Welp, since I admitted that I was forgoing the Spring Anime season (aside from Jojo), I felt that I might as well prove to you that I’m taking this backlog thing very seriously. So seriously, that crying over it is allowed:
I…I…I actually completed an anime in my backlog!!! pic.twitter.com/tuM2PBDV8C
— kami-nomi (@Kami_nomi) April 11, 2014
And serious enough to write about my exploits every week. Or at least try to. Just so none of you think I’m skipping out. Or something. Especially since I don’t plan on whining about it on Twitter too much. In case you don’t know what my backlog consists of, here you go.
Now let’s see how much progress I’ve made!
NOTE: This is updated up to Sun, April 13.
What I’m watching:
Detective Conan
Watching: 311 out of ??
It’s been a long, long, long journey with Detective Conan since I started it back in November. I’ve had to slog through anime originals, continue to deal with those annoying brats, and see Conan/Shinichi get so close to telling Ran his situation and them progress in their love and — ahh whatever. It’s had its ups and downs, which I was disappointed in. Then The Desperate Revival Arc happened. That arc was amazing. It combines actual drama, intrigue, and worry and works for 6 episodes. Even though I knew it wasn’t possible for Conan to die, it was sold enough to the point where I worried about him. Just fantastic writing all around, and a favorite of mine.
There have been other arcs (Including one with the Black Organization) that were also pretty sweet, but it’s hard to top 6 episodes of tension ya know.
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders
Watched: 2 Episodes out of ??
Rating so far: ORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORA
I won’t be talking about this every week, but since I have the opportunity, I might as well: Go suffer (or have a hell of a time) with Phantom Blood. Then go watch Part 2, Battle Tendency, and enjoy new Jojo. Then get ready to watch Stardust Crusaders, Part 3.
Because ORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORA!!!!
From The New World
Watched: 6 out of 25
Rating so far: 8 out of 10
When I made an attempt to watch this two years ago, I only made it through two episodes. As in, I watched it, wasn’t sure I liked everything about it, but I liked enough of it to place it on hold and get back to it. Well, we know what happened there. I’m now finally watching it. So far, so good. From The New World’s a pretty interesting (so far) show with enough events happening between the main characters and the characters that have disappeared, it’s gotten me hooked. As usual, there’s a lot of exposition in this show (well, mostly Episode 4), but unlike most anime that do this, I don’t feel bored at all. Aside from Episode 5 (where, for some reason, there’s a ton of close up shots and the cuts in that episode suddenly made me think of Casshern Sins), it looks pleasant and the music so far, while not the best, has been good enough to enhance a few scenes. Definitely interested to see where it’ll go from here.
The Pet Girl of Sakarasou
Left off at: Episode 3
Watched: 6 out of 24
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
I’m pretty sure I guessed that this show was going to suck, even with Mari Okada writing it, so of course I was surprised that despite the premise, the first two episodes of The Pet Girl of Sakarasou were pretty decent to good and I was planning on continuing to watch it until I watched the 3rd episode. That 3rd episode needs to die in a dumpster fire. It was pretty bad. So I decided I was going to put it on-hold, and whenever I would get back to this show, I’d just start with Episode 4. However I was also waiting to see what others had thought about it during its run, and for the most part, it was ok.
So far, it’s been just that, and maybe more than I expected. I think what’s surprised me in watching these 3 episodes is how interesting the characters have been so far, though Mashiro still being unable to do the most basic of things continues to be pretty silly. Though I did like Aoyama’s arc (who happens to be voiced by Mariko Nakatsu, who was Erika in Ginga e Kickoff!), though I was mostly just thinking internally, “Will someone stop this girl from being so heroic?!?” Also, it seems to have cut down on being about as pervy and fanservicey as it was in the first two episodes. Well, so far.
Completed
Dear Boys
Rating: 7 out of 10
Welp, I finally, finally finished this anime. After starting this on a whim, enjoying what I did of it, then putting it aside for eons (well not that long), I finally did it. Was it worth it?
…Well, in terms of a recommendation sense, probably not.
Dear Boys tells the story of Kazuhiko Aikawa, a star basketball player who left the powerhouse basketball program Tendoji and transfers to Mizuho, where their basketball team is on the verge of being disbanded. However, thanks to him showing up, the 4 current players get their act together and are able to play basketball, though not without issues from the school and from former players whose careers ended because of the issues with the team. It’s 26 episodes of romance, basketball, and friendship.
The most obvious issue with Dear Boys is watching it. I mean this in two ways. As I watched it, it finally got good, and it was tense at times. I really got into the matches, and liked how it was going for realism in basketball moments rather than pulling something out of their butt. But as I watched it, I felt like there’s no chance I’d want to watch this again. Kill la Kill, sure. Bunny Drop? Hell yeah. But Dear Boys, it’s a nice watch once, then something that doesn’t feel watchable again because I already know what’s going to happen. And considering how I thought how mediocre watching the first 6 episodes was because I had already seen them twice, I can expect to think the same in watching it again.
…And the other reason why I said the issue with watching Dear Boys is watching it is because it really is painful to watch. It looks horrible. Everything about how it looks is horrible. I know this was made in 2003, but was the budget for this peanuts? Must be, since every shot, movement, far away camera, the works, it’s not good at all. If you’re someone who minds visuals in anime, then you’re most certainly not going to like this anime.
However, I think it’s just good enough to watch once if you’re looking for a sports anime that aims to be a bit more realistic and gets slightly personal. After that your mileage will vary.
Uta No Prince-Sama Maji Love 1000%
Rating: 7 out of 10
And here’s the second Summer anime of 2011 on my on-hold list that I actually finished, Uta no Prince Sama! Let’s just say I had some twists and turns with it. See, I liked that it seemed to get better after the first episode, but not enough to continue with it (was watching stuff like Penguindrum and Bunny Drop and Kamisama no Memo oh damn I had to watch Memochou didn’t I). So, I’ve had it on my on-hold list for years, until a month or so ago, when it was on Anime Network on Demand on TV. I decided to watch some episodes there, got to Episode 6, and promptly forgot about it. I finally motivated myself to finish it last week.
And yes, it’s about as glorious as some people have told me. Just a heads up, go into this anime expecting nonstop silliness and Norio Wakamoto doing his thing as a principal. You can then expect to have a ton of fun with it and the nonstop cheesiness. Well, almost. What actually made me like this anime more was what happened in Episode 8:
As someone who’s heard this song (even sang it myself) back in grade school and I think in high school, hearing Amazing Grace took me back to those days for a brief moment, and it made me wish I remembered the lyrics naturally. If an anime can get me to do that and look back like that, of course I’m going to appreciate it more. And I now I do. I look forward to watching Season 2 at some point down the backlog road. Especially to figure out just why the hell a dragon shows up!
