And just like that, we’ve already reached the halfway point of the winter anime season. Normally, I’m with the other early adopters that have already cast their glance forward to the spring season at this point because I’m sick of everything remotely related to winter; however, this year the weather has apparently forgotten what “winter” means, sticking to a more early spring feel, and as a result I find myself feeling oddly worried that winter is slipping by too quickly. Heresy, I know.

The halfway point is a good place to rest for a moment and examine the season’s anime series. It’s been long enough that the slow-starting series have had time to find their own rhythm and long enough to see if those anime series that promised the moon in episode 1 have the stuff to deliver.

Since it’s me, I’ve going to rank the various series in worse-to-best order to provide another method of evaluation to augment the grades I’ll award each anime. Also, to provide a complete picture of this season, I’ll also cover those anime series that are carry-overs from the Fall season.

(22) – Guilty Crown

Rating for episodes 1 to 18 – 1/12  Epic Fail

Under normal circumstances I’d’ve dropped Guilty Crown a very long time ago but it’s not everyday that an anime comes along that fails as hard as Guilty Crown does. I saw an opportunity to finally find an anime that could compete with Kampfer for the title of worse anime ever (that I’ve seen/completed) and decided to see if I could finish watching it. The danger, though, in wasting my time with Guilty Crown is that it might, at some point, accidentally do something right and push it up to the merely failing level. Thankfully, Guilty Crown continues to confound me with how stupid it can be and remains on track to challenge Kampfer for worst anime ever.

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(21) – Baby, Please Kill Me (Dropped)

Rating for episodes 1 to 3 – 1/12  Epic Fail

Three episodes and I didn’t laugh once, not even a chuckle, guffaw, chortle or smirk; this is a death sentence for an anime like Baby, Please Kill Me because it’s supposed to be a comedy. I don’t know if I’ve ever watched a show this unfunny before.

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(20) – Inu x Boku SS

Rating for episodes 1 to 5 – 2/12  F

This anime makes me want to find a cute puppy and kick it. The puppy dog-like personality of the main character’s bodyguard towards the main character in Inu x Boku SS has to be one of the most painful things I’ve ever endured while watching anime. Almost equally repellent is the female main character who has fallen in love with this bodyguard because of his puppy dog-like obedience and devotion towards her. I should just drop this and end the pain but I still hope that david production (the animators who last did Ben-to and Level-E) can salvage the show somehow.

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(19) – Zero no Tsukaima Final

Rating for episodes 1 to 3 – 3/12  D

As if animating another season of the original Shana wasn’t enough for J.C. Staff they decided to double down and make another season of a series that most people flatteringly call a “Shana-clone”. And much like Shana at this point I’m just going to finish the series so I can see how it ends; not because I’m particularly that wrapped up in Zero’s Familiar but after trudging through three seasons what’s one more?

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(18) – Shakugan no Shana S.3

Rating for episodes 1 to 18 – 5/12  C+

Truthfully, I’m surprised Shana has been able to maintain this level of mediocrity; by rights, it should have either completely fallen apart or zoomed up to awesomeness by now. It’ll be interesting to see if J.C. Staff can maintain this equilibrium point as the series moves to the final showdown or will Shana finally get pushed to one of the two extreme states.

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(17) – Black Rock Shooter

Rating for episodes 1 to 2 – 6/12  B-

Rock bottom expectations and competition from the likes of Guilty Crown made the first two episodes of BRS a pleasant experience even though so far it’s an average effort all-around. With only 8 total episodes to work with, BRS can’t be lazy about advancing the plot or telling it’s story if it wants to avert a repeat of the disappointing performance of the OVA that came out earlier. If it will or not is a question whose answer is only a few weeks away.

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(16) – Persona 4

Rating for episodes 1 to 18 – 6/12  B-

The only time Persona 4 has been actually interesting to watch is those few episodes that would be considered “filler” because they have nothing to do with the mystery surrounding the disappearing people and the homicides. What does it say about an anime that prominently features an alternative world of fighting creatures and a string of mysterious deaths in the real world that the two-part episode where the viewer discovers how the main character spent his summer break is the high point of the first three-quarters of the show? I guess I shouldn’t be that surprised, Persona 4 is a video game adaptation after all.

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(15) – Rinne no Lagrange

Rating for episodes 1 to 6 – 7/12  B

Rinne no Lagrange is one of six anime series this season I’m watching that features either mecha or power suits or some type of metal ship and it’s been tough for this series to find its own unique appeal. So far this series is one of those shows that haven’t really done anything wrong but also really hasn’t done anything that great with itself and, as a result, finds itself just kinda hanging out in the middle. How Rinne no Lagrange turns out is something only time can tell at this point.

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(14) – Senhime Zesshou Symphogear

Rating for episodes 1 to 6 – 7/12  B

There are definite spots in which Senhime Zesshou Symphogear excels as an anime but there is almost an exactly opposite number of ways that it comes up short as an anime. I hate to say it but the easiest way to improve this anime would have been giving it a more substantial budget because it sounds shallow to say that it’s not pretty enough and yet, for a series based around fighting and singing, when those areas fizzle the whole series is hurt. The second biggest improvement would have come from an improved script to work from; it (like the whole show) has its great moments and its not-so-great moments. The end result, however, has been a fun series to watch and I remain hopeful for a strong finish.

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(13) – Phi Brain

Rating for episodes 1 to 19 – 8/12  B+

I was sure that Phi Brain was going to be an easy series to drop because the premise – an organization bent on solving the Divine Puzzle by raising and shaping a genius puzzle solver – is, frankly, rather silly and couldn’t possibly be any good. That moment where I threw my hands up in disgust over Phi Brain never happened though; instead, I continued watching and slowly I started seeing the charm of Phi Brain. Ultimately, it was the characters and how they fit together, develop and play off each other that made this series worth the watch. That and the plot has continued to cover new ground with each story arc and hasn’t yet started repeating itself. I’m still not ready to say Phi Brain is a “good” anime but it continues to beat my expectations.

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(12) – Amagami SS+ Plus

Rating for episodes 1 to 6 – 8/12  B+

I thought, like most people, that Amagami SS was a completed series and, like most people, I was surprised by the appearance of this second season. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the first Amagami SS series more than I probably should have but each story already had its ending. I wondered what the creators planned to do with another 12 episodes and was pleasantly surprised to see that they wanted to create a slice-of-life coda giving the viewers a glimpse of the characters after their happily ever after endings of the first series. As a slice-of-series it can’t match the likes of Natume but really, what can? Still, it’s an enjoyable fluff series that provides a nice counter-balance to the other more serious series currently airing.

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The second half should be out tomorrow.

Hey, two weeks in a row.  One more week and this might become “a thing.”  Unfortunately, that won’t happen, because I’m going away for the weekend to Ohayocon.  Ah, Ohayo.  I don’t really like the convention that much, but it’s an opportunity to see a lot of my friends from around the Midwest.  Since the next opportunity for that won’t be until the end of April, I’ll take what I can get.  In any case, my personal life isn’t all that interesting, and if you’re here to read anything, it’s my thoughts for the week.  So let’s get this show on the road.  As always, check out the Anime Power Rankings for yourself week over week to keep up with the trends in the aniblogging community!

Oh, and one more thing.  Today, 2DT announced the closure of his blog.  He capped it off with another of his fantastic posts, and you should definitely head over to the Teleidoscope to read it and wish him well.

1. Guilty Crown

Okay, how much did I love this episode?  We’ve got MISSILE KICK!, Segai’s amazing disguise, and Ayase on rocket boots.  We see not only the physical aftermath of the recent catastrophe, but also the start of the social ramifications.  People try to get away with more things, they let themselves be controlled by greed, and they suffer from isolation, uncertainty, and sooner or later, the depression.   Morale’s going to become a precious resource, to be sure.  I think I can definitively say I am finally on board with this series.

2. Daily Lives of High School Boys

Last week I felt like the show was too hit and miss, at least for me.  This week has put that concern to rest.  I am an absolute sucker for RPG parodies, and the first segment was brilliant.  I also want to see more of the butlers in the new “Daily Life of a Lady” segment.  And, what is it with little sisters and being mildly sadistic bullies?  So many unimportant questions and so much time.  The male Nichijou is definitely on my to-watch list now.

3. Chihayafuru

Chihaya lost just as predicted.  Really, losing was the theme of this episode.  Not just the pain failure can bring, but also the drive for success it instills.  Our friendly neighborhood karuta team is ready to train harder than ever to have a strong showing at the next tournament.  So is Arata as he reenters the world of karuta, and Shinobu as she works to crush the indomnitable Chihaya when the next meet.  The second half is shaping up to be more exciting than ever!

4. Persona 4

Ano Natsu tried to do the whole drunk hangout thing, but Persona 4 did it better, and they weren’t even drunk!  I thought it was pretty funny that the girls weren’t put off by Narukami’s frank observation they were staying at a love hotel, when he’s CLEARLY the biggest stud of them all.  We got even more of the friends’ escapades in preparation for next week, where things get back to the plot.  You know, the plot.  The whole murder thing.  You remember, right?  …right?

5. Future Diary

Kousaka is brilliant, and I’m glad his brilliant diary filled with brilliant accomplishments has become an brilliant Future Diary which makes him even more BRILLIANT!  It’s also about time Yukiteru’s balls dropped.  Of course, this sets up the inevitable confrontation where Deus’ and Mur Mur’s bet will conclude.  As much as Yuno wants to believe in her happily ever after, it’s got to be lost forever at this point.  I guess that’s what happens when you’re a psychotic murdering stalking sociopath.

And seeing as I’m writing something for everything in the off chance it’s left in my Top 5, here’s two more for kicks.

6. Mouretsu Pirates

I have never been so excited about absolutely nothing happening.  That’s how I felt as the girls waited to disembark from the airlock.  No, not that way you pervert.  The sense of adventure, it’s difficult to quantify, but it’s present.  Of course, a spacewalk is really nothing as the show looks poised to drop them into the fire with a potential space battle.  Now if only they’d give a little more personality to the girls who AREN’T Marika…

7. Ano Natsu de Matteru

Watching Ichika try to talk her way out of things was amusing.  The girl couldn’t lie her way out of a paper bag if any of the characters paid close attention to her.  Then we have Lemon, who’s probably more disruptive than the alien amongst them.  It seems like she’s up to more than just screwing with a bunch of high schoolers.  All that, plus a love triangle means a lot of stuff can go on at any time.  I hope the directors can keep it together.