It’s been a year of ups and downs, of anime gems and utter disappointments- a year when I’ve alternated between craving more and feeling utterly fed up with the continuing deluge of episodes that take no account of the fact that people might have other things to do than stay in and watch all day. Nonetheless, in true years-end tradition, we must review all the new series in an Annual Round-Up, a project which I meant to periodically update through the year but ended up writing at the last minute again.

As always, red titles are those which were dropped, and blues are the picks of the year. Come back on Tuesday for the New Year Rumble, in which we take a look at the year in the life of Azure Flame.

STILL RUNNING FROM 2006

Asatte no Houkou

The beginning of the year saw the end of Asatte no Houkou, a series that had started as a strong character drama and slice-of-life piece, but lost it somewhere with its slow pacing and plot contrivances. Ultimately, the series was a ‘curate’s egg’, good in parts but sorely lacking in others.
Final words: The series may have been called ‘The Direction of the Day After Tomorrow’, but sadly the plot sometimes lacked direction.

Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto

Last year, I labelled the emerging Iroha as a tentative pick of the year, but in retrospect, it was more silver than the gold tier it seemed at first. Despite remaining generally enjoyable throughout, the series got mired in a repetitive storyline, numerous historical cameos and an ending that defied sense and explanation.
Final words: Good for those who like action or historical series, but sadly not worthy of entering the hall of classics.

Busou Renkin

Ah, Busou Renkin, a series replete with cheesiness, ridiculous special abilities and Shounen Jump clichés- on the surface of it, hardly something worth writing home about, and yet an important series in its own right. A prime parody candidate, every week of Busou Renkin brought more hilarity than the creators had ever meant to include as Kazuki found himself torn between the worlds of HARD GAY, STRAIGHT and BI.
Final words: I wouldn’t actually watch the series ever again, but parodying it was a lot of fun- blogging hasn’t been the same since.

Le Chevalier d’Eon

At the end of last year, Chevalier was going strong, and it lost very little of its appeal as it moved into its closing episodes. Yes, the ending didn’t make a great deal of sense on close inspection, but with strong characters, worthy action scenes and an unfaltering sense of historical atmosphere, Chevalier remained enjoyable throughout.
Final words: Good enough to parody twice.

La Corda d’Oro

Last year, I had an optimistic view of Corda; this time around, the tale of a Neoromance reverse harem would surely have decent characters and some kind of a plot- or so I thought. Unfortunately, it was not to be- whilst our lead cheated her way through the music competition with a magical violin, the shallow supporting characters and slow pacing did nothing to disguise the general lack of substance.
Final words: Another game adaptation hardly worth writing home about.

Death Note

I enjoyed the Death Note manga, but in anime form, it wasn’t a series that could work for me- the long exposition scenes never seemed suited for an animated format, and attempts to bring the story to life only made Light seem overly theatrical under his red spotlight. After many episodes of thinking “well, the next arc will be better”, I decided to terminate my relationship with the series.
Final words: It didn’t flourish in animated format.

Kanon

As we must all know by now, after the first few episodes, Kanon failed to do much for me- Yuuichi was always too sarcastic and cruel to the girls, who were in turn too one-dimensional to do anything about it. Despite the series’ attempts to tug at the heartstrings, overall it failed to ignite for me, ending up as only another excuse for parody.
Final words: Sad girls in snow don’t make me cry.

Mai-Otome Zwei

Most trainwrecks have the grace to stop and let the rescue crew hunt for survivors, but not Mai-Otome- it just keeps rumbling on. Aside from one or two good action scenes, this whole OVA proved to be a waste of time, introducing a pointless enemy and filling every spare moment with character cameos and fanservice. There was no real reason to expect anything else, but why do I keep getting sucked into this franchise?
Final words: Why do I already know I’ll be watching the next sub-par Otome OVA?

Red Garden

Despite attempts to make its mark with a distinctive art style and a New York setting, Red Garden managed to utterly fail at either the horror or character drama it was presumably aiming for. With four angsty leads who spent most of their time whining or crying and a mystery that dragged on into a totally ridiculous conclusion, Red Garden was a largely dull experience that never rewarded the patience of those who dared to persevere with it.
Final words: Don’t bother with it. Really. It doesn’t get better later on.

Saiunkoku Monogatari

On the strength of its first season, SaiMono established itself as one of my favourites; far from the reverse harem series it first appeared, it actually proved to be an absorbing tale of intrigue, politics and character interaction as one woman chased her dream of becoming her country’s first female official. Of course, the attractive character designs don’t hurt, but to consider this series shallow just because of that would be to do it a great disservice.
Final words: I don’t see why anyone reading this blog wouldn’t have watched SaiMono yet, but if you haven’t, get to it now.

Shounen Onmyouji

A fairly generic tale of a young onymouji being sent to fight the strongest demons just because he happens to be the main character, Shounen Onmyouji was often pointless and rarely very good, but somehow managed to retain interest by having twelve spirit summons who were gradually introduced over the course of the series- and with many of them having little more than a basic appearance, the series even seemed to demand a second season in which to adapt more of the novels.
Final words: Large casts usually work against a series, but in this case it was a draw for an otherwise average series.

WINTER 2006/7
Winter is traditionally a slow month for anime, but could the fledgling 2007 break the curse of the cold months? Sadly, with only a couple of worthy series that were worth following to the end, it seemed that it could not.

Deltora Quest
Despite numerous failures, I’ve always kept my eye out for decent fantasy series, but sadly, Deltora Quest was not one of them. Despite being so packed with cliché and unintentional hilarity that it could have made a good parody candidate, the fact that the series needed to resort to budget saving flashbacks and stills as early as episode four was far from a good sign, and when the next episode proved to be even more dull and uneventful (consisting as it did of answering riddles), the series was quickly shelved, never to be touched again.
Final words: Classic fantasy in anime needs drastic reinvention.

Gakuen Utopia Manabi Straight
School comedies have always been hit or miss for me, and Manabi Straight struck right out in its first episode. With an energetic and clueless lead who somehow becomes school president, Manabi Straight didn’t do a great deal for me, and was quickly assigned to the Recycle Bin.
Final words: Not for me.

Ichigo Mashimaro OVA

Basically a continuation of the TV series, the Ichigo Mashimaro OVA offered three more episodes of Nobue and the girls’ everyday adventures. Despite dragging a little in the second episode, overall the OVA was as entertaining as the TV series, with apt observations and polished delivery and timing turning basic activities into a source of amusement and entertainment.
Final words: A nice coda for a strong TV series.

Les Miserables Shoujo Cosette
As an attempt to adapt the original novel to a fifty-episode series aimed at the younger audience, Cosette seemed determined to make life hard for itself, and the results were appropriately unspectacular. With its emphasis on the Cinderella-esque life of Cosette, the series dripped with twee sentiments and overused plotlines to the exclusion of the good parts of the story.
Final words: Almost painful in its execution.

Maria-sama ga Miteru OVA

Prior to this OVA, I liked MariMite- despite all the angst, it managed to deliver a worthy tale of school life with a sprinkling of HARD YURI. Unfortunately, it was not a format that could make the transition to fifty-minute OVA episodes with any grace- everything became terribly long, drawn out and dull, whilst the HARD YURI content took advantage of its newfound freedom to reach new and unforeseen heights.
Final words: I’ll still be trying season four, but this OVA was a major setback for the franchise.

Nodame Cantabile

The only real noteworthy TV series from the winter season (aside from Hidamari Sketch and Himawari!!, both of which I still need to start), Nodame Cantabile promised to be ‘Honey and Clover with music’, but instead became tantalisingly inconsistent. At times, its insights into its two leads- one a technical genius, the other an intuitive talent- made it compelling viewing, but all too often the off-kilter humour and wacky side characters ruined the mood, whilst an air of Shounen Jump “let’s level up and make the strongest orchestra!” always lurked in the background. Despite these flaws, however, Nodame was overall a worthwhile investment of time, and with the manga still ongoing, a second season would be welcomed.
Final words: Snatches of greatness kept the series appealing even as the wackier elements suggested switching off would be the way to go.

SPRING 2007
Spring is usually the best season for anime, and indeed there were lots of promising contenders right out of the gate. When it came to the long haul, however, which would make it to the finish line, and which would run out of steam?

Bokurano
As readers may know, I love, adore and worship the Bokurano manga, and so I was delighted to hear that it was going to be adapted into an anime…right up until the moment I heard Studio “adaptation trainwreck” Gonzo would be handling it. Nonetheless, I went into the series with an open mind, only to find disappointment with major story changes and a complete lack of tension in the pacing- worse yet, the director himself claimed that he didn’t even like the original! I took his advice and chose not to watch any more.
Final words: If someone tries to pretend this anime even existed, I shall stick my fingers in my ears and sing loudly.

Claymore

I’ve managed to upset many Claymore fans by not rating the manga very highly, but let’s face it- faults aside, I’m still reading after seventy-four chapters and I do want to know how it’s all going to turn out. The same could not be said for the anime, which bucked me off like a recalcitrant horse after a mere eleven episodes thanks to uninspiring characters, dull fight scenes and a washed out colour scheme.
Final words: Give me Berserk any day.

Darker than Black

During its early episodes, I had the highest of hopes for Darker than Black- it seemed slick, well directed and packed with the perfect mix of exposition, mystery and action. Unfortunately, despite such a strong start, the series soon began to flounder, adopting a pacing more suited to a fifty-episode series as it introduced minor characters, packed in last minute explanations and generally failed to live up to those early days. Even Yoko Kanno’s work on the music didn’t seem up to her usual high standard, ensuring that no aspect of the series really lived up to its potential.
Final words: Darker than Black it may be, but it wasn’t better than good.

Dennou Coil

Ah, Dennou Coil, how much more can I praise you? I accept that this series wasn’t perfect, but if you’ll excuse the lapse into informality, it was damn close. Never before has a series so deserved to be lavished with internet praise along the lines of 1337, awesome and w1n, all thanks to an intriguing setting and story, combined with memorable and well developed characters. Mere words alone are not enough to praise this series, which was surely the best offering of 2007.
Final words: I worship at the shrine of Dennou Coil, and encourage others to join.

El Cazador de la Bruja

Better known as “El Caza-bore”, this third instalment in Bee Train’s girls-with-guns series did indeed contain girls and guns, but not in any combination that produced action. Instead, what we got was the most dreary road trip through a version of Latin America that contained only cacti, roadside diners and various other dusty clichés. Just watching all twenty-six episodes was an effort in itself, and one I only pursued for the sake of creating a superior parody version of events.
Final words: You haven’t experienced boredom until you’ve watched El Cazador.

Heroic Age
A series about a character named Age rather than an age of heroes, Heroic Age tried to create an epic setting involving space battles, legendary tribes and the like, but somewhere along the line it all became a dull universe populated by rejects from other Xebec series. With even the cameraman opting to stay well back from the action, there seemed little reason for anyone else to try to examine it closely.
Final words: Another average offering from Xebec.

Hitohira
A series about a shy girl who gets so nervous that she can’t speak (yet somehow gets into the drama club due to her occasional ability to shout), Hitohira was something I stuck with for a mere two episodes, before deciding that it wasn’t going to bring me anything particularly worthy. With forgettable characters and hints of HARD YURI, Hitohira seemed to patch together elements of other series like Tsuyokiss and Gokujou Seitokai- hardly a recommendation.
Final words: Like its lead, Hitohira remained quiet and unnoticed.

Koutetsu Sangokushi

As a fan of the Three Kingdoms era, I was looking forward to a series that would surely present it better than the forgettable 1990s effort- but sadly, despite superior production values, Koutetsu Sangokushi was not to be that series. Although Koutetsu should be praised for focusing on the kingdom of Wu, it loses points for its extreme levels of ridiculousness, from a super-HARD GAY gender-confused cast to the inclusion of special sentai powers for the main characters- somehow I just don’t remember these things happening in the original novel.
Final words: As far as historical adaptations go, this one is just laughably ridiculous.

Lucky Star

A series that attracted both hate and adoration in adoration, Lucky Star did very little for me; I didn’t despise it, but for me it just did very little- episodes would pass by and I would sit in front of them, almost completely indifferent to them. Occasionally I would laugh, but much of the series was just white noise.
Final words: Ichigo Mashimaro and Minami-ke make everyday life amusing, but Lucky Star just rambles on and on.

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS
The first two seasons of Nanoha weren’t great, but they won me over with their attractive character designs and worthy action scenes; sadly, the first thing StrikerS did was to introduce new characters to an already bloated cast and throw out actual battle in favour of training against robots. Whilst the leads were forced to wear limiters to remove their God Modes, everything was left in the hands of the newbies, whilst what had once been a simple world of magical girls fighting evil became tied up in pointless bureaucracy. It may have improved later on, but after six episodes, I bailed out.
Final words: No more Nanoha for me.

Murder Princess
An OVA from Bee Train, Murder Princess told the tale of a princess and a bounty hunter who rather randomly end up swapping bodies, but unfortunately, what looked like it would at least be a mildly entertaining fantasy series was ruined by ridiculous elements such as a mad scientist and his two loli androids. In the end, even a mere six episodes of this seemed like too much.
Final words: Nice character designs, shame about the rest.

Oh! Edo Rocket

With its low profile and childish-looking character designs, Oh! Edo Rocket initially didn’t seem like something worth watching- but how wrong I was. After some positive recommendations, I reversed my position and took the plunge, and it was eminently worth it. A series so crazy that you cannot help but love it, Oh! Edo Rocket is nominally about a fireworks maker trying to create a rocket that can go to the moon, but there is much more packed into it- from secret ‘Men in Black’ with special powers to aliens, monsters and a metric ton of pop culture references. It’s crazy, hilarious, sometimes a little dark, and a cut above pretty much every other anime that relies so heavily on humour and parody.
Final words: If Dennou Coil is the best series of the year, then this one must deserve the silver medal.

Romeo X Juliet

Adaptations come from many sources, but could anime really make something out of a Shakespeare play? Whether or not it could, Gonzo was determined to try, and in their usual fashion, they glanced at the original, threw it out of the window, and created a version that involved magical trees, flying horses and an aerial city that just happened to be named Neo Verona. Despite the general lack of similarity to the original, the series started well enough, and seemed as if it would go down as inoffensive light entertainment; unfortunately, as it progressed, the plot became ever more lacking and ridiculous, whilst the leads hardly inspired one to care for their plight. In the end, it found its greatest worth in the parody arena.
Final words: Romeo X Juliet? More like Ridiculous X Joke.

Saiunkoku Monogatari II

After such a strong first series, was it any surprise that I wanted more SaiMono? Unfortunately, with subs having dried up, I had to go it alone into the domain of raws, which for such a dialogue-heavy series meant relying on Impz and usagijen to help me through. Unfortunately, this approach distances me a little from the action, so that whilst I still enjoy the series and think it is good, it just doesn’t hook me in as it did before. Is it the complex web of storyline that I can’t follow in raw, the introduction of a few too many new characters, or the decision to slow down the pacing a bit to accommodate the fact that the series is catching up with the novels?
Final words: I love it, but I want to spend more time exploring the main characters- maybe a full immersion in the world of the series is what is needed.

Sakura Taisen New York
Having enjoyed the first two Sakura Wars OVAs and the TV series, I felt it was high time to branch out into the later OVAs- only to discover that with New York, I had chosen a poor place to start. With a brand new lead and his harem of shallow girls, this failed attempt to recapture the original Sakura Taisen magic completely and utterly fell flat, forcing me to abandon it by its second episode.
Final words: The original cast cannot be bettered.

Seirei no Moribito

It had the most beautiful of settings, but after a strong early start, that ultimately seemed to be all Seirei no Moribito could offer. Although its slow and tranquil pacing satisfied some, for me it was a case of being a series where not only did nothing ever happen, but it took a long time about not happening. There were a few worthy action scenes, but the rest of the series was drenched in sitting and talking- and so many episodes of static conversation can grow stale.
Final words: Instead of making anime, let’s just sit and talk about it.

Shining Tears X Wind
RPG adaptations are renowned for not being up to much, and when the source material is reputedly “the worst RPG ever” (and its sequel), you can’t really expect much. Even so, Shining Tears somehow managed to achieve new levels of awfulness, with its pointless and forgettable leads, incongruous elements (tanks and lasers in a fantasy kingdom) and general lack of anything that can be praised. I once considered Disgaea to be the worst anime ever, but this series has taken that spot.
Final words: It was a pile of Shining Tears X Wind.

Shinkyoku Soukai Polyphonica

Despite having encountered disappointment with the likes of YoakeNa, I still found myself drawn to eroge and visual novel-based series with worthy character designs- hence my brief relationship with Polyphonica. Unfortunately, even the lovely Corticarte could not disguise the fact that Polyphonica was pretty much entirely pointless filler- and when a beach episode appeared as early as episode three, I knew it was time to bail out.
Final words: Have I learned my lesson this time? I hope so.

SKULLMAN
Skullman, Skullman, does whatever a skull can…sits motionless, on a shelf- well, you get the idea. Based on a retro manga and series, SKULLMAN was not a series well-adapted for life in the twenty-first century, and by its first episode it was already floundering. With spoilers on wikipedia recounting a miserable background and fate for the eponymous anti-hero, it hardly seemed watching any more.
Final words: He’s a man… with a skull for a head! Bet you couldn’t guess that from the title, eh?

Victorian Romance Emma Second Act

The first season of Emma was highly enjoyable, but the fact that it only covered two volumes of the manga left the story hanging. With that in mind, a second season seemed a true blessing, although ultimately it was not one that was handled as well as it could have been. Despite having a further five volumes to cover and only twelve more episodes to do it in, Second Act began with a filler episode, before proceeding to cut out large chunks of the story (although admittedly the manga storyline of Emma being kidnapped and taken to America had seemed a little farfetched at the time). All in all, it was still a highly worthy series, just not as good as it could have been.
Final words: You can’t go wrong with Emma, but this still didn’t quite live up to its potential.

Wellber no Monogatari ~Sisters of Wellber~

The tale of a thief and a princess trying to flee one country and make it to another before a deadline, Wellber was another of those series that didn’t seem to bring anything original to the table, but nonetheless appeared entertaining enough to watch. Unfortunately, elements such as predictable storylines and a talking tank conspired against it, but overall it just managed to pull through as a piece of light entertainment- not least because of the unintentional hilarity that cropped up in most episodes.
Final words: Mildly entertaining.

SUMMER 2007
In principle, summer is when everyone is enjoying themselves in the great outdoors- and so why bother to air much in the way of good anime? Still, given the poor showings of summer 2005-6, 2007 might just have the edge over them with its single digit selection.

Baccano!

With a wealth of named characters and a timeline that jumped back and forth through early 1930s America, Baccano was never the easiest series to follow, and indeed, even now I cannot say I had much of a clue what was going on throughout large chunks of it. Even so, the sheer enthusiasm and attack which the series brought to our screens was so infectious that one could not help but enjoy it- whether it was a tense shootout or just Isaac and Miria getting up to their usual antics, Baccano was always entertaining- and with many more novels left to adapt, hopes for a second season are high.
Final words: Every season needs a good historical series, and this was the summer’s candidate.

Doujin Work

A short series focusing on a young woman who believes she can make her fortune drawing doujinshi, Doujin Work was never going to be anything very special, but despite the budget animation and predictable jokes, it was somehow entertaining. And with the actual episodes running at only fourteen minutes (the rest of the time slot was taken up with a live action guide to making doujinshi), it isn’t a huge investment in time either.
Final words: Light entertainment done right.

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai

After the first season, Higurashi had generally failed to impress, but having embarked upon the franchise, I felt I had to carry it through- a feeling that eroded with every week of watching Kai. Everything just felt so drawn out and over the top, especially Satoko’s situation (I would applaud the series for at least having a go at tackling the difficult subject of child abuse, but then again, is that something I really want to watch for entertainment?). Even the introduction of Hanyu to the mix couldn’t save the plot, and in the end I decided to leave the citizens of Hinamizawa to their miserable fate.
Final words: It fails in the execution.

Mononoke

Having been largely bored by Ayakashi, I approached its spin-off with caution- what if it was more of the same excruciatingly slow pacing? Nonetheless, having watched and enjoyed Requiem from the Darkness right before it started to air, I decided to take the plunge, and although Mononoke did indeed have its weak points, it turned out the be the right decision. With an intriguing lead character, unique art style and slicker direction than its predecessor, Mononoke managed to hit all the right notes for supernatural fantasy. A second season would not go amiss.
Final words: It succeeded because it didn’t have ‘Ayakashi’ in the title.

Mushi-Uta

Call me shallow, but the whole reason I wanted to watch Mushi-Uta was because the title seemed to label it as the bastard son of Mushishi and Utawarerumono. In fact, aside from a masked character who resembled Hakuoro, it bore very little resemblance to either, but after a shaky start, Mushi-Uta finally came up with the goods. Although the mixture of giant bug battles and high school life was often confusing, and in spite of the fact that I could barely get a grip on the characters’ names, the story slowly drew me in, to the extent that I even cared about the fate of a minor character. As with several other series this year, it needs a second season.
Final words: Sometimes randomly picked choices can work out well after all.

Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei

Since the blogworld once had its own Hopeless Sensei, this anime seemed almost destined to be watched, and happily it was a series well suited to SHAFT’s randomness. A classroom comedy with a twist of bleak despair, Sensei was much like any other comedy- funny when it hit the mark, but somewhat random and a little tedious when it didn’t. Coupled with a distinctive high contrast art style, it made the series memorable and unique, but not always for the right reasons.
Final words: Somewhat inconsistent, but with some highly worthy moments.

Tetsuko no Tabi
It’s hard for me to really appraise Tetsuko no Tabi since out of thirteen episodes I’ve only seen a badly subbed version of the first one, but nonetheless I’ll include it for completeness. A series based on actual train journeys, Tetsuko no Tabi had an interesting enough first episode, but without more material to work with, I can’t really form a proper opinion on this.
Final words: Won’t anyone sub this?

Zombie-Loan
DearS never looked promising, and Peach-Pit had already disappointed me with Rozen Maiden, but nonetheless for some reason I just had to try Zombie-Loan. Unfortunately, the series proved to lack much in the way of appeal, coming across only as an inferior version of xxxHOLiC and Tokyo Babylon.
Final words: CLAMP already did it better.

AUTUMN 2007
Like the spring, the autumn is meant to be replete with series worth watching, but let’s face it- Autumn 2007 was a big fat disappointment. Yes, there were some good series, but somehow the preponderance of mediocrity combined with circumstances in the outside world ensured that anime enthusiasm reached new and previously unexplored lows.

Aria the OVA ~Arietta~
For those of us who needed more Aria to keep us going, this brief OVA would have to make do between the long-finished second and upcoming third seasons. There’s not much to say about it, really, other than that it was another gentle and tranquil half-hour of life in Neo-Venezia, and in fact proved to be so worthy that I sat and watched it without even wanting to disturb my concentration by taking screencaps.
Final words: Punyu!

Clannad

I enjoyed Air and disliked Kanon, so it seemed likely that Clannad would fall somewhere in between, and indeed, so far it has. With a more likable lead than Kanon, it immediately scores over its predecessor, but unfortunately there seems to be a limit to the number of “sad girls” stories one person can swallow before becoming a little blasé about the whole thing.
Final words: It’s not bad, but I just can’t fangirl over it.

ef- a tale of memories
Whilst Owen and the others raved over it in their multi-post extravaganza, ef for me was a title that needed to be put on hiatus after episode three- the idea of someone being unable to retain their memories for more than thirteen hours was intriguing, but watching ef felt like following three different series, of which only one was worth following. I shall one day go back and watch the rest of the season in one go, but it wasn’t something where I wanted to put the effort of watching weekly.
Final words: I’ll get back to it…later.

Genshiken II
I enjoyed the first season of Genshiken, and so it seemed a foregone conclusion that the second would strike gold as well- after all, it had the rest of the original manga to work with. And indeed, Genshiken 2 quickly launched back into familiar territory, with familiar situations, character development and the sad realisation that many of our favourite personalities were graduating and moving on.
Final words: Now onwards to the manga.

Gundam 00
After Seed Destiny, my relationship with the Gundam franchise hit something of a rocky patch, so much so that it would take something far better than the usual Sunrise fare to repair it. Sadly, Gundam 00 wasn’t about to do that for me, and after a few episodes of pointless factions and a group who planned to enforce world peace by instigating wars, I decided to put the whole series on the heating element behind the normal back-burner.
Final words: Watching it can wait until 2008.

Hero Tales
With a name like ‘Hero Tales’, it was pretty obvious that this series wasn’t going to be up to much- even the FMA mangaka couldn’t really weave a good story about a boy with a destined sword. After watching an episode to assess its parody potential, I decided that even the gods of parody couldn’t expect me to watch something so boring in aid of a few laughs, and so it was put aside.
Final words: As original as its title.

Kaiji

Series dripping with GAR MANLINESS aren’t usually my thing, but having enjoyed Akagi so much, it seemed only logical to see what Madhouse could make of one of the mangaka’s other works- ‘Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji’. Whilst Kaiji is more emotional and less cold than Akagi, the twists and turns of his story are still worthy viewing- although one cannot help feeling a little sorry for poor Kaiji as his mammoth efforts in trying to win games dreamt up by sadistic yakuza only seem to result in him getting ever more in debt. I fear that twenty-six episodes won’t be enough for this series.
Final words: This series should be shown to everyone who finds themselves in danger of incurring debt.

Minami-ke

Keen for an extra dose of Ichigo Mashimaro, I went forth into Minami-ke, a similar tale about the everyday lives of three sisters. Despite trepidation that it would turn into another Lucky Star, Minami-ke had the required wit and delivery to make it entertaining rather than dull, and already a second season (albeit a retelling rather than a sequel) is set to air this January.
Final words: Forget choco cornets, melon pan and taiyaki, this year’s in-food is cream stew.

Mokke

Ever since enjoying Shrine of the Morning Mist, I’ve been on the lookout for the next entertaining silver/bronze tier supernatural series, and Mokke seems to be it. It may not be anything special, but the episodic tales of a pair of sisters- one who can see spirits, the other who gets possessed by them- has largely proven to make for enjoyable viewing, and the addition of a cat with special powers is just the icing on the cake.
Final words: Bronze tier entertainment.

Moyashimon

As the latest series to air in the vaunted noitaminA block (I know it’s ‘Animation’ spelt backwards, but it still sounds like some kind of vitamin or mineral to me), Moyashimon had a lot to live up to, but fortunately, all it needed was its uniqueness to make it a hit. Unappealing as a series about microbes may sound, when you take into account the fact that to our lead these microbes look rather cute, the whole thing takes on a new dimension; in fact, you wouldn’t go far wrong if you were to watch the series for this novelty alone. Fortunately, the rest of the content is solid enough, even if the characters are a little wacky.
Final words: I never once thought I’d say that I wanted a plushie of Aspergillus oryzae, but I want one.

Rental Magica
Where the search for supernatural light entertainment brought some successes in 2007, it also racked up a few failures, and Rental Magica was one of them. Populated by rejects from other series, Rental Magica seemed sure to at least mildly interest with its episodic tales of a company of magic users solving problems, but apart from a master of cat shikigami, there was little to engage the viewer.
Final words: Something to go back to when you have absolutely nothing else to watch.

Shakugan no Shana II

Even though I enjoyed it at the time, in retrospect the original Shakugan no Shana had a lot wrong with it- not least of which were the pointless and uninspiring villains. Even so, a second season would surely forge ahead into interesting and unknown parts of the novel series- or maybe not. For instead, Shana II decided to diverge into an uninteresting game-based tale that seemed determined to shake off all but the most devout of fans. With last season’s confession revoked and the love polygon once again taking hold, it seemed as if this was one series worth bailing out of.
Final words: There’s completion, and then there’s masochism- watching Shana II was surely the latter.

Sketchbook ~full color’S~

Every year needs a good slice-of-life series, and whilst Sketchbook was not to be in the Aria/YKK class, it was still an enjoyable series, not least because of the high volume of cats and fat chickens contained therein. Although it times it seemed as if it was trying too hard to capture a calm atmosphere that should just come naturally, Sketchbook was still worth watching, and after initially thinking little of the shy and quiet lead, after a while I began to identify with her- all too often I end up thinking a lot more than I actually end up saying (but no more! Now I shall never shut up!).
Final words: Full of cats.

And so, 2007 has shown us both good and bad (much like every year, really) and all we can do is await 2008 and the offerings it shall bring us. See you next year!

After all the oblique references to real life, interviews and the like, it turned out that my application to a research degree that I thought was a sure thing turned out to have been rejected. Oh well, this must be what they call a ‘character building’ experience. Now off to learn about teamwork and problem solving…

Reviewed this week: Asatte no Houkou 12, Busou Renkin 20, Gargoyle 9, Kanon 20, Les Miserables 2, Nodame 5-6, SaiMono 31-3

…and in manga: REC 27, Spiral 27, Tsubasa 143-4

ANIME
Death Note has been dropped; I’m not getting anything out of either watching or blogging the series, so it may as well go.

*COMPLETE* Asatte no Houkou 12: It took a while to be subbed (and the interim I already read about the ending anyway) but at long last Asatte no Houkou can be moved off the active list with a convenient ending that sees the status quo restored. Hopefully I’ve already posted my full review on this series, but I have to admit I’ve been left with mixed feelings- some episodes made it seem like the next Someday’s Dreamers in terms of quality, but others just seemed a bit too dull and contrived. If only the manga wasn’t skewed towards more adult themes, I would give it a try.

Busou Renkin 20: Busou Renkin goes into Dragonball Z mode this week, with an episode that consists mainly of ‘that SJ fight we’ve all seen before’ between Kazuki and Bravo. Apart from a lot of posturing and lance action, this is a rather sparse episode in terms of content, and worse yet, Tokiko is becoming even more useless than ever. Those who care little for fights and completion could easily skip this episode.

Gargoyle of the Yoshinagas 9: Whilst Hyakushiki finds himself bedridden from a cold, Lily decides that she wants to follow in his footsteps as a “Kaitou” (Phantom Thief), even going so far as to attempt a job in his place. Whilst this is an enjoyable episode for the most part, it does lose something at the end thanks to some last minute “and by the way, here’s a mission I went on earlier” exposition from Hyakushiki.

Kanon 20: So here it is, the potentially most heart-wrenching part of the story in which we discover the truth about Ayu- only even this cannot move my heart of stone. Is it because I know the critical points of what’s coming, or the accumulated effects of the treacle slow pace? Whatever the case, getting into Kanon has been impossible, and all I really enjoy now are the beautifully drawn settings.

Les Miserables Shoujo Cosette 2: Continuing on from the first episode, the second instalment of Les Mis sees poor Cosette continue her Cinderella-like existence with the evil innkeepers, whilst Madeleine indulges in a flashback mode about the good old Jean Valjean days. Apart from a degree of predictability and some unintentional hilarity (such as Alain telling Madeleine “you don’t seem like yourself today” twenty-four hours after first getting to know him), this is another solid episode.

Mai-Otome Zwei 2: If ever we needed more evidence to prove that Sunrise just makes up Otome as they go along, this episode was it. Instead of focusing on whatever the main plot involving the Shadow Otome is supposed to be, most of this episode concentrates on a generic bus-jacking and the subsequent talking that accompanies it. Although there are a few highlights, such as some airtime for Sarah and the appearance of fat cat Mikoto, the point of this episode escapes me. Expect a dedicated blog post next week.

Nodame Cantabile 5-6: The love I began to feel for the series in episode three still hasn’t returned, in spite of this week’s double bill. The irritating skirt-chaser Streseman has set up a new orchestra, only to leave Chiaki in charge of conducting it with predictably mixed results (I’m now waiting for a training montage). Meanwhile, double bass player Saku Sakura is the latest name character to be introduced, although the fact that her family is penniless is resolved within the space of an episode- how am I supposed to care for the characters when their situations are dealt with so flippantly? I also have to admit that I agree with ANN’s Right Turn Only writer when he says that Nodame reminds him of a shounen series sometimes, even though it is not meant to be.

Saiunkoku Monogatari 31-3: Much as I like SaiMono, sometimes an episode comes along that makes me fall in love with it all over again, and episode was one of them. As Shuurei puts herself in danger by accompanying Sakujun to the Sa manor, the others try to coordinate a plan to foil the Sa clan’s ambitions; whilst the content isn’t particularly outstanding when compared to other episodes, the background music, setting and character designs all come together to provide an entirely compelling instalment.

Whilst not up to level of their predecessor in terms of addictiveness, 32-3 are nonetheless another strong pair of episodes, advancing the Sa clan arc even further and even providing such delights as some airtime for Shunki, and a chance for Chuushou to finally get up out of his chair. Shuurei’s sparring with Sakujun also manages to remain fresh even after all this time thanks to the way their relationship continues to evolve- once, Sakujun held all the cards, but now Shuurei is certainly beginning to hold her own.

MANGA

REC 27: I was on the verge of dropping REC after this chapter, but luckily it choose to put the increasingly tedious romance on the backburner in favour of focusing on Aka’s latest voiceover job- dubbing a US film. The cliff-hanger of the chapter has the director (yet another Aka obsessive, there’s a surprise) seemingly disappointed with the work- although there will no doubt be a twist to come, it’s worth reading onwards to find out what the aftermath of this recording session will be.

Spiral 27: Having stabbed Eyes, Kanone makes his next move by transferring to Ayumu’s school, and whilst he seems oddly reluctant to take anyone else on just yet, he is still committed to his role as a Hunter. This is really just a setup chapter, but it is still an interesting read nonetheless; kudos to the translators for keeping up a decent pace of releases- Spiral fans have never had it so good.

Tsubasa Chronicle 143-4: Picking up where we left off, chapter 143 sees Sakura admit that she needs the ability to cross worlds (even if it is only once and to a random world) in order to separate from the group and begin her own FFX-2 adventures (come on Sakura, you know you can’t strike out on your own- it’ll be a disaster). 144 takes us into the chess match final that Sakura must win in order to gain that ability, and after a few pages of meaningless posturing and nicely drawn panels, sees Syaoran about to take on Hikaru from Angelic Layer- might as well recycle as many character designs as possible, after all. Oddly enough, the match is prefaced by a segment in which Sakura talks to Syaoran-real as if this was their first conversation; having worked together for long enough to reach the final of the chess tournament, you’d have thought they might have had to communicate with each other already.

Iokawa Karada has always felt like a burden on her older brother Hiro, especially once she becomes old enough to realise how much he has given up to look after her. One summer, she prays to the local wishing stone to make her old enough to be independent, and to her surprise, it grants that wish- although in return, Hiro’s visiting ex-girlfriend, Shouko, is reverted to a child. Now, Karada and Shouko must deal with their new situations, and hopefully find out something about themselves in the process…

Although the concept of characters switching ages sounds more like a premise for a comedy film, Asatte no Houkou takes this unlikely set of circumstances and gives it a more serious spin, showing us what happens when an adult gets the chance to relive their childhood, and when a child is suddenly thrust into a role of responsibility and maturity. It is certainly an interesting and long overdue approach, but unfortunately, it is also one that yields mixed results.

At times, Asatte no Houkou’s dreamlike setting and gentle atmosphere seems to make it the equal of any worthy slice-of-life series, weaving a compelling and absorbing tale not unlike that of Someday’s Dreamers or Koi Kaze. Scenes such as Shouko and Karada’s first shopping trip in their reversed forms, or Karada’s realisation that getting a job in the real world isn’t quite as easy as she imagined are both satisfying and memorable, but unfortunately, this is not always the case. As the series progresses, flaws begin to show in the once addictive content; at some points, the pacing becomes excruciatingly slow, whilst certain scenes feel rather forced and contrived in their attempts to move the plot in the required direction- in fact, the ending is especially laughable in this regard.

Unlike many shorter series, which pack in far more characters than it can ever hope to develop, Asatte no Houkou keeps its focus on a tighter cast, but even so, some of the characters remain woefully underused. Given what I’ve read about the manga, it is perhaps just as well that the series doesn’t delve too much into back story, but it is also disappointing that most of what counts for development in this series consists of Karada angsting and running away; admittedly she is technically still an elementary school student, but even so, it does get a little too much.

Visually, Asatte no Houkou is aesthetically pleasing with regards to its beautifully drawn backgrounds and the majority of character designs. The gentle colours and haunting soundtrack both set the tone for the series, bringing the world and its characters to life even when the content is less satisfying than it could be.

Final Thoughts
In retrospect, I’m not entirely sure what to make of Asatte no Houkou. Taken episode by episode, there were times when it captivated me with its excellence, but sometimes I treacherously felt myself wishing the progress bar on my media player would tick ahead a little more quickly. If you’re a fan of slice of life, and have the patience to sit through the slower parts, then it is worth investigating, but this is not a series that will sit well with everyone.

Reviewed this week: Asatte no Houkou 11, Busou Renkin 15-16, Chevalier 13, Corda 7-8, Death Note 14, Deltora 1, Manabi 1, Gargoyle 7, Kanon 16, Nodame 2, ROTK 39, SaiMono 26

…and in manga: Fate/Stay Night 5, Higurashi Oni Sarashi 1, Tsubasa 141, Yotsuba& 43

ANIME

Asatte no Houkou 11: After the slightly disappointing episode ten, my enthusiasm for Asatte no Houkou was somewhat dampened, but fortunately, the series is back on form for this, the penultimate episode. Focusing mainly on Karada and Tetsu, the episode sees her attempts to confess that she is they very girl he has been looking for; all in all, an apparently gentle yet actually emotionally charged episode that reaffirms the series’ place in the Someday’s Dreamers/Koi Kaze bracket.

Hiro’s hair continues its insidious plan to take over his mind by robbing him of his vision.

Busou Renkin 15-16: Busou Renkin has never been afraid to breach new boundaries of crudeness, but for some reason, episode fifteen was the most stomach churning of them all. From the sight of tanned green-hair Kazuki to the hideousness of Moonface’s moon face, everything in this episode seems designed to leave the viewer feeling a little queasy. After tying up the initial fight with Victor, the action moves to the beach, where we are saddled with some rather disturbing scenes involving Kazuki and his friends in trunks- all in preparation for a new turn of events in which Bravo is ordered to kill Kazuki before he gets permanently stuck in Victor Mode. Unfortunately, even when it gets down to the fighting, episode sixteen cannot hope to impress- not only has a new regular been introduced in the form of the chakra user from the OP, but Tokiko is now little more than a cheerleader.

These episodes also sport a new Papillon centred ED; the song is a little cringe-worthy but I have to admit I prefer the video to the first ED. That won’t stop me skipping it from now on, however.

Le Chevalier d’Eon 13: It may seem hard to take a series I parodied in raw all that seriously, but Chevalier is so good that subbed episodes are always welcome. This episode begins the worthy England arc, seeing our heroes arrive on the tea-sipping isle and make the acquaintance of French Ambassador Guercy. It’s an interesting episode, but I’m all too impatient to see the rest of the arc translated so that I can fully understand it.

La Corda d’Oro 7-8: For the first half of episode seven, I couldn’t help wondering whether the dreaded training villa arc would ever end, but just as I was losing all hope, the series changed tack to focus on Tsukimori. Not only does his personality completely change from ‘heartless jerk’ to ‘you know what, I’m not so bad after all’ within the space of a single episode, but we now discover that his parents are famous musicians- so famous, in fact, that no one ever bothered to mention this fact until it became relevant to the plot.

Unfortunately, by the time episode eight rolled around, the writers temporarily forgot about the whole Tsukimori setup, and chose to randomly insert an episode in which Hino has a brief falling out with her two generic friends. It is always a bad sign when a series diverges from a dull and predictable plot in order to present an even more dull and predictable episode, making it ever clearer that this series truly is the sister of the dull Haruka and the plotless Angelique.

Death Note 14: It’s another day in the life of Justice Light, only now he has a whole new underling in the form of Misa. As Light decides how best to put this new resource to use, the series defaults to its usual exposition heavy mode, moving slowly but at least refreshing my memory as to the events I read about in the manga all those months ago.

*NEW* Deltora Quest 1: I love Deltora Quest; not because it is in any way good, but because I had good laugh at how utterly predictable a fantasy series it is. With a story ripped from any classic RPG you care to name, Deltora’s complete lack of originality is exactly what makes it so watchable; each and every minute is utterly cheesy and thus open to a mocking more intense than that of any parody I have ever posted on here. I’m going to keep watching this series for as long as it can entertain me in this way.

*NEW/DROPPED* Gakuen Utopia Manabi Straight 1: I only chose to watch this because it looked like it could be Pani Poni Dash: Ichigo Mashimaro edition with a touch of Futakoi Alternative, but as it turned, Manabi Straight is in the Kiba/Tokyo Underground class of series that make a hash of ripping off many others. This first episode sees an apparently extraterrestrial girl transfer into an Earth school and manage to become Student Council President in the space of an episode- unfortunately, I was barely able to concentrate it on it, and that was only partly due to the uncooperative mkv format.

Series ripped off by Manabi Straight: Pani Poni Dash, Futakoi Alternative, Gokujou Seitokai, Azumanga, Keroro Gunso, Binchou-tan, Ichigo Mashimaro, Tsuyokiss, Excel Saga

Gargoyle of the Yoshinagas 7: No matter what other anime-related disappointments I suffer during the week, Gargoyle is always bound to bring a smile to my face, and this episode, in which Dullahan arrives to live with Lily, is no exception. The colours are bright, the stories are entertaining, the voice acting is good, and Gar-san is the icing on the cake. I can’t say much more except to exhort more people to pick up the series.

Kanon 16: The longer I plough through Kanon, the more I get bored with it (and I apologise if this reflects in my parodies). As a new arc begins, it becomes ever more blatantly obvious that the series is a case of Yuuichi systematically going through every girl he can lay his hands on, whilst they abandon any other friends, relatives and confidantes in order to confide in him- simply because he is the main character. This week sees him turn to Shiori, who, surprise, surprise, is not suffering from a common cold, but rather from Sick Anime Girl Syndrome, an unspecified illness that forces her to wander around in the cold with a loose scarf on rather than braving the harsh environment of a seat in a heated classroom.

Nodame Cantabile 2: Whilst I enjoyed this episode a little more than the first one, something about Nodame still isn’t clicking for me, and most likely it lies in the characters. This episode introduces Mine, a student who prefers rock but for some reason plays violin at a classical music school anyway. With his violin jury upcoming, Mine is in need of a piano accompanist, and predictably enough, he ends up with Nodame. As before, I just cannot connect or care much about this bizarre and off-kilter cast, and until I do, Nodame can never provide much entertainment for me.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms 39: The Chi Bi/Red Cliffs arc finally begins in this episode, which gives us a long overdue look at Wu when God’s Emissary Zhuge Liang makes his way there to convince Sun Quan to ally with Liu Bei against Cao Cao. Cue some rather specious arguments between Zhuge Liang and the Wu underlings in what is laughingly called a debate.

Saiunkoku Monogatari 26: As mere mid-bosses, Soujun and Meishou find that their time is up in this episode, which reveals the true villain of the piece to be a certain pink-haired bishie. Whilst Sakujun continues to be deliciously evil, this is of a regrouping episode for our heroes as they come together in preparation for facing the next obstacle. There are few amusing moments, such as when Meishou’s generics stand around motionlessly waiting for Yougetsu to beat them up, but unintentional amusement or not, SaiMono remains on top of the pack- and as I’ve said ad nauseam, each episode only serves to leave me hungry for the next.

MANGA

Fate/Stay Night 5: I’ve stuck with this manga in the hopes of finding some worth in the story, but if chapter five is any indication, it isn’t exactly improving on the anime version. This chapter covers the aftermath of the first encounter with Berserker, whilst also fitting in a little about Rin’s botched summoning of Archer. I still feel sorry for Rin- she deserved to be the main character.

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Oni Sarashi-hen 1: A manga-only arc that features on Natsumi (a character living outside of Hinamizawa who wasn’t seen in the anime), this chapter left me wondering why it even existed at all. Right now it seems like a pointless add-on to an already flawed story, throwing in another character and story thread just for the sake of it.

Tsubasa Chronicle 141: In this chapter of Tsubasa Chronicle…nothing happens. Well, to be perfectly honest, I could have said that about many of the chapters I’ve read, but up until now I’ve at least been able to find some small shred of plot or action. Unfortunately, that phase has now passed, and we’re still no closer to properly understanding why Sakura has undergone such a radical personality change, other than that CLAMP felt like doing it. All we can do is vainly hope that the plot can pick up speed and move from glacial to its usual treacle level.

Yotsuba&! 43: It’s time for another day in the life of the perpetually clueless Yotsuba, starting with her phoning her grandmother as part of ‘Respect for the Aged’ day, before taking a trip to the park with Ena. As always, the series remains simple, sweet and entertaining- it may go on forever, but for once, I don’t mind.

Thanks to some discussion on ikimashou.net, I now feel relieved of any need to buy the expensive 1/6 Feena figure and thus can now stop going on about it and get on with my life.

I still haven’t picked anything to watch from the new season, but maybe something will present itself soon.

Reviewed this week: Asatte no Houkou 10, Iroha 10, Busou Renkin 12-14, Chevalier 12, Kanon 14, Red Garden 12, Uta DVD Specials 1-2

…and in manga: Higurashi Onikakushi 2

ANIME

Asatte no Houkou 10: Compared to the days of my outright love for Asatte no Houkou, I have to admit my feelings have become a bit more mixed now (perhaps due to my reading ending and manga spoilers); the scenes themselves are very good, but in order to get to where it needs to be, the series seems to rely on more contrivances and ‘coincidences’ than I’m happy to swallow. This episodes sees Tetsu and Kotomi just happen to end up staying at the inn where Karada is working, leading to yet more unwitting revelations even as Tetsu fails to realise who this ‘Satou’ person is.

Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto 10: Much as I hate to day it, I actually preferred Peacemaker’s portrayal of Okita; his appearance here only left me wondering when he was finally going to stop coughing up blood and just die so that Akidzuki could move on. Other than this slight annoyance, this was another quiet episode (in terms of the main characters rather than the historical situation) which concerned itself with setting everything up in preparation for the Nakaiya II arc.

Busou Renkin 12-14: By this point in the series, Busou Renkin has settled down into a pattern of both the terrifyingly tasteless and the unintentionally amusing, and this episode is no exception. When Butterfly uses some ugly generic monsters to attack the school, Kazuki and Tokiko rush to the defence of their friends, only for Papillon to show up and demonstrate the power that a Kakugane in the crotch can deliver. Alongside such terrifying images as Papillon and Butterfly fighting whilst both dressed in tight bodysuits, the episode also reveals that Moonface is many times less interesting than I had hoped- his special ability involves creating a version of himself for each phase of the moon and then standing around doing nothing.

Episode fourteen seems to a more budget saving affair, consisting of six minutes of OP and recap before the episode proper even begins, and squeezing in some flashbacks towards the end. Nonetheless, it keeps the series interesting by introducing Victor (Green Hair) and the black Kakugane, with a cliffhanger that ensures that episode fifteen will definitely be watched. I have to say that I am starting to feel sorry for Tokiko, however; why is it that the best character in any SJ anime must be pushed to the sidelines in favour of the irritating spiky-haired hero?

Le Chevalier d’Eon 12: Having extensively worked with the screencaps, I knew what was coming in this episode of Chevalier, but that did not make it any less enjoyable. Aside from a few places where my assumption from the raw screencaps contradicted the reality of a scene, this was a worthy end to the Russia story which leaves me desperate to understand the England arc better.

Kanon 14: Mai’s arc continues to drag on at an interminably slow pace in this episode, whilst Sayuri reveals that she once had a sickly little brother who died after a lifetime of strict treatment from his sister. Although scenes such as Mai’s outburst were technically rather well done, Kanon has long since stopped stirring much emotion in me beyond a morbid fear of Akiko’s jam. In fact, I felt more pity for Sayuri’s brother than any of the main characters; the poor kid seemed to spend most of his life on the verge of tears.

Red Garden 12: Having made a plot so ridiculous that they daren’t even touch it now, Red Garden’s writers are forced to resort to that old staple of angst for this episode. Whilst Claire and Rachel try to sort out their respective boyfriend issues and convince their partners that being a main character takes precedence over a more active love life, Kate seems to be predictably drawn to Hervé; oddly, despite stalking Kate at odd hours of the day, Lula and her male friend do not even realise that the man she is with is one of their enemies. Next episode is called “A Day Off”, which is somewhat worrying when the last few episodes have all felt like days off- nonetheless, I’m taking the series off red due to my odd tolerance for watching it.

Utawarerumono DVD Specials 2-3: Sometimes I wonder why I keep torturing myself with DVD specials, especially when ones like these come along. The poorly animated special two must be the most terrifying six minutes since Otome special four, consisting of such scenes as Aru getting all wet and sticky inside Mukkuru’s mouth, and all the girls enjoying a nude bathing scene. Number three is more of a hilariously bad effort, in which Hakuoro and Oboro accidentally break Touka’s treasured wooden doll. Despite rumours, nowhere did I see anyone claiming that the twins are girls, which is just as well, for they are most certainly HARD GAY men.

Ever since the original game, Hakuoro has been especially skilled at fighting wood.

MANGA

Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni Onikakushi 2: It feels strange to return to the first arc of Higurashi after all this time, but this manga chapter is good enough to make the revisit worthwhile. Covering the Watanagashi festival and Tomitake’s disappearance, the manga manages to go into more detail than anime, whilst making Keiichi even more dislikeable than ever.

I can now exclusively reveal that the reason my blog is so HARD GAY is because I have Lui chained up in my basement.

As the days became depressingly short and winter tightened its grip upon the land, I had the great idea of summarising all the 2006 series I watched in one great ‘Annual Round-Up’; hardly an original idea since everyone likes to do it, but nonetheless a course I became determined to take. Little did I realise that such an innocent decision would lead to a massive fifteen page document that took over a month to compile; in fact, if I had any sense, I would take the lazy route of posting this over several days in order to avoid having to write anything else for a week or so. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately, depending on your perspective), I’d rather just include it all in one guide so that I can get on with writing newer and more interesting things to spice up the inevitably dull and grey January.

I shall also take this opportunity to thank necromancer, whose screencaps made many parody posts and Tuesday Rumble sections possible, as well as my blogging ‘sempai’, who can identify himself if he wishes.

For once, red is not for generally poor series, just for the ones I dropped before the end of their run (mostly because they were generally poor). Series in blue are my top picks for the year. Links lead to earlier reviews, rants and parodies of the series in question.

STILL RUNNING FROM 2005
I’m only including series I was still watching in the New Year; several others had long since been dropped by this point.

Ginga Densetsu Weed
A bloodier canine version of a shounen action series, Ginga Densetsu Weed follows the adventures of young dog Weed as he recruits allies to fight evil dog Hougen. It ranges from dull and predictable to laughable and predictable, but the parody potential and novelty of having dogs as the main characters conspired to keep me watching this right through to the end.

Final words: It’s not good to be a generic brown dog; you always get killed.

Jigoku Shoujo
When it first started, Jigoku seemed like a compelling series, the tale of people driven to such extremes that they would accept eternal damnation in order to remove their tormenters. Unfortunately, it all became a little ridiculous and far too repetitive after about four episodes- not only did the basic concept of each episode lose a lot in the execution, but there are only so many times you can watch tales of revenge before getting thoroughly bored.

Final words: Revenge is a dish best served sparingly.

Karin
Karin is a strange series; it’s too tasteless and generic to even be mediocre, but at the same time it feels like it could be good- only I can’t really quantify just what is needed to make it better. The tale of a ‘blood-making’ vampire and her slow romance with a human boy could at least have made for light entertainment, but the inclusion of irritating supporting characters and the gimmick of having blood spurt out of Karin’s nose with alarming regularity are more than a little off-putting.

Final words: No, just no.

Mai-Otome

It’s hard to believe, but there was a time when I thought Mai-Otome was actually going somewhere; an illusion that was soon dispelled as the series moved into its closing episodes. Despite the numerous flaws of this series, it somehow remains memorable, burned into the brain by hype, wasted potential and the presence of fat grey cat Mikoto.

Final words: Fat cats may improve a series, but even their furry bulk cannot compensate for a lack of plot.

Mushishi
Although I took my time starting on Mushishi, I’m glad I finally got around to watching it, since it turned out to be one of the better series of recent times. An absorbing and atmospheric folk tale-eqsue collection of stories featuring the laid-back Ginko and the myriad strange phenomena he encounters, Mushishi is recommended viewing for anyone with even a passing enjoyment of fantasy, drama and slice-of-life.

Final words: If your memory is bad, blame it on the mushi.

Noein
When it first swept onto our screens, Noein seemed to be the sci-fi series that we had all been waiting for- a mixture of complex storyline, grandiose action scenes and alternate worlds that would surely only improve as it went on…or would it? Unfortunately, the studio was so busy spending money on CG house shots that it forgot that the series actually needed a proper plot (not to mention decent animation), and so by the end, Noein became little more than a pretentious but ultimately empty series that never lived up to its early promise.

Final words: The quantum mechanics of Noein is not clever- if you want clever, then come to some theoretical physics lectures.

Rozen Maiden Traumend
Given the excellence of the first series, another season of Rozen Maiden was highly anticipated, but somehow it just couldn’t live up to what had come before. Rearranging and diverging from the manga material led to some continuity issues with the first season, whilst the plot itself had numerous pacing problems. Despite promising that the battle royale Alice Game would be getting underway right from the start, it took nine episodes to get down to business, after which the writers chickened out of going the whole way so that things could be left open for a third season. Even the new characters introduced in this season were less than inspiring, although overall the series was not a bad experience, just one that did not live up to expectations.

Final words: If you thought dolls were scary before, wait until you watch this.

Shakugan no Shana

A tale of swords and sorcery mixed with high school romance and comedy, Shana proved to be a solid enough source of light entertainment, but unfortunately turned out to be lacking beyond that. Disappointing villains and a story that proved to be flawed on close inspection ultimately prevented the Shana from reaching the heights it initially promised- whilst by no means a bad series, it was certainly in need of improvement in key areas.

Final words: urusei, urusei, urusei!

WINTER 2005/6

Ayakashi
A collection of three separate folk tales collected across eleven episodes, Ayakashi promised period horror, but in the end, it brought only contemporary boredom. What would have been perfectly enjoyable as a three episode OVA became drawn out and monotonous in TV series form, so much so that watching it was something of a struggle.

Final words: Rap OPs never work- no really, they don’t.

Binchou-tan
Having convinced myself that Binchou-tan would be sickeningly cute, I avoided watching it for a while, only to predictably regret that when it turned out to be far better than I had imagined. A series that really does embody ‘simple and sweet’ Binchou-tan is a delightful slice-of-life tale that really needs more episodes.

Final words: Unexpectedly worthy.

Ergo Proxy
To be fair, I only watched a single episode of Ergo Proxy, but I never could bring myself to continue with it. Despite the echoes of Texhnolyze, the fact I neither knew nor cared what was going on in the first episode was not much of an incentive to continue- the animation may have been slick, but that could hardly make up for the lack of comprehensibility.

Final words: When people say ‘hard sci-fi’ they must mean pretentious, nonsensical crap.

Fate/Stay Night

Admit it, you want a Caster figure too.

There was a time when Fate seemed filled with potential; yes, it had a spiky-haired hero, but it also had the incredibly worthy Rin, not to mention the prospect of a hard fought battle of wits and strength between legendary heroes and their Masters. Unfortunately, Fate never lived up to its promise, instead turning out to be a combination of insipid characters, flimsy story, and Shirou’s harem exploits.

Final words: I will make ‘True Fate’ one day.

Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora
A short and sweet hospital-based tale of drama and romance, HanTsuki was an almost overlooked series that turned out to be a hidden gem. Within its six episodes, the series managed to weave a tale that was bittersweet, heart-warming and entirely worthy.

Final words: Natsumi is evil.

Meine Liebe Wieder
Despite promising something in the way of a plot this time, the second season of Meine Liebe turned out to be an inferior rehash of the first, featuring increased angst, more HARD GAY, additional characters and Beruze’s latest puppet duke attempting to take the throne of Kuchen. It wasn’t bad, but it could have been so much more.

Final words: Ludwig-sama is an A-ranked bishie.

REC
An oddly addictive series about the romance between a voice actress and a salaryman, REC is enjoyable while it lasts, but is over all too quickly. In retrospect, it was perhaps a bit too angst-filled, but it made for an entertaining experience while it lasted.

Final words: Umai-ki!

Shinigami no Ballad

Yet another brief series, this time about a pure white shinigami and the people she meets, SnB was filled with character pieces, but was oddly short on death. Whilst it never really had the impact that it could have done, SnB was an enjoyable series that didn’t overstay its welcome.

Final words: The RPG episode was the best one, but the series overall gains points for the winged talking cat.

Pale Cocoon
Having been told that Pale Cocoon was somewhat incomprehensible, I went into it expecting not to understand anything, only to be pleasantly surprised at how much I could actually grasp (of course, the accompanying pdf file helped). A brief yet worthy glimpse into the far future, Pale Cocoon may be short on explanations, but is nonetheless a worthy snapshot of a distant era.

Final words: Watch it now, it won’t take long.

Hellsing Ultimate
It was the event that all Hellsing fans had been waiting for- a more accurate adaptation of the manga material that would surely blow them all away. Unfortunately, having realised that I really didn’t like Hellsing all that much, this wasn’t something I was inclined to keep following.

Final words: When are we going to get a good vampire show?

SPRING 2006

.hack//Roots
Hard as it is to believe now, I was actually looking forward to .hack//Roots- I was in the middle of my Item Completion obsession phase, and somehow I convinced myself that it would be a series that married the addictive qualities of SIGN with the action and faster pace of Legend of the Twilight. After several episodes of deluding myself, however, I came to realise that Roots was not so much a case of a train wreck as of the train simply not leaving the station in the first place. Characters came and went, but the plot never arrived- in the end, it was just too boring for me to watch anymore.

Final words: The origin of the screencap parody format.

Ah! My Goddess: Sorezore no Tsubasa
I’ve said it on more than one occasion, but a second season was just too much for the Ah! My Goddess- how much can you actually squeeze out of a harem story about a regular guy living with goddesses? Admittedly, it did seem like a bit of harmless light entertainment for the first few episodes, but it soon fell into the realms of the utterly boring, especially when Peorth arrived.

Final words: Sometimes, less is more.

Air Gear
I have to admit that Oh Great’s artwork is good, but since I’m not particularly interested in nipple shots, ridiculously oversized breasts or Bob Makihara’s penis, the actual content of his manga does very little for me. An unholy fusion of Tenjho Tenge, Ikki Tousen, Beyblade and Shaman King, Air Gear is the tale of spiky-haired Ikki, his buxom companions, and the rollerblading sport of Air Trak- or to put it more succinctly, it’s complete dross. No matter how much curiosity compels you to watch this, take my advice and give it a wide berth.

Final words: With breasts like that, those girls must get backache.

Aria the Natural

The first season of Aria was excellent, but Natural goes one better by doubling the episode count and giving us a full 26 episodes of sweet and heart-warming gondola life on the planet of Aqua. From the beautiful setting to eponymous fat cat President Aria, everything about the series is right on the money in terms of creating a simple yet absorbing world. Bring on season three.

Final words: Punyu!

Disgaea
Since RPG-based series are rarely worth watching, I wasn’t really planning to investigate Disgaea- at least until I watched the trailer. An ironically hilarious take on the RPG world, Disgaea’s trailer promised much, but the actual series itself delivered all too little. As it turned out, the reason the trailer was so good was because the entire series budget had been spent on it- meaning that the episodes themselves were poorly animated cyclical repeats of the same tired and worn jokes.

Final words: Pizza in the face? Excuse me while I try to force a laugh…oh wait, I can’t.

Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid Tessa OVA
Much as I like Tessa, this OVA didn’t really do much for me; aside from a select handful which hit the mark, most of the jokes fell completely flat. It’s something you watch for completion rather than enjoyment.

Final words: Dull, dull, dull.

The Gargoyle of the Yoshinagas
The tale of the Yoshinaga family’s animated stone guardian, Gargoyle may seem like a kid’s show at first glance, but it is nonetheless a highly entertaining story. In Gargoyle’s hands, everything from battles between stone monsters to talking to flowers takes on a new vitality. It’s funny, off-kilter, and eminently worthy.

Final words: All hail Gar-san.

Gintama
I only watched the first twenty-five minutes of Gintama, but what I saw didn’t really click with me. Apparently it’s meant to be a tongue-in-cheek approach to Shounen Jump, but I just couldn’t force myself to pay attention to it.

Final words: I liked that large white animal, but nothing else drew me in.

Good Witch of the West – Astraea Testament
When it first started, Good Witch seemed to be the fantasy series we had all been waiting for; a fairytale of intrigue and romance set in a magical kingdom. Unfortunately, within the space of a few episodes, Good Witch had become so bogged down with different plotlines that it was difficult to tell where it was supposed to be going. After continuing in this manner all the way to the end, Good Witch left viewers with plenty of story threads, but not much in the way of coherence- maybe the manga is better, but I’m not about to risk wasting money on it.

Final thoughts: It’s the sample book of plot directions.

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni
It may have started as a tense psychological horror, but after the first few episodes Higurashi’s main draw was its sheer gore factor. A somewhat inconsistent series that mixed moments with greatness with more pedestrian sections, Higurashi may have only covered six of the eight game arcs, but spoilers revealed that the solution to the mystery was too obvious to be satisfying.

Final words: “It wasn’t me, I am not evil or suspicious at all.”

Hime-sama Goyoujin
Truth be told, I shouldn’t really be writing about Hime-sama- I only saw about eight minutes of the first episode, and I had so little clue as to what was going on that I couldn’t bring myself to watch anymore.

Final words: Utterly confusing.

Jyu-oh-sei
One of a rare few series which I picked up months after dropping it, Jyu-oh-sei made good parody material, but had little worth as far as entertainment went. The bulk of the series, which saw cycle-wear model Thor stranded on jungle planet Chimera, was average and predictable, but was nonetheless sheer excellence when compared to the laughably ridiculous ending. A rushed story with a nonsensical ending- if I hadn’t wanted to parody it, I would never have watched past episode four.

Final words: If you want to attain at least a shred of credibility, magical DNA is not the way to go.

Kamisama Kazoku

At first glance, Kamisama Kazoku looked to be the spiritual successor of Kamichu- a sweet and simple series about a youthful god. In fact, to borrow a phrase from a lecturer of mine, Kamisama was a very different animal- a series that ranged from juvenile to infantile in its fanservice laden lack of hilarity. After struggling all the way to the third story arc by virtue of the show’s worthiest character- Tenko- I realised that I simply could not take anymore and crumbled a mere four episodes before the end.

Final words: Look, Mama is naked in an apron!

Keroro Gunso: the Movie
Series-based anime movies are as formulaic as they come, and unfortunately the Keroro movie is no exception. There are a few entertaining moments, but not really enough to justify spending an hour of your life watching a story that has been done a thousand times before.

Final words: Giant Keroro is the worthiest aspect of this movie.

Kiba
Like Tokyo Underground, Kiba is one of those series that just seems like an inferior amalgam of numerous other series- there’s industrial word, pastoral world, summoning of destined monsters, and numerous other ideas that have been done better many times before. Roia was truly the only worthy aspect of this seemingly never-ending series- in fact, is anyone even watching it anymore?

Final words: Series and games ripped off by Kiba include Tokyo Underground, Ergo Proxy, .hack, Yu-Gi-Oh!, YuYu Hakusho, Dragonball Z, Pokemon, Hunter X Hunter Greed Island OVA, Mai-HiME, Dynasty Warriors and Suikoden.

Love GetChu!
Due to slow subbing, I have only watched four episodes of this series so far, but it has already proven itself a worthy source of light entertainment. The tale of a group of young girls trying to become voice actors, Love GetChu! does exactly what Kiba failed to achieve- it takes ideas used in earlier series, and combines them into a worthy whole. There’s a ditzy lead, standard personalities, a Maison Ikkoku style apartment and a hint of romance, but somehow it all comes together to make something enjoyable rather than tiresome.

Final words: Please sub more, or I’ll have to start on the raws.

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Once an obscure series of novels, Haruhi catapulted to fame after its first episode captured the fandom, but as the series progressed, opinions became divided. Although there now exists a small but vocal “yay Haruhi great lol” group, still others (myself included) concluded the series with a more sceptical view on the whole franchise. The characters were insipid, the stories were disappointing and not at all helped by being aired in a random, non-chronological order, and the humour had all but dried up after episode three. It may have gained cult status, but I can’t help wondering why.

Final words: I did actually like the fourth novel.

Nana
The tale of two very different girls both named Nana, Nana was an interesting shoujo drama in manga form, but unfortunately the transition to anime turned it into something far more dull and boring. With the bulk of the series’ focus falling on ‘Hachi’, the less interesting of the two Nanas, Nana failed to engage the attention, and was eventually indefinitely put to one side.

Final words: Less Hachi, more Nana.

Ouran High School Host Club

The delightfully over the top story of one poor girl and six rich guys running a host club at the prestigious Ouran High School, Ouran delivered standard jokes with such infectious enthusiasm that it was impossible not to laugh at them. A fewer weaker instalments and too many episodes focusing on twin brothers Hikaru and Kaoru prevent this from being a pick of the year, but it is certainly worth watching.

Final words: Kyouya is god.

Ray the Animation

Ray is another series I dropped after a single episode, but unfortunately it didn’t really seem to merit any more. As someone with various family members in the medical field, ridiculous conditions like tumours that retreat into the heart when operated on are a bit too much to swallow, and thus this medical-themed series was not fated to last long.

Final words: Monster remains the only decent medicine-related anime.

Saiunkoku Monogatari

At first glance, SaiMono looked to be yet another period series featuring a girl and her attendant bishies, but how wrong I was. SaiMono is leagues beyond the likes of Fushigi Yuugi in terms of quality- this isn’t a reverse harem romance, it is an absorbing tale of political intrigue in the fictional country of Saiunkoku, blended with the the story of Kou Shuurei, a young woman dedicated to improving her country through breaking precedent and becoming a government official. Every episode of SaiMono is like an addictive drug, leaving you desperate for your next fix.

Final words: I need more! More, more more!

School Rumble Nigakki
After thoroughly enjoying the first season of School Rumble, I was looking forward to the continued antics of Tenma, Yakumo, Eri and the rest, but unfortunately, Nigakki failed to deliver. With its crazier humour and lack of plot progression, Nigakki soon grew stale, especially when it meandered into the realms of filler during the latter half of the season.

Final words: Please, let it end.

Simoun
I was actually looking forward to Simoun before it aired, but upon actually watching the first episode, all my expectations for the series were shattered. A poor woman’s HARD YURI version of Last Exile, Simoun features ugly snail-like craft that are not only powered by the pilots getting out of the cockpit and kissing whilst in mid-air, but also have special abilities like drawing pretty lines on the sky. With no discernible plot whatsoever, the series had to be dropped.

Final words: HARD YURI power is an eco-friendly solution to dwindling supplies of fossil fuels.

Tsubasa Chronicle season 2
Whatever it was that made Tsubasa season one so enjoyable (and in retrospect, was it really all that enjoyable?) seemed to have vanished by season two, which devolved into a slow and dull mix of lacklustre adaptations and mediocre filler, all animated in Bee Train’s trademark “stills only” style. When each episode started featuring no fewer than three insipid insert songs, it was time to put the series to rest.

Final words: Go, you filler bus! Drive along that road, carrying your passengers!

Utawarerumono

It started as a pastoral fantasy, only to slowly reveal its flaws and turn into a harem series with ill-fitting sci-fi elements, but nonetheless, somehow Utawarerumono merited its own addiction phase. The series itself was lacking, but it led into the game, the mini-game, the parodies, and sparked many ideas simply due to the potential the setting contained. Not a pick of the year, but notable for being integral to the life of this blog- even now “gwakakaka” is still going strong.

Final words: Karura and Touka are all.

xxxHOLiC
I love the darkly stylish xxxHOLiC manga, but when the time came to turn it into an anime, something seemed to go terribly wrong. The high contrast art style became a washed out version of its former self, stories were slow and filled with dull exposition scenes, and the overall result was none too tantalising. I completed the series out of loyalty to the manga, but in retrospect I would have been better off not to do so.

Finally words: This could have been so much better.

Yume Tsukai
At first glance, I thought that the story of three dream masters would be a touching slice of life piece in the vein of Kokoro Library. At second glance, I awoke to the fact that this was not the case; instead, this was a poorly animated and poorly constructed series of tales in which one of the main characters has a fetish for underage girls. Shrine of the Morning Mist simply blows it out of the water.

Final words: It could have been good, but let’s face it, it wasn’t.

Zegapain
Sunrise, when will you learn that churning out endless mecha series doesn’t necessarily mean that any of them will actually be worth watching? Apparently Zegapain improves later on, but the starving man’s Aquarion vibe given off by the first couple of episodes (not to mention the unnecessary nudity) was enough to ensure that I never actually reached those episodes.

Final words: The apples that appeared in episode one were the best characters.

SUMMER 2006

Binbou Shimai Monogatari
The evening before watching the first episode of Binbou, I read sixteen chapters of the manga, almost all of which began with a variation on “Mother died; Father ran up gambling debts and disappeared.” In case you hadn’t guessed, that is the setting for this anime about two sisters living in poverty, which is perhaps the most lifeless and half-hearted slice-of-life series that I’ve encountered. An angst-filled example of how poor the genre can be, Binbou went through the motions, but achieved nothing more.

Final words: I don’t know if you’ve heard this before, but Mother died and Father ran up debts and disappeared.

Bokura ga Ita
One of the first ever series to feature in my Weekly Round-Up, Bokura ga Ita’s tenure in my viewing schedule was nothing if not brief. A poor man’s version of Kare Kano, Bokura ga Ita featured all the angst and drama, but completely neglected the elements that would have made the series enjoyable. After struggling through a dull episode populated by dislikeable leads and a Nagato Yuki clone, I gave up on it.

Final words: Not my cup of angst.

Le Chevalier d’Eon

Despite treading perilously close to the realms of cheese, Chevalier consistently manages to deliver an absorbing historical fantasy despite its lack of much in the way of accuracy. The tale of d’Eon, a French knight who not only gets drawn into a shady underworld of magic and manipulation, but also ends up housing his sister’s soul, Chevalier’s only inconsistency in its animation, which starts well but soon goes downhill.

Chocotto Sister
Haruma has always wanted a little sister, and one Christmas, Santa delivers just that. Choco, as Haruma names her, is entirely devoted to her big brother, but unfortunately she is so completely lacking in life skills that she has to refer to a notebook. This could have been a passable slice-of-life series, but unfortunately it chose the route of excessive fanservice instead- when a series needs to use police tape as a censor, it is never a good sign.

Final words: What, you don’t like naked aprons?

Coyote Ragtime Show
Aside from its infamous turn as the “Great ANN Ad”, Coyote Ragtime Show is a series best forgotten- even the name serves a warning. A tale of MANLY men and gothlolis for every month of the year, Coyote Ragtime Show lacked anything even approximating worth; I went into it with low expectations and was still disappointed.

Final words: ADV licensed this? They think it’s good? Where is Kurau!?

FLAG
Years ago, when my supply of anime was less plentiful, Gasaraki happened to be one of the few series that I had access to. Despite appearing to be quite bland and boring on the surface, I forced myself to keep watching the series until I finally gained something of an appreciation for its intricate politics; with that in mind, I was determined to give FLAG- a similar series from the same creators- a fair chance. Unfortunately, once the novelty of having the story told through monitor stills and the lens of a camera wore off, FLAG proved to be a dull series with bland character designs and ugly mecha. I feel slightly guilty for not giving it as much of a chance as I did for Gasaraki, but then again, there’s more to watch these days.

Final words: Gritty realism with issues relevant to today’s society? Take it back, please, and come up with a phrase that’s less overused.

Hanoka
No matter how poor it was, I was confident I could sit through a series where each episode was only five minutes long, but as Hanoka went out of its way to demonstrate, that wasn’t the case. Animated in Flash, Hanoka looked like an amateur piece, complete with a generic storyline to accompany its unimpressive looks- in the end, it had to go.

Final words: Five minutes of boredom is five minutes too many.

Honey and Clover II
I loved the first season of Honey and Clover, and perhaps it was because of that that I was secretly sceptical about a second season; the last thing I wanted was for my high opinion of the series to be ruined, but unfortunately, that’s just what happened. Although it did indeed have its moments of excellence, H&C II lost points for focusing on minor character Kaoru before turning into some kind of “who gets Hagu?” dating sim (with added “Mayama the stalker”). Yes, I understand the deeper arguments behind the resolution and the characters’ choices, but it was simply handled too flippantly for me to enjoy it.

Final words: One word- disappointing.

Innocent Venus
Innocent Venus may have looked vaguely promising before it aired, but when it turned out to be a poor rehash of ideas from numerous different series (not to mention completely unable to retain the attention), the adventures of Jo, Sana and Jin had to be put aside. Thanks to this series, however, there are various unwelcome images that will forever be burned into my mind- the irritating pirate captain and his busty first mate; the Last Exile psycho killer team; blood pooling out of a man’s smashed faceplate and those ugly, ugly mecha. After the series finished airing, I did consider giving it another chance, but happily I think I’m over that phase.

Final words: I already posted this list way back when I was watching the series, but let’s refresh our memories as to the series IV ripped off- Last Exile, Wolf’s Rain, Kurau, Hunter X Hunter, Burst Angel, Mahou Shoujotai, Arc Twilight of the Spirits, Stand Alone Complex, Gasaraki, .hack//Roots.

Kemonozume
If appreciating Kenozume’s artwork is supposed to indicate some kind of superior taste, then I’m happy to call myself inferior; yes, technically it has its strengths, but on purely visceral grounds, I find it hideous. The tale of a clan of demon hunters, one of whom falls in love with demon, the relationship between Kemonozume and I was destined to be short from the moment they showed a man losing bowel control onscreen.

Final words: Sex and defecation- how mature.

Koi Suru Tenshi Angelique
With its nine brightly coloured bishies, Angelique was clearly never going to be marvellous, but I went into believing that it would at least offer up some light entertainment. Unfortunately, what I got was an insipid mess with even less plot than its sister series Haruka 8; unless watching a dull lead wandering around a castle and chatting to bishounen sounds exciting to you, be sure to avoid it.

Final words: It’s like a computer game in which you can’t ever leave the hub world and actually play a level.

Night Head Genesis

Featuring a pair of brothers pursued due to their unique psychic abilities, NHG had the potential to be a chilling and compelling series that would have been the spiritual successor to Kurau, but as it turns out, reality was far less kind. A barely comprehensible string of scenes that seemed to thinly disguise a HARD GAY propaganda piece, NHG become downright painful by its fourth episode, and was thus swiftly removed from the viewing schedule.

Final words: Give me Kurau and Christmas any day.

Otogi-jushi Akazukin TV
It was always abundantly clearer that Akazukin was aimed at a younger audience, but in the early days it nonetheless exuded a simplistic charm that was enough to keep it watchable. Unfortunately, as the series progressed with no hint of a plot outside of our fairytale-based heroes fighting magical monsters of the week, it all started becoming a little tedious. I haven’t actually dropped it yet, but I’m only a hair’s breadth away from doing so.

Final words: I hate those damned Sweet Phones.

Tsuyokiss
Tsuyokiss was one of those series I watched just because the name got stuck in my head after the “Great Tsundere Debate of 2006”. Unfortunately, after assembling a cast that was generic beyond belief, and throwing in some awful scenes about a drama club, it managed to drop into the red after just one episode. I had originally intended to watch a little more of the series, but when the subs dried up, so did what little enthusiasm I had for the series.

Final words: It may be Cool X Sweet, but it tastes more like Generic X Dull to me.

Welcome to the NHK
Just prior to watching the first episode of NHK, I finally started on the manga, and was instantly amused at its bleak comedy. As I well knew, however, Gonzo are not the best at adapting manga series into animated form, and indeed, no amount of optimism could disguise the fact that they messed up with NHK, somehow sucking out all the humour and turning it into a bland romance instead. Apparently the series improves in its second half, but I really didn’t have the will to keep watching past episode eleven.

Final words: Damn you, Gonzo, for messing up ultimate moe!

Zero no Tsukaima
Although the novels are quite entertaining, Zero no Tsukaima takes what could have been an interesting (dare I say Harry Potter-esque?) story about an Earth boy interacting with the students of a magical school and turns it into insipid, fanservice-ridden fluff. This was yet another series that I briefly toyed with picking up again, but when every cell in my body rebelled against it, I was forced to abandon that plan.

Final words: Guiche is no Tamaki.

AUTUMN 2006

Asatte no Houkou

Despite the fact that I have yet to watch the ending (which sounds quite bland from what I’ve read), I’ve tentatively given Asatte ‘Pick of the Year’ status for the ease in which it drew me into its world. It does have its flaws, but the series certainly deserves points for taking the age-old idea of having a child suddenly become an adult (and vice versa) and turning it into a compelling drama instead of playing it just for laughs.

Final words: The manga just sounds scary.

Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto
The final title to earn ‘Pick of the Year’ status, Bakumatsu was not a series I could easily get into; trying to penetrate just exactly what was going in the first few episodes was pretty much beyond me. Over time, however, it began to exert an irresistible lure; from the beautiful OP and general atmosphere to the refreshing novelty of a series set in period Japan that isn’t an action or Shounen Jump title, there is much of worth here.

Final words: Like Chevalier, it takes the cheesy and transforms it into the highly worthy.

Bartender
When I first heard of a series about a bartender who helps his customers by finding their ‘destined drink’, I knew I had to watch it for the novelty alone- and I was secretly hoping that it was one of those series that sounded laughable but actually turned out to be worthy. As it turned out, Bartender was the kind of series that leads only to boredom, fidgeting and irritation- especially when you try to swallow the fact that a mere glass of a particular cocktail can radically change someone’s entire life.

Final words: I don’t even like alcohol, so I should have known I wouldn’t like this series.

Black Blood Brothers
“Oh dear” is all that can be said to the prospect of yet another series featuring a moody bishounen vampire and his unhelpful sidekicks fighting against generic evil vampires, and indeed, BBB had nothing to bring to an overworked franchise. By the third episode, it proved entirely impossible to concentrate on what was going on, and so the series had to be abandoned.

Final words: I played Go through much of episode three.

Busou Renkin

Upon learning that Busou Renkin was from the same creator as Kenshin, I was actually looking forward to it- little did I know that where Kenshin was solid and sound, BR was the dumping ground for all the mangaka’s strange and twisted ideas. A standard shounen series filled with everything from the terrifying (Papillon’s thong) to the bizarre (Moon Face), Busou Renkin is far from great, but I watch it partially for Tokiko and mostly for my parodies.

Final words: I pinned all my hopes on Moon Face, but his special technique is a big disappointment.

Code Geass- Lelouch of the Rebellion
The latest stage in the search for that elusive good mecha series, Code Geass turned out to be yet another product from the dango-addled minds at Sunrise. Despite boasting CLAMP character designs, Geass proved to be little more than Gundam Seed Destiny Remix, complete with Kira, Athrun, Lacus, Flay, Lunamaria and more (not to mention added rip-offs from various other sources). Had I known from the start that it was going to be fifty episodes, I wouldn’t have struggled with it for as long as I did.

Final words: How many times am I going to have to say that the cat was the best part of a particular series?

La Corda d’Oro

Despite my bad experiences with fellow Neoromance series Haruka and Angelique, Corda’s focus on music made it seem worthy and so it was duly tried. Despite the extreme predictability and the fact that giving the lead a magical violin amounts to little more than cheating, Corda is an enjoyable series which mixes brightly coloured bishies with an actual plot.

Final words: Behind every good natured lead are multiple bishounen backing her up.

D. Gray-man
Although there was a brief period in which D.Gray-man looked like it might be the one shounen action series I followed this season, this poor man’s FMA blew it early by killing off its most interesting character (unsurprisingly, a fat cat which I have named “Big Boss”). The series never really recovered from this loss, and by the third episode, it was clearly time to put it aside and focus on shounen series which could at least be parodied.

Final words: Why is it called D.Gray-man anyway?

Death Note
Despite my quibbles with the second half of the series, I did enjoy the Death Note manga, and therefore it might seem quite odd that I always seem so negative towards the anime. Unfortunately, the fact of the matter is that the battle of wits between Light, a student with a notebook that can kill people just by writing their name in it, and L, the detective appointed to stop him, is simply too exposition heavy to succeed in animated form. Excepting those laughably theatrical moments when Light and L seem to phase into a coloured ‘Justice Mode’, Madhouse have done the best job they can with the material, but this is really a series that needed to be told through straight prose, not animation.

Final words: Justice Mode, engage!

Ghost Hunt
In case you hadn’t already guessed, Ghost Hunt is about hunting ghosts…or at least, standing around and arguing over what to do about said ghosts. Featuring the by now familiar ‘eclectic bunch of heroes’, Ghost Hunt seemed to be nothing more than the autumn’s Ayakashi- a series that made mediocre stories even worse by playing them at 1/3 speed.

Final words: Generic by name, generic by nature.

Hataraki Man
When I first read about Hataraki Man, it sounded like it could easily become a pick of the season- what could be more enjoyable than the tale of an overworked journalist? Unfortunately, my hopes for a superior slice-of-life series were instantly shattered by the first episode, which portrayed the main character as just the sort of ‘I need a REAL MAN’ woman that I really dislike, and surrounded her with a group of dull and generic supporting characters. A single episode turned out to be more than enough.

Final words: It’s strikeout time for Moyoco Anno.

Kanon [2006]

Given how much I loved Air, I was expecting Kanon’s ‘sad girls in snow’ to elicit the same feelings of enjoyment, but unfortunately, after the first couple of episodes, it was clear that Kanon just wasn’t in the same lead. With an overly sarcastic lead whose main pastime seemed to be verbally abusing all the girls around him whilst they smiled and asked for more, Kanon proved that its main worth lay in parody.

Final words: Yuuichi is one of the foremost villains of the era.

Mai-Otome Zwei
Like the very dango that Sunrise subsists upon, Mai-Otome may not be good for the health, but an unhealthy fascination draws one back to it. The first episode of this OVA sees an evil Shadow Otome start petrifying and absorbing various main characters, whilst Queen Mashiro and Meister Arika’s bond is tested to the limit in preparation for the angst, forgiveness and destiny phases later on.

Final words: At least we got to see some fat cats.

Maria-sama ga Miteru OVA
I enjoyed the first two seasons of MariMite, but having been expecting this OVA since around March, I had pretty much lost enthusiasm by the time it finally rolled around. Episode one sees Yumi accompany Sachiko to her summer villa, only for her week of HARD YURI to be spoiled by general apathy and evil lesbians. The next episode looks like it will be better, but this one was far too standard to truly entertain.

Final words: Onee-sama!

Negima!?
Although the idea of a ten year old boy teaching a class of thirty-one junior high students was never really one that appealed to me, Negima is one of those big name titles that you have to try just to say you have. With my progress into the manga going slowly and my knowledge of the first anime season basically nonexistent, this new series seemed like an ideal place to start. Unfortunately, our relationship was never destined to be a long one- the animation may have been good, but the story left far too much to be desired. With too many insipid characters and a divergence from the very manga arcs I was interested in, Negima!? had to go.

Final words: That ferret is creepy.

Pumpkin Scissors
Gonzo series must always be watched in case they turn out to be the next Last Exile, but as Pumpkin Scissors demonstrated, most of them have no hope of ever entering the same league as Claus and Lavie’s tale. Another FMA-lite tale, this time with Blonde Heroine 10658 at its head, Pumpkin Scissors failed to inspire to such an extent that it was abandoned after the first episode. It will, however, be making a comeback in parody form.

Final words: The Pumpkin Scissors must cut through the pumpkin-esque layers of corruption like a pair of scissors. I’m not kidding.

Red Garden
Another Gonzo effort, Red Garden is effectively ‘Gantz with girls’, featuring four teenage girls who have been revived after their deaths in order to fight slavering men. Despite being drenched in angst, Red Garden looked to have an interesting mystery at its core, but with each passing revelation the truth behind it all becomes ever more laughable and ridiculous.

Final words: KEITO! KULAIR! ROSU! RACHERU!

Rozen Maiden Ouverture
Great visuals and average story were what I expected from Ouverture, and predictably, that is just what this two-part special delivered. The tale of Shinku first met Suigintou and turned her into the psychotic witch we know and love, any enjoyment Ouverture had to offer was simply overshadowed by the amount of plot holes in the Rozen Maiden story.

Final words: More explanations, less ‘wtf’, please.

Shounen Onmyouji
After a poorly subbed first episode, my time with Shounen Onmyouji seemed destined to be short, but fortunately Yoroshiku saw fight to pick up the series, and it was a given a second chance. As the title indicates, Shounen Onmyouji covers the adventures of youthful onmyouji Masahiro, grandson of Abe no Seimei. Together with his destined powers and sidekick Mokkun, Masahiro set out to battle evil foreign demons from the West, but can he prove himself worthy of being Seimei’s successor? A surprisingly fun series that is, if not gold, at least parody silver.

Final words: Imagine how good it could have been if Bishie-Seimei was the lead, and Guren wore proper clothes.

Tenpou Ibun Ayakashi Ayashi
Yet another in a long line of period series, Ayakashi Ayashi is about…well, I actually can’t recall what it was supposed to be about. The only images burned into my brain are those of a disturbingly HARD GAY male bathhouse scene and a fight between two monsters, one with a head shaped like a wang, and the other which looks like three wangs joined together. With that in mind, is it any wonder I chose not to watch past the first episode?

Final words: I should have known that a series with ‘Ayakashi’ in the title was to be avoided.

Tokimeki Memorial
As the doyen of all dating sims (not to mention the one that gets parodied most often), it seemed only right to watch Tokimeki’s long overdue anime incarnation. After just a single episode, however, all such feelings of duty had long since evaporated in the face of the fact that this series was completely and utterly crazy and random- and not in a good, Pani Poni Dash sense. Apart from the chick in the first episode, there seemed little to recommend this makeshift collection of scenes, and so it was quickly swept under the carpet.

Final words: I think I’ll stick with Ukidoki Memorial.

Yoake Mae Yori Ruriiro Na ~Crescent Love~
If you discount the sex scenes, H-game CGs always look good. Anyone got any from Jingai Makyo?

A series that I wanted to watch purely on the strength of some promo artwork, YoakeNa follows the romance between earth boy Tatsuya and Feena, princess of the Moon. Admittedly, it did start out as light fun, but as the weeks passed both the animation and story quality deteriorated to the point where each episode was more an excuse to take a nap than anything else.

Final words: I dislike the series, but I need that figure.

Looking Ahead to 2007
I had planned to try my hand at the obligatory ‘winter season preview’ post, but when I realised that my three paragraph effort would be a firefly as compared to the moon of Hung’s multi-part season preview posts, I quickly abandoned that idea in favour of putting a few words at the end here.

To be honest, the coming winter season doesn’t really look that exciting- do we really need more episodes of Angelique, FLAG and Kamisama Kazoku, much less a remake of Ikki Tousen? Despite the danger of not enjoying the most hyped series, I can’t help looking forward to trying the Ichigo Mashimaro OVA and ‘Corda but better’ Nodame Cantabile; I’m also slightly curious about Les Miserables, although fifty episodes of that does seem a bit much. The likes of ‘chibi-HiME’ Venus Versus Virus and anything dating sim or virtual girl based will most likely be avoided.

Looking further into the year, we have the disappointing news that Bokurano’s anime adaptation is being handled by ‘let’s mess up the story’ Gonzo, as well as a Spring debut for the third season of Nanoha, now with less loli. And regardless of whatever else there is to watch, there’s always more Otome Zwei and MariMite episodes- what fun…

Join me again on Tuesday for the New Year Rumble.

Star Ocean has taken over my life; it seeps into all the cracks and leaves me with no time to do anything else. Nonetheless, I shall get on top of this addiction, even if it means playing all three games (four if you count Blue Sphere) to death. In the meantime, Bakumatsu 7-8 will be covered next week since my birthday cut into regular anime viewing time.

Reviewed this week: Asatte no Houkou 9, Code Geass 10, La Corda d’Oro 5, Death Note 11, Kanon 11, Keroro 70-73, Red Garden 10, ROTK 33-5

…and in manga: Bokurano 33-7, Chevalier 1, Chokotto Sister 37-8, MariMite 21, Pani Poni 1-7

ANIME

Asatte no Houkou 9: Whilst Karada makes her way to the coast and gets a job at a small inn (anime destiny came through after all), Tetsu is finally pushed into going to look for her, with Kotomi just happening by in order to give her a hand. Although there were some excellent moments in this episode such as a confrontation between Shouko and Hiro in the café, it just felt a little lacking when compared to the overall standard of the series- certain events felt a little too contrived, and I found myself distracted by the ugliness of Tetsu’s costume. When will anime characters realise that the Heero Yui look is out of date?

*DROPPED* Code Geass 10: There comes a point in many series where you wonder what compelled you to start watching them in the first place, and Geass has finally reached that point. This episode sees Lelouch provoke a pointless fight just to increase his Ego Counter, all the while hoping to snag some Pizza Hut along the way- since I can no longer force myself to pay attention to what passes for a plot in this series, I feel no inclination to wade through any more episodes.

La Corda d’Oro 5: Corda’s plot is hardly what you’d call complex and unfathomable, but this must surely rank as one of the most predictable episodes ever to grace our screens. As the first round of the concours begins, Kaho’s accompanist seems strangely absent- could this possibly mean she is as evil as she looked in the closing shot of episode 3? Will our heroine finish in last place and have to struggle her way to the top in later rounds? Will secret piano genius Tsuchiura step up and do something unexpected like playing the piano? Far be it for me to give anything away, but if you can’t work out the answers to these, then you probably aren’t that interested in televised media anyway.

Death Note 11: After waving to some passing treacle, Death Note continues on its way, which finally sees events begin to move with the introduction of a second Kira. I keep saying that from hereon, things will get interesting, so I realise that now is the time to tone down my optimism- events may improve, but they may equally continue to plod along at the current pace.

Kanon 11: With Makoto’s story over, this week sees a shift towards Mai’s arc, whilst making sure to check up on all the other girls along the way. After such a heavy focus on Makoto, it is refreshing to see some of the more neglected characters return, but unfortunately that also means that Yuuichi is slipping back into his sarcastic and abusive mode. Overall, though, it’s a fairly average and inoffensive episode, although if not for the parodies I probably wouldn’t still be watching.

Keroro Gunso 70-73: A quadruple bill of Keroro was never going to show the series in the most flattering light, and unfortunately, it has forced me to make the oft-delayed decision of placing Keroro in the red (it was previously on ‘orange’). Admittedly, episode 73 was an entertaining trip to the past that prevented me from dropping the series entirely, but the preceding trio of episodes were all tired rehashes of overused ideas that could barely hold my attention. Perhaps this is simply the curse of episodic comedy- since the story and setting are bound to always return to the status quo, there reaches a point where you simply can’t do anything more with the format.

Red Garden 10: Angst phase two continues in this episode, as the girls train for future random encounters (Claire swings a baseball bat, Rachel orders an abs training machine, Kate fails to do one press-up and Rose, er, cooks meat). By this point, most of my hopes for the plot have been dashed by the fact that it makes little sense and seems unnecessarily convoluted; nonetheless, for now, it just manages to stay above the drop zone somehow.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms 33-5: The punishment for over a fortnight without ROTK was inevitably going to be a triple bill of episodes, but for once, I was able to get through them all with little fuss. At long last, the time for Liu Bei to meet Zhuge Liang and begin the destined HARD GAY that will found the Shu kingdom. In case you hadn’t already guessed, I’ve given up even trying to review this series seriously- you either watch it because it is unintentionally hilarious, or you don’t watch it at all.

Ironically, episode 36 was released just after I wrote this- here’s to another HARD GAY review next week.

MANGA

Bokurano 33-7: I hadn’t realised that Kirie’s story actually ended with chapter 32, meaning that this sequence of five chapters is entirely devoted to the next pilot, Takami Komoda. The daughter of a military man, Komo must find the strength to step up to the plate and control Zearth, but events take an unexpected turn when the enemy pilot runs away- if he isn’t located within 48 hours, both sides lose. Bokurano is always excellent and these chapters are no exception; as always, however, I am eager for more.

*NEW* Chevalier 1: It would be no understatement to say that the Chevalier manga was not at all what I was expecting. A far cry from the animated version, the manga may share the same characters and basic ideas, but the execution is very different. The series revolves around D’Eon du Beaumont, a laid back bishie guard who pulls double time not only as an agent for the king, but as a cross-dressing vessel for his sister’s spirit in order to fight Poets of evil. Compared to the anime, this is more of a Chevalier-lite Otome/magical girl version, but I will continue to read out of curiosity.

Chokotto Sister 37-8: The fanservice may be in abeyance here, but Chokotto Sister still has a way of giving you a few pages that impress you with how good the series can be, only to drop back down to the level of a child’s reading book straight afterwards. This pair of chapters concludes the ‘Choko and the panther’ arc, but mars its surprisingly tragic ending with a trite reversion to ‘brother makes it all well again’. Perhaps I shouldn’t complain; the whole ‘Choko keeping a panther’ premise was a little bizarre, after all.

Gunslinger Girl 18-19: I never thought this day would come, but at long last, I have been able to start the fourth volume of Gunslinger Girl (damn you, ADV!). Chapter 18 covers a day in the life of Claes as she goes about her normal routine whilst showing hints of remembering the time she spent with her handler. 19, meanwhile, starts a new story in which Triela and Hilshier must act as bodyguards for the daughter of the mafia defector they protected in a previous chapter. Although 19 is the better of the two stories, both chapters are a very much welcome continuation of Gunslinger Girl’s trademark excellence. Apparently two new cyborgs will be introduced later on, so the need for more chapters is great.

Maria-sama ga Miteru 21: Sei’s past story and volume three conclude in this chapter, which sees the tragic separation of Sei and the girl she loved. I can’t say it was a particular tearjerker, but it was still a well executed ending to one of the series’ best arcs.

*CATCH-UP/DROPPED* Pani Poni 1-7: If Pani Poni has anything to tell us, it’s that oddball comedy series really need the vibrancy and motion of the animated medium in order to shine. Unfortunately, on paper, the series is little more than a poor man’s version of Azumanga- there are a couple of worthy jokes, but most of the content seems like random ramblings grouped together into mercifully short chapters. Even if you’re a fan of the anime, there’s not much to see here.

This week marks a first for the Weekly Round-Up, and I have to say it isn’t a particularly edifying one; for the first time since I started this feature, there is no manga to write about. Fortunately, this lack of new releases does mean that I have been able to clear Alice 19^th out of the backlog (expect to see a post on that in the near future) but it does leave the Round-Up feeling curiously empty.

It has also come to my attention that people are starting to think I am obsessed with HARD GAY. Let me clarify- it’s not that I’m obsessed with it, it’s just that HARD GAY is everywhere.

Reviewed this week: Asatte no Houkou 8, Bakumatsu Kikansetu Irohanihoheto 6, Busou Renkin 10, Code Geass 9, Death Note 10, Kanon 10, Keroro 69, Red Garden 9, SaiMono 23, Shounen Onmyouji 8

ANIME

Asatte no Houkou 8: Having learned about Hiro and Shouko’s relationship, Karada runs away from home- only to learn that surviving in the real world is a lot tougher than it looks. Reaching her lowest ebb leads her to fall into Flashback Mode, where we finally see how Karada and Hiro first met, and that she already knows that Hiro is not her real brother. Another excellent episode from the consistently enjoyable Asatte no Houkou- but is this series really going to be only twelve episodes?

Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto 6: I can’t help but like Bakumatsu and its OP more and more with each passing episode, especially as I’m gradually getting to grips with what’s going on (which, it has to be said, is always a bonus). As the troupe puts on the final performance of their latest play, real life events are also moving ahead, with current Fei Wong style villain getting overexcited about impending chaos. This series is slowly but surely moving its way into the top bracket of the year.

Busou Renkin 10: There’s a refreshing lack of Papillon’s crotch in this episode as twins Shuusui and Oka finally initiate a battle with Kazuki and Tokiko. Although I would have preferred to see more of the women fighting, predictably the bulk of the episode is handed over to the boys as they trade blows. Thankfully, the fight doesn’t last too long, but other than that, it’s a fairly standard episode.

Code Geass- Lelouch of the Rebellion 9: Geass dips back into the red with this collection of dull scenes more commonly known as an episode. Whilst Karen/Kallen’s obligatory tragic backstory takes the forefront, the Sunrise dango addicts make a cry for help by introducing a drug known as Refrain to the plot for no apparent reason. Suffice to say that little of note occurs here, and unless something does actually happen soon, Code Geass won’t be lasting much longer.

This cat is the best part of Code Geass, but it’s no Mikoto.

Death Note 10: When I said last time that Death Note would really be taking off soon, what I obviously meant was that there would be a dull exposition episode first. With that in mind, episode 10 is hardly the most enthralling of moments, consisting of numerous lines of speech which were more easily tackled when they were on paper- whilst I can’t help but chuckle every time Light and L go into “evil red” and “justice blue” mode respectively.

Kanon 10: It may have been intended to be the tear jerking ‘farewell Makoto’ episode, but unfortunately, by this point, Kanon is little more than a continuing struggle to get through. Not only was I disappointed at the lack of “MAKOTOOOOO!!!” at the end, but the emotion of the episode really didn’t reach me- perhaps it’s just hard to believe that Yuuichi could care so deeply about Makoto after the way he treated her in earlier episodes.

Keroro 69: It’s episodes like this that reaffirm my belief that Sunrise are getting high on sweet potato dango; whilst the first half initially looked like it was going to be an amusing Spirited Away spoof, it somehow metamorphosed into a completely random hunt for banana slug eggs (and no, banana slug is not a typo). If not quite as drug induced, part two was a similarly pointless story, featuring a repeat of the beach manzai competition from the last year, only this time without adult Natsumi. Keroro is hovering very close to the red now- can it save itself yet again in the next episode?

I have to admit that I am tired of 556, but he was actually mildly amusing in this episode.

Red Garden 9: Angst phase one may have ended last episode, but phase two is just beginning as Red Garden forges ahead along the path of teenage girls fighting slavering monsters. Despite finally giving us a few answers to the questions that keep us watching, Red Garden nonetheless manages to turn in yet another dull and mediocre offering that seems designed to make viewers question just why they started watching in the first place. I shall give it a few more episodes, but I can’t deny that it is now worthy of a place in the red zone.

Saiunkoku Monogatari 23: SaiMono is like a drug- even while you’re getting your fix you can’t help looking ahead to the next one. This episode sees Shuurei end up on her own after the rest of her party is taken into custody by the Sa clan- with plenty of intrigues, a Fei Wong style gloating villain and a new pink-haired bishie, the series is as satisfying as ever (well, that list may not sound particularly inspiring, but SaiMono makes even the trivial seem entirely worthy).

Shounen Onmyouji 8: SO moves more slowly than I would have liked in this episode, in which Masahiro and Mokkun battle their way up Kifune Mountain in the hopes of rescuing Akiko from the evil foreign demons. The other shikigami are slowly getting more screen time, but it isn’t enough for me- I want to learn more about them, and given that there are twelve in total, the series can’t afford to take its time in exploring them. Apart from these complaints, however, this is a reasonably entertaining episode, and I’m looking forward to the next one.

How to be evil: mad science
The final part in our “How to Be Evil” series covers a very important aspect of any lair of evil- the obligatory mad scientist. Whether you want to become a mad scientist, or simply hire one, here are the main points to look out for.

• You can’t just begin your career in mad science; for some reason, universities just don’t offer degrees in it. Instead, you must start off in a ‘respectable discipline’, only to get yourself laughed out of it for impracticable or outlandish theories. The rest of your career must be characterised by an intense hatred of your former peers, and a need to demonstrate your superiority to them all.
• When it comes to choosing which direction to take, remember that the more outlandish your ambitions are, the better your standing the field of mad science will be. Perhaps you want to create squid/human hybrids, resurrect the dead, or open a gateway to another universe- the only limitation is your own imagination.
• Once you have in mind what it is you want to do, the next thing is to find yourself a sponsor. Be sure to choose a rich villain who can furnish you with a lavishly appointed laboratory, but expect to pull overtime working on their projects as well as the ones you came up with yourself. If necessary, take in a young assistant for the purposes of fetching tea and generally being browbeaten.
• It is equally important to dress the part; a labcoat is nigh essential in order to look the part, but beyond that, a lot depends on your personality. Younger scientists are advised to either be incredibly pasty-faced and earnest, or to adopt a calm and controlled veneer that just barely masks regular angry and violent outbursts. Older researchers should take little care in their appearance, and have a tendency to laugh out loud or randomly talk to themselves.
• Finally, the most important requirement of any mad scientist is that you actually achieve your goal at some point. You will inevitably be defeated by the heroes (or your own creation) shortly afterwards, but for one brief moment you will have the satisfaction of gloating over the fact that, in the end, you were proven correct.

The Future of the Mai-franchise Part Four: Mai-Sumisu
Out of all the many characters created for Mai-HiME and Otome, we at Sunrise are sure that few would disagree that the one most in need of additional screentime and development is none other than negotiator John Smith. After browsing the many John Smith fansites out there, and realising how the fans have taken him to their hearts in such numbers, we knew that we could do no less than give him his own series, Mai-Sumisu! This 52 episode series will chart the life of John Smith in excruciatingly fine detail; according to our previewers, “it’s so boring that you’ll wish you were dead!” Look forward to it!

Short parody: Asatte no Houkou

Hiro takes in Karada after his parents die.

(Hiro: This is great- at last I can have my own live-in loli!)

After a while, Shouko comes to Hiro’s home.

Shouko: I never knew you were into little girls, Hiro- this must be why you left me.

Hiro: I, uh…

At the wishing stone, Karada and Shouko exchange ages.

(Karada: Yay, now that I’m an adult I don’t have to take any more maths exams!)

(Shouko: Now I’m the right age to get back together with Hiro!)

Shouko tries to tell Hiro what happened.

Hiro: NOOOO!! My own personal loli- gone!

Shouko: But…I can be your loli.

Hiro: Hmm, I guess you can live with me for now, and we’ll see how it goes.

Karada decides to run away from home.

Karada: This shouldn’t be too difficult- I’ve seen this work out on loads of other anime series. If I just wander around randomly, I should easily be able to get part-time work.

Unfortunately, employers are not so easygoing.

Prospective employer: So, where’s your CV? Do you have any qualifications?

Karada: Uh, my qualification is being a named character in this anime.

Prospective employer: I’m sorry, but that’s just not good enough any more.

Karada: Oh no, I’m making a real mess of living in the real world, but I mustn’t give up and go home- instead I’ll just get on this train and see where it goes.

Hiro: I should probably find Karada, but who cares now that she isn’t a loli anymore?

*NEW* Screencap Pick ‘n’ Mix
A new feature that will be appearing from time to time, Screencap Pick ‘n’ Mix enables me to make use of those random screencaps that the world needs to see, but which I have no legitimate excuse to use elsewhere.

Every boss is entitled to say “gwakaka, you cannot possibly defeat me!” mere minutes before his final defeat.

Who hasn’t thought that when watching a magical girl series?

Ishida reveals that he is ready for HARD GAY any time.

Does this one even need a caption?

Weekly Awards

Puppet of the week: With the impending R1 DVD release of “Best Student Council” (aka Gokujou Seitokai), it seems only right to hold this award. Unfortunately, Gokujou’s Pucchan is simply too creepy to win the grand prize, which must instead go to Yukito’s puppet from Air.

I want that job revisited: An honourable mention for anime-related jobs that help you to avoid the real world must surely go to the position of Grunty Farm Manager. A far more reliable position than Chocobo Breeder (I don’t know what I’m doing wrong, but I just can’t get ostriches and chickens to mate), the Grunty Farm Manager’s duties include tending and raising grunties, breeding new grunty types, and collecting grunty foods. The perfect position for all grunty fans.

Bizarre steed of the week: J-RPG players have no doubt got used to the idea of riding giant birds around, and even the grunty is a more familiar sight than it once was, but where these mounts have become almost commonplace, one will always be somewhat bizarre- the whelk from Breath of Fire IV. Hard as it may be to believe, part of the game requires the player to ride a giant whelk- a fact that has proven to be an endless source of amusement over the years.

Cereal of the week: Although neither of these cereals actually exists in anime, both deserve to be given a mention- first, Shin-O’s, the tasty hoops endorsed by Shino of .hack//Roots, and second, Cluster Edge, a tasty cluster cereal named after an unpopular anime.

OST Spotlight: .hack//SIGN OST 1
Yuki Kajiura is well known for her skilful blending of orchestrals and synth, and nowhere is her skill more evident than in the music of .hack//SIGN and Liminality. This, the first of CDs, is arguably the best of the quartet, a collection of atmospheric vocal and instrumental pieces that capture the perfectly capture mystery of The World. Even after almost two years of regularly listening to it, it remains my favourite anime OST.

Notable tracks: Yasashii Yoake (ED), The World, Key of the Twilight, Obsession (OP)

In Your Reflection

This week’s head-to-head pits Sakura Wars’ Ohgami against Utawarerumono’s Hien; as well as sharing similar hairstyles, both are upstanding and honourable military men in a predominantly female cast.

Amusing Search Terms

your toube, you toube: if my blog shows up in Google for you toube, don’t click on it!

pr0n toube: the adult cousin returns.

hacker audition, hack audition: the comeback continues.

cat on acid: why are people searching for this?

ginga pr0n:

t: this is the top result for Googling t. Oddly enough, my poor unloved shadow blog also gets searches for the letter t- I’m just renowned for my imaginative use of the letter.

under flame HiME: should I be worried that so many searches make no sense whatsoever?

.hack/roots pr0n, .hack// roots pr0n: sorry, but Haseo prefers to conduct his HARD GAY offscreen.

d.gray-man+weekly jump: I just included this one because anyone who has to come here for D.Gray-man info must be in a bad way.

Alas, real life has been getting in the way of blogging again- really, how dare it? All sorts of cruel conspiracies have come together to keep me away from the computer for crucial hours, and therefore I must apologise for the lack of content and quality this week, and promise that improvements will be forthcoming.

Reviewed this week: Asatte no Houkou 7, Busou Renkin 9, Corda d’Oro 4, Death Note 9, Kanon 9, Keroro 67-8, Otogi-jushi Akazukin 19-22, Red Garden 8, SaiMono 22

…and in manga: REC 20-22, Tsubasa 137

I won’t be watching or reviewing Code Geass 8.5; I don’t see any reason to knowingly expose myself to a recap episode.

ANIME

Asatte no Houkou 7: It’s Hiro’s birthday, and that means something of a role reversal for Karada and Shouko when they decide to bake him a cake- this is the one area in which Shouko really is a child when compared to Karada. Another top notch episode that provides some nice character development, with a cliffhanger ending that takes the story in a new and interesting direction. As far as tone and presentation goes, I can’t but think of this as a superior version of Someday’s Dreamers, and given how much I enjoyed that series, that is quite a compliment.

Busou Renkin 9: It’s the turn of the twincestuous twins this week in Busou Renkin, as Dr Butterfly sends out his next opponents of the week to menace our heroes. Just as we’ve come to expect, traumatic bathhouse scenes, Papillon’s crotch, training and opponents of the week are all in plentiful supply- yet somehow it remains vaguely entertaining. At the very least, I must watch up to the point where Moon-face changes his head from crescent to full.

La Corda d’Oro 4: In between deciding which piece she should play for the first round of the concours, Hino must increase her relationship score with soccer club member and secret piano genius Tsuchiura. Despite some odd contrivances, such as the music store owner keeping videos of young Tsuchiura, this is an enjoyable character-based episode which more than makes up for the slight disappointment I had with the manga.

Death Note 9: It’s another exposition episode with some overly theatrical moments as Death Note forges ahead to the first meeting between Light and L. Aside from Ryuk’s slightly ridiculous apple withdrawal, this is a decent enough episode, with the promise that the momentum of the series will really take off from here instead of periodically flaring up and dying down as it has done thus far.

Kanon 9: Having given up her life just to become human and see Yuuichi again, Makoto can now only wait for the inevitable, with her condition worsening all the while. Whilst this episode is nothing special, a distinct lack of Yuuichi’s trademark sarcastic and abusive dialogue makes the episode more enjoyable and heartfelt than previous instalments- I almost enjoyed myself.

Keroro Gunso 67-8: Whilst watching the dull haunted house story that opened Keroro 67, I found myself wondering once again just why I was still watching this series, but always, it managed to pull itself out of the red with three more entertaining stories. Whilst 67 concludes with the Keroro Platoon’s attempts to create their own video game, 68 follows up with Keroro’s rather drastic remodelling of the Hinata house, and an Inuyasha/Naruto/Weed spoof in which a mysterious ninja dog named Zeroyasha comes to town. All in all, a less painful double bill than expected.

Otogi-jushi Akazukin 19-22: I’m no stranger to tackling three episodes of Akazukin in the same day, but even though it’s no more than I would get on the average DVD, four did seem like a bit too much. Nonetheless, since this quartet was at least better than the musical pumpkin episode, I was able to forge ahead. Episode 19 was a somewhat inspiring tale about Val getting poisoned and Souta visiting a city of werewolves, before 20-21 went into a short and dull arc about elemental powers and the ‘ultimate magic’, complete with a reusable animation sequence of Akazukin transforming into Princess Mode. The final leg of the marathon involved a story about Rapunzel, and quite possibly featured one of the worst sections of dialogue ever, with Cendrillon suggesting that Hansel surrenders to darkness, to which he replies “okay”. Apparently next episode reveals the secret of Cendrillon’s past- what a shame I already guessed it after watching the preview.

Episode 20 attempts to explain the purpose of the Sweet Phone, and thus convince us that it isn’t a cheap marketing gimmick. What a shame that the episode also includes a CM for sweet phones, then.

“…Okay.”

Red Garden 8: At long last, the angst phase is over, and that means it’s time to move into the “we’re all good friends fighting slavering men together” phase. Thanks to the lack of crying and the girls’ more positive attitudes, this episode is a lot more enjoyable than previous instalments, although the obligatory insert song at the end was less than welcome.

Saiunkoku Monogatari 22: At long last the journey to Sa province has begun, but it won’t be an easy one- not only will assassins and obstacles be waiting along every step of their six week journey, but if Shuurei and Eigetsu don’t get to the capital within three months, they’ll be stripped of office. A solid beginning to a new arc of this ever-satisfying story; the next episode cannot come soon enough.

MANGA

REC 20-22: In a surprising turn of events, REC’s newest character is actually a likable man who makes friends with Matsumaru; unfortunately, he is also after Aka, causing the usual Matsumaru inferiority complex to kick in. This arc is a little too angst riddled, but compared to the lacklustre volume two, it isn’t too bad.

Matsumaru realises that Kushi is HARD GAY for him.

Tsubasa Chronicle 137: After throwing us right into the middle of events last chapter, 137 finally sees fit to go back and show us (or rather, start showing us) how our heroes came to the latest world, Infinity. Meanwhile, Syaoran-clone is busy stealing feathers, with Syaoran-real getting the blame if he happens to land in a world after his clone has already been and gone. The story stretches ahead in front of us, with no hint of a resolution in sight.