{"id":4,"date":"2011-01-09T18:08:53","date_gmt":"2011-01-10T02:08:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/someaniblog.wordpress.com\/?p=4"},"modified":"2011-01-09T18:08:53","modified_gmt":"2011-01-10T02:08:53","slug":"winter-2011-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/flomu.net\/blog\/2011\/01\/winter-2011-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"winter 2011 part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"
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my face after I watched all these first episodes<\/p><\/div>\n

Yes, my face became that of a ten-year-old shrine maiden with a blank expression after watching these first episodes.<\/p>\n

For any and all oldfags (and possibly some newcomers) out there, I’ll do a quick summary of this season (well, the first half of the first episodes of shows, at least), with excessive references and stuff: \u00a0It’s better than every season since Spring 2010 (probably since I didn’t really watch anything from the past two seasons), but doesn’t have any heavy hitters like Durarara or Angel Beats. \u00a0To put things into perspective, the best show out of the lot got only a 8\/10 from me. \u00a0Since I often ridiculously overrate new shows, this is a pretty sad outcome. \u00a0However, the worst show out of the lot isn’t actually that bad. \u00a0So basically, we’re talking a bunch of average, uninteresting shows in one season. \u00a0Oh boy. \u00a0This is going to be fun.<\/p>\n

High Tier<\/span><\/h2>\n

Usually I put “God Tier” and “Top Tier” before this, but since there’s no way\u00a0any<\/em><\/p>\n

show this season could possibly hit God\/Top Tier, we’ll start with High Tier.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Actually, I'm kind of confused too. They don't really go that far into explaining what that white thing is.<\/p><\/div>\n

Infinite Stratos<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Because I’m not good at making coherent sentences, I’ll steal a review from MAL (Source<\/a>, because I cite stuff like this and not fanart).<\/p>\n

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Nothing we havent seen before, but slightly better.<\/p>\n

IS is your typical Harem anime hands down. The general retardation of the characters etc etc its all there. What surprises me is the whole package actually comes together quite nicely, analytically speaking its not a particularly imaginative or creative but its quite fun to watch. I am not a huge fan of Harem anime because i find them to be annoying and lacking in any real conclusion butthis perticular anime has its charm. The characters are not smart in anyway or creative, but they manage to be generally likable probably because there slightly less incompetent then the\u00a0usual bunch. I would say that this is fun lighthearted anime and definitely an anime to watch this season.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I think this review is wrong. \u00a0akhan1 argues that the “characters are not smart,” which is clearly not true. \u00a0If you watched episode 1, you would know that the main male character whose name I can’t remember isn’t dumb – he’s just lazy. \u00a0And lazy doesn’t mean he’s not smart. \u00a0I’m lazy, but I think I’m smart. \u00a0People often tell me how special I am, even though I’m lazy. \u00a0Gosh.<\/p>\n

Infinite Stratos is a stupid title. \u00a0What’s so infinite about stratos? \u00a0What’s stratos? \u00a0They probably mentioned it in the first episode, but I didn’t really pay attention. \u00a0I’ve been watching a lot of anime in the past three days, so everything’s starting to come together and become one giant winter 2011 anime that has starry rainbow sky gates, merry stratoses, and infinite freezing beelzebubbian gosicks.<\/p>\n

Anyway, from the three screenshots I bothered to take, I assume that I thought some of the show’s humor was clever<\/a>. \u00a0That’s probably why I gave this an 8\/10. \u00a0I am not a huge fan of Harem anime, mostly because I find them to be annoying and lacking in any real conclusion. \u00a0But, this particular anime has its charm – its clever humor.<\/p>\n

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I guess the two of them get to fuse too. Pretty cool stuff.<\/p><\/div>\n

Madoka Magica<\/strong><\/h3>\n

SHAFT, my favorite animation studio, is actually pretty bad. \u00a0I always say that I love SHAFT’s works, but it’s mostly ef and Sayonara, Zetsubou Sensei. \u00a0To be honest, I usually say that I like SHAFT because that’s the hip, cool way to do things on the internet. \u00a0However, this facade of SHAFT love has somehow turned into real anticipation for SHAFT anime. \u00a0It’s a bit troubling, since I don’t actually like most SHAFT anime (Bakemonogatari, Hidamari Sketch, etc.) and would rather not watch their shows. \u00a0Yet this fake SHAFT love urges me on, moving my hand on the mouse. \u00a0I cringe as my cursor moves closer and closer to the video file containing the horrible SHAFT show. \u00a0Every pixel that my cursor passes marks a few milliseconds off my life. \u00a0Literally.<\/p>\n

When I finally reach the file, my finger can’t help but press down on the left mouse button. \u00a0As much as I try to pry it away, nothing works. \u00a0SHAFT has chained me down and enslaved me. \u00a0Every movement I make is not of my own free will, but of Akiyuki Shinbo’s.<\/p>\n

Click.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em>Click<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The file opens. \u00a0And another SHAFT experience begins.<\/p>\n

And the show wasn’t too terrible. \u00a0In fact, I never even knew that the show was made by SHAFT until all the crazy shit popped up out of nowhere. \u00a0With weird mahou shoujo shows always floating around in season charts, I’m not surprised that I passed over Magica Madoka (or was it the other way around?). \u00a0I mean, all mahou shoujo look somewhat like PreCure and Nanoha and that Clow card one and that Princess Tutu one that nobody actually likes but everybody praises (kind of like every SHAFT work).<\/p>\n

But wow. \u00a0SHAFT + mahou shoujo is a pretty good combination. \u00a0Thing is, I still hate mahou shoujo and I still don’t like most SHAFT works. \u00a0I wonder how long the SHAFT hypnosis will last on me this time…<\/p>\n

Middle (Mid?) Tier<\/span><\/h2>\n

Middle Tier is where all the junk goes. \u00a0I really hate this tier. \u00a0It’s all the stuff<\/em><\/p>\n

that’s too\u00a0boring or crappy to be “High Tier” or above, but not bad enough<\/em><\/p>\n

to\u00a0dip\u00a0down to”Low Tier” or below. \u00a0This is the Twilight Zone of anime.<\/em><\/p>\n

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insert witty comment about horrible clothing here<\/p><\/div>\n

Yumekui Merry<\/strong><\/h3>\n

You know something’s not quite right with a series when the heroine’s name is “Merry Nightmare.” \u00a0I believe that “merry” should only be used in front of the word “Christmas” or the word “Nightmare.” \u00a0Oh, wait. \u00a0I guess this anime’s not half bad after all.<\/p>\n

Nowadays, I’m becoming more and more biased with regard to animation companies. \u00a0I saw “J.C.Staff” in the opening of Yumekui Merry and immediately thought “crappy romantic comedy.” \u00a0With such outstanding titles as “Zero no Tsukaima” beneath their belt, the staff of J.C.Staff do deserve something better from viewers like me. \u00a0I need to change my ways. \u00a0I need to give every anime a chance. \u00a0Hell, just look at Infinite Stratos. \u00a0It’s animated by the no-name company 8-Bit, but it’s not that<\/em> bad. \u00a0At least it has clever humor. \u00a0I’m sure Yumekui Merry has something like Infinite Stratos’s clever humor that pulls it away from the crappy romantic comedy stereotype that I’ve tacked on to J.C.Staff anime.<\/p>\n

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O-Oh goodness… I’m sure there’s some sort of reason for this stereotypical scene pulled straight out of a crappy romantic comedy. \u00a0I’m also sure there’s some reasonable explanation for the male character’s ahoge and the female character’s striped socks. \u00a0Her curled-up clothing should also have some sort of justification that I just haven’t seen yet. \u00a0Maybe it’s my fault. \u00a0Maybe it’s because I haven’t been paying attention. \u00a0I sometimes sleep in History class and don’t really remember what Plato says in Timaeus<\/em>, so maybe that lack of concentration is hurting me…<\/p>\n

P.S.: Leave SHAFT alone!! \u00a0Just go on making your crappy romantic comedies without stealing their techniques<\/a>, stupid J.C.Staff!<\/p>\n

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what<\/p><\/div>\n

Freezing!<\/strong><\/h3>\n

You know what? \u00a0I’m freezing as I type this. \u00a0It’s not that good an idea to try and type a post right after you take a shower… at 2 am. \u00a0Naturally, I sleep at like 3 or 4 (or 5 or 6 … or n or …), but my brain shuts off at around 12 am or 1 am, so everything I do past then usually turns out pretty bad. \u00a0I believe that the reverse is also true. \u00a0If something is done badly, then it must have been done after 12 am or 1 am.<\/p>\n

We see an immediate application in Freezing. \u00a0Yes, the title actually doesn’t have that exclamation mark at the end. \u00a0I messed up. \u00a0Sorry. \u00a0But you have to cut me some slack. \u00a0Every anime that ends in -ing or -ON or -ccano or -urarara or -ayate no Gotoku has an exclamation mark tacked on to the end of the title.<\/p>\n

Freezing is pretty gross. \u00a0High School of the Dead was a pretty stupid idea, but Freezing is even worse. \u00a0Imagine your ecchi characters from HSOTD, except they <\/em>are the zombies. \u00a0Freezing is somewhere on that level of grossossitude.<\/p>\n

Quoting the wise words of a reviewer on MAL<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

You got fucking MUTILATION… OF LIMBS…. IN GLORIOUS GORE…
\nAnd this isn’t mutiliation of guys, IT’S ONLY GIRLS.
\nAnd sure you sadist might find this amusing, but hell, now you associate FAN SERVICE with FLYING BLOODY FEMALE BODY PARTS…. GOOD LORD…<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

It’s really not that bad, but it’s pretty gross. \u00a0I typically associate ecchi with grossness, so it’s just all the grosser for me. \u00a0One moment, there’s blood and stuff going everywhere, and the next is some weird ecchi scene. \u00a0It’s grossly stupid.<\/p>\n

But perhaps the grossest part of all is the weird training thing the girls have to go through. \u00a0Even though they can get healed and revived, the girls actually die<\/em>? \u00a0Why? \u00a0I don’t understand this pointless excuse to introduce lots of blood and gore. \u00a0Besides, if they die, they’re actually dead, right? \u00a0How can they get healed? \u00a0Are they immortal? \u00a0I have so many questions, but this show is too gross for me to continue watching.<\/p>\n

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Or if you had a few thousand friends, you could stand on each others' heads and go straight to the top of the Alps without climbing the mountains.<\/p><\/div>\n

Gosick<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Gosick wins the “Worst title of the year” award. \u00a0I thought Freezing had a bad enough title, but then I stumbled across this thing. \u00a0Gosick. \u00a0How do you even say that? \u00a0Go-sick? \u00a0Goss-ick? \u00a0What does it mean? \u00a0The first episode of “Freezing” had some characters yelling “freezing!” for no apparent reason. \u00a0Infinite Stratos mentioned the “stratos” part. \u00a0Gosick doesn’t even reference its own title.<\/p>\n

I thought this episode was pretty good, and then I alt-tabbed over to MAL. \u00a0Apparently, this is supposed to be a shounen\/mystery show? \u00a0The mystery is pretty lame and the shounen is pretty average, so I guess this is a pretty lamely average show. \u00a0It has all the traits of a lame mystery put together with all the traits of an average shounen. \u00a0You have your male protagonist who is just some average Japanese guy, a teacher who seems to be the only person to talk to him, and some loli girl who has magical powers. \u00a0And then you have some stupid mystery scenario taken straight out of that Haruhi island arc and a terrible opening scene:<\/p>\n

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Man, oh man. \u00a0Whoever wrote this script must’ve had a massive brainfart\/poop\/diarrhea right there, since it’s pretty much as bad as it gets. \u00a0Speaking of diarrhea, there was this one toilet in my dorm that had some dried-up, caked poop on the rim of the seat. \u00a0I don’t know how it got there. \u00a0Somebody must’ve missed big-time to have it land there. \u00a0Likewise, I have no idea how this opening even got on TV. \u00a0Somebody must’ve messed up big-time to have it aired.<\/p>\n

Low Tier<\/span><\/h2>\n

Low Tier is where all the “bad” shows go. \u00a0Usually, this also includes the<\/em><\/p>\n

“so-bad-it’s-good” crowd, since they offer a decent amount of entertainment.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Everything. Everything is wrong. Like the black borders of this screenshot.<\/p><\/div>\n

Starry Sky<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Crappy anime<\/del> S<\/span>houjo is not my department of expertise, but from what little shoujo I have seen, Starry Sky seems to be pretty average. \u00a0I’ve seen a couple of posts bashing the show, but I don’t see why. \u00a0It’s a legitimate shoujo show. \u00a0Let’s go back to the shoujo basics and examine Starry Sky…<\/p>\n