Monday, September 17, 2012

Moyashimon Returns, Hyouka, and Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita

With Summer finally ending, anime series are bound to follow. This post is going to start off the wave of opinions that you'll see in the coming weeks. So let's dig in.


Moyashimon Returns
This was a great series and a good sequel to season 1. The story starts right where the last season left off. Making alcohol for the sake of science and agriculture university antics. Each episode flowed nicely into the next, which made it feel like the entire season was one big arc.
A complaint I had in the beginning was that the character designs were changed from the original. I'm not really sure what happened here since it apparently has the same studio and director behind it. Different staff? It's not like the character designs got any better, so why change it? I also noticed how they spent way too much time in France. This was definitely where the main conflict was but it kinda felt like it dragged too long. It could also be that most of the cast wasn't even in France. At least we got introduced to a new character, the hot blond pictured above. Next to the trap.
I should also address the sour reception that this season had. I liked it. If you're looking for science, go read a textbook. I will admit, there wasn't as much microbe and fermentation science involved within the season. But it was to make room for the character development and the events that were established in season 1.

Uwahh~

Hyouka
Easily a favorite from the season. I was a fan of it from the start. Slice of life adventures of mundane mysteries and a cast of characters that the fandom will forever keep shipping. I'm definitely going to give this a rewatch this since it's really that good. In fact, I rewatched a few of the early episodes already.
However, I do have some complaints. I'll start with a shallow one, I really can't stand Satoshi. I don't think it's the character itself, it's the character in combination with the voice actor. I know that the voice actor has done better roles with different voices but I hate it when he falls into this type cast. So annoying. Then there's Oreki's voice actor who, quite frankly, could've been replaced with someone else who specializes in that category. I know his voice actor can act really well but this role really isn't meant for him. I know some people will argue against me since they're SO used to these voices that they couldn't imagine anything different. Keep in mind that I really like this show. Holy shit.
The best part of the series was definitely the culture festival arc. Because of this, the rest of the episodes felt semi-inferior in comparison. The final episode had an okay resolution but I kinda feel like the imagined Oreki confession wasn't needed and actually made it worse. I won't go into detail but you can look up interpretations of the final scene elsewhere. It already makes sense to me. I can keep going on about this show but we would have to speak personally for this to happen. Overall, if you like slice of life as well as KyoAni then you'll like this. Amazing and worth a rewatch

Maybe this will convince people to watch it.

 Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita
I'm very glad that I picked this up on a whim. It was really good, might even be another favorite of the season. They really captured the style of the manga perfectly by using similar techniques in the art/animation. The comedy was good with a dash of dark and the pacing was well done in a different way. Of course, there were times when I wasn't really excited to watch it but that quickly goes away once I start watching it.
My favorite arcs would have to be the manga arc and the school arc. These are the two that stick out in my mind when looking back at the series. The show is very quirky and I wouldn't be surprised if it goes overlooked as time goes on. I'm pretty sure fans of ABe would enjoy this one. The best way to know if you like it is by watching it. I should also mention that the opening was performed by nano.RIPE and the ending by Itou Masumi. Two of my favorite performers in anime music that I enjoy. A rewatch is definitely happening and I really hope we get a second season.

:D

Note: Yes, I know about some people closing their blogs and it's really sad to see. It's all about comments, if you really enjoyed this then you wouldn't close it. I hope they don't close forever. I know I don't comment much so sorry.

3 comments:

  1. I loved Jinrui. It sold well so a second season isn't out of the realm of possibility. I haven't read the manga though, is there more material to adapt?

    I didn't even look at Moyashimon because I haven't seen the first season, though it is somewhere on the eternally growing backlog.

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  2. Even though Jinriu theme was negative it was really colorful. Junrui and binbou is my fave for this season.

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  3. Jinrui was easily my favorite for this season. The main character was unbelievably cute to me.

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