First Impressions: Saki, Full Metal Alchemist 2, Basquash, Valkyria Chronicles

The second batch of first impressions and I should say that I won’t be covering everything this season. For example I’ve decided that I don’t have a fetish for acidic breast milk and therefore won’t be watching Queen’s Blade.

My Rating System Explained!

A = If you watch anything this season, watch this

B = Very good, sometimes surprisingly so.

C = If you have the time, you should check this out

D = Not my kind of thing, I won’t be watching this

E = Bad. Very bad, ignore this show

F = Frustratingly awful

Saki

Gonzo are not doing well financially. The recession has hit them hard and they need something that will earn them plenty of money. So they stuck to something they know will work: Lolita fanservice. It worked with Strike Witches so why would it not work with this ingenious marriage of Mahjong and moe.

To be fair, it isn’t awful. Gonzo did actually put a bit of effort into this. The dialogue feels genuine and you already get a feel for the characters in the first episode, much like Strike Witches. There are plenty of things for otaku to gobble up aswell, such as that really large breasted pink haired girl who appears not to have heard of that invention known as a bra.

It’s not awful but no, this is not for me. I’ve yet to develop even the slightest interest in Mahjong and I don’t think fanservicy lolis are going to convert me any time soon. It did exceed my expectations because it is not painfully dumb, but this is defo not my sort of thing

Rating: D-

 

 

Full Metal Alchemist 2

I think Loba will be blogging this so hurrah! As for my two cents, I’m not sure if I like the Soul Eater style animation but otherwise WOW! I didn’t expect FMA to get so good so quickly. FMA was great at building up and bringing you deeper into the story as you grow to love the characters. But screw that said Bones and BOOM, damn fine episode we got here.

Rating: A-

 

 

Basquash

Oh dear, oh dear. That was dumb. There will normally be one show a season who’s praise I cannot understand and Basquash looks to be it. The characters were annoying as hell and the dialogue was painful. I enjoyed the closing song, slightly because it had a funky beat but also because it meant I didn’t have to watch any more.

The animation is a slick as anything but what they are animating is ugly. The crew look like a deformed Gekko State and the mecha’s, although they move slickly, are just ugly to look at, especially when I’d just finished Ride Back. And I may like the occasional bit of fanservice but those breasts are just hideous.

If it wasn’t for all the sexual innuendo’s, this felt like something that would air on Cartoon Network. Heck, it felt like something that 4kids would dub, fans would get outraged because ‘tey took out teh boobies, now its rooned!!!11’ without actually realising it wasn’t any good in the first place.

Rating: E-

 

 

Valkyria Chronicles

Being a game-based anime, I had lowered my expectations some what and good thing too. If I had been banking on this I would’ve been disappointed but since I wasn’t I was pleasantly surprised. Look, it’s not a masterpiece and never will be. But hey, that was actually pretty good.

Set in an alternate world around the 1920’s, it tells the story of some small town being attacked by people with highly inaccurate weaponry. Somehow this anime manages to remain believable and preposterous simultaneously. There are about 20 people guarding the town, which includes women and 15 year old boys. These people are up against tanks.

Despite the fact our main two were getting shot at, they didn’t seem too worried. Maybe that’s just the type of people they are(or else they read ahead in the script and spotted they were getting a giant tank later on). Still, I’m still watching this, it seems promising. Or maybe I’ve just developed a crush on the female lead…

Rating: C