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Saekano is the most frustrating kind of bad show: the kind which could have been legitimately good if it tried.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hyped for Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata (Saekano for short) at the start of winter 2015. It’s a shiny new adaptation of Fumiaki Maruto’s light novel series – the same Fumiaki Maruto who wrote White Album 2, which got an anime around a year and a half ago. He also wrote Parfait and Sekai de Ichiban NG na Koi – both of which I’ve seen glowing reviews of. Naturally, I’d expect Saekano to be something close to his work ... in eroge.

I probably should’ve listened to the warning signs. Certain Maruto fans on Twitter had already panned the show and the LN for being self-gratifying otaku humor. People who have watched the first two episodes called the show obnoxious for having snarky commentary on its clichés while also indulging in them.

But let’s give credit where it’s due: Saekano isn’t complete trash. I would probably be more forgiving of the show if it were: it’s easier to let go of a show that’s a total failure than a show that flubbed with its great ideas. There are two things that Saekano did well in portraying: the relationship between consumer and creator, and the character of Katou Megumi. Let’s start with the former.

Episode 6 of Saekano is the first episode where I thought the show was being genuine. The episode frames Utaha as the creator and Tomoya the consumer, and the show asks: how far should an author go to in trying to please their readers? And I feel that the show gave a good answer to the question: fans want something that the creator wrote, not something that would go with their expectations. The framing of the scene was even reminiscent of White Album 2: two high school kids throwing their emotions at each other under the snow might be a clichéd scene, but if there’s anyone who can make it work, it’s Fumiaki Maruto.

Episode 9 is another good episode that gave Eriri much-needed characterization past her generic tsundere shtick. This time, the show asks why a creator, well, creates works for fans – for whose sake are they putting out content? Again, the show frames this question with Tomoya as the consumer and Eriri as the creator: does Eriri draw so she can get better for her fans, or does she just draw to satisfy herself and stay where she is? Eriri finds her foot forward when she decides to get better at drawing to win over Tomoya and satisfy her fans. The show doesn’t give a complete answer, but it gave her character a push forward.

Ultimately, I think Saekano’s best point was Katou Megumi’s character: the deadpan non-otaku who joins the group as the “main heroine”. There’s no mistaking that the title’s “boring heroine” refers to Katou: the show keeps referring to her as having “no character” and a “half-assed personality”. On the contrary, her character doesn’t conform to the show’s pre-established archetypes: even though she doesn’t stand out within the show, Katou is perhaps the most memorable character because she’s not a generic archetype. And this is what I think the show was trying to accomplish with Katou: characters should be people, and not just generic archetypes.

Unfortunately that's where the show’s good points stop. The conversation between Eriri and Tomoya from the start of episode 5 exemplifies what exactly makes the show so frustrating:

“But I just want to always be myself.”
“That’s impossible. Everyone has a secret side to them.”
“But… Katou doesn’t, does she?”
“She’s a non-otaku, but even when mixed up with us otaku, she stayed exactly the same as she was, right?”

It's an insightful conversation, only to be cut short by Eriri acting like the stock tsundere archetype. Saekano knows that Katou stands out the most among the characters, and it knows that characters that follow archetypes like Eriri need to have more than their shallow character traits. The show demonstrates a degree of awareness of its clichés – it knows that its characters are generic archetypes, and Katou serves as a direct contrast to them. But that’s where it stops – it’s satisfied at being aware of its clichés, but never does anything to rise up above them. Even worse, the show’s title and all of the show’s characters want Katou to become one of them: a generic character who talks and responds to situations with nothing but stock phrases. It’s hypocritical and obnoxious – in short, it’s a show that gives advice and chooses not to follow it.

But I would’ve been okay with the show if it had stopped there. Instead, Episode 10 onwards indulges in all the trashy tropes that it comments on. Episode 10 throws all subtlety out of the window and pours male gaze all over the show, not to mention indulging in classy humor such as flashing a girl. It’s not even the more sensual kind of fanservice like episode 6’s Utaha scene where she puts on her stockings. It’s the point where the show stops trying and just revels in all the trashy LN tropes we all love and “cleverly” comments on all of them. This show is completely in love with itself and all of the trashy things that it comments on.

The bottom line: if you’re watching this because you heard it was by White Album 2’s author, don’t bother. If you’re watching this expecting a trashy, fanservice-y show, you’re better off watching an actual trashy, fanservice-y show, because shows like those don’t bother pretending that they’re not trashy, fanservice-y crap. Saekano is obnoxious, hypocritical, and pretentious. Avoid it like the big, stinky turd that it is.

(Full review with images here: https://oneofepisodes.wordpress.com/2015/04/17/saekano-how-to-write-a-stinking-pile-of-crap/)

Persona 4's anime adaptation came as a huge, but welcome surprise. Any fan of the highly-acclaimed video game would be curious as to how such an endeavor would turn out. After the initial announcement, there had been six months of waiting for previous and further announcements; it was six months of building hype until the airing of the first episode.

Did it live up to the hype? A difficult, opinionated question, but as for myself, it managed to live up to expectations, and more.

Persona 4 the Animation adapts one of the most critically-acclaimed JRPGs ever to grace the PS2. Just knowing this, it would either turn ... out to be a huge success or a huge failure depending on how it's handled. Thankfully, director Seiji Kishi manages to handle the difficult parts of adapting the game and manages to present not only a watchable, but an enjoyable adaptation.

The biggest challenge to adapting a video game into an anime is making the anime enjoyable for both newcomers and old fans alike. Persona 4 the Animation manages to do so by keeping the game's atmosphere intact. I can't help but think that Seiji Kishi's brand of direction -- which one may be familiar with through Angel Beats! -- is well-suited for this particular anime; his balance of comedy and drama works for Persona 4 as it is the most light-hearted video game in a series known for its dark, dramatic and post-apocalyptic plots. The infamous comedic aspects of the game -- the camp-out, the school trip, and the school festival -- remain no less hilarious when animated, and the anime even manages to add to the hilarity with original content.

Another nice touch is how the staff intersperse many game mechanics into the anime. Fans of the video game would notice many subtle (and not-so-subtle) shout-outs to the game, such as the eye-catch for the Social Link stats, the passing of time, the various skills and abilities in the dungeon-crawling segments, and the Velvet Room segments at the start of each episode. They even managed to sneak in all of the Social Links, though the results of doing so are varied.

The drama doesn't lag behind from the comedy; the final story arcs in the anime manage to handle the most serious and dramatic parts of the game with great care, especially the episodes dedicated to a certain character's plot-related death, as well as the parts dedicated to the Investigation Team's decision to search for the truth. The episodes focusing on the Investigation Team characters -- particularly Rise's arc, which manages to integrate her Social Link development -- are particularly well-directed in terms of drama.

The biggest draw to this anime comes from the sound direction, especially the music. Shoji Meguro returns as the composer for the anime, rehashing many of the great tracks found in the original video game. The anime's music is a mix of rock, J-pop, jazz, and piano music, providing a large variety of tracks to use for atmosphere. The opening themes -- "sky's the limit" and "key plus words" -- set the anime's tone similar to the game's with the familiar stilted English that fans of the Persona series have come to love. Episode 1 even rehashes the game's opening theme, Pursuing My True Self. The ending themes are fitting to end an episode with, showing the arcana that the main character has obtained through the course of the plot.

The anime's voice acting is spectacular; of particular note are Rie Kugimiya, who manages to break out of her tsundere pigeonholing -- especially with Rise's brooding, depressed attitude during episodes 9 and 10; Yui Horie, who manages to make Chie Satonaka an energetic, lively character; Romi Park, who is particularly well-suited for the role given to her; and most especially Daisuke Namikawa, whose performance as Yu Narukami is impressive in both the deadpan and more expressive aspects.

Unfortunately, while Persona 4 excels in many aspects, it also has its flaws.

The animation and the art is, while not particularly terrible, less-than-stellar at times. This is no longer much of a problem in the later episodes, but there are times where you might wonder if the artists and animators were half-asleep while working on the characters. Fortunately, this doesn't bleed into the action scenes, but it's still jarring to see the characters full of life in one scene then seem so lifeless in another.

Certain plot events may also come across as cheesy, clichéd or contrived, a problem which was also present in the game. However, one can argue that these events are part of the game's themes -- that the bonds of people are the true power, that no one can live without facing themselves and other people, and that we must pursue the truth which lies behind the fog of lies.

Now, the all-important question -- will you enjoy this anime? If you were a fan of the game, then yes, you will enjoy this anime for how well it adapts the original. If you're a first-time watcher, you'll enjoy this anime for the same reasons people enjoyed the game -- the comedy, the themes and the mystery.

Due to time constraints, the last episode and the "True Ending" will be on DVD and Blu-ray on August 2012. The ending is deliberately cut short with the game's "Normal Ending", a clever piece of direction which manages to keep to the game's theme of "seeking out the answers" while advertising for the DVD and Blu-rays. Reach out to the truth, indeed.

befriend (v.) - to inflict grievous bodily harm in the process of proving the validity of your beliefs

If there was one word to sum up "Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha the MOVIE: 1st", it would be that. "Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha the Movie: 1st" (which will hereon be referred to as Nanoha: The Movie) is a remake of the first season of the Lyrical Nanoha franchise, featuring Nanoha as a magical girl who causes massive property damage in the process of befriending her adversaries, and a rival magical girl, Fate. Both of them are after the twenty-one dangerous artifacts known as "Jewel Seeds".

Let's sum up what ... a movie remake should be able to achieve: a movie remake should be able to condense the plot within the span of two hours, give or take an hour. For the most part, Nanoha: the Movie manages to tell the original story within its time span. Of course, there are issues with condensing the plot in such a short time. The biggest thing hit by this plot compression is the character of Nanoha. In the original, a big part of Nanoha's character was her desire to find something to do with her life. She was, at first, hesitant to collect the Jewel Seeds, and her character development stems from the realization of the weight of the responsibility she took. In the process of compressing the movie, this aspect of Nanoha's character is downplayed, and as a result, Nanoha lost some of her characterization. Much of the character interaction in Nanoha's daily life has also been lost, although it is understandable to trim off the slice-of-life segments to set the more action-oriented tone of the movie.

In exchange, the movie manages to excel in what the original somewhat lacked: effective characterization on the side of Fate, Arf, and her mother. Nanoha: the Movie greatly expands on Precia Testarossa's character and motivations. Precia is no longer simply an abusive mother -- she becomes a tragic figure who wasn't able to move forward with her life. In effect, it highlights the tragedy of Fate's family and makes their characters more effective.

Compression is also not enough in a movie remake; it should also be able to distill all the good parts of the original and concentrate it. Seven Arcs shows their stuff with the updated and more fluid animation: the fight scenes are incredible and breathtaking to watch, and the magic effects are fantastic. Lyrical Nanoha is not your standard magical girl series, in fact, the series can be described as a mecha show masquerading as a magical girl series. This movie manages to excel in distilling all the action and drama, making it fit into a tone more representative of the entire franchise.

While most people would not see this movie as a full substitute to the original, it still manages to highlight the best parts of the series. It is a great remake of the original, and is a must-watch for fans of this series. Nanoha: the Movie is highly enjoyable for all the things it does better than the original, and while it doesn't have the same charm as the original, it's not something that can detract a viewer from enjoying this movie.

I wouldn't call myself a huge fan of the Lyrical Nanoha franchise, but I still found this movie an enjoyable, action-filled ride. Whether you are a huge fan of the Lyrical Nanoha franchise or a casual viewer, your two hours will not be wasted in watching this movie. Expect much of what the Lyrical Nanoha franchise is known for: action and drama on the levels of a mecha series, and massive property damage resulting from the power of friendship.