Summary: Mihama Academy—on the surface, a closed learning environment established to nurture students who find themselves at odds with the world around them; in actuality, an orchard-cum-prison built to preserve fruit that has fallen too far from its tree.
Whatever the circumstances behind its establishment, Mihama Academy is at present home to five female students, all with their own reasons for "enrollment." For better or worse, each girl has established a routine obliging of her current situation; life moves at an idle, yet accommodating pace within the walls of Mihama.
Yet with the arrival of the institute's first male student, the nearly preposterously opaque Kazami Yuuji, the students at Mihama begin to fall out of step with their predetermined rhythms. Will Yuuji prove to be the element the girls around him needed to take hold of their lives once more, or will the weight of their pasts prove too steep a wall to overcome?
And in the first place, just who is Kazami Yuuji? While the true nature of the "job" he is wont to alight to at the most haphazard of moments remains shrouded in secrecy, one thing is for certain—his encroachment upon the quiet orchard known as Mihama Academy will prove itself momentous in one way or another. And of course, one cannot discount the possibility that perhaps Yuuji himself carries the weightiest past of any of the students...
(Source: VNDB)
I honestly didn't know what to expect going into Grisaia no Kajitsu, but the most prominent thing that drew me in was it is a psychological romance. With that in my mind, I was hoping for something that was more than likely a mature in nature anime. So when the first scene with the listing of the five girl's "sins" in life, I was interested in seeing where this anime was going.
Oddly enough, it switched quite quickly into to this very stern looking male character being interrogated by the police. With these two scenes, I almost immediately had the thought that Grisaia no Kajitsu had the feeling of the characters might seem somewhat normal but there is something off about them. This continues when we enter the so-called "ordinary school" known as Mihama Academy.
The first thing I noticed as our main character, Kazami Yuuji, and Tachibana Chizuru pulled up to the school is the cameras. I some normal schools you might see a few cameras here and there, but in Mihama Academy there seems to be a sizable amount outside the perimeter which continues this eerie feeling about the anime. The other was how bare the school grounds was, which is basically step up for a harem situation of five females to one male.
From this point on their it was mostly normal interaction of introducing the new female characters into the story. The one thing I do want to note is how analytical and snarky Yuuji is when interacting with people. With a male protagonist so boring looking, there had to be somewhere for the audience to relate with him, and that snark seemed to do the trick -- at least for me.
Many of the females are very high energy, so having that balanced out with the cool as ice Yuuji make both funny and interesting conversation of these polar opposites. And the overall nature of each conversation almost made me forget about this lurking darkness the anime first presented. However, what followed after meeting all the cheerful characters, was a very quick and sharp snap right back into the reality of this anime.
When Yuuji stayed to meet the last student -- who doesn't show to school until later in the day -- he was met with hostility quite quickly. Sakaki Yumiko is probably the only girl who doesn't hide her dark side and ended up baring her claws at our male protagonist instantly. And that scene was the turning point for the curtains being lifting about the academy.
Not going to lie, I am personally drawn to female characters who are considered "roses"; on the surface they seem so beautiful and harmless, but go down a bit further you might get cut by their thorns. So many of these characters do show these types of characteristics but right from the first episode alone, I'm interested in Suou Amane -- the sizable women -- and Sakaki Yumiko -- Ms. Quick-to-Stab.
So with just this one episode, I'm interesting in seeing what to come from Grisaia no Kajitsu. The fact that some of the girl seem like they are ready to kill Yuuji for something he did in the past is something I can't wait to see. And getting into the different personalities of each character seems like an entertaining journey to take.
Originally posted 2014-10-08 on the now shutdown sekijitsu.com
Summary: Piano prodigy Arima Kosei dominated the competition and all child musicians knew his name. But after his mother, who was also his instructor, passed away, he had a mental breakdown while performing at a recital that resulted in him no longer being able to hear the sound of his piano even though his hearing was perfectly fine. Even two years later, Kosei hasn't touched the piano and views the world in monotone, and without any flair or color. He was content at living out his life with his good friends Tsubaki and Watari until, one day, a girl changed everything. Miyazono Kaori is a pretty, free spirited violinist whose playing style reflects her personality. Kaori helps Kosei return to the music world and show that it should be free and mold breaking unlike the structured and rigid style Kosei was used to.
Story
Like many music anime, they tend to focus on the character's involvement with the craft and how music helps each character -- whether that is personally or within a relationship. Probably the most interesting thing about Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso is one of the main characters, Arima Kousei, starts out with a trauma about music and is entirely appose to participate in the activity. In a sense, this was a clear conflict that was establish right from the get go and makes the viewer curious as to how we will see Kousei make his way to actually enjoying music again -- if he ever does.
With an end point set, the anime needed to plot the course of getting to said end point. Since Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso is character focused, most of the pushes toward the goal was through either the supporting or main characters, making each individual role feel like they had a purpose in the story. So even if the story was mostly revolving around Kousei getting back into music, the rest of the cast felt meaningful to each other and as well a Kousei.
The last rung of the story is the importance of music with a character who is actively trying to avoid it. Well this is where Miyazono Kaori comes into play. She is the one to spark Kousei's interest in music, as well as interest towards her. So this is where the fascinating relationship of the characters and how music ties them together. As far as I'm concern, Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso does a great job in setting up the plot and establishing our four main characters that are either involved or experiencing the wonders of expression within music.
Art
The first thing that stuck out to me, when I starting watching the first episode of Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso, is how beautiful it is. You would think that a music anime would have art that didn't really stand out too much, because the focus would be on audio, but there was no punches held in the art department. There isn't a doubt in mind that probably most people were drawn to this anime because of its art -- and that doesn't bother me -- but the thing that made it stand out even more is the way this anime used it's color palette.
A lot of times anime tend to be very flashy with their colors, this isn't the case for Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso because it uses those brighter tone to draw the eye toward someone. For example, the first scene Kaori is in, she is high up on a jungle gym playing a Melodica and since she has blonde hair, there was this moment of awe. Also a lot of the scene with Kousei are darker and more monochromatic as he is in his head trying to deal with his trauma. I find this use of color and art direct extremely well executed and works well to convey the mood of a particular scene.
Characters
With the story being so focused on one character, there is this importance of actually making any other character as interesting and believable. In my opinion there are two real main characters and two main supporting characters in the story of Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso. I mentioned them before but Arima Kousei and Miyazono Kaori are our two musicians, the main focus, while Sawabe Tsubaki and Watari Ryouta are the non-musicians who support both of the musically talented. What I like the most about the relationship between Kousei and Kaori is the fact that they seem as close to equals as possible since both feed off of each other and make themselves stronger because of it. And the thing that keep them moving forward is music, whether that is the piano for Kousei or the violin for Kaori.
Now, having non-musical people in an anime such as this might seem counterproductive, however Tsubaki and Ryouta have importance. With both of them being jocks, where thing like sport are highly based on practice and talent, it allows the viewer to make parallels to music from a different angle. Also, since they are friends with Kaori and Kousei, we can get a second and third perspective from characters that knows them so well. These strong relationships make many of the character that much more real because others have opinions of them and character interaction has consequences.
Overall
Good Bad clear inner conflict from the start melodramatic inner conflict very impressive art and animation great color usage to convey scene tone dynamic characters that felt real
It's really hard to actually find something I had an issue with while watching Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso but there is something that could have been eased up on. This being the inner conflict within Kousei head; sometimes they felt melodramatic, however we have to remember that this is a middle school student we a talking about, things tend to get overblown when you lack the emotional maturity.
Beside that stretch, I would consider this a must watch for those who like dramas or musical anime that will not hold it's punches. I feel like there isn't much to really complain about since A-1 studios did a great job conveying an expressive art like music within it's animations and sound design. I can see myself watching this again in the near future, plus English title -- Your Lie in April -- once you finish the anime you will understand the significance with all of its bitter sweetness.
Originally posted 2015-03-26 on the now shutdown sekijitsu.com
OP: "database feat. TAKUMA (10 Feet)" by MAN WITH A MISSION
ED: "Wonderful Wonder World*" by Yun*chi
Summary: Veteran gamer Shiroe and other players have been trapped in the world of the online game Elder Tales for six months. The once chaotic city of Akiba has regained its everyday hustle and bustle following the formation of the self-governing organization Round Table Meeting. The earthlings, who are originally from the game world, have gained the trust of Shiroe by waging a defensive war against the Goblins in Zantleaf Region. This has led Princess Rayneshia of the Cowen family, the highest-ranking Earthling Aristocrats, to live in Akiba.
It's almost winter and the Adventurers are thinking about what they're going to do and what their goals are in this other world. Will they remain in Akiba or go to the city of the West? Or will they travel to the land of the North or another faraway country? The opinions of the Adventurers begin to diverge. What adventures await the members of the Shiroe team in this second series of Log Horizon?
(Source: NHK Enterprises)
Log Horizon was my favorite anime of the season when it originally aired. So, I was waiting with excitement for the next season to start. It is, without question, the one anime I've been looking forward to the most this season. Not only that but it very interesting that it is beginning around the time when Sword Art Online is entering its second half of the season -- which I would argue will be most disappointing part, like the first season.
With all that prefacing it, I would say the first episode is pretty much what you would expect from Log Horizon. Unlike the first season, there wasn't much setup and we jumped straight into reintroducing the characters and setting. Considering I didn't rewatch the first season before jump into the season, I feel lucky that I remembered most of the characters. With the addition of many interaction with comedic flair, it all felt like a seamless transition of season. We also had the setup for future political intrigue with the slowly depleting funds for the Round Table.
To be frank, I would describe this first episode as a condensed version of what makes up Log Horizon. From the silly interactions to the serious political and physiological conversations
Going into detail, we know that Akiba was establish, in the first season, to be a safe zone for players in this hostile world that is Elder Tales. Now that we are in the second season this peaceful life has been going on for a while, however, that life style is possibly coming to an end. The Round Table needs to keep paying a large sum of gold to keep their hold on many of the buildings in Akiba, but their funds are slowly depleting.
Knowing this problem, it is in Shiroe nature to plan for alleviate such a predicament. Not only this one issue but there also the possibility of Southern spies in Akiba, so the South id becoming an emanate treat. With these spies about, the troubles and plans to get out of said troubles need to remain secret as to not let the enemy see a weakness.
Having all this setup, for the political side of Log Horizon, so early on make it seems like this season is going to be on good standing.
So overall, I would say that this season of Log Horizon is starting out really good. I really liked how the anime handled introducing new subject into the story -- back in the first -- in stages, making it easy to digest. The only complain I have is the first season didn't make the physiological elements that important even with it being losing memories in the real world after you had died in Elder Tales. If this season focuses more on the fact that players could forget outright that they are in a game, that would serve as another point of what makes Log Horizon such a good series. Regardless, I'm looking forward to the season with or without the anime heading into the mental breakdown of a character.
Originally posted 2014-10-08 on the now shutdown sekijitsu.com
Summary: 1 year after the SAO incident, Kirito is approached by Seijiro Kikuoka from Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Department “VR Division” with a rather peculiar request.
That was an investigation on the “Death Gun” incident that occurred in the gun and steel filled VRMMO called Gun Gale Online (GGO). “Players who are shot by a mysterious avatar with a jet black gun lose their lives even in the real world…” Failing to turn down Kikuoka’s bizarre request, Kirito logs in to GGO even though he is not completely convinced that the virtual world could physically affect the real world.
Kirito wanders in an unfamiliar world in order to gain any clues about the “Death Gun.” Then, a female sniper named Sinon who owns a gigantic “Hecate II” rifle extends Kirito a helping hand. With Sinon’s help, Kirito decides to enter the “Bullet of Bullets,” a large tournament to choose the most powerful gunner within the realm of GGO, in hopes to become the target of the “Death Gun” and make direct contact with the mysterious avatar.
(Source: Crunchyroll)
Back with a new season of Sword Art Online, or rather Gun Gale Online this time around. And as one of the many people extremely critical of the previous season, specifically the ALfheim Online arc, I'm going into this pretty sceptical on whether this season will be any good. Like last season, SAO II presents the hook pretty early on and for this season, it is the death gun that seems to be causing people's deaths in the real world, after being shot by it. To me, it is interesting enough to want to see what happens next; however, how long will this anime stick with it as the main plot? With the first season as precedent, it doesn't look too good for this one, but we will see if SAO II doesn't make the same mistake as to rush the ending of this arc and start another one that is both not as interesting and entirely pointless.
Next up is how the main characters from the previous season have been doing. Starting with Asuna, it seems she is continuing to spiral into the unimportant character role. The biggest give away for me was when she and Kazuto were discussing what they want to do in the future. Asuna was the one who didn't really seem to have a goal while Kazuto wanted to become a creator with all the research he is doing on virtual reality headsets. The answer that Asuna was that she wanted to spend it with Kazuto and really that just felt like her character is now defined only by how much she likes Kazuto. As a small side note of Asuna's character, why does she still call Kazuto his in game name, "Kirito" after dating his for over a year? That is just an odd detail that probably shouldn't happen if you actually cared that much for someone.
As for Kazuto, we know that he want to work on virtual reality headset -- I'm guessing to make them safer after going through SAO and ALO. I guess you can stay thats the only thing new about him specifically, but it also seems Kazuto is becoming a detective for the virtual world. And that pattern of some problem in a game is affecting the real world and Kazuto has to gear up and enter this new world to, most likely, dominate everything for no real reason continues.
The overall theme of this arc seems to be the crossover, or even merging, of real and virtual world, which is interesting to me. This season might actually turn out to be good and the understandable scepticism I have can be lifted; but, it as could just end up being mediocre like last time. We will see how much has been learned from the previous season or if A-1 will continue to ride this hype train until it eventually crashes. Either way, I'm moderately interested in the current plot that have been establish in this first episode.
Originally posted 2014-07-05 on the now shutdown sekijitsu.com
OP: "Kimi ja Nakya Dame Mitai" by Masayoshi Ooishi
ED: "Ura Omote Fortune" by Ari Ozawa
Summary: Sakura Chiyo confesses to her crush, Nozaki-kun, but he mistakes her as a fan! Unable to convey her feelings, what happens when he invites her to his house? Find out in this hilarious series!
(Source: Panda Scans)
Going into Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun, I didn't know what to expect but I did have Bakuman on the brain only because they both revolve about mangaka. With the just first episode, it feels like this anime will be more focused on the comedy aspects rather than the actual struggle of mangaka trying to become serialized. And that is fine considering I found the duo of an overreacting Chiyo and deadpan Umetarou to work well, resulting in some quick and silly humor.
Of course, like most romcoms that focus on comedy, we probably won't be seeing any real romance; sure there will be "hints of romantic nature", but I doubt there will be any progress between the two characters. And really, that is my beef with romcoms, they call themselves romantic comedies but they end up being just glorified comedies where any romance scene is just another comedy moment. Of course this is only my prediction, so we will see what actually happens between Chiyo and Umetarou, but really do doubt that there will be any relationship progress because it will ruin the dynamic of oblivious guy and girl trying to convey her feelings toward him.
Going back to the manga side of things, it's interesting to have a guy doing shoujo manga. Someone like Umetarou, where he is blunt and doesn't really show his emotions that often, you wouldn't really expect that genre to be his pick -- specially him being a popular shoujo mangaka at that. So the thing that feels strange is that he makes stories that resonate with a lot of females, resulting in him understanding females at some level, but he is oblivious to Chiyo's feels? That feels like the weirdest disconnect within a character, but this is only the first episode so I will cut it some slack for now.
As for Chiyo, she seems to be defined by her affection for Umetarou. Like I said in my first impressions for Sword Art Online II, I don't like those type of female characters but Chiyo is quirky and we still has time for her develop.
Right now, Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun shows some potential. The dynamic coming from Chiyo and Umetarou is entertaining and it seems like there will be even more characters being added in pretty soon. I'm still preparing for this to be mostly comedy and no romance, so thats too bad for Chiyo but she'll live.
Originally posted 2014-07-07 on the now shutdown sekijitsu.com
This is the last bit of the edisodic post and this so happens to be the longest. I rememeber doing writing about this anime and slowly gaining a disdain for it. I guess thats what happens when you just write about what happens on each episode in a regimented fashion. Either way, here is the first of three sets for “The Irregular at Magic High School”.
Episode 1 - First Impressions
Episode 2 - 3
Episode 4 - 5
Episode 6 - 7
Episode 8 - 9
Originally posted on the now shutdown sekijitsu.com
