More new anime
Let’s continue with the new anime.
Ramen Daisuki Koizumi-san: Misa is very interested in her classmate Koizumi, an elegant beauty who just isn’t interested in socializing. But she really, really loves ramen. Misa tries to be a part of that, and Koizumi will lecture her about the different types of ramen and the ingredients used. But immediately after, she turns into her usual cold self.
It’s fun, and you’ll learn something about ramen. The food is rendered with special attention to detail, which is fun to watch. But in the end, while we did have a good time watching this first episode, we’re not convinced that you could make a whole series out of it. We’re not going to be around to find out.
Yuru Camp Delta: Rin cycles up a long hill to go camp all by herself somewhere in autumn, with a lovely view of Mt Fuji. It’s kinda cold, so she builds a campfire. And then she meets Nadeshiko, who also rode her bicycle but didn’t come as prepared. Rin helps her out, and then it turns out they both go to the same school.
It’s laid-back and cute, and it’s surprisingly funny: the talking pinecones had us snickering. The camping advice is good, and the scenic backgrounds are really great. It’s going on the list.
Toji no Miko: The aratama are monster that have plagued Japan since ancient times. Young girls who have an affinity with magic katana are the only ones capable of exterminating them. And of course, there is a tournament for the best swordfighter - like it’s some kind of after-school club. During the tournament, one of the girls attacks the head of the sword-fighting agency, instead of her opponent!
It has a surprising amount of sword-fighting techniques called out and demonstrated, which is kind of cool. But it’s also very bland: we couldn’t really care what happened to any of the characters. And supposedly the swords are for fighting monsters, but we don’t see any of that.
Ito Junji: Collection: “Horror” stories (more gruesome than horror, though). The first is about a deeply unpleasant boy, and the second is really short, about a girl turning into a doll. Unpleasant to watch.
Grancrest Senki: Chaos has entered the world, bringing demons with it. Lords with Crests can absorb the chaos and protect the land, and they can contract a magician to help them. The Lords have split into two factions, fracturing the fight against chaos - only by combining the two crests, one could make the Grancrest. Siluca is a young magician who manipulates the young Lord Theo to form a contract with her, and sets him up to shake things up!
It’s fun and action-packed. The setting is intriguing: I want to know more about the mechanics of chaos and how to prevent demon incursions, and what those crests exactly are. Siluca’s uniform raised my eyebrows, but otherwise it seems like an interesting fantasy setting with some tactical thinking thrown in.
Pop Team Epic: Anime based on a four-panel comic. It’s weird, odd and ugly, and I don’t think I can drink enough to find it funny. Oddest thing is that the characters are girls, but they are voiced by men. And then the whole half-episode is repeated, but with the characters voiced by women. I don’t think I can appreciate the mindset needed to enjoy this series.
Crossposted from my blog. Comment here or at the original post.