So, it looks like I've been updating this thing semi-regularly in the last month or so.
That's probably not gonna last, but I can try to extend the winning streak as much as I can. Seeing as I am the Haru Urara of anime bloggers, that probably means that I'll vanish for half a year after this one entry.
So well, there's a new season beginning, and it looks kind of dubious. This season's series all seem to have some kind of a gimmick, and sometimes it works. However, quite a few of them (Strike the Blood and Nagi no Asukara, among others) are overextending said gimmick and becoming shit beyond shit.
So.
Arpeggio of Blue Steel - Ars Nova
I don't know why I'm even bothering to write this out. Ah well, it'll only be two or three lines - there really isn't much to say about the series.
Generic wish-fulfillment pseudo-harem series.
Moe anthropomorphisms.
A transparent attempt to cash in on Kantai Collection.
Wonky CGI animation that seems to be the product of a strained budget and a studio that wants to maximize profits.
Cliché plot filled with plot devices and obviously leading up to a "reveal" that'll become completely obvious in later episodes.
40/100. Worth my time, but only barely.
BlazBlue - Alter Memory
What's with this season and hyphenated titles? Ah well.
Alter Memory is a faithful rendition of the game, for better or worse. Colorful animation, a blistering pace, a story that seems determined to start out with as many questions and loose ends as it can so that they can be tied together later in a "surprising reveal" - so all in all, it's a fighting game anime. In the end, that's what it is - everything else is reasonably average. The plot is interesting, though a little bit cluttered, the characters are colorful, albeit a tad forced, the pace is interesting, albeit a bit too hurried, the music fits the series, though it's recycled from the game's butt-rock soundtrack - so it's a fighting game anime.
You've probably seen it all before, really. It's good and all, but it's a fighting game anime.
65/100.
Coppelion
Coppelion is one of the series this season that actually manages to use its gimmick well.
While the emotional content can seem a bit forced and the symbolism is simply beyond gratuitous, Coppelion does its job. It's a (pseudo-) post-apocalyptic survival horror series, and it carries with it many of the inherent strengths and weaknesses of its genre. Its bent towards tragedy is pretty much an obligatory survival series mainstay, as is the at times quite forced random-events plot and the mysterious plot-device backing agency which I am willing to bet a gallon of Red Bull will somehow be destroyed during the series.
However, Coppelion is one of the few survival-horror series out there and does provide a breath of fresh air, and of course the visuals are fantastic. Studio GoHands seems to be in demand this year, and I'm not complaining - they single-handedly turn Coppelion from a mediocre show to a good one. The visuals manage to give life to the world and make it feel genuinely desolate and tragic, which is the lifeblood of any post-apocalyptic series. The plot might not be Pulitzer material, sure, and the characters might not be very deep - Aoi is the naïve go-getter, Taeko the brains of the group and Ibara the walking death flag - but the visuals and ambience tie together the other admittedly quite lacking elements and turn Coppelion into an engaging, interesting series most remarkable for the "survival" part of survival horror. The environments are lovingly portrayed, and the ruins of Tokyo feel like so much more than just a stage for shoot-outs and forced drama. The animation is crisp, and the show's pace follows it quite well, leading to an experience that's quite enjoyable in spite of its flaws - forced drama, shallow characters and random-events plot.
75/100.
