Recently finished Hyouka.Genre: Mystery, School, Slice of Life
I give it a 7/10. I skipped this show when it aired but decided to check it out while waiting for Chuunibyou to air every week.
Story: Hotarou is your stereotypical Japanese high schooler whose only want in life is peace and quiet. His logical mind is adept at problem-solving, and he excels at schoolwork without effort. Early in the series, he's talked into joining the Classics Club by his classmate Chitanda, whose intense curiosity and zealous personality often rope Hotarou into solving mundane mysteries around the school.
I wasn't impressed with the overall story as a whole, but taken in pieces I thought each individual arc was good. It wanders terribly, with Hotarou solving many mysteries, and arrives finally at the ending arc. There was a small saving grace, however. There's a very realistic part in the last few episodes that so totally shattered the stereotypical conclusion of this genre that I was pretty much speechless. I was left with a melancholy feeling, but I can see where Hotarou was coming from.
Animation: Hyouka is animated by Kyoto Animation, so a high bar of expectation is automatically set. The anime rises to the challenge, and the backgrounds, setting, and animation are all done very well. Where you would expect a simple head turn to comprise a few frames from any other studio, KyoAni takes the time to bring a character's emotions to life. A shy glance is highlighted by a slight head dip and a nervous blink, complete with brushing stray bangs behind the ear, whearas a studio like J.C. would pull a three-frame head turn with no noticeable transition. Chitanda's sparkling eyes are especially captivating.
I watch anime not just for the storyline and cute girls, but mainly for what animation can bring to the table that traditional filming can't. KyoAni is probably the most consistent studio for excellent animation, and I love them for it.
Characters: Hotarou is basically a more modern take of an old-school detective similar to Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot. The lazy/bored protagonist is so overdone in anime, however. Chitanda is a decent take on the genki-girl stereotype, and she and Hotarou click pretty well. I was more interested in Mayaka and Satoshi's relationship, however. The interaction between these two couples is at least interesting. I think most viewers will be able to relate to Satoshi pretty well.
Soundtrack: Hyouka has a great score with some classical tracks. The OP/EDs are typical J-POP.
I would recommend Hyouka to anyone who likes mystery stories. If you liked this anime you'd probably like Gosick and Puppet Master Sakon. I would not recommend this series to anyone who prefers action anime.
Also recently finished Black★Rock Shooter.Genre: Action, School, Drama
I give it a 7/10. This is basically an extended TV version of the OVA that came out in 2010.
Story: The story in Black★Rock Shooter is fairly interesting. Mato is an upbeat, cheerful high school girl who makes friends wherever she goes. However, there exists another world where the emotions of the characters manifest into beings whose only goal is to fight to protect the feelings of their real-world counterpart. Mato's careless cheerfulness and overall friendliness to everyone ends up being more hurtful than helpful.
Animation: Black★Rock Shooter has some great action scenes. Aniplex did a decent job animating the 8 episode series, however there's a wealth of sloppy lines and "QUALITY" in the mundane scenes (characters interacting in the real world, mostly). They seemed to be going for gothic designs mixed with a modern setting. The character designs are awesome, especially the girls residing in the other world. Almost all of the animation effort was put toward the other world's story. There's a lot of CG in this, and it's done well enough.
Characters: This anime relies quite a bit on character interaction, so character personalities play a huge part in Black★Rock Shooter. Being that personalities play such a big part of this anime, I can't really think of any way to describe the characters without spoiling it.
Soundtrack: The opening is "Black★Rock Shooter" by Supercell. This is the Miku song that the original illustrations were based on. I thought it was a cool addition to make this the opening. It's so appropriate, since you can hardly think of Black★Rock Shooter without thinking Miku. The ED is "Bokura no Ashiato," again by Supercell. The OST is largely forgettable.
I would recommend Black★Rock Shooter to anyone who likes action anime. Though short, I think you get your time's worth. If you like Black★Rock Shooter, I'd recommend something like C3. I don't really know, I actually don't watch many anime like this.
Also recently rewatched Aria the Natural.Genre: Slice of Life
I give it an 8/10. This is the second season of Aria.
Story: Aria the Natural is the real meat of the Aria trilogy. Again, the story follows Akari as she struggles to become a gondoleer. You will see a lot more of the mysteries of Aqua during this season. You'll also see the characters forming closer bonds. The events of Aria the Natural remind me of those times, many years ago, where I still look back and say "remember how we were back then?" or laugh and say "That's how we were.." It has a nostalgic feel that I think is common for people when thinking of the simpler days of youth.
Animation: Natural is well animated for a 26 episode show. You will see pretty much the same quality of work that went into Aria the Animation. Characater designs remain unchanged, save for one significant event that happens to Aika halfway through the season. There remains almost no fanservice to speak of.
Characters: We don't have any new characters in this season.
Soundtrack: The soundtrack is again composed by the same group that did Animation, and is something very special. There are many loan themes from the first season, but there is a whole new score to enjoy also. Again, Choro Club hits a grand slam with the sound of Aria the Natural.
I would recommend Aria the Natural to anyone who has seen the first season. Again, if you really like chill, relaxing shows, this is for you. If you liked this show, I'd recommend the same anime I suggested last time, and Sora no Woto also.
Also finished Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai!Genre: Comedy, Romance, School
I give it an 8/10. Chuuni is the newest anime from KyoAni, and I really enjoyed it.
Story: In middle school, Yuuta suffered from chuunibyou syndrome, a condition that many of us developed in our youth. He believed he was the Dark Flame Master, a being born of dark, awesome edginess such that anyone would be jealous. He commanded a dark power strong enough to destroy a human. Of course, it was all in his mind, and being a chuuni became less and less "cool" as he matured. Eventually Yuuta was forced to transfer to escape the reputation of his eccentric behavior
On his first day at his new school, his slate wiped clean, Yuuta meets a girl wearing an eyepatch, Rikka, who claims to wield the power of the Tyrant Eye. Thus begins Yuuta's journey back into the realm of all things chuuni, whether he likes it or not. At its core, however, Chuunibyou is about something completely different, but to get into that is spoilerland.
Animation: As expected of KyoAni, the animation is excellent. Read my description of Hyouka to understand my appreciation of this studio. The Chuuni fights between Rikka and Dekomori (among others) in particular are hilarious works of art. The character designs are equally good, although very similar to Hyouka. I have a sneaking suspicion that they share the main designer.
Characters: The characters in this anime are definitely eccentric. You could change your opinion of at least one of them by the time the anime is over. The characters are more complex than they seem at first glance.
Soundtrack: The OP, "Sparkling Daydream" by ZAQ is pretty good, but I liked the ED "INSIDE IDENTITY" by Black Raison d'être (basically the female cast) more. The anime has a decent OST that gets the job done.
I would recommend Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! to anyone that likes comedies, or anyone who likes extremely well-animated shows. If you liked this show you'd definitely find a similar anime in Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko (per Myanimelist), but Chuuni blows that show out of the water.
