Kamisama Hajimemashita 3 ~ make nice with the fish

Nanami with ink brush and traditional attire.

Episode 3 of Kamisama Hajimemashita (AKA Kamisama Kiss) was another cute episode. It also did a good job of introducing slowly developing the storyline between Nanami and Tomoe. One of the things that struck me about this episode, however, was that it doesn’t follow the common anime practice of keeping the characters in a single outfit all of the time. Nanami, in particular, was shown in 5 different outfits, just in this one episode.

Fall 2012 First Impressions ~ Week 2

Blogging powers … ACTIVATE!

The second week of the new season has brought us some new premieres, some solid second episodes, and some other stuff. Let’s get to it!

Hyouka arc III (eps 12 – 17) ~ I’ll show you who the real database is

This series receives Satoshi’s silly saturn suit seal of approval.

For me, Hyouka is the undisputed series of Summer 2012. I am enjoying a couple of other shows, but this is a series that really feels like it is raising the bar. It has been obvious from before the series aired that it would be visually excellent, and even that turned out to be an understatement, but what I really find impressive is the way Hyouka is succeeding with character development and its exploration of the Mystery genre. Add back in the unrivaled animation abilities of production company KyoAni, and you have one of the greatest shows of 2012 at the very least.

This post is mostly a reaction to the third arc of the series (episodes 12 – 17), but my interest here is less the events, and more the bigger picture.

Chouyaku Hyakuninisshu: Uta Koi (mid-season comment) ~ a pretty flower must wilt one day

A rare anime that concerns itself mostly with the past times of adult characters.

Chouyaku Hyakuninisshu: Uta Koi (hereafter Utakoi) is an unusual anime in several respects: the primary subject is the Hyakuninisshu, or 100 poems by 100 poets; it has a very distinctive art style, that uses bold lines, and if you look at the screen cap above you will see something very unusual in recent anime, a nose! As noted above, the characters are older than the typical school-going anime cast, and that plays into the unusual themes for the stories: love that didn’t work out, reconsidering mistakes one has made, and questioning whether one’s life has had an impact.

Hyouka 3 ~ a conclusion beyond my imagination

That awkward moment when you realize you already drank the last sip of coffee.

Hyouka continues to impress visually. KyoAni truly defines the top tier of animation production quality. The great news is that episode 3 of Hyouka gives us some solid development on the over-arching mystery behind the episodic mysteries of the first two episodes. The characters also have grown on me.

Hyouka 1 ~ I’m Curious!

What happens when KyoAni tries their hand at the Mystery genre? We're about to find out.

Hyouka is a new series for the Spring 2012 season. In a season that is already loaded with very promising works, it is almost difficult to believe a work that is this anticipated is just beginning. Hyouka is being produced by the [in]famous Kyoto Animation studio. KyoAni is famous for their abundant talent in creating gorgeous animation, but they have tended to focus on moe shows, and thus their brand is polarizing. Hyouka is supposed to have elements of Mystery, but do KyoAni have what it takes to deliver a real Mystery? Are they destined to turn Hyouka into a moe-infused school life show?

Poyopoyo Kansatsu Nikki ~ Winter 2012 taste test

Though simple, the artwork in this series is surprisingly good.

With a new season started, I have been trying out the first episodes of various shows. For the most part I haven’t seen anything worth keeping, with one possible exception. I’ve watched the New Prince of Tennis, Recorder to Randsell, Kill Me Baby, High School DxD, and Senki Zesshou Symphogear, and IMO none of them is worth even a taste test review. Poyopoyo Kansatsu Nikki (Poyopoyo Observation Diary), however, surprised me. Poyo (Fluffy) is the name of an “totally round” cat, and the show is really just a short (3 minutes) series of gags about Poyo and the Sato family that took him in. While the humor was amusing, it was the artwork that impressed me the most.