‘Nuff said.

Eagle-eyed readers will notice that I intend to review not just the most recent anime season but also the previous season as well. The reason for this is two-fold. The first reason is because these awards are my short-cut method in highlighting which anime I would recommend to potential viewers and I’d be failing in what I see as my duty if I passed over a season that contained praise-worthy shows. (Even though by now I’m incredibly late in covering the summer season. ) The second reason is writing this post will help me better remember this batch of anime shows in the future and it will also serve as a written record I can use if need be.

So, sit back, relax – it’s time to cover 32 anime over 2 seasons with 29 award categories and one countdown bursting at the seams with awesomeness.

Summer Season

Carry-over shows watched this season (4): Katanagatari, Kaichou wa Maid-sama!, Rainbow – Nisha Rokubou no Shichijin, K-On!!

New shows watched this season (10): Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakamatachi, Amagami SS, Densetsu no Yuusha no Densetsu, Mitsudomoe, Highschool of the Dead, Seikimatsu Occult Gakuin, Shiki, Asobi ni Iku yo!, Sengoku Basara 2, Moyashimon Live Action

Shows that got dropped (1): Seitokai Yakuindomo

Fall Season

Carry-over shows watched this season (4): Katanagatari, Densetsu no Yuusha no Densetsu, Amagami SS, Shiki

New shows watched this season (14): Ore no Imouto, Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt, Sora No Otoshimono Forte, Tantei Opera Milky Holmes, Otome Youkai Zakuro, Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru, Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Girls, Shinryaku! Ika Musume, The World God Only Knows, Arakawa Under the Bridge 2, Kuragehime, Star Driver, To Aru Majutsu no Index II, Yosuga no Sora

Shows that got dropped (3): Bakuman, Hakuouki Hekketsuroku, Shinrei Tantei Yakumo

Note: For shows that run multiple seasons, only the part that ran during the season is under consideration for that season’s awards. (s) denotes the summer season and (f) denotes the fall season

-

Best Female Main Character

Winner: (s) – Azunyan from K-On!! ~ (f) – Nino from Arakawa Under the Bridge 2

Runner-up: (s) – Togame from Katanagatari, Yui from K-On!! ~ (f) – Stocking from Panty and Stocking, Tsukimi from Kuragehime, Nymph from Sora No Otoshimono Forte, Togame from Katanagatari

Azunyan was the linch pin that held K-On!! together and she gave it the needed dimension to turn K-On!! into one of the best slice-of-nostalgia anime ever. (Slice-of-life is just too broad of a term since it covers at least three different types of shows: the nostalgic like K-On! and Hidemari Sketch, the relaxing like Ichigo Mashimaro and Aria, and the contemplative/ambiance type like Natsume Yuujin-chou and Haibane Renmei.) And she was just so likable as a character, as was Nino, the fall season winner. Nino squeaked past a very tough field of contenders this season to repeat her win of this award. It seems like the more time she spends with Ric, the more expressive and human she becomes.

-

Best Male Main Character

Winner: (s) – Shichika from Katanagatari ~ (f) – Kuranosuke from Kuragehime

Runner-up: (s) – Mario from Rainbow ~ (f) – Tomoki from Sora no Otoshimono, Takuto Tsunashi from Star Driver, Shichika from Katanagatari

Shichika turned out, much like Katanagatari, to be a lot more interesting then those first couple of episodes that ran last winter lead us to think. He almost won this award twice but couldn’t quite overcome the cross-dressing, protector of interesting historical buildings – Kuranosuke.

-

Best Supporting Character(s)

Winner: (s) – Assistroids from Asobi ni Iku yo! ~ (f) – The Phantom Thief Empire (Arsene, Twenty, Rat, and Stone River) from Tantei Opera Milky Holmes

Runner-up: (s) – Ui from K-On!! ~ (f) – Kuroneko from OreImo, Sugata from Sora No Otoshimono Forte, Briefers Rock from Panty and Stocking

Asobi ni Iku yo! was a really fun series to watch in part because the people behind it knew their SF and the assistroids were a great example of this knowledge. Likewise, Milky Holmes was a really fun series in part because it was so over-the-top and that included the villains which made picking just one villain impossible.

-

Best Screen-grabber

Winner: (s) – Father from Mitsudomoe ~ (f) – Kurara from Kuragehime

Runner-up: (s) – Microbes from Moyashimon Live Action ~ (f) – Mom from Ore no Imouto, The spirits of Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot from Tantei Opera Milky Holmes, Amazoness and Billy from Arakawa Under the Bridge

Just because a character has a small part doesn’t mean he/she/it can’t become a memorable part of that show. Both winners (Father and Kurara) were prime examples of this.

-

Best Couple

Winner: (s) – Togame and Shichika from Katanagatari ~ (f) – Togame and Shichika from Katanagatari

Runner-up: (s) – none ~ (f) – Ko and Nino from Arakawa Under the Bridge 2

Togame and Shichika made a good couple but I wanted to take this chance to mention the worse couple was definitely Usui and Misa from Maid-sama, not because I wanted some other pairing but because I really didn’t like how this shoujo series depicted the relationship between the two of them – you’d think a series aimed at girls would show the main female in a more empowering light.

-

Best Character Ability/Power

Winner: (s) – Seeing microbes from Moyashimon Live Action ~ (f) – The ability to make super-powered samurai with only a kiss from Samurai Girls

Runner-up: (s) – Glasses girl’s ability to get mixed up with the supernatural from Seikimatsu Occult Gakuin ~ (f) – Arsene’s Toys of Resplendence from Tantei Opera Milky Holmes

Moyashimon Live Action is only here because of where it ran and because the microbes were animated. It wasn’t a particularly good show but the ability to see and communicate to microbes remains a very cool power. And speaking of squandered potential, Samurai Girls was set in a very interesting world with a very interesting animation style and it wasted both by being a boring harem show. It was still a cool power, though.

-

Best Cast of Characters

Winner: (s) – K-On!! ~ (f) – Arakawa Under the Bridge 2

Runner-up: (s) – Sengoku Basara 2, Rainbow ~ (f) – Kuragehime, Sora No Otoshimono Forte

These were two relatively easy picks to make. I just noticed that Kuragehime is the only completely new show (neither a sequel or continuing from an earlier season) listed. In a certain way, that makes it the best because it accomplished the most.

-

Best Character Development for Cast

Winner: (s) – Highschool of the Dead ~ (f) – Kuragehime

Runner-up: (s) – Rainbow ~ (f) – Arakawa Under the Bridge 2

Count me as the odd one that enjoyed Highschool of the Dead not for the fan-service or for the zombies but for it’s social commentary and character development. My favorite example was the gun otaku who went from social outcast in modern society to local hero and ladies man when the zombies arrived. Thinking about it, both of the winners share a commonality; if it wasn’t for the extraordinary event at the beginning – zombies appear and Kuranosuke saving the jellyfish – neither cast of characters would have had the opportunity for growth that they had.

-

Best Character Development of a Single Character

Winner: (s) – Sanada Yukimura from Sengoku Basara 2 ~ (f) – Tsukimi from Kuragehime

Runner-up: (s) – Scam from Rainbow ~ (f) – Garterbelt from Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt

One of the most important threads in Sengoku Basara 2 was the development of Sanada Yukimura into a man capable of being a general. It wasn’t always pretty to watch but it turned him into a real man; a really cool and epic one that can fight the Japanese equivalent of a Archimedes’s Death Ray and win. And for a complete change of pace, Kuragehime’s Tsukimi was the obvious pick for the fall season. All the characters in Kuragehime have had the chance to grow but Tsukimi’s transformation has been the most pronounced and the most heart-warming to see.

-

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.

 

Filed under: anime, awards

The year has come to an end and everyone and their dogs are doing end of the year lists. Once again I didn’t prepare enough to join them. These are my quick Top Ten lists for 2010 (which includes Winter 2009). Top 10 Anime of 2010 K-ON!! -The ‘moe anime’ of the year! YEAH~ Hanamaru [...]

I was not planning on making this list because I missed the starting point, like last year…and this year I’m four days away from when the ‘moment’ posts are supposed to end. But hey, nothing says I can’t make one big post for all my favorite moments in anime for 2010! I watched even less [...]

So the final TV anime season of 2010 is beginning to come to a close, which means we’re all looking forward to what’s ahead next year. Have a look at what we here at Borderline Hikikomori are (and aren’t) looking forward to for the coming winter season.

Based on these early looks, it looks like we have high expectations for the Noitamina shows – Fractale and Wandering Son. They are following up some amazing shows from this year in that time slot, after all, including my personal pick of 2010, The Tatami Galaxy. We’ve also caught on to the hype for Shaft’s original work Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica, as well as Gosick and Freezing which were adapted from a light novel series and a manga series respectively. For those who liked the first series, there are also sequels Kimi ni Todoke and Mitsudomoe to look forward to.

Fractale

Preview
So new I can’t find anything on it beyond the synopsis. Anyway, it looks like it’ll be an interesting adventure style series. It’s also in the Noitamina block, which means it at least warrants a look. I’ll be checking it out when it airs.
As Rakuen said, a mystery, but after this year’s The Tatami Galaxy and Jellyfish Princess, I’m paying more attention to Noitamina shows. That Ordet, the same studio behind the horrible Black Rock Shooter certainly doesn’t breed confidence.
Obviously this show’s animation looks awesome, and the concept isn’t that bad either. I am a bit worried that the whole rescue a girl storyline isn’t going to come off too well, and that the possibility for a whole lot of Meta posts exists for this show, but those are really minor concerns at this point. Plus, the Noitamina slots rarely let me down.
I have extremely high hopes for this. The staff are all top-notch, the concept sounds both fresh and interesting, the character designs are great, and the art in what little footage was shown in the preview was stunning. I’m heavily anticipating this, and I’m sure many others are as well.

Gosick

Preview
I’d say this is the series I’m looking forward to the most. Milky Holmes really didn’t do it for me as far as detective mysteries go. So now we’ve got the mysterious gothic lolita girl… who has a Holmes pipe? It’s got a nice setting too, taking place in 1920’s Europe. It looks like a take on Holmes and Watson, and I’m hoping this one goes places.
The setting is what draws me most to this show. I like that classical, rosy colored vision of rural 20s Europe. The plot sounds like pretty standard fare, but execution is always the key, of course. I’ll probably check out the first couple episodes, at least.
Nothing about this show really seems that bad. The animation looks nice, and it seems like there could be a good story ever week. But, they made that really bad pun, joke, or whatever you call it with the title, so for that reason alone, I’ve decided not to watch this. Plus, I’ll need the extra time next semester to study for my professional license.
I was extremely excited when I heard the news earlier this year that this was being animated. I then heard Bones was going to be animating, and I was practically jumping for joy. I’m a big fan of mystery series, and I’ve enjoyed what bits I’ve read of both the light novel of Gosick and the manga spun off from it. The cases involved are pretty classic whodunits, and the characters are interesting and have good potential for development. I know a few were disappointed with the trailer – the main criticism levied at it was that it felt “boring” – but I was anything but let down. The character designs have translated very well, I feel, to animation, and things look quite beautiful. The staff, too, is good. The director hasn’t done much aside from Heroman, which had a mixed reception, but the series composition, art director and animation director are strong. I’m really looking forward to this.

Hourou Musuko (Wandering Son)

Preview
Wow, the art style is quite something. It gives everything a very innocent, nostalgic feel. I’m drawn to this show based on the looks alone, but the promise of a mature take on the controversial subject matter of 5th grade transsexuals and that it’s in a Noitamina show makes this pretty much a must watch for me.
I really like the whole questioning your gender concept of this show and the preview made it seem like things were going to get pretty real. The only thing that really worries me is that having 5th graders dealing with these types of issues is going to seem a bit unrealistic. I watch this for sure, but there is no way I would try to blog this.
I’ve heard wonderful things about the manga, and I think Noitamina is the perfect time slot for this to air in. Even better, the very well-regarded Mari Okada is doing both series comp and the scripts. The director, Ei Aoki, is more of a mixed bag, helming Ga-Rei: Zero and the first Kara no Kyoukai movie, but also Girls Bravo. All three have very different feels to Hourou Musuko, too. In any case, I’m cautiously optimistic and very much looking forward to this. It will be wonderful to see gender identity presented as a main theme in an anime series, especially in one created by a manga-ka noted for her sensitivity and intelligence. As a side note, this is definitely a departure for AIC – the only series they produced this year that didn’t rely heavily on fanservice or moe was Ookami Kakushi.

Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica

Official Site
We’ve got Shaft and we’ve got Yuki Kajiura working together on an original anime project about a magical girl. What could possibly go wrong? Well, we’ve got bows and swords in the character artwork, so I imagine there’ll be action involved. I’ve just never been into magical girl anime though. I’ll see what other people think.
This has been getting a lot of hype recently. Given who’s working on it, I can see why. As a fan of Shaft and Shinbo, and as someone who loves the Hidamari Sketch series, I’m also pretty excited, but I’ve also never seen a magical girl anime I’ve liked. Just because of my skepticism of it despite my liking most of the big names associated with this show, I think this would be a fun show to blog. Plus, I’ve blogged some Shaft show for every season possible since I’ve been writing for Borderline Hikikomori.
Shaft has really been letting me down lately. Since it’s Shaft, I’d imagine that there would be some sort of special twist to this show, and that it won’t end up being some trumped up magic version of Hidamari Sketch, but you never know. How long now until the Bakemonogatari prequel?
There’s been a lot of hype surrounding this, and understandably so: Akiyuki Shinbo is directing a Shaft-produced original magical girl anime. Yuki Kajiura is doing the music, Ume Aoki is behind the original character designs, and the cast – Aoi Yuuki, Chiwa Saito, Eri Kitamura and Kaori Mizuhashi are the leads, and the mascot character is being played by Emiri Kato – is positively star studded. Promo material has been released at a steady rate, but we’ve yet to see a trailer with any actual footage. And given that this is original (and that Shinbo is directing), this could go absolutely anywhere. I’m not a big fan of Shaft, but this has certainly piqued my interest and Shinbo can be fantastic. Mostly, though, I’m immensely curious as to what this will be like, so I’ll jump in and give the series a go.

Freezing

Preview (Official Site)
The bleedin’ promotional materials give you panty shots and wrecked clothing. Watching the trailer really didn’t dissuade me from this position. If you want to watch buxom women beat the tar out of each other, this is the series for you this season. At least Infinite Stratos has really cool mecha…
Seems like yet another fairly generic scifi/fantasy show. The fanservice in the previews certainly doesn’t impress. I’ll pass.
While this show seems really similar to Infinite Stratos in concept and the amount of fan service, I’m going to give this one a shot for two reasons. First, the concept reminds me of Simoun, minus the yuri-ness, in that it is using the two people must work together to be successful theme. But more importantly, I want to see the pink haired, pig tailed girl with almost no clothes on.
I’m kind of a fan of the source material, but I’ll be the first to admit this is not for everyone: the fanservice is heavy and a large part of the series is busty girls beating each other up. (I think it says a lot that the series’ website features a series of minigames in which the aim is to knock clothes off various heroines) Nonetheless, I am a fan, and I am awaiting this with glee.
A couple of points to note about this adaptation. Firstly, the director is Takashi Watanabe, of Boogiepop Phantom, Slayers, and Full Metal Panic! fame, and Shana, Ikki Tousen, and Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou infamy. The screen composition guy is behind Ikki Tousen and both seasons of Index, while the screenplay guy did Queen’s Blade, Daimaou and Sekirei. Make of this what you will. Secondly, a plot in the manga only eventuates about thirty chapters in, and this is when things become really enjoyable and the early character development stuff becomes important. Anyway, a certain character is important in the turns the plot takes; she is not listed in the cast or character lists. Further, there seem to be some anime original characters (either that or they’re background characters who’ve been given names). I don’t know if this means a) we won’t get to the meat of the story, b) that this’ll be two cours long (and that said character will appear then), or c) that it means things will go in a completely different direction to manga. I don’t know what any of this means for the series, but I’m hoping for the best.

Beelzebub

Preview
Okay, so this series is on my radar as well. I like the delinquent character archetype, because it leaves so much room for character development. That he’s a delinquent who has to raise a child just puts more icing on the cake. This screams action comedy, which is perfect for me.
Hmm, tough high school guy is forced to raise a kid. Haven’t I seen this before? To be fair, this is a very common trope in all media, not just anime. The promotional material makes it look like it’ll be a wacky comedy. Nothing too compelling as far as I can see.
Too many shows have focused on some sort of devil king recently. Too many shows have focused on delinquents recently. Too many shows have focused on maids recently. So no, I’m not watching this.
The latest Shounen Jump series to get a Pierrot anime adaptation. I’ve known about the manga for a while, but have never really felt the desire to get into it. It sounds vaguely interesting, so I may feel a yen to give it the anime a try, but a couple of things are stacked against it. Firstly, I have a pretty bad record with Shounen Jump series, in both manga and anime form. Secondly, the two previous works of director Nobuhiro Takamoto’s I’ve checked out in the past – Ookami Kakushi and 07-Ghost – completely and utterly failed to captivate me, much as I wanted to like them. A probable miss for me, I think.

Yumekui Merry (Merry Dream Eater)

Preview
I know the magical girl falls on top of the protagonist trope has been played to death. Shoot, I’ve complained about it in the past. This just looks fun though. Merry Nightmare looks like she’d be right at home in a Disgaea game. And really, how can I say no to a war with cats? I’ll give it a shot.
Another girl-falls-in-boy’s-lap fantasy show by JC Staff? You’ll have to excuse me if I’m skeptical. I feel like JC Staff has gotten very good at pumping out these types of shows over the years, but they’ve yet to produce a good one. And the massive success of the Index franchise has only encouraged them to keep going, methinks. I’ll stay away.
Bar the usual cliches, the premise is interesting and the director of Casshern Sins is at the helm of the project. I also thought the trailer was very impressive; the art and animation looked gorgeous. If there’s good action and characterization here, I’ll definitely be on board. Checking this out.

Level E

Preview
The synopsis… I have no idea where this is going. However, it looks like the people who have read the source material are pretty vocal about liking it. A comedy with an amusing asshole of a prince… maybe.
Preview and synopsis don’t capture me. Looks like a generic scifi thriller. I’ll pass.
The concept doesn’t sound like my thing at all, and the trailer was unimpressive. Not interested in this.

Infinite Stratos

Preview
In just the first few seconds of the trailer you can tell this is already going to become a harem anime. However, I really like the design of their mecha suits, and if they can offer me some entertaining battles, I’ll probably tune in just for that. I suppose the obligatory TnA is extra.
This just seems like a whole lot of fan service that won’t let its characters get into any sort of drama that can’t just be fixed by some sort of reset ending. I suppose I could be wrong, and in that case I would likely go back and watch this at some point in the future, but this show just doesn’t seem to be breaking any new ground.
The PVs showed off an interesting visual style – a mix of very flat, angular looking characters and polished, CG-heavy mechs/armour, which actually worked quite fantastically – and some sleek action scenes. The staff and studio here are really interesting, too. We have studio 8-Bit making their debut, the director who did Macross Frontier, and the series composer who worked on the Key/KyoAni trilogy of Kanon, Clannad and Air. The school life/mecha action combination can be really enjoyable when done well, too, so I’ll give this a go.

Haiyoru Nyaruani: Remember My Love(craft-Sensei)

Official Site
Holy long title Batman! So we have a Cthulu deity who happens to enjoy the form of a pretty girl who ends up with, you guessed it, an ordinary high school student. I wonder, is “Did You Just Kiss Cthulu” a trope?
Seems all the cool legendary or fantastical characters are getting little girl representations. There’s the obvious (and surprisingly excellent) Strike Witches series, this season’s Squid Girl, and wasn’t there a show about Lubu from the Three Kingdoms a few years back? I couldn’t get into Squid Girl, and I’ll pass on this.
I watched the first episode of this, even though I wasn’t planning to, because it was only four minutes long. Essentially, it’s entirely mediocre. There’s nothing particularly good here, but nothing terrible either. Anyway, this is a gag show. Nothing is going to change, the characters won’t develop, the plot will be non-existent, etc. The character dynamics are good enough, though, and I think that’s the single most important thing in a show like this. But I doubt I’ll follow along.

Houkago no Pleiades

Official Site
My first reaction was to once again yell, “What the hell, Gainax?” My second reaction, upon seeing the staff list, could be summed up as “…huh.” We’ve got an episode director from FLCL, a concept artist from TTGL, and the designer of Hanamaru Kindergarten. Who knows, this might actually pull through somehow.
Gainax making a promotional anime for Subaru, the car company… well, Gainax certainly is a company that knows how to monetize its products. I haven’t been able to find any details on this show, but given Gainax’s history, unless it involves mechs in some form, it’s probably not gonna be very good.

Wolverine

Official Site
Last time I checked, Iron Man wasn’t doing too well, so I’ll pretty much pass on all of these Marvel shows.
I was hugely underwhelmed by Iron Man, so much so that I’ll proceed with much caution if end up trying any of the other Madhouse/Marvel collaborations. Anyway, I found that most of the community tended to share my views on that first project so, while I don’t intend to check out Wolverine, there’s a small chance I might be tempted to change my mind if reviews of it are glowing.

Kore wa Zombie Desu Ka? (Is this a Zombie?)

Preview
This looks like it’s trying to capitalize on the current zombie craze without actually using any of the things that makes zombies cool. Just another generic fantasy magical-girl-falls-into-boy’s-lap show from, as far as I can see. I’ll pass.
I can’t help but feel I’ve seen this “fight in my place against an evil organization” plot line before. Plus, do I want to watch something about zombies again? No?
The concept sounds like a lot of mindless fun to me, honestly. I mean, vampire ninjas, necromancers, zombies, magical girls and an “anti-magical girl system?” The art was displayed in the trailer was great, aside from the character art, which looked unpolished and strangely ugly. Staff-wise, the director has only previously helmed Macademi Wasshoi!, which I didn’t get into, while the series composition guy has done a truckload of ecchi series… but also Katanagatari, which was brilliant. Anyway, as I said before, this looks like it could be enjoyable, so I’ll check it out.

Rio -Rainbow Gate!-

Preview
This show really doesn’t have anything going for it, but I do like cards, so maybe?
Nothing in the promo material I’ve seen for this has really grabbed my attention, though series comp is good here. The tournament/quest-ish aspects that seem to be a part of the show could be interesting, but it looks as though this aspires to be more of a fanservice comedy. I doubt I’ll be watching.

Dragon Crisis

Official Site
The premise here is pretty cliche. The tweaks that have been made to the usual formula, however, were novel enough for me to consider checking this out. Then I heard Rie Kugimiya in the trailer, with her voice seemingly more irritating than ever before (I know! I didn’t think it was possible either!). I don’t know if there’s enough good here to counterbalance the cliches and Teh Rie, despite the fact that Hideyuki Kurata is doing series comp. I think he’s excellent, but, naturally, how good his adaptation work is depends on the source. I suppose he might be enough to get me to try to brave through a little of the series, though.

I Don’t Like You At All, Big Brother!

Official Site
Looks like it’s trying to cash in on the siscon fetish which, while very old, has seemingly exploded in popularity in mainstream anime in the past few years. Probably gonna be worthless.
The brocon trend continues. This really isn’t my thing. No thanks.

Starry Sky

Official Site
It seems as though all there is to this otome game adaptation is a reverse harem of bishies and a fantastic cast. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be much beyond that. Perhaps with a good director I’d be more inclined to give the series a try, but Nobuhiro Takamoto is helming this (see Beelzebub). I don’t think I’ll be watching.

Kimi ni Todoke (Season 2)

Official Site
The first season started out as good, wholesome fun, but got frustrating toward the end as nothing kept happening. Maybe the 2nd season can provide more of that innocent entertainment while having the relationship actually advance. But the real question is, will Aya Hirano return to voice her character?
I loved the first season, except for five or six episodes that focused on Kurumi. Hopefully that doesn’t happen again. Aside from that, I am hoping for a little quicker pace this time around, but then again, if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it. A must watch for sure.

Mitsudomoe (Season 2)

Official Site
Despite the first season being really crude at some points and that it recycled a lot of jokes, I laughed harder at this show than anything I’ve watched recently. Since it’s only 8 episodes, I’ll probably wait until it’s finished and marathon it.

The fall season of anime has already started, which means that the summer season has come to a close. Of course, most of us watch more shows than we could – or care to – write about, and here are our brief thoughts about what we watched this past season.

High School of the Dead

Things started strong, with an engaging set-up, good action and a great sense of fun. Later, the series showed that while it could definitely be dark at times, it also revelled in the ridiculous; what went on wasn’t always to my taste but kept me laughing and coming back to see what would happen next. The downsides? I didn’t feel as though I connected much with any of the characters. More than that, the series felt directionless and incomplete, and, in the end, unsatisfying.
It was a fun ride, but man, was the ending bad. I know, story hardly matters to this show, but I did get invested in these characters and hoped things would go somewhere. Some crazy action and most Jello-like boobs ever, but overall left me with a bad taste in my mouth.
Saeko wearing an apron, and only an apron, was the only noteworthy moment of this show.

Seikimatsu Occult Academy (End of the Century Occult Academy)

I wanted so much for this series to turn what seemed like an obvious conclusion right on its head.  It didn’t do that, but I still thoroughly enjoyed the series.  Great characters, and shoot, great facial expressions.  It used the character art style really well to assist the comedy.  Then we’ve got Smile and his wrench, who need one of those 3-5 minute anime shorts time slots.
The last few episodes aside, I felt this series continually put me to sleep. While Maya’s begrudging acceptance of the occult provided for some interesting moments with Fumiaki and her friends, it seemed as if these character developments had no connection to the three episodes that actually focused on the main plot.
Anime no Chikara finally delivers! It started off hilarious but got mired in side stories in the middle, before the main story returned with a bang. The last 3 episodes were just wild, good fun. The ending came as a genuine surprise and delivered a powerful, heartfelt message.
To say the least, this was a wild, crazy ride. The series was continually hilarious, though, and it generally struck an excellent balance of silliness and seriousness. The main leads were also developed very well, and, while the first and last few episodes of the series were filled with much more energy than the middle ones were, I was always engaged and looked forward to the new installment each week. The ending, too, was probably the most satisfying of the season.

Giant Killing

The one show I consistently looked forward to week after week.  It might not be the best anime to ever air, or even the best sports anime, but it kept me consistently entertained.  I don’t think I’ve sat on the edge of my seat so much for a game where I knew how it had to end.  It had a lot of really good characters too, even the minor characters on the opposing teams.  I want a second season of this, and I want it soon.  I need to see them go all the way. (Editor’s note: Rakuen blogged/is blogging the entirety of this show)

Seitokai Yakuindomo (Student Council Officers)

Good raunchy fun. The hectic, ADD style of filling each episode with short gags worked very well, in the tradition of other 4-koma adaptations like Azumanga Daioh. The story heavy episodes were nice asides as well, connecting the random gags with a common theme. Suzu and Yokoshima-sensei are awesome, and Kotomi is the best imouto ever.
I really wasn’t keen on this at first, but I’m so glad I stuck with it. A week rarely went by without a few good laughs out of the series; its rapid-fire jokes weren’t always hits, but there were always at least a couple or so that were fantastic. It took a little while to get used to the show’s sense of humour but I’ll really miss it and its characters, who had awesome chemistry with one another. This was a lot of fun.

Sekirei ~Pure Engagement~

This season of the series focused on developing relationships between Sekirei and their Ashikabi. This was done well. Otherwise, there wasn’t much going for the show, with things seeming geared almost solely towards setting up a third season. There was a serious lack of forward momentum and, in addition, pretty much all of the characters lacked depth. I was hoping for a larger focus on battles (what few took place were excellently choreographed and animated) but they rarely eventuated, and antagonists tended to run away instead of finishing fights. Frustrating.

Strike Witches 2

Best show of the season! I write that without a hint of irony – for me, it was either this one or Seitokai Yakuindomo. I actually watched both seasons of the show this past summer, and couldn’t be happier that I did. It successfully told a heartwarming story of personal triumph and friendship, and the second season had some of the best directed action scenes I’ve seen in non movie anime in recent years.
This was actually a pretty good show. I was a bit upset that they pretty much went away from the plot of the first season, of which there was little, from the get go, but that is a minor complaint. I am hoping for a season three.

Shiki

Frankly, there are a lot of reasons why this show should really suck. From the stubbornness of the villagers, most notably Ozaki, who seems incapable of asking for outside assistance to the ridiculousness of practically every character’s hair style, though I admit I have a thing for Ritsuko. However, the last few episodes have provided an ever increasing level of tension which has made this my favorite show of the summer season.
The highlight of the season. There’s a fascinating and constantly shifting cast of characters, a tension-filled storyline that keeps you wondering, and some utterly amazing atmosphere. Not much is black and white, and things are constantly kept interesting. I was initially concerned about the unusual art style, but Daume have shown that they know how to make it work. I can’t wait for the show’s hiatus to end, and I’m very curious to see how things continue. (Editor’s note: Raph blogged the first 3 episodes of this series)

Rainbow

This whole series has been a love hate relationship for me.  I know a lot of people thought the first half of the season was far stronger than the second half.  I disagree.  I always had the feeling the characters were constantly getting hit in the head by the idiot ball while in the detention center.  The camaraderie was good, but some of the decisions just left me scratching my head.  I liked it a lot better once they got out and tried to find their own place in the world.  I’d say they matured up nicely.  Well, maybe not Cabbage, but he’s the lovable big guy, what can you do? (Editor’s note: Rakuen blogged the first 4 episodes of this show when it started in Spring)

Ookami-san and Seven Companions

Mediocre is the word. The show had a lot of potential, and when it had fun with its flexible premise, I had fun too. Unfortunately, it consistently disappointed at big moments, almost always managing to squander build-up or suspense – the ending in particular was a massive anticlimax. Similarly, the characters could have been the series’s saving grace, but most remained undeveloped. All that said, though, the show shone in its less serious moments, held my attention for the right reasons, and was a mostly enjoyable addition to my week.
The biggest issue I had with this series is that it never knew what it wanted to be. Almost from the get go, it seemed as though every episode attempted to form a weak, half assed link to a fairy tale for its plot to its detriment. In my opinion, if the show continually employed a lighter tone that focused on character development and helping people via the bank, things may have gone better.
As much as I enjoyed watching the series, I have to agree it was pretty mediocre.  It never pushed itself far enough in any one direction.  It seemed like it could do one thing well for an episode, but it would fall flat in other areas.  It leads to this roulette situation where you never quite know what you’re going to get, and that’s bad.  I think the cast could have used a little more work too.  Really, I think a lot of things, and I’m not terribly sure which would improve it because it’s just so middle of the road.
This is the one show I blogged every week, if you’ll recall. The word that I keep turning to is “disappointing.” It started off with promise, introduced some interesting ideas, then squandered everything it had. You can read my final thoughts on my last post.

Legend of the Legendary Heroes

You would think that after blogging this show for almost three months I would have formed some sort of a definite opinion, but I haven’t. For a non comedy (though it does have some comedic portions), this show does have the somewhat surprising ability to keep me fully entertained for 22 minutes and it has enough of a story for me to blog about. On the flip side, I feel as though this show spends a lot of time going nowhere and there are some animation cincerns. That said, all signs point to the pace picking up in the second half.

Sengoku Basara 2

Yeah, I started off covering this series… and it kind of fell off for me.  I loved the first season for the consistently over the top characters and battles. The second season had more of that, but it also attempted to tell more of a story to go with it.  I thought it might be something I wanted.  After all, strong characters with a strong(er) story must be a win-win, right?  I don’t think it was.  I guess sometimes all you want is to see a bunch of larger than life characters beating the tar out of each other.

Amagami SS

I dropped this show after the second episode of Sae’s arc. While I understand that many people need to exercise their knee kissing, feet sucking, or furry fetishes satisfied, I have better things to with my life.
Comeback story of the season; you can read my full thoughts in my posts. In short, started off hilariously bad, then got painfully bad before turning it all around at Sae’s arc. Ai’s arc looks to be a return to normalcy and complacency, unfortunately. There’s news of a possible imouto arc, too.

Asobi ni Iku yo! (Let’s Go Play!)

Probably one of the biggest surprises of the season, this really didn’t take itself seriously and managed to deliver something fun, humorous and self-aware. The series seemed to really enjoy both making fun of and embracing the cliches that come with harem/magical girlfriend comedies. It also knew exactly what it wanted to do, and it did that well. Things were bizarre and entertaining, and my low expectations were very much exceeded.

Mitsudomoe

In my opinion, this show just keeps getting better and I am looking forward to season 2. Though the comedy is by no means high brow, funny is funny. The only problem is that a few of the jokes fail to hit the mark. The show’s success, as many have pointed out is due to its misunderstandings, which why some of the scenes that dealt with bodily fluids seemed out of place and unneeded.

Digimon Xros Wars

Ah, my childhood.  Yes, I watched both Pokemon and Digimon, and I liked them for different reasons.  Pokemon had that constant adventure, while Digimon had an actual storyline week over week.  Watching Xros Wars is like going back to those days, in a way.  Yeah, it’s definitely nothing to write home about, but it just has that ridiculous (and stupid) fun factor.  I do kind of wish they could come up with something more creative for their digivolutions, besides tacking on a new number after Shoutmon’s name…

 

Phew! That’s quite a lot of shows we watched these past 3 months. And we even had time to write each week about some of them! We’re still deciding on our fall lineups, but I’m currently committed to Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru – Yet the Town Keeps Going (Shaft show starring Chiaki Omigawa with music by Round Table and OP by Maaya Sakamoto? Yes please!), so look for that next week.

Ewwww the first half of this episode was naaaaaaasty! Futaba gets sick and she sneezes snot all over the place, enough to tie rope the teacher with it. But that’s nothing compared to the next scene. The doji nurse does what a doji nurse does and trips over nothing, spilling urine samples all over the [...]

…which is made more regrettable given what this show compares them to.

Though I usually don’t make a point of watching anime focusing on 6th grade girls, I might make an exception for this show after a pretty good first episode.  To be honest, this show didn’t show up on my radar at all over the past few weeks as its description seemed rather bland and gave the impression that it might just be an endless parade of panty shots. Fortunately, this episode was able to keep those to a minimum while providing one of the funnier episodes from any series I’ve seen in a while.  What made it even better was that the show didn’t rely too much on fan service, but instead used the naiveté of sixth graders as its source of laughs.

This episode revolves around the plight of Satoshi Yabe, a new teacher put in charge of class 6-3. His first day starts out normally enough as he meets the rest of the school’s faculty, including a conveniently clumsy and full figured school nurse. Unfortunately for Yabe, three of his students are the Marui triplets, who are reputedly the worst triplets the world has ever known. The dark music and imagery used to introduce Futaba (far left of the first picture) highlighted the danger of these girls.

From what I could gather from the character introductions and the relatively small sample size of the show thus far is that Futaba is a perverted moron, which only makes her strength more dangerous. As much as I disliked Futaba, I found Mitsuba’s character to be even less interesting. Though there is still time for her character to be fleshed out, the only appeal she seems to have is that she is more mature than her sisters and a bit too sadistic.

In my opinion, the shows only interesting character thus far is Hitoha. By the end of the episode I felt that whenever she was in a scene a laugh was sure to follow, which is something I couldn’t say for the other two sisters. In addition to the Nipples scene, it was her deductive reasoning that started the girls’ quest to deprive Yabe of his manhood. While her comedic timing was certainly top notch, she also seems to have the most potential, plot wise, for the rest of the series. The most poignant moment of the show, though it wasn’t really funny, was when she asked for her friends to stand up and no one did. If I was a betting man (which I am), I would bet that she will make some sort of friend by the end of the series. Also, does anyone have any idea what is up with that book of hers?

Since I believe this is a show (or at least this episode) worth watching, I should warn you that the first segment of the show wasn’t really that funny. Class 6-3 basically plays a variant of musical chairs as a way to introduce the sisters and their personalities, and it accomplishes that goal, but little else. However, the action really picks up in the last two-thirds of the episode. First, the girls do their best to hook up their teacher with the school nurse, Aiko Kuriyama, but go about it in the worst way possible.

The last part of the episode focused on the new class pet, Nipples the hamster. Though this is obviously an immature name that predictably elicits fairly crass jokes, it all seems to work perfectly because of the situation. I don’t know if any of you remember your sixth grade selves, but sixth graders really would give a hamster a name like Nipples. What made things even funnier was that some class members seemingly didn’t even grasp the meaning of what they were saying.

If I had to find a fault in this otherwise enjoyable opener, I couldn’t get over how all the characters looked like Alvin and the chipmunks with their teeth, but I’m not really a fan of anime teeth to begin with. Mind you, I did enjoy the animation as a whole since it underscored the character’s youth and the setting even though it is a bit different. Going forward, this show is probably not going to offer much in the way of a plot, but will likely be in the same vein as Azumanga Daioh, but only a little less tasteful. It also seems that there will be a wide variety of side characters given the amount of detail some of them received throughout the episode and in the ending. This is probably a good thing given my lack of interest towards most of the main characters. As I haven’t read the manga, I don’t know if the show can stay at this comedic level over the long run without wearing too thin or relying on too much fan service, but I’d give this show a shot for the time being.

Amagami SS This is a keeper regardless how it turns out. The lead is the boring nice-guy archetype, but at least he comes out of the closet every day! He manned up and confessed in the first episode…he’s not genre savvy so he didn’t know he would be flat out rejected. We knew it was [...]

Rakuen here, and it’s that time again.  Time to pretend we actually care about the new series for the Summer season.  Okay, the season really isn’t too bad, and all of us have found at least a few shows to watch.  Compared to the 34-show torrent introduced last season, we only have 18 new additions.  In some ways, I like a smaller season.  I felt overloaded during the Spring season with so many series I wanted to watch.   The horror genre has gotten some disproportionate representation, and we see the return of Digimon from a 3-year hiatus.  Three shows take place during the Sengoku period, including the titular Sengoku Basara.  In addition, AIC is going overboard this season with four new shows.  While we’re talking statistics, this post is 2635 words long!  So enough with the introduction, let’s get on with the series impressions!

High School of the Dead

Madhouse

Rakuen: As soon as I opened up the Summer chart, I was already looking forward to this.  I’ve seen posts on imageboards for years, but I never got around to looking at the manga.  We’ve got a zombie apocalypse, we’ve got a school setting, now just give me a plot and I’ll be all over it.  Madhouse is just the icing on the cake for this series.

Lvlln: My main interest in this comes from the fact that it’s about zombies and a few risqué looking images from the manga I saw posted on /a/. That said, it does star a few of my favorite voice actors: Miyuki Sawashiro, Marina Inoue, whom I haven’t seen in any of the shows I’ve watched recently, and FUCK YEAH Yukari Fukui! I absolutely adore her voice, since all the way back in FLCL when she played the teacher, Miyaji. There’s a voice actor who doesn’t do enough voices. Plus, it’s about zombies, and the trailer looks appropriately ridiculous. I’ll definitely be watching it, though my interest in blogging it is medium-low.

Raph: I’m not going to lie: this looks like it’ll be a ridiculous amount of mindless fun. There’s fighting, blood, melodrama and zombies, and Madhouse is at the helm, so gorgeous animation looks to be on the cards too. I don’t like fanservice (as I continually point out) and this series will certainly have a lot of it, but I’ll probably let that slide because I’ll be having too much fun to care. If I’m not, though, I expect to drop this faster than you can say ‘brains’.

Seikimatsu Occult Academy

A-1 Pictures

Rakuen: I liked Sora no Woto, even though it didn’t have the greatest ending in the world.  I managed to lose interest in Senkou no Night Raid before anyone had even subbed the first episode.  This time, the premise doesn’t really appeal to me, and the trailer failed to piqué my interest.

Lvlln: I watched the 1st of the Anime no Chikara shows, Sora no Woto, and was pretty disappointed. I haven’t heard good things about the 2nd one, Senkou no Night Raid. The premise sounds interesting enough, but the trailer isn’t inspiring. I might wait for people’s reactions to the 1st few episodes before I consider watching it.

Raph: Admittedly, I haven’t enjoyed either of Anime no Chikara’s offerings so far, even though I love the idea behind the timeslot and A-1 Pictures. I’m going to give this a shot, though, because I’m a sucker for occult/horror series, and this one also has school comedy thrown in (generally another plus). The show looks to be using Nostradamus’ prophecies as a theme, which should be a heap of fun, and I really liked the trailer too. I’m somewhat apprehensive, but I’ll definitely check this out.

Shi Ki

Daume

Rakuen: This kind of falls into the same boat as Occult Gakuin.  I’m not really a fan of the horror genre except in really specific situations.  Zombies are cool, mysterious deaths by some other worldly power are right out.  With that in consideration, I would probably choose this series over Gakuin based on the trailers.  It knows what it wants to do, and it looks like it can do it might do it with a better atmosphere than the train wreck of Ookami Kakushi.

Lvlln: I’ll be honest: the 1st thing that caught me about this one was the title, which is the same as the name of the protagonist of Tsukihime, one of my favorite anime dramas ever. Of course, Type-Moon’s previous work, Kara no Kyoukai, also shares a protagonist with the same name. The premise brings to mind Ookami Kakushi, which I dropped after a couple episodes, but then again, it’s never about the premise, it’s all about the execution. The character designs don’t do much for me, but maybe it could pull off a good horror/suspense. Probably won’t be watching it unless I start hearing a lot of good things about it.

Raph: I have been looking forward to this series as soon as it was announced. Not only will it air in the Noitamina timeslot, it’s also based on an incredibly atmospheric manga (which, in turn, was based on a light novel by the author of Ghost Hunt and Twelve Kingdoms). The trailer was extremely impressive, showing off strong art and music, and horror/mystery is a combination I really adore. There are also vampires, which will be off-putting for some, but they’re portrayed differently to the norm. There ain’t no sparkly prettyboys (admittedly, there are bishies; I’m sorry, I’m sorry!) here, just a boatload of mysterious deaths. Suffice to say, it’s a definite watch for me and a possible blog as well. [/end shameless and unsubtle fanboying]

Nurarihyon no Mago

Studio DEEN

Rakuen: My immediate reaction was Inuyasha 2.0, but the similarities seem to change when you get past the protagonist’s design.  Unlike the relatively sour Inuyasha, this Youkai hybrid wants to do good.  I like series that challenge the stereotypes in this manner.  In addition, it doesn’t look like it will be infinite episodes long.  I might consider a quick look.

Lvlln: Premise sounds kinda meh, and the trailer really didn’t show much. Has some big voice actors, though, in Jun Fukuyama, Yui Horie, and Aya Hirano. But interest level is low.

Raph: The director and studio behind this also did Simoun, which I haven’t seen but am certainly planning to. I don’t think I’ll be watching this series unless it gets fantastic reviews, though, because the premise and setting don’t appeal to me at all.

The Legend of the Legendary Heroes

ZEXCS

Rakuen: Are thesauruses just too expensive in Japan?  The redundant title aside, this seems like a mixed bag to me.  It has a fantasy setting with magic and swordplay, but it also might move a little too slowly for my tastes.  Breaking swords to end a fight in five seconds looks impressive, but if you want to do it, you have to have something else to fill the cracks, like Katanagatari’s wordplay.  I’ll wait for some reviews.

Lvlln: OK, so the title is pretty awesome. I might watch it just for that. The trailer was pretty funny, and I do enjoy that classic fantasy setting, so I’ll probably give the first few episodes a go and see how it turns out.

Amagami SS

AIC

Rakuen: I don’t usually put a much stock into romance anime, but the premise at least looks interesting.  I like stories from multiple viewpoints.  On the other hand, this might suffer a little from Endless Eight syndrome.  After all, in many of these choose your path visual novels, the same events happen in multiple storylines, some in all of them.  Much of Amagami hinges on its ability to avoid repetition.

Lvlln: I’m really interested to see how this parallel story telling thing will turn out. I like how AIC decided to go in that direction in this adaptation, trying to tell several good romance stories instead of telling just one that is diluted and harem-style. I also really like the more realistic/muted character design. High school romance isn’t really my thing, but I’ll watch at least the 1st story just to see how it turns out.

Raph: I love stories in any medium with multiple plotlines, and this should also satisfy my romance-anime cravings. I’m inexplicably nervous about the show, however, and am meh on the character designs, but I’m going to check out the first episode regardless. If I like it, I may very well blog it too.

Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakama-tachi

J.C. Staff

Rakuen: I’ve heard good things about Toradora.  Even my cousin Jnkolm has said it’s a pretty good series, well worth the time to watch, and he’s a guy who is generally impossible to impress.  With weight like that, I feel obliged to watch it.  Oh, wait.  This is Ookami-san?  Sorry, my bad.  Well, I’ll watch the series recommended to me first, then I might come back for this.

Lvlln: I haven’t watched Toradora, but even I was thinking that this is too similar to that show, especially after watching the trailer. Looking at the cast, it features a lot of the same voice actors as the RailDex series, like Kanae Itou (Saten), Shizuka Itou (Kaori Kanzaki, the girl with the katana from Index), Kimiko Koyama (Komoe, the loli teacher), Aki Toyosaki (Uiharu), and of course it’s easy to tell that Satomi Arai is narrating the trailer. In any case, this seems a bit too much of a run of the mill high school comedy for me, so I’ll pass.

Raph: While I’ll be the first to admit that one of the leads looks remarkably like a taller Taiga (from Toradora!), I actually love the character designs and the art style here. I also love J.C. Staff and the premise is great, so I’m hoping this will be a lot of fun. Definite watch for me and also a possible blog.

Mitsudomoe

Bridge

Rakuen: Minami-ke had class.  Hanamaru Kindergarten had charm.  This… you know what?  Screw this.

Lvlln: Reading the description, I thought maybe this could be a cute show like Hanamaru Kindergarten ended up being. But looking at the trailer, no, this is just lolicon material. I’ll pass.

Raph: Despite the horrendous character designs, I was considering checking this out. That was until I saw the trailer, which I found unimpressive and unfunny. No thanks.

Asobi ni Ikuyo!

AIC Plus+

Rakuen: Every series needs to have a catgirl stylized anime.  It looks like AIC Plus missed the memo on this one, because Strike Witches has already filled the bill.  It also uses the “mysterious girl” trope.  I’m not feeling it.

Lvlln: Sounds like another typical “girl falls out of the sky into a boy’s life” story. I’ll pass.

Raph: There’s a strong voice cast and surprisingly good character designs here, but the premise seems really cliché and it looks like there’s going to be a hell of a lot of fanservice. I may give this show the benefit of the doubt  and check out the first episode, though, if only so I can drop it because of too much T&A.

Seitokai Yakuindomo

GoHands

Rakuen: I really liked Seitokai no Ichizon back in the winter season, and while the school setting is slightly different, the setup is roughly the same.  We have a guy, and he works with a bunch of girls.  Of course, Ichizon went the parody route, and this one might go for regular comedy instead.  Still, I’m trying not to flood myself with anime this season, so I’ll wait for a second opinion.

Raph: Ahh, the student council comedy. I’m of two minds about this: the set-up is pretty bad (in a newly co-ed school’s student council, there’s one boy among a bevy of gorgeous girls) and I don’t like the character designs. However, I do think there’s potential for humour and this could be funny. I plan to check out the first episode, but it probably won’t be a high priority on my watch list.

Shukufuku no Campanella

AIC

Rakuen: …no.

Lvlln: So this one apparently literally has a girl falling out of the sky and into a boy’s life. I do like the colorful backdrop in the trailer, but it also seems too sugary sweet for me. I’ll pass.

Raph: I found the trailer and character designs bland, and I don’t like the premise, but I at least liked the colour palette and backgrounds. I’m not going to watch this unless it gets heaps of praise from others in the aniblogosphere.

Black Rock Shooter

Ordet

Lvlln: OK, so this was in the Spring preview post, but like a certain other online streaming anime, it was delayed. And just like that one, it also stars Kana Hanazawa and Miyuki Sawashiro. In just the past year, those 2 have been in 3 shows together: Bakemonogatari, Durarara!, and Angel Beats! (ok, for like 1 episode in that one). I was excited about the show already, being a big fan of Supercell and also of Hatsune Miku, but the announcement of these voice actors puts my excitement level over the top. This is one I’ll be looking for torrents for the moment it’s released on July 24.

Sequel Blitzkrieg

I (Rakuen) know most people gloss over the sequel and franchise preview segments because you usually know exactly what to expect.  If you liked it last season, you’ll probably still like it, and if you didn’t, you won’t have interest.  However, I have interest in two of the series, so I figured I should throw in a little extra and cover all five.  No images, studios, or other extraneous information, this is just rapid-fire titles and impressions.

Sengoku Basara S2

Are you ready guys?  Put ya guns on!  I watched the first two episode of the first season for this post, specifically because of the meme.  It’s over the top action that’s just good fun.  I have to blitz the rest of the series to prepare for the next season.  This will probably be what I write about in addition to Giant Killing.

Kuroshitsuji 2

I read the first volume of the manga, and honestly, I kind of liked it.  I never watched the anime, which is both good and bad.  On the positive side, they wrote a completely different storyline.  On the negative side… they wrote a completely different storyline.  I’m trying to avoid overwatching series this season, so I’ll probably pass on it.

Strike Witches 2

Second verse, same as the first.  It’s got girls, sailor fuku, panty shots, and rocket booster legs.  I remember seeing the first episode of the original about a year ago, and it just felt like a fanservice fest.  You’d have to cut me a tremendous deal to get me to catch up.

Sekirei: Pure Engagement

Bishonen and shoujo characters beat the crap out of each other.  Okay, honestly, I’d rather watch Tenjou Tenge.  In fact, I might just do that instead.

Digimon Xros Wars

Say what you will about Digimon, but this is my childhood we’re talking about here.  I feel like watching this just for nostalgia reasons.  Also, it looks like it will parallel the Sengoku period.  I doubt I will seriously write about the series, but maybe there’ll be some conjunction to Sengoku Basara…