I’ve run into a little problem with the current slate of shows and I can only really briefly describe it in this one sentence: Despite the crop of shows this season being considered to be solid by the vast majority of people I talk to, I cannot bring myself to say anything other than “meh” about this season. I’m well aware that it is early days yet, but having casually dismissed the most popular and well-received of this season’s shows has only led to yet another bout of questioning exactly where I am in terms of the medium.
I don’t think I missed out from not writing about the slate of shows that aired in the summer since I don’t think anyone really talks about them anymore. So I dived straight back into the pool this season and I wasn’t really excited to be there. Maybe if I do this show-by-show it will make more sense:
Akatsuki no Yona – The protagonist seemed to flawed from the start to make the transformation into battle-hardened warrior princess believable.
Cross Ange – So much glee taken in the female protagonist’s downfall that I was shocked Urobuchi had nothing to do with this.
Donten ni Warau – That scene in the market, no, just no.
Garo – Exposition in the middle of sex was an interesting gambit, though it didn’t really pay off.
G-Reco and Build Fighters – I think I’m afraid to go back to this franchise now since I’ve really gone off the path of mecha.
Parasyte – It was kind of boring throughout with it seeming to Horror Pokemon with the protagonist drawing the desperately unlucky Midori Days inspired monster.
Wolf Girl – Every character in this show is bad and should be ashamed to be so bad.
Bahamut – I just felt like it was pandering and not in an interesting way.
World Trigger – Again, this was boring, but I don’t think I’m in the target demographic here.
Like this, only less eye candy.
Most of these shows have devout followings on social media, and I’ve basically gone and told them that their favorites of the season are so bad that they aren’t worth fully explaining why they are so bad. I simply can’t muster the enthusiasm about shows I do like because I don’t think there’s really a 9/10 show this season. I don’t think there are any 8/10 shows this season for that matter too. So if I do the same thing for shows I do think positively of:
Amagi Brilliant Park – I think I may like this show as it is kind of fun.
Daitoshokan – This feels like a harem show with a heart of gold, unironically.
Inou-Battle – I’m pretty sure this is the longest I’ve watched a Trigger show without reaching to close the browser window.
Grisaia – It’s painful to watch at times, but it seems like interesting things will happen eventually.
Madan – Aren’t shows like this supposed to be terrible?
Trinity Seven – I like it, but do I really like it?
I have other shows in the middle of this divide this season, but I don’t think any show wants to be the most ‘meh’ of my selection of ‘meh’. It’s just better to be terrible than to be ordinary and forgettable. Maybe that should be the new tagline for this site…
I think ultimately, the biggest problem I have is when it comes to my attitude to a show like Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso. I haven’t actually watched it. I haven’t watched it because I can’t hate a show that I haven’t watched. That in itself is my biggest problem. I think when I’ve put myself in positions where I’ve really disliked or liked shows I’ve generally been met with the equivalent of blank stares. It’s fully deserved and now I’m afraid to even put myself in a position beyond saying “it was okay” or “I guess I didn’t it like it so much” to even “no comment” when I really want to say some really bad things.
I conclude this particular post by saying that it may take a long time before I’m actually truly confident in expressing how I feel about certain things. It could be a few weeks, months, years or even never, but I have to at least attempt to get back to that place again.
