Weekly Anime Roundup – #3 (Part 1: Flashback Frenzy)

by Moonlily on Jun.06, 2009, under Anime

Somehow, I’m getting the feeling that my weekly posts are divided into two different posts. Part 1 seems to have all the good shows and Part 2 seems to have all the shit shows. So I suppose if people wanted to get recommendations on the good stuff, they’d just read Part 1.

As is the usual drill, keep in mind that the sarcasm factor may be high and that all shows that are mocked deserve it. On the flip side, shows that earn my praise are also very deserving, so let’s have at it!

Asura Cryin’

What happened: Misao’s getting pretty used to her new life as a corporeal spirit and everyone else seems to take it in stride except for Tomoharu, who still finds her ability to go through solid objects and float around to be just a bit creepy. They don’t go too much into this though since much of the focus is on Yoh’s flashback where she and her dad come across a stabilizer unit only to discover that there are guardians assigned to it and as a result, she loses her father to those guardians. Later, Shuri and Yukari, who had been friends with Yoh, meet up with her by chance on a flight to Europe. Long story short, the plane crashes, killing a majority of those on board (including Misao, who had been on the same flight. Tomoharu managed to survive though), and Yoh opts to save Yukari by using her as a burial doll with which to power her Asura mech.

What I thought: Geez, they seem to be going overdrive with the flashbacks and it wouldn’t be so bad, except this is just ho-hum plot exposition… not that you learn a whole lot from that anyways and it only takes away from the combat sequences. At least the preview promises more chaos and madness and I have that to look forward to. Speaking of which, this series is a bit jarring at times because the approach to the characters are almost bipolar. Characters who may be civil in one episode suddenly become enemies in the next and cause hundreds of thousands of dollars in property damage and yet, no one seems to bat an eye. So for them to transition from URRRHHH RAEEG shounen-style screaming to uneasy ceasefire gets my goat every time. It’s still a fun series, but at this point, don’t think too hard or else you might just burst a vein in your forehead.

Cross Game

What happened: The training heats up as the EVIL coach prepares to get his team to the nationals by breaking anyone who he declares to be unfit for the rigors of high school ball. His first target happens to be Aoba, and because she’s ineligible to play at the high school level, he thinks nothing of using her as a pitching machine against his players, hoping that he’ll crush her spirit in the process. Things get a bit ugly when Yuuhei decides to duke it out with Aoba by hitting foul balls continuously, forcing Aoba to keep on pitching. Kou and the others see this happening and are enraged by Yuuhei’s lack of empathy, but seeing Aoba’s determination, lets her go on with her pitching duties.

What I thought: It’s always irritating to me when people, whether they be anime characters or real people are willing to put up with dickery. I understand Aoba’s never-give-up-approach, but I guess I’m not a patient enough person to endure those kinds of shenanigans. When it was clear that the EVIL coach was gonna be a dick, I’d have gone out and beaned some of his players. But then again, this series isn’t called One Outs and Aoba is no Tokuchi Toua, so we’ll just have to live with a delightfully heartwarming series instead of a delightfully hilarious series where the main character is a jackass and gets away with it. (Protip: go watch One Outs)

Eden of the East

What happened: After that incident with Shiratori, the mystery only thickens, which is why the Eden team has marshaled their resources to find out more about Mr. Outside, the mysterious being who appears to be at the center of all this. Akira did manage to find a broken Selecao cell phone and hopes that the team will be able to hack into it to ascertain its contents, but the only person who seems to be capable of this is a guy named Itazu who also goes by “Pantsu.” He supposedly has the skill to be able to get into the device to unlock its secrets, and after Akira pesters him repeatedly, he agrees to do so.

Oosugi, jealous of Saki’s relationship with Akira decides to investigate him, and what he finds unnerves him, starting with Akira’s unconfirmed identity. The feedback he gets places Akira as being tied to Careless Monday somehow, and that only increases his anxiety.

What I thought: I’m tempted to say that with the story they have on hand, 12-13 episodes is nowhere enough to cover the breadth that this series has to offer and if it’s going to fail, it’ll be because they tried to rush an ending. Anyhow, Omni over at Random Curiosity has already raised an outcry over Oosugi’s jealous behavior though in my case, I can’t blame him. If the girl of my dreams left me for a guy who seems suspicious, I’d probably try to dig out some info about him too. Except I know that Akira’s one cool dude, and Oosugi doesn’t. There’s not too much in the way of development in this episode even if the dialog between Akira and Itazu does provide a few valuable insights regarding the thoughts revolving around hikkikomori.

Also, holy shit, but isn’t the Eden Project awesome at violating one’s sense of privacy? It’s a cool program, but man, does it have the power to be abused should a nation-state figure out how to use it.

Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood

What happened: The fight between the serial killer brothers vs. Ed and Barry the Chopper vs. Al is well under way as the two brothers try to ascertain the truth from them. Barry manages to instill a smidgen of doubt within Al’s true state, and that causes him no end of grief. In the other battle, Ed is almost cornered by the serial killer until the Homonculi come in to bail him out, saying that he needs to be saved for an upcoming sacrificial ritual.

What I thought: A decent episode marred by moments where the comedy was used most inappropriately. I get that there need to be light-hearted moments just to lift things up and keep it from being serious business but… no, wait, I don’t. The series could do without the whimsical comedy and no matter how much the manga readers may say that it’s OK because the manga used the offbeat humor, it just doesn’t work in this context given the grim nature of Ed and Al’s mission as well as the opposition that they’re up against. Maybe if this was Bleach it’d work, but it’s not.

That’s it for this first segment. Stay tuned for the second and looking forwards to your comments.

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