My work schedule has stepped up again, and I realized I haven't discussed the winter season shows much if at all. So this is a belated, almost at the end of winter season recap before the spring shows start.
First, I've been impressed by Durarara's second season so far. All the main and supporting characters are back, and the show has gone through several mini-arcs already.
It's hard to believe that the first season was five years ago. Durarara's first season was very stylish and cool (and unpleasantly violent toward the end), with a great ensemble cast. The anime's second season is more serious in feel than the first but still exhibits the same quirky off-center humor. The only real complaint I have is that there hasn't been a direct confrontation between Shizuo and Izaya yet. The producers have to know that's what most of us are waiting to see. ;-)
Wow, did this one ever fall off my schedule. I watched the first few episodes of Sengoku Musou (Samurai Warriors) and then life happened or something because I simply forgot to keep watching it. It's actually pretty good if you're in that want-to-watch-samurais-doing-anything sort of mood, which sometimes I am.
What's interesting about Sengoku Musou is that it has the same wildly anachronistic fantasy costuming as Sengoku Basara, where the out-of-place over the top crazy outfits were part of the joke, but - I think Sengoku Musou is actually meant to be serious.
I may go back at some point and finish the series. I should probably brush up on my Warring States history before I do, because I was getting lost trying to remember who was on who's side and who was who's enemy.
Another one I stopped watching is a series that's very popular.
Parasyte was a quality show that just didn't hook me in (and yes, I got to the point where the big surprise happens with the main character's mother). Sometimes shows that others get into don't attract me the same way - different strokes.
I'm enjoying Kuroko's Basketball's third season, though the suspense is not quite the same as in the first two seasons. It's obvious who the final two teams will be in the Winter Cup tournament, so it's a matter of waiting until the last semi-final opponent is eliminated and the two finalists can get down to it. I've heard there's a lengthy flashback arc coming involving the Generation of Miracles back in their Teiko days, and I am definitely looking forward to seeing that. :-)
And speaking of lengthy flashbacks...
I don't mind filler episodes as much as most people do, so long as I enjoy the characters and the universe. But Naruto Shippuuden is pushing it at the moment.
The filler arc we're in now is actually very decent: it's a flashback to the second Chuunin exam, which took place while Naruto was off training with Jiraiya. All of his classmates who didn't get to advance to Chuunin level (since Konoha was invaded by Orochimaru during the first Chuunin exam) are participating in this second exam, which takes place in the Sand Village under the authority of the new Kazekage, our old friend Gaara.
The episodes in this filler arc have varied between very good to rather boring, depending on which Konoha team is being featured in the episode. And not to mention - this entire multi-episode flashback arc is taking place in the middle of the final huge showdown battle between Naruto and Madara, so one can't help but be impatient for it to be over sooner rather than later.
I have no idea why I'm still watching Death Parade.
After you die, in the Death Parade universe, you wind up at a bar where a white-haired bartender makes you play a deadly game with another person who just died. Depending on how you do in this game, you either get a second chance via reincarnation (leaving the bar through the elevator to the left), or you're sent to the void and given no second chances (the elevator on the right).
The games are all sadistic and everybody's story is sad. The characters selected to play the game were usually as much victims when they were alive as they were perpetrators. Plus, even when they're made to realize what mistakes they made in their lives, they're dead now and can't do anything to change it or make amends. And then one of them gets a do-over and the other gets nothingness.
It's one of those series where the cool production design and premise engage you, before you realize how much of a downer each story is going to be.
Actually, I know why I'm still watching the show. I find it hard to resist series that have a creepy premise and where each week's episode is a separate self-contained little story. Yamishibai is a good example of this, a better example than Death Parade. Still, there aren't many episodes left of Death Parade, so I will probably watch it to the end.
The final two series are really my favorites of the winter season.
Shirobako, the show about four college classmates who go on to careers in the anime industry, is just quality and class all the way. Each episode has been excellent, with two being particularly memorable - dealing with the contributions of older artists and waxing poetic about the rewards of a life spent in anime.
I can't say enough about Shirobako. If you're not watching it, you really should give it a chance.
The last show may come as a surprise.
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I've finally read up on everybody's disappointment with Sailor Moon Crystal: the poor animation quality, the changes from the manga, etc.
I really hadn't noticed the animation quality until one episode where the Legendary Silver Crystal or whatever it is, the jewel that's supposed to be the key to everything, literally disappeared in one shot and then reappeared again. I thought I imagined it, and then I read the comments afterward and everyone noticed it. What's weird is that Toei Animation has twice the amount of time to do each episode, two weeks instead of the usual one, and yet apparently this keeps happening.
No matter. Usagi's huge red bow could disappear and reappear and it wouldn't faze me. I've fallen in love with the Sailor Moon story.
Unlike most who are watching Sailor Moon Crystal and getting disgruntled, I didn't grow up watching the original Sailor Moon. So I'm not comparing the new adaptation with fond memories of watching the original series after school with cookies and milk, or with my friends; it's completely new to me.
I am charmed by the premise of magical girls with superpowers, who are still girls that can fall in love. I was enchanted when I found out Usagi's and Tuxedo Mask's history of being lovers, one from the moon and one from earth.
It's about friendship and love and adventure, and beautiful jewels and magic wands, supernatural cats that can talk, and a mysterious handsome boy who is gentle and caring. It's a wonderful story to watch, animation glitches and all.
People are sniffing and saying they'll go back to the original, that that's "their" Sailor Moon. For me, I'm happy to claim Sailor Moon Crystal as my Sailor Moon. =D
