First Impression – Isuca
Kyuudo-bu?
I think this is truly the last FI of the season, after Kyo’s 3 episode Tokyo Ghoul post. But that’s because Isuca decided to not air its first episode until others had aired their third. So what does this late arrival bring to the party of this spring season?
Oh, That’s Not Right!
Guy, take it away
The show tried to start off interesting, I’ll give it that. But I’ll say this right now: nobody wants to see a naked lady flasher turn into a giant centipede. Noooooooooo. About the only good thing you can say about the opening scene is that it gives us the introduction to the hapless hero Shinichirou and the silhouette of the heroine Sakuya. I’m not even sure it would have been better if the scene had been uncensored, cause I know I’m not into horror hentai.
Sakuya, Shinichirou, and the Twin-Tailed Cat
But in any case, we follow up at the school with another ‘accidental’ runin between the two, which certainly seemed like Sakuya had a reason for stepping on his foot. But I don’t recall that ever coming back to mean anything as the show gets into introducing these two characters. The majority of the episode centers around Shinichirou and Sakuya’s attempts to defeat a youma at the school building, and it’s more powerful than Sakuya can defeat by herself. So of course the two of them team up to seal it, or at least Shinichirou lends his power and they end up winning.
Powered up Pantsu?
One Word Review: “Arms”
They’ve got this one already, Fosh
That was skylion’s review even from back in the preview post. And it still holds up. Like just about every Arms production, it’s pretty unremarkable. Clichéd setup, clichéd situations, clichéd fanservice. In fact, I was wondering if I could even wring 3 paragraphs out of it for this review (I seem to have succeeded). Some people might like Ibuki Kido’s performance as Sakuya, which is competent if not spectacular, but she’s just not my cup of tea. And she’s certainly not talented enough to make something special out of these recycled lines. Perhaps the best thing about the episode was the ED, with the song “Somebody to love” by Two-Formula (who also did the ED for NouKome). It had the best imagery of the episode, and emphasized perhaps the only different thing about this show: The main heroine actually has a small chest. Not flat, not big. Small. It definitely makes for a different profile.
A Different Figure (bonus NSFW)
I was able to talk up World Break in the FI for that. I even talked up SaeKano. I don’t really think there’s anything to talk up here. It is what it is: standard high school fanservice supernatural power anime. Maybe it’ll get better, maybe it won’t. I’ll be watching it, but then I watch anything like this (like Ushinawareta last season… what was with that?) and have a good enough time at it. Don’t really know if there’s much else to say but “Arms”.
About Highway
Proving that you don't have to be young to love anime, I enjoy all genres and styles of shows. If it's not hurting anyone else, you should never be ashamed of what you like!
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
MetaFantasy! Crunch all 4 or 5 into one! 😛
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
…and that’s the most shameful thing…”high school fanservice supernatural power anime” should still have zing to it; even with an intro episode. But I guess a big old pile up is fine, provided I ain’t in it…
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
FKYA Magical BoyS! Wait.. My bad, wrong show.
Has winter usually been this bad?
If I am not mistaken, Highway is covering most of them… we must be prepared for the worst outcome…
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I dunno if ‘covering’ is the right word, yet. I did the FI’s for 3 of them.
I don’t know if I’d consider it ‘bad’. There are always a lot of filler shows, since the anime industry is making more shows each season. People complaining about anime ‘dying’ look at the bottom of the lineup, or cherry-pick their memories for comparisons, or both. There are some very good shows on now, ones that are a lot of fun to watch. And yeah, there are some not very good shows. But there always are.
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
For many years I’ve used the ‘scraping deeper than the bottom of the barrel’ comment. I’ve given up on that and decided to just enjoy what I pick.
Your other title suggests that if anyone were to cover these, it’d be you. 😉
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Winter from my pov was always the time when studios kick back and relax while picking up meh titles to work on which explains why we have all these weak harem/fantasy/ecchi anime this season.
We would mash all of them together, but some of them are trash that nobody wants to spend time on! I am watching most of them even though I will probably drop Isuca and Juuou Mujin no Fafnir.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
The most recent episode of Fafnir managed to get a few good bits in. But it was too little too late, and those bits got drowned by the bad one…
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
Unfortunately, unless you are a NEET, time is a valuable commodity. I expect by the quarter series mark that they get shit together.
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
I don’t expect anyone to suffer a seppuku of five shows.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Can’t think of anything more excruciatingly painful than that.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Dare to dream.
POWUH: 600-699 and LN Enthusiast with 623 comments
And here I thought you can’t get any worse than World Break. I was proven wrong by this episode. I don’t even want to bother complaining because it’ll be just a waste of time for me. I’ll continue to watch this but this might just get dropped along the way, maybe as early as next episode.
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
Too much of the same thing even got to you?
I think it isn’t any worse than World Break except that it is just the last in the series of 4/5 similar shows. That probably has worn people down. Isuca was actually quite promoted on Kadokawa (or was it Media Factory)’s youtube channel.
*Goes into analyst mode!*
We have:
Seiken Tsukai no World Break (diomedea)
Absolute Duo (8bit)
Isuca (ARMS)
Fafnir (with an I) (diomedea)
Shinmai Maou (IMS)
I don’t think Fafner (with an E) counts. We will leave Tsukimonogatari out of this. The Magical Boy show maybe does count but its geared towards a different demographic, so let’s leave it out. Diomedea is quite… busy. 4 shows, two same genre, one magical boy, and their main show of the season: Kankore.
Milky Holmes doesn’t count and whilst I am tempted to chuck Dog Days in here, I think we can safely say it’s different enough.
So the guesstimate of 4/5 was spot on. Whichever came out first (did not bother to keep track) has got ‘benefit of doubt’. Unfortunately, all 5 have similar plot, ie. one guy and a wanted/unwanted/consensual/non-consensual harem. Looking at things, Isuca MIGHT be the least of all these evils but unfortunately, it has suffered from MOTS syndrome due to it being the last to air. Not a good start.
Whilst I do not mind a harem show, a glut in one season isn’t exactly what one is hoping for. It is as if all the studio/Kadokawa/publisherxyz/abc/etc2 decided to collude and dump all these similar manga/LN-derivatives in one go. Tactically, this is not exactly going to draw new fans but it seems more geared towards the existing fanbase.
Out of the studios, my pick of the best would have been the two diomedea ones since they do decent work… EXCEPT they have two other shows and the production quality has to go somewhere, which is probably why world break and Fapnir has been hit with the “it cannot get any worse”.
The cast for the shows is a mix of List A and List B.
Unfortunately, if you dump the ecchi aside, there isn’t exactly much left to pick over. Not even uniform design, cuteness, world design, scenery porn or
wincest.err… you did not see that last one.Or maybe after the fiasco that was Seirei Tsukai, I’ve gotten wary.
Summary: All 5 appear to be geared towards their hardcore fanbase. I wouldn’t expect any to end up with S2, BUUUUT hardcore fanbases are hard to predict.
–end analysis–
So… watch A/Z2, bear with yurikuma, watch FKYA Magical Boys when the mood is right. But most of all, enjoy watching Izuna-tan eat donuts.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Personally, I think there’s a lot more separation between those shows you mention, at least in quality. For me, Isuca is way less interesting than any of the others, and Fafnir is probably the second bottom. Shinmai Maou is almost in another category given the quality of its production, and the relative depth of its story. I think it’s much better than the group of the other four you mention. And of the remaining two, I prefer World Break, since I like the performances of Satsuki and Shizuno, but even Absolute Duo is far above Fafnir and Isuca, especially this last episode when they let Julie loose, instead of it being all stiff conversations between her and Tor.
If I was comparing to Blade Dance, I’d put that down below Absolute Duo. I was far more tired of Claire’s routine almost immediately that the elevation of Ellis to a main character couldn’t save the show, plus Kamito didn’t do much for me.
Relative ratings:
Shinmai Maou >>>>>> World Break > SaeKano > Absolute Duo >>>>> Blade Dance >>>>>>>> Fafnir >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Isuca
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
Seirei Tsukai gets higher marks if you read the LN… only because I can fastforward the unnecessary parts. The adaptation was terrible except for Scarlet. Absolute Duo looks adaptively well, but I haven’t gotten into the LN yet. The fact that it has a bigger budget that SeireiTsukai helps.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
8-bit generally speaking does well with whatever budget they get. I was no fan of , but the show looked good for the most part, and Tokyo Ravens was better than that. Now if only they could get behind a show and channel the scenery porn from Yama no Susume…
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
I’m never a big fan of saying you have to read the source to get quality out of an adaptation…
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I don’t give anime credit for things they don’t have any control over. If the source material for Blade Dance was better, that’s a worse indictment of that show, then.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
And it is possible they all decided to dump these shows in this season because “It’s winter, we don’t want to waste a slot in a good season on these shows.”
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I can agree with that. Winter is always the weakest season of the year. Always. Here’s a look at what’s to come for Spring 2015.
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
Which looks about the same to me except for the fact that most are sequels.
Oh look, they’re redoing Ranma 1/2.
Mmm… GARcher.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Yeah, it’s mostly sequels on the list. Some worth looking forward to and others, not.
Down, boy! Sit! Heel!! 😀
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
Will we ever get a fanservice show where the hero doesn’t do a face plant in the lead girl’s crotch? Or where she doesn’t hit him for seeing her panties when it wasn’t his fault?
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
It seems you can have that first bit all you want, but the tropes always have to have a comeuppance somewhere…So the short answer is no to both…
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
Yes. Earth defence blahblah. 😛
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Dat mustache! Maybe the studio behind Isuca have been lurking around Metanorn?! Also why can’t the ED art be the official art of the series?! I know Wizard Barristers sucked hard on story mode stuffs, but at least it LOOKED great and had nice looking ecchi moments…
This will probably end up in my DROPPPED pile cause wow it was so bad for me! Sakuya is the typical Tsun and Shinichirou is the DERP WHATS GOING ON character that asks a million questions and doesn’t get many answers and wow it did not take long for Sakuya to end up naked…wow…
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
You know things are pear-shaped for a production when you yearn for Wizard Barristers quality…
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Yeah, looking through the list of Arms productions, that one jumped out at me. The comparison between the air version of episode 11 and the BD version is so damning. They just completely dropped the ball on that, and I think that if it hadn’t been that bad, that would be the best rated show they’ve done.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Yeah, your mustache traits made too much of a pattern.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Actually, in my opinion, this was far more enjoyable than World Break’s opening. This statement is serious. The reasons for this are that by comparison, the premise wasn’t horrendous, infuriating and badly executed that I ended up rolling my eyes almost every four minutes. Where the cast is concerned, the male lead is alright in my book. At least he has a personality and isn’t a bland doormat that’s easily forgettable. That’s the crucial factor. Plus, I don’t mind the blonde female tsundere. Rather her than the clingy, overly obnoxious pink haired tsundere with a brother complex.
So overall, I’d definitely pick Isuca over World Break based on their respective first episodes. From everyone else’s comments, there are other shows this season that are meh story wise. Glad I didn’t bother checking them out. Juuou Mujin no Fafnir was so not within my interests it didn’t get so much as a passing glance.
The first few minutes with that centipede woman were creepy. As if watching something straight out of Inuyasha. Except the flashing part just before.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Man, if we were saying first 5 minutes, then I would say Isuca probably is slightly better (by the very littlest bit). After that, there’s no contest: World Break is much better. I don’t see how Isuca could be called anything but badly executed, and they’re both recycled premises. The art is much better in World Break, the acting is much better in World Break, the dialogue is light years ahead in World Break. And Moroha’s lack of personality is more than made up for by the more interesting personalities of Shizuno and Satsuki who are both characters that seem to break molds a little, rather than Sakuya’s color-by-numbers retread tsundere. I know I don’t really care for tsunderes (most of the time), but this one is particularly poor.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
I think I had pretty much the opposite reaction than you. I found the opening scene boring and uninteresting. It didn’t help that I immediately disliked the MC the second I saw him. And when he opened his mouth, I ended up disliking him even more, if that was possible.
I usually don’t like tsunderes that much (at best, I like characters like Eri from School Rumble, and dislike ones like Louise or Shana from ZnT or Shakugan no Shana). This blonde thing was worse than Louise or Shana… annoying, and a poorly designed character. At least Louise and Shana were well-designed characters, even if I didn’t like the personality.
Whereas the opening for World Break was interesting enough for me. Not a big fan of presenting the future and then rewinding, but imo it wasn’t bad by any means.
I’ve come to the conclusion that our shared interests are limited to a niche type of vampires (only those in a non-horror setting ^^ )
Fafnir is average at best. It’s not bad, but it’s not really anything noteworthy. I’ll probably continue watching it for now as it just barely meets my minimum on my interest meter.
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
Shana is teh win! Louise maybe too abusive.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
I’d have to agree I liked Shana much more than Louise. I would have liked Shana more if it wasn’t for her constant “Ursai! Urasi! Urasi!”, which really got on my nerves quickly.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
It ain’t all that bad….
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
Well, the Shana-tan specials were amusing at least. ^^
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
I mean, who doesn’t want melonpan crumbs all over their head, with the occasional toothpick sword stab?
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
Urusai! Urusai! Urusai!
😛
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
*goes looking for a broom*
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
*quietly sweeps Di Gi Kazune under the rug*
Ahh, much better, peace and quiet.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
=P
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
*gets out pointy needles and hairpulling technique!*
Uruchai! Uruchai! Uruchai!
😛
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
*puts Di Gi Kazune in a soundproof room* Silence is golden!!
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
That’s a predictable tsundere trait. Unavoidable.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I’ll admit World Break got slightly better on the second episode. Slightly. However, if you check my comment on the show’s First Impression, you’ll see I wasn’t happy with it. That’s why I found Isuca’s version better.
Can’t say I share your opinion on tsunderes since I haven’t seen School Rumble, ZnT or Shakugan no Shana. Those three predated the time I began watching anime online so I’m in the dark completely.
Oh ho ho, I want an explanation on that. Details are required.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
Wow, and here I thought the last of the season would be something good. This was downright horrible.
Bland mob character C who got the MC role because everyone else got sick. He’s also a dumbass (you’d think he’d learn after the first opening scene encounter)… he finds something that just clawed down a girl and he pisses his pants. And then decides to chase it barehanded. And then defends a oh-I’m-not-suspicious girl in a yukata at the back of the school. And then when he tries to defend her, he’s clearly to the side (if you’re going to try to be a human shield, at least put some effort into it). Ugh.
I found the voice acting also sub-par, and the dialogue didn’t help either. Every 5 seconds I wanted to claw my ears off. I pretty much decided to drop it half-way through (I started browsing the internet while it was playing on the other monitor), and the rest of the episode didn’t change my mind. On the other hand, I’ve been really liking World Break. The premise I found to be a lot more interesting, as well as the likability of the characters. I didn’t mind Ranjō Satsuki.
If I wanted to watch an eliminate-youkai in a school setting, I’d rather rewatch Kekkaishi hands down than watch this.
I must be really living under a rock, never heard of ARMS until skylion and Highway mentioned it. Looking at the works I’ve seen, I guess I haven’t been too impressed with the studio (only seen 5). Maoyuu Maou Yuusha was probably the best (a decent Spice and Wolf-like show), then Hagure Yuusha (likeable GAR main character), then Hyakka Ryouran (creative use of ink blots), then Wizard Barristers (which started out promising and then… yeah), and then Gokukoku no Brynhildr (which also started out promising and then… yeah).
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Yay! World Break wins! I mean, over this, it’s not even a competition, but I’ve also been really enjoying that show.
Of Arms shows, I tend to like them well enough, and they really let you down at the end. Samurai Girls definitely had that distinctive style, but neither series finished well at all. Hagure Yuusha was pretty uninspired, Maoyuu was nice, but ultimately focused on all the wrong things, and Brynhildr wasn’t too bad, but just didn’t go anywhere.
POWUH: 600-699 with 691 comments
I’m late, but let’s see…It started in a very cliché way, student at night meets a suspicious person, the wow she flashed him, i thought “yay ecchi” then…WHY! st the begining i was annoyed by the censor being so big…but when i actually thought about it…i was kind of relived that censor was there…she transformed in the DxD centipede(couldn’t find the img, but it was episode 2 or 3 from season 1) i would rather not see the transformation without the censorship, thank you very much! Anyway, the show was “underwhelming” for a lack of better world, the MC was Dumb and not in the funny way, his best buddy was the official(and super cliché) perverted best friend, the main girl was bland…in fact this would would describe the entire episode, bland, forgetful and the music wasn’t anything especial(it made crack 100 jokes about Justin Bieber though), the voice acting was…bad, it was actually BAD, it gave no feeling, it didn’t get pumped listening to the voices…to be honest the thing with more personality in the show was the raijuu(the lightning-dog-thingy) and the nekomimi girl was all that bad, the episode was so bland that made me remember 11 eyes(so much potential wasted! Misuzu Kusakabe was the best character in a long time, i liked her…they really
there were good things though, the animation was good…glowing pantsu was epic, the cat girl seems the most likeble character(i love animal girls, foxgirl’s are the best, but nekomimi is nice too) the animation for the ED was great…i agree with Fosh, why can’t the ED be the official art?
another good thing…there were PWETTY COLORS! the color palette used was wonderful *0* i like anime’s that know how to use lot’s of colors *0*
i’ll make the 3 episode’s test