Anime Sunday: Most Anticipated Summer 2018 Anime

This week for Anime Sunday I’m looking ahead. It’s my Most Anticipated Summer 2018 Anime!

Isekai Maou to Shoukan Dorei Majutsu: This is an Isekai series, I’ve heard it’s a fairly funny series with a ridiculously OP main character. Whether it’s any good remains to be seen, but it’s a pretty okay Light Novel series.

Hyakuren no Haou to Seiyaku no Valkyria: This is another Isekai series, but this time the main character isn’t some OP bad ass and actually has to work his ass off and isn’t given any help from pretty much anyone upon arriving in a new world. I’m unsure on this series as I haven’t read it’s original Light Novels, but given the synopsis and the fact that the main character isn’t some walking nuke I’m interested.

Happy Sugar Life: This is a Horror series. If you want to know how screwed up humans can be, you might want to watch this. Me I’m just watching it because it’s more psychological horror rather than a traditional horror series. I might regret it, but I’ll be giving it a shot.

Honorable Mentions:

Fate/Extra Last Encore: The second season of Last Encore, this will continue the weird adaptation of a game I really need to finish playing.

One Room Season Two: I enjoyed these short form Anime last year, and I’ve been a fan of the main artist for this series. So I’ll be giving this a quick watch.

That’s it for this week’s Anime Sunday.

Anime Sunday: Winners of Winter 2018

This week for Anime Sunday I’m covering my favorites from the last season. It’s my Winners of Winter 2018!

Today’s Menu for the Emiya Family: I really enjoyed this slice of life set in an alternate universe of the Fate/SN series. The fact it focuses on just food and some minor character interaction was refreshing from all the battles that occur in the Fate series. It being animated by ufotable might also have a big part in why this is one of my favorites.  Who am I kidding, it being animated by ufotable has a huge part in it.

Ryuo: I actually enjoyed this series quite a bit. While Sangatsu is a great series about Shogi it is also emotional wearing, so a more light hearted series was appreciated. The fact that Yaichi is a dense harem lead though is fairly disappointing.

Honorable Mentions:

Last Encore: I was pretty skeptical of this series after it diverged so greatly from the original storyline. It was interesting, but honestly it just makes me want to play the original game more. It also didn’t feature Tamamo, who is a much more interesting Servant than Nero in my opinion.

Hitori no Shita: I hated the first season of this show, it was terribly animated and the plot was sub-par. The plot isn’t any better, but the animation is much improved and thus get’s an honorable mention from me.

That’s it for this week’s Anime Sunday.

Anime Sunday: Last Encore Episode 01 Impressions

This week for Anime Sunday I’m back with a look at what is probably my most anticipated series of the season. It’s my Fate/Extra: Last Encore Episode 01 Impressions!

Plot Synopsis: Waking up in a strange academy with no recollection of the past, Kishinami Hakuno finds themselves forced to fight for survival in a war they do not understand for a prize beyond value; the opportunity to have one’s wish granted.

Plot: You see that synopsis above? Yea? Toss it out, that’s the story of the original Fate/Extra. What occurs in Last Encore is completely off track. As of writing this post I have only watched the 2 already released episodes and I’m still confused. Now given what Kinoko Nasu has said about Last Encore that is completely intended so I’m absolutely not alone in this.

Characters: We get to meet Hakuno in this episode as well as Leo, Sakura and Shinji. However stuff is odd, and while Fate/Extra is already confusing, Last Encore is so off track that I’m stumped as to whether I enjoyed the interactions between all the characters.

Artwork: The art is excellent, but while Shaft is an amazing studio I just can’t help but think that ufotable could’ve done a better job. It’s probably me just projecting my preferences though, and there is no significant issue with Shaft’s animation in particular.

Music: The music is good, although it lacks the same feeling as the original soundtrack from the game.

Overall: I’m really stuck whether I enjoy this series or not, so I plan on binge watching the entire thing in a couple days once it’s complete. You may or may not want to do something similar. It’ll probably help out a ton with understanding what the heck is going on though.

For those who like: The Fate series, Studio Shaft, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Mind Benders, Fate/Extra, Great Artwork, Good Music.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

Anime Sunday: Most Anticipated Winter 2018 Anime

This week for Anime Sunday I’m looking ahead to the start of next year! It’s my Most Anticipated Winter 2018 Anime!

Märchen Mädchen: It’s an Isekai story, but it’s based off of our fairy tales and mythology, so I’m all for that. The fact that the lead is a female character instead of some dumb guy is just more icing on the cake. I’m looking forward to this series, hopefully it doesn’t flop.

Fate/Extra: I’m a huge Fate series fan, so the fact that the sub series that I enjoy the most is getting an Anime adaptation is awesome. However for those who are unaware there are 3 basic routes to the game, one featuring it’s own separate Servant. This is going to be animating the Male Hakuno and Saber route, which I am not so much a fan of. I don’t hate this particular Saber and no it’s not the same Saber from Stay Night. I just enjoy Caster a hell of a lot more. Maybe they’ll let ufotable animate Caster’s route, which I’ll totally accept as a excuse and appetizer for why we need another saber faced heroine getting screen time. This is being done by Shaft for those unaware, so expect plenty of awesome animation, just not as awesome as ufotable.

Here’s praying my favorite Fox Girl gets her own screen time, her own story along with that of a female Hakuno would be pretty freaking awesome. The reason this sub-series is my favorite is it’s got a big focus on Romance, which the Stay Night and Apocrypha series aren’t as intrinsically tied into.

As an aside, I’m starting to play this game on my PC, and I’m looking for help getting the emulation software to work properly so I can enjoy the original game fully. If anyone can help with that, please shoot me an email which you can find on my contact page. I am a total beginner when it comes to emulation, so any help would be appreciated.

Death March: I love the Web Novel that this series is based off of, so I’m really looking forward to the Anime Adaptation. Hopefully it doesn’t screw up the pacing by going too fast, because that will really destroy the whole thematic feel of the series.

Darling in the FranXX: It’s another Studio Trigger series, so I’m fully prepared to either love or hate this series based on how insane it gets. Kill la Kill and Gurren Lagann were a bit too over the top for me. We’ll see how this goes.

 

Honorable Mentions:

Overlord: Is getting a second season, this adaptation of a Light Novel series was pretty awesome. Whether the later arcs get adapted just as well, remains to be seen. The only reason this isn’t up above and in the Honorable Mentions section is it isn’t a brand new Anime or adaptation. It’s a sequel or a continuation.

Kokkoku: I just read the synopsis of the series, so I’m looking forward to this if only out of curiosity.

Card Captor Sakura: Cardcaptor Sakura is getting a brand new storyline taking part in their Middle School days, I’ll give it a shot at least to determine if my baby sister might enjoy the series, or if I’ll just have her read the original stuff on it’s own without getting into this additional plotline.