America has never been best represented in anime, usually portrayed with horrific stereotypes or laughable inaccuracies; on the face of it then, comic luminary Stan Lee and production studio BONES would seem like strange bedfellows. But the unimaginatively titled joint-project Heroman demonstrates that while an entertaining series was never in question, whether the two party's strengths will marry together is still up for debate. Three episodes is never enough for BONES to reveal anything other than the most cursory information, however what's here doesn't even have a scent of nuance. Instead, this is a brash, straightforward romp devoid of subtlety, more akin to the sleepy brainlessness of Saturday morning cartoons than the studio's usual fare.
fighting against the affable idiocy shown in the protagonists and dispensing with common sense
Adolescent Joey Jones doesn't have it easy: he is frequently pushed around by a brawny jock and has to work a part-time job in a dingy café to provide for his diminutive grandmother. The only silver lining for him is the jock's lively sister, Lina, who has taken an interest in him and the wild-haired cripple Psy who despite his weakness, remains a true friend. A stray extra-terrestrial lightning bolt changes his fortunes when it strikes a recently repaired toy robot which transforms into the autonomous, battle-ready Heroman. The lightning however was just a precursor to an invasion by alien creatures - Earth's defences useless against them and only Heroman is able to match their terrifying strength. As the mothership settles in Center City, the battle against their incursion seems to have only just begun.
Watching the latest series of Ikkitousen, with the absurd subtitle of Xtreme Xecutor, is like viewing a relic of the past. Series focused on both fighting and fanservice have long since surpassed it in terms of what can be offered: whether that's titillation or solid action, the first three episodes contain much of what characterised the first three series. Primarily an adaptation of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms epic (of which there is a self-titled, more straight faced series airing within the same season) with some lacklustre combat and ludicrously proportioned girls losing their clothing at the slightest opportunity. Next to nothing has changed from the preceding series, so like slipping into an old set of clothes, there is comfort in the familiar but also lamentation at their threadbare state.
this is a series concerned with curvaceous ladies and their disrobing antics
Mostly ignoring the resolute waste of time that was Great Guardians, the schools are enjoying a time of relative peace after the battle which took place at the climax of Dragon Destiny. That is until a spunky young lass appears attempting to make trouble for some fatal grievance her brother-cum-guardian suffered at the hand of the nefarious Sousou. After a selection of tepid duels, some involving baked goods, she is put in her place and only barely manages to escape; she is picked up by Ryuubei stumbling blindly in the rain and taken to Seito. The girl, Bachou, begs to be trained at the school until a misguided excursion with Ryuubei leads to an intervention by the interminably ditsy Hakufu. Now begging to be trained by Hakufu, an imperial decree is delivered with word of a new fighting tournament, issued by someone claiming to be the Emperor Kentei.
Please note: the remainder of this post contains images of nudity, if you are offended by these or are otherwise unable to view these images within your municipality due to laws or moral obligations, please do not proceed.
There is a spacious fifty minutes to each episode of Katanagatari - enough time for sweeping, epic tales befitting of the peculiar art style and setting within feudal Japan. Disappointing then that each episode has enough content for ten minutes which is written for twenty four then stretched torturously out to fifty. Utilising every possible means to extend and protract results in great swathes of time dedicated to ceaseless banter between the two protagonists. The script may be sharp enough to prevent abject boredom and the characters just shy of caricatures, but like the recent Bakemonogatari, this isn't enough to hide deficiencies in key areas such as storyline and pacing.
this is one of the purest interpretations of what some view as the anime ethos
Based upon a light novel series, Katanagatari follows the reclusive martial-artist Shichika Yasuri and the white haired strategist Togame as they search for twelve legendary swords forged by the master craftsman Shikizaki Kiki. After travelling to the island where Shichika has stayed all of his life, Togame explains her predicament and manages to enlist his help after one of the twelve sword's current owners attacked, endangering both her life and that of Shichika's sister. Journeying to Kyoto then to Inaba (now Tottori Prefecture) they track down the second sword, wielded by an proud swordsman still clinging to his ancestor's legacy. Despite Shichika's naivete, he and Togame begin to bond through their tribulations and a reticent respect for each other's role and specialities is born.
Leaving little to the imagination, Baka to Test to Shokanju features precisely what the title specifies. The first three episodes are a grab bag of different influences that run the gamut from the quick fire rowdiness of Excel Saga to the fantasy-high school blend of Maburaho, successfully mixing them all into a comedy that hits more than it misses. It may have a tendency to grind some of its more lukewarm jokes into the ground, and many elements of the paper-thin plot are obvious to all those paying attention, however it elevates itself above these faults with diversity and a pleasing cheerfulness befitting its presentation.
the titular idiot Akihisa whose propensity for dimwittedness keeps the entire affair tolerable if not predictable
On the day of Fumizuki Academy's placement test, Akihisa isn't doing well; one of the other students, Mizuki, however is struck down with a fever and despite his protestations, she is awarded a zero for the test. Dropped into the worst graded class of the school, she joins Akihisa and fellow underachievers Minami, an aggressive tomboy who recently returned from Germany; Yuuji, one of Akihisa's childhood friends and surprisingly charismatic given his placement in class F; Hideyoshi, an beautiful male student constantly mistaken for a girl; and Kota, a serial pervert who repeatedly tries to photograph under girls' skirts. Together they try to elevate class F using the school's unique system of competition by battling diminuitive avatars whose strength is determined by their summoner's test scores.
Another series another lascivious story seed, this time with the formation of a high school underwear club by a girl smitten with all things underwear. Rolling one's eyes and ploughing into the first three episodes of Chu-Bra!! it becomes increasingly apparent that this isn't the naughty teenage giggle parade that is expected from such a premise. Instead it is a charmingly sexless celebration of a girl whose passion is looked upon with disdain by the prudish or antagonistic students of a school that is all but aligned against her, a situation easy to relate to in principle if not in implementation.
Hiroki, who suffers from a rare form of underwear paralysis
At the entrance ceremony of middle school, Nayu embarrasses herself by tripping up when called to give the opening speech; this also inadvertently exposes her adult underwear to an unsuspecting student body who begin to circulate rumours about her partaking of compensated dating and other less wholesome activities. In reality however Nayu simply loves underwear, despite her adoration resulting in her being a pariah since junior school, it takes some investigation but two classmates, Yako and Haruka, discover the truth behind Nayu and become fast friends with her. As Nayu's confidence grows she suggests the formation of an underwear club, however this is met with resistance from the uptight head of the more generic handicrafts club and finding members proves an uphill struggle, even if she is wearing the brassier and panties her grandmother gifted her.
