Anime Column] Midterm Review of Winter 2015 Anime by Anime Writers

The winter anime season is in the midst of its climax as the new year begins. Especially, the one-cour anime has already crossed the turnaround point, so there are many expectations for them. This time, among the winter 2015 anime, anime writers have picked out 5 anime that they are paying attention to. Let's take a look back at what has happened so far and prepare for what is to come!

THE IDOLM@STER CINDERELLA GIRLS
In contrast to "THE iDOLM@STER" where 765 Productions was based in a small building, 346 Productions, to which the idols in this work belong, is a very large entertainment agency. As the name "Bijou (346)" suggests, the company's castle-like building is fully equipped with a filming studio. There is even a sauna and an esthetic salon, not to mention a café, and even a stuffed monster walks around the premises. It is a luxurious and gorgeous place, reminiscent of a movie company in the days of studios, rather than an entertainment agency.

This means that the hiring of new graduates is based on academic background. The quiet producer is in fact a picture-perfect elite. In fact, he seems to be very skilled, as he has successfully commissioned a successful composer. Despite her appearance, which always makes her look suspicious, Shimamura Uzuki's mother is extremely kind to her, which is understandable considering that she is backed by the three highs (high school education, high income, and high height). The fact that she cannot break her polite language also shows the quality of her upbringing. She must have graduated from the University of Tokyo with a degree in French literature.

Given this, it is not surprising that he had trouble with idols in the throes of puberty due to a lack of communication. The fact that Shimamura Uzuki and Honda Mio were the ones who passed the audition earlier than the others is also suggestive. Will the day ever come when the producer understands the feelings of impressionable girls and smiles with them in a photo together? Let's watch her growth.


Bishio High School Chikyu Boei Bouei Club LOVE!
The latest film by Shinji Takamatsu, director of the blockbuster hits "Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Koen Mae Hashutsujo" and "Gintama" is an original work featuring five handsome high school students. The members of the "Earth Defense Club," which is nothing more than a name for a club that does nothing, are unique transforming heroes who punish monsters with a subtle tension that makes it difficult to tell whether they are motivated or not.

Although the story takes place in a boys' high school, it is based on so-called "battle bishojo" anime, and the transformation scenes and special moves are bursting with cute actions that rival those of the original. In addition to the battle scenes, the five girls' goofy talk in their daily lives is also hilarious. Extreme gags, which sometimes include mosaics and beeps, are still present in this film. During the credits, the well-known "Gintama" pillar commentary appears, giving us trivia about the work and other small details. Perhaps because the characters are named after hot springs, each episode includes a bathhouse scene rather than a battle scene, and the many naked scenes are not to be overlooked. Not only do no female characters appear in the series at all, but even female voice actors are not used, which is a refreshing change.


How to Raise a Saerenai Kanojo" (How to Raise a Saerenai Kanojo)
The protagonist is a young lady whose father is a British diplomat and has tsundere blond twin-tail hair, who is active as an 18 banned doujinshi author, a yandere with straight black hair who is the most talented girl in her grade and a popular novelist with a total of 500,000 copies sold, and an overestimated admirer of otaku culture. This may seem like a parade of template characters, but of course, this is probably intentional.

One day, the protagonist, Rinya Aki, has a fateful encounter with a beautiful girl with little presence, Megumi Kato, and decides to create a gal game with her as the main heroine. Rinya tells the plain Megumi that her "character is dead" and works hard to develop her into a moe heroine. However, to those of us who are used to watching anime, Rinya and his friends seem rather "dead" to us. The otaku educate Megumi by making her play gal games and speak tsundere lines, as if she were a zombie eating a living person.

However, through Megumi, Rinya gradually realizes what was missing in the creation of galgee, and Megumi begins to show a new side of herself as she interacts with them. This warm interaction between two and three dimensions brings the characters to life. As the heroines breathe in the opening animation, we can expect to see the characters vividly expressed.


Pure and innocent Maria" (Junketsu no Maria)
An anime adaptation of the popular comic by Masayuki Ishikawa, known for such masterpieces as "Moyashimon," directed by Goro Taniguchi of "Infinite Leviathan" and "Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion. While it is a fantasy work featuring Maria, a witch who hates war, its main feature is that it is set in medieval Europe during the Anglo-French Hundred Years War. The world of the work is supported by a detailed historical background, including the use of longbows by the British army and crossbows by the French army. On the other hand, the monsters summoned by Maria to stop the war are different each time, including dragons, serpents, mélusines, and many others. Maria is a top-notch witch, but she is also a witch of the highest caliber.

Maria is a top-notch witch, but she is quite reserved when it comes to men. She has created an incubus, but her important parts become vague, and other comical scenes are also included. Her behavior catches the attention of the archangel Michael, who forbids her to intervene in the war, and the story unfolds. The story is not a simple one, as it features some motifs typical of director Taniguchi, such as Mikael's absolute power and an original character who makes war his living.


Uwabaki Kook
A series of short animations in which Cook, a left-footed creature, searches for his right-footed brother, Kakku, who has become separated from him. It is a road movie in which Cook meets and grows up with various characters on his journey. Despite the seemingly kid-friendly visuals, the story is surprisingly serious. Cook is deceived by other characters, stung by a large number of bees, and negatively concerned that his older brother may have been disposed of as burnable trash, among other challenges.

In the main story, there are three quiz questions each time, but some of them do not have correct answers or even do not tell you the answers, which spices up the slightly surreal development of the story. The film also features a cast of popular voice actors, including Misaki Hisano as Cook, Kazuyuki Okitsu as Kakku, and Tomokazu Sugita as Empty Can. The film is directed and written by Seishi Nishida, who worked on the series composition for "TIGER & BUNNY. He also narrates the film, using his former career as a comedian to support Cook's journey with his emotionally tender voice.

(Text by Katsunori Takahashi)