V Reviews - Erased... a review of a loved/hated anime

When you went through anime forums around this time last year, you might've noticed the hype surrounding the anime Erased. The further along the series went, the more praise it got. This caused it to end up in the top 50 best anime ever while it was still airing.

But boy, did that change with the last three episodes. After the anime finished airing, the praise turned into bile and it hasn't stopped to this date. Try to speak any positive of Erased, and an angry mob will follow you to the end of days.

I was living under a rock around that time last year, so by the time I personally heard of Erased, the hate train already started and I carefully stepped back and let it pass.

But next to all the hate it garnered over the past year, it also still got praise from many people, including notable reviewers like Chriss Stuckman. And that kind of confused me.

Is the hate granted? Is the praise granted? There was one way to find out. So I dug in with a magnifying glass and searched for what went wrong with "Boku dake ga Inai Machi", better known as "Erased".

Problem is that there is SO much to talk about, I'm gonna have to split this up in two parts to keep it somewhat readable. The first part is the regular review (backstory, main story, characters, art & sound). The second part is going to cover what went wrong.

V Reviews - Erased (Pt. 1)

Let's rewind this clock to the very beginning... the Backstory

"Boku Dake ga inai machi" roughly translates to "the town with me erased", which was shortened to "Erased" in the west (which I'll keep using further on for clarity's sake).

Erased is a seinen thriller manga created by suspense mangaka Kei Sanbe. It's NOT a mystery manga (Keep that in mind)!. Kei has been writing thriller and horror manga ever since 2001 and started his craft as an assistant for the Jojo's Bizarre Adventure manga. Of all his stories, Erased is the first that received the anime treatment (AND live action treatment at the same time).

But in 2016, that is just what happened. A1-Pictures animated the manga into a 12-episode series and WB Japan released the live action movie.

I'd love to post twitter and website here, but his website has been down for a while now and he removed his original twitter account (maybe when the backlash started?).

Story

The story starts in May of 2006.Satoru Fujinuma is a man down on his luck. Due to his lack of empathy, he's become estranged from his childhood friends and is failing as a manga author (he can't put emotions on paper). So he has to survive by being a part-time pizza delivery guy.

One day you'll find the job of your life...
and then you become a pizza delivery guy instead.

But he has one thing that does make him special. He has an ability that when he's in the environment of a tragic accident or murder, he relives it in a constant loop. This so that he can prevent the accident or murder from happening. The downside on this is that this is triggered automatically, so he always has to figure out what the situation is and how he can prevent it from happening. If not, history loops again and he has to relive that moment over and over again.

Loop-de-loop

In one such moment Satoru saves a kid from being run over by a delivery truck, but in this process Satoru end up getting injured. He wakes up in a hospital bed, but at his bedside is his colleague Airi, who saw the entire thing happening and now thinks he's a hero.

Weird to wake up to... though not bad.

In another "rewind" moment his mother and him prevent a child kidnapping/murder from happening. But as a direct result of this, the two of them become the target of this serial killer. This because Satoru's mom (Sachiko) thinks she knows the culprit from somewhere and it may have to do with a serial murder case that happened when Satoru was 10 years old.

The next day after returning home, Satoru finds him mother in his place; murdered in cold blood. But the landlord also drops in and sees Satoru with bloody hands and a shocked face. She wrongfully concludes that Satoru is the murderer. Seeing that he has to catch the real murderer and no time to explain things, Satoru flees. But the moment he's about to get caught by the police, his Rewind ability kicks in.

Yeah, I don't think she's asleep...

At first he thanks his ability so that he can prevent the murder of his mother. But soon after that he's in shock... Because time went back further than ever before. He's suddenly 10 years old again and he has to relive his own childhood.

Yes, or as they call it: the 63rd year of Shôwa

Satoru now has to uncover what actions are going to save his mother from being murdered in the future. And he quickly concludes that saving the serial murder victims in the past will be a key element in changing his future and will hopefully save his mother.

The rest of the story focuses on Satoru slowly trying to change himself while trying to save the murder victims. He can no longer sit by idly. He has to become more pro-active.

Characters

	Satoru Fujinuma: Main character. A man struggling with his emotions and is slowly becoming bittered by this. Is sent back in time when his mother is murdered and realizes he needs to change himself in order to save all "future" murder victims from getting killed.
	Airi Katagiri: Colleague of Satoru. Is the only person in the present time that believes in Satoru's innocence This because she saw Satoru's Rewind powers in action and knows he's a good person in heart.
	Sachiko Fujinuma: Satoru's mom. A former reporter and a woman with a incredible sense of intuition (she's often called a demon by Satoru due to her ability to figure everything out way too fast). This sharp intuition is also the root cause of her getting killed.
	Kayo Hinazuki: The first of the three murder victims in the past. Lives in a broken home with an abusive mom and has slowly lost all hope in humanity. She kind of likes Satoru because he acts "fake" (just like herself), but is unable to show it.
	Kenya Kobayashi: Childhood friend of Satoru. Grew apart from Satoru after a common friend got murdered in the serial murder incident. But in the revisited timeline Kenya is growing fond of Satoru's pro-active behavior. He helps Saturo in the process of saving the serial murder victims.
	Hiromi Sugita: Childhood friend of Satoru and one of the serial murder victims in the past. He's a typical guy with feminine looks (a "trap"). During the process of saving Kayo, Satoru tries to involve Hiromi as much as possible, to keep an eye on his wellbeing as well.
	Gaku Yashiro: Homeroom teacher of the kids and the closest thing Satoru has as a father figure.

Art

During my Ace Attorney review, I talked about A1 Pictures B-team of animators. Well, this is clearly the A-team. There's honestly not that much I can remark about it, since it's all-around good. The environments are really well-drawn and realistic.
From the entire series, the most noteworthy scenes should be those involving Satoru and Kayo going to the "Christmas tree".

Are you, are you coming to the tree?

A fun thing to notice is the change in aspect ratio when it concerns present time vs the past. Present time is the regular 16:9 we see in widescreen tv series. But the past is in 21:9 (movie aspect ratio).

Sound

Sound is quite good as well... which is not a surprise if you look at who actually directed the music: Yuki Kajiura. Yuki is the person behind the epic soundtracks of Madoka Magica, Fate/Zero and Sword Art Online (one of the few good things THAT anime can offer).

But since this is less on an "epic" scale and goes more for the feels, the soundtrack feels more held back than in the previously mentioned series. Don't misunderstand me: It's not a bad OST. It's still worth listening to. But you're not going to remember much from it after a sit-through.

The Opening is by Asian Kung-Fu Generation, which is always nice to listen to.

My personal opinion

I personally liked the anime. It's no masterpiece and certainly doesn't deserve a ranking as high as it does right now. But it's still a worthwile watch if you like a good thriller with some drama elements.

Don't watch this for the mystery aspect, because it's not intended to be a mystery. It's all about survival.

I'm giving this a careful 7.5/10.

In the second part, I'm going to dig a little deeper and cover both what the series got right, and what it did wrong. Just to try and filter all of the hate into a constructive narrative. For that second part, click here

Until then, V out.

V Reviews - Rakugo Shinjū: Oscarbait in anime form?

It's not often that you come across an anime like Rakugo Shinjū. It's both the story of a reformed criminal trying to become a respected performer, as well as a period piece on a dying art form.

And in all honesty, if this was turned into a movie instead of an anime it would probably be contending for best picture in the Academy Awards. It's this kind of a high-level story.

Well, ladies and gentlemen. Sit down and relax. And let me tell you the story of how Rakugo became the critical darling of the anime community in 2016.

V Reviews: Descending Stories: Shōwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjū (Season 1)

Backstory:

Haruko Kumota is a female mangaka who has been active since 2009 as a Yaoi artist... No, really! Most of her stories and manga's to this date are Yaoi and "Boys Love" (BL) stories and are targetted at a specific female audience (you know who you are).

Technically, Rakugo Shinjū is the first "broader" story she has released and has been published internationally. So no longer Yaoi, but Josei: An adult story mainly targetted at a female audience (the female equivalent of Seinen).

And the story has been her first big success. The manga fully ended on March 2016 with 10 volumes, a 2-episode OVA and now an animated TV-series with 2 seasons (second season still airing at this moment). The only thing really missing is a Live Action movie (seriously, make it happen!).

Next to that, she also provided the character designs for the anime exclusive "Fune wo Amu", which aired last Fall.

In terms of sites, you can follow most updates (including some of her yaoi stuff) on her website: http://kumotaharuko.jugem.jp/ . Otherwise, you can follow her on @KUMOHARU on twitter (if you can read Japanese).

Fully understanding the title

In order to understand what this series is really about, you need to understand what the title means. And that is a challenge by itself. The full title "Shōwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjū" roughly translates to: "Shōwa and Genroku Era, A Double Suicide through Rakugo".

That's a few different things being combined in this one title.

• First: Shōwa: Japan's timelines are named after the reign of the emperor of Japan. For example, currently we are in the Heisei era, with emperor Akihito at the rule of Japan. Before this era (which started in 1989) there was the Shōwa era, with emperor Hirohito at Japan's helm. And most of the story of this first season is set in this era.
• What the Genroku era means in this title... I'm not quite sure. The Genroku era (1688-1704) has nothing to do with this story nor concerning Rakugo in general. Unless the story wants to use the other meaning of Genroku. The Genroku period was considered the "golden age" of the Edo period. So maybe the artist feels as if the golden age of Rakugo was during the Shōwa era? (*shrugs in confusion*).
• 
  Then Rakugo (literally: Fallen words), which is a typical Japanese art form and has remained kind of unknown in the West. It's a one-man show in which specific theater pieces are done by the performer voicing the different characters and the narrator. And the performer is doing this all while sitting down and having only a minimum of attributes to convey the story. Everything in Rakugo stand or falls with the performance of the master. A good Rakugo performance will leave you either laughing or crying; while a mediocre performance is just boring to watch.
• And lastly there is Shinjū, which means a double suicide, or a lover's suicide. It's a genre of Japanese theater that at best can somewhat compare to a Greek tragedy. But in the case of a double suicide / lover's suicide the tragic story ends up sending two lovers into committing suicide together, so that they can live on together in the afterlife.

Together this is thus a "tragedy" about Rakugo, mostly set in the Shōwa era. Keep that in mind when you watch this anime, because knowing it will help you appreciate it more.

Story

This story works in two parts: the present time and the past in the Showa era.

In the present day, the story is about former Yakuza Yatoru being released from prison and trying to reform his life. After seeing the Rakugo master Yakumo Yuurakutei the 8th perform his "Shinigami" play, Yatoru falls in love with both the play and with the art of Rakugo.

He begs Yakumo to become his apprentice, to which the grand master reluctantly agrees to. This surprises everyone, since the master has NEVER taken in an apprentice.

A new man is born, trying to retake his own life

Early on in his training, Yatoru meets Konatsu, the daughter of former Rakugo performer (and friend/rival to master Yakumo) Sukeroku. Konatsu is living in Yakumo's house but hates the master with a passion and accuses him of her father's death and not allowing her to perform (her father's) Rakugo.

The look of love, clearly!

Out of interest in this mysterious Sukeroku, Yotaro seeks up recordings of his performances and falls in love with his style of rakugo, which he feels lands closely to his own open and spontaneous personality.

When Yakumo hears Yotaro perform in the style of his former friend/rival, as well as hear him (audibly) snore during Yakumo's performance, the great master is pissed off and kicks the "apprentice" out of his house. Konatsu helps him back in the house and a confrontation ensues between the two parties. Here Yakumo finally reveals the story of Sukeroku and himself to both Yatoru and Konatsu.

Storytime!

And that is where the second part of the story begins.

What follows is the tragic life of both Yakumo (then named "Bon") and Sukeroku (then named "Shin") who train to become rakugo performers under the great master Yakumo the 7th.

This set in the background of the Showa era, which includes World War 2 and the rise of radio and television (and thus the declining popularity of Rakugo).

Bon and Shin, ready to take on the Rakugo world

The story depicts their "daily" life as their personal struggles, their highs and their lows. And this series doesn't shy away from the necessary amount of both humor and drama.

Characters

	Yakumo Yurakutei VIII: The Rakugo master was born as "Bon" and later given the artist name "Kikuhiku", before finaly inheriting the master name of "Yakumo" himself. He's born as an illegitimate child to a geisha and is being raised at the "inn" of his mother. While he wanted to become a dancer (something which he tragically would never be able to achieve due to him being a boy), his "dream" is crushed due to a knee injury which renders him to walk with a cane for the rest of his life. The mistress of the inn then sends him out to the rakugo master Yakumo Yurakutei the 7th, where he learns the craft. He is the main character of this story and most of the first season revolves around his entire life from abandoned kid to the old Rakugo master we see in the first episode. He is a cold person who has clear relationship issues due to the way he was raised as a kid. And I think nobody would be surprised if he would declare at some point that he was gay (*cough*yaoi mangaka*cough*). But his struggle to become a rakugo master makes you want to keep watching.
	Sukeroku Yurakutei II: The Rakugo talent born as "Shin" whom later is given the artist name of Hatsutaro, before adopting the name of his first master Sukeroku. He was first raised in the slums and has an outward personality and great sense of humor. This makes him a born performer, destined to become a rakugo master. He joins Bon at the house of master Yakumo and trains to become a performer. But once he become good at it (he's genius level) he starts to slack off, drinks too much and visits brothels. His attitude often comes into conflict with his own master, the other rakugo masters and even Bon. But there's no denying that he's a gold performer and has a keen sense for what will work.
	Yotaro: Former Yakuza who's trying to reform and become a rakugo master. He's not the brightest bulb in the box, but he has a charming personality. And by the last episode we see how he's easily accepted by the people surrounding him. He's just really likable.
	Konatsu: Daughter of Shin who hates master Yakumo with a passion. She has a strong personality and doesn't agree with the "old" rakugo which forbids women to perform (so technically Yakumo forbids her).
	Miyokishi: Originally Yakumo the 7th mistress who follows him to Tokyo after WW2. She ends up working as a geisha and becomes attracted to Kukihiku. But there's something between the two that just doesn't mix all too well.
	Yurakutei the 7th: Master of both Bon and Shin. Helps train the two boys and hopes that Bon ends up inheriting his name. He notices that Shin is way better, but refuses to accept his style of Rakugo.

Animation

This show looks visually amazing, and that's mostly due to director Shinichi Omata, who learned this craft at Shaft Studio and applies those "Shaftian" skills to the better anime created by Studio Deen in the past few years. And yes, this even includes typical art focusing, detailed environments and detailed head movement. And by god, that opening feels like it came right out of a Shaft best-of list.

Truly, this is Shaft style animation!

Honestly, if you would've told me this was a Shaft anime instead of Deen, I would've instantly believed you. There's a lot of typical Shaft-tropes that come back in this anime, while it's hard to see specific Deen-tropes in here (like keeping up a constant quality level).

No, it's really Studio Deen; not studio Shaft...

But yes, this is a Deen anime. And I must give credit where it's due. This is probably one of their best animated end results I've ever seen. Yes, I could still nitpick about a few things where it's visible they had trouble keeping up a consistent animation quality. But that would be nitpicking and bullying on Deen's case. Let's have some positive words for them at least once. This is a very well animated series!

Sound

Jazz. I expected a somewhat traditional soundtrack for this anime. I expected this soundtrack to be old Japanese songs that support Rakugo performers. The kind of soundtrack that would be painful to my ears (sorry, not a fan). But boy, was I wrong.

The entire OST has a jazzy atmosphere to it. And while it is reminiscent of the Showa period... it's more of an American music style rather than a Japanese one (I think). But no matter its placing in this anime, it's still nice to listen to. And that includes the Opening theme as well (Usurai Shinjū by Hayashibara Megumi) .

Any negatives?

This anime is Oscar-worthy in its entire premise. But that is also its biggest problem. A lot of Academy award contender movies (a.k.a. Oscar-bait movies) are not accessible for the larger audience. Usually the story is really hard to get into. It's the main reason why so many Oscar-bait movies end up flopping at the box office (or just break even at best).

The same goes for this anime. While critics of both anime and movies will have a field day analyzing every little part of this anime for years to come, the response of the general audience will be vastly different. They will see it, recognize it's great, notice that it's not their thing, drop it and continue with something else. And that's visible in end-of-year lists. It scores high on the average critics list, but is nowhere to be seen on popularity polls.

My personal opinion and rating:

Personally, I loved this anime, especially the rakugo performances themselves.

It's a strange thing to say, because some of the first full performances they do are not that great. But that is intentional, since the characters who brought the performances were beginners as well (and thus not very good). But the further the series goes and brings you more and better performances, the more I got captured by the screen and hung on the lips of the performers.

No, not every punchline works. Some things get lost in translation. But man, the performances and stories are amazing to listen to.

I'm personally giving this first season a 8.5/10.

If you really like critically praised movies/tv series and movies/series which you can analyze through from top to bottom, Rakugo Shinjū really is that one series you will adore.

However, if you dislike Oscar-bait movies in general or are only into mainstream series, you'd better skip this one. In this case, this anime will annoy and bore you.

Wait, not a 9 or 10?

No. My gripe with this series is the second half of episode 12 and the entirety of the last episode. First up, the second half of episode 12 contains the long eluded deaths of Konatsu's parents. But it's not well handled and it's over before you can say: "Wait, what?". It just feels really cheap when compared to the rest of the story.

But even after I got over that, the next annoying thing happened. The jump-cut from the "past scenes" back to the present in the last episode. This should've been the return to the present time where our characters portray how they felt about the flashback story and reflect on their past lives and emotional bonds. But instead, we cut to several years later... and so many things happen in this jump that just makes you wonder: "Wait, what...?"

Wake up? Yeah, I feel like I missed a few minutes here as well...

While time jumps are frequent in this anime, this is the one time where I really really disliked the jump. It's as if the author herself didn't know what to do and just say: "f**k it, I'll try to explain it along the way".

There's still a chance I might revisit this score later on. I've been recently informed that something happens in the second season which will make me rethink my opinion on what happened in the infamous 12th episode. But until I've seen that one, I'll keep the score as is (I'm kind of behind on the second season).

Afterword

Sorry for the longer wait. I was actually busy with a review on Erased and I just can't seem to finish it in a way I'm satisfied with. So I thought by myself: "Let's try something else instead as a change of mind". And within less than a day, the complete review of Rakugo was done: typing, format coding, images gathering and uploading it all.

This anime is SO interesting to dig into and uncover. And there are even many things I didn't really cover here (like the constant recurring of the theme of death). I'll probably return to further analyzing this series later on.

But for now that's it. V out.

And hopefully next time, with the Erased review (*scratches head*).

V does Yu-Gi-Oh - New Anime, New Rules

The third week of the month is V-Jump time and we were expecting news of the new anime, the supposed new summoning technique and the added ruling updates.

And that is exactly what we got. It's study time! Let's get over the biggest changes and I'll try to explain that as clearly as possible!

When will these changes apply for TCG?

Updated Answer: Upon the legal release of the 2017 Starter Deck in TCG. The exact date is July 21st.

The Lay-out changes!

Click on the image, look at it closely and let it sink in. If you have a feeling of what's on there, I'll cover the details

Image created by DSummon for his explanation video.
Follow him on twitter at @DSummon84

1 - Pendulum Zones are gone... but not completely

First obvious change if you look at the new lay-out is that the 2 specific pendulum zones are gone.

Instead of that, the leftmost and rightmost Spell and Trap card zone can now be used as a pendulum zone instead.

What this means that if you play Pendulum monsters, you lose 2 spell and trap zones, while if you play no Pendulum monsters, you can use all 5 spell and trap card zones (just like before).

However, the zones are interchangeable throughout the duel and thus impose no risk for having to chose over the other. In other words, if you open up with 0 scales but have 5 spell or trap cards, you can still use your pendulum scale zones for regular spells and traps.

Note however, that this does not mean that you can now SET Pendulum monsters in these zones. Pendulum Scales can only be placed face-up, just like before!

Also: Cards that target Pendulum zones specifically (for example: Wavering Eyes) can NOT destroy non-pendulum spells or traps that are placed in these zones. If a regular spell or trap are placed in these zones, they are NOT Pendulum zones but regular spells or traps.

2 - Extra Deck monsters now go in the Extra Deck monster zone

Another big change is the two new monster zones that are spread over the two players. These zones are intended for Extra Deck monsters, while the original five monster zones will now be reserved for Main deck monsters only.

The only exception to this, are "main deck" monster zones that are pointed to by the yellow/gold link indicator (printed on Link monsters).

3 - Link monsters:

The new Link monster have a Blue color (similar to Ritual monsters) but are filled with octagon shapes with a darker shading. They also have black and yellow markers on the 4 corners and the 4 sides of the card. The black ones are inactive, while the gold/orange markers are active. More on this later on.

Link monster have an attack, but no defense. This means that defense is not printed and it can be ruled as "0 defense" if somebody would attempt to use a card like "Shield & Sword" (which suddenly seems like a VERY useful card).

Link Monsters can only be special summoned and MUST BE played in face-up attack position. This position CAN NOT change; not by player choice nor by card effect (like "Book of Moon)". It MUST always be face-up attack position.

Where are those link markers?

The Link markers on a Link card are printed on the 4 corners and the 4 sides of a Link card (up, down, left, right, UL, UR, LL, LR).

However, the only ACTIVE Link markers are colored gold/orange (color presumed via screenshots, not by facts). NON-active markers remain black.

The monster zones marked with these active markers are places where players can special summon monsters from the extra deck. Think of it as if Link Monsters are "unlocking" your monster zones for more special summons from the extra deck.

The number of active link markers is equal to the Link number of the Link card. So a "Link 3" card, has 3 active markers. A "Link 2" card has two, etc...

A few things that you need to take in account with these markers.

• Decode Talker (as well as some other Link Monsters) has an active marker pointing upwards. This means that you unlock an extra deck zone for your opponent as well!.
• Link Monsters have effects that can apply to their linked monsters instead of "one" monster, or "all monsters you control". So for example. Decode Talker gives an attack boost to all linked monsters. This means that up to two other monsters that you control and even one opponent's monster gains that attack boost.
• Not every monster has the markers on the same spot. While Link Decoder has a marker on the top and on the two lower corners, the link card Honeybot has active marker left and right side.

How to summon a Link monster? - Updated

To summon a Link monster, you must send a number of monsters from the field to the grave equal to the Link number on the card. In the case you use Pendulum monsters, they will be sent to the extra deck. In the case of tokens, they will just "vanish" after being used.

Update: Yes, I was wrong before (mea culpa). Tokens and Pendulum monsters CAN be used.

Alternatively, you can also use a "lower-ranked" Link monster + one or more effect monsters. The minimum amount of monsters required in this process will be mentioned on the card text.

For example, the depicted monster (Decode Talker) has "Link 3" with a card text that it requires a minimum of 2 effect monsters. This means that it requires either:

• 3 effect monsters of any kind, or
• 1 Link 2 monster (for example: Honeybot) + 1 effect monster of any kind.
• 1 Link 1 monster (for example: Link Spider) + 2 effect monsters of any kind.
• 2 Link 1 monsters + 1 effect monster of any kind.
• 1 Link 2 monster + 1 Link 1 monster

The selected monsters are sent from the field to the grave and the Link monster is played in the Extra monster zone, (or another "linked" monster zone).

So how does this work in reality?

At the beginning of the duel, the 2 "extra monster" zones are not signed to any specific player.

This means that the first player that can perform an extra deck summon, can choose the first of these two zones. The chosen zone will be his, while the other zone will now belong to the opponent.

This one specific zone can only be used for monsters summoned from the Extra deck (Fusion, Xyz, Synchro, Link monsters AND face-up Pendulum monsters summoned from the extra deck).

If the turn player summons a Link monster with one or more active markers, THEN you can special summon other extra deck monsters to the zones indicated by the active markers (as well as main deck monsters).

This ALSO includes other Link monsters. This means that if used correctly, you can still fill your field up with Extra Deck monsters, as long as the Link monsters have the correct markers on them.

However! Take note that it only applies when summoning monsters from the extra deck. This does not apply not when summoning those monsters from anywhere else (like the Banished zone or graveyard). For example: A Stardust dragon that returns from the grave after using its effect? That goes to the main monster zone.

Doesn't that render my decks useless?

Yes, if you have a deck that focuses on summoning as much as possible from the extra deck, your deck will no longer function decently. Does that include basically most of the current meta decks? Yes, as well as most rogue decks. If it can cheer you up, most decks are affected either way, so you're not alone in your "loss".

*shrugs* Oh, well. Learn, adapt and move on. Oh and hey look at the bright side. My old Prophecy deck may suddenly be viable again.

I know my statement is as useful as Tristan's answer right now, but it's all I got.

I have more questions?!

So do I! But at this point in time it's all the information we have.

Specific ruling details not mentioned in V-Jump this time around will become clear when the official rule-book gets updated or when the yugioh Database gets updated.

Keep an eye on the Konami blog, YGOrganization, BeyoundTheDuel and other similar blogs. More specific ruling questions will be answered in the following months, no doubt about that.

Until next time, V out.

Edit on February 21: Correction made due to OCG website updating the Master Rules. Source: http://beyondtheduel.com/new-master-rule-updates/

Edit in July: Corrected a few of my statements with the actual rules now that it's officially part of our TCG rules.

The halfway point - What should you watch of the anime Winter Season 2017

Well, this week most anime of the current season have reached the halfway point. So let's have a quick look at what I'm watching at the moment.

So if you ask me: "Do you love this winter season's anime?", my answer is as follows:

Ms. Kobayashi's Dragon Maid - Surprise hit of the season

• Genre: Gag anime, Supernatural slice of life.
• Studio: Kyoto Animation - Directed by Yasuhiro Takemoto
• Legal stream: Crunchyroll & Funimation (worldwide)

Probably the surprise hit of this season. Ms Kobayashi is a 20-something IT'er who incidentally invites a dragon over to stay at her place. Now Ms. Kobayashi has to train her dragon to fit into society... by dressing the dragon up as a maid. Did I mention that Ms. Kobayashi is an otaku?

It's charming and hilarious. Also, the lead is a female IT'er. That's already rare enough in reality, so seeing this in anime is something to cherish.

Recommendation: Definite must watch!

Full review: Here

KonoSuba Season 2

• Genre: Fantasy Comedy
• Studio: Studio Deen - Directed by: Takaomi Kanasaki
• Direct continuation of Season 1. Read my review of season 1 here
• Legal Streaming: Crunchyroll (US only)

Season 1 was amazing, this one is great as well, although the typical Deen lack of constant quality is showing itself more in this season than in the previous one.

Recommendation: First season is a must-watch. If you've seen that, this is a must-watch as well.

Blue Exorcist - Kyoto Arc

• Genre: Shonen action with supernatural elements
• Studio: A1 Pictures - Directed by Koichi Hatsumi
• Sequel to: Blue Exorcist (2011)
• Legal Streaming: Hulu & Daisuki (worldwide)

Never thought I'd see a sequel happen to an anime that's over five years old at this time. But here it is!

Readers of the manga have pointed out that the Kyoto arc is the most interesting story arc from the Blue Exorcist manga, so I'm glad we actually get to see it become animated after all.

Also, this gives hope to other anime that ended years ago to possibly get a sequel (wishful thinking). We'll first see how this goes.

On a side-note: Yes, it IS necessary to first watch the original run. You'll miss out on too many story elements if you haven't watched the original.

Recommendation: For those that have seen the original, this is a must-watch sequel.

Youjo Senki (The saga of Tanya the Evil)

• Genre: military action, with supernatural elements
• Studio: NUT (yes, you can apply your "deez nuts" jokes now) - Directed by Yutaka Uemura
• Legal Streaming: Crunchyroll, Funimation (worldwide)

The title literally translates to "The Military Chronicles of a Little Girl". While both English titles are technically correct, they are still a bit off. A correct title would be: God Vs Tanya - "Yes, I know you exist. But still: F**K YOU!"

Story goes as follows: A salary-man gets killed by a fired co-worker, but "god" gives him a second chance in a different world where magic is a thing. God's catch: he is reborn as a little girl in this universe's Germany just prior to World War 1. God isn't going to stop punishing Tanya until she admits belief in him, while she just waves her middle finger and gives a psychotic smile.

Interesting story, amazing Opening and Ending Song (the best I've heard this season).

Recommendation: Yeah, a must-watch

Full review: Here

ACCA: 13 Territory Inspection department (ACCA 13 in short)

• Genre: Military slice of life?
• Studio: Madhouse, directed by Shingo Natsume
• Legal Streaming: Crunchyroll, Funimation (North America only)

The daily life of Jean Otus, the second in command of the inspection department. His role is supervising and visiting all 13 districts of the DOWA kingdom (which is weirdly enough shaped like a pigeon that's pooping).

This anime probably has the greatest soundtrack this season. It's jazzy and aloof; much like Jean himself.

The story however is a bit lacking. There's lots of story potential, but most of it just sizzles out on a low note, which is making many people hate this anime.

I personally am going to keep watching it, just in case it gets better. But I have low expectations.

Recommendation: You can easily skip this one.

Full review: Here

Koro-Sensei Quest

• Genre: Gag manga, short anime
• Studio: Lerche, directed by Yoshito Nishouji
• Legal Streaming: Crunchyroll, Funimation (North America only)

As a fan of Assassination Classroom, I was fascinated by this gag spin-off. But oh, dear. How do I put this?... It's just not funny.

The characters are reduced to one comedy trait. The problem is that most of those traits got tiring by the end of the original series, and thus they're tiring to watch here.

Karma has bad luck, Nagisa looks like a girl, Kaede has a flat chest, Isogai is a poor man's knight, and so on... The jokes just repeat themselves over and over again. They were bad the first time you saw them and remain bad every time they repeat them (and boy, do they repeat them A LOT).

A few unexpected jokes made me chuckle, but that's about it. Most of the time I'm just staring blankly at the screen, thinking about better things I can do with my life.

Recommedation: SKIP IT! Forget it exists. Rewatch Assassination Classroom instead or so.

Full review: Here

Shouwa Genroku Rakugou Shinjuu Season 2

• Genre: Drama
• Studio: Deen (no, really!), directed by Mamoru Hatakeyama
• Legal Streaming: Crunchyroll (North America only)
• Direct continuation of Season 1. Read my review of season 1 here

It's good, but not an easily accessible anime. If you're more into typical shonen action series, you'll probably find this boring.

It's like a typical oscarbait movie. High quality story, but rejected by the masses. Season 2 is a direct continuation of season 1 but is set in the current day era instead.

Recommendation: If you liked season 1, watch season 2 as well.

Onihei

• Genre: Samurai "police" series
• Studio: M2, directed by Shigeyuki Miya
• Legal streaming: Amazon prime (worldwide)

Somebody named this: CSI Samurai and I found it very fitting. It's a typical "police" series, but it's set in the Edo era. The episodes are kind of stand-alone. The tone is dark and realistic (not in a good way, though).

The first episode was a miss, though the following episodes kind of grabbed my attention again. The animation is great. The stories are... okay, I guess?

Though you notice that this was created for a tv drama first. It breathes live action more than it can say "anime".

Recommendation: if you like Samurai series and/or police series like CSI, you can give this one a watch.

Yowamushi Pedal: New Generation

• Genre: Sports
• Studio: TMS Entertainment, Directed by: Osaku Nabeshima
• Direct continuation of Season 1. Read my review of seasons 1+2 here
• Legal Streaming: Crunchyroll (worldwide)

This new season starts shortly after the second season (Grande Road) ends. We get to see how our characters handle the period of time post the inter-High Road Racing Tournament and this includes the shift of our main cast from first-years into their second year.

Yes, this means saying goodbye to the third-year senpai's and introducing new first-years. All in all, it makes you wonder how everybody will do in the inter-high without the trio of Kinjou, Todoroki and Makishima.

My recommendation: Watch the first two seasons (the in-between movies can be skipped) before watching this one. You will miss out on certain things if not seen.

Fate/Grand Order: First Order

• Genre: Action, supernatural fantasy
• Studio: Lay-duce, directed by Hitoshi Nanba
• Legal Streaming: Crunchyroll, Daisuki (North America only)

This is a special that came out around new Year's eve (so technically this winter already, I guess). While studio Ufotable is busy with creating the Heaven's Feel movies (#hype) and studio Silver Link is busy with the Kaleid spin-off (which is meh), the studio behind the Sinbad anime and Classroom crisis now tackles the Fate franchise. This incarnation is based on a mobile game released in 2015... in Japan only (a hit and miss).

And this anime is... okay. It's too short to be anything but an intro to something more. There's a rumor that at least one more special will follow later this year. And that will be necessary, because as it stands this anime is forgettable (while it does have nice production value).

My recommendation: Wait until more specials come out, then watch them together. If not, then skip this.

Plan to watch somewhere this year:

• Little Witch Academia: Recently saw the first short movie and absolutely loved it (the animation! So amazing). May watch the rest later on.
• Tales of Zesteria the X: Quite positive reviews. Some say it's even better than the game it's based upon (really?) I liked previous "Tales of" series, so I might pick it up somewhere this year.
• Gintama.: Rumored to be the last season of Gintama (we'll see. Knowing Gintama, that might be a prank). Will watch when I finally catch up to the rest of the previous seasons.
• Yowamushi Pedal New Generation: Lots of sports anime are quite good. May pick this up somewhere later this year. But I'll have to watch all the previous Yowamushi Pedal's first I guess.
• Scum's wish: Widely praised for portraying toxic relationships in a serious manner. May watch this.
• Interviews with Monster Girls: While not initially interested in this, it got good reviews throughout. May pick this up later.

Will NOT watch:

• Hand Shakers: This anime has earned the label "Total Trainwreck". EVERYTHING about it sucks. So a definite no-go. Although there's that passion of watching anime that are so bad it's good...
• Akiba's Trip: Enemies who can be defeated by ripping the clothes of their bodies... and most characters are female, and it's set in Akihabara. So total fanservice anime with little substance (that's based on a game). SKIP!
• Chaos;Child: Sequel to Chaos;Head, which wasn't very good. I might be wrong, but this one doesn't really trigger my "must watch" bone.
• Masamune-kun's revenge: Rated "garbage. Yeah, not touching this one.
• Seiren: Rated "forgettable, bland and quickly dropped by those who bothered reviewing the first episodes. Not worth it.
• One Room: Otaku Pandering at its worst.
• Fuuka: Started of generic and bland. Slowly devolved into worse.
• Super Lovers 2: Nobody understood how this got a sequel. Rated as the worst sequel of the season.

Afterword

So that's the anime I have watched (or plan to watch). Have to admit, I'm quite pleased with the current line-up. Didn't expect much, but quite a few good hits.

Did you watch these anime? Do I need to watch more? You can always let me know.

Until next time, V out.

Updates

• 17/02: Small edit: Added legal streaming availability.
• 23/05: It was on my "planned to watch" list, so I've finally watched and thus added Yowamushi Pedal New Generation.