Winter 2015 Anime – First Impressions – Assassination Classroom, Saekano

Back with 2 more First Impressions for the Winter 2015 season. After yesterday’s disappointment with Kantai Collection/Yuri Kuma. Let’s find out if the next 2 titles turn out better.

1) Assassination Classroom

Assassination Classroom seems to be on the favourite list of many people this season. Indeed, this anime is certainly hyped. A top ranking shounen jump manga is certainly something I guess.

Also, I read the first chapter of the manga previously but for some reason couldn’t really get into it. The first episode mainly adapts the first chapter. You see where I’m going from here? (At that point I thought it wasn’t good enough for me to want to continue reading it, but I wanted to check it out when it became an anime)

While I do think this series has potential, the first episode felt very average to me. It was alright for most part but I still think it has a long way to go from being a great series. (and yeah, I knew the plot already, so obviously I wouldn’t be so eager and excited right?)

First the premise is insanely ridiculous. To the point where there is no objective way to really evaluate it. The more illogical it tries to be, the harder it is to really try to tie it down using “logic”. That’s pretty smart actually because now we can’t judge it anymore.

At the very best, I see this series so far as primarily a comedy series. It’s the kind where you sit down, relax and just get “ridiculously entertained” for that 20 minute duration. I am clueless to how this series will move on from here though. What is it trying to do?

The moral of the story that they’re trying to drive across in the first episode felt weak. And Koro-sensei going into his justice mode felt a little laughable. I mean seriously, coming from the guy (or alien) that is threatening to blow up Earth? You can’t sacrifice a “friend” for the good of everyone but you can blow up Earth? What kind of logic is that! Okay, I give up. I should calm down and remember that we’re not supposed to use “logic” here.

The whole “pity us for we’re the last class” theme was really pretty lacklustre. Does it actually resonate with people? How? Why? Oh we’re judged by society because we’re in the last class. We can’t study. Take pity on us, it’s society’s fault! I’d be praying hard that this does not turn out to be one of the core motifs of this series because it’s actually pretty damn annoying.

Despite it’s glaring flaws, this series still seems like a pretty decent add to the weekly watch list. It’s decent, very decent. And it has potential. The production quality and animation is so far alright. Koro-sensei is an interesting character and is probably the only thing keeping this show from crumbling apart. If this show wants to be greatness, it has to step up it’s game.

For now, I’ll keep watching this. I’m really intrigued to see how this series will move on from here. Is it gonna do the episodic student problem route? (like Onizuka?) I might be able to appreciate that more if I was watching as a teenager but as a young adult now I’ll probably feel nauseated watching teenagers sprout their “delinquent-ish immature” problems.

Or wait, is this supposed to be some kind of battle manga in disguise? but I’m somewhat still looking forward either way. At least.

Episode Rating – 7.5/10

2) Saekano – Episode 0

Or “Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata” seems to be the typical harem rubbish that we’re used to get it. But is it really just another one of them?

I was actually somewhat mildly impressed with the prologue episode of this series. The dialogue is amusing and I really liked how it was pretty self-aware and attacked the harem genre right off the bat within the first few minutes. I was like “ooohhh this is going to be interesting”. Typical harems don’t have such compelling dialogue because all they think about is how to sell their fan service shots. There is something clever about this show that seems to set it apart. (also, it’s Noitamina, it can’t be the generic harem right?)

The second interesting point of this show is how it cleverly deceives you into thinking that the background character is just another plain background character (just like how most anime has that 1-2 characters that we all have no idea why they’re even here for.) This is somewhat contrasted further by placing 3 other hot, attention-seeking, stereotypical female characters right in your face. No one would notice Katou , the bland background character. but wait, she’s actually the freaking female lead of this show! Cant deny I was amused.

The tension did dwindle a little in the middle. And it got boring at some parts. but it was still an easy watch. I also think that the fanservice in this series happen to be pretty delightful as well.

This series definitely did many things right at first glance. but it will all depend if it can keep this up. I’ll surely be looking forward to more clever parodies and witty dialogue. For now it certainly has surpassed my expectations.

Episode Rating – 8/10

Winter 2015 Anime – First Impressions – Kantai Collection, Yuri Kuma Arashi

I’m chunking these 2 titles into one post because I don’t really have much to say about each of them individually. Some other titles may get an entire dedicated post. We’ll see.

So Winter season of anime started a few days ago. Checking out new anime is fun. So as usual, I make a point to watch the premiere episode of most ongoing anime.

1) Kantai Collection

This series felt very average and plain. Not sure if I really buy the whole idea of girls being ships and planes spawning out of nowhere from arrows. It’s honestly a “unique” concept that was borderline retarded. I get that silly premises and all are more acceptable as games and that is why video games should stay as video games (exceptions though). I can possibly imagine myself playing the game version of this. But anime? Nope. Just nope.

Throughout the episode I was trying very hard to stay awake. It was very hard. There was hardly any storyline. And as someone who never played this game before, I had a hard time keeping up with so many different girls (or ships) being introduced at once. The main fight in this episode was clumsy and I literally mockingly lol-ed when the random fighter jets that morphed from an arrow (??) came and saved the day. You got to be kidding me!

So are the girls really ships? Or are they girls wearing ship parts? When we see them dressed with ship parts and doing water skating is this supposed to be a “representation” of them being actual ships? Or are they really girls wearing skimpy ship parts as armour. I had a hard time struggling with this.

So far there isn’t really a point to watching this. Unless you’re a fan of the game. Otherwise, stay far far away! This isn’t worth anyone’s time. Like I said, I can imagine myself playing such a game. but to watch an anime like this, nah. Dropped.

Production value, animation and all were alright though.

Episode Rating – 5.1/10

2) Yuri Kuma Arashi – episode 1

The way this anime was presented felt like it was done by SHAFT. And it did have a very abstract feel to it, as though it was trying to send some hidden messages across. I don’t think I’m really “feeling” this anime properly as I felt nothing but boredom while watching this. There was just something that prevented me from feeling and drawing into this world. I can’t really say it’s because Yuri Kuma is bad. Perhaps it’s me. Idk.

Also, this has the potential to become really dark? I don’t know. because all I remembered was bear girls “licking flowers” of another girl and some random court scene appeared and people started to debate moral ethics and what not. The execution and flow of the premiere episode felt clumsy and slightly nauseating. I don’t know if it was the intended effect, but I certainly didn’t feel like I enjoyed myself very much. It was also hard to follow. Or maybe I wasn’t in the mood to pay much attention.

I’ve seen both very positive and negative reviews of this first episode. I think I belong to the latter. I don’t see much value in this series as of now but I’ll be sticking around to see if it gets any better.

Btw, whats the “invisible storm” and all about? And can someone tell me if i’m supposed to be turned on watching girls lick a flower growing out of another girl’s body?

Episode Rating – 5/10

(Yeah lower score doesn’t usually imply a drop. Yuri Kuma obviously seems to have a lot more potential than Kantai collection as of now IMO)

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Unfortunately these were the first two series I tried this season. It’s surely off to a weird start. Yeah. So far, Winter 2015 feels awkward and weird. We’ll see. Hope it gets better.

Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso – Episode 12 Review – Too much skipped content!

It seems like A1 pictures is taking the liberty to omit/shorten content from the original source material. As a result, this episode felt a little rushed and sloppy. While this series still remains top notch, I think it was unfortunate that this series had to break it’s 2 week hiatus with it’s relatively boring chapters from the entire series.

It’s not that bad. It probably still makes sense to anime only watchers. I can see why they’re doing that (given that they don’t have enough episodes left in the first place). Pacing an episode in such a way where the ending makes some sense is also very important. I understand all of that. but is it really necessary to be cutting away so many (pretty important) stuff when they have the time to loop and re-loop Arima’s mother haunting him and saying the same lines again and again. Or was it a budget issue? I don’t know.

I didn’t really care much about the “Candy Apples” scene when I first read it. It was one of those necessary but not too great chapters. The way they handled this scene felt very obligatory in the anime and could use a little more impact. I didn’t like the fact that it was severely abridged in the sense that they omitted some of Arima’s monologues.

Then we have the fireworks by the pool scene. Honestly though the group dynamics were so underdeveloped and odd that it was very hard to appreciate what would have normally been a “cosy friendship bonding scene between friends”. What’s with the random stranger girl anyway. Why are you there? But anyway, something feels missing in this scene. (like why Watari is suddenly “mr scholar?”).

The symbolism in this series is still top notch. “Even light can reach the bottom of a deep dark ocean”. I honestly like how the series really tries to stay faithful to the themes and motifs that they have presented. The theme of stars recurred in this episode again. 2 episodes ago we had Arima wondering how it was like to see the stars with Kaori. And here we have it. They make a point to somewhat resolve something once they started it. (And…Engrish singing was surprisingly fine).

The episode finally shifts it’s gear and revs up the tension by introducing Mike-kun, who seems to be the Aiza/Emi equivalent in this new Gala concert arc. A new arc, a new enemy. Very Shounen-ish indeed.

The anime Mike-kun seemed a little “nicer” and less obnoxious than what I would have expected mainly because of it’s voice actor (actress?). Somehow Mike-kun doesn’t seem as arrogant and thrashy as the initial impression I had while reading the manga. It’s really amazing how a change in Voice actor can influence the perception of a character’s personality.

So apparently Mike-kun is upset (jealous?) of Kaori because she plays “thrashy music” (according to him) but garners more support/love from the audience. While he, (who won the competition) has hardly as much attention. This basically establishes the themes put up for discussion for this next gala concert arc and it’s not surprising that it’s once again, some music philosophy stuff.

Still a decent episode. While I think they should have not omitted so much content, I still can’t figure out a way where they could end the episode sensibly without cutting out content. It was probably a tough choice on the producer’s part. I don’t blame them for it and it’s rather that they ditch some of the scenes here then completely screw up the ending of this adaptation.

Also, it’s nice to see Arima gaining some confidence.

Episode Rating – 8/10

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Extra Thoughts 

-Did anyone notice how the new opening / ending themes (including their animation and scenes) made the whole anime feel a lot more dark. There was a very obvious “change in key” here.

-I normally don’t like to read too much into what they’re showing us in the op/ed songs but…but..this has got to be some kind of message! Kaori laying down in the oceans, motionless while crying. How is this not a thought provoking scene especially when Kaori is constantly waving that gigantic death flag around. Think about it. What are the producers (that know the eventual ending of the series) are trying to tell us? I can only sense that this series is only going to get sadder from this point on.

-I liked the ending song. The opening was not bad too, but it’s really hard to beat Hikaru nara.

-Okay. Skipped scenes. They skipped a whole conversation between Tsubaki and her random friend regarding their future plans where they also mention Watari already getting a scholarship (ah-hah, explains why they suddenly call him mr.scholar out of the blue!). They also skipped Watari asking Kaori if she likes Arima (where she replies that she likes everyone, which to some people, could be another death flag or at least the way they structured the scene felt like a death flag to me). They also skipped Hiroko’s performance and also her conversation with her fellow teacher Ochiai (who is also Emi’s teacher).

-Let’s not forget that Hiroko is probably the best pianist the series has seen to date. Skipping her performance? uh…not so cool.

My Top 10 Anime of 2014!

It has been truly a great year of awesome anime! After much thought and consideration, here are my top 10 anime of 2014. I did put in quite some effort in ranking these and I have to say I am pretty satisfied with the outcome. This is what good taste in anime looks like. 

Also, note that I consider any anime that has aired within this year. Yes, uncompleted fall anime and also long running anime are also considered. All ongoing anime (Fall carry forwards) are considered based on the number of episodes that have aired at the time of writing this post.

10) Fate Stay Night – Unlimited Blade Works

Alright. I have to admit I hesitated and was pretty reluctant about giving FSN the #10 spot. (was debating hard between Mekakucity Actors and this). It’s a little sad that there were almost no better contenders (amongst those that I have watched). I felt that FSN was overall the most deserving due to it’s high production value + general acceptance in the anime community. Objectively, it has few flaws. But subjectively there were some episodes that were Glasslip-tier boring. This anime is slated to end soon, (with 1 more episode). I am only caught up till episode 10. I won’t go so far to say it’s badly written, it’s just really sucks in being really inaccessible for casual fans. (had I not known that Archer is actually Emiya I would not have picked up all the clues they’ve been dropping all this while and it would be a hundred times more boring). Animation is brilliant and superb blah blah blah but I’m really sick of constant fanboys raving at how “epic” the fights are. (which IMO, are mediocre). But overall, well done FSN as I reluctantly crown you #10 in my top 10 anime of 2014.

9) Barakamon

Okay, this probably should have been much higher actually being the only worthy anime of summer 2014. Great comedy and really loveable characters. Love the laid back, slice of life vibe that this anime gave. It was truly a great series that is hard to find faults with!

8) Bokura wa minna wa kawaisou

I had a hard time deciding if this or Barakamon was better. They were both light hearted slice of life anime that I really found a soft spot for. My final conclusion was that I liked Bokura wa minna better and one of the contributing factors was that I really loved Kawai Ritsu’s character. (her shyness was so hot and her character was pretty well written + believable, i.e, felt real). And it’s also one of the anime that I actually regret not writing much about after I was done watching it. After coming to realise that I would be actually so much happier if there would to be a season 2 for this (over Barakamon), I gladly placed this above it. In short, great humour + believable romance + characters, awesome atmosphere. It’s one of the hidden gems of 2014. I really enjoyed this! People need to pay attention to this series more! It’s actually very good.

7) Silver Spoon (Season 2)

Ahhhh Silver Spoon! All slice of anime needs to take notes from this master here! This anime on pigs,horses and crops is legitimately good stuff. The second season introduced us to an array of feels inducing problems like parental issues, chasing dreams, love etc. The material is definitely formidably inspiring/life changing and it’s surely one of the best slice of life I have ever watched! (Full series review here).

6) Parasyte

Everywhere I go this show seems to enter the top 5. (or even top 3, or the actual freaking top) Parasyte is good, but how does it stand up to the other top 10 contenders? This shit is dope, no doubt and I have a feeling I’ll be spending this whole space here explaining why this is not ranked much higher.

This show is more like a “hit or hit” show. In other words, it hardly misses. Most people that watch Parasyte will like it to some extent. (this is why Parasyte does so well in polls I reckon) Some crown it as one of the best animes of 2014, or the anime of the season/year. While some will find it only moderately good. I have never seen anyone who disliked this anime. It’s probably the safest thing that you can recommend someone to watch this year. They’re almost guaranteed to like it. For me, I belong to the group of people who really enjoy Parasyte, but I don’t think it’s the best. It’s one of the best, yes. But not totally. It hardly has many flaws, maintains a high level of tension and suspense and coupled with one of the best character developments of anime, Parasyte is surely a very well written series. It’s very very good, but there are just stuff out there better.

Upon introspection I was wondering if the lack of an episode last week did influence my affection for this series. It might have. Idk. but if it makes you feel better I did hesitate pretty long about whether to give this the #5 slot.

EDIT: Yeah indeed. I think the absence of an episode last week did influence my opinion on this series. (I did the rankings around that time). The episodes during that period wasn’t too strong either. But after watching episode 12 (at the time of posting this list, episode 12 have not aired yet), I am compelled to write this. This series has skyrocketed to probably minimally 3rd place (or 2nd?). I don’t know. I don’t intend to adjust this list. This episode 12 was the strongest episode to date and it’s a pity because I should have written this after watching it.

5) Shirobako

Surprise? I thought this series was pretty average all this while. But the recent episodes have struck a chord in my heart. Suddenly everything seemed to magically work, as if they were all building up to this point. I have grown very fond of this series and almost looking forward to this more than I do for Parasyte. This is also another example of how a slice-of-life anime should be done.

This is the first time I’ve seen a slice of life really attempt to build a world with such a large number of characters. Everyone has a minor line or two once in awhile (with the exception of the main characters like Miyamori or Tarou) but you can honestly really FEEL the atmosphere and realism that the characters have to offer. Musani animation feels real (but with all due respect, are there really cute girls that work in an anime studio?). Tarou has got to be the funniest villain-ish character of the year. I have to say that Shirobako really does bring something really unique to the table. It’s fresh, creative and tackles real world problems. Surely deserves the #5 spot!

4) Haikyuu!

Heh. Haikyuu is definitely one of the best sports anime of all time! It’s also the best anime of Spring + Summer this year. (YES, Haikyuu > Ping Pong, no matter what you say #truth). As for sports, I definitely find myself preferring the commonly used shounen cliches. As long as they are able to piece together and orchestrate moments (like they did in Haikyuu) where I can feel like crying while watching a freaking volleyball game then it’s all good. The author of Haikyuu is surely very talented and I’ll am hyped for the 2nd season (which was just annouced recently). A very well deserved #4 amongst the other very powerful competitors in this list! Haikyuu is indeed a solid example of a top tier anime. 

3) Yowamushi Pedal

Yowapedal is a really “cute” show. It’s both unique yet cliche at the same time. As strange as that sounds, it is actually very very good. There were also really memorable moments where I felt compelled to rewatch a dozen of times and never got bored of (That Tadokoro and Onoda singing the Hime Song, priceless!). Yowapedal can be cheesy at times, but it is greatness. It is probably one of the best “real shounen-ish” sports anime of all time (the best IMO, being Chihayafuru). It reminds me a lot of Prince of Tennis which I used to adore. It’s just a wonder how the author manages such a large cast of characters and makes each one memorable, likeable and relatable while some other authors struggle with even making a few seem alive (*ahem* Ping Pong…). And yeah, also just because..Midousuji.

Also if you’re wondering. It was a very close fight between Yowapedal and Haikyuu but I found Yowapedal to be a little more interesting. (and well deserving of this #3 spot).

2) Shigatsu wa kimi no uso / Your lie in April

No surprise here. This anime is simply beautiful in so many different ways. A masterpiece, if you will. This anime also takes best animation of 2014 (No, it’s not FSN’s fights because gorgeous piano animation > random blue and red flashing lights). The cinematography and production value behind this series is phenomenal. This anime is god tier and will probably be one of the best anime of all time. Best music, best animation and a compelling, moving story that is bound to reduce one to tears. What more could we ask for? Again, this anime is god-tier. And only a select few, (Chihayafuru, Nodame Cantabile) can possibly hold a candle to it. Possibly top 5 anime EVER. We’ll see. But this is a definite cream of the crop anime that you should be watching. It’s like the anime we’ve all been waiting for. Picture that, but better.

1) Hunter x Hunter (2011)

Ah hah. Remember I gave this anime in 11/10. And that I was actually depressed over this anime ending. Now it’s currently on Hiatus x Hiatus but I will screaming my lungs off if someone told me that they were going to resume this. Hunter x Hunter, is probably the best anime ever. The studio behind it (Madhouse) has also done a very commendable job in adapting the manga. It’s shounen, but the feels are strong with this one. The chimera ants arc (which mainly aired in 2014) was one of the best this (already too good) series has to offer. Epic feels + intense action + best written characters (and of course villains, Mereum yo). This has to be the best anime that aired during this year.

My Wednesday mornings are sad and void of meaning ever since this amazing series ended. 😦

Honourable Mentions

Mekakucity Actors (#11) – For introducing the vocaloids to me (which were awesome). Wonderful music, a pretty good “mind fuck”. The anime adaptation was kinda weak but on a whole the franchise was really wonderful.

No Game no Life  (#12)- Objectively this anime wasn’t anything great. It is riddled with flaws. But I did have a great time watching it. It’s surely not top 10 material, but entertaining enough for it to deserve a mention.

Knights of Sidonia (#13) – I loved the first few episodes of this series but it went downhill. But this anime is generally very underrated.

The rest of what I’ve watched

For those who happen to be curious to what anime went into consideration for this top 10 list. Here are the other anime that I have watched this year.

#14 – Cross Ange
#15 – Terraformars
#16 – Akame ga Kill
#17 – Ao Haru Ride
#18 – Ping Pong
#19 – Sword Art Online 2
#20 – Tokyo Ghoul
#21 – Aldnoah Zero
#22 – Nanatsu no Taizai (ongoing)
#23 – Brynhildir in the darkness (dropped towards the end)
#24 – Baby Steps (dropped at mid point)
#25 – Glasslip (dropped towards the end)
#26 – Zankyou no Terror
#27 – Jinsei (dropped at mid point)

*note I considered anime that I’ve dropped but invested a considerable amount of time watching. (at least half of the whole series).  I may publish a full list of all the anime I’ve tried (including those I dropped at episode 1-2)

Most of the above (especially ranked 11-29) felt very average. An anime like Akame ga Kill or Ao Haru ride would qualify as a very average anime of this year. (seriously though why does Akame ga kill pop up in some top lists I’ve seen. like what??). Tokyo Ghoul and Aldnoah Zero were definitely below average (almost bad) anime. While Zankyou no Terror and Ping Pong are the most overrated shit anime of this year (besides Bahamut, which was terribly mediocre at best). Garo had the worst first episode of this year that I’ve watched. (and probably the worst anime of the year? idk) Oh and yes, Nanatsu no Taizai is pretty overrated too. It’s not terrible, but just mediocre. Very mediocre.

Oh and I also notice that about half of the above list comes from Fall. It’s a real pity because of the lack of good anime throughout the rest of the year. And that reminds me that I should probably do a Reflections on Fall 2014 post very soon.

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Whew. What a long post. Merry Christmas Eve anyway people. Upon close examination of my own top list I’m pretty happy to find that I’m a pretty “balanced” anime watcher. Slice and life anime should have equal importance as action! When you see top lists these days that go like this : “FSN, Tokyo Ghoul, Akame ga kill, Nanatsu no Taizai”. It kinda sickens me like what are you? a 12 year old action obsessed kid? But since it’s Christmas I’ll leave the inevitable attack on other people’s bad taste for another day. 🙂

Great anime taste I have. You can’t help but agree. I know. Haha

Winter 2015 Anime – Preview Part 2

So for the 2nd installation of previews of the upcoming Winter 2015, I picked the next 9 (alphabetical) anime and share my thoughts on them. Winter still looks sad, really sad. And it makes me wonder why people keep making sequels for bad anime when good anime are not getting proper treatment (by having their deserved sequels, *ahem*, Chihayafuru).

1) Juuou Mujin no Fafnir

Couldn’t find a PV to this! And..the premise of this sounds generic and lame. I couldn’t even stay interested long enough to finish reading the summary so it’ll be a no brainer how a 20 minute episode is probably going to put me to sleep. And guess what, it’s adapted from a light novel and light novel adaptations are often bad. Well this might turn out to be decent but I find myself struggling to watch even the “slightly better than average” anime these days. So nope.

Anticipation – Medium Low
Plan to Watch – One episode to decide. Probably a drop.

2) Kamisama Hajimemashita season 2

This seems to be a 2nd season to something I haven’t heard about.  Considering that I already have Durarara to catch up on (or marathon?), I will probably be giving this a miss. The premise and all seems okay though. It might be a maybe for the future.

Anticipation – Low
Plan to Watch – Nah. At least not for now.

3) Kantai Collection : Kancolle

The PV looks okay. I think this will either turn out to be surprisingly good or expectedly boring. But generally game adaptations are often bad.  Online card game? Ew. I don’t have high hopes for this one. But then again, speaking of card game adaptations any shit will be better than an annoying idiot with red afro running around the whole shitty time. This has boats, and fleets and all. I don’t know, it might be actually okay? Or I hope.

Anticipation -Medium low
Plan to Watch – I’ll give this one an episode. Since I’ve said no to too many already.

4) Koufoku Graffiti

You know what grinds my gears – when people use canon in D for their presentations, videos or in this case, the PV for an anime. Grrr. But on a serious note, this one looks okay. Moe + Food. Idk. it might work. But it looks like this one will be more of a heartwarming type over the comedy/fanservice so I guess I still have some hopes for it.

Anticipation – Medium?
Plan to Watch – It gets one episode, at least.

5) Kuroko no Basket Season 3

You have no idea how huge a fan I am of sports anime. Sports is one of my favourite genres of all time. (my recent favs include Yowapedal & Haikyuu and an all time favourite has got to be Chihayafuru) But…but…Kuroko’s balls. Ewww. No thanks. Sorry but Basketball sucks. Don’t ask me why. It just does. Everything about basketball feels and looks wrong to me. It ain’t even appealing to watch. Sorry but I can’t stomach a sport I naturally despise. Go make a badminton anime or something. Or another tennis anime. Yeah, the market is already saturated with tennis and baseball but yeah, make another one. Go ahead, it’s much better than basketball at the very least. Yeah and the world really needs a badminton anime. Which is like one of the best sports ever.

Just my undeniably bias opinion so if you’re butt hurt remember it’s just my opinions. LUL.

Anticipation – Nah, nil.
Plan to Watch – No thanks to shitty sports. Sorry. 

6) Rolling Girls

Hmmm. I still don’t know what to think about this one yet. The PV was pretty neat. It had a nice slice of life feel. The music in the PV was great. Love the art style and overall vibe to it so far. I actually think this might turn out quite good. And random but …It’s from the same studio that did Attack on Titan.

Anticipation – Medium
Plan to Watch – Yeah. This might be good?

7) Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata

Hey. I’m starting to gain a little faith with this lineup because we finally get 2 “seems decent” anime in a row! This is comedy/romance, done by A1 pictures. (and having just witnessed the sheer godlike adaptation of Shigatsu wa kimi no Uso we can all agree that A1 pictures definitely knows how to do romance properly). Not sure about the source material but I think this one is going to legit romance route instead of the typical moe/fanservice and all. We’ll have to see. Seems pretty promising so far. I hope.

Anticipation – Medium High
Plan to Watch – Yeah. I will.

8) Seikai Tsukai no World Break

Uh. This title sounds familiar. This is a 2nd season to something right? That aired in summer? I don’t know but I remember dropping something that sounded like this. Oh wait, that was something something no blade dance (typical below average supernatural moe fanservice-y anime). So apparently this is something new.

But yeah there are obvious hints that this will be another typical below average supernatural moe fanservice-y + harem anime. It’s giving off blade dance vibes. So I don’t think it will be anything worth watching.

Anticipation – Low
Plan to Watch – One episode?

9) Sengoku Musou

This looks like some historical shitty game adaptation. Anime like this often turn out shitty and boring so I’d advice anyone to stay far away. Unless you’re a fan of the franchise this is pretty much unwatchable stuff. And damn I can’t find a PV.

Anticipation – Low
Plan to Watch – Nope. Unless people say it’s good.

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Sigh. This is the type of lineup that makes me wanna quit watching anime and come back when better shows are airing. I don’t even feel like doing any episodic reviews/first impressions for any of them next season. Amongst this 9, only 2 seemed decent enough for me to have moderate hopes for them. (Saenai Heroine and Rolling Girls). Damn, why is this season so spammed with filthy thrashy shitty sequels to bad anime! (not only in this selection of 9 anime, but in general. Look at the chart and it’s very obvious!).

I’m hoping some of these anime that I deem “bad and worthless” at first glance may turn out to be something actually good/worth watching. or else I might just go find a better hobby for the time being.

Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso – Episode 11 Review – “I had you”

This episode seems to provide some kind of resolution while bridging the story to the next arc. Having read the source material, it was a “better than I thought it would be” episode.

Takeshi’s disappointment with Arima’s failure in the competition was handled in such a “shounenesque” manner. I’m sure I’m not the only one wondering if we were watching the right anime when the first scene featured a superhero flying around. There’s nothing wrong but I can’t help remembering Ping Pong. For some reason, this series made music feel like a sport (which I think it’s kinda true). I’m also kinda glad that they didn’t just brush off Takeshi and instead gave him the proper & apt development. And this also kind of implies that we’re going to see Takeshi again in the future which is a good thing.

No matter how much I love this series, if they’re never going to show Emi and Takashi again I’ll probably be pretty mad.

The introduction of Hiroko Seto could never happen at a better point in this story. This is like the point in a shounen manga where the protagonist gets a new weapon, a new sensei or a new power up. She’s a pretty interesting character and I like her already. (And Naru, is that you??)

Hiroko is revealed to be Arima’s deceased mother’s close friend and the person who convinced his mother to make Arima a pianist. We also shockingly learn that the notorious Arima’s mother initially did not plan to make her son a pianist. “No way, he’s my treasure”, she says. It’s subtle but it already kinda telling us that we’re going to get the mother’s side of the story pretty soon.

This series continues to plant death flags on Kaori. The foreshadowing is insane and never have I seen so many death flags planted on an anime character. It’s almost as if when Kaori (eventually) dies they’re gonna be like “we told you so”. At this point it is almost confirmed that Kaori has some disease and is not going to be around for long. There is constant tension because we’re always wondering “is she going to die?”.

The “under the bridge” scene with glowing fireflies was surprisingly emotional and striking. When the show broke out into it’s insert song I was startled once again. The music is pleasantly surprising! (the insert song reminded me of when they did this in Ao Haru Ride, anyone with me?). The music team behind Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso is clearly ambitious. From last week’s orchestral rendition of Chopin’s etude in E minor, to this week’s BGM inspired by the Introduction & Rondo Capriccio (Saint Saens), you can tell that they have a pretty solid music team behind the production.

And I’m sure the major line of the episode was “I had you”. Which is a big powerful line. Because it’s technically a confession.

Having read the manga, I actually look forward less to episodes that do not feature performances But this episode proved me wrong. The under the bridged scene was legitimately well done! While this week’s episode wasn’t really the “epic best episode tier”, it was still great.

Episode Rating – 9.5/10

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Further Thoughts

-Can you really “play music for somebody”. When Hiroko mentioned that she heard a love confession in Arima’s music, it piqued my curiosity. Rephrasing the question, if you play with somebody you love in your mind, can people hear it? While it is technically true that “The piano reveals everything of it’s performer”, this usually applies to the more practical aspects of things. For example, nervousness, state of mind, amount of practice, the way the person practiced etc etc. But when it comes to more abstract ideas like love, hate, loss, admiration. Can you really tell from a person’s playing?

Back then when I was learning the 2nd movement of Beethoven’s Tempest Sonata and I was having a lesson, my teacher often stressed that I should “think about a girl I like” while playing it. I was of course skeptical, but I did try because it did make bringing out the musicality of the piece easier.  But can you really tell the core motivation of a musician by hearing to him play? The intention? Whether the person is in love? I don’t know. But I’d like to believe so. Somewhat.

-I honestly think Kaori is going to die. Because she has to. By building up to her death so much it would be an ultimate dick slap to the audience if she doesn’t die. My prediction is that she dies and then Arima gets together to Tsubaki while trying to forget Kaori. But this is the aspect that I’m least interested in. I’m more concerned about whether we’re still going to see Emi and Takeshi again!

– Kaori’s intentions still baffle me. By now she would have realised that Arima is in love with her. And she continues to lead him on, while knowing that she’s going to be gone soon. I don’t know. From my experiences watching love shows that involve one party struck with a disease and about to die, they try their best to avoid their love interest because they don’t want to hurt them when they’re gone. Kaori is just totally doing the opposite. Hmmm.

-Okay but really. I think she just wants to leave something behind-  in Arima. She wants to continue living in his music. As cheesy as it sounds, I think that is the best logical answer to her motivations and intentions.

-The scene of Arima running by the railway was pretty nice. I liked it in the manga. But it’s obvious they didn’t make it the climax as the real climax was the under the bridge scene.
And also I actually overlooked the under the bridge scene in the manga. Opps. Or maybe I rushed through these scenes. I liked it how the anime took their time.

-Hiroko raged at Arima for not changing his clothes (from yesterday) and yet she is wearing the same thing too. I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who noticed this! HAHA

-Arima accepting Hiroko as his teacher/guardian was a nice development. That depressed kid is finally opening up! We finally get to hear Arima talk about what he wants. “to be a weird pianist”, just like Kaori. Kaori’s methods may be pushy and borderline “abusive” but, well, it pays off. Somewhat.

-Kriesler’s Liebeslied is a nice piece. Looking forward to it! And probably in another few weeks we’re be getting another 10/10 episode so look forward to that!

Winter 2015 Anime Preview – Part 1

Winter 2015’s lineup looks horrible. But it still deserves a preview. I’ll just go by alphabetical order with my brief thoughts on each of the upcoming winter anime. I’ve also linked some PVS (those I could find) for your convenience.

1) Absolute Duo

This is exactly the type of anime that I would watch for 1 or 2 episodes out of curiosity and drop it afterwards. Impressions from the PV? Lots of swords, cool effects and girls but I have no idea what is going on. This reminds me of anime that tries to integrate cool action with ecchi and more often than not it doesn’t work out very well sadly.

Anticipation – Medium Low
Watching – Not really, but it gets a chance.

2) Aldnoah Zero 2

Ugh. The 2nd half of season 1 was pure shit. Overall it’s a less than mediocre franchise probably not really deserving of a second chance. I’m curious about how they’re going to explain Inaho coming back to life after being shot in the head. But I’m not going to bother watching this because internet spoilers will let me know anyway. Didn’t really bother with watching the entire PV (it’s a 2nd season anyway).

Anticipation – Very Low
Watching – Hell no. Unless it’s shockingly good then maybe.

3) Ansatsu Kyoushitsu

I’ve been really curious about this series ever since I saw it constantly take the top ranks in weekly shonen jump. The title & premise seems interesting as well. But unfortunately I read 1-2 chapters of the manga and it honestly didn’t draw me in as I thought it would. I’m still going to watch this but I won’t say I have very high hopes.

Anticipation – Medium
Watching – Yes, I’ll be watching this. You have to give a top shonen jump manga some respect.

4) Binkan Koukou Chikyuu Bouei-bu Love!

Um. What the f did I just watch? Is this a magical BOYS anime. Nope. Just nope to gay anime. Ew.

Anticipation – None
Watching – Nope. Im disgusted.

5) Death Parade

The most hyped anime of Winter 2015. Honestly though this is probably going to take AOTS for Winter 2015! I’m very excited. It’s madhouse doing psychological/seinen. How can this not be dope? Honestly though, if you could only watch one anime from Winter it’ll probably have to be this.

Anticipation – Very High
Watching – Duh. I’ll be retarded if I’m not watching this.

6) Dog Days

It seems like this is like the 3rd season to something which I have never heard about. A quick glance at MAL reveals a very shitty score so no I don’t think I’m going to waste my time on this.

Anticipation – Very Low
Watching – Nope. more of I can’t and there is no reason to anyway.

7) Durarara x2 Shou

Have not seen the first season and contemplating if I should because this is like one of the things that gets mentioned when people talk about Winter 2015. Is this good? I might pick this up. The trailer seems intriguing enough for me to want to invest sometime in watching the earlier season.

Anticipation – Medium
Watching – If I can find time to marathon the first season then yeah.

8) Isuca

Can’t find the PV for this. So you have to make do with the key visuals. (I’m lazy, so go google it yourself). This looks generic as anything. Supernatural girl + Ecchi + Comedy? No thanks. but uh wait, it’s tagged Seinen so I might just give it 1 or 2 episodes to see if it’s anything worth watching.

Anticipation – Low
Watching – This gets 1 episode and will be probably dropped afterwards.

9) Jojo no Kimyou – Stardust crusaders 2

Never got into Jojo. So I won’t be watching this. (I don’t even know if I got the right PV). Heard it’s a really great anime, but I’m not really looking to get into any long running franchise for now. Someday. But today is not the day.

Anticipation – None
Watching – For some reason I don’t feel compelled to start watching Jojo.

10) Junketsu no Maria

The Pv has good music, but something feels really wrong with the art style / art work. I’m not sure if you can classify it as “badly drawn”. I don’t know. And I don’t really know what to expect from this series. It can go either way.

Anticipation – Medium
Watching – Probably 1-2 episodes before deciding.

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That’s it for my first installation of previews. Judging by the number of anime airing next season this is gonna be at least 3 parts. Probably will do the rest within the next week or so.

From this list of 10 animes that I’ve previewed, the only notable one is Death Parade. The rest are probably going to be thrash or at most mediocre. (or sequels I can’t watch) Ay. Winter doesn’t look too good but at least we still have fall leftovers!

Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso – Episode 10 Review – Strings with Chopin?

Did you see what they just did again? Two weeks ago I gave a 10/10 to this series’s episode 8 and now I find myself wanting to give a perfect 10 again. Nothing can stop Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso. It’s on a rampage! Seriously. I find it hard to imagine how we’re treated to a stellar-quality, epic, perfect episode every other week. This has already secured a spot in my list of my top tier anime. Very easily.

This show continues to be flamboyant and extravagant. Impressive dialogue, imagery and poetry makes this show is a real treat to watch. I mean, did you see what they did with stars? The author really knows what he or she is doing. Very clever. It began with Mozart’s Twinkle Twinkle little star, and then it appeared in Tsubaki’s monologues, then Watari’s logic of strength in adversary and now the concert lights are Kaori’s stars shining upon Arima.And did you see how Arima use the starry night to describe how his subconscious feelings about his friends? That alone was goosebumps inducing.

To be honest, nothing actually happened this episode. No one spoke a single word. It’s an episode entirely composed of monologues. Yes, a whole anime episode about people thinking to themselves. In theory and on paper that seems very odd, but Shigatsu pulls it off very nicely. They really took their time and I’m glad they didn’t rush things. All in all it was a very detailed and thoughtful production.

With regards to creative decisions, I spent sometime pondering over whether the addition of Strings to Chopin’s pure piano music was a good idea. Eventually as I re-watched the episode, I thought it worked more than it didn’t. After all, Strings that we hear could possibly be a manifestation of Kaori inside Arima’s music. Also, they were repeating the B part of the Chopin etude countless times and so the addition of some orchestral feel to the piece did really enhance it especially when the last time was supposed to be something like a musical home run. I didn’t mind and to be honest I got goosebumps watching it the 2nd time round. (the first time I was too shocked at the producer’s boldness!). And to be fair it was a pretty neat arrangement.

“Thank you thank you thank you thank you”, as the strings played together with Arima’s melodious Chopin etude. I think we can all agree that this was a whole new level of feels.

Overall, it was a really awe-inspiring episode. After watching the episode I had this unexplainable urge to sit down on my piano and play the B section of Chopin’s Op 25 no 5 (yes, the one Arima played). I was not sure if anyone could “smell the chalk, see the broken windows or hear the distant sports team” though. But hey I tried.

Episode Rating – 9.9/10

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Further Thoughts 

-Not sure if the start can be considered “Watari development” but hey, at least that dude is getting some screen time and has finally said something non-superficial for once. Everybody is talking about stars so we can’t leave Watari out right! I dislike Watari but I really feel that they should really be doing more with him.

-I saw people complaining about the amount of monologues in this series. In fact, I think monologues are something that uniquely anime in general doesn’t really shy away from. No idea why but it seems like conventional US dramas (or movies) and even Korean dramas and all really avoid using monologues for some reason. Why? Monologues are good and I really enjoy a series with well written monologues (like this, or Parasyte). I mean, can you imagine Parasyte with no monologues. I have no idea why american script writers and all are so afraid of a random “out of nowhere” voice-over. It actually does enhance the experience of watching a show. Why are people so afraid of it. And it also could be because anime is often adapted from manga and monologues and all are not all too uncommon in manga/comics.  But really, I’d like to see more monologues in shows in general. They make shows awesome when done right.

-Glowing balls and random Sakura that appeared on the stage. A little over the top? Maybe. But it doesn’t actually cause a negative experience. For me it doesn’t really enhance the experience either. Not that it’s bad, but it’s just the characteristic of this show.  If anything one should be provoked by the strings in the chopin not the flying golden balls.

-Okay. Now on to Arima’s “feelings” and musical confession to Kaori. You notice I hardly talk about the romance with regards to this show. I honestly don’t think romance is the strong point. Arima’s confession to Kaori felt a little random to me. Kaori’s relationship with Watari is also strangely underdeveloped. I find that confusing. But then again I was never watching this series for the romance anyway. I think people who are ARIMA X KAORI WOOTS or Childhood friend FTWzzz are all watching this show wrong (for now). This is a show about music and the coming of age. If you see this as primarily a romance I honestly don’t think you’re watching it quite right.

-Okay. But still “Only one person matters to me” is a little…overly…ain’t you neglecting some other important people in your life huh Arima.

-I liked how the music was spot on. The fast and harsh was really fast and harsh. When Arima was contemplating to stop, the music was dying very obviously. Some people would say that they shouldn’t have to narrate and explain stuff like that but I really disagree. Sometimes, a confirmation would be nice.

-Aiza’s shock and disappointment was pretty well done.

-Mother smiling at the end. What does it mean? (okay I kid, I read the manga, I know).

-9.9, not 10. Because I think there is going to be an episode that beats this pretty soon (yes, in terms of feels and I suspect if it does the same quality for that content, that would be a sure tear-jerking episode). I gave 10 to the Emi episode, because I’m bias and Emi is best girl so yeah. 10 for her :p

-Was thinking if I should do a personal thoughts/write up on the 3 Chopin etudes being featured in this series(Yes, I am playing them/or played them before). But I’m a little tired/lazy now so that’ll be a topic for another day.

Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso – Episode 9 Review – “Better off dead”

Another powerful, emotionally wrecking episode. This week’s Shigatsu wa Kimi no uso leaves behind the super shounen styled piano battles and brings us back to Arima’s trauma. Despite the step down in terms of intensity and production value, this episode was great in it’s own ways – because it’s just so fucking depressing.

But first things first. I totally didn’t like how they treated the Emi development at the beginning of the episode.  It was (in my opinion) pretty important material that they didn’t pay much attention to. It was also significantly overshadowed by heavier depressive themes of the 2nd half of the episode. They could have just given Emi a full episode right! The scene of Emi wanting to become a pianist and climbing up and declaring it was supposed to be way more powerful than how they made it seem! And it all seemed lacklustre, drowned by some strange as hell remix of Winter Wind. This has got to be the worst creative fault that A1 pictures has committed to date. It was like, “oh it’s in the manga so let’s just put it in cause we have to”. It was an important scene and I wasn’t very pleased!

Emi is supposedly good at everything. She gave up all her other possibilities to become a pianist because she was inspired by Arima Kousei. Everything was included and nothing was left out but somehow the anime adaptation lacked impact.  Should they have just included this in last week’s episode. That would have been better?

Also in this episode we see that Arima’s problem is obviously guilt and self blame. Somehow he seems very willing to shoulder unnecessary responsibilities and blames himself for things that go wrong even though they are not entirely his fault. I don’t think this is something new and we’ve already sensed this from Arima quite sometime back. The shock of this episode comes when Arima tells his mother that “you’re better off dead”. (or I wish you would die, in the translation but I prefer the former because I think it’s more accurate). This is the line that would make most people go “oh so that’s it”. Yeah. we’re finally getting close to the root of Arima’s trauma and why he is constantly “haunted” by the ghost of his mother.

Aside from that it was a clumsy attempt to integrate back story and actual “action” together. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who was disappointed or distracted when they tried to pull away from the actual performance into Arima’s trauma. And given that Arima’s trauma flashbacks seem really repetitive, (and is a common point that critics love to attack), I thought this was surely going to draw fire. I don’t think they had a choice because Op 25 no 5 is pretty short compared to the time required to do the lengthy Arima development. I’m not sure if it could have been done any better, but I thought it was very clumsy. Especially when you had Performance->Flashback->Random excerpts of Moonlight Sonata->Back to performance. Not very ideal.

This week’s episode can be considered a step down compared to last week’s episode (episode 8 review here). But it really depends on what you prefer. The mother-son back story is just outright depressive and honestly very provocative. These stuff actually happen in real life and it’s sad. But overall, I thought this was one of the weaker episodes of this series because there were actual flaws.

Episode Rating – 9/10

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Further Thoughts

-I like how Arima’s choice of repertoire was discussed. It’s pretty obvious that his etude does not really compare to Aiza’s 10/4 and Emi’s 25/11 in terms of difficulty. This has struck me as early as the first time it was first announced as Arima’s piece. But I just like how they made it a point to talk about it. And Kaori rolling a pencil was hilarious.

-I like this show’s iterative way of presenting Arima’s backstory. In earlier episodes, they first introduce us to the theme/general idea and then subsequently they slowly develop and furnish the story with details. It slowly but gradually provides the much needed information and details for the audience to comprehend and come to understand the relationship between Arima and his mother.

-Arima’s mother had a look of “what have I done” when Arima said he wished she would die. She was shocked though we don’t know why. I want to believe that she has just realised what she has done to her own son. I’m actually pretty sure she is doing all of this out of love (and a little out of madness and the grief of knowing that she’s going to die soon). She’s human. What she has done is undeniably wrong, but yeah, let us not forget that she’s human too.

-I’m fortunate enough to not have to experience an unexpected death of a loved one. But from what I heard from my friend (who lost his mother in an accident), they had a petty quarrel/fight just before his mother left and that was his last interaction/memory of his deceased mother. According to him, this aspect of it hurts a lot because he didn’t get to say a proper farewell and set things straight. This episode depicts that pretty well.

– I guess I’ll make it a point to never say things i will regret for life to a loved one. We always take it for granted that when we leave a conversation angry and screaming all hateful words at each other there will always be another day to reconcile. let’s just say it first and apologise later. that’s what most of us think at the back of our heads when we spew hateful stuff at people we love. this episode reminds me never to do that, for there might be no next moment to tell them you’re sorry or you didn’t mean it.

-I thought they were going a little too far with the physical abuse. I’m not saying emotional abuse is okay but a mother who beats his child at the piano? This is not acceptable in this day and age. but YES, a few decades ago this is considered to be the norm when it comes to asian piano culture. Thankfully I don’t think this is accepted anymore but corporal punishment in even schools is pretty common like 30-40 years ago. Back then, even piano teachers would often hit the hands of their students when they don’t play well. But to the extent of blood and bruises? I don’t know, that’s pretty extreme so I don’t think so.

-On my stance regarding Arima’s trauma. I won’t say I’m a big fan of his back story. It’s okay-ish and I don’t think it’s one of the stronger points in this series. I personally can’t wait for him to get over his trauma. (Okay, but by then we’ll have Kaori to worry about. That ominous “pile of medicine” foreshadowing in this episode though). And it bugs me that we still haven’t heard the whole Op 25 no 5 etude yet. I think the producers are trying to hold back as much as they can so that it will still have some lasting impression/impact in the next episode.

-From the bits and pieces of Arima’s Op 25 no 5. The tempo of A part (the “wrong notes” section) seem moderate and slower than I expected. B part actually seems pretty passionate despite him being nicknamed the “human robot pianist” . But I guess we have to wait till next week to judge.

-This is the lowest episodic score I gave to this series. I still can’t get over the horrible winter wind remix at the start. Sigh. Also, I think many people really wanted to hear Arima’s performance but we end up with an entire episode of flashback. While it was necessary, I can see how many people feel cheated/teased by what they’re doing.

Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso – Episode 8 Review – Undeniable masterpiece

This is definitely the best episode of this series so far. No wait, this was the best episode of Fall 2014 up till now actually. I don’t even see how anyone can argue against this. Undeniably strong episode. Watch and learn, this is what a masterpiece episode looks like.

Many shows are exciting and what not, but how many can actually deliver goosebumps to it’s audiences. Not many. We’re not even talking about feels here. Just pure music goodness from the legendary composer Chopin.

As usual, Shigatsu relies on it’s strong, poetic dialogue to impress. The writing is what sets Shigatsu apart. It’s the best anime of Fall for a reason. The writing not only adds a fine flowery touch to the common shounen tropes, but creates a compelling effect that makes this series irresistible.

This week we had double performances. Aiza’s Chopin Op 10 no 4 and Emi’s Chopin Op 25 no 11 “Winter Wind”, both notoriously difficult pieces even amongst the Chopin etude set. The choice of pieces can be considered pretty cliche given that these are indeed the two of the three most popular etudes (only short of the revolutionary etude). The piece choices are apt though as they are the pieces you would expect of the reigning champion and a girl that manages to outshine the ex-champion.

Aiza’s Chopin was a little slow for my taste. But he is a 14 year old after all and is probably not expected (or realistic) for him to unleash a Richter speed 10/4. His etude was pretty stable and clean and pretty much without mistakes. It was a musical performance despite the piece overwhelming technicality difficulties. The crescendos and dynamic changes were spot-on and idea and the overall flair was there. But yeah, it was a little on the slow/safe side. Also did anyone notice how they changed the audio quality to match the scene. Like when they shifted back stage there was an obvious change in the sound. Plus, the dynamics of the recording was probably tampered all over the place to suit the dialogue. It’s hard to judge then.

Aiza is a very cool and interesting guy. I’m really liking his character. He is honest and upfront and isn’t afraid to show his weakness (or strength). Let’s hope he gets some other role besides just being Rival A for Arima.

The star of this episode is Emi without a doubt. I’m not sure where they’re going with Emi. As of now she is obviously a mere Rival B but I think I’m not the only one getting “harem vibes.” but anyway, Emi = best girl of the series. Kaori needs to GTFO, Emi FTW! Inb4 Emi X Kousei. Just kidding, the pairings don’t bother me much.

Emi’s Winter Wind was also slow. It didn’t feel anything like the harsh and ferocious Winter Wind I’m used to hearing other pianists play. If anything it was like a gentle breeze. It’s obvious that the author prefers Emi as she is given way more development over Aiza. Plus, it also seems that the author puts more thought into Emi’s monologues. (in some way, they remind me of Tsubaki’s monologues. Not entirely, but just the amount of thought put into them). Also, she had a more elaborate and convincing back story, which I personally enjoyed.

Just when you thought the performance couldn’t get any better. The show takes a magnificent artistic manoeuvre into the reddish brown palettes completely sucking one into the world of Emi’s Winter Wind. Everything was just drop dead gorgeous at this point. Loving the whole “Red and Yellow” thing. This reminds me of when Mozart is described as pink in Nodame Cantabile.

To sum it up, this episode was purely breathtaking. Two Chopin etudes in one episode, can’t ask for more! This is the materialisation of the primary goal of all anime – to entertain, to inspire and to move hearts. This episode did accomplish all of that, flawlessly. Bravo.

Episode Rating – 10/10

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Some Notes 

– It was funny how Aiza’s teacher was acting all surprised when Emi plunged into the rapid descending chromatic runs of Winter Wind. I mean, you’re a piano instructor. You should know the piece! Why are you acting surprised! And same goes for you Arima!

– When Arima talks to Emi backstage while Aiza was performing, the screen were just white light. I thought that they could have at least put a still frame of Aiza playing the piano.

-Loved the scene where the two teachers were picking a fight with each other. That helped raise the tension quite a bit.

-Probably overlooked fact but when Ochiai-sensei teared at Emi’s performance. it was rather moving and speaks volumes of her commitment as a instructor/educator. Well done.