Spring 2016 – Week 4 in Review

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There was some misunderstanding over at Crunchyroll, hence my writeup on Asterisk War didn’t get published in time for the April 27 edition of the Crunchyroll Takeout. Oh well, no biggie. I just decided to edit it up a little and post it here. But the process of reviewing Asterisk War actually made me realize how well-constructed it was as a battle show, and so if you have yet to pick up the show and are looking for a reasonably competent battle anime to watch, then by all means watch this show.

Otherwise, the fourth week was pretty much the settling period for most shows. It’s that sort of tentative period before the mid-season where shows have gained a rather comfortable rhythm for themselves, not opting for anything too daring (or too risky either, for that matter). So just how did the shows fare? Read on!

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Joker Game – Episode 4

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I hinted in my last review that Joker Game’s current style of self-contained vignettes could run the risk of becoming stale. That and the fact that each individual spy is obscure to begin with, owing to lukewarm characterization that does not guarantee any emotional investment. Thankfully, episode 4 showed the type of narrative flexibility the show is willing to show in order to push its spy stories forward. And indeed, these are the type of spy shows that anyone into the drama will definitely enjoy. In this particular episode, the spy is primarily out of the picture, as the story is told from the perspective of a “guest” detective for the purposes of this short story vignette.

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The Asterisk War – Review

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This article was originally for publishing on the latest edition of the CrunchyRoll Newsletter, but due to some issues, it was not released. Currently talking to them about it, but I spent too much time on this piece to not have it released. Anyway, here goes…

School battle anime premises are nothing new. In fact, the genre itself is littered with titles like Highschool DxD, Trinity Seven, and to a certain extent the Fate Stay series, and maybe even When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace (AKA Inou-Battle). Asterisk War is no stranger to such titles, which makes it run the risk of anonymity in an otherwise saturated playground of shows. And it didn’t help much either that its first cour was placed directly alongside evil look-alike Chivalry of A Failed Knight, whose premise, main character pairing, and even general background were almost eerily similar.

And my initial misgivings about the series in general were predicated on the fact that the show does little to convince the viewer that it is anything BUT just another battle show with harem-esque trappings. Indeed, Ayato — the ostensible protagonist but otherwise skilled swordsman acting as the knight-in-shining-armor-type hero — is surrounded by anime-trope favorites. There’s Julis, our resident tsundere; Saya plays the role of the taciturn kuudere; Claudia is our well-endowed student council president, complete with hidden agendas and a predilection towards sexual harassment; and finally Kirin as the bashful but similarly well-endowed lolita character. This alone puts the show and its premise in a seemingly uninspiring light, and if we were to judge shows like this on sheer “pleasure factor” alone, Chivalry of a Failed Knight would undoubtedly win through its sheer audacity and shamelessness.

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My Hero Academia – Episode 4

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We hate to be judged.

We hate to be placed in a strict rubric of standards that dictates our worth and what it is we are capable of achieving.

That’s the goal of standardization. Or at least in the context of MHA episode 4, the goal of standardized examinations. And you can’t help but accept the fact that standards are necessary in order to maintain a certain level of quality. Variation is difficult; conformity is desired. To a certain extent, it makes sense — both in the academic sense and even more so in the heroic sense. The practical examination in the U.A. entrance exams basically distills the “essential” qualities needed for heroes in high-tension situations in a quantifiable manner that can serve to rank students for acceptance.

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Spring 2016 – Week 3 in Review

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I’m wondering if I should retime these week-in-reviews to mid Wednesday to accommodate the first half of shows, then a second week-in-review to handle the remainder. Because as it stands, there are just so many shows on my watchlist, that these week in reviews are getting really long. And that’s troublesome because there are times that I have quite a lot I want to say about certain shows, but I have to limit myself in the interest of not boring you to death.

And it didn’t help much that this week had lots of shows giving pretty good arguments to warrant further watching. It’s been a solid season of anime thus far, and majority of the shows that have been shaved off of my list were pretty easy to let go of. The remainder, not so.

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Any, enough of that. Let’s do this! Continue reading →

Joker Game – Episode 3

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Joker Game started off with the premise of pre-World War II Imperial Japanese spies as framed through the interactions of the D-Agency with a traditional Japanese soldier, Sakuma. Episode three, however, takes a departure from this formula and enters into specific character vignettes for each of the eight spies introduced. In a way, this was a good approach since the sheer number of spies present in the show (eight in total) would make for a messy task of balancing out character development. Focusing on individual spies means getting self-contained stories that capitalize on their own unique abilities. The only problem is that I can’t remember for the life of me who is who in this spy-filled show…

But it doesn’t really seem to matter if we remember their names or not. Each of the eight spies was introduced using a pseudonym in the first episode, anyway, and it doesn’t seem to be the point so much as making it clear that there are, in fact, eight of them. Plus, their character designs are pretty generic and unassuming — undoubtedly a characteristic of a spy — but stylized enough to make them distinguishable. I honestly can’t half-ass myself to remember all of their (fake) names, so I might as well just call them “spy-of-the-week” for the sake of simplicity.

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My Hero Academia – Episode 3

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This week’s MHA remained consistently grounded in its core themes, exploring further the nature of a hero and, finally, christening Midoriya with a power of his own.

People have criticized MHA for this choice of allowing Midoriya to have a power. In a way, the story of an underdog who becomes a hero despite not having powers is compelling in its own right, but I believe MHA needs to be embraced for its decision to allow Midoriya to have a power. In fact, it’s a very pragmatic decision given the world that Midoriya lives in. Episode three makes this clear. But instead of making it appear like it was some random blessing that falls in his lap as a sort of plot device, All Might tells Midoriya that he has to work for it. He has to exert some effort, both physical and mental, in order to attain his own Quirk.

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Spring 2016 – Week 2 in Review

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Or week 2-3… I dunno. I’m confused as to when a week starts for this season of shows since there are some shows that have only just started on their second episode, while others are already on to their third. Anyway, I decided to just go with every Monday for a week in review once all shows have had their shows out.

The second week of any season is usually the weeding period. Shows that made their mark on their premier episodes pretty much nailed it again the following week, while those that were a little iffy remained their iffy selves… and then there were those that just bit the bullet and faded off into obscurity. But a couple shows remain wild cards, and probably for good reason. That said, let’s do this!

N.B. – Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress was cancelled last week due to the Kumamoto quake. My condolences go out to the people of Japan, especially to some friends who live in the Kyuushu area. Continue reading →

Joker Game – Episode 1 & 2

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I’ll be honest. I was never very good at History, what with date memorization and understanding the relevance of treaty so-and-so of year-goes-here in random-nation development. But at the same time, I’ve always enjoyed a story that ties itself into historical events. For Example, much of my understanding of the Cold War comes from Metal Gear Solid III: Snake Eater; historical figures of significance are thanks to the Fate/Stay series, as well as other random historical tidbits care of Japanimation, et al.

But Joker Game isn’t so much caught up with its historical machinations than it is, truly, a period piece that makes the best of its setup to create an engaging political exercise of sorts. It’s a particular time in Japan’s history where they were an emerging superpower, prominent enough to have had a seat in the League of Nations, but still too young a nation to be taken seriously by the big boys. This sort of setup sets the stage for Japan to create a spy network aimed towards improving its intelligence network in order to keep pace with its burgeoning western rivals.

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My Hero Academia – Episode 1 & 2

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I need to get something off my chest.

This show is good. It’s really good.

It’s so good that I was tempted to do episodic essays instead of a weekly review because I found the show so compelling, literally overflowing with great ideas and awesome character moments. From its core philosophies, to its incidental framing of subtle character traits, all the way down to its lush visual flourishes — this is a great show even at just two episodes in.

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