Rank	Anime	Studio	Episode	Change
1	Nisemonogatari	SHAFT	8	–
2	Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou	Sunrise	7	4
3	Chihayafuru	Madhouse	20	1
4	Ano Natsu de Matteru	J.C. Staff	7	–
5	Aquarion Evol	Satelight	8	4

On the cusp: Mouretsu Uchuu Kaizoku, Mirai Nikki, Another, Natsume Yuujin-chou Shi

Last week’s results, about the Anime Power Rankings

This has been quite the week for anime episodes, particularly ones named Nisemonogatari. This week’s surreal blend of dental hygiene and incest ecchi fanservice polarized its audience. Some viewers embracing the creativity and humor while others, already frustrated with the pacing of the anime, decried it as vapid filler.

You know, with only three episodes left of Nisemonogatari, one could wonder how the heck things will progress as Shaft wasted an enitre episode on awkward and off-putting incest tooth brushing. So far, Nisemonogatari has been far from bad, as expected from its creators. But it doesn’t live up to its predecessor, Bakemonogatari, due two simply two reasons, reasons all of you probably have heard already.

1. Nonsense talk and pacing
Yes, I know, Bakemonogatari was full of this nonsense talk too, I won’t deny it. But it never got in the way of telling a story, except maybe in the longest arc, Tsubasa Cat. It also shed some lights on the characters which made the already funny and witty dialogue even better. But best of all, since the arcs were so short and focused, it didn’t feel out of place. As I said, it never got in the way of telling a story. The pacing was great.

With Nisemonogatari, however, this nonsense talk becomes a problem. There are only two arcs, the first one lasted seven episodes, and the pacing quickly becomes an issue. The first two episodes are spent on nothing at all besides introducing the cast and even after that, nothing really happens storywise. It grew a bit stale and the feeling of a conflict never existed. Instead, it was talk talk talk talk that did nothing for me at least. Sure, it was a pleasure as always, but it just felt in the way. And when the first arc ended, there were only going to be four episodes left to the last arc. What happened? Nothing, except tooth brushing.

It really feels like the pacing is off and I wonder if not this last arc will feel very “choppy”. Speaking of which, I even felt the first arc was choppy. Tsubasa just appeared out of nowhere and whatnot. There wasn’t a proper explanation of anything, I thought. Maybe that was just me, maybe it is like that in the novels too or maybe it was bad pacing (and direction). And the reason I believe is nonsense talk that got in the way.

2. Fanservice
Once again, Bakemonogatari had this too. But this much? Far from it. I don’t even need to delve into this further I believe. Nisemonogatari is full of fanservice which is really disturbing sometimes and ruins the “cool” atmosphere Bakemonogatari mostly had (luckily, this was not the case with episode seven). This week’s episode, number eight, had the tooth brushing scene. Dangit.

But it is very well-presented and sometimes very tasteful in comparison to many other series. That is always a plus.

Marow (Anime Viking)

But on the other end, some viewers gave this week’s Nisemonogatari glowing reviews.

 

Nisemonogatari has done something I never thought possible. It has taken teeth brushing, an activity that’s sole purpose is to clean, and turned it into the dirtiest thing I do every morning. Every time I brush my teeth from now on, I will only think of Koyomi straddling Karen with a toothbrush in her mouth. I don’t think I’ll even be able to go to the dentist anymore without the thought of my dentist trying to molest me as he tells me I need to floss better. Having said that, I still enjoyed every damn minute of this latest Nisemonogatari. How Shinbou and Shaft get away with stuff like this I will never know. Nor do I really care either. The main problem I saw with this latest episode is that this is the start of the Tsukihi arc, yet it was all about Karen with Tsukihi being in the episode for less than five minutes. Maybe next episode we’ll see Koyomi straddle Tsukihi as he tries to clean out her ears, like a better version of that weird scene from Hen Zemi.

Lerxst (Anime Afterlife Podcast)

Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou makes a return to the top 5, jumping to 2nd place this week. I think I speak for everyone when I say that the Literary Girl segment was pure hilarity.

Ano Natsu keeps on amazing me on how it keeps its momentum. You know that you’re expecting something cliche but the way it surprises you is truly like a bag of mixed nuts. I love it for it’s character, vibe, and clever and emotional used of fanservice.

Snipp (Lemmas and Submodalities)

 

Ano Natsu is really starting to pick up the pace and everyone’s feelings are pretty much exposed now. With a spaceship on its way to Earth, I’m really looking forward to seeing how things between Kaito and Ichika will work out.

Nopy (Nopy’s Blog)

Finally, we have Aquarion Evol, defying both expectations and logic to make its first appearance in the Anime Power Rankings this week. Thanks to a cornucopia of fanservice, random plot developments, general hilarity, and a last minute ballot, Aquarion Evol managed to scrape into the rankings this week by a single point over Mouretsu Uchuu Kaizoku. This week’s episode embodies everything Aquarion Evol is about: mecha fanservice and enough cheesiness to make Italy blush.

You know kevo, fuck you. I said on the podcast I could never have Aquarion on my APR list. The show is too ridiculous to waste my precious vote. I understand the show is cheesy, but I thought there was a limit to its comedic value. Then I saw this episode. I feel like Stephen A. Smith after Tebow beat the Steelers in the playoffs. For me to actually admit that episode was entertaining is simply unconscionable and unconstitutional.

Aeroblip (Desu ex Machina)

On a related note, congrats to Aeroblip for winning APR bingo this week. He voted for all 5 shows this week, and he would have gotten them in order if he flipped AnoNatsu and Nichibro. He doesn’t have access to any Anime Power Rankings data, so we don’t have a case of insider trading or anything

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