Friday, January 24, 2014

Anime I've Watched: Summer 2013

So this past summer, I decided that I'd watch more subbed anime.  Last simulcast that I watched was 2012's Say I Love You and Yuru Yuri and I liked the experience.  So, this season I had three anime titles that I followed: 2 new (new to me anyway) and one from the 2012 Fall season.  I'll start with the 2 new ones and save the (still) currently airing one for last.  There's spoiler warnings for these shows for those of you who have not seen them.  Ratings will be out of 10. And for you shippers reading this, I'll include my favorite canon and crack pairings for the shows.

Free!: Aired between July and September, Free! starts with four boys—Haruka, Makoto, Nagisa and Rin—before graduating from elementary school. They had all participated in a swimming tournament and gained victory but later parted ways. Years later, Haruka, Makoto and Nagisa reunite when they enroll into high school. Not long after, Rin, who was thought to be in Australia, turns up and challenges Haruka to a race and wins. Afterward, Nagisa mentions creating a swimming club and cleaning up the run-down outdoor pool to use. Haruka, Makoto, Nagisa and, later on, Rei, form the Iwatobi High School Swimming Club and work together in making the club a success. Rin's victory over Haruka means nothing to him as he realizes that Haruka has stopped swimming competitively and is not in top shape. He claims that he cannot get over the fact until Haruka competes against him for real. The members of the revived Iwatobi Swim Club later enter a swimming competition against Rin.


My interest in this was mainly because of the fantastic marketing that they did.  The more I saw of it, the more I wanted to watch it.  That and because of the HUGE yaoi potential.  So it came, and I loved it immediately.  The interactions between the boys (and later characters) didn't seem forced.  Kou/Gou (whatever you wanna call her) is every fangirl in every fandom, EVER!!  Her lines about the boys muscles are exactly what I was thinking every time.  As of this writing, there hasn't been a mention of a second season, so this fangirl hopes and prays there's another season.


Canon Pairing: RinxHaru (Sort of)
Crack Pairing: NagisaxRei 

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Rating: 10/10

Attack on Titan:  The series follows the story of Eren Yeager, his adopted sister Mikasa Ackerman, and their friend Armin Arlert. After the outermost Wall is breached by Titans, including the 60-meter tall skinless Colossus Titan and the abnormally intelligent Armored Titan, and his mother dying in the resulting destruction, Eren vows revenge against the Titans and later enlists in the military, accompanied by Mikasa and Armin. Years later during his first battle against the Titans, Eren discovers that he has the ability to transform into a Titan at will. Seen as a threat to mankind by some, and as a ray of hope by others, Eren joins his companions in a desperate fight to protect what remains of their society while looking for answers to the mysteries surrounding the Titans, the Walls, and his own existence as well.

I had to catch up on this because it was already on episode 19 when I picked it up.  This apparently was a Spring anime airing from April 2013 to September 2013.  This anime isn't the type of anime I usually watch.  I stick to the more slice of life types and the occasional magical girl show, but my furry friend insisted that I watch it.  The fact that Eren can turn into a Titan scared the crap outta me.  So if he wants to kill the beings that killed his mother wouldn't he have to kill himself in the end??  That was the biggest question I had for awhile. Then came the arrival of the Female Titan, which up to that point hadn't been seen before and it raised more questions, some of which I won't post the answer to for spoiler's sake.  I also hope that we get more questions answered if and when it continues. As of this writing, there hasn't been a mention of a season season.

Rating: 8/10

Cannon Pairing: I don't think there was one established, please correct me if I'm wrong.
Crack Pairing: ErenxLevi

Aikatsu!The series takes place at Starlight Academy, a prestigious school with both middle and high branches, where girls train to become idols and take part in various auditions. such as modeling, singing, and dancing. To participate in these auditions, players use Aikatsu cards, special cards which contain digitalised dresses and accessories from various manufacturers that are used in their auditions. How well they succeed is often dependent on choosing the right combination of cards. The video games cast players in the role of a new student, who must train to become an idol and reach the top.
The anime series follows a girl named Ichigo Hoshimaya, who becomes inspired by a performance by top idol Mizuki Kanzaki and enrolls in Starlight Academy alongside her best friend, Aoi Kiriya. Along with their classmate, Ran Shibuki, Ichigo Hoshimaya and Aoi Kiriya spend each day training for auditions and aiming to become top idols.
The series's first season aired from October 2012 to September 2013.  The second season started in October 2013 is currently airing and features a new Idol Academy, new friends and new cards.
I can't really say what I think of the second season here, that'll be save for the next blog.
The first season really focused on Ichigo's journey into the fantastical world of Idols and her relationships with everyone she came in contact with an how, through her (either directly or indirectly), her friends and family became better Idols, family members, friends, etc.
I wanted to watch this because, I had loved Pretty Rhythm: Aurora Dream and I wanted more of something like that.  I was on a Idol Kick for awhile.  It was on Anime News Network's Spotlight for that year.  It's made me want to start a fandub for it.
Rating: 10/10 
Canon Pairing: There isn't one to the best of my knowledge.
Crack Pairing: IchigoxAoi

Anime synopsis provided by: Wikipedia (I would have butchered it had I tried to explain it)
Next blog: Anime Fall 2013

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