Finally, the winter season has started. Lucky for me that Shin Sekai Yori and Psycho-Pass continue on, because there wasn’t anything that interesting beside Chihayafuru Season 2. I still picked some new shows, most of which I don’t expect to watch for long, though. So we have Amnesia, a romance anime based on a visual novel game. Bakumatsu Gijinden Roman, a comedy show about a gang of good people fighting against the greedy evil people and a Hakkeden story-based anime that is a manga adaptation. All the new shows are available on Crunchyroll. It’s like they picked up all the new shows this season.
Shin Sekai Yori ep 15
Squealer is as creepy as ever, he also has a name now, but he will always be Squealer to me. So, Saki and Satoru decided to find the monster rat colony they once encountered and they sort of stumble upon it by chance. They hope that they will help them find Maria and Mamoru.
Seems like the robber fly colony is now 18k strong; well, it’s more a coalition of colonies. That is a lot of monster rats. They are also industrializing themselves. I don’t like this one bit. They lobotomized their queen, too; they are just baby machines now. They also seem to have taken over arming themselves quite a bit.
Satoru has the idea that they are trying to replace humanity. He’s probably right. Squealer has always been fishy and power-hungry to me. Looks like Squealer was interested in destroying the Moth colony. Squonk is a member of that colony and the only one who know where Maria and Mamoru might have gone to. I’m starting to think that Squealer wants to use Saki and Satoru as tools.
Psycho-Pass ep 12
Yayoi-centered story. The whole episode is pretty much a flashback to three years ago to explain how Yayoi became an Enforcer. She was a rock band member! An authorized band at that. One day she woke up in a rehabilitation center without remembering how she got there. Her crime is that she’s too dependent on her music. W.h.a.t. t.h.e. h.e.l.l. She just loves playing the guitar.
In the purification centre, the internal system keeps telling residents to purify their hue. It’s a tad bit creepy. Everything is white, an annoying voice speaks from the speaker and calls you a latent criminal all the time. You also get ads, yes ads, about the services offered. This includes learning to live in harmony. Yep, pretty much a brainwashing centre.
We haven’t seen a lot of Yayoi in the show, but she’s quite quick and passionate. I’m betting that Rina was somebody she sort of liked a lot. Unfortunately, Rina wanted to start a revolution against Sibyl. Sort of amusing that this idea started after Yayoi was institutionalized. Basically, Rina wanted to take revenge against the system because it took Yayoi away from her. The episode’s whole them is about the system taking things away from you, spelled out by Kogami to Yayoi to try to get her to join the Enforcers.
Now the question is: what does Yayoi’s past life have to do with Makishima’s plot line?
Bakumatsu Gijinden Roman ep 1
Short version: Robin Hood in Edo Japan (Samurai era).
Long version: Roman, Nezumi Gozo, the thief, has a lots more style than Robin Hood. Making the coins that you stole rain down is quite fashionable. He also lives with his younger “sister” who makes decorative chop stick (or quite fashionable weapons).
He’s also a klutz in real life and has strange friends. I must admit I never expect to hear a British accent on the Japanese language. He also “raises” zombies. Just freaky. His sister has a small dog that acts like a cat too. I mean, it meows.
Beside this, the episode was mostly an introduction. We saw the good gang and the “evil” one and the middle scums that get their stuff stolen. I read that it was supposed to be episodic, but that isn’t exactly what I got from the first episode. The anime is quite into the comedy department as well. Not exactly my thing. Might drop this after a few episodes.
Amnesia ep 1
This is based on a video game. It’s also a Shoujo game/anime, aka full romance stuff. So we have an amnesic main character who knows a lot of pretty-boys that she doesn’t remember anything about. She also has a new strange friend called Orion. Orion sounds pretty much like an imaginary friend too. Nobody can hear or see him beside the main character. He’s also the cause of her memory loss. The only way she’s going to gain those things back is by interacting with people. That sounds familiar.
There was a creepy guy, too! Well he was creepy in the evil sense. Ikki is creepy too, but in another way. A bit too much interested in the little lady, I think. Seems like some ladies agree with that. Also, one of the pretty-boys is a nerd. And all these pretty people work in a coffee/tea/dessert restaurant called “Maids and Butlers.” Bahahaha
The strangest thing about this show is the characters’ eyes; they use a gradient as opposed to a full color. Looks a bit strange. I also didn’t understand anything, despite all the exposition. Might not watch this all to the end.
Hakkenen ep 1
Full title: Hakkeden: TÅhÅ Hakken Ibun
Sometimes the opening of a show is quite interesting. This one had a furry eyeball. I’m quite perplexed by it (so is Shino, the main character), it sort of grows big. It also has a lot of pretty-boys, so I expect you-know-what undertones. Also, Shino is a girl with a male voice who dresses and acts like a boy. It’s a bit more complicated I think, but five years ago Shino was totally girly.
Shino and her friends are the only survivors from a village that was destroyed by flames five years ago. People think the flames were because of a disease. I somehow doubt it, you know, for plot purposes. They took refuge with the church (of Kami-sama, which just means God). We have Shino, Sousuke and the girl Hamaji. There was also Murasame, a talking crow, and a dog. The Church wants these people. Welcoming party? What welcoming party? Jeez, I now feel like I stumbled into the middle of a show or something. Oh, it was just Foxes from the House of Oosaki… like I’m supposed to know that. Remember people, patience is useful for things. The exposition came after the event. I still feel like I should have read something before watching for that scene though.
Shino can have Murasame “inside” of herself? Totally gross. He can also turn into a katana. Practical, I guess. Seems like Shino’s body is the host of two souls: Murasame and her own. Sousuke can transform into a dog too, which is cool.
The whole anime is based on a “legend” about a princess marrying a dog and having babies. On the metaphysical level, mind you, and after being murdered by an evil dude. Their babies were like reincarnations and all have a kanji for dogs in their names. No idea if it’s a real legend or not.
You know what, legend-based stuff is awesome, because you get stuff like talking frogs, furry eyeballs and talking crows. It also means ghosts, demons and monsters!
Chihayafuru S2 ep1
It’s back! Always trying to recruit new people into the club, aren’t we? You are hopeless, Chihaya. Especially with having to recruit five new members. Five! Of course, I suspect most are joining because Taichi and Chihaya are really pretty. This should be fun. Karuta is like the army, I expect a bunch of them to drop like flies.
Some guys have no tact. Looks like Hanano Sumire is going to be a new addition to the club and she just got dumped. I don’t like her much right now. Anyone who tries desperately to find a boyfriend that will find her cute always sounds extremely superficial to me. No surprise that she wants to jump Taichi. She also thinks that “cute, clueless and dumb” girls (Chihaya) as well as “small with big boobs” (Kana-Chan) are enemies. She’s so making the karuta team just to spoil Chihaya’s fun.
Looks like they got 20 new members who don’t care about Karuta. All the second-year members have different priorities too, which means they are still arguing over who should train the first year. Chihaya wants everything (winning all the school classes) and Taichi makes Class A. They finally let Chihaya teach (well, more like bully) the new members. This should be fun to watch.