Mid-season Anime Thoughts Summer 2010

The mid-season anime thoughts post is back!!! Okay, maybe it's not that exciting, but it's the first time I wrote such a post in half a year. I didn't do a mid-season review post for spring 2010 because I was on vacation, but now that I'm (still) at home there is no excuse not to write one. Here are my thoughts on the four anime series I've been following.


Highschool of the Dead

Scenes like this makes the show worth the watch.

The show about a group of people from a high school (many of whom are well endowed) trying to survive a zombie apocalypse has been going fairly well minus some hiccups... that is if you are only expecting violence, zombie carnage, and fan service. I am expecting only those things, and HOTD has been delivering those so far. Some of the survival drama in the series was pretty good too and the show is capable of creating a desperate and tense atmosphere. Most of the episodes that were focused on the survival and action aspects were entertaining. As for the "hiccups", there was the flashback in episode that we didn't need, and the fan service episode 6 was a bit much even for a show like HOTD. Fan service can be fun, but not when the plot revolves around it as in episode 6. I actually appreciate HOTD's usual style of fan service where the panty and boob shots are inserted into the middle of the action. At first I thought it was strange, but afterwards the fan service basically became a source of comedy.

If the show continues to provide the survival drama and zombie action interlaced with the fan service then I'll be happy. I'm not expecting any big revelations or advancements in the plot... at least not for this season of the show.


Seikimatsu Occult Academy

From real occult to fake occult.

Occult Academy started off impressively with its first two episodes, but since then things have slowed down. Instead of focusing on mismatched couple Maya and Fumiaki trying to find the Key to Nostradamus to save the world from an impending alien invasion, we have various episodes about Maya's friends and Fumiaki's attempt to impress the (somewhat suspicious) local cutie. The plot is wandering around right now and the action content appears to decrease by the episode. I'm still hopeful the show will turn itself around though. Occult Academy has a strong female lead and a decent premise, and the show should be entertaining if the story would get back to them.


Sekirei ~Pure Engagement~

Nothing special to report.

I don't really have too much to say about the second season of Sekirei. The end of the first season left the question of how the anime will get back onto the manga canon, and 7Arcs did a pretty good job creating the battle at the wine warehouse to lead into Kazehana's winging. After that it was back to the manga material, and that's been okay. The Homura arc is setup and a teaser for things to come, and there isn't anything really good or really bad to say about that part. I don't think I'll have too much to say at the end of the season either unless there happens to be a lot of anime-original material in the remaining episodes.


Sengoku Basara 2

Not enough of this.

The show that sells itself with over-the-top feudal Japan action tries its hand at actual plot and drama... I can't say that I'm impressed. Compared to the same point on the first season of the show, Sengoku Basara 2 has had less crazy fights and instead we have Kojuro getting kidnapped, lots of chatting, and Yukimura running around but not doing much. The new villain Hideoyoshi doesn't seem to fit the role as well as Nobunga did, but it's at least fun to see him split the land, the sky and the sea with his fists. The latest episode was a step in the right direction and the show needs more action-centric episodes instead of trying (and failing) at its attempt to come up with a sensible plot.