~~~~~

Summary:

After challenging Hibiki to a duel (last episode), Tsubasa makes good on her word and pulls out one of her ultimate attacks.  Fortunately, Genjuro, the leader of the 2nd Division, arrives at the scene quickly enough to break them apart.  He is apparently strong enough to stop Tsubasa with just his bare fists.

After the shaky beginning between the two girls, Hibiki’s and Tsubasa’s relationship don’t improve much even after a month.  Hibiki is still trying to get the hang of her symphogear, while Tsubasa is riddled with guilt; believing that her weakness was the cause for Kanade’s death.  While Hibiki nears the point of exhaustion from her part-time duty of saving the world from Noise, Tsubasa begins to withdraw her emotions more and more, claiming that “a weapon needs no emotions.”

I guess I can't really blame Tsubasa for acting the way she does. Her attitude's still hella annoying at times, though.

There is another short info-dump on the Noise.  It seems they were around since ancient times, but are resurfacing in startling numbers now.  It appears that someone is sending the Noise out to attack the school, because it holds the “Durandal.”  The Durandal are relic fragments that anyone can use, not just those wearing symphogear.  However, it needs to be activated first.  There is also the possibility of some U.S. terrorists who want to get their hands on it.

...I think it's just pure coincidence that the two anime series that I am reviewing have a perverted female character...

Not long after this, Hibiki is forced to choose her job over watching shooting stars with her best friend, Miku.  This causes her great pain and she enters a brief rage mode.  Still unable to draw her Arms Gear, she simply wails on enemies with her fists.  Tsubasa then makes a dramatic entrance to destroy the remaining Noise.  Hibiki tries to appeal to Tsubasa again, but their reunion is interrupted by the appearance of a new villain.

HIBIKI, NO ;-;

I'm sorry, but you get villain points subtracted for having the most ridiculous costume in this show. Also, a note to costume designers: armor is supposed to PROTECT the chest area, not show it off!

My Opinion:

This series seems to have found its stride, so the usual stuff like singing and animation are all about the same as the last few episodes.  I still have the same opinion on both these things so I won’t bore you by talking about them here.

I am pleased that the plot continues to take center stage, despite the higher than usual fanservice segments that appeared in the last episode.  This one had much less, so I’m guessing (or hoping, rather), that future episodes won’t be super fanservice heavy.  The plot itself is still rather interesting, and I’m curious to see what happens next.  The only thing that kind of made me “:/” was the hint of the U.S. government being a potential baddie.  Japan, why you always gotta rag on us?  I probably wouldn’t be so biased in disliking this trope if I wasn’t an American citizen myself, but I still think that any “X COUNTRY IS BAD” used as a plot device is in poor taste.  Anyway, I digress…

I was actually surprised by the introduction of a main villain this episode.  With the Noise being as dangerous to humans as they are, I didn’t expect there to be a person who would be the “mastermind” behind all the attacks; but there you go!  I’m not sure what to think of her yet, other than her outfit is really ridiculous.  I know it’s supposed to be “threatening” but I’m not really getting that vibe…  I hope she turns out to be a well-written villain and not just the “EVIL FOR THE LULZ!” character.

Overall, an average but decent episode.  There seemed to be a little less action than past episodes, though it’s still an interesting watch.  Character developments and interactions so far are handled very well too.

Out of five:

I still think Hibiki's symphogear armor is a little uninspired, but it has grown on me.

*stare*

Summary:

Ririchiyo and Soushi (along with Ririchiyo’s childhood “friend” Sorinozuka) all go to the mall together because Ririchiyo needs to buy some new stuff for her new apartment.  The whole time at the mall, Ririchiyo muses about Soushi’s obsessive behavior towards her and all the stuff that happened the day before.  Although she is annoyed by his actions, she is also somewhat thankful that he has such sincere feelings for her (i.e. not simply following her around because of her family name and wealth).

Inu x Boku's chibis are kind of QUALITY

After buying herself a cell phone for the first time, Ririchiyo goes back to the Ayakashi mansion only to find that Karuta’s missing.  As the “haunting hour” is upon them, Ririchiyo and gang decide to go look for Karuta before it gets too late.  Ririchiyo ends up getting trapped by a youkai that builds shadowy walls around people.  After transforming, she’s easily able to break through the wall and sees that Soushi had also transformed to save her.  Ririchiyo believes that Soushi’s display was a bit dramatic, but nonetheless appreciates his concern about her well-being.

Wh--

Sorinozuka ends up getting a call that Karuta had returned to the mansion on her own, rendering their efforts useless.  Back at the mansion itself, it’s revealed that the residents were actually intending to throw a surprise welcoming party for Ririchiyo and Soushi.  That night, Ririchiyo resolves to throw away that bad habit of hers, and starts by trying to become more friendly towards Soushi.  After some trouble, she’s able to send him a text message through her new phone.

So many interesting potential characters!

My Opinion:

This episode was really slow.  The last episode was pretty slow paced by itself, but this episode was even more so.  Slow-paced anime aren’t automatically bad, but I did feel that this episode was a little lackluster compared to the first.  There wasn’t even any “real” conflict towards the end when Ririchiyo got captured by that wall youkai.  Although I wasn’t bored, I do hope that the pace for Inu x Boku improves in the future, as there wasn’t anything to “make up” for the lack of action.  Not much comedy or even very much entertaining to watch, just an entire episode dedicated to Ririchiyo’s musings.

While it is fine for there to be several minutes dedicated to the main character’s thoughts, I felt that it definitely could have been handled better.  Really; not even typical slice-of-life anime are this dry.   The one thing I enjoyed about this episode was more youkai revelations.  As said last time, I hope that we get to see more of the residents as they all seem fairly interesting.  Ririchiyo’s transformation was also pretty cool.  I’m guessing that this series will be more philosophical than action-y, but there’s a good chance that we’ll be able to see more of Ririchiyo’s oni form in action.

Overall, this episode was a bit of a letdown compared to the last one because it felt a little pointless.  The animation is still pretty nice, though there are a bit more obvious scenes of QUALITY present, especially in the far-off shots.  I’m really hoping the third episode will be more entertaining.  A small note: there’s an official OP and ED now!  The OP is actually the ED that was shown last time, so we have a new ED.  It’s… equal parts hilarious and creepy.  All you need to know is that it centers on Soushi; I think you can get the gist of it from that.

Out of five:

    and 1/2

Her oni form is very pretty. :V

Atsumi's eyes are really kind of unnerving...

This time, we get to see a little more of Atsumi’s daily high school life, such as the effort she needs to put into reaching vending machine buttons she wants. It really is inconvenient to be so short at her age…but as for Atsushi, he finds his height just as inconvenient if it means missing out on free candy. It is very handy for Atsumi when they go grocery shopping, however.

One day.....

his face though

I can foresee that the plot sections of these reviews are going to be around that kind of sparseness, because there really only is so much you can do in 3 minutes. I’m pleased to report that this show is still charming and adorable, and, if the ‘Atsushi got mistaken for a pedophile’ gag in the first episode made you uncomfortable (which it seemed to do to a lot of people, although not me), the jokes in this episode are ‘cleaner’. (however I’m a little disappointed we never got to saw what happened after Atsushi was taken away by the police…) Of course, they’re all pretty predictable and clear-cut – jokes about height tend to be that way after all, but the whole thing still managed to bring a smile to my face, and it’s a great little weekly pick-me-up that really doesn’t take away much of my time at all.
I am curious to how much material they can manage to get out of this setup, but seeing as there’s still quite a few things I’d like to see, I can’t see them running out of ideas too quickly. For example, I personally can’t wait to see Atsushi at school, something which is sure to be adorably ridiculous, and Atsumi’s friend’s inevitable continued meetings with him. (Seeing as she seems to think he’s Atsumi’s older brother, and also seems to have a crush on him, if she sees his personality it’ll be sure to produce some laughs.) Also, where are their parents? If they have any at all, that is.
Mostly I hope I don’t run out of things to say about it other than “this was cute and charming and made me smile’.

But not to big children? Discrimination!

To be honest, I think he acts more like an 8-year-old than an 11-year-old.

Out of 5,
1/2

Well at least one character is relatable. If I was stuck in this show I'd have my eyes closed all the time too.

Blandy McBlanderson has just started university, where he is starting to meet all kinds of oddballs. An odd girl named Raika in particular has, for no real reason, taken an interest in him. He thought he’d be living a usual university life in a dorm, but his older sister has a request for him – her and her husband are going away and want him to mind her three daughters. Technically only one is hers, the youngest – while the other two are her husband’s from previous marriages. Of course, the eldest of the daughters has a thing for older guys and a crush on Blandy, so WACKY HIJINKS WILL ENSUE RIGHT PS BUY THE FIGURES

She's three, and I am incredibly sad that I know this isn't going to stop the people this show is aimed at.

I was tempted to just leave the review section of this as ‘nope’ and post it like that, but then I thought ripping into this nicely animated pile of fecal matter would be more fun. Because after sitting through that, I really want to have fun. With that sentence, I’ve already got the main good thing about this show out of the way. It is surprisingly well animated, and I was a little impressed by the backgrounds. But that’s it, really, and even then the aesthetics aren’t 100% good. Even though things are drawn fine, the characters look deformed when shown in side-on, and the character designs are as forgettable as every other show like this. And yet it’s still probably going to get a bunch of figures and body pillows because it has That Show written all over it.
Possibly worst of all is how it started off not all that bad, showing Blandy’s university life first. I say ‘not all that bad’ to refer to comparison because it was still about as exciting as watching the wall of my apartment, unless you really like looking at big tits because that’s what the camera is focussed on most of the time, but things took a nose dive into the stagnant depths of shit lake by the time Blandy got to meet his niece and step-nieces. The rest is exactly as I expected it would be, and why I put off watching this for so long, and why I’m not sure I even got my hopes up that this wouldn’t be thinly veiled lolicon harem bullshit extended character goods commercials that will explode all over the next Comiket and inspire another line of creepy parody onaholes. Sure, people are going to say that it isn’t, really, and that it’s a wholesome show about a young guy playing the part of a father to three girls which is a pretty hard argument to make when the second youngest daughter is pressing her barely budded breasts against the guys arm and showing off her lovingly detailed ass and underwear. I can’t remember the last time I felt so unclean watching an anime before. To put this in perspective for you – I liked Kodomo no Jikan. By the time Blandy had walked in on the eldest daughter changing – something I can’t believe we’re still resorting to putting in anime in 2012, I was consumed with such incredible, indescribable hatred for everything that had that not been the end of the episode, I would have quit there.
After this experience, a sense of sadness washed over me as I looked out the window at the moon and  realized what I had become; the angry, bitter anime blogger. I never wanted to be this bitter and jaded about anime, but this is the terrible fate of a reviewer. This is what these kind of shows have done to me. And I still keep watching them. You’re welcome.

Did they even try with Blandy's character design. Seriously.

Out of 5,

I think Tsubasa's armor is a little cooler, but that may just be because I prefer the color blue over orange.

Summary:

Continuing straight on from last time, Hibiki (fully transformed) finds that she’s a little more successful at running away and saving the little girl now that she has magical armor.  However, she still gets cornered by a bunch of Noise.  Thankfully, Tsubasa comes to her aid and wipes them all out.  After that harrowing escape, Hibiki is forced to meet with the 2nd Division, which is a secret service made specially to fight the Noise.  Their headquarters are located deep underground, under Hibiki’s and Tsubasa’s school.

Always gotta have a hot female scientist, huh anime?

After some initial tests/body scans, Hibiki is allowed to return back to her shared dorm with Miku.  Meanwhile, Tsubasa angsts about Kanade’s death; and mentions that she doesn’t like Hibiki running around with her dead friend’s suit.  The next day, Hibiki has to return back to headquarters for a briefing on her newfound powers.  In actuality, Tsubasa’s powers come from an ancient fragment known as a “Relic.”  These are activated through song, and can form armor and weapons against the Noise.  The armor itself is called Symphogear.  In essence, only those wearing Symphogear can touch a Noise without disintegrating; and only certain people can activate the Relics.  Although Hibiki doesn’t have a Relic on a necklace like Tsubasa, she still has some fragments embedded in her chest from the accident two years prior.  These fragments were too close to her heart to be removed safely, explaining why she still has them today.  As expected, these fragments came from Kanade’s weapon when it broke in battle.

I hope we get to learn more about Kanade since she's featured pretty prominently in the OP theme, despite being...you know, DEAD.

Tsubasa reacts poorly to the news and rushes out of the conference room.  Shortly after, there is a confirmed Noise sighting, and Tsubasa quickly gets on the case.  Hibiki also follows along, despite the 2nd Division’s advising against it (as she has no prior military/fighting experience).  Even though Hibiki is essentially a rookie, she manages to help Tsubasa take down a large Noise before it can do any damage.  Afterwards, Hibiki tries to reconcile with Tsubasa, but Tsubasa only challenges her to a duel instead.

The larger Noise still look a tad ridiculous, but at least they're a bit more creepy than the normal ones.

My Opinion:

A proper OP, finally!  It’s very nice and flashy, though I do have to wonder… Did Hibiki’s bust get bigger in it? There is also a proper ED this episode, and it is surprisingly dark and random for this series, but anyway; on to the episode itself.

This was a pretty info dump-heavy episode.  Which makes sense as the second episode in any series is the perfect time to do an info dump.  Episode 1 serves to draw the audience in, while episode 2 serves to actually explain all the crap that happened last time.  This made for a slightly less action-packed and slower-paced episode, but it fortunately wasn’t too boring.  At least, I didn’t think so.  I suppose all the explanations could have been said in a more interesting way, but hey; explanations are explanations.  No matter how intriguing the explanation is, all you still have is (mostly) one character just talking.

I didn’t mention it in the summary, but Hibiki and Tsubasa actually sang throughout the entirety of the opening battle.  Each of them sang different songs, which I think contrasted their personalities nicely.  Some people may be of the opinion that singing while battling is kind of cheesy, which I do admit can be true.  But I don’t care, I found the whole sequence AWESOME.  It was… cheesy-awesome!

Also, I think Hibiki is ADORABLE.

The animation this time was still pretty decent, at least for the characters.  Some of the background objects did look a little bit QUALITY, but I’d rather have that than QUALITY where the action scenes are concerned.  I think the character designs this time around are a little bit more refined.  It seems the animators have finally found their stride as Hibiki’s eyes looked a lot less freaky this time around.  And it’s still a bit too early to tell, but I think most of the characters’ personalities are somewhat cemented by now.  Hibiki’s the “optimistic protagonist” full-on, while Tsubasa’s the more jaded, seasoned warrior.  Tsubasa’s cold demeanor will probably change later, but I think it’s nice that she’s still upset by Kanade’s death.  Obviously some people get over deaths quicker than others, but two years is realistic.  Especially since Kanade seems to have been a very close friend to Tsubasa; it’s not something that a person would forget about so easily.

I am rambling a bit now, but I do want to mention something before I finish.  Yes, I’m going to talk about the fanservice.  I honestly think all the fanservice was put in this episode to make up for there being none last time.  Even when you’re not looking for it, it’s quite jarring since you wouldn’t expect it based on the first episode.  Fortunately, I don’t think it’ll ever get as bad as something like High School DxD, but if the fanservice gets increased in future episodes, I will get a bit… annoyed.  There are also possibly some hints of shojo-ai, given that the main cast is composed of girls.  Not sure if that’s going to be a big deal later, though.

Anyway, out of five for this episode:

Fourth wall breaking, gooooo!

Yet another haughty rich girl... OR IS IT?!

Summary:

Ririchiyo is the daughter of a rich family that goes a long way back.  She moves into a rather mysterious, yet high class apartment community one day.  It is a place where every tenant apparently gets a bodyguard.  Although Ririchiyo puts on haughty airs, she is actually a genuinely nice person.  Her haughtiness is something that she calls a “bad habit.”  Ririchiyo moved into the complex intending to be alone, but she winds up with a bodyguard anyway, despite not requesting one.  Her bodyguard is a strange, yet good-looking man named Soushi.

Soushi has mastered the skill of Bishonen Sparkles.

Another secret service agent--yes, she's actually in the secret service, despite her cutesy looks.

Soushi follows Ririchiyo EVERYWHERE, much to her chagrin.  Even though she prefers to be alone, she still ends up meeting a lot of the tenants and body guards, who are all as strange as Soushi.  Feeling sorry for Soushi, Ririchiyo tells him a little bit about her history.  She was apparently bullied a lot as a child, solely because she was rich; and was also rather lonely.  To this Soushi says ambiguously that he has been waiting to serve her for many years, and that he’s known her for a long time.

Hey at least this is better than all those background caps I have a habit of taking

Cut to later that night.  Ririchiyo is accosted by a burglar with a gun, but luckily Soushi comes to her aid.  He reveals that he is actually a nine-tailed fox spirit, or is channeling one, at least.  We then find out that the apartment complex’s true purpose is to house other individuals who can “channel spirits”, and every tenant and bodyguard has these powers.   After the burglar is disposed of, Ririchiyo has no choice other than to accept Soushi as her bodyguard after all he’s done for her.  And so her new life begins.

Had to take at least one cap of transformed Soushi.

My Opinion:

Yet another anime that I was pleasantly surprised by!  I didn’t really have high expectations for this series initially, as I thought it was just your typical light novel based anime.  However, this actually turned out to be a fairly entertaining and fairly interesting series.  Having absolutely no background on the series beforehand, I have to admit, I was caught off-guard by the revelation that everyone at the apartment is actually monsters/channeling spirits.  Though that does make me wonder… what IS Ririchiyo actually?

The animation for this series is really beautiful. (Hopefully, it lasts!)  There’s not too much hint of a plot so far, but I actually wouldn’t mind if this was a slice of life series—with monsters/spirits!  Based on the ending theme though, that probably won’t be the case.  Like in all other first episodes, I haven’t seen enough to gauge how good the characters are, but they are all interesting enough, and there’s no one I hate yet (that’s a good thing).  I was dreading Ririchiyo to be another rich bitch/unbearable tsundere character but; while she is a tsundere, she is actually one of the better tsunderes I’ve seen lately.  For once, she is actually a very sincere character, unlike those other “tsunderes” who just act like annoying bitches ALL the time.  I’m also really excited to meet some of the other characters, as there seemed like a lot that we’ll be formally introduced to later on.

All in all, this was a really slow episode so there’s not much more for me to talk about.  I don’t even have any real criticisms for this series other than it follows some standard clichés (REPRESSED MEMORIES EVERYWHERE) but that’s not a terribly big deal for me if it’s pulled off well.  Since this is most likely my last first impression, I think I’ve decided on my choices for what I want to blog this season.  And yes, I think I will keep reviewing this series.

Out of five for this episode:

      and 1/2

I quite like Ririchiyo's character design.

If you succeed in cracking me the hell up about 10 seconds into the episode, then you are doing things very, very right.

Friends Tadakuni, Hidenori and Yoshitaka are high school boys. They have daily lives. You couldn’t really get a more literal title for this show, but the title alone doesn’t exactly convey how silly these boys lives can be. In  a bunch of shorts to acquaint us with their personalities, the three will try to teach eachother how to get a girlfriend via an acted simulation, wear Tadakuni’s sister’s skirts, tell ridiculous ‘scary stories’ with unintended consequences, and have a very special meeting with a dream-filled ‘literature girl’. Square Enix and Sunrise have joined forces to create……probably the last thing you’d expect them to, really.

Yeah.

Well, I think it’s safe to say that we have our contender for the best new comedy anime. It sure has been a while since I laughed so many times while watching one, let alone so early in the episode. (The rip on the ‘running with bread in mouth’ thing was just genius) Those pegging this as another Kimi to Boku (one of last season’s most polarizing shows, which I found a little charming but hardly riveting or hilarious) should take note that Daily Lives of High School Boys focusses far more on the humour than the slice of life aspect. Rather than ‘cute boys act cute’ it’s ‘cute boys act hilariously stupid’, which manages to succeed with flying colours thanks to the snappy writing and frankly hilarious dialogue. While the boys conversations are funny enough, it’s their internal monologues where the humour really shines, and this is no truer than in the final segment of this episode when Hidenori must come up with some impressive and cool dialogue to woo a ‘literature girl’.
The characters themselves are enjoyable too, even if they arent completely ground-breaking, and the show really gets points for also having some rather nifty-seeming female characters – Tadakuni’s sister and the Literature Girl, who I’m sure we’ll see more of. It does however do the practice common to slice of life shows of dropping the viewer straight into things at the point where everyone already knows eachother, which often makes it difficult to get a complete grasp on their personalities. I’m not sure why Hidenori and Yoshitaka are always so quick to be at eachother’s throats – or Yoshitaka’s exact personality, to be honest (although to be fair, he did have the least focus in this episode), but I’ll definitely be staying onboard to see more.
The weakest thing about it, however, is the artwork, which is bland almost to a fault. While this is alright when it’s a show to be watched for the comedy and not the art, I get the feeling that for this one, the manga may be a better option. (Although, I haven’t read it, so I can’t say whether the jokes work as well or any better in manga format) However,it’s the voice-work that really carries the delivery of the jokes too.
I’d love to blog this, but I’m really not sure if I’ll be able to so I can’t make any promises. I’m definitely going to follow it though.

This whole damn scene should win an award or something.

Out of 5,

1/2

Are main characters dying within the first episode the new trend?

Summary:

Kaito is a young man with a penchant for filming, who lives with his older sister in what appears to be the countryside.  His parents died in an accident several years prior, and he reminisces about them while filming the starry skies on a bridge one night.  However, a spaceship suddenly crashes into earth, sending him flying off the bridge.  A mysterious being clothed in light saves him.

I think I have a bad habit of taking too many screenshots of nice scenery, help

The next day, Kaito (or Kai, as most people call him) wakes up and goes to summer school, not remembering anything that had happened the night before.  He has many friends at school who convince him to make a movie, as it is summertime.  That morning, there is a new transfer student, who goes by the name of Ichika.  Her unusual red hair draws a lot of unwanted attention, and Ichika angsts silently about not being able to fit in.  Fortunately, she is saved by Remon, who is just as strange a girl.  One of Kai’s friends, Ishigaki, is much more forward with women and so asks Ichika to star in their movie during lunch period.  Amazingly, Ichika agrees.

Whoah, isn't that an unnecessarily harsh statement to make about your friends' joking around?

I'm liking Remon a lot so far. Is her name actually supposed to be "Lemon"?

During P.E., Kai’s friends notice that he has a “hickey” on his neck, though Kai doesn’t really remember the details of what happened the night before.  On his way home, he ends up meeting Ichika again.  She doesn’t have a place to stay so Kai invites her to stay at his house—just for one night.  While Ichika showers, Kai has a fainting spell, and Ichika (clothed only in a towel) rushes over.  It’s revealed that she was the one who saved Kai the night before, and she asks for aid from some mysterious creature in her suitcase in saving him again.  She successfully does so, though Kai is still knocked out.  While Ichika’s cradling an unconscious Kai in her arms, his older sister and female classmate barge in on the scene.  Obviously, chaos ensues.

The ED for this episode was really pretty.

My Opinion:

A little bit of background: this series was made by pretty much the same people who made Onegai Teacher and Onegai Twins.  If I remember correctly, Onegai Teacher involved an alien who took the form of a woman, and dealt with the romance between her and a young man.  So it was fairly unsurprising to me that this series also involves what appears to be the romance between an alien and your average high school guy.  I don’t know how similar this series is to Onegai Teacher (the character designs of the main hero and heroine are amazingly similar, though much more polished of course), but it doesn’t seem too bad so far, despite the somewhat generic plot of “average guy meets extraordinary girl.”

The animation is very fluid and very lovely to look at.  The character designs may seem kind of bland at first glance, but I think it nicely serves to make Ichika look that much more unique (because she’s technically an alien).  The characters themselves haven’t shown too many unique traits, but they’re all likeable enough; and their interactions actually come off as natural, which is something that most anime seem to disregard nowadays.

Kai is actually one of the more likeable (and adorable) male leads of this season, I think.

I’m not going to judge the story too much at this point since it’s just getting on its feet, but I do like what I’ve seen so far.  I usually don’t like anime of this genre (guy meets girl) but this series pulled it off really well.  It even pokes fun at itself for using tired old clichés, which I thought was cute.  Of course there is some fanservice, but it hasn’t been the sole focus so far.  This series seems like a more laid back series that would probably be nice to watch for unwinding after a hard day.  I’m not sure if I’m going to review this series until after I finish my First Impressions, but it seems like a charming enough anime to keep me interested.

Out of five:

      and 1/2

The presumed recorder and randsell in question.

Atsushi and Atsumi are a brother and sister pair who both have the odd problem of their appearance not matching their age. While Atsushi is really 11 and in elementary school, he looks like a young man. Atsumi is the opposite – she’s 17 and in high-school, but looks like an 8-year-old. Furthermore, their personalities have much more in common with their actual ages than their appearances; so Atsumi looks after her ‘little’ brother who is, for all the world, a clueless little kid in a man’s body. Naturally, this causes many understandings with people who don’t know his true age – people like policemen who see him talking to his friend of the same age.

...Given the fact that I just watched Kill Me Baby it's a little hard to find Atsumi's appearance unusual for a high-schooler, though.

If there’s one show I’m seeing getting panned all over the internet, it’s this one, this apparently creepy, ‘sleazy’ show that tries and fails to be funny. Maybe after hearing so many bad things about it I just had my expectations really low or something, but…I just have to come out and say it.
I LIKED THIS SHOW. I ENJOYED IT A WHOLE LOT.
I found it utterly charming, and I laughed at the joke. I don’t care if apparently, this means I have to go hand in my ‘comedy fan’ card or something, and make of it what you will about my sense of humour, but a child in a grown man’s boy is simultaneously adorable and hilarious to me. It’s also vaguely creepy, but seeing as this is a gag anime, it’s okay not to think about it. The only thing I actually raised my eyebrow at was the girl with the impossibly bouncy boobs in the ‘opening’ (well, more like the ending, given the placement), who wasnt in this episode. I’m really not sure what she is going to bring to future episodes besides probably unnecessary fanservice. But for this episode itself, to me, the only real glaring problem was the length. This show is 3 minutes long. It gives it the exact opposite problem of Kill Me Baby – a show which would have worked better with a shorter length. While I don’t know if Recorder to Randsell would be best with 24 minutes, I do think it needed at least 10. The whole thing ended so suddenly I thought that my player had crashed. It’s kind of interesting that Kill Me Baby has such a low budget at its length while the animation and backgrounds in Recorder to Randsell were actually quite good, however)
Anyway, this show is apparently incredibly polarizing, but one good thing about its shortness is that it’s not going to take away too much of your time if you’d rather just judge it for yourself.  Of the three shows I’ve watched so far, I liked this one the most, and given its length, I’m tempted to blog it if I have time and don’t end up wanting to blog anything else. Haters gonna hate.

…and alright, I’ll come clean. It’s entirely possible that one major reason I enjoyed this so much was the fact that with the older male body and childish personality, coat, and scarf, Atsushi reminded me a whole lot of a certain blue Vocaloid. And I regret nothing.

Sorry for spoiling the main gag in the episode.

Out of 5,
1/2

Seems like this is another season for bizarre series titles.

Yasuna and Sonya would be your typical yonkoma-manga-based highschool friends that look like 8 year olds, if it weren’t for the fact that Sonya is an assassin. Although she means well, daily life can be difficult her when her instincts act immediantly at any sign of ‘danger’…such as her ‘best friend’ Yasuna approaching her from behind. Silly misunderstandings, Sonya’s abilities and Yasuna getting her wrist broken a whole lot make up most of the short vignettes in this episode, while a very laid-back ninja,  Agiri, is introduced in the latter half.

This is pretty adorable.

And the winner for the Most Annoying Theme Song this season goes to….
I actually read a bit of the manga of Kill Me Baby back before the anime was announced, and found it enjoyable enough although at the time thought it might fare better as an anime. Now that I can see it in anime form, I can see that I was both right and wrong.  With its bargain-bin budget and no real technical merits to speak of (JC Staff have a high number of shows this season for some reason so of course the quality would be lacking for some, however it’s alright for a gag series), I really think it would have been better in short doses. It’s reminiscent of (although not as funny as)Di Gi Charat – which, I think, would far wear out its welcome were it the same length no matter how much I adore it.
This is one of those shows where context doesn’t matter – why is Sonya an assassin and going to school, and why is she ‘friends’ with Yasuna? Because shut up, that’s why. It’s surreal and silly and depending on who you are, it’s either an enjoyable way to spend 24 minutes or a complete dud. I’m in the former camp, but it seems that a lot of people have been hating on this show for being dumb, unfunny and low quality.
The humour is hit and miss, sure, but I still found it fun and inoffensive, and a good deal more entertaining than other slice of life shows about normal girls that aren’t assassins.  In the end, though, it’s hard to have any major feelings for it either way. But I did enjoy it more than Bodacious Space Pirates, and the ending theme (far better than the irritating opening) is catchy and adorable.

...I just really like those clouds.

Out of 5,