My Summer 2014 Anime To-Watch List

Notice: Ronia the Robber's Daughter has been announced to be released this fall, so I removed it from this list. But expect to see it in my next "To-Watch List"!

Oops. Has it really been that long since I last posted something? Oopsie. Apologies to everyone who reads my blogs and reviews and are upset with not getting a review in so long. But now with the school year finally over, I can focus a lot more on my blogging. Now in this short but sweet post, I'll be listing and talking about the upcoming shows for the summer 2014 season. I'll have the title, picture, and my expectations of the show listed as well.

Black Butler: Book of Circus

What can I say? I'm a big Black Butler fan! Although I agree with most people that season 2 was nothing compared to season 1, it's still Black Butler, and therefore I must watch it. Though, I don't have any plans on watching this till Funimation dubs it (because I just love Sebastian's voice in English).

That's for you, Michael Tatum, and your angelic demonic voice of Sebastian!

DRAMAtical Murder

I'll be honest. I have no flippin' clue what this show's about—like, at all. Even after reading the synopsis I have no clue what it's about. Ah well. So lucky for it I have little to no expectations and the bar's set pretty low for it. All it has to do is be half decent and it's all set. (Note: I went searching for a promotional image for this anime and . . . let's just say you got some pretty erotic images there, Google. Originally, I heard it was a yaoi eroge game, but I didn't know if it was true. So in that case, if the show's going to be a yaoi, I want to know straight up [not that I have anything against yaoi anime, by the way].)






Now, what you've all been waiting for . . .

Free! Eternal Summer

Why yes. I did use all those GIFs for Free! Eternal Summer. Whatcha gonna do about it? Joking aside, I have been looking forward to Free! for a long time—more specifically, since last summer. Although it had a weak story and also, sad to say, weak characters, Free! was a very entertaining show and one I highly enjoyed. So when I watch Free!, may this summer truly feel like an "eternal summer."

That's right. I was paying attention to you, end card. Don't think I ever forgot. ;)

Something I've been wondering about for the longest time was why Free! hasn't been turned into a visual novel yet? KyotoAni, take advantage of this money-making machine! MAKE A VISUAL NOVEL—NOW! . . . Um, please. :) So. Yeah. If you haven't been able to tell already, I'm very much looking forward to seeing my babies again watching Free! again. (By the way, if you're wondering, I'd choose Haru's route in a heartbeat.)

. . . . . . . .

Just one more GIF, please?

Glasslip

From the animation studio that brought you Nagi no Asukara . . . comes another amazing, beautiful anime show . . . Glasslip. Or so I hope. Nagi-Asu was a wonderful and impressive show from the fall 2013 season, and it quickly became one of my most favorite anime series ever. However, I have a feeling that, despite being animated by the same studio, Glasslip will be a very different show. Nagi-Asu was a slice of life show with fantasy elements, while Glasslip here will be a slice of life but with no fantasy elements. I really hope we don't have to go through the same complicated love triangle B.S. like we did in Nagi, and I really hope the main heroine isn't annoying. If so, I'll be a very disappointed fan, and the result might be:

Hint: Pretty bad.

Rail Wars!

Another show I have no clue about but am moderately looking forward to. I mean, have you ever heard about a character who wants to work with railways? I'm already sold on the idea. Looking at the synopsis of the show, it piqued my interest: A kid who wants to work in some elite railway with a group of interesting people (such as with a person who hates men) while some sort of terrorist group wants to take over said elite railway. Who wouldn't get interested after hearing that? Plus, the genre at the moment is simply "action," and seeing what I'm currently watching for spring season, an action anime would be very good right now.

UPDATE: So another PV came out—

—and goddammit, Japan, why does this show have to have fan service? Like, my God, it seemed like it was going to be awesome until you decided to add boobs with the boob physics of High School of the Dead. Sigh. But I'll still watch this show. Probably. Maybe. I don't know?

Re: Hamatora

OH MY GOD. AFTER THAT ENDING—THAT FREAKING ENDING—FROM LAST SEASON, I NEED TO SEE THIS RIGHT NOW. *takes a deep breath* Okay. Now that I got that out of my chest: Re: Hamatora is the second season of winter 2014 anime Hamatora The Animation. So after the ending of last season (no worries; no spoilers), I was desperate to see how things would play out in the next season. After that awful cliffhanger (awful as in awesome, mind you), I knew that there'd be a second season.

Yet, I was shocked at how much shit this show was dealing with because the ending and overall show pissed off some people. I mean, I somewhat understand why the ending might've pissed off a few people, but I didn't expect so much hate for it. People often complain about how boring this show is, but I actually found the premise rather interesting and the idea of people having awesome powers fascinating.

So . . . I guess this show is a guilty pleasure for me then? But I honestly don't give two shits if people hate this show; I'm watching the hell out of this when it airs.

Sailor Moon: Crystal

I'll be honest, I'm not a Sailor Moon fan. No, not because I didn't like the original. It's just I didn't watch it. Or actually, I did watch a few episodes, but I got so bored I dropped it eventually. (Yes, I tried both the English dub [shame on me] and the Japanese, but neither succeeded in catching my interest.) Looking at the trailer, though, I saw a chance at being hooked onto this show, so I took it. Who knows? Maybe I'll be more drawn to the original after seeing this reboot.

And now, I bid you all farewell for the moment. I hope you all enjoyed reading this post and found new shows you want to watch for the summer 2014 season. And with that, take care, otakus!

Otaku Reviews: Free! Iwatobi Swim Club (フリー！)

Get it? FREEstyle? Ha-ha! Ahem. Moving on . . .

Probably one of the most popular anime of the summer, Free! certainly gave the ladies (and gentlemen, perhaps) something to look forward to every "water time."* Does the anime deserve its popularity? Let's find out, but let's start with history first.

*At the end of the preview for the next episode, a still image of the characters would show up with the caption "see you next water time . . ." which basically means "see you next Wednesday . . ."

History

Kyoto Animation, being the awesome company it is, one day decided to show off how good their animation skills have gotten. So, they released a video showing off one of the most difficult things to animate: water. The video is so hot, it went viral, creating a massive boom of fan-made biographies, fan art, and fanfiction on the net—heck, even petitions were made for the studio to make a series! With so much pressure, on July 4, 2013, an anime series of Free! was made—

—and this review became destined to be written. Oh, and also, watch that viral video of Free! below—like, NOW.

Story

The story to Free! is actually quite simple, although there are some, er . . . memorable(?) (and may I say kind of cliché?) sub-plots, like: tragic backstory, beach episode (though, surprisingly, everyone's skin is almost completely covered by clothing—which is pretty tame compared to most anime), tournaments, succeeding a parent, etc., etc. But the basic story can be summed up to this:

Free! starts with four boys—Haruka, Makoto, Nagisa, and Rin—before graduating from elementary school. They had all participated in a swimming tournament and gained victory but later parted ways. Years later, Haruka, Makoto, and Nagisa reunite when they enroll into high school. Not long after, Rin, who was thought to be in Australia, turns up and challenges Haruka to a race and wins. Afterward, Nagisa mentions creating a swimming club and cleaning up the run-down outdoor pool to use. Haruka, Makoto, Nagisa, and, later on, Rei, form the Iwatobi High School Swimming Club and work together in making the club a success. Rin's victory over Haruka means nothing to him as he realizes that Haruka has stopped swimming competitively and is not in top shape. He claims that he cannot get over the fact until Haruka competes against him for real. The members of the revived Iwatobi Swim Club later enter a swimming competition against Rin.

—Courtesy of Wikipedia

Well, it's a sport-genre anime, and, honestly, having never watched a sports anime, this is a new territory of anime I've never been in, so I was keeping that in mind when I began watching this—but, to my surprise, it wasn't as difficult to understand as I'd have thought it to be. The characters explain to the viewers what certain terms of swimming are and, even if they don't, you can figure out some of them on your own quite easily.

Characters

With a lot of sub-plots, there are, surprisingly, not a lot of characters. Not that this is a bad thing, of course: I'd rather watch an anime with a small, well-developed cast than one with a large, stereotypical cast. So, with only twelve episodes, I'm glad Free! didn't try to squeeze in so many characters. Our main cast can be simplified to five people: Nanase Haruka, Tachibana Makoto, Hazuki Nagisa, Matsuoka Rin, and Ryugazaki Rei (who doesn't appear until a few episodes later in the series). Now, if I were to choose what the best thing about this anime is, it would be character development. Each of the main cast grows throughout the anime, most notably Haruka and Rin. So it's very nice that we see the characters grow from the first episode to the last episode.

The characters may start off as stereotypes, but if you keep on watching, they'll become more and more realistic.

Sigh. If only they were real . . .

Animation

As mentioned before, Kyoto Ani did the animation for Free!, and, as expected from the company that brought us shows such as The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and Clannad, they did a hell of an awesome job! The animation on the water is just stunning and beautiful! I don't think water has ever looked as good until now! All I can say is that the animation for Free! is that it's just gorgeous, gorgeous, GORGEOUS! (Plus, the bods of the guys are very pleasing to the eye. *wink, wink*)

Sound

Like the animation, the soundtrack for Free! is just gorgeous and very pleasing to the ears. I very much enjoyed the opening and ending songs of the anime (not just because the main cast sings it *cough, cough*), and I also adored the background music of Free!. If you ever get the chance, listen to some of the soundtracks on YouTube or, better yet, the actual album.

Overall Enjoyment

Overall, Free! is an awesome anime that'll leave you smiling and giggling like an idiot. Long story short, this was my reaction right before I was going to watch a new episode:

Every time.

'Nuff said.

The Bottom Line

I hereby give this anime the score of ★★★★☆, with each section rated the following:

Story: ★★★☆☆

Characters: ★★★½

Animation: ★★★★½

Sound: ★★★★☆

Enjoyment: ★★★★½

Because of its rating, this anime is deemed "Good," and I recommend it to anybody who loves sports (especially swimming), bishōnen guys, better than great anime shows, good-looking guys, gorgeous animation, good-looking guys, and—did I already mentioned good-looking guys? For alternate recommendations, I point you to the basketball anime Kuroko's Basketball. Both shows have entertaining characters and great animation, although Kuroko is more of a sports anime than a slice of life, unlike Free!. If you want a more slice of life anime with sports in it—although this one's a bit of a stretch—I recommend Chihayafuru. While it doesn't have pretty boys like Free! does (excluding the two main love interests), Chihayafuru is a fun sports anime with that healthy dose of slice of life. Hopefully one of these shows will have what you're looking for. And with that, see you next water time, otakus! Or, perhaps . . . next summer. ;)