User blog comment:IamJakuhoRaikoben/Sorcerer Magazine, Issue 42: June 2015/@comment-3987368-20150708105049

B L O G J A C K

Alright, so the Spring 2015 season of anime has ended and since I haven't seen anyone comment on it, or start our usual discussion, I figured I'd go ahead and do that. My first overall impression of this season was that it was relatively boring. A few things caught my eye at first but after the delay of Adventure Tri and revelation that it's gonna be a series of films (which itself I don't mind) coupled with a number of disappointing episodes a few weeks in, I never cared too much. As a result, it's a relatively weak season in my opinion, in spite of having a lot of titles I actually looked forward to at first.

Best series: Assassination Classroom: At first, Assassination Classroom started off kinda weak. With its large cast of characters, it was hard to really find a student in this class of 25 who would stand out. For a long time, only a few stood out, and they had to be made to stand out, because most of the designs of the characters are pretty generic. At the end of 22 episodes however, I can say that the show did improve a lot, particularly from its first cour. The main problem with the first several episodes was filling in its time remainder when the main "meat" of an episode had run out. This was no longer a problem here as the set-up stories were done, and we were now into multi-episode arcs, with episodes that could carry off from the momentum of the previous episode and end with suspense, thus not making the audience bored. Of course, it's still got the problems of having too many characters, with only a few more making themselves known in this second half, in addition to a handful of plot asspulls. As everyone knows, the main goal of the story can't yet be achieved because it'd end the series, and since the manga is ongoing, we can't even really have an anime-only ending since a lot of things are still up in the air. Anyways, this is still a decent pick for a series, with a lot of good characters, decent animation, decent pacing and a lot more smarts than one may expect about a bunch of kids trying to assassinate a monster. 7/10

Others: Yamada-kun to 7-Nin no Majo: Oh man was I looking forward to this anime. I started reading the manga back in 2013, and loved it. Sure, it was over the top in terms of fanservice but its art was great (the mangaka used to be Mashima's assistant), the characters were fun, the powers concept was interesting and the lore behind the series was pretty interesting. So by all means, this should have been a great anime, right? Well, yes and no. On the one hand, the series did have decent animation, decent voice acting and kept relatively faithful to the manga. On the other hand, they rushed way too much. Almost one hundred chapters worth of material was condensed into 12 episodes. Now, there are cases where you can abridge canon material for the anime production and make it work. The best example of this I can think of off the top of my head would be InuYasha: The Final Act. However, it does not work here. A lot of the charm of the manga is lost in this adaption because there is no time to stop and appreciate it. The plot is always a mad rush from one end to the other, with minimal reflection time, when the series was never so hectic in the manga and it allowed you to take the time and feel what the characters were feeling. Episode 7 in this series is by far the biggest offender as a few genuinely good moments between the cast are lost in a mad scramble to complete the plot in under 25 minutes. While it's still worth checking out, this series really needed to be about 24 episodes to have been all that it could have been. 6/10 Two Cour/Ongoing:  Shokugeki no Soma: Here's another anime based on a manga. The difference is that unlike the aforementioned witches series, this one is not rushing, and will reach its destined conclusion within 24 episodes, while not rushing through each plot point. Because of its relaxed pacing, we have a very good idea of how Soma feels, how Megumi feels, as well as how virtually anyone who isn't a 1-joke character feels. There is a lot of inner monologue from these guys, which helps illustrate their feelings and why they do what they do. Similarly, flashbacks are used to good effect for these characters. Unfortunately, there seem to be quite a few 1-joke characters here, which is about the entire dorm from which Soma and Megumi come from, barring Isshiki Satoshi, who has not actually had the chance to shine but is known to have more promise as a character than the rest, particularly the two bumbling idiots who keep fighting, and whose names I cannot recall. A major issue for a lot of people has been the fanservice, while it has toned down immensely from the first few episodes, it can still be seen from time to time and varies in how off-putting it is. In terms of animation, J.C. Staff hasn't done much good work as of late, and so I would have to unfortunately say Shokugeki no Soma is about as bland as they come in this genre, with every stereotypical boob-jiggle you can imagine. As to music, there's nothing of note here. Best move onto something else if you wish to find OSTs you like. As for story though, there's still a way to go for this series, but I would say it can definitely end on a great note. No rating yet, as I won't give it one until it is over. Fairy Tail: Fairy Tail actually had a few decent episodes these past few months. It is a bit surprising, since I've heard a lot of complaints but I've personally enjoyed those episodes which I have watched. Of course, I hated the goddamn afro Happy, but that's hardly the anime's fault. The introduction to the Tartarus arc itself was kinda boring though, with a little less tension than was present in the manga, particularly when Jackal blew up the Magic Council. Other than that though, I'm decently satisfied with this adaptation and I look forward to some more. This new theme song is really quite good, as well. Nagato Yuki-chan no Shoushitsu: There's not much to say here. Even as a heavy Haruhi fan, I couldn't really enjoy this much. The thing about the shy Yuki Nagato was that she was fun in small doses, but giving her her own series has evaporated anything that was appealing as she's not way too overexposed. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if the author realized this and that's why they brought Haruhi into the story. Anyways, there's nothing to see here. Dropped

I would get into content like the best theme song and the best ending, but there's really nothing worth discussing for me. No theme song for this season (among those I heard) stood out for me. The only one I listened to a few times out of interest was probably the new opening to Fairy Tail, so maybe that would be mine. Not really that impressive of a season. If there's anything I didn't hear though that you guys think I might like, don't hesitate to let me know.

So, that's my view on this season of anime. If you have seen some shows, leave your comments below. Also, if you guys are watching anything from this season, leave your comments below. I've picked up a show or two, and so far they seem decent, but what do you guys think?