Winter 2017 – First Impression (Part 3/Final)

Welp, the final batch of premiers are in the can and it’s time to take a look at them.  After that, I’ll take a look at my schedule for the remainder of the season.

Be sure and let me know about your thoughts down in the comments!

If you haven’t read them, check out part one and part two as well.

Just a note, shows that I am watching are in bold, shows my wife and I are watching together are in bold italics.

Konasuba: God’s Blessing on this Wonderful World 2

I’m not going to beat around the bush here – I was pretty disappointed with the premiere.  While it featured the show’s trademark humor and wacky characters…  it was jumpy and yanked us around quite a bit too.   The animation and characters, never Konasuba‘s  strong point to begin with, was decidedly sub par.  On top of that, it was mostly a recap show.  Useful I suspect for newcomers, not so much for the rest of us.  Still…  it was fun to watch Our Heroes dig themselves into a hole and desperately try to dig themselves out again.  I enjoyed the first season, so I guess I have to give this ep a free pass.

Verdict: In my mind the season actually starts next week…  Looking forward to it!

Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid

Something of an odd duck, dropping pretty much into the thick of things without a lot of setup.  On the other hand, who needs setup when the comedy comes from the action?  It was pretty funny, eliciting few laugh-out-loud moments but plenty of chuckles and grins.  But it’s KyoAni, and they can’t resist sliding a few moments full of feels in too. (Stay for the credits!)  Looking forward, if they can maintain that balance of humor, character, and feels this could be a very strong show.  If you watched and enjoyed I Can’t Understand What My Husband is Saying, you might enjoy Dragon Maid.   Miss Kobayashi strongly reminds me of the world-weary and frustrated Tsunashi Kaoru.  (To the point where I convinced myself that it had to be the same seiyuu, though it wasn’t.)  She makes a strong foil for the irrepressibly bouncy Tooru.

Though how a millennia old dragon becomes as ditzy as a schoolgirl…

Verdict: Keeper.

Nyanko Days

All about a girl who has no friends at school, but who does have three best friends at home – her anthropomorphized cats.  Or maybe they’re the world’s smallest catgirls (kittengirls?), or maybe it’s all in Yuuko’s head?  Not that it matters…Nynako is a short and cuddly show that left me feeling all warm and fuzzy inside.  Who needs more?

Verdict: Keeper.

One Room

One of the creepiest things (and not in a good way) that I’ve ever seen.  Essentially gameplay footage from a virtual girlfriend game…  And the camera spends waaay too much time looking leeringly at the objects of the “player’s” affection.  Not so much fanservice as stalkerservice.  Yuck.  Even though it’s a short, we couldn’t make it past the first minute or so.

It’s a rare show that can make Anime De Training! look like a good idea…

Verdict: Dropped with extreme prejudice.

Piacevole

I read the manga, or tried to, when it popped up on Crunchyroll last year.  I didn’t much care for it…  but I kept thinking that it could actually be a pretty decent anime.  I’m pleased to say that it appears I was right.  The main character’s ditziness and the snark and the generally unlikeable aspects of her co-workers actually does come across much better on the screen than on the printed page.  The humor of the two worlds colliding plays out much better when you can hear it in the character’s voices rather than trying to puzzle it out in your head.  If you enjoyed Wagnaria!!, you might like Piacevole.  (If w w w . Working had been a short like this, I suspect would have enjoyed it much more.)

Verdict: Keeper.

So, here’s how the season shakes out…  (Some shows are displaced a day because they either air pretty late local time, or my wife or I have standing commitment in the evening.)

• Monday
  – Gabriel Dropout
• Tuesday
  – ACCA-13
• Wednesday
    – Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (airs on Tues)
    – Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid
    – Piacevole
   –  Konasuba
• Thursday
• Friday
    – Masamune-kun’s Revenge (airs on Thurs)
  – Minami Kamakura High School Girls Cycling Club
  – Schoolgirl Strikers
  – Fuuka
• Saturday
    – Seiren
• Sunday
    – Nyanko Days

So, eleven shows…  On the low side of average, and with a strong chance of going lower because there’s a number of shows in there skating on thin ice.  It looks like Monday will be the best day to post this season, as I suspect ACCA-13 will need some time to digest.  There might be an occasional push to Tuesday if we’ve had a busy weekend.

Have a good weekend!