Lilac's Impressions: Fall 2013 (Week 3)

This is it! I’m down to my final eight shows! It’s time to see where this last week is going to take us, and which shows I am going to love to keep up with! First things first. Let’s see how Diabolik Lovers is doing.

Just.... Why?

Diabolik Lovers
Episodes 4-6

I decided to put a quick look at Diabolik into Week 3 because I feel like I need to talk about this show for a minute. Last time I talked about the show, I gave it a temporary pass with the option to drop it at any point in time while the rest of my Impressions are going on. Since then, we’ve had the chance to spend some time with each of our sadistic brothers. One per episode except for Kanato. He gets screen time in multiple episodes and is even the driver of the plot for Yui in some situations. Then there’s Subaru who we see even less of. In fact, episode 6 is where we see at least a tiny bit more of him. I’m getting to know the brothers a bit better, but, then again, there are some that I wish I didn’t need to know. Mainly Raito. There’s a joke going around on the internet about who’s going to “rape” Yui next. Yes it’s a bad joke, but sadly it fits a little bit here. However, at least right now you can say the majority of the brothers haven’t ACTUALLY sexually assaulted Yui. Raito is the only one who may have, but we don’t see it. So the question now is, am I going to keep watching this show? Well, I am on episode 6 so I guess we know the answer to that question. I just can’t stop watching it! It’s not an amazing series, goodness no! But I think it’s going to fall under the guilty pleasure category for me. With that out of the way, Diabolik Lovers still passes. I don’t suggest everyone to try and watch it. We’ll see how my review for the series goes in late December.

Final Grade: Pass

NOW ON TO THE FINAL EIGHT!!!

You did it now Eijun...

Ace of the Diamond
Episode 3

Alright! Eijun is in Tokyo for that baseball high school place, and we get to see his first day at the school. I’m actually not quite sure what I want to do with this one. It has a decent premise and some of the characters are fun to watch, but I just feel like this is a show for fans of baseball instead of new comers like me. This is putting me in a rather difficult position as to wether or not to keep this show or drop it this week. Honestly, I can see myself keeping up with Yowapeda more than Ace of Diamond because the characters are much more lovable in that show. Granted I need to see episode 3 first before really saying that, but that’s how I feel right now. I guess what I can do with this one is give it a Tentative Pass. It’s not the best of the season, but I feel like I need a better reason to drop it, at this point.

Final Grade: Tentative Pass

Coppelion
Episode 3

Now that we’ve established the world we’re in and the main characters we get to hang around with for the series, we start getting more of a plot leading into a cliff hanger. The show lost the bit of emotional edge that we saw last week, but I can forgive it because if we went with this in every episode then it’d be way too sappy and it would have been dropped. Right now, I’m not having too much difficultly with this show. It seems to be paced rather well and the characters are likable. What I am concerned with right now is how the pacing and story will change since it’s a 13 episode series. A lot of times pacing can really really suck towards the end because you’re trying to fit everything together and tie up as many loose ends as possible. Where does that leave Coppelion with me? Well, I still like it. I have my concerns, but the only way to find out if they come true or not is by watching the show. So, Coppelion gets a Pass this season. Let the fun commence!!

Final Grade: Pass

Nice to know these characters have personality!

Golden Time
Episode 3

Who knew that colleges would have a cult hiding somewhere? Well then. Since starting Golden Time, I found the humor and the setting really good and I’ve been loving Koko’s character. This episode we get even more out of both Koko and Banri. Not only do we finally know that Koko isn’t as dumb as she plays herself out to be, but we learn about Banri’s accident for the first time. Granted, we get a small glimpse of it at the end of the first episode, but we get even more of that story here. Here’s where things get a little tricky. Golden Time, I’ve noticed, is 50/50 with people. Some of the people I’ve talked to are enjoying it and think it’s funny. Others think it’s a stupid Romantic Comedy and is just filled with cliches. What I think of Golden Time is right smack dab in the middle. It’s a silly romantic comedy filled with cliches, but I think it’s funny and I’m really enjoying it! Also, I think knowing it’s going to be getting 24 episodes is going to be a major plus so it can develop the relationship better than the typical 12-13 episode series. So yeah, Golden Time gets a pass from me. I’m a sucker for romance sometimes. Don’t judge me!

Final Grade: Pass


Kill La Kill
Episode 3

Boobs and Action. Action and Boobs. All day long on Kill La Kill! Has the pacing slowed down since last week? Nope. Have we gotten more from out main characters? Not really. Do we have more story? Actually, yes we do. The series is now at a good place to give us our main plot: beat all these students then Satsuki will fight Ryuko again. If she wins, Satsuki spills the beans. It’s pretty simple, making the show suddenly tournament style and that’s totally fine. This series has a lot of cliches and troupes in it already, what’s a few more added in right? This series, so far, seems to be everyone’s favorite of the season. Though that’s not quite the case with me, it’s still a lot of fun and I am more than willing to watch it throughout the season! Kill La Kill gets a passing grade from me! You may be cliched as all hell, but you are certainly popcorn material!

Final Grade: Pass

OH MY GOD GHOSTS!!

Meganebu! 
Episode 3

Well that was more charming and heartwarming than the other two episodes. It was still hilarious and fun to watch, but when you add a ghost into the episode and make it into a typical ghost haunting episode then it becomes really nice in the end. The characters are still wonderful to watch and the animation is still beautiful. I’m really not that worried about this show at all and really really want more to watch! Meganebu is my current favorite of the season and is getting a Big Freaking Pass from me! It’s a fun quirky little man service show that has a lot of charm and appeal to it. It’s not the most intelligent show this season, no way in hell, but it’s certainly the most fun that I’ve seen this season. Let’s go Meganebu!

Final Grade: BIG FREAKING PASS!!

Nagi no Asukara
Episode 3

I think I got my wish that I made last week. Not only do we learn even more about the sea people, but the relationship between a sea person and a surface person still remains the main point of the episode. However, we do get a secondary plot to the episode. We get more time for the friendship between our four sea kids and our one odd ball surface boy to grow that, by the end, even Hikari is ok with the guy. Now, where does that leave the show from here on out? Based on the ending we got plus the preview for the next episode, it looks like the relationship between Akari and the surface guy is still at the center, but we add in a little girl wanting to separate them. I’m enjoying the little plot twists and the charming friendship so Nagi no Asukara is getting a Pass from me. The world we’re beginning to see take shape and the friendships being formed are just really compelling. Story wise, there hasn’t been much, but it’s bound to grow from here.

Final Grade: Pass

The internet jumped on this one quickly!

Samurai Flamenco
Episode 3

Well then. So we are introduced to “Samurai Flamenco” or should I say Red Axe? This story just keeps getting interesting. Not only do we have the superhero that Hazama idolized as a kid, but now he’s Flamenco’s teacher. Now that’s one way to handle an episode. But we still have one of the pop idols fascinated with Samurai Flamenco. I’m pretty sure this is going to come up again really really soon. I guess the question now is, what am I to do with this show? Simple. Give it a Big Freaking Pass!! This is the first time in my Impressions series that I have more than one show in this little area so this is actually really awesome! I’m loving the story, the characters, and the look of the series. Aside from Kill La Kill, I can see this one as a season favorite! But what do I know, I’m just an anime blogger. But yeah, looking forward to more superhero antics!

Final Grade: BIG FREAKING PASS!!

Yowapeda
Episode 3

When I decided to marathon a bunch of shows for this week’s Impressions, this is how some of it went: Coppelion, Ace of the Diamond, and then Yowapeda. Because, ya know, gotta get them Sports animus out of the way. So we’ve finished the big race and the plot still hasn’t quite taken off yet. I’m a little concerned about this, but I have a feeling it’ll get better now that we will start seeing that red headed character that the opening keeps showing us. This show itself, is still lovable and charming and our silly otaku main character is still a lot of fun to watch. This show is certainly going to get a Pass from me. It’s a 39 episode series, but I am totally ready to keep on this one!

Final Grade: Pass

And now to see where the final ranking is!

BIG FREAKING PASS:
Meganebu! (ep. 3)
Samurai Flamenco (ep. 3)

Pass:
Coppelion (ep. 3)
Diabolik Lovers (ep. 6)
Golden Time (ep. 3)
Nagi no Asukara (ep. 3)
Yowapeda (ep. 3)

Tentative Pass:
Ace of the Diamond (ep. 3)

Fail:
Arpeggio of Blue Steel (ep. 1)
Beyond the Boundary (ep. 2)
BlazeBlue: Alter Memory (ep. 1)
Galilei Donna (ep. 1)
I Couldn’t Become a Hero, so I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job (ep. 1)
Log Horizon (ep. 1)
Strike the Blood (ep. 2)
Unbreakable Machine Doll (ep. 1)

Not Yet Aired:
Pupa

Well guys! That’s it for my Impressions for the Fall 2013 season! Do you think I have some good shows here or is there something I shouldn’t have dropped? Let me know in those comments! Also, if you haven’t seen it already click the link to a special end of the year project I’m working on! Until next time, otaku on my friends!

Click here for the special project!