KS: The last thing I tried before making initial drop judgments was the first episode of Ping Pong, after which I decided to include it among my drops. However, everywhere I turn more people are saying it’s easily one of the best of the season, so now that FUNimation has surprisingly put it all up on their YouTube channel, I’ll probably run through the rest of it if I have the time in the next day or so [And will have more to say on it at the end of this article]. On that note, Greg, I don’t know what your thoughts on what you did see of No Game, No Life were, but if you have any thoughts of giving something from your list of seemingly less egregious drops another chance, I’ll put all my recommending power behind you choosing that.
GBS: Upon strong recommendations from others, I have finally started on Ping Pong. About halfway through and while I’m enjoying it, it’s not quite wowing me as it has wowed many others. As for No Game No Life, I decided to pass over it this season as the premise didn’t bite for me. Whether I decide to pick it up later will be dependent on time next season.
KS: As for the ones that actively drove you away, all were also among the series I dropped other than Brynhildr, which has remained firmly near the bottom of my list each week, even if it never reached the point of being dropped (and I dropped the first season of Date A Live, so no sequel for me). I don’t think I’d say Brynhildr ever gets any more probable, and honestly I think I’ve been half watching it for the silliness for a while now. Now that Brynhildr has ended, I can say pretty safely that you didn’t miss much worth seeing. The rest of your thoughts are much in line with my own. I wanted to like a Soul Eater spinoff but indeed it made a pretty strong case against that hope. Wixoss and Blade and Soul each came from one of the two directors of Steins;Gate, one of my all-time favorites, but both quickly reminded me that those two aren’t in the business of making silk purses out of sows’ ears.
MvP: Blade and Soul just got boring and unbelievable around Episode 3, Brynhildr…’s attempt at storytelling was its own undoing since Episode 1, Chaika – The Coffin Princess annoyed me to no end with Chaika-speak (and then pushed me over the “drop” edge at Episode 3), The World is Still Beautiful made a joke of rape in Episode 1, and Soul Eater Not! was true to its name in defiling everything that was good about its predecessor. These were all shows I dared wage my interest in but with which I ended up losing anywhere between 22 minutes and a goodly hour of my life. Note: several people speak kindly of Chaika…, but I can’t get past the in-your-face, uber-moe title character.
GBS: I can understand how Chaika the character can be off-putting, though I was more annoyed by the appearance, yet again, of the whole “imouto sickness,” as we could call it. Akari is wonderful except for that unnecessary peculiarity. I guess I’m just more apathetic towards the child-speak—it’s annoying, it’s stupid, it’s not going anywhere so I’ll just move on from it. There are worse moe-bait characters out there. The other characters and the fairly good pacing of the story are what make me want to continue to watch.
The rape incident in Ep. 1 of The World is Still Beautiful was very off-putting, but they recovered from that fairly well in the following episodes. It’s a mixed series at best, with some good points (the strongest female protagonist of the season, when we otherwise were met with the usual brigade of doormats) and some bad (at times the pacing and plotting were odd; the main romance is still rather awkward for many reasons, not least the physical contrast between the intended couple). I think it’s worth a watch, but it’s not a future classic.
BM: I’d note a couple of shows that under normal circumstances I’d like, but that for one reason or another just didn’t manage to fit it. Mushishi is in a particular class of viewing where, if you’re in the mood for it, it’s outstanding stuff (I know Greg’s steering away from that word, but this is the one show that deserves it) – I just wasn’t in the mood for it right now, so it’s been put on the long-finger for when I am. Baby Steps is the one sports show that’s grabbed my attention in a while (no, I didn’t fall for Ping Pong’s charm), and while it’s clearly being made on a shoestring and is paying a little too much attention to being an idiot’s guide to tennis, it also has a lot of charm to it. Again, though, the uncertain running length and fear of commitment put me off. Away from those two, though, I’m more or less in agreement with the criticisms made about.
Formulas Done Right
GBS: The shows that worked for me (I would not rate any of this season’s fare as outstanding)…
MvP: Which speaks to the fact that you’ve not watched (much of) Ping Pong...
GBS:…ahem…well, the shows that worked for me were good examples of competent execution of fairly predictable formulas. Captain Earth is just another “giant robot saves the Earth from aliens” show, but it did so with some panache, some humor (notably “magical” girls and their belly buttons) and the recognition that even having humdrum elements (Designer Children! Gotta catch ‘em all!) can be balanced out with decent action, humor and the occasional surprise. Kawaisou was just another boarding house filled with eccentrics, but did not lose itself navel-gazing at its eccentricities to the point of rendering the audience indifferent. It’s also yet another high school romance, but the adult characters of Mayumi and Sayaka provided the anti-rose-tinted viewpoint of love, removing any schmaltzy sentimentality that could have made things maudlin. I expected no less from the creator of Love Lab and was not disappointed.
