Drifters (2016): First Impressions (Seinen, Action, Comedy, Fantasy)

Today's first impressions comes from four episodes. Sure I meant to base my first impression over just the first. It was classic "let-me-watch-just-one-episode-and-see-what-it-is-about". We know how those ends. It just struck me. There are tonnes of more accessible and available means of peoples to discover and decide what anime to watch. Why am I doing this?

So from the get go you see all the hallmarks of seinen; well, not all the hallmarks, it lacks enough to class as sufficient evidence of one being a pervert; your squirmish friends won't like this much. They will need some slight desensitization; by slight I mean a lot.

Does it look good?
I'd say it does. I find the character design weird but hey such stuff didn't stop me from watching Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. The action is fast paced enough for the backgrounds not to matter much, and,  fortunately the backgrounds don't seem dead.

Does it sound good?
Pretty the standard fare of this kind of project. Good enough not to make your ears cringe but I don't expect one to be combing search engines and music stores looking for the OST. It's not Shigatsu wa kimi no Uso. It's not Hiroyuki Suwano. I guarantee though your ears won't bleed.

I don't care about any of that. Plot and Characters for crying out loud!
Standard Fare is a term I would use to describe a lot of things concerning this show. I feel like I know where the author is going but there is always a chance the author might surprise us. I did notice the author did subvert some of his audience's expectations. He knows this is not really new ground so he gives it a few subtle tweaks here and there to make it more palatable to the spoiled palates of the modern anime watcher.

Wait, if it is standard fare why should I care?
It's a pretty solid project from a technical standpoint. It generated enough intrigue for me to reach episode 4 prior to telling myself. "Enough now, type about it". I don't know if they will go the path of Gate or the path of Btoom. So it might get really awesome, but if it gets bland please forgive me. We all know not everything can be Attack on Titan.

Overall I'd give the first 3 episodes an overall rating of 4/6. There is room for improvement, not much to complain about except that one character I wish the author made a protagonist. Why oh why???.

This is Seijin saying Godspeed; till the next time.

Official Website: http://www.nbcuni.co.jp/rondorobe/anime/drifters/

Battery: First Impressions (Sports, Shonen, Slice of Life)

Preliminary Thoughts 

Now as far as anime goes. There was a particular flavor I developed a liking to. Perhaps it was my youthful brashness and exuberance that drew me towards that direction. Perhaps it was an immaterial entity guiding my path, regardless this was not the kind of anime I would have expected to like or enjoy. For more details, on this particular set of possibly pointless ramblings we leave to time.

Battery is a sports shonen anime; but it's flavor comes from a different sort of spice. From the first episode I get the impression that the author wishes to carry this by means of the hearts of the characters, the differences in personality and what promises to be something more than the typical sports plot lines. It has been done before probably, but I am only limited to what I have experienced.

How does it pan as an anime?
If it was a game one would ask me. What do you think of the graphics? Few studios slack with animations recently aside from a few that I will not name, for fear of being targeted. What stand out for me was some of the backgrounds and scenery. Couple that with the music; and the fact that it is raining outside and it is afternoon.

As a work of art. The drawing, the character design and the ambient music mesh in well. The lack of background movement make it appear closer to a visual novel in some places but nothing too serious. It's episode one people usually want to blow us away with amazing visuals but it might be intentional a tool to help tell this story. And frankly awesomeness and fun trumps "perfect reflections of real life".

Who cares about animation and music? Does it scratch the itch? 
This doesn't strike me as whisky. Something to instantly give that anime shonen rush. It's more like wine. Something you sip pretentiously as you sit by the fireplace with your spouse or siblings. Something that will slowly build to an inevitable climax in an understated, yet classy way

Similar to?
Reminds me of Usagi Drop. Something you can show to your family members to prove that anime isn't demonic.

Recommendation
I give the first episode a 3.5/5 with the qualifier "it's going to get better". I've been in the mood for something unusual to my usual anime fare. This seems to be it.

Till the next time. It is me, Seijin, signing out.

Official anime Site: http://battery-anime.com/