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February 13, 2017

Winter 2017 Anime

By omo

So instead of going about things normally, I have been watching Legends of Galactic Heroes on a binge. That said this is sort of a weak-ass style of binge where I am only 40 episodes in after starting 3 weeks ago. With that said, LOGH episode 40 is a good place to take a breather. Just to say the obvious: This show is great and I’m glad I am doing it. In years past I’ve casually tried to start, and last Cyber Monday I picked up the translated novels on Kindle so I started reading the first book–only to stop because it feels kind of lame. Kind of like how Guin Saga initially felt. But there’s this epic anime I could watch instead, hmm.

Interspersed between all this are my usual eventing and at least one work-related trip, disrupting my usual viewing schedule. Such is life.

Kemono Friends – This is setting my meme world on fire. It’s a bit like MLP set in Humanity Has Declined. Or rather, the last humanity inside a dead mobile game? It’s tanoshi and sugoi and all that, and this friend who likes to blog recommend approaching this janky anime on its face. It’s nothing really special, until you unwrap this layered zoo to get the meta. It’s actually not a bad show, but it’s definitely not meant for everyone. The amazing thing about Kemono Friends is that I don’t think there is anything to “get.” If you just think about it, there’s enough content and bread crumbs to get you going.

Gabriel Dropout – I sort of enjoyed this show, but it’s not as funny as the play time warrants. And I don’t even mean this kind of sand-counting sense of humor. I enjoy the jokes but they are too little for too high of an investment. I’ll probably trudge on.

Chaos;Child – This is kind of why I trudge on Gabdro because the alternatives is to watch more dreary things like this. That said I’m a few eps behind so I’ll try to catch up, because I like the concept. I think this is the kind of stuff these semicolon IPs do best, except somehow only Steins;Gate had a decent anime…? O;9 was such a wasted opportunity…

Yojo Senki – This is hilarious, but also kind of dreary. I think the main weakness is the occasional focus on some existential BS, and not a little girl doing ruthless war stuff. [His Yang comparison I find a bit in poor taste, in fact.] Thankfully the balance of it leans heavily on the latter so it’s good so far. As far as these kind of fantasies go this is very satisfying. It would be even better if it wasn’t Y.Aoi behind the helm though.

Demi-chan – I don’t really know where this show is going so I’m along for the ride. It has harem aspects but also plainly focused on these half-human, daily life issues, and I think it does an admirable job on that. The characters come together in a way that isn’t terribly annoying and I really enjoy the cast, so it’s on the short list.

LWA TV – LOL licensing. Why Netflix…

Minamikamakura – The setting really wins here but I’m a little slow on this. Maybe I’ll catch up. The first couple episodes reminded me some stories I heard when Lawson took some anibloggers there to find obscure temples, up and down the mountains…

Kuzu – Is it me or this show is a lot of boring? I guess naughty sex is all there is for it? I’m curious so I might stick with a few more.

BanG Dream – It’s basically Love Live but better. Forget Aqours. So far I like it except that Arisa character is like a less charming Nico and as the characters say sometimes, Kasumi can be really annoying. I guess she’s just a Friend who likes weird guitars. I actually enjoy it except for literally Arisa, and the need to get myself to ignore the Hard Push. If gorioshi had a name, it’d be called BanG Dream, in that this is the least natural and most artificial story of a band coming together since forever. And it airs in the same season as Fuuka. That said I think there isn’t enough to make a call on this show yet, outside of the production issues.

Chain Chronicles – The characters were a little familiar but that’s where the show ends, considering my history with the game. The story is familiar, however, so I had fun following it along. I’m not invested in the characters so I think it’ll get dropped (currently at 5).

Rakugo S2 – Same o’ but more seiyuu rakugo is good?

ACCA – It’s like LOGH but without the charm, which is probably not a normal comparison but at this writing, attention span burnt on ACCA probably fills the same need as a couple episodes of LOGH. It’s curious enough to keep following.

Konosuba 2 – Still good.

Hand Shakers – I would watch it if I had more time, but not so much lately. After 3 episodes at least the girls are cute? After K I don’t know why people complain about Go Hands, other than some of the business practices. Yeah it’s a bit of eye torture, but so was K.

Maid Dragon – I like this enough for the animation, but the story doesn’t require the deft hand of comedy to play on beat every time, which is a bonus in this case because I’m not sure if humor is one of Maid Dragon’s strengths. A hint of plain nerd works like a dash of vanilla essence in a simple custard and it makes everything come together.

School Girl Strikers – It’s alright. Not sure if I’ll watch beyond 3.

Seiren – It’s not as much a brain-press as PhotoKano but it’s not that good. The gamer girl so far is at least beyond garden variety attractive and so far Seiren has done a good job with the side characters. I’m not sure I can stay with it without at least a back-of-the-knee moment. The deer mating is cute but not enough… (BTW Shikaco is in this anime as bus-ko which is, what, this joke almost tells itself.)

Idol Incident – Partly what inspired me to watch LOGH, gonna be honest. It’s not terrible but unless you’re into that political narrative it’s not particularly fun, since that’s where the jokes are. I might keep going but it needs to have some good jabs! Too soft so far.

Akiba’s Trip – It’s technically partly what inspired me to watch LOGH too, because it’s not that different than Idol Incident. The collabs and cameos are great in the show though. Is it any good? Saa…

Tekketsu – Ooops she did it again! Joke aside I really enjoyed the catch-up from last season, and kind of am glad, in retrospect, that I did it now and not at the end of the second season, for spoiler dodging reasons. It definitely is the “least” Gundam of recent memory, just something about it is different, and it’s hard to put a finger on it.

Fuuka – As a stereotypical example of a fan of Seo’s works, I can only deeply apologize that it exists, and it’s going to egg on some cool seiyuu collabs (as it has already done so). The main story is just a side dish. FWIW I stopped following his crap after I”s so Fuuka is mostly new (but yet so familiar) to me.

I tried Masamune-kun, and it was OK but I’m not in a mood for something this substantial. The two Granblue Fantasy episodes were spot on, except one might wonder if the right characters are going to appear. One Room was LOL.

A fairly fun season of shows that I look forward to every week, I’d say. Kemono Friends, Yojo Senki, ACCA, BanG Dream and Demi-chan probably are the ones I mind the most.

2 comments | posted in BanG Dream, Chain Chronicles, Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu, Gundam, Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon, Modern Visual Culture, Seiren, Showa Genroku Rakugo

February 7, 2017

Why Seiren?

By omo

I read this and I’m like, is there some global conspiracy to remove Photokano from this discussion? Why are there pent-up expectation for Seiren to be the next Amagami when during pre-prod it looked like a limp resurrection of the concept that was put into the grave by Photokano? Is Photokano anime the Tsukihime of anime?

Anyways, as someone who’s actually watched Photokano to its (rewarding?) end (little sister episode yeah?) I can’t imagine Seiren, from the big picture point of view, to be an improvement. People who expected Amagami should just go watch more Amagami. Or better yet, play the games. I don’t think Kimikiss or Amagami anime can be topped at this point, there’s just too much rose-colored crap clogging people’s thinking at this point.

Leave a comment | posted in Photo Kano, Seiren

February 6, 2017

Year in Review 2016: Seiyuu Song Singers

By omo

There’s a bit I want to say about seiyuu debuts in 2016. For start, a lot of them did. Nunu and Naobou were remarkable because it has to do with something behind the scenes clicking for them as artists, for them to sign up now, as opposed to 5 years or whenever ago. Do you remember when Pikasha was still Mio from K-ON? It took her a few years and we were wondering why–and now we kind of know. It’s not like Mocho and Nansu’s fated solo careers as Muray artists–these are different. The Nunus out there, hopefully, are more like the Ueshamas of today. It’s kind of like the tumultuous changes with Koshi, one moment King Record’s rising star and today not even with the label? What’s really going on? Actually that could be asked of anison at large. Because, in a sense, what are people looking for in this kind of music? I think you’ll find my biases kind of clear.

In some ways 2015/2016 are definitely turning point years. I guess maybe if fortunes would have it, I’ll get Pirami first album soon-ish?

Here’s a list of seiyuu full length album debuts in 2017, including seiyuu groups, that is at least worth a listen. I already have one album in mind not qualifying but mentioned below anyway. Why do I have this list? I just went to here and looked up the relevant entries under the guy’s solo female seiyuu and group female seiyuu pages. Keeping it to debuted album is a little arbitrary but it narrows how much work I have to do. I guess I’ll just walk it and rec the ones I like and keep a few others in the runner up and others sections.

Machico – Ambitious: This album is possibly one of my favorite pickup for the sake of just listening to junk generic anison in my head. The songs are fun, and what’s more important is that her vocals fit them really well. As you may know, she’s basically resident high pitch, so it’s an acquired taste to begin with. The CD didn’t do so well when it first released back in June, but I think people should give it a try.

Trysail – Sail Canvas: The first barrage from Muray’s second generation is as middle of the road as it get artistically, however it riffs on all the things people actually like about Muray’s SOP. They’re fun, diverse set of tunes that play to the strength of the triad. It’s the kind of music I can loop and drive to.

Ohashi Ayaka – Kidou ~START UP~: If you like the most inoffensive, sweet seiyuu vocal to the most inoffensive sweet anison then this is for you. It’s possibly even more generic than Machico’s but I guess the two do share some similarities on the production end. The strength of the tie-ins are much more there. It’s not a “runner up” only because I often find myself listening to it because it’s got that soothing, “yhelo there checking my brains out atm” quality to it, without being too upbeat. Gotta give credit where due I guess.

Ueda Reina – RefRain: If I were to have any hipster creds I have to include Ueshama’s art project on any kind of list of this nature. I’ll be perfectly honest, it is sort of sophomoric. But the fact that she is given the latitude and good will to produce music like this is worth noting. Is this even sustainable? Both in terms of sales and how long will it take her to make a full album? Who knows and I don’t really care. It’s worth your time (especially since it’s a mini-album).

Runner Ups:

Amamiya Sora – Various BLUES: I like just that one track, which was the C/W to Velvet Rays. The rest of the album kind of roll her occasionally invigoratingly drawn vocals in the same sort of thing over and over again, and she’s just unable to raise them to the next level. Maybe if she wasn’t so hung up on blue it would have been to her advantage…

Hayami Saori – Live Life Laugh: By far my most disappointed 2016 pick. Her voice is there and every pressure wave of it is as gorgeous as it can be, but these songs suck butt. It’s kind of like her Anisama performance with Takagaki Ayahi–great idea on paper but they surely can pick a better way to approach Komm susser, tod??? It’s only “runner ups” because it’s still worth listening to once.

Bonus notes:

Uchida Maaya: Technically PENKI came out December of 2015 but my experience with it is thoroughly 2016. I didn’t like it one lick. Maybe there was one song on it that’s any good (Gimme Revolution?). Drive-In Theater, which is her Jan 2017 mini-album, on the other hand, is way better. And I think it’s sit-up-and-take-notes better. While a part of me still just want her to focus on acting, gravure, and maybe live action, the music stuff could work with the right production.

This also reminds me of Tadokoro Azusa’s 2016 album, which is miles better than her generic seiyuu nonsense of a debut album–It’s My CUE is my pick for fave 2016 seiyuu music. Who knew the switch to rock was all that she needed to sound awesome?

I listened to Pyxis’s First Love 注意報! and it just makes me miss SylipS badly. Not that it’s bad or anything. I mean, it sure wasn’t as bad as Watanabe Yui’s Tokuma debut. Ugh.

Oh, there was this in 2016 wasn’t it…and yeah pass! I’m not really one who can judge with my penchant for lobotomized HoriPro musical treadmills. That reminds me, one of these days I need to poke the Everying album with a 10′ pole or some such.

Year-in-review 2016:

Leave a comment | posted in Introspectives, Modern Visual Culture

February 6, 2017

Producer Meeting 2017

By omo

I flew last weekend to attend the IDOLM@STER Producer Meeting event. It ran for two days and you can see the official page here for the exacts. This time the main draw is the full cast, even if at first the event seemed to be a part-life, part-talk sort of a deal. Leading up to it for over half a year was the release of IDOLM@STER Platinum Stars, as it was the first lottery round. Since we had plenty of time to prepare we did a flower stand again, and there’s more details about that I’ll post on HPT site sometime later here.

Because this is a talk-and-sing sort of an event I won’t be able to give you a lot of the details on the talk part, since I don’t do Japanese. I can’t even walk the setlist, as you’d expect, so I’ll just keep it pretty brief and add the travelogue stuff too.

Continue reading

Leave a comment | posted in Conventions and Concerts, Idolmaster

February 2, 2017

Anti-Immigration Is Anti-Eventer

By omo

In the USA, immigration is in the mind. The new President’s administration has all sorts of issues, but this one is a major killer as it affects, and very personally affects, not just those of us who travel overseas to events. I cannot count the number of students studying in the USA who came from abroad, and I love how they culturally enrich this country. More importantly, they make up a good number of the con population who travel for guests, so they are also my siblings-in-arms. It’s these people that make up the largest affected population segment, I think, which the changes to the US visa system affect.

Beyond that, the Trump Administration has hollowed out a lot of top positions in the DHS hierarchy and that will have a slowdown effect in terms of processing of visas and the like, as the new administration sort things out. This means if the Daisuki guys want to run that lovely Anison Matsuri this summer, they better get a jump on the roster so the paperwork can begin, if it hasn’t already started. Anyways it’s hard to speculate the impact on the rank and file process for applying for various vias at this time, let alone for another few months. I have to wonder how this impacts other cons?

When I landed in JFK terminal 7 this past Monday morning, it was below freezing. A handful of worried-looking people were at the international arrivals exit and there was a sign (in English) telling people where to find a lawyer. The newspaper-headlining protest crowds were absent, but it was also Monday morning, and not the weekends anymore. Still, it’s the kind of thing that may dissuade some folks from traveling to USA, even if it’s for an offer to come attend a con, just saying.

I think this sort of governance is so bad that it even hurts those anime-girl-headed turds that harass people on twitter, even if indirectly. It’s unbecoming and unfortunate.

2 comments | posted in Conventions and Concerts, Popular Culture, The Law