Winter 2014 Anime Season Review, 4 of 5

And, the penultimate review for last season, Winter 2014 anime season review 4.

Love, Chunibyo and Other Delusions is a show I don’t know what to make of. The whole Chunibyo thing isn’t something I can really understand. It’s not really something that happens here in the states, so it’s hard to relate to or understand why it’s so difficult to just give up. This makes it that much harder to watch a second season of it because you’re constantly wondering if these people should perhaps be receiving mental health treatment. When you literally have a person running a fever run out in the middle of the night to fulfill some fictional quest it strikes me as far more dangerously foolish than touching or heartwarming. Thus it makes the entire story harder to stomach. The imagination battles are entertaining and quite spectacular, but the show as a whole is just average as far as I’m concerned.

Sakura Trick is a show that has gotten a ton of attention. I don’t think it deserves it. I already did a post about this on March 25^th. The main draw of the show seems to be the idea of the two girls making out every episode. If that’s the best you can do to make a show interesting, then that show isn’t very good to begin with. The “moe” element is about in line with any other “moe” anime, so it’s got that. And a little better than occasionally the comedic elements are actually quite funny. It’s not a wholly terrible show by any means, it’s just that the hype around it was/is overblown.

Wake Up, Girls is an idol show that seeks to somewhat break the mold of traditional idol anime, but not go too far from that familiar rubric. Where this show about seven girls brought together as an idol group striving for the top comes into its own is the way that it does a slightly better job than most series do of addressing the difficulties and tribulations that come with fledgling performers. I of course understand perfectly that the reason other shows don’t shine such a negative light is because that stuff can get incredibly depressing. WUG feathers that line throughout. In 12 short episodes (plus one prequel movie) they go through their boss running off with their money from their first gig, then coming back, being taken advantage of by some sleazy producer, having an embarrassingly bad live performance, nearly breaking up a few times, and working with a pretentious jerk of a song-writer/producer who seems intent on playing them off their far more experienced and much more financially sound, not to mention far more popular, would-be rivals. The cliffhangers in each episode are fairly sharp. The series as a whole is an emotional roller coaster. This is what helps make it a very good show, one of the better idol anime. It will probably get a new season at some point, which it will have earned.

Recently, My Sister Is Unusual is something you might hear from a kid in elementary school talking about their older sister. This show, however, is about a girl, Mitsuki, whose mother just remarried and has promptly traveled with her new husband on his business trip, leaving her with her new brother. If that isn’t enough to get used to, she’s soon (possessed? Haunted?) met by a ghost who places a chastity belt on her and declares that until she fills the heart-shaped gauge on the item by getting lovey-dovey with her new brother, she will never be free of the belt. Oh, and eventually if you don’t do anything you’ll die. This show is Seitokai Yakuindomo’s competition for most perverse series of the season. In an early episode (may have even been episode 1) they very blatantly have Hiyori the ghost sexually molest Mitsuki. Yes it’s “censored” in that they cut to a video game style dialogue screen away from the characters. There are moments like that throughout the show. All in all the show is about the same level as Sakura Kiss, though it hasn’t received as much positive attention as SK. It’s entertaining enough, but it’s not a particularly great series at all, and may be off-putting if your find such situations and plots objectionable. It certainly sets up its ending with bright lights saying there will be a second season, but so far as I know there is nothing definitive yet.

World Conquest Zvezda Plot is another possible sleeper hit for the season. I certainly had no idea about this show before the season, and it easily became one of the most lovable series of the winter. As was apparently the theme for this winter, it was absurd in the best possible way. It’s a sublime supernatural story with a “little girl” who is actually hundreds, if not thousands, of years old, relying on some mythical ancient power associated with some obscure plant, in a never ending pursuit of world domination… and she’s the hero of the story. The entire series almost seems like an anti-smoking PSA, as apparently secondhand smoke can take on supernatural qualities to drain our anti-heroine’s powers. This show is certainly entertaining. It even manages a romantic angle that has just enough drama to be interesting, without being overly awash in the romance drama. It has an OVA coming in the summer, but if there is one show of the winter I want to get a new season, this one is it.