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

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

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

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

ANIME

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MANGA

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

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

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

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

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

It’s not unusual to have a stone ornament in the front garden, but in the case of the Yoshinaga family, theirs is a little different- it can actually come alive! Known as Gargoyle, this intelligent gatekeeper was created by alchemy, and his duty is to keep the Yoshinaga family safe from all the other weird and wonderful characters that infest the local neighbourhood.

It can be nice to have a change from the norm, and way back when the series began, Gargoyle seemed to be just that- a charming little series that offered something different from the usual range of anime settings. With an appealing blend of action and fantasy, not mention a whole range of colourful characters led by the calmly indomitable Gargoyle, each episode seemed like a breath of fresh air. After all, where else could you see a phantom thief who uses playing cards, or a helmet that lets the wearer talk to flowers?

Unfortunately, some concepts simply do not have much in the way of longevity, and as it turns out, Gargoyle is one of them. It may have run to nine volumes in novel form, but even a mere thirteen episodes seems too much for the series to cope with, and as it moves into its second half, you may begin to realise that you’ve had more than enough. Without any real main plot to tie things together, the series quickly becomes formulaic, and what begins as a feeling of tediousness each time the seventeen minute mark is reached and you realise that it’s time for the obligatory fight between the heroes and the villain of the week soon evolves into an unbroken monotony that encompasses the entire episode- until finally, the whole thing culminates in a lacklustre finale that makes the average anime ending actually look good.

As with the story (or lack of it), Gargoyle also suffers from problems with its characters- problems that become ever more apparent as the series progresses. What initially seems like a varied and interesting cast gradually loses it lustre, with the worthy characters- such as Gargoyle himself or the quiet and effeminate Kazumi- gradually becoming overshadowed by the more irritating ones. Even the lead, Futaba, who initially seems bearable, has a short temper and aggressive streak that quickly ensures she becomes a one joke personality, whilst others, such as the Engrish speaking Indian alchemist Hisham or the over-the-top members of the local shopping district, never deserved to be given any screen time whatsoever.

If there is one area in which Gargoyle can be said to consistently shine, it is in the visual department. With its bright colours, clean animation and cute character designs, Gargoyle at least always looks good, even when the content being animated is not particularly appealing. Action scenes are also reasonably well done, although the range of attacks used be each character is somewhat limited. As far as audio goes, the background music ranges from the catchy to the forgettable, whilst the OP and ED will be a little too saccharine for most, and are only saved by their energetic video sequences.

Final Thoughts
Like a bottle of fizzy drink, Gargoyle may taste good at first, but after a time it inevitably goes flat, leaving you with little desire to finish it off. The early episodes are good fun, but even watching this relatively short series over the course of an entire year cannot disguise the fact that it gets tiresome far too quickly.

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

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

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

ANIME

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

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

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

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

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

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

MANGA

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

HORSE is a great stress reliever.

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

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

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

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

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

I need to take a moment to discuss this figure of Eri. It’s not a figure I like, and I wouldn’t have given it a second thought had ANN not written a surprisingly positive review about it. Am I the only one who dislikes this figure? It doesn’t capture the essence of Eri for me at all, and even if I had no idea who she was, the only thing I would like about it is the skirt.

Reviewed this week: Aria 20-21, Iroha 16, Busou Renkin 23, Chevalier 15-16, Deltora 4, Gargoyle 10, Ichigo Mashimaro OVA 1, Kanon 23, Nodame 8, SaiMono 34

…and in manga: MariMite 22, School Rumble 216, Tsubasa 146, xxxHOLiC 10.3

ANIME

Aria the Natural 20-21: It’s been far too long since I last visited the charming and addictive world of Aria, and these two episodes serve to reawaken my love of the series and remind me of everything I’ve missed in the months without it. Whilst episode twenty sees the tale of an eerie woman who spirits away undines seem about to come true for Akari, she gets a rather more pleasant surprise in twenty-one when Cait Sith sends her a ticket for the mystical Galaxy Railway. Despite the long wait for these episodes, the power of Aria has in no way diminished, and it is a pleasure to once again feel the old longing to visit Aqua for oneself (if only that were possible).

Aika begins to worry that Akari has a crush on President Aria.

Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto 16: Having praised the series so consistently for weeks, it is an unfortunate turn of events to admit that this is one of the weakest episodes so far, featuring as it does a largely throwaway story that has little point to its existence. Akidzuki and Kakunojo’s party is doubled in size when they pick up not only the historically well known Hijikata, but also a young man named Sounosuke, who proves to not only be the standard rookie personality, but also a one shot character whose final fate most viewers will probably care less about. Meanwhile, Kakunojo slips back into the disappointing weak and useless female role, with her only merit coming from the times when she is possessed by her Moontear sword. Add in a poorly chosen order of scenes which makes the story feel as if it is erratically jumping from one point to the next, and this episode’s chief worth lies in its parody potential.

Busou Renkin 23: These days, it seems that getting towards the end of the series means that you have to have an ‘episode off’ from the main storyline before you enter the final arc, and this is that episode. Kazuki and Tokiko return to school after the summer vacation, the supporting characters get some screen time, budget saving stills are used, and the Tokiko x Kazuki angle is finally pushed- all in all, a somewhat dull selection. Still, next episode we’ll be going to the moon, so whatever happens before that can only seem sensible and grounded in comparison.

Le Chevalier d’Eon 15-16: Having watched the end of the series in raw, it’s slightly strange to go back to the England arc, but nonetheless, Chevalier is good enough to merit such treatment. Although the best is yet to come, this pair of episodes is solid enough, featuring the end of the creepy if undeveloped Whitehead and the effective separation of Durand from his comrades as it becomes clear that those in power have darker agendas than initially assumed.

Deltora Quest 4: After yet another lacklustre budget saving episode, I’ve decided to put this show on hiatus until I start parodying it, so don’t expect any sort of promptness of reviews from now on. In this episode, our party starts making their way to Witch Tegan (the next boss), only to be stopped at a bridge by an ogre. At this point, you might expect a fight, but even swinging a sword a few times is beyond this series, so instead the ogre poses everyone a riddle- cue a rather boring and poorly translated twenty-five minutes.

I hear you, brother.

Gargoyle of the Yoshinagas 10: Despite its formulaic nature, I’ve enjoyed Gargoyle so far, but unfortunately episode ten brings us a blip in quality. A tale of the Yoshinaga’s attempts to help revitalise the local shopping district, this episode generally failed to engage, and the chaotic melee it descended into in the second half did little to redeem it. An uncharacteristically weak episode, but at least the preview keeps my hopes high for the next instalment.

Ichigo Mashimaro OVA 1: Ah, Ichigo Mashimaro, your talent at making a story about nothing in particular has in no way diminished since the original TV series, and so this effective episode 13 is entirely satisfying- even if you aren’t into lolis. Like the TV series, there really isn’t anything you could call a plot, but if you liked the amusing antics and observations of the simpler things in life that characterise the series, you won’t go wrong by indulging in another dose of it.

Kanon 23: After all the weeks of dullness and disappointment, at long last an episode has appeared that actually has some measure of power. It’s not that the content has significantly improved, but rather the effect of some well-placed background music, adding emotion to the scenes in which Yuuichi is unwilling to accept the loss of Ayu. I have to admit, though, that I wasn’t expecting to see the real Sawatari Makoto randomly show up at this point- or rather, I wouldn’t have been expecting it if Hinano hadn’t already mentioned it.

Nodame Cantabile 8: It’s another off-kilter visit to the world of Nodame in this episode, and unfortunately for me, the story revolves around Stresemann, who remains by far my least favourite character. Although there are moments when the series becomes interesting or entertaining, the bulk of it just fails to hit the mark for me due to the irritation I feel every time the womanising and inconsistent Stresemann appears onscreen.

Saiunkoku Monogatari 34: The selection ceremony for the head of the Sa clan is here, and that means it’s time for Kokujun to step up to the plate and fulfil the purpose of his character. This is certainly an interesting enough episode in terms of his character, but in return the once manipulative Sakujun seems to have lost most of his strength in one fell swoop- although the ‘shadow game’ he starts with Seiran is interesting in spite of its resemblance to early Yu-Gi-Oh.

MANGA

Higurashi Onisarashi-hen will be covered next week (if at all). Does anyone else even read the Higurashi manga anyway?

Maria-sama ga Miteru 22: A new volume begins with this chapter, which skips ahead to the New Year story that commenced the second season, and sees Sei invite herself and Yumi over to Sachiko’s house. That’s pretty much all that happens in this set-up chapter, but hopefully events will pick up soon.

School Rumble 216: What’s this? Did something just happen in School Rumble? Whilst Harima seems resigned to the fact that he cannot recover from losing his manuscript (for five minutes, anyway) and the ever oblivious Tenma tries to redraw it for him, Yakumo decides to go out and look for him- only to end up admitting out loud that Eri is in love with him. For the second chapter in a row, it actually feels as if the story is going somewhere, with Yakumo acknowledging that she and Harima will never be a couple and paving the way for an Eri X Harima ending.

Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle 146: Whilst the fight between Syaoran and Hikaru continues, Fye gets a message from Chii warning him about the danger from Ashura if he stays in one world too long. After the various revelations of last chapter, it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise to learn that this one is mostly about CLAMP illustrating action scenes- after all, they wouldn’t want the pace to pick up too much. Apparently in the next chapter we will learn who wins the Syaoran vs. Hikaru bout- now, I wonder who it could possibly be.

xxxHOLiC vol 10, chapter 3: As Watanuki seems to be gradually realising that Yuuko’s warning about Himawari was more than mere jest, he receives a visit from the spirit of Doumeki’s grandfather- but just as the plot (such as it is) seems about to go somewhere, the chapter derails into a lunch date with Kohane, the girl with mystical powers from volume nine. There is a cliff-hanger ending, however, so I should probably get on and catch up with the latest chapters.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MANGA

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

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

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

I never thought I’d say this, but I’m actually beginning to understand the lure of dating sims, and it’s all thanks to Harvest Moon. There’s just such a profound satisfaction in getting your chosen girl up to red heart level (even if all I did was give her flowers every day); in fact, my only disappointment is that you can’t woo all the girls into joining your own personal harem. I know Anton would like nothing better than to have a harem to do the day to day work on the farm whilst he lives the easy life.

Due to my method of writing the parody whilst watching the episode for the first time, I haven’t had time for Shounen Onmyouji 10 this week. It should appear in the next round-up.

Reviewed this week: Iroha 11, Busou Renkin 17, Death Note 15, Gargoyle 8, Kanon 17, Love GetChu! 5, ROTK 40, SaiMono 27-9

…and in manga: .hack//4Koma 5, .hack//GU+ 6, .hack//XXXX 2, Bokurano 38, Rose of Versailles 8, Spiral 19-22

ANIME

Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto 11: I completely and utterly failed to notice this last week, but now that its existence has been pointed out to me, it has duly been watched. After revealing Nakaiya Form 2 (new hairstyle, same old laugh) and putting some pieces in place for the next arc, this episode sees our troupe (rehearsing for a rather unsubtle play in which they all play themselves) get attacked by mysterious fog warriors who are the series’ equivalent of Avu Kamuu- slow, stupid, and seemingly invincible until their easily exploitable weakness is found. This isn’t one of Iroha’s finest hours, but it will tide me over until the next episode appears.

Busou Renkin 17: Why must Busou Renkin get released so quickly? Whilst Kazuki and Tokiko prepare to hunt for a way to reverse Kazuki’s “victorisation”, the FMA rip-off team (complete with commander who uses fire attacks) arrives to hunt him down. Despite its lack of much to recommend it, I was somewhat relieved at the lack of traumatic images in this episode- right up until the point where Papillon showed up in a swimsuit. ‘Manservice’ may be the lifeblood of the parody, but I fear it may cause me some kind of long term damage.

Death Note 15: Another episode, another bout of ‘Justice Mode’ for Light, who has come to believe he has found an easy way to defeat L, and thus of course must be foiled at every turn lest the series end prematurely. The series is finally heading into more interesting territory, but given its track record, the anime may turn everything into a slow-paced “Justice Light” vs. “Justice L” effort.

Light decides to take action after L reveals he is HARD GAY.

Gargoyle of the Yoshinagas 8: Another episode of Gargoyle so soon after the last feels like a special treat, and thankfully, this instalment is as enjoyable as ever. Thanks to a mix-up whilst he is being charged up with a new ability, poor Gargoyle accidentally gets taken away by some delivery men, only to end up stuck on a snow-covered mountain with a family who resemble gender-reversed versions of Futaba and Kazumi. As well as giving us a long-awaited look at our leads with their ‘proper’ genders, this proves to be another episode of pure fun- hopefully the next one will appear just as quickly.

Kanon 17: Although the writers of Kanon seem to have forgotten this point, it’s hard to care about a sick girl who never shows any signs of actually being ill- if anything, she must be rather hardy to endure sitting outside in the freezing cold at all hours of the day and night. Nonetheless, Shiori’s arc must continue onwards, whilst Kaori angsts quietly in the background and longs for more screen time; all we can hope for is that it will be over soon.

Love GetChu! 5: Waiting for a new episode of Love GetChu to appear is hard, but as we’ve come to learn, becoming a voice actress is even more difficult. Even staying in the studio all the time isn’t an option, since our leads have no choice but to compete in the annual Lambda Eight relay race- something which Rinka, for one, is definitely not looking forward to. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out whether Rinka will skip out on the race or show up at the last minute to save the day, but despite the predictability of this series, it remains enjoyable; even if it’s just due to the rarity of release, I do look forward to every episode.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms 40: Now that the episode count is in the forties, the end is in sight, but thankfully, the HARD GAY (and now BI) is still going strong. Since the sun shines out of his every orifice, it is not hard for Zhuge Liang to manipulate Sun Quan and Zhou Yu (who is depressingly average looking here) into agreeing to ally with Liu Bei against Cao Cao, slowly setting the stage for the actual battle of Chi Bi.

Saiunkoku Monogatari 27-9: If an episode of SaiMono is excellent on its own, it becomes that much better when taken as part of a mini-marathon, as this triplet only reaffirms. Shuurei and the others may have won against the mid-bosses of the Sa clan, but with Sakujun now pulling all the strings, their trials are only just beginning- can allies both old and new pull together to outwit his plans? This brief paragraph isn’t really enough to do the events of these episodes justice, but suffice to say that we are continuing to get drawn into the Sa clan arc, and that every minute is more satisfying than the last. Three episodes may have been more than I dared hope for in the space of a week, but it still isn’t enough (yes, I know I say this every time, but that’s the way SaiMono is- once you get some, you just want more).

MANGA

.hack//4Koma 5: Although it still isn’t greatly humorous, now that 4Koma has settled into it stride, it is becoming lightly amusing instead of just being complete drivel. Unlike previous instalments, this chapter sticks to just the one theme- Kite vs. Haseo, with Atoli and BlackRose in tow. It may be the weakest link in the chain of .hack manga, but at least it’s slowly improving.

.hack//GU+ 6: Pai’s breasts seem to have reached new proportions in this chapter, which sees the aftermath of Endrance’s defeat, Haseo in his usual moody mode, and a significant amount of exposition. Moody Haseo is always irritating, but the rest of the story is interesting enough to keep going with.

.hack//XXXX 2: The addition of ‘mysterious new boy’ has changed the story somewhat, but nonetheless Kite must forge ahead in his attempt to save Orca. This chapter sees a confrontation with Balmung and an angst phase as Kite wonders if he should drag BlackRose and Mistral along with him on his journey- before realising that he cannot possibly manage alone without someone to cast Rip Maen on him.

Bokurano 38: I love Bokurano, but could one chapter possibly be enough? Not really, but since it is better than nothing, the first chapter of Anko’s story must be read, covering a girl who longs for the attention her parents never give her. Meanwhile, knowledge of Zearth has moved into the public domain, and someone has leaked the names of the children- what consequences will this spell for the remaining pilots?

Rose of Versailles 8: Many months after I read the first volume of Rose of Versailles, another chapter is finally available, in which Marie Antoinette meets her beloved Fersen before deciding to take an ill-advised ride on a horse. Apart from being a little faster paced, this is much the same as the animated version, so whilst I’d like to read more, there’s no rush (just as well, as it seems to have taken the best part of four years to translate eight chapters).

Fersen likes to look at the naked bodies of other men.

Spiral 19-22: Concluding the arc that ended the first half of the anime series, chapters 19-20 keep up the pace as Ayumu tries to retrieve the tape, keep Hiyono safe and prevent the explosive device around his neck from exploding- all within the time limit. As always, the series offers an engaging battle of wits, with each side laying traps and counter-traps in an attempt to outwit the other. The next two chapters deal with the aftermath, with Eyes returning to the stage and new character Kanone sure to follow. The next arc looks like it will be more well developed than it was in the anime, so I look forward to reading more (let’s hope that this faster rate of release will continue until the whole series is done).

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

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

ANIME

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MANGA

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

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

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

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

After what seems like an eternity of waiting, the fact that my blog got into the fabled 9rules can finally be announced, which of course furthers my plans for world domination is good news, given that I randomly submitted just to see if this relatively new and unknown blog could indeed make it. And of course I should say congratulations to all the other anime blogs that got accepted this round.

On a completely different note, Otogi-jushi Akazukin has been officially dropped; may it never be spoken of again.

Reviewed this week: Iroha 9, Death Note 12, Gargoyle 6, Kanon 13, ROTK 37, SaiMono 24, Shana Special, Shounen Onmyouji 9.

…and in manga: Emma Bangaihen 5, Homunculus vols 1-7, Shinigami no Ballad 1, Tsubasa 138, Yotsuba& 41-2, Haruhi Suzumiya novel 6.3, SaiMono novel prologue.

ANIME

Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto 9: With everyone patiently waiting around for Nakaiya’s inevitable revival, this is one of those quiet between arc episodes which focus more on the characters than the story. With the troupe having split up for all of five minutes, the bulk of the spotlight falls on Akidazuki, who finally gets the level of dialogue and development any main character deserves. All in all, an interesting episode, even if little actually happens.

Death Note 12: This week, Light is invited to join the investigation group, whilst the audience gets their first good look at Misa, the second Kira and either potential ally or spanner in works for the first Kira. This should finally kick start the story in the way I’ve been expecting for the last three episodes, but in the meantime we are still bogged down with exposition and stills of Light.

“That’s an impressive Zhuge Liang you have there, Light.”
“Why, thank you.”

The Gargoyle of the Yoshinagas 6: Whilst Futaba ignores the continued warnings about getting too close to plants in order to talk to new friend Himeko, Osiris and her creator are back for round two with Gargoyle. As well as Gargoyle’s trademark brand of action and humour, this episode proves that the series is equally adept at handling more serious scenes. My respect for Gargoyle is only growing- roll on episode seven.

Kanon 13: Mai’s story continues in this episode, although Yuuichi still seems to find ample time to check on his other girls when the opportunity arises. Perhaps it’s just the slow pacing as compared to the Toei version, but even compared to the level I’ve come to expect from Kanon, this was a hard episode to get into, although hopefully the next instalment will be a little more enticing.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms 37: An episode that fluctuates between mildly amusing and outright dull, ROTK 37 sees the righteous Liu Bei take his accompanying peasants with him on the run from Cao Cao. It may better than the last couple of episodes, but only the proximity of the end can keep me going now.

Saiunkoku Monogatari 24: Despite seeming to already be at the peak of excellence, SaiMono somehow manages to keep improving, as this episode demonstrates. Whilst Shuurei finds herself in the hands of ‘Lin Senya’, the rest of our heroes must deal with the less attractive members of the Sa family, clearly a clan who have grown evil due to their predominantly generic designs. With some well written character interactions and worthy background music, SaiMono 24 turns in a nearly flawless effort- the only weakness I noticed was a tendency for animation quality to drop here and there as it has done for some earlier episodes.

Shakugan no Shana Special: I never could be bothered to watch this when it was first subbed, but with Eclipse’s version bringing it to my attention again, I thought I may as well give it a go. Set mid-series, this is the hot springs episode Shana didn’t need, consisting of twenty-six minutes of tired and tasteless jokes before the whole thing was finally laid to rest. Even Shana’s attractive animation style could not make up for the poor quality of this special.

Shounen Onmyouji 9: How foolish I was to ever think we might get to the fight with Kyuuki sometime soon; instead, this episode is the final phase of the long and drawn out battle with Gaku, Shun and their endless minions, complete with flashback mode, destined powers, deus ex machina, and everything else that makes up a typical shounen series. I’m still waiting for the other Spirit Summons to do more than act as backup from the sidelines, but in the meantime Masahiro and Guren’s antics are parody gold.

MANGA

Emma Bangaihen 5: An interesting if slightly disjointed chapter that seems to take the humble daily newspaper as its main character as it offers a glimpse into the lives of both London’s wealthy and its working class. Apart from a glimpse of young Emma in flashback, I didn’t see anything that really connected this to the main story, but the magic of the Emma world still makes it worth a look.

*CATCH-UP* Homunculus vols 1-7: If I’ve been efficient, my Homunculus review should have already been posted, but as per the normal procedure, a paragraph is needed here as well. The compelling tale of a man who begins to see strange things after a trepanation operation, Homunculus may be queasily graphic in places, but it remains none the less addictive for it. A recommended read for anyone with a strong enough stomach to handle it.

Shinigami no Ballad 1: If the prologue was promising, then the first proper chapter is nothing short of impressive, as SnB proves that the animated version was a mere taster of what the manga has in store. This chapter focuses on a boy who has been able to see shinigami since the death of his parents; now at high school, he seems to be on the verge of finding a measure of happiness with the girl he likes, but just why do the shinigami keep appearing? Although Momo herself only appears a couple of times here, I love both the story and artwork, and desperately want to read more.

Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle 138: The slow crawl through Infinity World continues with this chapter, which tantalising dangles explanations and an exciting chess match whilst actually delivering very little due to the slow pace and low page count. Where is the story going? What is the point of Infinity World? All these questions and more remain to be answered in the next 138 chapters.

Yotsuba& 41-2: Even after over forty chapters, the simplicity of Yotsuba’s world can still entice and entertain, with these two chapters showing no loss of quality. 41 sees Yotsuba help her father and Jumbo build a bookcase, whilst in 42 she heads next door to have fun with cup-and-cord ‘phones’. Despite the constant worry that Yotsuba is going to clumsily mess things up (the fact that the series can make me care about its world enough to worry about that is notable in itself), this is another pair of enjoyable chapters which rekindle my hope that ADV have not forgotten their promise to release volume four this year.

NOVEL

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya vol 6 chapter 3: Another one-off story, “Charmed at First Sight LOVER” (don’t ask why LOVER is capitalised, I have no idea) sees an old junior high classmate of Kyon’s contact him in order to confess that he has fallen in love with Nagato. Thus begins a somewhat tiresome chapter of Haruhi, featuring an irritating new character and a conclusion so swift and contrived that it makes the rest of the series look well plotted.

Saiunkoku Monogatari Prologue: When I was ranting about a need for the SaiMono novel translations, why did no one tell me that Shadow Dreams had already done a little work on volume one? Whilst it’s disheartening to see that it hasn’t been updating in a while, even the little bit that has been translated is an interesting read, and thus far devoid of the usual flat style that accompanies most novel translations.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Final words: Revenge is a dish best served sparingly.

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

Final words: No, just no.

Mai-Otome

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Shakugan no Shana

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

Final words: urusei, urusei, urusei!

WINTER 2005/6

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

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

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

Final words: Unexpectedly worthy.

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

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

Fate/Stay Night

Admit it, you want a Caster figure too.

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

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

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

Final words: Natsumi is evil.

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

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

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

Final words: Umai-ki!

Shinigami no Ballad

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

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

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

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

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

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

SPRING 2006

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

Final words: The origin of the screencap parody format.

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

Final words: Sometimes, less is more.

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

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

Aria the Natural

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

Final words: Punyu!

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

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

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

Final words: Dull, dull, dull.

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

Final words: All hail Gar-san.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Final words: Utterly confusing.

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

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

Kamisama Kazoku

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Final words: I did actually like the fourth novel.

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

Final words: Less Hachi, more Nana.

Ouran High School Host Club

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

Final words: Kyouya is god.

Ray the Animation

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

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

Saiunkoku Monogatari

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

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

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

Final words: Please, let it end.

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

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

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

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

Utawarerumono

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

Final words: Karura and Touka are all.

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

Finally words: This could have been so much better.

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

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

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

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

SUMMER 2006

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

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

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

Final words: Not my cup of angst.

Le Chevalier d’Eon

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Final words: One word- disappointing.

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

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

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

Final words: Sex and defecation- how mature.

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

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

Night Head Genesis

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

Final words: Give me Kurau and Christmas any day.

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

Final words: I hate those damned Sweet Phones.

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

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

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

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

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

Final words: Guiche is no Tamaki.

AUTUMN 2006

Asatte no Houkou

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

Final words: The manga just sounds scary.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Busou Renkin

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

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

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

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

La Corda d’Oro

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

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

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

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

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

Final words: Justice Mode, engage!

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

Final words: Generic by name, generic by nature.

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

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

Kanon [2006]

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

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

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

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

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

Final words: Onee-sama!

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

Final words: That ferret is creepy.

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

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

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

Final words: KEITO! KULAIR! ROSU! RACHERU!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Join me again on Tuesday for the New Year Rumble.

With December now upon us and the festive season on its way, it occurs to me that I do something clever like an “Anime Advent Calendar” for the month; however, since I only just thought of that idea about ten minutes ago, it will have to be the necessarily basic idea of just posting a different image in the sidebar every day. Is there any point to doing this? Absolutely none whatsoever.

Reviewed this week: Asatte no Houkou 6, Busou Renkin 7-8, Chevalier 11, Code Geass 7-8, Death Note 8, Gargoyle 5, Kanon 8, Keroro 66, Akazukin 18, Red Garden 6-7, ROTK 32, Shounen Onmyouji 6-7

…and in manga: Nanoha StrikerS 2, REC 18-19, Haruhi Suzumiya vol 5-6

ANIME

Asatte no Houkou 6: Although it doesn’t quite reach the heights of the previous episode, Asatte no Houkou remains far ahead of the competition this week, in an episode which sees Amino meet the adult Karada (although he entirely fails to recognise her). Not only is this episode another touching and absorbing instalment, but there must be few series which can show you a pool of water and make you want to reach into the screen in order to dip your hands in it.

Busou Renkin 7-8: Whilst nothing in this episode matches the trauma of seeing Papillon reach around in his thong, Busou Renkin is degenerating ever further into allies vs. monster of the week, with the arrival of a whole host of new characters doing little to alleviate that. Aside from the curious attraction of the moon-faced Moon Face, the increasing vulgarity and generic nature of the series conspires to make it somewhat uninspiring to watch- only when Tokiko appears onscreen is my resolve renewed.

Le Chevalier d’Eon 11: If Peter’s reign was short historically, then it becomes even shorter in this episode of Chevalier, which can perhaps be said to not be the series finest moment. Whilst it is certainly enjoyable and ahead of most other series in terms of quality, the episode suffers from continually jumping between one set of characters and another, resulting in fast paced yet extremely short scenes. The animation is also somewhat inconsistent, but nonetheless episode twelve is highly anticipated.

Code Geass- Lelouch of the Rebellion 7-8: Upon watching this unexpected double bill of Code Geass, I realised that I couldn’t decide whether this series was laughably poor, or just plain bad. There’s a definite sense that the writers don’t really know where they’re going with this, and are just playing it by ear à la Mai-Otome; where episode seven has Lelouch attempting to go after Cordelia, eight suddenly throws in a hostage situation and a whole new anti-Brittanian faction for no apparent reason. I guess it’s to the series’ credit that it somehow manages to keep me interested to not to start playing Go, but I do feel that I’m watching it more to see how bad it can get rather than because I expect anything of merit.

I can’t help thinking of Fye and Kurogane when I see this.

Death Note 8: The momentum begins to pick up again in this episode, which continues to take a good story and add some laughably theatrical touches that drag it down a little. The presentation remains top notch, and there’s no reason to stop watching, but the series does need to tone it down a little before it becomes too difficult to take it seriously.

The Gargoyle of the Yoshinagas 5: An enjoyable instalment even by Gargoyle standards, this episode sees Futaba accidentally get stuck with a helmet that enables her to talk to plants, opening up a whole new world of communication. Although the likes of Camus and Souta have made the idea of talking to flowers seem a little wimpy and desirable, Gargoyle turns that notion on its head and comes up with a hilarious and thoroughly entertaining episode; if you’re not already watching this series, start now.

Kanon 8: After watching this episode, all I really feel like saying is ‘oh dear’. I’ve ranted a lot about Kanon lately, and this episode really isn’t making matters better; Yuuichi treats Makoto like an annoyance, Makoto’s tragic past is offhandedly revealed, and I struggle to care about anything other than how long I have to endure until the ending. I wanted to like Kanon, but this really isn’t working for me.

Keroro Gunso 66: Keroro brings us another pair of mildly entertaining if unoriginal segments in this episode, which promises a busy time for Keroro, Giroro and Tamama as they first attempt to rescue the Hinatas from a space TV studio before spying on Natsumi as she goes on a shopping date with Koyuki. I haven’t gone so far as to want to stop watching Keroro, but each passing episode doesn’t really expose me to anything new.

Otogi-jushi Akazukin 18: Even for a show like Akazukin, there’s a point where it can get a bit too ridiculous, and this episode marks that point. Featuring a musical pumpkin, the unwelcome return of the Bremen quartet and some budget-saving flashback/insert song combinations, this episode has very little to recommend it. Just a hint of a reminder that a vague plot exists would be nice.

Red Garden 6-7: Instead of explaining anything (that’s being held in reserve for the final episode) Red Garden continues to throw in more mysteries, adding a hospital of evil, experimental combat life forms girls of some unknown purpose, and revealing that the girls can return to their original lives if Gantz gives them enough points. It’s like a mix of standard Gonzo ideas (sans the mecha) combined with record levels of angst and tedious insert songs, but I must keep watching for now.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms 32: It had to happen eventually; we’ve had so many hilarious episodes of ROTK that it was almost inevitable that a less entertaining one would come along eventually. To be fair, ROTK 32 starts off amusingly enough, but as events move into the infamous battle of Fan Castle, it all becomes a bit weak. Whether you watch this seriously (is there anyone who would do that?) or just for a laugh, this is not one of ROTK’s finer moments.

Shounen Onmyouji 6-7: I never thought I’d say this, but I’m actually enjoying Shounen Onmyouji- it may be entirely predictable and filled with characters who will probably never get the screen time they crave, but at the same time, it’s straightforward fun. These two episodes see monster of the month Kyuuki send out underlings in an attempt to kidnap Akiko- can Masahiro and Mokkun deal with him alone, or will they need to recruit new party members from Seimei’s stock of shikigami?

MANGA

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS- A’s to StrikerS 2: Given the relatively large cast of Nanoha, it should perhaps come as no surprise that this chapter largely consists of characters talking whilst the plot (such as it is) advances at a crawl. I’m not entirely sure what is supposed to be going on, other than the fact that some generic enemies are going after artefacts whilst Vita struggles with the memory of some tragic past event.

REC 18-19: Every series needs a swimsuit segment, and chapter eighteen marks REC’s efforts in that area, offering the usual bikini service, romantic misunderstandings and a few panels that seem more suited to an adult series. After that short break, nineteen changes direction entirely by including a heist at a post office (to be honest, I was expecting the whole thing to be publicity stunt) before introducing yet another new character intent on breaking Aka and Matsumaru up. I can’t help feeling that another wave of angst is on the horizon.

NOVEL

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya 5.1-6.2: After the refreshing change that was volume four, Haruhi is back to standalone stories presented in no particular order. Volume five contains three longer stories- Endless Eight, the tale of a never-ending summer vacation; The Day of Sagittarius, a computer game showdown between the SOS Brigade and the Computer Club (as seen in the anime) and Snow Mountain Syndrome, in which our leads go on a skiing holiday, only to get trapped in a mysterious mansion. Unfortunately, all of these chapters suffer from the same problem- despite the relatively interesting setup, the resolution is always too swift and arbitrary to provide any real satisfaction.

Volume six marks a return to some shorter stories, with the first two chapters corresponding to anime episodes twelve (Live A Live) and one (Asahina Mikuru’s adventure Episode 0, aka the movie). Neither are particularly bad, but by the time you reach the sixth volume, you start to want a little more character and story development.