Hachimitsu

Valvrave the Liberator

Overkill is the best way to describe Valvrave the Liberator. It’s like watching a sadistic clown force feeding a little kid cake, ice cream and spaghetti all in one go. It’s unnerving yet darkly humorous to watch. It pushes everything to the extreme and is so aware of its own trappings as a Sunrise™ show that it almost becomes some form of self-parody.

Does it have the potential to become a grandiose tale of giant robots…liberating the masses? I can’t say. However, with our main character becoming an undead vampire in the last few minutes of this episode, I can safely say that Valvrave the Liberator has won my attention.

 Hataraku Maou-sama

Maou-sama is possibly an allegorical tale of the young Japanese graduates having to face the reality of living on your own, finding a job and playing a larger part in society as an adult. The sad thing is that its hilarity largely depends on the main cast’s naiveté and the helplessness. Eventually, our characters learn to accept their situation and slowly become mere shadows of their former selves. Maou-sama is the rare anime comedy that finds humor in a rather tragic premise. That or it really is just about a Demon King who works at Mc Donalds. Whichever it is, it’s a keeper for now.

Karneval

I have no fucking idea what’s going on in this show but it’s one of the most visually pleasing things I’ve seen in awhile. It’s really worth sitting through if only to spot some excellent artistic direction. Suganuma Eiji isn’t exactly the most prolific director but you can see a sliver of talent in there.