Fall 2012 First Impressions ~ week 3

This post is my final “first impression” post of the Fall 2012 anime season, I swear!

I was thinking I could get away with just two “first impression” posts this season, but it turns out this season has enough going on that the omnibus format is still quite useful. This week I include Zetsuen no Tempest for the first time. I also have juggled my pseudo-ranking scheme a little bit; shows that were previously marked “dropped” are still off the list, but some shows have failed to impress me during the first 2-3 episodes. I’m breaking this list up, then, into shows that have shown themselves to be Solid, those that I am still Following, and those that are on Probation.

Solid

These shows continue to impress for one reason or another:

1. Kamisama Hajimemashita
2. Shin Sekai Yori
3. Psycho-Pass
4. Zetsuen no Tempest ** NEW **

Kamisama Hajimemashita (episode 3)

Nanami wearing her school uniform (the blazer is folded on the ground beside her).

(AKA Kamisama Kiss) I already posted about episode 3 this week.

Shin Sekai Yori (episodes 3 & 4)

This show continues to include interesting artwork as well as slowly developing its strange vision of the future.

(AKA From the New World) This is the sort of show that takes a while to come together, because the setting is so ambitious, but now the story is starting to take off, and a lot of the explanation of the world they live in has provided — certainly not enough to make complete sense, but enough for the audience to perceive threats to the main characters. In the earliest episodes the show was mostly developing a creepy atmosphere that was detectable around the edges of the protective bubble the children lived in. By the end of episode 4, the kids are finally in a situation that requires resolution.

A Buddhist monk, levitating on a lotus flower, fights a demon.

I also like the way the show has jumbled ancient religious mythology and Science Fiction. Very well done!

Psycho-Pass (episode 2)

Inspector and Enforcer

With only two episodes, this show is still just getting off the ground, but I’m glad they spent the episode on the events after inspector Tsunemori’s shooting of the “hunting dog”, enforcer Kougami. The episode gave us an opportunity to feel the awkwardness of the situation, and also to see that even non-lethal use of the dominator gun is a very serious thing. I was also pleased by Kougami’s comment, “you were ale to put justice before your duty”. That is a great summation of what I was thinking at the end of the first episode.

Zetsuen no Tempest (first comment, but covering episodes 1-3)

An artistic sense that isn’t afraid to be highly stylized is evident in the pattern of the blood.

I hadn’t planned to watch this show, but I checked it out, since some people were saying such good things about it. It actually is quite good. Every episode has been solid, and the action sequences are well animated. The show does a good job of grounding the fantasy elements, by giving them requirements, and thus they can be used strategically. The pretty interesting, being a bit enigmatic, and having a non-standard reason for saving the world.

Following

These shows have good qualities. Though they may not be amongst my faves for this season, I am having a good time watching them. I haven’t seen any new episodes of these shows yet this week, so I won’t bother elaborating further.

1. Code:Breaker (episode 2)
2. K (episode 2)
3. Little Busters (episode 2)
4. Suki-tte Ii na yo (episode 2)

Probation

These titles are on Probation for one reason or another.

1. Chuu-ni-byou demo koi ga shitai! (episode 3)
2. Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun (episode 2)
3. Robotics;Notes (episode 2)

Chuu-ni-byou has DEFINITELY become a harem rom-com. Normally that would cause it to drop like a rock, but I do like the production qualities, and the show has been pretty amusing. Nevertheless, I am worried about it.

Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun went on probation last week, and I haven’t seen another episode of it yet. I’ll re-evaluate when I get a chance to see episode 3.

Robotics;Notes has been disappointing so far. The second episode had some good points about putting the robot together, but the main character was a real drag. I guess that will change at some point, but his constant whining about having to do ANYTHING was frustrating to watch. One of the great things about Okarin (from Steins;Gate) was his boundless enthusiasm. Here we have the anti-Okarin. The dude doesn’t want to do anything other than play his robot fighting game, and then, when presented with the opportunity to battle real robots he he whines that it would be too much trouble.

Conclusion

Not a bad week of anime viewing. I saw some very good episodes, and a couple that dismayed me. This season has a lot of series that I am interested in keeping up with, so I can’t possibly blog them all. I haven’t decided what the best approach will be, so it will have to be a surprise. Later!