Semi-Final Impressions for the Fall Anime Season and Checking if My First Impressions Turned Out Right or Wrong
Blue Literature was super-awesome but outside the scope of this post 
The idea for this post came from the result of several shows from the season either over performing or under performing after my first impression post and my desire to ensure the readers of The Null Set knew of my updated (and more accurate) opinion of those shows.
Listed below are the fall shows that I wrote about, sorted by grade and I’m going to start at the top and work down, giving some final/almost final impressions and say how well my first impression of the show held up.
Natsu no Arashi! Season 2
First Impression Score – 10.5/12 after 3 episodes
Seasonal Ending Score – 7/12 B
In Short – Every now and again the show lived up to the first season but those moments where few and far between
The first season of Arashi was a wonderful blend of comedy and drama that kept me enthralled and I was very excited about this season and after 3 episodes of this season, I was sure that this season would be another winner. It didn’t turn out that way; pretty much the entire rest of the season was fluffy comedy without the seriousness that helped make the first season so good. Now I don’t have anything against the fluffy comedy but what helped set this show apart from other shows was the time-travel aspect of the show and for this season, it was like this part was no longer important.
It really felt like Shaft was treading water with this season – not willing to finish the plot but desperate to fill the episode count up. This was a very disappointing turn for a show that I had felt was one of the overlooked gems of the year. I assume Shaft will be doing a third season and I will watch it because I like the characters but it’ll be far down on my list of priorities when it does air.
-
Kobato
First Impression Score – 9.8/12 after 3 episodes
Seasonal Ending Score – 10/12 A
In Short – Kobato’s slowly deepening story is just icing on an already delicious cake
This is one show that has started off strong and has kept on performing at the same high level. Kobato is still the charming, genki girl that warms our heart as she tries to help the people around her and that’s plenty to make this a must watch show. I can’t wait to see the second half of Kobato.
-
Sasameki Koto
First Impression Score – 9.6/12 after 6 episodes
Seasonal Ending Score – 11/12 A+
In Short – A character-driven and character-focused show that knew when to be serious and when to be funny
I waited awhile to write my first impression post for Sasameki Koto because I wanted to sure that the show was as good as I thought it was so my final impression of the show matched up with my first impression very closely. One of the reasons I really liked this show was how character driven and centered it was. The result was that the characters and their problems felt real and I wanted to see what happened to them. It would have rated even higher but the very non-ending ending was a bit of a letdown – easily remedied if AIC does a second season.
-
Sora No Otoshimono
First Impression Score – 8.4/12 after 5 episodes
Seasonal Ending Score – 11.5/12 Near Perfect
In Short – Epic!
Remember in The Matrix how at the end when Neo had his powers fully awakened and he was operating on such a higher level than the agents that killing them was easier than squishing a bug. That was the level that Sora no Otoshimono was operating on by the final episodes. I feel sorry for all the fan service shows coming out in the coming seasons because I highly doubt any of them will hold a candle Sora no Otoshimono and I’ll have a hard time justifying the time spent on watching these inferior shows when I could rewatch Sora no Otoshimono. I also feel sorry for any other type of show that comes out that doesn’t display the creativity and energy that this mere fan service show was able to display. I’m really hoping 2010 brings another season of Tomoki and crew.
-
Kimi ni Todoke
First Impression Score – 7/12 after 6 episodes
Seasonal Ending Score – 3/12 D, dropped after 11 episodes
In Short – What could have been a great show was tripped up by the lack of a compelling story and reason to watch
I had hoped that something would come along that would shake up the show’s formula and make me want to watch this but that wasn’t the case. Instead the effort needed to watch the next episode became exponentially greater as the series continued and after 11 episodes it became too much and I dropped it for good. One of the big problems, I think, was that Kazehaya – the boy who likes Sadako and is the boy who Sadako likes – had about as much testosterone flowing in his veins as Mikuru from the Melancholy of Haruhi has. Another big problem was the complete lack of a realistic reason why the two of them hadn’t started dating by the end of episode 2.
-
Nyan Koi
First Impression Score – 7/12 after 7 episodes
Seasonal Ending Score – 9/12 A-
In Short – Good characters but a somewhat weak story – the cat curse needed to be a more important component to the show
Nyan Koi slowly wormed it’s way into my heart; it wasn’t perfect but it was good enough. Yuu Kobayashi was one of this year’s best seiyuu and her character here – Nagi – was easily my favorite of the show and much like Hosaka from Minami-ke was able to put a smile on my face by just getting onscreen. A second season was confirmed at the end of the final episode and I’ll be sure to tune in when it airs.
-
To Aru Kagaku no Railgun
First Impression Score – 7/12 after 4 episodes
Seasonal Ending Score – 11.5/12 Near Perfect
In Short – Vastly superior to it’s parent show Index, Railgun finishes a year that has repeatedly show J.C. Staff at the top of it’s game
After 4 episodes of Railgun I wrote my first impression post and mentioned that the show had the potential to become a decent show. It turns out I was underestimating J.C. Staff by a large margin and Railgun turned into one of the best new shows of the season. One way to prove the prowess in the storytelling is to point out how both my sister and I felt that we should have completely hated Kuroko (the girl with an overly affectionate attachment to Railgun) but somehow neither of us did. I have high hopes for the second half of this series and I’m dying to see Uiharu’s power.
-
Tatakau Shisho
First Impression Score – 6/12 after 6 episodes
Seasonal Ending Score – 8/12 B+
In Short – Storytelling continues to be very disjointed which makes it hard to really get into but it also continues to be interesting and different
If the story arcs flowed together better and if the show had a better feeling of the overall story going somewhere, I think I’d be raving about it; instead, I’ve just been mildly positive about it. Watching Tatakau Shisho, or Armed Librarians, has been worth the time and I remain interested to see what happens as we move into the new season.
-
Seitokai no Ichizon
First Impression Score – 6/12 after 6 episodes
Seasonal Ending Score – 7/12 B
In Short – At best Studio Deen can make a mildly entertaining show and Seitokai no Ichizon is Studio Deen at it’s best
From the time of my first impression post to the end Seitokai no Ichizon got a little better but it never really hit the zone like an A level show would. Slightly entertaining but very forgettable.
-
The Sacred Blacksmith
First Impression Score – 5/12 after 6 episodes
Seasonal Ending Score – 4/12 C, dropped after 9 episodes
In Short – The completely generic show was completely generic and a waste of time (which makes it perfect for the domestic anime market, never mind Manglobe’s vastly superior Michiko to Hatchin remains unlicensed)
As long as it was relatively painless I was going to try to keep watching The Sacred Blacksmith but when my preferred sub group dropped it, I figured that I would take it as a sign to drop it for good since it didn’t show any improvement. And I’ve had absolutely no urge to pick it back up. If Manglobe wanted to do an anime on the cheap to try to make money there’s still plenty of good material that could have been adapted; they didn’t need to settle for the mediocre.
-
Miracle Train
First Impression Score – 4/12 after 6 episodes
Seasonal Ending Score – 5/12 C+
In Short – Never a great show, Miracle Train improved in the second half and at times was a pretty decent show
Another title that I said I’d drop but I kept watching and actually finished. There was one episode, I think it was the eleventh, that was genuinely good and I remember thinking if only the rest of the series could have been this good. This is in no way an endorsement to watch Miracle Train but I did want to say that it did get a little better later on.
-
Kampfer
First Impression Score – 2.8/12 after 5 episodes
Seasonal Ending Score – 1/12 Epic Fail
In Short – Garbage
I finished this just so that I could have at least one really low series review. Watching Kampfer was about as much fun as getting a root canal without any Novocaine.
-
Trapeze
First Impression Score – 2/12 after 5 episodes
Seasonal Ending Score – 6/12 B-
In Short – After finding some actual nice characters to feature and showing that there was some connection between the different people, Trapeze didn’t turn out as bad as I first thought it would
The second half resurgence to Trapeze was something I wanted to mention since I gave it such a low first impression score. I had thought that 5 episodes was enough to be sure that Trapeze lacked redeeming qualities but, of course, the next episode didn’t suck as much. Which lead to my continued watching of this show and I was shocked when, by the end, I was actually getting into the show. I credit how it was revealed that many of the patients where actually connected in some way and having more sympathetic patients to my increased liking of the show (and the Christmas episode didn’t hurt either). I’m actually on the cusp of recommending this to other people, especially if they’re looking for something a bit different. At the very least, I’d suggest giving this a shot if a person is looking for something different and won’t mind watching half the series before it starts to come together.
-
Well that’s a general look at the fall season, expect my award picks shortly and my overall 2009 picks in a couple of weeks (I’m going to try to finish up a couple series from 2009 first).
I think, was that Kazehaya – the boy who likes Sadako and is the boy who Sadako likes – had about as much testosterone flowing in his veins as Mikuru from the Melancholy of Haruhi has
I laughed out loud. I’m still fighting through Kimi Ni Todoke, as I don’t want to drop it. Part of me wants to still believe it’s good. ;_;
I won’t be doing an awards post for this season as the transition between Borderline Hikkomori and Black and Blue Socks makes it a bit difficult, and it’s been a rough transition. Moral of the story is make sure your blogmaster isn’t a complete psycho before you blog for them. ;_;
Sora No Otoshimono
First Impression Score – 8.4/12 after 5 episodes
Seasonal Ending Score – 11.5/12 Near Perfect
In Short – Epic!
I’m sorry i had to stop reading after the above, i didn’t find this anime funny in fact come to think of i rarely find any anime funny so i guess i shouldn’t really complain about this one all that much seeing as it is attempting to be a comedy. i didn’t event finish the first episode either so i wasn’t really giving it that much of a chance however for the people who would consider watching that show based on your appraisal i think its worthwhile summarizing the first episode.
A perverted generic young boy keeps having dreams where he wakes up crying about meeting an angel, he then proceeds to take this girls advice to go see the weirdest kid in school about it. he proceeds to tell the protagonist to go stand in a field late at night for NO GOOD REASON WHAT SO EVER and of course for the sake of the plot he does. A load of random stuff happens including a meteor strike and low and behold what does he find during this stuff storm but none other than a souless robotic 2d representation of a hot angel, oh and before i forget she can grant wishes.
I couldnt force myself to watch anymore of this garbage, it must be me because they keep churning this stuff out every season. Personally i would go as far as to say there was not one good anime released this season thankfully there are a few interesting ones of the horizon. Durarara Dance in the Vampire Bund and new geass to name a few but of course only time will tell all i know is they cant be worth than anything ive seen lately.
p.w my award for most eye gougingly bad anime has to go to miracle train WTF was that stuff about from what i saw it was a magical train that abducts you and its filled with gender challenged possibly homosexual weirdos.
(ed. Removed/changed profanities/language per site policies – steelbound)
@Dodo, I can understand not enjoying many of the shows this past season, but the profanity is going to far. Like you I didn’t overly enjoy most of the shows this season but giving up on a show after the first episode, in my humble opinion makes you the least qualified person to judge a show’s quality. Steelbound I am sorry that I just used your blog for this purpose but I really felt it had to be said.
@ray: That’s okay – your thoughts echo my own thoughts; I apologize for not fixing it sooner.
I have no problem with someone disagreeing with me but there’s no need for language like that. (Call me old-fashioned but I see enough of it elsewhere and this is my little piece of the internet.) I do think it’s a bit presumptuous to grade a show while only watching a part of a single episode. One of the reasons why I did this post was to show that even after watching 3-6 episodes of an anime that it was still very possible to underestimate/overestimate a show at the end of the season.
@Janette: Well now that you have your own blog, you can do what you want. If you want to do awards for the fall season in the middle of winter season – you can.
Firstly apologies for the swearing i didn’t realize it was taboo here so i shall refrain from doing so again on here in future.
Also i completely agree with both of you having only watched 1 out of 13 episodes i shouldn’t really be judge and jury, so for the sake of anyone else who ventures this way i have donned my fanciest bondage gear and prepared myself for round two of this non-sense.
At this stage I’ve decided to give it a fair shot and am prepared to be open minded, but i find it is not long before i am scratching my head at what exactly is supposed to be considered as story within this animated atrocity.
The episode opens with our love able hero Tomoki drawn with a severly disproportionate head in relation to his body in the traditional cutesy anime style, as you might have gathered from my previous comment this sort of thing wins no points with me but its only a minor grievance granted the character and story is right.
We then proceed to spend the next minute listening to the mindless babble of Eishirō this nut job is supposed to be the font of knowledge within the anime and i presume the other characters will look to him for advise. Now you have to question the logic here from all intents and purposes this guy is actually mentally ill in the first episode he jumped off the roof of his school, that was within minutes of meeting this character imagine what he does the rest of the time.
Anyway the next scene features our main character being interrupted before engaging in the act of coitus (see no swearing
with the angel thing he randomly found in the last episode, as i mentioned previously this character appears to have little to no intelligence or free will she is the angelic equivalent of the average short bus rider and im pretty sure what the main character is about to engage in would be considered as rape, now im no prude but committing sexual assault on an angel is a tad too hardcore for my tastes. So Tomoki and the incredibly uninspired Sohara go and see the mad professor again whose words of wisdom are to the extent of:
Do not inform the authorities, you must now essentially become the soul custodian of this imbecile with wings.
Sound advise from the man who only 4 minutes prior had been trying to attach a doll to a pigeon.
In the next scene Sohara pretends to not be jealous of Tomoki’s new room mate, im presuming she will later become the main love interest but there is no spark here, when you compare this to say toradora or clannad you see that in the right hands relationships in anime can seem meaningful and realistic where as this one just looks out of place. Tomiki later unintentionally wishes for Sohara’s underwear to always fly off he then in an attempt to resolve the situation gets his angel to then take all the pants……..long story short she gets her pants back.
To be honest it was a marginal improvement over episode one but still punishing to watch such non-sense. As i mentioned before i dont tend to find many anime funny and this is no exception, so i shouldn’t complain.
overall rating 2/10
The main character in otoshimo is sort of like the archetype of someone who always pulls through, but only at the end. Sort of like a genius procrastinator. They wait until the absolute last minute before doing anything.
That’s the main character in Otoshimono. It works well since the main character isn’t really responsible for the primary serious plot arcs. He acts more as a backup character in fact. The main story arcs are taken up by the angels themselves. They are more of the prime movers than anything else.
All the non-serious parts of the plot is left in the hands of the main character, of course. This probably sets up a divide between innocent but more mature angels and naughty but less mature high schooler.
The series authors must take care not to repeat the mistake made in Scrapped Princess. Which was to have a main character intimately connected to the overarching plot, but without giving her the will and knowledge and wisdom to make decisive decisions to change the course of events. That’s fine up to a point, but not for the ending. If they aren’t going to have the main character be the mover and shaker, then simply take the load off the main character during the rest of the series. Highlight their ignorance or silliness or imaturity so that nothing greater is expected from them. Then get somebody else to be the mover and shaker.