Fellow anime fans, heed my words- never, ever let a massive backlog build up, for it will crush your very soul. Sadly, there is still much I have to catch up on, but in the meantime enjoy my coverage of what I have managed to get through since mid-December.

Reviewed this week: Aria the Origination 1, Baccano! 13, Clannad 8-12, Dennou Coil 21-6, Genshiken 2 7-12, Himawari!! 1, Kaiji 7-13, Minami-ke 7-13, Oh! Edo Rocket 21-6, SaiMono II 27-31, Spice and Wolf 1, Tsubasa OVA 1

…and in manga: .hack//Link 1, Akagi 7-8+108-9, Chokotto Sister 48, Clannad 5, Claymore 75-6, Elfen Lied 79-81, HxH 267-70, Kaiji 1, MariMite 23-4, Meine Liebe 7-8, Nodame 94-9, Oniisama E… 10, REC 34-6, Risky Safety 2-3, Solanin 10-28, Spiral Alive 11-16, Spiral 60-66, Tsubasa 172-7, Yotsuba& 49-50

ANIME

CURRENT SERIES RANKINGS

1. Dennou Coil (1) – a great series from start to finish <- complete!
2. Aria the Origination (-) – PUNYU! <-new!
3. Oh! Edo Rocket (2) – I love this show! <- complete!
4. SaiMono II (4) – Jyuusan-hime rocks!
5. Kaiji (3) – human racing
6. Minami-ke (6) – Ichigo Mashimaro II <- complete!
7. Baccano! (5) – the end of the line <- complete!
8. Spice and Wolf (-) –spicy wolves make for interesting chilli <-new!
9. Genshiken 2 (7) – graduation <- complete!
10. Moyashimon (8) – cute microbes
11. Shion no Ou (9) – it’s a trap
12. Sketchbook ~full color’S~ (11) – lots of cats
13. Clannad (12) – sad girls in springtime
14. Mokke (10)- magical cat

SLOW RANKINGS

1. Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (1) – I’m in despair!
2. Tetsuko no Tabi (2)- is this ever going to be subbed?
3. Sisters of Wellber (3) – predictable but fun
4. Himawari!! – needs less plot <- new!
5. Koutetsu Sangokushi (4) – pure HARD GAY
6. Shounen Onmyouji (5)- mediocre
7. Love GetChu! (6)- light entertainment
8. Romeo X Juliet (7) – WOOD

*NEW* Aria the Origination 1: Having a new season to watch is so great that I just want to roll around like President Aria, but instead I will try to put those feelings into words. Spring is coming to Neo Venezia, and even though the snow hasn’t quite melted yet, Alicia gets a gift of sakura tea and jam which she decides to share with everyone. Cue a nice, fluffy tea party in which the amazing feats of the three Primas are discussed, from stopping an idiot falling overboard to cheering up a baby with funny faces. And as the icing on the cake, President Aria is up to his usual antics, although his poor flabby stomach has already been bitten twice.

Remember, don’t eat too fast.

*COMPLETE* Baccano! 13: The tale of immortality and numerous characters in the 1930s finally draws to a close in this episode, which ties up the insane number of plot strands in the best way it can, sees justice served to certain characters, and ends on a high in the way only Isaac and Miria can manage. Yes, it was confusing along the way, but with so much packed in it was also highly entertaining- I can’t request a second season enough times.

Clannad 8-12: Episodes 8-9 see the conclusion of the Fuko arc, with everyone slowly forgetting about her in the run-up to the wedding- can they remember in time to show up? Whilst it was hardly enough to make me cry, I did feel a pang of emotion at this arc, which made going into the next one a bit of an anticlimax to start. This time around, the focus is on genius girl Ichinose Kotomi, who seems almost unbelievably socially ill-adapted to start with, but whose story is slowly picking up now. It does seem a bit of a sci-fi

*COMPLETE* Dennou Coil 21-6: I already reviewed Dennou Coil in its entirety, so all that’s left to put here is how satisfying the ending turned out to be. Yes, if there was more time some elements could have been expanded upon, but the later revelations were still a lot more substantial than many other series, and overall there was a feeling of satisfied completion rather than a need for more. A most excellent series indeed.

*COMPLETE* Genshiken 2 7-12: Genshiken 2 is over, and it’s something of a bittersweet ending- practically everyone has settled on their future career and is ready to commence life in the ‘real world’, although of course they’ll never forget their otaku roots. There’s still content here for those looking for comedy, but an almost Honey and Clover-esque feel crept into this season- university graduates should be able to identify with it.

*NEW* Himawari!! 1: At long last, the second season of Himawari!! is being subbed (yes, I could watch the raws but I’m being lazy), and although I have little hope of it proceeding at any speed, it can fill a gap here and there. Unfortunately, whilst meeting up with the characters is like slipping back into a comfortable old set of clothes, the fact that this season seems to contain a main villain with his underling monsters of the week does not fill me with optimism. I like Himawari when it’s just episodic light entertainment, but introducing low-budget enemies such as this episode’s gum-chewing boy adds an air of tedium to the whole thing.

Kaiji 7-13: The Espoir arc finally concludes in episodes 7-9, with Kaiji suffering both betrayal and the Room of Naked Men before finally coming out on top- at least until he realises the whole thing has left him with twice as much debt as before (poor guy). Then, after an episode of trying and failing to fit in with normal life, our hero is whisked off for another night of gambling, only this time he is the horse in a ‘Human Derby’. The even sees Kaiji and other debt-ridden young men walk across a thin beam suspended over a twelve foot drop, but even if you manage to get across without being pushed off, there’s worse to come when they have to do the same again across and electrified beam suspended between the twenty-second floors of two high-rise buildings. It’s addictive, MANLY stuff, but are we really halfway through already?

*COMPLETE* Minami-ke 7-13: I finally found the time to watch the second half of Minami-ke’s first season, and happily, it was everything I expected it to be. As the adventures of the Minami sisters continue, more amusing everyday antics ensue, more friends get drawn in, and they even meet another Minami family consisting of three brothers and a younger sister who Chiaki adopts as her little ‘brother’. Not since the days of Ichigo Mashimaro has everyday life been so entertaining, but I’m approaching the second season with trepidation- how will the staff changes affect the tone of the series?

*COMPLETE* Oh! Edo Rocket 21-6: Another excellent series goes out with a bang (no pun intended) as Oh! Edo Rocket draws to a close with a packed final stretch that showcases everything that is so great about the series. From comedy and hilariously out of place pop culture references to darker and more serious storylines, Oh! Edo Rocket somehow manages to have everything, and it even achieves an ending entirely appropriate to the tone of the series. Move over FLCL and Pani Poni Dash- this is how it’s done.

Saiunkoku Monogatari II 27-31: The overload of new characters arc has finally come to an end as the anime moves into new territory with the arrival of Shuuei’s sister Jyuusan-hime. Jyuusan-hime has been sent to become Ryuuki’s concubine, but with assassins after her life, Shuurei ends up becoming her body double (sometimes even main characters get the short straw). Despite my aversion to having so many new characters dumped on us of late, Jyuusan-hime is a most welcome addition to the cast- she’s beautiful, tough and more mature than the still naïve Shuurei, and since she’s also adopted, her apparent feelings for Shuuei aren’t as incestuous as I first thought. Meanwhile, poor Shusui seems to have fallen under the influence of the voices in her head- what will become of her? Whatever the case, the anime is not only almost at an end but has also drawn level with the novels- so we’ll either have to have a huge break before any potential third season, or move into the realm of occasional OVAs.

SaiMono goes all Dynasty Warriors.

*NEW* Spice and Wolf 1: For a multitude of shallow and tenuous reasons, I loved this series before I even watched it, and happily I still feel the same way after episode one. Having completed Okami the night before I watched this, I was all too ready for more content about wolf goddesses, and so when trader Lawrence Craft found one in his cart, it made for interesting viewing (even with the random fanservice). Provided it doesn’t turn into the new Sisters of Wellber, this should be a great series, and since the original material is apparently about economics, it’s like entertainment’s next step from Dragons’ Den.

*NEW* Tsubasa Chronicle Tokyo Revelations 1: My relationship with the Tsubasa TV series ended in a filler fest of pain and suffering, but with Production I.G. taking over the reins for this three episode OVA covering the X-Tokyo arc, I figured it wouldn’t be so bad (let’s forget that they did that pointless movie). Happily, unlike Bee Train’s efforts, this version of Tsubasa actually has revolutionary new concepts like proper movement and animation, and whilst the story is essentially flawed, this is the fault of the original manga and not really something the studio can do much about. If the rest of Tsubasa must be animated, let’s keep it to OVA format (I notice that the final image in the closing appears to be from the Infinity arc- a sign of things to come?).

In the latest manga chapters, Mokonas’ earrings actually have previously unmentioned plot importance.

MANGA

*NEW* .hack//Link 1: Although it might sound like a .hack/Legend of Zelda crossover, the franchise’s latest cash-in manga is set in a brand new iteration of The World- R:X. Tokio is the typical annoying shounen hero who has cleared every other game around and wants to play the newly relaunched The World, but since access is restricted, he can’t get his hands on a copy of the game. Fortunately, a new transfer student at school lets him use her copy- but it proves to be an edition of the game that transfers him into The World itself! I don’t see this offering anything new, but it should be interesting enough to follow.

Akagi 7-8, 108-9: Like the anime, the Akagi manga doesn’t seem to feel the need to rush anywhere, and so we’re still on Akagi’s first match- although we’ve just reached the point when Akagi is playing rep player Yagi with their fingers at stake. For a beginner at Mah-jongg, watching this sort of thing in animated form is easier than slogging through explanatory text for each match, but even so it’s still an enjoyable manga.

Meanwhile, an anonymous scanlator has decided to pick up where the anime has left off, so I’ll be covering that as well. 108-9 commence volume 13 and cover the last part of the anime, where Akagi throws away his blood and challenges Washizu to play for the last part of his fortune. Having waited so long to see what happens next, we are now on the verge of this exciting new territory, and hopefully it will be as good as ever.

Chokotto Sister 48: When Konatsu catches mumps and falls in, it becomes a perfect opportunity for her to slip into a Flashback Mode, in which she relates a typical tragic past of being abandoned by her parents and Haruma promising to always be by her side (which she takes to be one of those standard childhood marriage proposals that have so much more meaning in fiction than real life). Everything is proceeding along the rails for the moment, but I’m becoming increasingly disturbed about Choko’s origin- just where did she come from? (Smart alecks need not respond).

Clannad 5: When I read the first four chapters of Clannad, the anime was months away from airing, but to go back and try another chapter in the middle of it run is a slightly strange experience. Fortunately, whilst Clannad the anime is nothing special to me, watching it seemed to make this chapter seem better than its predecessors, even though it only covers the early anime content of Tomoya trying to help get the drama club off the ground.

Claymore 75-6: As it turns out, the blinded Galatea wasn’t hiding from the organisation- she wanted them to send Claymores out to her so that they could help her defeat the latest Awakened Being- former number 2 Claymore Agatha. As the battle begins, however, it remains to be seen if they will offer assistance or just blindly follow orders, culminating in a cliff-hanger ending for chapter 76. As always, I’m not particularly impressed by the action scenes, but I’m still interested in seeing what happens next, and oddly having just one chapter a month helps to enjoy the series since I’m always hungry for more.

Elfen Lied 79-81: We may be getting close to the end of the series, but the story is still ready to throw us a few more twists and turns- not to mention some fresh characters. Whilst Kouta laments the loss of his harem due to the disappearance of Lucy/Nyu, Nana and Mayu, elsewhere yet more plans are being made to recapture Lucy- using obedient clones of Mariko. In charge of them is the latest eccentric scientist and his tough-as-nails bodyguard- it’s a familiar formula but hopefully this is all slowly building towards a conclusion.

Hunter X Hunter 267-70: Having put all his efforts into getting the chapter count up to a nice round number, Togashi has retired to his deathbed once again, leaving the series on yet another indefinite hiatus. Perhaps it’s just as well, as the excruciatingly slow pace and intensely detailed narration of the first phase of the attack on King has really put me off this arc, to the extent where I have to wonder if I even care any more. All I want now is for the series to properly end, but at the current rate I could be in my thirties before that happens (a scary thought indeed).

*NEW* Kaiji 1: As with Akagi, the Kaiji anime has basically followed the manga word for word, so all this first chapter provides is a recounting of how Kaiji came to be offered a place aboard the Espoir, with less technically accomplished art. Even so, it’s an enjoyable enough way to relive the series, and hopefully more chapters will be available soon.

Maria-sama ga Miteru 23-4: We’re already at the start of season two, with Yumi, Yuuki and Rosa Gigantea spending the night at Sachiko’s house for the new year, complete with some “Kashiwagi is HARD GAY” and Sei teasing Yumi scenes that never made it into the anime. As always, this manga complements the anime nicely, but I’m increasingly noticing the poor standard of the artwork compared to the anime character designs, whilst for some reason Yuuki has black hair in this version.

Meine Liebe 7-8: First off, a big thank you to “Meine Liebe Project” for picking this up- it may not be the best manga in the world, but I at least want to read the second half of it. Anyway, chapter seven sees Erika get picked to be Orphe’s dance partner for his grandmother’s party, but much to my disappointment, no actual dancing was seen- surely a whisk or throwaway oversway wouldn’t have been too much to ask for? Wasted opportunities aside, as we go into chapter eight, it becomes clear that Erika’s feelings for Orphe are deepening, but with the likelihood that he may be her brother ever increasing, romance could turn to incest. In fact, since it’s being played so obviously, they probably aren’t related, but we’ll see in the coming chapters.

Nodame Cantabile 94-9: Chiaki’s goal is to move ever onwards and upwards, but when his father shows up at one of his performances, it puts him off guard- and proves that Chiaki isn’t as indifferent towards his parent as he might claim. Meanwhile, poor Nodame is beginning to feel like she is left behind- if Chiaki’s goal is his father, then her goal is Chiaki. Even though the “estranged parent” storyline is nothing new, I’m still intrigued by the continuing development of Chiaki and Nodame’s characters as they enter another growth phase. In particular, Chiaki seems determined to move far ahead in order to accomplish his goals, but at the same time he seems to expect Nodame to be waiting for him, even though she is busy with her own agendas. Are they just not destined to be together?

Oniisama E… 10: The second volume of the angst-driven manga continues as Kaoru gets injured during a basketball match and Nanako fangirls over Saint-Juste some more- it will all be familiar to anime viewers, but told in a much abbreviated form. Now to wait another year or so for the next chapter.

REC 34-6: If there’s one thing you can count on with REC, it’s that if something can go wrong, it will. Take Matsumaru, for example- all he wants to do is help Ao get through a cold, and the next thing he knows she’s undressed him whilst he’s asleep, taken a nude picture for Photoshop purposes, and left the door open so Aka can walk in. Naturally, Ao isn’t just your typical ‘other woman’- she has past issues, but it’s all so painfully predictable- and yet somehow I can’t just give up the series and walk away.

Risky Safety 2-3: I can’t even remember when I read the first chapter of this (memory supplies a date of around August 2006), but I’ve finally tracked down another two instalments of the series. Unlike the anime, the manga isn’t exclusively about Risky and Safety- in fact, they don’t appear at all in these two chapters. Instead, we get two stand-alone stories- one about a puppet girl named Fuzzy who will become a real human if she can just make one boy happy, the other about a mysterious new transfer student who may be attacking fellow classmates with demon blood. As short stories, they are both enjoyable (if much like various similar manga), but the chances of reading more any time soon seem slim.

*COMPLETE* Solanin 10-28: I’m happy to report that at long last I’ve been able to finish this manga, and that it was good enough to be worth the wait. With a spoilerific twist at the end of volume one that I can’t reveal, the second half of the series sees Meiko put in a position where she must make a decision about her future, but will she choose something constructive? I don’t want to give away too much here, but suffice to say that this is one series worth reading, and that a proper review to that effect will appear soon.

Spiral Alive 11-16: Whilst Kanone and Eyes step forth to make an appearance, the story continues to move on, and it all seems to be centred on a particular file that can disclose the identities of the hidden and dangerous Blade Children. It’s good stuff (although I wish Kousuke would let Ryoko help out instead of trying to protect her), even if there are a few too many feints and conflicting motives to get to grips with at the moment.

Spiral 60-66: This is the point I feared, where the series starts to lose its way, for whilst Hizumi makes a move by killing Kanone (NOOOOOO!!!!!!), the truth about Ayumu and Hizumi’s origin seems about to come to light, and it seems something of a cop out. Thanks to Hinano, I long knew it was coming, but even so it’s like that infamous spoiler from Star Ocean 3- you just don’t want to believe it until you’re confronted with it. Oh well, the artwork is still nice.

Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle 172-7: I don’t really know what’s going on in Tsubasa anymore, and the sad fact is that I can’t even say that I particularly care (but I must keep reading, for like Macbeth I’ve come too far to go back now). After randomly showing up, Syaoran-clone decides to pick a fight with the real deal, whilst Fei Wong decides he only wants Sakura for her body (understandable, since her mind isn’t up to much). It’s just a shame that CLAMP have got so into drawing epic fight scenes (large explosions, tiny characters) that they’ve forgotten about the concept of including a plot.

Yotsuba& 49-50: Fifty chapters in and I’m still far from tired of Yotsuba- after all, we still have to see her go to school. In these two chapters, we see Yotsuba still enchanted with the farm after coming home, before she and her father head out to a restaurant for lunch, with the usual hilarious consequences.

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!

In the near future, advances in technology have made it possible to create a virtual overlay of the real world, visible to anyone wearing special ‘dennou’ glasses. Unsurprisingly, the glasses are a big hit with children, but for the youth of Daikoku city, the glasses are about more than just sending email and raising virtual pets- they’re more interested in hacking, exploiting bugs and generally testing the limits of the system. But for Yuuko ‘Yasako’ Okonogi and her friends, allies and rivals, tinkering with cyberspace may reveal more than they ever bargained to find.

Everyone has their list of favourite anime, series so memorable that they made it into the gold or platinum tiers, and for the most part, that list is pretty resistant to change- after all, how often does excellence come along? Nonetheless, for all the mediocrity that was to be found elsewhere, 2007 was to have something very special to offer in the form of Dennou Coil- a series that was not aiming to just score a place amongst the favourites, but seemed determined to top them. And with that in mind, anyone who chooses to read on must expect praise and raving all around as we delve into just what makes Dennou Coil so great.

The ever-blurring line between reality and the virtual world had already been explored in the likes of .hack, Lain and GITS, but for all that these series offered tantalising amounts of food for thought, they never really satisfied the appetite. More was needed, and Dennou Coil, a series some ten years in the making, was about to fill that gap. The idea of being able to play around with a virtual overlay of the world sounded like a lot of fun from the outset, and indeed, in the early episodes, it proved to be just that. Swept along by the enthusiasm of our youthful leads, who couldn’t help but enjoy their antics as they tried to out-hack each other, search for patches of Old Space (older versions of the VR world with unique glitches and properties) or investigate the purported computer viruses known as Illegals? Every TV childhood should be filled with adventures and escapades, but here the possibilities were only limited by the imagination.

Enjoyable as it would have been to spend the entire time in the light and happy world of youthful adventures, right from the start it was clear that Dennou Coil had more to offer. Beneath its entertaining veneer of fun and games lurked something more substantial, a darker storyline that promised much right from the start. The blurring of the real and the virtual left viewers with many questions- just how closely linked had the two become? If someone was to lose their virtual body- or perhaps even their real one- what would happen to the part that was left? Just what kind of secrets and mysteries actually lurked in all the discarded and unattended data of Old Space? What exactly were the hidden functions of the glasses popularised by urban legend? Where other series would be content to just raise these questions and leave the viewer to draw their own conclusions, Dennou Coil went that one step further in actually exploring them- and never once did it disappoint with a cop out “and by the way, we’re running out of time so here’s a quick explanation” style answer.

Amidst all of this, one thing was assured- whatever mood it wanted to convey, Dennou Coil was able to succeed in creating the right atmosphere, thanks in no small part to the series’ incredible attention to detail. From the upbeat and whimsical to suspenseful moments that wouldn’t be out of place in a horror film, every aspect of the series was always so distinctive and well presented that it impressed itself indelibly on the mind where other series tend to fade from memory with time. You don’t just watch the characters from a detached, objective viewpoint, you’re there with them, willing them to escape from whatever may be chasing them, or shedding tears with them over the fate of a virtual pet.

No matter how good the story, no series can attain the platinum level of excellence without strong characters, and happily Dennou Coil is well equipped in this area. Where it could so easily have relied on standard character types such as the pure-hearted lead and the sullen anti-heroine, Dennou Coil actually makes some effort to invest its characters with depth and complexity. As the series progresses, further facets of their personalities are revealed- for example, Isako goes from being a cold loner who antagonises others to a far more sympathetic personality with believable reasons for doing what she does. Even though their development is not as great, the other characters are similarly fleshed out- even minor supporting roles get their chance to shine at various points in the series. The overall effect is that of a coming-of-age story, of learning to move on and leave some things behind whilst reaching out to accept new relationships in their place.

On first glance, Dennou Coil does not appear to be the most visually striking series- in fact, in one of my earliest reviews, I went so far as to call the style rather bland, something which I would now like to retract. There may not be the usual run of bright colours that we’ve come to expect from anime, but on close inspection, Dennou Coil is a series packed with technically accomplished visuals, from subdued yet oddly attractive character designs to imaginative special effects that are well presented without ever seeming fake, jarring or out of place. Of especial note are the special ‘encodes’- computer programs that manifest as circular patterns in cyberspace. The complexity of the encode symbols have a style and beauty all their own, far beyond the magical symbols and transmutation symbols that we’ve seen in certain other series.

Dennou Coil also scores highly in the audio department, with an excellent soundtrack that stands out from the crowd by excelling at a number of different styles. From classical style violin pieces to more lightweight themes, the music of Dennou Coil is always effective in setting the mood of a piece, and although I’ve yet to locate a soundtrack, it seems likely that it would also stand well on its own.

Final Thoughts
Dennou Coil is a series that went from strength to strength throughout its run, never disappointing and somehow even making a recap episode worth watching. Abandon your schedules and all your other anime viewing plans, and move it to the top of the list immediately.
Tier: Platinum

Part I: Wu

Lu Xun: The main character, young, good-looking and virile. Having been taught by the great Zhuge Liang himself, he knows of many techniques, but he doesn’t seem to take the hint when approached by potential lovers.

Sun Ce: A rough and powerful lover, his skills are enhanced by the Lord’s Cube.

Sun Quan: A gentle, effeminate lover- prefers to be submissive.

Taishi Ci: Another rough and direct lover, prefers to use Axe. Not for those who prefer a man with a bit of finesse.

Ling Tong: An enthusiastic if not especially skilled partner, recommended only as a last resort if you can’t get anyone else.

Ling Cao: A solid and knowledgeable lover.

Lu Meng: Although he seems tentative and shy in the bedroom, Lu Meng shows some worthy Spear work once he loosens up. Beware when seducing him, as Taishi Ci considers himself to have first claim.

Zhang Zhao: An older advisor, experienced but not a particularly worthy lover.

Huang Gai: Another older lover; lack of action may have made him rusty, but with the right man his talents will blossom once again.

Gan Ning: Zhou Yu’s bitch; know for his tendency to devote himself to a single master. Show him some new techniques, and he will be putty in your hand.

Zhou Yu: One of the most HARD GAY men of the age, his Flute skills are second to none. Known for choosing his lovers carefully, he refuses to be anything other than dominant, and will not accept that there is anyone larger than him. Proceed with caution to avoid bruising his ego.

Zhou Tai: Quite possibly the long lost brother of Kanbe from Samurai 7; another older lover who is solid yet out of practice.

Zhuge Jin: A dominant lover who is skilled in the ways of Claw and Thread. Sleep with him if you wish, but be aware that he will manipulate his lovers in all sorts of way in return for Pleasure.

Lu Su: Although young and enthusiastic, Lu Su has only a Dagger and so may not prove the most satisfying experience in the bedroom. He also has the embarrassing tendency to shout out “Zhuge Liang!” no matter who he is sleeping with.

Join us next week for parts 2-3, covering Wei and Shu!

This Week in Anime

Forget Big Brother- Pizza Hut is always watching you.

“…HORSE!”

“Come to me, you big stallion!”

“Is this enough fruit for you?”

“Oh no, a yellow thing is kissing a grape!”

“Now let’s all eat some fruit!”

“Hey, when’s Akagi going to show up?”

“Fast food- you are hereby placed under arrest by the healthy fruit federation!”

“Now, Lu Xun, let me demonstrate the correct hold for the tango.”

Anime World Tour: Dennou Coil

Welcome to a future where virtual reality is literally everywhere! For a small investment in a pair of special glasses, you can see and interact with a virtual overlay of the real world. Invest in a cute cyber pet, send e-mails and phone calls to your friends and generally enjoy this next step of the internet, all for a reasonable price! Please note, however, use of illegal hacking items and encodes is strongly discouraged, whilst we would like to dispel any alarm caused by false rumours of dangerous obsolete spaces and virus programs. Rest assured that if you do see anything out of the ordinary, those in authority already know about it and will be working to correct the problem.

Mini-editorial: Recovering the spark of the early days

Veteran anime fans, join me for a moment in remembering the times when anime was new and exciting. In those times, just the sight of anime style designs was a noteworthy event, and there was something almost magical about the vast and largely unexplored world of anime- one which surely must contain the series we’d always hoped for and dreamed of in its depths.

Unfortunately, as time passes and one becomes more familiar with both anime and manga, that initial spark inevitably tends to wear away. Anime is commonplace, even overabundant, to the point where one becomes finicky, critical and less likely to try any old series that comes their way. Old series that were once cherished are now deleted or sold, and the excitement of the early days seems entirely absent. Now, I’ve already discussed the “evolution” of a fan’s relationship with anime in previous Tuesday Rumbles, but one thing I haven’t touched on is how to recover- however briefly- the feelings of embarking on something new and exciting. And since waiting for an ultimate series like Dennou Coil to come along and re-energise the old enthusiasm is something of a hit and miss venture, alternate methods must be found.

Perhaps the best way to briefly feel the magic once again is simply to try something new within the vast boundaries of one’s hobby. Visit blogs and take note of the writers’ favourite anime and manga- especially if they are titles you’ve barely heard of. If anime doesn’t inspire you, move onto manga, and if even that won’t do, try some Japanese RPGs. It may only be a temporary measure to appease a jaded palette, but even the briefest return to those simple times when you didn’t know enough to argue about the deeper symbolism of ef or analyse the characters of SaiMono must be a welcome respite.

Harem of the week: Aoyagi Ritsuka (Loveless)

He lost his memory and worried that he wasn’t the real Ritsuka, but that didn’t stop him inadvertently charming all those around him.

Harem

Aoyagi Seimei: Ritsuka’s apparently deceased brother; seemed rather close to his younger sibling and is quoted as saying he needs only a world with himself and Ritsuka.

Agatsuma Soubi: Seimei’s Fighter, now passed onto Ritsuka- the seductive older man.

Yuiko: The optimistic if none too bright classmate.

Osamu: A side story character and childhood friend.

Shoko: Ritsuka’s psychologist, wishes she was younger so that she could be closer to Ritsuka.

Rivals

Kio: Soubi’s friend- wishes Soubi would concentrate on him instead of chasing children.

Yayoi: Another classmate, he likes Yuiko even though she rejected him, and sees Ritsuka as a rival.

Amusing Search Terms

Nightmare Flames: Burn in heck!

FF7 Red XIII with tifa hentai: It disturbs me that I have a feeling I’ve seen something along these lines.

code geass hentai dougin: In the words of Google, “Did you mean code geass hentai doujin?”

how to keep yourself from being ideal in: I’m too perfect! Tell me how to act flawed!

manga diaper movie: This worries me.

how does harukanaru toki no naka de end?: Poorly.

friends forever(anime): We’ll be friends forever…wait, who are you?

blindfold anime episodes: Some episodes are better when watched whilst blindfolded, I find.

Amusing Spam

“Hello, my name is Gudvin, I like yours blog.”

Thank you, Gudvin.

“fsoft…

It can many times get wearisome to extract the acceptable grannycinema data from the poor….”

The idea of “grannycinema” both perplexes and scares me.

Reviewed this week: Baccano! 11, Clannad 4-5, Dennou Coil 20, Genshiken 2 5-6, Minami-ke 5-6, Moyashimon 3-4, Romeo X Juliet 22, SaiMono II 25-6, Shion no Ou 3-4

…and in manga: Tenshi Nanka Janai 29

Everything else to follow next week.

ANIME

CURRENT SERIES RANKINGS

1. Dennou Coil (1) – they’re coming to get you!
2. Oh! Edo Rocket (2) – I love this show!
3. Kaiji (3) – nice gambling boat
4. SaiMono II (4) – art thief
5. Baccano! (5) – there ain’t no getting offa this train we’re on
6. Minami-ke (7) – Ichigo Mashimaro II
7. Genshiken 2 (6) – secret otaku
8. Moyashimon (10) – cute microbes
9. Shion no Ou (9) – it’s a trap
10. Mokke (11)- magical cat
11. Sketchbook ~full color’S~ (12) – lots of cats
12. Clannad (13) – sad girls in springtime
13. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai (16) – Takano meets Hitler

SLOW RANKINGS

1. Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (-) – I’m in despair!
2. Tetsuko no Tabi (1)- is this ever going to be subbed?
3. Sisters of Wellber (2) – predictable but fun
4. Koutetsu Sangokushi (-) – pure HARD GAY
5. Shounen Onmyouji (3)- mediocre
6. Love GetChu! (4)- light entertainment
7. Romeo X Juliet (-) – WOOD

Baccano! 11: There’s more action, violence and plot development as Szilard makes his move against Maiza, Ladd and Chane continue their battle on top of the train, and Rail Tracer gets up to some rather blood-soaked experimentation with inflicting pain on Czeslaw, all packed into but a single episode of Baccano. The blood and body count seems to be rising all the time, but with everything else that is going on, this is far from senseless violence, and even though there’s the air of futility at being constantly stuck in a train arc, this series is remaining enjoyable overall.

Clannad 4-5: Nagisa is still determined to get the theatre club up and running, but until they get three actual members, the student council won’t even recognise it as an active group, which, unsurprisingly, is something of a setback. After Tomoya and various other named characters try to help, the story switches over to focus on Fuko, whose storyline is so similar to Ayu’s from Kanon that I can’t really bring myself to care about yet another spirit of a girl in a coma. All in all, then, the Clannad effect has completely failed to kick in, leaving me mildly interested but not moved to any extremes of emotion.

“They, like, totally used that in Kanon already!”

Dennou Coil 20: Why does this series ever have to end? When I watch it, nothing else matters (slight exaggeration, perhaps, but let’s go with it)- it truly must be the “best anime evar”. In this episode, Yasako, and ‘Aunty’ go after Haraken, who is somewhere on the mysterious other side, but can they make it before the authorities swoop in and perform a major reformat on the region? Even though this episode didn’t raise the awesomeness as much as previous instalments, it was still consistently good, leaving me desperate to spend much more time in the Dennou Coil universe.

Genshiken 2 5-6: If life imitates art, then anime must surely imitate parody at times, and indeed, Genshiken 2-5 is a perfect example of that. Taking a break from actual story development, the episode features Ogiue fantasising over Sasahara and Madarame having a HARD GAY relationship, complete with gasping sounds and awkward scenes that will ensure that the last thing you want are family members wandering in whilst you watch it. Nonetheless, this is the most entertaining filler episode ever, setting the scene for Ogiue’s desire to produce her own doujinshi.

Onwards to episode six, and it’s time the winter Comi-Fes, which an embarrassed Ogiue decides she must attend in disguise. Naturally, the usual sequence of events ensues when she gets recognised by old friends before bumping into the members of Genshiken, but despite the rather by-the-book nature of events, this is still a worthy entry in the series. I must finally get to reading the manga soon.

How not to fill in a CV.

Kaiji 6: Poor Kaiji- every time he gets a great idea that could end this arc, something else goes wrong. This time around, his plan to buyout all the papers in addition to the rocks founders when no one else wants to play his team, and thinks only get worse when Funai, the guy who scammed him way back in the beginning, decides to get even with his own counter-plot that could scupper Kaiji’s chances forever. I am enjoying the series, but I’m about ready to move onto a new arc now, so I hope this latest hiccup can be resolved soon- and that the slimy Funai gets everything he deserves.

Minami-ke 5-6: If, like me, you groan inwardly every time you hear the words ‘beach episode’, then you’ll be happy to learn that in this age where every anime cliché seems to have been done to death, it is still possible to find a good beach episode- and Minami-ke episode five is one such example. Never before has a visit to the beach been so entertaining, and in keeping with the standard set by the episode, the next instalment takes another worthy take on a tried and tested storyline. This time around, Chiaki’s classmate Makoto manages to annoy her so much that she refuses to invite him around anymore, forcing him to enlist Kana’s aid in posing as the female “Mako-chan” so that he can come to the Minami house and admire Haruka. If ever there was a worthy successor to Ichigo Mashimaro, this has repeatedly proven itself to be it.

Moyashimon 3-4: The influx of cute microbes continues in these two episodes, which begin by introducing a new female character who hates microbes and is obsessed with cleaning and antibacterial products, before moving onto detailed information about making sake (interesting if not especially useful). Next up is an episode which sees Sawaki and the other first years get started on their courses, and with their duties ranging from planting crops to getting up close and personal with the rear end of a cow, all I can say is that I’m glad I never wanted to study agriculture.

Oh my god, they misspelled its! I mean, oh my god, he has his hand in a cow!

Romeo X Juliet 22: The RxJ train is slowly pulling into the station as we get to the last few episode, and this time around the revolution that took so long to instigate grabs an amazingly easy victory against Montague, who pulls a number of amusing faces before being stabbed in the back (literally) by Mercutio. All that remains now is to get the series over with, really.

Saiunkoku Monogatari 25-6: My mixed feelings about SaiMono continue with these two episodes; it’s not that I don’t like what I’m seeing, but with each arc we seem to be going further and further away from the characters who were prominent early on, in favour of introducing yet more cast members- I miss the days when Kouyuu, Seiran, Shuuei and Ryuuki got more than snippets of screen time. Instead, this arc is more about Shuurei interacting with the new characters and learning the sad fact that idealism and hard work, which in principle should be enough to get along in life, is not enough to progress in the world of politics. Can Shuurei possibly learn the ways of tactics and manipulation, or will she retain her Achilles’ heel of naïveté? This is the kind of thing editorials are made from, so expect some random SaiMono thoughts to be thrown together in the near future.

Shion no Ou 3-4: Four episodes in, and it’s still clear that Shion no Ou isn’t entirely sure what it wants to be- one minute it’s in the middle of the murder mystery, with death threats, Shion regaining her memory and stereotypical policemen and reporters, and the next we’re in the middle of a shogi tournament with Shion facing our trap anti-hero. It’s not that I’m not enjoying it, it’s just slightly disconcerting watching what feels like two different series sandwiched together, whilst I have to admit that the shogi elements don’t grab me in the way that HnG’s Go and Akagi’s mah-jongg did.

MANGA

Tenshi Nanka Janai 29: It seems as if the time has come to sort out all the relationship issues for the supporting characters so that the last couple of volumes can focus on the leads and their angst, and so this time around the Takigawa love triangle is pretty much resolved, whilst all other minor characters suddenly express romantic desires in each other that ensure that everyone will ultimately be paired up nicely. If there’s one thing you can count on with this series, it’s that generic shoujo is the name of the game- from start to finish.

Reviewed this week: Baccano 9-10, Dennou Coil 19, Genshiken 2-4, Kaiji 4-5, Minami-ke 3-4, Mokke 4, Moyashimon 2, Rental Magica 3, SaiMono II 22-4, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei 9, Shion no Ou 2, Sketchbook 2-3

…and in manga: HxH 263-4, Nodame 89-93, Tsubasa 170-1

ANIME

CURRENT SERIES RANKINGS

1. Dennou Coil (1) – they’re coming to get you!
2. Oh! Edo Rocket (2) – I love this show!
3. Kaiji (3) – nice gambling boat
4. SaiMono II (4) – art thief
5. Baccano! (5) – eternal life
6. Genshiken 2 (6) – how to get an otagirl
7. Minami-ke (7) – Ichigo Mashimaro II
8. Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (8) – I’m in despair!
9. Shion no Ou (9) – it’s a trap
10. Moyashimon (10) – cute microbes
11. Mokke (11)- magical cat
12. Sketchbook ~full color’S~ (12) – lots of cats
13. Clannad (13) – sad girls in springtime
14. Rental Magica (15)- episode seemed to go on forever
15. Koutetsu Sangokushi (16) – pure HARD GAY
16. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai (17) – Takano meets Hitler
17. Romeo X Juliet (20) – what’s the point anymore?

Baccano! 9-10: It’s back to the train for another two episodes of Baccano, and at long last the tangled web of events and characters is beginning to make sense as individual strands are teased out. Amidst a veritable buffet of bloody violence and surprisingly worthy action scenes, we see the origin of Rail Tracer, watch Dallas and his buddies get a taste of immortality, catch up on everyone’s favourites Isaac and Miria, and generally learn just what everyone was trying to achieve on the train in the first place.

Dennou Coil 19: Have I mentioned how much I love Dennou Coil lately? I don’t really care if I have, because I want to declare my devotion to the series once more (if it keeps this up, it’s going to be my favourite anime of all time, bar none). Now that the series has taken a darker turn, it reminds me a lot of Fantastic Children, with all the quality that that implies. I got shivers down my spine as Yasako and Fumie ran from the humanoid Illegals, carrying Kyoko’s data-less body with them; I cheered for Kyoko as Densuke carried her to safety on his back, and overall, I had a great time watching this episode. I also need to praise the excellent soundtrack, since I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned it before.

Genshiken 2 4: To everyone else in Genshiken, it seems as Tanaka and Ohno must be going out- but are they really an item? Ohno certainly wishes they were, but what will it take for two shy otaku to overcome their inhibitions and actually get together? It’s nice to see the series boldly take some steps forward in terms of story and character development, and even though I knew what was coming from manga spoilers, this was still an entertaining episode. Keep it up, Genshiken, you haven’t failed me yet.

Kaiji 4-5: Life sucks- you think you’ve got the perfect winning strategy for Rock-Paper-Scissors, then someone beats you to it and before you know it, you’re backed into a corner. That’s just what happens to Kaiji in this episode, as his perfect plan is foiled by a man who seems to be his long lost blonde brother. It’s a shame, as Kaiji had a worthy plan, but the cliff-hanger ending leaves me desperate to see how he’ll escape this latest twist.

Fortunately, Triad came up with the goods with a super-fast job on episode five, resolving Kaiji’s latest showdown with blonde clone Kitami. Like Akagi before him, Kaiji doesn’t just figure out how to play the game- he also has an intuitive handle on his opponent’s psychology, and it is this that makes the series about more than just ‘trusting in the heart of the cards’ and winning because you happen to be the main character. Such a climactic showdown could easily have been the end of the arc, but there’s still more to come on the ‘nice boat’, as our intrepid hero and his friends aim for three more stars to complete their required amounts.

Minami-ke 3-4: It’s time for another double bill of Minami-ke, and the Ichigo Mashimaro vibes are still going strong, ensuring that the everyday lives of the Minami sisters are entertaining rather than dull (*cough* Lucky Star). Episode three mainly focuses on Kana, who must not only deal with less than ideal test scores, but is still subject to being misled about classmate Fujioka’s feelings for her; meanwhile, episode four carries the relationship theme along a bit with Haruka getting an admirer, another girl in Kana’s class planning what to do about her own feelings for Fujioka and a random friend of the family turning up at the Minami house when his girlfriend dumps him. There are plenty of amusing moments to be found in all this, from Kana’s attempts at cooking to a TV-drama based videogame that turns out to be a beat-‘em-up.

Mokke 4: Poor Mizuki’s role in life seems to be to get possessed, and this time around she ends up at the mercy of the ‘Laughing Darkness’, a continual sound of laughter that taunts her every time she makes a mistake. Grandpa insists that she and Shizuru find a way out of this by themselves, but will Mizuki ever be free of this irritating laughter? This is another solid episode, if nothing outstanding, cementing Mokke’s middle of the table position.

Moyashimon 2: It’s a hard life when you can see microbes, but it looks like our lead might be able to make some money when a pair of second-years approach him with a business proposition- if he can use his ability to cultivate pure samples of certain microbes, they can sell it for a high price. I have to admit that two episodes in, the supporting characters are generally tiresome, but it is the cute inventiveness of the microbes that keeps me interested.

The long-haired naked guy scares me.

*HIATUS* Rental Magica 3: The latest series to be pushed aside until some unknown later, Rental Magica’s offence was a third episode so unexciting that I could barely bring myself to pay attention to it. Featuring a boy who was put into an ageless sleep when he tried to summon a god and the obligatory sister who wants to put things right, the episode seemed to meander about a lot without ever really proving anything. Characters set out to prove themselves only to need deus ex machina, generic looking gods come down to be exorcised, and other things happen in the spaces when you can’t be bothered to pay attention.

Saiunkoku Monogatari II 22-4: I’ve been incredibly slack with SaiMono lately, but I bit the bullet and sat through a triple bill of raws before heading over to THAT to get a better handle of what was going on. Anyway, episode 22 concludes the art thief arc, with Santa going off and promising to become a man worthy of a marriage proposal (hard to care when he’s so new to the cast) and Karin revealing her identity as a member (and next head) of the Heki family.

23-4 kick us off into a new and better arc, albeit one with even more new characters to keep track of- some bishie, others less so. Together with Suou and new character Riku Seiga, Shuurei has been put in charge of the no-hopers of the officials, the usual group of losers that a plucky lead has to whip into ship. Can Shuurei manage it, however- after all, even those closest to her have to admit that she is somewhat too naïve for the capital. I really hope that Shuurei can come through on her own strength, but what will this coming of age spell for her personality?

City of the Ran clan, or Neo Venezia?

Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei 9: I have to admit that Sensei has not returned to the early heights as I had hoped, meaning that this episode was part-bland, part-entertaining. The first half, in which Sensei encourages the class to list all their mistakes, seemed like a throwaway rehash of a joke that is getting stale, but things picked up in the second half as Sensei became paranoid as to whether anyone in his class was who they claimed to be.

Shion no Ou 2: Shion is ready to step into the world of female pros, but there are those who want her taken out- permanently. I have to admit that I find the creepy stalker guy who seems to be the one who murdered Shion’s parents quite disturbing, so much so that I don’t want him to spend the whole series menacing our heroine. Meanwhile, Saori realises that her shougi is too ‘kind’ and instantly corrects that in a single off screen match, whilst our resident trap is still in it for the money. I’m still not sure what to think overall, although I need to stop expecting ‘Hikaru no Go 2’ from this series.

Rosenberg returns in his latest role.

Sketchbook ~full color’S~ 2-3: It may not be Aria or even Binchou-tan quality, but Sketchbook delivers another instalment of gentle charm in this double bill. First up, Sora sees what happens when she doesn’t follow quite her usual routine for the day, followed by a summer festival episode that will surprise no one. Despite the almost spaced-out “my pace” nature of the lead and the general lack of originality in content, this cat-filled series continues to offer a burst of tranquillity- it won’t blow your mind, but nor will it bore.

MANGA

Hunter X Hunter 263-4: Another short and unfulfilling pair of chapters this time around, in which god mode Netero descends from above to rain shining dragons down on the palace. Not much else to say, really, except to start waiting for Togashi’s next effort.

Nodame Cantabile 89-93: It’s déjà vu all over again as Chiaki rubs the Roux-Marlet Orchestra the wrong way with his demands for perfection- when is he ever going to learn? Meanwhile, Tanya makes a decision about her future; ultimately it’s an enjoyable few chapters that don’t advance the story a great deal but make you want to read onwards.

Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle 170-1: Seishirou is here, but whilst he and Syaoran start fighting over who gets possession of his feather, there are more pointless revelations to be made. Apparently, between Fye and Tomoyo paid the price for letting the group go to the relative safety of Nihon country after Celes, all part of the Great Plot Contrivance that is hopefully going somewhere, someday.

This week, we have “not enough time and inclination to watch all the anime that was released edition”. Enjoy.

Reviewed this week: El Cazador de la Bruja 25-6, Clannad 3, Dennou Coil 17-18, ef 3, Genshiken 2 3, Gundam 00 3, Higurashi Kai 15, Kaiji 3, Mokke 2-3, Shana II 3, Shion no Ou 1

…and in manga: Akagi 6, Bartender 3, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei 11

ANIME

CURRENT SERIES RANKINGS

1. Dennou Coil (1) – the best of the best of the best, sir!
2. Oh! Edo Rocket (2) – I love this show!
3. Kaiji (5) – nice gambling boat
4. SaiMono II (3) – art thief
5. Baccano! (4) – eternal life
6. Genshiken 2 (9) – Comi-Fes
7. Minami-ke (8) – Ichigo Mashimaro II
8. Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (11) – I’m in despair!
9. Shion no Ou (-) – it’s a trap <- new!
10. Moyashimon (12) – cute microbes
11. Mokke (10)- seven flowers of autumn
12. Sketchbook ~full color’S~ (13) – lots of cats
13. Clannad (14) – sad girls in springtime
14. Gundam 00 (15) – double balls
15. Rental Magica (17)- episode seemed to go on forever
16. Koutetsu Sangokushi (18) – pure HARD GAY
17. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai (20) – Takano meets Hitler
18. ef- a tale of memories (16)- tomorrow’s me won’t be the same
19. Shakugan no Shana II (19)- harem+1
20. Romeo X Juliet (23) – what’s the point anymore?
21. El Cazador de la Bruja (24) – it’s over!! <- complete!

El Cazador de la Bruja 25-6: At long last it’s over and we’re free of the boredom of El Cazador, although it wasn’t about to go down without a fight. Episode 25 is the actual conclusion to the plot (such as it is), with the dull final boss fight against Rosenberg, whilst episode 26 is an excruciatingly boring epilogue in which Ellis and Nadie are living quietly until the HARD GAY guys from the first few episodes (now grossly overweight) show up and spur them to start travelling again- this time for the sake of it. What an underwhelming ending to the world’s most incredibly dull series.

Clannad 3: Since I just mindlessly take the advice of commenters, I watched Clannad episode three subbed, and whilst it made some of the humour easier to pinpoint, my lack of need to concentrate as hard rendered large sections of it quite dull. In this episode, Tomoya and Nagisa make some small effort to re-establishing the drama club, Fuko gives Tomoya a wooden star, Nagisa’s mother gets upset over bread-related matters again and comic relief Sunohara is once again the target of amusing violence. The only moment that really hit home as being better in the subbed version was the opening scene about the girl and her mechanical robot.

Dennou Coil 17-18: It’s been a while, so let me start by reaffirming my love for Dennou Coil, one of the few series that can shake off the general apathy I have been feeling towards anime lately. Anyway, this double bill continues the excellence as we inevitably knew it would, as Isako tries to use her kirabugs to create an encode that will open a portal to the mysterious other world- the place where the souls of Kanna and her brother may be trapped. Mere words cannot express how much I love this series and its central mystery, but I desperately need more, and even when the series is over I shall crave fresh exploration of its imaginative world.

*HIATUS* ef- a tale of memories 3: The somewhat distractingly extreme aspect ratio of this episode aside (seriously, what was up with that?), I’ve decided to move ef to the backburner for now- I’m struggling to fit in all this anime as it is, and after this episode, I’m in no hurry to follow this series up. Although the first half, which focused once again on Renji, Chihiro and the subject of memory loss, wasn’t too bad, once we switched over to Hirono and the other characters, I swiftly lost interest. This latter aspect of the series is not only turning into generic harem, but it is hard to see how it can possibly develop. Since the series is only 12 episodes overall, I will probably get back to it some day, but for now there’s no need to clutter up my schedule.

Genshiken 2 3: The Comi-Fes arc comes to a worthy end in this episode, as we see our intrepid team selling their doujinshi with the aid of cosplay and even some crossplay. It’s an enjoyable ‘seller’s take’ on the Comic Festival, but the preview for the next episode promises even better things to come.

*HIATUS* Gundam 00 3: What am I doing, even pretending to be a Gundam fan? I won’t deny I haven’t enjoyed selected episodes of certain series, but to religiously follow a Gundam series week by week is a step too far- especially when this instalment was so boring that I can barely remember what happened. I think I’ll let a good lot of episodes build up before I get back to this one.

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai 15: As I’d hoped, we cover more of Takano’s back story in this episode, explaining how she escaped the clutches of the generically cruel orphanage and came to live with Doctor Takano Hifumi and study Hinamizawa Syndrome. Although she was quite a sympathetic and hard done by character in the past, however, it does nothing to change the fact that in the present she is a villain of gwakaka class, whilst Hinamizawa Syndrome can never be anything other than ridiculous.

Kaiji 3: Poor Kaiji- no sooner had he formed a group of three to fight the odds together than one of his new allies tries to cheat him, although as it turns out he fails and Kaiji lets him rejoin. It seems, however, that this desperate situation has honed our hero’s tactical ability, and through the fog of desperation the slimmest thread of hope appears- but will it be enough to overcome the odds? Since Kaiji is the hero, we can assume he will indeed win the star chips needed to get off the boat, but never before has the build up to a game of rock paper scissors been so absorbing. Bring on the next episode.

Mokke 2-3: Mokke continues to entertain in these next two episodes; first an instalment in which Mizuki is possessed by a being claiming to be a god- and whatever he is, he certainly seems to want to help. Next up is an instalment in which Shizuru gets worried about a being she can see attached to her best friend’s brother- both tales are fairly standard and predictable, but with a touch more thoughtfulness than the average series would give them.

Shakugan no Shana II 3: Laziness caused me to watch this episode subbed after all, but sadly it did not really enhance the experience. Hecate-a-like Konoe has joined school as a new transfer student, and whilst she immediately takes the role of shy and clueless harem member, Shana becomes determined to see if she is indeed an enemy. Naturally, all evidence points to Konoe being no more than she seems, which as we viewers could have guessed, is all part of a clever plan. I still feel compelled to stick with this series through franchise loyalty, but it will probably go on hiatus soon.

*NEW* Shion no Ou 1: In the memory of Hikaru no Go, I’ve decided to whet my appetite for Asian board games with Shion no Ou, the tale of a mute shougi genius who witnessed the bloddy deaths of her parents seven years ago. Although it doesn’t yet seem to be certain as to whether it wants to focus on the murder mystery or straight up shougi playing, this is still good enough to warrant a fair chance, especially with such unique characters as a trap who is trying to become a female pro (apparently faster than becoming a male pro) to earn money for his sick mother.

MANGA

Akagi 6: Akagi continues to dominate against Ryuuzaki, but there’s a nasty surprise waiting in the wings- rep player Yagi. Will this first time player be able to stand up to a yakuza pro, or will he crumble and cause the series to end prematurely? Well, it’s hardly difficult to guess what’s coming, and reading in small graphically inferior chunks isn’t as satisfying as marathoning 26 episodes of anime, but a little bit of Akagi here and there will help keep the GAR meter ticking over.

Bartender 3: The eponymous Bartender returns for a third outing in this chapter, in which two very different people show up at his bar- one a hard-working office lady, the other a young man who has tried and failed to get into the acting scene. Could it be that the same drink will help them both find their path in life? Yes, it’s that simple, but it is the straightforwardness and brevity of this chapter that makes it far more enjoyable than the animated version was- these are just satisfyingly short vignettes rather than painfully drawn out experiences.

Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei 11: Another short chapter, this time about tanabata wishes, prompting Sensei to reflect how they may as well write down their most hopeless desires. It’s not the nest chapter I’ve read, but again this series needs to be read in more than one chapter chunks.

Reviewed this week: Baccano! 6, Dennou Coil 15-16, El Cazador 23, Mononoke 8, Mushi-Uta 10, RxJ 20-1, SaiMono II 19, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei 7, Seirei no Moribito 23, Shounen Onmyouji 18, Sisters of Wellber 9

…and in manga: Chokotto Sister 42-4, Tsubasa 167

ANIME

CURRENT SERIES RANKINGS

1. Dennou Coil (1) – the best of the best of the best, sir!
2. SaiMono II (2) – recap, damn it
3. Oh! Edo Rocket (3) – bizarre yet fun
4. Baccano! (5) – I don’t know what’s going on, but I like it
5. Mushi-Uta (6) – best episode yet
6. Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (4) – I’m in despair!
7. Mononoke (7) – incense
8. Darker than Black (8) – caring at minimum
9. Doujin Work (9) – this is becoming a guilty pleasure
10. Koutetsu Sangokushi (10) – pure HARD GAY
11. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai (11) – evil uncle
12. Seirei no Moribito (12) – Flashback Mode
13. Romeo X Juliet (13) – what’s the point anymore?
14. El Cazador de la Bruja (14) – useless Nadie

SLOW RANKINGS

1. Tetsuko no Tabi (2)- demoted to slow
2. Sisters of Wellber (3) – predictable but fun
3. Shounen Onmyouji (1)- now getting its own musical!?
4. Love GetChu! (4)- light entertainment

Baccano! 6: You’d think I’d have some idea of what was going on in this series by now, but with each passing episode I actually have less of a grasp of what’s meant to be happening. This time around, there is a confrontation and some bloodiness on the train, before catching up with various other characters such as Ennis and the past adventures of Isaac and Miria. I wish I could say more, but my grasp of events in this series is slipping away, even though my enjoyment remains consistent.

Dennou Coil 15-16: Dennou Coil, no matter how many times I pledge my worth to you in these paragraphs, it isn’t enough, so let me once again dedicate my life to serving as your high priestess. I now feel unworthy for even fearing that the series could not continue to outdo itself, for in this pair of episodes the bar is raised once again, as we learn more about old space, 4423 and the deepening twists and mysteries of the Dennou world. Both Yasako and the deceased Kanna could use a power called Imago to detect old space- but was that the reason Kanna died? Is it true that those who go too far into old space and remove their glasses lose their souls along with their Dennou bodies? Is there any reason why I can’t visit the reality of this most excellent anime? I want to know and watch everything this series has to offer, but at the same time, I never want it to end.

El Cazador de la Bruja 23: There is a fairly well-known quote that goes “Parsifal – the kind of opera that starts at six o’clock and after it has been going three hours, you look at your watch and it says 6:20” and with a few changes here and there, this saying could surely be used for El Cazador. Every five minute interval of this show stretches into eternity, until it seems as if it must surely never end before you expire and quit this earth once and for all. Anyway, somehow this episode was completed, in which Ellis heals Nadie’s HP, Blue Eyes offers plenty of exposition, and Rosenberg takes a plane to the final boss location (begging the question as to why he didn’t just fly there with Ellis in the first place). Watching this is a pain, but I’m going to love ranting about it in due course.

Mononoke 8: An interesting new arc begins in this episode, in which four men gather for an ‘incense battle’ in which correctly identifying various scents will win them the hand of the contest setter, Lady Ruri. When one of the men fails to show up, however, a certain medicine seller takes his place, in search of a Mononoke he believes is close by. Even disregarding the fact that there is more going on, the incense game in itself is interesting in its novelty- I almost want an Incense Battlers anime to come out.

Mushi-Uta 10: Our three leads have started finding out the truth about each other, and now it’s time for the revelations to continue as Rina discovers that Daisuke is actually Kakkou, whilst Shiika wonders if her status as a Host means that she should stay away from the people she cares about. Along the way, we learn more about the shadowy GARDEN (echoes of FF8, anyone?), learn that the evil bishie knew everything from the start and was trying to manipulate everyone, and witness a confrontation between Rina and Daisuke. The latter is somewhat predictable- why bother pitting main characters against each other when they are both protected from death status? Aside from this predictable turn of events, however, this is a generally good episode- roll on the finale and then season two.

Romeo X Juliet 20-1: As we approach the final stretch, the plot is finally moving in Romeo X Juliet, but naturally, it is a case of too little, too late. Whilst Juliet learns that she may have to become a tree to save the world, Romeo’s Harvest Moon dreams crumble to dust, forcing him to return home and confront the city-burning Montague. It all seems like an exercise in pointlessness, with time wasted on such trifling aside as “oh, by the way, Benvolio and Cordelia have been having a relationship off screen and are now getting married”, but it is a slight improvement on the long middle stretch.

Saiunkoku Monogatari II 19: After the disappointment of recap last week, SaiMono is slowly beginning to build into a new arc, introducing two new characters and seeing Yuushun sworn in as prime minister- complete with ten conditions designed to prevent the abuse of power. Once, Yuushun seemed like a mere one rung above generic, but with his ten resolutions he secures himself in the realms of 1337, whilst the new characters also look interesting, even if the cast is getting a little unmanageable by this point.

Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei 7: As a mere gaijin, I felt unable to get the best out of this episode- whereas the many references of this type of show don’t usually bother me, this time around I floundered a little and was unable to appreciate much of the humour. Fortunately, whilst the doujinshi scene and the later part with the pi prodigy and other people being lauded didn’t do much for me, I did gain a measure of entertainment from the coloured chicks (nice PPD reference there). I hope I’m not going off this series, but perhaps I just need to reschedule when I watch it to reduce distraction.

Seirei no Moribito 23: Last episode, I barely noticed when all of winter passed in the space of a few minutes, but this time around I tried to be ever so slightly more engaged as the parade of dullness marched on. Whilst Chagum grows up enough to start wearing a new costume, the Tanda x Balsa angle is played a bit more (leave it alone, please, it’s too late for that now) before something finally happens when Shuga and the others find Chagum in time to help defend against La Lunga’s attack. I have to admit the closing scene was one of the more engaging parts for a while, but really by now I just want to get it over with.

Shounen Onmyouji 18: A rather pointless episode this time around, in which Masahiro’s previously unmentioned older brother and his family are menaced by a baboon demon, and Mokkun starts acting strangely- simply because he doesn’t like children. Although it initially appears to be the start of a new arc, this episode ends up being a standalone story, and one so pointless that you have to wonder at its inclusion. The only thing of note is the proper introduction of another Spirit Summon, Kouchin, but this series really needs a second season.

Wellber no Monogatari ~Sisters of Wellber~ 9: it’s an entirely predictable episode this time around, with Tina making a promise to stop stealing, only for a female thief to show up soon after. Naturally, we in the audience know that Tina is innocent, but Rita cannot help suspecting her on the weight of some apparently damning evidence. It’s all content we’ve seen before, but staying in this sort of safe territory is what makes Wellber a decent piece of light entertainment.

MANGA

Chokotto Sister 42-44: Over the last few chapters, it’s been tempting to assume that the mangaka had grown up a little and thrown out the fanservice in favour of a proper slice-of-life/romance combination, but alas, it seems he ran out of ideas and reverted to type in this chapter, which introduces new nipple shots and a new character in the form of Haruma’s cousin. Having run away from home, said cousin promptly blackmails Haruma into letting her stay with him (after all, does he want his family to know he’s living with a little girl that ‘Santa’ gave him?), before establishing herself as the ‘forward’ harem member type. I’m not too enthralled about this new twist in events, but since chapters come through at a trickle, I shall keep reading.

Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle 167: Okay, so in the last chapter Kurogane gave up his left arm so that everyone could get out of Celes (I totally missed that), and now he and Fye are in Nihon country with Tomoyo- and from the looks of things, Fye wants to end their HARD GAY relationship now that he knows Kurogane is secretly STRAIGHT for Tomoyo. In the meantime, Syaoran (whichever one it is) has just met with Watanuki, but why? What’s going on? Does the fact that we’re visiting the home worlds of the leads mean that the series is finally going to end? And if it does, how will CLAMP earn their money?

Reviewed this week: Aria OVA, Darker than Black 22-3, Dennou Coil 14, Higurashi Kai 10-11, Koutetsu Sangokushi 13, Mushi Uta 9, Oh! Edo Rocket 7-15, SaiMono II 18, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei 6, Seirei no Moribito 22

…and in manga: Aria 26, REC 33, Shinigami no Ballad 3

ANIME

CURRENT SERIES RANKINGS

1. Dennou Coil (1) – recap, but still good
2. SaiMono II (2) – recap, damn it
3. Oh! Edo Rocket (5) – bizarre yet fun
4. Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (3) – I’m in despair!
5. Baccano! (4) – I don’t know what’s going on, but I like it
6. Mushi-Uta (6) – best episode yet
7. Mononoke (7) – masks, and lots of them
8. Darker than Black (8) – caring at minimum
9. Doujin Work (9) – this is becoming a guilty pleasure
10. Koutetsu Sangokushi (10) – pure HARD GAY
11. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai (11) – evil uncle
12. Seirei no Moribito (12) – Flashback Mode
13. Romeo X Juliet (13) – what’s the point anymore?
14. El Cazador de la Bruja (14) – useless Nadie

*ONE-OFF* Aria the OVA ~Arietta~: Although OVA sequels to TV series are usually a disappointment, I had every faith the Aria would be different, and indeed, as usual it came up with the goods. A quietly introspective tale which sees Akari worrying about the day she will head Aria Company, and Alicia thinking back to her early days as a prima, Arietta is basically like a TV series with higher production values, so enjoyable and good looking that although I wanted to hammer the screencap key, I could do more than just sit and drink it all in.

Darker than Black 22-3: Whilst episode 22 rounds off the penultimate arc with Mao getting captured by Evening Primrose (prompting a most illogical resuce from Hei), episode 23 pushes forth into the final arc with a look into Hei’s past and various motivations revealed. The trouble is that it now feels as if all the layers of depth and mystery that once made the series seem so good have all been abandoned in favour of a conventional ending that seemingly wraps everything up without really answering anything.

Dennou Coil 14: I’m no fan of recap, and indeed I was longing for something a little more exciting after waiting so long for the series’ return, but it’s a credit to the sheer brilliance of Dennou Coil that this is by far and away the best recap episode I’ve ever seen, and is also a lot better than non-recap episodes of many series. Anyway, this episode is framed by Fumie’s brother Akira as he collects data on his sister and her friends via his miniature cyberpet Mizzet (such a cute little cat), finishing up with some story development as Haraken encounters a mysterious boy who may well be 4423. Now roll on episode fifteen, for never again must I go without Dennou Coil for so long.

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai 10-11: After yet more campaigning, Satoko finally finds the courage to ask for help and is saved from Evil Uncle Teppei, but even though it seems as if fate has been cheated, disaster is just around the corner as Takano finally reveals her evil nature. Since I knew this was coming, I can’t say I really care, although I do find the whole ‘Hinamizawa Syndrome’ element of the story disappointingly ridiculous, whilst Satoko’s abuse storyline continues to annoy.

Koutetsu Sangokushi 13: There’s even more jealousy, HARD GAY love and pure cheesiness in the latest episode of Koutetsu, which sees Wu’s army idle around and do nothing whilst Zhou Yu and the Pleasure Rangers head off to fight Wei (that’s seven people against an entire army). Meanwhile, Lu Xun is having some teenage tantrums because Zhou Yu had sex with Zhuge Liang ordered Zhuge’s death, but after a whole episode of his petulant attitude, he ultimately has to accept that Zhou Yu is a destined main character when he too gains the power of the Pleasure Rangers. As you can tell, there’s no point even reviewing this series seriously- when you’ve got sentai teams in ancient China, it’s clear no one is meant to watch it with a straight face.

Mushi-Uta 9: Mushi-Uta is back, and whilst its two week hiatus has thrown the momentum off for me, this is still an enjoyable enough “it had to happen eventually” episode. Yes, Shiika has finally plucked up the courage to go out on a date with Lead, which inevitably leads not only to Rina finding out about their relationship, but sees Lead discovering that the two lead girls are both Hosts.

*CATCH-UP* Oh! Edo Rocket 7-15: Nine episodes later, and I absolutely love Oh! Edo; this is the show that has everything- comedy and craziness nestle alongside action, darker elements and surprisingly, an actual plot. From an episode where several characters accidentally get turned into cats to an enemy with a penchant for draining the blood of young women, everything about this series is memorable, enjoyable and addictive- why did I take so long to watch this series? If anyone hasn’t started this yet, clear a space in your schedule.

It’s nice to know they’re thinking of us.

Saiunkoku Monogatari II 18: I waited for weeks whilst SaiMono went on hiatus and showed recaps, and now we get back to the main series just in time for a –recap episode? I thought I must have read it wrong, but even though this counts as part of the main series, it is indeed a recap, framed by Ryuuki, Shuuei and Kouyuu discussing recent events in Sa Province. I’m a little sad to see Ryuuki so completely reduced to a comic relief character here, although for the most part I just let my brain go into idle mode as the flashbacks played. At least next episode looks to be introducing Suou and Seiga, even if the ‘golden tanuki statue’ seen in the preview looks a bit fillerific.

Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei 6: At long last, another episode of Sensei is available, and whilst it isn’t up to the level of the first few, it is still very welcome. In the first half, Kafka visits the doctor, only to discover that he is Nozomu’s brother, which somehow leads to all the girls visiting the Itoshiki family home during a rather bizarre arranged marriage ceremony in which mere eye contact corresponds to tying the knot. It’s delightfully random, but somehow it just didn’t take my fancy as much as the earlier episodes.

Seirei no Moribito 22: After a touch more action in the flashback arc, Seirei returns to Sitting and Talking for the remainder of the episode, with Balsa having a nice long chat with Chagum, before Chagum almost gets trapped in a vision of Nayug and Tanda steps in to effectively confess his feelings to Balsa- oh yes, and there’s also a Chagum training montage with obligatory insert song. Unfortunately, I’m past the point of really caring, and much as I hate to admit to sloppiness, I did end up scrolling through a Makai Kingdom FAQ whilst the mid-section of the episode was playing.

MANGA

Aria 26: The sixth volume of Aria commences in style, with another segment I recall from the anime in which Alicia and Athena relate how the three senior unidines met and trained together just as their juniors do now. It’s getting hard to review Aria now, though, because what can I do every week except gush over how much I love it? The artwork is beautiful, the stories are charming, touching and all sorts of other complimentary adjectives- in short, it’s one of my favourites,

REC 33: The nascent love triangle heats up in this chapter, in which Matsumaru collapses from exhaustion in the middle of an errand for the animation studio, causing Aka to take over for him- even if this means confronting her sister Ao. Naturally, as typically happens in this situation, Ao is willing to forgive her estranged sister- but only if she hands over her boyfriend. As always, it’s a formulaic and predictable story, but just worthy enough for me to keep reading.

Shinigami no Ballad 3: The first volume of SnB’s manga incarnation comes to an end here (and yes, the chapters are extra long), as Momo visits a dying grandmother who wishes to relate a tale of a young girl who waited six years for her first love to return, only to find that in the process of growing up the reality had become very different from her dream guy. It’s a storyline that’s been used before, but somehow this manga makes it good nonetheless- in fact, I think I appreciate this series and its healing qualities much more as a manga than in animated form. Hopefully the novels are even better.

Reviewed this week: Baccano! 2, El Cazador 19, Darker than Black 19, Dennou Coil 12-13, Doujin Work 5, Higurashi Kai 6, Koutetsu Sangokushi 9-10, Mononoke 3, Mushi-Uta 6, RxJ 17, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei 5, Seirei no Moribito 18

…and in manga: Elfen Lied 77, Gunslinger Girl 32, Mozart Doesn’t Sing Lullabies 5-8, Spiral 46-7, Tennai 28, xxxHOLiC 10.6, 11.1-2

ANIME

CURRENT SERIES RANKINGS

1. Dennou Coil (1) – no more until the 25^th? Don’t make me wait!
2. SaiMono II (2) – who will win Eigetsu’s heart?
3. Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (3) – mail mail
4. Darker than Black (4) – promising arc
5. Baccano! (5) – flying pussyfoot
6. Mononoke (6) – a new arc
7. Mushi-Uta (7) – stabilising in the pretty good zone
8. Tetsuko no Tabi (8)- train adventures
9. Doujin Work (9) – this is becoming a guilty pleasure
10. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai (12) – Hanyu makes it all better
11. Koutetsu Sangokushi (11) – not what I was expecting
12. Romeo X Juliet (10) – mother died, and Father is Montague
13. Seirei no Moribito (13) – an exercise in monotony
14. El Cazador de la Bruja (14) – am I building up an immunity?

Baccano! 2: Baccano is turning into another of those series where you can’t really get to grips with the massive cast or even what’s going on, but nonetheless, you find yourself enjoying it anyway. This episode begins with Isaac and Miria questing for gold, only to give up after nine months and settle for a robbery instead. As part of their getaway, they (and numerous other named characters) board the ill-fated train amusingly known as the Flying Pussyfoot, but with so many hidden agendas for the various characters to carry out, it is going to be anything but a dull ride.

El Cazador de la Bruja 19: Maybe I’m just building up an immunity, but even though there was hardly anything good about this episode of El Cazador, it didn’t feel as deathly boring as usual. When Ricardo and Lirio’s car breaks down, Nadie and Ellis tow them in for repairs, before the quartet ends up going to a restaurant for dinner- all part of a plan by Blue-Eyes’ fickle superiors to catch Ellis. Apart from a moment where Nadie actually manages to defeat an opponent with some fancy kicks, the vast majority of this episode is throwaway, but I’m so used to this twenty-five minute dose of dullness that I can now sit through it without being in danger of boredom-induced death.

Darker than Black 19: Yet another new arc begins, and this time around, Hei is asked to infiltrate a religious order headed up by a Contractor, whilst Huang’s back story is finally brought out into the light. Although it would have been better to include this earlier in the series, this is at least a stronger and more enjoyable arc than the previous one, even if (like me), you don’t hold Huang in particularly high regard. Sadly, however, a good episode is let down by a rather poor ending, in which all the preparation is blown by an unprofessional mistake.

Dennou Coil 12-13: Dennou Coil, I forswear all other things to worship at your feet, for you are the anime I have spent my life waiting for. In episode twelve, Daichi’s hunt for illegals ends up with he and the others getting covered in virtual ‘beards’ that turn out to be rapidly evolving civilisations. We’ve all seen that “life evolves in a pot of yoghurt and the human creator becomes its god” before, but Dennou Coil breathes new life into the concept, making it simultaneously humorous and thought-provoking. Thirteen continues the excellence, as Denpa begins taking care of an Illegal, in yet another thought-provoking story with a heart-wrenching ending. It’s good to see a series that is brave enough not to cop out with a happy ending, whilst slowly building up the complexity of the Illegals. I need this series to go on forever.

Doujin Work 5: When Najimi feels that something is missing from her life, she comes to the conclusion that what she needs is a rival to compete against- and naturally, the plot is by no means slack in providing one. Meanwhile, Justice begins to get paranoid after hearing that Najimi and Hoshi went to a hotel room together- did they really go all the way? Once again, this is an amusing episode that maintains the series’ reputation for ‘easy watching’.

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai 6: After struggling through the first five episodes, I feel that I’ve finally been rewarded with one that I actually enjoyed, as a new arc begins and Rika finally explains what’s been going on with regards to the repeating sequence of events. We also get our first proper encounter with Rika’s previously invisible friend Hanyu, and with renewed effort now being made to change the course of events, my interest has been rekindled.

Koutetsu Sangokushi 9-10: It’s been a while since I saw any Koutetsu Sangokushi, but upon getting back to it, I can’t say I was really expecting what was going to come next. First up we have episode nine, a somewhat pointless training episode in which our named characters fulfil the usual shounen series training tasks (I’m not entirely sure why as two of them wanted to be civil servants anyway), before the ‘plot’ moves ahead again in episode ten as Zhou Yu ignores Wu’s trained military might in order to assign vital missions to our named newbies. I’m not entirely sure the series itself knows where it’s going since it continually meanders around in the realms of the ridiculous and implausible, but it’s always good parody material.

Mononoke 3: I must not have been paying sufficient attention last week, because I didn’t realise that the arc was supposed to have been concluded, but no matter, for this episode begins a new story, and one that I’m enjoying more than the last. Featuring the return of the girl from Ayakashi’s Bake Neko arc, this episode sees a new disparate bunch board a ship together, only for a sabotage compass to lead it off course and right into the middle of a bunch of deadly ayakashi. Who was it who led the ship astray, and will even the medicine seller be able to get them out alive? Compared to the first arc, the pacing feels a lot better, and this time around I’m actually interested in the story instead of struggling to understand what the hell is going on.

The medicine seller shares my opinion on Ayakashi.

Mushi-Uta 6: I’m not entirely sure what to make of this episode (although the same could be said of the entire series so far); there are elements I like, such as the growing friendship between Shiika and Rina, but then there are other parts where minor characters randomly appear and I have no idea what’s even meant to be going on. It may well be worth rewatching it all in one go once the whole series has been released, although of course I know that I will never get around to doing that.

Romeo X Juliet 17: There are plenty of revelations this episode, as Tybalt and Montague have their pasts revealed, and one unimportant character loses their life. It’s better than the last few episodes in terms of content, but that still doesn’t make it particularly good, whilst the threat that Tybalt could lose everything that makes him worthy in favour of becoming a standard anti-hero is all too present. This shouldn’t be Romeo X Juliet, this should be Tybalt X Horse.

Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei 5: All the players have been introduced, and now it’s time for Sensei to get on with the story (such as it is), in the random segment fashion we’ve come to know from the likes of Pani Poni Dash! The first half of the episode sees Sensei fall into despair at the number-crunching world, prompting him to assign his own measure of a person’s status via how much money they would be willing to lend him; whilst the second half features a hot spring visit that causes everyone to be “detoxified” of their personality problems. As always, the series takes a concept and runs with it, ending up in strange but amusing new places; I almost feel as if it was designed to appeal to my quirky and random side.

Seirei no Moribito 18: As a change from sitting and talking, in this episode our characters hold conversations and discussions from a seated position. Whilst Balsa and the others visit a Yakue village in the hopes of finding out more about the Nyunga Ro Chaga, Shuga and the Eight Evil Men decide to have a nice sit down to discuss their next move. As always, this is a dull and monotonous episode that could give El Cazador a run for its money, and chances of improvement are slim at best.

MANGA

Elfen Lied 77: As the latest confrontation between Bandou and Lucy heats up, Nana arrives to help take Lucy down in a blood drenched chapter that sees one character lose an arm and another apparently die. It’s chapters like these that give the series its bloodthirsty reputation, but ultimately it’s a confrontation that’s been repeated many times without a proper conclusion, and so some sort of proper plot advancement would be more welcome.

Gunslinger Girl 32: Volume six concludes in this chapter, in which the newly renamed Petrushka must adjust to her life as a cyborg. The memory of her past life is gone and in its place is the conditioning, but how will she develop under Alessandro’s unique method of training? As always, the series remains as good as ever, so much so that you don’t even notice that it’s been a while since we caught up with Henrietta and the others. Roll on, volume seven.

Mozart Doesn’t Sing Lullabies 5-8: I’m not sure how I let myself get four chapters behind, but once I realised what had happened, the time for a catch-up was at hand. In these four chapters, Beethoven continues to probe into the deaths of Mozart and Flies, but even as more people connected to the case die in unnatural ways, our lead finds himself the target of a malicious poisoner. Just who is behind this, and what secret is so great that someone has to kill to protect it? As always, the series remains solid in both the content and artwork department, and hopefully more will be forthcoming soon.

Spiral 46-7: After much discussion, Ayumu and the others finally put their plan into motion, and whilst things are now going at a pace slow enough to ensure nothing really happens in these two chapters, it still remains interesting. Has Ayumu managed to defy the scenario Kiyotaka set up, or is this what his big brother planned all along? The only way to find out is to keep reading.

Tenshi Nanka Janai 28: Just as it seems Mamirin and Takigawa can get together and put aside one lot of angst, more arises in the tangled ‘other woman’ situation with Shino- she may have broken up with Takigawa, but how will she react to someone else getting together with the guy she likes so soon after she let him go? Meanwhile, Midori gets her angel wing pendant back, but just when will the wayward Akira return to her?

xxxHOLiC 10.6, 11.1-2: Whilst Watanuki recovers from his injuries, Yuuko gives him a very special egg- one that can hatch into anything he wants. In return for all she has done for him, Watanuki hatches it out into a bird for Himawari, but what he doesn’t know is that this is the egg that Sakura sent to Yuuko, and that there is a second magic-less egg still with her. Visually, xxxHOLiC is as stylish as ever, but with nothing really happening other than some Tsubasa references in these chapters, we’ll have to wait a bit longer to see another plot arc.