Previews

Fall 2017 – Previews (Part 3)

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So I ended up not working on the last of the previews for this Fall 2017 season because I randomly decided to pick up Cinderella Girls: Starlight Stage after having stopped playing for roughly 7 months.

I have no regrats.

I mean seriously, man how this game has changed so drastically in terms of visuals — so much so that it heated up my ancient iPhone 5s to the point that I think the battery is starting to swell since the front panel is starting to buckle forward… That can’t be good.

Anyway, that aside, it’s time to finish up the shows for my previews this season. And it’s weird because I just realized that I forgot to do my silly habit of using weird descriptors to describe the shows I’m going to be featuring in my previous posts. So, ahem… without further ado, let’s wrap things up with three more shows, including a boy who wants to be able to use magic, a girl who’s being groomed to use magic, and a girl who’s looking for magic. Make sense? Read on! Continue reading →

Fall 2017 – Previews (Part 2)

edsamac4 Comments

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It’s just one of those days…

And I don’t mean it in the sense that I’m tired. I just feel kinda “floaty” every since I obtained my post-graduate degree from the UK; so having finally returned to the hospital for my clinical rounds, I find myself staring off into space wondering what it is I should be doing.

And then I think to myself: “I ought to start writing part two of the Fall 2017 previews.”

So yeah, here we go! Continue reading →

Fall 2017 – Previews (Part 1)

edsamac3 Comments

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It’s fall!

But it’s also hot as hell where I am now. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I actually MISS the droll cold of a British winter. Guess you don’t really know what something means to you until it’s gone.

So yeah, we’re a week-and-a-half into Fall 2017 and I’ve only just sorta burned through a couple shows to preview for you all. I almost kinda got used to cherry picking certain titles to the point I forgot that I’m supposed to make myself suffer a bit for the sake of “broadening my horizons”… and what this means was testing my patience with more shônen battlers or whatever was generally dismissed my the majority as banal if not to see, for myself, what’s up.

Surprisingly, though, the shows have been quite impressive — as if no shows haven’t been impressive during their first “honeymoon” episodes. The art in general has been shockingly pleasing, but there are a couple odd balls mixed into the bunch. So sit back as I run down some of the shows I’ve been picking up this season. Hopefully, one or two of these picks might be to your liking, as well. Let’s do this! Continue reading →

Summer 2017 – First Impressions

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I know this is nearly a month late, and I wasn’t really expecting to have to do one of these, but man was I impressed with what shows I grabbed this Summer 2017. Granted I cherry-picked these titles from a list of suggested titles from another writer whose taste I pretty much trust, for the first time in a long time I’m actually really, really happy with the titles as early as the 1st episode.

That said, I only added five shows to my list of three on-going titles, and after including Owarimonogatari (ge) later in August, will make nine shows this Summer 2017. I can actually work with something like that; anything more than 10 titles is pretty ridiculous at this point. So yeah, hopefully if you’re still interested, join me as I do a quick run down of impressions on the shows I’ll be watching this happy, happy summer season. Continue reading →

Spring 2017 – Previews (Part 4)

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Man, the shows are just so weird this season, what with their odd airing schedules.

So this part of the previews is obviously late, and I’m struggling to figure out how I’m going to do my weekly “thoughts”. Given the number of shows on my list, I’m afraid I’m going to have to cut a couple off. What makes it even more tricky is that more than half of the shows I’m watching air on Saturday in Japan… I mean, really? Sheesh.

Anyway, say hello to four more titles up for preview. These prodigal misfits include a boy and a cat, a boy and several girls, a girl and several more girls, and a girl and two boys. Yeah, not much help as far as descriptors go, so let’s DO THIS! Continue reading →

Spring 2017 – Previews (Part 3)

edsamac4 Comments

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Where are all the good animu? Tell me, and I’ll spare your life…

Well, thankfully these next three titles sorta made up for the disaster of the last few entries I watched. As a matter of fact, all three of the following shows in this preview post weren’t in my original viewing schedule; they were subsequently added after I read some rather positive impression on them. The other shows that are on my list, apparently, won’t be airing until later this week. So instead of waiting it out, I decided to check out what all the buzz was about — and boy, was I glad I didn’t miss out on these shows. Not that they’re instant sells or anything like that; but they DID give me a little more hope for this season.

So for this entry, we’ve got flying girls, crafty negotiators, and pseudo-monarchs. Yeah, I always come up with such weird adjectives. Anyway, let’s DO THIS! Continue reading →

Spring 2017 – Previews (Part 2)

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Alright! It’s time for round two of the Spring 2017 previews, and already I’m starting to lose patience for the shows. This second batch of misfits has been pretty much fifty-fifty, half of them being okay, and the other half just downright infuriating. So for this entry we’ve got gadgets and gears, goths and florists, time benders and forget-me-nots, and… puppy love?

Yeah, that last one came out of nowhere. Anyway, enough chit chat and let’s DO THIS! Continue reading →

Spring 2017 – Previews (Part 1)

edsamac4 Comments

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Wait, what year is it?

No seriously… This season is filled with sequels and re-calls from seasons long passed… it’s almost like looking at the cinemas and seeing Beauty and the Beast, Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers, and Ghost in the Shell innocuously lined up like it’s no one’s business. That’s basically how the first few shows I watched this season made me feel. So yeah, for this part of the previews, we’ve got mystical girls falling from the sky, ultra-powered humans blasting from the earth, over-sized monsters tumbling across the plains, and tsundere little sisters drawing erotica behind closed doors.

Yeah, pretty descriptive, but let’s RUN EM’ DOWN! Continue reading →

Winter 2017 – Previews (Part 3)

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I was actually expecting four parts for my winter previews (like in previous seasons), but for some reason I had to cut them short given two of the shows on my list are actually premiering at a later date. Oh well, doesn’t really matter, especially since this last installment of shows were actually quite compelling in markedly different regards.

But that said, it looks like this was a rather lukewarm premiere week for shows this Winter 2017. And this comes right after the recently-concluded Switch Conference that debuted the ultra-hyped console that had been making its rounds since October of last year. The presentation was similarly “lukewarm” with a few points that kinda watered down whatever fanboy expectations I had for the system, but at 279.99 GBP and retail price and a teased Collector’s package of Zelda: Breath of the Wild? Fanboy faith in Nintendo restored.

UPDATE: I went and pre-ordered it… gaaaaaaaaaah

So yeah, before this turns into a rant-post about Nintendweeb, let’s run down the last bunch of shows I’ve looked at this season — featuring mandrakes, dragon tails, cigarette butts, and unrequited love. Continue reading →

Winter 2017 – Previews (Part 2)

edsamac3 Comments

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When I stepped back to take a look at what I wrote down on my “to-watch list”, I realized that there weren’t actually THAT many shows. On top of that, there seemed to be too many “speculative” titles, so although I might have seemed a little enthusiastic about the Winter offerings, on second pass I’m actually a little skeptical at this point.

So I went around and asked a couple people what titles they were planning on watching, and it turns out that a couple of them weren’t in my list, so I thought I might as well… true enough, I’m quite glad I didn’t pass out on them, as they turned out to be actually pretty amusing.

And so that brings us to this next installment of Winter previews, featuring a shepherd with imaginary friends, a teacher with mythological students, and an angel with legendary failings. Let’s do this! Continue reading →