Quick Impressions for Spring 2015 (First Quarter)

Now that the season has entered its quarterly mark, and all the 3-episode rules have been fulfilled, its time to check back to see what I'm keeping and what I'm dropping, as well as my Top 5 picks for the season.

DROPPED

Kyoukai no RINNE

Kekkai Sensen


ON-THE-FENCE (OTF)

Plastic Memories
Episodes Watched: 4
Verdict: OTF
For a series with quite an intriguing premise, I must confess that I am pretty disappointed the way this has turned out. The episodes aren't bad per se, but frankly uninspired and cliched. The characters all fall into established archetypes and their depth is non-existent. Aside from a few character-driven moments, the rest was all filled with filler which did nothing at all to flesh out the characters. Worse still, emotional moments were completely destroyed by what-was-supposed-to-be-funny-but-wasn't moments that took out every ounce of emotional intensity the scene should have employed. To be fair, this show does have its moments, but completely redundant scenes and poor direction have left me with a poor taste in my mouth. If it wants to warrant my attention, it had better step up its game soon.
  

WATCHING

Dungeon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatte Iru Darouka
Episodes Watched: 4
Verdict: WATCHING
It has all been done before - the harem hijinks, the cliches and the main character, and yet I'm still watching this show. Sure, its nothing special, but with decent animation coupled with a standard cliche plot, it manages to mildly entertain me - and as far as I'm concerned, if an anime can entertain, it has already done it job well. 




Owari no Seraph
Episodes Watched: 4
Verdict: WATCHING

In a drastic change from its stellar premiere, Owari no Seraph has now denigrated to be a high-school rom-com reminiscent of Ao no Exorcist. I'm not buying the idea that a high school is a necessary part of the story's progression. And even if it is, its not showing any evidence of that. That said, I'm still quite intrigued by this show, from the setting to its characters. With the vampire's queen's (spoiler) declaration of war with the humans, things are bound to get interesting.




Arslan Senki
Episodes Watched: 4
Verdict: WATCHING
Arslan Senki has yet to let me down with its run of great episodes, but I fear that this is merely only the preamble. The story has yet to even take off, and I fear that the two-cour series run-time will be insufficient to cover the sheer scale of the series. But for the mean time,  I'll gladly accept whatever we're given. Arslan Senki is filled with characters with a lot of depth, and a strong protagonist that subverts the typcial shounen protagonist. Arslan is physically weak, introverted and uncharismatic, but he has an iron core of steel, understands the hearts of his people and probes into the issues that really matters. As his entourage grows, I'm excited to see the possibilities that lie ahead.


Hibike! Euphonium
Episodes Watched: 3
Verdict: WATCHING

Despite its similarities with K-ON!, Sound! Euphonium is definitely not the same anime about cute-girls-doing-cute-things. Euphonium, unfortunately, isn't on the same level of Hyouka - even if their visuals are almost as impressive as Hyouka's - but it is a step in the right direction. Euphonium is the first KyoAni production in a while that shows promise, and if the latests episodes are anything to go by, it has much potential to be explored. Sound! Euphonium seems to be pushing the right buttons and asking the right questions so far, but only time will tell if their effects will bear fruit. With KyoAni's pedigree, it should end up pretty well.  


Ore Monogatari!!
Episodes Watched: 3
Verdict: WATCHING

A cute love story. Well... the confession has already gone through. Cue the ending theme...
Wait. It's two cours? There's another 21 episodes...?
I'm a bit surprised that the OTP has already confessed and are already a couple within the first three episodes. I know there's no sense in delaying the inevitable, but the progression seemed way too fast. Exactly what are they going to do for the next twenty-over episodes?
Whatever we are given though, is really good. The story progression, while fast, was well-paced and well-directed. Aesthetically wise, the art couldn't be handled better. Although I'm a bit perplexed at what they will do for the rest of run, this anime should do well.


Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches
Episodes Watched: 3
Verdict: WATCHING

An anime I left out at the earlier Impressions, Yamada is a adaptation of a popular manga of the same name. Although I have not read the manga, Yamada seems to be a pretty fun anime. I like the art style and the story progression and I hope it continues its good run. This looks like our resident rom-com for the season, and a pretty good one, too!


DEFINITELY WATCHING

Yahari Ore no Seishun Rabukome wa Machigatteiru. Zoku
Episodes Watched: 4
Verdict: DEF. WATCHING

As this series continues, it is quite evident that this show is an entirely different animal that the first. The same formula that made the first popular is still there, but now the show goes off on a different tangent and explores the psyche of the characters - especially Hachiman and his self-sacrificial pedagogy. The characters of OreGairu often peruses a lot of depth, and we need all the character development we can get. A definite keeper in my book.   

Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha ViVid
Episodes Watched: 4
Verdict: DEF. WATCHING

If you are not a fan of the first three seasons of Nanoha, then certainly your mileage may vary. As a mahou shoujo show, there is the same mahou shoujo antics that are geared towards younger audiences (well, this IS a shoujo show). For those who are already fans of the original series, it is fun to see the parallels between the relationships between Nanoha and Fate and their circle of friends with the relationship of Vivio and Einhart and their circle of friends. Its slowly building up the characters, but the plot is bound to move forward soon.


Fate/Stay Night [Unlimited Blade Works]
Episodes Watched; 4
Verdict: DEF. WATCHING
If its not apparent by now, I am a HUGE fan of the Fate franchise, so I'm likely to be quite biased at its offerings. Luckily, UBW has done very little to warrant criticism, and instead has been rather praise-worthy indeed. Admittedly, it still seems to leave first-time viewers out of the loop, but a couple of looks at my primers should tell you all that you need to know (please leave a comment on them if you have any questions). This is certainly the best anime of the season, so if you're not watching this you're missing out. BIG TIME.


Shokugeki no Souma
Episodes Watched: 4
Verdict: DEF. WATCHING

There is hardly another anime this season which is as shamelessly explicit as Shokugeki no Souma, but that is probably one of the series' charms. Shokugeki no Souma's fanservice has not lessened in the slightest, but at least it has become slightly more palatable. The standard shounen elements are here, and all the ingredients to an excellent anime are in place, so let the cooking begin. This is one of my favourites this season, and I'm definitely going to keep up with this.


Baby Steps
Episodes Watched: 4
Verdict: DEF. WATCHING

The most faithful adaptation of a sports anime in recent times continues to steamroll the competition with sheer faithfulness. Studio Pierrot has made a wise decision in choosing to stick with the manga as close as possible and look at what it has produced - one of the best sports anime this season. Granted, it is not the typical shounen sports show with special powers and secret tactics, but watching a regular guy slowly levelling up has its appeals too.

....And without further ado, the Top 5:

TOP 5 (New Series)	TOP 5 (Overall)
1. Shokugeki no Souma	1. Fate/Stay Night UBW
2. Owari no Seraph	2. Baby Steps 2
3. Ore Monogatari	3. Yahari Ore no Seishun Rabukome wa Machigatteiru. Zoku
4. Arslan Senki	4. Shokugeki no Souma
5. Hibike! Euphonium	5. Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha ViVid

Why are there two Top 5 lists? I try not to put sequels and split-cour series on the same scale as new series because they may be riding on the glory of their predecessor, and I want to judge each series based on its individual merits. As new series do not have this restriction, they qualify for both lists.

  

Randomness Of Kazane

World Of Tanks

By Kazane



After watching and uploading my post on GUP (Girls Und Panzer), I found myself intrigued by the tanks of the 20th century again and decided to go give WOT a try again. As you might have guessed, I was a player on WOT (World of Tanks) for a short while before I quit about 3 years ago. The experience I got from it wasn't great. Just like any other player, I started with light tanks and then proceed to medium tanks whereby I was then given a split path and chose to be a artillery player.

American M37 Arty

The artillery class (henceforth arty) is the class with the biggest calibre bullets and firepower and hides behind allies while taking pot shots at the enemies. Its was the conclusion I came to after being shredded to pieces by higher tier tanks while playing as a light or medium tank. I wasn't a great player and didn't know about tactics such as sidescrapping but with the ridiculous match making of the past, tier 4-5 could meet tier 10 tanks where they would completely dominate you regardless of whatever tactics you used or how supreme you are as a player. Your armour was as good as paper as armour could not bounce a shell if its diameter is 3 times than the thickness of the armour.

 

After a while of experimenting, I realised that while its good to stay behind your allies and use a gun that pack the biggest punch in your own tier, you are very vulnerable to basically anything that challenge you to a direct brawl. Thus if  your whole team died or even if a tiny light tank managed to reach you, YOU ARE TOAST.

The next step is very logical for me. A transition to the heavy tanks and I chose the Soviet line as there was only two choices during that time, the Soviet or German. In the past, there wasn't French, Chinese, British or Japanese tanks unlike now.

Maus (Heaviest tank in history - 188 tons & 20km/h)

As I progress down the soviet KV line I got the armour I wanted but with the ridiculous lack of speed, I was dying a slow yet excruciating painful death. Literally gut wrenching. As of this post, I am currently at KV-4 and doing a slow grind for ST-I .....   (─‿‿─)  

Now I feel the pain for Maus drivers.........



KV-4 (The 107 tons behemoth & 30km/h)

Even after enough research points to unlock the ST-I, 200K more research points is needed to cure the infamous stock syndrome....

So near yet so far.... 

 

ST-I (61 tons & 40km/h)

 

Anyone that want to help me through tips and stuffs can leave a comment below.

BTW, who do u think is gong to be the winner for the grand final 2015??

Please excuse me, I am off to watch the live stream now.

             Much Appreciated.

             Your Sincerely, Kazane

A Primer to Fate/Stay Night [Unlimited Blade Works] Part II: THE HOLY GRAIL WAR

Welcome to Part II of the Primer to F/SN [UBW] series, where I attempt to explain the F/SN series to the best of my abilities. This time, we shall look at the main plot - the Holy Grail War.

Part I: INTRODUCTION can be read here.

NOTE: The following is based on the events of Fate/Stay Night [Unlimited Blade Works] only.

SPOILERS ABOUND. IF YOU INTEND TO WATCH THE SERIES, AND HAVE NOT WATCHED THE LATEST EPISODE. DO NOT CONTINUE OR RISK SPOILING YOURSELF.
Likewise, insofar as the anime has revealed, I will not be spoiling any further than the anime.

BACKGROUND
The Holy Grail was actually a magical device created with the cooperation of three then-prominent magical families - the Einzberns, the Tohsakas and the Makiri (now called Matou) - in an attempt to reach the pinnacle of magic, called the Root.

However, the experiment was a failure but resulted in a device that contained an immense amount of magical energy, sufficient to grant any wish. Thus, it became known as a omnipotent wish-making device, and every sixty years, seven mages known as Masters vie for the Holy Grail, each using Heroic Spirits, Servants summoned from the Holy Grail.

MASTERS AND COMMAND SEALS

The Holy Grail selects seven magi to be Masters and allows them to summon one of the seven classes of Servants (see below). Each Master will receive three command seals/spells on their hand, which are basically highly condensed form of magical energy. Command Seals can be used to force complete obedience of a Servant. Although generally a Servant usually follows his/her Master's orders, Servants have their individual personality and may not follow all orders without question. Command Seals may also be used with the Servant's cooperation to achieve feats ordinarily not possible such as teleporting a Servant to a distant location, or to travel large distances in mere seconds. Command Seals are limited to three uses, and upon using them all, the Master will not longer have control of the Servant and are no longer Masters. Hence, Command Seals are advised to be used sparingly, and only when completely necessary,

Emiya Shirou: Emiya Shirou is the original Master of Saber, until Caster severed his bond with Saber and took Saber as her own Servant. Emiya is known to be highly idealistic, and self-sacrificial in his attempt to become a 'hero of justice'. Emiya is known to be a very weak magus, and his only abilities shown so far is strengthening and projection magic.

Tohsaka Rin: The original Master of Archer, until he betrayed her to join Caster. Despite having not completed her magus training, Tohsaka Rin is a extremely powerful magus in her own right. She specialises in her family's unique brand of Magic, crystal magic, whereby crystals storing magical energy is activated. She is also highly proficient in Martial Arts, and uses magic to augment her physical abilities whenever she needs to use it.

Matou Shinji: The Master of Rider until she was defeated by Caster. He now controls another Servant, Gilgamesh. Shinji is not a magus as his family's magic bloodline has died out.

Ilya von Einzbern: The Master of Berserker. Ilya is not a human, but a homunculus created for the main purpose of winning the Holy Grail War. She is the greatest homunculus created by the Einzbern, and is an extremely powerful magus, owning to the lion's share of her body being occupied by magic circuits.

Souichirou Kuzuki: Kuzuki is not a real Master chosen by the Holy Grail, but acts as Caster's Master after she killed her own Master with her Noble Phantasm. Despite being an ordinary human, he is incredibly skilled in Martial Arts, with abilities on par with a Servant.

Caster: Caster is the Master of Assassin.

SERVANTS 

Servants are of seven classes, each with their respective strengths and weaknesses.

Saber: One of the three Knight Classes. Considered to be the strongest class of the servants, with high parameters in every attribute. They are usually melee attackers excelling in close combat. Sabers possesses a extremely potent Magic Resistance and a reasonably high-rank Riding skill, which enables the Servant to ride any vehicle.
Saber's true identity is Arturia or King Arthur. Her legend can be read here.

Archer: One of the three Knight Classes. They excel in ranged combat with the use of projectile weapons (not necessarily a bow). Archers have relatively high Magic Resistance as well as a high-ranking Independent Action ability, which enables Archers to act independently without active mana supply from their Master for a period of time. Usually possesses extremely powerful Noble Phantasms (see below).
Archer's true identity is Emiya Shirou, embodying his true ideal in the future

Lancer: One of the three Knight Classes, As the name suggests, Lancer is a master of long-range melee weapons such as spears or lances. Lancer possesses high parameters in most attributes, especially agility, and is only second to Saber. Lancer also possesses high Magic Resistance.
In the fifth Holy Grail War, Rider's true identity is Cu Chulainn. His legend can be read here.

Berserker: Possesses the ability Mad Enhancement, which greatly increases the Servant's parameters in all attributes. Usually focuses on melee attacks, using only brute force and overwhelming power, being incapable of rational thought. Other abilities of the Servant may be lost in favour of its ability,
In the fifth Holy Grail War, Berserker's true identity is Heracles. His legend can be read here.

Rider: One of the weaker classes in terms of pure attribute, but usually have powerful Noble Phantasms. Rider possesses Magic Resistance ability and the highest possible rank in Riding, allowing them to utilise the full potential of their mounts.
In the fifth Holy Grail War, Rider's true identity is Medusa. Her legend can be read here.

Assassin: Probably the weakest class in combat, with the exception being Sasaki Koujirou, being summoned by another Servant. Specialises in covert and stealth operations, which makes it suitable for killing Masters. Possesses the Presence Concealment ability, allowing it to remain undetected unless seen in a clear line of sight,
In the fifth Holy Grail War, Assassin true identity is a fictional (not usually possible, and of course in game context) legendary swordsman named Sasaki Kojirou. As he is not a 'true' heroic spirit, he does not have a legend. Basically, he spent his entire life learning to kill a sparrow until he mastered a skill comparable to a 'true' Noble Phantasm (see below).

Caster: Specialises in magecraft and high-level sorceries. Thought to be the weakest of all seven classes due to many classes having Magic Resistance. They possess the ability Territory Creation, which allows them to create areas beneficial to them and Item Construction, allowing them to craft powerful magic items or tools.
In the fifth Holy Grail War, Caster's true identity is Medea, Princess of Colchis. Her legend can be read here.

Gilgamesh: The Eight Servant that appeared in the fifth Holy Grail War that wasn't supposed to exist. Gilgamesh possesses the Gate of Babylon Noble Phantasm, with his treasury containing all the original Noble Phantasms in weapon form. Hence, he is able to use whatever Noble Phantasms the opponent is weak against. Gilgamesh's true and most powerful Noble Phantasm is Ea, the ultimate Noble Phantasm, which even Shirou cannot analyse.

NOBLE PHANTASMS

The ultimate weapon of the Servants, and their trump card. Noble Phantasms personify the Heroic Spirits, and the use of them will allow anyone who sees it to know the Servant's true name, and hence their weaknesses. Noble Phantasms comes in different forms and can be physical weapons, abstract concepts or other unique abilities. Noble Phantasms are extremely powerful and are used mostly as a last resort, or as a means to end a battle. Since the use of a Noble Phantasm requires a lot of mana and reveals the Servant's weaknesses, Noble Phantasms are usually used sparingly and only when absolutely necessary. Every Servant may have more than one Noble Phantasm.

Saber: Saber's has a Noble Phantasm called Invisible Air, which allows Saber to conceal her weapon as well as release it to form a defensive barrier. She can also deploy it to temporarily increase her speed or even improve the functionality of vehicles.
Saber's true Noble Phantasm is Excalibur, the name of her Holy Sword. It is an anti-fortress noble phantasm capable of destroying the Holy Grail in one strike. Excalibur is considered to be among the greatest of Noble Phantasms due to its sheer power and relatively short casting time.

Saber also has a lost Noble Phantasm called Avalon, the sheath of Excalibur. It has the ability to transport the user into Avalon, a world completely removed from the real world, a place that even the True Magics cannot reach. It is without a doubt Saber's greatest Noble Phantasm, although she can only use it with Shirou's projection.

Archer: Archer's Noble Phantasm is revealed to be Unlimited Blade Works in episode 19. Unlimited Blade Works is a reality marble which contains an immeasurable number of swords that Archer has reproduced due to his ability to instantly recognise the structure and copy any weapon whose original he has seen, along with all the combat ability and strength associated with it. He is also able to project multiple swords as projectiles and fire them at the enemy, making it a perfect counter to Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon.

Lancer: Lancer's Noble Phantasm is Gae Bolg, a red spear. Gae Bolg can theoretically never miss and will always strike its target's heart as it has the power to reverse cause-and-effect - the spear has already pierced the target's heart even before the spear is thrust. However, Servants with good instincts such as Saber has been able to avoid it through sheer luck. It can also be thrown as an anti-army Noble Phantasm.

Berserker: Berserker's Noble Phantasm is Twelve Labors of Heracles. He will instantly return back to life if he dies unless he is killed twelve times. Heracles is unable to use his true Noble Phantasm, Nine Lives because of his skill Madness Enhancement, which increases his stats but causes Madness.

Rider: Rider perished too early before her Noble Phantasm was shown.

Assassin: Assassin does not actually possess a Noble Phantasm as he is a Servant summoned by a another Servant, but he possesses a skill that is comparable to a Noble Phantasm - Tsubame Gaeshi. With Assassins long blade, he executes three simultaneous strikes that is impossible to avoid or defend against, albeit with special techniques.

Caster: Caster's Noble Phantasm is Rule Breaker, a jagged dagger capable of severing any and all rules, bonds and connections. Her Noble Phantasm is what allows her to sever her bond with her previous Master, summon her own servant, and steal other Master's Servants.

...And that's it.

By now you should know a lot more of the characters in this show, and hopefully you have also gleaned a lot of useful information from this post. Please post any questions you have in the comments. Next time, we shall move more in-depth and I shall explain certain story events as well as some frequently asked questions. Till next time!

A Primer to Fate/Stay Night [Unlimited Blade Works] Part I: INTRODUCTION

Fate/Stay Night has legions of fans, and it has a voluminous range of products, starting from the quintessential original visual novel, to its sequel Hollow Ataraxia and to its numerous game manifestations. It has also spawned two anime adaptations, and two movie adaptations.

Rightly so, because even if as the Fate universe is so infuriatingly complex and multi-faceted, it is also one of the most powerfully imaginative setting that has ever been conceived. Some might even call it convoluted, but one cannot deny the sheer scale of its conflicts and how epic the entire story is. So epic, in fact that the anime cannot correctly portray it well enough.

And that brings us to the crux of this post. We shall disregard the first two adaptations of the series, namely the Studio DEEN's adaptation of Fate/Stay Night and the movie adaptation of Unlimited Blade Works, made by the same studios, because both were utter failures and a complete fiasco, desecrating the name of this peerless visual novel.

Thankfully, the ufotable adaptation of the ongoing Unlimited Blade Works is definitely a huge step-up from the Studio DEEN's monstrosity of an anime, but unfortunately it is not without its flaws, and this is what this post is intended to address.

For the uninitiated, some background of the Fate Universe and its origins are necessary. Firstly, one must understand that the original Fate/Stay Night visual novel is not one story, but essentially three different stories, with three completely different route directions. The three routes - Fate, Unlimited Blade Works and Heaven's Feel - are all heavily inter-linked and must be played in succession, as many plot details are revealed in the preceding route that are essential in the next. Therein lies the problem with ufotable's adaptation of the Unlimited Blade Works route.

Since Unlimited Blade Works is the second route of the story, it already assumes that you have completed the Fate route, where most of the world-building and mechanics of the Holy Grail War and the Fate universe has been established. ufotable is marketing the show to be available to first-time viewers of Fate, or those who have already watched the prequel Fate/Zero (made by the same studio), but they are already limited by the fact that most first-time viewers will have no idea what is going on, as they have no prior knowledge of the Fate universe. To its credit, ufotable tried to explain most of the mechanics of the Holy Grail War with its two double-length first two episodes, but the sheer complexity of the universe made it such that many details were omitted, even if they have heavy plot significance. Therefore, many of first-time viewers are undoubtedly overwhelmed with some of the details, and reduced to simply enjoying the flashing lights, which thanks to ufotable 'Unlimited Budget Works' credit, is still supremely enjoyable to see.

But then, should ufotable instead adapt Fate, the first route instead? Well, Studio DEEN knew that first-time viewers would not know much of it, and tried the aforementioned. However, they wanted to include some of the awesome events present in only Unlimited Blade Works and Heaven's Feel, but botched the entire anime and ruined it. To be fair, the Fate route is undeniably the weakest route in the entire visual novel because it is a 'introductory route', and deals with a lot of mundane details, especially Shirou's pathetic idealism. The Unlimited Blade Works route is widely known to be one of the better routes of Fate, or perhaps even the best route, and I support ufotable for focusing on this route rather than adapting the frankly banal Fate route.

But that still leaves another problem - why should first-time viewers miss out on the incredible plot that can hardly be matched? One should always have the option to have their cake and eat it too.
For first-timers who want to enjoy this anime to the fullest, I strongly encourage you to pick up the visual novel and at least read the first route, and then watch through this anime. An alternative would be to watch the Studio DEEN's adaptation of Fate/Stay Night. For all its faults, it managed to explain most of the details of the Holy Grail War and the mechanics of the Fate universe (while also establishing the infamous F/SN meme 'People die when they are killed."). The route also branches off pretty early, so you won't really see much repetition.

But for those who cannot spend the time to play through a 15-hour route or watch a 24-episode anime series, over the next few weeks, I will be releasing a couple of posts to explain to you the mechanics of the Holy Grail War.

BE WARNED: It is almost impossible to discuss Fate/Stay Night without revealing some plot details. However, I will try to keep the spoilers to the absolute minimum, and fade out explicit spoilers.

P.S. DO NOT READ THE WIKIA PAGE to find out more about the Fate universe. You will spoil yourself the experience and regret it for the rest of your anime viewing life.

Introduction to Visual Novels

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