Lilac's Impressions: Fall 2012

Well, it’s October, and that means new anime in Japan! And with new anime comes my first thoughts and impressions. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Lilac’s Impressions for the Fall 2012 season! I’m sorry that this is late, but, you know, being busy and all.... So, we’re going to be talking about all the series I picked to watch, and they will be getting final grades today. This season, we’re going to be looking at ten anime series from in Japan. Those series are:

Robotics;Note
Magi
Tonari no Kaibutsu kun (My Little Monster)
Shinsekai Yori (From the New World)
Kamisama Kiss
Code:Breaker
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure
Sukitte Iinayo (Say “I love you”)
Zetsuen no Tempest (Blast of Tempest)
Psycho Pass

Please keep in mind that this is my opinion on these series. What I don’t like, someone else might enjoy. So.... yeah. Don’t hate me.



Kamisama Kiss

Why am I reminded of Fruits Basket but with spirits? The sad part is, coming from My Little Monster to Kamisama Kiss, so far, this series kinda makes me go meh. I will say I am interested in what kind of hijinks Nanami will get Tomoe into.... However, it’s not worth another episode. I think I’m all set with this one. Sorry angry bishie fox man! Maybe some other time.

Episodes Watched: 1
Final Grade: FAIL


Say, “I love you”

This is actually a surprise for me right now. I didn’t think it was going to be this surreal and sweet. At first I thought the main female was more of a tsundere type character, but when you keep watching the episode that’s not the case at all. This is a girl with no friends because she has been betrayed by those friends. Then you have the most popular guy in school, who has girls all after him, really interested in this girl. However, he has some scars as well. And, even though she doesn’t want anything to do with him, he tries to become her friend. But things make get really interesting since, ya know, he kissed her in order to save her from a stalker. I’m hopeful for this one, it’s been really sweet so far. Although I am concerned that it’s trying to be too serious. I just don’t want to get my hopes up too high and then be completely disappointed again. By the way, thanks for that Natsuyuki Rendezvous.... Thanks.


Episodes Watched: 3
Final Grade: Pass


Code:Breaker

Ok. Let’s watch episode one...... And we get puppy killing....... Now I’m sad. And what is with this grade A douche nugget, Rei? He’s all cute and nice one second and then becomes all cold and unemotional whenever he kills someone. Good grief! *sigh* This series is as dead as it’s characters. The majority of the characters are dull and boring, with Sakurakoji being the only exception to this. And it’s not by much. I didn’t have a lot of high expectations going into this, but it’s just sad when it does worse then what you thought it could be. I’m sorry to say, this one is a flop for me. Not sure why FUNimation picked it up for streaming, but I hope it doesn’t get a dub. Cause this one’s pretty bad..

Episodes Watched: 3
Final Grade: FAIL


Magi

I have a friend, who’s been talking about this series and how excited she was and that everyone else should it. And, since this is also kinda based on the Arabian Nights tales, I thought I would give this one a try. That being said..... The boobs thing was so freaking painful...... Especially from a little kid...... Then you have the source of Aladdin's power... His stomach.... You’re joking, right? Not only do these crap plot points occur, but the animation isn’t top notch either, at certain points. It takes the occasional back seat when it wants to do something funny. This had potential to be really good, but, I’m sorry, it just isn’t for me. The characters are decent, the story had a great start. Sadly, it just gets brought crashing down due to it’s immaturity and sloppy animation.

Episodes Watched: 2
Final Grade: FAIL


 
Robotics;Note

This one was a tough one for me. My sister’s boyfriend was on a robotics team in high school, so when I heard the main idea of this series, I was interested. Plus, coming from the same realm as Steins;Gate helps (Still need to watch that...) However, after one episode, I felt kinda bored. The pacing is extremely slow and some of the characters (particularly male) are douche bags. I guess just because you come after an amazing series like Steins;Gate doesn’t mean you’ll be amazing yourself. Oh well. Maybe this will interest more science types, but not me.

Episodes Watched: 1
Final Grade: FAIL


My Little Monster

The best words I can use to describe this series, is that it’s SO FREAKING ADORABLE!!! The next best words I can use to describe this series would have to be funny and colorful. The bright colors are a really nice change then what I’ve seen lately. Kinda like cartoons rather then realistic shows. The humor kept me rolling on the floor laughing so much, and I’m loving Haru’s character! I was slightly concerned with the main character’s fast growing relationship until they decide to step back and go one step at a time. Which is really nice. My only question now is with this new character that has popped in, and looks like Haru. Twin brother may haps? Well, this is, by far, my favorite series of this season. So you can guess what my final grade for this one is going to be....

Episodes Watched: 3
Final Grade: BIG FREAKING PASS!!!



Blast of Tempest

From what I’ve heard, Bones hasn’t been top notch lately as far as anime series go. So, they have a lot of expectations to live up to with Blast of Tempest. And I have to say, this might be the series the rest of us have been waiting for, Bones. The first episode is rather slow, but does serve some character development and exposition. And, while some of the characters are jerks, they are rather interesting. Minus Yoshino. With the connection between Mahiro’s sister and the clan the Mage Princess belongs to, there’s a sense of mystery. But when you spend the first three episodes in the same place, you kinda get bored. At least by the end of the 3rd episode, the boys are finally on their way. I guess I’ll give this one some more of my time. It has potential, but I’m afraid that it will still be fairly slow paced. Well, I guess we’ll see later on.

Episodes Watched: 3
Final Grade: Pass

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure

Along with Blast of Tempest, JoJo was the other really big hyped up series this season. Since there are big fans of the Manga and OVA this great news for them. However, rumor has it it’s not going to follow the manga closely, going for a pretty loose adaptation. Having not read the manga or seen the OVA, I can come into this with a fresh start. For a hardcore fan, some rage may happen. All I can say at this point is, it’s standard shonen stuff. Over the top action sequences even with little manga stress lines and such. But I do like the art style here. It’s really unique and it much crisper then the clips of the OVA I’ve seen. But the story, right now, is pretty meh to me. Maybe because it’s just the start of JoJo and Dio’s rivalry, but there’s something off about the story. I will admit, for a rather unknown studio, David picked a good series to start with considering it’s popularity. However, at this point, it’s not really impressing for me and just reminds me of all the typical Shonen fare, and it just got pretty dull for me. I’m sorry to all the Jojo fans out there, but this one isn’t for me.

Episodes Watched: 3
Final Grade: FAIL

 
From the New World

Well. This is a confusing story. You have five kids attending a school for psychics, basically, and they go through their lessons like normal psychic children do. Add in some stuff about disappearing and some flashbacks at the beginning of each episode and you, so far, have this show. I do like the animation style and the story idea is pretty interesting when I can actually understand it. However, again, I am confused. What is this story trying to do and where in the hell is it going? It has my interest, but I’m left with so many questions that I’m not sure if I want to keep watching it. I guess I’ll let this one slide because I’m curious about it. But I’m not gonna get my hopes up too high in case this becomes a flop. Though I have to give A-1 credit for putting this beautiful series out this season.

Episodes Watched: 3
Final Grade: Tentative Pass

Psycho Pass

Originally I passed this one by because trying to get information was hard because the promos and such were rather vague. So, since I didn’t know what I was getting into, and I already had nine other shows to watch, I decided to leave this one out. However, after starting to watch the fall season, a friend of mine told me to give this one a try because he was getting into it. Then there’s the fact that the director of Madoka Magica is attached to this. So, I decided to give it another try. And I’m really glad I did. This dark and rather gritty series is full of interesting characters and, so far, an interesting story. I think the best part about this series, is even though it’s really dark, it’s has it’s shining moments like the young inspector managing to save someone from possibly being imploded. I think this one is my second favorite of the season, after My Little Monster. But it certainly get my vote for favorite opening of the fall season.

Episodes Watched: 3
Final Grade: BIG FREAKING PASS!!!


Well, that's it for me this fall anime season! Think there's anything good I missed? Leave a comment down below! Until next time, otaku on my friends.