Shikabane-Hime: Aka or (Corpse Princess: Red) is the latest series from the venerable animation studio Gainax. That fact alone guaranteed big exposure but doomed it in the eyes of many anime fans because is wasn’t the second coming of Gurren Lagann. As much as I love Gurren Lagann and hope Gainax revisits the universe, I didn’t want them to rehash over and over the same type of show – I wanted something different and this was different.

Final Series Score: 10.5/12 Strong A
Rewatchablity: med
Pros: above average animation was used to create a creepy atmosphere around the show, takes the time to show how a normal high school student becomes the hero of the series, monsters where diverse with very different back stories and powers, main characters are likable and given sufficient depth to feel realistic in their roles
Cons: story lacked focus at the beginning, fight scenes were underwhelming for a Gainax show

Awards given to this show by this blog

• #4 in Top 5 Anime of Fall Season 2008

Story

Oori is a fairly typical high school student. He was orphaned at a very young age and was raised by a young monk, Keisei, who Oori thinks of as an older brother. One night, Oori is awakened by a ghostly cat and told to visit the temple. He goes and by doing so, Oori’s life will be forever changed. He’ll discover the existence of evil creatures known as Corpses and about the people that fight them, monks like Keisei and undead helpers known as Corpse Princesses. From this night on, his life slowly becomes more entwined in this shadowy world till living a normal life will become impossible.

Thoughts and impressions

Watching Shikabane Hime, I couldn’t help but be reminded of Ga:Rei – Zero. Both deal with the events that cause the main character to become the hero of the show. Where they differ is Ga:Rei tells us at the very beginning of it’s intentions; whereas, Shikabane Hime doesn’t make this apparent till much later in the show. It was a big gamble by the animators of Ga:Rei to start the series like they did but it was very successful and it allowed the viewers to focus on the characters and events at a much greater level then the viewers of Shikabane Hime. As a result, the plot felt of Shikabane Hime was very muddled at the beginning with no clear direction. The viewers, including myself, wanted to know why so much time was being spent on Oori when the fights that Keisei and his Corpse Princess, Makina, got into was much more interesting.

It eventually became clear what they were working towards and from that point, it was possible to fully enjoy the show and in hindsight, the way in which the story unfolded was one of this show’s praiseworthy attributes. One of the problems I have with how some shounen type shows are structured is the normal character asked to save the world is often anything but normal. In this show, we watch how the hero is slowly (and always logically) pulled to the position where he will have to step in and become the hero.

I tried to temper my expectations of this show, telling myself that this was not the same type of show as Gurren Lagann, and I was largely successful except for one area. I was still somewhat disappointed that the action scenes did not excite like Gainax action scenes normally do. There was nothing really wrong with them, as far as I could tell, and the fights where satisfying but somehow they just didn’t quite feel the same. Certainly an area for improvement but something that this show did that I don’t remember Gainax really ever doing was how the animation created a creepy atmosphere around itself. Very helpful to a show like this.

Overall, I think this is a very solid show with much to offer the viewer and one I would recommend to people looking for more of a plot and character driven action show. The second season is currently airing and while it started off weak with a strong dose of stupid fan service, it’s starting to get interesting again. And I almost forgot to mention that the voice actors for both Oori and Makina were first timers and sounded a little off at the beginning but improved greatly over the course of the show.

Essential Information

• 13 episodes
• genre: supernatural, action
• animation studio: Gainax
• director: Masahiko Murata
• OP: “Beautiful fighter” by angela
• ED: “My story” by angela
• Seiyuus of note: Keiji Fujiwara, Nana Akiyama, Tatsuya Hosome, Yui Horie

Posted in anime, series review

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Asu no Yoichi, episode 1 – 6/12 B-

Akikan, episode 1 – 4/12 C

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

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

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

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

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

Posted in anime, first impressions      

The second season of Shikabane Hime started the week after the first season ended with a different set of animators, much like the second season of Minami-ke. I’m hoping desperately with this recipe for a better result then what we got with Minami-ke.

Rating: 7/12 B

I’ll keep the story recap light so I won’t spoil the end of the first season. The second season starts six months after the end of the first season and in that time Oori’s been training to be a Contracted Priest and his friends from school are wondering where he’s been. Even after six months Oori hasn’t been too successful in his training and at least one of his masters is starting to doubt that Oori will ever get better.

I definitely wasn’t reassured after this episode and I can actually see myself dropping this in a few episodes if it doesn’t improve. My problem was the “bright idea” of the second season animators to fill a large amount of this episode with stupid fan-service. It gave me the impression that they had maybe 10 minutes of actual content and didn’t know what to do with the rest of the time. I’m not an expert here but wouldn’t advancing the story in the first episode make more sense? Especially when the fans of the first season are most likely fans because of the story and characters and not because of the very small amount of fan-service found in it.

And the more I think about it, the more angry I’m getting at that new Shikabane Hime that they introduced. On one hand we have Makina, her whole family was killed around her and her attachment to this world is killing the monsters that did it. Then we have this new Shikabane Hime, who, since I’m feeling charitable, I’ll characterize just as a bimbo and one who lacks the mental capacity to form a deep enough attachment to become a Shikabane Hime. It really seems to belittle what has happened to Makina.

I hope in future episodes, the animators remember why the first season was good and stick to that. If I want blatant fan-service, I’ll watch a show that’s funny, entertaining, and has it’s fan-service better integrated into the story so it helps the plot, instead of hindering it.

Posted in anime, first impressions      

A very light week of anime this week for me. I pushed my watching of many of the new winter shows into the current week so I could try to finish a few lingering shows of 2008 I wanted to get too before 2009 started. I was only partially successful, Shigofumi got watched finally but I still want to get to true tears and the second season of Goodbye, Mr. Despair.

The scores:

Shikabane Hime: Aka, episode 12 – 12+++/12

Earl and Fairy, episode 12 – 9/12 A- (end)

Toradora!, episode 14 – 12++/12

Clannad S.2, episode 13 – 12++/12

Soul Eater, episode 37 – 10/12 A

(previously reviewed)

Minami-Ke: Okaeri, episode 1 – 12/12

Zoku Natsume Yuujinchou, episode 1 – 12/12

Which shows have momentum this week

Up – Toradora and Clannad – It’s almost like the two shows are trying to top each other right now (I’ll see your sensitive Ami and raise you a drunk Nagisa … ).

Down – nothing

Thoughts and Highlights

It might have been a light week of anime but what I watched was very good. Both Toradora and Clannad took a week break because of the new year and they were deeply missed. In my mind the week off acted almost exactly like a reset switch for the two shows and now that they’re back they have to reprove why their the best, especially with the new contenders of the season. I’m not saying that I’ve forgotten how good either show is but Natsume and Minami-Ke both had really good first episodes and have the potential to be the top shows of the season.

Clannad disappointed me a little because I was really hoping to see a wedding but there was plenty to enjoy from this episode – drunk Nagisa, Nagisa’s graduation ceremony, and seeing Nagisa wearing a wedding band being just three. Nagisa’s dad forcing Tomoya to work so hard before he’d listen to Tomoya’s request for Nagisa’s hand in marriage was epic and touching at the same time. I always thought asking the father before marrying the daughter was silly but seeing how much Nagisa’s parents have had to give up for her, the pain and trials of raising Nagisa, and the amount of love they have Nagisa has really made me understand the importance and the correctness of doing so. And I think I finally figured out why we keep seeing that girl and robot – the girl is connected somehow to Nagisa. I remembered the robot said that the girl goes to sleep in the winter and in this episode Nagisa comments how she always gets sick in the winter. But don’t tell me if I’m correct or wrong since I’m trying to stay spoil-free as possible.

A rumor seems to have swept the school after the last episode of Toradora – if you touch Taiga then you’ll become lucky. Hilarious hijinks ensue but once again the characters themselves are the most memorable part of the show. I loved how everyone tells Ami how she’s so mature, sophisticated, and able to get any guy she wants but when she sees Ryuuji (who she almost assuredly likes) in the supermarket and he remarks how she’s childish because all she eats is fast food. I love this scene not because I think Ami is actually childish but after the spectacular miscalculation about Taiga’s dad, it’s good to see Ryuuji back to his normal perceptive self and understanding Ami better then everyone else around her. Ami even looked happy when Ryuuji called her childish. The other really memorable scene was Minorin’s, when it appears that she realizes that she might have some sort of deeper ‘not just friends’ feelings for Ryuuji. She looked deathly scared like she was standing on a very narrow precipice over a very large abyss instead of a more expected reaction of being shocked or happy. And the thing is, if all three girls fall for Ryuuji, Ryuuji’s such a nice guy that he’ll probably feel really bad about hurting their feelings.

Best episode of the week, though, comes from Shikabane Hime: Aka. I mentioned awhile ago how being able to alter a person’s sense of time is the mark of a really good show because that means the person is so totally sucked into the show that they lose awareness of their surroundings. This episode so thoroughly did this that I was sure that it was twice as long as normal. We finally get to the part that I knew we were working up to but I was still enthralled by the exact circumstances. I really have to applaud Gainax for taking the time to do something that most shounen shows don’t bother – give us a concrete reason why one normal person is called upon to become the hero. I don’t even think I’ll mind if the second season is just Oori and Makina fighting Corpses with little additional character development; though, showing Oori and Makina having to learn to fight together will probably take some time in the next season.

Earl and Fairy ended about how I thought it would and thus I don’t really have anything to say that couldn’t wait for the series review that’ll get written hopefully soon.

And lastly, my sister and I got around to watching a new episode Soul Eater this week. Since about episode 20, Soul Eater has been excellent and I really shouldn’t worry about how it ends but now that we’re approaching the end, I’m starting to get antsy. Both Full Metal Alchemist and Eureka 7 came from Bones (like Soul Eater) and while I liked both, I didn’t really care for the endings of either – I remember thinking they got too weird. I’m awfully curious to see where this show goes. One aspect I’m particularly liking right now is how Death the Kid has started to investigate the truth around the Grim Reaper’s connection to Ebon. I’ve never thought of the Grim Reaper and his organization as being innately good (though the students appear to be good) or the witches as being innately bad. Therefore, I wonder if the Grim Reaper has a bunch of skeletons in the closet that will cause a falling out with the students if they get revealed. Also, I’m getting really curious about Maka’s mother. I don’t think she’s dead but why hasn’t Maka gone to see her even when finding out that she has a power that only her mom had. Wouldn’t it make sense to visit the one person that could give answers about a new power and how to work it?

Posted in anime, weekly anime review      

And just like that, the book closes on the fall season and 2008.

Back at the start of the fall season, early October, the trees where just starting to change colors and it was still possible to walk around outside in shorts. Now at the end of the season, coats are required and the faded landscape speaks of many more months of cold. Hopefully at the end of the winter anime season, the early crocuses will be blooming and we’ll finally know when the second season of Haruhi is airing.

The scores:

To Aru Majutsu no Index, episode 12 – 9/12 A-
To Aru Majutsu no Index, episode 13 – 11/12 A+

Shikabane Hime: Aka, episode 9 – 11/12 A+
Shikabane Hime: Aka, episode 10 – 12/12
Shikabane Hime: Aka, episode 11 – 12+/12

Kannagi, episode 12 – 10/12 A
Kannagi, episode 13 – 12/12 (end)

Chaos;Head, episode 11 – 10/12 A
Chaos;Head, episode 12 – 11/12 A+ (end)

Kurozuka, episode 11 – 12/12
Kurozuka, episode 12 – 12+/12 (end)

Ga-Rei Zero, episode 11 – 12+/12
Ga-Rei Zero, episode 12 – 12+/12 (end)

Earl and Fairy, episode 11 – 11/12 A+

Xam’D: Lost Memories, episode 20 – 12/12
Xam’D: Lost Memories, episode 21 – 12+/12

Toradora!, episode 13 – 12++/12

Kemeko DX, episode 12 – 10/12 A (end)

Michiko to Hatchin, episode 10 – 12/12

Skip Beat, episode 11 – 11/12 A+
Skip Beat, episode 12 – 12/12

Yozakura Quartet, episode 12 – 10/12 A (end)

Which shows have momentum this week

Up – Shikabane Hime: Aka – If I had to graph this show’s momentum, it would look like an exponential growth curve.

Down – Chaos;Head – Technically, since this ended, it shouldn’t be here but this show definitely lost a lot of the momentum that it had built up earlier in the series.

Thoughts and Highlights

Shikabane Hime: Aka is the momentum gainer of the week again and came very close to having it’s episode 11 be the best episode of the bi-week. This show and Ga-Rei: Zero actually are very similar shows in that they’ve been season long examinations of a character. Ga-Rei: Zero was to show how a hero despairs, gets corrupted, and falls; whereas, Shikabane Hime: Aka was to show how a normal high school boy is called upon to become the hero. The difference between the two was that Ga-Rei told you by the end of episode 3 what it was doing but Shikabane Hime didn’t make it clear till much later.

Episode 11 of Shikabane Hime: Aka had a really awesome flashback sequence in it – very Millenium Actress-esque. This sequence would have wowed me no-matter-what; but, the fact that Gainax did it, wowed me even more because Gainax isn’t known for it’s subtleness and small moments.

Squeaking past for this bi-week’s best episode is Toradora’s episode 13. As epic as the race was, the moment that really stuck out in my mind was the comment Minorin made at the end when she was talking with Ryuuji. She said something to effect ‘I’m talking normal’. A simple sentence might seem insignificant but oftentimes it’s the small things that speak volumes. We were clued into the possibility that Minorin uses her hyper personality as a way to cope with her fears back in episode 3 and this single sentence seems to confirm this idea. What we also learn is that Kitamura seems to have a thing for the student council president and she doesn’t feel the same way about him. I can’t help but think that, because Taiga’s personality is similar to the student council president’s, Kitamura sees Taiga as a replacement for the president and that makes him a jerk.

I’ve already put up my thoughts to 3 of the show’s that have ended and will get to the other three – Kannagi, Kurozuka, and Chaos;Head – soon so I don’t have anything to say about those six shows right now. So, I’ll close with just a few more short thoughts.

• To Aru Majutsu no Index is now at it’s halfway point. It’s been infinitely better then the first half of Shana 2 but it’s suffered from having way to much exposition and the apparently pointless amnesia of the main character. Shana 2 was able to have a near flawless second half and lets hope Index can too.
• Xam’D: Lost Memories is nearly done setting the stage for the show’s finale and I’m pumped and primed to see what happens.

• Have I mentioned how the casting in Skip Beat has helped make the show so enjoyable. Marina Inoue infuses Kyoko’s character with the perfect edge that really makes the character feel real. Then there’s the smooth-as-butter Katsuyuki Konishi as Ren that makes Ren’s ability to make all women swoon over him so believable and makes Kyoko’s interest in him genuine.

Posted in anime, weekly anime review      

I’m got a few hours before I have to worry about Santa showing up so lets try getting my weekly anime review written today. I have the feeling that I won’t be able to find the time to write this tomorrow: Feast (including homemade kolbasz) + Mom’s Christmas cookies + Awesome gifts (already got two interesting books from my sis and brother-in-law) + anime = No desire to do serious blogging, much less moving around.

The scores:

To Aru Majutsu no Index, episode 11 – 11/12 A+

Shikabane Hime: Aka, episode 8 – 12/12

Kannagi, episode 11 – 10/12 A

Chaos;Head, episode 10 – 11/12 A+

Kurozuka, episode 9 – 12/12
Kurozuka, episode 10 – 12+/12

Ga-Rei Zero, episode 9 – 12++/12
Ga-Rei Zero, episode 10 – 12/12

Earl and Fairy, episode 10 – 10/12 A

Mouryou no Hako, episode 6 – 11/12 A+

Xam’D: Lost Memories, episode 19 – 12/12

Toradora!, episode 12 – 12++/12

Clannad S.2, episode 12 – 12++/12

Kemeko DX, episode 10 – 11/12 A+
Kemeko DX, episode 11 – 10/12 A

Which shows have momentum this week

Up – Shikabane Hime: Aka – It’s been hard to come after Gurren Lagann but it has built itself into something different and still interesting

Down – nothing this week

Thoughts and Highlights

For this weeks upward momentum series, I figured it was about time to recognize Shikabane Hime: Aka. If Gainax’s name hadn’t been attached to it then I think it would been received better then it was. Too many people seemed to want this to be another Gurren Lagann and when it failed to deliver on that level at the beginning, they dropped the show. I think I successful separated the two in my mind because I’ve been okay with the lack of full-on crazy action that’s found in many Gainax series. My problem that hasn’t allowed me to fully enjoy this series has been ‘Why is Oori the main character and not the monk and Makina?’. As I get further into the series, the answer seems to be that Oori is being moved to the point where he gets his own Shikabane Hime. It almost happened in this episode and I think it’s only a matter of time before it happens. If this is the case then there’s a good chance that the series will shift to a more action orientated series. Also if this is the case then I will have to applaud the makers for taking the time to convincingly show why a high school student becomes the hero.

This weeks best episode is episode 9 of Ga-Rei Zero even though Toradora and Clannad came really close. Ga-Rei Zero has walked a very tight string and so far they haven’t fallen off. The ending of the series was essentially given in the first two episodes and all the episodes since have been working to this ending. This type of structure didn’t work for me in the case of the Star Wars prequel movies – I knew Anakin was going to become Darth Vader and the movies did nothing to make me feel sorry for him or even to particularly care. On the other hand, the makers of Ga-Rei Zero have made me care about Yomi and sympathize with her situation so when, in episode 9, Yomi is tempted to become evil – I understand why she did it and still feel bad that she fell to the dark side.

I don’t know why I’ve been connecting Kemeko DX and Kannagi in my head, maybe because there both comedies or they begin with ‘K’ but I have been. Watching both this week, the thought came to mind: Kemeko DX > Kannagi, just like that. In Kannagi’s case, this week’s episode finally seems to be pointing the series in the direction it should have gone many episodes ago. Looking back the series appears more like the director’s second try at making Lucky Star then the story of the local land goddess being incarnated in the form of Nagi. In Kemeko DX’s case, it knows what it is and plays to it’s strengths. Consequently, it’s been more enjoyable to watch – not high class, but fun nonetheless.

And finally, there’s a few brief comments I wanted to make:

• Toradora and Clannad continue to be the best shows of the season. Episode 12 of Toradora shows that Ryuuji appears to have let his own father issues cloud his judgment and set Taiga up to be very disappointed. Episode 12 of Clannad featured Tomoya’s proposal to Nagisa among other things. She said yes, obviously . And I think it’s safe to say that the next episodes of both will be epic.
• The other shows continue to putter on at the levels that they’ve set for themselves.
• Finally, if you’ve been watching Clannad you know that December 24^th is Nagisa’s birthday. It feels a bit odd to wish an anime character Happy Birthday but I’ll do it anyways since she’s one of my favorite characters. As my present I’m going to repost a nicely done pic I found on the animesuki forums below. (click for the big version)

Posted in anime, weekly anime review      

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      

Busy week of anime – between the couple summer shows finishing up and the many new shows to catch, there was hardly time for much else. I’m pretty happy with the autumn season so far; many of the shows are starting off very well and there’s been a few that have even been able to surprise me.

The scores:

Soul Eater, episode 26 – 12+/12

Natsume Yuujinchou, episode 13 – 12+++/12 (end)

Ryoko’s Case Files, episode 13 – 12++/12 (end)

Toradora!, episode 2 – 12+/12

Hyakko, episode 2 – 8/12 B+

(previously reviewed)

Kannagi, episode 1 – 7/12 B

To Aru Majutsu no Index, episode 1 – 12+/12

Shikabane Hime: Aka, episode 1 – 12/12

Tales of the Abyss, episode 1 – 04/12 C

Yozakura Quartet, episode 1 – 8/12 B+

Kemeko DX, episode 1 – 10/12 A

Ga-Rei Zero, episode 1 – 9/12 A-

Chaos;Head, episode 1 – 11/12 A+

Thoughts and Highlights

Let’s start with the only holdover from the summer season that I watched this week – Soul Eater. I was impressed by this episode a lot. I think the set episode count of this series is causing Bones to eschew the typical structure of a shounen show. After letting the Demon God go, I would have expected this anime to show the main characters training to power themselves up (like after the end of the Soul Society arc on Bleach). Instead this episode shows that some of our characters getting dispatched to the next trouble spot. The other reason that I liked this episode was that we got a lot of Crona, who is fast becoming one of my favorite characters. I feel odd saying that but then again, Sylar on Heroes is becoming one of my favorite characters especially lately with the writers making Hiro act stupid beyond belief.

Slice-of-life shows don’t, by definition, have a convenient plot structure that allow them to have an “ending” but it’s nice when some sense of closure can be given the viewer. I was really curious how Natsume would end, especially with the second season starting in the winter – would they try to give the show an ending or just act like the show was going on hiatus for a season? I wouldn’t have minded if this season didn’t have an ending but was happy that one was given. Having the chance to meet many of the ghosts and people one last time from the show was the perfect way to end one of the year’s best shows.

Ryoko’s Case Files’ last episode was likewise the perfect way to end the show. I hope this gets a second season, it really deserves it. If any of the fansubbers of [AonE-AnY] read this, thank you so much for providing a high quality fansub with a super-small file size.

Finally, onto the fall shows that had their second episodes this week – Hyakko and Toradora. The first, Hyakko, didn’t really impress me again. I want to like this show but I can’t quite figure out what it’s doing wrong or what’s wrong with me. I’m not even holding the drop in animation quality of episode 2 against it. On the other hand, the second – Toradora – was very awesome. This is definitely shaping up to be a more original show then I imagined and they haven’t even introduced the fifth main character that shows up in both the opening and ending. Also, Toradora is reminding me of another of J.C.Staff’s wonderful shows – Honey & Clover; I don’t know if this is intentional or just something I’m reading into the show that’s not there.

Posted in anime, weekly anime review