Anime Review: Kantai Collection

Anime Review: Kantai Collection

Introduction:

Welcome to the 71st installment of Bf+Gf Anime Review where you can find a double-sided review that aims to help you decide if various anime are worth watching! Let's get into another review for the Winter 2015 Anime Season with Kantai Collection! (Warning this review contains some spoilers).

"Experience the majesty that is Kongou!"

Synopsis:

Kantai Collection is a twelve-episode Sci-fi, Military, Comedy based off the mobile game of the same name. The series tells the story of female anthropomorphized versions of famous Japanese battleships. These girls with armaments reminiscent of their namesakes battle against the forces of the abyssal fleet, female anthropomorphized monster battleships that are rising from the deep sea, seeking to destroy mankind. Fubuki, our star character, is but a new recruit to the Kantai Fleet. She joins the Third Torpedo Squadron which is preparing for its first major sortie against the enemy. Along with the many other girls of the Kantai Fleet they must repel the Abyssal Forces with each new sortie and find time to have some whacky adventures on the side.

Note: Kantai Collection is available for streaming at Crunchyroll.com.

"Prepare for excitement! Danger!"

Review:

Tom: Kantai Collection is an exception to the norm for me. Most of the time I don’t give anime adaptations of video games much of a shot unless I’ve played the game series previously and even then I tend to steer clear. But with Kantai and its bizarre and wholly Japanese premise I just had to check it out and see for myself how this turned out. And you know what? I actually think it did an amazing job of adapting a mobile game and turning it into an entertaining anime. Not only did it manage to find fun ways to incorporate or reference the in game mechanics but it also managed to really flesh out the characters and story.

Linny: The show does indeed do a great adaptation of such a bizarre game and concept, offering a depth and variety one wouldn't expect from its origins. They do such a great job of inserting game mechanics seamlessly into the show's story and of turning real life facts about the battleships into characterizations for the girls. I love the various costume designs and varying personalities and of course, the lack of overt sexual exploitation of the female cast.

"And romance!"

Tom: The anime really fleshes out the massive cast of girls, although only a handful get meaningful amounts of screen time and emotional development (understandable when you have a total cast of at least thirty girls.) and many of the character’s designs are wonderful, giving off loads of personality. And because the cast is so large there’s someone for everyone. Linny and I particularly enjoyed a number of the supporting cast, with the character of Kongou and her liberal use of english words and poorly-emphasized Japanese phrasing to be just the best kind of fun. Sadly, not all the girls are fun. There’s a handful of bland characters and a couple who are perhaps outright annoying. Not to mention the lead girl herself is actually rather boring.

Linny: Gawd, is she boring or what? She was so bland and generic that it almost put me off the entire series. It made it hard for me to care about her, which is bad since she is supposed to be the protagonist. Thankfully, I had other cast members like Kongou to rope me in, and Tom's devotion to Kongou-san as well. And though I said this show isn't overtly sexual, it does have a whole lot of moe. Anyone with an aversion to moe should stay miles away. Oh and yes, it has the stereotypical devoted lesbian-not-lesbian girl in love with her senpai. Don't say I didn't warn you!

"But true."

Tom: It is indeed pretty moe. The opening theme is a great indication of the tone, because even when the show does deal with death and other serious problems it never gets all that dark and generally episode to episode feels peppered with fun. I actually love the opening theme, finding it to be the right amount of happy energy without drifting into the type of high-pitched squeaky “wee wee!” J-pop vocals that I tend to steer away from. It’s a much more agreeable song and J-pop for a more massive audience.

Linny: The show seems to have put in a decent effort towards its CGI animation and it was a pleasant surprise to watch the CGI blend so seamlessly with the traditional animation. I'm not completely against CGI but I do not have the patience for shoddy CGI either. So I have to give the show props for working hard on its CGI animation and usage.

Tom: The CGI is what probably made this show doable in the first place. Without it there wouldn’t be a Kantai Collection anime is my guess. And for what the CGI does it does well. In the preview I said that the CGI was of such high quality I couldn’t tell the difference. Sadly that doesn’t remain true as the CGI’s quality changes from episode to episode. It never gets bad but at the same time it rarely manages to marry the 2D images perfectly and that is a bit of a shame.

"But you're... ships don't... Damn talk about objectifying yourself =/"

Linny: At the end of it all, I'd be lying if I said I didn't dread watching the upcoming second season a little. I don't hate the show. It definitely has its merits but it's just a subject matter I struggle to get into. But it's definitely a show that has had a lot of love and work put into it and a must watch for anyone even mildly curious about the game or the premise. I even ended up going crazy for one of its characters despite usually having to brace myself before every episode. I'm hoping anyone who checks the show walks away with something to treasure about it like we did. For all the work put into the story, the music, the characters and the animation (even if I never got into its premise), I award this show a 7.5 out of 10.

Tom: All in all I found this to go above and beyond adapting the mobile game of the same name. They took the game and worked very hard to make something that wouldn’t just appeal to fans of the franchise and I think they succeeded. A second season is apparently already on the way and while I’m not sure where exactly it will go, there were perhaps hints in the final episode that not everything was as straightforward and final as we might have thought. Overall I’ll be awarding Kantai Collection an 8.0 out of 10. I enjoyed it a lot and while it certainly isn’t perfect it really is quite amazing for what it is.

Combined Score: 7.75 out of 10

"Kongou is many things. But great cook she is not. =("

Thanks for reading our review! Tomorrow expect a review for Shirobako! See you Sunday!

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Anime Consortium Japan Reveals Spring 2015 Simulcasts

Anime Consortium Japan Reveals Spring 2015 Simulcasts

Anime Consortium Japan has just announced via press release their anime simulcast plans for the Spring 2015 season. All of the following titles will be streamed with English subtitles.

Gunslinger Stratos will be simulcast on Sundays, beginning April 5. Episodes will be available in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America, Latin America (Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador, Guyana, Colombia, Suriname, Chile, Paraguay, Brazil, Venezuela, Peru and Bolivia), Asia (except for India, China and  Korea), Europe, the Middle East, Africa (except South Africa) and Oceania (Australia & New Zealand).

The synopsis of the series is as follows:

A.D. 2115—the island nation once called Japan is now known as the “17th Far East Imperial City Management District.”The citizens were promised a life of peace in exchange for some of the comfort they were used to having. People believed their lives would never change and tomorrow would be the same as today. No one suspected the impending doom which their society was about to face.

“Degradation”—a rare disease which led to the total disintegration of the human body to a mere pile of sand was slowly but surely spreading throughout the world.

Tohru Kazasumi, an ordinary student, becomes embroiled in a multi-universal battle between his world and the parallel world of “Frontier S (Stratos).” This meant that Toru must fight himself from an alternate world.

Their futures collide as their paths cross.

Will both worlds ever find peace?

More information about this series can be found here.

Plastic Memories will also premiere on April 5. Episodes will be available in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America and Latin America (Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador, Guyana, Colombia, Suriname, Chile, Paraguay, Brazil, Venezuela, Peru and Bolivia).

Here is the synopsis of the series:

In a world where there was a slight advancement in science.

After failing his college entrance exams, 18 year-old Tsukasa Mizugaki is offered a position at the renowned SAI Corporation due to his father’s connections.

SAI Corporation was known for its production and management of androids that possessed human emotions called “Giftia.”

Tsukasa’s position was in the terminal service department where their main job was to recover Giftias that were close to their expiration—it was a graveyard department in every sense.

To make matters worse, Tsukasa is ordered to work with Isla, a female Giftia who was never given any responsibility other than serving tea to her co-workers.

More information about this series can be found here.

Nisekoi:, the second season of Nisekoi, will premiere on Saturday, April 11. Episodes will be available in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America and Latin America (Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador, Guyana, Colombia, Suriname, Chile, Paraguay, Brazil, Venezuela, Peru and Bolivia). A special episode will be broadcast on Japanese television prior to the premiere of the second season, which will also be available on Daisuki.net.

For more information about Nisekoi can be found here.

Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works] will return on April 5. Episodes will be available in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America, Latin America (Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador, Guyana, Colombia, Suriname, Chile, Paraguay, Brazil, Venezuela, Peru and Bolivia) and Asia (except for India, Korea and China). The first season of Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works] will be made available on Daisuki.net too.

More information on the series can be found here.

Blood Blockade Battlefront will premiere on April 5. Episodes will be available in Asia (except for Korea, China and Armenia).

The series is described as follows:

Leo, a young photographer, visits Jerusalem’s Lot, a city that serves as the crossroads between this world and a far more mysterious one. Mistaken for somebody else, Leo is brought to a building in the center of the city, where he encounters Klaus, the leader of a secret society named Libra that works to maintain the balance of this new world. Right after that, only the right half of a misshapen monster emerges from a mystical gate into the city. Femt, the “Fallen King” who planned this, announces that another gate will open once more in several minutes, releasing the rest of the monster somewhere else. If the two monster halves find each other and reunite, the city will instantly become ruins. To keep that from happening, Klaus and his comrades have to find the second gate before the monster and destroy it. But can they and newly appointed member Leo survive Femt’s “trap” and save the city?

More information about the series is available here.

Anime Consortium Japan are also streaming the Anime Japan 2015 Official Report, an exclusive video about Anime Japan 2015, the biggest anime event in Japan, which took place in Tokyo in march. The videos will be available on Daisuki.net and Daisuki’s YouTube channel.

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