My current ranking of Spring 2013 anime as of 4/29/13:
Hataraku Maou-sama! :: 9/10 @ episode 4/13
Suisei no Gargantia :: 9/10 @ episode 4/12
Kakumeiki Valvrave :: 8/10 @ episode 3/12
Devil Survivor 2 The Animation :: 7/10 @ episode 4/13
Ginga Kikoutai Majestic Prince :: 7/10 @ episode 4/24
Mushibugyou :: 7/10 @ episode 3/?
Namiuchigiwa no Muromi-san :: 7/10 @ episode 4/13
Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Come wa Machigatteiru. :: 7/10 @ episode 4/?
Aiura :: 6/10 @ episode 3/12
Arata Kangatari :: 6/10 @ episode 2/12
RDG: Red Data Girl :: 6/10 @ episode 6/12
Sparrow’s Hotel :: 6/10 @ episode 3/?
Karneval :: 5/10 @ episode 2/13
Should be watching:
Shingeki no KyojinObservations:
Note: All comments are based on my subjective opinions and are meant purely as fun discussion/speculation. Beware of potential spoilers.
- I have yet to drop a show this season, which is a miracle in and of itself, considering how busy RL has been.
- I rarely watch mecha, but now I inexplicably find myself watching three mecha shows in one season. Gargantia is thought-provoking and subtly complex with great art design. As a linguaphile and student of Japanese, I’ve loved watching the clever portrayal of Led’s language-learning process (a similar technique is used to great comedic effect in the first couple episodes of Maou-sama!), especially since it involves Sugita Tomokazu as the voice of Chamber. The one thing that bugs me about this show is the fact that the trio of messenger girls doesn’t have a single pair of pants among them. You’d think it would occur to them that zooming back and forth across the fleet in tiny miniskirts (Where’s Roy Mustang when you need him?) is a tad bit impractical. But, hey, this is anime.
Valvrave surprised me with its quality animation and fantastic OP, and we’ve been able to watch Haruto start to come to terms with his transformation from pacifist, non-assertive high schooler into someone the rest of the world hails as a hero (and what he himself considers to be a “monster”). I’m curious to see which side of the conflict L-Elf ultimately gravitates toward.
Majestic Prince seemed horribly generic at first glance, but it has found some depth in portraying the way five young students with no memories of their own are forced to come to grips with their sudden prominence on the galactic stage. (On a more speculative note, I’m convinced that Akagi’s stomach woes are actually a case of dire foreshadowing, and I want to know why exactly the doctors want to reexamine Izuru. Saionji, the head mechanic, is also rather amusing. In other news, I fail to understand how Tamaki jiggling her boobs is helping the war effort.)
- As a fan of the SMT and Persona games, I honestly had higher hopes for Devil Survivor 2, especially after being so impressed by Persona 4’s anime adaptation. At this point, I’m hanging on purely to hear Kamiya Hiroshi as Hibiki.
- Comedy is my favorite genre, and with Gintama currently off the air and Ixion Saga DT wrapped up, this spring’s lineup has some big shoes to fill (at least as far as my love of comedy is concerned). However, Hataraku Maou-sama! is doing a fabulous job (pun intended), and each episode dishes out some good laughs. Having lived in Japan, watching Satan and Alshiel adjust to the Japanese lifestyle is endlessly amusing. Ono Yuuki, the voice of Alshiel (whom you may recognize as Kuroko no Basuke’s Kagami), is popping up everywhere this season (Kannagi in Arata, Inuzuka in Valvrave, Kugel in Gargantia), and I don’t mind in the slightest.
I’m finding OregaIru enjoyable, if mostly for the fact that Eguchi Takuya is voicing a protagonist very similar to Ixion Saga’s Kon. Hachiman’s pessimistic, against-the-grain view of the world is relatable, and his reactions to the Saika trap are hilarious. Sparrow’s Hotel was a surprise, considering I didn’t originally plan to watch it; Sayuri’s antics keep me laughing. Plus, there’s OnoD.
- I’m a sucker for anything pertaining to Japanese history, Shintoism, or traditional martial arts, so I actually had high hopes for Red Data Girl. Unfortunately, Mayura’s stunning transformation from badass-in-disguise to girl-weeping-on-her-brother’s-shoulder and back again left a bad taste in my mouth. Call me crazy, but I’m getting tired of the way many series portray stoic boys shedding not even a single manly tear over the greatest tragedy while their female counterparts fall to bawling pieces over every little thing. (Please refer to the shining example of the Kuroko no Basuke manga, in which we’ve seen the majority of the male cast [including most of the Kiseki] shed the manliest of manly tears.) I’ll probably keep watching, though, if for nothing else than to see more of Miyuki’s archery and Izumiko’s kagura dancing.
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