I’m always leery of writing top all-time posts because I realize that I don’t have the encyclopedic knowledge that a decade long anime fan might have so I always worry about missing obvious picks. And I’d probably skip them all-together if I didn’t realize that such lists give readers and potential readers a large amount of information about a writer (as was pointed out elsewhere just recently). Before I tackle an overall top all-time list, I want to start with an easier list that I’m more sure upon – my picks for top anime comedies.

The reason I’m more confident is twofold. The first is that of all the shows I watch, it’s the comedies that get rewatched the most so I know how well a show will hold up. After all, if a comedy is only funny one time then it’s nothing more than a flash in the pan. And every show on this countdown has been watched at least twice and a few have been watched more than that. The other reason I’m more confident is because I don’t think I’ve missed too many older series that should be on this list. When people talk about comedy animes, I don’t see many titles that I’ve never watched. I’m sure there’s some out there (and if one wants to point them out – please do) but I’m fairly confident that this is a good list and it does reflect what I consider a good anime comedy.

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(5) – Azumanga Daioh

I just know that my ranking of Azumanga Daioh at only number 5 will get a sizable percentage of anime fans out there angry. And I could try to deflect these comments by saying that just getting on this list an honor but even I want to rank this show higher. The problem is that when I rewatched Azumanga Daioh recently, I still found myself laughing at it but at times I felt a bit bored and wanting the show to get to the parts of the story I especially liked. I think Azumanga Daioh might be suffering from the same fate that individual songs sometimes do – they’re overplayed by everybody and one gets tired of hearing that song over and over again. So, I don’t think there’s a flaw with the show itself and it remains funny enough that it definitely deserves it’s spot.

In case there’s readers out there that have not heard of Azumanga Daioh, let me say that you’re missing out on a very hilarious show. The main characters are an eclectic band of high school girls – very memorable as individuals and their relationships are even more memorable. The show follows them through all 3 years of high school life as they tackle the common pitfalls of school life – immature teachers, mean cats, low test scores, and placing first in the classroom athletic competitions. The show was done by J.C. Staff (Hayate Season 2, Toradora, Honey & Clover, Aoi Hana) and remains one of the best shows that they’ve done.

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(4) – Lucky Star

Where a recent rewatch hurt the previous show, a recent rewatch significantly raised my feeling for Lucky Star. And for the record, I’ve always considered this a comedy and not a slice-of-life show.

Controversy, drama, and sky-high expectations have dogged Lucky Star from the beginning and as a result, it became very difficult for someone to just watch the show and react to it as if it was a normal comedy anime. Collectively, I feel this contributed to many people coming to dislike the show and I’d probably be in that boat if I hadn’t stuck it out long enough for the characters to really grow on me (about 8 episodes). Once I hit that point, I liked the show in ever-increasing amounts; I still wouldn’t have had Lucky Star here if it wasn’t for the rewatch. I realized the second time through that the early episodes where just as funny as the later episodes and the lone defect of these episodes was how long it got the viewer to like the characters. Once the viewer gets to know the characters, the entire show is a stellar comedy and is even better the second time.

For those readers that have not heard of Lucky Star, it follows the not-so-typical lives of 4 high school girls (including a pair of twins). Of the four; the visual novel and MMORPG playing Konata is the main focus, troublemaker, and engine that drives most of the show’s comedy. The show was done by Kyoto Animation (KyoAni) and the director of the first four episodes went on to work on Kannagi (which I was disappointed with) and the rest of the episodes were directed by Yasuhiro Takemoto who did the hilarious Full Metal Panic: Fumoffu. (Which almost made it on and speaking of FMP, there really needs to be a new season of that).

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(3) – Potemayo

This is probably the least well-known or more accurately – the least watched show on the countdown because many people looked at a couple screenshots and decided a “moe blob” show couldn’t possibly be worth the time and didn’t stick around. And it’s a shame because these people missed a truly funny show.

Potemayo is a cute little thing that appeared one day out of the main character’s refrigerator and took up residence in his household. He didn’t seem to mind, naming her after the potatoes and mayonnaise that where in the fridge, and allowed her to come with him where he went. She had the vocabulary and apparent mental capacity of a year old baby but that wasn’t the only source of humor. For one, the show had a twisted sense of humor that came out every now and again, for instance I still can’t get enough of the scene that shows a bird eating a piece of fried chicken.

Something that separates this show from the others is that it occasionally swings from being a comedy to being somewhat serious. Never for a long time but it’s enough to get this show a slightly different feel. These transitions are always handled perfectly and never feel out-of-place (the wonderful closing song helps). This show was also done by J.C. Staff which makes them the only studio with 2 shows in the top 5.

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(2) – Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei

Take one teacher prone to despairing over anything and everything, mix in a classroom of oddballs, and flavor with “Shaft being Shaft” and you end up with a very hilarious show. In particular, the second season is (to date) the strongest all-around season and was what pushed this up to number 2. That’s not to say the other seasons were bad but the first season had to introduce the show and it wasn’t quite firing on all cylinders yet and the third season had to split time with Bakemonogatari so it’s animation was a bit lacking.

There’s so much to enjoy with this show. I love to see what Mr. Despair will despair over. I love when the item that he despairs over is actually something I despair over because oftentimes it’s things that I thought I was the only one that did so. I love the societal commentary that shows up in the show. I love the students and their quirks. I love the high quality voice work and the unique animation. I love the songs used. I love how there’s a whole layer of comedy in the background signs (even if that means I have to pause numerous times to catch them all). And I love how it’s a perfect vehicle to allow Shaft to be Shaft.

It’s probably the hardest show I watch fansubbed (between having to read the signs and trying to understand the 15% of jokes that are really Japan culture centered) but it’s really worth the effort.

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(1) – Minami-Ke (Season 1)

I needed to call out only the first season of Minami-Ke because production of the second and third seasons was given to another animation house (for some reason) and they were know where near as good as Studio Doumu that did the first season.

This show follows the everyday lives of the three Minami sisters – one high school aged, one middle school aged, and one in elementary school and their social circles. The eldest sister is the mature one, the middle one is the trouble maker, and the youngest is the smart one that can’t stand stupidity. One of the exceptional components is how effortlessly Studio Doumu was able to handle the rather large cast and the various ways the different people added humor to the show. And trust me, there’s so many ways to find humor in this show that I won’t start listing them because I’m sure to leave several out. My favorite single character is Hosaka and his fantasies.

I still hold out hope that whatever prevented Studio Doumu from doing the other seasons will get fixed and we get a true sequel worthy of this season.

Posted in anime, anime rants/views

You probably didn’t know today is “Christmas in February” because it’s a holiday my family made up 11 years ago.

It started when we decided to have a Christmas-style dinner and serve up the rest of the Christmas cookies that were left over from Christmas and had been sitting in the freezer. As things normally go, we slowly increased what we did for Christmas in February - we got a small 2 foot artificial tree and started decorating it then my parents started buying a small, inexpensive gift for us all. Last year, my mom found a cute artificial 5 ft tree so the little tree got replaced with a bigger one and the $5 dollar gifts have now gotten to be $15 dollar gifts.

One of the nice things about Christmas in February is that we get to pick when in February we want to celebrate it - this year, it’s the last Sunday of the month but next year might be the second Tuesday of the month. Another nice thing is that it gives the dreary month of February a holiday that’s fun. Also, since it’s not the official Christmas, it has all the nice parts of the holiday without any of the stress.

And some more Christmas themed anime pictures:

Posted in anime, general anime interst, other news

I start with the character awards partly because I feel once a show establishes a great cast of characters then it’s 70% of the way to ensuring that I’ll like it. And it doesn’t matter what type of show, any show can be improved with good character development.

Best Female Main Character

Winner: Ryoko from Ryoko’s Case Files

Runner-up: Iku Kasahara from Library War

An accurate description of Ryoko would be a cross between an adult Haruhi Suzumiya and the police skill of the Major from GiTS:SAC. A very potent combination and it helped make the show a must watch. My favorite Ryoko-ism was towards the end of the series when she took refuge in an empty underground mall, trying to hide from numerous soldiers trying to kill her. She realizes that her clothes are torn and dirty so she picks a killer outfit out, leaves her charge card, then calmly showers and dresses as if she’s going to a party and not to a firefight. We really need to see more shows like Ryoko’s Case Files that focus on characters that are adults because it’s so refreshing for the change of pace.

Best Male Main Character

Winner: Ryuuji from Toradora

Runner-up: Kogarashi from Maid Guy

Everyone has their little problems that they have to live with. For Ryuuji, it’s the fact that he looks like his Yakuza father – mean and dangerous. This is a problem because Ryuuji is a nice guy and just wishes for people to treat him normally. He happens to be a bit odd though because a sale at the grocery store or having the chance to clean away mold makes his day. What makes him the best male main character is that he’s truly a really nice guy. He’s also fiercely loyal to his friends, willing to go to whatever means necessary to help them with whatever their problems are and he’s also insightful and thoughtful.

Best Female Supporting Character

Winner: Minorin from Toradora

Runner-up: Ami from Toradora

I didn’t think Ami would become a character I like when she was introduced but she’s been slowly rising in the ranks. She’s a completely different person then either Taiga or Minorin but she’s shown her own positive qualities. It wasn’t enough to dislodge Minorin from the top spot because Minorin has been awesome since the beginning. Her energetic outbursts and attitude always steel the show when she’s onscreen. However, this spastic personality hides a more serious personality that she doesn’t allow people to see though she seems to be lowering her guard to Ryuuji. So for her screen-stealing personality, sunny disposition, and being a good friend to Taiga, Minorin gets my nod for best female supporting character.

Best Male Supporting Character

Winner: Dan-kun from Bamboo Blade

Runner-up: Sunohara from Clannad

One of the surprising things about Bamboo Blade was Dan-kun, Miya Miya’s boyfriend and friend to Yuuji. He was short, looked very egg shaped, and seemed to be there for comedic purposes. Over the course of the series though, we see him mature as he works hard at learning Kendo. He also is a good boyfriend by providing support to Miya Miya so she can face her inner demons and her external tormentors. He earned a lot of respect from the characters and by the final episode, he is elected the head of the kendo club which was something that would have been unfathomable at the start.

Best Non-human Character

Winner: Nyanko-sensei from Natsume Yuujinchou

Runner-up: Kuu from Wagaya no Oinari-sama

Nyanko-sensei is a spirit that had been sealed into a Luck Cat statue until Natsume accidentally lets him loose. He makes an agreement with Natsume to be his body guard under the condition that when Natsume dies, Nyanko-sensei takes ownership of the Book of Friends. At the time I thought that Nyanko-sensei would just kill Natsume at the first opportunity but Nyanko-sensei never seemed to even think of doing so. As the show unfolded, I realized that Nyanko-sensei actually likes Natsume as a friend. His gruff, catlike personality with his liking of alcohol is a great counterpoint to the often sad events of the show. And because he’s strong in his original form and also because he’s well-known amoung the spirits – oftentimes he is the one that saves Natsume from being killed.

Strongest Female Character

Winner: Sora from Someday’s Dreamers Season 2

Runner-up: Nagisa from Clannad

I’m defining strong in a more general sense then just being physically strong and both Sora and Nagisa strike me as being strong women. Neither are particularly physically strong but they both have problems that would make most normal people despair, yet they can smile and live as if nothing is wrong. Sora edged Nagisa out because we still have half a season of Clannad left and much of her story still left to see.

Strongest Male Character

Winner: Kogarashi from Maid Guy

Runner-up: Natsume from Natsume Yuujinchou

I had to give this award to Kogarashi. I can’t say he’s emotionally strong like Natsume because I’m not sure that Kogarashi has emotions. He’s more like a force of nature that’s not totally explainable to us mere humans. He can control crows, has x-ray vision, can plug a USB printer cord into his ear and print images from his mind, he’s taught at M.I.T., can wrestle with a panda bear, and the list goes on. In the show he works as a maid and strives for perfect service, even if his master disagrees.

Best Female Screen-grabber

Winner: Sakura from Wagaya no Oinari-sama

Sakura wasn’t in the show much, maybe once every couple episodes, but when she was, she made her persence known. With an imagination almost as outlandish as Hosaka’s, the ability to come to absurd conclusions, and a talent for over-analyzing a situation – she always made the viewer laugh and at the same time hope she would successful in getting Takagami’s attention.

Best Male Screen-grabber

Winner: Hosaka from Minami-ke: Okawari

Hosaka is another person that isn’t in the show too often but his mere presence is enough to get a laugh. The over dramatic posturing and habit of unbuttoning his shirt helps though. He is consumed with getting Haruka Minami’s attention but a combination of personal shortcomings and bad luck have so far stymied him. His overactive imagination is always a source of laughter – just look at my the recently posted clip from episode 2 of the third season. And the sad thing is that he’s genuinely sincere, has his good points, and would probably make a good boyfriend for Haruka.

Best Villian

Winner: Kazuhiro Mitogawa from Ga-Rei: Zero

I love a villian that’s intelligent and evil and he’s both. As we get through Ga-Rei: Zero, we see that he has this complex plan to eliminate the good guys largely through their own failing and he’s been very sucessful. He’s gotten rid of one of the most powerfullfamilies, reduced another to a single member, and killed or injured to the point of retireing several other very high level people.

Posted in anime, awards      

It’s finally time for me to write up my favorites and top picks in anime for 2008. Between waiting for some series to finish, wanting to marathon a couple of missed series, and catching the new season of anime – I didn’t have the room in my writing time to do this until now. I also wanted to be comprehensive then my seasonal awards and my previous yearly top picks and was successful on that front.

This time before I get to my awards, I wanted to mention what shows I watched this year. It’s these series that will be up for the awards; if a series isn’t on this list, I either dropped it very early or didn’t watch it (for various reasons) and thus you won’t see it mentioned. For the shows that either started in 2007, will continue into 2009, or have a slower sub release schedule, I have marked the episodes watched in 2008.

Some shows like X’amd and Michiko to Hatchin would do poorly in my top 10 ranking because too much of the story is still unrevealed; therefore, I’m shifting their consideration in the ranking to next year.

Winter Season

Bamboo Blade eps. 13-26
Clannad
Shana 2 eps. 13-24
Minami-ke Okawari
Hayate eps. 40-52
Shigofumi
Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei

Spring Season

Kaiba
Soul Eater eps. 1-36
Maid Guy
Library War
Wagaya no Oinari-sama
Nabari no Ou eps. 1-17 (want to finish but haven’t felt like it)
The Daughter of Twenty Faces eps. 1-20
Kure-nai
Zettai Karen Children eps. 1-14 (can’t bring myself to continue)

Summer Season

Zero’s Familiar S.3
Birdy the Mighty Decode
Ryoko’s Case Files
Natsume Yuujinchou
Someday’s Dreamers Season 2
X’amd eps. 1-20

Fall Season

Mouryou no Hako eps. 1-6
Michiko to Hatchin eps. 1-10
Skip Beat eps. 1-12
Yozakura Quartet
Earl and Fairy
Toradora eps. 1-13
Chaos Head
Kemeko DX
Ga-rei Zero
Shikabane Hime: Aka
Kurozuka
Clannad Season 2 eps. 1-12
Index eps. 1-13
Kannagi

Now it’s time for the Anti-Awards. These are awards that the winners probably wouldn’t like winning and instead of spreading them out in the various parts, I’m going to put them here. Also, the awards will have a higher level of spoilers then I normally use but I will still try to keep them to minimum.

Best Half and Half

Winner: Shana 2

The first half of Shana 2 was atrocious. Sometimes I can’t believe that I got through it. If I hadn’t liked Rie Kugimiya as Shana and known how good the show could be, I probably wouldn’t have stuck around for the second half. I did though and a funny thing happened – the show got good, very good. At first my sister and I thought we were hallucinating when we starting thinking to ourselves – I can’t wait for the next episode. So for going from zero to hero, this show deserves the best half and half award.

Worst Half and Half

Winner: Daughter of 20 Faces

On the other hand, Daughter of 20 Faces started out very good. As a Lupin fan, I enjoyed the set-up of the show and eagerly awaited the next episode to see the further adventures of 20 Faces. Roughly a third of the way in, something happened that radically altered the show and it became a very different. I hoped this would pave the way for an even better show but by the halfway point, it became apparent that the creators where just coasting. The show just slowly lost more and more steam and so it earns the worst half and half award.

Most Disappointing Ending

Winner: Kure-nai

Kure-nai was an excellent show with many interesting characters and it quickly became one of my favorites from the spring season. Muraski’s freedom from her deranged family was obviously what the climax was going to center around so I won’t complain too much about how the characters suddenly had to act really dumb to allow Muraski’s family to recapture her. The problem, instead, was how it was resolved. Muraski’s family ascribed to very old traditions and they dictated that Muraski had to live in the Inner Sanctuary, away from everybody and all modern conviences, and had to marry her older brother. Our hero Shinkurou goes in and beats the family within an inch of death and should be able to get them to agree to freeing Muraski but instead Muraski convinces Shinkurou that she will work within the family to loosen the family’s restrictions and they leave her with the family. You don’t leave a kid in a pit of vipers, even if the kid is intelligent. So for totally screwing up the obvious ending and giving us a very bad ending, Kure-nai has the most disappointing ending of the year.

Most in Need of Being Longer

Winner: Library War

This isn’t a horribly bad award to get but I wanted to recognize that even though this was a very fun show, full of awesome moments, it was still hurt by being too short of a series. This could have easily been a 24 episode series. One obvious improvement this would have caused was the various side characters could have been fleshed out further. As it stands, their full depth of character is merely teased to us. Another improvement would have been additional time for a more rigorous anti-censorship message. From what I heard about the source material, much of this was stripped out of the anime due to time restraints.

The Your-Doing-It-Wrong Award

Winner: Minami-ke: Okawari

The second season of Minami-Ke earns the Your-Doing-It-Wrong Award not because the animation couldn’t match the first season but because they messed with the formula that made the first season so funny. As a person that has 5 younger siblings, I know something about how siblings interact and the first season of Minami-Ke nailed it perfectly. The second season monkeyed with this and in several episodes the three sisters where just plain mean to each other and it felt wrong and out-of-character. Then there was the decision to not show the Minami brothers for the entire second season. Another failure was the introduction of the boy that moves in next door. They spent a lot of time on this one character to the detrement of the show. He’s not funny nor does he generate laughs with his presence – bad in a comedy. He’s dweeby and nothing is done to make us like him; whenever he was on screen, I deeply wished someone would just punch him. I would even sometimes imagine a scene where Shinji from Evangelion would just show up one day and roundhouse this kid because Shinji couldn’t stand the kid either.

And on that note, let’s end part 0 and tomorrow I’ll put up part 1, the character awards.

Posted in anime, awards      

If last week had been a light week of anime, this week was the opposite – as you can see below. And I didn’t include my marathoning of Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei and the first two episodes of OVA over a two day period. I decided it was the last of the 2008 shows that I wanted to get to before getting to my awards for the whole year. In hindsight, watching that much Despair at one time probably wasn’t the best idea since my brain almost turned to mush. Which is actually a complement, it reminded me of watching FLCL in one sitting.

The scores:

Toradora!, episode 15 – 12/12

Soul Eater, episode 38 – 10/12 A
Soul Eater, episode 39 – 12/12

Xam’D: Lost Memories, episode 22 – 12/12
Xam’D: Lost Memories, episode 23 – 12+/12

Michiko to Hatchin, episode 11 – 12+/12

To Aru Majutsu no Index, episode 14 – 10/12 A

Somedays Dreamer’s S.2, episode 11 – 12/12
Somedays Dreamer’s S.2, episode 12 – 12+/12 (end)

Shikabane Hime: Aka, episode 13 – 11/12 A+ (end)

Minami-Ke: Okaeri, episode 2 – 12++/12

Zoku Natsume Yuujinchou, episode 2 – 12/12

Asu no Yoichi, episode 2 – 9/12 A-

Sora o Kakeru Shoujo, episode 2 – 9/12 A-

(previously reviewed)

Asu no Yoichi, episode 1 – 6/12 B-

Akikan, episode 1 – 4/12 C
Akikan, episode 2 – 3/12 D

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

Rideback, episode 1 – 12/12

Maria+Holic, episode 1 – 10/12 A
Maria+Holic, episode 2 – 11/12 A+

Chrome Shelled Regios, episode 1 – 7/12 B

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

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

Munto TV, episode 1 – 12/12

Which shows have momentum this week

Up – Minami-Ke: Okaeri – This episode showed that the first episode wasn’t a fluke

Down – Shikabane Hime: Kuro – For specifics as to why this show belongs here, check my impressions post but I’m already wishing that Gainax was still doing this show

Thoughts and Highlights

I already posted a video from Minami-Ke: Okaeri showing one of the awesome clips from episode 2 but the episode was full of really great parts. As a result it was this week’s best episode that I watched. It’s also this week’s momentum gainer since it’s helping to make me quickly forget about the second season and confirm that I can expect the comedy of this season to be on a similar level to the first. One thing that I thought most interesting about the Curry Fairy part was that Hosaka didn’t set off Chiaki’s stupid-idiot radar. I don’t think Hosaka is an idiot but I’m surprised that Chiaki thinks the same way. I also can’t wait for the eventual second meeting between the two when Chiaki realizes Hosaka is not the Curry Fairy.

Xam’D: Lost Memories has now moved to the final arc and, of course, tons of stuff start happening. Even though I thoroughly enjoyed both episodes, it’s starting to feel like Bones was a little too ambitious with this show. In episode 23, it was like the show suddenly developed ADD and couldn’t stop changing the channel between the numerous different stories. Some scenes, like the Haru scene, didn’t leave a deep impression because before we even had the chance to digest what she was saying we were off somewhere else. And some scenes like the Nakiami one still resonated well because her character has had plenty of development over the course of the show and we understood almost immediately the importance of what was happening. I hope the final few episodes are paced a little better because it’ll be a shame to see such a quality show falter at the end. And since this isn’t actually running on television, I don’t understand why it has to be 26 episodes when it could be a few more episodes longer and have enough time for the ending.

Soul Eater episode 39 finally got back to my favorite character, Crona. I’m inclined to think that Crona is a boy because that would mean that Medusa has been messing with his mind from the beginning. In this episode, Crona finally admits to Maka his role in pushing Stein towards insanity. Of course Maka realizes that Crona would only do something like that under duress but it looks like Crona will be kicked out of Soul Society until someone very unexpected appears at Shibusen.

I’ll discuss the shows that ended this week when I write my series review in the future. I have a few more comments I wanted to make but nothing that deserves a full paragraph so I’ll bulletize them.

• I enjoyed the second episode of Asu no Yoichi why more then I should have. Maybe it’s because they constructed a scenario where the male main character is actually a capable human being and has a plausible reason for his problems around people, especially girls. Let’s hope it continues.
• Sora o Kakeru Shoujo or The Girl who Leapt Through Space continues to be odd but I think I might like this series. The comedy has been funny and offbeat so far; for example, in episode 2, an Iron Maiden was used as the means for the characters to change into their battle suits.
• Great episode of Michiko to Hatchin. What Michiko had to do to get Hatchin to forgive her was epic and touched my heart. It would be easy to think Michiko looked at Hatchin as a means to an end but this episode really showed that Michiko cares for Hatchin’s welfare.
• I was wondering if Zoku Natsume Yuujinchou could top the fox spirit from the first season in terms of cuteness and I got my answer this episode – yes. The little snow bunny (like the ones seen in Kanon) that gets possessed by a spirit is quite possibly the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.

Posted in anime, weekly anime review      

Below is a clip from episode 2 of Minami-Ke: Okaeri showing Chiaki’s meeting with Hosaka in the supermarket. My sister and I have been giggling about this for the past two hours. I’m starting to really think that this season might turn out to be a good one.

I’ve noticed lots of people mention that they can’t believe Fujioka still thinks that Touma is a guy but if we assume that the second series is being treated as if it didn’t happen (the third season picks up at the end of the first season) then it would make a lot more sense.

Posted in anime, youtube      

Asread animation studio has been raked over the coals by much of the anime fandom for their lackluster second series of Minami-Ke because it couldn’t compete with Studio Doumu’s first season. I think much of the vitriol was uncalled for because the second season was still better then most of the recent comedy series.

So, while I was hoping Studio Doumu would come back to do the third series, I was more then willing to give Asread another shot (especially after their involvement in Ga-Rei: Zero).

Rating: 12/12 Perfect

I haven’t laughed this much at an episode of anime in a long time. Asread nailed this first episode. It’s very hard to describe comedy and still make it sound funny so let me just say that this episode hit many of the recurring themes that make the show so funny. The real surprise was the loser uncle of the Minami sisters has a really cool ability – he can drop a pencil and have it point to anything you want. He found where Kana hid Chiaki’s stuffed bear, who ate Haruka’s really expensive ice cream, and where Kana’s future husband is.

My sister realized almost instantly that this episode picked up where the first season ended and not where the second series ended. This could suggest that this will be considered the true second season of Minami-Ke. I’m just hoping we won’t see that next door neighbor boy again – I think he was almost the entire reason that the second series came up short.

It seems many of the other blogs are focusing on the animation style again, even taking screenshots out of context to prove their points. I say sure, it’s not as good as the first episode of the first season but it’s in the ballpark and even the rest of the first season didn’t match the first episode. It’s good enough and shouldn’t the question be if Asread got the comedy aspect correct this time, anyways.

If, and it might be a big if, the rest of the series is as good as this first episode then we’re in for a real treat.

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.

Posted in anime, season preview