Zzz…

Obligatory disclaimer as always. Shows certainly do get better or worse than what their first episode(s) indicated. Mostly worse. Especially given the trend of the general anime audience to whip themselves into a furor every single season over lip service towards depth or emotion while not actual executing on it with the characters or story. And especially considering anime's problems with repetition and immediately taking every premise it has, unique or not, and then going to a holding pattern within a month. Some of them began in a holding pattern. Or failed to get off the runway because there was seltzer in the tank instead of fuel, and it wasn't a plane at all, just some flimsy plywood prop. The only two shows left to air are on Thursday, one an angsty melodrama about baseball, the other the second Trigger Happy Havoc thingy for the season.

Anything I plan on definitely covering at least one more episode of has a doghouse next to its name. I've only included things I covered in the last weekish or so that will be going on through the end of summer, and this may very well be the last season I dedicate actual full posts given the soul-crushing nature of a mountain of boy bands and saccharine melodramas about the beauty of family/youth/whatever.That doesn't mean I'll stick with it, or won't eventually pick up something without one, just that I'm planning to cover at least one more episode. Unless an episode bored or offended me on a fundamental level, I do tend to at least glance through the next episode or two of most things, even if I have nothing further to say. It has happened at least once in the past that I changed my mind and both quit on, then changed my mind on a show between episodes 2 and 3.

Anyway, onward and forward.

MONDAY

NEW GAME!

 

Just your standard humorless girls' club show with some lip service towards game making.

Trigger Happy Havoc – Future Chapter

 

So much recap, so much setup, all to just rehash itself. Yet again.

Mob Psycho 100

 

Shouting, overexaggeration, and bad art, but some visually trippy moments.

D.Gray Man Hallow

 

An 'action' show shouldn't have this much standing around and blathering on.

Sweetness and Lightning

 

The epitome of cloying sentimentality with characters too over-idealized to actually evoke anything past superficiality.

  Taboo Tattoo

 

Huge tone issues, and characters need to get their crap together, but has shown some penchant for action.

TUESDAY

Servamp

 

So much exposition. Characters won't stop bitching about having to exist in the show.

Cheer Boys!!

 

Only highlight was the overexcited dude, but he was drowned out by the existential angst.

Hybrid x Heart Magias Academy

 

Boobs.

Scared Rider Xechs

 

A few random corny shouts about rock were the only signs of life in this episode.

WEDNESDAY

Month Songs

Boy bands are just the greatest, most wonderful things in the world.

THURSDAY

  Regalia

 

Hammers the sentimentality button way too hard, but well-animated and characters aren't giant pussies.

Handa

 

I hope you like over-explanations of misunderstandings and weird art.

This Art Club Has a Problem!

 

Tries to do it all; comedy, romance, melodrama. Succeeds in only creating a massive, nagging bitch of a protagonist.

FRIDAY

Amanchu!

 

The weird faces are about the only thing that stands out in a show seemingly designed around selling Earth Sounds CDs.

Alderamin in the Sky

 

Twenty straight minutes of characters introducing themselves to each other and testing out hammocks.

91 Days

 

Maybe if the protagonist was seeking revenge and not just hanging around. And it had three times the animation budget.

Time Travel Girl

 

Fails to even stay on target when it comes to educating children about electricty or whatever.

SATURDAY

Love Live! Sunshine!!

 

Point by point rehash of the original iteration, and I ain't suffering that again.

First Love Monster

 

While certainly weird, it's more creepy than funny, and still tries to be touching for God only knows what reason.

Rewrite

 

Abandoned the only even vaguely interesting parts after the first episode to go full girls' club.

B-Project

 

Is there anything more heartrending than a pop star not quite believing in himself enough for a few moments? Yes.

DAYS

 

Utterly, ridiculously corny, and yet, the creators don't seem to be aware of it.

The Outcast

 

Doesn't have the tone to be a thriller, the action to be… action, or the comedy to be funny. Not sure what this is.

Qualidea Code

 

If this was focused on literally any other character in it, and cut out 95% of the budget meetings, it might be passable.

 Ange Vierge

 

The parts outside the bath were tolerable action, but that only describes about 20% of the episode.

Sunday

Macross Delta

 

We're way past the point where characters should actually be developed, and struggled with something besides insecurity.

The Morose Mononokean

 

Protagonist never stops narrating to himself, which is sad for such a tired and uninspired premise.

Tales of Zestiria

 

Two episodes in, and still waiting for the adventure to start. We used to be friends, ufotable.

orange

 

Seize the glory of youth! And by that, we mean over-celebrate stepping away from the wall and trying at anything.

Re:Zero

 

After about 15 episodes, there's only really one character, and he just sits around apathetically suffering.

Wrapup of the Wrapup:

Yeah, it's not a great season unless you're into melodrama and boy bands. I'm going to assume that they're all trying to cash in on Final Fantasy XV: Melodramatic Boy Band. I'll probably end up picking up something else on Saturday, and may very well see the whole threesome of disappointment on Sunday to the end, but we'll see how I feel and how godawful all the characters act in the next couple weeks. Maybe I will take a closer look at Western shows this season, although I wouldn't call myself a huge fan of most of them. They do, however, show a lot more life and a joy for the medium than anime seems to lately. Or maybe I'll just rewatch Potemayo and think of better times.

And yes, there is a post, or perhaps a very long series of posts, eventually coming about the events that transpired at AX. I highly doubt it'll be this week. I doubt it'll be the week after that either. I'll leave it at "things could be better."