Otaku Digest: Magic/NEET/Zodiac
Another week has gone by and the anime spring season is here in full force, so we here at Otaku Digest have many shows to peruse and critique. With another week comes another three opinions on some episodes of the new anime released this season. As we only watch the first episodes of new season anime here at Otaku Digest, first impressions are everything.
This week, we are taking a look at Houkago no Pleiades, Denpa Kyoushi and Etotama.
Houkago no Pleiades
First up to our metaphorical chopping block is magic anime Houkago no Pleiades or Wish Upon the Pleiades, which originally began airing on the 9th of April.
It centres on Subaru, a young school girl who finds out that her best friend is a member of a magical society. The group are searching and collecting engine fragments so they can send a little being back home to Pleiades. Now Subaru has a choice to make, will she join this magical group considering she was chosen by the Pleiadian, the president of the group? Or return to her own lonely existence watching the stars?
The anime gods answered my prayers and gave me a new magical girl anime to feast my eyes on. Taking a step away from the darker setting and narrative of similar anime, Madoka, Houkago no Pleiades takes us back to a cuter, pastel and more original style. Although this anime was enjoyable, I do feel it was a bit too cute for my taste. It has a good story for the most part, rather generic in the beginning, but I liked the whole flying-on-updated-broomsticks aspect of it. Even the mission for sending the blob or club president back to his own planet is interesting for the fact that it is about collecting fragments and bringing them home, kind of like capturing stars. Although we did not get much info on each of our girls except Subaru I am looking forward to seeing each of them come into their own. Even though it is quite cliché and cute I think the story and characters could save it and pull it through.
Continue To Watch? Yes, I actually enjoyed it for what it was and look forward to seeing where they go with it.
Denpa Kyoushi
Next up this week we have the anime Denpa Kyoushi or Ulitmate Otaku Teacher. Adapted from the manga of the same name, this is a comedy, harem, school and romance anime which began airing on the 4th of April. Here we meet Junichirou, a true Otaku for all things anime, manga and games. From a young age it was obvious that he was a genius, getting published in nature and science journals from the age of seventeen. This all ended when he graduated from college and chose to invest his time in his anime blog and become a NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training). His sister becomes tired of his life choices and does not want to see him waste his life away so she finds him a teaching job at the Ichou Academy she also happens to attend. An otaku for a teacher? Let the chaos ensue.
I really feared this anime and only because it could have become a slice of life anime very quickly and we all know how much I detest the slice of life genre as a whole. This anime, however, was actually really enjoyable; the story was light-hearted but it did have its dark elements which highlighted the darker aspects of our own society. An aspect I actually really liked about this anime was its characters, which may be a bit cliché but it was great to have anime characters that you can relate to. Yes, they’re very dramatic and eccentric but their basic stories can be relatable. Much like the girl who is attempting to reform her life and become a voice actress but is being bullied relentlessly, she is relatable and the fact that Junichirou attempts to help her in his own way is heart-warming. An anime where the otaku in the story is actually more useful that just comic relief is a nice change.
Continue To Watch? Yes, the story is interesting and the characters are relatable.
Etotama
Last up this week is the comedy and fantasy anime Etotama which began airing on the 9th of April.
This anime centers on the Eto-shin which are the ‘chosen’ divine messengers from Eto-musume, or more simply, they are the girls who represent the individual animals of the zodiac. In olden times, these chosen few were the ones who protected the land of the rising sun, a powerful bunch who survived the ETM12, the celestial tournament that is held every sixty years and is revered by all Eto-musumes. Jump forward to present day and the year that the ETM12 will be held, great numbers of Eto-musume are gathering along with the Eto-shin candidates, and among these there is a single cat Eto-musume. Nya-tan is so close to becoming an Eto-shin but is constantly being challenged by rodents. To become one of the twelve zodiac you must beat all the Eto-shin.
First off, one of my favorite anime is Fruits Basket and it has a similar premise with the whole zodiac angle, so already I was sceptical going into this anime. However, there are a few differences to Fruits Basket so I was interested to see how they would make Etotama unique. This anime, however, was mostly adorable. There was a small amount of fan service and it did border on annoying at times, but it wasn’t the worst execution of anime fan service I’ve seen so it was watchable. I found the characters didn’t get as much development as they could have and there are so many of them so it was noticeable. The comic relief is well done here and it was where some of the characters really shined; considering they managed to take on the attributes of their given animal, the anime really used this to their advantage. I also enjoyed the power transferal aspect, as it made a massive difference to the pace of the whole episode. I mean, you simply cannot go wrong with chibi battles. More of this anime! More!
Continue To Watch? Yes, after the mundane beginning it actually ended on a high.
A clean sweep of yeses from us here on Otaku Digest! Did you watch this week’s anime? What did you think?
