Puella Magi☆Madoka Magica - Final Impressions

The final two episodes aired over a week ago, but as the theme seems to be for the last couple months I've been too busy to make this post, so I shall attempt to now.

This show has to be one of the best I've seen in a while and I'm sure if I'd seen any other Mahou Shoujo shows this would be one of my favourite ones. After the long delay caused by the tsunami and earthquake Madoka  managed to slip to the back of my mind, especially with the start of what looks to be an exceptional Spring season distracting me further from it. In order to make up for this I re-watched the first ten episodes the day before the two finale episodes aired, and I'm glad I did otherwise the ending probably wouldn't have had the same impact if my connection to the characters hadn't been rebuilt. Having already seen the ten episodes once, re-watching them enabled me to appreciate certain aspects more, such as the mirroring between episode 10 and 1 where Homura and Madoka walk through the halls of the school.

The animation of the series is also pretty good. The character designs are smooth and each character is easily distinguishable from others, with everyone having their own distinct look. The only problem with the animation was that the character animation was occasionally off, but there are few anime where this s not the case, so I'm not going to pick on it too much. The backgrounds are also very clean and also very detailed in some cases. The backgrounds for the witches domains are pretty trippy and strange, but they suit the crazy world of magic and the creatures within them, and the actions scenes that take place in them are usually pretty well animated too. Complimenting the animation, there is also a pretty good soundtrack with a number of memorable tracks, with the OP and ED carrying on the Winter seasons theme of quality OPs and EDs.

The characters were each very different people to one another, with back stories provided for Kyouko and Homura which explain how they came to be the person they are today and helping you to connect to them even more, especially with Homura's back story, which encapsulates the whole of episode 10. Kyubey (pictured above) is also an extremely unique character, the sort of which I haven't really seen in other anime. His adorable appearance with its permanent :3 face is contrasted against the blunt, arguably evil genius the hides within, taking advantage of others for his own (and his species') desires.

The ending itself was brilliant, and definitely the best of the 5 shows I was watching that ended last season. Most of the developments within the last two endings were completely unpredictable (at least to me) and episode 12 in particular was very emotional for those who had formed a connection with the characters through the 12 episodes. As expected for a finale of a show with magic and monsters there was an excellent action sequence in episode 11 as Walpurgis Night arrives, with a ridiculous amount of military-grade fire-power. The twists in the final two episodes were also very characteristic of the rest of the series, with its revelations, deaths and character developments of the first ten episodes.

In summary, Puella Magi☆Madoka Magica is almost definitely going to be one of the best anime to air on 2011 and judging by the sales of the first Blu-Ray/DVD release it can easily become a classic. Madoka showed itself to be unique, at least in terms of the Mahou Shoujo genre, from episode 3, and manage to keep up the break-neck pace, unpredictable twists and turns and character development all the way until the end, making for an emotional and action-packed final two episodes, which failed to disappoint even with all the expectation and hype that had built up among fans during the weeks it was delayed. Even halfway through the series' 12 episode run this show managed to jump right into my top 10 or even 5 anime of all time and I'll almost certainly be watching the series again when all of the episodes are released in Blu-Ray, with improved visuals which will undoubtedly enhance the series further.


EDIT: The first Blu-Ray volume sells 53,000 in first week to break previous record of 51,000 set by Volume 6 of Bakemonogatari

Winter 2011 End-of-Season Impressions

Overall, I'm not entirely sure how to feel about this season. Puella Magi Madoka Magica was the only thing that stood out, and of those continuing from the previous season the only one not trodden in mediocrity was Bakuman. That being said, there were some damn good OP's and ED's.

Accelerator returns in the final episodes of To Aru Majutsu no Index II

To Aru Majutsu no Index Season II
This has been a mixed bag. The first two arcs were great, and then it descended into predictable mediocrity which actually got a bit boring. This was until the last few episodes. The second to last arc started off incredibly, and I was hooked instantly, with almost all of it's characters taking part in saving Academy City once again. However, the last episode of the arc was a bit of an anti-climax, before immediately going into a final arc (if you can call it that) for the last couple of episodes, which provided hardly any closure to the season and hinted towards a third. All in all, this second season of Index was disappointing, with a mediocre middle that went on far too long to be made up for with the interesting arcs either side. Perhaps unsurprisingly, my favourite arcs included Accelerator and the girls from the Railgun spin-off... so I suppose I'm just more of a Railgun fan.

One of many sparkly and fabulous scenes from Star Driver

Star Driver
My opinion of Star Driver is becoming very much like the show itself, repetitive and predictable. Much like Index II, this show was stuck in a rut of extreme mediocrity throughout the 25 episodes, which is a real shame considering the potential it had. The animation was pretty good, especially in those damn Zero Time scenes, and the characters were brilliant, it's just a shame that it was all so identical and seemingly pointless until the final third perhaps. In fact it was after the break from the mould of episode 14, which I celebrated with a post of it's own that Star Driver started to slowly improving, albeit with a couple of misstep still. However, I watched the finale this morning and the animation was so brilliant and the episode so excellent itself (although still retaining the usual ridiculous motives and ass-pulls) that it almost makes up for week after week of the same thing. All in all, whilst this certainly wasn't a terrible show, it wasn't exactly memorable, and this time next year I'll probably barely remember it and it'll likely be one of the first to go when I have to delete some anime to make space on my far-too-small hard-drive.

Star duo 'Ashirogi Muto'

Bakuman
This for me was the gem of the last two seasons, a light-hearted show about two best friends looking to become mangaka. I loved the characters, nail-biting tension was often provided by the wait on results for various competitions, the drama and rivalries were great, and I even liked the romance. This show had it all, except for maybe big mecha battles. Although the animation could be a bit off at times this show has shot straight to one of my all-time favourite anime, and I simply can't wait until the second season in October, I've even started reading the manga, which is rare for me because I usually find manga far too awkward to read on a website.

Merry's not too pleased with my views on her show

Yumekui Merry
This still has one episode left but I don't think the final one will change my views too much and I didn't really feel like delaying this post for a whole week just for it. I'm unsure about Yumekui Merry, for the first couple of episodes I found it brilliant, but it seemed to slowly decline through the rest of the season. I love the characters, especially Merry herself, but I never got drawn into the overarching story too much and have gotten to the point of watching it half-heartedly just to finish it. The low budget didn't help either as it led to some poor animation, with numerous close-ups and stills due to the restrictions of money, which was somewhat distracting. All in all, I think Yumekui Merry will end up with a fate similar to that of Star Driver.

Yoshii fights to save Voyeur after the girls (and HideYoshi) prove too much for him in their traditional Chinese dress

Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu: Matsuri 
One of my favourite anime series, Baka to Test to Shōkanjū, returned this season with two OVA's titled Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu: Matsuri, before returning for a second series this summer. The two OVA's carried on with what made me love the series in the first place; the comedy was great, the summoning battles were as entertaining as usual, taking up the majority of the second episode, with excellent animation to top it all off. If you were a fan of the original season last year, you'll definitely want to watch these.  


Due to disruptions from the earthquake and tsunami, the final two episodes of Madoka have been delayed indefinitely, with a plan to have them air sometime this month, so I'll make a post when they're finally out. I've also been watching the four episodes from the Young Animator Training Project and will make a post once I've finished them all.

Winter 2011 Mid-Season Impressions

Finally a break from events in Egypt! Other than the three series continuing from Fall 2010, Winter 2011 has had little to offer. However, I have to comment that all of the shows I'm watching have had excellent OP's and ED's and from comments I've seen on other series it appears to be a theme this season. So despite the lacking quality in shows at least there's one up side to this season.

To Aru Majutsu no Index Season II
Quite frankly, this has been rather disappointing. The first two arcs were excellent, but the two after were rather disappointing and dragged on. The main problem with these two seemed to be that they featured only Touma, and with his ability to negate magic it leaves very little suspense. The second arc featured and focused on Misaka and Kuruko, which I found much more interesting as they don't have the same ability as Touma. The next arc also features Misaka, along with her Sisters, and I have very high expectations for it. I guess I'm just a Railgun fanboy after all. The sheer amount of pointless fanservice in this series is also starting to get on my nerves slightly (...unless it features Misaka and her Sisters...).


Star Driver
Despite it's one lapse from the formulaic, repetitive and predictable episode layout, Star Driver went straight back. However, since then the story picked up for a few episodes so the Zero Time sequences didn't bother me too much. Although, considering we're approaching the end, there doesn't seem to be anything too big going on outside the usual, so hopefully something big is awaiting us. Although I hate the predictability of the Zero Time sequences I'm still quite a fan of this show, and I think that is mainly to do with the characters.


Bakuman
Bakuman remains the same as it has always been. Relaxed, light-hearted and without any action at all, and I love it! I'm still finding the trials and tribulations of two friends as they try to get a serialized manga immensely entertaining, especially with some of the troubles which have been cropping up during the season's second half. The only criticism I have of this show is that at times the character animation can be a bit off, but despite this it is possibly my favourite right now and much like Star Driver I think it's mainly die to the brilliant characters.


Yumekui Merry
Yumekui Merry is the first of only two shows I picked up this season without dropping. Much like Bakuman and Star Driver I also developed a real liking to the characters, especially main character Merry Nightmare (DAT MIDRIFF), and this is what drew me in from the start. From what I've heard this season has a rather low budget, which explains some of the sub-par character animations. Despite my immediate liking, I'm not too sure on the story, which has failed to draw me in too much at this halfway stage, and it's mainly just the characters keeping me watching.


Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Well I never thought I'd watch a Magical Girl show but here it is, and it's excellent. Far from the girly, sparkly images the genre name gives off, this series has been rather dark so far with one death and one near-death in just the first 6 episodes. The story is brilliant with twists and turns that are completely unexpected yet don't seem forced in any way and despite my initial misgivings over the character animation style I've actually grown to rather like it after getting used to it. This is probably going to be one of the best shows of the year and definitely of Winter 2011. Unfortunately it's only 12 episodes long, so after the end of the season I'll have to find completely new shows to watch without any familiar ones from the season before.

.hack//Quantum
Despite not watching any other .hack series' I decided to check out the first of 3 OVA's titled .hack//Quantum after seeing a thread about it on /a/ and finding it pretty interesting. The OVA itself was excellently animated (making a change after only watching shows who have top stretch the budget over 12-24 episode series' for the last few months) and both the story and characters were brilliant so I'll definitely be watching the other two when they're released and maybe get around to watching some other .hack series' in the future.


All in all, despite the rather disappointing turn out for Winter 2011 I've found two pretty good shows, Bakuman and Star Driver continue to be as great as they were before and Index II looks to be back on form after two mediocre arcs. Along with this there have been some of the greatest OP's and ED's I've heard in a long time, especially from Star Driver and Madoka Magica.

I was thinking of spicing up this post with images from each series, but quite frankly I was feeling too lazy to do that, but I may for future ones.