After an arguably subpar season of Symphogear AXZ, I was preparing myself for another letdown with Symphogear XV, but actually, it’s probably the best Symphogear season yet…
Shortly after Carole & Tuesday was announced, yuri fans got their hopes up that this would be something worth checking out, and while it’s not a yuri anime, the relationship between Carole and Tuesday was definitely one of the driving reasons why this anime was still so enjoyable~
It’s that time of the year again, so enjoy our First Impressions of the 2019 fall anime season that just started~
You’d think that because this anime bears such an uncanny resemblance to KanColle that Lena would be all over it, but she actually didn’t enjoy the first episode. We’re officially living in a bizarro world… 😛
But back to the subject at hand. Azur Lane does seem A LOT like KanColle, but I think there were just enough differences that this might be able to stand on its own. The four different camps trying to repel the Sirens was an interesting development, but seeing those four camps split into two warring factions was even more interesting. I’m not familiar with the game at all, but all I know is that it’s basically more anthropomorphic ship girls fighting one another, so I’m not expecting anything too compelling from a story standpoint.
Compared to KanColle, I thought that Azur Lane seemed to have more cutesy characters, with the main exceptions being Akagi, Kaga, and Enterprise. KanColle had an entire class (Akatsuki Class Destroyers) of cute little girls, but it seems Azur Lane might have it beat in that regard. Laffey was probably my favorite character, but Unicorn and Enterprise were also likable to me. It’s early, but I’m thinking I prefer the characters from KanColle. And then there’s Akaga, who seem awfully close to one another, but in direct comparison to that other Akaga, they don’t seem as charismatic to me. Yuri-wise, there only seems to be Akaga at the moment, so this show has some ground to make up to reach the yuri level of KanColle. Overall, I think this seems like it could at least be a decent bridge until the second season of KanColle, if it ever happens…
It’s that time of the year again, so enjoy our Final Thoughts of the 2019 summer anime season that just came to an end~
This may not be a yuri anime, but romantic two-girl friendship is a thing, and Carole & Tuesday is another example of how to do it right. The relationship between our two protagonists never quite threatens to cross over into real romantic territory, yet the bond forged between these two girls was beautiful to watch, and I think that quite a bit of yuri fans will be content with what we got. There was even a (creepy) yuri character, and two insignificant female characters were even planning to get married. Again, not a yuri anime, but it’s enough to warrant a review. 😛
For the most part, this was a simple story of girls chasing their dreams of making music, and I’m not just talking about Carole & Tuesday. Another girl, Angela, also plays a big part in this show, and her path to stardom couldn’t be any more different than our two leads, but let’s get back to the stars of the show. Coming from very different backgrounds, Carole & Tuesday meet by chance and then overcome all sorts of difficulties and challenges in an attempt to make their dreams come true. The show was surprisingly funny and extremely charming, and you can say the same thing about the characters.
Towards the end, the show drifted over towards the dramatic side of things, and you might even call it melodramatic. Personally, I preferred when the show was lighter and more easygoing (like the entire Mars Greatest arc), but I still applaud this show for delving into some serious topics, even if it was kind of clumsy. All in all, this was an extremely watchable and enjoyable show that I think was one of the best anime of the season (this show was actually two cours). Regardless, this was one of my favorite shows of the year thus far~
The cool thing about original anime is that you usually have no idea how the finished product is going to turn out. With a show that’s being adapted from manga, you can at least take a look at the manga and have a general idea of how good the anime could be. In the case of Granbelm, it’s an original anime that’s entering a very crowded genre, so I feel like we were right to wonder whether this would turn out more like Mahou Shoujo Site than Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica. Well, let’s just say that this show was pretty good.
Is it over yet? It’s not that I hate Ikkitousen or anything, it’s just that I’ve grown desensitized to half-naked schoolgirls who fight each other. Life has no meaning anymore… 😀
Thanks to this season, I’ve grown almost as tired of this series as you all surely have, but the show must go on, and another review of Ikkitousen is on the docket. Let’s get to it.
