The Jake's Preseason: Summer 2015

#5- Ranpo Kitan: Game of Laplace
          Lerche
          
          I wasn't quite sure what to expect with Ranpo Kitan, but I do enjoy mystery series, and I think I will enjoy this one. Assuming I can get over the fact that the main character is a Hideyoshi level trap.

Uhhh... Phrasing!

#4- Shimoneta to Iu Gainenga Sonzai Shinai Taikutsu na Sekai/ Shimoneta: A Boring World Where the Concept of Dirty Jokes Doesn't Exist
          J.C. Staff
          
          Another one of those super long titles, Shimoneta is clearly based on a light novel series. Imagine a world where concerned mothers have everything their way and have outlawed everything not "PC" from pornography to coarse language to even the mere concept of procreative sex, deeming it all "harmful to children." That is the crapsack world of Shimoneta, which follows high school students who become 'ecchi terrorists.'

Yeah, it's that sort of series

#3- Charlotte
          P.A. Works

          Charlotte looks like an interesting anime, kind of a view of a life of people who suddenly develop super powers.

          As I started watching Charlotte I noticed a scene where the characters walk out of a coffee shop that serves 'Key coffee.' I immediately went, "wait a minute," and rushed to look it up. That's right, Charlotte was written by Jun Maeda of the visual novel company Key, known for such works as Kanon, Air, Clannad, and, oh yeah, just a little thing like Angel Beats! 

#2- Gate: Jieitai Kanochi nite, Kaku Tatakeri
          A-1 Pictures
          
          I was absolutely blown away by the first episode of Gate. I love how it didn't have the usual BS "magical creatures shrug off all bullets" plot that most of these series have. I also like that they didn't just time skip to after a treaty has been signed between Japan and the world beyond the gate.

I guess now we know what the good animators at A-1 were working on during the slump from last season. Well, this and...

#1- Working!!!
          A-1 Pictures
          
          Back for a third season, Working!!! (with three exclamation points this time) brings back tasteful workplace comedy. I really loved the first two seasons of Working! and number three looks to pick up right where the second season left off.

Heh heh... Short people.

Honorable Mentions

Gangsta.

          Manglobe

          I almost passed this series up given the strange title and synopsis. I'm glad that I didn't, however, the first episode turned out to be quite entertaining.

God Eater

          ufotable

          Looking forward to the animation of this series.

Kangoku Gakuen/ Prison School

          J.C. Staff

          I've read some of the manga for this one, though calling it a manga may be a stretch: it is published in an adult magazine and uses every opportunity to push the ecchi envelope.

There are so many other images that I wanted to use here, but, sadly, quite inappropriate.

Other Series Being watched by Otaku Saga

Chaos Dragon: Sekiryuu Sen'eki
          Silver Link

Classroom☆Crisis
          Lay-duce

Gakkou Gurashi
          Lerche

Himouto! Umaru-chan
          Dogakobo

Jitsu wa Watashi wa
          TMS Entertainment

Joukamachi no Dandelion
          Production IMS

Monster Musume no Iru Nichijou
          Lerche

Sore ga Seiyuu!
          Gonzo

Ushio to Tora
          MAPPA

Bikini Warriors
          Feel

Okusama ga Seitokaicho!
          Seven

Wakako-zaki
          office DCI

The Jake's Post Season: Spring '15

#10- Etotama
          Shirogumi
          Etotama was a great surprise. While it was primarily a 'fight of the week' sort of series, it had a interesting enough story, humor, and made fantstic use of 3D animation. Having a super catchy opening theme helped, too.

#9- Dungeon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigetteiru Darou ka?/ Is it Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?
          J.C. Staff
          Is it Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? was a very entertaining series. It only rated number nine in my eyes mostly due to the main character, Bell, coming across as a little Gary Stu-ish. And Hestia is a little too clingy jealous for me. I like the other characters, though. Especially Aiz ♥

#8- Punch Line
          MAPPA
          MAPPA really delivered on Punch Line. Talk about a unique story... The only reason that it didn't place higher is because it doesn't really come together until late in the series.

#7- Shokugeki no Sōma/ Food Wars: Shokugeki no Sōma
          J.C. Staff
          Shokugeki no Sōma was one that I had high expectations for, and quite clearly it met those expectations. It's like a mix between Iron Chef and a more perverted version of the food porn/foodgasm sections of Kōfuku Graffiti.

#6- Grisaia no Rakuen/ Le Eden de la Grisaia
      Grisaia no Meikyuu/ Le Labyrinthe de la Grisaia
          8bit

          Grisaia was a bit of a surprise for me, as well. I like Grisaia no Kaijitsu, but being based off of an ecchi harem visual novel has its drawbacks for an anime. Whereas the visual novel has several routes and endings, the anime had to show each route without reaching the ending (as many of them were based several years after the events of the game.) The newer Grisaia felt more complete, meaning that it did not feel like it was stopping short every couple of episodes.

#5- Yamada-kun to 7-nin no Majo/ Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches
          Liden Films
          My sleeper series of the season, Yamada-kun was not even on my radar in the preseason. Hell, I even considered not watching it, due to being overloaded with series this season. I'm glad that I changed my mind. Yamada-kun has a marvelous story, is chock full of humor, I love the animation, and the voice acting is simply incredible.  

#4- Nagato Yuki-chan no Shōshitsu/ The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan
          Satelite
          I may be biased as a fan of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, but I loved this series. I do have to admit that the character redesigns are a bit hard to get used to, but they work well for a slice of life series like this. The fact that all of the voice actors from the original series returned to voice their characters. This includes not only the seiyu from the Japanese version, but Funimation also managed to get all the voice actors that did the English dub, which was quite good as far as dubs go.

#3- Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works
          ufotable
          The animation in this series almost brings me to tears... And that's not hyperbole. It literally has some of the best animation I've ever seen and rivals many anime movies I've seen. It helps that I am a huge fan of Fate/Stay Night as well.

#2- Ansatsu Kyōshitsu/ Assassination Classroom
          Lerche
          I loved the first half of Assassination Classroom in the winter, and it finished strong.

#1- Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru. Zoku/ My Teenage Romantic Comedy SNAFU. Too
          Feel
          I really feel that the animation in Oregairu 2 was improved. It is so much more smooth and really doesn't take that long to get used to. Besides you should really be watching Oregairu for the story anyhow. On that level, it executes perfectly. Not just my early favorite for anime of the year, but quite possibly one of my favorites of all time. I do have to admit, though, the ending of Oregairu 2 really left a lot to be desired. Fishing for a season 3, guys?

Honorable Mentions

Arslan Senki
   Liden Films
          Arslan Senki is based off of a manga adaptation of a light novel series. The manga was drawn by Hiromu Arakawa of Fullmetal Alchemist fame, so naturally I had high expectations for this series. While it was very good, I felt that it did not quite measure up to the series in my top ten.



Kyōkai no Rinne
   Brains Base
          Kyōkai no Rinne was written by Rumiko Takahashi of Ranma 1/2 and InuYasha fame. As such expect it to be quite entertaining.



Kekkai Sensen/ Blood Blockade Battlefront
   Bones

          Kekkai Sensen is absolutely beautifully animated, unfortunately this alone is not enough to get it into my top ten. Often times in the series, I am left wondering what is going on and I feel that it would really be helped by having a little bit more exposition.



High School DxD BorN
   TNK

          Another year, another High School DxD season. Expect more of the same with this one: awesome action, humor, and plenty of boobs. Any fans of the dub may want to note that Funimation had to replace the VA's for Issei (Scott Freeman) and Akeno (Teri Rogers.) It took me a couple of episodes to get used to the new voices (Josh Grelle and Kelly Angel respectively), but I really feel that Josh Grelle is a good replacement and Kelly honestly played Akeno better.



Hibike! Euphonium
   Kyoto Animation

          Kyoani doing what Kyoani does. School based slice of life with beautiful animation. The series gets a little dramatic at points, but it is a good watch, especially for band geeks (like myself).



Nisekoi:
   Shaft

         The hilarity keeps on rolling with the second season of Nisekoi. Unfortunately, it never touches on anything to do with the locket (y'know the main story), with each of the episodes being focus episodes for each of the girls (and an excellent character development episode for Shu.)



Re-Kan!
   Studio Pierrot

          A funny little supernatural slice of life series.



Plastic Memories
   Dogakobo
          Plastic Memories mixes comedy and drama very well. Unfortunately, once you realize the life span of the giftias, you realize that the story can have nothing but a bad end. Or at the very least a bittersweet ending.

The Jake's Shit List

Gunslinger Stratos
   A-1 Pictures
          Gunslinger Stratos was a truly disappointing series. I suppose even after the success of mobile games turned anime Shingeki no Bahamut and Kancolle, I was expecting something better (especially from A-1.) Well, as D.K. put it... Million dollar set up... one dollar finish.

Denpa Kyōshi/ Otaku Teacher
   A-1 Pictures
          Sub par. The animation is not what you'd expect from A-1, and the story is almost entirely uninteresting.

D.K.'s Midseason Power Rankings: Spring 2015

Hello there, folks, D.K. here coming at you with some wholesome Otaku Saga Power Ranking goodness!

With the delays of Digimon Adventure Tri. and the Lupin the 3rd reboot, some of the hype of the preseason has faded. However, this season is still loaded with awesome anime. Seriously, the honorable mentions list has TEN anime alone! So, without further ado; here are my picks at the (approximate) halfway point of the 2015 Spring season. Now, do note that any series currently airing qualifies for our Mid-Season rankings.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

These are all great anime which even have my personal recommendation; but they're still out of the top ten...

Hibike! Euphonium

 Kyoto Animation brings us K-On! with classical music in an attempt to make amends for Free!... So far it's working.

Grisaia no Rakuen / Grisaia no Meikyuu  

"OK, Yuuji; tell me where the man touched you..." "Everywhere, J.B. EVERYWHERE."

"Hmm, I wonder how we could make our character's back stories even MORE fucked up?" said the writers at Front Wing Studios. Mission Accomplished; Freud would have a field day with the whole cast.

Yamada-Kun and the Seven Witches 

Definitely one of my dark horses this season; think Kokoro Connect, but more lighthearted.

Kekkai Sensen

Preseason ranking: 3

Ore Monogatari! 

Preseason ranking: 7

Gunslinger Stratos 

 Preseason ranking: 5

Triage X 

Preseason ranking: 8

 Yes... Yes, exactly that.

Arslan Senki

Highschool DxD Born 

BLUSHING RIAS IS BEST RIAS.

More pervy goodness, now with 50% more plot; and I don't mean boobage this time.

Etotama 

Another dark horse series. A very humorous anime that loves tearing down the fourth wall.

And now, without further ado, the top ten!

10. Re-Kan!

This anime is so funny you can forgive the cliché "teenage spirit medium" plot device and pseudo-yuri common in many yonkoma adaptations.

9. Kyoukai no Rinne

I know, I know; it's yet another anime with a girl that can conveniently see spirits, but it's a well used cliché for a reason. Trust me, I'm remiss for not covering this title in my preseason rankings. The first anime adaptation of a Rumiko Takahashi work since Inuyasha has all the set pieces that make her work memorable: a charming cast, quality slapstick, and a flair for the ridiculous.

8. Punchline 

Preseason Rank: 9th

Speaking of ridiculous...

Punchline, AKA. The Plot Thickens: The Anime.
Seriously, I haven't seen a series with such a well-layered plot in a very long time. Great animation (especially in the opening sequence), and a seemingly never-ending supply of plot twists will keep you on edge waiting for next week's episode. Also, brace for major zaniness.

7. Nisekoi

Preseason Rank: 6th

It's been a rough, and I mean rough season for us here on Team Onodera... On the other and brighter side of things: Chitoge is less of a twisted twatface with gorilla DNA for brains, we get to meet new characters, and Shaft continues its trend of toning down its once extreme animation style. That means less garish backgrounds and a whole lot less of this...

6. Shoukugeki no Soma

Chairman Kaga would approve, and so do I. For those not in the know, imagine this: Kenshiro from Fist of the North Star has been reincarnated as a teenage chef. YOU'RE ALREADY BEGGING FOR SECONDS.

ALLEZ CUISINE!

5. Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon? (AKA. DanMachi)

Preseason Rank: 10th

Some years have what I like to call, "It Series". These are the series you see ALL the cosplayers taking cues from and ALL the internet forums buzzing about. 2012 had Sword Art Online, 2013 gave us Attack On Titan and Kill la Kill and I think that 2015 will be the year of Danmachi. Hestia's meteoric rise in popularity aside, I actually like this series for it's overall concept and the high fantasy world it's set in. Somebody should make a Danmachi Skyrim mod like, last week.

4. Assassination Classroom

Shonen Jump has definitely published better and better manga now that it's outgrown it's "Blonde Haired Superhuman" phase. Since I started reviewing anime, I never would have imagined that ONE Shonen Jump manga adaptation would take any spot on a normal top 5 Power Rankings list, let alone THREE such anime taking spots on the TOP TEN. Last week's episode pretty much sealed the deal for a high spot on my list. The A-Class / E-Class rivalry is as heated as it is cemented, the principal has started to make his move, AND we're getting a beach episode!? To quote the greatest assassin to ever live...

Also, this.

3.  Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works

I don't know what kind of black magic Ufotable cast on their animators, but it WORKED. Rarely does a series make it this high on a Power Rankings list by technical merit alone. Now if only I wasn't effectively forced into catching up on ALL of Fate/Stay Night by a certain Rin fanboy who may or may not be the other half of Otaku Saga, perhaps it would've found a higher place on my list.

Deal with it.

2. The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-Chan

Preseason Rank: 1st

I'M SO SORRY... T-T

This series can be described in two words: cuteness overload.

Since I'm so nice, have some more words: This is moeblob at its finest; the fact that the spirit of the original Haruhi series is kept alive is even better. Having the ENTIRE original cast certainly helped in that respect. The reason why this isn't my no. 1 at the halfway point has nothing to do with any obvious imperfections. Rather, the no. 1 series is simply, in my mind, getting much more awesome, and that series is...

...

1. My Teenage Romantic Comedy SNAFU Too!

FLUSTERED YUKINON IS BEST YUKINON.

Preseason Rank: 4

Studio Feel gave the artwork of this future classic a major upgrade and kept the snarky goodness alive and oh-so-well.

Unfortunately, we've had two titles which have not lived up to their hype... Indeed, it's time for D.K.'s Shit List.

Denpa Kyoushi 

Preseason ranking: ...2nd?!

Oh, how the mighty have fallen! I was expecting far better comedy from this series; something along the lines of Great Teacher Onizuka, even. Lackluster animation (by A-1 Pictures standards) doesn't exactly make matters better, either. Here's hoping for a quick turnaround before I drop it.

Houkago no Pleiades 

"When you've seen one magic girl series, you've seen them all." I know very well that isn't true, but one would sure feel that way after watching the first few episodes. Even with masterful animation from Gainax, I dropped this series like a bad habit after four episodes.

So, that's that. Don't be too upset if a series you liked didn't make the cut; it's only the halfway point of the season, after all. Feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts on the best and worst anime airing at this point in the season.

Stand aside, The Jake; I'll take him down myself.