Working'!! - Episode 2

Thanks to its pre-airing of episode one, it's been over a month since I first checked out the opening episode of Working's second season - luckily, such gaps prove to be no problem when so little changes episode to episode within the series.

So it goes that this episode meanders this way and that as it goes about its merry-making, whether it's Yamada pining for some attention from Takanashi, or Inami pining for some attention from Takanashi... wait a second, I can see a theme developing here.

Then again, Inami seems quite happy with her lot with Takanashi, while a brief period of stalking Souma is soon put to an end before Yamada finds some brief happiness thanks to the return of Otoo.  Elsewhere, Taneshima hasn't quite got the hang of teasing Satou, while her attempts to play cupid aren't exactly much better.  Still, at least she can manage to look cute with a couple of flags stuck in her hair...

Despite continuing to play to the unique aspects of each character's personality, you can't deny a couple of things about Working'!! - one, it's pretty well animated, even when it's toying with its characters in super-deformed... err... form.  Secondly, no matter how generic its ideas get it still manages to throw out a decent number of laugh out loud moments most episodes, and this instalment was no different in this regard as a few one-liners, quips, stupid comments and facial expressions got me giggling.  This might not be a spectacular comedy par excellence, but it knows what its good at and manages to be fun even when it isn't being downright funny.

Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai - Episode 1

As if the blonde hair and angry-looking eyes were bad enough, turning up late on his first day as a transfer student in a new school and the misunderstandings that follow means that before his new school life even begins Kodaka Hasegawa is thought of as a dangerous delinquent.  As a result he's shunned by his peers and left friendless... then again, he isn't the only one.

Returning to his classroom after school one day leads him to bump into Yozora Mikazuki and her friend as they idly chat by the window - except he doesn't bump into Yozora's friend.  Because she doesn't exist.  With no actual friends to call her own, Yozora has instead opted for having an imaginary friend, the wonderful Tomo.  Despite this, even she has to admit that she'd like some real friends, as would Kodaka, and in the blink of an eye the premise of the show is set, as Yozora creates the "Neighbours Club" - no, not a club to talk about the latest goings-on in Ramsey Street, but rather a group for fellow friendless individuals to come together under a united banner of loneliness.  Hell, even the club supervisor at this religious school is a lonely teacher/nun.

The trouble is, the first proper entrant to join Yozora and Kodaka's merry little group isn't exactly what the former was hoping for after all - a popular (with guys anyway), beautiful girl named Sena who loves nothing better than to use and subjugate guys yet still has no proper friends.  To say that Yozora and Sena hit it off would be a massive over-statement, so it looks as though Kodaka has some headaches to contend with before we've even really started.

After that dull and rather off-putting short OVA, this was a somewhat better opening gambit for Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai - it wasn't good exactly, and it's already running around with more anime clichés and tropes than I'd care to mention, but it's nicely animated and it has at least the occasional slither of snappy dialogue.  Hopes that this series might follow in the footsteps of Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai seem like nothing but a pipe dream right now, but hopefully the series can find something to offer beyond what its presented us with so far.

Persona 4: The Animation - Episode 1

Yes, I'm back!  After a long weekend hanging out with friends in Nottingham, normal service will be resumed here on this 'blog... until Thursday, when I head off to Edinburgh that is.

Anyhow, I should probably start this entry with a disclaimer - I've never played the Persona 4 video game (indeed I've barely played Persona 3 at all) so my thoughts on this series are very much the views of a Persona franchise virgin.  That said, the basic starting point for the series is hardly freshly-trod ground, as we meet a transfer student named Narukami who has been sent from the city to a sleepy town called Yasoinaba on account of his parents going to work abroad.

Not that things stay sleepy for all that long - no sooner has Narukami found himself a couple of potential friends in Chie Satonaka and Hanamura than news breaks of a gruesome murder on the school campus, with its victim left impaled on a television aerial.  Coupled with rumours about a "Midnight Channel" that allows you to see your soulmate if you turn on your TV at midnight, and you can see the focus of the series begin to emerge - lo and behold, the next thing we know Narukami finds that he can reach inside a television screen... although being accidentally pushed wholly into it and taking his friends with him perhaps wasn't quite part of the plan.

Thus, we're introduced to a strange world featuring a talking bear-like creature, some creepy shadows and, most importantly of all, a hidden power which Narukami seems to hold within him that gives him the ability to control some other being and fend off the aforementioned nasty creatures.  What the Hell is going on?  That'll be for episode two and beyond to handle...

For an opening episode, there's certainly plenty of ground covered to give us quite a lot to chew on in terms of plot and story - certainly a good thing for a newcomer to that story such as myself I would wager, and it seems interesting enough to make me want to watch more (which, let's face it, is all you can ask of any opening episode).  On the downside, Narukami is your typical dull as dishwater video game adaptation protagonist, with all of the charisma of an abandoned slipper on the side of the motorway, and the animation quality is ropey to say the least - this isn't the kind of series you'd necessarily expect to see animated on the cheap.  Still, with any luck Narukami's character will grow and develop somewhat and I'll get used to its animation foibles - if so, Persona 4: The Animation could have quite a bit to offer.

Mawaru Penguindrum - Episode 13

Having had her life saved (or at least extended) by the "magical" penguin hat over the course of the series, is this really the end for Himari as her brothers and Ringo watch on helplessly?

Perhaps not, courtesy of the appearance of a mysterious doctor who goes by the name of Sanetoshi - a man who also happens to be the same mysterious man we met in the library back in episode nine.  Sanetoshi arrives bearing apples/phials of "medicine" which are as equally mysterious as their provider, but prove to be the means to reawaken and bring life back to Himari... but at what cost?  Both Kanba and Natsume seem likely to be those who are now indebted to this man, who we learn little about other than the fact that he seems to be attempting to test and perhaps even change the universe as it pertains to the concept of fate.

Meanwhile, this episode is also set against more flashbacks surrounding the Takakura family, and focusing upon the day the sibling's parents were taken into police custody, turning the lives of their children upside down as a result.  As our present day brings us to the tenth anniversary of the replacement subway system constructed after the incident brought about by the Takakura's, will history be repeating itself, or is Natsume's desire to crush related to something different entirely?

Once again, Mawaru Penguindrum provides an episode which continues to revel in teasing us as it refuses to explain Sanetoshi's appearance in little more than the vaguest of terms, while concentrating a lot of its time on flashbacks which we could probably have extrapolated for ourselves - it's hardly shocking to think that the Takakura sibling's life was thrown upside down by the arrest of their parents, nor the affect this might have had on Himari.  Perhaps the most notable element of this episode (aside from Himari's "resurrection") is that the end of this week's instalment felt almost like it was writing Ringo out of the story, bringing her some kind of peace in her own battle against fate and seemingly putting her on a more even footing.  Her diary, of course, remains at large, and it seems that we'll be introduced to yet more individuals in the search for its missing half - hopefully the series won't forget to close the myriad other questions its posed while doing so.

Chihayafuru - Episode 1

When you're the sister of a well-known model, people tend to have certain expectations about you - expectations which are only somewhat fulfilled in the case of Chihayafuru's protagonist.  Sure, she's a beautiful girl, but her personality doesn't really match her looks at all.

It's in this manner that we're introduced to Chihaya Ayase, whose good-looking exterior hides a karuta-obsessed tomboy within.  As we join Chihaya, she's eagerly beginning her high school life in the hope of meeting people... and by people she ostensibly means people she can play karuta with.  Given the far from popular nature of the game this looks like a vain hope, brightened only by the appearance of an old friend of Chihaya's named Taichi.  As the two catch up and goof around somewhat, the dynamic between the two is clear - Taichi is in love with Chihaya, while Chihaya herself loves only karuta.  Or does she?  There's a clear tension when the name of another boy, Arata, is mentioned.

This throws us into full-on flashback mode for the remainder of the episode, as we see an elementary school-aged (and even more tomboyish) Chihaya as she spends her time at school with Taichi, but finds herself slightly fascinated by the quiet, picked on transfer student that is Arata.  Eventually, circumstances contrive to bring the brash, thoughtless Chihaya and this poor boy from a poor family together, which ultimately proves to be a life-changing meeting as our protagonist sees an incredible change in Arata as soon as karuta is mentioned while his skills and memory are breath-taking in their own right.

The only word I can find for this opening episode of Chihayafuru is wonderful as it nary puts a foot wrong throughout.  This is almost a lesson in character introductions as it succinctly sums up its major characters and their relationship to one another without hitting us over the head with it or via pointless dialogue - everything is expressed simply, efficiently and effectively.  What's more, we find ourselves instantly fascinated and even enamoured by these characters - their relationships, the questions left hanging about Arata's current life, Chihaya's awkwardly obsessive and lovable demeanour and so on.  These are individuals I want to know much, much more about, and these are people I want to follow as they explore their own lives - this is, of course, a very good thing to be feeling at the start of a new series.

Ultimately, perhaps what really grabs me is that Chihayafuru is a story that each and every one of us probably has some experience of at its core - we might be quiet and happy to stay out of the spotlight normally, but engage us in conversation about something we love and we become animated and passionate.  On the surface, Chihaya and Arata's story is our story as anime fans given a life of its own - as a result, of course it's a tale that we'll want to follow.  That I wasn't even planning on covering this series for the autumn but now have it firmly ensconced in my plans speaks volumes about how much this first instalment of Chihayafuru impressed me.

You and Me (Kimi to Boku) - Episode 1

We're all used to the tried, trusted and run into the ground school-based anime comedy series featuring four girls with differing personalities and their amusing adventures, right?  Well, how about a school-based anime comedy series featuring four guys with differing personalities and their amusing adventures?  Enter You and Me, which is nothing to do with an English kids TV programme from the 70s and 80s, before anyone asks.

While this opening episode introduces us to all four of its lead characters to some degree, the main focus lands largely on the cynical, world-weary Kaname as he complains about... well, pretty much everything really, before turning his attentions to an attempt to convince the quiet, sullen and generally unsociable Yuki to enrich his school life by joining an after-school club.

But which club to choose?  The group's first port of call in finding Yuki a club to join involves sports and athletics, something which sees him looking even less enthusiastic than ever - not because he's bad at sports (far from it, as he briefly demonstrates to the basketball club), but simply because he can't be bothered.  Cue a similar story from all manner of clubs from judo through to tea ceremonies and heav knows where else.  Eventually it turns out that Yuki's twin brother Yuta knew of exactly the club for him from the start, so come the end of it all it's problem solved.. somewhat.

Compared to the energetic, colourful and bouncy slice of life comedies which have become par for the course in recent years, You and Me is certainly far more.... sedate, to put it politely.  With a relatively muted colour palette, lots of random shots of cats being cute (which is always good in its own ways) and a bunch of lead characters who are largely rather weak-willed in general, it couldn't be more different than what we're used to.  Is this a good thing however?  From this opening episode it appears perhaps not - there are a couple of good one-liners and jokes stashed away, but that aside it's hard to really like any of the characters or develop an interest in their circumstances.  It's clearly too early to write the series off as a failure, and I still like the fact that it's taking on the school comedy anime from a fresh angle, but perhaps it needs to be reminded that a bunch of guys hanging out together can be loud and crazy as much as their female counterparts?

Squid Girl Season 2 - Episode 2

Another week means another trio of Squid Girl adventures - the perfect antidote to a long day at work.

First up, this second instalment of the show's second season sees Squid Girl deciding that it's about time she attends elementary school, tagging along with Takeru to do so.  Once there, she soon realises that this is a ripe location for her to find minions for her invasion, and sure enough the kids in Takeru's class seem more than willing to help her clean the ocean of its human scum... that is, until Squid Girl gets distracted by a football game going on outside.  It doesn't take us long to realise that squids aren't best equipped for football, but just when it seems she's about to lose face up step some of her new-found classmates to save the day.

Next up, an attempt to attract more female customers to the restaurant sees Nagisa dressing as a man - something which she not only pulls off with aplomb, but she also finds that it helps her feel something other than abject terror when dealing with Squid Girl.  Add in a visiting Ayumi dressed as a decidedly dangerous looking maid and you have a recipe for success, no matter how short-lived before Squid Girl manages to miss the boat with her own slice of cosplay action.  Finally, a discussion about weight and weight loss allows us to find out just what the bracelets Squid Girl wears are for while also revealing that discussing weight is very much a forbidden subject around Chizuru.

After a pretty fun episode to open the series, this second episode managed to add the two requisite extra letters required to make this instalment outright funny - it's second and third segments in particular contained a sprinkling of laugh out loud moments to complement the overall sense of larger than life fun enjoyed by the series.  It's colourful, imaginative and light-hearted entertainment at its best, and I can't help but lap it up, especially when it's matched by Crunchyroll's puntastic subtitle treatment which somehow never manages to get old.