LogFAQs > #898530518

Anyway, finished a few Winter series:

Pop Team Epic had its ups and downs, in terms of actually being funny. To fill time in the adaptation I guess, they had a bunch of long-form skits that were anime original. Some of these could be pretty good, but they generally weren't as consistently funny as the short skits. I definitely appreciated how different all the parts of the show could be, with different styles of animation and VAs and everything, but the manga's much better in terms of making me laugh...

Slow Start was oddly good? This show basically had nothing going for it. The premise was dumb, there's not really anything to set it apart from other SoL series, and the MC is pretty lame. But despite a mostly mediocre first episode with a few cool jokes, the series really took off from the second episode on. The other three main characters are all very good, with their own styles that lend to a lot of funny jokes, and they have enough to them that they don't just feel like like clones of other similar characters. The animation is oddly amazing, for some unknown reason. I also appreciated the use of moderately dirty jokes. Also, for some reason one of the girls has a crush on her teacher (and she also has a crush on the student) and their interactions are just incredible. By the end I liked the show quite a bit. Hana being less interesting than the rest is the only real flaw, and the show utilized her well enough that I didn't really mind most of the time.

Mitsuboshi Colors is kinda the opposite of Slow Start. The premise is awesome, the main characters are all great, and the first episode was my favorite of the season. It didn't get bad later on or anything (there were plenty of truly great episodes), but the direction was nothing special and the animation got terrible enough at times that it affected the show's quality. I've said it before, but if this had been done by the Slow Start team it could've been the best anime of the season. As it was, it was still really funny and enjoyable. Kotoha might just be the best character of the season. I just wish it had been better. Looking forward to reading the manga at some point.

Citrus was a bit of an odd duck. Don't even really know how to discuss it. There was a lot of over the top sexuality and drama, but it was usually entertaining. The most frustrating plotlines were generally resolved very quickly, which I highly appreciated. I liked the main cast of the show a good amount, including Mei, who a lot of people don't seem to be fans of. Most of the little arcs were fun, with Mei and Yuzu's relationship having a neat little back and forth to it so you were never really sure where they were at. Unfortunately the last arc wasn't so great. It's the only one that didn't feel natural, adding some drama where it didn't make much sense. The ending was good at least, I just wish it'd happened a few episodes earlier, where it should've. Still a good show though, and I appreciate a yuri manga getting a full scale adaptation for the first time in forever.

Finally, Laid Back Camp was awesome from start to finish. Rin is the best. Nadeshiko is excellent. Camping antics are consistently entertaining/relaxing/inspiring. Relaxing slice of life shows are pretty much the best in general, and this one's up there in quality. The unfortunate things is that the outclub activities with the side characters aren't so great, but fortunately they take up a relatively small amount of the show. The writer knows that everyone likes Rin and Nadeshiko way more than those losers (Rin and Nadeshiko are on all the volume covers of the manga, with others going completely unseen). From what I can tell, this is looking to be successful too, so there's a decent chance it gets an anime sequel! Would definitely watch that too. Great stuff.
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