pudgetronSo. We have come once again to the precipice of the void in between anime seasons. One thing I’ve noticed is that after the initial fervor to start, the production of stuff in the industry as a whole slows down, making my job harder as it severely limits the amount of stuff I can write about. I used to have a back up list of stuff I kept in reserve for just such occasions, but the list was lost and my memory ain’t none too good, so I’m stuck playing catch up. I’ve decided this week’s issue will be a grab-bag of sorts; none of these series are all that developed, and a couple of them are even one-shots. The one thing they all have in common is potential, of course whether or not they use that potential remains to be seen, but they’re something to keep your eye on as they develop. There won’t be too much in the way of my opinion on these, as there is very little to have an opinion on, but we’ll see how it goes, as I normally make that stuff up as I go. Without further ado… stuff.
Parasistence Sana can be concisely summed up as the story of a boy and his tapeworm. Karato, the boy in question, has a researcher father who, on top of being a little “out there”, is almost never home due to getting caught up in his work, so Karato largely lives with his younger cousin, Sakura. On a particularly rushed morning, Sakura literally stuffs Karato’s face with his breakfast, as well as with a test sample his father had left out on the table. Long story short, it was a tapeworm with the ability to have a second body, in the form of a human girl in this case, while still being able to manipulate the body within the host.
Those familiar with stories like this will probably know how this will turn out, and those not can just go read this, as it seems to be following the textbook to the letter so far.
Ichiru Kanzaki is a bit of a reclusive miser, which is somewhat unusual for someone supposed to be in their second year of high school. I say “supposed to” because, as you’ve no doubt figured out, he doesn’t go to school, choosing instead to lock himself in his room with his computer. A side-effect of this is that he also has an almost crippling debt to pay of to his somewhat estranged father; luckily for him, his father has a way to wipe his debt clean. He has to go to school, and find his half-sister, AKA his father’s illegitimate daughter.
Doubt! has a bit of a unique tone to it, when compared to some other series’ with a similar story line in that Ichiru has absolutely zero desire to do anything except find his half-sister. This is just a job, and he wants it done as soon as possible so he can go back to his room and never have to come out again.
High Spec Lovers is a one-shot that I have very high hopes for, in terms of it getting the go ahead to develop into a full blown series. The story goes that the student council president and vice president are the school’s “wonder couple”; they’re both extremely well liked, excel in practically everything they do, and on the surface, have a perfect relationship that everyone strives to emulate. The main problem is that the vice president, Hasegawa Kengo, studies night & day and works his fingers to the bone in order to stay on a level playing field as his girlfriend, Asakura Rin, and he worries constantly about what will happen if he slips in his studies.
Now, with this being a one-shot, there is only a small chance of it evolving into a series, but it was extremely well done. I’ not sure that there was something I disliked about it that wasn’t made up for ten times over by something else. The best part, for me, is how the relationship between them is portrayed; they’re a relatively new couple, and they’re still a little fluterry around one another, and there are multiple times when neither of them has any idea of what to do or say. It just adds a level of realism that I don’t see often enough in the genre. I’m not saying that you should hold your breath for this one to become a full length series, but I would certainly be disappointed if it didn’t.
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