A story of incarcerated juveniles trying to survive the horrors of a detention centre in a post-war Japan is not the most obvious or accessible material to construct a series from, but Rainbow Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin does exactly that. Who better then, than Madhouse to craft something thoroughly engrossing out of the dark and violent? With a mostly untested production staff as well, barring the art director from Aoi Bungaku. The thrash-metal opening may jar horrifically against the serene introduction, potentially turning away the indifferent or the apathetic, but a momentary persistence reveals a gripping tale of camaraderie against constant oppression and though the story of the first three episodes may cover some of the most grotesque acts people are capable of, it is a powerfully human story and difficult to turn away from.
gruesomely authentic and provides a voyeuristic glimpse into a time that demands to be remembered rather than avoided
Six masked adolescents are being transported to Shio reformatory, scorned by the populace and beaten by the guards, their punishment for their varying crimes already long begun. Violated and humiliated by the on-site doctor, all six are shown to their cell where a lone occupant, Rokurouta Sakuragi, awaits them. Their confrontational first meeting ends with Rokurouta uninjured and the others unceremoniously pummelled; what starts from there is a spirit of survival, each one enduring the constant beatings and malevolence perpetrated against them while coming to terms with their own pasts. One guard in particular seems to take a perverse, sadistic pleasure from thrashing the inmates - Rokurouta especially whom he bears a special grudge; his duplicitous tendencies threaten to splinter the group when their survival relies on their comradeship.
K-On!! is not the harbinger of doom that so many make it out to be. For a show about the twee shenanigans of five high school girls and their band, it certainly is divisive. The first three episodes of the second series however do not highlight why; sure the opening sounds like it was dragged from the circle of hell reserved for naughty bagpipes and a lot of the animation work is demonstrative of a company with enough cash to be extravagant, but it's the fervour of the audience on both sides that likely bifurcates one's opinion more than anything. Despite the nagging question of its purpose, the series' the opening episodes prove an entertaining, sporadically cringe inducing saunter through a world without raunchiness, without violence but with plenty of sunshine and smiles.
the series is diverting attention to other members before the cash cow is unceremoniously milked
Picking up where the first season left off, the majority of the girls in the Light Music Club have now entered their final year of high-school and are dealing with the trials of schoolwork and attempting the get their band, Afternoon Tea Time, off the ground. The first piece of trouble comes from the realisation that after the end of the year, only Azusa will be left - a mad and ultimately fruitless scramble for new members ensues. The cleaning out of the music room cupboard reveals a hidden treasure in the form of their homeroom teacher's guitar. Lastly, peppy drummer Ritsu has a rare crisis regarding her instrument choice, saying that her position at the back of the band keeps her from the spotlight. Her trial run of different instruments ends much as Mio predicted, but does lead to a new song from keyboardist Tsumugi.
Fifty seconds in: underwear close-up. Sixty seconds in: abuse by an overly arrogant female. Four and a half minutes in: breast jiggle. Mayoi Neko Overrun! is in a hurry to cram in as many clichés as possible into the first three episodes. There isn't much breathing room in the high-school romance genre without either sharp writing or a game changing hook, this has neither of those and instead runs down a checklist of tropes necessary to be inducted into the pantheon of mediocrity. The humour shows some brief flashes of craftsmanship but is otherwise a standard, lacklustre frolic through tired character archetypes, a bizarrely messy story and scattered, gelatinous animation. This is to say nothing of the titular cats, supposedly the bait to differentiate the series, which are relegated to poorly illustrated background caricatures and the demure purple haired savant.
deadpan sarcasm a welcome respite from the screeching vocal assault of other characters
Living in a bakery with your adoptive sister does have its perks, however for Takumi, his abusive childhood friend and fellow orphan Fumino is not one of them. While his sister, Otome, is away on some whimsical mission to help the needy, Takumi and Fumino try to help a young boy find a human-sized cat who supposedly ate one of the bakery's cakes. After a night of fruitless searching, the culprit is found by Otome who recently returned from her sojourn in Europe. The young amnesiac Nozomi, with hair resembling cat ears and a strongly introverted personality, is adopted by Otome much like she did Takumi. Enrolling her in the local school with the help of the diminutive Chise, what follows is her adventures with other schoolmates including Takumi and his friends Ieyasu, Daigoro as well as Fumino and her closest friend, Kanae.
Perhaps a reflection of a troubled production or the lack of faith placed in the source material, but the opening episodes of Arakwa Under the Bridge are supremely underwhelming. Individual components of the prototypical SHAFT show are all present - the reliance on abstract close ups and over-coloured backgrounds, the ponderous and circular script, the abjectly peculiar concept - however here they've all been weathered by time and overuse and sit bluntly against one another. Without a strong story to carry it, the show is forced to rely upon a script which is bereft of the sharp writing past series have been known for. Only memories of past glories and faith in the studio's ability will determine how much one can both stomach the lacklustre start and how long one can wait for the series to hit its stride.
the charming misadventures of the outlandish river folk
After an unfortunate incident with some hoodlums and a faulty bridge support, Kou Ichinomiya finds himself sinking to the bottom of a river. He is saved by Nino, a local blonde waif; unfortunately the mantra of his life is to never be in a position to owe anyone anything, this is how he came to live under the bridge with Nino and a cavalcade of eccentric characters. This includes the mayor of the riverbank - a man dressed in a full body kappa suit - a belligerent man with a face in the shape and colour of a star and a man who can only walk on white lines, making the trip down from Hokkaido using a linesman's marking machine. This is to say nothing of Nino herself who claims to be from Venus and demonstrates only a fleeting grasp of common sense. Kou's decision to live under the bridge could, for better or worse, entirely undermine his privileged upbringing.
With a title that summons up thoughts of other infamous maid focused shows such as He Is My Master and a premise which seems ripe to follow in the lusty sexualisation of maids demonstrated so keenly by other series, Kaichou wa Maid-sama! does not seemed primed for success. Surprising then that the opening three episodes are so superbly proportioned - often amusing, sometimes touching but always great fun. Its greatest triumph though is not the feministic duality of a strong-minded school girl with a subservient part-time job, or a protagonist with genuine and affecting reasons for her quiddities, but how expertly it demystifies maid cafés: turning them from restaurants of desire into just another workplace. It's hard to imagine the remainder of the series will sputter when the pace and quality of its beginning is so capable.
the exposure of the cafés as something not simply for the deviant or socially maligned makes them seem more accessible
Misaki Ayuzawa lives with her peculiar younger sister and frail mother in a decrepit house - surviving day-to-day after her father disappeared, saddling the family with a large debt. To make up for the loss of income, Misaki took a job in a maid café in a neighbouring town, working whenever she can - including after school where she has risen through grit and determination to become a much respected student council president. As one of only a few girls in the recently boys-only school she is fiercely competitive and is known throughout the student body as strict and unyielding. That is until a handsome and capricious boy, Takumi Usui, discovers her occupation as a maid, threatening to undermine the position she built for herself at school. Takumi is not all that he seems however and despite others finding out her profession, her secret remains safe for the time being.
