Anime First Impressions - Winter 2014

It's a new year and with that brings an all-new season of anime. Coming off the heels of a fantastic Fall season, I was nervous and skeptical that this upcoming roster of new anime would leave me disappointed. Boy, was I wrong! From over-the-top shounen anime, to small-form comedy anime, and even some incredibly weird and disturbing shows too, this season is looking to be one of the greats! Here's my rundown of the premier episodes for just 10 of the anime I'm watching this season.

D-Frag!

What starts out as a high school slice of life quickly gets much crazier. While normally I can't stand to watch any slice of life anime, D-Frag!'s comedy wins me over so much so that I can't stop watching. Having so many plot twists and spit take moments in just the first episode, the writing will keep laughing moment to moment. The show is fast-paced, sometimes illogical, and definitely crazy, but it's a roller-coaster ride of Japanese-life satire, nerdy culture references, and almost a parody of itself. Hopefully it can keep this momentum.

Hamatora

The easiest way to describe Hamatora is to compare it to a Japanese X-Men. If that alone doesn't pique your interest, than allow me to elaborate. With abilities known as Minimum (X-gene), these Minimum Holders (Mutants) essentially have super powers that, so far, seem to be unique to each person. One character can manipulate electricity, one has X-ray vision and golden...gauntlet...arms? Ahem, while the main protagonist's ability has something to do with sound...or perhaps sound gives him his power? All we know is, he wears headphones around his neck and when he needs to use his power, he puts them on his head! The anime also has a very beautiful, colorful art style to it, making it one of the best looking anime of this season already. Now if the plot can prove to be just as interesting, this will be a contender for best of the season.

Hozuki no Reitetsu

Another comedy anime, Hozuki no Reitetsu is based on Japanese mythology and takes normally scary or taboo topics and makes them hilarious to watch. The two main characters are essentially God and the devil each holding certain dominion over Shangri-La. Funny characters and satirical writing are definitely in this show's favor. However, the pacing seems quite odd at times, where dialogue will go on far too long and dozens of minutes will go by without anything really happening, then suddenly you're hit with an onslaught of visual humor. This one has a lot going for it, but so far it's more "meh" than anything.

Nobunaga the Fool 

Where do I begin with this one... Nobunaga the Fool is heavily inspired by Japanese mythology, um, as well, as Norse mythology, and, uh, with some Arthurian Legend in there too! The main character, based on Oda Nobunaga, lives on the East planet, while Jean Kaguya D'Arc, based on Joan of Arc, lives on the West planet. It's easy to see a love story in the works for these two literal star-crossed lovers (as in, they had to travel through stars to be with each other), but how it will play out should prove pretty interesting. The real draw (and possible crux) of the show is definitely the universe they've created. With the Eastern planet comprised of feudal Japan mixed with steam-punk, and the Western planet representing Western Europe mixed with spaceships, the fantasy and sci-fi elements ultimately feel a little jarring. Did I mention there were mechs? Oh yeah, it's also a mech anime. It seems almost too much, but with such an interesting world(s) and given an enthralling storyline, it could turn out pretty good.

Nobunagun

Here we have the second anime this season to feature a title and main character based on Oda Nobunaga. Set in our world but sometime in the future, the premise, much like Evangelion, depicts an organization with advanced technology used to fight an alien attack on Earth. Now, completely unlike Eva, this technology they have is comprised of these spheres imbued with power that, when held by someone possessing a reincarnated soul of someone from history, manifests itself into a weapon. So, the main character contains Nobunaga's soul, and likes guns, therefore: Nobunagun. Get it? Yeah, it's hyper violent, super shounen, and has such a crazy premise, it begs the question, "Why?" But hey next episode we get to see what Ghandi and Newton turn into!

Noragami

Essentially tied for my favorite premier this season, Noragami has such a fun, fantastical nature to it, but still shows signs of delivering an emotional story with wonderful characters. The main character is a girl who has an interaction with a young man who they show in the beginning of the episode to be a minor god. So minor in fact, that he is willing to grant wishes to patrons of his for merely 5 yen. Thinking she saved his life, Hiyori pushes him out of the way of an oncoming truck, instead getting hit herself. When she awakes in the hospital, it appears as though everything is fine, when in reality her soul is now stuck between the afterlife and her body in the real world. She will have to rely on Yato to help her get back to normal. With such an awesome premise, gorgeous visuals, wonderful music, and so far, incredibly well-written characters, Noragami could easily become one of my absolute favorite anime!

Pupa

One of many short-form anime this season, Pupa holds the distinction of being the only one in the horror genre. Incredibly odd in tone and premise, essentially all we see from the first episode is a young girl, Yume who is supposed to wait for her brother Utsutsu in a park, when a weird infected-zombie-tentacle-dog-thing does...something to her. When Utsustu happens upon her in the park, she begins changing and the end of the episode shows her new demonic, infested form. It's certainly an interesting idea to be done by an anime, I'm just worried that the short episodes are going to hinder the narrative.  It's just too early to tell with this one; guess we'll have to wait til the larval stage ufufu!

The Pilot's Love Story

Here we have the other title that is tied for my favorite of this season's premiers. Do not let the title fool you! The Pilot's Love Story has one of the most unique worlds in anime in a long time. Yes, there is certainly going to be a love story developing between two characters who reside in two distinct social classes, but the mystery and intrigue lingering in the overall plot is so captivating. A hovering island that people pilot in hopes of reaching the edge of the sky, by recruiting pilots of these unique steampunk planes, which they learn to fly at an academy on the island which resides opposite of the territory of the nobles...and that's only the setting! Then there's the character motivations and interactions and backstory, especially that of the main character. Of course, beautiful visuals, tackling cloud animations and wind effects that I've never seen in anime before. There's just so much going for this anime, I would feel shocked if it doesn't turn out to be a standout for this season, and frankly many seasons to come!

Tonari no Seki-kun

Another short-form anime, and another slice of life comedy as well. Tonari no Seki-kun is one of the funniest anime I've seen in a  long time. It takes a premise that absolutely everyone can relate to, goofing off in class, and puts the viewer in the perspective of Rumi Yokoi, the girl sitting next to him. Mad at herself for getting so distracted by Seki's desk-top creations, she often finds herself the one in trouble for not paying attention. The first episode is just over 5 minutes long and if the entire season is as funny as the premier, it'll be among the funniest anime ever created. Plus that outro is so catchy!

Witch Craft Works

The final anime on my list is one I honestly didn't expect to like. Whenever the premise starts in a school, has an idolized princess figure, and she ends up possessing magical powers, I'm usually not even bothered to watch. Luckily I did watch this one! What Witch Craft Works has going for it is a maturity to its story and characters, a true sense of mystery and intrigue, and a character dynamic I'm not sure I've seen before in an anime. The main character, Takamiya, wants nothing to do with the idolized school princess. But when his life is endangered from a falling building and giant bunnies in suits of armor, Kagari comes to his rescue. She reveals to him that she has been watching over him for quite some time, and now that his life is threatened she can reveal herself as his bodyguard. Confused and not wanting the attention (hate) from the rest of the school, he tries to distance himself from Kagari, which inevitably ends up getting her run through with dozens of swords! The twists and turns and overthrowing of stereotypes in this anime, as well as the bewitching storyline, puts this one among the rest of my most anticipated this season.