Winter 2013 General Impressions Thread: Post Your Opinion and Grade...

[Lord of Fire]

My picks, in alphabetical order:

- Boku no Imouto wa Osaka Okan For a 3-minute Flash show, this show was hilarious from start to finish. Kana Asumi did a great job voicing Namika in Kansai-ben, when she's not from that region herself. 9/10

- Boku ha Tomodachi ga Sukunai NEXT This show proved that it could handle a romantic aspect as well as a comic one. Rika shot up from being my least favorite to my most favorite character. I would have liked some development on Yozora's behalf as well. We still don't know why she has such trouble trusting people. 9/10

- GJ-Bu A Charming SoL show that didn't take itself all too seriously, yet was incredibly funny to watch. The girls were likable and even Kyolo ahd his merits. 9/10

- Kotoura-san Had I not read about the depressing first episode, I probably would have missed this brilliant show. It had a few flaws along the way, but overall, it was a very good combination of comedy and drama. 9/10

- Mondaiji-tachi ga Isekai kara Kuru Sou Desu yo? I really enjoyed this show. Iori Nomizu is quickly becoming a seiyuu who can get a show far, and she definitely didn't disappoint as the Black Rabbit. Too bad it was a bit on the short side. 9/10

- OreShura A nice romantic comedy. Not the best I've seen, but certainly not the worst either. Ending was to be expected, but (at least for now), it worked for me. 8/10

- Sasami-san@Ganbarani This show turned out to be something completely different than the premise told me. Still, SHAFT did their best with it and I like how it incorporates Japanese mythology. 8/10

- Tamako Market This show took a long time to become interesting. By episode 5, I was ready to drop it, but in the end, I was glad I stuck with it, because it got better later on. Not enough to fully redeem the somewhat boring first half, but definitely enough to at least not end up as a total failure. 7/10

- Vivid Red Operation This was the show I had the highest expectations for, and it didn't disappoint. Lots of action, cute girls, and plenty of fanservice. Maybe not truly original in terms of concept, but I enjoyed it a lot. 9/10

- Yama no Susume The only other short show of this season I enjoyed. I had my doubts after episode 2, but episode 3 redeemed that, and the show stronger from there on. I hope to see more of this later. 8/10


Carry-overs

- Girls und Panzer Waiting for the final episode to be subbed, so I can watch them both in one go. Still, by the looks of it, this will be the best show of both Fall 2012 and Winter 2013. 10/10

- Little Busters! Another one of my most anticipated shows, and one that kept me glued to the screen every week. Things are slowly starting to make sense, so I hope the second season will clear the remaining questions up. 8/10

- Psycho-Pass I didn't find the ending overly impressive, and I would've liked some more development for characters such as Yayoi, but other than that, the show was very good. 8/10

- Sakurasou no Pet na Kanajo I still have two episodes to go, but I don't see this show taking a turn for the worst, after all the characters have been through. An enjoyable ride from start to finish. 8/10


Dropped

- Ai Mai Mi! First episode was too terrible for me to endure. Not funny whatsoever, even with my low threshold for humor.

- Mangirl! I managed to sit through two episodes before I gave up.


On Hold

- Chihayafuru 2 I lost my motivation to watch the first season halfway through, though I eventually finished and enjoyed it. After episode 1 of S2, I lost the will to watch more again, so I may pick this up again at a later time, when I don't have a lot of stuff to watch.

- Zetsuen no Tempest Mostly due to time issues. other shows took higher priority, and this ended up at the bottom of my list over time. Another show for a much later date, most likely.

[4Tran]

Really Good

Girls und Panzer - great writing, great action direction, great energy
Little Witch Academia - (AOTY?)


Good

Shinsekai Yori - uneven production, but a good experience overall
AKB0048 - fun and audacious; works because it's crazy
Smile Precure - loads of fun episodes and characters, very high energy


Bad

Vividred Operation - not enough fun
Psycho-Pass - bad writing
Maoyuu Maou Yuusha - no horns; no sale


Shoulda been better

Tomako Market - Not very engaging; why did the emotional climax show up so early?


Ongoing

Dokidoki Precure - has potential, but not too encouraging so far
Chihayafuru 2 - looks very good so far

Originally Posted by creb

Watchable (aka I find enjoyable), in order of watchability:

Shin Sekai Yuri

Was that on purpose?

Originally Posted by Kirarakim

Honestly I thought winter was one of the worst seasons in awhile. I ended up dropping every new series from the season I watched with the exception of Chihayafuru 2 that was the one new worthwhile series for me and it isn't even really new.

Yeah, Winter was pretty dire. The best solution is to watch good anime - go check out Little Witch Academia.

[Kirarakim]

Originally Posted by 4Tran

Yeah, Winter was pretty dire. The best solution is to watch good anime - go check out Little Witch Academia.

Downloaded that yesterday actually

But that is just a one episode thing, not a whole series correct?

[4Tran]

Originally Posted by Kirarakim

Downloaded that yesterday actually

But that is just a one episode thing, not a whole series correct?

Yeah, but it's as good as most entire seasons! Studio Trigger has also made noises about making a TV show, but there's nothing planned yet.

[creb]

Hrm, yea, I guess I hadn't realized how none of the shows I enjoyed were new for Winter. So, in that sense, I guess Winter sucked.

The only new Winter show I really watched was Minami-Ke, and that's largely brain fluff, so doesn't really count.

Originally Posted by 4Tran

Was that on purpose?

No. I just put very little effort into spelling Japanese words correctly.

[Kmos]

Of the new, Winter only 2013 shows I still hold that Ishida to Asakura as the best of them, Senyuu only a bit behind.

I picked up Oreshura and found it girlishly entertaining and like the OP and ED enough to let it run every time. There must be a soft mushiness growing inside me cause I usually dismiss these cutesy, romcom harems, but I've enjoyed the last few I've tried.

Unlimited and Mondaiji tachi were both equally good throughout. It filled in the action and intrigue to a small degree compared to the carried over Fall shows. I'd watch more if they had another season.

Maoyuu had some bright spots, one powerful one, but I still wish a lot of things were expanded upon. Some characters needed more attention, more showings of military, diplomatic, and trade maneuvering. Heck, it feels like they fed us too little. The ending didn't feel like an ending so I hope to see more of this delightful show.

Cuticle Tantei, Kotoura, Haganai wasn't as good as I hoped it to be.

Of the Fall 2012 shows which ended in the Winter season I found Shin Sekai Yori and Psycho Pass to be the best of the best. Zetsuen no Tempest and Magi followed behind in being great series.
Ixion Saga had many funny moments and enough dull ones that didn't make it an overall great series. Even then I didn't miss an episode each week.

[LKK]

What I watched in Winter 2013: Unlimited; Amnesia; Magi; Hakkenden; Zetsuen no Tempest (carryover); Robotics Notes (carryover); Maoyuu Maou Yuushu; Chihayafuru 2; Cuticle Detective Inaba

How I ranked them:
Top Tier:
Unlimited; Zetsuen no Tempest; Robotics Notes; Chihayafuru 2
- Of this grouping, Unlimited was the big surprise. I saw a single promo art with its good-looking guys, read a two-line show summary, and decided it was worth a try. I was stunned at how the show engrossed me. Since Tempest, Robotics Notes, and Chihayafuru were (almost) known quantities, I expected them to be in the top tier.

Second Tier:
Magi; Hakkenden; Cuticle Detective Inaba
- Of this grouping, Magi is the weakest entry. Unlike most viewers, I had problems with the little boy who often irritated me for some reason. Hakkenden was the big surprise for the same reasons Unlimited surprised me. Cuticle Detective Inaba, I really enjoyed it for its absurdity, but it lacked that certain something needed to reach the top tier.

Third Tier:
Amnesia; Maoyuu Maou Yuushu
- I still have 3 episodes of Amnesia which tells me something about the ever-growing disappointment I felt with each new episode. Maou was the show I didn't want to put in the third tier. But I had to. What was shown was good. But there was clearly so much that wasn't shown and should have been shown. If any show suffered from compression, it was Maou.

[Jaden]

[Top tier]

Psycho-pass: Detective thriller anime original with great plot, characters, and an evocative setting. Nothing not to like here. Best anime this season.

Bakuman s2: Decent drama about manga artists, which is a rather interesting and informative subject matter for us foreign otakus.

[Second tier]

Magi: The many unusual elements used for the fantasy setting here, and using political intrigue to deepen the plot put this above the average shounen fighting anime.

Robotics;Notes: Went into it because of my fandom for the other 5pb+Nitroplus stories, and it delivers in some aspects but ultimately feels lame in comparison.

Shinsekai Yori: Love the story, but the anime adaption falls short in many ways. In a few episodes the art and music are impressive though.

The rest: DIDN'T WATCH LOL

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by Kirarakim

Honestly I thought winter was one of the worst seasons in awhile. I ended up dropping every new series from the season I watched with the exception of Chihayafuru 2 that was the one new worthwhile series for me and it isn't even really new.

I agree with this. The only show of the winter season I would call great is Chihayafuru. There were a few enjoyable shows, but I haven't found a single gem in this season.

My biggest disappointment is probably Amnesia. Boy did that end up sucking. I don't know why I thought it would be good...

[Echoes]

To me, this season ended up offering a good deal of highly enjoyable shows, but not a great deal of genre variety within this group. There were a lot of sequels, and I've yet to watch Chihayafuru's second installment (I might just wait this one out and watch it at my own leisure when it's done airing.)

The series I got the most enjoyment out of all involved cute girls, and most of them had elements of light comedy, as well as light drama. My top tier includes Tamako Market, which was an absolute joy to watch. The real key to success with this one is how organic and genuine it feels. It's incredibly cute and the whole story is brimming with warmth, leaving you feeling just a little bit better about the world. Choi is one of the most delightful characters I've seen this year, and Tamako is impossible to dislike. Kyo-Ani has been providing me with nothing but gems lately, and Tamako Market keeps their streak going strong.

Another great show, and a total surprise, was my first venture into the Precure seires; Doki Doki Precure. This is a children's show, and it makes no effort to conceal this fact, but that shouldn't deter anyone from giving this show a fair shake. The character designs are amazing, and they're all incredibly cute. It's pretty funny when it wants to, and time flies by when I watch this. Wouldn't have thought it, but this is one of the shows I look forward to most every week. Fantastic transformation sequences too.

Love Live! School Idol Project. With an inane name like that, you'd expect mediocrity, but this show has heart, humor and style. It might be little more than fluff, but it's a treat to watch, through and through. I'm sometimes taken aback by just how good the characters look, and the humor is strong enough to make me laugh out loud at times.

Other shows I enjoyed include Haganai Next, which had an unexpectedly emotionally potent ending, as well as more of both the positive and negative aspects of the first season, gdgd Fairies, which is a riot, and Maoyuu Maou Yuusha, which I enjoyed despite a few hiccups along the way.

The only thing I watched all the way through and ended up with an overall negative impression of was Senran Kagura. While it certainly does have big-titty ninjas and lots of fighting (and to its credit wastes little time getting to either), the terrible, seemingly thought up on the spot backstories, poor art and animation and mixed bag of characters made it a lackluster experience.

[Dawnstorm]

Carryovers:

Ixion Saga DT: Most episodes are extremely fun to watch; some aren't. The show is surprisingly consistent with the I'm-no-hero-trope. I have yet to see the final episode. 8/10

Kuro Majo san ga Tooru: Every now and then an episode of this charming 7-minute anime pops up. What can I say? It's just fun to watch. Is anybody else still watching it? There weren't too many viewers to begin with. Pity. Deserves more recognition. (Yes, I know, it's a children's anime...) 7/10

Little Busters: Decent entertainment. I like that they focus on friendship over romance; that gives the show a more intersting social structure than the harem-star-with-male-at-centre. The is chronically incapable of portraying a character's meaner side, I feel. 7/10

Magi:I have yet to watch the last two episodes (but I will). People who know the manga are disappointed with recent developments; I'm not. It was fun to begin with, but it's been wearing thin for a while now. Decent entertainment, but nothing more. 7/10

Psycho Pass: To be honest, I enjoyed it more when it was episodic. The ending was... servicable. I didn't hate it, I didn't love it; and since I didn't really care for Makishima vs. Kougami, the whole ending fell flat for me. Makishima was more interesting as a crime sponsor than as a criminal. Still, the show was very good when it came to character decisions, which is the episode with the worst animation where characters did nothing but talk is among my favourites in the show. 8/10

Robotics;Notes: I like the show. It's - at heart - a sentimental celebration of robot shows (which I'm not interested), and it does that well. People were disappointed with the ending, and I can see why: important aspects are simply forgotten, only major characters get a clear resolution, etc. But the ending works well enough for me. People keep comparing it to Steins;Gate but to me it feels more like Summer Wars. A thoroughly enjoyable watch. 9/10

Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo: Uneven. I found the main character thoroughly annoying, but liked almost all other characters. They were distinct and believable, despite their quirks. Some of the comedy didn't work on me, some of the drama illicited an eye-roll rather than empathy, but when the show was good it was very good. Ep23, the penultimate episode: that's how you do unapologetic sentimental drama. With ep24, we have a decent wind-down episode, so the over-all impression is positive. 8/10

Shin Sekai Yori: Great SF. When it comes to character, to me it's a tragedy with Squealer as the protagonist (and Saki as the PoV). But it's not a character show; it's a setting show. The atmosphere is great; there are so many breathtaking shots (that more than make up for some of the less inspired animation and art), and the designs are wonderful. Although almost no episode was a 10/10, that would be my final verdict. It's a great example of "the whole is more than the sum of is parts". 10/10

Shirokuma Café: This show is a wonderful feel-good anime. The best thing to watch when I'm down. Very likable characters. 9/10

Zetsuen no Tempest: The second half was a lot more enjoyable than the first half. It was actually funny. The shows greatest strength was character; the mains were very well defined, and although some of the supporting cast were a bit one-note, they generally made a decent impression. I found the Shakespear references too in-your-face, and the SF/F aspect was rather... dull. All in all, more entertaining than I would have thought in fall 2012. 7/10

Continuations:

Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai NEXT: This is how do you a sequel. Plot developments in the first season are picked up an dealt with (no return to the status quo). The characterisation outside of the three main characters has improved, too; the show seems like an ensemble cast. I've enjoyed this run more than the first season (although: too little Yozora). 8/10

Chihayafuru 2: There's little to say. I'm enjoying it, but not as much as season 1. It's more of the same, without the benefit of early characterisation. I'm getting diminishing returns. 7/10

Minami Ke Tadaima: The Minami-ke feeling is there; it's very funny at times, but when its allusions to the first season usually don't work that well for me. It's more fanservicy than earlier seasons (I haven't gotten far into 2, so I can't tell), but not too much. Entertaining. 7/10

New shows:

Ai Mai Mi: This must have been the most random anime I've seen. Axolotl licking must have been involved in the making of the show. Don't ask. Also: this sort of stuff is what the 0-5 minute format was made for. 7/10

Amnesia: All the worst aspects of a shoujo romance, with little to redeem it. Best thing about the show was Orion. It wasn't a complete disaster, but... 5/10.

Bakumatsu Ginjindan Roman: Did anyone watch this? It's no masterpiece, but if you enjoy the Lupin III animes, you should enjoy this one. Good, straightforward entertainment. 7/10

Boku no Imoute Osaka Okan: Heh. Good fun. I loved the ending songs. 7/10

Hakkenden: Touhou Hakken Ibun: I enjoyed some arcs, others not so much. Some of the standalone episodes were fun. This one suffers mostly from lack of focus; a more episodic approach might have been better. 6/10

GJ bu: Surprisingly fun. There are harem anime, and there are anime about cute-girls-doing-cute-things. This is a hybrid: it's the only anime I can think of where the girls are friends and seem to keep the boy as some sort of attraction. Also, I didn't expect the show to have a proper ending, but it did. Impressed. 8/10

Kotoura-san: I love this show. It's basically a comedy. Anyone should watch the first 10 minutes of episode one, if nothing else. It's pure, concentrated drama, but it works for two reasons: (a) they stay consistently in the comedy aesthetics and (b) they don't demonise society (people may disagree). Sometimes, the comedy gets repetitive (and while I was never actually annoyed, I came close), and this made me worry they might have dropped the ball, but they're always good where it counts. It's a comedy based romp through the major mind-reading clichés (drama, sexual jokes, mystery...). Thourouly sold on this one. 9/10

Mangirl: Cute show about manga-magazine-editing girls. Fun and well-suited for the 5 minute format. Nice wrap-up episode. 7/10

Mondaji Tachi ga Isekai kara kuru Sou Desu Yo?: I don't much like this sort of show (shounen fighter), but that one was entertaining. The last ark didn't grab me, but overall it was a fun watch. 7/10

Ore no Kanojo to Osananajimi ga Shuraba Sugiru: This show grew on me. I was ready to drop it after ep2, but to my surprise the show was more interested than it seemed at the outset. Also, I thought it treated the topic of chuunibyou with more respect than Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai. A pretty good harem show, actually. 7/10

Sasami-san @ Ganbaranai: Underwhelming in the beginning; great in the middle; decent near the end (I have yet to see the final episode). There is a reason the annoying brother doesn't show his face, and (given the appropriate knowledge) it's obvious from the beginning. Shame on me for not getting it. 7/10

Senyuu: From the concept to the execution: hilarious. 7/10

Tamako Market: I enjoyed it better than K-on (which I dropped) or Chuunibyou (which I finished). Mostly, I loved the way the portrayed the market. That, and Kana. 7/10

Yama no Susume: This one could have been a lesser Tamayura, but it didn't even manage that. The biggest problem is that the show isn't really compatible with the 5 minute format. You simply need more time (and perhaps more impressive art) to set up the mood. What it did, it did well, though. I'd like to see its full potential realised in a regular series. The characters and concept certainly support that. 7/10

Dropped:

Maoyuu Mao Yuusha: At some point I just lost interest. The romance felt forced to begin with, I didn't like many characters, the plot was hard to follow, the economics a matter of mostly info-dump... I can see the potential, but it's not for me.

Cuticle Detective Inaba: I actually thought it was funny, but it had the misfortune to air on a busy, busy day. Maybe I'll come back to it one day, but there are already tons of anime on that list with a higher priority, so...

Most of the best shows were carryovers from last season, but the season's new shows often turned out to be better than expected (Sasami san; Oreshura). On the flipside, Maoyuu Mao Yuusha was a terrible disapointment (I actually braced myself for a disappointment, but I was disappointed at just how disappointing the show was). I might have forgotten some show, who knows.

[ion475]

This is after my first run-through...

Haganai NEXT: S2 is better than S1. Story related to S2 is also better than S1 in general (S1/Vol. 1-3 being more comedy oriented anyway). Of course, 理科ちゃんマジ天使 (9/10)
Kotoura-san: First 3 episodes were good, drop to about average after that. Must watch? The 1st 10 mins of Episode 1 maybe...Summary = Kotoura is adorable, Manabe is awesome. (11/10 for Episode 1, 10/10 for Episode 2-3, 7/10 for the rest)
GJ-bu: Surprise show for me. Yes, it's just a bunch of moe girl doing moe things while toying with the male lead, but you got to admit that the whole GJ-bu is adorable (Kyoron included). (9.5/10)
Oreshura: For a harem love comedy this is up there alongside Oreimo and Haganai. Oh well, too bad the conclusion is not 愛ちゃん大勝利.
Sakurasou: It's extremely inconsistent (Anime-wise). There are good episodes, then there's the typical J.C. Staff way of ruining stuff. Doesn't help that Sorata is such an emo...(7/10)
Yama no Susume: Too short...WAY too short. Doesn't help that Kokona appears so late either (10/10 - But would have been 15/10 if it's a full-feature anime...)

Half-finished:
Tamako Market: First part is too boring for me to watch it...chugging along right now. Anko is kawaii, though.
Sasami-san@Ganbaranai: There's Denpa, there's Shinbo Denpa, then there's this show where Shinbo seems like he's on drug or something.
Little Busters: Too bad I can't just skip ahead to the Kud part...

"After episode":
Girls and Panzer: Certainly didn't disappoint. It's like Saki, once you watch it you can't stop...
Saki: Achiga-hen: Slowly going along. I've finish the manga already, though, and quite frankly, the spinoff peaked with Toki and is only going down after that.

[backbone]

Watching till the end :
Kotoura-san : Mix of comedy and drama really intrigues me, and the cast are full of hilarious people
Pycho-Pass : the first couple of episodes are still ok but . . . . when the room full of brains were introduced, everything suddenly fell flat for me. But i still watched it until the end as i wanted to know how to end the sybil domination, but nothing happened in the end
shin sekai yori : I watched it simply because it has saki, the most powerful female lead i've ever seen in recent memories, although the pacing felt very off in some place, in the end it's still a fun ride
sakurasou no pet na kanojo : Oh man, this show is simply awesome and can easily beat Toradora in terms of drama and hilarity. And sorata's performance as male lead truly exciting to watch
Boku wa tomodachi ga sukunai : Easily surpass the first season, as it focus more on character developments and Kodaka's ways to deal with his harem
Mondaiji-tachi : Pure fun, full action, and intereting characters with hilarious dialogues everywhere. Although the annoying explanation about some sort of legend kinda turned me off. Overall it's pretty fun show
senyuu : Oh man, i almost forgot mentioning this. This show really captured me with its hilarious jokes and incredibly funny animation style. And Hiro shimono being a tsukkomi is a huge plus for me

Dropped :
Da Capo III : Boring, repetitive, and full of moronic fanservice. dropped in ep 5
GJ-Bu : Boring, the jokes are lame, and very random with nothing really happened. dropped in ep 8
sasami-san ganbaranai : disturbing to watch, full of difficult things to digest, and the animation style killed my eyes. dropped in ep 5
Tamako market : Full of lame jokes and the yuri hint made me drop this show in ep 3
Maoyuu Maou Yuusha : Lack of explanations, annoying time skip, and incredibly rushed pacing. dropped in ep 4
Cuticle Tantei Inaba : Full of lame jokes. The characters didn't atrract me a single bit. dropped in ep 3
Amnesia : Ugh, this show was interesting at the first couple of episode. But when the truth regarding the female MC began to unravel itself, it feels . . . dry and fell flat miserably, somehow made me very disappointed. dropped in ep 7

[Akito Kinomoto]

I've only watched Vividred Operation but who cares. It's the spiritual successor to Strike Witches with a continuous rather than episodic story and takes a note from Sky Girls to focus on a small group of characters. It's this year's Pantsless Blockbuster you watch for the shits and giggles with more emotion than I expected. Energy is an addicting song.