{Anime} Season's End Judgement Day - Spring 2013

This is where I review all the anime I watched during the spring season. They will be mini reviews. Here are the anime I will be judging:

  

Suisei no Gargantia / Kakumeiki Valvrave / Arata Kangatari Psycho-Pass / Tamako Market / Hakkenden: Touhou Hakken Ibun

LET'S GET STARTED!

Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet
翠星のガルガンティア
Suisei no Gargantia
Genre: Action, Mecha, Sci-fi
Adaptation: Manga
Aired: Apr 7 / 2013 - Jun 30 / 2013

The story begins in the distant future in the far reaches of the galaxy. The Human Galactic Alliance has been constantly fighting for its survival against a grotesque race of beings called "Hidiaazu." During an intense battle, the young lieutenant Ledo and his humanoid mobile weapon Chamber are swallowed up into a distortion of time and space. Waking from his artificially induced hibernation, Ledo realizes that he has arrived on Earth, the planet on the lost frontier. On this planet that was completely flooded by the seas, people live in fleets of giant ships, salvaging relics from the seas' depths in order to survive. Ledo arrives on one of the fleets called Gargantia. With no knowledge of the planet's history or culture, he is forced to live alongside Amy, a 15-year-old girl who serves as a messenger aboard the Gargantia fleet. To Ledo, who has lived a life where he knows nothing but fighting, these days of peace continue to surprise him.

Suisei no Gargantia is an anime with no clear plot. You just basically have a pilot from space whose mission is to defeat a creature that's called the Hideauze. I thought it was going to be an epic space battle kind of thing but he was stuck on Earth so there wasn't any space action going on. There seems to be a bigger plot behind the Hideauze and Whalesquid but nothing much was said about them through the whole season. The Yunburos (the robots) were the coolest things ever and I enjoyed seeing them in battles. The origin of the Hideauze was quite a shocker but nothing more was said about that. The last episode was definitely the very best out of the whole season! I love the battle scenes and the epilogue :)

Valvrave the Liberator
革命機ヴァルヴレイヴ
Kakumeiki Valvrave
Genre: Action, Mecha
Adaptation: Manga
Aired: Apr 12 / 2013 - Jun 28 / 2013

True Calendar (T.C.) 71 - A new age where 70% of the human population lives in space thanks to the development of "Dyson Sphere", a city in space. The world is divided into two main powers: The Dorssia Military Pact Federation, a power which grew out of a military alliance, and the Atlantic Rim United States (ARUS), which grew in power as it expanded its trade agreements. The minor nation of JIOR has declared neutrality between these two forces and maintains its peace through economic prosperity. Within the JIOR's Sphere, Haruto Tokishima lived an ordinary life as a high school student in the division known as "Module 77"—until the Dorssian military begins their sudden invasion! But the whole world will be shaken when Haruto meets the mysterious humanoid weapon, Valvrave!

This was another one where I was expecting epic space battles and we actually had them in this one! The robot combined with vampirism seems a bit weird and doesn't fit together. In order to pilot the Valvraves, you had to give up your humanity and become some kind of monster. That was a bit weird. Module 77 and all the space battles that occurred were awesome though. It was cool to see all the different Valvraves in action and see what different kinds of weapons they all have. I thought Kakumeiki Valvrave was an okay show though I don't know where this one is leading either. The characters were okay but I thought Haruto (guy on the left of the cover) was really weak sometimes. My favorite character is definitely L-Elf (guy on the right of the cover). He's a well-trained soldier who's a really big plotter and nicknamed The One-Man Army. There's going to be a second season of this in the fall and I think I'l check it out. 

Arata: the Legend
アラタカンガタリ 〜革神語〜
Arata Kangatari
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure
Adaptation: Manga
Aired: Apr 9 / 2013 - Jul 2 / 2013

Every 30 years, a new princess is chosen from the Hime family to serve the Hayagami. The time has come again, but over these past years, records state not a single female has been born, save for one, the 15-year-old Arata. The only problem is, Arata is actually a male! Forced to disguise himself and take the place of the princess candidate until a formal one can be found, he attends the festival only to witness the current princess, Kokuri-hime, murdered, and his own life is forfeit as well, by the hands of the princess' personal guard, the 12 Shinshou. As he runs for his life, Kannagi of the 12 convinces everyone that Arata is the one who has murdered the princess instead, and now everyone in the Imperial Court is after his head!

Arata Kangatari is about two boys (who are both named Arata) switch places in their different worlds. Arata then becomes the Sho of Tsukuyo, which means he is able to use the spirit/god's powers to change the world. The most interesting thing is to find out the history between Hinohara Arata and his ex-best-friend Kadowaki. I don't get why Kadowaki hates Arata so much and I want to see how their battle plays out. There wasn't much about the Arata in Japan and I wish we saw more of that. The Sho and Hayagamis were really cool, each Hayagami were gods for different things and that changed the way they attacked and defended. Sometimes I felt like Hinohara Arata is pathetic and weak. He really doubts himself and breaks down during important events. And then he suddenly realizes something important and become really strong in battles. Like what the heck is up with that? Too cliche for animes I think. Answers weren't really given in the last episode and the battle between Arata and Kadowaki never came to an end. It never dissolved. Hopefully there'll be a second season so we can get some answers.

Psycho-Pass
サイコパス
Genre: Action, Sci-fi
Adaptation: Manga
Aired: Oct 12 / 2012 - Mar 22 / 2013

The series takes place in the near future, when it is possible to instantaneously measure and quantify a person's state of mind and personality. This information is recorded and processed, and the term "Psycho-Pass" refers to a standard used to measure an individual's being. The story centers around the "enforcement officer" Shinya Kougami, who is tasked with managing crime in such a world. In the future, it is possible to quantitatively measure a person's emotions, desires, and every inclination. In this way, it is also possible to measure a person's criminal tendency factor, which is used to judge criminals. This is the story of a team of policemen dedicated to maintaining public order. Some of them work in the Enforcement Division, responsible for the apprehension of criminals, while others belong to the Supervisory Division which oversees their colleagues in Enforcement.

This one was really boring. I never had the patience to finish the whole season. There wasn't much of a plot and the characters were all really annoying in my opinion. Especially the main girl. She gets on my nerves a lot and she's always thinking she can change Kougami for the better. I think the show meant for us to be interested in the characters and their growth because there wasn't much of a plot. That didn't work for me as I was really annoyed with all the characters. I made it to sixth episode before I stopped watching.

Tamako Market
たまこまーけっと
Genre: Comedy, Slice of Life
Aired: Jan 10 / 2013 - Mar 28 / 2013

Tamako knows just about everything there is to know about mochi, the traditional Japanese dessert treats. When she's not attending her first year of high school, she even invents new flavors and varieties for Tama-ya, her family's mochi shop. School and growing up, on the other hand, are some things that she's still trying to find the right recipe for. But with the help of her best friends Kanna and Midori, two girls whose parents run businesses in the same shopping district, Tamako's determined to make the best of things. It's complicated though, especially when it comes to emotions and her relationship with her best boy friend Mochizou, whose family runs a rival mochi shop. And lately, Midori's been feeling a little odd about her feelings towards Tamako as well. And what's with up with that strange bird fluttering around, the one that speaks fluent Japanese? It's all very mysterious and overwhelming, but at least Tamako always has one thing she can count on: No matter if your day's been good or bad, there's certain to be something sugary and delicious waiting at the end of every adventure whenever you take a walk through Tamako Market!

Tamako Market was a great slice of life comedy. The characters were all really likable and seeing how their life goes is interesting. Tamako is a daughter of a mochi maker and she's loves everything that has to do with mochi. There was a love interest in the anime called Mochizou, who's the son of the rival mochi shop. I find it really funny because Tamako has no idea about Mochizou's crush on her. Tamako's two best friends were great as well. Midori (the blond one) is a really lively girl and always gives Tamako advice. Kanna (the brunette) is really cute as she loves building and fixing things (family trade). Dera is probably the best character ever! He's the fat bird who can't fly anymore because of all the mochi he's eaten. He's supposed to find a bride for his prince (who's really good looking by the way). Although there wasn't much of a plot, life goes on for Tamako and Co. and I found their stories really enjoyable and funny to watch :D

Hakkenden: Eight Dogs of the East
八犬伝 ―東方八犬異聞―
Hakkenden: Touhou Hakken Ibun
Genre: Action, Fantasy, Supernatural
Adaptation: Manga
Aired: Jan 6 / 2013 - Mar 31 / 2013

When their village was wiped out five years ago, only Shino Inuzuka, Sosuke Inukawa, and the girl Hamaji, who was raised as if she were their sister, survived. And both men inexplicably have the same peony-shaped birthmark. Genpachi Inukai and Kobungo Inuta were raised hundreds of miles away as foster brothers, but they too share the same birthmark. When they went north as part of the army three years ago, they went to confront demons and came back forever transformed. Now the Imperial Church has come for Shino and Sosuke and they must find eight mystical gems and their owners or face a fate worse than death at the hands of the Church.

The second season for this one is coming out for the summer so I watched the first season during the spring season. I really like the story and it was interesting to see all the characters bond together. I don't really know where the story is going as they don't have much of a goal except to get all the eight beads together. The actual goal is revealed in the last episode so I'm excited to see how it's going to play out in the second season. I really like seeing Shino act the way he does even though he's supposed to be 18. All his friends really care for him and I think he's a good kid. The drawings for this anime were really pretty and I liked all the artwork. Seeing Murasame (Shino's demon/spirit) in action sometimes is a bit scary but really awesome to see :)

Wait, but there are more! I've written full review on some of the other anime I watched this spring season. Here they are:

Sword Art Online (review on 7/19)

Hataraku Maou-sama! (review on 7/26)

Karneval (review on 8/16)
Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! (review on 8/30)

Be sure to stop by and check out my reviews on those days. And now, Judgement Day is officially over. See you next time for the Summer 2013 season!