds the elder of their shared dream, and submits an application in his brother's name to become a JAXA astronaut. The series is the elder brother's attempt to fulfill his childhood dream. A straight-forward non-fantasy series, I'd call it more "adult", though it seems designed to sell careers in space exploration to children.
Tsuritama -- An outgoing self-professed alien has decided an introvert student is the one to save the world, through fishing. Fairly nice character interactions, and about as pro-fishing as Space Brothers is pro-space exploration.
Shows that are okay:
Accel World -- Based on a series of light novels, kids are now implanted at birth with neuro-interfaces for computer systems. A program called Brain Burst is being circulated that lets kids think at accelerated speeds, but also causes them to fight each other in a fighting game setting to keep that ability. The concept itself falls flat if you think about it. (The time difference between the real world and the accelerated makes even a one second difference in activation times become around 16 minutes in accelerated time. Yet characters constantly enter the accelerated world together, and matches in the accelerated world tend to have plenty of spectators just hanging around.) The implementation also falls flat if you think about it. But still, it is okay.
Haiyore! Nyarlko-san -- Haiyore! Nyaruko-san is a series of light novels where the Cthulhu mythos creatures have taken the forms of cute school girls. Haiyoru! Nyaruani: Remember My Love(craft-sensei) was series of cheap Flash animation style shorts. Haiyore! is the full-fledged full-priced anime adaptation. Surprisingly better than the theme would suggest, and fairly loaded with gags and references to various things.
Tasogare Otome X Amnesia [Dusk Maiden of Amnesia] -- At first appearance, it could look like another Another, but it isn't. A student who can see ghosts meets the ghost Yuuko, who he can actually touch. Cue romantic comedy, except with a mystery, as Yuuko cannot remember her past. There is a bit of darkness to it, but it isn't a horror story, despite the existence of Shadow Yuuko. I'm not sure how far the anime will go in the mystery of Yuuko though, as the manga has yet to finish it itself.
Sankarea -- Zombie fanatic guy researches a resurrection potion. Potential future love interest takes potion, and then gets killed by her abusive/restrictive father. Guy now has a zombie girlfriend. She just wants to experience a normal life for the first time in her life. He has to learn how to deal with concerns like stopping her body from decaying and how every now and then she wants to eat him. Based on a manga, but it is one of those adaptations where the anime was approved before the manga had even gone very far. I'm not sure what that will bode for the future, considering how anime tend to fall apart when they catch up with their manga sources.
Shows that are meh or below:
Nazo no Kanojo X [Mysterious Girlfriend X] -- A strange girl transfers to a new school. When Tsubaki tastes transfer student Urabe's drool, he becomes addicted, developing a fever if he fails to get a taste every day. The early story teases a lot of mystery, with Tsubaki's strange dreams, Tsubaki's strong addiction to Urabe's saliva, the eventual ability to read feelings through saliva, and all of Urabe's many strangeness. I've only managed to watch one episode. The problem is that I've read the manga, and if the anime follows suit, then the whole "mystery" part that is teased early on never goes anywhere. Instead, the series turns into a generic school life romance, except with a main character who can tell what a girl feels by tasting her saliva.
AKB0048 -- In a place where idol singers are outlawed, only outlaws are idol singers. Uhm, seriously. There is a place where entertainment is outlawed. A band of idol singers perform guerrilla concert, leaving an impression on four young kids. I didn't even make it through the first episode of this one.
Sengoku Collection -- Don't know if this deserves to be here, but it was another show that drove me away almost immediately.
Shows I can't bring myself to care enough about to try:
Medaka Box -- Read the manga for a while, and the Flask Plan arc drove me away. I'm not even going to touch this one.