Watching Summer 2019 Anime

'To The Abandoned Sacred Beasts'

"Interesting" is the word that first comes to mind when watching this anime. With this being a MAPPA anime I was expecting a certain level technical fidelity, and with that regard I got that in spades. The opening episode from a narrative standpoint was a mixed bag. Within this one episode we got an entire season's worth of story. The first ten minutes episode did a great job in setting the tone for the show and what you would be expected to see as you carry on with the show. The violence at the ground level is quite visceral while the violence at the fantastical level is quite bombastic with a lot of energy to it.

We then get a scene of the troop interacting with each other that was an actual joy to watch as we got a clear indication of what the bond between them was like, only to gloss over their journey and move to the next chapter after a brief time skip instead. In all I do feel as if there was a big missed opportunity in not expanding this part of the story to make the end of this episode far more impactful than it ended up being. In short, a bit of a mixed bag. Despite that, I am intrigued enough to carry on watching it at least for another two episodes.

'Astra Lost in Space'

The first thing that I have to say about this show is that it is absolutely beautiful to look at. The quality of the production and the usage of the cinematic ratio made it really feel as if I was watching a feature as opposed to a series. Plus the nearly fifty minute runtime of the first episode really helped in making it feel as if it was a film, having a runtime for the opening episode that is twice as long as the runtime for the rest of the episodes is a rare thing for anime.

What the anime does really well is the fact that they manage to really get across the tension and fear of being out in space. There were moments where I felt as if I was watching a scene from Gravity. The music really helped in elevating the feeling that much more. The characters are all different, which helps them stand out a fair bit, even if they do all lean heavily into the stock anime characters that we have had countless times. Seeing these different personalities come together in order to solve this problem is quite fun to watch.

If I have to note a weakness in the show, it is that the humor often fell flat most of the time and rarely managed to get a chuckle out of me, however when the show focuses on the drama, the character interactions, and tension, combined with the stunning visuals and great music, the show is firing on all cylinders and I was so engrossed that I barely noticed that nearly fifty minutes had passed.

'How Heavy Are The Dumbbells You Lift?'

Was a surprisingly fun time that was a lot more than just girls working out in the gym. Well, to be more precise it was great because the show went into depth about how to do the exercises that was present in the show as accurately as possible as opposed to simply being only fan service. In fact, there was a lot of fan service. There is a lot of humor in the show—most of it is visual and down to the timing of the jokes. The setup is simple enough: it is about a girl that wants to lose weight and ends up joining a gym with one of her classmates.

While the first episode was mainly characters talking, being self referential, and working out, I do have to admit that if one is wanting to start doing basic exercises, this anime actually has good instructions on what you should actually be doing when you are performing said exercises.

Visually the show looks fantastic, and the presentation of it is top notch, going so far as to really go over the top in order to make the act of exercising as intense and hard core as possible while maintaining some amount of believability. As I said earlier, surprisingly, a lot more fun and informative than I expected it to be.

'Dr. Stone'

The premise for the show is incredibly enticing. Rebuilding the world from the perspective of science with the residual knowledge contained within a person at the heart of this makes it feel as if this is Civilization the anime. The show looks fantastic, and the character designs are unique even for anime. The female character that was in a majority of the episode is probably the cutest looking girl I have seen in an anime in years. The music is fantastic as well, accompanying the visuals hand in hand.

We saw how the world itself changed around the stone characters ala The Time Machine, and we get to see the very basic set up that the two leads have set up at the very start of their journey in this second year one that the world is experiencing.

What did start to annoy me quite a bit is the interaction between the two leads, and beyond that one of the leads so far is insufferable, and the other is intolerable. The humor in this episode fell flat at every turn as well. Despite this I will continue to watch the show as a result of the hype that surrounds the manga, and a part of me finds the Civilization aspect of the anime to be quite enticing as I have not seen another premise quite like this.

'Fire Force'

While the goals and the reasons as to why the central protagonist wants to achieve them may be the exact same as Genos from One Punch Man, Fire Force may also have the animation quality to match the visuals of One Punch Man in terms of sheer scale and excitement. The action set pieces in this show were incredibly kinetic, with some of the most fluid animation that I have seen in a while. Each movement was exhilarating as the fire fighters manipulated the flames.

The show has a distinct look to it and does not hold back when it turns into a far more stylized look in order to get the point across. The soundtrack was fantastic, and the character designs are very much in the vein of Soul Eater. In fact, the protagonist, for all intents and purposes reminds me of an older and black haired Soul. The rest of the characters are fun when they interact with each other as well. While it may be completely out of left field as was the case for Yukina and Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress, I already find Maki to be a fantastic character for… reasons. Either way, this is the fifth anime I watched from my list watchlist so far, and at the time of this writing, it is my favourite of the bunch.

'Lord El-Melloi II's Case Files'

If you are a fan of the Fate series I would imagine you would be a fan of this. The story is a sequel/ spin-off with Waver Velvet as the lead. Waver was the mage that was with Iskandir in Fate/Zero and this narrative takes place a full decade later. This first episode was comprised primarily of set up, and back story so that we know exactly where the character is by the time the second episode comes around and the narrative gets going in full motion.

As far as set up goes it was done quite well, managing to establish the main players that will be taking part in the narrative, filling in what the character has done or has been made to do in order to reach the point that he finds himself in, and adding in some world building into the fray.

As is typical of TROYCA the show is absolutely beautiful to watch and the soundtrack is just as pleasant. There are moments when the show reverts back to the events in Fate/ Zero from different perspectives and makes the show seem enticing and nostalgic at the same time. This is one that I am definitely going to carry on watching.

'Vinland Saga'

Opened with a bang by depicting a fantastic ocean battle and it was exhilarating to watch. Following which, the tone of the show shifts from a historical epic to a drama, and we get a fairly muted episode following the opening, which was fantastic, and even the ending song is fantastic. This really sets up the overall tone that the show is going for, and by the end of the episode it really sets up the epic things to come.

What the episode did really well was setting up the characters that we are going to be taking this journey with, and the characters are all interesting in one way or another. As is usually the case when it comes to Studio Wit productions, the look of the anime is absolutely fantastic. It is a downright gorgeous anime to look at, so far I would argue that from the anime that i have seen this season it is the best looking anime. The music is fantastic as well. All in all, it was an intriguing episode that makes me really interested in seeing where the show goes.

'The Ones Within'

Is a curious anime. The entire time I was watching it I got the impression that it was very much like the set up of Assassination Classroom with a splash of Danganronpa, from the mascot character, the class, goals, and the like, straight to the adorable character designs. The show is bright and colourful, if a little dull when it comes to the animation that we see on display as movement is very stilted and lacking in more ways than one.

Though to off set this they do change up styles so that it is visually interesting to watch at all times. The fact that these characters are let’s-players does make the concept slightly interesting as it does give a reason as to why these characters are good at thinking in certain scenarios, even if they are extremely exaggerated in terms of their appearance for the most part.

The exposition where the characters all introduce each other is dull beyond belief. By the time the first episode ended, I was left confused because I was not sure if I liked the anime or not. It was not good, it was not terrible, there was something about it that makes me curious. It is one that I am going to have to give another episode or two before deciding for sure so that my opinion of it would be solidified.

'Given'

As expected from Lerche they made an anime that looks stunning, and I would have a hard time picking which one looks better, this or Astra Lost in Space. However, if I had to pick I would say that the animation in this is stellar primarily due to the attention that they put into the musical segments in this first episode.

As someone who does play the guitar, the fact that the finger movements of the characters playing the guitar is accurate, as far as I can distinguish, is great to see, and seeing it so well animated it absolutely incredible. The music is fun enough, though when the band plays it is quite exciting to watch.

The characters seem really interesting too, as far as their introductions are concerned, with each member of the band having their own personality which makes their interactions interesting to watch already. Definitely one I’m watching till the end. Unless, somehow, the quality jumps off a cliff.

'Is It Wrong To Pick Up Girls In a Dungeon? Danmachi 2'

Considering this show was one of the first isekai styled anime to come about as a result of being adapted by a light novel with video game aesthetics inside a fantastical world, I am surprised it took this long to get to the second season.

At the very least we did get it now and so we get to carry on the story of Bell, who lives in a city with dungeons and clans that fight within them and with each other. Said clans are based off of Greek mythology, which is always a plus. What I am reminded of most when watching this show is just how deep some of the lore, is as there is a lot of backstory that is hinted at throughout the show that makes it interesting to watch.

The leveling system is interesting, and the world as a whole feels unique. While there may not be a lot of movement on screen from drawn frames, J.C. Staff has a way of integrating 3D animation into their anime without creating dissonance that takes you out of the show. In fact unless you are keep an eye out for it, there is a good chance that you might miss it. Despite having not watched season one since it came out, I was immediately reminded of the world and the story within the anime, so was excited to delve into this world again.

Also Hermes is amazing.