Wednesday, May 17, 2017

[New][April 2017] World End: What do you Do at the End of the World? Are you busy? Will you Save Us?


Last seen: Episode 3

Summary: Quoted from My Anime List:
Five hundred years have passed since the humans went extinct at the hands of the fearsome and mysterious 'Beasts.' The surviving races now make their homes up on floating islands in the sky, out of reach of all but the most mobile of Beasts.

Only a small group of young girls, the Leprechauns, can wield the ancient weapons needed to fend off invasions from these creatures. Into the girls' unstable and fleeting lives, where a call to certain death could come at any moment, enters an unlikely character: a young man who lost everything in his final battle five hundred years ago, the last living human awakened from a long, icy slumber.

First Impression: Deep Story impaired by cheap humor. Also, seriously, that IS the name of the show. I hear Light Novels are generally responsible for these kinds of ridiculously long names? I mean, even in Japanese its that god damn long, just look at the Romanji Tag of it at the bottom of the post. It's ridiculous.

My Opinion: Could do without the vaguely erotic or 'ecchi' humor. It has shown plenty of aptitude for more conventional humor, the ecchi jokes just feel tacked on. Maybe that's just me though? I've never much cared for them, so I highly doubt I have any say in whether they're quality or not. I can vaguely think of maybe two times in my life that I actually approved of that kind of joke in an anime, one of which being a scene from the second season of Utawarerumono.

ASIDE FROM THAT. Great show. Very moving concepts on display, and some quality characters so far. Things don't always move in predictable ways, at least as far as tropes go. You could still quite easily see some things coming, but only if you think outside the Archetype's box. I don't really feel like recommending this one yet, despite being decently invested in it. Perhaps by the end I might, but not yet. I still have some vague misgivings that I can't quite put my finger on. Mostly having to do with the risk that the show's not taking itself seriously enough like it should. I have seen a Lot of shows in recent memory bomb that should have soared because they lacked confidence, and going for the cheap harem/ecchi humor has been a hallmark of it so far.
Grant, they haven't gone towards the Harem route yet, but it's fucking looming all around on the horizon, so at this point I'm just kind of bracing for impact.

HENCEFORTH, I shall refer to this show as 'World End: Are you busy?' Because apparently there's a bunch of shows featuring 'world end' in the title. Meh.

[New][April 2017] KADO: The Right Answer


Last Seen: Episode 6

Summary: Quoted from MyAnimeList.net:

Cool-headed and rational, Kojirou Shindou is a government official and master negotiator with a well-earned reputation. While departing on a business trip, a giant cube materializes and his plane is taken undamaged into the mysterious, indestructible structure.

As Japanese authorities attempt to identify the cube's properties and origins, Shindou encounters an otherworldly entity known as Yaha-kui zaShunina, who materializes in the form of a human man. He assures Shindou that the passengers are not in any danger and requests help in negotiations with the human world.

Hailing from a higher dimensional universe known as Novo, Yaha-kui zaShunina is able to transfer information between Novo and Shindou's universe through a cube called Kado. Despite having these unfathomable abilities, he does not appear hostile. Instead, he announces that he has come to this world with only one intention: to "advance" humanity—starting with Japan.


First Impression: Oh no, not more 3D CGI... wait... this is actually pretty good...

My Opinion: Absolutely Amazing. Really. What better solution can you come up with for 3D CGI in 2D animation looking so utterly alien and immersion breaking, than to Literally make it something fundamentally alien to the rest of the show in every way? It's Brilliant, and that's not the only amazing part of the show.

I dare say we may be looking at the to-date utter peak of the Fantastical made Realistic. That bomb drop at the end of episode 6 was just...Figurative and literal Minds Blown.
Aside from the general impression and theme being spot on thanks to the 3D CGI, the characters and plot of the show are amazing as well. I was so utterly invested in this show by the second episode but...I wonder how everyone else will take it?
I always have a weak spot for the realistically fantastical, but there's a lot of people out there that enjoy simple off-the-cuff ridiculous and fun styled fantasy, like most entries from the Shounen Genre.

Having said that, this show is taking us on a wild ride of what would happen if an 'Alien' showed up, and was expressing an explicit intention to be beneficial to humanity. Pointedly, how several segments of humanity would outright resist change, because that's what we naturally do. The show includes a large segment of Human Politics.
[Aside]
Again, America is represented by an utterly hilariously antagonistic president but...well. We did elect Trump so, we kind of validated every hilariously vaguely villainous President in anime...
[Aside end]
Give the show until at least the resolution of the 'Wam' arc. I believe that will give you a succinct summary of everything you may expect and encounter in the show, because I sense a pattern. Introduce problem, Debate over solution, Have the 'ah-ha!' moment, and then gently hide the answer just long enough to give the audience a chance to come up with their own ideas, and see if they had the same one. I enjoy that, personally.

I'm finding it very difficult to talk about this show without spoilers, but at the least, I can easily say:

I give this show a huge Recommendation. It's very thought provoking, and I like that.