Anime Column] Midterm Review of Winter 2016 Anime by Anime Writers

The New Year has begun and it's already February, and the 2016 winter anime season has crossed the turnaround point and is reaching its climax. Here is a mid-term review of winter anime by an anime writer who prioritizes watching anime over filing tax returns.

Sneaker Bunko's otherworldly fantasy "Bless This Wonderful World! the original novel that won the KyoAni Grand Prix Encouragement Award, the media-mix hit "Prince of Stride Alternative," the 13th in the popular series "Magical Pretty Cure! and "Oyaesan-san ga Shikkoujiki!", an anime adaptation of a four-panel comic from "Manga Time". and "Oyaesan-san wa Shounen-ki!

Bless This Wonderful World!

This is an adventure fantasy about Kazuma, who was reincarnated into another world after a car accident, and Aqua, a goddess who was brought to the world by force. The main point is that Kazuma is not a perfect protagonist as is often the case in this genre. Kazuma uses Aqua as bait to solve quests, steal the pants of female characters, and conquer other worlds with his wits and courage, and his devilishness is all the more refreshing.

The daily life of Kazuma, who sleeps in a stable for lack of money and does manual labor to earn his daily bread, is vividly described with a comedic touch. Aqua, who for some reason puts his skills into the art of banqueting to liven up the bar, Dullahan, a chivalrous leader of the demon king's army, and a group of rough adventurers who look scary but are surprisingly kind, make the world a brighter place. This is a work that makes you want to actually experience life in another world.

The Phantom World of Achromaticity

A world where humanity's brain functions have been altered by a massive Resident Evil outbreak, and phantoms, fictional beings such as ghosts and goblins, have become visible. In this school fantasy, high school student Haruhiko Ichijo teams up to fight against the phantoms that harm people. Since the theme is the brain, each episode has a mini-corner in the avant-garde title that comically explains academic knowledge such as psychology, physiology, and philosophy. However, such trivia disappears after viewing the main story, and all that remains in the memory is the breasts of the heroine, Mai Kawagami, which is a wonder of the human brain.

Since the opening animation of "DAICON IV," which is said to be the originator of breast shaking, human beings have been struggling to find a way to make people remember the movement of breasts. It is no exaggeration to say that breast shaking is now a cultural phenomenon. It has been 30 years since then. Thirty years have passed since then, and the first anime to show even cleavage (yes, Kawagami is wearing a sweater!) is "DICON IV". ) without even showing cleavage, and I commend Kyoto Animation for this accomplishment. And the relocation of the Agency for Cultural Affairs to Kyoto was the right thing to do.

Prince of Stride Alternative

This is a school story about high school students who bet their youth on the fictional extreme sport of striding. Stride, in which runners run through the city while jumping over obstacles, is a parkour-like sport that uses a relay format. Runners do not use batons, but rather high-five each other, so mutual trust is of the utmost importance.

The competition takes place in Shinjuku, Kichijoji, and other real-life locations, making it interesting to see familiar landscapes transformed into race venues. Sometimes, the contestants make huge, desperate jumps to make shortcuts. The daring strategies that risk injury are a unique attraction of Stride, where the course is not set in stone. The runners who believe in their friends and the vividly clear blue sky create a refreshing worldview.

Magical Pretty Cure!

The thirteenth in the "Pretty Cure" series is based on the concept of magic. Junior high school student Mirai Asahina meets Riko, who attends a magic school, and transforms into the legendary Magical Pretty Cure! The film incorporates elements reminiscent of a return to the series' roots, such as the two holding hands to become Precure, just as in the first "Futari wa Precure" film. The naming of the train connecting the human and magical worlds as a snail linear is also somewhat nostalgia-driven.

The monster this time is Yokubar, which is created by combining two things. It is a motif that has often been seen since the fourth "Yes! What kind of battle will unfold between Cure Miracle and Cure Magical, who have been given the names of miracle and magic?

Landlords are adolescents!

This short comedy features junior high school student landlord Chie Satonaka, Reiko Shirai, who loves her from her sister's point of view, and Maeda-san, an ordinary office worker who has moved into the apartment. The two-minute film is packed with Chie's cuteness. Her every move is adorable, from her joy and sorrow over a moving gift, to the way she spends her days in her school uniform, to the way her hair moves in sync with her heart.

The speedy dialogue is also a result of the short animation. The sudden scene of the apartment and the pattern of Chie-chan's pajamas in the opening scene make you think that "Oyaasan ga Shikkoujikki! is a work that is related to "Mezon Ikkoku!

(Text by Katsunori Takahashi)