The Fall Anime Season is Here (Part 9)!

Title: Ore no Nounai Sentakushi ga Gakuen Love Come o Zenryoku de Jama Shiteiru (aka Noucome)
Release Date: Oct. 9, 2013
Studio: Diomedea
Genre: Comedy, Romance, Fantasy
Premise: Kanade Amakusa is just like any other high school-age boy, except for his ability (or is it a curse?) of Absolute Multiple Choice: periodically Kanade is presented with two equally absurd choices, and whichever he chooses will come to pass in the real world.

Verdict: I am pleasantly surprised. Usually romantic comedy anime cash in on gratuitous shots of bouncing boobies and underwear, but every once in a while there's a show that tips the scale more towards laughs than fan service. Noucome is just such a show. Good humor subverts the audience's expectations by introducing extraordinary elements to ordinary situations. And nothing is more extraordinary than Kanade's Absolute Multiple Choice.

Imagine having a completely innocuous conversation with a classmate and suddenly being forced to choose between 1) asking to touch her boobs and 2) asking her to touch yours. This is only the first of many difficult choices Kanade is forced to make throughout the day, and I'd really feel for the guy if I wasn't too busy laughing. Each Absolute Multiple Choice provides a one-two comedy punch of anticipation over which answer he'll choose and payoff watching his choices play out in reality. It's a unique gimmick that shouldn't get old for a while.

It's a bit early to comment on the anime's story since the catalyst for the romantic part of the show wasn't introduced until the end of the episode. After a day of dealing with particularly bizarre choices, Kanade is presented with the choice of either catching a beautiful girl who falls from the sky or catching his overweight neighbor; he elects the former and a new chapter of his life appears to begin. This girl from the sky claims she's here to rescue him, but it remains to be seen how she'll accomplish this. In the meantime, the shenanigans that are sure to follow should peak viewers' interest.

The Fall Anime Season is Here (Part 6)!

Title: Gingitsune
Release Date: Oct. 6, 2013
Studio: Diomedea
Genre: Supernatural, Slice of Life
Premise: Shortly after the death of her mother, 4-year-old Makoto Saeki begins to see a silver fox spirit lounging on the roof of her family's shrine. Several years later, Makoto, now a high school student, has become something of a local favorite, working with Gin, the fox spirit, to tell people's fortunes and give them advice.

Verdict: A solid pilot from a simple premise. Studio Medea has primarily been known for its lighthearted harem fare, but their latest series seems to be going in a more serious, girl-oriented direction for them.

Makoto is your average high school girl, barring the fact that she and only she can see a gigantic talking fox with supernatural abilities. Gin, voiced by the incredible Shinichiro Miki, has served as the herald, or spirit messenger, for Makoto's shrine for 15 generations. Understandably, Gin approaches his responsibilities as herald with the jaded dutifulness of a veteran blue collar worker. It doesn't help matters that Makoto routinely uses his divining powers just to tell fortunes for her classmates. One such girl seeks Makoto out after a fight with her boyfriend. Makoto relates Gin's advice (apologize) but leaves out a key part (apologize humbly) and ends up making matters worse. Instead of owning her mistake she blames Gin, who subsequently departs the shrine in a huff. In his absence, things begin to fall apart for Makoto, and her client isn't the only one who's learned something by episode's end.

I could see this quickly turning into a series of after school specials, with each week bringing a problem that teaches a different moral, but I will stick around as long as the beautiful art keeps coming. The scene where Gin first summons his divining powers can only be described as majestic, and the shots of the shrines that the spirits call home are faithful depictions of classic Japanese architecture. You probably won't get any earth-shattering revelations out of a show like this, but the art direction is worth repeat viewings.