Atarashii Prelude

Autumn Quicklooks: The Sacred Blacksmith; Miracle Train; Sora no Otoshimono

The Sacred Blacksmith

As an heir to a long line of blacksmiths, the hero must overcome challenges and bond with those around him in order to forge the ultimate weapon to defeat the ultimate evil. A pretty standard synopsis, I'm sure you'd agree, though I was in fact describing a videogame, hence why I feel as though I already know where this show is heading from its opening sequence alone. Predictably run of the mill? You bet! Yet, I am unable to bring myself to dislike it, at least not just yet, because of this very sense of familiarity.

Sitting through Sacred Blacksmith was akin to watching a very long cutscene of a mid to late 90's Japanese RPG, a bygone era when the tropes and clichés seen in the former were still well within their use-by date. As such, Sacred Blacksmith's now somewhat stale roots become very apparent to people like me,  and we've moved on ever since, only to occasionally reminisce on those simpler styles of storytelling. For everyone else who's watching this sans nostalgia goggles, there's little else to recommend in this mediocre medieval adventure 'em up.

My general rule of thumb stands as always; When all else fails, look to the characters! Everyone here fulfils a particular archetype, as you'd imagine, though the female lead, Cecily, has been so far relegated to a role usually designated to side characters, seeing as how she's only present as a source of fanservice. The hero on the other hand, is testament to the trend that has been plaguing Japanese RPGs for what seems to be an eternity, given his angsty and callous persona. Forgettable party members like these do nothing but add a chink to Sacred Blacksmith's armour, though the token loli saves it from crumbling like Cecily's breastplate. Lisa has just the right dosage of cute for her to be endearing (her manga counterpart's made of pure sex) but you're probably thinking that it wouldn't matter to a filthy lolicon anyway, and I hate that about myself sometimes, as you're not far from the truth. Sigh.

Miracle Train

The only posts I've read on this show were written either by zealous fangirls or myopic homophobes, so while they weren't exactly the most impartial of reviews, the general consensus points to Miracle Train being nothing more than unadulterated fanservice. The question is however, for whom? Although it's pretty clear that this show is meant solely for those with a penchant for pretty boys, it wasn't immediately apparent to me as I've filtered all that out and was instead fixated on the scenario that takes place should a girl enter a supposedly empty train carriage only to find herself with seven other men... I could go on in detail about what happens next, but that would require a post of its own

Anyway, false initial expectations aside, Miracle Train is surprisingly lacking in the boys ❤ love action that you'd come to expect, and comes across as a hybrid between Ouran Host Club and Bartender, for the lack of better comparisons. To put it simply, the boys here are pre-occupied with servicing their clientèle rather than each other. A disappointment, I know. While I've tried to address the very factors which kept detractors at bay, Miracle Train is still in its essence, eyecandy, though as it is with most of the shows I watch, this is hardly a bad thing

P.S Roppongi and Shinjuku are mai husbandos. Do not claim.

Sora no Otoshimono

For once, what I ended up getting from a show didn't deviate too much from what I had expected. For the most part anyway. To regard Sora no Otoshimono as the depraved successor to Ah! My Goddess would probably the easiest means of summing up the show, even if I risk infuriating other fans of the latter. The copious amounts of boobage caused some migraines for this connoisseur of flat chests, but in the light of the well executed comical moments that intersperse them, I had come to actually love this show. Hell, the hero's even actually maximizing the potential of his powers for a change; Pulling off the depraved stunts that I could only have lucid, wet dreams of Definitely sticking to this for more outrageous shenanigans, though I'd reckon it would be difficult to top a fleet of airborne underwear(I know I'm speaking too soon, but eh) And my true motive for staying? That blue haired nymph of course, who's appropriately named as such, even. Both my heart and penis throb in anticipation of the kinds of fanservice treatment she would receive (*´Д`)ﾊｧﾊｧ