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EP. REVIEW: Mikagura School Suite


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Stark700



Joined: 30 Jan 2012
Posts: 11762
Location: Earth
PostPosted: Tue Apr 14, 2015 8:20 pm Reply with quote
I'm kinda on the edge for this one. I like the tone and energy of the show but the story itself isn't something I'm very interested in. Hope it improves although some of the comedy is quite amusing to watch so far.
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Zoneflare



Joined: 11 Mar 2015
Posts: 521
PostPosted: Tue Apr 14, 2015 8:29 pm Reply with quote
Stark700 wrote:
I'm kinda on the edge for this one. I like the tone and energy of the show but the story itself isn't something I'm very interested in. Hope it improves although some of the comedy is quite amusing to watch so far.

to me it seemed like they were trying to get too much done in one episode.
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KidaYuki



Joined: 26 Sep 2010
Posts: 129
Location: North America
PostPosted: Tue Apr 14, 2015 9:08 pm Reply with quote
Just watched episode 2 and at first I was like "Sure this is nothing to write home about animation wise but it ain't that bad..." and then the fight scene happened and I was just like "welp there goes what was left of the episode's budget."

Overall I think I'll stick with it since it just makes me smile and what more reason should I have Smile
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Great Rumbler



Joined: 03 Oct 2006
Posts: 327
Location: Oklahoma
PostPosted: Wed Apr 15, 2015 12:08 am Reply with quote
It's not especially creative or unique and it's not great by any measure, but it's just a solidly entertaining show. It's got a nice bit of energy to it and maintains a good humor about itself that so far hasn't felt like it's pushing too hard.
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meiam



Joined: 23 Jun 2013
Posts: 3442
PostPosted: Wed Apr 15, 2015 12:11 am Reply with quote
I don't get the complain about the lack of "intelligent plot". Seems no dumber than pretty much every other show out there. It's not pretentious I'll give you that, but that's a good point in my book. And the plot is pretty obvious "girl with destiny go to magic school", nothing too impressive but it's pretty straightforward. So long as the fight are good and the humor is decent it'll be worth watching. If anything I hope they don't try to make some big important plot out of it, that's cool when it work but 95% of show that try to do that end up massively missing the mark and only get worse because of it (example kill la kill, which this show setting is fairly similar to the first part of KLK).

Epi 2 fight was pretty good, but her power seems really boring, so the fight might end up getting stale or they'll constantly give her new power but then it might feel very random.
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iatheia



Joined: 20 Jun 2009
Posts: 130
PostPosted: Wed Apr 15, 2015 12:43 am Reply with quote
I wonder if this is what guys feel when they watch their harem/fantasy series with a self insert protagonist... I feel thoroughly pandered to with this series at nearly every level.
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JaggedAuthor



Joined: 27 Oct 2014
Posts: 981
PostPosted: Wed Apr 15, 2015 12:55 am Reply with quote
Quote:
It's not especially creative or unique and it's not great by any measure, but it's just a solidly entertaining show. It's got a nice bit of energy to it and maintains a good humor about itself that so far hasn't felt like it's pushing too hard.


This pretty much sums up my feelings on the series so far.
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meiam



Joined: 23 Jun 2013
Posts: 3442
PostPosted: Wed Apr 15, 2015 1:01 am Reply with quote
iatheia wrote:
I wonder if this is what guys feel when they watch their harem/fantasy series with a self insert protagonist... I feel thoroughly pandered to with this series at nearly every level.


Humm not really, she has far too much personality compared to the average harem lead.
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ikillchicken



Joined: 12 Feb 2007
Posts: 7272
Location: Vancouver
PostPosted: Wed Apr 15, 2015 2:05 am Reply with quote
Yeah. this is certainly a goofy show. The premise is really cliche and silly. The character all also all fairly broad and one dimensional. (Although I at least like the main character.) There's absolutely nothing here that really invites you to take this show seriously. Of course, that's not inherently a bad thing. Light, breezy, colorful nonsense can still be fun. It remains to be seen whether that will actually be the case here or not though. So far it is extremely hit and miss. This is generally a pretty energetic and fast paced show so that helps. Although when the pace does occasionally drags the show can turn into a real snooze very quickly. The comedy is a very mixed bag too. There are a few funny moments but a lot of loud overreaction too. The action sequences are very nice though. The first big battle at the end of episode 2 certainly redeems the show somewhat. I don't know. We'll see how it goes.
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Hameyadea



Joined: 23 Jun 2014
Posts: 3679
PostPosted: Wed Apr 15, 2015 4:27 am Reply with quote
Episodes #1-2:

As the Yuri-loving MC, Ichinomiya Eruna, spends her time in her room post-graduation-for-middle-school, playing male-marketed dating sims, she is visited by her coz-con'd (cousin-complex; like sis-con, but the cousin version) cousin Ninomiya Shigure to help her reach a decision to which high school she wishes to join. One look at Mikagura Private Academy's "poster student", the academy's principal's grand-daughter Mikagura Seisa, she is immediately enamored and head off to Mikagura.

Upon arrival, she is required to perform some tests as part of the admission process. But there's something odd going on, as she has a strange, floating, affixed-on-speech-tics cat, named Bimī, following her around. And apparently being able to see him was the real test all along. After successfully entering the school, Eruna finds out that those who aren't part of a club get a less-than-minimal level of assistance from the Academy, such as a 5-minutes time-limit on showers, one small-sized meal a day and a sleeping bad to sleep in the hall. But that doesn't discourage the very vigorous Eruna, whose only wish to be in the same room as Seisa. And lo and behold, Seisa makes a rare appearance to the school's yard and personally invites Eruna to join the former's Club, the Going-Home Club. Thus Eruna's life in Mikagura begins. And that was just Episode #1.

As far as plot goes, Mikagura Gakuen Kumikyoku goes over the usual, you've-already-seen-it-before checklist: a perpetually-hungery, highly-energetic, socially-awkward lead character, a best-friend character who jumps-starts the lead into action, single-themed jokes, School Life (*sigh*), "You Are The Chosen One" (another *sigh*) and Tournament Battles. On paper it sounds like a dry attempt at creating a show, lifted from other places. But the execution is commendable for keeping those 2 episodes from being boring.

The main character Eruna is a seemingly one-sided character - she like girls; real world, dating sims, illusions, feminine boys, you name it. And most of the show's jokes revolve around Eruna's obsession with the lasses and the tsukkomi reactions from the surroundings to her actions (usually Bimī). It sounds flat, but surprisingly, good timings, appropriate tones (vocally), not-too-far-of-the-edge tones (atmospherically) and art presentation managed to cause me to giggle a few times, so the shtick is currently working. And for a comedic show, that;s a big plus to have.

The other cast also helps to establish the world & its settings, with the aforementioned, coz-con'd cousin Shigure serving as a natural narrative vehicle in lieu of the commonly-used self-explained exposition. He also shows that despite his coz-con, he neither an airhead that keeps being preoccupied with his complex, nor shows a repulsive way-too-close-for-comfort levels of affection for Eruna, which other shows try and fail at finding that in-between sweet spot. In addition that is the stoic, school idol Seisa, whose characterization so far as given me the impression of a Princess In the Tower character than a Too Good For You one. The other club members (mostly presidents/representatives so far) displayed the inklings of traits that, depends of the execution, can be used as good comedic material, like the intimidating-but-he's-really-a-sweetheart Art Club President Kuzuryū Kyōma, or the bishōnen Astronomy Club President Imizu Asuhi.

The art of the show has been fluctuating somewhat, with Episode #2 looking more polished than Episode #1, and the studio's, Dōga Kōbō, style more prominent in Episode #2. Like their other show airing in this Spring Season, Plastic Memories, the studio's tendencies of giving hair their kind of shine, the level of animation-brightness, the overall shapes of the character models and the general character movement further reinforce the fact that the same studio behind Gekkan Shōjo Nozaki-kun is animating this show as well.

The battle scenes in Episode #2 looked a bit bland and flat, art-wise, but their tonal make-up (atmosphere-wise) felt like it was a deliberate choice, rather than a technical constraint; with the fight feeling over-the-top and shōnen-y, scaling down the highly-detailed art assets for a more fluid and fast-paced sequences helped made the scenes feel exhilarating, but not over-burdened that it's attacking the viewer's senses in trying to keep trace of all the on-screen action. It was a good example of a Simple Is Better usage.

The VA (always referring to voice-act/-ing; voice actors will be referred to as 'seiyūs') was at a good and believable levels throughout these two episodes. Kimura Juri (Shirobako's Miyamori Aoi) sounds enough fujoshi-y for Eruna to be funny, but far enough removed from sounding like a stereotypical fujoshi character for it to be irritating or distracting, and often hits the notes well in the fantasy moments. Ōnishi Saori (Saenai Hiroine no Sodatekata's Eriri Spencer Sawamura and this Season's Dungeon ni Deai wo Motomeru no ha Machigatteiru Darō ka?'s Aiz Wallenstein) successfully voicing Seisa in a high-class and somewhat disgruntled way, which coupled with the character's stoic appearance, creates a few subtleties for the character.

The show hasn't had me at any point completely laughing, nor it felt overly drawn-out and boring. Its one comedic routine of "today's Eruna's imagination scene is..." might feel like a dead horse further down the line, but currently it's still working and isn't feeling overused just yet, and that's what really matters. With the art style bright and charming, this show's starting episodes feel confident, and left me wanting to see Episode #3.
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor


Joined: 05 Jan 2002
Posts: 7912
Location: Anime News Network Technodrome
PostPosted: Wed Apr 15, 2015 7:58 am Reply with quote
Hameyadea, are you copy pasting these from another site? Every single episode review thread has an enormous wall of text from you with a full plot synopsis, as though these are being written for publication somewhere. It's getting kind of annoying having to scroll past these gigantic posts. If you're auditioning for a spot on the daily reviews team, please wait for an announcement that we're hiring for that position (which we are currently not). Posting these giant reviews in every thread, unrelated to what was written about the show and not part of any actual discussion, is not a good way to get my attention, if that's what you're trying to do.
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Hameyadea



Joined: 23 Jun 2014
Posts: 3679
PostPosted: Wed Apr 15, 2015 8:11 am Reply with quote
^
No, they are not copied or otherwise lifted from other source. While I acknowledge that they are bigger than most posts in the thread(s), I'm just a user who is offering its own viewpoint on the episode(s).

As for the synopsis introduction - well, that's how I get in the groove of writing. You can call it a jump-start routine. That is how I was taught in literature lessons way back in my school days.

I'm am by no means trying to "sell myself" for a position in ANN, nor I'm trying to troll or otherwise cause troubles to the site's staff members or its users. And if that was the impression you, or anyone else, got, that clearly wasn't my intent.

As for the irrelevance claim you've made - maybe I'm biased since I wrote those posts, but I think that they're both relevant to the show and offer my view of the same events, which is basically what a review is.

I can condense my posts to a 3-line "nice art. gonna keep watching", but then what's the point in offering our own personal take?
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor


Joined: 05 Jan 2002
Posts: 7912
Location: Anime News Network Technodrome
PostPosted: Wed Apr 15, 2015 8:38 am Reply with quote
Maybe do us a solid and skip the plot synopsis?
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Gewürtztraminer



Joined: 14 Nov 2007
Posts: 1028
Location: Texas - Its like whole other country.
PostPosted: Wed Apr 15, 2015 8:44 am Reply with quote
The best two things about this show?

1. It streams on Tuesdays.
2. It is not terrible.

If this was on Saturdays, there is no way it would make the cut, but falling on Tuesday, not much else to compete with.

Currently, I am not following anything on Mondays, so that allows for overflow from the 11 Saturday and Sunday shows.
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MysticMew



Joined: 07 Mar 2015
Posts: 91
Location: Bremen, Germany
PostPosted: Wed Apr 15, 2015 2:03 pm Reply with quote
I just love it for the utter novelty of a female Yuri-inclined (or even heavily obsessed) LEAD in a show that does not fall exclusively into some kind of Yuri/Shoujo Ai category (like most Slice-of-Life yuri does). That's not just rare, it's pretty much the first I've seen doing something like that.

It's also plenty funny so far.
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