#Jeffu watches Merc Storia yo | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

bainhardt · 6 years

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FALL 2018 ANIME - STRAGGLERS PART 1

Ore ga Suki nano wa Imouto dakedo Imouto ja Nai - No doubt about it, the word here is: SOULLESS.

It’s basically like “bad Eromanga-sensei.” And I watched Eromanga-sensei to completion, so believe me when I say that that show sucks. For this one to register even lower on the scale is an impressive feat in garbage.

It has all the same features, so really I could review it exactly the same. Incest overtones, starring a sister hiding her job with the help of her who-gives-a-shit older brother? Check. Extended cast of other girls who are attracted like moths to the flame to our milquetoast lead? Check. It threw in more nudity too, with three distinct fanservice scenes in one episode (by my count).

And I’d assume there are other things that will hold equally true despite there being no evidence of such in the first episode. I bet this show will simultaneously glorify and bastardize what it’s like to be a Light Novel author, and that everyone will fall in love with the protagonist despite him sucking so, so much.

In the end, it’s presentable but unimpressive. The animation gets weak at times and the characters look... uncomfortable. The music was annoying. I’m not even sure why that is, but it really was. I think even at my lowest points - times in my life when I’d watch literally anything - I’d still feel this one was a waste of time. Absolute No.

CONCEPTION - The opening credits for this one were perturbing; shot after shot of statuesque, overly-reflective bodies posed in suggestive ways silhouetted against a blinding red background.

Then the show actually starts, and everything suddenly looks drab by comparison. It’s not outright ugly, but the contrast was a poor choice. And the first scene has a girl talking about being pregnant... I think this show is pregnant with some not-so-subtle themes.

Well, it’s based on a game. The story has the protagonist and his cousin isekai’d hardcore into a world of magic and fantasy that is being threatened by generic evil X, this time called Impurities. These two isekai’d people, as well as 11 other chosen women, are the only ones who can purify the evil, but they gotta make babies to do it, for some reason.

For about half the episode, the protagonist is handcuffed spread-eagle to a bed in his underwear while a sexy nurse explains all of the game-mechanics-but-oh-wait-we’re-not-a-game-this-time to him at length. What I would describe as a needlessly high number of these shots feature his clothed dick prominently in the foreground. Then, he’s ushered directly into gettin’ it on with his cousin in their first act of saving the magical world.

I’m someone who relies a lot on my gut instinct when making judgments, and when I watched this anime, I said, “This is so ass.” If the idea of a bunch of generic moe characters having forced sex while a weird raccoon mascot flies around making perverted jokes sounds like your cup of tea, try it out, but I think this might be a case where playing the game is the better choice.

Or who knows, maybe the game sucks too. No.

Beelzebub-jou no Okinimesu mama. - In one word, this show is: FLUFFY.

The first thing that stands out to me is how gorgeously animated every scene is; this anime looks fantastic. Buuut... I think that’s the only compliment I have. It’s somewhat cute, but not especially funny or interesting. And the plot is baffling in a way that’s tough to pinpoint.

The story takes place in hell and features a variety of demons who work in a sort of “government,” with Beelzebub at the head. But therein lies the chief problem I have with this anime: how it portrays “demons” feels almost like a complete waste of the concept.

Couldn’t Beelzebub have been a princess or something instead? The setting is like a city, and the cast all look like people. Practically nothing about this show says hell, or demons, or underworld in any capacity. I understand it’s difficult to draw accurate judgments from just one episode, so maybe there’s more to this later. Currently it simply seems made up or tacked-on.

I don’t feel there’s any reason for me to come back for episode 2. No.

Karakuri Circus - Oh, it’s got a Bump of Chicken op. That’s usually a good sign.

A boy is the heir to a huge family fortune and is being hunted by some weirdos in suits. A random guy on the street working as a circus promoter gets involved keeping him safe, a bunch of crazy shit happens, and they end up at the circus. The third lead character is introduced, a foreign woman who seems like a circus performer of some kind and who can control this enormous battle puppet. She kills the guys in suits, who were also enormous battle puppets. And some other guy shows up at the end who has his own enormous battle puppet...

I think it’s an action show, but it’s really not bad in the slightest. The art is goddamn fantastic, the music was cool as hell, the characters were appealing. There’s a lot to like about this one.

Watching this reminded me a lot of Hinomaru Sumo; it’s an excellent show, but one I might not be particularly interested in seeing through to the end. I’m not certain.

Perhaps if I had far fewer shows already lined up, I’d squeeze this one in (it might even be superior to some other shows I’m watching). I’ll toss it a Maybe because I don’t want to rule it out.

Merc Storia: Mukiryoku no Shounen to Bin no Naka no Shoujo - I sincerely thought the dad was going to be the protag in this one, before he disappeared in the first 3 minutes. Woops. I think I would’ve liked that, actually.

In a fantasy world with monsters, there are magic users called Healers who can effectively tame the monsters so they can coexist with humans. Our protag, a young boy, is from a line of Healers, but he’s not confident in his abilities. A souvenir bottle from his father’s travels happens to have a fairy inside of it, and when the show picks up, the two of them are traveling by themselves. We don’t learn why right away.

The fairy is cute, and I like how she ends her sentences with なのです... it reminds me of the owls from Kemono Friends. The two lead characters have a good dynamic, and it’s actually pretty funny watching their interactions. I appreciate that the protagonist has believable shortcomings: he’s prone to complaining, he’s nervous under pressure, and he’s also afraid of monsters. Hey, I can’t blame him; I think I would be afraid of monsters, too.

I honestly started this one with low expectations, but I found myself smiling by the end. It’s well done, and I kind of want to watch more, even though my schedule is looking pretty packed already. I’m going to give this one a Yes in spite of myself, lol.

CONCLUSION - Calling some of these stragglers might be sort of inaccurate given that other shows I watched also aired this week, but roll with me. There are still 3 more shows I have to watch (by my rules), but they all air next week or even later, so it would be a waste to wait that long to post this.

#Fall 2018 Anime Binge #Jeffu watches Karakuri Circus yo #Jeffu watches Merc Storia yo

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