Previously on Hakkenden: Shino and Sousuke were supposed to look for some colored balls, but the show completely forgot about that in favor episodic storylines. It was all very pretty, though.   I never quite figured out what the first half of Hakkenden was trying to accomplish, so I apologize if the above paragraph sounds a bit snarky. That's not my intent. However, I did go into this episode hoping that Hakkenden would break away from the episodic character introduction plotlines it seems so fond of in favor of focusing on some of the bigger questions that it brought up towards the end of the last season about the characters, their pasts, and where they're headed. Instead, the first episode of the second cour was an episodic introduction episode about a dollmaker and yet another sacred beast house head with a talking spirit creature in tow. I want to believe, but my faith is waning...   That said, a big revelation about Shino's past that hasn't been mentioned before turned up in this episode, and if it connects to the mythology of the series in the way that the opening scene implies it will, then we've got an interesting situation on our hands, not to mention the still unresolved evil twin thing. That is, if Hakkenden actually does anything with those elements instead of having the main character fall into supernatural situations wherever they go, regardless of the errand or the connection to the plot.   But I've ranted enough about Hakkenden's aimlessness. Content aside, this episode doesn't miss a beat from where the previous one from earlier this year left off, not even bothering with a recap. That may just be a product of the split cour, but it definitely prevents anyone from jumping in halfway, since the show already assumes that you know these characters and their relationships to each other. If you're interested in Hakkenden, you'll have to start at the beginning, with the previous season. The art style has remained consistent, with no huge drops in quality from what I noticed. Some of the background shots are absolutely gorgeous, making it a shame that Deen can't seem to consistently keep up that level of beauty across it's other shows. The soundtrack is recycled from last time while the new OP and ED seem like a good fit. Basically, if you enjoyed the first half of Hakkenden and/or are like me and wonder if it'll ever pull its plot together, this is a show to keep an eye on. Hopefully after this first arc is resolved, it'll be done with introducing characters for a while. Images from Crunchyroll.com.
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The ever-changing noitaminA time slot has made announcement regarding their plans for the Fall 2013 and Winter 2014 seasons.  Some surprises cam up – mostly good. Series #1 – Galilei Donna (Pictured Left) Studio: A-1 Pictures Director: Yasuomi Umetsu Character Design: Shingo Adachi Length: 1-cour (11 episodes) Premise: Three girls are Galileo Galilei’s descendants under … Continue reading »The post noitaminA – Fall 2013 and Winter 2014 Line-Up appeared first on Anime Aura.
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The first cour is done, and we’re barely past the introduction. The Shingeki anime didn’t turn out to be a complete disaster, but so far hasn’t come far off. With the Production IG’s B-team at the helm, it’s not really a surprise how underachieving Shingeki is. Its portrayal of the fearful, desperate atmosphere of the [...]
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That was a quiet episode of Valvrave the Liberator.  Not much to speak of but still entertaining. After last week’s more impressive episode, something more low-key and middle-of-the-road wasn’t such a bad thing to have.  For one thing, the preview hinted at something like this and with the second cour coming out in the Fall, … Continue reading »The post Valvrave The Liberator – 09 appeared first on Anime Aura.
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We have finally reached the midway point for this series. Being a one cour series, there’s only about six episodes left till the finale. So let us take this opportunity to reflect on what DATE A LIVE had given us thus far. The first episode didn’t leave much of an impression on me. Sure it ...>>Read more
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Psycho-Pass In a Winter season that left much to be desired, the saving graces were the 2-cour shows from the Fall season, and among those, Psycho-Pass is one of the two that stood out for me. Written by Urobuchi Gen, this show never tried to hide its dark motifs from the very beginning, presenting itself [...]
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There are a growing number of single-cour TV anime (usually the late-night variety, but not limited to) where there’s one really outstanding episode. Often these episodes are also peak in production value and in terms of story–some kind of emotional climax or turning point. Normally, you would find the climatic moment of some dramatic story [...]
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After the complete disaster that was Guilty Crown last year, Production IG had to make up for something. They did so with Psycho Pass, that really was one hell of a ride. As for their other 2-cour Noitamina-series this half year, Robotics;Notes… it’s a bit more difficult. And don’t get me wrong: this is in [...]
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Sasami-san@Ganbaranai (roughly Sasami at Doesn’t Try Hard) is the latest show from Shaft of course, a 1-cour adaptation of a light novel series by the same title. Besides the omnipresent director Akiyuki Shinbo, there’s writer Katsuhiko Takayama, a Shaft regular who also happened to work on the last non-Shinbo directed Shaft shows, the Ef series. [...]
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Well, it seems that over the holidays, I’ve forgotten the full horror that is Gen Urobuchi’s Psycho-Pass. Thankfully, this episode helped remind me of all my prior convictions towards this series quite easily. With the first cour of Psycho-Pass coming to a close, we’re left with many unanswered questions regarding the Sibyl System, Makishima and [...]
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Invitation from the Abyss This week some of the 2-cour series from last reason resumed airing… and we got teased a couple of times. Psycho-Pass is but one of those, and while this episode sure didn’t do what almost everyone certainly expected it to – showing the impact letting her friend be killed and having [...]
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After much deliberation on what to watch for this season, taking into account the carryovers of the two cour animes from the previous season, I decided to settle in a show I thought might be a bit lighthearted and easier to digest compared to last season’s offerings. The show starts off with young Honoka and ...>>Read more
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Categories: Anime, Psycho-Pass, Winter 2013Tags: Psycho-PassWell, it seems that over the holidays, I’ve forgotten the full horror that is Gen Urobuchi’s Psycho-Pass. Thankfully, this episode helped remind me of all my prior convictions towards this series quite easily. With the first cour of Psycho-Pass coming … Continue reading →(Read more...)
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Close, but no cigar. A/N: This review contains spoilers for the entire series.   If nothing else, Jormungand has always had a "cool" factor going for it. It follows a weapons dealer and her bodyguards as they travel across the world, making deals and taking down the people who are stupid enough to try to cross them. However, the first half really suffered from a lack of focus, and the second season does realize that "cool guys with guns make things go boom" is not enough to hold up a two-cour series. However, while it does bring up some interesting concepts, but in the end it's a case of too little too late.   A lot of this season is concerned with filling in the backstory for the characters in the group who've gotten little to no focus so far, while the main plot involving building a quantum computer (which isn't revealed until near the end of the show) putters along quietly in the background. This would be all well and good--not knowing the main cast very well was a common complaint of the first season--if the story actually did something with this newfound character knowledge afterwards, which it doesn't. For example, R gets a great role in the first arc of the show by revealing to the audience that he's a double agent only to be killed off in the next episode. All of the possible tension that could've been carried through the plot is removed, and the following arcs are similar in this regard. I never knew that Wiley was the bomb guy, for instance, and it isn't brought up again, despite allegedly being a key factor of his character. A past involving one of Koko's subordinates being killed is hinted at and implied that its deeply affected her view on the world, but we never get any details.   And that's really the heart of the problem with this show; it's got a lot of interesting ideas, but just when the plot is in the right place to start executing them, it immediately pulls back and diffuses the situation, creating a lot of lost possibilities. In the first arc of the show, the tension is immediately ramped up by the assassin's declaration that she wants to kill Jonah, which would send Koko into an emotional tailspin. The concept of Jonah being Koko's "limiter" is brought up a couple times during the season, but it never really plays out. In the first arc, Koko's kills her using bombers in what is an amazing scene but removes any further conversation about her "limits" for a while.   It comes up again towards the end of the show, when Koko and Jonah are presumably put at odds; Koko has a plan for world peace that will come at the cost of human lives, but Jonah doesn't want anything to do with it. It's an amazing final setup that could've created an interesting discussion while tying up the loose ends the series has thematically... Except there's no moral debate at all. We get a flash-forward and Jonah rejoins the group without deciding anything, or at least the show doesn't bother to let the viewers in on it. We don't even get to see the "new world" Koko was so intent on creating. If this was supposed to convey some sort of thematic message, I didn't get it.   I think that Jormungand didn't know what kind of series it wanted to be or what themes it wanted to tackle until the very end, and by then it was too late. Koko's declaration of hate towards all weaponry and war seemed a little out of character to me, given that her previous actions seemed to suggest that she didn't really care what the world did, so long as the people she cared about were safe. Still, the argument about weapons and the people who sell them is probably the strongest running line through the series, and it probably could've taken the moral argument even further. Jasper's short speech at the end of the series seemed to hit closer to the true heart of the story: "If I can't sell aerial weapons, I'll sell naval weapons. If I can't sell battleships, I'll sell tanks. I'll sell guns. I'll sell swords. I'll sell hatchets. If you seal away iron, I'll sell cudgels. Such is the nature of an arms dealer." How can world peace sustain itself against something like that? But Jormungand has no answers, even though it pretends it does. For all its bluster and action sequences, Jormungand went out with a whimper. Looking back, the only element I consistently liked that wasn't changed in the context of the ending was Koko, even with my above opinion that her turn at the end didn't make a lot of sense. She's a compelling character with great lines and grander ideas, and while I don't think she saves the show (in the sense that people should watch it if only to see her) she made the show a lot more fun than it would've been otherwise. Overall, I can only recommend this show to action buffs, and even then it's with a bit of trepidation. Jormungand has its moments, but the times when it avoids becoming something really special make it a bit frustrating to watch. Images from Hulu.com.
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Tomoe sends his fox flames to scour the town for Nanami, but she’s wearing a concealing talisman. When she hears two girls excited about the upcoming shrine festival, she races back to the shrine. By then, the seals around a box are dissolved by Otohiko’s miasma, unleashing the even larger, more powerful misasma of the [...]
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Tomoe sends his fox flames to scour the town for Nanami, but she’s wearing a concealing talisman. When she hears two girls excited about the upcoming shrine festival, she races back to the shrine. By then, the seals around a box are dissolved by Otohiko’s miasma, unleashing the even larger, more powerful misasma of the [...]
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One-cour fall anime and two-cour spring anime are now ending these final weeks of 2012, and as usual, I plan to review the ones I’ve seen. The first two I’ll be discussing today are the ones with the longest names and a love of exclamation marks: Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! and Hayate no Gotoku! [...]
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Another week of Psycho Pass and still no real indication of a direction this show is heading. I think the assumption was that something big would go down this week with what happened to Mami. I guess they are taking this a bit slower being 2 cour rather then being rushed with 1 cour. Still, I feel the pacing is quite slow, hopefully things will pick up soon. I mean, if they talk about the
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A slow second episode for Psycho Pass. I guess 2 cour means things will be moving a bit slower then expected. They touched on a few key issues in one episode, I guess they will all be main issues in the coming episodes as they examine the flaws of the society they live. Though it probably won't happen, I would prefer if everything makes a full circle in the end for Akane to realize the system
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With this episode, it’s pretty clear that this will be a two-cour show. But seriously, the fight scene took up the entire episode and really wasn’t that exciting. Which leads to the fact that there really isn’t too much to say about this episode. There was more Massive Dumping of the Infos thanks to Hakaze, [...]
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