Anime Grab Bag #1

So with all the new Fall 2013 shows out, let's sample some of their second episodes. BTW, picture captions are back.



KYOUKAI NO KANATA: EPISODE 2




It's nowhere near the big hit some people have hyped it up to be, but that hasn't stopped me from enjoying Kyoukai no Kanata. I really like its comedic timing and the setting it creates, as well as how quickly it moves to hook you in. Characters are standard (with Mirai being the most annoying of the bunch) and the dialogue is kind of dumb, but at least it's taking advantage of its potential so far, unlike a certain Shaft show that I'm sure I don't have to name. Pity that prior KyoAni experiences have made me cautious about this, but I enjoy it all the same. Just please keep your sense of humor up, as bad as it may be, and try not to take things too seriously.



HAJIME NO IPPO RISING: EPISODE 2



I haven't felt motivated to check out the first season of Ippo for one reason: I don't really like Ippo. He's a standard underdog who's more boring than Harry Potter and whilst the story he's saddled with is cool, he is not. Also, unlike most people, I prefer watching sports shows weekly. Marathoning them has never turned out well for me, as my experience with Cross Game, One Outs, Kaiji, and even the second season of Ippo has shown. If I don't get into them from the start, it's going to be hard for me to get into them afterwards. Oh and as for the episode itself, it was decent stuff, but I'm getting really tired of seeing this story now and the fights have gotten old. Step it up Ippo!



REFRAIN: EPISODE 2



Whilst normally I would question if this love story between Riki and Kurugaya was developing too fast, the fact that Kurugaya is the only female that doesn't look and act two-years old along with the fact that Riki isn't quite sure about his feelings alleviates that somewhat. With that said, I was disappointed at the fireworks scene this episode had. When it comes to launching a large fireworks, I expect something to happen. Thanks to this unfortunate mistake, I cannot praise this show.



BTW, whilst not as much as the Toei stuff, I like JC Staff's handling of the magical stuff here. Maybe it's because I rewatched some H2O episodes lately (which were so bad I walked out several times during the call I was in and had to force myself to come back), but it's not overly melodramatic or annoyingly meandering as these series usually end up. That piano scene at the beginning was pretty damn cool.



KILL LA KILL: EPISODE 2



Take all the criticisms you hear about this show, reverse it, and you'll get why I love this thing. I want more dirty humor. I want more fast-paced stuff. I want more action upon action upon action without ever taking a break. Well, okay you have to take a break some time to establish some stuff, but it can't be more than five minutes. It's not style over substance. It's style as substance. Kill la Kill is everything I love about anime stuffed into one wild ride and it's awesome for that.



If there's one flaw I can point towards this show, it's that the OP and ED sucks ass. Seriously, why?



MEGANEBU: EPISODE 2



And time to round out this post with a show I decided to give a second chance to because my Twitter feed wouldn't shut up about it. Yeah, I know I should ignore it and all, but I liked Golden Time better when I gave it a second chance, so maybe Meganebu would do the same? Make the characters interesting so I'd want to follow them? Throw in some creative stories? Actually have something funny happen besides that announcer guy who goes MEGANEBU! in the background?



The answer is no.



It was a little better than the first episode since it actually wrote some stories rather than churn out random gags like a stand-up comedian, but I'm still not interested in watching any further. There's no getting around the fact that each episode is just a Teekyu episode stretched out to a full-length aka "who the fuck thought that was a good idea?". The characters are dull, the jokes are not funny and don't have the pacing to get away with its randomness, and I don't give a crap about anything when it's not making me laugh. I haven't seen the second season of Arakawa, but something tells me this is what it's like.
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