Just like I said,
Part 2.
* “Onee-Sama” means “Big Sister”. -Sama is a formal way of saying “san”, which can be translated into Miss, Mr., Mrs., and Ms. Therefore Onee-Sama is a very formal way of saying “Big sister” with great respect.
* “Cooldere” is a term that was made with combination of “cool” and “dere”. “Dere” means to like, or indicates the soft, romatic part of (mostly) female character. The term usually refers to a character who are generally silent and doesnt show much emotions but have feelings for the main character. They usually have hard time expressing their feelings. The examples are Ayanami Rei from Neon Genesis Evangelion, Nagato Yuki from Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu, and Primula from SHUFFLE!.
* “Yandere” is a term that was made through combination of “yan” and “dere”. “Yan” comes from Japanese word that means “to be sick, to have sickness”. Therefore yandere refers to a (mostly) a female character who like (mostly) the main character to the extreme point, that without him, she (or he) would die of loneliness(soemthing like this). Example of this kind of character is most notably Katsura Kotonoha from School Days, where she just go berserk at the end. It can also refers to a character with two-faced personality, not necessarily Mr. Eckhart’s Batman villain, but more of a character that hides his or her true intentions behind his or her smiling face. Examples would be Lelouch from Code Geass, Light from Death Note, Asakura Ryoko from Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu. You can say Ms. Nina Myers (May she rest in peace) is somewhat yeandere too.
* “Dojitko” refers to characters who tries hard to impress but always fails to do so by making various seemingly very basic mistakes. For example, a heroine who is dojitko, when she is a waitress in a cafe, she is portrayed as an innocent character who falls over very easily (they possess a strange and curious skill to fall over even on flat ground with nothing on) and spills the beverages, etc. They are usually very innocent characters, who cries a lot. Examples are Asahina Mikuru from Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu(When you think about it, SHNY has almost all the character types), Takara Miyuki from Lucky Star, and Komaki Manaka from ToHeart2. Sometimes refered as Hetare.
カオスヘッド
Chaos;HEAd
Genre: Psychological thriller with a hint of Love Comedy and a lot of Fantasy
What’s Up?: For those of you who have not heard of the company Nitro+(Saya no Uta, Demon Bane), and probably not many Western audiences are familliar with them, this maybe new. Based on the visual novel of same name, Chaos;Head is about a series of unnatural events that occurs in Shibuya(no, it has nothing to do with The World Ends With You), called New Generation Incidents. The main character, voiced by Yoshino Hiroyuki(Allelujah Haptism in Gundam 00), finds himself witnessing one of the events, a murder, and starts to become paranoid. Then, the murderer he witnessed appears in his school, claiming that she is his friend. Confused by the events, Takumi, the main protagonist, runs away, and hides himself in Internet cafes. Even in there, he gets involved in other New Generation Incident, making him despair more. As the stroy progresses, more and more questions are thrown in, with more interesting characters get involved with Takumi.
Impressions?: It is one of the delightful surprises of this season, i believe. Personally, I did not have much hopes for this one, and thought it was just another mindf*ck material, but it turned out that it was interesting, not too hard, and keeps you on the edge of the seat. Its psychological side and the description of paranoid teenager fearing murder is quite realistic and dramatic at the same time. Sure, it does have its moment when it feels a little awkward, especially the whole concept of fantasy, but overall, the plot is highly satisfying. The anime offers an interesting cast of characters, ranging from S Onee-sama to cooldere chick, yandere dojitko, and an Imouto. One thing I have hard time getting over with the character is the main character. As a Hikikomori and an otaku, the protagonist’s actions and dialouges are sometimes way too… retarded. Seriously, that’s the only way to put it. The breakdown in the drawing is quite serious too, I have noticed few in the second episode and I have come to a point to acknowledge their existence with ease. The opening was sung by Itou Kanako (School Days Ending) and is one of the best opening of the season, if not the best. The seiyuu performances have no problem, but it is not exceptional either. One thing I would like to mention is that, personally, after watching Chaos;Head, I had hard time watching Gundam 00, especially when Allelujah speaks, because I tend to keep imagining the face of Takumi.
Final Score!: 8.0/10
The good – Very intriguing story; Varied cast of characters; Kick-ass opening theme.
The bad – Severe breakdown in drawing; Sometimes the fantasy concept feel a bit awkward; The main character is a fag; I mean, a real fag
ヒャッコ
HYAKKO
Genre: Comedy, Slice of Life
What’s Up?: Recently, the field of web-comics are becoming and increasing sensation, with number of them even made into animes. Hyakko is not much different in that sense, with its origin being the web-comic of the same name. Takes place in Uezono Academy, the anime depicts the life of a class full of unique characters. For it being a slice of life anime, it obviously does not have a strong plot, like sitcoms, it does have interesting story settings that will get readers hooked easily. From outside, I have to admit, it does look like kind of Lucky Star, with 4 girls with completely different personality, classmates full of unique characters, a teacher who does not teach (yet again), and so on. However, it does have its own charm, and altough it does not offer almost any parodies, and tries to distinguish itself with its charm. There are many seiyuus who are recognizable, for instance, Fujiwara Keiji (Ali-Al Sarches from Gundam 00, Maes Hughs from Fullmetal Alchemist, Sven from Black Cat) as the teacher, and at the same time, there are several new faces.
Impressions?: Great. The humours, although they are no parodies, it’s just hilarious. The each characters are very well-written and acted. Hirano Aya’s surprising cast as Mayumi, who is dojitko, is fresh and pleasure to listen. Both Torako, voiced by Orisaka Fumiko (Seras Victoria from HELLSING, Ciel from Tsukihime), and Suzume, voiced by Ochiai Yurika (Yuzuhara Konomi from ToHeart2), all fit there characters well enough. Neya Michiko’s (Melissa Mao from Full Metal Panic!, Riza Hawkeye from Fullmetal Alchemist) portrayal of a tsundere rich girl fits right in the character, while Horie Yui’s character is also not bad. However, some of the new seiyuus have rooms to improve. But overall, the true gem of this anime, as mentioned above, is the humour. It is as funny as Lucky Star, and is one of the best comedy of the season along with Kannagi. The cast of unique characters are delightful joy to look at, from a bisexual female student (Best character in Hyakko in my opinion) to most emo-est girl you can ever find, Robot-obsessed mad scientist, a character who never talks, a little genius who jumped elementary and middle school (think Azumanga), and on and on. The drawing styles are, although not bad, sometimes seem awkward to look at. The ending theme is sung by Hirano Aya, and is pleasure to listen to. Feels bit like God Knows.
Final Score!: 9.0/10
The good - Great cast of unique characters; Seiyuus are not bad; Great ending theme; It’s just damn too hilarious
The bad – some of the seiyuus are not up to the par; Drawing style could be improved
So here you are, my impressions of this season.
Hope you enjoyed it.
