First Impressions: Winter 2016 – Part 4

Alright! Final post of first impressions~!  Was waiting for decent Ajin subs, but they never materialised, so just watched the terrible engrish subbed version so I could get this post out.  I would recommend waiting for a decent quality release though.

• Schwarzesmarken
• Yami Shibai 3
• Akagami no Shirayuki-hime S2
• Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm
• Mahou Shoujo Nante Mou Ii Desu Kara
• Saijaku Muhai no Bahamut
• Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo!
• Ajin

Thanks for your consideration Schwarzesmarken!

Schwarzesmarken

Yeah…….I didn’t last more than episode of Muv-Luv Alternative and I things haven’t changed with this spin-off of a spin-off set in post WWII Germany!  The alien designs are creepy, but that’s about the only thing I can really praise about this show since the character designs are ugly as sin, and the characters themselves are completely unlikeable.  I didn’t think this would be my type of show anyway, but I was still surprised by how lacking in anything potentially interesting it was.  Dropped.

 

Yami Shibai 3

Great to have Yami Shibai back – it’s so wonderfully creepy.  A nice bite-size piece of horror to watch each week is a necessity!

 

Akagami no Shirayuki-hime S2

And Akagami no Shirayuki-hime is back in all its perfectly pleasant glory.  It is impossible to be critical of this show since everything about it is so solid and nice that I’d feel mean if I said something bad about it.  I’m happy to be able to watch more of Shirayuki & Zen being cute at each other, it’s nice to have such a heartwarming show to watch each week.

 

Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm

Okay so this wasn’t as terrible as I’d expected, mainly due to the super genki lead girl’s willingness to be a complete clutz at all times – it’s hard not to like such an earnest character (and the chibi-form animation helps too).  However beyond the likeable main girl there is very little else to be interested in here – it is very much a bog standard VN adaptation, complete with a ridiculous amount of introductory chatter.

Not awful, not great, just watchable.  Dropped.

 

Mahou Shoujo Nante Mou Ii Desu Kara

Garbage heap mascot character tricks little girl into becoming a swimsuit clad magical girl……….it’s just as awful as you’d expect.  Dropped.

 

Saijaku Muhai no Bahamut (Undefeated Bahamut Chronicle)

Holy feck! This was so generic it was actually amazing.  Following basically the same format as the opening episodes to last season’s identikit shows The Asterisk War & Chivalry of a Failed Knight, and firing in a touch of Infinite Stratos for good measure, Bahamut Chronicle treads that ever familiar Shitty LN Adaptation path with unabashed faithfulness.  The weird thing is that it’s so up front about it that it’s hard to really hate on the show – it does what it sets out to do and doesn’t claim to be anything other than yet another Shitty LN Adaptation.

I’m not going to be watching any more, but if you’ve got a craving for another hot tempered princess challenging a doormat, but skilled protag-kun to a battle after he falls on top of her in the bath, Bahamut Chronicle will certainly satisfy that very specific craving.

 

Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! (KonoSuba – God’s blessing on this wonderful world!)

Okay, so I enjoyed this episode much more than I though I would.  It’s kind of a refreshing spin on the stuck in an RPG genre, with our hapless MC-kun dying, getting reincarnated into an RPG world and dragging the unsympathetic goddess responsible along for the ride.  They make a fun pair to watch bounce off each other, and there is a strange absence of the the usual ecchi humour despite the fact the goddess isn’t wearing knickers under that micro-skirt, they’re forced to sleep in the same bed & all the female character designs in general are pretty fanservicey.

The show does look a bit cheap though – the animation isn’t wonderful, but there is plenty of expression in the faces & voice acting, so that mostly covers for the dodgy animation quality.  I personally won’t be keeping on KonoSuba, but it was decently entertaining for this type of show.

 

Ajin

Getting the elephant in the room out of the way first.  Yes this is full CGI.  Yes the character animation does look a bit off as a result (the sepia filter over everything does not help), but don’t let that put you off – this was a pretty great opening episode!  I’ve been following the Ajin manga for a while, and this was a pretty faithful adaptation.  I definitely would have preferred traditional animation since CGI isn’t quite there yet (and Ajin definitely isn’t as slick looking as Bubuki Buranki), but the story and acting do make up for things a bit.  Definitely looking forward to watching more, just hope some decent subs come out soon.