Sadly no- that’s why I dropped the series.

Reviewed this week: Hidamari Sketch x365 5-6, Itazura na Kiss 18, Koihime Musou 5, Kyouran Kazoku Nikki 13, Nabari no Ou 19, Natsume Yuujinchou 6, Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu 5, Ryoko’s Case File 5, Slayers Revolution 6, Someday’s Dreamers ~Summer Skies~ 5, Soul Eater 19, World Destruction 5-6, Xam’D 4-5

…and in manga: Doubt 1-13, FMA 86, Minami-ke 36, Mozart Doesn’t Sing Lullabies 11, Nodame Cantabile 122, Shinigami no Ballad 4-6, Sketchbook 17-18, Tsubasa 195-6, xxxHOLiC 162

CURRENT SERIES RANKINGS

1. Chi’s Sweet Home (1)- cuteness overload
2. Hidamari Sketch x365 (3) – 365 times the fun
3. Soul Eater (4) – vectors
4. Xam’d- Lost Memories (5) – what’s going on?
5. Natsume Yuujinchou (6) – Nyanko-sensei forever!
6. Wagaya no Oinari-sama (7) – pure white oni
7. Nabari no Ou (8) – change of side
8. Detroit Metal City (12) – I’m gonna f***ing raep you!
9. Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu (10) – Shiina
10. Slayers Revolution (9) – Dragon Slave
11. Koihime Musou (13) – Guan Yu has more breasts and less beard
12. Antique Bakery (14) – Young Master!
13. Kyouran Kazoku Nikki (15) – everything at or below this time is wasting my precious life!
14. Someday’s Dreamers ~Summer Skies~ (16) – magic can’t do everything
15. Ryoko’s Case File (17) – superintendant
16. Real Drive (18) – flashback
17. World Destruction (19) – tree
18. Himitsu (20) – faceless
19. Allison and Lillia (22) – plane crash is the new train wreck
20. Telepathy Shoujo Ran (23) – and I would have gotten away with it too, if it wasn’t for those meddling kids!
21. Itazura na Kiss (25) – dislikeable cast
22. Chocolate Underground (26) – chocolate is forbidden

ANIME

Hidamari Sketch x365 5-6: It’s time for double fun with Hidamari Sketch, starting with an episode in which Chika visits during spring break- a situation in which very little of consequence happens, but it all proves to be entertaining (although for some reason I just can’t like Chika as much as the other girls). Next up, we have a two-part episode which starts with Sae using up her summer vacation to think up new storylines, with the old running joke about her not wanting to admit her lack of experience in love, before rounding off with a November segment about making choux pastry. It’s all good fun, and adding in a cooking element is just the icing on the cake (no pun intended), making for a series that is always entertaining to watch.

Itazura na Kiss 18: At the risk of sounding ever so slightly repetitive, I must note how much I hate all the characters in Itazura na Kiss. Whilst Kotoko continues being such a useless trainee nurse that I fear for the health of anyone who becomes her patient, Naoki continues to be a cold-hearted bastard who cares more for the newspaper than his wife. Understandably, Kotoko’s friends wonder how she can put up with such a husband, but after coming across as quite a sympathetic character, Keita manages to blow it by suggesting that Kotoko break up with Naoki as casually as if they were just dating. No, they shouldn’t be together, but having married you’d better be damn sure you know the situation before suggesting they break up. Maybe I’m getting too old to enjoy this sort of thing.

What a loving relationship.

Koihime Musou 5: When our heroines stumble upon a village where a mysterious monster blocks up their homes with rocks if they don’t offer it food, Zhao Yun volunteers them for the task of sorting it out. Naturally, the other two girls are scared at the prospect of a monster- although of course the explanation is far more prosaic, as it turns out to be the solitary Lu Bu (Ryofu) living alone and feeding dogs- at least until she makes some brand new friends and comes to work in the court of the surprisingly young and cute Dong Zhuo- a far cry from his fat, bearded Dynasty Warriors self.

Kyouran Kazoku Nikki 13: After the fillerific episode twelve, the only way for Kyouran Kazoku Nikki was up, and indeed, after episode thirteen, it’s managed to claw its way back up to the usual level of senselessness that the series specialises in. This time around, we see Chika struggling with being an outsider, whilst also dealing with disappearances at her school that lead into the introduction of a tiresome main villain for the series. Sadly, any chance of a thoughtful moment of character insight is completely spoiled by the stupidity that surrounds it- but that’s what we’ve come to expect from this series.

Nabari no Ou 19: The tranquil pace continues in this episode, as Yoite returns from walkabout to eat strawberry cake (of Doom) and Yukimi has a flashback to the days when Yoite didn’t even have his own name. There are actually hints that something might be happening soon by the end of the episode, but everything’s become so convoluted that I don’t hold out hope that anything can be settled in a timely fashion.

Natsume Yuujinchou 6: When a dammed up river dries out for the summer, the spirits that live there are free to get out- including some who’d like their names back from the Book of Friends. Also emerging from the river is a swallow spirit who wants nothing more than to see a particular person again- but can Natsume be persuaded to aid her in her quest, and if he does, what will Nyanko-sensei think of it? Although I’m still unsure as to why Nyanko-sensei has even chosen to stay with Natsume, this was a nice little character development piece for our lead as he realises that he can and does care about other people.

Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu 5: Haruka remains in safe anime territory this week as ‘panty shot girl’ Shiina transfers into Yuuto and Haruka’s class and becomes an instant hit. What follows is the obligatory swimming pool episode, but even if this series isn’t budging from the tried-and-true storylines of anime, it still just manages to be more entertaining than the lower level series on the list. Maybe it’s just the bright colours, but it certainly has something they lack.

Ryoko’s Case File 5: Although I had heard second-hand that Ryoko’s Case File would improve in this episode, I have to say that it’s an improvement so small as to be imperceptible to me. This time around, Jun’ichirou is looking after a young relative of his when a case suddenly comes up, forcing him and Ryoko to enter a building owned by a business, get kidnapped for about two minutes, and do some other things so fascinating that I don’t even recall what they were. Meanwhile, instead of realising the wisdom of staying put, said young relative decides to walk right into danger, making the whole situation that much trickier. Oh, but she does secretly have a crush on Jun’ichirou, so I suppose that makes it all right.

Slayers Revolution 6: It’s time for the obligatory HARD GAY episode as our intrepid heroes enter ‘Gongoro’, a legendary village which devotes its time to making giant balls to roll up a mountain (no, really). What follows is the typical competition episode as Lina’s team, Pocota’s team and some minor enemies all support different factions in the ball-rolling contest- it’s reasonably entertaining, but this story was already done better between Lina and Naga in one of the OVAs.

Someday’s Dreamers ~Summer Skies~ 5: After the creepiness of the breast milk, any magic the series showed us could only be an improvement, although sadly all it does is take the series into the realms of the unbearably twee. First up, Sora uses her power to restore a treasured comb that a woman’s deceased husband clutched as he went to his death, before she awakens a mother who has been in a coma- albeit at the expense of her memories. I’m rather happy that magic couldn’t solve anything in the latter case, as if it had I might have just been overcome by the unhealthy wholesomeness of it all. In other news, we learn that Sora’s mentor likes playing the guitar, and that minor characters like screentime- which is no big surprise.

Soul Eater 19: The named characters are ready to fight their opponents, who have happily been laid in such a way that everyone gets their own personal fight. First up, the junior members must get past Medusa whilst Stein and Papa distract her- but will even the professor be a match for her vector-based attacks (with vectors and symmetry, this is turning into a surprisingly mathematical series)? Well, we know that the heroes must prevail, but watching them fight is the main attraction here- and it’s one that seems certain to keep us thoroughly entertained (see, I can give praise where it’s due).

World Destruction 5-6: If there’s one thing you can say about World Destruction, it’s that at least it’s consistent- consistently poor, that is. In episode five, we enter a town where an old friend of Toppi’s (his name is Yappi, he’s a small black bear with an eyepatch and he says ‘bear’ at the end of every sentence- but no resemblance to anyone we know, eh?) has fallen to the dark practice of selling humans to the gladiatorial arena- but don’t worry, boys and girls, because Toppi will help him see the light. Next up, our heroes enter Summerland, only for Kyrie (I remember his name now) to faint in the heat and end up under the care of an elephant beastman who is secretly trying to atone for the evils of his past. Oh well, at least the series is helping to improve my multitasking abilities, since I can now download images, watch anime and have another streaming video running all at the same time without missing out on too much.

Xam’D- Lost Memories 4-5: I have to admit that as Xam’D progresses, I’m starting to lose the thread of what’s going on- although in spite of that it remains a quality series nonetheless. Whilst Akiyuki settles into the training needed to become a postal worker who doesn’t transform into a monster, various other characters follow separate threads, with the series seemingly setting up a Dominic-style character in episode five. I get the feeling this series would be better watched as a marathon, but that’s not exactly possible right now.

MANGA

*CATCH-UP* Doubt 1-13: Inspired by both Necromancer and THAT, I’ve jumped on the bandwagon of Doubt (not to be confused with an older manga series, also called Doubt). As I’m sure you’ve heard already, Rabbit Doubt is a popular online game where the players take on the role of rabbits out to find the wolf in their midst before they all get killed; unfortunately, things go a step too far when a real life meeting of Rabbit Doubt players ends with them being locked in a Cube-esque labyrinth with barcodes that open one door each and a wolf out to kill them. Over the course of the first thirteen chapters, a tale of horror, suspense and mystery unfolds- but typically enough we’ll have to wait for the release of chapter 14 to find out the culprit. And, equally pressingly- does the series end after this case, or will there be more to it? Whatever the case, it’s been a solid experience.

Fullmetal Alchemist 86: With Al possessed by Pride, Ed and Greed might be up against more they can handle- especially when the regrown Gluttony shows up and tries to open his fake Gates of Truth. Meanwhile, there are wheels within wheels in the military, but does anyone have the power to topple Father and Bradley? Whatever the case, I cannot express enough how I want the rest of the manga here, not drip fed in monthly chapters.

Minami-ke 36: It’s another brief yet amusing segment as Kana holds an impromptu session on staying away from suspicious people- but should ‘Uncle’ Takeru be counted amongst their number? Just what is his relation to the girls anyway? And even when this question is answered, will Kana still consider him a suspicious person? These are of course rhetorical questions, but it’s amazing how the series can pack all this into a mere nine pages.

Mozart Doesn’t Sing Lullabies 11: Now that Beethoven and Czerny have found the magic flute, they are deeper into the mystery of Mozart’s death than ever before- and there are those who don’t want them to uncover any more. For whilst Salieri might have been the culprit, the conspiracy involves the might of the Freemasons, and if he continues to investigate, Beethoven’s safety can’t be guaranteed. Of course, this warning is only likely to fuel our cranky hero’s curiosity, but is that exact what they are counting on? Other than that, not a great deal happens in this chapter, but there’s the feeling that we’re being set up for bigger and better things to happen in the second half of the series.

Nodame Cantabile 122: At long last the time for Chiaki and Rui’s joint performance has arrived, and although it may not be the most polished of pieces, the audience cannot help but be blown away by the display of emotion therein- Nodame included. There’s not much else to say about this chapter, except that UK readers interested in conducting might be interested in ‘Maestro’, a new TV series where celebrities learn how to conduct.

Shinigami no Ballad 4-6: I don’t know how I failed to notice it, but I somehow got three full chapters behind on Shinigami no Ballad, which for this series is the best part of a volume. In these stories we see a teacher reaching out to a young girl who has become too used to being alone, a middle school student falling for a senpai who can use magic and a cat who wants only to comfort a young girl whose mother has disappeared. All of these are worthy healing tales, and even though Momo largely remains in the background as the thin thread that pulls it all together, it remains a highly enjoyable series.

Sketchbook 17-18: Summer has come to the world of Sketchbook, and despite the lack of cats, our protagonists are outside, enjoying everything from the beach to insects. In terms of amusement, this series is really going from strength to strength- even if you were underwhelmed by the anime, you must try it.

Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle 195-6: The purification ceremony is finally here, but when Sakura and Syaoran enter the shrine, an unpleasant surprise is waiting- Fei Wong has opened a portal, and branded Sakura with a deadly curse, all because Syaoran hesitated in saving her. What does this all mean for the plot? CLAMP only knows.

xxxHOLiC 162: At long last, a new customer has come to the shop with a rather unusual request- she wants to learn how to cook. But whilst Haruka might reflect on how far Watanuki has come, for the rest of us it’s a rather strange turn of events- is xxxHOLiC about to become the new Masterchef? Has the series run out of steam?

]]> http://azureflame.dasaku.net/2008/08/15/weekly-round-up-august-15th/feed/ 2 http://azureflame.dasaku.net/2007/09/21/weekly-round-up-september-21st/ http://azureflame.dasaku.net/2007/09/21/weekly-round-up-september-21st/#comments Fri, 21 Sep 2007 13:53:29 +0000 Karura http://azureflame.ikimashou.net/2007/09/21/weekly-round-up-september-21st/

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

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

ANIME

CURRENT SERIES RANKINGS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MANGA

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

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

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

Sorry for the lateness in posting this, it will probably won’t happen again.

Reviewed this week: Baccano 1, Cazador 17, Darker than Black 17, Dennou Coil 8-11, Doujin Work 4, Higurashi Kai 4, Ichigo Mashimaro OVA 3, Mononoke 1, Mushi-Uta 3-4, Romeo X Juliet 16, SaiMono 16, Zetsubou 3, Seirei 16

…and in manga: Emma Bangaihen 10, Shinigami no Ballad 2, Solanin 8-9, Spiral 42-3, Spiral Alive 7, Tennai 26-7, Tsubasa 162

ANIME

CURRENT SERIES RANKINGS

1. Dennou Coil (1) – to infinite 1337, and beyond!
2. Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (2) – needs more Sensei
3. SaiMono II (3) – the arc surges forward again
4. Darker than Black (4) – we can’t afford a plotless arc!
5. Baccano! (-) – intriguing <- new!
6. Mononoke (-) – middling fare <- new!
7. Tetsuko no Tabi (6)- train adventures
8. Romeo X Juliet (7) – Hermione comes, Hermione goes
9. Doujin Work (8) – this is becoming a guilty pleasure
10. Mushi-Uta (5) – senseless but watchable
11. Seirei no Moribito (9) – an exercise in monotony
12. Koutetsu Sangokushi (11) – HARD GAY
13. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai (12) – inoffensive
14. El Cazador de la Bruja (13) – redefining dull

SLOW RANKINGS

1. Shounen Onmyouji (1)- a new episode after so long
2. Sisters of Wellber (-) – demoted to slow
3. Love GetChu! (2)- light entertainment
4. ROTK (3)- hilariously bad

OVA RANKINGS

1. Ichigo Mashimaro (1)- a slice of enjoyment <-complete!
2. MariMite (2)- more HARD YURI than ever
3. Mai-Otome Zwei (3)- more fat cats, less nipples please

*NEW* Baccano! 1: I’ve been looking forward to Baccano for a while, in the hopes that it would be parody material, Chevalier US, or both, and whilst this isn’t the best of starts, I am still intrigued. The first half of the episode sees the Vice Director (whoever he is) and his assistant try to pinpoint where the story began and who the main character is, before we enter the gangland wars of 1930’s America, complete with too many named characters to get a handle on, at least some of whom have superhuman healing abilities. I’m not entirely sure where all this is going, but like early Iroha, it’s well directed enough to make you want to continue with the series and see where it ends up.

El Cazador de la Bruja 17: Once, I thought I understood the meaning of the word dull, but then I watched El Cazador de la Bruja, and I came to realise that I had but the vaguest understanding of the sheer grey monotony the world is capable of. With this in mind, this particular episode, which I would once have considered boring, doesn’t actually seem too bad, offering a change of pace by letting bounty hunter Nadie actually pursue a bounty for once. Of course, every named character randomly shows up, and Nadie is revealed to be so useless that even the generics Mireille and Kirika killed every week could beat her, but the point is that this is an ever so slight change from the tedious formula that brought us the infamous Amigo Tacos episode.

Darker than Black 17: At the risk of being overly informal, what the hell is going on with this series? Once it was one of the Best Things Ever, but ever since Havoc breathed her last, the whole thing has been in a slow decline, resulting in this “break from the plot that never was” episode, in which Hei befriends a Benign Yakuza and eats dinner with his generic neighbours. I’d like to say more, but aside from disturbing Doll-service, that’s all that really happens here- all in all, this series seems to have followed Iroha in starting out by oozing masses of potential, only for it all to slowly leach away into the soil.

“Here’s your free naked apron girl!”

Dennou Coil 8-11: Is it my birthday? Is it Christmas? No, it’s something even better- four consecutive releases of Dennou Coil to make up for those empty weeks without it. Happily, unlike certain other series, Dennou Coil shows absolutely no signs of getting dull in its middle episodes; in fact, if anything, it seems to be going from strength to strength. Between them, these four episodes cover the local summer festival, a test of courage during an overnight stay at the school, a ‘treasure hunt’ following a map Haraken sees in a dream, and finally the disastrous sequence of events that occur when Daichi tries to raise an Illegal in the hope of getting metabugs from it. As well as proving highly entertaining in themselves, these episodes continue to flesh out both the characters and the world they live in, with Daichi especially growing beyond the “annoying antagonist” he started off as. Also of note is that Illegals come in more than one type- up until now, we’ve only seen ones that devour metabugs, but the one Daichi raises is more interested in eating textures. I could ramble on for a while longer, but only one thing really needs to be said- and that’s how much I love this series.

Doujin Work 4: There wasn’t as much laughing (or even chuckling) out loud in this episode, but somehow Doujin Work continues to entertain- and with such light content, 14 minutes is the perfect length to ensure that it doesn’t outstay its welcome. In this episode, Najimi reveals that, far from earning her fortune, making doujins has forced her to take on a part-time job just to cover the cost of printing- and upon following her, her friends discover that her place of work is actually a catgirl café. Naturally, things proceed predictably from there, but it still proves to be enjoyable- this series may well turn out to be the season’s guilty pleasure.

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai 4: Watanagashi is here (again), and whilst Rika worries that the same tragic events will occur and bore the audience in their repetition, Satoko continues to suspect that something is up with her best friend- even if everyone else thinks the problem is with her. Once again, there are no extremes of good and bad to point out in this series, and so it remains watchable in its inoffensiveness.

*COMPLETE* Ichigo Mashimaro OVA 3: The Ichigo Mashimaro OVA comes to an end with this anime-original episode that sees the girls take a trip to Izu so that Nobue can violate them in the woods spend good, wholesome time with them. After the slightly below expectations middle episode, this one is back on form in terms of humour, whilst Miu haters will be pleased to hear that she spends eight hours stuck in the boot of the car when Nobue takes a wrong turn. It’s just a shame that the OVA has to end here, because I’m suddenly ready for more of the same.

*NEW* Mononoke 1: Ayakashi may have been dull, but even so, this spin-off featuring the medicine seller seemed worth trying- and indeed, whilst it isn’t overly engaging, nor is it too bad so far. In this episode, medicine seller stays at a inn where all is not as it seems, and when a pregnant woman starts seeing a talking doll, it seems like time for the main character to step in. In all honesty, it would have been better for the pacing if they had chosen to make this a self-contained single episode story instead of leaving the conclusion until next time (or maybe even the time afterwards), but for now I am content to keep watching in the hopes that it will fulfil my need episodic supernatural horror stories.

Mushi-Uta 3-4: With four episodes under my belt, I have to admit that Mushi-Uta’s fusion of regular high school antics and bug brawling is generally senseless, but it’s because of this that I can continue watching it. Since I don’t really have much of an idea of what’s going, it makes the series easier to watch than if it was entirely transparent, and for that reason, even though I feel I should drop it, I’m going to continue with the series. At least the character designs are nice to look at.

First this guy was Hakuoro, and now he’s Yuuichi.

Romeo X Juliet 16: Sick and tired of Romeo’s adventures down the mine shaft? Then you’ll be glad to hear that this episode swings more towards Juliet’s side of the story- at least until I fill in a few more details. For whilst Juliet is angsting over news that there was an accident at the mines, Hermione decides to muscle her way into the plot by confronting the wicked hussy who stole her fiancé’s heart- only to go home again the next morning, having accomplished precisely nothing. It’s hard to say what the plot is aiming for other than wasting time before the final arc, but having come this far, I may as well keep going.

Saiunkoku Monogatari II 16: After half an episode of angst on Yougetsu and Kourin’s part, Eigetsu is brought back to life, although the cost is that Yougetsu is now dormant. With that over, it is time for the story to start moving forward again, and when the decision is made to hand over Sa Province’s governorship to Kai You, it ends with Shuurei being stripped of everything but her title as an official. Where will our lead go from here? Of course, having read spoilers I know, but whilst it was disappointingly plain from the start that the Sa Province position had to be temporary, it will still be interesting to move onto the next part of the story. Meanwhile, although I also knew that Eigetsu wouldn’t die, the way in which he magically comes back is not only overly convenient, but it also undermines the lengthy setup about his death- not that I’m not glad to have him back, of course, but I will miss Yougetsu.

Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei 3: After its flying start, Sensei lost a bit of steam for me in this episode, for whilst Nozomu and his bleak humour remained as entertaining as ever, far too much of the episode was spent on two underwhelming new characters- a foreigner with a split Japanese/gaijin personality (mildly amusing) and an illegal immigrant (somewhat irritating). I’m hoping this is just a temporary blip and that my wholehearted love for the series will be back next episode, but I’ve learned to be wary.

Seirei no Moribito 16: Thirteen episodes ago, the Eight Evil Men were sent after Balsa and Chagum, and now, after confirming that the prince is indeed still alive, Shuga decides to take the drastic and unprecedented action of, well, sending the Eight Evil Men after Balsa and Chagum. Seriously, though, why have we been messing around for half a series if all that’s going to happen is that we reset to where we were at the beginning? Okay, so Chagum has shorter hair now and some peasant friends, but ultimately, do we even care anymore? The monotony has surely dulled our senses long before this.

MANGA

Emma Bangaihen 10: Minor maid Polly gets her turn in the spotlight in this chapter, as she and one of the German maids (I forget her name) go out on a shopping spree in London. Once again, this is an interesting chapter that shows that even the most minor characters in the Emma universe can be developed successfully.

Shinigami no Ballad 2: It’s lucky that each chapter of this manga is long enough to justify the endless wait between them, although as it turns out, this story is one that featured in the anime anyway. Still affected by the death of his older sister, Asano is a little too preoccupied with death, but can a new friend at school and a little encouragement from Momo help him to enjoy life again? This was far from my favourite episode of the anime, but whilst its manga isn’t outstanding, knowing what to expect actually makes it more enjoyable second time around. Roll on chapter three.

Solanin 8-9: It was Meiko who first had the idea of finding a new direction in life, but now Taneda is the one who has made the choice to quit the workaday world and pursue his dream of making it big with the band. Whether he will make it is as yet unknown, but after wrestling with self doubts, he seems ready to have a go at risking everything in order to attain what he truly wants. He at least has found a path worth following, but what about Meiko? She knows she doesn’t want to settle for just being an office lady, but what path will she choose?

Spiral 42-3: Ayumu is about to give up and conclude that killing Kanone is truly the only option remaining, but Hiyono isn’t having it- just because it’s what Kiyotaka planned cannot mean that there is no other way. With that in mind, Hiyono goes forth to buy Ayumu a little time, but can he come up with a plan in the minutes remaining to him? I have to say that I’m glad Ayumu wasn’t forced into dirtying his hands, and equally curious as to how this arc will pan out. It’s also good to see Hiyono taking action, something which bridges the gap between what we know about her now and what I’ve read in spoilers.

Spiral Alive 7: The second volume of Spiral Alive begins in this chapter, which re-introduces Kousuke and Ryouko as Kiyotaka draws them into the music box murder case. It’s good to get a glimpse into the past of these two characters (along with a glimpse of Kanone), and even better that the main plot hasn’t gone away just for the sake of cameos from some familiar faces. The next chapters can’t come soon enough.

Tenshi Nanka Janai 26-7: Akira has gone on a three month leave of absence, leaving Midori to pine for him and realise that he was The One after all; meanwhile, Akira’s mother reveals some details about his past and Mamiya and Takigawa finally get together. It’s all pretty standard shoujo fare as always, generally readable and mildly enjoyable, but with Yazawa’s trademark of including panels where it isn’t entirely clear what is going, or why we should care about the antics of the supporting characters.

Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle 162: As Fye and Kurogane continue to fight, a little more of the truth comes out, as Ashura reveals that Fye’s curse was a “one time only” deal that he wished to save for himself, presumably because he feels bad about being a psychopathic killer. Really, who cares anymore- this barely makes sense.

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

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

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

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

ANIME

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MANGA

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

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

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

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

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

NOVEL

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Final words: Revenge is a dish best served sparingly.

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

Final words: No, just no.

Mai-Otome

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Shakugan no Shana

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

Final words: urusei, urusei, urusei!

WINTER 2005/6

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

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

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

Final words: Unexpectedly worthy.

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

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

Fate/Stay Night

Admit it, you want a Caster figure too.

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

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

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

Final words: Natsumi is evil.

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

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

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

Final words: Umai-ki!

Shinigami no Ballad

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

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

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

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

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

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

SPRING 2006

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

Final words: The origin of the screencap parody format.

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

Final words: Sometimes, less is more.

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

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

Aria the Natural

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

Final words: Punyu!

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

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

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

Final words: Dull, dull, dull.

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

Final words: All hail Gar-san.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Final words: Utterly confusing.

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

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

Kamisama Kazoku

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Final words: I did actually like the fourth novel.

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

Final words: Less Hachi, more Nana.

Ouran High School Host Club

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

Final words: Kyouya is god.

Ray the Animation

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

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

Saiunkoku Monogatari

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

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

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

Final words: Please, let it end.

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

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

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

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

Utawarerumono

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

Final words: Karura and Touka are all.

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

Finally words: This could have been so much better.

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

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

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

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

SUMMER 2006

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

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

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

Final words: Not my cup of angst.

Le Chevalier d’Eon

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Final words: One word- disappointing.

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

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

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

Final words: Sex and defecation- how mature.

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

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

Night Head Genesis

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

Final words: Give me Kurau and Christmas any day.

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

Final words: I hate those damned Sweet Phones.

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

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

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

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

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

Final words: Guiche is no Tamaki.

AUTUMN 2006

Asatte no Houkou

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

Final words: The manga just sounds scary.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Busou Renkin

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

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

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

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

La Corda d’Oro

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

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

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

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

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

Final words: Justice Mode, engage!

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

Final words: Generic by name, generic by nature.

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

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

Kanon [2006]

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

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

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

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

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

Final words: Onee-sama!

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

Final words: That ferret is creepy.

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

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

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

Final words: KEITO! KULAIR! ROSU! RACHERU!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Join me again on Tuesday for the New Year Rumble.

At the beginning of the year, I was desperate to have Alter’s version of KOS-MOS, but since I hadn’t got my order in in time, I had to go without. When a re-release was announced this year, I was determined not to miss out, and so I put in a pre-order with Yesasia. Unfortunately, in the intervening time I realised that a) I could have got it cheaper elsewhere and b) I didn’t really want the figure any more, but due to some annoying Yesasia policy, I couldn’t cancel it. Now the figure has been shipped, but the big question is whether or not I’m going to like it. If not, my only hope is that I can sell it on to someone who wants the world’s favourite blue-haired android.

Reviewed this week: Aria 17, Asatte no Houkou 5, Chevalier 10, Code Geass 5, Corda d’Oro 2, Death Note 6, Gargoyle 4, Ghost Hunt 2, Kanon 6, Keroro 64, Otogi-jushi Akazukin 17, Red Garden 5, ROTK 30, Shounen Onmyouji 3-4, YoakeNa 6

…and in manga: Otome 34, SnB prologue, Tsubasa 135, Haruhi Suzumiya novel 4.5, Zero no Tsukaima novel 1.2

ANIME

Aria the Natural 17: I never thought I could possibly get emotional about the loss of a gondola, but this episode of Aria has proved me wrong. Picking up where last episode left off, this instalment sees Akari and Alicia spend one last evening with the gondola they spent so much time training in- as always, the series is so simple and sweet that you just can’t help getting swept along for the ride.

Asatte no Houkou 5: One mark of a good show is how quickly time seems to pass whilst watching it, and if it can go so far as making twenty five minutes seem more like five, you know you’re onto a winner. Such is the case with Asatte no Houkou, a series so brilliant that it makes all my other favourites look unworthy in comparison. This episode sees Shouko and Karada move in with Hiro for the foreseeable future, and whilst Karada is slowly adjusting to life as an adult, Shouko is having equal difficulty dealing with the reality with being a child again.

Le Chevalier d’Eon 10: As Chevalier has continually proved throughout its run, it can somehow manage to be worthy even when it introduces the most ridiculous of ideas- and this episode is no exception. Only a series as absorbing and well-presented as this can take such liberties with history whilst trying to convince us that the villains want to unite Europe under one king (what for?). The animation also seems improved this week, although flashbacks seem to be the price we have to pay for that.

Code Geass 5: Whilst the return of green-haired C.C. (did anyone really think an OP character would die in the first episode?) helps Lelouch to expand his harem, Suzaku-Kira is kept busy elsewhere when he meets Code Geass’ version of Lacus. After the slight improvement that the series seemed to be making, this somewhat average episode has dragged it back down into the realms of mediocrity.

Kira and Lacus, Mark II.

La Corda d’Oro 2: Hino is saved from embarrassing herself in front of the HARD YURI trio, but her problems are only just beginning as she realises that even a magical violin can’t guarantee a good public performance. Fortunately, its magical properties mean that talking to bishies is just as helpful as practising, so she might just have a chance in the competition after all. Although a tale of numerous bishounen and a magical violin might sound like something to avoid, Corda continues to show the promise seen in the first episode, proving to be an enjoyable experience with some nice visuals.

Death Note 6: Light’s father and the few remaining NPA personnel on the Kira case have teamed up with L, but both Light and L are well aware that one more piece of decisive evidence is needed before Kira can be identified. As it turns out, however, the fiancée of the deceased Ray Penbar might just have the key that L needs, but it will do no good if Light can get to her first. The series continues to gain momentum with this surprisingly enjoyable episode, but as always I’m impatient to move ahead with the story.

The Gargoyle of the Yoshinagas 4: Whilst Lily’s father Hamilton searches for the Philosopher’s Stone to cure her and further his evil plans, Lily herself enjoys a day out with Futaba and the others. Whilst not as engaging as previous Gargoyle episodes, this instalment is nonetheless entertaining when compared to most other series, and next episode looks promising.

Ghost Hunt 2: The trouble with Ghost Hunt is that while it isn’t particularly awful, nor is there anything to mark it out as good. This episode sees our ghost hunting team stand around and argue about whether or not there are spirits in the old school building; perhaps it’s meant to be filled with suspense and character development, but unfortunately it just comes across as pedestrian and underwhelming.

Kanon 6: As Yuuichi becomes more and more dislikable, Kanon continues to degenerate into one man’s harem diaries. Now that the lead’s purpose seems to be nothing more than to torture, tease and otherwise browbeat the female characters, there isn’t much to recommend Kanon, and even my viewing of the old series cannot save the franchise in my estimation. I shall continue to watch for the sake of the parodies, but it cannot be said to be much of an enjoyable task anymore.

Keroro Gunso 64: The second series continues to hold steady at its new level, with this episode seeing Keroro and the others face a Nyororo catastrophe after attempting to use them to dry laundry, followed by a voyage into Dororo’s mind in an attempt to combat his trauma. As with the last few episodes (or indeed, most episodes of the series), it’s all been done before, but it’s still reasonably entertaining- and it’s somewhat refreshing to see the incredibly evil young Keroro get repeatedly hit by Tamama Impact.

Otogi-jushi Akazukin 17: After following a talking bird to a city blanketed in falling ash, Souta and the others find a mirror that could possibly link them back to Elde (or Erde, as it now seems to be called). Compared to the last two episodes, this one is tediously formulaic even by Akazukin standards.

Red Garden 5: Red Garden really should be renamed Angst Garden, because aside from the rare moments when it looks like the plot might advance, the girls spend all of their time angsting and crying- their lives aren’t normal anymore, they don’t like their normal lives anyway, you name it, they won’t like it. I continue to watch because I remain convinced that ‘next episode’ will uncover a little more of the mystery, but how long can I keep fooling myself that it’s going to be good (how many episodes is the series anyway)?

Romance of the Three Kingdoms 30: Sun Quan finally gets the briefest of mentions before the action switches back to the Battle of Guan Du (Cao Cao vs. Yuan Shao). Whilst not as hilarious as the HARD GAY arc, this episode nonetheless proves to have its fair share of amusing moments as the plot creeps slowly forward.

Shounen Onmyouji 3-4: As Shounen Onmyouji settles down into its monster-of-the-week format, any kind of story development is put on hold for some dull sequences in which Masahiro angsts and talks to Mokkun. Its “Tactics 2” status and some interesting looking OP characters will keep me going even through the story’s slower sections, but hopefully it will pick up soon- although at least next episode should bring some kind of boss encounter.

Yoake Mae Yori Ruriiro Na ~Crescent Love~ 6: Yoake tries to pretend it has some claim to depth by throwing in a few scenes about Earth-Moon politics, but nothing can disguise the fact that the series has become more a cure for insomnia than anything else. Whilst the relationship between Feena and Tatsuya continues to deepen, Wreath is instructed to split them apart for the sake of both the Earth and Moon, but can such an uncommunicative person hope to achieve that goal? With the lighter sections now more throwaway than entertaining and the attempted seriousness coming across as little more than laughable, the only thing to recommend Yoake are the character designs and that expensive Feena figure.

MANGA
The manga section has been short for the last few weeks, but since my backlog is a sprawling, hideous mess I’m not going out of my way to pick up any new series.

Mai-Otome 34: Garderobe is under attack, and the Otome have lost their Robes- it may well be that the only choice is for someone to become the new Shinso-sama. Meanwhile, Manshiro completes his harem and starts acting like a true ruler, but can he hope to combat the evil Sergey and the real Mashiro? Despite the various points and cameos that this chapter manages to include, the story doesn’t really move forward a great deal; it’s hard to believe that this can be concluded satisfactorily within the next ten chapters.

*NEW* Shinigami no Ballad prologue: The tale of the white shinigami Momo begins afresh in manga form, with this brief prologue seeing her attempt to talk a girl out of killing herself. Whilst the artwork is different to the anime version (in particular, Momo looks older and more composed), it is by no means bad, and I have a feeling that the simple yet appealing SnB formula will work better in this format.

Tsubasa Chronicle 135: I was unable to get chapter 134, but 135 mad up for the lack by providing the long-awaited end of the X arc (I think I ended up looking forward to that arc so much that it could only be disappointed). After everyone bids farewell, Yuuko talks and Fei Wong watches more Syaoran TV, the chapter ends rather abruptly, but surely next chapter must take us to a new world.

NOVEL

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya vol 4 chapter 5: It’s crunch time as Kyon learns just who altered the universe in the first place, and what he will have to do to set things right. Whilst not quite up to the level of the last few chapters, this instalment showcases an interesting turn of events in preparation for the final part of this novel to wrap things up.

Zero no Tsukaima vol 1, chapter 2: The anime turned me off after only two episodes, but the novel version is much closer to what I wanted from the franchise. Without the visual element, fanservice is neglected in favour of an actual story about Saitou’s adjustment to his new life as a familiar. Surprisingly, I’m actually looking forward to reading more.