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Suddenly, anime! Thousands of shows! Well maybe not that much, but a new season can make it overwhelming to pick out what to watch. Have no fear, here at DDN we watch all the crap FOR you, and then tell you what is decent! Time for part two of: Spring season first looks! This segment will contain first looks of:  Allison to Lillia, Soul Eater, Golgo 13, Kamen no Maid Guy, and Code Geass R2. Click on for the full scoop!

Just like last time, we have a different rating system than straight up numbers. It’s impossible to rate a show after only 1 or 2 episodes, so we tweaked our rating system a bit.

The system is as follows:

A: Excellent first episode, not to be missed by anyone with a TV/Computer and 24 minutes of free time a week.

B: Looks pretty good so far. Give it a chance unless you have a strong hatred of the genre or production studio.

C: Decent show, give it a watch if you are a fan of the genre. Otherwise, it may be a good idea to wait a few more episodes to see if its worth your time.

D: Gettin iffy here. Avoid unless you REALLY REALLY like the genre or have some inane reason to watch the given show.

F: Terrible, avoid at all costs.

So basically, anything C and higher left us with a good impression.

Allison & Lillia (アリソンとリリア)

FBIninja:

This anime has a really nice vibe to it, its about a young man and a young woman living in the distant future, where there was a universal time/technology reset, so they go around in ww1 era cars and planes. Speaking of planes, Allison, is a pilot for the air force of one country, and there is a rival country that they get into wars with all the time (it really makes me want to play an rts). The girl is good pilot but is stuck with just transporting planes to a destination. She comes to visit her friend Wil, who is really smart, rainman smart, with a great memory and incredible talent. The pairing is quite nice, one is reckless and is adventurous, and the other is calm and restrained, and tries to keep the other in line. The story in this seems to be going places, i like it a lot, and animation is meh, but
it still looks good.

As i said, i like this, its really well planned out, and its been a while since ive seen a good anime with this theme. I’ll give it an A-

tskiller:

Allison and Lillia is a new slice of life / Adventure show by the production company Madhouse. And when I say adventure, I really mean it. War, prop planes, dogfights, running from the army, espionage, treasure, all the good stuff. It has sort of an Aria feel, but much more adventurous. The animation is crisp, the music fits well, and the characters are all likeable. Especially Allison. So far we have seen Allison come pick up her old childhood friend, Wil, and they go on an international trip to find missing treasure to stop the war and return peace to the land.  I’m really looking forward to the rest of this show.

I’m giving it a solid A. Give it a try, it would be folly to write this one off without giving it a chance.

Soul Eater (ソウルイーター)

FBINinja:

OK so I watched the prologue of this series, (first 3 eps) and i have to say, that the art style, and the feel works really well for this anime. I do have to say that i don’t like a few characters, but they round that out with a few others that I really like. Take Black Star for instance; he is a freaking moron, don’t like him at all. Other than that, Maka is pretty cool, i have an unnatural tendency to overly appreciate characters who can use a pole-arm or a long sword proficiently, what can i say? Its my Downfall.

Right now there is no story put out yet, this one I am looking forward to, they do a good job of it. Ill give it a B, its shounen, and its really hard to get some original stuff out there these days, but i think they can pull this off. Give it a shot.

tskiller:

Whats this? An action-shounen show with people turning into weapons that eat souls? By Bones? Sign me up! Well, the first few episodes are character introduction, but you can still get a feel for what kind of show is going on. At first glance its a standard shounen type show. Fights, power levels, eating souls, that sort of thing. But as you watch it more, it becomes apparent that this will not become any other bleach/one piece clone. The animation is excellent, as with all Bones productions, the music is well done, the OP/EDs fit and are well written, and the characters are diverse and generally likeable. What little we know of the story revolves around the main character Maka, and her soul weapon, Soul that turns himself into a Scythe and proceeds to kick ass. Good stuff, and I’m interested to see where they will take it, and if Bones’ record is any indication, it will not disappoint.

I’m going to give this a B. A good show so far, but if you don’t like shounen there is a chance you wont like this. Give it a few episodes.

Golgo 13(ゴルゴ13)

FBINinja:

Did you ever wish that James Bond would be animated? Well unfortunately for you that won’t happen, but this is a really good alternative. Goglo 13, is the main characters alias, and i sure as hell can’t remember his real name. The thing about anime, is that they can do whatever they damn well please, and hopefully do a good job. With this show, they did that. I really look forward to more on this, unfortunately with my schedule I probably won’t continue, but i wouldn’t cut it out of your list.

I’ll give this a B+, its really good, but Goglo is a little too silent, and a little too badass for his own good.

tskiller:

Well, the picture we chose for this show sums it up pretty well. Over stylized badass men with large guns assassinating people. Aaaaand that’s about all this show has to offer. The anime is heavily into its own style, so its hard for me to directly knock on it for that, but it didn’t really impress me that much. There was virtually no plot other than Golgo getting ready for his mission, fucking some bitch, and then shooting a guy in the head. I hope this doesn’t turn into an episodic show with no overlaying plot. It is still a fun show, so if you need some more down-to-earth action, this may be for you.

I will give it a C+. Its a more realistic(ish) action show, which is a nice change from the fantasy/sci fi we see so much of.

Kamen no Maid Guy(仮面のメイドガイ)

FBINinja:

Ok so first off, what the heck is going on. This show is funny, and it has its moments of fanservice, but the animation quality isn’t very good. The story is really shady right now, nothing is known, all except that maid guys are like animals who serve, like really aggressive animals, they scare me a little bit. This better pick up.

I’ll give it a C+ its got potential, it really does. We just need to see it.

tskiller:

Well well, what do we have here, Madhouse Studios? Another maid based fanservice comedy. Sound familiar? I thought so. As you might have guessed, the story is a comedy/fanservice/ecchi show based around a giant manly male maid who wears a mask and sexually harasses his master. The animation is mediocre at best, the service serves its part, and the comedy is average. The music is pretty good, instead of having a generic creepy organ song that makes you think of Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D-Minor, they actually HAVE Bach’s Toccata and Fugue.

Overall, I was not that impressed. Unless you are really looking for a fanservice show, or have a thing for maid shows, avoid it. C-.

Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch R2(コードギアス 反逆のルルーシュ R2)

FBINinja:

When tskiller told me we had to review this too, i was really hating that idea, mostly because i didn’t even finish the first season, and i could really care less. The new season is probably the most over-hyped anime this season, and i would think that it mostly deserves it, i know enough to get the point and be mostly up to speed on it, so i know what’s going on, mostly. The animation is crisp, and Kallen looks faptastic in that bunny suit. Clamp really knows how to make a story, and if you liked the first season, its a no-brainer that you should see this one.

A-, even though I didn’t see the second half of the first season, this really got me going and I kind of want to catch up now…

tskiller:

The most exciting part of the season is finally here! Well maybe not, but I was sure looking forward to this. Unless you have been living underneath a rock the past year or so, you know about Sunrise’s mecha drama/action masterpiece, Code Geass. This is the direct sequel to it. I wont speak on the plot, as doing so would ruin the first season for the 5 of you who haven’t already seen it. All you need to know is the action, suspense, and plot twists we all know and love are still here from season 1. There is no reason not to watch this show unless you haven’t seen season 1, and in that case, get watching! The animation quality is still excellent, as is the music (gotta love the horn riff played during the episode title) and character designs.

A+, if you have 24 minutes of free time each week, watch this.

And once the dust all settles, more good, more not so good. What have you guys been watching this season, and what did you think? Let us know and leave a comment or three!

[tag] anime, golgo 13, kamen no maid guy, code geass, allison and lillia, reviews, first look [/tag]