Spring 2016 Preview – Part 3: Reliably Unreliable Narration

This post was written by Dark_Sage. He is Dark_Sage.

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These shows have already aired, but getting a preview delayed is bound to happen when you forget your laptop in another state.

 

The Series

Bakuon!!

Bakuon!!

tl;dr: A bunch of quirky high school girls do quirky high school things in a quirky high school club.

Manga: http://bato.to/reader#eb862784d9eff2be

Light Novel: N/A

Animation Production: TMS Entertainment

The question here is “If you don’t give a fuck about motorcycles, is this show still worth watching?” and the answer is a resolute “Eh, probably?”

That_fucking_art

Based on the PV, this adaptation of the manga looks to carry a lot of the heart the manga had. You can tell how much the author cares about bikes, but more than just being a literary shrine to his fetish, the cute character interactions and patience spent crafting the story put the series on a kickstand of its own.

lolducati

Despite my utter lack of interest in motorcycles, Bakuon found a way to keep me turning the pages. Even if the anime adaptation ends up mediocre (it has a fine line to ride if it wants to hit all the boxes the manga did), I’m glad it at least gave me a reason to look at the manga.

I don't say this often, but kudos to the translation team. They matched the spirit of the series perfectly.
Unrelated to the preview, but kudos to the scanlation team. They made the series enjoyable to read without going too far overboard. Well done.

 

 

Seisen Cerberus: Ryuukoku no Fatalite

Seisen_Cerberus

Ignore the sweet (misleading) pic; it’s art from the mobage this series is based off.

Manga: N/A

Light Novel: N/A

Animation Production: Bridge

Mobage adaptations can be good (Bahamut <3) but on the whole they are cynical cash grabs, attempting to ensnare a wider audience of children into their f2p den. Yet I doubt this will bring anyone into the fold – no matter how young they are – with how fucking terrible that PV looked.

This is basically Chaos Dragon (written by the best anime writer ever: Mr. Gen Urobuchi!) with the budget of Dog Days. I will probably not be able to masturbate to this, and I wouldn’t be surprised if you couldn’t either.

 

 

Hundred

#OfficialArt
#OfficialArt

tl;dr: Super-smart (and cool) (and popular) high school male A is stronger and better than everyone else because he just is. Did I mention everyone loves him?

If you were retarded enough to self-insert in Log Horizon, you’ll flip your short-bus shit for this. Japan won’t dumb it down any further than Hundred, because they literally can’t.

Manga: http://bato.to/reader#4c1eb9eb697ec911

Light Novel: N/A

Animation Production: Production IMS

Hundred
The first page of the manga, and also the last page I read.

You’ve seen this before, and it’s been done better. Don’t. Fucking. Watch.

 

 

Joker Game

Joker_Game

tl;dr: Grimdark detectivery, minus the grim.

Manga: N/A

Light Novel: N/A

Animation Production: Production I.G

Remember when Production I.G was relevant? Cuz not even I’m old enough to. I expect to be reminded why nobody under the age of menopause gives a fuck about this washed-up studio when the pacing hits the level of a special olympics marathon hosted at a nursing home.

 

 

Sousei no Onmyouji (Twin Star Exorcists)

Sousei_no_Onmyouji

tl;dr: There are impurities in this world that must be vanquished by exorcists, and the strongest exorcists of the time happen to be two 14-year-olds with abrasive personalities that are forced to work together. So unique.

Manga: http://bato.to/reader#8a9233daed5d279b_2

Light Novel: N/A

Animation Production: Pierrot

This is generic shounen with nothing in particular going for it and nothing against. The characters are adequate, the plot is normal, and the action is standard. If you ain’t a shounen otaku, don’t bother. But if you liked shows like Mushibugyo or Ushio to Tora despite their mediocrity, this’ll fit your (low) requirements. Certainly fits mine.

Mostly in it to see her face animated.
Mostly in it to see her face animated.

 

 

Super Lovers

Super_Lovers

tl;dr: Gay Canadian pedobait incest.

Manga: http://bato.to/reader#e8e2b1cae00cf320_2

Light Novel: N/A

Animation Production: Studio DEEN

Even if a show is in a genre I’m not the most fond of (shounen-ai ain’t exactly the top of my list), I’m always willing to at least give it a shot. But after reading the manga, and seeing DEEN attached to the series, I’m not even gonna humor the idea of watching an episode of this shit.

Super_Lovers_Naito
And yes, it 100% *is* shounen-ai.

The problem with Super Lovers is less the content (considering what I’ve fapped to in my life, I’m in no place to judge) than how it determines pacing via trope checklists. “Show that animals love the kid so you can establish he’s a good person & misunderstood right away” -> “Have the older guy immediately run into the pouring rain to look for the kid who’s only out there for super selfless reasons” -> “Blah blah blah”. I wouldn’t be surprised if it turns out the entire plot was machine-generated with how soulless it ends up being.

Even if you’re the target audience for this (and I would assume you know if you are or not), Super Lovers is not going to be an enjoyable experience unless you can entirely shut your brain off for 24 minutes at will. Your time would be better spent exploring the burgeoning D_S x M!Yuno fanfic scene instead.

 

 

Kuromukuro

Kuromukuro

tl;dr: P.A. Works does mechs. Poorly.

Manga: N/A

Light Novel: N/A

Animation Production: P.A. Works

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkA6Tk4YPhU

It must suck being a P.A. Works fan these days.

 

 

Netoge no Yome wa Onnanoko ja Nai to Omotta? (Wait, there are girls on the internet?)

Netoge

tl;dr: Turns out there are girls on the internet.

Manga: http://bato.to/reader#ffef71f179508639

Light Novel: N/A

Animation Production: project No.9

Some guy named Rusian’s been hanging out with a small clan of scrubs in a budget MMO for a while, when they decide on an IRL meetup because it accelerates the plot. At the meetup, they discover they all go to the same school, and of the four, only one’s a boy. Wow!

Also one of the girls is batshit fucking insane.
Plus, one of the girls is batshit fucking insane.

Then they all become friends even though their personalities differ, kinda like a somehow-worse Oregairu.

Also the yandere can be pretty annoying, which hurts me deeply.
Also the yandere can be pretty annoying, which hurts me deeply.

I’ll probably watch this one to the end just to see if Ako kills anyone. But I don’t expect anyone who ain’t as broken as me to take the risk on this inevitable shitshow.

 

 

 

tl;dr:

Hope you weren't expecting much.
Hope you weren’t expecting much.

Maybe worth it:

  • Bakuon!!

 

Eh…:

  • Joker Game

 

Something’s wrong with this picture:

  • Sousei no Onmyouji
  • Kuromukuro
  • Netoge no Yome wa Onnanoko ja Nai to Omotta?
  • Super Lovers
  • Seisen Cerberus: Ryuukoku no Fatalite
  • Hundred

 

Final preview up “next”.

13 thoughts on “Spring 2016 Preview – Part 3: Reliably Unreliable Narration”

    • People into Aikatsu will watch it. Those on the sidelines will skip out. No need for me to waste screen real estate on self-evident truths. :<

      Reply
      • But… but… you can be a fangirl and say that it’ll be totally awesome and that everyone should watch it! Or does our relationship mean that little to you? Q_Q

        Reply
  1. >Super Lovers

    Sadly, as a Canadian, I am culturally obligated to watch anything that even remotely involves this country, let alone something set here, no matter how bad it ends up being or whether or not the genre interests me much.

    I skimmed the first episode, and so far it looks decent enough. They haven’t messed the country up too badly (or much at all really), and I’m not sure if that’s disappointing or a good thing.

    Reply
  2. > Japan won’t dumb it down any further than Hundred, because they literally can’t.

    Please, Sage, don’t challenge Japan :/

    Oh yeah, and apparently Sousei no Onmyouji’s rumoured to be a 4-cour

    Reply
    • Yep, those who did have already commited suicide (because Japan gave them sth even dumber than Hundred and they watched it). :D
      So, yes. Japan can dumb it down even futher but I think everyone who’s seen them commited suicide or went insane. Does a tree falling where noone can hear it make a sound???

      Reply

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