Spring 2014 Anime Pre-season Info

TL;DR :  “Go see what Cara said.”

For the most part the Spring 2014 Anime season seems to be samey-sameness, with one important exception.

Ping Pong: the animation

Ping Pong: the animation

This one looks really interesting! Masaki Yuasa is back in the Noitamina slot. All the visuals so far really stand out. Should be a good watch.

Honorable Mentions

Atelier Escha & Logy ~Alchemists of the Dusk Sky~

Atelier Escha & Logy ~Alchemists of the Dusk Sky~

I have written before about the Atelier franchise. I liked the emphasis on Alchemy, there were some interesting mechanics in the title I played, and it had some good art and music. Given that, I will be checking this anime adaptation out, but with some trepidation. They seemed to have played up the bishoujo elements, instead of some of the more interesting aspects. One of the most interesting aspects of this title is the very weird pun: the Japanese pronounce & (“and”) as toe (long O), so the characters names with an ampersand in it is pronounced as the word Eschatology, which is a sub discipline of Theology concerned with the End Days (with questions like What is Heaven? What is Hell? What happens after death? How will the world end?)

Kindaichi Case Files Returns

I have previously written about an earlier anime adaption of Young Kindaichi’s Case Files. The should be an actual mystery genre title. The mysteries in the previous series that I watched (I also saw a series of anime movies about Kindaichi) were fairly detailed and developed as actual mysteries (as opposed to masquerading as mysteries, but really being an action show, or something else). The author of the manga also did another mystery genre series that I enjoyed: Detective Academy Q. The problem with the author, as I see it, is that the characterization is very weak. I wrote about this before, too. Basically my view is that this could be a well-plotted Mystery series, but the characters are likely to be little more than one-dimensional.

Conclusion

I may seem dismissive in blowing off 9/10ths of the anime coming out this upcoming season, but three new shows to watch is actually not that bad. I still have some catching up to do from previous seasons, and #ESO Elder Scrolls Online will be launching April 4, 2014, so I’ll need to reserve time for that.

Enjoy the Spring, everybody!

Thermae Romae 1-3 ~ Take a bath. Relax. I’m sure something will come to mind.

The glory of ancient Rome is only part of the story.

Thermae Romae is already half over. This review is based on viewing the first three episodes. Behold the story of Lucius, a Roman architect, who finds inspiration in the most unusual of ways: via a hot tub time machine. This short series is entertaining in a low-key way. For the most part the humor is found in looking at ordinary Japanese customs from the perspective of a stranger.

Paradise Kiss

A picnic Fellini could have been proud of.

Paradise Kiss is the story of Yukari, a high school girl who falls in with a bad crowd. Instead of studying for college entrance exams, she disobeys her mother and tries to make it as a professional model. It’s difficult to blame her, since her new friends seem to be so much fun. Although they have their share of relationship problems, family troubles, and so on, they demonstrate an absolute devotion to their chosen craft: dress-making. Ultimately the show is about making decisions (work, family, and, yes, romantic decisions).