Some Quick First Impressions: Mikagura Gakuen Kumikyoku, Houkago no Pleiades and Kekkai Sensen
Mikagura Gakuen Kumikyoku
Short Synopsis: A girl joins a school with supernatural battles between clubs.
A main character who is a lesbian gamer? You have my attention. She does tiptoe between endearing and ingratiating but she’s interesting. Even if she suffers from hyperactive delusions that I find Shoujo female leads often have. The animation is decent though jumping ahead to the second episode gets spotty in action sequences. The story is reminiscence of the first episodes of Kill la Kill though a little less over the top. The comedy is hit or miss. Some jokes fall right off the mark while others are amusing at least. One joke had me laughing out loud so points for that. Main detracting factor is that the story is rather typical but its rather enjoyable.
Potential: 60%
Houkago no Pleiades
Short Synopsis: A star loving girl becomes a magical girl.
So this is anime sponsored by car maker Subaru. A factoid that I missed in my preview of it. My fault but I really do think that is ridiculously strange. That a car company thinks a great method of advertisement would be to sponsor an anime in a genre aimed primarily at children. Who cannot buy a car, let alone drive one. Overall there isn’t anything particularly bad or notable. But the way that the flying wands sound like racing car engines is so out of place that I will never get accustomed to it. The obvious awkward CG during flying sequences is another issue. The characters are alright and the animation is fairly good. Its a decent watch for a magical girl fan.
Potential: 40%
Kekkai Sensen
Short Synopsis: Our protagonist joins a group who keeps a supernatural new York safe.
What is it about Bones and placing pointless mascot characters in their works? There was the balloon squirrell, the parrot, the sloth, the yellow fox and now a super fast monkey. Are these some marketing decision to help sell plush toys? So far we have vibes of Baccano in the music and darker than black in the setting. I find it difficult to judge. The villain is trying too hard to be crazy and the main characters aren’t proving to be distinctive. The structure of the episode could put people off as there a flash forward to what looks to be the end of the series, a jump to present, a flashback, present, flashback…its not giving you time to get your bearings. The action is good though I think the names of supermoves appearing on screen is a bit too Kill la Kill. There are some hints of potential but so far I am not sold.
Potential: 50%
A main character who is a lesbian gamer? You have my attention. She does tiptoe between endearing and ingratiating but she’s interesting. Even if she suffers from hyperactive delusions that I find Shoujo female leads often have. The animation is decent though jumping ahead to the second episode gets spotty in action sequences. The story is reminiscence of the first episodes of Kill la Kill though a little less over the top. The comedy is hit or miss. Some jokes fall right off the mark while others are amusing at least. One joke had me laughing out loud so points for that. Main detracting factor is that the story is rather typical but its rather enjoyable.
Potential: 60%
Houkago no Pleiades
So this is anime sponsored by car maker Subaru. A factoid that I missed in my preview of it. My fault but I really do think that is ridiculously strange. That a car company thinks a great method of advertisement would be to sponsor an anime in a genre aimed primarily at children. Who cannot buy a car, let alone drive one. Overall there isn’t anything particularly bad or notable. But the way that the flying wands sound like racing car engines is so out of place that I will never get accustomed to it. The obvious awkward CG during flying sequences is another issue. The characters are alright and the animation is fairly good. Its a decent watch for a magical girl fan.
Potential: 40%
Kekkai Sensen
What is it about Bones and placing pointless mascot characters in their works? There was the balloon squirrell, the parrot, the sloth, the yellow fox and now a super fast monkey. Are these some marketing decision to help sell plush toys? So far we have vibes of Baccano in the music and darker than black in the setting. I find it difficult to judge. The villain is trying too hard to be crazy and the main characters aren’t proving to be distinctive. The structure of the episode could put people off as there a flash forward to what looks to be the end of the series, a jump to present, a flashback, present, flashback…its not giving you time to get your bearings. The action is good though I think the names of supermoves appearing on screen is a bit too Kill la Kill. There are some hints of potential but so far I am not sold.
Potential: 50%
