Gatchaman Crowds - 1

Hajime Ichinose is a schoolgirl who I would describe as normal, were it not for her freakish love of planners and utter randomness. One day, she meets a strange, teleporting man who promptly rips out her soul, Guilty-Crown-style, and turns it into a notebook. The rainbow swirls and backdrop associated with this process were not the first pseudo-drug-induced moment that this episode had to offer, nor the last.

Kimi no Iru Machi - 1

In spite of my excitement for this particular animé adaption, don't get me wrong. This is the manga I've hated the most for various reasons, as well as being the most rage inducing garbage of all time. However, this doesn't mean I hate everything about it, I just hate the small segment ragey moments, which really threw my sanity into the question. You'll know what I mean if you've read the manga, or will follow this animé adaption. So anyway, by choosing to watch this, I was self conscious, and fully aware of the fact I'd be plunging myself into a world with only hurt, and pain. Don't make the same mistake I did, you might possibly end up in a psychiatric ward.

This is 720p HD... even the 360p of other animes I've watched look better!

Teekyu - Season 2 Episode 1

To be frank, I hate this series. I do not know how this gained popularity. I have no clue at all how the first season started only five months after the manga started. I found it absolutely boring, as well as irritating, and would like to know what people group this is aimed at.

Believe it or not, all these images are from HD sources

Fantasista Doll - 1

Uzume Uno is a timid, ditzy, awkward schoolgirl. One day, on a crowded train, someone puts something in her bag. You know, I was actually impressed that a trope was almost subverted there.

She was neither molested nor robbed.  What is the world coming to...?

Uchouten Kazoku - 1

Boredom, my enemy. It had returned. It retracted its claws. I turned around, and tried to escape, but this was my inevitable fate. Boredom raced towards me, its claws on fire. It booted me up the backside, and I lay helpless on the floor. Boredom retrieved the katana of its back, and impaled me with it. That is how I felt watching Uchouten Kazoku.

You like mediocrity and boredom, kid? Because we've got sacks of them!

Blood Lad - 1 (First Impressions)

So, this isn't quite what I expected, but it's not as bad as I thought it would be. Just a side note, what is with this season and great OPs? It feels like every show I've watched so far has a really good OP. So, Twilight Blood Lad, the story of a teenage vampire who falls in love with a human girl after she accidentally stumbles into his world. Now dont pack up your things and leave quite yet, it's not that bad, honestly.

Makai Ouji: Devils and Realist - 1

Jonny here, reviewing the first episode of the new series Makai Ouji: Devils and Realist (I will shorten it to D&R during the review).

Gothic Styled? Devils? Butlers? This is beginning to sound more like Kuroshitsuji by the minute, not to mention this anime doesn't seem to have a single female character as of now. Well, I look forwards to seeing how that'll pan out. Anyway, time to get started on the review.

This anime is set in England, I imagine in the 18th or 19th century. The episode opens up with some woman... Man? Whatever - this man called Solomon, dressed in a white robe, addressing a man called Dantalion, who is meant to be a demon, from what they say. They exchange some dialogue, and then they hug and talk about some contract... I don't understand whats happening, but I should find out later, right? This follows up with a cheesy as balls intro. Its standard, and what you'd expect from an anime intro. Before I move on, I'd just like to talk about the art style. I'm not really a fan of elves or fairies, whether its in anime, games, or movies, but the main reason for this is pointy ears. I don't know why, but I can't stand them. If you don't like characters that have that look, maybe D&R isn't for you.

Nothing going on here...

Fate/kaleid liner Prizma Ilya Episode 1 - Birth of a Magical Girl

A spin-off of the Fate series. When I read about Fate/kaleid liner (F/kl) , I was first excited, but reading the basic plot quickly turned my excitement to a strange, neutral feeling. I enjoyed Fate/stay night (F/sn) and Fate/Zero (F/Z) when I watched them, but this was due to the action-driven plot in the former and the the thought out characters in the latter. In this, however, it is quite evident that the plot will not have a deep storyline like the two series mentioned before. Also, the fact that Ilyasviel von Einzbern, commonly known as Ilya, is the main character was a turn-off, due to the fact I found her quite annoying in F/sn.

Regardless, I started watching the series to find that it definitely wasn't going to be terrible. The art was slightly childish, but that was dismissable, given the theme of the story and the precedent Puella Magi Madoka Magica (PMMM) had set within me, which told me that a good plot can change your entire impression the art gives you about the anime you are watching.

Kiniro Mosaic - 1

...in Wonderland (one of the MCs is called Alice)

Touchdown, Heathrow, OH MY GOD. Finally, something in anime I would consider home turf: England. Left insatiably excited by this turn of events, my immediate impressions of this anime greatly skyrocketed, and boy am I considering reviewing this series. Any blogger would feel comfortable reviewing something within their area of expertise, and I am no exception. No questions really, and I eagerly look forwards to examining this unique, rarely seen episode in anime.

In case you can't see, it says 'very' instead of 'vary', and 'dose' instead of 'does'

Love Lab - 1

If my review was late, better late than never! Any apologies I'd have to make would be directed towards my fellow bloggers, who I didn't have a chance to tell, and subsequently failed to notify. Putting this piece of bad news aside, here's part of what we've got in store for us from this season's wonderful assortment of shows.

Riko - The Boke

Monogatari Second Season - 1

Get hype because it's here. Monogatari SS (or Nekomonogatari Shiro) has finally dropped and my god is it glorious. I probably don't need to mention that the monogatari series is close to being my favourite anime of all time, so I apologize in advance that this will be less of a review of the series, and more of a fanboying out over the series. Anyway, let's continue shall we?

Danganronpa the Animation – 01

Its Jonny! Reviewing anime? Well... Reviewing Monster Hunter is taking longer than I thought, so I decided to try something a bit different. So here I am, posting a review for the first episode of the new anime series, Danganronpa. Before I start, I just want to note I am kind of inexperienced, so I will evolve my review formula as the series goes on and I gain more experience. Danganronpa is an anime based on a PSP game of the same name that was released a few years ago, exclusively in Japan, so anyway, let's start the review.

So, the show has a strange start. A teddy bear, half white, half black, stands in front of a capsule with a menacing look. There is a man in the capsule, with a blindfold. The capsule then locks up. Its sent up into space... Then falls back down. The capsule re-opens and he's... dead. I can't say I know whats going on, but it seems like its the desired affect.

I spy with my little eye, I see a pedobear...

Stella Girls Academy - 1

Yamato Yura is a shy student starting high school at an all girls boarding school. When she finds her absent roommate’s collection of airsoft guns and action movies, she proceeds to reenact a shootout, to the joy of Rento, who, as a member of the understandably unpopular C3 mock battle club, is looking for members. Failing to convince Yura after butchering her name and continuously calling her a weirdo, the club tries to win her over with a mock battle. Yura is initially hesitant, but seems to begin enjoying the battle as she sees the other girls in action, and begins to imagine the battle as real.

Servant x Service - 1 (First Impressions)

Servant x Service is the one thing that looks the most "meh" this season, but as with Free! I was pleasantly surprised by the first episode. Granted there wasn't anything exceptional about it, but there was nothing bad about it at all. At first glance it seems like your typical slice of life/comedy anime, and so far it pretty much is. The thing that stood out the most, however, was the fact that its not set in high school.

Kitakubu Katsudou Kiroku - 1 (First Impressions)

Nice Pose

So, I'm not usually a fan of the SoL genre, but there are some exceptions to that rule. This will not be one of them. Kitakubu Katsudou Kiroku (or KKK for short, nice choice of name guys) follows the main character, who I will call StupidHair seeing as she's so bland that I could not for the life of me remember her name, and her friends, the soft-spoken moe one, the rich classy one, the cool one, and the eccentric club leader (aka Sailor Moon) and their everyday antics in the pointless "Going Home Club." Hmm, this all seems oddly familiar. I think it's meant to be a comedy as well, but I honestly couldn't tell.

Magical Star Kanon 100% - 1

I cried because I couldn't find a decent, confetti-free shot

Being an avid fan of the TWGOK franchise, I always had my eyes on the Magical Star Kanon 100% anime, especially after the pilot chapter first debuted. Interestingly, despite being quite fascinated with TWGOK, the hype surrounding it always remained a mystery to me. It all seems rather run-of-the-mill, yet it manages to bring together so many random elements into probably the most prominent Harem series at the moment. Magical Star Kanon is equally as random, if not even moreso. Expect a world of magic and adventure up ahead.

Tamayura More Aggressive - 1

A Year Since Being Welcomed Home, so...

When you finish daydreaming, and turn around, this is the last thing you expect

Having already acquainted myself with the original anime release for Tamayura, I was already familiar with the series. Tamayura is a Slice of Life, which is blighted by moe overdose, something that's currently plaguing the industry (I'm looking at you, KyoAni). I'll admit with great reluctance, and guilt, that I still find moe animes to be quite healing. Generally, there isn't much to discuss when it comes to shows like this, since slice of life is a genre known for its... lack of plot progression. This is like Marmite. You either love the detailed examination of the protagonists life, or hate how tortuously long something can go without any developments.

Obviously, I don't deviate towards any extreme in this regard, and have never really paid serious attention to pacing. If anything, I'm a heavy critic of art, and also highly value the mood created. Slice of Life tend to have rather pleasant, relaxed art, to go with the pleasant, relaxed atmosphere. This combination is a complete killer in my books, that is to say it usually hits the criteria for an anime I enjoy. Without further ado, I'll go on to explain the pointless ongoings in this episode, as well as my opinions overall.

Free! - 1

KyoAni's done it again. So, Free! where do I begin? Honestly, it... actually wasn’t that bad? When I saw the trailer for this, I immediately thought “KyoAni have just shot themselves in the head with this one,” but after watching the first episode, it may not turn out that way.

Gifuu Dodo!! Naoe Kanetsugu - Maeda Keiji Sakegatari - Episode 1

Because they are obviously too awesome to share an exclamation mark!!

The episode starts with a housewarming party at which a samurai with a reputation for eccentricity, Maeda Keiji, shares his wisdom that ‘Anything that’s reached its zenith will eventually decline’ by vandalising the new house. The wisdom of his words is reinforced by his fellow samurai and friend, Naoe Kanetsugu. The two then begin to reminisce, revealing this to be an elaborate framing device. At ten minutes in, it’s a little long, but setting up the characters as they are now will allow comparisons to be drawn about their growth.

Brothers Conflict - 1

There needs to be some sort of Bishie Limit.  This is just ridiculous.

Brothers Conflict centers around Hinata Ema, an only child whose frequently travelling father left her alone for most of her childhood. After he remarries, she goes to live with her new step-brothers, of which there are thirteen. Yes, thirteen. Everything I know about biology is crying right now. Ema’s talking squirrel (No, seriously...) Juli warns her that living alone in a house with men is dangerous, and constantly compares them to wolves. He turns out not to be too far wrong, since at least one of her new ‘brothers’ starts putting the moves on her on the first day. Subtle this anime is not...