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SEVEN MORTAL SINS REVIEW: You Don’t Get Your Cake, And You Don’t Get To Eat It
Hello my anime lovers anonymous! Welcome to another grouchy passage of StumperPumper, the blog where “opinionated guy watches anime then talks about it.” So that you, the reader, can formulate an educated opinion to decide if you want to watch ‘said anime’ or not. An update on the nature of this blog, you can now catch posts at the same stumpy time on this very pumper channel. Which means, in Layman’s terms, you can catch original new posts about anime (like this one) every Wednesday on this blog. So if you follow me, look forward to new posts every Wednesday! Hurray!
On a side note, if you’ve been wondering to yourself “Gee, I’d like to help support this blog because I like what it’s about but I don’t know how!” Then I have good news for you. You can support this blog and the weekly posts by simply following the blog. So, give me a follow, and if you do. I’ll make sure I thank you by name in next weeks post; and of course, I’ll give you a follow back. Because as much as you might be interested in what I’m writing, I’m also interested in the things people who are interested in what I’m writing like. So that’s cool.
This week, we’re talking about an ADULT ANIME, BEEPBEEPBEEP! Mature content alert. Call the fucking anime stream site censor police. We’re here to talk about Seven Mortal Sins, an anime that’s by all rights pretty good, or it would be if the censor Nazis weren’t shitting on everything. Here, we’ll learn how you can take a good thing and ruin it by putting low quality demonic summoning circles over anything that’s even a bit risque. Without further delay, on with the post.
SEVEN MORTAL SINS
Ok, so. When I first saw this I thought “What the fuck is this? Some Nanatsu no Taiza ripoff shit?” But I was unprepared. I didn’t realize what I was dealing with here. Well, classic example of you can’t judge an anime by its title. Because what’s happening with this anime is kind of sad, and the anime is actually really promising if you’re into this sort of thing. Stick around to see what I’m talking about. I do however, have a small issue with the cover, just look at this son of a bitch.
Firstly, I’m just a bit confused. Because, it’s called Seven Mortal Sins, but, there’s NINE GIRLS ON THE COVER. Why? I’d probably have to watch the whole anime to figure this out, suffice to say I don’t want to do that (THE WAY CRUNCHYROLL AND FUNIMATION HAVE IT). But even disregarding that, if your title in SEVEN MORTAL SINS, you’d expect to find SEVEN characters on the front. Maybe EIGHT if we assume the protagonist becomes involved with SEVEN MORTAL SINS. BUT WHY NINE? What does this mean? Are there 7 Mortal Sins, one protagonist and then… wtf. Maybe the whole sin thing is symbolic in the cover and we aren’t supposed to try to label characters at all. I don’t really know, but cover art is really a tiny TINY gripe to have. Nonetheless, as a Graphic Designer it irks me to no end to wonder where whoever made this was coming from.
Then again... Maybe not...
Side note, I did have to switch on ADULT CONTENT to watch this. Which, I didn’t even know we were doing on Crunchyroll now??? #Excited. But seriously, adult content would be cool. Anime isn’t just for kids after all. That said, they could at least do better than this shit. After all, 3 minutes and 40 seconds in and “Mortal Sin Envy” is already being censored?! Are you fucking kidding me? We can’t even get a look at that sweet booty without some jackass slapping a rotating… wait… What the fuck is that…
NO WAY, a giant demonic summoning circle is our “VALID METHOD OF CENSORSHIP”? Really guys? Frankly I don’t even see the point of a setting that disables/enables adult content if this is the result. This is like soft porn compared to that finger sucking scene from Episode 1 of Clockwork Planet this season. (If you don’t know what I’m talking about please go watch episode 1, shits ridiculous). Or what about Love Tyrant? Can you imagine what that show would be like if we covered up all the cleavage etc. with like, idk, GIANT NOTEBOOKS. But really, if your gonna cockblock the whole fucking anime, when it’s an anime like this that is literally nothing but shameless fanservice, DON’T EVEN BOTHER MAKING IT AVAILABLE. Because there’s nothing here to watch.
It’s like watching Deathnote but all you ever see in Light write the names in the Deathnote and they put a giant low-quality spinning pentagram over all the parts where people die. This is 2017 damnitt, if enabling adult content gets me this then what the fuck was the point in growing up? I know, I know, I could just go to Pornhub if I wanted Hentai. And I could, but this isn’t about Hentai. This is about viewing the anime as it was produced. It’s about being able to watch it for all its scandalous shameless fanservice, and not be watching straight up porn. It’s about watching the anime man, not a rendition where someone’s cut out all the main parts the producers deliberately put in.
Even this simple butt squeeze. Gotta censor that shit going on down the middle there, too scandalous. EVEN FOR ADULTS. This is starting to be less about the anime and more about how sites like Crunchyroll and Funimation are just dropping the fucking ball. I think making this kind of adult content available is a good idea. I think there’s something amusing about this kind of anime. My girlfriend and I are always looking for animes like this. You know, we want our characters to go to the next level in their relationships (because we’re adults) but we don’t want pointless hentai (where’s the story, plot, tension etc.???). I don’t see the point in publishing this kind of content though if you’re just going to ruin it. Especially with the NOW COMPLETELY POINTLESS adult content setting that neither allows you to really view the anime or turns on adult content; that part just kills me. I’m not the only one who doesn’t get it either, just read some of the comments on Crunchyroll.
Kaibaman21
8 days ago The censoring in this episode is just O_O Why......it makes no sense when a far shot doesnt having censoring but the close up does
ButterGroove
7 days ago I don't understand the censorship honestly. Why show a series like this if you are going to censor it? Honestly its pretty tame, its not full on hentai by any means. Either require 18+ to watch or don't air it at all.
Here’s my FAVORITE comment I found on episode 4.
tem1
10 days ago I've really tried. 4 episodes -- it's not the story (that is ok enough) but just can't keep trying to ignore the censors. Going to move this to the bottom of my list -- if CR ever gets it uncensored great.
Did I hear that shit right? It’s not the story!? Yup, you heard it here first, it’s not the story. The story and plot, at least considering this anime’s genre, aren’t even half bad. Tem1 pretty much nails it, it’s the fucking censorship. You can’t remove the hot and bothersome scenes from an anime that’s literally using fanservice as 50% of its screen time. This anime was made to be scandalous and erotic, if you take that shit out you’re just murdering the anime. The sad part about it too is that, sure, you could watch the uncensored version somewhere else. But really, there aren’t a lot of sites that support the anime market the way Crunchyroll and Funimation do.
So, I hesitate to tell you to do that. Ideally, you ought to be able to watch it uncensored, say, ON CRUNCHYROLL. Because if you could, you’d be supporting shows like this WHEN Crunchyroll makes money every time you watch an ad or pay your monthly membership. That money goes to work acquiring other animes for the site, which in turn helps anime creators make money and make new animes etc etc. When you watch on other sites, a lot of times that money doesn’t go towards the anime market. Which is why there’s a lot of series that just drop off and never finish, or never even start due to lack of funding.
That’s one reason I fucking love Crunchyroll so much. Because it’s a healthy way to support anime in general while getting a product you love. It’s really just such a huge shame that Seven Mortal Sins can’t be viewed AS INTEDED on Crunchyroll (I’m not a big fan of Funimations site). Tweet at Crunchyroll,
UNCENSOR SEVEN MORTAL SINS AND MAKE THE ADULT CONTENT FILTER ACTUALLY DO WHAT IT’S SUPPOSED TO DO INSTEAD OF JUST ALLOWING ME TO WATCH 1000% CENSORED CONTENT, CENSORING EVERY LITTLE THING COMPLETELY MURDERING THE FUCKING ANIME.
To be clear though, it’s worth noting that this isn’t entirely Crunchyroll’s fault. They bought this anime and acquired it from somewhere else. This is just the copy they received. What I’m advocating here, THAT THESE COMPANIES CAN CONTROL, is the acquirement of the actual Uncensored version of the anime. Something they can actually purchase and stream; something I think they SHOULD DO out of respect for the anime. Displaying it as is depreciates the product by placing unfair restrictions on it. It’d be like looking at a Monet painting but you’re only aloud to see the places where he painted it green. It begs the question “Why even display the work if you’re going to MAKE IT BAD with the restrictions you put on it?”
In conclusion, I can’t honestly recommend this anime, AS IT IS, right now. It’s horrible, and pretty much unwatchable. But the pieces are there, for it to be a good anime (of course, assuming this is the kind of thing you like to watch). It would make a really scandalous Yuri if it was allowed to do what it was intended to do. But as is, it’s garbage. Even the story and plot suffer, they’re constantly being detracted from by unavoidable censorship. Sadly I can’t even tell you to watch it on another site, because I have too much respect for money going to the right people etc. All I can tell you is as follows:
If you can, watch this anime uncensored and fairly. Because it deserves to be viewed as such, and was intended to be viewed as such. Give it a chance, and I think you’ll find this anime’s pretty amusing to watch. Though it’s not complete yet; I’m really hoping one of these major sites acquires the uncensored anime and fixes the problem so I can do a whole honest review when it’s done. Want to view it on Crunchyroll or Funimation though? And you might be waiting a VERY very long time. My score for the roughly 5 episodes out right now, 6.66/10 uncensored (That one was for Lucifer). And a 1/10 censored.
Wondering what else you can watch right now, that’s brand new SOMETHING SUMMER FEELING TO FIT THE SEASON!? I have a post about that right HERE.
As always, thanks so much for reading, I do appreciate it. But what I’d appreciate more than anything is a bit of feedback. So, if you like this content, then like this content. Duh! Then, Reblog this content to share it, because you share things that you like right? Obviously! If you want to read more of this type of content, then FOLLOW my Blog. That way, you can read more of my content as soon as I write it: WE WRITE FRESH NEW POSTS ON ANIME EVERY WEDNESDAY. But you totally knew that already.
Also, if you have something you’d like to tell me (ideas, recommendations or questions etc); you can. Shhhh, it’s OK. We have a feature for that, you can use the MESSAGE feature to MESSAGE me whenever! And if you want to support this blog, you can help me out by following me. And if you do, not only will I follow you back, but I’ll thank you in next weeks post!
You can read more articles I’ve written by clicking this link right HERE.
Coming up just short in our Which Anime Should We Review Next? poll was Strawberry Panic, but when it comes to yuri anime, they don’t get much more legendary than this one, so it had to be wh…
Cages wanting to trap him, hands wanting to grab him, mouths trying to devour him, shadows wanting to possess him… Dreams are a reflection of innermost desires of your mind.
Yes, we know Haruka.
I’ve recently watched xxxHolic Rou II and noticed how I felt more disturbed during Doumeki’s nightmare scene than the first time I watched it. At first, I thought it had been Watanuki trying to run from danger but that didn’t fit why he looked quite disturbed when talking to Haruka afterwards.
Then, the first bits Haruka mentioned plus the nightmare scene painted the whole picture: Doumeki lusted after Watanuki but he knew his desires were selfish. So, the later had to enter his nightmare and free himself from Doumeki’s lust.
the deeper symbolism of the forms doumeki’s nightmares had taken flew over my head (that is, their connotations of wanting to posses in a sexual/romantic way. those moons!). I had originally though that, as a whole, the nightmares were just a representation of Doumeki’s conflict between his desire to protect Watanuki selflessly and his yearning to be with him in a romantic way (I thought that, in the original nightmares Haruka mentioned before Watanuki entered them, Doumeki was the one being chased by the manifestations of his selfish desires). Reading this was so illuminating! Maybe I misunderstood, but did you mean to say that Watanuki’s elimination of Doumeki’s nightmare also freed him of his pining for him? I saw it as Doumeki still harboring those feelings for him but being able to accept the reality of his situation so that he would be able to serve Watanuki unwaveringly (by marrying Kohane, producing children to serve Watanuki, continuing to help at the shop, etc). When Doumeki gave Watanuki his wedding invitation and told him that Kohane’s most important person was him, I felt that the atmosphere of the scene and his body language implied…that he might of thought “and mine, too” but at this point had finally come to terms/resigned with the fact that they could never be together which in turn would allow him to act selflessly. I think that the intense feelings of romantic love remained, but what Watanuki did through battling the nightmare was relieve Doumeki of the impossible desire to be intimate in the way he wished to be.
Wow, thanks for reblogging it and writing your thoughts! This is just an interpretation I had, it could be wrong but this is how I saw it. Yes, I also thought the same but then why would romantic feelings be tainted black (worst color in spiritual-related matters) and why would protecting someone would be portrayed as something so scary… That’s why I believe they were not feelings of ‘love’ (also, they tend to be represented with pink/pastel colors). They had to be “dark” feelings.
You can marry someone and love another person in a platonic way or as a very close friend, so marrying Kohane would not mean Doumeki must stop loving Watanuki as our feelings remain deep inside our hearts. Or even if he loved Watanuki in a pure, romantic way, marrying Kohane doesn’t mean he should get rid of his feelings if he doesn’t want to, also because he already knows Kohane knows that they are marrying for the sake of Watanuki. So, his wife-to-be understands if he doesn’t have feelings for her, as her most important person is Watanuki as well and both are ok with it. Yes, I also felt the “and mine too” in that scene was heavily implied due to that intense stare.
So, for me those weren’t romantic feelings but rather feelings he could not act upon which refer to being one in body and soul, sexual desires he couldn’t act upon due to the vows of marriage.
It was really heartbreaking when Doumeki was trying to break the bond by trying to forget Watanuki since it pained him but Watanuki decided to keep that bond. The whole nightmare was painful, starting from remembering the death of his grandparent, the times Watanuki got injured and his lust for him, as if saying “I gave it all for him, my time, my eye, my blood… I really thought we could be together after I gave him so much…” which is his selfish side. He is still a human being.
We could say that Doumeki and Watanuki were slowly becoming one in body and soul if by body we mean the eye, the blood and by soul we refer to the strong bond they’ve formed which cannot be broken. However, I remember when I studied in a spiritual school that they mentioned Sexual Alchemy (aka Sacred Sex), which is the highest union between two incarnated souls. So Doumeki would have liked to join Watanuki in the highest union possible but those were selfish desires of his heart (as mentioned at the start by Haruka), so they were tainted black and took gruesome shapes.
So, yes, Watanuki by freeing himself in the nightmare freed Doumeki from those desires but chose to keep the bond as Doumeki means a lot to him. Or maybe Doumeki wasn’t entirely freed but rather had his desires calm down or stay low.
It is interesting how xxxHOLIC Rou’s DVD cover involves both Watanuki and Doumeki heavily connected by red strings of faith. Watanuki seems relaxed about the bond with the threads looking tidy while Doumeki seems to be grabbing them and the threads are tangled on his fingers:
As a douwata shipper, I don’t believe the ship has sunk. At the end it was Doumeki (as Sayaka, his great grandson) who stayed by Watanuki’s side, so he is the closest and strongest bond he has in the xxxHolic Universe. Strong bonds allow souls to always be together and keep reincarnating together. Even if he is still waits for Yuuko, his current strongest bond as a soul in space and time is with Doumeki’s soul. This is why Watanuki is worried about forgetting Yuuko, as he knows that as they no longer share space and time, the bond could weaken (but never be broken!) so he tries his best not to forget her to keep that bond as alive as ever by inheriting the shop, using her clothes, smoking her pipe, and so on. He really tries his best to hang onto that bond while Doumeki’s bond hangs loosely around him and Watanuki himself allowed to keep that bond forever in this last OAD.
Sorry for the long reply though! Once again, thanks for commenting and reblogging it!
Ooh thanks for replying back!! Yay!! Watanuki and Doumeki’s relationship has been constantly punctuated by the intake of objects harboring a symbolic/spiritual purpose along with their practical function they receive from the other: besides the blood and eye, there’s Watanuki cooking food with his “feeling” and Doumeki eating them, receiving, as we have learned, something more than just meals. Neither character shares such an exchange with anyone else, nor does any other character give and receive body parts or food etc in the way they do. I think it CLAMP was deliberate in making Doumeki give Watanuki his blood rather than Himawari, having the making and eating of food be the primary exchange of feelings rather than some other act, having Watanuki receive Doumekis eye by swallowing it rather than just absorbing it. All of those have romantic connotations and can be easily be interpreted as sexual. I can’t blame Doumeki for wanting to consummate such an intense but incomplete exchange of each other through the most obvious form of mental and physical unity (and one that doesn’t involve…losing a body part, though I find myself really enthralled by how erotic their bodily exchanges can be interpreted as).
what you observed about the cover illustration makes so much sense!! i also interpreted it as, like you said, Doumeki being intensely engrossed in their bond while Watanuki is more relaxed with it. I also think that the fact that Doumeki is holding one end of the thread while the other end is tied around Watanuki’s wrist (like a leash?lol) rather than the thread connecting them in a uniform way alludes to their guardian-guarded relationship, with Doumeki being Watanuki’s keeper of sorts. the way Watanuki sits with a relaxed air while Doumeki looms over him protectively while giving us an intense stare reminds me of a king and his knight. perhaps the destruction of Doumeki’s selfish dream was what was needed in order for their specific type of bond to continue.
I so agree with your point about Sakaya being proof of their bond’s immense strength. Though it hasn’t been explicitly stated that Sakaya is Doumeki’s reincarnation, I think that CLAMP told us by deliberately tricking the readers into thinking Sakaya was the same old Doumeki. He looked the same, acted the same, and had the same dynamic with Watanuki. Watanuki himself even repeatedly remarked on how uncannily similar Sakaya was to Doumeki, not his father or grandfather. At first I thought i was being trolled and the trick was just for shock value, but I came to realize that it was just CLAMPS way of telling us he had reincarnated to be with Watanuki lol. Perhaps I’m a pessimist, but I feel as if a consistent theme of Watanuki’s, be it during his high school days or as a centarian wish granter, is that he doesn’t believe he deserves to be happy. Besides locking himself in the shop and subjecting himself to loneliness and agony as he pines away for a dead woman for centuries, one way this manifests is his attraction to people (Himawari, Yuko, the ghost woman) he can’t stay with for long/are ultimately bad for him and can’t let in those (Doumeki) who not only can stay close to him but benefit him by doing so. I hope Watanuki’s character develops into someone who can see themselves as deserving to be happy. I’m sure Doumeki will stick around one way or another until he does, and maybe then will his love be returned.
Thank you 2am-rain! This OAD had so much symbolism, which was really fun to explore.
fanfictionruinedmylife69 it’s so much fun to come up with more theories and interpretations and I loved your post! Yes, I might have thought at first things were one-sided since I took Doumeki’s point of view but you are right about Watanuki giving a lot to Doumeki as well. In fact, I believe Watanuki gave Doumeki’s life a meaning.
Hello my digital otaku children! Welcome to another passive-aggressive passage of StumperPumper, the blog where “opinionated guy watches anime then talks about it.” So that you, the reader, can decide if you want to watch ‘said anime’ or not. An update on the nature of this blog, you can now catch posts at the same stumpy time on this very pumper channel. Which means, in Layman’s terms, you can catch original new posts about anime (like this one) every Wednesday on this blog. So if you follow me, look forward to new posts every Wednesday! Hurray!
This week we’re talking about sexy Summer “feeling” animes, and which ones in the pack are worth your time. I’ve taken some liberties though in picking some animes from a few years back, because for some reason these animes are the ones calling to my Summer spirit this season. They might just call to yours too. Now, let’s get on with it.
Tsuritama
free to watch on Crunchyroll
I don’t really give a damn if this anime came out back in 2012, so what if it’s 5 years old!? That doesn’t mean it doesn’t still fill that epic void of wanting an anime that fits that sweet summer niche. Every time summer rolls around I just feel the need to watch a “summer-anime”, I don’t really know how you describe that? An anime that just feels like summer I suppose. Like Free! (below, top) or Nagi no Asukara (below, bottom). We’ll touch on those anime in a minute, but for now let’s talk Tsuritama.
Tsuritama is a fishing anime. Yup, there’s a fishing anime folks. We’ve got a fucking anime for everything, I swear. But don’t be dissuaded, this anime is glorious. I actually had never really fished until I watched this anime. That’s right, after watching this anime I started fishing. That’s how compelling this anime was my friends. No regrets either, fishing has actually turned out to be one of my favorite things in life. There’s something special about doing nothing while you do something, sitting about in the warm sun with a friend just being in nature, yet you’re fishing. It’s an amazing thing I tell you.
Tsuritama is a Japanese anime television series that aired in spring 2012 season. It premiered on April 12, 2012 and ended on June 28, 2012. That’s really it’s whole history, it’s just a pure anime. No light novels, or manga, none of that jazz. A pure work of animation. It was directed by Kenji Nakamura who went on to direct both of the Gatchaman Crowds animes; and written by Toshiya Ono who went on to write Gatchaman Crowds (coincidence, or do these guys work well together?).
The show follows our protagonist Yuki. He lives with his grandma and her job makes their family relocate a lot. Due to this Yuki has never really had any friends, and he tends to freeze up in social situations. He’s really relate-able if you’ve ever been a kind of introvert. To this day I think this anime best shows what it’s like to speak in front of a classroom when your super nervous and stressed about being judged. A scene you can watch in episode one, it’s gorgeous and well done.
Just a gif of that mentioned wonderful scene
Needless to say, this summer will not be the same for Yuki, lest we be unable to make an anime out of it. A self-proclaimed alien named Haru, a boy known as the “Prince of Fishing”, and the simple act of fishing itself will ensure Yuki’s life gets a bit more... interesting. This is like a slice of life. comedy, fucking masterpiece of an anime. There’s even a pet duck named Tapioca being toted around by a suspicious Indian man named Akira. If the duck doesn’t get you to watch this anime, then you’re fucking broken. I mostly recommend this anime, regardless of whether it’s summer or not, because it’s so fresh. There’s no other anime that FEELS the way Tsuritama does. The only way to see what I’m talking about is to watch it yourself.
Don’t even bother looking up what other people review this anime at. Just trust me, it’s a solid 8.5 out of 10. The anime's damn good fun and the amount of work that went into making it look phenomenal is worth noting too.
FREE
free to watch on Crunchyroll
Guilty, guilty, little Free! . Oh how you make me seem so very NOT heterosexual at times. But who even cares, this is 2017 channel your inner millennial and loosen up about what’s “gay” to watch. Firstly, I request that you leave any outside stereotypes, preconceptions, racism, generalist thinking, or whatever societal hate based ideology you have AT THE FRONT DOOR when you watch an anime. Anime has very little if anything at all to do with our personal comfort zones, or our personal ideologies. Anime’s here to tell a story and show us that anyone and everyone can be a part of that story, get to know the characters, and internally understand/view new concepts and emotions via a fantasy constructed by another person. Not to get all ideological, but frankly I think anime is complex and conquers a lot of the social issues that burden most of the world. Like any book or story, it has a lot of ideas that pertain to real life and can teach us how to not be such a closed in little prick all the time. While it pertains to the real world it remains separate and pure, untainted, etc. I digress.
The general point I’m making is that you needn’t be interested in men, or savor boy’s love fantasies to like Free! . That’s not me excusing myself, it’s just a fact. The anime’s good, it’s funny, and it feels like summer; AND IF YOU AIN’T DOWN WITH THAT, THERE’S THE DOOR -->. I for one get a lot of laughs from this anime, and you bet your ass I ship those men together. If you don’t there’s something wrong with you. The anime’s just fun to watch though, on a serious note. The competitive nature of the swimming offers notes of legitimacy and seriousness, but the characters give us many opportunities to laugh and get carried away with our personal shipping labels. It’s a nice anime, and it’s worth your time if you’re looking for a fun watch that is unlike a lot of other animes. Go ahead, name a better swimming anime. You can’t? Me either, because this anime’s almost a fresh as the sweet Summer sun baby.
MyAnimeList gives this anime a 7.6 out of 10. I think that’s pretty fair actually, I’d probably lean a little more towards a solid 7 out of 10 myself. But, different strokes for different folks.
Nagi No Asukara
free to watch on Crunchyroll
This anime, I don’t even know exactly why I’m putting it on here save that I’ve been craving a re-watch of it. The closer Summer gets the closer I come to turning on this mediocre anime. Do I recommend it? I mean, yeah I recommend it. Mostly because for some reason I’m gonna watch it a second time. I don’t know what that reason is, but I’m gonna do it. So there must be something there compelling me to do that, which is more than likely merit-able of a recommendation. I mean, just let me tell you what it’s about.
It’s about mermaids who come up to the surface to go to high-school but they gotta get water by the end of the day so they don’t dry out and... jesus, it’s literally so benign. But it actually works pretty well, there’s a love triangle aspect that pulls off nice too. So, I’m solidly recommending this. Because I’m gonna watch it too. But, don’t be mad if you end up not liking it. You’ve been warned, it might be just my own personal urge to watch it that put it on this list. That said, you might love it... If so, HAHA! I knew you’d like this one, which is why I put it on here.
MyAnimeList gives it an 8.3 out of 10, which I thinks a little too high. I’d probably aim more around a 6.5 out of 10, or a 7 at best. It’s not AMAZING, but it’s solidly mediocre and definitely has it’s niche with a number of people.
Don’t judge me
Wondering what else you can watch right now, that’s brand new THIS SEASON!? I have a post about that right HERE. I spent a lot of time sifting through this seasons anime, and you can get my recommendations for the current season by just reading that post.
As always, thanks so much for reading, I do appreciate it. But what I’d appreciate more than anything is a bit of feedback. So, if you like this content, then like this content. Duh! Then, Reblog this content to share it, because you share things that you like right? Obviously! If you want to read more of this type of content, then FOLLOW my Blog. That way, you can read more of my content as soon as I write it: WE WRITE FRESH NEW POSTS ON ANIME EVERY WEDNESDAY. But you totally knew that already.
Also, if you have something you’d like to tell me (ideas, recommendations or questions etc); you can. Shhhh, it’s OK. We have a feature for that, you can use the MESSAGE feature to MESSAGE me whenever!
You can read more articles I’ve written by clicking this link right HERE.
Hello Anime Internet! Welcome to another exciting passage of StumperPumper, the blog where “opinionated guy watches anime then talks about it.” So that you, the reader, can decide if you want to watch ‘said anime’ or not. This week we’re talking about the current Spring 2017 animes, and which ones in the pack are worth your time. Of course, I’ve reserved on writing this to give these series some time to develop before suggesting them to you, I don’t really believe in recommending after just one episode after all. So this is coming after watching about 4-5 episodes of each anime, so I can say with confidence that each of these animes has the potential to be really good this season. Now, let’s get on with it.
Akashic Records of Bastard Magical Instructor
First, let’s cover some history. Akashic Records of Bastard Magic Instructor was a Japanese light novel series written by Tarō Hitsuji (his only true brain child as of the current date) and illustrated by Kurone Mishima (the same artist behind the original character designs for KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World!), which published into eight volumes (starting back in July of 2014). The manga adaptation, with art by Aosa Tsunemi, began serialization in Monthly Shōnen Ace back in March 26, 2015, and has been collected in two tankōbon volumes. Now, the anime television series adaptation by Liden Films (the people behind both Senyu and, one of my personal favorite short-animes, Sekko Boys) is out, and it premiered in April (2017). The main character Glen is voiced by Sōma Saitō, who recently voiced Adlet Mayer in Rokka no Yūsha back in 2015.
I had to put this anime up first because it’s truly the first one to catch me off guard this season. I went in with really low expectations after watching through Clockwork Planet and KADO: The Right Answer, which were both laughable at best in my opinion. On the one hand, we could blame my low expectations for making me think this animes so good, but I really don’t think that’s the case. What this anime has, that few other animes this season do, is CHARACTER. So far, I’ve seen very few animes demonstrate such capability in forming a great character. Glen, in this anime, certainly fits the bill though, he’s an incredible character thus far and we’ve barely just met. He’s so damned interesting, funny, and even mysterious.
Unlike a lot of animes this one doesn’t just blow its load all over you on episode one. A little problem I’m calling Premature Anime Ejaculation, the symptoms being mainly that ‘said anime’ tries to introduce you to every character, the plot, the world, everything, all in episode one; all while blowing most of their budget to do so. Not only does this more or less not work because it’s overwhelming for the viewer, but it also creates a trend of series drop off where viewers often expect to become disenfranchised after episode one due to a loss in quality. But this anime is steady, episode one does what it’s meant to, and the series shows an obvious awareness that they have 12 episodes (at least) to develop the things the want too. This anime doesn’t rush, but rather strives to tackle things as they need to be addressed.
Overall I think this anime merits watching this season, keep an eye on it. I think it’ll probably shape up to a 7/10 and be the most incredibly average anime of the season. It’s certainly no ERASED or Re: Zero, but I think it’s definitely as good as an anime like Joker Game from last year. I’ll be watching this myself, mostly because I love Glen and ship him hard with some of the other characters. It’s got some decent feels, and I definitely think the way the magic works in the anime is one of the coolest I’ve seen in a while. Watch for sure if you like magic, a bit of a harem, light fan-service, light comedy mixed with well animated action and fight scenes. Story seems to be shaping up nice too, and the soundtracks not too shabby.
My Hero Academia
History time! My Hero Academia is a Japanese superhero manga series written and illustrated by Kōhei Horikoshi (author of another manga titles Oumagadoki Zoo, if you didn’t already know). It has been serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump (the best-selling manga magazine, as well as one of the longest-running, in short “a damn good place to serialize”) since July 2014, and 12 volumes have been collected in tankōbon format. The series has been licensed for English-language release by Viz Media, and began serialization in their weekly digital manga anthology Weekly Shonen Jump (the English version of the magazine above) on February 9, 2015. The manga was adapted into an anime series; the first season aired from April 3 to June 26, 2016, and the second season premiered on April 1, 2017. The anime is directed by Kenji Nagasaki (who also directed No. 6, you’re welcome for that sweet bit of trivia btw), written by Yōsuke Kuroda (the screen-writer for other good animes: Honey and Clover, Highschool of the Dead, and Drifters), and features character designs by Yoshikiko Umakoshi (Mushi-Shi’s Character Designer, and Chief Animation Director) and music composed by Yuki Hayashi (who did music for both Death Parade (2015) a damn fine anime, and Kiznaiver in 2016). On top of that this comes from Studio Bones, one of my favorite studios who also produced an anime you may have heard of… Fullmetal Alchemist, and Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood (not to mention MANY other great animes). Essentially this animes got an all-star cast of stuff.
I almost hesitated to even mention this since it’s so damned obvious. My Hero Academia is back, and it’s obviously amazing. If you haven’t heard of this anime already then start watching now! I think it’s likely this will be on my list for anime of the year, because I’m a sucker for superhero shit. Regardless, this is great, the soundtrack is nice too. The animation is stellar. If I had to make a complaint I’d have to throw a fit about the ridiculous amount of flashbacks. I’m talking One Piece levels of flashbacks, like Christ. I get a certain amount of this because this is definitely for all age groups and it’s popular and a LOT of people are watching on simulcast. Which certainly calls for a certain amount of flashbackery to keep everyone on the same page, I’m just saying maybe not as much.
The story is still cool, the massive amount of interesting Quirks is cool, the whole animes cool. I can’t exactly rate this series at all or even project a rating since it’s going for the long haul and probably has many more episodes to come. I think overall what makes this anime work so well is the setting of it all, coupled with really consistent quality animation. We all love the thought of super hero powers, and the variety of them in this show and how the society in the anime addresses it is just plain fun to watch. It feels like the Saturday morning cartoons from my youth. If you like shounens, superheros, action, or just a good ol’ lighthearted anime about a rising underdog then this is for you.
Love Tyrant
A bit of history… Love Tyrant, also known as The Very Lovely Tyrant of Love, is a Japanese comedy manga series by Megane Mihoshi, serialized online since 2012 in Aplix's Comic Meteor website. It has been collected in seven tankōbon volumes. Most notable to me is the screen-writer Natsuko Takahashi (who wrote the screenplay for Bleach), she’s doing good work here. The main protagonist is voiced by Kenshō Ono, who voiced Slaine Troyard in Aldnoah.Zero and more recently Phichit Chulanont in Yuri!!! on Ice. You might notice the history on this is relatively small… That’s mostly due to the series being young and a lot of the people working on it are performing their specific functions for the first time. As such, the history isn’t as long. But this doesn’t detract from how well the whole crew is doing on this anime in the slightest.
I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned this on the blog but I consider myself a sort of connoisseur of quality harems. Frankly even I think the genre is sort of (overall) a lower quality type of anime. Mostly because it often substitutes good plot devices, character development, and delicate setting for male fantasies and petty fan-service tropes. That said, who fucking cares? I like to watch it, I fucking consume this garbage. Love Tyrant is obviously on my watch-list this season, it’s a hilarious harem.
It parodies Deathnote and has a lot of references to other animes that make for a good laugh. Lots of Yandere quality in here too, which is always fun to watch. The plot is actually quite good too, especially considering it’s a harem. Its on the level of The World God Only Knows, in the manner that it has more to offer than typical tropes and fan-service. It’s unique and obvious in it’s sources for inspiration. It’s an honest anime, it doesn’t try to be anything it’s not. They’re very blatant when they do something “tropey” or parody another anime. It makes the anime unique rather than coming off as a copy or whatever. It’s just a good time to watch all around.
In terms of characters there really isn’t much to be had, we’ve got a boy, a Tsundere, a Yandere, etc. Other than titles there’s not much CHARACTER to be had, typical harem. The soundtrack is whatever, the animation quality is sub-par. Overall the pacing seems rushed or otherwise a bit off in my opinion, I personally think Love Tyrant simply lends itself more to the manga medium. I think the pacing just got a bit off when moving from the literary context over to the cinematic context. It happens and isn’t a big deal, just a small gripe. This anime more than makes up for it in quality screen-writing, good voice acting, and a generous helping of comedy and over the top screenplay. I think it’s shaping up to be a solid 6 or 7 out of 10. Watch for sure if you LOVE harems or dating animes, parodies, comedies, or yandere nonsense.
To conclude, that’s it for now. I haven’t had a chance to go through everything for this season yet, and I’ll make sure I post again if I find something I’d like to recommend. If you have any ideas of an anime I should watch, send me a message. OR, just reblog this and write something like “you should watch blahblah.”
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