Orange (Ep. 3)

   I wonder when Kakeru will get a green uniform jacket. Yes, a black sweater works well making Kakeru look still a bit of a stranger to the group and marking him as having troubles, as much as suicidal thoughts as the later part of the episode showed. Another quite bothersome thing definitely is Naho and her letter reading. Is it too difficult for her to read everything at once and memorize the key events or if she doesn’t have faith in her memory writing everything down like a ‘to do’ list? By the way, I find it a bit weird how many regrets older Naho has and thinks all of them are worth mentioning to her younger self and being mended. I already mentioned that the show doesn’t stray very far from usual tropes of anime high-school romance but that doesn’t really bother me. This time happens the same thing – romantic relationships of teenagers doesn’t usually last that long and Naho will probably have many chances to approach Kakeru, not to mention that only a start of dating don’t really set anything in stone. Somehow, all this stuff doesn’t feel that cheap and overused. I don’t know how they do that, but I still quite like it.

Tales of Zestiria the X (Ep. 2)

    A bit more balanced episode this week. Unlike the OVA that was all action or the first episode when things happened but it was quite difficult to care about them. Now the majority of the episode covered just talking and becoming acquainted better with Alisha and Sorey. The fight scene felt very cohesive and, well, just the thing Ufotable is capable of. The general direction of the story felt very predictable and already used countless times. Of course Sorey has to follow Alisha and become a Shepherd. That’s the point of the whole story. Also, I understand that Alisha can’t see or hear the Seraphim (and why Sorey can and how he ended up with the Seraphim is another interesting topic for the anime to cover) but how did she not notice that Sorey was talking not only to her? Well, maybe the guy just has talking with himself problems, apparently having lived all his life alone. Not to mention that one guy probably couldn’t take care of the whole village. Anyway, this week even if nothing outstanding happened, the flow of the episode seemed just right and I just hope the show will not tarry too much until Sorey will become the Shepherd and the real story will begin.

Amaama to Inazuma (Ep. 3)

     I’ll probably say nothing new as slice of life shows often don’t have anything specific that can differ from one episode to another and just work by creating a pleasant atmosphere. Amaama to Inazuma is no different in that aspect. The first half was memorable only because it portrayed a pretty childish conflict as seen by adult and as there aren’t that many anime that deal with parenting issues, dealing with problems of children is not the most common sight, and showing something like that is always welcome. As a side note, Tsumugi with her hair covered with her sweater looked very much like a person with a Daifuku mask (or whatever that hilarious thing was) from Nichijou. That and some more serious family bonding matters ensured many smiles during the episode. I think it would be about time to introduce some new character and that should not be the problem since the OP features number of them.

91 Days (Ep. 3)

    Starting from the end, the soundtrack still remains spot on. The funeral scene certainly did add some gravity to the show. Vanno as a character didn’t appear that interesting but it’s good to see that the effect of his death depends not from his role in the show but from his relationships forged some time ago – the show gets some points for realism. Everything else – I got to admit that sometimes it’s still difficult for me to remember which character has one name or another and that doesn’t enhance the enjoyment of watching. But hey, it’s far from being as confusing in this aspect as Baccano, so that’s ok. Another slight drawback seemed to be animation at certain places. Generally the show looks really good, but sometimes you just can’t not notice frame rate dropping almost to the ground, and when it’s paired with just sketched out faces of people that are farther away you don’t get a very pleasant experience. Anyway, the situation between the mafia families gets hotter and hotter, especially with some not very stable guys around, so all those things beg to be overlooked.

Orange (Ep. 2)

   The show picked up just were it left last time with all the vigor and general atmosphere. The initial stages of the romance are pretty ordinary (making bento and stuff) but somehow I don’t mind that. The sincerity with witch everything is done can compensate for many things. All the other gang members beside Kakeru and Naho feel very natural, their chemistry so far has been pretty amazing. Yet, I’m beginning to be concerned about the letter Naho received and its writer’s intention to withhold some information. Looking from perspective of Naho (the younger one) wouldn’t it be more natural not to invite Kakeru to hang around during the first day if she knew exactly why? Writing only something like “I have regrets, change it” sounds pretty unconvincing and, coming from a person whom Naho does not really know, it sounds almost like an arrogance. Writing down all the details with grounded facts would have been more effective. Not to mention the accident in which Kakeru apparently dies. How does Naho prevent it if she knows basically nothing about it? Anyway, the show remains very enjoyable and that’s what really matters.

Tales of Zestiria the X (Ep. 1)

   So apparently the previous episode wasn’t the first but rather zeroth. As far as I know it’s not that usual to put an OVA before the main series in the same airing time. And I must say that the zeroth episode felt more like the starting point of the series, all the spectacular action and stuff. This one looked more like a second episode when much money is already spent and the staff who previously thought only about the starting of the show finally remember that it also must go on after the first episode. I hope that the Princess will feature heavily in the future because otherwise this OVA would feel only as a cheap bait for the viewers. Turning to the story, everything still felt quite video game-ish. The Princess randomly wanders into old ruin and is randomly attacked by random bugs (while being helped by a random well, creature? I’ve no idea who or what he is and what he was doing there), randomly cracks a wall and ends up as a damsel in distress before the protagonist. So far Sorey didn’t leave any impression and felt just like a typical protagonist material. I wonder when all the other characters featured in the OP will start turning up and heating up everything.

Amaama to Inazuma (Ep. 2)

     Amount of cuteness for the week acquired. I know it’s not that type of a show when you need to think a lot but I’m interested into why Kotori wants to help so much. Unless her dream is to save her mother’s restaurant but in that case she probably should have already learned to cook something more than just some rice. Another interesting thing is that Kotori’s VA Saori Hayami also voiced Shirayuki and it’s very difficult for me to see Kotori as a new  and different character and not just the already known one with just dyed hair. Especially when they seem to have not that dissimilar personalities. Overall cooking was featured more prominently than the last time, some quite entertaining humor was sprinkled here and there and generally it was just a very heartwarming and healing episode. I wonder if the show will continue ‘a meal an episode’ scenario for a while or (and that I probably prefer) will cook up (pun intended) something different.

91 Days (Ep. 2)

   That felt like The Godfather. I know the setting and all the mafia stuff are the same but especially the scene with the wedding when the head of the family sits alone in a dark room with his closest family brings back the memories. Another quite similar thing is portraying how some people might remain very strongly religious and still do killing and other similar business for living. Some of the events may have been not that easy to predict like Fango’s escape – why would you kill such a villain right from the start – others not so much as Angelo (or Avilio – I’m not sure which name is more suitable) turned against one of his family’s murderers. That is if the letter he got said the truth. Three families, one guy thirsting for revenge and numerous business entanglements should make up for at least a decent story and so far 91 days has delivered. Still, there’s a long way to go deepening all the conflicts and telling more of Angelo’s dealings to come, but it looks as promising as ever.

Orange (Ep. 1)

     That’s the way to start a new season. The energy of the show just streams through and with a little bit of mystery (well, possibly sci-fi) it makes quite a start. Of course it requires a bit of faith to believe that all the letter and basically the future timeline stuff will be explained well enough but so far it seems to be a worthy investment of time. Even though the character designs a beautiful beyond any doubt, not every cut does them justice and I can only wonder what will happen later on if even in the first episode that by convention should be the hook to catch as many viewers as possible with the best the show can offer, we still get some stills in place of characters walking albeit they change pretty quickly. Other than that, I’m quite impressed. One of other positives is Azu. Yes, there are plenty of genki girls in anime but this time I think it’s done unconventionally realistically – Azu type of girl could easily be found in probably every high-school, being without too much childish or cartoonish that your typical anime genki girls are often known for.

Tales of Zestiria the X (Ep. 0)

     As expected, Ufotable (pretty much being my only reason for watching the show) tried a lot to make everything shiny. I just don’t think everything worked as well as they expected. Standard animation looks as polished as always, but CG constantly made me wonder if I was watching a video game cutscene. I don’t think CG water or CG towns (almost like something from Total War series) look bad per se, I just don’t find it that compatible with 2D characters. The tornado with very roughly done flying rocks made me remember the Studio Deen Dragon. The dragon of this show appeared later but it was certainly better. Just the whole 2D and 3D clash still needs time to settle in. The story also resembles a game very much with going, asking a question, getting an answer, going on, getting in a fight and so on. Not to mention the same feeling of stuff happening and just needing to be done but without much engagement of the viewer (or player). As I’m not familiar with the source, I can’t even guess anything about the story, but without one (and a good one) the show seems to be just another example of why games don’t usually make a good anime.

Amaama to Inazuma (Ep. 1)

     That was beautiful. I’ve come to the show fearing it had many opportunities not to be to my liking and so far I’m very glad I’m mistaken. It seemed to me that to only be of the same level as Usagi Drop would be an enormous task to accomplish, plus I’m not that fond of anime that heavily features cooking. Even Tsumugi’s character design looked a bit too flamboyant not to mention it’s really hard to make a believable and realistic enough child character with all the quirks but not beyond the level of annoyance. The episode somehow tackled all those challenges surprisingly well with a fair share of light humor, beautiful backgrounds (especially those of the park with blooming sakuras) and heartwarming moment of characters tearing up because some rice – the simplest of all foods – after all the microwavable stuff seemed so good. The relationship between the teacher and the student later on may begin to cause some troubles but for now it was just a beautiful and a very heartwarming episode.

91 Days (Ep. 1)

     Another pretty strong first episode. And it looks like the niche that last season was occupied by Joker Game this time will provide something more entertaining. The general feel of the show just can’t not remind me of Baccano, and that’s a really good thing, – the same time period, mafia stuff, some over the top characters, a bar fight… Not to mention that studio Shuka previously did Durarara and that’s basically a cousin to Baccano. Still, this show so far seems a bit tamer and without any supernatural elements. The idea of someone trying to revenge some past sores may be not the most original but here in anime community it looks quite fresh. It’s hard to say much about the characters though it’s really going to be interesting how Angelo may need to cooperate with Nero who belongs to the family Angelo’s determined to get even with. The presentation certainly suits the show and immediately pinpoints the time period while the soundtrack seconds it also really well.