Derek: This time on Couch Co-Op, Ken Chan and I are going to do something a little bit different. Rather than focusing on one larger topic, we are going to discuss a bunch of smaller topics, namely the anime we have been watching this season. I think Ken will agree with me when I say that things have been a bit overwhelming for the past few weeks and keeping up with all the shows we want to has been a bit tough. That being said, there are a few shows that both of us have made sure not to miss, chiefly among them being Guilty Crown. What is it about this show that has made sure its not one for you to miss Ken?
Ken: I’ve expressed my love for this show already and it hasn’t disappointed. The first thing that caught my attention was the fact this show is NOT an adaptation of a novel, manga or game. A whole new cast of characters with no expectations to live up to is a nice change. The character designs and overall art style is very nice and Production I.G does a good job as usual. The fact that Ryo of Supercell, one of my favorite music groups, was doing the music didn’t hurt either. I know you were also interested in the show before the season started but did you have any expectations going in?
D: I think most of the expectations I had ahead of time were due mainly to this being a Production I.G. show. Knowing that the screenplay writer for one of my favorite series, RahXephon, was helping oversee the script on this one also gave me hope that the story would be top-notch along with the animation. The teaser trailer that they released ahead of time pretty much sealed the deal for me wanting to watch the show, even during a season when there was so much coming out that I wanted to see. So far, it definitely hasn’t disappointed, and as you mentioned Ken, having Ryo in to do the music, which plays a big part in both the story and mood it sets, doesn’t hurt either.
K: I was waiting for this show to start though I did have some doubt since Angel Beats, which was a show with a highly touted creative staff, failed to live up to expectations. It wasn’t a bad show but did not live up to the hype. So for Guilty Crown I tried to not over hype myself before the show actually started. The show opens with one of those songs as the female lead Inori is a vocalist for the group Egoist and it blends scenes of her in a music video and her in the middle of a mission. So the first episode right away starts with music, action and lots of questions. I held back the inner anime critic since the overall plot, setting, musician female lead and clueless, overpowered protagonist are pretty common but it was well executed and it did grab me and continues to hold my interest several episodes in. Anything you want to add or should we move onto another show?
D: Watch Guilty Crown. Alright that’s enough. I know one of the only other shows both of us are watching is Mirai Nikki, even though you said you were a little bit behind on it. This one is the surprise of the season for me. Honestly, if you hadn’t told me about it, I probably would have never watched it because I didn’t immediately recognize the studio who was doing it. However, when you mentioned it was going to be something akin to this season’s Deadman Wonderland, I figured I would check it out. I definitely haven’t been disappointed so far, but I guess we should warn people that this show is messed up.
K: Messed up is the mild way of saying I think. I suggested this since it has similarities to Deadman Wonderland, messed up characters, fights to the death, gory fights, and a mysterious but overpowered female character protecting a clueless male lead. I actually stumbled upon this series in an odd way. I was watching Higurashi, which is another messed up and gory show, and started looking up the definition of Yandere. Yuno Gasai of Mirai Nikki was the character shown in the article with her smiling and holding a bloody axe behind her. I don’t want to go too much into spoiler territory but she has a pretty messed up story and she is bat-shit insane with a goal. She will happily kill anyone who stands in the way of her being with Yuki and winning the game. I have a serious soft spot for stories with Yandere girls to counter the happy slice of life shows I also like. I am behind since I know the story and this season is LOADED with shows I am watching so I figure I could be a couple weeks behind on this and its not a big deal. So I want to know what you are enjoying from this show since it’s a new story for you.
D: I really like the concept of the show, although it isn’t the most original. It reminds me a lot of Eden of the East, which had characters played against each other in a similar type of game. Mirai Nikki has also shown itself to be smartly written, as the characters don’t take half an episode formulating a plan and actually seem to use some common sense. I’m interested to see what they do with the ending of the anime considering I’m sure there is more source material than can be fit into a short series.
And that’s just about where our viewing similarities this season end. Well, except for the few episode of Haganai I’ve watched after you told me about it. Why don’t you rant a little bit about that show and then we can quickly touch on the other series we’ve been watching.
K: Ah yes, Haganai, the nickname for the show Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai. There were so many shows I wanted to talk about in my fall season writeup that I totally forgot to mention this show. Based on a light novel, the title translated is, I don’t have many friends. I really enjoy this show on many levels, it’s a very funny show that is more dark comedy and has many mean spirited exchanges. Its also a harem show which will appeal to some but the characters are even more eccentric than most anime which is more interesting. The point which got you to actually watch this is the great use and frequent use of gaming and anime references. The show’s characters are all social misfits who form a club to make friends but mainly end up playing games. Monster Hunter is featured prominently, so much so that the figures based on this show are playing it on PSPs. Oreimo references are also prominent in dialogue and in our protagonist Kodaka’s little sister. So far I’ve been really enjoying the show though it gets a bit depressing with how dark it is. So how many episodes did you watch and how are you enjoying it?
D: I think I’m only 4 episodes in or so, but it’s definitely a nice change of pace from dark and serious tone of some of the other series I’ve been watching and I’m sure I’ll manage to catch up on it at some point. But like you said, there are just so many shows this season to watch, like Gundam AGE which I won’t talk much about since at this point Gundam series are pretty much a known quantity, although I am a little skeptical on this one thus far. One series I know I’ve been telling you about Ken is Un-Go, which is essentially this season’s detective story with a bit of a supernatural twist. I’m really enjoying it so far and the show has actually managed to throw some mysteries at me that were almost completely baffling. The only show I’m a bit hit or miss on so far is the new Last Exile series. Although it is clearly set in the same world, it just doesn’t seem to have that certain something that made the first series so good. That’s not to say that I’m not enjoying it at all, just that if there is a series that I lag behind on, it’s most likely going to be this one. Have there been any other series that you’re actually still keeping up on Ken?
K: I would say this season has been full of surprises, I was most excited for Fate Zero and Mirai Nikki but the other shows I’ve been watching have pushed those to the watch later pile. I do want to catch Un-go at some point though I haven’t watched a Gundam show in years and I’m not sure I like the direction it’s taking being more team and kid oriented. There’s 2 other shows that I’ve been keeping up on and they were both under my radar. C3 or C Cube is cutesy in appearance but is a dark fighting and magic show about items who are cursed and have taken human form. Some people want to use them for evil, some want to destroy them, while they just want to atone for their past sins. It’s a pretty vicious and gory fighting show with characters on the verge of insanity. The other is Ben-to, the show about people who fight for ½ price box lunches and it continues to be insane. It is also one of the funniest shows I’ve watched and has lots of good action. It kinda takes me back to memories of watching Ranma with its’ ridiculous story mixing comedy and action. I also love that each episode has a highlighted food item. I gotta admit, the show has made me search out bentos after work more often than I would otherwise. So many shows to watch and I know I’ll be catching up well into the next season. Anything else you want to mention?
D: I’m just glad that a majority of the shows I am enjoying aren’t going to turn out to be 12 episodes again. Deadman Wonderland really disappointed me with being so short, so getting to see what will hopefully feel like a full story from a lot of these shows will be good. Whether or not they hold through to the end, that is yet to be seen.
That will do it for this edition of Couch Co-Op. We will sure to be back at the end of the season to share our thoughts on how things rounded out.
