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KARAKAI JOUZU NO TAKAGI-SAN FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Okay, I’ve been anticipating this show ever since it was announced. Usually, when new anime adaptations of manga get announced, I tend to check out what the source material is like. I did that with Prison School, this show, and one other whose anime comes out some time later this year. (Can’t remember the name of it, though) Upon reading Takagi-san, I found this childlike charm to it. It brought me back to when I was a kid teasing my friends and trying to get a smile out of my crushes any way I possibly could. It’s that feeling that made me read past the first chapter and continue on until I eventually got busy and had to stop. It was just such a cute little romance between two innocent kids who show their feelings through constant teasing, the way many others have done before when they were children.

The anime retains all of that charm, showing off the wit of the god teaser herself and the effects of her teasing on little Nishikata’s mind. There wasn’t a time where I stopped smiling, because I felt that the first episode showed off what readers of the series had fallen in love with in a faithful way, and I couldn’t have been prouder because of it. In terms of animation, being the type of series that Takagi-san is, there wasn’t really much need for the flashy stuff. I did, however, like the animation of the paper spring. That looked pretty nice. The scores kind of remind me of Azumanga Daioh or Yotsuba in how they sound, just your normal slice of life kind of score. I liked it.

FINAL THOUGHTS ON LOVE LIVE SUNSHINE

Man, I’m gonna miss seeing the adventures of these nine girls. It’s funny, I had my doubts about the new series when it was first announced years ago, because I had worries that it’d be treated as another cash grab. Turns out whoever’s running the franchise really listens to the fans and would never let that happen. The first song released from Aqours took my worries and threw them into the sun where they deserved to burn, and the first season of the series immortalized Aqours as Aqours and not μ’s successors. It’s gonna be sad not seeing more animated adventures from these guys for a bit. We still got one left, but MAN! I can’t wait for it!

Onto my thoughts on this season, as the weeks went by, Aqours came to mature, accepting loss, using it as inspiration to win, and finding the radiance that had always been there from the start. It was a trip and a fun one at that! So much development happened in the season, and I can’t help but feel amazed because of it! The only character I wished had more time to flesh out even more, on the other hand, would be Kanan. She’s great, I just want more time with her. Other than that, the season was great, a season of fun, feels, and… feathers… (T v T) One thing I like about the series as a whole is that they didn’t need to bring in a past member of the previous series to make a callback to it. They did that in other more subtle ways. And, the animation, god, it was great! A huge step forward when it came to the CG! Of course, there were the occasional shots where things didn’t look right, and some shots were even inconsistent. (Beginning of the episode where Chika splatters ink on Shiitake) But, the strengths outweighed the problems, without a doubt! I’m really happy with how the series went, and I’m gonna miss Aqours.

FINAL THOUGHTS ON ANIMEGATARIS

Not much to say about this show that I haven’t already said. It’s great! From beginning to end, it hit me with clever references and jokes that only the anime community would get, and the fourth wall breaks made for not only some amazing moments in the show but also, I’m assuming, some fun inside jokes among the animation staff. I can only imagine how Aurora’s name came to be. Maybe one person in the pre-production and planning stage said that was a terrible name for him and they just went with it, making the terrible name remark an integral part of his character and the plot. God, that’d be funny if it were true!

I’d say one of my favorite characters of the series is probably Yui, because she’s just one of the background characters that has so little to do with the story that she ends up having that not-enough factor, where whenever she’s onscreen, I can’t help but want more of her even though she gets a more than fair amount of screen time for her type of character! A lot of her bits were hilarious (Yuirin and the 10th episode OP I believe, to name a few) and I feel like the staff liked her a lot as well, because they always tried to find moments to just sprinkle her in. (The end of the last episode, the OP I was talking about before, Yuirin) She’s just a fun character that stuck with me.

Day 11: Not Happy to Talk About This

Ugh! I have been putting off talking about this for a reason; I’m not a fan of the subject. Sure, Amazon and Netflix are great streaming services that offer a wide variety of shows and movies. I’m just not a fan of what they’re doing in regards to anime. For one thing, Amazon makes you pay for both prime and Anime Strike, so you’re paying way too much for what you get. And, Netflix hasn’t been simulcasting the seasonal shows they grab, causing those who anticipate those series to turn to other unofficial means of getting what they want. Both problems could be fixed! I just doubt they’ll actually go through with those changes.

For Amazon’s problem, they could offer Anime Strike as a separate service. Amazon would still make profit, and more fans would be able to access the shows they want in a single place. You know how bummed I get when I find out shows that I was anticipating get grabbed up by Amazon?! I was pissed when Shobitch, Umaru season 2, and Made in Abyss were taken by Strike! Because I wasn’t able to find a place to watch shows I wanted, I just ended up skipping them, leaving them forever on my plan to watch list. If Anime Strike was its own thing, more people would get to watch what they want without having to go on illegal sites! I’d totally pay for it, too! $4.99 a month? That’s a steal! And if what it takes to make Strike its own thing is an increase in the monthly price by a few dollars, I wouldn’t mind! As long as the content’s worth the money, I’ll gladly get on board! Just make Strike its own thing! Or at least make it a free perk for those who have prime. Having two paywalls to deal with is not something consumers want! Give them service worth the money they give you and they’ll stay loyal! I’ve been promoting Crunchyroll and Funimation like crazy, because their services are worth it! They have what I want at a reasonable price for me to continue using their services while still having some money to live on. The almighty dollar may be important to the higher-ups, but when it’s worth more than the crap they’re supposed to give it up for, you ain’t getting s***! Wine and dine ‘em before you ask them for money.

Netflix has an easier problem to fix. Just simulcast your anime! I know consumers see Netflix as the number one place to binge the hell out of a series, but in choosing to put those licensed shows up after they’re done airing, it promotes piracy! It hurts what little profit the worldwide audience of a series can give to the animation staff and tells people who DO want to see the series they want as it airs that they should just go on illegal sites and pirate them. I’m really glad Netflix wants to invest in more anime, and I’m sure at least a few of them could be mainstream hits. I just think it’d be a shame if half the people hyped for those 30+ series had already seen them before they came out. I hear the Japanese version of Netflix simulcasts their anime. Fate/Apocrypha, Kakegurui, Children of the Whales, all seen weekly by Japanese audiences. So, if part of your brand already does this, why not the rest? It’d create less problems with the ethical side of whether illegal streaming is good or not as well as more viewership for the new shows. After all, many people already have Netflix, let those seasonal watchers get some use out of it for once.

Day 10: The Year of Not Enough Time

Hey! It’s almost Christmas! Two days left, and I can’t wait to spend ‘em with you! Alright, enough of that sappy s***. Let’s get into this b****! So, as I’ve said before, 2017 has been one of my laziest years when it came to anime. Aside from countless group watches with my friends, i’ve only finished about one or two shows per season, three if lucky. However, I don’t necessarily need to finish a series to have a starting opinion or impression of it. So, let’s see what I can come up with for this year in anime!

WINTER Ah, this season. I remember starting so many shows at the start, like at least 10-15, and only finishing like one or two of them. Konosuba’s second season brought the charming cast of idiots back for some more funny and, in some places, poorly animated antics that kept the charm of the first season as well as the witty sarcasm that we all fell in love with, Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid had the world refusing lewds despite the somewhat risqué situations portrayed in the show, Demi-chan finally gave us a monster girl anime we can show to our parents… compared to others, Masamune-kun… f*** that show, Fuuka was a nice show with a main girl I really liked seeing. AKIBA’STRIP addressed the war on clothes, Blue Exorcist came back with an adaptation of the arc fam weren’t sure they were ever going to see animated, Saga of Tanya the Evil exposed us to our hidden love for psychotic grins, Seiren… I don’t remember much of that one, Kemono Friends, as I said before, was a surprise hit filled with charm and dubstep, and One Room showed us that POV anime can be funny as f*** to riff on.

SPRING Ooookay, on to Spring! This season brought the return of a well anticipated sequel to a shounen series that is a personal favorite of mine, My Hero Academia! Screw you, Attack on Titan! HeroAca brought back the action and emotion that left long-time readers and other viewers hyped as fack throughout each episode, Boruto proved that this was truly his show and not his dad’s, whatever his name was, Eromanga-sensei told the world that “ochinchin” should not be said by little girls, also, STOP F***ING YO FAMILY! GOD! Tsukigakirei gave us a cute romance filled with LINE messaging and tracksuits, Love Tyrant gave us the answer to the question, “What if Death Note was a harem anime?” but in the best way possible, Clockwork Planet… we don’t talk about that one, Sakura Quest brought the charm of the rural life with the art of Shirobako, Alice and Zouroku took responsibility for having the best Ojii-san of 2017, Tsugumomo was aight, Hinako Note brought moe and theatre together, Souryou to Majiwhatever had viewers selling their souls to find the uncut version of the uncensored version, and IDOLM@STER Gekijou gave me an ED to dance to. (The first one)

SUMMER Wow, still two seasons left? Maaaan! Okay, let’s go! Now, I had missed out on some great shows from this season and the one after, because of reasons that I will talk about tomorrow, so no Made in Abyss, sadly. Kakegurui had viewers find gambling arousing, Tsuredure Children brought the lovey dovey feel to its peak with an anthology of love stories somehow interweaving in some nice ways, Hajimete no Gal was an adaptation that took the charm out of the “plot” and focussed more on the money makers. I’d recommend just reading the manga. It’s not as bad. Dub’s good I hear, though! Fate/Apocrypha showed a different version of the Holy Grail War with twice the servants than usual, (by the way, Fran is best girl) Aho Girl was stupidly charming (I feel like I use that word a lot) and introduced one of my favorite anime dogs of the year. New Game returned, bringing some more fun times in the office as well as some new characters that I personally really like. Isekai Restaurant was food porn that was out of this world, and Fastest Finger First gave me some nostalgia because of the time I spent in knowledge bowl back in high school.

FALL Uuuuuhuhuuuugh! So tiiiiiired! But, this is the last of ‘em! So, I gotta finish strong! This season was one that I personally enjoyed. It had a variety of shows that felt in my ballpark, if that makes any sense. For one thing, the anticipated premiere of Ancient Magus Bride came and was as amazing as I’d thought it’d be, MMO Junkie took the isekai element out of the picture, thank god, Kekkai Sensen returned with an amazing first episode, (sadly, I’m waiting for the dub to finish airing so I can binge the heck out of it) Blend S brought moe to the work environment as well as other troupes that, in the context of the kind of show it is, work greatly to add some of that magic CHARM that made me fall in love with shows like Working and New Game. A Sister is All You Need proved that a show with said title could work without having what it initially said it needed… as far as you know, Girls’ Last Tour brought the chibi style of Made in Abyss to a war-torn world with seemingly very little humans left alive, Kino’s Journey was exactly what the title said it was, Shobitch seemed good from the one episode I saw, Animegataris broke anime, and Love Live Sunshine brought our babies back shinier and readier than ever to fight!

And those are all the shows I (noot noot) …and those are all the (noot noooot) …and (NOOT) SHUT THE F*** UP!!! (…) Thank you. So, that’s all the anime from this year that I at least started. There were some shows I had to leave out, because I never got around to them, (Re:Creators, Made in Abyss, Koi to Uso) and others I just decided not to watch, (Attack on Titan season 2, Black Clover, etc.) but wow! Can’t believe you’re still reading. Thank you, and I apologize. If you wanna catch a lot of the shows I talked about, Crunchyroll, Funimation, and/or VRV are the places to go!