Still missing Busou Renkin? On the off-chance that you actually are, why not imagine a world where the series has its own RPG? In the style of Star Ocean, all battles are fought in real-time, with trigger buttons used to unleash special attacks from a player’s Busou Renkin. Whether you fancy stabbing the enemy with Sunlight Heart or ripping them apart with the Valkyrie Skirt, this is the game for you.

Playable characters: Kazuki, Tokiko, Bravo, Ouka, Shusui, Papillon, Gouta

Shion no Ou 19

“He was the only man I cared about.”

Satoru gets desperate for some phone sex.

“This will help me get in the mood for my later customers.”

“You know those kinky photos we took last time? I really need copies.”

“I don’t need Pleasure today, Ayumi.”

“Hani-meijin is mine now!”

“She taught us how to use these hands for Hyper Self Pleasure!”

Dragons’ Den

Welcome to our regular feature based on the TV program of the same name, in which anime characters try to market their great idea to five fat cats of anime! President Aria made his fortune in the gondola industry of Neo Venezia, and is now CEO of a well-known company. Mikoto started her business in the capital of Wind Bloom, and is now a trusted advisor to the queen, with business partners scattered across the world. The Admiral’s first business venture was to invest in a Chinese restaurant, but a meteor threat to Earth saw her buy shares in ground and space based defence technology, which she currently administers with her protégé “The General” (aka Shogun). Mr Tibbs started his career as a tea cat for the bank, but his sound grasp of finance saw him rise up the ranks until he became one of their most prominent managers. Finally, The Cardinal is the world’s most powerful fat cat, with a wide range of business interests that ensure that he has a paw in every pie (often literally, depending on his appetite). These five cats represent some heavyweight investment clout in every sense of the word, but is any deal attractive enough to get them to roll off their backsides and shake paws with a budding entrepreneur?

The latest entrepreneur to brave the Den is Taro, a generic male with a rather interesting proposal- the sale of personal harems for men and women.

Taro: Hello everyone, I’m Taro, and I’m here to show you how you can revolutionise your life with your own personal harem! Lonely men can spice up their lives with our starter pack of Lead Girl, Tsundere, Meganekko and Maid, whilst add-on such as Sports Girl, Android, Iinchou and many more are available for purchase from our website. We also cater for the female market with specialised reverse harems of bishounen.

Admiral: This is all very interesting, but we’re cats- we aren’t really interested in human mating rituals. I’m out.

Cardinal: Actually, I am interested if I can make money from it. I can foresee this being a nice little earner.

Taro’s proposal has already caused controversy in the Den, but can he rely on the Cardinal’s interest in the product to land an offer?

Aria: Punyu? [Do you cater for people looking to land a specific partner?]

Taro: Well, we’ve really chosen to specialise in harems at the moment.

Aria: Punyu. [That’s a shame- if it can’t help me get President Hime, I’m out.]

Mikoto: To be honest, I’ve spent some time in the company of generic characters, and the idea of flooding the market with more of them frightens me. I’m out.

Three Dragons are out already, but will either the Cardinal or Mr Tibbs throw Taro a lifeline?

Cardinal: I don’t know what the others are on about- not only can we make a killing from lonely otaku with this, but we can then make generic anime series about their lives and sell related merchandise. I’d like to make you an offer.

It’s success for Taro, but will this cause the anime market to collapse from harem overload? We can only wait and see.

This Week in Anime

“In the old days, Grandpa and I would have tomato carrying races.”

Magatama make a long-awaited return.

Jaco Daniels, not to be confused with Jack Daniels.

“Oh god, I’m losing the baby!”

The true purpose of the pyramids is finally revealed- they were meant to house giant apples.

“Could this be the fabled Strawberry Mountain I’ve heard so much about?”

“Melons! Get your watermelons, parsnips and nondescript round things here!”

“Could this be- fruit?”

“One day I will live in luxury, consuming whatever fruit I wish!”

“You didn’t mean to drink the invisibility potion?”

Little did we know how important apples were to become in Spice and Wolf.

“Am I too late for the tomato carrying race?”

Sweet juicy apples…

…you can never have enough.

Maybe that’s why shinigami like them so much.

Just for DS, we now track dango!

That basket of oranges has been in so many series.

How can I order from this Zamahzon place?

Neapolitan dango.

*NEW* Classic PC Games: Traffic Department 2192

As part of a new feature, we go back in time to investigate the PC games that shaped Karura’s formative years, starting with the surprisingly influential Traffic Department 2192. Set in the future on the distant planet of Seche, TD 2192 deposits you right in the middle of the war between the native Traffic Department and the invading Vulture army; you’ll play as Lieutenant Marta Velasquez, a pilot with a sharp tongue and a chip on her shoulder, through twenty missions in the shareware version, and a further forty in the full version.

Actual game play is rather simple- in either a hoversled or helicopter, you fly around the city accomplishing the objective of either wiping out the enemy or protecting your ally. Gunning down everything in sight is usually the way forward, and since the number of maps you use is rather limited, you won’t have to worry about finding your way around. Nonetheless, it’s good fun- but what really makes the game stand out is what happens between missions, namely, the dialogue. With a somewhat crude yet surprisingly funny set of exchanges and one-liners, TD 2192 was the kind of game you couldn’t play when your parents were in the room, although admittedly by the second and third episodes both the humour and the plot had worn a little thin.

Visually, TD 2192 uses ray trace graphics for scrolling, arcade style gameplay, whilst the music is oddly catchy- especially the three tracks used in missions. It may have not been played by many, but those who try it will always remember TD 2192 with a degree of fondness.

Mini-editorial: Should the future of DVD releases lie in boxsets alone?

In the days when I was young and reckless, I would purchase single DVDs as they came out- hungrily devouring the three to five episodes on an average disc over the course of an evening or two. It was all very exciting to be at the cutting edge of the UK and sometimes US market (which admittedly wasn’t all that cutting edge compared to the latest releases from Japan), but by the time I had amassed several hundred DVDs, it occurred to me that I had perhaps spent rather a lot of money on this pursuit.

From then on, my desire for single DVDs seemed to peter out, especially when the patient were almost always rewarded with cheap boxsets that were a relief for both the bank account and the heaving shelves. Being able to marathon a whole series without long two month gaps that ensured you’d pretty much forgotten what had happened at the beginning by the time you reached the end was something of a revelation, not to mention the series where you weren’t in any rush because you’d already seen it on fansub.

With all this in mind, it seems no wonder that the market for single DVDs has declined, to the point where some series have even been pulled due to poor sales. And with 13-26 episode sets becoming increasingly popular, wouldn’t it be better to make the switch completely and save the printing and production costs of the single DVDs? Or do they still have a role as more expensive ‘comparison products’ that actually help the boxsets to sell better?

Harem of the week: Juliet (Romeo X Juliet)

Her one true love was meant to be Romeo, but she somehow amassed many more admirers in her quest to find a plot.

Harem

Romeo: Her true love, with whom she would share an angst-filled relationship.

Tybalt: Dark brooding bishounen who always appeared during Juliet’s hours of need.

Curio: Stoic Kurogane type who secretly loves Juliet but never reveals his feelings.

Francisco: Blonde playboy who hides deep feelings for Juliet.

Antonio: Obligatory shota.

Rivals

Hermione: Romeo’s fiancée- gives up on him when the plot turns against her.

Cielo: Romeo’s HORSE, and his first lover.

Reviewed this week: Aria the Origination 12, Clannad 21-2, Darker than Black 26, Himawari!! 3, Kaiji 24, KgNE Next Season 2, Minami-ke Okawari 10-12, Mokke 19-23, Moyashimon Microbe Theatre Deluxe 1, Shigofumi 11, Spice and Wolf 13, Zoku SZS 6-7

…and in manga: Busou Renkin 39, HxH 274, Twin Spica vol 2 flashback 1

CURRENT SERIES RANKINGS

1. Aria the Origination (1) – Prima
2. Spice and Wolf (2) – wolves
3. Kaiji (3) – ざわ, ざわ…
4. Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (5) – I’m out of despair!
5. Shigofumi (6) – Fumi+Mika=Fumika
6. Persona Trinity Soul (7)- Mushi-Uta’s successor
7. Shion no Ou (8) – Hani Meijin’s secret videos
8. Clannad (10) – Nagisa’s play
9. Mokke (12)- cats level up to bakeneko
10. Minami-ke Okawari (9)- not quite the same
11. Gunslinger Girl- Il teatrino (11)- Marco

SLOW RANKINGS

1. Tetsuko no Tabi (1)- is this ever going to be subbed?
2. Himawari!! (2) – needs less plot
3. Love GetChu! (4)- light entertainment
4. Shounen Onmyouji (5)- end in sight?

Aria the Origination 12: I don’t care how much I’ve fangirled over Aria these past couple of months- this episode has increased my love for the series a hundredfold. When Aika shows up for practice one morning without her glove, it is plain that she has become a Prima- and upon hearing about it, Alicia decides that Akari should take the Prima exam the next day. I wasn’t actually expecting this part of the story to appear until next week, but even though I knew exactly how it would pan out from reading a manga summary, it was still wonderful to see it enacted on screen. This episode was everything anime should strive to be, and I wish to bask in its excellence forever whilst hugging a giant, squishy President Aria.

*COMPLETE-ish* Clannad 21-22: Well, the main story of Clannad is complete, at any rate- we still have the HARD GAY special episode 23 and DVD-only 24 to come, but let’s keep things simple here and call it the end. Anyway, after learning that her parents gave up their career dreams in order to raise her, Nagisa has one of those major anime crises of confidence right before she has to perform her play- can her nearest and dearest convince her not to fall at the final hurdle? It’s not a bad ending, but ultimately I’m left with mixed feelings about the series- I enjoyed it more than Kanon, but the pacing was all over the place and the story wasn’t as well executed as it could have been.

*SPECIAL* Darker than Black 26: The series has finished, but at long last the DVD only episode 26 is here, and as expected, it’s a mildly entertaining but largely pointless instalment. In this one-off story, the various factions are in pursuit of a password, but after a series of comic mishaps, everyone ends up losing their memory of the last few days- explaining why this episode has nothing to do with everything. At least there are some amusing cat shots.

Himawari!! 3: When a new teacher with a pleasing character design transfers to ninja school, she catches everyone’s eye- but could it be that she might be secretly evil? It’s another instalment of the monster of the week format that this season has adopted, but whilst the laughably stupid back story (our villainess has a hatred of okonomiyaki due to something Hayato once said to her when they were children), I’m not disliking this series as much as I expected to.

Kaiji 24: The time for Kaiji to challenge the chairman has arrived, and although IKnight has already written an excellent post about it, I too must weigh in with my thoughts. In order for our hero’s biggest gamble ever to pay off, everything must proceed as planned in episode twenty-three, but can Kaiji really succeed against a seasoned pro? Do we really want him to win via such a simple cheat when it will deprive us of any satisfaction if victory is claimed? Or would it just be better if he won, thus earning a significant sum of money and avoiding having four of his fingers sliced off? Stay tuned to find out.

Kimi ga Nozomu Eien ~Next season~ 2: When I was told that this OVA would cover the Haruka route, I was expecting, oh I don’t know, for it to focus on Haruka, mayhap? In fact, this rather boring mid-section of the OVA sees Mitsuki move in with an old acquaintance and then relate the long and monotonous tale of how she and Takayuki ended up breaking up- interspersed with equally uninteresting scenes of Takayuki and Shinji having a drink together. What a waste of time.

Minami-ke Okawari 10-12: Okawari descends to new depths with the incredibly monotonous episodes 10-11, two instalments so incredibly exciting that I have to admit I’ve already forgotten much of what happened in them (except that Kana faked a cold and then ended up with a real cold- further proof of how annoying and Miu-esque her character has become this season). Although hardly of any notable quality, episode 12 is a slight improvement, not least because the hated Fuyuki finally moves away. Just one episode to go and then this parade of mediocrity will be over (and I absolutely dread the restoration of the status quo that will probably occur after the angst of next episode).

HORSE before HARD GAY.

Mokke 19-23: Five more episodes of Mokke have been cleared, and once again they offer fairly average entertainment. First up, we have an instalment in which Mizuki breaks her arm by falling incorrectly in judo, leading her to spend her days with a spirit in a skull that promises to help her get better at resisting possession. Next, we switch to a minor character who becomes intrigued by Shizuru’s tale of a lightning creature known as a Raiju- a creature which he may have encountered once before in his past and hopes to meet again. Then, it’s back to Mizuki as she prepares to take her green belt test in judo, but victory leaves a sour taste in her mouth when her opponent lets her win. Next, we have a more cat-orientated episode as Mike the cat goes missing, leaving the two sisters to wonder why she left, and even risk asking a bakeneko to help find her. Finally, we have our first proper Shizuru episode in a while, as a sick friend forces her to consider whether her future lies with Granpda or in Tokyo. I must admit that I like the way that judo has become a recurring theme, as it adds more cohesion to the series as a whole, and of course cat episodes are nothing to be sniffed at, but overall this series has been mediocre- and it seems unlikely that the final episode will do anything to change that.

*NEW* Moyashimon Microbe Theatre Deluxe 1: If you liked the microbe sections at the end of each episode of Moyashimon, you’ll eat up Microbe Theatre Deluxe, which takes us inside the human intestine to introduce us to all the bacteria that dwell within. Yes, it might sound like a particularly unpleasant biology lesson, but remember that all these microbes have been given cute and appealing forms.

Shigofumi 11: In the hospital, Fumi-chan has just awakened, and as far as Mika is concerned, this is time to finish it- by having her other self shoot her and end her existence. Naturally, the supporting characters do not want this, but will they be able to prevent the determined mail carrier from ending her own existence? It seems fairly obvious that everything will pan out and tie up nicely in episode 12, which leaves me in two minds about the series as a whole- it had its moments, but in offering such greatness it built up my expectations for a series that was ultimately silver tier rather than the gold it once appeared.

Yes, I know episode 12 has been released and I’ve even acquired it- I just forgot about watching it until this minute.

*COMPLETE-ish* Spice and Wolf 13: Well, DVD-only episode 7 may have left a gaping cavity in the middle of the series, but Spice and Wolf is effectively complete, with this episode seeing Lawrence and Horo emerge triumphant over those who tried to betray them. I’ve enjoyed this series from start to finish, but it’s left me with a desperate hunger for more- could someone get the novels to me as soon as possible, followed by news of a second season?

Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei 6-7: To get two more episodes of despair must surely be considered a blessing, especially as season two seems to be going from strength to strength. In these episodes we once again flit from one source of amusement to the next, from a dream world where everyone has the opposite personality to a delightful magical girl/Lucky Star parody- and even a sequence involving a plethora of different animation styles. Much as I’d like to call out “Zetsubou shita!” just for the sake of it, I have to admit that watching these episodes leaves me in anything but despair.

MANGA

Busou Renkin 39: The battle against the Futakoi Alternative rejects continues in this episode, with Kazuki showing off the immense destined power of a main character with a black kakugane implanted in him (oops, by the manga timeline I’m not supposed to know that yet).

Hunter X Hunter 274: Gon has finally reached Pitou, but she has no interest in fighting him- instead she must use all of her energy to heal Komugi. Watching from the sidelines, Killua can see that Pitou means no harm, but will Gon be able to see past his anger? I must admit that seeing the main characters makes this chapter better than its predecessors, but nothing can recover the quality that was lost so long ago.

Twin Spica vol 2 flashback 1: In this volume’s flashback, we see Asumi’s teacher/Lion-san’s ex-fiancée lead her class out on a field trip even as she grapples with whether she is doing the right thing by sticking with a teaching career. I’ve seen all this in the anime already, so again there are no surprises, but these flashbacks are always good for fleshing out the characters.

For some reason, over the past week or so I have developed a renewed interest in Facebook, and so I must invite you all to come and social network with me, should you so desire. In the meantime, let’s get back to the important business of discussing anime.

Reviewed this week: Aria the Origination 10, SaiMono II 38-9, Shigofumi 10, Shion no Ou 18, Shounen Onmyouji 24, Spice and Wolf 10, Sisters of Wellber 13

..and in manga: Busou Renkin 38, HxH 272

ANIME

CURRENT SERIES RANKINGS

1. Aria the Origination (1) – Al and Aika, sitting in a well…
2. Spice and Wolf (2) – debt
3. Kaiji (3) – ざわ, ざわ…
4. SaiMono II (4) – Ryuuki <-complete!
5. Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (5) – mind-altering drug
6. Shigofumi (6) – Fumi+Mika=Fumika
7. Persona Trinity Soul (7)- Mushi-Uta’s successor
8. Shion no Ou (8) – Hani Meijin’s secret videos
9. Minami-ke Okawari (9)- not quite the same
10. Clannad (10) – drop kick
11. Gunslinger Girl- Il teatrino (11)- Marco
12. Mokke (12)- rainy season

SLOW RANKINGS

1. Tetsuko no Tabi (1)- is this ever going to be subbed?
2. Himawari!! (2) – needs less plot
3. Sisters of Wellber (3) – drinking tea can be dangerous <- complete!
4. Love GetChu! (4)- light entertainment
5. Shounen Onmyouji (5)- end in sight?

Aria the Origination 10: With Alice having become a prima, her workload dramatically increases- and whilst there is no doubt that she is good at what she does, sometimes her nerves do get the better of her. What better way to relax, then, than an evening watching the stars with Aika and Akari- at least until Aika heads out to pick up Al and ends up falling down a well with him. Having heard about this manga chapter, I was wondering when it would appear in the anime, but even though it is another solid instalment in a highly worthy series, I still can’t adjust to the idea of Aika X Al- no matter what his real age is, he still looks and talks like a shota. Still, it was a bold and unexpected move to see him grasp Aika’s hand at the end, and President Maa’s antics were highly amusing.

*COMPLETE* Saiunkoku Monogatari II 38-9: Alas, SaiMono II has finished, and what a packed season it has been- often too packed for my meagre raw viewing skills (thanks again, Impz, your summaries have been invaluable). Anyway, as the series draws to a close, Ryuuki takes the first steps towards becoming the true emperor, realising he has to rule for the people, not just Shuurei- and even taking Jyuusan-hime as a wife. It’s been a period of growth for everyone, and despite the immense volume of new characters and the sheer mind-hurting web of events the series tries to present, I’ve enjoyed myself overall.

Shigofumi 10: Fumika takes a backseat in this episode, which instead focuses on thirty-two year old cancer sufferer Takehiko, a man who has quit his job and alienated his friends and family to the point where all he has left to do is look after a neighbour’s child (also named Fumika). Although it was somewhat bizarre how Takehiko randomly ended up looking after Fumika II all the time, the largely formulaic episode saved itself with a poignant and sad ending. Still, I’m not sure what to make of the series as a whole; it’s really been all over the place in terms of atmosphere and presentation.

Shion no Ou 18: As the Shion versus Satori match heads into its closing stages, the Hani brothers undergo a strange reversal; Satoru is now less a figure of hatred than one of pathos, whilst Hani-meijin is becomier creepier by the minute, stalking around watching videos of Shion’s past whilst keeping Ayumi by his side like a chained lover. Meanwhile, Satoru sees something of his brother in Shion’s shogi, and we know that she learned vital shogi lessons from the murderer- but if the Meijin is the culprit, then what was his motive? All shall be revealed within the final four episodes- at least, one assumes it will.

Shounen Onmyouji 24: The time has come to head out and confront the evil, but meanwhile, Kazane is about to realise that her creepy, cackling master is not quite as benign as she might have thought. It’s another average instalment, but then as I said last week, the goal here is mere completion.

Spice and Wolf 10: Poor Lawrence, everything was going so well- right up until the point where he learned that armour has become massively devalued and that he now has two days to pay back a massive debt- can even Horo the Wise get him out of this, and will she want to after he takes out his frustration on her? Presumably all will come right in the end, but the interesting thing will be seeing how it pans out.

*COMPLETE* Wellber no Monogatari ~Sisters of Wellber 13: Ah, another mediocre series can be crossed off the list, although it does mean that the second season beckons. This episode basically wraps up Gernia’s story and indeed his life, complete with a ridiculous collapsing tower sequence that makes you wonder why you should ever be worried about being trapped in a burning building. Meanwhile, Gernia’s father is still as desperate for war as ever, which is presumably what season two is all about (I’ve been too apathetic to read any plot summaries).

MANGA

Busou Renkin 38: The assault on the school continues as it did in the anime, with Kazuki’s friends banding together to support him as he fights the Futakoi Alternative reject monsters outside. As so often happens, there’s not much more to say that I didn’t say when I was covering the animated version.

Hunter X Hunter 272: With excruciating slowness, the battle between Yupi and Shoot continues, up to the point where Knuckle decides to reveal himself. Do we care anymore? Do we even remember anything other than the names of these minor characters? Bigger fans than I do, perhaps, but I cannot bring myself to care anymore.

Sometimes I just can’t help being evil; telling children about the slaughterhouse whilst they’re playing Harvest Moon, persuading them that complete Iliana rings can just be mined straight out of the earth, arguing that Albel is HARD GAY for Fayt- is there nothing I won’t do? Then again, sometimes interesting things spring from my madness- for example, my sister has taken a liking to the nickname “Pink Supervisor”.

Reviewed this week: Aria the Origination 9, Clannad 19, Kaiji 21-2, Minami-ke Okawari 8-9, Mnemosyne 2, Mokke 16-18, SaiMono II 37, Shigofumi 9, Shounen Onmyouji 23, Spice and Wolf 9

…and in manga: Busou Renkin 1-37, Chokotto Sister 58, Claymore 78, Elfen Lied 83, HxH 271, Moyashimon 2, Tsubasa 184

ANIME

CURRENT SERIES RANKINGS

1. Aria the Origination (1) – banana peel
2. Spice and Wolf (3) – spice and lamb
3. Kaiji (2) – ざわ, ざわ…
4. SaiMono II (4) – Ran clan
5. Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (6) – mind-altering drug
6. Shigofumi (5) – Fumi+Mika=Fumika
7. Persona Trinity Soul (7)- Mushi-Uta’s successor
8. Shion no Ou (8) – die, Satoru!
9. Minami-ke Okawari (9)- not quite the same
10. Clannad (11) – drop kick
11. Gunslinger Girl- Il teatrino (10)- Marco
12. Mokke (12)- rainy season

SLOW RANKINGS

1. Tetsuko no Tabi (1)- is this ever going to be subbed?
2. Himawari!! (2) – needs less plot
3. Sisters of Wellber (3) – predictable but fun
4. Love GetChu! (5)- light entertainment
5. Shounen Onmyouji (4)- end in sight?

Aria the Origination 9: Alice has just graduated from school, and so Athena suggests they go out for the day, but what our young Pair doesn’t know is that she is being tested to see if she is move onto the next level. Although it’s a shame that Alice ultimately moves beyond Akari and Aika in this episode, it nonetheless remains a powerful instalment that sees the birth of the Orange Princess. There’s also plenty of President Maa for cat lovers.

Clannad 19: The theatre club has finally got a part-time share in Koumura-sensei, but whilst Nagisa is keen to put on a play, Tomoya feels his part is done- at least until he moves in with the Furukawa family to get away from his father. Given that most of the theatre club members are just there to make up the numbers, I can’t really care much about their efforts, but Akio and Sanae are always entertaining.

Kaiji 21-2: What awesome MANLY GAR! The time for the final round of E-card is nigh, and Kaiji seems certain he can pull off another win, but will Tonegawa see through his strategy? The odd thing about this episode is that while I spent the majority of it secure in the narrative convention of Kaiji pulling off another victory no matter how much Tonegawa tried to second guess him, the moment the episode ended on a cliff-hanger, the tension skyrocketed and I became uncertain of the outcome.

Fortunately, episode 22 is quick to resolve the outcome of E-card, but when Kaiji demands that Tonegawa kneels down and apologises for all those who died, the chairman decides that the only way to get a sincere apology is to have him kneel on a roasting hot steel plate- not an easy sight to watch. It seems, however, that we will have time for the tissue box raffle arc at the end (or at least the beginning of it, I have no idea how long the arc is in the manga).

Minami-ke Okawari 8-9: Just as I thought I was building up tolerance to Okawari, watching two episodes in the same day has broken it right down again- for whilst Fuyuki was blessedly absent here, these instalments seem to typify the problems with this season. If the original series was a stream of clear water, then Okawari is a stagnant pool, running tired old jokes into the ground instead of picking up a thread and building on it. Whilst episode eight is a lacklustre pool episode, episode nine lacks much in the way of appeal, combining such randomness as Kana dreaming of the future and Makoto trying to give up being Mako-chan yet again. I actually began to manifest physical symptoms related to boredom and irritability in this episode, something that hasn’t happened since Bartender episode 2.

Mnemosyne 2: Another instalment of Mnemosyne has finally come our way, and whilst it lacks the sheer awesomeness of the first episode, it is still worth a watch. The OVA seems to be settling into a “cyberpunk for the 21^st century” role, with this episode featuring HARD YURI, the search for a rare stamp and a mysterious yet deadly angel. Meanwhile, we now know that both Rin and her friend gained immortality when time spheres entered their bodies, but this only goes for women- their effect on men is to turn them into violent, short-lived angels who immortal women are irresistibly attracted to.

Mokke 16-18: Three more episodes of Mokke have been cleared, and once again they offer rather mediocre fare. Episode sixteen is the best of the bunch, as Shizuru befriends a transfer student with a habit of skipping classes to hang out in an old music room- an unremarkable story, but one that is at least more upbeat than the usual instalment of Mokke. Meanwhile, seventeen sees Mizuki discover a strange tree whilst looking after a neighbour’s visiting grandson, whilst in eighteen both sisters and their grandfather go to stay with a family who have been plagued with strange noises ever since they picked up a particular rock.

Saiunkoku Monogatari II 37: I know I’m a week behind with SaiMono, but the situation will have to persist until next week. This time around, Ryuuki meets up with the spirit of Riou’s sister and must face up to the fact that he is still not considered the best candidate for emperor- should he step down, or can he prove himself worthy? It seems that it is finally time for Ryuuki to grow up, but that may well mean making an important decision between committing to the throne and pursuing Shuurei. Would Jyuusan-hime be a better partner for him after all?

Shigofumi 9: Shigofumi lapses back into the unremarkable with this instalment, which combines the standard holiday episode with some back story for Chika. I suppose I should care about Chika’s life being tragically cut short just as her lover was about to propose to her, but when I saw him in the first scene I thought he was her father, so thinking of him as a lolicon generally spoiled the moment.

Shounen Onmyouji 23: It’s all about getting to the end in an efficient, business-like manner with Shounen Onmyouji right now- the series has dragged on so long and been so unremarkable that I don’t really care about anything other than completion. In this episode, Masahiro must angst for a bit before deciding to accept the power that can kill Guren- who will reincarnate, but without his memories of the series. Is that truly such a bad thing, I wonder- I certainly wouldn’t be too disadvantaged without said memories.

Spice and Wolf 9: I’ve toned down my praise for Spice and Wolf over the last couple of weeks, but with this episode I’m ready to fangirl in full force once more. This week, Lawrence and Horo hire the services of a young shepherd girl to escort them to the next town, but how will Horo react to the ‘new woman’ in Lawrence’s life? Not only does this episode introduce a new character who briefly appears in the ED, but it truly exposes the awesomeness of Horo- any time when she seems to be acting predictably tsundere she’ll suddenly laugh it off and prove that there is much more to her than any stereotypical character.

MANGA

*CATCH-UP* Busou Renkin 1-37: The effort of reading some Busou Renkin manga has finally been made, with the first four of ten volumes now cleared. So far, everything is proceeding as per the anime, with these volumes covering the Papillon arc and taking us well into the LXE arc; what remains to be seen is how the latter volumes differ from the animated version.

Chokotto Sister 50: Volume six concludes with this short chapter, in which Choko goes to play at Yurika’s house for the day (complete with obligatory fanservice and a scene in which Choko finds that all of Yurika’s bras are too small), whilst Chitose passes up the opportunity to romantically pursue Haruma in order to nurse the sick Konatsu instead.

Claymore 78: Deus ex machina has arrived in the form of Clare and her allies, and it seems that their combined abilities might just be enough to combat Agatha. Naturally, the action in this chapter follows the usual “few slashes- opponent is sliced to pieces” pattern, but I’m still enjoying the series more than I once did.

Elfen Lied 83: The forces of evil have forced their way into Kohta’s home, but when they start playing rough with his harem, they risk awakening the beast that slumbers within Nyu. Although I hardly wanted our protagonists to be attacked in their own home (which somehow makes it seem worse than all the extreme violence that has come before), it’s good to see the series moving up a gear and pushing the plot ahead towards its conclusion.

Hunter X Hunter 271: Togashi has been propped up and pumped full of drugs (or whatever the situation is), and so HxH is back for another ten weeks, in which the story should advance infinitesimally. In this chapter, the mysterious narrator gives us an excruciatingly slow blow-by-blow account of the various battles that are occurring, to which one can only respond “who cares anymore”? The only interesting thing to note is the way the artwork can vary from detailed to scribble from one page to the next.

Moyashimon 2: The second chapter of Moyashimon pushes us into episode two of the anime, covering Hasegawa’s attempts to test Sawaki’s abilities to the limit, before he detects the unmistakable evidence of brewing. There’s not much more to say, since we’re just mirroring the anime.

Tsubasa Chronicle 184: Syaoran, Fai and Kurogane have made it back to Clow Country, but everything seems strangely peaceful and uneventful- at least until it becomes plain that the country is trapped in some sort of Groundhog Day-esque phenomenon. I was hoping this arc meant that the end of the series was near, but I should have known- it’s clearly going to be dragged out for as long as possible.

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!

Mutou Kazuki was just a normal high school student- until the fateful day when he stumbled upon a battle between a teenage girl and a hideous monster and managed to get himself killed in the process. Fortunately, however, the very girl he was trying to save-Tokiko- also happens to be a warrior with alchemic powers, and she is able to give him a new lease of life by replacing his heart with a metallic device known as a Kakugane. The Kakugane also imbues Kazuki with alchemic powers of his own, and slowly but surely, he too finds himself drawn into the ongoing conflict between the alchemic warriors and their nemesis, the human-feeding homunculi…

Hard as it seems to believe in retrospect, there was once a time when I was actually looking forward to Busou Renkin. Having enjoyed Nobuhiro Watsuki’s other series, Rurouni Kenshin, it seemed impossible to believe that he could produce something unworthy, and so I was confident that this would be one series worth investigating. It was only later that I came to realise that the reality of the situation was very different.

From the start, it became clear that Busou Renkin wasn’t going to live up to its predecessor, instead starting off with an episode so dull and tedious that it proved to be an effort just to pay attention to it. By all rights, the whole venture should have been abandoned then, but despite its generally lacklustre beginning, there were still a few elements that ensured it was given a second chance; specifically, a range of interesting looking characters in the OP, and the attractive yet deadly Tokiko with her novel four-bladed ‘Valkyrie Skirt’ weapon. So it was that the series was continued, and as it began to pick up, it seemed as if that was the right choice. In those early days, the pace was swift enough to never become tedious, and for the briefest of moments, it seemed as if Busou Renkin would actually be the shounen pick of the season.

Unfortunately, this brief burst of optimism was just that- overly optimistic, and all too brief. When stripped down to the essentials, Busou Renkin could not really aspire to be more than a generic Shounen Jump series, but on top of that, it was one riddled with additional problems. Thanks to deviations from the original manga (which was itself cut short after a premature cancellation), the plot became something of a poorly paced mess, neglecting to develop the more interesting facets of the story and characters in favour of quick, easy and blatantly budget saving alternatives. For example, why show a final confrontation between the hero and villain when you can waste an episode by having the supporting characters mope about his absence? That being said, even battle was in the offing, all too often it was far too unbelievably over the top for its own good, starting with stupid special attacks such as floating bubbles or a pair of metallic dogs and moving up through “man vs. submarine” battles to a finale which sees our hero somehow go to the moon and spend a month there (I don’t usually like to spoil the ending to that extent, but such ridiculousness begs to be mentioned).

As if that wasn’t bad enough, Busou Renkin can boast of one other special feature that it would have done better to avoid- an excess of crudeness. Although the mangaka is said to dislike fanservice, he seems to have no problem with so-called ‘manservice’, leading to an excess of crotch shots, bulging underwear, size comparisons and the now infamous Papillon, a butterfly-masked antagonist with a predilection for mankinis, skin-tight bodysuits and storing important items in his crotch. On some levels it may be amusing in an unwholesome way, but rest assured that exposure to this level of ‘manservice’ will leave the mind hideously scarred for a long time to come.

Perhaps unsurprisingly by this point, Busou Renkin also manages to mess up when it comes to characters. With its extensive cast of alchemic warriors, assorted villains and allied bystanders, there is nowhere near enough time to make most of them into anything more than shallow and all too often annoying of personalities. Even the potentially interesting characters are usually short-changed in some way; as Kazuki becomes stronger in the effortless way that most destined leads do, poor Tokiko gets reduced to the role of a cheerleader who can only call out his name, whilst intriguing enemies such as the moon-faced Moon Face turn out to be quite dull when their background and abilities are finally revealed.

Visually, Busou Renkin is generally quite standard, with only a few character designs such as Tokiko standing out from a crowd that largely ranges from the generic to the hideous. Although there are some decent action scenes scattered here and there, there is a general air of budget saving about the series, with badly drawn generics and largely unnecessary flashbacks used to cut corners numerous times (one episode in particular only has about fifteen minutes of new footage). Background music is generally forgettable, although the OP is at least energetic.

Final Thoughts
Although it was fun to parody, in terms of providing entertainment on its own merit, Busou Renkin couldn’t quite cut it. Aside from the odd moment here and there where a character or situation looked promising, the messy plot, underdeveloped characters and overly crude take on shounen clichés all conspired to make this a series barely worth watching once, let alone twice.

It’s funny how obsessions come and go- earlier this week I was briefly addicted to the children’s Flash site Club Penguin, but a mere two days later I had exhausted all its possibilities and found it quite boring. What will next week’s obsession be?

Reviewed this week: Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto 19, Busou Renkin 26, Chevalier 18, Claymore 1, Gargoyle 13, Heroic Age 1, Hitohira 1, Nanoha StrikerS 1, Nodame 10, ROTK 43, SaiMono 37-8, Shounen Onmyouji 15

…and in manga: Bokurano 39-40, Lucky Star 1-4, School Rumble 219, Shirley Madison 1-2, Tsubasa 148-9

Murder Princess, Winter Cicada and Gunslinger Girl vol 5 will be covered next week.

ANIME

Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto 19: After the last two episodes, Iroha couldn’t really have got much worse, and fortunately, things do begin to pick up in this episode, as Enomoto’s plans move forward and Soutetsu pioneers a new style of villainy. Yes, there are still long stretches of dullness and some laughably clichéd elements (oh look, Akidzuki washed up on a beach and a dog found him), but there are also some good parts creeping back in, such as Kakunojo’s fast and fluid sword work, and a cameo from Tesunosuke (last seen in Peacemaker). Here’s to a general improvement from now on.

*COMPLETE* Busou Renkin 26: At long last we can bid goodbye to Busou Renkin, the series that took crudeness to new levels, and completely ruined the opinion I had of Nobuhiro Watsuki’s work. This episode basically wraps up all the loose ends without ever showing the actual month long fight between Victor and Kazuki, bringing our hero home to Earth after some space STRAIGHT with Tokiko

Le Chevalier d’Eon 18: In the wake of Robespierre’s death, our heroes preparation to storm the abbey and force a confrontation with Dashwood, but is Robespierre truly out of the picture just yet? If last episode seemed a little disappointing, then this episode certainly makes up for it by packing in plenty of top notch action and story development, but it is over all too soon- even though I know exactly what happens in 19, I still want to see it in subbed form as soon as possible.

*NEW* Claymore 1: In a world where demonic Yoma menace humans, the Claymore, an all-female group of human/Yoma hybrids, are the only line of defence against them. In this episode, our cool and distant heroine Clare (it’s almost refreshing that she has so little personality since she just gets on with the job with giving any reason to any) protects a village from a Yoma and picks up a sidekick, Raki, along the way. Whilst Raki is presumably there to add a little humanity to the show, he seems like he’ll be an annoyingly chirpy presence, and so ideally I could do without him. Overall, however, despite the rather generic nature of this first episode, I’m oddly drawn to the series, and want to watch more- in the meantime, the manga can be acquired.

*COMPLETE* The Gargoyle of the Yoshinagas 13: Alas, despite waiting so long for it to be subbed, it seemed almost inevitable that the finale of Gargoyle could be nothing other than a disappointment. Whilst the ‘war’ between the shopping district and the department store heats up, various villains emerge for their final appearances, and Osiris turns into a final boss, before everything magically goes back to normal with little effort on the part of our heroes. Gargoyle started well enough, but it’s a sad fact that the story and setting weren’t even enough to keep me entertained for a mere thirteen episodes.

*NEW* Heroic Age 1: Ah, the heroic age, an age of heroes…or at least one hero, a feral boy living on a planet with a computer for a ‘mother’. In this episode, various members of a spaceship are sent down to find him, only for disaster to strike when a giant monster attacks. To be honest, in general it was hard to know (or care) exactly what was going on in this episode, but for that reason there’s a slight compulsion to watch episode two in order to get some handle on events. That being said, if it takes a long time to be subbed, my enthusiasm for the show will probably have long dissipated.

*NEW* Hitohira 1: I had low hopes for what seemed to be the HARD YURI Tsuyokiss of the season, but having watched the first episode I can say that while it is by no means particularly good, it wasn’t as awful as I was expecting. The series sees our lead, a girl so nervous she is unable to speak sometimes, end up joining the drama club after she reveals that on occasion, she can project with an extremely loud voice. Although there is clearly HARD YURI and angst in the works, it wasn’t to the level of painfulness that I had braced myself for, and so this was a rather inoffensive twenty-five minutes. I don’t know how long I’ll continue with the series, but for now it can stay.

*NEW* Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS 1: Nanoha, Fate and the rest are back, only this time they’re no longer nine years old, ensuring that the fanboys must abandon the loli factor and focus exclusively on the HARD YURI elements. In this episode, our usual heroines take a step back from the action, which instead spotlights up and coming mages Subaru and Teana as they take the class B mage test. Although the battle scenes aren’t bad, it’s somewhat like watching a tutorial and wanting to get onto the game proper. Unfortunately next episode seems to be a rather slow-paced HARD YURI piece, so it may be a while before we actually get to the good stuff (good being relative since I’m not a drooling fanboy).

Nodame Cantabile 10: It’s a relatively inoffensive episode this time around, with Chiaki preparing to play a Rachmaninoff piece under Stresemann, whilst Nodame and the others decide to put on a costume orchestra for the upcoming music festival. Happily, Stresemann should be leaving Japan for a while after this, whilst the mystery of why Nodame wears an animal costume in the ED is finally answered when she dresses up as a mongoose for the festival.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms 43: After a gruelling absence, everyone’s favourite (soon to be second favourite) Three Kingdoms series is back, and this time the cunning and crafty Zhou Yu (now given an odd eye twitch due to the poor animation) tries to kill the noble and righteous Zhuge Liang by getting him to bet his life on whether he can assemble 100,000 arrows in three days. Can the omniscient Zhuge meet this challenge? Of course he can! I was worried HARD GAY had evolved too much since I last watched the series for it to be funny, but fortunately this was one of the more hilarious instalments.

Saiunkoku Monogatari 37-8: As SaiMono nears its end, I find myself both sad that it will soon be over, and happy that season 2 will quickly erase any possibility of withdrawal. In these two episodes, Shuurei and Ensei try to figure out a sustainable industry for the province, before Shuurei goes home as the representative for the New Year festival. Although these two episodes aren’t the most eventful we’ve seen, they are still as addictive as ever, with a satisfying scene in which Shuurei presents herself to the emperor as the governor- a reminder of how far she’s come since we first met her way back in episode one.

Shounen Onmyouji 15: Contrary to my expectations, the evil onryou actually gets exorcised in this episode, which starts off as a budget saving exposition and recap piece before actually showing us some action. Meanwhile, the plans of the inexplicably evil woman move forward, but who is she and what does she want?

MANGA

Bokurano 39-40: Anko’s story continues in these two chapters, which sees the team in charge of Zearth try to counter the information leaked to the press, only for someone to get the scoop in before them by putting a fake pilot on TV. Now the only option may be to let a camera crew into Zearth’s cockpit for the latest battle, but how can they disguise the fact the pilot dies after the enemy has been defeated? Another excellent pair of chapters from this consistently good series, but as always the painful part is waiting for more.

*NEW/DROPPED* Lucky Star 1-4: With everyone getting excited about KyoAni’s adaptation of this, I thought I’d take a look at what this 4Koma is all about, but unfortunately, it is not to my tastes. A poor man’s Ichigo Mashimaro, Lucky Star lacks the appeal of that series, with its jokes having potential but losing much in the delivery, whilst the artwork is all too reminiscent of the Shana manga. And no, there isn’t any crazy wild loli yuri sex in it.

School Rumble 219: The end of the second year may be in sight, but the end of School Rumble has gone far away by this point, as Hanai and Tougou run for student council president, and little else happens. I keep reading because I feel that someone has to find out what happens, but these latest chapters are making the content that went into anime season two look good.

*NEW* Shirley Madison 1-2: After Sasa kindly pointed out its existence, I’ve been able to get my hands on the first two chapters of this sequel to Kaoru Mori’s Shirley, which tells the continuing adventures of Cranry Bennett and her thirteen year old maid Shirley. In these two chapters, Cranry and Shirley discover some old records and stay up all night dancing, before having to deal with a stubborn old window that won’t shut on a particularly stormy day. It may sound simplistic, but if Shirley left you with a desire for a more, you’ll want to pick up this gentle and charming story.

Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle 148-9: After Syaoran tries to stop Sakura from going to another world by herself, we cut to a mysterious long-haired woman trapped in a tower as she is given the choice to save either herself or her ‘other self’. Upon choosing herself, Ashura comes to save her, whilst back in Infinity, Fye stabs Sakura due to a curse that causes him to attack anyone who is stronger than he is (remember that his magic was halved when Syaoran-clone took his eye, so the feather Sakura just got was enough to tip the balance). Even so, the blood spurting out of her doesn’t seem to be fatal, as she is about to go to another world via Chi’s power.

“Kazuki is the only HARD GAY lover for me!”

“Well, he’s the only STRAIGHT lover for me!”

“Whoever is the better lover gets to have exclusive access to Kazuki!”

“Prepare for BI, Sexy Beast!”

“You are not allowed to call me Sexy Beast!”

“Hmm, women seem to be different down below- I can’t identify a Liang.”

“Don’t be so sure! I can still give you Blade!”

“Get ready for the climax!”

“YEEESSSS!!!!”

“I have to say that I think I’m more deserving of Kazuki’s love.”

Everyone says Kazuki, back by popular demand!

Everyone says Kazuki spin-off “Everyone says that’s…”, part one

Whilst everyone is distracted, Chitose approaches Tokiko for some quick HARD YURI.

Afterwards, they stop off at HQ for a group ARMOUR session.

“When it comes to group ARMOUR, the more, the merrier!”

The fight was too exciting and explosion filled for us to witness it, but rest assured that Kazuki will soon be publishing a book entitled “My Month on the Moon”.

“I’m quite impressed that you’ve lasted a month here, without air or water…in fact, how are we even able to talk?”

“Who cares about the laws of physics- let’s just have more HARD GAY!”

“No matter how many times I sleep with you, it always feels good!”

“Personally, I’m getting quite bored with you.”

“You’re breaking up with me?”

Everyone says that’s, part two

“I somehow magically know this, despite having had no contact with them over this period.”

“Since when have we worried about a little thing like gravity?”

“We’ve always considered gravity- but we also have magical anti-gravity for when it would interfere with the plot. Now, take this and have yourself some Axe on the way back.”

“Why are you giving me Axe? Aren’t you breaking up with me?”

“Shut up and enjoy it.”

“Anyway, I’m only giving it to you for your own Self-Pleasure- I don’t have the energy to actually give you proper Axe.”

“I refuse to have Self Pleasure- give me proper HARD GAY!”

“No matter what happens, I still want you in my life!”

“I’ve finally decided- I won’t choose either HARD GAY or STRAIGHT! I need the best of both worlds- and that means I’m sticking with BI!”

“You hear that? He’s BI- let’s have a bit of ARMOUR with him!”

“ARMOUR in space? I’m not trained in those sorts of manoeuvres!”

“It’s far too risky, and I don’t want to be responsible for killing the main character in the final episode.”

“Hey Tokiko, how’d you like to go out there and have space STRAIGHT with him?”

Everyone says Kazuki and that’s, unimaginative dialogue edition.

“Is this really the best place for a reunion?”

“Haven’t you always wanted to have kinky space STRAIGHT?”

“…are having the ultimate STRAIGHT!”

“Now let’s get dressed and go back- I hope no one was watching.”

“The friction started getting to me by the end, but it was good.”

Everyone says Kazuki, Papillon edition

“I accept that you need STRAIGHT as well, so here’s this white Kakugane to reduce your HARD GAY urges.”

“Don’t forget, though, I still want to sleep with you!”

“Sounds good, just let me get my Lance out.”

“We only just had STRAIGHT, and now you’re onto HARD GAY!”

“Sorry, but I need to do this.”

“Go on, just put it in.”

A few episodes ago, it was said to be impossible to make another white Kakugane, but we’ve had two new ones in this episode.

Having been restored to STRAIGHT status, Victor celebrates by letting his daughter give him Pleasure.

“That way, we can have eternal STRAIGHT.”

“The moon is a plentiful place, filled with nutritious green cheese.”

Kazuki tells Gouta he will never give up HARD GAY.

“Pleased to hear it.”

Papillon tries to land his own spin-off series.

“He’s hung like a grunty!”

Fan support for the new series is high.

Papillon thinks back to how Kazuki broke up with him.

“Goodbye, Sexy Beast.”

“I’ll never forget the good times.”

“Now to find some new lovers.”

Everyone says Papillon, a replacement for the newly axed everyone says Kazuki.

“We’ve been having a lot of STRAIGHT lately- I hope it’s not tiring you out.”

“Don’t worry about me, I can keep up the pace all night.”

“That’s my special place! Touching this scar induces Self Pleasure!

“Why do you always have to touch everything? Remember that incident with that stranger’s Zhuge Liang?”

“I don’t know much about it, but here is how I think you should seduce a woman.”

“Hiwatari always forced me to have HARD GAY, but I’m actually a girl!”

“That’s right, Tokiko, submit to me…a life of BI awaits.”

HITS

Fafner in the Azure

The illegitimate offspring of RahXephon and Evangelion (with elements that make just as little sense on close inspection as certain parts of those two series), Fafner is nonetheless one of the more enjoyable mecha series out there. With its top notch animation, excellent soundtrack and intriguing storyline, Fafner creates a world so appealing that viewers cannot help but be drawn in despite its flaws. It may be more a case of presentation and potential than what the series actually delivers, but Fafner should not be overlooked.

Memorable moments: “Kazuki!!”, “Soushi!!”

Martian Successor Nadesico
Another series that remained entertaining whilst being far from perfect, Nadesico was one of the series I watched back when I was an anime novice, and it remains a good starter series for fans even to this day. Despite a slide into weakness into its last few episodes, Nadesico was a decent example of light entertainment that gave the mecha genre a much needed ribbing.

Memorable moments: Akito being one of the very few mecha pilots to have to deal with inertia.

Dai-Guard
Dai-Guard parodied the retro robot series of yore, which, combined with the premise of office workers saving the world, was a recipe for mild success. If nothing special, the series could at least be counted on for a healthy dose of light entertainment that belied its simplistic and sometimes budget saving animation.

Memorable moments: Dai-Guard losing an arm in various battles.

NEUTRAL

Elemental Gelade

Many people deride EG for ruining the manga storyline, but whilst I cannot exactly justify calling it a hit, I do quite enjoy it for its enjoyable simplicity and brightly coloured character designs. The story may be hideously flawed and often generic, and the animation is clearly on a drive to save as much money as possible, but there’s still that essential ‘easy watching’ quality to it.

Zoids
For a series made to sell toys, the early seasons of Zoids not only attempted to have some sort of plot, but followed the almost universal trend of offering a measure of light entertainment. And I have to admit that it did influence me to buy some of the toys, so its mission was accomplished.

MISSES

Busou Renkin
Once, Busou Renkin seemed like just another generic Shounen Jump series, but as we soon came to learn, it was worse than that, for it also had copious amounts of crude jokes and so-called ‘manservice’. For anyone lacking a fetish for men in revealing swimwear, Busou Renkin held little first watch value, let alone replay value- even I watched it primarily for the parody angle.

D.N.Angel

I was drawn to DNAngel because of the character designs, but unfortunately it failed me when it came to actually giving me some kind of plot. Despite my continual hopes that a darker main story would kick in ‘next episode’, the series blundered along its lightweight fashion throughout, offering tediously unfunny ‘comedy’, pointless and irritating characters and far more vacation episodes than it ever needed. A thoroughly disappointing case of squandered potential.

Love Hina
Ah, Love Hina, how could I forget a show that sapped so many irreplaceable brain cells? A hideously repetitive cycle of Keitaro continually messing up and upsetting Naru every time she seemed to be warming up to him, Love Hina could have been a touching slice of life tale, but instead it chose to go down the path of crazy humour and overused jokes. Four episodes was manageable, twenty-four was far too many.

MegaMan NT Warrior
I have to admit I have only seen the edited English dub of this, but while it may well be a classic in original form, I somehow doubt that it will be much more than a simplistically animated shounen tale of one boy and his destined computer program fighting other boys and their less destined computer programs.

Shaman King

As Shounen Jump series go, Shaman King actually didn’t seem too bad at first- a mixture of light entertainment and mystical battles. Unfortunately, it all went horribly wrong when the shaman tournament properly began, with a fillerific journey to first find where it was being held, followed by pointless fights such as one against a group of shaman wearing tight wetsuits. A tournament arc in an anime is one thing, but making an entire series out of a tournament probably wasn’t the best of ideas.

The Third
A series so dull and forgettable I even forgot to write about it in the Annual Round-Up, The Third’s generic characters and giant insects ensured that it did not last for long in the viewing schedule- and by the time the last few episodes rolled around, even the animation quality had gone downhill.

Final Thoughts
With the possible exception of Fafner, Xebec has yet to produce anything truly worthy and memorable, with their strength lying in light entertainment, and their weakness stemming from pretty much anything involving a manga adaptation. Is this general level of mediocrity all the studio has to offer, or can this season’s Heroic Age possibly be the exception to the rule?

It’s a week of episodes not quite living up to their predecessors in this Round-Up- is it just the after-effect of trying to watch some Gundam Seed Destiny, or a sign that the viewing schedule needs an injection of fresh blood from the spring season? Either way, I’ve decided to drop Les Miserables and La Corda d’Oro; they’re both too dull and predictable.

Reviewed this week: Iroha 17-18, Busou Renkin 25, Chevalier 17, Gargoyle 11-12, SaiMono 36, Shounen Onmyouji 13-14 (15 will be covered next week)

..and in manga: Emma Bangaihen 8, Oniisama E 1-9, School Rumble 218+b49, Spiral Alive 5, xxxHOLiC 10.4

ANIME

Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto 17-18: Having fallen from grace in the last episode, Iroha compounds its error by turning into its dullest moment ever in episode 17, before picking up ever so slightly in the latter half of 18. Whilst possessed villain Enomoto is a little too ridiculous for me to take seriously, and most other characters have become either annoying (Kakunojo) or uninteresting (everyone else), there is one high point in the English special ops team (or as I like to call them, the Suikoden III team). If only they could have their own spin-off show, or perhaps even an Utawarriors style game.

Busou Renkin 25: In a world where I hadn’t already read what happens in this episode, I might have expected it to actually show the fight between Victor and Kazuki, but instead we’re just treated to Tokiko and the various supporting characters all moping around due to the absence of their main character. It’s dull, it’s poorly animated, and it’s quite possibly the most boring episode I’ve seen since the very beginning.

Le Chevalier d’Eon 17: Having turned Whitehead into White-, Robespierre must return to Dashwood and accept the consequences, but is Dashwood simply playing right into his hands? Meanwhile, our heroes await the release of Durand so that they too can get into the action. Events are well and truly heating up by this point, but oddly, this particular episode was not as exciting in the flesh as it seemed to be through the medium of screencaps.

Gargoyle of the Yoshinagas 11-12: Just as I feared, Gargoyle has lost its lustre by this point, ensuring that this double bill of episodes is not as gratefully received as it might have otherwise been. Whilst the episode 11 is a meandering effort about a living doll created by a girl with a crush on Kazumi, 12 is something of a confusing mess in which Osiris vanishes and the Yoshinaga parents have a big argument (to be honest, I wasn’t paying enough attention to grasp more of the story than that). Hopefully the last episode will come along soon so that I can complete the series and get it over with.

Saiunkoku Monogatari 36: After the excellence of episode 35, it would have been hard for anything that came afterwards to match it, and unfortunately, 36 just doesn’t quite cut it (which is to say that it is good compared to the average anime episode, but merely solid by SaiMono standards). Whilst Kokujun accepts the consequences of becoming head of the Sa clan, Shuurei and Eigetsu must put their troubles behind them as they official take on the mantle of governors. It’s more of a tying up loose ends episode than anything else, so it can’t really match the best we’ve seen from the arc.

Shounen Onmyouji 13-14: A new arc kicks off in this double bill of episodes, with a mysterious woman summoning an Onryou spirit of hatred to cause trouble for the named characters. Unfortunately, aside from introducing some new characters (including a brief glimpse at two more Spirit Summons), a lot less happens in this pair of episodes than I would have liked, with the pace dragging quite a bit at times, particularly in episode thirteen.

MANGA

Emma Bangaihen 8: It’s back to Wilhelm and his wife in this chapter as they enjoy a lazy morning in bed together; having briefly glimpsed them in an earlier chapter, it is interesting to return to them and take a more in depth look at their characters (and no, I’m not referring to the somewhat unexpected nipple shot).

HORSE is a great stress reliever.

*CATCH-UP* Oniisama E 1-9: It’s time to experience HARD YURI angst in manga form, but how does it compare to the anime? At only three volumes in length (compared to 39 episodes of anime), the story whips along at a much faster pace, so whilst the same outline of events is shared between the two versions, the manga necessarily does not have the same depth and development of the story. Since it is much easier to acquire and read, however, it may be a good idea to try the manga if you want to see if you’ll like the story enough to warrant searching for the anime.

School Rumble 218, b49: Now that all threat of a main plot has blown over, School Rumble can get back to doing what it does ‘best’, i.e. the pointless and increasingly unfunny. In 218, Suga, Nishimoto and Yoshidayama become so fed up with their bad luck in love that they make a Peach Garden oath to remain unkissed together, only for Madoka to kiss them all for some reason. Meanwhile, in b49, we see a past Yakumo agonising over the fact that she is too shy to make friends, only to recount how she managed to approach some classmates with a shared love of the same band.

This is actually from last week, but it illustrates the general hopelessness of continuing this manga.

Spiral Alive 5: Sawamura may have disappeared from Imari’s life, but that doesn’t mean she’s going to give up on him- even if he is only focused on getting closer to Kiyotaka. Meanwhile, the music box murders continue, and it is only a matter of time before the great detective is called in. Like last chapter, this one doesn’t advance the story greatly- we still seem to be caught in the same loop, but hopefully events will advance once we hit volume two.

xxxHOLiC vol 10, chapter 4: It turns out that giving his balloon away was not such a good idea for Watanuki, who ends this chapter by falling out of a window at school. It looks like a pretty big cliff-hanger, but who wants to be it will be swiftly resolved? Actually, I should start catching up to resolve it even faster.