It’s been a year of ups and downs, of anime gems and utter disappointments- a year when I’ve alternated between craving more and feeling utterly fed up with the continuing deluge of episodes that take no account of the fact that people might have other things to do than stay in and watch all day. Nonetheless, in true years-end tradition, we must review all the new series in an Annual Round-Up, a project which I meant to periodically update through the year but ended up writing at the last minute again.

As always, red titles are those which were dropped, and blues are the picks of the year. Come back on Tuesday for the New Year Rumble, in which we take a look at the year in the life of Azure Flame.

STILL RUNNING FROM 2006

Asatte no Houkou

The beginning of the year saw the end of Asatte no Houkou, a series that had started as a strong character drama and slice-of-life piece, but lost it somewhere with its slow pacing and plot contrivances. Ultimately, the series was a ‘curate’s egg’, good in parts but sorely lacking in others.
Final words: The series may have been called ‘The Direction of the Day After Tomorrow’, but sadly the plot sometimes lacked direction.

Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto

Last year, I labelled the emerging Iroha as a tentative pick of the year, but in retrospect, it was more silver than the gold tier it seemed at first. Despite remaining generally enjoyable throughout, the series got mired in a repetitive storyline, numerous historical cameos and an ending that defied sense and explanation.
Final words: Good for those who like action or historical series, but sadly not worthy of entering the hall of classics.

Busou Renkin

Ah, Busou Renkin, a series replete with cheesiness, ridiculous special abilities and Shounen Jump clichés- on the surface of it, hardly something worth writing home about, and yet an important series in its own right. A prime parody candidate, every week of Busou Renkin brought more hilarity than the creators had ever meant to include as Kazuki found himself torn between the worlds of HARD GAY, STRAIGHT and BI.
Final words: I wouldn’t actually watch the series ever again, but parodying it was a lot of fun- blogging hasn’t been the same since.

Le Chevalier d’Eon

At the end of last year, Chevalier was going strong, and it lost very little of its appeal as it moved into its closing episodes. Yes, the ending didn’t make a great deal of sense on close inspection, but with strong characters, worthy action scenes and an unfaltering sense of historical atmosphere, Chevalier remained enjoyable throughout.
Final words: Good enough to parody twice.

La Corda d’Oro

Last year, I had an optimistic view of Corda; this time around, the tale of a Neoromance reverse harem would surely have decent characters and some kind of a plot- or so I thought. Unfortunately, it was not to be- whilst our lead cheated her way through the music competition with a magical violin, the shallow supporting characters and slow pacing did nothing to disguise the general lack of substance.
Final words: Another game adaptation hardly worth writing home about.

Death Note

I enjoyed the Death Note manga, but in anime form, it wasn’t a series that could work for me- the long exposition scenes never seemed suited for an animated format, and attempts to bring the story to life only made Light seem overly theatrical under his red spotlight. After many episodes of thinking “well, the next arc will be better”, I decided to terminate my relationship with the series.
Final words: It didn’t flourish in animated format.

Kanon

As we must all know by now, after the first few episodes, Kanon failed to do much for me- Yuuichi was always too sarcastic and cruel to the girls, who were in turn too one-dimensional to do anything about it. Despite the series’ attempts to tug at the heartstrings, overall it failed to ignite for me, ending up as only another excuse for parody.
Final words: Sad girls in snow don’t make me cry.

Mai-Otome Zwei

Most trainwrecks have the grace to stop and let the rescue crew hunt for survivors, but not Mai-Otome- it just keeps rumbling on. Aside from one or two good action scenes, this whole OVA proved to be a waste of time, introducing a pointless enemy and filling every spare moment with character cameos and fanservice. There was no real reason to expect anything else, but why do I keep getting sucked into this franchise?
Final words: Why do I already know I’ll be watching the next sub-par Otome OVA?

Red Garden

Despite attempts to make its mark with a distinctive art style and a New York setting, Red Garden managed to utterly fail at either the horror or character drama it was presumably aiming for. With four angsty leads who spent most of their time whining or crying and a mystery that dragged on into a totally ridiculous conclusion, Red Garden was a largely dull experience that never rewarded the patience of those who dared to persevere with it.
Final words: Don’t bother with it. Really. It doesn’t get better later on.

Saiunkoku Monogatari

On the strength of its first season, SaiMono established itself as one of my favourites; far from the reverse harem series it first appeared, it actually proved to be an absorbing tale of intrigue, politics and character interaction as one woman chased her dream of becoming her country’s first female official. Of course, the attractive character designs don’t hurt, but to consider this series shallow just because of that would be to do it a great disservice.
Final words: I don’t see why anyone reading this blog wouldn’t have watched SaiMono yet, but if you haven’t, get to it now.

Shounen Onmyouji

A fairly generic tale of a young onymouji being sent to fight the strongest demons just because he happens to be the main character, Shounen Onmyouji was often pointless and rarely very good, but somehow managed to retain interest by having twelve spirit summons who were gradually introduced over the course of the series- and with many of them having little more than a basic appearance, the series even seemed to demand a second season in which to adapt more of the novels.
Final words: Large casts usually work against a series, but in this case it was a draw for an otherwise average series.

WINTER 2006/7
Winter is traditionally a slow month for anime, but could the fledgling 2007 break the curse of the cold months? Sadly, with only a couple of worthy series that were worth following to the end, it seemed that it could not.

Deltora Quest
Despite numerous failures, I’ve always kept my eye out for decent fantasy series, but sadly, Deltora Quest was not one of them. Despite being so packed with cliché and unintentional hilarity that it could have made a good parody candidate, the fact that the series needed to resort to budget saving flashbacks and stills as early as episode four was far from a good sign, and when the next episode proved to be even more dull and uneventful (consisting as it did of answering riddles), the series was quickly shelved, never to be touched again.
Final words: Classic fantasy in anime needs drastic reinvention.

Gakuen Utopia Manabi Straight
School comedies have always been hit or miss for me, and Manabi Straight struck right out in its first episode. With an energetic and clueless lead who somehow becomes school president, Manabi Straight didn’t do a great deal for me, and was quickly assigned to the Recycle Bin.
Final words: Not for me.

Ichigo Mashimaro OVA

Basically a continuation of the TV series, the Ichigo Mashimaro OVA offered three more episodes of Nobue and the girls’ everyday adventures. Despite dragging a little in the second episode, overall the OVA was as entertaining as the TV series, with apt observations and polished delivery and timing turning basic activities into a source of amusement and entertainment.
Final words: A nice coda for a strong TV series.

Les Miserables Shoujo Cosette
As an attempt to adapt the original novel to a fifty-episode series aimed at the younger audience, Cosette seemed determined to make life hard for itself, and the results were appropriately unspectacular. With its emphasis on the Cinderella-esque life of Cosette, the series dripped with twee sentiments and overused plotlines to the exclusion of the good parts of the story.
Final words: Almost painful in its execution.

Maria-sama ga Miteru OVA

Prior to this OVA, I liked MariMite- despite all the angst, it managed to deliver a worthy tale of school life with a sprinkling of HARD YURI. Unfortunately, it was not a format that could make the transition to fifty-minute OVA episodes with any grace- everything became terribly long, drawn out and dull, whilst the HARD YURI content took advantage of its newfound freedom to reach new and unforeseen heights.
Final words: I’ll still be trying season four, but this OVA was a major setback for the franchise.

Nodame Cantabile

The only real noteworthy TV series from the winter season (aside from Hidamari Sketch and Himawari!!, both of which I still need to start), Nodame Cantabile promised to be ‘Honey and Clover with music’, but instead became tantalisingly inconsistent. At times, its insights into its two leads- one a technical genius, the other an intuitive talent- made it compelling viewing, but all too often the off-kilter humour and wacky side characters ruined the mood, whilst an air of Shounen Jump “let’s level up and make the strongest orchestra!” always lurked in the background. Despite these flaws, however, Nodame was overall a worthwhile investment of time, and with the manga still ongoing, a second season would be welcomed.
Final words: Snatches of greatness kept the series appealing even as the wackier elements suggested switching off would be the way to go.

SPRING 2007
Spring is usually the best season for anime, and indeed there were lots of promising contenders right out of the gate. When it came to the long haul, however, which would make it to the finish line, and which would run out of steam?

Bokurano
As readers may know, I love, adore and worship the Bokurano manga, and so I was delighted to hear that it was going to be adapted into an anime…right up until the moment I heard Studio “adaptation trainwreck” Gonzo would be handling it. Nonetheless, I went into the series with an open mind, only to find disappointment with major story changes and a complete lack of tension in the pacing- worse yet, the director himself claimed that he didn’t even like the original! I took his advice and chose not to watch any more.
Final words: If someone tries to pretend this anime even existed, I shall stick my fingers in my ears and sing loudly.

Claymore

I’ve managed to upset many Claymore fans by not rating the manga very highly, but let’s face it- faults aside, I’m still reading after seventy-four chapters and I do want to know how it’s all going to turn out. The same could not be said for the anime, which bucked me off like a recalcitrant horse after a mere eleven episodes thanks to uninspiring characters, dull fight scenes and a washed out colour scheme.
Final words: Give me Berserk any day.

Darker than Black

During its early episodes, I had the highest of hopes for Darker than Black- it seemed slick, well directed and packed with the perfect mix of exposition, mystery and action. Unfortunately, despite such a strong start, the series soon began to flounder, adopting a pacing more suited to a fifty-episode series as it introduced minor characters, packed in last minute explanations and generally failed to live up to those early days. Even Yoko Kanno’s work on the music didn’t seem up to her usual high standard, ensuring that no aspect of the series really lived up to its potential.
Final words: Darker than Black it may be, but it wasn’t better than good.

Dennou Coil

Ah, Dennou Coil, how much more can I praise you? I accept that this series wasn’t perfect, but if you’ll excuse the lapse into informality, it was damn close. Never before has a series so deserved to be lavished with internet praise along the lines of 1337, awesome and w1n, all thanks to an intriguing setting and story, combined with memorable and well developed characters. Mere words alone are not enough to praise this series, which was surely the best offering of 2007.
Final words: I worship at the shrine of Dennou Coil, and encourage others to join.

El Cazador de la Bruja

Better known as “El Caza-bore”, this third instalment in Bee Train’s girls-with-guns series did indeed contain girls and guns, but not in any combination that produced action. Instead, what we got was the most dreary road trip through a version of Latin America that contained only cacti, roadside diners and various other dusty clichés. Just watching all twenty-six episodes was an effort in itself, and one I only pursued for the sake of creating a superior parody version of events.
Final words: You haven’t experienced boredom until you’ve watched El Cazador.

Heroic Age
A series about a character named Age rather than an age of heroes, Heroic Age tried to create an epic setting involving space battles, legendary tribes and the like, but somewhere along the line it all became a dull universe populated by rejects from other Xebec series. With even the cameraman opting to stay well back from the action, there seemed little reason for anyone else to try to examine it closely.
Final words: Another average offering from Xebec.

Hitohira
A series about a shy girl who gets so nervous that she can’t speak (yet somehow gets into the drama club due to her occasional ability to shout), Hitohira was something I stuck with for a mere two episodes, before deciding that it wasn’t going to bring me anything particularly worthy. With forgettable characters and hints of HARD YURI, Hitohira seemed to patch together elements of other series like Tsuyokiss and Gokujou Seitokai- hardly a recommendation.
Final words: Like its lead, Hitohira remained quiet and unnoticed.

Koutetsu Sangokushi

As a fan of the Three Kingdoms era, I was looking forward to a series that would surely present it better than the forgettable 1990s effort- but sadly, despite superior production values, Koutetsu Sangokushi was not to be that series. Although Koutetsu should be praised for focusing on the kingdom of Wu, it loses points for its extreme levels of ridiculousness, from a super-HARD GAY gender-confused cast to the inclusion of special sentai powers for the main characters- somehow I just don’t remember these things happening in the original novel.
Final words: As far as historical adaptations go, this one is just laughably ridiculous.

Lucky Star

A series that attracted both hate and adoration in adoration, Lucky Star did very little for me; I didn’t despise it, but for me it just did very little- episodes would pass by and I would sit in front of them, almost completely indifferent to them. Occasionally I would laugh, but much of the series was just white noise.
Final words: Ichigo Mashimaro and Minami-ke make everyday life amusing, but Lucky Star just rambles on and on.

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS
The first two seasons of Nanoha weren’t great, but they won me over with their attractive character designs and worthy action scenes; sadly, the first thing StrikerS did was to introduce new characters to an already bloated cast and throw out actual battle in favour of training against robots. Whilst the leads were forced to wear limiters to remove their God Modes, everything was left in the hands of the newbies, whilst what had once been a simple world of magical girls fighting evil became tied up in pointless bureaucracy. It may have improved later on, but after six episodes, I bailed out.
Final words: No more Nanoha for me.

Murder Princess
An OVA from Bee Train, Murder Princess told the tale of a princess and a bounty hunter who rather randomly end up swapping bodies, but unfortunately, what looked like it would at least be a mildly entertaining fantasy series was ruined by ridiculous elements such as a mad scientist and his two loli androids. In the end, even a mere six episodes of this seemed like too much.
Final words: Nice character designs, shame about the rest.

Oh! Edo Rocket

With its low profile and childish-looking character designs, Oh! Edo Rocket initially didn’t seem like something worth watching- but how wrong I was. After some positive recommendations, I reversed my position and took the plunge, and it was eminently worth it. A series so crazy that you cannot help but love it, Oh! Edo Rocket is nominally about a fireworks maker trying to create a rocket that can go to the moon, but there is much more packed into it- from secret ‘Men in Black’ with special powers to aliens, monsters and a metric ton of pop culture references. It’s crazy, hilarious, sometimes a little dark, and a cut above pretty much every other anime that relies so heavily on humour and parody.
Final words: If Dennou Coil is the best series of the year, then this one must deserve the silver medal.

Romeo X Juliet

Adaptations come from many sources, but could anime really make something out of a Shakespeare play? Whether or not it could, Gonzo was determined to try, and in their usual fashion, they glanced at the original, threw it out of the window, and created a version that involved magical trees, flying horses and an aerial city that just happened to be named Neo Verona. Despite the general lack of similarity to the original, the series started well enough, and seemed as if it would go down as inoffensive light entertainment; unfortunately, as it progressed, the plot became ever more lacking and ridiculous, whilst the leads hardly inspired one to care for their plight. In the end, it found its greatest worth in the parody arena.
Final words: Romeo X Juliet? More like Ridiculous X Joke.

Saiunkoku Monogatari II

After such a strong first series, was it any surprise that I wanted more SaiMono? Unfortunately, with subs having dried up, I had to go it alone into the domain of raws, which for such a dialogue-heavy series meant relying on Impz and usagijen to help me through. Unfortunately, this approach distances me a little from the action, so that whilst I still enjoy the series and think it is good, it just doesn’t hook me in as it did before. Is it the complex web of storyline that I can’t follow in raw, the introduction of a few too many new characters, or the decision to slow down the pacing a bit to accommodate the fact that the series is catching up with the novels?
Final words: I love it, but I want to spend more time exploring the main characters- maybe a full immersion in the world of the series is what is needed.

Sakura Taisen New York
Having enjoyed the first two Sakura Wars OVAs and the TV series, I felt it was high time to branch out into the later OVAs- only to discover that with New York, I had chosen a poor place to start. With a brand new lead and his harem of shallow girls, this failed attempt to recapture the original Sakura Taisen magic completely and utterly fell flat, forcing me to abandon it by its second episode.
Final words: The original cast cannot be bettered.

Seirei no Moribito

It had the most beautiful of settings, but after a strong early start, that ultimately seemed to be all Seirei no Moribito could offer. Although its slow and tranquil pacing satisfied some, for me it was a case of being a series where not only did nothing ever happen, but it took a long time about not happening. There were a few worthy action scenes, but the rest of the series was drenched in sitting and talking- and so many episodes of static conversation can grow stale.
Final words: Instead of making anime, let’s just sit and talk about it.

Shining Tears X Wind
RPG adaptations are renowned for not being up to much, and when the source material is reputedly “the worst RPG ever” (and its sequel), you can’t really expect much. Even so, Shining Tears somehow managed to achieve new levels of awfulness, with its pointless and forgettable leads, incongruous elements (tanks and lasers in a fantasy kingdom) and general lack of anything that can be praised. I once considered Disgaea to be the worst anime ever, but this series has taken that spot.
Final words: It was a pile of Shining Tears X Wind.

Shinkyoku Soukai Polyphonica

Despite having encountered disappointment with the likes of YoakeNa, I still found myself drawn to eroge and visual novel-based series with worthy character designs- hence my brief relationship with Polyphonica. Unfortunately, even the lovely Corticarte could not disguise the fact that Polyphonica was pretty much entirely pointless filler- and when a beach episode appeared as early as episode three, I knew it was time to bail out.
Final words: Have I learned my lesson this time? I hope so.

SKULLMAN
Skullman, Skullman, does whatever a skull can…sits motionless, on a shelf- well, you get the idea. Based on a retro manga and series, SKULLMAN was not a series well-adapted for life in the twenty-first century, and by its first episode it was already floundering. With spoilers on wikipedia recounting a miserable background and fate for the eponymous anti-hero, it hardly seemed watching any more.
Final words: He’s a man… with a skull for a head! Bet you couldn’t guess that from the title, eh?

Victorian Romance Emma Second Act

The first season of Emma was highly enjoyable, but the fact that it only covered two volumes of the manga left the story hanging. With that in mind, a second season seemed a true blessing, although ultimately it was not one that was handled as well as it could have been. Despite having a further five volumes to cover and only twelve more episodes to do it in, Second Act began with a filler episode, before proceeding to cut out large chunks of the story (although admittedly the manga storyline of Emma being kidnapped and taken to America had seemed a little farfetched at the time). All in all, it was still a highly worthy series, just not as good as it could have been.
Final words: You can’t go wrong with Emma, but this still didn’t quite live up to its potential.

Wellber no Monogatari ~Sisters of Wellber~

The tale of a thief and a princess trying to flee one country and make it to another before a deadline, Wellber was another of those series that didn’t seem to bring anything original to the table, but nonetheless appeared entertaining enough to watch. Unfortunately, elements such as predictable storylines and a talking tank conspired against it, but overall it just managed to pull through as a piece of light entertainment- not least because of the unintentional hilarity that cropped up in most episodes.
Final words: Mildly entertaining.

SUMMER 2007
In principle, summer is when everyone is enjoying themselves in the great outdoors- and so why bother to air much in the way of good anime? Still, given the poor showings of summer 2005-6, 2007 might just have the edge over them with its single digit selection.

Baccano!

With a wealth of named characters and a timeline that jumped back and forth through early 1930s America, Baccano was never the easiest series to follow, and indeed, even now I cannot say I had much of a clue what was going on throughout large chunks of it. Even so, the sheer enthusiasm and attack which the series brought to our screens was so infectious that one could not help but enjoy it- whether it was a tense shootout or just Isaac and Miria getting up to their usual antics, Baccano was always entertaining- and with many more novels left to adapt, hopes for a second season are high.
Final words: Every season needs a good historical series, and this was the summer’s candidate.

Doujin Work

A short series focusing on a young woman who believes she can make her fortune drawing doujinshi, Doujin Work was never going to be anything very special, but despite the budget animation and predictable jokes, it was somehow entertaining. And with the actual episodes running at only fourteen minutes (the rest of the time slot was taken up with a live action guide to making doujinshi), it isn’t a huge investment in time either.
Final words: Light entertainment done right.

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai

After the first season, Higurashi had generally failed to impress, but having embarked upon the franchise, I felt I had to carry it through- a feeling that eroded with every week of watching Kai. Everything just felt so drawn out and over the top, especially Satoko’s situation (I would applaud the series for at least having a go at tackling the difficult subject of child abuse, but then again, is that something I really want to watch for entertainment?). Even the introduction of Hanyu to the mix couldn’t save the plot, and in the end I decided to leave the citizens of Hinamizawa to their miserable fate.
Final words: It fails in the execution.

Mononoke

Having been largely bored by Ayakashi, I approached its spin-off with caution- what if it was more of the same excruciatingly slow pacing? Nonetheless, having watched and enjoyed Requiem from the Darkness right before it started to air, I decided to take the plunge, and although Mononoke did indeed have its weak points, it turned out the be the right decision. With an intriguing lead character, unique art style and slicker direction than its predecessor, Mononoke managed to hit all the right notes for supernatural fantasy. A second season would not go amiss.
Final words: It succeeded because it didn’t have ‘Ayakashi’ in the title.

Mushi-Uta

Call me shallow, but the whole reason I wanted to watch Mushi-Uta was because the title seemed to label it as the bastard son of Mushishi and Utawarerumono. In fact, aside from a masked character who resembled Hakuoro, it bore very little resemblance to either, but after a shaky start, Mushi-Uta finally came up with the goods. Although the mixture of giant bug battles and high school life was often confusing, and in spite of the fact that I could barely get a grip on the characters’ names, the story slowly drew me in, to the extent that I even cared about the fate of a minor character. As with several other series this year, it needs a second season.
Final words: Sometimes randomly picked choices can work out well after all.

Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei

Since the blogworld once had its own Hopeless Sensei, this anime seemed almost destined to be watched, and happily it was a series well suited to SHAFT’s randomness. A classroom comedy with a twist of bleak despair, Sensei was much like any other comedy- funny when it hit the mark, but somewhat random and a little tedious when it didn’t. Coupled with a distinctive high contrast art style, it made the series memorable and unique, but not always for the right reasons.
Final words: Somewhat inconsistent, but with some highly worthy moments.

Tetsuko no Tabi
It’s hard for me to really appraise Tetsuko no Tabi since out of thirteen episodes I’ve only seen a badly subbed version of the first one, but nonetheless I’ll include it for completeness. A series based on actual train journeys, Tetsuko no Tabi had an interesting enough first episode, but without more material to work with, I can’t really form a proper opinion on this.
Final words: Won’t anyone sub this?

Zombie-Loan
DearS never looked promising, and Peach-Pit had already disappointed me with Rozen Maiden, but nonetheless for some reason I just had to try Zombie-Loan. Unfortunately, the series proved to lack much in the way of appeal, coming across only as an inferior version of xxxHOLiC and Tokyo Babylon.
Final words: CLAMP already did it better.

AUTUMN 2007
Like the spring, the autumn is meant to be replete with series worth watching, but let’s face it- Autumn 2007 was a big fat disappointment. Yes, there were some good series, but somehow the preponderance of mediocrity combined with circumstances in the outside world ensured that anime enthusiasm reached new and previously unexplored lows.

Aria the OVA ~Arietta~
For those of us who needed more Aria to keep us going, this brief OVA would have to make do between the long-finished second and upcoming third seasons. There’s not much to say about it, really, other than that it was another gentle and tranquil half-hour of life in Neo-Venezia, and in fact proved to be so worthy that I sat and watched it without even wanting to disturb my concentration by taking screencaps.
Final words: Punyu!

Clannad

I enjoyed Air and disliked Kanon, so it seemed likely that Clannad would fall somewhere in between, and indeed, so far it has. With a more likable lead than Kanon, it immediately scores over its predecessor, but unfortunately there seems to be a limit to the number of “sad girls” stories one person can swallow before becoming a little blasé about the whole thing.
Final words: It’s not bad, but I just can’t fangirl over it.

ef- a tale of memories
Whilst Owen and the others raved over it in their multi-post extravaganza, ef for me was a title that needed to be put on hiatus after episode three- the idea of someone being unable to retain their memories for more than thirteen hours was intriguing, but watching ef felt like following three different series, of which only one was worth following. I shall one day go back and watch the rest of the season in one go, but it wasn’t something where I wanted to put the effort of watching weekly.
Final words: I’ll get back to it…later.

Genshiken II
I enjoyed the first season of Genshiken, and so it seemed a foregone conclusion that the second would strike gold as well- after all, it had the rest of the original manga to work with. And indeed, Genshiken 2 quickly launched back into familiar territory, with familiar situations, character development and the sad realisation that many of our favourite personalities were graduating and moving on.
Final words: Now onwards to the manga.

Gundam 00
After Seed Destiny, my relationship with the Gundam franchise hit something of a rocky patch, so much so that it would take something far better than the usual Sunrise fare to repair it. Sadly, Gundam 00 wasn’t about to do that for me, and after a few episodes of pointless factions and a group who planned to enforce world peace by instigating wars, I decided to put the whole series on the heating element behind the normal back-burner.
Final words: Watching it can wait until 2008.

Hero Tales
With a name like ‘Hero Tales’, it was pretty obvious that this series wasn’t going to be up to much- even the FMA mangaka couldn’t really weave a good story about a boy with a destined sword. After watching an episode to assess its parody potential, I decided that even the gods of parody couldn’t expect me to watch something so boring in aid of a few laughs, and so it was put aside.
Final words: As original as its title.

Kaiji

Series dripping with GAR MANLINESS aren’t usually my thing, but having enjoyed Akagi so much, it seemed only logical to see what Madhouse could make of one of the mangaka’s other works- ‘Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji’. Whilst Kaiji is more emotional and less cold than Akagi, the twists and turns of his story are still worthy viewing- although one cannot help feeling a little sorry for poor Kaiji as his mammoth efforts in trying to win games dreamt up by sadistic yakuza only seem to result in him getting ever more in debt. I fear that twenty-six episodes won’t be enough for this series.
Final words: This series should be shown to everyone who finds themselves in danger of incurring debt.

Minami-ke

Keen for an extra dose of Ichigo Mashimaro, I went forth into Minami-ke, a similar tale about the everyday lives of three sisters. Despite trepidation that it would turn into another Lucky Star, Minami-ke had the required wit and delivery to make it entertaining rather than dull, and already a second season (albeit a retelling rather than a sequel) is set to air this January.
Final words: Forget choco cornets, melon pan and taiyaki, this year’s in-food is cream stew.

Mokke

Ever since enjoying Shrine of the Morning Mist, I’ve been on the lookout for the next entertaining silver/bronze tier supernatural series, and Mokke seems to be it. It may not be anything special, but the episodic tales of a pair of sisters- one who can see spirits, the other who gets possessed by them- has largely proven to make for enjoyable viewing, and the addition of a cat with special powers is just the icing on the cake.
Final words: Bronze tier entertainment.

Moyashimon

As the latest series to air in the vaunted noitaminA block (I know it’s ‘Animation’ spelt backwards, but it still sounds like some kind of vitamin or mineral to me), Moyashimon had a lot to live up to, but fortunately, all it needed was its uniqueness to make it a hit. Unappealing as a series about microbes may sound, when you take into account the fact that to our lead these microbes look rather cute, the whole thing takes on a new dimension; in fact, you wouldn’t go far wrong if you were to watch the series for this novelty alone. Fortunately, the rest of the content is solid enough, even if the characters are a little wacky.
Final words: I never once thought I’d say that I wanted a plushie of Aspergillus oryzae, but I want one.

Rental Magica
Where the search for supernatural light entertainment brought some successes in 2007, it also racked up a few failures, and Rental Magica was one of them. Populated by rejects from other series, Rental Magica seemed sure to at least mildly interest with its episodic tales of a company of magic users solving problems, but apart from a master of cat shikigami, there was little to engage the viewer.
Final words: Something to go back to when you have absolutely nothing else to watch.

Shakugan no Shana II

Even though I enjoyed it at the time, in retrospect the original Shakugan no Shana had a lot wrong with it- not least of which were the pointless and uninspiring villains. Even so, a second season would surely forge ahead into interesting and unknown parts of the novel series- or maybe not. For instead, Shana II decided to diverge into an uninteresting game-based tale that seemed determined to shake off all but the most devout of fans. With last season’s confession revoked and the love polygon once again taking hold, it seemed as if this was one series worth bailing out of.
Final words: There’s completion, and then there’s masochism- watching Shana II was surely the latter.

Sketchbook ~full color’S~

Every year needs a good slice-of-life series, and whilst Sketchbook was not to be in the Aria/YKK class, it was still an enjoyable series, not least because of the high volume of cats and fat chickens contained therein. Although it times it seemed as if it was trying too hard to capture a calm atmosphere that should just come naturally, Sketchbook was still worth watching, and after initially thinking little of the shy and quiet lead, after a while I began to identify with her- all too often I end up thinking a lot more than I actually end up saying (but no more! Now I shall never shut up!).
Final words: Full of cats.

And so, 2007 has shown us both good and bad (much like every year, really) and all we can do is await 2008 and the offerings it shall bring us. See you next year!

So anyway, Kabitzin did this “Is Your Blog Good in Bed?” thing the other day (itself based on another post based on a NSFW article), and since I liked the idea of it rather a lot, I decided to shamelessly copy and begin this week’s round-up by seeing how Azure Flame measures up in the STRAIGHT department.

1. Not kissing first, or in blog terms, randomly asking other bloggers for links without introducing yourself. Fortunately, no matter how desperate I was for attention in the early days, I’m just too shy/polite/lazy/whatever to do this.
2. Ignoring the other parts of her body: hopefully everyone gets a ‘complete experience’ here; hell, Tuesday Rumble is like a blog in itself.
3. Stopping for a break: 700 posts in a year answers that question; I know I skipped out on some parodies this week, but it was because I was playing Ratchet and Clank tired.
4. Undressing her awkwardly: I do like to modify stuff a bit, but in fear of breaking my blog and because most add-ons seem pointless, it’s still fairly simple here.
5. Talking dirty: well, practically every parody is packed with innuendo, so I’ll have to plead guilty.
6. Going too fast: guilty, but mitigated by a glossary to help people understand my in-jokes for the parodies. Anyone should be able to read the reviews, and I don’t see super casual readers dropping in since you have to have an interest in anime to come here in the first place.
7. Coming too soon: I get edgy if my posts are under 400 words, so this isn’t a problem.
8. Not coming soon enough: I’ll admit it, often times my posts could be received with a tl;dr, but I just have that much to say. Disgaea needs 2,000 words, dammit!
9. Making her ride on top for ages: So far I haven’t had any guest bloggers, so this isn’t a problem.
10. Taking pictures: Yes, there are posts with up to 100 pictures, but since that’s for the purpose of captioning them they’re not there as an excuse to write.
11. Not being imaginative enough: Well, no one else has Tuesday Rumble…

Reviewed this week: Doujin Work 2, Higurashi Kai 2, ROTK 46, RxJ 14, SaiMono 13-14, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei 1-2, Seirei 14, Zombie-Loan 2

…and in manga: Spiral volume 8, Tsubasa 160

ANIME

CURRENT SERIES RANKINGS

1. Dennou Coil (1) – S-class anime
2. Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (-) – dark yet random humour = w1n
3. Darker than Black (2) – I love it, but I want answers
4. SaiMono II (3) – the arc surges forward again
5. Seirei no Moribito (5) – Torogai’s adventures
6. Romeo X Juliet (4) – less mush and more action
7. Doujin Work (6) – predictable but amusing
8. Sisters of Wellber (7) – needs more subbing
9. Koutetsu Sangokushi (8) – HARD GAY
10. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai (11) – a new arc kicks off
11. El Cazador de la Bruja (9) – in this crazy world, flashbacks are better than the present
12. Zombie Loan (10) – too generic thus far

SLOW RANKINGS

1. Shounen Onmyouji (1)- a new episode after so long
2. Love GetChu! (2)- light entertainment
3. ROTK (3)- it’s almost over

Doujin Work 2: Having decided that she is going to make her fortune from doujinshi, Najimi sets about gathering research materials- but when you’re carrying erotic material around, it is inevitably going to lead to some embarrassing situations. Unsurprisingly, this episode relies on every related joke you could imagine, but even though you can see the laughs coming a mile off it remains amusing.

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai 2: After the intense dullness of last episode, we finally get started on a new arc here, which means back to square one in terms of happy days, Satoko’s traps and everyone playing innocent childish games right before the blood begins to flow yet again. The fact that we’ve been through similar events several times before does mean that this feels like a retread of old ground, and so whilst it isn’t a bad episode, the only interesting points are noting the now open acknowledgements that Rika is the one flicking through the possible realities.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms 46: We finally reach the battle of Chi Bi in the first half of this two-part series finale (let’s get it over with already), in which Wu finalises their preparations for the fire attack on Wei, and the omnipotent scion of god Zhuge Liang summons the south-eastern wind so that the flames will carry in the right direction. Without much in the way of unintentional hilarity, this episode is a bit of a slog, but I can hardly stop now when the end is in sight.

Romeo X Juliet 14: Romeo plays the typical heroic lead yet again in this episode, which sees him sent to oversee a mine worked by criminals after daring to talk back to his father. Naturally, these harsh conditions aren’t going to dampen Romeo’s optimism as he tries to befriend ‘the lads’, all the while learning about their textbook back stories- in fact, the entire episode is basically an exercise in a realising one of the storylines in the Book of Generic Scenarios. It is at least a little more interesting than certain other recent episodes, but conversely the story has gone so far off course now that the early instalments look almost faithful to the original play in comparison.

Saiunkoku Monogatari II 13-14: I’ve finally compensated for last week’s laxity with a SaiMono double bill, in which we finally get to move away from doctors operating on sick generics to let certain named characters organise a rescue for Eigetsu and Kourin. Whilst poor Seiran is forced to lurk around in the background for screen time, Kourin gets a decent amount of attention this time around, using the skills she once employed to poison Shuurei (or at least attempt to) to get one over on her captors, before having a touching scene with her sweetheart Eigetsu. Although everything is now going so smoothly for the main characters (as a whole) that it seems almost contrived (I still have to wonder how Ryuuren knew to show up), it’s good to get out of the pacing rut that the last few episodes fell into, and I’m looking forward to seeing how Shuurei deals with the cult.

*NEW* Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei 1-2: I was a bit wary of starting this series, because whilst I wanted to like it, I was also worried that the humour might just be too Japanese to translate. Happily, my fears were unfounded, with SHAFT’s latest series about a quirky teacher and their oddball students provoking the same feelings of enjoyment that Pani Poni Dash once did. This time around, our lead is a teacher so pessimistic that he tries to kill himself every time the slightest thing goes wrong, whilst his class is anything but normal, containing as it does an overly optimistic and naïve girl, an anal retentive perfectionist, a hikkikomori and an obsessive stalker. The result is a mix of hilariously random and delightfully dark humour that doesn’t fail to disappoint, which, when coupled with a striking art style, makes for a strong series overall. My only complaint is the scary guy that appears as a censor and in other random places- whoever he is, he is more than a little sinister.

Seirei no Moribito 14: After talking with the Water People at the mystical place known as the knot, Torogai learns that the egg within Chagum is actually benign, and that the Founding History of the country is all a lie- but when the Fire People take against her having this knowledge, she finds that she may not be able to leave with it alive. Despite threatening to turn into an educational half-hour with lectures on basic geology and pseudo-history, this episode manages to entertain by relating Torogai’s adventures, which are actually far more interesting than anything Balsa has done recently. This also seems to be the first episode in a while that has actual plot development, which must surely be a good sign.

Zombie Loan 2: After a disappointing and generic first episode, Zombie-Loan is back…with a disappointing and generic second episode in which our leads investigate a zombie attacking people at school. Even though I know I’ll end up regretting it, I’m going to stick with the series for a bit in case, as I am told, it gets better later on; I know I’ve made this mistake before, but I’ve only just stopped watching eroge adaptations that “might be light fun”, so you can’t expect me to become totally reformed and flawless in one go.

MANGA

Spiral volume 8: Whilst drooling over the cover art for this volume, I had high hopes for what lay within, and fortunately, I was not disappointed. As Kanone faces off against his former friends, it becomes increasingly clear that everyone is being played by the hand of ‘god’ Kiyotaka, and that he will stop at nothing to prepare Ayumu for his future. In between enjoying the wonderful artwork and the involving storyline, there is little to complain about from this volume of Spiral, and the next one will be gratefully received whenever it turns up.

Tsubasa Chronicle 160: For those of you who have wondered about Fye’s tattoo all this time, an explanation about it is finally here- since Fye is cursed to kill anyone stronger than himself, the tattoo was there to suppress his powers and prevent their growth, so that more potentially powerful magic users would trigger the curse (effectively making Fye a living weapon against enemy spell casters). Other than that little revelation, this chapter is primarily a flashback about how Fye went from being withdrawn and miserable to adopting his better know carefree personality, prior to setting up a fight between Fye and Kurogane in the present.

This week in anime, old series are finishing whilst new ones begin, and licensing forces me to resort to raws once again. The question is- will I ever get around to seeing the rest of Love GetChu and Shounen Onmyouji (surely not the hardest series to understand with or without subs)?

Reviewed this week: Darker than Black 11-12, Dennou Coil 6, Cazador 13, Nodame 22-3, RxJ 12, SaiMono II 12, Seirei no Moribito 12, Emma II 10-12, Winter Cicada 3, Zombie-Loan 1

…and in manga: Claymore 1-73, Claymore Side Story 1, Yotsuba& 47

ANIME

CURRENT SERIES RANKINGS

1. Dennou Coil (1) – makes 1337 look average
2. Emma II (2) – missed out vital parts, but satisfying ending <-complete!
3. Darker than Black (3) – good set up, worse pay-off
4. SaiMono II (4) – I hope we can get out of ER soon
5. Nodame Cantabile (5) – enjoyable overall <- complete!
6. Seirei no Moribito (7) – predictable but entertaining
7. Romeo X Juliet (6) – seems to be in a dull mid-phase
8. Sisters of Wellber (8) – needs more subbing
9. Koutetsu Sangokushi (9) – HARD GAY
10. Zombie Loan (-) too generic thus far <- new!
11. El Cazador de la Bruja (10) – getting dull again

OVA RANKINGS

1. Ichigo Mashimaro (1)- a slice of enjoyment
2. Winter Cicada (2)- tragic HARD GAY <- complete!
3. MariMite (3)- more HARD YURI than ever
4. Mai-Otome Zwei (4)- more fat cats, less nipples please

Darker than Black 11-12: We come infinitesimally closer to getting some explanations in this arc of Darker than Black, which sees Hei sent to infiltrate PANDORA (don’t even ask me to repeat what it stands for- it’s too ridiculous). Unfortunately, after some good setup in episode eleven, episode twelve feels a bit disappointing, basically coming off as a “this guy is the only suspect, he must have done it” resolution. That being said, the music helps to elevate episode twelve beyond its basic content, as does the confrontation between Hei and the character of the arc, although the ending remains a bit of a drug induced conclusion more worthy of Sunrise than Bones.

Dennou Coil 6: Dennou Coil stays on top form in this episode, in which Fumie and Yasako try to find out more about the relationship between Haraken and Satchii. Although the lack of Isako and presence of Kyoko means this isn’t the best episode of the series so far, it is still entirely worthy, with a hilarious exchange between Grandma and an old man at the hotsprings, some revelations about the origins of Satchii, and a look at Fumie and Yasako as they switch off their glasses for the first time in a year. Right now, it looks as if the series will be heading more in the direction of investigating illegal programs and their connection to a tragedy in Haraken’s past than investigating the idea of lost memories and erased data, but I’m still eager to see what happens next.

El Cazador de la Bruja 13: After the brief flicker of interest that made the last two episodes bearable, Cazador has slipped back into boring territory as it reaches the halfway mark. In this episode, our intrepid heroines venture into a compound apparently closed down after the populace contracted a fatal infection, but could the truth behind whatever happened here offer vital clues to Ellis’ past? In principle, this should be the point where the plot shows and starts to get going, but the way information is presented here makes it all exceedingly dull, and even an attempt at an action scene seems more like a half-hearted overture to necessity than something that really inspires the viewer to keep watching.

*COMPLETE* Nodame Cantabile 22-3: Having forgotten the rest of her piece, Nodame is forced to recompose it on stage- a move that will surely doom her chances in the competition, and possibly terminate her fragile interest in taking the piano seriously. Meanwhile, Chiaki and the Rising Star Orchestra put on one last performance before various key members leave to study overseas, but will Chiaki find the right moment to admit that he too is headed to Europe? Overall, this was a satisfying ending to a series that has had its ups and downs, and whilst I became disillusioned with it at times, there were always enough worthy elements to make me glad I stuck with it. Now, onwards to the manga.

Chiaki looks forward to the Pleasuring possibilities of Europe.

Romeo X Juliet 12: If the last few episodes are anything to go by, RxJ seems to have hit a mid-series lull, and it doesn’t seem ready to snap out of it any time soon. After a long and dull scene of our young lovers fawning over each, we finally cut back to the more interesting supporting characters of Neo Verona, only to quickly whip away when a HORSE-riding minor general of evil is sent to retrieve Romeo. Even in the original play, the leads pale in comparison to the supporting characters, and Gonzo would do well to heed this lesson if they wish to maintain my interest in this series (which obviously they don’t, since they couldn’t care less about me, but the point still stands).

Saiunkoku Monogatari II 12: The medical team has finally made it to the scene, but as You takes charge of the surgery, not all of the doctors seem to have strong enough stomachs for the reality of cutting someone open. Sadly, whilst I can put some of my attitude towards the episode down to my lack of comprehension at the time, I have to admit that this whole medical arc has dragged on too long for my liking- I don’t find watching the minutiae of diagnosis and surgical procedure particularly interesting, and I didn’t really sign up for some sort of period ER. I realise it would damage the series to catch up with the novels too quickly, but I really want to progress beyond this.

Fortunately, there are at least a few other story threads to keep me interested, such as the whole tangle with the Jasenkyou and the Hyou clan, which seems about to move to the fore, happily.

Seirei no Moribito 12: Even though little has changed, Seirei somehow seems more interesting in this episode, which tells the predictable yet entertaining tale of Chagum challenging a foreign boy to a Rucha (Lucha?) match after he insults the emperor. Even though it’s a tale we’ve seen many times before in various media across the world, it still manages to be more enjoyable than the last few episodes, with the promise of Balsa’s next action scene now just around the corner.

*COMPLETE* Victorian Romance Emma 10-12: With the subs having ended due to licensing reasons, I decided to conclude the series in raw, deciding that my knowledge of the manga would help make up for any gaps in understanding. In this trio of episodes, we see Emma angst some more, whilst William falls afoul of Viscount Campbell when practically everyone refuses to deal with his company. Luckily, everything works out well in the end, although certain chunks of the manga were cut out along the way.

“Hakim, I choose you!”

*COMPLETE* Winter Cicada 3: The tragic tale of HARD GAY lovers Kusaka and Akizuki finally comes to a close in this depressingly miserable episode, which sees Kusaka sheltering a morose and near suicidal Akizuki in his guest house in an attempt to hide him from the government. It all ends in misery (and double suicide, in fact) for our two leads, with a sex scene thrown in earlier for good measure. Inevitable as this ending was, it seems a far cry from the unintentional amusement of the first episode, and whilst in retrospect I am unsure why I picked it up, this isn’t actually too awful compared to some of the other OVAs I have tried to wade through.

*NEW* Zombie-Loan 1: The latest Peach-Pit anime adaptation is here, and sadly, whilst it proved to have a surprisingly high level of parody potential (should I parody it- let me know your views) I otherwise wasn’t too impressed. The concept of having two bishies who have actually died and must now banish undead to get their bodies back alongside a lead who can see rings around the necks of those who are about to die does seem novel, but in practice the whole thing currently feels a lot more generic than that. The ditzy meganekko lead is stereotypical and irritating in the extreme, whilst all the other characters have been borrowed from various other sources- I’ll give it another couple of episodes, but I don’t see myself being in this for the long haul.

“If I want Hyper Self Pleasure, I’ll damn well have it!”

MANGA

*CATCH-UP* Claymore 1-73: As readers of the review I posted earlier in the week will know, I have finally caught up with Claymore, but where everyone else enjoyed it, I just haven’t been drawn to it as yet. Were my expectations too high? Am I just insanely hard to please? Whatever the case, although I want to continue reading this I just can’t rate it too highly.

*NEW* Claymore Side Story 1: Continuing the Claymore theme, this side story takes us back into the life of Teresa at her prime, when she gets a black card from the Number 2 Claymore. Normally a Claymore asks to be killed by the one who knew them the best, but Teresa actually barely knew Number 2, who only wants her to come so that she can have a proper fight with the woman who stole her number one spot. In all honesty, I actually enjoyed this rather more than most of the main Claymore manga, although that could just because of my curious love of Teresa’s character.

Yotsuba&! 47: Hmm, didn’t we already have a chapter called Yotsuba& the Farm? Either way, we still haven’t actually got to the farm, but in this chapter Yotsuba, her father, Jumbo and ‘Tomo of the series’ Yanda finally start to make their way there. As usual, not much happens in the overall scheme of things, but even after 47 chapters the series remains entertaining and amusing. Bring on the actual farm visit.

As we all know, during the summer we are expected to be outside enjoying the sunshine and the like, and so the selection of anime offered to us is rather limited compared to the lush bounty of the spring and autumn seasons. Good summer series tend to be few and far between, and even ones that are mildly entertaining can be hard to find. Can this year break the trend, or is it going to be more of the same?

I’m not bothering with movies this time, I never seem to actually watch them.

• Buzzer Beater 2007: I hardly ever watch sports series, and I certainly haven’t bothered to touch the 2005 Buzzer Beater anime (why is it getting a remake so soon?). These futuristic basketball adventures will be left well alone.
• Kodomo no Jikan: I think we’ve all heard of this series by now thanks to the Great Manga Cancellation Incident of 2007, and to be honest, a precocious third-grader going after her 23 year old teacher never appealed to me. I might check out the manga thanks to all the controversy about it, but the anime won’t be tried unless I like the original.
• Soukou Kihei Votoms Pailsen Files: I don’t much about this series other than the existence of secret documents in the postwar era, but a quick glance at the character art reveals some depressing MANLY and generic designs. It also seems to be related to Armoured Trooper Votoms, a series almost as old as I am that looks to be typical retro eighties MANLINESS.
• Nanatsuiro Drops: A middle school boy gets turned into a plush sheep and needs help from a magical girl to collect the star droplets needed to turn back. As with most eroge adaptations, the artwork and prospect of light entertainment appeals to me, but then I remember the animation and story quality of Yoake and now Polyphonica, and I become reluctant to make the same mistake yet again.
• Zombie-Loan: If Rozen Maiden is Peach-Pit’s attempt at X, and DearS their rip-off of Chobits, then Zombie Loan may be Tokyo Babylon and xxxHOLiC, featuring a trio of people hunting down zombies. After the whole getting disillusioned with Rozen Maiden debacle, I’m somewhat reluctant to get too optimistic about this, but I’ll probably give it a try.
• School Days: Somehow I once ended up watching a couple of clips from the raw OVA on “you toube”, and it was awful in an “I can’t believe it could be this bad” sense, with a still shot of one girl watching a couple have sex off screen “Makoto…no…”, and then some violence. I guess a TV series has a chance to do the story in more depth, but is that really going to help?
• Doujin Work: I included this in the spring preview because I thought this was coming out ages ago, and in the meantime the reputation of 4koma-based anime has been smashed by Lucky Star. Even so, it just might have some Genshiken-esque potential, if I can ever be bothered to risk it.
• Code-E: Its title might be an unpleasant reminder of Code Geass, but can Code-E’s tale of a girl who can disrupt electronics when she gets nervous turn out to be more Dennou Coil than mere throwaway entertainment? I’m sceptical, but you never know.
• Kenko Zenrakei Suieibu Umisho: Sasa already said this, but the artwork is reminiscent of YKK, even if the story is nothing like it- instead, this is the tale of a boy who joins a swimming club filled with weirdoes, including that one girl who might just be someone he met in his past. It doesn’t sound like it will be top quality, but it could be fun.
• Mushi-Uta: The title may make it sound like some sort of Mushishi/Utawarerumono crossover, but in fact Mushi-Uta is a light novel adaptation about a breed of mushi that eats dreams. If only in memory of its similarly named second cousin, I must watch it.
• Sky Girls: A follow-up to last year’s OVA, this series sees lolis in mecha fighting giant worms. It sounds a bit generic and Simoun-like for its own good, and it may well only appeal to rabid mecha musume fans.
• Happy Happy Clover: Looks like a cutesy kids show- if only it actually had adult humour and was going to be the next Damekko Doubutsu.
• Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai: I got highly disillusioned with Higurashi by the end, so even though I once longed for the next two arcs to be animated, I’m not too enthused about this. Even so, I will probably end up at least starting it.
• Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei: So, Hopeless Sensei gets his own anime series…or not. A comedy series about a pessimistic teacher and an optimistic student, SHAFT’s involvement means this could be the next Pani Poni Dash, which I enjoyed, or Negima!?…which I didn’t.
• Moetan: Whose idea was it to turn an English vocabulary guide into an anime? I mean seriously, what the hell is this going to be about? I guess it may be amusing, but it could also get old quickly.
• Zero no Tsukaima 2nd Series: Based on the fact that I could only bear two episodes of the first series before getting tired of the paper thin plot and characters, I won’t be watching this.
• Potemayo: The story of a girl who lives in the fridge, Potemayo is another 4-koma based series which just might be as enchanting as Binchou-tan, but which will probably be as throwaway as Adventures of Mini-Goddess.
• Mononoke: Based on the medicine seller from the third and best arc of Ayakashi, Mononoke loses points for being related to that boring series, but then gains them back for the distinctive art style, period setting and possibility similarity to Requiem from the Darkness.
• Shigurui: The historical setting tempts me, but the ultra-violence makes me wary that it will be a gorefest reminiscent of some of the more forgettable eighties and early nineties material. I may give it a try, but it’s far from a must-see.
• Tokyo Majin Gakuen Kenpuchou Tou Kenbu Hen: Another second season, and this time I didn’t even touch the first, so I’m hardly going to be watching this.
• Baccano: I need my historical series fix in every season, and it looks like this time around we’ll be heading to Prohibition-era America (ah, the memories of GCSE History are just flooding back). I already have hopes that this is not only going to be enjoyable, but will also offer solid parody material, just as Chevalier and Iroha did before it.

Extra: Last Season’s “Results”, aka, are previews meaningless after all?

Shows classified as blue: 14- 5 still watching, 4 dropped, 5 unwatched

Shows classified as black: 16- 3 still watching, 1 dropped, 12 unwatched

Shows classified as red: 21- 2 still watching, 2 dropped, 1 unaired, 16 unwatched.