First Impressions: Fall 2014

So this season has a first for me...
None of my weekly shows are continuing... every single one of them finished (or aren't coming back till spring)... Well other then Sailor moon which i don't count since it's only twice a month.

That means that every single show is going to be completely new to me... i did take a quick look at the chart for whats coming out in fall and nothing really jumped out at me... still i, as always, will give almost everything a chance.

Some ground rules.
No webshows/shows under 20 Minutes in length.
No shows with Brother or Sister in the title... it never ends well so once again not even going to give it a chance.
No shows about Card games, last season there were so many and it's just not a genre i enjoy.
Obviously if a show is in the middle of a series i'm not watching i wont what it either.

I will try to keep these blurbs short because there is a lot this season however i make absolutely no promises.
Most of these shows will be viewable on Crunchyroll, i do check out Funimations simulcasts as well but because crunchyroll tends to have 5-9 shows i watch and Funi tends to have 1-2 i'd rather only spend the subscription money on one of the two sites. However if there are shows on funi that i have missed and you are curious about just let me know and i'll edit this post.

So my one technically continuing series...

Sailor Moon Crystal
Other then Usagi's clark kent moment with Mamoru's glasses i am enjoying the show... it can be a bit derpy in the animation department (which is surprising for a show that is only twice a month) i still think it's fun and well done for what it is... is it better then the original? who knows... apples to oranges... i just hope they end up doing the entire manga over the course of the next couple of years.

Okay.... onto the new stuff.

TERRAFORMARS
I have a feeling there will be more to see of this show when it come out on Bluray....
There is an insane amount of cencorship in this first episode.
Oh no... Space AND a virus.... i don't know if i can finish this episode....
and bugs? ugh... like i can deal with bugs but the other two things are problematic.
Ok, objectively speaking this looks like it'll be a decent show. It has decent animation (especially if you like your anime to have more realistic proportions) and a neat hook. (humans fighting cockroaches on mars since the kinda sorta super evolved there)
That being said.... putting this in my nope pile.
I can deal with cartoony space like Captain Earth or Gargantia or Macross for whatever reason my crazy astrophobic brain thinks up....
but realistically rendered space on the other hand..... nope i'm good i do not need to risk it... i was already feeling my mood plummet when they showed mars at the end. Not to mention i can deal with plague stories about as well as i deal with space... which is not well at all... 
So yeah if you like sci-fi this may be a good concept.
I think i'll just stick to something else.

Tribe Cool Crew
wow... this looks.... really ugly... *sighs* okay... bad to judge based on art....
This animation style reminds me of Triggers style but doesn't seem to be quite as rubbery--- another show to use ugly CG modles for dancing? why is this such a trend... it doesn't look good... CG in anime almost never looks good when it's only used for certain things... if it's used constantly it's okay but when the character goes from being animated to CG it just looks terrible...
This feels like it should be based on a rhythm game.. the art would really work in something like that.
The show itself is just all over the place.. the music is fun and the animation is pretty decent but.... yeah sorry the art is just not doing it for me.
Also the lack of plot just... yeah.... maybe it's good? it's definitely different.
But yeah the show is about dancing (mostly like break dancing as part of a crew) and since the extent of my dance lessons were a few years of Jazz and Modern i just don't really care for it...
But it's not bad... i guess...

Denki-gai
Moe girls (and a few guys i guess) working in a store that sells anime/manga/games and doujinshi.
I could list off a million other comedy shows about working at a certain place.... but it all comes down to one thing.
If you like those comedy slice of workplace anime... then you will probably like this.
if you are getting kind of sick of them... or feel like it treads into the "did you know about this aspect about this job"/"omg isn't this job the coolest" territory... then something tells me you wont like this.
It reminds me of working... only working had a sort of charm to it and this doesn't.... partially because it throws all the characters and their quirks at you all at once... it never establishes the "normal" world. there seems to be a newly hired character... why we don't start with him on his first day of work baffles me.
But worst of all (for me) it just isn't funny.
"omg they are sealing up 18+ books with scandalous covers!"
yeah.... cause thats their job... they would probably be used to just about anything the cover could throw at them.
"theres a government working checking to see that the 18+ is properly displayed and she's all snooty and angry! but on her own time enjoys a little BL"
yeah cause it's her job to mkae sure the laws are followed but on her own time she can like whatever she wants as long as it's not illegal....
Like... i'm sorry these situations aren't funny.
maybe if someone were more uptight it would be funny but even then i highly doubt it... it comes off as trying too hard.
I wont say the show is bad, but i promise you have seen this show before and you have seen it done better.

Fate/stay night [unlimited blade works]
Oh fate/ I never know that to think.
It's a neat concept... but i always get bored.... the only Fate/ i have finished is the original Fate/ Stay Night.
And even then i took quite a long break in the middle cause it was just so boring...
While the show is overall very pretty to look at (thats one thing Aniplex has going for them) there are moments when the characters look strange and rubbery... especially apparent with the profiles---- wait... hiroshi kamiya?Did he always play this role? (never watched the japanese subs) well..... i need to... uh... rewatch that in japanese....
well my odds of watching this show just went up..
 maybe... i mean... who knows...
oh wow... the prologue is nearly an hour long...
So it seems to be an alternate retelling? or perhaps following a different line of events in the game.
and if nothing else i can try to use Junichi Suwabe's voice as Archer as a way to try and be able to recognize him... like i can hear it's him but i'm not 100% sure like i was with Hiroshi.
I do like that the focus is on Rin and Archer... Saber and.... uh.. .whatever his name was never really interested me.
It's not a bad show... i just have such a terrible track record of sticking with this series. still... having Hiroshi Kamiya for a little while will be nice... not sure if he's in anything else yet.

World Trigger
Ugh... another show thats going to put the Toei Animation sting before every episode? if i don't like it for sailor moon... probably going to be even more annoying here.
I have heard of World trigger though i know nothing about it.
Ok... i know it's an easy way to get the backstory out there but i'm not the biggest fan of "this is what happened... enjoy these stills accompanied with exposition"
Show me what happened... or mention it later... not after the intro song in the first ep.
Also Mikado City rings a bell... isn't Devil Survivor also set there? town can't catch a break.
Well otherwise then the exposition dump at the start the episode is well paced and i look forward to seeing more, i have a harder time sticking with shows that have a lot of combat but this one looks really really good. Looking forward to next week.

CROSS ANGE Rondo of Angel and Dragon
Wow those seem like the worst combat outfits ever... lets cover the arms and legs but everything else can just be exposed... theres nothing impotrant in the middle bits of the human body.
And i mean if you are going to have a battle thong... you think they would at least give them one that would fit.
The intro music gives me flash backs to Mana Khemia which is kinda nice but i know i wont stick with this show cause
a) it's a mech show, not a fan.
b) it's obviously a fanservice show... even if not of the characters seem to have ant of the nessicary bits of anatomy (they show everything in the intro song)
c)The sound mixing is really weird... it sounds like 90% of it is coming from the left and what is coming from the right is too loud. and i've checked my speaker system...
it's an interesting mix of fantasy and sci-fi but yeah... just not interesting to me... i don't think the show is bad though. *sees the ending* okay... the show isn't good... but i'm sure some people who like fanservice will enjoy it.

Celestial Method
 Well this looks extremely Moe but the animation is stunning, like... extremely fluid and colourful and detailed.
I do love that their is this giant saucer in the sky and no one seems to care... like... at all...
Well this is one show that i'll definitely be following... i hope it continues to be this good--- is that Fhana singing the end song? Yep.. well thats a pleasent surprise. but yeah intrigued by what i've seen so far.
The plot seems to be about a girl who returns to a town from her childhood but the memories of the place and people aren't fully there. also there is a saucer in the sky for some reason... i'm sure it'll be explained.

Wolf Girl and Black Prince
wow everything is airing on sunday... hope they spread things around a bit (i know they wont but i can hope)
So it's a RomCom about a girl who habitually lies in order to gain the respect of her peers but doesn't realize constantly one upping people is not a good thing and is a fast way to get yourself ostracized.
anyways when her friends start to catch on that she may be lying about having a boyfriend she takes a picture of a very pretty boy and claims that he's her boyfriend.
one major problem... he happens to go to her school... and is even known as the "prince"
Luckily he seems super nice.... too nice.
he even agrees to be her pretend boyfriend...  but then he drops the nice guy act and his true colours begin to show... she'll have to be his 'dog'
it could so very easily tred into some things i hate about shoujo anime but i wanna give this a chance, it had me chuckling... however if you hate the type of story where a relationship is forged on essentially blackmail... i can't see this changing your mind.

The Fruit of Grisaia
I recognize that type of character design... so this is based off an H-Game?
Well that character has the most well tones glutes i have ever seen... it's a little freaky.
also the "oh no i fell down and my panties are showing"... what is this the 90s?
*sighs* i gave it a chance but what i saw was dull and the heavy focus on panty shots just makes this show feel like it was made in the wrong decade... i do like that there was equal amount of focus put on his bare bottom but no amount of fanservice will make a tired concept any better... and i have seen enough less then oridinary high school harem shows to last a lifetime. pass.

Gugure! Kokkuri-san
Last season we had Monthly Girl Nozaki-kun which was based on a 4 koma (four paneled comic)
this surprised be because turning something that is based on quick paced humor that doesn't take a lot of establishment into something that is 20ish minutes long and still having it be funny and make sense is really hard...
i'm willing to bet this is based off a 4 koma...
*checks*
yeah... called it... okay so i actually don't like 4 komas 99% of the time.. .there are exceptions but most of the time it's just not funny... it feels forced and like it's trying way to hard and thats the vibe i am getting from this show.
I'm a little sad cause i love shows that have a supernatural element... but this is just trying too hard.
maybe i'll give it a few weeks and then try again? give a chance for plot to happen...
omg the kitty at the end had fox colouring! so cute! *loves cats*
anyways yeah... on the fence about this one... guess we'll see.

JOKER
don't judge a book by it's cover... don't judge a book by it's cover *repetitively membles before hitting play*
Kaito shows are hit and miss with me... i enjoyed Kamikaze Kaito jeanne enough but every other one i have seen is just....
well actually DNAngel is kaito as well... *sighs*
still.. most of the time i can't stand the genre that is essentially "super cool thief who announces that they will steal something... but it's not illegal cause it'll probably protect the world or something"
Can i pull my no card game shows rule on this? no because it only has cards as a theme not a mechanic? dammit...
Oh look an exposition dumb via breakign the 4th wall...
yeah this is not going to be my thing... it's ugly and a genre i don't like and probably targeted towards a younger demographic... so pass.

Orenchi no Furo Jijo
"but what about you no short episode shows" rule....
Merman.... merman trumps all rules.
i'll probably just wait till end of the season and power watch these 4 min long episodes.
Plot is boy comes across merman... now merman lives in boys bathtub.
i honestly don't know if i'll like it... i stil ldon't like short shows... but yeah figured i'd give it a shot.
because merman *nods*

oh for the love of.... ugh
When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace
I was gunna say this season is doing well and avoiding stupid long titles but then... this.
I think it's interesting that a few shows are going for this extremely widescreened/borderline panoramic look but i hope it's only used in moderation.
anyways this show is very pretty and colourful... I would call it a Harem type show but it still seems to be more about the crazy powers these people get instead of multiple girls to one guy.
The show is kinda adorable, really fun and i'm looking forward to it continuing... i hope it stays this good.
So yeah... stupid title aside a show about 5 people who randomly awaken to havign superpowers is pretty fun.
Oh and this is trigger? it may be the first trigger show that i have seen which i will enjoy/not have panic attacks (well thats the hope... please don't give me a panic attack show... please!)

Akatsuki no Yona
Just from the intro song i love the music of this show... so pretty.... i love this type of orchestration.
hm... i'm not sure what to think of the show since it was very Mood whip lashy.
like... one second it's comedy, then serious... then gory... while i don't mind those things on their own together it doesn't really mix... at least not in one single episode.
I'll still give this a few more episodes since it's very pretty and a historical/potentially fantasy based show should be a lot of fun.
that being said i'm pretty sure this is technically a reverse harem so if you don't like that i guess this is your warning?

Trinity Seven
I've heard of this... i think... maybe... i know nothing about it but the name sounds so familiar.
...
Seriously did i slip back in time to the 90s? the accidental waking up in a conpromising postion?.... EW AND IT'S YOUR SISTER?
i'm out
nope nope nope
I don't care if it was an accident any show willing to play that off for laughs is not a show i wanna watch.
Well this is the quickest i've bailed out on a show at a little over two minutes.

Parasyte -the maxim-
I'm guessing this wont be a show for those who dislike body horror.
Third show with 'accidental' boob grab followed by surprise... seriously... it would be more believable if the male character elbowed the girl in the chest by accident... but full on grabbing and squeezing and being surprised? yeah... seriously find a new trope.
Granted i'll let this show pass on that since it has an in story reason for it happening.
Still... this reminds me a lot of a show from my childhood (granted my childhood is fuzzy so i don't remember it that well) called Animorphs where these parasity thingies entered human hosts and they could turn into animals.... just this the parasyte enters the human and tried to take it over...
as for the point it's just too soon to tell.
I don't know if i'll stick with this simply because it's not really the type of show i like... horror makes me laugh and this really just feels like "what crazy things can we make the body do?" which is fine but as a basis for a show... i just don't know...
maybe i'll give it a few more episodes?  it feels like a show that needs at least 4 episodes to get it's point across... too much info and too little time.

SHIROBAKO
at first I was leary about a show that is about making an anime...
but as i watch this.... boy do i know that feel.
well kinda... film is a different beast since things are done 6 months - a year or two before things head to theater so the only rush is when things go to camera... and the only tv show i did was a Pilot and it was only for a week to help them out (and it was crazier then film but also a lot smaller).
but in essense... i know the feel of "if this isn't in place then that thing gets put off and if thats put off we can't do this"
and it explains why Crunchyroll explained what a Cour is
i had never heard the term but it refers to how many blocks of 13 (well i guess 10-13 unless theres a different name for less then 13) episodes a show will get (exaple: Natsume Yuujinchou is a 4 cour show, Gargantia is a 1 cour show)
even though this show reminds me a lot of work i think i'll give it a chance... it's PA works who.... well most of the time they are decent. my only complaint so far is they throw you in the middle with a lot of characters and so i barely know who anyone is or why i should care but i feel like they will address that later on.

Your lie in April
I think i saw the pre-intro song bit a while ago... it seems very familiar. Very pretty, the art is extremely detailed and full of life and colour.
I'm hit and miss with shows based on music but i hope this one is good... and if the first episode is an indicator of quality this will probably be my fav show of the season.
Really looking forward to this.

Girl Friend BETA
I'm going to be honest... i do not have any hope for this...
the description is literally just "based off a game with 100 girlfriend options all with unique voice actors."
... ok... so... i should care why?
i was hoping it would be a 3 min show... nope... full length... okay lets give it a try... maybe it's not so bad.
based on the intro i would guess that they try to fit as many of the girls as possible while only focusing on 4.
pro tip: if you can't preform when being watched maybe something like Rythmic gymnastics isn't the best thing for you... like... i know i can't sing infront of people... so i don't (except the handful of times i've been forced to... which is actually quite often now that i think about it)
So it's a show based on a game minus the guy trying to date the girls?
This is just.... really boring... the first episode formula is lets meet and establish what club or interest everyone has... but no one has any character... it's just "this girl is in gymnastics club, this one is a librarian... that one is from france and learning japanese...
but that doesn't make you have a character... and does little to nothing in the way of setting up plot.
like... this goes beyond Moe girls eating cake... this is just moe girls doing nothing...
Yeah easily the most pointless show i've ever watched.

Yuki Yuna wa Yusha de Aru
Finally! i've been waiting for this show to air to complete all my crunchyroll first impressions... we actualyl got two epsidoes at once cause of some delay i guess.
So basic plot is 4 girls who are friends are also in a "hero club" and we see them putting on a sock puppet show for little kids.
The hero club seems to take all sorts of requests from cleanign areas up to finding kittens lovign homes.
I've said this before... I almost never like shows about clubs because it focuses too much on the club and not enough on plot or characters... This had me worried cause the first 10 minutes were full of nothing... nothing was introduced or established.
after that it gets a plot but i do have some issues... certain things happen that aren't explained so when names or terms are thrown at you all you can think is "i heard you say that earlier but i still do not know what it means"
however... magic based on flowers... i do like flowers
It's another show i need to give more time... it's a neat concept but has yet to make me really care... it does look very pretty and interesting though so i guess we will see... another episode is already ready for viewing.

Okay and considering we are into week 2 of anime titles it's unlikely that more will be added (but it always seems to happen) so for now... done with Crunchyroll... now to quickly look at some funimation titles!


A good librarian like a good shepherd
. . . what... does that even mean?
ok... side note.... i hate that funimation has their logo bottom right... it always covers the subtitles... seriously... either put it further down or in a top corner like crunchy...
OMG another boob grab followed by surprise... seriously... get a new trope. Accidental touching happen especially it you are well endowed but it's amost always a graze or a poke or in the worst case an elbow...
now maybe i just hate the groping trope because one time a girl actually pulled the whole coming up from behind and groping me... i responded with a slap so hard i nearly knocked her over followed by loud shouting on why thats not okay and that anime does not equal real life... needless to say she kept her distance from then on. so yeah... i hate this trope... HATE IT.
As for the show... seems slightly better then the standard based off H-game/harem show fare... but i don't think i'll be sticking with it based on this one episode alone, the story shows promise but still didn't make me care.

Laughing Under the Clouds
I just need to start thinking that everytime i wonder if it's junichi suwabe it's more then likely Yuichi Nakamura.
every time "is that him?" is asked it turns out to be him... i'm just terrible with these voice actors that can sound low.
Anyways this show was really good, love the art especially and looking forward to seeing more.
Basic plot is three brother (who are decendant of samurai?) help catch and ferry escaped criminals who can't deal with japans westernization just after the law banning swords was in place. It's a period in japanese history that i almost always enjoy since it has a nice mix of old and new and how they work (or don't work) in harmony.... so yeah i think i'll continue to watch this... for now at least.

Gunna be the Twin-tail!! 
Omg so many girls who haive pigtails... cause only certain girls ever wear their hair like that... and it's not like a girl who doesn't wear their hair that was can suddenly start.
Yes... i knew from the name i wouldn't like this show... maybe if yo uare really into pigtails?

Rage of Bahamut: Genesis
oh wow... it's been so long since i've seen the Geneon logo... i guess they are still around in japan...
well it has an interesting look if nothing else. This is some of the most fluid and dynamic animation i have ever seen.
Okay so a bounty hunter gets himself way over his head when a tall tale catches the attention of a demon... now i'm guessing he's going to have to lead her to Helhiem or risk losing his own humanity.
i don't know what to think... this needs another episode just to explain the rules...
while very interesting to look at i just worry that it's more style then substance.
but still... crazy gorgeous animation.

In Search of the Lost Future
(aka: A la recherche du futur perdu: nous depassons beaucoup d'aujourd'hui, et changerons le destin quelque jour) [and yeah i'm too add all the proper accents]
Ok, i've harped on this a lot but seriously... this is getting annoying.
The first episode/chapter/10 minutes of anything NEEDS to be good... it needs to hook me in and make me want more...
ways to fail at that
Throw all the characters at me at once so i don't know who anyone is or why i should care.
Exposition... if you can't show me anything and have to do EVERYTHING by telling then maybe it's not a good narritive and should be worked on a bit more.
avoid telling me anything about the plot or conflict... if i can't describe the show after one episode you have failed... 
anyways all that aside there is something strange about the animation... they feel like 3d modles without looking like 3d modles... theres a stiffness to them... and the shadows don't make sense... like they are put more for acent then light actually hitting the area.
but i'm pretty sure it's just normally animated... maybe some bits are cg assisted? it just looks strange
anyways yeah... didn't enjoy this as a first episode... not to mention it has one of the most predictable events i've seen in any show ever.... but yeah what happens at the end should have happened immediately and then they could have worked back from there...
now for that subtitle in french.
i've never been goos at getting the order right.... ok
direct:
We pass because today, and change the destiny of someday
*tilts head* hm...
Because today we pass and change the destiny of someday?
i'm just going to go with double translating is a fast way to get a headache.
but yeah... anyways... show didn't make me wanna watch more.

Lord Marksman and Vanadis
Ah, refershing... i don't even care that this is most likely a fanservice show... before the 10 min mark i already know who the main character, his status, his weapon proficiency and how others view him... all through action instead of just outright telling me. I also know about magic weilding war madens that have unusual hair and manner of dress.
this is how you do a first episode.... it's not that hard.
But yeah despite being a show with some fanservice it stil lhas a really interesting plot and world and i may actually continue unless it gets super harem-y (which it might... who knows)

GARO
omg this intro... like visuals aside the song... it's just so... old... like something you would see infront of a show from the 80s
 however all that aside... right back to pure exposition... it's funny this opening bit could be left unchanged just no dialogue and it would convey the same point with so much more subtlety... but no... monologue exposition is the way they decided to go.
Well this was just kinda lame... and boring... plus i've seen a million other shows that focus on the 'shadow ruler' mentality and just yeah... they are better if you don't see it coming till like halfwaythrough. plus we sepnd all of... 3 minutes with the main character? yeah i just can't really find the time to care.
pass.

And with that... i think i've seen it all... i was going to do Selector Spread Wixoss but that seems to be heading into it's second Cour so theres no point in talking about it here.

So lets tally what we have gotten.

Crunchyroll
Sailor Moon Crystal
Fate/stay night [unlimited bladework] (maybe, the episodes are so long...)
World trigger
Celestial method (maybe)
Wolf girl and black prince
When supernatural battles become commonplace (maybe cause after ep 2 wow was i bored)
Akatsuki no Yona (maybe assume that they don't just jump to the present like episode two suggests)
Parasyte - the maxim (maybe, not the biggest horror fan)
Shirobako (maybe)
Your lie in april

Funimation
Laughing under the clouds
Lord marksman and vanadis (maybe as long as it doesn't get too haremy)

so only 5 shows i'm pretty certain i'll stick with... and a whole lot of uncertainty... for me thats pretty typical of the fall season so i'm not too worried about it. i'm really looking forward to your lie in april so thats worth the price of subscription for me.
I will not be subbing to Funimation simply because i need a 3 show minimum to warrent paying extra.
for now i just look forward to seeing where some of the maybe shows go and hopefully some of them grow on me.

tell me your first impressions of some of the new shows this season!