Spring 2016 Anime Season First Impressions (Part 3)

Welcome back to the final installment of my 'Anime Season First Impressions' article series!

Haven't You Heard? I'm Sakamoto

‘Cool! Cooler! Coolest!’ says the purposely-made-cheesy announcer as he narrates what “Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto” is all about: Sakamoto is the coolest person in his school. No, really, that’s it… or is it? In reality, Sakamoto is much, much more than you’d think he is: he’s (nearly) the most perfect person in the world; when his desk goes missing in class, he graciously sits on the windowsill, making everybody in the room collectively swoon in awe, when a bird goes off trail in a storm, he jumps on rafts in a river and flies through the air with an umbrella to save it, and when someone pulls his chair out from under him, he sits on thin air.

And, yes, it’s as ridiculous as it sounds; luckily, though, unlike one other show this season, “Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto” nails this front and center. Fully embracing its absurdity, the anime puts Sakamoto in utterly ridiculous situations, but effectively pulls it off with everything surrounding the whole.

With the execution praise out of the way, I can finally begin to describe to you how perfect the joke truly is: this ‘the most perfect person in the world’ gag is one of the best one-beat jokes I’ve ever had the pleasure of witnessing. Not only does it pull it off with flying colors (with each situation Sakamoto is in making him cooler than the last) but it has a surprisingly long lifespan, too.

I’d imagined I would chuckle for the first episode a lot (and I certainly did), but I had never expected the joke to last so long! During the entirety of the second episode, I found myself laughing like I had during the first time around; each new joke feels entirely new!

It certainly isn’t the bane of comedy, but I believe “Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto” to be one of the funniest things I’ve seen in a while.

6.5/10- Obviously, it bears no interest for traditional (or even slightly normal) storytelling/punchlines, but that’s one of the best things “Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto” has to offer.

Flying Witch

“Flying Witch” is a new slice-of-life/comedy anime that follows Makoto Kowata, a 15-year-old witch, who moves to countryside, where she and her friends get into all sorts of interesting (and simultaneously relaxing) escapades.

There really is no other way to phrase it/stress it enough: “Flying Witch” tries to be a very, very relaxing show. Instead of calling it a ‘comedy,’ what I really should have said is ‘healing-type:’ it’s that comfortable of an anime. Whether you find it in the soothing voice acting work, the gentle palette of colors, or the general mini-stories themselves, there is something relaxing to be found in every moment of “Flying Witch.”

However, despite my initial hopes for what was to be a very comfy show (these types of anime are usually my cup of tea), I strangely found the first episode to be very… flat.

It was comfortable, sure, and certainly didn’t raise my heartbeat, but the whole thing just seemed kind of boring, which I found to be quite a shock.

It wasn’t me, either: other people found it to be a bit too slow as well. Of course, nobody was expecting anything even remotely fast- or even medium- paced, but the events the show decided to spend its scenes on seemed kind of drawn out.

Despite having episode two reassure me a bit, it still seems kind of concerning to me that “Flying Witch’ might not even know how to pull off the proper slice-of-life routine.

5.5/10- Relaxing, sure, and extremely comfortable, but it might turn out that “Flying Witch” makes out to be a little bit too laid back.

High School Fleet

The final show in my arsenal of ‘First Impressions’ reviews is arguably the most small-but-still-widely talked-about anime this season: “Haifuri,” or by its latest name, “High School Fleet.”

The story goes as such: about 100 years ago, Japan lost much of its land mass due to overwhelming flooding in nearly all areas possible. To cope with the rising sea levels, and to preserve Japan’s coastline, many coastal cities sprung up on the shorelines, only later to be made into full marine cities. Of course, to help preserve the borders, a hefty crew was necessary for the task, and the government had just the right job: the ‘Blue Mermaids’ group!

When two childhood friends (Akeno Misaki and Moeka China) enroll in the same ‘Blue Mermaid’ training school, their (and plenty others’) fates are about to take a turn towards their true dreams!

Did that sound just a bit too light-hearted? Well, like it or not, it is: there’s much more to the story than what initially meets the eye.

And that’s precisely why it’s so talked about this season: while the series started off on its thought-to-be fun foot in the beginning, it soon turned into a tense battle between on-the-sea warships. If that sounds confusing, do not fret: nearly everyone who had seen the first two episodes was just as confused (including me).

That’s also what makes it out to be the most difficult to talk about anime this season: it might just be darker than what it first appeared to be. What’s even more confusing, though, is that the series has also been fitting in completely out-of-place jokes at random intervals right in the middle of lives-are-actually-on-the-line battles!

Does this anime want to be dark and serious? Well, if it does, it better hurry on with it, or else its viewership is going to be left behind in the dark.

7/10- Could be good, could be bad; right now it could go either way.

Overall Season Impressions

Don't expect for me to do so many anime next time! Luckily, this season was one of the biggest ones in recent memory (which made it a perfect time to start this new segment), but, while they might come close, I don't expect future seasons to have more shows for me to review than this, but if they do... send help.

The best shows currently airing this season, for me, are (in no real order) "Bungo Stray Dogs," "Anne-Happy," "Space Patrol Luluco," "Kiznaiver," and "Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-," all of which I'd highly recommend you check out.

Anyways, that's all for now! See you in this segment next season!