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Krozam:
One-Punch Man

What to say... OPM is one of this season's anime I knew already from the original material - that is, the remake manga. It is an excellent adaptation: faithful, good production quality, good dramatisation. Some minor filler scenes were added to drag it on so that the ending at 12 eps hits the right spot, the most climatic arc in the series up to the point where the remake has made it. Mostly, it just ended up improving the pacing. Honestly, I think this might be one of those cases where the adaptation surpasses the original.

With a MC who kills most enemies in literally one hit, the story is obviously not meant to hold much suspense in its fights - the fights where the MC takes part, anyway. Instead, it's more about the comedy, and giving a new spin to some old clichés. Personally, though, I don't find the comedy particularly good, it's just okay. I'm more interested in the other characters and their fights, which often actually manage to be pretty entertaining. The first 8 eps, where only a few important characters appear, are pretty meh to me. It's only near the end that more interesting characters start appearing. Well, having read the manga, I know that it will just keep getting better, but as whole, the first season isn't anything praiseworthy. The two last arcs (eps 9-12) are good, but that's just 1/3 of the season. 3.5/5 stars.

Krozam:
Okusama ga Seito Kaichou!

This short form anime is adapted from a manga series by Nakata Yumi, which is based on her earlier hentai series. Each episode covers one chapter of the manga, and they're all well done. Problem is, some chapters are skipped, which has two negative results: sometimes, the story seems to advance too quickly... er, not that there is much in the way of a story... maybe it'd be more accurate to say that the character relationships aren't given enough time to develop naturally. Secondly, some supporting characters, who weren't given much spotlight to begin with, they lose even that litte in this adaptation.

This doesn't hold back one bit with the ecchi scenes. It's a nice change to see a main character couple who also enjoy the carnal site of a relationship... er, maybe too much, but still. Kaichou's personality is pretty amusing and charming, and the MC is likeable enough. He makes a good tsukkomi. I quite enjoy the comedy, most of the time, even if truly hilarious scenes aren't that frequent.

3/5 stars. I'd give 3.5 if not for the skipped chapters.

Krozam:
Monogatari Series Second Season

As always with this series, it's nearly perfect. I never get tired of that dialogue. Several characters gain lots of depth and development during this series. It's pretty refreshing that three of the five arcs this season covers are narrated from someone else's viewpoint, barely having Araragi present at all. The plots of each arc are, if not top class, then at least very high class. The musings about human nature are insightful and interesting. The pacing is excellent: if you enjoy this kind of dialogue, there isn't a dull moment, yet it's never rushed. The last episode is full of awesome, climatic in a very Monogatari-esque way, with a pretty shocking last scene. Although, the last episode of the first arc may be even better.

The only problem is with the visuals. There is certain charm to SHAFT's animation, but drawing non-essential characters only as silhouettes isn't a stylistic choice, it's plain old laziness. You'd think with the financial success this series (and some other series animated by the same studio) have enjoyed, they could afford to be meticulous. Well, I can understand that it would be weird to suddenly start doing that now, this far into the series. What is less forgivable are the text screens that flash by so fast that it sometimes takes minutes of trying to catch them with pause. Somehow they seem to be even more frequent than in previous seasons. It is infuriating, and costs the show half a star from my rating. 4.5/5 stars.

Krozam:
Ushio to Tora

One of the better long shounen anime I've seen. Well, it's not so long yet, just 26 eps, but the original manga is pretty long. And this is going to get another season, starting in the spring season.

Anyway, yeah, it's pretty good. I've always had a thing for fighting pairs, whether they be brothers, lovers, rivals or partners, and Ushio and Tora make for a pretty dynamic and occasionally badass pair. Ushio is a pretty typical protagonist, a not very smart kid with a strong determination and a much too kind heart. Still, he's not too bad, his strong emotions make him easily relatable and there's nothing in particular that I find annoying about him. Tora is a bit of an anti-hero, he keeps saying that he's only helping Ushio in order to one day catch him with his guard down and eat him... but every time he does catch the boy in a weak state, he finds some excuse not to eat him, lol. Unfortunately, as is often the case with this type of anime/manga, the female characters are pretty meh. I've seen worse, but honestly, the only one I'm interested in is a supporting character who has so far been present in only a couple of episodes. That... might or might not have something to do with the fact that she's the only one whose character design and personality I find attractive. <_<

The fights are somewhat atypical for this type of anime, as they rarely include sudden power-ups. The characters have their strengths and weaknesses, and any progress to them is pretty subtle. Other than that, the fights are entertaining, well animated and dramatised, and occasionally pretty emotional. Sadly, they're not particularly intelligent.

The overarching plot is decent, for this kind of a story. Absolutely nothing special, but it serves its purpose and doesn't bore me. At least there haven't been any training arcs so far. There are some mysteries, but they are all more or less resolved during this season.

I hesitate to give this a rating as high as 4/5, but in the end, it's a solid anime, enjoyable enough to justify that. This, Kekkaishi, Nurarihyon no Mago... these are the kind of long shounen series that start out decent, but improve over time. I prefer these instead of the likes of Naruto and Bleach, which start out interesting, but lose their way well before halfway point, and then just keep falling. Of course, after only 26 episodes, it's a little early to say if this will lose its way at some point, but it seems to me that the author has a clear vision and a firm grip of the story.

Krozam:
It's been a while since I finished anything...

Watched Saijaku Muhai no Bahamut. It's surprisingly good. Pretty clichéd, and it crams too many novels into 12 episodes, but it actually has a pretty decent plot and characters, and I was quite well entertained. I'm actually interested in reading the novels now, to see what the rushed adaptation left out. It's a shame the author decided to make the MC a typical awkward harem lead with lofty ideals, instead of going for a more interesting dark hero / antihero type, which I feel would have suited the plot better. And it really could have used less of the typical fanservice harem antics. It's always a shame when a fundamentally good story is spoiled by wrong/bad elements like this. There was potential for something so much better... 3.5/5 stars.

Oh, and Phi-chan is the best girl. Her arc was pretty heartbreaking. I do like the blue-haired one as well, though, I found her personality very entertaining and her backstory intriguing (though not explored in sufficient depth). The princess is a bit too much of a typical tsundere, I think she falls behind others in both depth and entertainment value. Celes is hot, but she, too, falls behind the top 2 in depth and entertainment value. The assassin chick is promising, but has too little time, since she's only introduced in the last arc and as an antagonist, doesn't get all that much screentime. The sister is entertaining, she reminds me of Shizuka from Campione (I think it's the same seiyuu, too), but didn't get her own arc yet.

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