Spring 2009 Anime First Impressions: Part One

Posted: April 6, 2009 | Author: flomu | Filed under: Uncategorized |10 Comments »

Part One.5 of my Spring 2009 First Impressions (Part one was technically Queen’s Blade…): K-ON!, Slap Up Party -Arad Senki-, Shangri-la, Natsu no Arashi, and Hayate no Gotoku!!.

 

K-ON!

A slice-of-life comedy from KyoAni featuring a moeblob, a Miyuki in a costume, a maybe-tsundere, and a spaz.

It feels like a cross between Kannagi and Lucky Star, featuring the “club will be shut down unless…” plotline of anime like CLANNAD.

This could just be the next great slice-of-life comedy, the one I’ve been waiting for since Kannagi ended.

Yui is awesome.

Epic win.

 

Slap Up Party -Arad Senki-

An action/adventure-comedy by GONZO, one of the only four it will be producing this year.

This was definitely unexpected.  I had wanted a good, solid comedy, and I got some random battle crap for the first seven minutes?

However, I stuck to my word that I’d watch the first episode of each series, and I was thankfully not disappointed.  This feels like it’s going to be an RPG-like anime in which random characters (including this looks-like-a-man woman) join Baron’s party, and I, for one, am not complaining.

I can only hope that this series will keep up the balance of the RPG-style party vs. enemies action/adventure and great humor that was presented in this first episode.

Win.

 

Shangri-la

The second of the four 2009 GONZO anime, and it looks like it’s going to become an epic sci-fi action anime.

This was the anime I was looking forward to, the one that I knew I had to watch from the first time I saw this picture.

So basically: incredibly short skirts, two creepy, though funny, trannies, an 18-year-old main character loli, a royal loli with different colored eyes, and a bear-hugging loli playing the markets.  Add to that some awesome art (though it’s in low definition), and you’ve got yourself a winner.

Epic win.

 

Natsu no Arashi!

A SHAFT slice-of-life comedy (maybe comedic romance… though not likely).

Well, um… The character design here certainly is …a sight to behold (not in a good sense).  A nose that looks like a belly button and noses that look like Steiner’s nose minus the bold tags??

However, seeing as the character design is consistent throughout the episode, I can at least rest assured that this won’t pull off an Akikan!esque “I just lost a nose!” or worse… well, at least, I hope it won’t.

The time-traveling aspect of the show, coupled with the idea that you’ll cease to exist if you meet yourself, is a great platform to build a comedy on.

This first episode seems like a “hook” into the show without explaining the origins of the time-traveling, sailor fuku girls… which isn’t necessarily bad, and I’m actually not looking forward to an explanation (the comedy present in this episode seems good enough).

Oh, and awesome Sayonara, Zetsubou Sensei reference/parody.

Win.

 

Hayate no Gotoku!!

The second season of one of the greatest comedies ever.

Awesome awesome awesome!!1      …is what I want to say.

The humor of the first season is definitely present in this episode… but the art style and the art quality are too different and bad (respectively) to ignore.

However, as with Natsu no Arashi!, I’m sure that I’ll get used to the art in time.

Also, Hinagiku ED = awesome.
Just goes to show who’s the real main heroine of this anime.

Win.

 

Conclusion

So so far (that ain’t a typo), the things I’ll most likely be bashing are Natsu no Arashi, Hayate S2, and Slap Up Party, though I doubt I can keep up episodic bashes for any of those three.  Queen’s Blade – I won’t be blogging.  K-ON! and Shangri-la are incredible.

Hmn.

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