A First Look at Dog Days, Tiger and Bunny, and Hanasaku Iroha


So, I've started watching the first episodes of anime airing this season. I'm not including a few, like Nichijou (since that OVA was just brutal). I just don't intend to sit through that kind of stuff again. I also didn't watch X-Men, since I've decided to not even give it a chance. Steins;Gate isn't subbed yet, which is something I'm looking forward to. I actually wasn't planning on making this post yet, but then Aaro mentioned that I watched Dog Days already and now I feel obligated. I just noticed that a billion reviews on Dog Days were up already, and didn't really want to make one. Owelz.

In a world of loli cat girls, the big-boobed one is always evil.


Dog Days
So, I'll start off by saying that I think my opinion is slightly different than the general consensus going around. Almost everyone so far has pegged this to be the worst thing to happen since Rio - Rainbow Gate, but I don't think it is that bad. 

Does this mean that Becky gets no more screen time?

For one thing, the main character doesn't seem nubby. In almost every anime lately, the main character has been useless and needed to be protected by a girl. I hate how anime lately has been moving in that direction. They even explain why he was picked too, rather than to provide no reason at all. He was the Silver Medalist for his circus stuff, which is pretty good I would assume. To be honest, I think if I was so pro at being athletic, I would be ecstatic to be transported to a world like that.

For a second, I thought they trolled me and he wasn't going to jump out.

The trolling at the start didn't help, though. Making it seem like a real war at the start, it just made the reality feel like a cop out. I don't see this series as having much potential, but I am willing to give it a second episode to see if it makes something of itself. I just don't think it was as horrid as people made it out to be; I think people are jumping the gun here.

WTF?!?!??!

Tiger and BunnyI actually wasn't going to watch this episode, but the reviews all said it was the best thing ever. It was interesting to see that real companies paid to advertise on the heroes. One main selling point is the "realism" of  how their world works: it's about ratings. It kind of has a Death Race feel to it. I think, by the end, we will learn that the girl hosting the show is spurring criminals just so they have something to air. The setting is definitely unique, but I can't get passed the art style. Something about it just doesn't click with me and that makes it harder to watch (kind of like Fractale). Maybe if I see some crazy reviews after it finishes, I might go back and watch it. As of this moment, I feel I'd made the right initial choice in not picking it up.

Smart ones, as seen in every movie; they only slow you down.


Hanasaku Iroha
I actually enjoyed this quite a bit; it might have been the animation that helped a lot, too. It was quite noticeable that more effort was put into this. I guess the cast of the story, as seen so far, sets things up nicely. A girl that clearly has had an easy life paired with one that had to endure through the hardships makes for a very nice contrast.


I wonder if he is just a side character; that would kind of suck for him. I think, by the end, she will have adjusted to her new life only to be brought back to the city. By then, she would have grown up enough to actually be able to handle the situation; this would be a really nice take on things.


I actually found this line amazing. They reference it again when she's on the train and sees the ocean, mentioning, "It is like she has been living in a tunnel." Both of these are references to the frog in the well story, much like how she will soon learn what it is like to work and not just mooch off her parents. XD


I was actually expecting her to fall. Small things like these I like a lot; being face-plant with the floor 24/7 to look cute is just so gimmicky. The anime has a bit more of a "real" feeling to it, which I do like a lot. I think the main allure to this anime is seeing how she slowly learns about just how different the world is compared to the way she has been living.

What kind of girl has this little luggage? I mean, clothes alone...

I thought this would just be a generic slice-of-life, but I think this one has real blogging potential to be written about by episode. I'll decided by Episode 2, but I think this is ranking extremely high on my list; it is going to be hard to top.

Side note: I (and maybe Aaro, in a small part) have been updating the blog even more. We've been trying to slowly implement many other small things on the blog without outright changing templates. Pretty much everything is being added through HTML in widgets, which is proving to be a very slow and gruesome process since most things added come standard with some different templates. Hopefully, we will soon finish with a spiffy new facelift.

~Pearz