Summer 2016 Anime Season First Impressions (Part 1)

Could this season be even better than the last?

Bananya

Truly, this must be the anime of the season, or even (quite possibly) the anime of the year.

This stunning, deep, and complex character study (that consists of an unspecified amount- though probably 12- 3-minute episodes) follows the destined path of a creature fittingly named Bananya, and him and others’ exciting, rigorous journeys as they strive to accomplish their individual goals, with our main character’s being that he wants to become a trendy, chocolate-covered Bananya.

I’ll give up the sarcasm early- yes, this is a series following the stories of cats who live inside of bananas. Yes, this airs on television under the name Bananya. And, yes, this does legitimately exist. Of course, it’s a glorious thing that it indeed does, but that’s really all there is to it- this is literally just a 3-minutes-per-episode anime about cats who live in bananas. It’s cute, it’s wholesome, and it actually seems like the series will have its own end goal in mind. What else more could you possibly need?

10/10- A true ray of hope for all future anime to come, Bananya is a wonderfully-realized tale of one’s struggle for vengeance, redemption, and walking the difficult path to fulfill one’s own destiny.

Tales of Zestiria the X

Tales of Zestiria the X, the newest anime by studio ufotable (I’d recommend not trying to pronounce that), is a video game-adapted show that follows Sorey, a human boy who believes in old folklore pronouncing that long ago, all standard humans were able to see and live harmoniously among the Seraphim, beings that he himself grew up among, with his best friend being one of these creatures. One day, while visiting the capital after rescuing a certain girl, this destiny-following boy withdraws a sacred sword from an unbreakable rock, thus embarking him on a journey as a “Shepard,” a protector that seeks to end all chaos in the world, with his dream of all humans coexisting with Seraphim only becoming more and more realized throughout.

As is common practice with this article format, I usually am able to give my precise opinions on the first two episodes of a given newly-airing anime, but, on this occasion (specifically with Tales of Zestiria the X, that is), it’s proving to be a bit more difficult than usual, considering that the supposed “first episode” isn’t really much of a first episode at all: it’s a prequel. Yes, that’s right- the first TV-aired episode of this series is a prequel to the whole in and of itself, which, while it does reinforce/introduce certain parts of the story and builds up the world a bit, doesn’t do much justice towards judging the quality (and it also certainly doesn’t help that this prequel episode was a bit sparsely put together) of the overall product. However, for as choppily-constructed as this inter-spliced mesh of various prequel-scenes was, it did solidly construct one nearly unbeatable aspect of this two-cour series: the animation is gorgeous. And not just in the background/moving sense, either- ufotable is debatably known best for being one of the best studios for all-around fantastic artwork out there.

However, for as much credit as great visuals can lend a show, it can never truly completely carry it; so with that in mind, what does the second episode show us?

Well, in all honesty, only a few more things that the prequel did- the animation will always be stunning, the world the story is set in is (and will continue to be) always-intriguing and could always be explored upon, and there is also plenty of room for intriguing character developments, with only one present flaw really bugging me: some characters might be left behind. Granted, the series will be two cours long, so there still will be plenty of time to flesh each and every character out, but while watching the ending sequence to the second episode, there just seemed to be too many characters to adequately follow throughout 24-odd episodes, which could or could not be done in the first place due to its video game source material.

6/10- All in all, these first two episodes of Tales of Zestiria the X were certainly an interesting and enjoyable ride (and most definitely a gorgeous one, too), although its video game source material could prove for the show to be more than a little bit choppy in the long- or even short- run.

Sweetness and Lightning

Sweetness and Lightning (alternatively spelled and capitalized sweetness & lightning) is a new “slice of life” series that premiered its one-cour run in the Summer 2016 anime season, and has opened up to warm reception since, with this specific plot following a lone father’s goal to cook actual meals for his daughter after feeding her pre-cooked food for a few months, all the while with one of his classroom students helping him along the way. But does it live up to the praise?

Well, for the 2 episodes that I’ve currently seen, I’d like to think it deserves a little bit more than the warm reception it’s currently receiving. Why? Well, because Sweetness and Lightning might very well be one of (if not the) this season’s best slice of life shows out there.

I’ll admit: I was a bit concerned about Sweetness and Lightning from the first trailer I had seen for it; sure, it looked cute, and sure, the general technical aspects looked all-around great, but it just seemed like one of those shows that bank its entire quality on one key aspects of the story- food. Believe it or not, a few anime out there actually think they can bank a good portion of their popularity and quality on making food look good within their (most likely) good looking animation, which is a sin that usually puts me off from series that fall under such an ilk. However, in the case of this newly-airing show, while it does portray some tasty-looking food, actually has a good amount of genuine substance behind it- details of which you should watch the show to find out for yourself.

Other than that, I’m expecting many more great things from Sweetness and Lightning to come, some of these things including more fantastic performances from its main and side cast of characters (definitely including the young daughter’s performance- a hint that maybe child voice actors should be used for actual children more often), great animation that truly brings out the small, intricate details in some characters’ expressions, and a plot that is definitely worth following.

7.5/10- With great animation, solid voice acting, and a plot that clearly transcends the normal brands that come along with such a genre that it belongs to, Sweetness and Lightning is very clearly shaping up to be one of the stronger shows this season has to offer.

This Art Club Has a Problem!

This Art Club Has a Problem! is brought to us by studio feel. (including the period), and follows the comedic misadventures of a middle school’s chaotic art club and its members, of whom consist of a normal girl who just wants to paint pictures (of which usually just consist of portraits of apples), an impervious boy set on drawing the perfect 2D girl, the older club leader who just sleeps all day, and many, many more.

Now, I’ve always had a hard time differentiating between pieces of work that I find to be genuinely good, or just ones I enjoy despite its apparent and recognizable flaws, with This Art Club Has a Problem! being one such show to fall under that category. So, after debating for some time on whether or not this show was just average or was one of the better lighthearted comedic offerings this season, I came to a conclusion: I still don’t know. Well, to figure that out, let’s break it down one by one…

First off, the positives: nearly all of the technical aspects of this anime are surprisingly stellar so far. Granted, most shows that follow this structure usually receive at least some smidgen of a budget, but it seems like This Art Club Has a Problem! was granted some sort of pass on spending restrictions- this show looks really, really nice. And not just terms of backgrounds, either: the character animation (including all of the little expressions and movements they give) works really great in conjunction with everything else. On top of that, the voice acting is generally spot-on with the appropriate comedic moments and the soundtrack has some fairly unique and cool tracks, if only for the fact that some of them don’t fit some people’s tastes.

However, for all of its positives, I feel as if the show’s biggest (and maybe its only noteworthy) negative is something it can’t really change at this point: the familiarity of it all. Of course, with its consistently excellent attributes that This Art Club Has a Problem! has going for it, the overall stage basis is just something that feels like something that's been all too done before. Overall, it’s really up to one’s own specific preferences if the show is worth watching.

6.5/10- Although the base structure is all too familiar, the consistently great technical attributes This Art Club Has a Problem! has to offer will more than likely make up for it in the long run, making this anime a shining star out of an all-too-recognizable starting point.