Glorio Summer 2012 Anime Impressions Guide Part 2

Part 2 of our GLORIO Summer 2012 Guide

Part 1
Kingdom
Tari Tari
La Storia Della Arcana Famiglia
Humanity Has Declined
Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse
Chouyaku Hyakuninisshu: Uta Koi
Yuru Yuri ♪♪
Binbougami Ga!

Part 2
Natsuyuki Rendezvous
Campione!
Love, Election & Chocolate
One of Them Is My Younger Sister!
Joshiraku
Aesthetica of a Rogue Hero
So, I Can't Play H!

Part 3
Dog Days Season 2
Sword Art Online
Kokoro Connect
Horizon In the Middle of Nowhere Season 2
Moe Nobunaga Vol. 2
Lagrange: The Flower of Rin-ne Season 2


Natsuyuki Rendezvous
Manga Adaptation by Dogakobo
Simulcast on Crunchyroll



Premise
An ACTUAL ADULT man finds himself falling for an ACTUAL ADULT woman who owns a flower shop. Their relationship is impeded by the ghost of her dead husband in this story about ACTUAL ADULTS.

Jel's Thoughts
After grinding my teeth at how painfully impotent the main dude was acting in the first half, Natsuyuki kind of pulled itself together in the second. Without spoiling it, they do make more progress than I was expecting. Still, I was incredibly annoyed by the main character who had absolutely no reason to not pursue a relationship with this woman and yet found himself moping around about it. It's one thing if it was the usual awkward teenage protagonist we're used to but they are trying to so hard to make sure you know he's an adult (HEY GUYS HE SMOKES, HE IS A MAN) that there's just no excuse. At least the ghost guy was fun.

Jel's Verdict? Growing Frustration
Joking aside, I really do want to like this as there are so few anime starring characters past high school age. But I can't shake the feeling it's the type of show that will just frustrate me with an agonizingly indecisive cast. Hopefully I'm wrong and it will turn into a beautiful story about a woman coping with the death of her husband and learning to love again. Let me know if it does.

Lifesong's Thoughts
This lead character is a creeper. Falling madly in love with someone who's name you don't even know is something for 12 year olds not grown men. How ironic that mental age of this man feels lower than the average mental age of most middleshool girls in a schoolgirl anime. But hey I'm not in the target audience so maybe I'm just missing the appeal.

Lifesong's Verdict? Bed Of Thorns
No roses to be found here, at least not for me. The dead husband is the only interesting character I see here and I can't see him carrying this for me. A moody 12 year old boy in the shell of a man is just not something I have any desire to watch.

Irothtin's Thoughts
Boring dude has a crush on boring woman and has to deal with the boring ghost of her boring husband.

Irothtin's Verdict? Slow
I think that people who really liked Kimi ni Todoke would like this, but I was falling asleep halfway through.

Marlin's Thoughts
I suppose you can say I’m a romantic at heart. I’ve always loved mushy romance stories and Josei titles like Nodame Cantabile continue to be in my top favorites. I honestly think this was a great opening episode. I find the dynamic between the spirit of Atsushi and Ryuusuke really clever, with Atsushi doing what I’d wager anyone would do if they found themselves a possessive ghost. Ryuusuke is an interesting protagonist too, very much a cynic in love, he came off as very real to me. When he believed he was being denied, he accepted it, he understands that his affections are still only superficial and that his methods to try and worm his way into Rokka’s heart are more than a little duplicitous. With Ryuusuke’s boldness near the end of this first episode, I was hooked.

Marlin's Verdict? Not Giving Up the Ghost
I think this show could have a lot of potential as a mature romance story. What can I say? I’m a sucker for Josei.


Campione!
Novel Adaptation by Diomedea
Simulcast on Crunchyroll



Premise
On a trip to Italy to deliver a mysterious stone tablet, a young man stumbles into a world of powerful gods, pretty girls, and presumably underage drinking.

Jel's Thoughts
This has all the trappings of a Boy Meets Pretty Magical Girl Harem Show but is saved by some entertaining action scenes, potentially interesting lore, and a protagonist that manages to stay above the totally useless line. Basically it felt like the second coming of A Certain Magical Index, although sadly not anywhere near as insane. Whether or not a series that is self described as a "harem comedy" can stay this much fun remains to be seen.

Jel's Verdict? Ciao Bella
The first episode of Campione was pretty solid and I like the main heroine so far, but I'm worried about where the show goes from here. I'm going to duck out before the real Harem Hijinks start setting in.

Lifesong's Thoughts
Ancient gods are roaming about kicking ass and no one told me about it? There is a very nasuesc vibe about this anime. I'm a little worried that it might turn into a bunch of stupid ecchi antics as things go on but this first episode really pulled me in. The heroine is a bit annoying but not a total bitch, I like her more than Saber at any rate.

Lifesong's Verdict? God Killer
Literally, this MC who didn't know anything about magic just a day ago witnesses two ancient gods going at it and teams up with one, steals the others power and kick him in the balls with it and goes off to become a god slayer? I'm in, I am so in. Let us hope this awesome premise can keep up with the first episode.

Irothtin's Thoughts
Dude meets pretty girl, dude gets magic powers, pretty girl kisses him to unlock his powers. And he kills a god or something. They will probably end up trapezing around the world fighting all the incidental gods that nobody actually remembers from History class.

Irothtin's Verdict? Not Bad
If you're familiar with Fate/Stay Night and such, this show has a similar vibe. It does however have a rather generic setup and bland animation - I'd say at least give the first episode a shot and see what you think.

Marlin's Thoughts
This show is delightfully promising at first glance. A boy holds the keys to a secret power that allows him to fight gods. Not just any gods, but all the pantheons of ancient lore. We’ve already seen Phoenicians and Zoroastrians, so I would be very excited to see what else they decide to bring to the table. However, from the synopsis I’ve seen and the promo video, it looks like this is more going to be some kind of battle harem show. Quite unfortunate

Marlin's Verdict? Divine Premise, Questionable Execution
I’ll have to at least give it a few more episodes before my fears can be validated, but I just have a bad feeling about this show.

Timmy's Thoughts Got to admit, the god killer part of the premise on this one is pretty catchy and natural disasters actually being rogue gods in disguise is a pretty neat idea. It is the other part of the premise that has me concerned.

Timmy's Verdict? Proceed With Caution
Hopefully this one will keep on what it is currently doing but the 'harem love comedy' part of the description has me wondering. Not to mention the fanservice has the potental to get a bit out of hand. I plan to withold jugement for a few episodes and see if the show has yet to display its true colors. Also, the drunk card has been played and it is funny the first time but not the tenth time. You sure as hell better remember that Campione!.


Love, Election and Chocolate
Visual Novel Adaptation by AIC Build



Premise
The Food Research Club is in jeopardy of losing their funds as the frontrunner for Student Council President vows to make cut backs. The club is left with no choice but to band together and try to win the upcoming election.

Jel's Thoughts
There's a lot of interesting and weird things going on here, from the rather dark opening, to the alarmingly elaborate student council, to the hallucinations of the main character. As intriguing as some of those elements may be though, I can't help but worry this series could succumb to it's harem eroge roots. This episode seemed somewhat aware of this, but seriously, the next series I watch that starts with a Childhood Friend morning wood joke is getting turned off instantly.

Jel's Verdict? Abstention
The more creative aspects of Chocolate were pretty cool but the harem setup leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I'm going to hold off on this one and see how it develops.

Lifesong's Thoughts
Visual novel adaptions are not known for having very strong first episodes so my expectations were tempered accordingly going into this anime. It was a very pleasent surprise when I found myself completely engrossed with this anime before I even hit the opening. Things start off with a bit of mystery and intrigue as a secret deal takes place and the girl who catches them in act is run over by a car. Queue the opening music and introduction to our protagonist and his daily life.

Much of the rest of this episode is divdied into intro stuff, the way I would expect from any visual novel adapation sure but slightly above the grade. The characters have a fresh feeling to them and manage to side step some of the most common cliches in a clever fashion while litterly crashing headfirst into others. The intrigue from before the opening quickly returns as the cast looks for a student council electee who will stand up and defend their club. Oh and lets not forget the cool futuristic tech stuff. This is a very solid first episode all around.

Lifesong's Verdict? Give In To The Chocolate Goodness
I'm sold, this first episode was great. My expectations have grown from this might be cool to this is pretty awesome and I expect good things. This is one I'll be following this season.

Irothtin's Thoughts
The Sweets Club wants to keep being a waste of money, so they want to run for Student Council to prevent their club from being shut down.

Irothtin's Verdict? Bittersweet
I enjoyed some parts of this first episode and I really hated some parts. The net result is that I'm not sure if I like this show or not.

Marlin's Thoughts
This show is absolutely trippy. Not as much as your Humanity is Declining maybe, but still this episode was just plain weird. That is not to say I didn’t enjoy it, I actually quite did, but the setting is very outlandish and the characters a little off the norm for your normal high school show. My best comparison would have to be this being an alternate reality where the cast of Amagami SS went to the Medaka Box high school. Intrigue deep enough to kill over? School administration with the bureaucracy of some countries? Clubs with the budget of small corporations? Combined with the fact that the MC is literally schizophrenic I don’t think I’d be remiss in thinking this all his fever dream. Craziness aside, the main character has some spirit but is kind of a blank slate like Junichi; though hearing this is based off of an eroge makes that perfect sense.

Marlin's Verdict? I'd Vote For It
The story’s background makes me worried that the interesting setting might be mostly thrown away to cater to harem antics, but I’m feeling optimistic that this show can succeed as long as it keeps this crazy energy.


One Of Them Is My Younger Sister!
Novel Adaptation by Studio Gokumi



Premise
A powerful and wealthy man passes away, leaving his teenage son his fortune under one condition: he must find a wife before he graduates high school. To make matters more complicated, his long lost sister whom he has never seen goes to the same school and is trying to get in his pants.

Jel's Thoughts
While earlier GLORIO guide travesties Kingdom and Uta Koi felt to me like bad adaptations of potentially interesting material, this is just bad all around. At best I was hoping it could at least be So Bad It's Good but it commits the ultimate sin: it's BORING. The premise is just as terrible as it sounds and yet they can't even throw us a single WTF moment of shock value to make sure we still have a pulse. When you add sloppy animation, directing and loads of "Light Novel" syndrome dialogue you're left with an episode that has no redeeming qualities whatsoever.

Jel's Verdict? Vapid
I would be less angry at this show if it had at least tried to offend me. Instead it does absolutely nothing and has no reason to exist. I'm just going to pretend this never happened.

Lifesong's Thoughts
Creepy stalker sister wants to get into her brothers pants and is after his wallet? Yup, that's what I got out this. The writting is so unpleasntly pervy that if I didn't know better I would expect this to to turn into a full on hentai at any moment.

Lifesong's Verdict? The Cake Is A Lie!
And so are the cream puffs, if suddenly the girls he flirts with start dropping like flies I might give this another look but, I don't see that happening, I'm out.

Irothtin's Thoughts
Guy has to get married, but there is the possibility that his children will end up with horrifying birth defects, because someone in his harem is his sister.

Irothtin's Verdict? Don't Waste Your Time
Typical harem. Move along.

Marlin's Thoughts
As a man without a sister I suppose I can’t grasp just how wrong the concept is, but man Japan you have picked a weird taboo to fixate on. As far as your harem animes go, it at least gets the ball rolling a bit faster. No one’s trying to murder the mc every five seconds. Kinda makes the girls seem like golddiggers if you ask me. I’m sure he’s not the only one that knows he needs to ‘’’fall in love’’’ at this school.

Marlin's Verdict? Sister Complexities
The idea that the sister just won’t come out and say it so he falls in love with her is the stupidest plot point I can possibly think of. I’ve tried. Nothing else comes to mind.


Joshiraku
Manga Adaptation by J.C. Staff



Premise
A group of Rakugo actresses discuss random topics with comedic results.

Jel's Thoughts
I'll admit Joshiraku's fourth wall breaking intro was amusing, but at the same time it almost felt like the creators were still trying to convince themselves this was a good idea. Personally I don't think it was, and it's not even because the episode (and presumably the series) is entirely composed of dialogue. Other series like Bakemonogatari or even this author's own Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei manage to overcome that with their cool art styles and interesting characters. Joshiraku doesn't seem to have either of those.

Jel's Verdict? Lost In Adaptation
I could see this working in manga form, but as the characters themselves mention I don't see why this needed to be adapted into an anime.

Lifesong's Thoughts
This anime couldn't even make me crack a smile.

Lifesong's Verdict? At Least The Characters Look Cute
And that's about all this anime has going for it. If you can read Japanese you might find this a bit more amusing than I did but Ive seen enough to know this is not for me.

Irothtin's Thoughts
Pointless conversations between schoolgirls.

Irothtin's Verdict? Yawn
I'm sure there's a subculture of people who really love this stuff, but not me. Pass.

Marlin's Thoughts
I’ve been catching a lot of flak for this but I seem to be the only one with any interest in this show. I’m not going to say this first episode was amazing or anything, but I think it definitely shows that there’s potential. I’ve loved every season of Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, so I would be heavily surprised if this turned out bad on a humor standpoint. Of course, this probably is better as a manga, but it’s already an anime and sometimes visual gags can be made better even if there’s not a whole lot of movement otherwise.

Marlin's Verdict? What's the Deal With the Standup?
I will admit the weird portions where the cast is actually doing standup are absolutely stupid. I have no idea if that’s intentional or not but it is and it’s weird. Still, at least give it a shot.


Aesthetica of a Rogue Hero
Novel Adaptation by ARMS
Availability Pending from Funimation



Premise
For years certain young people have been disappearing to an alternate fantasy world as a result of a strange phenomenon. One particular young man makes his way home with a mysterious girl in tow. They are accepted into a special academy for those that return.

Jel's Thoughts
While the premise is mildly interesting, particularly when you learn the girl's identity, I am pretty sure it is all just an excuse for swords and magic and boobs. We don't even get too much of that as most of this boring episode wastes away on set up.

Jel's Verdict? zzzZZZZZ
I wasn't even going to write anything about this as it made me feel absolutely nothing. This might eventually be alright for some dumb escapism but there are probably better options out there.

Lifesong's Thoughts
This probably worked a lot better as a book. I see some potential here but this first episode is pretty bad. The main character has already beat the last boss and hes going home, no one can stop him not even the beautiful princess. It seems that it was played for comedy but watching some badass disarm a bunch of maids almost effortlessly by stealing their underwear really isn't that funny. There are some interesting developments in the first episode but are are few and far apart. At least the story is established in the first episode and should move on to something more interesting by the second but, I wouldn't be doing this guide justice if I didn't point out how boring the first episode is.

Lifesong's Verdict? Feminist Hate Fodder
About the only strong reaction I would expect to see is from this is from those who it offends. The concept of following a hero after hes beat the "demon lord" is at least an appealing concept but boring execution and piled on ero logic will make this first taste a bitter one for all but the most extreme ecchi lovers and any existing fans the series might have.

Irothtin's Thoughts
A dude can use super speed to pull the lingerie off his maids faster than the eye can see. I turned it off after that.

Irothtin's Verdict? Not Aesthetically Pleasing
I literally watched something like three or four minutes of this episode before deciding that the next twenty would be better spent elsewhere.

Marlin's Thoughts
I was with ya up until the mc magically sexually assaulted an entire army of battle maids and then went to a boring superpower school.

Marlin's Verdict? Rogue Hero, is that what they call it now?
I would have rather seen the story of him defeating this demon king dude personally, but whatever.


So, I Can't Play H!
Novel Adaptation by feel.
Simulcast on Crunchyroll



Premise
An incredibly open and proud pervert happens upon a pretty girl in the rain. After getting her naked in his house he discovers she is some kind of Death Spirit that draws power from his limitless sex drive.

Jel's Thoughts
My choice of screencaps pretty much sums it up. I thought the main girl was kinda hot, I'll give them bonus points for giving her normal human being body proportions then take them away on account of the busty childhood friend character. What was I even talking about again?

Jel's Verdict? At Least They're Honest About It...
...as is our "hero" which is about the only positive worth mentioning. The rest of the show is some of the most ridiculous, outlandish, contrived means of getting naked anime girls on screen. If that's your thing, hey, I'm not here to judge but I'll be moving on now.

Irothtin's Thoughts
A creepy guy teams up with a shinigami for some reason. His power level goes up when he's horny, and she uses that as her energy pool as well.

Irothtin's Verdict? Keep Your Pants On
This wasn't even hot at all. The voice acting is solid, but that's about all that was. Skip it.

Lifesong's Thoughts
This anime is absolutely ridiculous. The main character is a pervert and his desire to live is tied to his pervsion to such a degree that he can drawn in tons of some sort of magical death energy just from being erotic. He saves the day by copping a feel? To say that this show is hard to take seriously is putting it lightly.

Lifesong's Verdict? Erotically Clever
I Uh, actually thought the first episode was pretty well done. The main character is total pervert, harmless but a pervert none the less. He is the real selling point for this first episode as his antics are completely ridiculous. Our heroine reminds me of Shana only even more of a tired cliche bitch which is something I am very tired of. Between the two and the simply trashy nature of this anime I'm not sure how long I want to stick around but, for those of you who like this kind of thing I suspect you will find that this is one to watch.

Marlin's Thoughts
A pervert with asperger’s. A stereotypical busty supernatural redheaded girl. They fight crime. Or demons. I’m actually not sure.

Marlin's Verdict? At Least the VAs Had Fun
Idno I guess the premise is kinda funny but I feel this kind of ecchi plotline would only be able to keep me interested for one more episode.