Rozen Maiden rises from the grave
Recall how various issues led to Rozen Maiden being abruptly wrapped up after eight volumes with the worst concluding chapter ever? Well, for those who kept the torch burning, their patience has been rewarded- come April 17^th, the manga will be resuming in Young Jump.
Entertainment correspondent Aria: Punyu. [Over here at Azure Flame, we once cared a lot about Rozen Maiden, but we steadily became disillusioned with it. Even so, enough vestiges of curiosity remain for us to want to pursue the manga continuation- once we read volumes five to eight.]

New Someday’s Dreamers
This summer, a new Someday’s Dreamers anime will be hitting our screens- Someday’s Dreamers ~Natsu no Sora~. Based on a new manga series that began serialisation in February, Natsu no Sora takes place in the same universe as the original series and its manga spin-off Spellbound, but this time around it focuses on new character Sora as she heads off to complete her mage internship.
Entertainment correspondent Aria: Punyu! [I was hoping Spellbound would get animated, but the first chapter of this manga was very good, so the anime is a must-see.]

Noramimi, Kodomo no Jikan get second seasons
Well, the title says it all, really- both Noramimi and Kodomo no Jikan have had second seasons greenlit for production. In the case of KnJ, a limited edition version of the fifth manga volume will include a preview DVD of the new season.
Entertainment correspondent Aria: Punyu. [Nothing much to say; I didn’t watch either of these series.]

Rocket Girls, Kiba licensed
Whilst Bandai have picked up Stratos 4’s spiritual successor Rocket Girls, ADV has chosen to license all 51 episodes of Kiba. So far, there has been no release date information for either series, whilst ADV has also failed to comment on the status of one of their other recently licensed series- Guren Lagann.
Licensing correspondent The Admiral: Kiba might appeal to some, but we only lasted six episodes before putting it aside. Rocket Girls is unlikely to command a huge fanbase, but there’s bound to be a small but dedicated group of people who want to get their hands on it. Of course, unless it has a fat cat it can’t be as worthy as my series.

Delays from Bandai Visual
Having promised to release them at an unprecedented rate, Bandai Visual has now announced that the release of Shigofumi and true tears (along with sola from last year) is to be delayed until after the summer. The company has also announced that they are planning to concentrate on expanding their Blu-ray catalogue.
Licensing correspondent The Admiral: It’s quite ironic that a company who plans to release 1-2 episodes per disc wants to use a high storage capacity format like Blu-ray.

Just so I can laugh some more…4Kids gets Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D
English-speaking viewers, do not despair- for Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D will be coming to you by way of 4Kids this autumn! Personally, of course, I don’t much care, but I just wanted an excuse to laugh a bit more- duelling motorcycles? Going out for a ride and then playing cards on the highway? Does it get any more ridiculous than this?
Licensing correspondent The Admiral: No comment.

With a somewhat mediocre first three volumes and a massively disappointing final chapter, it seemed highly unlikely that any of the unread remainder of Rozen Maiden would actually prove to be at all satisfying, but nonetheless, curiosity continued to propel me forward. And, even though it is usually considered bad form to do so, I must review this with the use of extensive spoilers- if you want a spoiler-free introduction to the manga, try my reviews of the earlier volumes.

Although it is the best the manga has had to offer so far, volume four is not without problems of its own. The first half of the book focuses on the battle between Suiseiseki and Souseiseki, and although for a moment it looked like this arc would give the latter to receive more development than in the anime, any such hopes are quickly dashed when Souseiseki loses her Rosa Mystica at the end of the battle. To add insult to injury, just as Suiseiseki is about to take the Rosa Mystica, Suigintou conveniently swoops in to take it away in a highly contrived plot twist moment.

After this arc is wrapped up, the volume returns to the flow of events seen in Traumend, starting with a side story in which Hinaichigo goes out to deliver a letter, before introducing Kanaria and ending with a glimpse of Suigintou and Megumi. Ironically, the amusing side story is the best part of the book, far surpassing the fatally flawed main plot.

As to be expected by this point, the artwork is at the same inconsistent level that it has always been- close-ups are detailed and look good, but all too often the visuals are lazy and rough around the edges. This is especially evident in the action scenes, with the lack of polish in battles seeming to defy the whole point of basing the manga around a battle royale format.

Final Thoughts

Although it has taken a turn for the better, the Rozen Maiden manga remains the straw that broke the camel’s back- the disappointment that forever soured the last of my positive feelings for the franchise. Once again, curiosity compels me to read the second half of the series, but I can’t recommend it to many people besides the raving fanboys- who no doubt already have it anyway.

Hello and welcome to another edition of Sunday News Bites. This week, we are joined in the newsroom by Romeo X Juliet’s Tybalt, who kindly took a break from riding his HORSE to offer insights on this week’s breaking and not-so-breaking stories.

Do you hack .hack?
.hack fans should be pleased to learn that Tokyopop has picked up three of the four new manga series- GU+ (a companion to the GU games), GnU (a tale of minor characters in The World:r2) and 4Koma. Whilst GU+ was reasonably enjoyable and 4Koma ranged between the dire and the amusing, I haven’t read enough of GnU to form a proper opinion on it, although overall these three series don’t stand out enough for me to want to buy them. I may have once been a .hack fangirl, but with the coming of the second generation material, I’m more wary of buying every piece of merchandise with the .hack name on it.

Tybalt says: I guess GU+ is good-looking enough for me to pay attention to, but the other two series are definitely lacking in the aesthetic department. What happened to that handsome guy Balmung anyway?

Farewell, Rozen Maiden
After going on a long hiatus and the having magazine serialisation cancelled, Rozen Maiden seems set to end with the tankoubon release of volume eight, containing a paltry three chapters. I have to admit the manga was something of a disappointment, but now it isn’t even going to get a proper ending, nor address all the unanswered questions that have been bugging me for a while.

Tybalt says: Rozen Maiden looked good at first but I soon tired of it. Word of an unsatisfactory ending makes me wonder whether I shouldn’t just drop the manga entirely.

ADV’s licensing continues at a rate of 5cm per second
Having already released Makoto Shinkai’s Voices of a Distant Star and The Place Promised in Our Early Days, it should come as no surprise that ADV has added 5cm Per Second to their release line-up. Much as I loved VoaDS, I never got around to watching 5cm Per Second, thanks in part to some lukewarm reviews at the time of release. Has everyone tired of the same old formula from Shinkai, or is it best that he sticks with refining what he’s best at?

Tybalt says: I’ll no doubt watch it eventually, but taking care of my HORSE seems more important right now.

Fist of the North Star Hero Tales anime
Liked FMA? Then maybe you’ll be interested to hear that the mangaka’s latest series, Jyūshin Enbu (Hero Tales) is also to receive the animation treatment. Then again, when you hear it’s about the destined seventh star of the Big Dipper who’s on a quest to find a legendary sword (complete with friend and sister to accompany him), you may just think that it sounds a bit too much like Fist of the North Star: the RPG. FMA may have been good, but such a generic sounding tale really live up to its older sibling? Oh well, I may as well read the first couple of manga chapters in preparation for this.

Tybalt says: Boys and their swords- when will they learn they just can’t live up to my greatness?

Jun may have thought that sharing his life with living doll Shinku was an unwelcome upset, but as he soon discovers, it’s a walk in the park compared with what’s to come. First, there’s Hinaichigo to deal with- a spoiled and childish doll who almost costs his friend Tomoe her life when she insists that they play together forever. And no sooner is that little situation resolved than another doll, Suiseiseki, appears to ask Shinku and the others to help rescue her ‘twin sister’ from the clutches of her evil master. Can Jun handle this influx of doll related troubles, and perhaps learn something about himself in the process?

After a promising if not particularly overwhelming start, it made sense to continue with the Rozen Maiden manga, in the hopes that my growing dissatisfaction with the anime could be erased by contact with the original material. Unfortunately, this was not to be the case, and in fact, having read the next two volumes, my opinion of the franchise was to reach a new low.

Although it was easy to write it off in the first volume as just being due to the series finding its feet, it is clear by this point that the trouble with the Rozen Maiden manga is that it is just too ‘flat’. Where the colour and movement of the anime at least lent it some degree of life, in manga form the story simply fails to come to life- the dialogue is uninspiring, the action scenes are underwhelming, and the whole thing is drenched in unfunny ‘comedic’ segments that seem to exist only to slow down the overall pace and detract from the rare moments of more serious character and plot development. At this point, the only real reason to continue is curiosity- the story is already beginning to diverge significantly from the direction taken in the anime, and I have to admit to a certain degree of interest as to the course it will take. Then again, the fact that the manga is on hiatus because apparently even Peach Pit themselves don’t know where to go next is hardly edifying.

The other great disappointment in these volumes is the artwork, which does less to elevate the story out of its mediocrity than it does to make things worse. Although Peach Pit seem willing to put the effort in for close ups and full page shots, all too often individual panels are drawn so simplistically that they look little better than a child’s scribble- arguably this could be intended to set a lighter tone, but it is a method employed so often that it looks more like sheer laziness. Likewise, backgrounds remain as limited to nonexistent as we saw in the first volume.

Final Thoughts
A flat and uninspiring continuation of the series, the next two volumes of Rozen Maiden barely manage to engage the reader, and are certainly nothing short of a disappointment. The only card the series still has to play is novelty, with the hope of seeing something different to the anime spurring the reader on when they might have done better to just walk away.

Extra
With regards to what we were discussing in the now accursed Rozen Maiden Deconstructed post, yes, it does say in volume 2 that the seven Rosa Mystica are all fragments of the original. Admittedly, though, this may not be the case in the anime.

I also regret the missed opportunity to write an April Fool’s post extolling the virtues of Hello Kitty TV; oh well, maybe next year.

HARD YURI School of Angst
Coming this spring to an anime slot near you, enjoy HARD YURI School of Angst! Shouko has just started high school at the all girl YURI Academy, a place filled with intrigue, angst and lesbians galore! Meet the girls in this all-drama adventure, in which no event is too trivial to angst over!

• Sei: Beautiful head of the student council, known for taking a shine to innocent young girls.
• The Three Evil Lesbians: nameless student council lackeys who make life hell for our heroine.
• Nagi: A seductive upperclassmen who likes to break the rules. She and Sei are bitter rivals who shared a past secret relating to HARD YURI.
• Hana: A chirpy and forward girl who quickly becomes friends with Shouko- but does she want to be more than friends?
• Nanako: A shy meganekko who works in the library and secretly lusts for Shouko. She has a twin sister who has missed a year of school due to suffering from Sick Anime Girl Syndrome.
• Otome: Star of the kendo club, a ferociously athletic tomboy who absolutely hates men.

FullMetal Rozen Maiden
Welcome to the world of FMRM! A mysterious man known only as ‘Father’ has created seven Rozen Maiden Homunculi, each powered by a Rosa Mystica/Philosopher’s Stone. Now they must fight each other, with the winner earning a place as the main character of their own series.

Lust = Souseiseki (devotion to sister)

Gluttony = Hinaichigo (love of flower topped burgers)

Envy = Kanaria (jealous of main household)

Greed = Suiseiseki (wants everything for herself)

Wrath = Suigintou (angry at being considered junk by the others)

Sloth = Kirakishou (can’t be bothered to appear in storyline until later on)

Pride = Shinku (prideful personality in general)

Red Garden finale part I

Claire considers the merits of cross-dressing.

The Animus explain how it is vital for them to have their way with young women.

“Without her, HARD YURI seems so dry and pointless.”

Claire drops in to service her employer one last time.

“No one else wants to sleep with you, but I need the money.”

“Here’s your payment, then.”

“It wasn’t the best I’ve had, but I appreciate the effort.”

“You showed me the ropes when it came to HARD YURI.”

“…since we last slept together?”

“Far too long.”

“I did have HARD YURI with my sister, though.”

“What about Hyper Self Pleasure?”

“I didn’t know about Self Pleasure in those days.”

“I bet you don’t even know about the kinkier side of HARD YURI, do you?”

*NEW* This Week in Anime
Replacing “The history of … in anime” comes this new feature, where screencaps of notable features such as apples, poisonous mushrooms and the like are pointed out. Many of them will not actually be from this week, but will be dug out from the backlog.

One of the earlier appearances of gourds is charted.

Walnuts also began having importance around this time.

In the fruit wars, the strawberry subjugates some underlings in an attempt to build its own tasty empire.

Walnuts in more recent months, courtesy of Emma Bangaihen.

HARD GAY corner: Spiral
Having been taught HARD GAY by his brother Kiyotaka, Ayumu Narumi always felt jealous of his brother’s larger Zhuge Liang, an asset which overshadowed his even after Kiyotaka disappeared. Nonetheless, Ayumu finds himself drawn into the mystery of the Blade Children, perhaps in the hopes of getting access to their ‘blades’. After an encounter with Kousuke Asadzuki, Ayumu settles on the far bishier Eyes Rutherford as his prospective partner.

Unfortunately, all is not set to proceed smoothly for the couple, whose budding relationship is soon threatened by the arrival of Eyes’ former lover, Kanone Hilbert. A tense battle of wits begins as each man for Eyes’ love, with Ayumu finally learning to gain confidence in himself and HARD GAY by the end of it.

OST spotlight: .hack//SIGN OST 2
Living up to the first SIGN OST was never going to be an easy task, and it has to be admitted that this CD is the weaker of the two, sticking a little too closely to Kajiura’s standard themes. Nonetheless, there are some strong tracks here that offer the powerful blend of intense action and lingering melancholy first glimpsed in OST 1; in fact, the haunting ‘To Nowhere’ and fast-paced ‘In the Land of Twilight, Under the Moon’ are so good that all the other tracks are merely a bonus.

Notable tracks: Open Your Heart, In the Land of Twilight Under the Moon, Useless Chatting, To Nowhere.

Mini-editorial: Translating titles
When anime or manga series are licensed for distribution in the US, it may not always be a good marketing decision to retain the original title, but at the same, changing it may anger hordes of existing fans. When should a title be changed, and what should the alternatives be?

Many titles can come through the transition process intact, but when it comes to longer names like Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto which take a while to memorise and never really trip off the tongue, some sort of action is needed. Perhaps the best method is to shorten the title into something that doesn’t really mean anything in either English or Japanese, but are catchy monikers that retain the essence of the original (think Kareshi Kanojo no Jijou -> Kare Kano, Saishou Heki Kanojo -> SaiKano or Spiral: Suiri no Kizuna -> Spiral). The other option is to translate the title into English, but this may not trip off the tongue as easily (how many prefer to use ‘His and Her Circumstances’ for Kare Kano?) and in the case of some titles, may sound even more meaningless than the original Japanese name (think ‘The One Being Sung’ for Uta).

A third and perhaps much less desirable choice is to find a completely new English title for the series, and whilst few might argue that Mahō Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto/Things Precious to a Mage doesn’t have the same draw as Someday’s Dreamers, all too often there is the danger of ending up with a completely generic name like Chibi Vampire or the thankfully scrapped Shadow Warrior Chronicles.

Ultimately, many titles come through with no change or remark, but as always, the minority can still cause an upset. It cannot be denied that some English titles are a poor choice and that names like the aforementioned Shadow Warrior Chronicles shouldn’t be encouraged, but if the actual content is available and unedited, one could just as easily ask ‘what’s in a name?’.

In Your Reflection

In our second round of blonde shota, we focus exclusively on those from Neoromance games. First up is shy friend Shimon from Haruka 8, who we’ve seen here once before, but now he is accompanied by his spiritual brothers, sleepy cello player Shimizu from La Corda d’Oro, and Guardian Marcel from Angelique.

Fashion police: Ginji Amano
Short trousers are almost always a bad idea, but when coupled with a generic white t-shirt and a hideously coloured jacket, it can only ever be a recipe for disaster. Here Ginji shows how bad fashion decisions for each individual piece of clothing can only lead to an overall fashion disaster. It is also not recommended to wear this outfit when it gets even slightly cold.

Fashion sense: E-

Amusing Search Terms

Old favourites: lolicon, you toube sex, you toube, large boobs, hack perfect audition, bouncing breasts

Utawarerumono Sprite Rip: Actually, I’d like it if someone else did this for me.

busou renkin doujinshi: Not again.

Moe Kare manga download: Okay, so I finally found out what Moe Kare is, but tht doesn’t change the fact that I don’t have it available for download.

la corda d’oro episodes with english sub: Don’t do it! It’s too painful.

www Sasuke( And Black Ops): Sasuke is a black ops team member now?

saiunkoku monogatari S^M: S&M in SaiMono world?

pumpkin scissors season 2: Not yet.

toki out less: Perhaps she should get out more.

“busou renkin hentai”: “And then Papillon grabbed his throbbing member…”

RAMBALDI VS NOSTRADAMUS: Arguably Rambaldi won, since he had immortality and beautiful artefacts…oh wait, he wasn’t real.

“hard gay” sakujun: Actually, he’s BI.

anime acid trip: Cat Soup.

tsubasa chronicle episode 53, tsubasa third season: NOOOOOOOOO!!! It must never come to exist.

Harvest Moon tileset: In HM the RPG, one can fight as a cow or sheep.

DBZ RPG techniques: Genki Dama!

Marie Zhuge: Marie cannot be Zhuge, unless she has a hidden Liang.

“hard gay” busou renkin: You’ve come to the right place.

characters ikkitousen rmxp: With or without clothes?

gay machine: There’s a machine that churns out gay now, is there?

an anime about a girl who is chosen to e: If only the last part of the search was recorded

rpg maker xp dragonball Z resources: none.

may missing harvest moon: She’s at the beach- but only after 6pm.

high school parody 2: What happened to number one?

“roll on summer” phrase: Isn’t this a quote from Father Christmas?

“green spot” anime: Uh, yes, I know exactly what you mean.

Rumble Roses Doujinshi Download: Wrong place.

scrappy oh sei (anime): Is this a Scooby Doo version of Jyu-oh-sei?

Meine Liebe Wurst
Welcome to the third season of popular bishounen series Meine Liebe- Meine Liebe Wurst! In the hallways of Rosenstolz, Lui and the other Strahl candidates are busy teaching Elmunt, Nicholas and Daniel all about being part of the HARD GAY inner circle, but unbeknownst to them, their old enemy Beruze is getting ready to strike again! Having enlisted the aid of generic Duke Munst, Beruze plans to launch his third attempt at taking the throne of Kuchen; can our heroes overcome their individual angst arcs and help Lui find a way to foil his latest evil plot?

Wurst includes some of the following exciting events-

• We finally see inside the penis-shaped airship that floats high above Kuchen, thanks to flashbacks from the days when Barty was missing.
• Now reconciled with his evil stepmother, Ed goes out to tea with her before continuing the futile search for his long lost sister.
• Naoji goes back to Japan, but realises his true calling lies in Kuchen and returns in order to restore the status quo.
• Camus takes Elmunt to see his brother Leohart for some three-way HARD GAY.
• Isaac lurks around in back alleys looking mysterious but not actually doing a great deal.
• The Strahl visit the palace and reunite with Gerard, whilst the King becomes even more motionless and ineffectual than ever (except when he is with Barty).
• Camus grows yellow roses in his greenhouse.
• Lui sips tea whilst reading a book.

Rozen Maiden Again
Prepare for more dolls, more battles, and more inconsistent plot points as Rozen Maiden also gains its third season- Rozen Maiden Again! When Souseiseki and Hinaichigo mysteriously wake up, the Rozen Maidens are gathered together for an announcement; last time was merely a trial run, and the Alice Game proper begins now. Unfortunately, a previously unmentioned rival from the school of doll-making that Rozen once attended has created his own army of Shadow Maidens, evil dolls of limited lifespan who can only attain true life by stealing the Rosae Mystica! Should the Rozen Maidens continue to fight each other, or should they ally to counter this new threat?

Otogi-jushi Akazukin 26

An all-male scene in the new OP heralds the start of a new HARD GAY era.

The party encounters a church that specialises in HARD GAY marriages.

Souta quickly hooks up with a new partner.

Unfortunately, as a HARD GAY virgin, his first experience is a little painful.

“What do you mean, you’re not really HARD GAY?”

“…I thought we had a future together!”

Jed explains that the public response to Souta’s denial of HARD GAY has been unfavourable.

Short parody: Code Geass II

Lelouch uses his Geass on generics.

Lelouch: I command you to buy Pizza Hut.

The generics head off to buy Pizza Hut.

Lelouch: Everything is going as planned! By forcing everyone to buy nothing but Pizza Hut, I can cause an economic collapse!

CC: Plus it’s tasty and nutritious too.

Suzaku is sent out in his mecha.

Suzaku: I must stop Zero’s evil plans before all the pizzas are sold out!

(Onscreen notice: Please watch Code Geass in a well-lit room whilst eating Pizza Hut.)

Weekly Awards

Generics of the Week: Whilst the generic guards of Deltora Quest episode one deserve a mention, none of them can hold a candle to Sa Soujun of SaiMono. Since he is a named character, technically he should not qualify as a generic, but his reused character design and minor villain ways enable him to steal the prize from true generics.

Apples of the Week: Whilst poor Anton of Harvest Moon BTN finally gets a break with some free apples from his apple tree, Deltora Quest must be mentioned again for having a generic girl who longs for an apple.

Crude series of the Week: What else could it be than the nausea-inducing Busou Renkin? Male nudity, comparing sizes, Victor…somehow it doesn’t even have to try.

Tree Monster Honourable Mention: Just as they did in the OVA OP, tree monsters finally show up in Otogi-jushi Akazukin TV.

OP of the Week: It may be far from new, but Kare Kano’s Tenshi no Yubikiri still scoops a long overdue prize.

HARD GAY corner: Berserk

Raised by Gambino and introduced to the battlefield at an early age, Guts soon learned about the rough and intense HARD GAY that occurred there. Equipped with a sword more impressive than that of any other man, Guts developed a voracious appetite for HARD GAY, but unfortunately, his partners never survived for long, forcing him to continually move on.

The day he met Griffith and the Band of the Hawk was a revelation for Guts; apart from token female Caska, here was a whole new vein of HARD GAY males to plumb. In particular, Griffith was the one who fascinated him, for here at long last was a man who could match him in the bedroom.

Guts and Griffith shared many years of HARD GAY, but deep in Guts’ heart, doubts began to surface- did Griffith consider him as anything more than a mere plaything in the bedroom? Determined to prove that he was more than that, Guts left the Band, only to send Griffith into such despair that he even tried sleeping with a woman to take his mind off the pain of losing a HARD GAY partner!

Unfortunately, it was all downhill from there; after being imprisoned for months without a partner, Griffith’s frustrations became such that only the power of the Godhand could hope to relieve his throbbing libido. With this in mind, Griffith decided to shed his human body and enter a whole new level of HARD GAY. Now left behind but still branded as Griffith’s lover, Guts decided to set out a journey to meet the Godhand and undergo one last explosive HARD GAY encounter…

Licensing Reactions

It’s been a week of announcements from FUNimation, of which I’ll focus on the ones that are relevant to me.

• Aquarion: Since I’m one of a handful of people who love Aquarion, this is great news. Quite possibly my favourite mecha series overall, Aquarion combines top quality music and animation (let’s try to forget about ‘experimental’ episode nineteen) with a story that avoids the usual mecha pitfalls of taking itself too seriously.
• Suzuka: An entertaining but not outstanding series overall, Suzuka has a few episodes that make it seem worthy purchasing on DVD, but when I think of Akitsuki’s stupidity, I wonder if it is indeed worth it. Although I know we’re all supposed to be upstanding citizens who only ever buy the singles as they are released, I’ll probably wait for the boxset if I choose to invest in this.
• Tsubasa Chronicle was licensed a year ago, but has only now received a street date. Unfortunately, in that time, I have seen the tedious filler-fest that was season two, and where I might once have bought this on DVD, I am now no longer inclined to do so; I’ll just stick to buying the manga (although even that is losing its allure).
• Mushishi also receives an official confirmation of what we all already knew- as one of my favourite series, it will be great to finally get my hands on these long awaited DVDs (not to mention the manga, which should be out around now).

Mini-rant: Sensible, correct and the choice of all right-thinking people, or gimmicky, hideous and flashy?
Yes, for those who haven’t worked it out, this rant comes in response to ANN’s recent ‘unbiased’ poll about DVD subtitles vs. fansub subtitles. Now admittedly, at the end of the day, the most important thing is that the subtitles are readable, and there are technical reasons why DVD softsubs have such a basic appearance, but let’s face it- from an aesthetic point of view, that yellow is just ugly.

Of course, on the flip side of the coin, fansub groups can get a little overenthusiastic with flashy karaoke subs and the unnecessary subtitling of every single insert song, but at least their subtitles are more visually pleasing. There’s room for better fonts, colours, and the occasional effect to indicate telepathy or similar is a nice touch; flame me, if you will, but I even quite like it when different characters get different coloured outlines on their dialogue- it’s not that I need that to tell who is speaking, I just appreciate the attention to detail. It’s hardly as if it’s a new thing, either- subtitles on UK TV have been doing the same thing for years.

This may seem like a somewhat pointless rant since I haven’t even bothered to cover the accuracy of subtitles, translation of honorifics and the like, but that was never the point of this piece. All I wanted was to air my opinion that fansub subtitles are not the devil’s own work, and actually look quite good.

Figure Review: ⅛ Saber

I forget who made this Saber, but although I got mine last year, a re-release is forthcoming. For some reason, this Saber is smaller than the average ⅛ figure, so either it has been mislabelled, or Saber is actually a midget.

In terms of detail, this figure is a lot more simplistic than my usual choice, and I have to admit that if it had come out a while after it did, I probably wouldn’t have bought it at all. In the flesh, it does look quite nice, and the boots, sword and hair are well detailed, but just like Saber herself, the main costume is a little dull. Overall, it’s a technically well done piece, but it doesn’t really have any great aesthetic hooks- were I buying a Saber figure now, I would pick Alter’s Dark Saber instead.

In Your Reflection

This week’s head to head is between Bleach’s Yoruichi and Shrine of the Morning Mist’s Koma. Both are beautiful young women and formidable fighters in their true forms, but each is first seen in their alternate form as a black cat.

Fashion police: Selphie Tilmitt
Admittedly, when you’re hanging out with the FFVIII crowd, you don’t need to have the greatest fashion sense in the world, but even by the game’s standards, Selphie leaves a lot to be desired. The main offender is, of course, that hideous yellow dress, although to call it a dress is a bit of a stretch when it looks more like a duster. Not only is the colour nothing less than hideous, but the lack of fabric is a poor choice for someone who hails from the cold country of Trabia. Even an attempt to add some variety through wristbands is a failure, whilst Selphie’s hairstyle could also use work- get rid of the curls at the bottom and either cut it or tie it back.

Fashion sense: F

Amusing Search Terms

audition sea hack, hack pre audition, Down hack perfect audition, hack audition mew, hack perfect audition SEA, hack audition, hack audition perfect, hack cash audition: Please, if you’ve clicked on this post looking up one of these, can you comment and tell me what the hell they are?

busou renkin Doujin free: No doujins here.

define:lolicon: what am I, wikipedia?

utawarerumono tactics interesting: Coming soon, Uta Tactics, a specialised empire building game.

ugly Ginga Densetsu weed: Well, yes, the animation isn’t great.

GAY PASS HACK: I can’t just give out free passes.

romance of three kingdom toys: Every little boy wants a Zhuge Liang.

options21 not work: I’m very sorry it doesn’t work, but what do you want me to do about it?

harvest moon parody: “So today I thought to myself, I’ll just google for parodies of a farming game…and what do you know, I actually found one!”

2d battle maker: No, no, no, this is the isometric era.

lolicon, lolicon ero: none here.

large boobs: Large boobs sighted!

two endings weed ginga: only in the multi-path RPG, I’m afraid.

Kanon 2006 5 1/3: Episode 5 1/3, the secret hentai episode.

Amusing Spam has been put to one side since I simply get too much to sift through it all for the good stuff.

A year ago, in the dark and distant pre-Azure Flame days, I finally got around to watching both Rozen Maiden and the then recently aired second season Traumend. Despite some inconsistencies in the plot, on the whole I felt it had been an enjoyable experience, and in my mind, Rozen Maiden was firmly marked as an eminently worthy series.

The recent release of the Overture OVA, however, made me rethink my position- whilst I couldn’t deny that I had indeed enjoyed those episodes, I could no longer ignore the fact that the anime was filled with annoying plot holes. Where most people would merely grumble about these and move on, what else could I do but subject the series to the most intense scrutiny for no particular reason other than the fact that I felt like doing so?

The Plot, or where it all starts to go wrong

(although it should be fairly obvious, there will be spoilers for both anime and manga from hereon in)

At its heart, Rozen Maiden is the tale of seven animate dolls created by legendary doll maker Rozen, and brought to life by the magical Rosa Mystica. For reasons best known to himself, Rozen split the original Rosa Mystica into seven parts so that each doll could come to life, but in order to realise his vision of the perfect girl, Alice, the dolls must fight until the victor gains all seven. At this point, Rozen disappears, leaving the dolls alone until one becomes Alice and finds him.

For plot purposes, we should discount the fact that Rozen can even create living dolls in the first place, but even so, a number of questions remain. Quite apart from the issue of where the Rosae Mystica came from in the first place, why split them into seven parts just to have them reassemble again (for that matter, why spend so much time and effort on seven dolls when six of them will be ‘killed’)? Why leave the dolls on their own to fight over several eras (based on evidence from the series, they were created decades before the present day) instead of getting it over and done with? If Rozen is still living to this day, where is he, and why isn’t he dead yet? Even if, as some theorise, he put himself into the world of the N-field (more on this below), how did he do so?

These general issues aside, further questions arise when we consider the first and seventh Rozen Maidens- Suigintou and Kirakishou. Even a man as mysteriously gifted as Rozen can make mistakes sometimes, and his first attempt at creating a Rozen Maiden was less than spectacular. As the Overture OVA shows us, Suigintou was unfinished and left on the shelf, but despite being abandoned by her ‘Father’, he later returns to give her a Rosa Mystica anyway. If he intended for Suigintou to become a full Rozen Maiden with Rosa Mystica, why not finish her and give her the Rosa Mystica straightaway?

If that was bizarre, however, it is nothing when compared to the seventh doll, Kirakishou. It is perhaps a bit of a stretch to even call Kirakishou a doll when she actually has no physical body and thus can only live in the N-field (it isn’t easy to explain the N-field, but basically it is a sort of dream world created by people’s hearts and desires). It is unknown just how Rozen could create such a doll, or even why he didn’t give her a body in the first place.

These basic flaws lie at the heart of the Rozen Maiden universe, but even so, they seem no more offensive than those of many series, and could perhaps have been accepted if not for the franchise’s great plot black hole, more commonly known as Rozen Maiden Traumend.

Traumend, a whole new exercise in inconsistency
A series plagued with issues from start to finish, Traumend can perhaps be explained by the fact that the writers never expected it to exist, and then did not realise that they would be required to leave things open for a third season. The result- a mess of plotlines and mixed up manga chapters.

Suigintou Repaired

A callous disregard for the future saw Suigintou destroyed at the end of season one, but with so many fanboys, her resurrection for Traumend was near guaranteed. Although she was presumably repaired by Rozen somehow, exactly how could he do this or why he would ‘reset’ the situation when he presumably wants to dolls to defeat each other as per the Alice Game remains unexplained within the context of the series.

For those unwilling to do the maths, this is approximately 67 years, and is a line borrowed from Shinku and Suigintou’s first reunion in the manga. Placing it in Traumend is a pointless blunder, however, as it means that it has been 67 years since the first season.

Laplace
Although he can take the form of a normal human, Laplace’s actual appearance seems to be that of a humanoid rabbit, with no purpose beyond declaring the Alice Game ‘open’ or ‘closed’ in any given era. Exactly why the Alice Game needs to stop and start, let alone the reason for leaving it in the hands of a bizarre rabbit man, remains undisclosed.

The Alice Game begins now
Leading on from the last point, we have the fact that the Alice Game is declared properly ‘open’ in Traumend, despite Shinku talking about in the first season as if it were already in progress. One consequence of this is that at an arbitrary point in the series, Hinaichigo loses her Rosa Mystica to Shinku (who defeated her as far back as episode two of the first season), leading to a tearful goodbye which is entirely derailed by its random placement in the Rozen Maiden timeline. It is true that Shinku refused to take it in season one, but if she had no choice but to do so once the Alice Game was ‘opened’ at the start of Traumend, why did it then take most of the series for Hinaichigo to lose it?

Enju
One of the biggest “now he is, now he isn’t” moments in anime came from Enju, a blonde doll maker who turned out to be a jealous apprentice of Rozen, rather than being the man himself. One must wonder how Enju survived as many decades as Rozen himself, not to mention how he managed to create his own Rozen Maiden copy, Barasuishou, without a part of the original Rosa Mystica.

‘Actually, there is another way’
As if to add insult to injury, the closing instalments of Traumend seem to indicate that there is a way to avoid the Alice Game and thus the destruction of six of the seven Rozen Maidens. The story is certainly flawed as it is, but to add such a predictable cop out to the Battle Royale is the most disappointing thing since the ending of Mai-HiME.

A Problem for the Future
Assuming there is a season three, a rather large problem arises; in the manga, Kirakishou enters the real world by consuming Hinaichigo, but in the anime, Hinaichigo has died and yet Kirakishou remains in the N-field. Exactly how this can be resolved if the anime has a third season will remain unknown until the point at which it actually airs.

Final Thoughts
Even though Rozen Maiden’s problems run deep, many of them could be exorcised if only Traumend and Overture did not exist. Even as I continue with the manga in the hopes of seeing the story ‘as it should be’, I must lament the disappointing place that this once enjoyable anime has ended up in.

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.

By virtue of recalling how dull a character Saber is, I’ve managed to get the need for Dark Saber and Maid Saber out of my system (not the one with the chair, the one that actually looks good), but unfortunately the figure wish list just keeps on growing. Aside from the expensive Feena which I’m still deliberating over, the current list includes the following (bear in mind that I have no idea who either of these characters are):

• Shiki: I rarely see worthy male figures, but this one looks quite appealing, and it’s cheap enough to be seriously considered.
• Saika: Quite expensive for what it is, but I love the hair, and the blue colour scheme will contrast nicely with Ignis and Hikaru.

Reviewed this week: Aria the Natural 18-19, Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto 7-8, Busou Renkin 11, Kanon 12, Keroro 74, MariMite OVA 1, Red Garden 11, ROTK 36, Rozen Maiden Ouverture

…and in manga: Hataraki Man 2, Mai-Otome vol 5, REC 23-5, SaiMono 5

ANIME

Aria the Natural 18-19: There’s no better tonic for washing away the ills of the day than a double dose of Aria, and as always, you cannot help but be drawn into the gentle world of Neo Venezia. Both of these episodes feature a refreshing change of focus by bringing Aika into the spotlight- eighteen sees her grow her hair out, only to burn it at a barbecue shortly afterwards, whilst nineteen follows her exploits after catching a cold. Even cheesy sentiments like “just be yourself” and the Aika X Al of the latter part of nineteen (I’m usually not too keen on this aspect of the series, but I am getting used to it) seem good in episodes of such excellence.

Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto 7-8: Despite the near-laughable ridiculousness of having a ‘gwakaka’ class villain who controls a yellow ball of doom, Bakumatsu manages to remain strong in this pair of episodes, which seemingly conclude the Nakaiya arc. It may just be the atmospheric setting and the top notch animation, but Bakumatsu seems to have absorbed Chevalier’s quality of taking the near-cheesy and turning into something compelling.

Busou Renkin 11: More of an odds and ends episode than anything else, this instalment has the obligatory Flashback Mode section for Kazuki’s opponents, before wrapping up the fight and installing the twins as friends and rivals rather than outright enemies. Although he does look rather terrifying in close-up, Moon-Face makes a welcome appearance here, but just when are we going to see his face change to full- and what does it say about the series when this is the thing I am most looking forward to?

Kanon 12: Before I talk about the episode itself, I really want to rant about Yuuichi and Mai’s waltz (I’m assuming it was meant to be a waltz). I appreciate that neither of them had much dancing experience, but seriously, what was that? They were barely in hold, there was no rise and fall- even Squall and Rinoa did better. Anyway, with that out of the way, this seemed to be another pick and mix episode, combining elements from Ayu and Mai’s storylines, and seeing Yuuichi back to his normal sarcastic self. Kanon seems to have settled into a pattern of mediocrity by this point- it’s not particularly awful, but it hardly grabs the emotions in the way it is supposed to.

*DROPPED* Keroro Gunso 74: The time has come to accept the fact that Keroro isn’t going to get any better- in fact, if this episode is anything to go by, then it is steadily getting worse. A pick and mix of fifteen shorts, Keroro manages to once again take the tiresomely overused and grind it into the ground just that little bit more. No matter how enjoyable the series used to be, the time has come to accept that I must move on and stop subjecting myself to this sort of pain.

*NEW* Maria-sama ga Miteru OVA 1: HARD YURI, flower petals and overflowing angst- what else could it be than a new episode of MariMite? This 50 minute OVA episode sees Yumi accompany Sachiko to her summer villa, only to end up spending half the week in complete monotony, before the obligatory evil lesbian trio show up to spoil the other half- at least until everything comes right at the end. Unsurprisingly, it’s a little too overdramatic for its own good, and I couldn’t help feeling sorry for poor innocent Yumi as she grappled against both boredom and minor antagonists, but despite being annoyed with Sachiko’s attitude towards her petite-soeur at the beginning, it was good to see her acting like a real human being by the end. Overall, not something that needed to take fifty minutes, but reasonably entertaining nonetheless, if not up to the TV series in terms of both content and animation quality.

Red Garden 11: Red Garden is a title that has become synonymous with angst, and this episode is no exception; Kate angsts over her position in Grace, Rachel angsts over her relationship with her boyfriend, Claire angsts over finding a job (again) until finally going back to the very place she originally left, and Rose just angsts in the background. All hope of a coherent plot is slowly slipping away, but at least certain characters look as if they must soon turn evil and thus have to be beaten to death with Claire’s baseball bat.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms 36: Unfortunately, ROTK 36 isn’t as hilariously awful as some of the series’ finer moments, but watching four episodes in the space of a few days really can’t do much to promote the series’ (lack of) worth. I have to admit I’m at the stage where I’m getting bored of ROTK, but with just eleven episodes left to go, I can probably make it to the end regardless of how quickly it is subbed.

*SPECIAL* Rozen Maiden Ouverture 1-2: I deliberately kept my expectations low for this OVA, and perhaps that it was just as well, since it wasn’t terribly enthralling. Instead of answering the numerous questions raised by Traumend in particular, this OVA just confuses the issue even more- in fact, I plan to write an article about the flaws of Rozen Maiden in the near future. Story-wise, the OVA chronicles the first meeting between Shinku and Suigintou; in principle, such a tale should be interesting, but unfortunately, I was distracted by the various contradictions and plot holes that I have come to realise exist in the Rozen Maiden universe.

MANGA

*DROPPED* Hataraki Man 2: I wanted to give the manga a chance to see if it was any better than the anime, but unfortunately, it wasn’t. This instalment resolves the corrupt minister story started in chapter one, but unfortunately most pages are a combination of a headache inducing layout, forgettable characters, and dialogue that barely makes sense. This series is definitely one to miss.

*COMPLETE* Mai-Otome 36-44: It may have necessitated reading an entire volume in one sitting, but at long last, the Mai-Otome manga is over and done with (at least until the Zwei manga is translated). Fanservice in every sense of the word, this volume packs in F-cup breasts, HiME cameos, HARD YURI and a complete lack of any kind of coherent plot- just what you’d expect from this series, really. Following a fight against evil HiME and the final boss form of Sergey, everyone settles down to their lives as Manshiro’s harem members; the artwork may be good, but that’s about it.

REC 23-25: I have to admit that these last few chapters left me feeling a little uncomfortable- taking a previously likable character and having him commit what amounts to attempted rape was going too far even for a series that has always bordered on the adult. I can’t help wondering if the series included this simply because it is running out of ways to put stress on Aka and Matsumaru’s relationship; I’ll continue reading for now, but the series really isn’t going in the direction I wanted or expected.

Saiunkoku Monogatari 5: I’m desperate to see more of the SaiMono anime, but in the meantime, this chapter from the very first arc of the series will have to do. This chapter sees Shuurei realise that Ryuuki is not as stupid as he pretends, whilst in the background Ran and the others try to figure out who is attempting to poison Shuurei. It may be a healthy 45 pages, but it still feels far too short.

From some viewpoints, this may seem a little strange- surely black and white pictures squeezed onto an A5 page cannot compared to something that has colour, movement and sound? Admittedly, this is often case for action series; trying to follow a battle via static images is often a futile cause, but most other genres seem to lose something in the transition from page to screen. Not only is manga a medium in which the audience can easily set their own pace, but a story designed to fill a certain number of pages may simply not adapt well to being squeezed into a set amount of 25 minute episodes- all too often, the pace of the anime becomes too slow at the start and too rushed towards the end. Whilst this is a general complaint, however, there are many other causes which affect specific series, some of which I will try to cover below.

• Catching up with the manga. For long running series, this may mean the inclusion of the dreaded filler arc, anime-original material which rarely lives up to the manga and often drags on forever, but which ultimately keeps the franchise warm.
• Anime original endings. If the manga is still ongoing, or the anime simply doesn’t have enough episodes to cover the whole story, it has no choice but to create its own ending, which all too often is inconclusive and unsatisfying finale that seems destined to make frustrated viewers turn to the manga.
• Sticking too close to the original. There are a number of series which are very successful examples of remaining faithful to the manga, but it can be a bit of a double-edged sword. For a series like Death Note, familiarity with the story adds a degree of impatience to the viewing experience, since there is always a sense of just wanting to get on with it. Viewers may equally not want to waste time and money on experiencing the same story twice over.
• Alternatively, diverging too much is not always wise, as Gonzo’s adaptations often seem to demonstrate. Whenever an element is changed, you run the risk of damaging the very qualities that made the series enjoyable in the first place; arguably it is a risk worth taking to see what new qualities can be brought to the franchise, but it is all too often a gamble that does not pay off.

Contradictory as these points are, they are all factors that must be considered when bringing a manga series to life, and all too often they prove to be stumbling blocks that damage the respective anime.

All that being said, I thought it would be interesting to point out the series that have broken the trend and improved on the foundations of their respective franchises.

Angelic Layer
As I pointed out in my recent review, the Angelic Layer manga isn’t bad, but it does suffer from being very fast paced. In contrast, the anime does perhaps drag on a bit, but it has more time to devote to character and story development. Since each version of the story has its own strengths and weaknesses, I find it hard to pick out which one I prefer, but both are good for some low-demand light entertainment.

Aria
As with several of the other titles to come, Aria is not so much a case of improving on the manga as simply maintaining the standard; whether brought to life by an animation studio or Kozue Amano’s beautiful artwork, the sweet and simple tale of the undines of Neo-Venezia is a touching story that will always have a special place in my heart.

Hikaru no Go
The HnG manga was a good story that could only have been improved by not ending so abruptly, and the fact that the anime was so faithful to the manga (bar some of the later material) means both are worthy of note.

Honey and Clover
Since I haven’t read far enough in the manga to compare it to the original, I won’t comment on Honey and Clover II, but both the first season and the corresponding manga chapters weave an absorbing story of a group of people making the transition (or not) from college life to the real world.

Hunter X Hunter
Whilst HxH is a worthy concept in any form, the manga suffered from rough artwork and an overly fast pace in certain arcs. The anime cleaned things up, added some filler material that was actually good, and generally created a superior product overall.

Kokoro Library
The Kokoro Library manga suffered from its very short chapters; each instalment was more like a brief snapshot of life at the library than something that told any kind of story. In animated form, we were finally able to get to know the characters and setting a lot better, and thus properly enjoy this appealing story.

La Corda d’Oro
It’s still early days for the English manga release, but so far the story hasn’t quite lived up to the animated version- with its sparse page content and less aesthetically pleasing character designs, the manga does not exert the same draw as the anime. There is still plenty of time for it to improve, however, and hopefully it will find its feet soon.

Le Chevalier d’Eon
The first chapter of the Chevalier manga was not at all what I was expecting; where the anime is a historical fantasy that manages to excel despite stepping close to the realms of cheese, the manga seems to be more of a straightforward action series featuring a magical transvestite who switches between laid back bishounen and evil-fighting Otome wannabe.

Mushishi
Be it anime or manga, Mushishi is excellent whatever form it comes in. The anime adds colour and music to the manga stories, but whilst it has superior presentation, the manga has more chapters and thus a wider selection of stories to choose from.

Ouran High School Host Club
Like many comedy series, Ouran is simply that much better in animated form- what can be static and confusing on the page becomes vibrant and enjoyable onscreen. In particular, the manga version suffered from the fact that it was not always possible to tell certain characters apart- a factor which was never a problem in the anime- whilst their respective VAs really brought some additional vitality to the lively characters of the Ouran Host Club.

Pretear
I would hardly call Pretear an especially good story under any circumstances, but the anime and manga complemented each other nicely by offering a slightly different perspective on the same events. Together, they make a mediocre story rather than two poor stories.

Read or Die
Flame me if you like, but I read the first volume of the ROD manga (Die, not Dream), and I didn’t really like it. Much as I liked the idea of seeing Nenene and Yomiko’s past, I couldn’t follow the action, and the dialogue was so heavy that it gave me a headache. I really enjoyed the OVA, but this manga did little for me.

Rozen Maiden
Despite the lack of those little inconsistencies that plagued the anime, the Rozen Maiden manga simply lacks the impact of the animated version. Where the manga has somewhat scrappy and simplistic artwork (and reputedly increased harem leanings as the series progresses), the anime has high quality visuals and music- perfect for establishing the goth-loli atmosphere. Nonetheless, I must read the later volumes to see what the story was meant to be, as opposed to what it was in Traumend.

Tactics
Most Tactics fans prefer the manga and slate the anime, but even if I stand virtually alone in this, I really enjoyed the Tactics anime- despite Kantarou’s hideous personality, it was a worthy fantasy series that filled my need for such an anime. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough- I could do with a second season.

Tokyo Mew Mew
It can’t be denied that the TMM anime is mostly filler, and while that in itself is somewhat tedious, it did give the supporting characters a chance to do something. The manga was so highly focused on Ichigo and her boyfriend that hardly anyone else got a look in, but the anime finally brought the more interesting characters to the fore, even if it was via a monster of the week format.

Final Thoughts
Adapting a story that was conceived with one medium in mind is never an easy task, and whilst most studios are up to producing an anime that is at least reasonably entertaining, more often than not, they simply cannot live up to the original. With that in mind, it isn’t likely that I’ll stop saying ‘the manga is better’ any time soon.

Coming soon: Part Two- anime based on games.

EXTRA ADDITIONS

Koi Kaze
As already mentioned in comments, the Koi Kaze does indeed improve on the manga, taking a story which is solid and turning into something where the viewer becomes completely absorbed by the characters and their situation. A quietly powerful series, Koi Kaze demonstrates just how much colour and sound can enhance a story as opposed to detracting from it.

Pani Poni Dash!
PPD and its original manga share the common trait of being completely and utterly random, but what works onscreen is not always as successful on the page. Watching a colourful and crazy anime can be entertaining, but trying to follow similar events on the page just leads to confusion and an inability to get into the series at all. Nowhere is this better demonstrated than with Pani Poni, which carries the viewer along in anime form, but leaves the reader cold as a manga.

REC
The REC anime may have been a little too short, but at least it was also a reasonably enjoyable mix of drama and romance. In principle, the manga should be better since it takes the story further, but unfortunately, it is not as desirable as it would first seem. Not only do the characters continually get stuck in endless ruts of angst, but the content verges on the uncomfortably adult at times, with everything from an attempted rape to one of the female characters spilling her drink all over her exposed crotch.

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