Fall Season Impressions (Ixion Saga, BTOOOM!, The Pet Girl…)

 

Now that most of the shows for fall season have aired and are each at the titular two to three episode place, I decided that this would probably be a good point to put these out. Last year I did my impressions based on the first episode, but this year partly because I don’t have a lot of time and partly because I think this works better in terms of me having an idea on how much I like a show and how am likely I am  to continue it.  As with last season, there will be several, (hopefully) easier to digest parts.

-Note: Some impressions will be on Orgsag-

Ixion Saga DT 

Well, this show turned out to be a classic case of me basing my pre-air opinions on the picture and synopsis,and having them turn out to be, for the most part, pretty off. Though, I suppose that works well in terms of how much I ended up being surprised by the show. I went in expecting a cheesy RPG adaptation that would leaving me waiting for the end, but I got an enjoyable comedy that ended up reminding me of Beelzebub  and Gintama more than anything else.

Though I suppose that the Gintama feeling is expected since they share the same director, I think, unsurprisingly, that Ixion Saga wasn’t quite as funny or charming. Although I’ve never been able to really commit myself to the famous comedy, I’ve always thought it was funny, and whenever I try to sit and watch it always end up enjoying myself immensely. That’s not to say that Ixion Saga was a bad watch, though; it just wasn’t as funny as one would expect.

The story here is a pretty typical one. We have Kon,  a normal, nerdy schmuck, who is dragged into a strange world, and ends up having to help Princess St. Pira and her entourage reach the capital where she will marry some guy in order to maintain peace in the land. Of course, there is a strong faction trying to stop her from reaching her destination, and of course, Kon arrives in the nick of time to save them and become a part of the travelling group.

I think the moment I realized that this show wasn’t going to take itself too seriously was when Kon, about half way though the first episode, turned and started talking to the camera…that and the fact that Mariandale turned out to be a trap voiced by non-other than Jun Fukuyama. Perhaps it’s because I was in a good mood trying to forget about homework, but when I sat down and watched the two available episodes on Crunchyroll, I had a pretty good time. Though the humor is, at best, mildly effective and the crotch and DT jokes are already being over used, the comedy aspect of the show wasn’t too bad. Character-wise everyone is pretty likable, including the villains who aren’t terribly menacing. The greatest compliment I can probably pay the characters at this point is that they’re an entertaining bunch most of the time. Considering the fact that this show isn’t one whose main focus is creating interesting, complex characters, I’m content with them as they are. As long as they stay funny, I’ll have no problems with them.

All in all, I’m not expecting too much from this Although it’s a fun watch, that’s all it will probably ever amount to. And, you know what, I’m perfectly content with that. I suppose I’m just hoping that this it doesn’t decide to suddenly take itself seriously because if it does, I doubt it will be able to pull it off successfully.

BTOOOM!

First episode impressions are here.

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Well, to say the least, my feelings about the female lead, HimIko, have changed. To be frank, I saw her as walking fan service and wasn’t expecting much from her. However, at two episodes, my perspective on her has changed and she’s actually helped my interest in the show.

With two episodes out right now, a larger part of mystery behind the island has been cleared up, mainly through Himiko’s flashbacks where we learn how people get sent to this island in the middle of nowhere, and I have to say that the way in which these people are chosen is somewhat disturbing both in terms of how people are selected and how others are rewarded. In addition to briefly talking about how people get sent to the island, we also get a better idea on how the actual conditions on the island are. I mean, parachuting food, water, and even sunscreen down to the people on the island implies that the main goal behind putting these people on the island is to pit them against each other, rather than just put them through a complete test of survival.

At this point, the show has also made it clear that it isn’t going to shy away from brutality. The violence showed in the second episode was pretty gross, to be honest, but it did a good job of showing that some of the people stuck on the island aren’t the nicest people around and that justice and teamwork aren’t two popular ideas at this point. Also, the way rape was brought up and shown also shows how bold/mature the content of the show is handled. Speaking of rape, which was central to how this episode turned out as well as how Himiko was characterized, while I was surprised to see how it was brought up, I think it was handled pretty nicely in terms of what happened and the effect it had on Himiko and her outlook. 

Although it isn’t the best in the season, BTOOOM! is, nonetheless, a good watch. It’s exciting and Himiko, while not the strongest female lead ever, has shown that she can put up a fight and isn’t a weakling in need of constant protection. I also find myself liking the animation more. While it isn’t the most fluid, it’s pretty nice to look at, especially in terms of backgrounds. Surprisingly, I find myself looking forward to watching the next episode and waiting to see what will happen next. Despite my initial qualms about this series, it has certainly turned into an exciting watch that I’m enjoying quite a bit. I hope that it will continue to hold my interest like does now.

The Pet Girl of Sakurasou

First episode impressions can be found here

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To be quite frank, my opinion regarding this show is pretty much the same in terms of how I view the characters, story and romance. I suppose the one thing watching another episode did for me was make Shiina less of annoying character. She’s still unbelievably naive and while that remains a point that still irks me, watching her again made her less annoying because she didn’t spend the majority of her screen time prancing around in a state of undress. The rest of the cast, though, including Sorata who I took a bit of a liking to in the first episode, fall into the I-don’t-particularly-care-for-them category. No one in this show really stands out, with each one being a character type that anyone who has watched a few rom-coms will recognize.

The story, as well, isn’t particularly interesting and comes of as a bit boring because there’s not anything new or creative about it. Though, to be fair, I suppose that I was expecting this going in. If you take a glance at my first episode impressionsm you’ll see that I mentioned how I’m only sticking around to see if Shiina and Sorata become a couple, and that remains true. The romance is, at this point, my biggest reason for continuing with the show because the interactions between Sorata and Shiina usually end up being the best bits of the episode. Seeing an actual romantic ending for this show would really nice, but part of me doubts that I’ll get much beyond hinting that they will eventually become a couple.

While my standards for this show are pretty low and a lot of things about it bug me, it’s an okay little show. The animation isn’t too bad and the characters (Shiina) are more tolerable than they were in the first episode. With it’s status as a show that is neither fantastic or terrible, The Pet Girl of Sakurasou retains a strong hold on it’s position of somewhat enjoyable mediocrity.