Fall anime impressions
Normally I don't do this, but last night I decided to check out a few of the new anime for this fall (all just one episode currently) and was pleasantly surprised. Lately I've not been motivated to watch more than one or two at a time, and sometimes late in the game.
Zetsuen No Tempest
K Project
Kamisama Hajimimashita (or Kamisama Kiss)
Magi
Unintentionally, these all revolve around magic more or less.
Already a manga, the anime is by BONES, who always delivers. Based off the first episode, it seems like the main character is Yoshino Takigawa (the boy on the left) though plot synopses say it revolves around his friend Mahiro Fuwa (right) who's family, including his sister (girl on the left), was killed a year ago. Mahiro disappears from Yoshino's life for a while, and when he suddenly appears while saving his life he seems to have learned some magic. Mahiro tells him that he's made a contract with the greatest mage in the world (the girl on the right) - he offered up his life in exchange for her help to avenge his family's murder. The thing is, though, she was marooned on an island obscured from sight by her mage clan and can communicate only through a wooden doll (like a walkie talkie).
Confused? I was too. The first episode just flings you in and only explains some things after the fact. Everyone seems a bit off from what their expected stereotypes should be. Yoshino is described as someone who always lies, and Mahiro does not act righteous in his quest; he seems vindictive and sly. There's a blood-iron "disease" that turns people into metal, which is a side effect of the mage clan trying to raise this magical tree thing. Mahiro's magic appears guided by butterflies. There's a good sense of style, the turns keep you on your toes, and it's animated beautifully. The world is normal, there are just people who can use magic in it.
From GoRA, images have been leaking out for this for a while, and while there are a lot of cliches, it looks pretty fun. In the first episode, the Red King (red haired guy) who leads Homura, a odds-and-ends group of punks, seems to be searching for someone. He's intercepted by the Blue King (blue uniform) and SCEPTER 4, and they face off briefly, each activating their "aura" which is represented by a giant sword hanging in the sky. The main character, Isana Yashiro (far left), is a popular high school student (with no friends) at a massive school built on an island off the coast of Japan. He comes across as scatterbrained, polite, and perpetually happy. He's sent on an errand to the mainland for a school project. One of the members of Homura spots him and Shiro finds himself attacked out of the blue. Yatogami Kuroh (far right) appears out of the sky and helps him escape only to turn around and point his sword at him. Suddenly all the tvs in the city are hacked and a video of what looks like Shiro is shown killing the camera operator.
Another series where you're kind of thrown in. But this one is obviously all about style. The colors are just a bit off, drained in a way (a little girl looks through a marble and everything is vibrant). Many sequences are visually stunning; probably some motion capture or live footage rotoscope in there especially for the skateboarding. It follows the long black-haired grumpy young man paired with a clueless short white-haired young man trope, like No. 6, D.Gray-Man, etc. I heard this was some sort of alternate 'verse.
Another that's already a manga, it's from TMS and already licensed by FUNimation. The one shoujo of the group. Nanami, a high school student evicted from her home because of her father's debts, saves a man from a dog and he offers her his home before he scurries off. Dubious, she goes anyway and finds it a run down shrine. The spirits inside recognize her as the Earth deity (gifted unknowingly by the man she rescued), though Tomoe, the fox spirit who used to serve the man, refuses to accept her as his master. He leaves, but Nanami realizes she doesn't have much power so she goes to find him, but gets tricked by and old woman spirit who tries to eat her. Tomoe scoffs at her, so she pulls him out of the tree and kisses him, which binds him as her servant and she orders him to save her.
I was a little hesitant about this one at first, but a friend mentioned it and I thought why not. It used a lot of on-screen text bubbles initially, and veers into exaggerated caricatures occasionally so it definitely gets a little goofy. I described it as Fruits Basket-ish on Twitter earlier, and looking it up now, it was actually directed by the same person who directed Fruits Basket. So there you go. Unintentionally caught the vibe. lol Nanami's not a complete damsel-in-distress, she does get annoyed, but she's open to strange things. Tomoe is fantastically snarky, dismissive, and delicately beautiful, but he does have moments of "humanity" which are fleeting, but truly there.
Originally a manga, the anime is done by A-1 Pictures and is streaming on Crunchyroll and Hulu. Arabian Nights themed, but doesn't take place in the Middle East. Aladdin is a small boy (middle, blue hair) that appears out of nowhere with a magic flute containing a djinn - which appears as a giant, muscular blue body without a head. He is the titular "magi," a being capable of extremely powerful magic. He runs into Alibaba (center front), a down-on-his-luck young man who works for a horrible boss only so he can save money to go explore the treasure filled dungeon in town, one of many around the world that appeared a few years ago for no reason. Alibaba realizes Aladdin would be a big help in the dungeon and gets him to tag along. They bump into a slave girl a couple times (red-haired girl on the left), and Aladdin even frees her once. In the first episode, she risks her life to save a child from being eaten by a desert monster; Alibaba can't stand being helpless anymore and attempts to rescue her, with help from Aladdin.
I've been reading the manga for this from the beginning and it's a lot of fun. It's shounen, but slides into silly quite a bit. I was excited to see the first episode, and it looks like, while going faster than the manga, they are still staying true to the tone. Aladdin is both clueless and wise, traveling with his djinn, Ugo. Alibaba wants to be strong and respected, but is often wracked by doubt. The supporting cast of characters is great. The dungeons, or labyrinths are true adventures. I can't say much more without spoiling what's to come.
Zetsuen No Tempest
K Project
Kamisama Hajimimashita (or Kamisama Kiss)
Magi
Unintentionally, these all revolve around magic more or less.
Already a manga, the anime is by BONES, who always delivers. Based off the first episode, it seems like the main character is Yoshino Takigawa (the boy on the left) though plot synopses say it revolves around his friend Mahiro Fuwa (right) who's family, including his sister (girl on the left), was killed a year ago. Mahiro disappears from Yoshino's life for a while, and when he suddenly appears while saving his life he seems to have learned some magic. Mahiro tells him that he's made a contract with the greatest mage in the world (the girl on the right) - he offered up his life in exchange for her help to avenge his family's murder. The thing is, though, she was marooned on an island obscured from sight by her mage clan and can communicate only through a wooden doll (like a walkie talkie).
Confused? I was too. The first episode just flings you in and only explains some things after the fact. Everyone seems a bit off from what their expected stereotypes should be. Yoshino is described as someone who always lies, and Mahiro does not act righteous in his quest; he seems vindictive and sly. There's a blood-iron "disease" that turns people into metal, which is a side effect of the mage clan trying to raise this magical tree thing. Mahiro's magic appears guided by butterflies. There's a good sense of style, the turns keep you on your toes, and it's animated beautifully. The world is normal, there are just people who can use magic in it.
From GoRA, images have been leaking out for this for a while, and while there are a lot of cliches, it looks pretty fun. In the first episode, the Red King (red haired guy) who leads Homura, a odds-and-ends group of punks, seems to be searching for someone. He's intercepted by the Blue King (blue uniform) and SCEPTER 4, and they face off briefly, each activating their "aura" which is represented by a giant sword hanging in the sky. The main character, Isana Yashiro (far left), is a popular high school student (with no friends) at a massive school built on an island off the coast of Japan. He comes across as scatterbrained, polite, and perpetually happy. He's sent on an errand to the mainland for a school project. One of the members of Homura spots him and Shiro finds himself attacked out of the blue. Yatogami Kuroh (far right) appears out of the sky and helps him escape only to turn around and point his sword at him. Suddenly all the tvs in the city are hacked and a video of what looks like Shiro is shown killing the camera operator.
Another series where you're kind of thrown in. But this one is obviously all about style. The colors are just a bit off, drained in a way (a little girl looks through a marble and everything is vibrant). Many sequences are visually stunning; probably some motion capture or live footage rotoscope in there especially for the skateboarding. It follows the long black-haired grumpy young man paired with a clueless short white-haired young man trope, like No. 6, D.Gray-Man, etc. I heard this was some sort of alternate 'verse.
Another that's already a manga, it's from TMS and already licensed by FUNimation. The one shoujo of the group. Nanami, a high school student evicted from her home because of her father's debts, saves a man from a dog and he offers her his home before he scurries off. Dubious, she goes anyway and finds it a run down shrine. The spirits inside recognize her as the Earth deity (gifted unknowingly by the man she rescued), though Tomoe, the fox spirit who used to serve the man, refuses to accept her as his master. He leaves, but Nanami realizes she doesn't have much power so she goes to find him, but gets tricked by and old woman spirit who tries to eat her. Tomoe scoffs at her, so she pulls him out of the tree and kisses him, which binds him as her servant and she orders him to save her.
I was a little hesitant about this one at first, but a friend mentioned it and I thought why not. It used a lot of on-screen text bubbles initially, and veers into exaggerated caricatures occasionally so it definitely gets a little goofy. I described it as Fruits Basket-ish on Twitter earlier, and looking it up now, it was actually directed by the same person who directed Fruits Basket. So there you go. Unintentionally caught the vibe. lol Nanami's not a complete damsel-in-distress, she does get annoyed, but she's open to strange things. Tomoe is fantastically snarky, dismissive, and delicately beautiful, but he does have moments of "humanity" which are fleeting, but truly there.
Originally a manga, the anime is done by A-1 Pictures and is streaming on Crunchyroll and Hulu. Arabian Nights themed, but doesn't take place in the Middle East. Aladdin is a small boy (middle, blue hair) that appears out of nowhere with a magic flute containing a djinn - which appears as a giant, muscular blue body without a head. He is the titular "magi," a being capable of extremely powerful magic. He runs into Alibaba (center front), a down-on-his-luck young man who works for a horrible boss only so he can save money to go explore the treasure filled dungeon in town, one of many around the world that appeared a few years ago for no reason. Alibaba realizes Aladdin would be a big help in the dungeon and gets him to tag along. They bump into a slave girl a couple times (red-haired girl on the left), and Aladdin even frees her once. In the first episode, she risks her life to save a child from being eaten by a desert monster; Alibaba can't stand being helpless anymore and attempts to rescue her, with help from Aladdin.
I've been reading the manga for this from the beginning and it's a lot of fun. It's shounen, but slides into silly quite a bit. I was excited to see the first episode, and it looks like, while going faster than the manga, they are still staying true to the tone. Aladdin is both clueless and wise, traveling with his djinn, Ugo. Alibaba wants to be strong and respected, but is often wracked by doubt. The supporting cast of characters is great. The dungeons, or labyrinths are true adventures. I can't say much more without spoiling what's to come.