The final part of my look at the spectacular summer season is the countdown of the best titles of the season. This is always a difficult process since I enjoy so many different types of shows and there’s no clear-cut way of comparing a slice-of-life show to a shounen action show to a thought provoking SF drama set in the near future but at the same time, it’s fun because it helps me focus on exactly why I like certain shows.

The first step in the process is to figure out how many places will this season’s top list include. The number changes from season-to-season based on the number of quality shows that I feel deserve to be mentioned. This time I realized that if I included all the titles I thought were “very good”, the list would be much too long so I restricted the list to those shows that I consider “great” shows.

This narrowed the field down to seven shows and now the task turned to ranking these seven shows that I considered great shows. Picking the number one spot was fairly easily but the rest of the list felt like pulling teeth so; whereas, I’ll argue that all seven of these shows belong on the list, I won’t argue to hard over the exact order.

And with that, let’s head to the countdown.

Honorable Mention – Sora no Manimani

Of the shows that almost made it onto the list, Sora no Manimani was the closest and because it was such an enjoyable series, I figured it deserved to at least get an honorable mention.

I’m convinced if this had either had one of the big name studios attached to it or had eye catching animation like a Bakemonogatari then it would have been a popular series. Instead it was done by Studio Comet and outside of the nicely done night sky scenes, the animation was very average. Which makes it sounds like I’m calling anime fans shallow but I understand that with the sheer number of titles (and so many being good) that some way to filter down the number of shows that a person watches needs to be employed.

So, in case you’ve missed this show, Sora no Manimani is a slice-of-school-life show featuring the school’s astronomy club and focuses more on the unique challenges facing a club of this type with a lesser focus on the problems of it’s members. Almost every episode also mixes in a few interesting tidbits of astronomy. I plan on trying the easy method they showed for taking pictures of the night sky with just a normal camera. It’s strength resided in how it stayed entertaining and enjoyable without resorting heavily clichéd characters and became an even stronger series when they introduced some of the neighboring school’s astronomy clubs and their own quirky characters – gotta love the constellation fangirls.

And if the animators get a chance to do a second season (the ending gives that type of feeling), I’d definitely be excited for more Sora no Manimani.

7 – Aoi Hana

The term yuri is such a loaded term for the anime fan because 9.9 times out of 10 a show with yuri is using it for comedic purposes and fan service (think Maria+holic or Kampfer) or the story is so grounded in fantasy that it can’t be taken seriously. Using this term is helpful the vast majority of the time but in that 0.1 times are shows like Aoi Hana that are completely different then the normal yuri show. There’s very little, if any fan service, and the show is a more serious one and yet the story is told in such a way with the right characters that it feels very plausible.

A better way to describe this show is that Aoi Hana is yet another quality slice-of-school-life show from J.C. Staff that will remind the viewer of other J.C. Staff shows like Honey & Clover and Toradora. This show also features the best example of the sheer beauty that J.C. Staff’s watercolor look can lend a show. And speaking of animation, remember how people would talk about the attention to detail the KyoAni would show in their works – I got that same feeling of almost obsessive attention from watching how well Fumi’s hair was animated and how the snow was animated in the last episode. This is another show that if the animators wanted to do a second season, they’re more then welcome since I’d be really happy to see more from these characters.

6 - Kemono no Souja Erin

Erin-sensei!!

Earlier in the season, I talked about finally catching myself on this series and how I felt bad about missing out on such a great show for so long. Since than I’ve patiently and not so patiently waited for the next installment because after every episode I find myself liking the show even more.

The show continues to focus on developing Erin’s character and unfolds in ways that keep the viewer guessing even after 30+ episodes. For example, in the last episode I watched, Erin has become a teacher at the Beastlord school that she schooled in and graduated from. In hindsight, it’s clear that she’s perfect for the job but I wasn’t expecting something like that to happen which just reinforces how all these developments keep the show fresh and exciting to watch. Now we’re moving to the final set of episodes and I can’t wait to see what happens; there’s a very good chance that this’ll be near the top next time.

5 – Cross Game

One of the shows that will get in Kemono no Souja Erin’s way next season will be this show – I just know it. The drop in ranking (from being #1 in the Spring season to #5) might imply some drop off in quality but that’s not the case here. This show is as impressive this season as last.

The original manga author has a real knack at creating good, believable characters and then finding ways to tie these characters together and the animators have done a great job carrying this through into the anime. And if new opening/closing animation is to be believed, we’re in store for another big shack-up among the characters. Another strong point of the show is how the show can be riveting and full of tension without having to resort to cheap tricks and creating bad guys that need defeated. Occasionally, there are people who show up and feel like they should be considered bad guys but so far almost every character like that has been given the chance to redeem themselves. (Azuma is a good example and the spoiled, rich baseball manager is an example in progress.) The only two that haven’t still have time and I won’t be surprised if they see the error of their ways.

And you don’t need to like baseball to enjoy this anime, my younger sister only has a rough understanding of the game and zero interest in it but this is one of her favorite currently airing anime.

4 - Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei Season 3

SZS reminds you to troll or be trolled.

Conventional wisdom states that Goodbye, Mr. Despair is either – not funny, too cultural for English speakers to find funny, or that the only decent season was the first season and from there it went down hill rapidly. I disagree with all three; I think that the majority of the comedy is gettable by even a newbie anime fan (if you like the type of comedy present in the show – which is a different matter all-together) and that the second season was the best season so far.

The difference between the second and third season almost wholly stems from Shaft being overtaxed doing this series and Bakemonogatari. The result was while the material of the show held up well to the second season, the animation looked very poor compared to the second season. I normally hate to dock a show for items not related to the actual content of the show but SZS is different, in that, the presentation of the show became a very important part of the show. I still haven’t seen the final two episodes of the series but I’m pretty sure Shaft has left the door open to make more and I think they should because when the world runs out of things to despair over, it’ll be the day the world ends.

3 - Taishou Yakyuu Musume

Real pitchers use the knuckleball.

On one hand, I’m surprised that Taishou Yakyuu Musume ended up this high but on the other hand, I wish I could have ranked it higher. This type of show normally doesn’t garner much praise – that goes to shows like Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 or East of Eden or Bakemonogatari so I might have chickened out and put it lower. What stopped me is that of all the summer series I finished this is the only one I’m already re-watching and loving every second of. If anything, I’m enjoying this show more the second time.

The show featured a theme I love to see – the underdog vs. the world. I loved it in Rocky, Karate Kid, Major League (am I showing my age yet??) and I loved it here. I deeply wanted to see the boys put in their place and have to acknowledge the girls as equals which ensured that I’d tune in every week to see what happens next. Taishou Yakyuu Musume also showed how the girls had to work hard to get to level of being able to challenge the boys which is another thing I like to see – hard work paying off. (Not saying they beat the boys because I’m not going to spoil the ending here.) At the same time though, the show was never boring or overly sports anime-esque; it was perpetually entertaining and light-hearted and slice-of-lifeish that I wished it had run 26 episodes. I don’t expect this show to be totally historically accurate but I also liked how the show was set in 1925 and they spent a little time showcasing how in this era the people where really caught between the old customs and the western influences that where invading all aspects of the country and culture; for example, some of the girls wore kimonos to school and others where wearing the new thing – sailor uniforms. So for all that, Taishou Yakyuu Musume earns it’s number 3 spot in the top anime of the season.

2 - Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood

With the overlap of the original series finished by the start of this season’s episodes, Full Metal Alchemist had no reason not to shine and has easily proved that remaking the series was the right decision. That part of me that has never stopped believing that shounen shows are the most awesome thing in the world is a very happy camper right now and even the slice-of-life part of me has to grudgingly agree that this show deserves it’s high position.

Watching the show and seeing it’s fights, revelations, twists, and reveals leave me on the edge of my seat and forgetting to breathe until the credits start to roll.

1 - Bakemonogatari

Like I said earlier, picking Bakemonogatari was a fairly easy choice for me. It had the characters, the witty dialogue, the story, the animation, the OP/ED, and it had the single best episode of the season (episode 12). Thankfully, this gem was picked up by much of the anime fan community so I don’t need to go into a long rant as to why this deserves the spot. So, I’ll end it here saying that Shaft better put together a second season quickly – I’m not going to patiently wait 3 years.

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Well, it’s finally done. Now I can fully get to the fall season which I’ve sampled a few shows so far but will get to a full recon now. A couple of the shows, Kampfer and Nyon Koi, have left me really torn about how I should feel about them so they’ll need a couple more episodes before I can write their impression posts. Then there’s Natsu no Arashi season 2, it seems that Shaft has kicked the show up a notch over the first two episodes and that will make it one of the stronger shows this season – I’m sure.

The final set of awards before going to my top shows of the season cover the music, vocal actors, and animation aspects of this season’s anime. Or the three parts to anime that are heavily dependent on the preferences of the individual viewer.

Best Male Seiyuu

Winner: Hiroshi Kamiya as Araragi from Bakemonogatari and Mr. Despair from Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei S. 3

I realize that Hiroshi Kamiya getting both roles is more of a result of Shaft doing both shows and having a bias when casting for Araragi’s vocal actor but I think he did an excellent job with both roles. And to take it further, I think using the same voice actor for both helped highlight the similarities in character between the two.

Best Female Seiyuu

Winner: Chiwa Saito as Senjougahara from Bakemonogatari

Yeah for easy award picks. Chiwa Saito had this award locked in by the third week of the season and never looked back.

Best OP

Winner: Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei S. 3

Runner-up: Kemono no Souja Erin

Yeah for difficult award picks because that means there was lots of good opening songs to choose from. In the case of Kemono no Souja Erin, the one I’m picking is the newer one where it sounds like the same song is used but the singer has been changed and the animators have updated the imagery to reflect the second time skip used in the series. For SZS, I think this is my favorite OP of the series and while the series itself might have not wowed with it’s animation, they went all out for the OP and ED.

Best ED

Winner: Bakemonogatari

Runner-up: Umi Monogatari

The ending of Bakemonogatari was awesome before it was tied so nicely to the show in episode 12 so no other show really had a shot which makes me a little sad because there were some great endings this season.

Best Background Music

Winner: Umi Monogatari

If I’ve learned anything from doing these awards is that invariably, I’ll have several people point out that my pick for best background music should have gone to another show. And more-often-then-not I find that they’re probably right so this time I wonder which shows will be mentioned as being better picks than Umi Monogatari. I don’t mind the comments and will probably agree with them but for right now, I can say that I liked several pieces from Umi Monogatari and remember thinking that the music complements the show nicely.

Best Dressed Characters

Winner: Bakemonogatari

Runner-up: Aoi Hana

The traditional KyoAni award goes to a non-KyoAni show this time for the superb effort shown by Shaft for Bakemonogatari.

Best Animation Style

Winner: Bakemonogatari

Runner-up: Aoi Hana

Remember, animation style is not the same thing as overall best quality. That’s not to say that either show lacked in animation because both shows provided many moments that impressed me but in both cases the most memorable feature was the style itself. Aoi Hana showcased J.C. Staff’s watercolor look and is, I feel, the best example of just how beautiful this style is. Bakemonogatari is a great example of Shaft being Shaft but at the same time the exact style of the show is different from their other work and does a terrific job establishing the mood of the series.

Best Animation

Winner: CANAAN

Canaan is the second series by P.A. Works and once again the animation is just gorgeous. I think they still have much room to grow, in the storytelling and character development departments, but they do know how to animate.

Top Animation Studio

Winner: tie – Shaft / J.C. Staff

I probably would have outright given this to Shaft if they could have pulled off doing both of their shows without any problems but that wasn’t the case and J.C. Staff had a trio of very enjoyable shows. So, in the end, I gave it to both.

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That’s it for part 3 of my summer 2009 anime awards. Stay tuned for my top overall picks of the season.

Around this time of the year I like to pretend that it’s still summer because I know when I stop pretending, the coming winter will just depress me. Of course, the falling leaves and cool temperatures make it hard to pretend it’s something other than autumn. This extends to anime as well, just today, I watched two of the new fall shows and I realized that I can’t be dragging my feet anymore – it’s time to award my summer seasonal anime awards.

This season turned out to be a very impressive one. Between the carry-over shows and the new shows, I think just about every genre had at least a couple shows to pick from and at least one of those shows were a winner. Nor was there any shortage of fuel to fan the flames of fandom. KyoAni took the title “Endless Eight” way too literally, at times Shaft/Shinbou couldn’t quite pull off doing two shows at the same time, Bones left some unhappy over the “scientific” Tokyo Magnitude 8.0, and the animators behind Phantom didn’t seem to mind that the ending of their show was rather “nice boaty”. So it was an all-around good season for anime, and now let’s head for the first group of awards the cast and character awards.

Below is a listing of the shows that I watched this season and are the pool from which the picks for all the awards are coming from. There were a few shows that should be listed since I intended to watch them and I still intend to get to them but for various reasons (time, releases suddenly slow, and apathy) they didn’t get watched. They’ll be included during the yearly awards, assuming I finish them up by the end of the year.

Also a reminder, I’ll try to keep spoilers to a minimum but there’ll be some because of how they’ll relate to specific awards and for the continuing shows, only the part of the series that ran during this season is under consideration for this season’s awards.

Carry-over shows watched this season (8): Phantom ~Requiem of Phantom~, Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Hayate Season 2, Cross Game, Kemono no Souja Erin, Tears to Tiara, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (2009), Hetalia Axis Powers

New shows watched this season (10): Tokyo Magnitude 8.0, Bakemonogatari, Spice and Wolf 2, Taishou Yakyuu Musume, Aoi Hana, Sora no Manimani, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei S. 3, CANAAN, Umineko no Naku Koro ni, Umi Monogatari

Shows that got dropped (3): Fight Ippatsu! Juuden-chan!!, Needless, Kanamemo

Best Female Main Character

Winner: Senjougahara from Bakemonogatari

Runner-up: Erin from Kemono no Souja Erin, Horo from Spice and Wolf 2

I really, really wanted to award Erin best female main character because she has shown her worthiness multiple times over (and I felt bad that I took so long before catching up with the series which probably cost her the best female main character award in the spring season). I even penciled her into the winners spot but seeing Senjougahara as the runner-up spot just didn’t seem right because Senjougahara is a truly great characcccter that will long be remembered and loved. The Senjougahara fascination movement has reached levels that I really haven’t seen since the Melancholy of Haruhi came out in 2006 and she is certainly worth the fuss. Much like how Araragi’s vocabulary was insufficient to describe the night sky in episode 12, I don’t posses the vocabulary to accurately describe why Senjougahara deserves this award – words like awesome, interesting, unique, intelligent, witty, and strong seem too shallow and my thesaurus isn’t giving me anything better – so instead I’ll just submit episode 12 of Bakemonogatari as the needed proof.

Best Male Main Character

Sensitive Kou moment #856

Winner: Kou from Cross Game

Once a character or show has won in a particular category one season, it becomes very hard for that same show to win the same category again in a later season. I think this helps guard against having the past goodness of a show affect it’s chances in the current season. However, if the show continues to make a convincing enough case then I will reward it a second time.

Kou won best male main character for the spring season which makes it much harder to win a second time but there wasn’t another male character that was able to compete against Kou. He continues to display all the attributes – maturity, selflessness, kindness, understanding, being an awesome pitcher but still being humble, and his continued remembrance of Waka – that easily ensured that he’d win this award the first time.

Best Supporting Character

Winner: Roy Mustang from Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood

I just have the feeling that I’ll get at least one person who will comment that Mustang is a main character and not just a supporting character. So let me say that while he is an important character to the show, the only characters that I consider main characters are Ed and Al because these are the only two characters that the entire show revolves around and are in the show enough. Nor is there anything wrong with just being a supporting character because this doesn’t lessen the greatness of his character.

In the first incarnation of the anime, the climax of the first season should have prodded Roy Mustang into action and it didn’t – which ultimately lead to the inferior anime-only ending. This time around, with the source material in place, this climax event propels Roy Mustang into action and allows the viewer to get the full measure of his character. His quixotic quest to find justice, along with his fierce loyalty, and being a true bad ass (see episode 19) makes him an easy pick for this award.

Best Screen-grabber

Winner: Shamisen from The Melancholy of Haruhi (2009)

Runner-up: The pitcher on the female baseball team from Cross Game

This award goes to those characters with small roles to play in an anime but are still able to leave a big impression. In the case of Shamisen – the talking cat first seen three years ago in Haruhi’s awful movie – his appearance in the renewed Haruhi series was the answer to a figurative itch I’ve had for these past three years. After all, as everyone knows talking, sarcastic cat = epic win and making us wait for more Shamisen was just cruel. Or to put his epic awesomeness in another way, Shamisen was able to wash the lingering distaste that Endless Eight left right away and made me excited about the eventual true second season of Haruhi.

Best Couple

Winner: Kraft Lawrence and Horo from Spice and Wolf 2

Runner-up: Senjougahara and Araragi from Bakemonogatari

I sometimes wonder if I watch different shows then other people because the talk about this series was that it was a boring show about economics and merchants but I found Spice and Wolf to actually be about the relationship of a normal guy, who happens to be a merchant, and a wolf harvest goddess that takes a nearly human form (add a tail and ears). Each person has their own strengths and this allows their relationship to be a balanced one – which is somewhat rare in anime because one side of a relationship is normally shown as the much more dominant like in Bakemonogatari. One of the things I really liked in this season was the dawning realization by Horo that humans don’t live a long time when compared to gods which is starting to color how she interacts with Lawrence and adds even more complexity to their relationship. Hopefully, a third season will be on it’s way so we can see how the story unfolds and maybe this time they’ll do a 26 episode run – 13 just isn’t enough time.

Best Character Ability/Power

Winner: Haruhi’s ability to alter reality to suit her whims

I have been able to resist the temptation to read further in the light novels so I’m still really in the dark about what exactly is Haruhi. For all I know, Haruhi is within the Matrix and one day she’ll meet Laurence Fishburne and we’ll find out that Haruhi is “The One”.

Whatever the root cause to Haruhi’s powers, the thing that the new episodes really showed is that she does have vast powers and under the right conditions, she’ll use them quite frequently. The only drawback, at least from Haruhi’s standpoint, is that she’s unaware that she has this capability. Maybe it’s a good thing that she has these powers since the world has been largely unaffected and could you imagine if a normal, hormonally driven teenage boy got these powers – I don’t think it would be a stretch to say that the only woman ruined for marriage would be Mikuru.

Best Cast of Characters

Winner: Cross Game

Some shows lose steam as more characters are introduced because the plot quickly bogs down; some shows, however, thrive with a large cast and Cross Game is one such show. Every character is unique and interesting; no cookie-cutter characters here. I get excited whenever a new character gets introduced because there’s always a good reason for that character’s introduction even if it’s not apparent at the beginning and it’s sometimes surprising to see how he/she will interact with the other cast.

Best Character Development for Cast

Winner: Umi Monogatari

Recently I wrote how Umi Monogatari kept itself simple and was able to end up being a good anime. One of the reasons why this show turned out good was, instead of relying on unlikely coincidences and contrived events that force the characters to change and grow, the plot was left to the characters acting according to their own strengths and weaknesses. The result was that we still got to see the cast face challenges that caused them to grow but Umi Monogatari felt natural and more real than many other shows that aired this season.

Best Character Development of a Single Character

Winner: Erin from Kemono no Souja Erin

As much as I’ve love Kemono no Souja Erin, I realize that even after 35 episodes – the animators are still building Erin’s character and getting her ready for the hero role that she’s going to have to play in the future. This has entailed two time skips and enough hardship that many people would have despaired. Erin hasn’t, she resolutely moves forward to face the next problem and to protect those that she feels need protected. When all the plot threads that have been hinted at finally come together and whatever the exact crisis turns out to be, Erin’s going to be ready to face it and overcome it. I really can’t wait to see how the rest of the series will play out.

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That’s the end of part 1; I hope to have the second part up within a day. Comments and feedback are always appreciated – I’d love to see what others would pick.

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And finally, these two deserve an award, I'm just not sure which one.

Since my winter anime impressions were spread out over the past few weeks I thought it would be a good idea to combine the scores all in on place (and sort by their score) and link back to the individual entries so in case you missed one you could find it easier. Plus give any final thoughts on the beginning of the winter season.

Rideback, episode 1 – 12/12
Munto TV, episode 1 – 12/12
Minami-Ke: Okaeri, episode 1 – 12/12
Zoku Natsume Yuujinchou, episode 1 – 12/12

Birdy the Mighty Decode 2, episode 1 – 11/12 A+

A Tale of Genji, episode 1 – 10/12 A
Maria+Holic, episode 1 – 10/12 A
Hetalia Axis Powers, episode 1 – 10/12 A

Kemono no Souja Erin, episode 1 – 9/12 A-

Sora o Kakeru Shoujo, episode 1 – 8/12 B+

Chrome Shelled Regios, episode 1 – 7/12 B
Shikabane Hime: Kuro, episode 1 – 7/12 B

Asu no Yoichi, episode 1 – 6/12 B-

Akikan, episode 1 – 4/12 C

Birdy Season 2 doesn't reset the world like other sequels would

This is a pretty strong season of anime if you include the sequels and even if you don’t, there is still a few shows that could turn out to be real winners.

Of the sequels, Birdy the Mighty Decode 2 is showing the most improvement over it’s predecessor. I thought the first season was pretty good (gave it an 11/12 A+) but the first three episodes of this season are a great improvement on that. I’d even go so far to say that Birdy Season 2 is the most impressive show that started this season. I recommend this to anyone looking for a good show from this season to watch, even if that means going back to watch the first season.

Maria+Holic has been really hit-n-miss so far. My favorite parts have been when Maria and his maid have been onscreen but when they aren’t, the show loses much of it’s humor and interest. Also, the visual style of the show seems almost timid when compared to Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei. So far I’ve been giving the show a bit of slack because it’s been the beginning but my patience is starting to wane as the show continues to underperform.

Two shows that I’m kinda surprised that I’m still liking are Asu no Yoichi and Sora o Kakeru Shoujo. Asu no Yoichi has continued to be enjoyable even though it’s rather generic and clichéd. Now that I’m 5 episodes in, I find that I haven’t gotten tired of it yet so I’ll probably watch the whole thing. As for Sora o Kakeru Shoujo aka Sorakake Girl, I like the characters a lot as well as the show’s somewhat odd sense of humor. I still don’t know where the story is going but at this point, I don’t care.

The last thing I wanted to mention is that I know there are many anime fans out there that love hearing the Japanese butcher English. Chrome Shelled Regios has had whole scenes done in English (end of episode 3 and the beginning of episodes 4 & 5) by voice actors that obviously don’t know English. I hope they continue with these scenes because I get a good laugh from them. The show, as a whole, has only been decent so far - showing a bit of promise but not much.

One more screenshot from Maria+holic

Posted in anime, first impressions      

I think this will be the last of the winter shows that I’m going to get to. This was another show that really peaked my interest. The author of the source material is the same person who wrote Seirei no Moribito and the animation house is again Production I.G.

Rating: episode 1 – 9/12 A-
Rating: episode 2 – 9/12 A-

Erin is the young daughter of Soyon and she wants to follow in her mom’s footsteps as a dragon doctor. Soyon is regarded by many, even outside of the village, as the best dragon doctor but as an outsider to the village (she married the chief’s son) there are some that would like to see her leave. So far these attempts at getting Soyon kicked out of the village have been thwarted by Soyon and Erin’s intelligence and skill.

I’ll be truthful upfront, I’m weary of picking up this show because of it’s intended episode length, 50 episodes. That’s a lot of time and I’m not sure right now if it’ll be worth it. The last time I watched a series that long, Hayate the Combat Butler, I really only liked the first quarter and the last quarter; I kept losing interest in the middle half and was bored that the story wasn’t advancing. This might not be the case with this show but I don’t want to get 20 episodes in and realize that I don’t feel like continuing.

The main reason that makes me worry is the show seems more solidly geared to kids then Seirei no Moribito as evidenced by the voice-over at the end of the episode explicitly stating things that where obvious in the show and the total lack of subtlety dealing with the guy that wants Soyon and Erin out of the village. I’m worried that the show won’t be engaging enough for someone like me to watch all 50 episodes.

I feel terrible thinking this, though, because I don’t believe in letting preconceived notions dictate what I watch. I want what I watch based on the actual quality of the show and the first two episodes where an enjoyable introduction to the series. The animation was very good, as expected from Production I.G. I can already tell that this show, like Seirei no Moribito, does not throw in any of the current popular anime items. So no tsunderes or otaku jokes or moe characters – not that these are inherently bad but it’s nice to get a break from that every once and while. I’m also getting to like the characters and the world setting already.

What I’m saying is that I have no objective reason to stop watching this show right now, it appears to have everything I want in a series or at least the potential to (where the story goes is unclear right now). Therefore, I’m going to continue watching this until I’m given a reason to stop.

Cool ending animation style

Posted in anime, first impressions      

I figure it’s appropriate to start writing this on Turkey Day. Physically, I’m stuffed and yet I’m trying to figure out a way to have another piece of my Mom’s apple pie – it’s simply impossible to make a better pie crust then hers. Mentally, I’m stuffed from the huge number of great fall anime shows and yet I can’t help but get excited over the new season.

My criteria for picking shows is the same as last time. I’m looking for which animation house is doing it, if the summary/source material sound very enticing and if one of my favorite seiyuus will be involved.

The safest bets of the season are the sequels; so let’s start with them.

Zoku Natsume Yuujin-Chou

AKA: Natsume Season 2 or Natsume’s Book of Friends 2

Studio: Brains Base – Kamichu, Kurenai, Baccano
Official Site

The first season of this supernatural slice-of-life show aired during Summer 2008 and was the best show of the season. During that season we were introduced to Natsume who can see spirits, like his grandma. With his grandma’s passing, he receives her Book of Friends which contains the names of all the spirits she subjugated during her life. Having the names means that one can control that spirit so this book has great power. Invariably, he begins to meet spirits that want their names back, want the book, or just want his help because they can talk to him.

If you are looking for a show with great characters, a relaxing feel, and a story that can warm the heart and make you laugh a bit – there’s no surer bet then this show for this season.

Minami-ke: Okaeri

AKA: Minami-ke Season 3

Studio: Asread
Seiyuu: Marina Inoue, Minori Chihara, Rina Satou
Director: Kei Oikawa - appears to be his first time directing
Offical Website

The second surest bet for this season is the third season of the comedy Minami-ke. This show follows the lives of the three Minami sisters, who live together in one apartment, and their interactions with their friends. The oldest sister is in high school and acts as the mom, the middle sister is in middle school and acts like a typical middle child, and the youngest is in elementary school and hates dumb people. The first season was one of the funniest and well-done comedies I have ever seen. A different studio, Asread, was put in charge of the second season and while it was still a very funny show, it wasn’t as good.

I think the same conclusion was reached over in Japan because while Asread is animating the third season, Studio Doumu (behind the first season) is in charge of production. The thought of getting more of the traptastic Maka-chan, Hosaka and his fantasies, Fujioka and his quest to get Kana to like him, and the Minami sisters makes me almost giddy in anticipation.

Birdy the Mighty Decode:02

AKA: Birdy Season 2

Studio: A-1 Pictures Inc. – Kannagi
Official Website

Another sequel of a Summer 2008 show. In the first season we meet Senekawa, your typical high school student, who likes to explore abandoned buildings. This hobby brings him trouble when an intergalactic police agent, Birdy, accidentally kills him. Luckily for Senekawa, Birdy’s civilization has a means to regrow a copy of his body; so, while that’s being done Senekawa’s mind is placed along side Birdy’s. The body can morph to fit the form of the person that’s in charge of it and that allows Senekawa to be a high school student by day and Birdy to be a police agent by night.

One of the drawbacks of the first season, which became obvious over the course of the show, was that the show had a small budget. So, for example, the show had a number of good action scenes but they occurred almost exclusively at the beginning or the end. Hopefully, the fact that it got green-lighted for a second season will mean that more money will be spent on it and the show can reach it’s full potential.

Shikabane Hime: Kuro

AKA: Corpse Princess Season 2

Studio: Studio Feel – Da Capo 2
Official Site

The fourth sequel that I’m looking forward to is the sequel to the currently running Shikabane Hime: Aka. The second season sees a switch from being a Gainax production to being a Studio Feel production.

In this anime, if a person is greatly attached to this world when they die then instead of moving on that person can come back as a Corpse. Most times these Corpses become dangerous monsters that need stopped but sometimes these Corpses retain their human-form and agree to hunt the evil Corpses. These Corpse hunters can attain heaven after killing 108 evil Corpses.

Because the first season is still airing and the animation studio is changed, it is impossible to fully use the first season as a guide for this second season. However, I’m optimistic that this show will turn out good. Many people probably will not share a similar sentiment because they were disappointed over the first season. I think much of this disappointment stems from this show being the first series after Gainax’s masterpiece, Gurren Lagann. The characters have been solid, the animation has been top-notch, and the evil Corpses have been original and interesting – which has been more then enough to get me wanting more.

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That’s the final sequel that I’m interested in, all the other non-OVA sequels are to shows that I haven’t seen and thus I won’t attempt to watch. For a more complete listing, try here or here. Now it’s onto new shows. I’m going to combine how excited I am about the title with how sure I am it will turn out good and list the remaining from highest to lowest.

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Maria+Holic

Studio: Shaft - Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei
Seiyuu: Asami Sanada, Marina Inoue, Yu Kobayashi
Official website

Shoot me – I can’t help but being excited about this show.

The story is about a second year high school student, Kanako, who has a phobia of men and so she transfers to an all-girl school to find her yuri love partner. She meets her ideal girl in the form of Maria, the most beautiful and popular girl in school. The twist is that Maria turns out to be a sadistic trap. And it gets even better. Maria+Holic is being animated by Shaft who did such a bang-up job on the twisted Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei.

If this show can exploit it’s crazy premise for laughs and make us like the characters then Maria+Holic might be one of the top shows of the season.

Genji Monogatari Sennenki

AKA: A Tale of Genji

Studio: Tezuka Productions
Official Site, More info here

From what I’ve read, the novel this is based on is 1000 years old and considered the world’s first novel. Even if I haven’t read many books that are considered “classics” I give them their due. For example, I might not have gotten Shakespeare in high school but the fact that we’re still talking about him 500 years later must mean there is something to his work. Likewise, the story this anime is based on wouldn’t have lasted a 1000 years if it was garbage. Therefore, I’m excited about watching this show.

If you want a little more help to decide, I was reading from the summary – “The story follows the happy but sorrowful tales of the glorious youth Hikaru Genji’s love, and the women in his life who strive to make their love towards Genji significantly differently from others.” – and it almost sounds like this show has what’s considered harem elements to it. I’m probably wrong but if you were going to pass on this show because it’s a classic, it might be worth your time to watch a couple of episodes.

Rideback

Studio: Madhouse – Death Note, Kaiba, Kurozuka
Official Website

This is another title I’m very interested in. The plot has the possibility to be interesting – A young woman is an anti-government protester in the year 2020 and has a robot that doubles as her motorcycle to help her. I always enjoy a good diasporan SF tale like “V for Vendetta” and this sounds like it could be something similar. Based on Madhouse’s current string of successes, I feel confident that this will turn out to be another.

Kemono No Souja Erin

Studio: Production I.G. – Ghost in the Shell:SAC, Library War, Seirei no Moribito

Because Production I.G. is behind this and because the story comes from the same person that did Seirei no Moribito, I’m going to check this series out. However, the story to this one doesn’t grab me – After her mother, a veterinarian, is executed for allegedly killing a clutch of fighting snakes, the daughter Erin is adopted by a beekeeper and meets the king of the animals in the mountains. Erin follows in her mother’s footsteps to become a veterinarian and this decision will put the fate of the kingdom of the animals in her hands.

Just from the summary, I’m getting environmental vibes and that’s normally a big turnoff. If it wasn’t for shows like Studio Ghibli’s Princess Mononoke and Pom Poko that had an environmental message without being over-the-top sickening like Captain Planet or Ferngully – I’d just skip this one. Instead, I’ll give this show a fair chance to like it.

Akikan!

Studio: Brain’s Base – Kamichu, Kurenai, Baccano, Natsume
Official Site

In another case of great studio, weak story comes Akikan!. In this one, Daichi just wanted to buy a can of melon juice pop from the vending machine but what he got was a can that magically transforms into a girl who needs carbon dioxide gained from kissing to stay alive. This has brain-dead written all over it but Brain’s Base has a track record of making great shows with interesting characters that you end up liking a lot. I don’t know if they can work their magic here but I am willing to watch a few episodes to see how this turns out.

Chrome Shelled Regios

Studio: Zexcs - Wagaya no Oinari-sama
Director: Itsuro Kawasaki
Official Site

Chrome Shelled Regios is set in a future where “Pollution Beasts” have forced people to live in mobile domed cities. The pollution has also given people powers which they can use against the pollution beasts. Our hero is a high school student in training to battle these monsters. To me the story has possibilities but it could easily devolve into a generic fantasyesque hack-n-slash series. The reason I was initially going to catch this was because of the studio behind it, Zexcs, did a very good job on Wagaya no Oinari-sama. However, I found the trailer and my opinion of this shows chance of being a good show has gone up in no small part to having nice looking animation - which was the weak point for Wagaya.

From here my interest in the shows drops enough that I’m only kinda interested in catching them.

Hetalia Axis Powers is a gag story where the major countries of the world are made into people that display the stereotypical view of the country. So, for instance, Italy is shown liking pasta and women and Japan is shown as an otaku. It’s supposed to retell history between WW1 and WW2 among other things. The concept is so out there that I want to see it but I wonder how the politics of the time will be shown. I can accept and expect some slanting when retelling history of this time from the Japanese point of view (like what I expect when I ask a southerner about the Civil War) but I will get very angry if they animators bring up their role in dragging us into WW2 and either use it for laughs or making it look like it was the American’s fault. Therefore, I think it’ll be best if I read a couple of reviews first – I really don’t want to get overly angry and feel like I need to rant about the historical inaccuracies of an anime show. Another reason to temper my enthusiasm is the studio behind it is Studio Deen which I still equate with their work on Higurashi.

Asu no Yoichi is a romantic comedy about a boy who’s a swordsmen, like his dad, and he decides to leave their mountain training facility to continue his training in the city. This being a romantic comedy, he ends up in a dojo with four females and presumable wacky hi-jinks ensue. This sounds really generic and I’d skip it totally if AIC wasn’t doing it. AIC was responsible for Seto no Hanayome which I found much funnier then it should have been. If they can do the same thing here, it might just be worth the time to watch it.

The last title is Kurokami. It’s appears to be about a computer programmer named Keita that tries to protect a Kuro (some sort of being with powers) from another Kuro and in the process he loses his left arm. The Kuro that he was trying to protect replaces his arm and in the process a contract is formed between the two. I’m feeling neutral about the story and I’m feeling less then neutral about Sunrise being behind this; however, the picture is particularly interesting and the last time a preview picture of a show made me feel that was Kaiba. On the strength of maybe my gut knowing something I don’t, I’ll catch a few episodes of this because it might turn out to be good.

A word of thanks for the people that created the above chart, and to THAT Animeblog for having pictures that I stole for my preview and also to MyAnimeList for the same reason.