Showing posts with label psycho-pass. Show all posts
Showing posts with label psycho-pass. Show all posts

Sunday, January 11, 2015

Anime Winter 2015 Line-Up

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Based on this list, he Winter 2015 anime line-up looks to have a few interesting titles. Maybe 2015 is the year I get back into anime.

DEATH PARADE

SYNOPSIS:
After death, humans go to either heaven or hell. But for some, at the instant of their death, they arrive at the Queen Decim, a bar attended by the mysterious white-haired Decim. He challenges them to the Death Game, wherein they wager their lives and reveal their true natures. Decim himself is the ultimate arbitrator of who wins and who loses, who lives and who dies. (source: ANN)

This is by Madhouse, one of my favorite studios ever. The poster looked interesting. The title has a certain panache to it. And the premise is sufficiently dark but curious. Color me intrigued.



DURARARA!! X2 SHOU

There's no synopsis available but then again this show defies any. But this is the first part of the second season of Durarara!! More of the usual shenanigans of the group composed of eccentric characters. Should be fun.










ROLLING GIRLS

SYNOPSIS:
Ten years after the Great Tokyo War, each prefecture in Japan has split up into independent nations. Each nation is ruled by a prophet called "Mosa" and an army called "Mob" as they start to compete to take over other countries. Four "Mob" girls from the Saitama clan, Nozomi, Yukina, Ai, and Chiaya, are ordered by their "Mosa" to travel around Japan riding their motorcycles to mediate multiple battles between nations and clans as they emerge. (source: ANN)

From the studio (Wit Studio) that gave us Shingeki no Kyoujin, comes this bizarre story about four cute girls on motorcycles.... It's so fucking weird. So of course, I'm going to watch it.




SHINGEKI NO KYOUJIN: KUINAKI SENTAKU OVA1

This is the backstory of my waifu, Captain Levi.... Nuff said.












PSYCHO-PASS MOVIE

Apparently, they're releasing a second season. I can't remember if I finished watching the first season. This anime looks so good but the story kinda meh. Maybe a movie is a better format for its premise. We'll see.

Friday, December 21, 2012

Psycho-Pass 11: Saint's Supper

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As Akane and Masaoka rush in to rescue Kogami, Gino and the rest of the team race to find the device that has been jamming their signals. They find it eventually, prompting Makishima to warn Senguji that the police are on to him. But far from giving up the hunt, Senguji reveals an incident from his past wherein a friend of his died. He says that he is experiencing the same feeling and he has never felt more alive. That said, the hunt is still on and Makishima continues to observe the game. A police weapon carrier arrives in the nick of time to give Kogami a fighting chance against the hunter. He manages to take down Senguji, using Yuki as bait. However, he also takes a bullet to his stomach in the process, leaving him weak and defenseless when Makishima comes around to take Yuki away. Akane and Masaoka soon arrive, the latter quickly giving him first aid. When Kogami warns Akane about Makishima, she runs off by herself to find him, but she is completely unprepared for what awaits her. Makishima Shogo is an utter sociopath who feels nothing -- no joy, excitement or passion for his victims or his crimes. A monster created from sheer will. For this reason, the Sybil System is ill-equipped to measure his crime coefficient, making the dominator in Akane's hands entirely useless. Makishima instigates her into killing him by giving her Senguji's shotgun and threatening to kill Yuki if Akane doesn't shoot him. Akane manages to take two shots but she has no will to kill and therefore misses. Seeing Akane rendered inutile, Makishima calmly raises his hand and cuts Yuki's throat right in front of Akane, whose dominator registers a zero crime coefficient. Later, a deeply traumatized Akane shares what she learned about Makishima to a badly injured but stable Kogami.


COMMENTS:
Oh my god. Can anybody say Dexter? 

Friday, December 14, 2012

Psycho-Pass 10: The Play of Methuselah

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Early one morning, Akane receives an email from her friend, Yuki, asking to meet her. Suspecting trouble, Akane brings Kogami with her. The place turns out to be deserted and Kogami believes it's a trap. He decides to check out the place while Akane walks him through it with the navigation system in her car. But soon, she loses signal. Meanwhile, Kogami hears Akane's voice telling him that the place is an old subway line and that he should check out the train cars. However, the train suddenly comes on, taking Kogami on board. When he finds Yuki on board as well, he surmises that he was right about this being a trap but something doesn't seem right. The train eventually stops and Kogami and Yuki get attacked by some drone dogs, forcing them to take shelter through a metal door.

Back in the surface, the rest of Unit 1 learn about Kogami's disappearance. Gino typically suspects that Kogami might have set up the whole thing in order to run away. However, Akane refuses to believe it. In the tunnels, Kogami and Yuki find themselves becoming unwitting participants in a kind of fox-hunt where they are the prey and Senguji is the hunter. The whole thing has been set up by Makishima who says he wants to test both Senguji and Kogami's character. Senguji comes into it believing that this is nothing more than a normal hunt, albeit a challenging one considering his above-average intelligent victim, but what he doesn't know is that Makishima has decided to add elements of his own. He has provided Kogami a transmitter with the battery and antenna removed and placed in random, secret places. In order to beat the game, Kogami has to figure out where the items are.

Kogami accidentally comes upon the battery taped to one of the drone dogs. Later, he also figures out that this set-up was never meant for Akane, but for him. This is followed by his realization that if Yuki's role in all this is only as bait, then she has fulfilled her function when that email was sent to Akane. However, she ended up with him. An exhausted Yuki says that she must have been brought there in order to slow Kogami down and force him to make a hard choice. To Yuki's surprise, Kogami asks her to take off her clothes. It turns out that the antenna has been hidden inside Yuki's bra.

Back in the surface, Gino commands the team to search the entire tunnels and to shoot Kogami with the Dominators. Akane protests heatedly, pointing out once more that there is no proof Kogami ran away. But Gino is having none of it and merely says that Sibyl will decide whether to use lethal force or just a paralyzer. So Masaoka shoves him aside, saying that Gino has gone too far. Just then, Kogami's call comes through Yayoi's computer. The team immediately go into action with Gino shouting to send in all the drones.

COMMENTS:
That was really thrilling. But as soon as the characters said it was a trap, I knew the trap was set up by Makishima to capture Kogami so this wasn't a surprising episode for me. But it was pretty interesting how Kogami figured out where the antenna was kept. LOL coordinated underwear. Yes. Kogami would know about that. But I was half-sure that he was going to abandon Yuki. He probably would have if he didn't soon figure out that Yuki had the antenna somewhere in her person. Masaoka raising a hand against Gino in Kogami's defense...I'm sure we're going to see some repercussions for that. Dammit, Yayoi! Can't you do some other cool things besides check out the computer? Like kick some ass or something? Also, tsundere Gino.

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Psycho-Pass 9: The Fruit of Paradise

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After apologizing to Kogami for doubting him, Gino has the team finding out more about Makishima and his activities. They are not entirely successful so Kogami takes it upon himself to go after a possible lead on Makishima's identity. He suspects that Makishima may have been a student of Professor Saiga, a renowned psychiatrist who used to work as a criminal profiler. While he inspects the professor's old class list, he also has the professor give Akane a crash course on criminal profiling, despite knowing that such lectures have been known to cloud people's psycho-pass. As it turns out, Makishima is not on the roster.

Gino soon finds out about Kogami and Akane's visit to Professor Saiga and gives the both of them a thorough lecture. Akane grows a backbone and reminds him that since they are equal in rank, Gino has no right to talk her down in front of her colleagues. After Gino walks out, Masaoka gets Akane to see matters from Gino's perspective. Gino suffered a lot as a child because of the discrimination that came after his father was diagnosed a latent criminal. The reason Gino is acting out against Akane becoming too involved in cases is because he doesn't want her to get eventually corrupted by it all.

Meanwhile, on the news front, the chairman of a cybernetic company is interviewed for being the only man in the world with an entirely cyborg body. It is revealed that he is the same man who shot Rikako point-blank. He says that his company is working on cybernetizing the human brain in order to achieve immortality. Later, his talks with Makishima reveals that he is privy to the former's plans for Kogami.


COMMENTS:
If I were Akane, I'd have a crush on Kogami, too. But, god, I hope they don't go there. I mean, come on, we're on the 9th episode and still no back story on our side characters. And yet, they have time to tease us with a possible romance between the two main characters. The imbalance is obvious.
I'm glad though that we get to hear Gino's story. A family member of his being a latent criminal was already hinted at in an earlier episode. That actually explains a lot about his character. Now, can we have, pretty please, a scene with Yayoi and Shion? :)

Friday, December 7, 2012

2012 Anime Report: The Best List

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I haven't really watched that many series this year so this list might be a little bit skewed. Moreover, I totally stopped watching anime the whole summer and only really started picking up in time for the fall season. There are many series that I was very enthusiastic about at first but eventually dropped for one reason or another. In any event, this list has a very narrow range: 2011-2012 Winter up to 2012 Fall seasons with a huge gap where 2012 Summer should be.

On a side-note, it's this blog's birthday. Exactly 5 years ago, or on December 7, 2007, this blog was created. :)

Now, on to the list....

Most Highly Anticipated Series

As soon as I saw the promo poster for Sakamichi no Apollon, I had high hopes this was going to be a beautiful series. Plus, the pedigree involved (Watanabe Shinichirou and Yoko Kanno). By the time the trailer came out and I heard the first jazz note, I was a goner. The visuals are just stunning and I loved the music, the setting, the characters, the premise right from the onset. 


Best First Episode


I came into this series with very high expectations and the first episode really delivered. I loved how the show immediately focused on the friendship between Sen and Kaoru, which is the series' selling point. But what I loved best about the first episode was the impromptu jamming session by the boys where you could actually hear Kaoru's initial hesitation and the freeing effect that jazz music has done for him. It was just beautiful.



Best Finale



This show wasn't as great as I'd hoped but it did unveil a neat twist at the end. For me, that's what saved Another from being another lackluster dark anime ambition. That and because there's really nothing better than having tons of characters die in just the span of one or two episodes.



Best Randomly Picked Series

(No runners-up)

This was the only show that I randomly picked up for the entire 2012 season. Ha-ha. And I'm very glad I did. Space Brotherswas one of the better shows that came out this year and it's still running. The sheer amount of episodes and my still watching this series should attest to how much I'm enjoying this show. I never watch anime that go beyond the 26-episode mark. This is an exception.



Favorite Female Character

(RUNNERS-UP: Svetlana Belikova [RE: Damnation], Mizutani Shizuku [Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun], Mine Fujiko [Lupin III: Mine Fujiko to Iu Onna])

Ada Wong isn't my favorite female character from the Resident Evil franchise. That singular title belongs to Jill Valentine. However, I've always liked the lady in red, mainly because of the ambiguity of her allegiance and the sexual tension she has with Leon. And then this movie came out and I was just...WOW. That knife fight has gotta be one of the hottest fight scenes I've ever seen.



Favorite Male Character

Nanba Mutta [Space Brothers]
(RUNNERS-UP: Nanba Hibito [Space Brothers], Leon S. Kennedy [RE: Damnation], Sasha [RE: Damnation], Nishimi Kaoru [Sakamichi no Apollon])

As a twenty-something girl who is among the rank of the plebes, I can relate very much to Mutta. I don't have any younger sibling but I do have older ones and they're all variedly stable in their respective lives. Mutta's insecurities are my insecurities and I have dreams that I don't even know how to begin to make them come true. Some days I'm just barely hanging on. Others, I feel very motivated. I'm just like Mutta, taking it one step at a time, perhaps stumbling along the way but picking myself up and trudging on.



Favorite Villain

(RUNNERS-UP: Karen Low [Jormungand], Orchestra [Jormungand], Svetlana Belikova [RE: Damnation], Makishima [Psycho-Pass])

An eclectic mix of murderers and psychopaths, no one can beat Shishio's "Ten Swords" in terms of villainy.



Funniest Character

Nanba Mutta [Space Brothers]
(RUNNERS-UP: Nyanko-sensei [Natsume Yuujin-chou Shi], Sofia Valmet [Jormungand], Hitagi Senjougahara [Nisemonogatari])


Unlike many characters in "comedy" series who are funny because of what they say or their antics, Mutta is just naturally funny. I mean, you look at him and you just know that he's a funny guy. 


Saddest Character


Sakakibara Kouichi [Another]
(RUNNERS-UP: Kawabuchi Sentarou [Sakamichi no Apollon], Mizutani Shizuku [Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun], Sasha Kozachenko [RE: Damnation], Natsume Takashi [Natsume Yuujin-chou Shi])


Kouichi lost his mom when he was only a boy, something that still haunts him. His father is in a far away country. And his aunt, who looked a lot like his mom and has therefore become his surrogate mom, turns out to be not quite alive. Yes, Kouichi is a sad character, alright.



Coolest Character


Kogami Shinya [Psycho-Pass]
(RUNNERS-UP: Kawabuchi Sentarou [Sakamichi no Apollon], Saitou Hajime [RK: Shin Kyoto Hen] Sofia Valmet [Jormungand], Kunizuka Yayoi [Psycho-Pass], Katsuragi Junichi [Sakamichi no Apollon])


I mean look at him. He's like Spike Spiegel's spiritual successor, without the martial arts, less of the pathos and more on the rage. His mortal enemy even has white hair. Kogami Shinya, you are one cool dude.



Favorite Het Couple


Yoshida Haru x Mizutani Shizuku [Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun]
(RUNNERS-UP: Nishimi Kaoru x Mukae Ritsuko [Sakamichi no Apollon] Araragi Koyomi x Hitagi Senjougahara [Nisemonogatari])


I just find them cute, okay? I love their blunt honesty, how they always say what they mean and mean what they say. I love that they approach their relationship problems head on. I love that they are such perfect foils for each other -- Shizuku with her reserve and Yoshida with his expansiveness. I love that their more romantic interactions make me feel giddy inside. It has been awhile since I felt anything like this from a canon pairing. They are the reason why I love this series.



Favorite Slash Couple


Karanomori Shion x Kunizuka Yayoi [Psycho-Pass]
(RUNNER-UP: Watanabe Saki x Akizuki Maria [Shin Sekai Yori])


I believe with all my heart that these two are a couple. I mean, there was that very telling episode with Yayoi, fixing her tie as she is coming out of Shion's lab just as Akane is coming in and catching Shion putting on her pantyhose. lolz Plus the fact that Yayoi seems to be always hanging out in Shion's lab. Surely, these aren't all just coincidence.



Favorite Crack Couple


Nanba Mutta x Itou Serika [Space Brothers]
(RUNNERS-UP: Leon S. Kennedy x Ada Wong [RE: Damnation], Karen Low x Sofia Valmet [Jormungand])


I hope these two are going to end up together. At the moment, we're clear on Mutta's crush on Serika but not so sure whether the feeling is mutual. Still, these are my crack couple at the moment and I always look forward to each scene of them together.



Best Dark Series


(RUNNERS-UP: Another, Shin Sekai Yori)


If the execution of Another was better handled, it would have easily won this category. Dark, brooding characters? Check. Futuristic society with dark underpinnings of dystopia? Check. Brutal murders? Check. Mysterious, unrelentless villain? Check. Lots and lots of pathos? Check. It looks like Psycho-Pass wins this round, easy.



Best Comedy Series
(RUNNERS-UP: Jormungand, Space Brothers)


A lot of the antics of this show revolves around the main characters' quirks. Yoshida is violent but is an animal-lover. He has a pet rooster (which is actually a hen), named Nagoya. For some reason, he is afraid of his brother and will go to extremes just to get away from him. Shizuku has virtually no interest apart from studying. Her coldness and other people's reaction to it are a source of consternation and hilarity. Yamaken is rich, handsome and popular but has a bad sense of direction and is too proud to admit it. These characters interactions, plus the usual school tropes, make for a fun show that is reminiscent of Toradora!



Best Drama Series




The series had to win at something. Even though Sakamichi no Apollon comes at a close second, Natsume  is just better in terms of handling drama. This show is gentle and just takes its own leisurely pace but when it does get to that point, the emotional impact will surprise you. At one point, I teared up over this series. That's how good it is at handling emotional scenes.



Best Action Series



This is like Black Lagoon light. The stories of Jormungand are nothing but the mayhem that happens every other episode is nothing short of fantastic. Truly, there is nothing more thrilling than traveling with an arms dealer.



Best Romance Series



Sakamichi no Apollon does not win this round because that series is more about the friendship between Sen and Kaoru than a love story. Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun is unabashedly about a romantic couple and the only other romance series in the running is Sukitte Ii na Yo, which I abhorred on first viewing, so that leaves only this. This is both a default win and a deserving win because I do enjoy the romance in this title.



Best Production Value



It's by Production I.G. What else do you expect? Overall, the series just looks really good from its character designs to its color pallet and its excellent use of CGI. Even the music is good and I loved both the OP and ED animation sequences.



Best Opening Theme

BTOOOM! ["No Pain, No Game" by Nano]
(RUNNER-UP: Lupin III: Mine Fujiko to Iu Onna ["New Wuthering Heights" by Ichiko Hashimoto])


The tune is forgettable but every time I watch an episode and don't skip the opening credits, I find myself enjoying this song. 



Best Ending Theme

Sakamichi no Apollon ["Altair" by Motohiro Hata]
(RUNNER-UP: BTOOOM! ["Aozara" by May'n])


Piano solo. Nuff said.



Best BGM



Yoko Kanno. Jazz. Eargasm.



Best Ensemble Cast



They're just cool and like sex in black and white. Film noir with a sci-fi twist. And radiating danger like no tomorrow. The minute Kogami and Shion showed up on my screen.... AND OVARIES EXPLODE.



Best Art



The most stylistic outing this year, Lupin III: Mine Fujiko to Iu Onna took me by surprise because I honestly did not expect the art vomit. It is so visually stunning and eye-candy and so very, very different from everything else this year, I just can't find any comparison.



Best Character Design

(RUNNER-UP: Space Brothers )


Nothing beats a classic.



Best Storytelling



Perhaps because it has the advantage of spanning over several episodes. I don't really know how many episodes this is going to be but I'm not paying attention. I'm just here for the ride. That and because the story of Mutta and Hibito is that compelling.



Anime Series of the Year



This series for me is the most complete. It had a very good story, told really well, peopled by wonderful, well-developed characters with music that is to die for and visuals that are just gorgeous.


Sunday, December 2, 2012

Psycho-Pass 8: And then, Silence

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After having narrowed down the culprit of the recent murders to be someone connected to Oso Academy, Gino and his team investigate the school. The resulting tightening of security forces Rikako to stay her hand while she and Makishima wait for the investigation to wrap up. 

Meanwhile, Kogami and Akane bend the rules a little by getting information that would help them solve the case from an incarcerated criminal, who tells them about the similarities between the "artworks" and that of the masterpieces of one Oryo Ryuichi. 

Not long after that, the duo proceed to Oso Academy to apprehend Oryo's daughter, Rikako, who registers a crime coefficient of 472, with "lethal eliminator" as the enforcement measure. However, due to interference from the academy's administrator, Rikako manages to get away, led along by Choe Gu-Sung in disguise. 

The team soon reviews all the video files of the premises, leading them to discover the existence of old boiler room. There they find two more of Rikako's victims but no Rikako. Much later, Kogami finds out that most of the files involving the art room have been altered. But he was able to recover the audio of one of the files and he gets confirmation that a man named "Makishima" is somehow involved with Rikako.

Meanwhile, unknown to Gino and the team, Rikako has been led into a trap where she gets hunted and slain like a beast. Makishima expresses little regret over the loss as he has found a much better subject to toy with: Kogami.


COMMENTS:
Rikako gets her just deserts. Nothing more than poetic justice. Although I did feel a little sorry for her when I think about how things could have turned out differently if she'd received a different sort of help than the "help" that Makishima gave her. If she'd gotten proper treatment for her heinous urges, instead of being enabled by Makishima and his cronies, Rikako might have been salvaged. At the very worst, she might have ended up like that dude with the body tattoos all over his body. His fate is not much worse than being sliced by a robotic dog and then shot in the head by a guy with fantasies about being a mid-19th century hunter.
But oh, how to make of Makishima's obvious crush on Kogami? lol Seriously, Makishima is about to fuck Kogami up and he doesn't even know. Or does he. That audio file has finally given Kogami concrete proof of his suspicions all along: that some guy is masterminding all these crimes and that that guy is called "Makishima."
The parallels between what happened with Sayama and Kogami and what could happen with Kogami and Akane is alarming. Especially since the opening sequence of the show seems to suggest it.
On a different note, Kunizuka totally scored with a high school girl. What does Shion have to say about this? XD

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Psycho-Pass 7: Flowery Language

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Gino and his team are called in to investigate the dead school girl from last episode. Noting the similarities and uncanny connection between this case and the Specimen Case, Gino decides to take Kogami off the case and assigns Akane to babysit him. Akane uses this opportunity to find out more about Sasayama and in the process learns about Makishima, the white-haired man Kogami suspects is behind many of the recent violent crimes they are investigating. Meanwhile, Oryo Rikako mourns the death of her artist father who suffered from "Serenity," an illness that made people affected by it to stop responding to external stimuli -- essentially making them the "living dead." Makishima postulates that this is the end-result of their quest to create a "perfect" society. Makishima further reveals that Rikako's penchant for mutilation is influenced by her father's morbid subjects for his painting (pictures of girls' mutilated bodies) and that she has apparently taken it upon herself to continue his work. Her most recent victim is Yoshida, with whom Rikako seems to have carried on a lesbian relationship. Rikako carries Yoshida's corpse to her school's boiler room where she quickly goes to work on her "art" with the use of a rare chemical provided to her by Makishima's henchman, Choe Gu-Sung. The next day, Gino and Yayoi find another body and it becomes clear to them that they are dealing with another serial killer. Meanwhile, a friend of Yoshida's becomes worried about her friend's disappearance. Knowing that Yoshida and Rikako were close, she decides to ask Rikako herself, only to become another victim with Rikako envisioning another "artwork" using their friendship as a subject. The girl later wakes up in the boiler room with Yoshida's corpse staring blankly at her.


COMMENTS:
This episode was full of exposition and not many things actually happen in terms of forwarding the plot. It's just Rikako committing more murders and I'm guessing the guys are going to be on to her by next episode. So far, her modus is pretty easy to follow and everything can be traced back to that girls' academy.
In other news, I'm glad they didn't drag out the whole secret behind Makishima's identity. I'm glad that they just laid it out as early as now because really I don't think this show is even about forensic investigation but about presenting a dystopian society in the guise of a procedural. This has been done a million times in shows like Ghost in the Shell and Ergo Proxy, but here, the focus seems to be on the human reaction to it.
In the worldview of Psycho-Pass, the human reaction is clearly in extremes. On the one hand, people try to conform so much to the point that they simply stop responding to stress. And on the other, people rebel by committing unheard of acts of atrocities -- the very things that the system aims to prevent. If you notice, both are adverse reactions.

Friday, November 23, 2012

Psycho-Pass 6: Return of the Lunatic Prince

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Kogami wakes up from a nightmare of finding his friend's mutilated dead body. Meanwhile, Akane tries to find out more about Kogami, first by asking Kagari, who doesn't really know much, and then Shion, who does know something. Apparently, while investigating a seemingly unconnected crime, Kogami, who was still an inspector at the time, lost one of his enforcers to a criminal. The criminal was fond of mutilating the bodies of his victims, stuffing them and then putting them on public display. The incident caused Kogami's crime coefficient index to spike to dangerous levels, prompting the bureau to demote him to enforcer.

In another meanwhile, Gino interrogates the drone plant criminal and finds out that someone else gave him the program to make the drone attack and kill his victims. This makes it two cases wherein someone else is enabling the criminals to execute their heinous acts. Kogami connects this to the unsolved case of Sasayama and posits the theory that the mastermind might be one and the same person.

At a girl's school, a troubled student gets ensnared by the beautiful and mysterious President of the Art Club, who mutilates her body into a work of "art" under the tutelage of the same white-haired guy involved with the avatar murders.


COMMENTS:
Shit just got scary. Mutilated bodies, grotesquerie as an art form. The psychotic mind scares me. And this in a Maria-sama ga Miteru setting of an all-girls school. Just think: Sachiko doing this to Yumi. I cannot even. Goddammit, show, why'd you have to give me this mental image of one of my most beloved anime series? LOL
Speaking of yuri, the show again makes a wink-wink, nudge-nudge reference to Shion and Yayoi's not-so platonic relationship. I mean, what is Yayoi doing even there? Just to eat cup noodles? I'm sure she can do that at the cafeteria or her own cubicle. Why at Shion's? Heh. Also, is it a coincidence that Yayoi is designed almost exactly as another Yayoi of another series? I can't be the only one making that connection.
On to more serious stuff. Who is the white-haired dude? He is obviously behind all this. And his photo also appears in Kogami's files of the Sasayama murder case. His mysteriousness and nefarious character reminds me of Vicious from Cowboy Bebop. Incidentally, Kogami looks a bit like Spike Spiegel, too. Coincidence? Or unabashed reference? Well, no matter. This is a completely different show and I am really enjoying its cray-cray villains.

Monday, November 12, 2012

FIRST LOOK: Psycho-Pass 1-5

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So this is the noitaminA show of the season. Psycho-Pass is a science fiction anime set some time in the future. The titular sci-fi technology here is a device that is installed in each person, connecting them to a nifty system, called Sybil, which analyzes a person's "crime coefficient" index on the fly. The consequence of this is government trying to maintain peace and order by apprehending (sometimes with lethal force) "latent" criminals -- that is, people whose "crime coefficient" index is well above regulation standards. It goes without saying, this in turn creates an ethical problem which the show postulates through its female protagonist, Akane, an inspector for the Public Safety Bureau, and seeks to solve through Akane's team of hard-knock enforcers, themselves registered in the system as latent criminals.

The show is produced by Production I.G. so the overall production is high. There's a lot of CGI involved, especially when it comes to the "dominators," specialized guns that only work against latent criminals. The OP (Abnormalize by Ling Tosite) and ED (Namae no nai Kaibutsu by Egoist) themes are typical of sci-fi shows like this -- alt-rock, heavy on the electric guitar and just plain loud. I like both songs enough to make me want to give a listen to the full versions. The animation sequences are also intriguing to watch, especially the opening because the show changed it some time between the second or fifth episode.

It's too early in the show to form a concrete opinion about all the characters. But Akane, the aforementioned protagonist, comes off as ditzy and naive, which isn't a good combination for me. Why are most anime girls like this? I mean, why can't we have a strong, capable woman in a position of power leading an anime show? I should watch Ghost in the Shell. 

Anyway, going back to Psycho-Pass, what I don't like about Akane is that the show tells us that she's supposed to be this super-brilliant young woman who made the independent decision to work for the Public Safety Bureau because she thought she could make a difference, but so far the show hasn't shown us any evidence of her supposed brilliance. Instead, what it has shown us is this airhead who is surprised all the time by what's going on around her (this is how the system works, didn't she study this in school? or even if she didn't, couldn't she have arrived at that conclusion herself given the whole situation?) and then refusing to take action when taking action was the most logical choice to keep herself and her team safe as well as perform her duty. And I don't care if things got resolved in her favor in the end. It doesn't change the fact that it was dangerous what she did. You want to question the system? Sure. Do it behind a desk. Not while you're out there chasing a dangerous criminal, jeezuz.

That said, I think Akane will improve over time so there's that. Also, by episode 5, the side characters are beginning to become interesting. Especially Gino, the other inspector assigned to supervise the team and Akane's partner. And then there's the other main character in the show, Kogami, who we find out is a former inspector but got demoted to enforcer when his crime coefficient went too high. He is Akane's foil. The other members of the team have their own back stories to tell, I'm sure, and there's even a yuri relationship hinted at between Yayoi and Shion.

As far as story goes, the show is taking the criminal-a-week approach but there's a sub-plot going on concerning a white-haired dude that Kogami seems to know and hate. We'll see. I think I'm sticking around for this show.



Friday, October 19, 2012

2012 Anime Fall Season

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This is a bit late but eh, who cares. Thanks to CR for the charts.


Litchi DE Hikari Club 
It sounds pretty dark and mangly and psychological wtf and I know just the person who likes this sort of shit. Maybe, maybe not. The promo art is pretty unique and, therefore, attractive though.

BTOOM!
It's by Madhouse so I guess I'll check it out. Seems like the spiritual successor to Summer Wars, except the main character isn't just playing a character in a game but is actually in the game. Might be interesting. Also, did I mention it's by Madhouse?

Zetsuen no Tempest
I'm not really sold on the plot but it might turn out to be good. Especially considering the fact that this is by BONES. If anything, the visuals should be worth it.

Sukitte Ii na Yo
My obligatory romance series for the season. I've heard about this manga. Seems pretty popular but meh. I'll just check it out for a while and may be drop it if the other series get their groove on.


Shin Sekai Yori
It's one of those horror fantasy series and the first thing that come to mind is Another. But the series' plot couldn't be further from that show. The preview doesn't do anything for me but I could be wrong.

Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun
Brains Base. The plot intrigues me more than Sukite but I guess I'll watch the first episode of both shows at least before making any sort of comparison. I just have this feeling that I'm going to like this one better than the other.

Jormungand: PERFECT ORDER
I actually enjoyed the first season. I love Koko and her harem of tough, hard-as-nails ex-soldiers! And I love her crazy adventures, so yes, I'm going to watch this series. Hell, this might just be the only series I'll watch fo' sho' this season.

Psycho-Pass
Production I.G. + noitaminA = gold. That's all.



Asura
Promo poster looks hot.

Arata Naru Sekai
Don't know what it's about. Don't even know if I can find it on Tokyo Tosho but adding this here anyway for in case I stumble upon a torrent of it one day.

Biohazard: Damnation
Already seen it. All I can say is, Leon is hot and Ada is hot and that Russian dude is hot, and the president is totally a MILF. Also, zombies.

009 Re:Cyborg
Gives me Casshern Sins feels.

Well, that's it, you guys. I hope I get to finish at least three series from this not-so short list of mine this season. Because summer season, I was just crap.
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