In this edition of Anime Impressions we feature the Winter 2009 lineup. Contained within are impressions on Akikan, Asu no Yoichi, Kurokami, Maria Holic, RideBack, Sora wo Kakeru Shoujo, Sora wo Miageru Shoujo no Hitomi ni Utsuru Sekai and Zoku Natsume Yuujinchou. Some may call this post late, nay, very late. I say that I’ve had enough time to adequately gauge these shows because I didn’t rush to do impressions after only one episode. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Akikan: 3 Episode Impression

The best way to woo a girl is a well executed nude pose.

Get the door. It’s Domino’s.

Sentient ahoge spotting.

Melon soda is my wife and orange soda is my mistress.

An interesting take on sudden girlfriend appearance shows. In a nutshell, a guy named Daichi drinks a can of melon soda that turns out to be a girl. Said girls, known as Akikans, are to be pitted against each other in a fight to prove which type of can is the best, steel or aluminum.

Yes it is as ridiculous as it sounds. Daichi is a lewd pervert on the outside but… Sigh, here it comes… Has a heart of gold on the inside. Joining him in his hijinks is Melon, his tsundere Akikan. Rounding out the cast we have a childhood friend that gets drunk from carbonated beverages, a silver haired sports drink Akikan, a loli grape soda Akikan, a blatant lesbian and a guy that calls himself Gigolo. The story is so bad that it somehow becomes good. And you know what? I’ll actually recommend this because it makes me laugh.

Asu no Yoichi: 3 Episode Impression

Yoichi’s harem. I choose the blonde one.

Modern day samurai, Yoichi Karasuma. Nifty scarf.

Living in a house full of women, he’s going to get into all sorts of trouble like this…

And this…

And then he will receive a beating like this.

Pointless Ayame bonus picture.

Dumb harem is dumb. Yoichi Karasuma, would-be-modern-day samurai is ordered by his father to leave home and move into a house with four sisters of the Ikaruga family to further his training in the city. Right. That’s a great idea. So in addition to his training, Yoichi now has to deal with two tsunderes, a meganekko and a loli.

If this show was 24 episodes there’s no doubt in my mind that I would drop it right here. However since Asu no Yoichi is only 12 episodes, I’ll probably continue to watch it for lulz and cute girls. Your mileage will vary depending on how much you like harem.

Kurokami: 3 Episode Impression

I can’t put my finger on it but this guy looks familiar.

Meet Kuro. She’s got super powers and a dog of some sort.

You don’t want to make her mad okay?

Wow, what a dark show. How should I describe this… Shakugan no Shana in a Nitro+ setting perhaps? For those unfamiliar with Nitro+, they’re known for their dark, morbid visual novels like Phantom of Inferno, Jingai Makyo, Demonbane and Chaos;Head. So imagine Shakugan no Shana with a bigger focus on death and you get Kurokami. The titular Kuro is a member of the superhuman Motosumitama tribe and has come to the city to kill her elder brother and stop his plans. After a chance encounter with her, our protagonist Keita is drawn into her struggle. I don’t really want to go much more in depth than that as it would spoil the fun.

This was one of the shows in the winter lineup that excited me the most and it didn’t let me down at all. Comedic moments are peppered in here and there to lighten the mood, much of which stems from Kuro’s utter naivete about our world and customs. Kurokami has slick visuals and a fast paced story with a focus on Gainaxesque over-the-top action. Absolutely loved it and will watch more.

Maria Holic: 3 Episode Impression

Oh lawd iz dat sum SHAFT animation?

[Trap card joke goes here]

Kissu~

Loli wrath.

70’s shoujo anime cut.

A Day Without Me already covered this a while ago, but here’s my two cents. Maria Holic is a prime example of the type of show SHAFT does best — comedy. While not as outrageously funny as Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, Maria Holic is still a laugh riot in its own right. Expect lots of SHAFT bizareness at its finest. Not for the faint of heart, children, the elderly, and people afraid of yuri and traps.

RideBack: 3 Episode Impression

Sheesh. Could Rin have any more cowlicks?

Yes, the bike has arms. Now if it only had a megaton particle cannon…

Riding the Rideback.

I don’t think the warranty covers this.

In the near future, an organization known as the GGP has conquered the entire world but are opposed by small rebel uprisings using Ridebacks, bipedal transforming motorcycles. Enter Rin Ogata, a dejected former ballerina that ends up joining her university’s Rideback club and in the process rediscovers herself as well.

At first RideBack didn’t terribly interest me, but it became more interesting as the focus shifted to the very cool transforming motorcycles. Rin will no doubt become increasingly involved in the rebellion against the GGP as the story goes on. The premise is actually pretty cool. Motorcycles normally don’t interest me a great deal, but the Ridebacks are pretty cool. The animation also gives a thrilling sense of speed as the Ridebacks nimbly zip around on the road. The only thing I’m not crazy about are the character designs. All the characters have this constant red line blush under their eyes that drives me insane. Overall, I am surprised that I do like this show and will recommend it.

Sora wo Kakeru Shoujo: 6 Episode Impression

I always thought space was supposed to be cleaner.

The super sexy Itsuki Kannagi. *swoon*

Space Lelouch Leopard!

Incompetent cops? No way.

…Let’s just forget about the toilet floating in space.

Intelligent yet very dumb at the same time, kind of like a valley girl with a PhD in nuclear physics. Riding on the coattails of Code Geass, Jun Fukuyama brings his Lelouch voice in full force to voice the enigmatic and troublesome brain colony known as Leopard. A girl named Akiha becomes his unwilling accomplice and slave with the nickname of The Girl That Leaps Through Space. Joining her in her misadventures are the stoic Honoka and sexy former ICP agent Itsuki Kannagi as they evade the ICP and learn the mysteries of Leopard.

As I said earlier, intelligent yet dumb. While I like to make fun of how absurd Sora Kake is, it’s also fun to watch and leaves me satisfied much in the same manner as Leopard firing his massive colony cannon. Also because Itsuki Kannagi epitomizes sexy. One and a half thumbs up.

Sora wo Miageru Shoujo no Hitomi ni Utsuru Sekai: 3 Episode Impression

Misuzu Kamio Yumemi Hidaka.

Call me Munto-sama, bitches!

Another Yumemi screenshot because I can.

That title is outrageously long. Three eps still don’t seem like enough time to get a proper handle on this show, but so far it’s been great. Basically I surmised that the fate of two dual worlds lies in the hands of a girl called Yumemi and this guy with an awesome man bra named Munto. Seems to me it’ll soon become a “girl in another world” story as the OP/ED suggest. Speaking of which, the OP/ED are absolutely gorgeous, but the actual show animation itself doesn’t live up to the standards I expect from KyoAni, which I admit is a very high bar. The animation is still decent, but I don’t like to be bait and switched with great OP/ED visuals and then get anything less.

Sometimes when you watch a really good show it’ll give you chills. Sora wo Miageru is one of
those shows. I particularly love the imagery and constant use of reflections on the water to show the sky and the parallel world, which is the focal point of the story. This is something of a far cry from the usual KyoAni stuff, but I’ve been thoroughly impressed. This is my pick for sleeper hit of the season and is highly recommended.

Zoku Natsume Yuujinchou: 4 Episode Impression

Gayjinchou returns.

Check here for Diego’s in-depth impression. ZNY was my most anticipated show for the winter season and certainly didn’t disappoint at all. Picking up right where the first season left off, ZNY continues the episodic adventures of one Takashi Natsume as he helps spirits and learns more about the Book of Friends and his mysterious grandmother. This is the only show that I’ll mark as required viewing for EVERYONE. No exceptions.

So there are my winter impressions. I originally planned to put some thoughts on White Album here but decided not to after the first episode almost put me into a very long coma. The winter season is unfairly put down because the big hitters are usually reserved for spring and fall. While the winter season rarely gets much glory, I think this particular winter lineup has a bevy of good shows worth your time. Listed below is my ranking of this season’s shows I’ve watched.

1. Zoku Natsume Yuujinchou
2. Sora wo Miageru Shoujo no Hitomi ni Utsuru Sekai
3. Maria Holic
4. Sora wo Kakeru Shoujo
5. Kurokami
6. RideBack
7. Asu no Yoichi
8. Akikan

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 19th, 2009 at 7:21 pm and is filed under Anime, First Impressions.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.