Popcorn Entertainment
GBS: Quite a few shows provided throwaway entertainment of one sort or another. Use it; be mildly entertained; dispose of it. What filled that role for you this season?
BCT: I guess Rail Wars, and gag-heavy Survival Game Club, but that’s the second season of Ai Mai Mi, really. It’s illegal to talk about this show because it’s the anime equivalent of heroine, probably; but when something is 100% more an experience of either head injury or severe inebriation, instead of something intellectual, then yeah, it’s probably popcorn. Oddly, however, it’s the only short-form show I watched in this short-form-short season; usually the medium where I find most of my empty calories.
GBS: Rail Wars! was definitely a show that worked on this level for me. There were several others that also fit here, but ultimately didn’t work for me, though I know they did for others. Front and center is Aldnoah.Zero, the bright, shiny, high budget mecha action show that had shades of Code Geass (a definitive popcorn show in my opinion) in its seemingly unbeatable strategist protagonist and the writers’ propensity for whiplash story progression. A fun ride for others. Another piece of popcorn was the violent fantasy Akame ga Kill. A bloody good time for some, though I again tired of it. To go positive again, there was the much more satisfying completion of Captain Earth. Giant robot action that was clearly filled with posing and yelling that maintained a much more fun atmosphere. It also had a very clear ending, one that was pretty competently plotted out.
BCT: I suspect the other large popcorn show was the return of Sword Art Online. This time with guns for even more disposable entertainment value. I could take no more than 14 episodes of the first series; but I get the impression Kirito saves the day—and the girl—again. Sometimes those free refills for popcorn aren’t worth it.
GBS: Empty calories will always draw some viewers.
G.B. Smith
Greg Smith has been writing anime reviews and a review column on anime dubbed into English for several years, first at AnimeOnDVD and now for The Fandom Post. His occasional column on English anime dubs, Press Audio, appears whenever he comes across a dub worthy of a closer look. He is also the deputy editor for our seasonal and year end retrospectives.