Otaku Digest: Terra Formars, Selector Spread WIXOSS and Denki-gai No Honya-san
Welcome to the first official week of the anime fall season here on Otaku Digest. This week saw the release of the first episodes of the first batch of releases this season. I choose three anime to sample and my opinions are based on the very first episode, I am taking the first impression from the first episode very seriously, will I continue to watch or get turned off by the very first episode? This week’s choices are Terra Formars, Selector Spread WIXOSS and Denki-gai No Honya-san.
Terra Formars
First up is the first release of the week or last week even, kicking off the season is “Terra Formars”. Released on the 27th of September this anime bases itself around a post-apocalyptic premise. It shows the future of Earth as it becomes vastly over populated, creating plans to move Mars with horrifying consequences. A mutated virus has hit mankind with a 100% mortality rate. 500 years after the original mission a new mission titled Annex 1 is under way. Another attempt to research the ravaging virus, the crew members on the mission have been injected with various DNA of life on earth, they will fact the battle of their lives against the Terraformars, the giant humanoid cockroaches.
When I first saw even the poster of this anime all I could think was that they were trying to take the popularity of Attack on Titan and put it in space. The premise was close to being the same, humanoid creatures who kills humans, just they are on Mars instead of earth. I was pleasantly surprised, the first episode is mainly a look into the darkness of this time on Earth and a quick back-story to our first protagonist, Akari Hizamaru who we first see fighting in an underground cage fight to earn a transplant for the girl he loves. Did I mention this series is dark? They do not hold back, they just throw you right into the story. We get a bit of an explanation here and there but it just gets on with the story. The animation is dark but crisp with character design being its best feature so far, each character is distinct and has their own features.
Will I continue to watch: Yes, first impression is intriguing!
Selector Spread WIXOSS
Next is “Selector Spread WIXOSS” which aired on the 4th of October. With the look of being a possible Magical Girl anime, I was interested to see what angle they would take. What I did not realize was that it is in fact a sequel to “Selector Infected Wixoss”. The anime centers on a card game called WIXOSS where there are supposedly special cards only a certain group of girls called selectors can use the cards are LRIG. These games, however, take place in a different dimension that ordinary humans cannot access. Winners of these games have their wishes granted losers lose any memory of the game.
Cute is the first thing that came to mind when I started this episode. It is exactly that! It does have that “Madoka Magica” darkness in the theme song and I can only expect the same from the series. I do feel I would need to watch the original series before jumping into this series as there is a lot of story-lines I felt I was missing out on. The main character is a bit of a bore but this comes from not knowing her inner anguish that she is obviously going through. Leaving all of that out the actual series itself seems interesting enough with a good plot with the card game battles and having almost a gaming persona for some of the players.
Will I continue to watch: Yes, but I need to watch the original series first!
Denkig-Gai no Honya-san
Last up is a nice light comedy to round up the week, Denki-Gai no Honya-san. A light-hearted comedy and slice of life anime about a manga store called “BOOKS Umanohone” where our protagonist Umio works part time. There is always something going on in the store.
The opening of this series was hilariously awkward but so well suited to the fact its meant to be a slice of life comedy. It is exactly what it says on the tin, it is a comedy based around a manga store. With the many faces of people you might find in these kinds of stores, I have to say the most interesting was the lady openly taking notes in the 18+ plus section as part of her job. For me it did rain on the side of boring at times although there are some awkward funny moments with the continuous ero book references. There are a few interesting characters mixed in there, the funniest and favourite of mine was the “Sensei” characters with her outrageous random reactions to everything.
Will I continue to watch: Yes, even though I am still very 50/50 on it it’s one of those anime that may need an episode or two to get going.
