So I’ve spent my time watching a lot of anime lately. I figured I might as well share what I’m watching with you guys. So begins the first installment of Anime Bento where I pick out 5 anime I am currently watching and or have just recently finished watching and talk about my impressions of them.
More often than not, you can expect to see a random assortment of shows that which make up this rundown. Hopefully you can get some interesting opinion on shows you’ve already seen or maybe get some insight into shows you haven’t seen. I cannot stress enough that these are not reviews, just my impressions/thoughts on a show. Although this will involve critique, it will not be anything critical or even objective. Oh, and I don’t read manga, so don’t expect me to draw on any of that when referring to shows that are an adaptation of a manga. With that being said, let’s get into it.
Tokyo Ghoul (Dub) Final Impression:
I decided to blind buy this show on a whim. I mean, I know that the show is incredibly popular, but nothing really drove me to watch it until it came out on blu- ray and I saw it for sale for a relatively low price. Overall, I can say I was surprised at how interested in the show I actually became while watching it. The show by no means is a masterpiece, but I did enjoy it quite a bit. Maybe it has to do with how much I enjoy the idea of “enemies hiding in plain sight”, which is an aspect that I enjoyed very much about Parasyte. Of course, there are a lot of parallels between this show and Parasyte…..I mean a lot, but I do think that while both shows are very similar in the ideas they implement, I think Tokyo Ghoul manages to stand out on its own. I will say that I do think Tokyo Ghoul’s story misses a lot of opportunities to be a better show by not being as dark in it’s “darker” moments as it could have been. I found the lead up to a lot of the tense moments in the show to be promising, but only to have an anti-climactic resolution. While the show left me underwhelmed a lot of the time, I still did find the show enjoyable and would recommend it to people as a casual watch.
Available for stream on Funimation
Tokyo Ghoul √A (Dub) Final Impression:
So directly after finishing Tokyo Ghoul season one, I jumped right into season two, which is a good thing cause the first two episodes of this season are what can be considered the actual conclusion to the first season instead of the cliff hanger ending that it actually had. It felt a little off starting off a new season with essentially the conclusion of the previous one, but hey, I’m not a director, so what do I know? Continuing on from that, the show for me honestly loses all the momentum it had from the first season. A lot of the characters that you watched develop and got to know in the previous season, play lesser roles or are just quiet overall, while new characters are introduced and they themselves don’t do that much either. It’s typical sequel syndrome. The show tries to do a lot more on a bigger scale than what the first season did, but in essentially fewer episodes. It introduced new plot points that honestly didn’t even need to be there. Once the show reached its conclusion, I really couldn’t will myself to care about anything that was happening nor about any of the characters really. That being said, I do think the final scenes of the show are brilliant, just not the build up.
Available for stream on Funimation
Prince of Stride: Alternative (Sub) 1st Impression:
Within this last year, I’ve been getting pretty into sports anime. Well, thats kind of a lie. I’ve been enjoying specific sports anime in particular that are warming me up to the idea of watching more sports anime is a more accurate statement. Namely, Ping Pong The Animation and Haikyu!! have gotten me pretty hype. I should say I have seen and enjoyed Air Gear and Big Windup! in the past, but have never been inspired to check out more sports anime since. So when I saw a show about parkour, I jumped, all pun intended, at the opportunity to get excited about another sports show. After watching the first episode, this show definitely gives me the same kind of vibe that I got from Haikyu!!, which is exactly what I was hoping for. While I still haven’t exactly wrapped my head around how the show’s alternative relay race STRIDE works just yet, I’m sure just like every other sports show out there, there will be plenty of opportunities where the show explains the sport to me. I originally watched the first episode subbed, but since the show is being simulcast dubbed, I decided to wait till the series is finished and watch it that way.
Available for stream on Funimation
Haikyu!! 2nd Season (Sub) Final Impression:
Speaking of Haikyu!!, I could not wait to start the second season when it initially started airing. I absolutely loved the first season, so it was hard to hold back from watching the second season as it was airing since I knew I would run right through it. I wanted to wait till it was finished and I was not disappointed. The show continues to do an excellent job of showing the trials and challenges of growing together as a team, and shows that just having talent alone is not enough if you want to be the best. With all the initial major relationships having been formed in the first season, the second season wastes no time in getting right to the meat of the show, its volleyball matches. Just when you thought the team was at its best at the end of last season, at the start of the second season you see just how weak and underdeveloped they really are in the bigger scale of things. The journey of seeing them correct their mistakes from the first season and becoming an even stronger team is inspiring at times, and at others grueling. Its a tough battle, but I loved every second of it. If you have any or even the slightest interest in this show, I highly recommend you check it out.
Available for stream on Crunchyroll
The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan (Dub) 1st Impression:
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya will forever be a show I hold in high regards. It was one of the earlier anime I ever watched and also is a show that is just quintessentially anime through and through. Even more so though than that, I loved the movie The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya. To me, that movie was the perfect way to end a series like Haruhi Suzumiya and it did it in such a way that didn’t play to the lowest common denominator like a lot of other anime series movies tend to do. That being said, I approached the spin-off series, The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan, with a level of skepticism. The series takes place in the alternate universe that was introduced in the Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, but completely misses the mark on what the significance of that alternate universe was in the cannon of the show. The show basically seems to disregard anything connecting it to the original series/movie besides the use of characters and location in favor of making a conventional slice of life romantic comedy. Granted, the show is enjoyable and the returning cast members on the dub end of the show reprising their roles is awesome, it just loses anything that it had going into the show that separated it from the status quo. The show loses the brilliance it gained from the original introduction of the Nagato Yuki in the movie, and instead gives us a Nagato Yuki who feels just like any other reluctant shy girl from a slice of life romantic comedy anime. That’s not exactly the worst thing ever, but in the big scheme of things, there really isn't anything here that resembles what made the original series and movie so great.
Available for stream on Funimation
I’m currently typing this while I should be preparing a debate for my argumentation class
- Daniel