Kantai Collection

aka KanColle

Number of Episodes: 12 + Movie (KanColle: the Movie)

What Wikipedia says: In a world where humanity faces the threat of the abyssal fleet which has taken over the seas, special human girls who don weaponized outfits and possess the spirit of historical naval vessels known as kanmusu (艦娘, literally "fleet girls" or "ship girls") are the only ones capable of countering them. The kanmusu live together at a naval base, where they spend their everyday lives as they begin training for battle.

The series features the destroyer Fubuki as the main character, with the storyline based on her point of view. Fubuki arrives at the naval base, where she meets other girls that she will eventually fight alongside. Despite lacking adequate combat training, she is recommended into the Third Torpedo Squadron by the admiral, and quickly finds herself sortied into battle. Upon being rescued by Akagi in a dangerous situation, Fubuki strives to do her best in order to train, with the hopes of eventually being able to fight alongside Akagi.  

What KoanMan says: It took some time for this to gel with KoanMan. The concept of girls skating around on water and firing guns strapped on detracted somewhat from KoanMan’s enjoyment. It is a key element of the story, that the girls are warships, and some will love it. One found the mysterious “Abyssals” intriguing, and somehow the concept worked better with them. The plot is predictable, but moves well without feeling too slow, nor rushed.

The action moved well, with good animation and some epic tropical scenery that helped the story along, blending well with steady character development and the maritime setting. Director Keizou Kusakawa does an adequate job following the trials and tribulations of the special destroyer Fubuki and the other girls.

Interestingly, theme music was left to producer WEST GROUND (an alias of Flying Dog music producer Makoto Nishibe).

So How Does it End? (Spoiler free): The movie is both darker and a little more confusing than the series, and while probably less satisfying as a result, it really does try to make make sense of the ridiculous world that is KanColle, and resolve the major plot lines. [tTPO]

Overall Grade: Some risks were taken to make this, and it became more engaging as it moved through the episodes. Overall KoanMan gives this a B.

What tTPO says: Another entry in the anime genre of "she's a girl, but she's also a..." (gun? plan? ship? superweapon?) this managed to connect with tTPO, and encouraged me to go and look up how actual history played out in WWII (compared with the reimagined version in this anime). Unlike some reviewers who took exception to the revisionist history tTPO didn't find this disturbing, because, you know, it's an anime, with girls in short skirts, not a documentary on the History channel. The cast of thousands were largely one dimensional, and it's no future classic, but it was well paced, well drawn, has a a few platonic yuri tones, and me and Mrs tTPO enjoyed it. B.

Saikano, The Last Love Song on this Little Planet

aka Saishuu Heiki Kanojo (translated into English as Ultimate Weapon Girlfriend)

Number of Episodes: 13

What Wikipedia Anime News Network says: Shuji and Chise are two Hokkaido high school students barely starting a relationship with each other. Then, with no warning, a squadron of bombers from an unknown country destroy the city of Sapporo. All hope is lost when suddenly, the bombers are destroyed by a small red light floating across the sky. At this point, Shuji finds out that the one responsible for eliminating the enemy forces is Chise, who reveals herself as a cyborg engineered for mass-destruction. 

What KoanMan says: This sounds like it would be great. It sounds like it would be packed with action. It sounds like a schoolboy's wet dream…

However… it is “sorry”, “dummy”, “idiot”, a little bleak, and more “sorry”. Much more “sorry”.

The take-home message: don’t judge a book by its cover. The feel of this series is dominated by the story-line, which meanders through the relationship of the main protagonists, high-schoolers Chise and Shuuji. Plenty is left out, and much is assumed as the plot plods along at a dreary pace. Brief glimpses of excitement are thwarted as the story is dragged back to its original pace, and yet it somehow flows steadily and consistently - just don’t expect to be thrilled by director Mitsuko Kase's anime rendition of Shin Takahashi’s manga.

The basic animation smacks of low budget, and possibly indicates a lack of artistic interest on the part of the production team (lead by Naoko Takahashi), although the artistic effects in the opening and closing credits were uncharacteristically well done. 

How About the Music? The music generally is average, and the music for the opening and closing were in keeping with the general mood, although those more musically attuned may find the 1/8th flat notes of the singer irritating, but it does add a little more to the disjointed feel generally. Perhaps sound director Keiichirou Miyoshi has achieved the desired audience response? KoanMan is unsure.

So How Does it End? (Spoiler free):  All endings are not created equal and while there won't be a sequel anytime soon, the ending perhaps lacks a little clarity. Reading the last chapter or two of the manga explains things a little more fully and is recommended. [tTPO]

Overall Grade: If you are after a borderline existential story that does not require adrenaline, then this could meet your needs. Despite the flaws KoanMan kept watching through to the end, indicating a certain something, perhaps the futility… ohhh the futility…

KoanMan rates this a C.

What tTPO says:  tTPO has a soft spot for romantic anime. What I have not said previously is I also have a soft spot for slow moving existential post apocolyptic romantic anime also, and Saikano fits this description. There is little to enjoy here as the glacial car crash that is this anime grinds to its conclusion, and yet like any car crash, I found it difficult to look away. The basic artwork (it was 2002 when it was produced) and muted colours that annoyed KoanMan I thought appropriate for this often emotionally cold production. 

Needless to say I rate it a bit higher than KoanMan, though Mrs tTPO would agree with him. I considered the possibilty I was wrong. Not possible though, is it? Grade B-.

Sora no Woto

aka Sound of the Sky

Number of Episodes: 12 + 2 OVAs

What Wikipedia says: "Sound of the Sky revolves around a young girl named Kanata Sorami who is inspired to join the military after witnessing a rendition of "Amazing Grace" by a mysterious trumpeter of the Helvetian Army. Becoming a bugler, she is assigned to the 1121st Platoon stationed in the town of Seize in Helvetia, where she is taken into the care of 2nd Lt. Filicia Heideman, M/Sgt. Rio Kazumiya and the rest of the 1121st Platoon. The story takes place in a post-apocalyptic world after a great war regressed humanity's technological capabilities back to early-to-mid 20th century standards."

KoanMan says:  KoanMan thoroughly enjoyed this short and sweet series. The characters are well developed, and interact well, with well defined personalities and the right amount of cohesion and abrasion between those characters, while they are all still "comrades".

The plot is at once simple, and complex, with a depth to the storyline and the world in which they live that echoes well beyond the last episode. One wanted more, and certainly there is plenty of room in this new world for another series.

How About the Music? The music is simply great. The production team did very well integrating an esoteric suite of music that must have involved a very broad musical knowledge, or extensive research at the very least. Superb.

So How Does it End? (Spoiler free): Very satisfactorily. If in a slight rush.

Overall Grade: KoanMan rates this an A.

Addendum (by tTPO): This series felt more like a long movie than it did a series. The production values were outstanding, the detail of the city stunning, (as KoanMan said) the music, which is fundamental to the series, is outstanding, and the backstory of the world at once both epic and also unknowable. As with the characters the details of how the world got to be as it is now have been lost and as viewers we can only guess these details that are hinted at. In some series this would be frustrating but in Sora no Woto not so much, even with musicians inexplicably taking over as the mainstay of military communicaton (over say flags, or lights, or any other more efficient means of communication that may not get drowned out by the sound of war). It just doesn't matter because thats just how it is. Overall, the series is to a large extent a slice of life series which acquires a plot towards the end. Some may complain it all happens a bit fast but its all there and the OVAs return the series to its somewhat more innocent roots. Amazing Grace has never sounded so simple nor so good. Grade A.

Attack on Titan Seasons 1&2

aka Shingeki no Kyojin

Number of Episodes: 25 + 9 shorts + 3 OVAs + 13

What Wikipedia says: "Attack on Titan is a 2013 anime series based on the manga by Hajime Isayama serialized in Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine. It is set in a world where humanity lives inside cities surrounded by enormous walls due to the Titans, gigantic humanoid creatures who devour humans seemingly without reason. The story centers around Eren Jaeger, his adopted sister Mikasa, and their friend Armin, whose lives are changed forever after a large Titan breaches the wall of their home town. Vowing revenge and to reclaim the world from the Titans, Eren and his friends join the Scout Regiment, an elite group of soldiers who fight Titans at the front lines."

KoanMan says (spoiler free):  Strap yourself in and hit the GO button! This is a great ride, not unlike being in the surf... in a hurricane! The action hits you like a giant wave, then a brief lull before the next wave hits you. The action is fast and furious for the first half of the series, with a change of style at about mid-way which almost seemed like a change of director, including changes to the opening and closing credits. Thankfully this quiet period ends quickly and gets back to the good stuff to finish off the series in spectacular style. The opening credits of the first 12 episodes is a visual feast, with some disturbing images in a frenetic montage which sets the scene well.

There are a lot of characters that appear in this series, only to disappear again to feed the tremendous body count. This one is NOT for the kiddies, but would probably be of great interest to anatomy students. The central character, Eren, is a driven individual, well supported by his childhood friend, the intelligent Armin, and adoptive sister, the more than capable Mikasa. Their interactions with each other, and with an interesting take on a post-apocalyptic scenario, make this a thoroughly enjoyable series. Plot is light on in the early episodes but you don't really have time to notice, and the character development is equally superficial, though plot and character growth does build nicely toward the end.

How About the Music? tTPO here as KoanMan was so excited by the phenomenal level of action he forgot about this. But he shouldn't have. The opening (power metal) themes by Linked Horizon are light years away from the usual J-fluff and capture the epic nature of the series perfectly. Just sit back and enjoy. 

OP1: "Feuerroter Pfeil und Bogen" ("Crimson Bow and Arrow")
OP2: "Die Flügel der Freiheit" ("The Wings of Freedom")

Overall Grade: KoanMan enjoyed is thoroughly and is eagerly awaiting Series 2. This gets an A. 

Addendum (by tTPO): This series is brilliant with perhaps its only drawback being then end of the anime is by no means the end of the story (OK, and maybe a few hanging smaller plot threads), though it does make for an appropriate stopping point. There are some unexpectedly brave moves along the way and at no stage do we get complacent about the threat to humanity. The backstory also gets satisfyingly deeper (and some surprising attempts at science) with the progression of the series. Grade A. With bells on.

Season 2 Addendum from KoanMan: After careful consideration, I really have nothing much to add re S2 for AoT. It is still good…. very good….

Season 2 Addendum from tTPO: Amen.

Straight Title Robot Anime

Number of Episodes: 12 (13:30 minute episodes)

What Wikipaedia says:  The story is set in the year Mobile Century 8013 where humans no longer inhabit the planet Earth. However, remaining military robots continue to fight for unknown purpose(s). Three non-combatant robots, Fuji, Kato, and Mori attempt to end the war that lasted for 7 millennia by investigating on human laughter.

KoanMan says: KoanMan is not really sure about this series. It is definitely not an action, not terribly serious, and is not fast-paced. It will not tax the viewer. What it is, seems to be a repetitive documentary on humour/comedy. Despite this, KoanMan actually blitzed this whole series in just 2 sittings, and the small differences between episodes became the feature that kept one watching. How many different scenarios will still lead to the same annihilation of the planet in a continual robot war several thousand years in duration? Well, a lot, as it happens - and perhaps this is the point. The "futility of hostility"...History repeating itself...

The female worker-bee robots, Fujii, Mori and Kato carry the exploration of laughter, with random voice-overs by a particularly dandy male (DELETED - Possible spoiler) narrator (DELETED - Possible spoiler). The characters do develop in interesting ways, a quiet feature of the series that requires some close attention.

How About the Music?: The music is frenetic during the high action opening sequence and the "experiments", and, well, actually that's about it.

Overall Grade: KoanMan has mixed feelings. The series is s-l-o-w. However, the episodes are short, and there are not many of them. For the TPO these are positives, as are the characters themselves and KoanMan found some potential here, and the pinnacle of the series, Episode 11, without which it would have been rated much harder. As it was, it simply slowed right down to a C.

tTPO says:  I took a different view to this series than KoanMan. While at first glance it seems an awful lot like the Endless 8 from Haruhi (though mercifully shorter and more varied) there is steady character development, that by the time the end hits (and it does hit surprisingly hard considering the rest of the series) I cared about the characters. The repititous nature of the episodes I found really quite educational about the nature of comedy and so for me, while the structure of each episde was very similar, the content varied enough to keep me interested. I think to be fair though you could remove about 5 or 6 episodes from the middle of this series and not lose too much.

This is no Attack on Titan but I enjoyed this more than (the apparently heartless) KoanMan. With the short episode format working its favour I give it a B.

Girls and Panzer

aka Girls und Panzer

Number of Episodes: 12 + 2 catch-up episodes + 5 OVAs

What Wikipedia says: "Girls und Panzer...is a 2012 Japanese anime television series created by Actas...Takaaki Suzuki, who has earlier acted as a military history advisor for Strike Witches and Upotte, has revealed that he is involved in the production of the anime...The story takes place in a universe where girls participate in Sensha-dō (lit. "Way of the Tank"), the art of operating tanks, as a traditional martial art. Miho Nishizumi, a girl who has had a bad experience with Sensha-dō, transfers to Ōarai Girl's High School to get away from it. However, soon after joining, the school revives Sensha-dō and Miho, being the only student with any experience in operating a tank, is ordered to take part. Despite being initially reluctant, Miho soon comes to enjoy Sensha-dō again and, joined by her new friends; Saori, Hana, Yukari and Mako, enters a national Sensha-dō championship where they face off against various other schools."

tTPO says: After a few false starts it seems we finally have the definitive schoolgirl x miliary anime. Reading the blurb you could be fooled into thinking this is just another poor excuse for a show with too much gratuitous fan service and not enough of anything else. What you get is completely the reverse. There is so much this show gets right it is hard to know where to start.

For starters, the technical research by Suzuki-san is impeccable. The variety and scope of tanks that appear in the show is fantastic and for anyone even vaguely interesting in the history of the tank there is much here to see and learn. Certainly for me, as new tanks appeared that I was unfamiliar with I googled them soon after watching the episode to find out their historical role.

Without giving too much away, the show takes place in an alternative history where schooling occurs...differently. It may not necessarily be realistic (neither are the mechanics of tankery, though this is explained a bit more in the catch-up x.5 episodes) but the third OVA expands and how this came about. While a certain amount of willing suspension of disbelief required to watch the show, it is clear that the Girls und Panzer reality has actually been pretty well thought through. Between the accuracy of the hardware and the depth to the setting, there is clearly a lot of love for the series, as well as respect for the audience, from the creators.

Keeping that in mind there is remarkably little fan service in the show and that only adds to the appeal. There just isn't time for those sorts of distractions. The only time we get mild fan service is in OVAs 1 and 2 and this keeps it well away from the main series. But for those that want it then you are catered for as well. The rest of us can just skip over it.

There is a huge cast of characters for a 12 episode series, and to an extent I mentally grouped these into the various tank teams to try and keep up. The most well developed not surprisingly are Miho and her team, and they all get little arcs away from the main story which, considering how quickly this series moves from beginning to end, is just amazing. Even with the lack of development, the non-core characters still remain often memorable, including Saki on the first-year team, who never says a word throughout the series (but ironically has a considerable fan following in Japan). (Edit and spoiler warning: She does say a single line in the last episode.) There really are no annoying characters - there are many many hearts of gold here. K-on!! with tanks anyone?

The pacing of the core-episodes of this show are also near perfect (if you forget about the catch-up episodes which were a result of production running late) with the show moving fast where it needs to advance the plot, and slow when it needs time to breathe.

The plot itself is pretty straightforward (with a couple of reveals along the way) but this is not the focus of the show really - we all know how it will finish but the key is how they get there. The tank action is magnificent with the right amount of tension and each of the tankery battles stand out in their own way. Again, a bit of willing suspension of disbelief is required here but by now this is not an issue - just sit back and enjoy the ride. We did.

How About the Music?: The OP ("Dream Riser" by ChouCho) and ED ("Enter Enter MISSION!" by Fuchigami Mai & Iguchi Yuka & Kayano Ai & Nakagami Ikumi & Ozaki Mami) are just perfect accompaniments to the series and set the tone perfectly. That's all there is to it. 

So How Does it End? (Spoiler Free): As expected. But it's the journey that counts.

Overall Grade: Perfect feel-good action entertainment with enough depth to keep you discussing and thinking about it afterwards. My only gripe is the lack of t-shirts available right now. Grade A from myself and Mrs tTPO. Roll on season 2. (Edit: Looks like we won't be getting a season 2 but will will be getting an OVA - the battle with Anzio - and a full length movie. Would have preferred season 2 but much much better than nothing!)

Koanman's thoughts: Who likes tanks? Come on.... Show of hands please..... Well I do, and for a goodly portion of my juvenile years they held my attention. The tanks really are the feature here, and to see them filled with school girls is a good thing! The attention to detail is superb, with most tanks displaying the quirks and flaws that plagued the original items during the 1930's and 40's. It also features some very rare tanks - for those interested it is a feast (check the girls' favourite tanks). There is even a nice reference to Heinz Guderian - well done.

The plot is a little light-on, and the characters could be developed a lot more, particularly given the large number of them!  I am certainly hoping for another full series, as this one was so full of tank action it left little time for full exploration of the world in which they live and background to their story. It starts way slow, and very girly, but by Ep3 it is really getting good and continues to accelerate through to the end with very little breathing time. The action is a joy to watch. The girls are heartwarming and they love tanks - this is the first military girl anime that gets it right for me. More please.

KoanMan gives this an A. 

(By the way, I love "the angler-fish dance". The first time I saw it, it made no sense at all. After a second go later in the series.... it still made no sense but I just cannot get enough of it. I don't know why I love it, I just do. KM.)

Tactical Roar

Number of episodes: 13

What Wikipedia says: "In the near future, a hypercane has appeared in the Pacific Ocean, causing a series of  worldwide climate changes. This storm, dubbed "Grand Roar" by people, has been stable for over 50 years. Climate  changes make air travel and transport less reliable, and thus the world has begun reverting to a second naval age,  particularly in the Asian region. However, the world's condition also heralds the return of piracy and the growth  of maritime terrorism, causing many large international companies to arm themselves and setting up their own  private naval security forces.

At the outset of the series, Systems Engineer Hyosuke Nagimiya runs into the crew of the Pascal Magi, one such  maritime security ship. He gets into a few typical compromising situations before finally being introduced as a  software engineer assigned to update the systems on-board the ship. He meets his stepsister, the captain of the war  vessel, Captain Misaki Nanaha, who treats him as a stranger. Although he refers to her as 'sister,' he still thinks  of her as a woman nonetheless. During the duration of his duties, the ship is called into combat, where Hyosuke begins to understand the nature of the Pascal Magi and its crew's battle potential as the vessel flings itself into the fight."

What tTPO says: This is an odd show, and I have to admit a slight conflict of interest in that my dad was in the navy so I have a bit more interest and experience in naval military action than the casual viewer. Even if it happens to be set a few years in the future and on a ship staffed almost completely by women, a substantial number of whom happen to be school age. No, really. However, the actual make-up of the bridge crew of the Pascal Magi (the ship our main characters crew) is actually not too far off reality as it is right now, and the naval battles and terminology used again have at least some grounding in reality, all of which pleasantly surprised me. The slightly computerised animation for a lot of the military action actally works pretty well, though the rest of the animation looks just a little dated. The over-reaching plot is a not uninteresting philosophical and political thiller with action elements, but it loses a bit of momentum with individual episodes focusing more on drama between the large cast, and a harem romance between Hyosuke and his step sister (as well as just about everyone else on the Pascal Magi) with occasional bursts of fan service. And if you think this is an odd mix, it's because it is, leaving Tactical Roar the Jack-of-all-trades, but master of none. 

How about the music?: Both the OP (J-rock) and ED (ballad) are easy on the ears but much like the rest of this show are not outstanding. The singing in the ED gets a bit flat occasionally though. WTF?

So how does it end? (Spoiler Free):  Surprisingly cleanly with most loose ends tidied up.

Overall Grade: Grade C (Pleasant enough, but you don't really have time for this). Tactical Roar tries a little hard to be too many things at once, and while not failing, never really excels at any.