Currently Watching (Fall 2008 Edition) [Archive]

Suwako Moriya

10-01-2008, 02:13 PM

Ah yes it won't be long before I start watching Fall series. Still what to check out? Well based on Random Curiosity's Fall 2008 Preview Page (http://randomc.animeblogger.net/2008/09/29/fall-2008-preview/) and what I already know, I'll be dividing things into No, Maybe, and Yes. Although this list is obvious tentative since sometimes things change. Some "yes" I never get around to and some "no" I suddenly decide to try out. Still for now...

Hakushaku to Yousei: Maybe, there's not much to go by here. Still the lead female design is a bit curious.

Toradora!: Yes, I've been anticipating this for awhile. If the manga is any indication of what the anime is like, I'll be enjoying this one.

Noramimi 2: No, I don't think I'll be able to get into this one.

Casshern Sins: No, because I had a bad experience with a previous version and I don't hate myself.

Rosario + Vampire CAPU2: Maybe, on one hand I couldn't get past the first episode of the original series. Yet on the other hand the new girl has the type of design that just works for me. Thus I feel conflicted.

Hyakko: Yes, based on what's said about there and the preview. I feel like giving it an episode or two. Seems like I could end up liking this one. So yeah go figure on that one, but it's so me.

Shikabane Hime Aka: Maybe, nice music in the previews, but I'm not so sure yet. Probably need to read up on it.

Kuroshitsuji: I'm leaning towards "No" to be honest. Not that there is anything wrong with it, but I'm not sure I could get into it.

Akane Iro ni Somaru Saka: The designs are rather nice and this could have potential. So it's in the "Yes" category, but at the same time the premise has me slightly worried. Since the female lead sounds like one of those love/hate type ones. Where if handled right she could be one of the best ever. If handled wrong then well let's just say I'll be searching for special water.

Hokuto no Ken Raoh Gaiden - Ten no Haoh: Do I even need to say that I'll be passing this one? Neither it or previous versions are series for me.

Yozakura Quartet: Maybe, as it sounds like the type of series I'd want to give a few episodes.

Clannad After Story: If you guessed this was my most anticipated fall series, you were wrong. However given that Clannad was good enough, this continuation is in the Yes category by default.

Tales of the Abyss: I'll likely check out a few episodes of this. At the very least I'd get a chance to hear the Japanese voices of the cast. Still it may end up being the type of series I watch in sets rather than weekly.

Tentai Senshi Sunred: Eh, I'll probably skip this one.

Linebarrels of Iron: Nothing about this really grabs me yet or convinces me to check it out.

Jigoku Shoujo Mitsuganae: I passed on seasons 1 and 2, so my answer for season 3 should be obvious. The premise is just meh to me.

Kannagi: A very strong "Yes" for this one based on watching the trailer(s) and well reading a bit of the manga. I approve of Nagi!

To Aru Majutsu no Index: Seems like the type of series I may want to give at least an episode or two. I'll see how things go.

Kemeko-DX: Maybe as it depends on how much time she spends outside that suit.

Gundam 00 Second Season: I gave up on Gundam long ago and thus the answer is no.

GA-REI -zero-: Leaning toward no on this one.

Macademi Wasshoi!: Sounds like a hit or miss type series, so I'm not really sure about this one.

Kyou no 5 no 2: I'm considering giving this an episode or two.

Skip Beat!: This would be in the maybe category.

Vampire Knight Guilty: Since the first episode of the previous season made me feel bored...

Bihada Ichizoku: Eh, I think I'll pass on this one.

ef - a tale of melodies: Pretend I said "yes" in several different languages. Out of all the series airing this fall, this may be indeed be the one I'm looking forward to the most. Although I still hope for at least one more series after this to focus on the some what shafted Kei.

KUROZUKA: I admit the premise sounds curious, but it's hard to say if I'd get into it. I guess I'd consider it a "Maybe after it's over" scenario.

ONE OUTS: I'll probably pass on this one.

Mouryou no Hako: I'll put this in the maybe category for now. Need to learn a bit more first.

CHAOS;HEAD: Maybe, since I'm not sure if I have enough bravery energy for the series.

TYTANIA: No idea on this one, probably not something I'd get into that easily.

Nodame Cantabile Paris: It depends on whether or not, I decide to give the previous season a chance.

Junjou Romantica 2: It's obviously not meant for me.

Michiko to Hatchin: Uh to be honest, probably not...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That takes care of all of them. To make a long story short the five Fall shows I feel strongest about checking out the following ones.

ef - a tale of melodies
Kannagi
CLANNAD AFTER STORY
Hyakko
Toradora!

HitokiriShadow

10-01-2008, 03:05 PM

I looked at that link to RandomC's blog and it just reminded me how awesome this season should be.

At the very least, I'm guaranteed to be watching Clannad, ef ~ a tale of melodies, Gundam 00, Tales of the Abyss and Skip Beat (unless it gets a subpar adaptation). The trailers I saw make Kannagi and Magical Index almost guaranteed watches.

On top of thatToradora, Chaos Head, Hyakko, Shikabane Hime Aka, Akane Iro ni Somaru Saka, Yozakura Quartet, Mouryou no Hako all look relevant to my interests. There were few others that I was also interested in, but slightly less so and looked a bit iffier.

This season should be great.

LordGeo

10-01-2008, 03:40 PM

Thanks for the list Komachi... Anyway, this is what I might watch:

Casshern Sins
Hokuto no Ken Raoh Gaiden - Ten no Haoh (Hell yes!)
Tales of the Abyss (Maybe)
Linebarrels of Iron (Sounds interesting... but it's GONZO, so it's a maybe)
KUROZUKA
ONE OUTS (The next anime from the staff behind Akagi and Kaiji? Sing me up!)
CHAOS;HEAD (Maybe)

Anyway, should be an interesting season...

EmperorBrandon

10-01-2008, 04:01 PM

Toradora!: Yes, I've been anticipating this for awhile. If the manga is any indication of what the anime is like, I'll be enjoying this one.

You know, I really tend to not like Rie Kugimiya roles all that much, but this one seems kind of interesting. The staff and studio behind it seems very promising to me. May give it a try.

Akane Iro ni Somaru Saka: The designs are rather nice and this could have potential. So it's in the "Yes" category, but at the same time the premise has me slightly worried. Since the female lead sounds like one of those love/hate type ones. Where if handled right she could be one of the best ever. If handled wrong then well let's just say I'll be searching for special water.

The seiyuu cast of this series is definitely very intersting to me, which kind of makes me want to check it out. Looking at the staff though is not promising at all. Might be one I check for a few episodes and drop quickly if I don't like any of the characters or situations.

Yozakura Quartet: Maybe, as it sounds like the type of series I'd want to give a few episodes.

Nomad behind it (Rozen Maiden, sola, Kyouran Kazoku Nikki) and some of the same staff as a few of those shows has me interested, though I know little about it. right now.

Clannad After Story: If you guessed this was my most anticipated fall series, you were wrong. However given that Clannad was good enough, this continuation is in the Yes category by default.

Absolute definite watch for me, obviously...

Kannagi: A very strong "Yes" for this one based on watching the trailer(s) and well reading a bit of the manga. I approve of Nagi!

This one seems like one I'd be highly interested in, and it has interesting staff too (Kurata, as well as several former KyoAni people)

To Aru Majutsu no Index: Seems like the type of series I may want to give at least an episode or two. I'll see how things go.

Have an inkling of interest in this one, due to staff and studio. Might try if I hear good things.

And as for ef, I only watched a few eps. of the first series, as I vainly hope for it to be licensed and am just waiting for that. Probably shouldn't check the second series in case it spoils something I haven't seen in the first series (I know it focuses on different characters, but is it a direct sequel or an alternate side of the first series?)

Busaiku

10-01-2008, 04:20 PM

Based on the preview list:
Hakusahku to Yousei - Not too sure, I like the character designs, I'll watch a bit at least.
Toradora - Hated the manga, so I'll be skipping this.
Noramimi 2 - Never saw the first, so this isn't for me.
Casshern Sins - Liked the original, so I'll give this a shot.
Rosario+Vampire CAPU2 - Never saw the anime, but I didn't like the manga, so this is a skip.
Hyakko - The manga's ok, nothing too great, probably just gonna stick with that.
Shikabne Hime Aka - Doesn't interest me.
Black Butler - Definitely on board this.
Akane Iro ni Somaru Saka - Not interested in this either.
Fist of the North Star Raoh Gaiden - Absolutely stoked for this.
Yozakura Quartet - Not too sure, I'll give it a shot.
Clannad After Story - Only watched the first arc of the original, have no desire to continue.
Tales of the Abyss - Another Tales adaptation doesn't excite me at all, given the previous ones.
Tentai Senshi Sunred - Looks amusing, I'll probably check it out.
Linebarrels of Iron - I'll check it out, not expecting much.
Hell Girl Mitsugane - Never checked out the 2nd season, I probably won't.
Kannagi - Didn't like the manga, so this is a pass.
To Aru Majutsu no Index - Another manga I wasn't a fan of, so another to skip.
Kemeko-DX - Doesn't look like it's for me.
Gundam 00 Second Season - I am looking forward to the first season on Sci-Fi, so I've gotta wait for this to hit here too.
Ga-Rei Zero - Looks interesting, so I'm checking it out.
Macademi Wasshoi! - Looks completely unappealing to me.
Today in Class 5-2 - Liked the OVA, so I'm checking this out.
Skip Beat! - Really excited for this.
Vampire Knight Guilty - I'm looking forward to this, though not that much.
Bihada Ichizoku - Not interested in cosmetics myself.
ef -a tale of melodies- - I skipped the first season, so this will skipped too.
Kurozuka - I read a bit of the manga, which was really generic, but I might check this out.
One Outs - Loved Akagi and Kaiji, so I'm pumped for this.
Moryou no Hako - I read a bit of the manga, and seems interesting enough.
CHAOS;HEAD - Not too interested.
Tytania - Loved Legend of the Galactic Heroes, so this is a must for me.
Nodame Cantabile Paris - My most anticipated show.
Junjou Romantica 2 - Haven't seen the first series, but I intend to sometime, will check it out after that, maybe.
Michiko and Hatchin - I saw the trailers, and they look great, so it looks right up my alley.

something

10-01-2008, 04:39 PM

You know, I really tend to not like Rie Kugimiya roles all that much
::strikes EB off the list of "The Chosen Ones"::

EmperorBrandon

10-01-2008, 04:43 PM

You know, I really tend to not like Rie Kugimiya roles all that much
::strikes EB off the list of "The Chosen Ones"::

Aww... dang, I'm not a "Chosen One" anymore. You know, this isn't the first time I've admitted that. :P I haven't heard Shana or Louise which are her most popular roles, so perhaps I'm not really in much of a position to judge anyway, though.

Suwako Moriya

10-01-2008, 04:43 PM

You know, I really tend to not like Rie Kugimiya roles all that much
::strikes EB off the list of "The Chosen Ones"::

You've been striking off a lot of people for various reasons. I'm sure even I've been struck off on occasion. Makes me wonder when you'll be forced to strike yourself off as well. That being said I'll admit the seiyuu in question would be part of my motivation. Tsundere Loli(-like) girls for the win. As long as they're done properly.

EmperorBrandon

10-01-2008, 04:47 PM

Skip Beat! - Really excited for this.

Hmm... this is one I was looking at and seemed kind of interesting too. It's another I might give a try.

something

10-01-2008, 04:50 PM

I haven't heard Shana or Louise which are her most popular roles
::unstrikes EB's name and moves it down into "The Damned"::

Just when you think you know someone...! =P

At any rate I'm a complete whore for tsundere and all the art I'm seeing of Taiga is tsundere to the extreme, so I am so, so very in.

EmperorBrandon

10-01-2008, 04:52 PM

I haven't heard Shana or Louise which are her most popular roles
::unstrikes EB's name and moves it down into "The Damned"::

Just when you think you know someone...! =P

Heh, well I am interested in picking up Shana and Zero no Tsukaima at some point, particularly since there are appealing set releases now or forthcoming (probably good I waited on Shana, for reasons that are apparent now).

BluWacky

10-01-2008, 05:45 PM

The only show I'm really invested in is Mouryou no Hako - I suspect it will be crap because Madhouse are, as usual, doing too many shows and don't have enough quality staff, but the story sounds fascinating and I live in hope that somehow, magically, all the good animators at Madhouse will work on this and Casshern Sins (Kurozuka sounds like the splatter porn stuff that put me off anime for years and I hated both Demonbane and Blassreiter so don't have high hopes for Chaos:Head)

Otherwise, there's a couple of sequels I'll check out (Vampire Knight and Nodame Cantabile) for completeness' sake, although Vampire Knight's first season wasn't exactly brilliant. On the superpowered teens front Yozakura Quartet seems the most interesting, although I'm sure Toaru Majutsu no Index will be entertaining and Ga-Rei Zero will be...well, there. Aside from those, I've got mild hopes for Kuroshitsuji and Kurogane no Linebarrel to be partly entertaining (both for the Maaya Sakamoto factor, really) and a few other shows I'll check out, but otherwise I'm not overly excited by anything this season. Besides, I have plenty to catch up on from April and July...

Sly05

10-01-2008, 05:55 PM

There's a lot to look forward to this season for sure. The series I'm looking forward to are:

Toradora: What little I've read of the light novels has been fun so I will atleast try out a few episodes. I'm looking forward to Kugimiya Rie as Taiga.

Hyakko: Seems like a slice-of-life series in the same vein as Manabi Straight or Hidimari Sketch, both of which I really liked so I'm game for this.

Shikabane Hime Aka: Gainax is involved so I'm hoping it atleast may have some well done fight scenes.

Kuroshitsuji: The PV looks like it could be interesting though I'm definitely not the target audience. I watch an episode or two and see if it has more going for it than bishounen.

Yozakura Quartet: I like the character designs though I'm a bit meh on the concept. The fact that its being handled by Nomad also peaks my interest.

CLANNAD After Story: I read a lot of comments that After Story is the best part of the original game. Considering CLANNAD was excellent (though I'd still rate it a little bellow Kanon), I'm excited for this continuation.

Linebarrels of Iron: I know very little about it, but the premise sounds interesting. Another series I'll at least watch a few episodes of and decide from there.

Jigoku Shoujo Mitsuganae: I'm curious to see where the series goes after what happened in the conclusion of the second series. I'm kind of hoping they tone down the episodic nature of the past two series and focus on a shorter, more tightly written main story.

Kannagi: The manga is really cute and fun with likable characters and from the previews the anime looks vivid and well animated. Kannagi is one of the series I'm looking forward to the most.

Gundam 00: The first half turned out really well and was one of the series I eagerly looked forward to watching each week. This series is pretty much a given.

Kyou no 5 no 2: I like the original manga and would be looking forward to this a lot more if the animation didn't look so awful from the previews. I fear that Xebec may have pulled another Negima here, but my enjoyment of the original material means that I'll hope for the best.

Nodame Cantabile Paris: I'm a big fan of the first series and I'm looking forward to meeting all the characters again in Paris.

Michiko to Hatchin: Looks like a really high quality production so I'll give it a chance.

LelouchLamperouge

10-01-2008, 06:01 PM

I don't include sequels/OVAs, since odds are I have to watch and finish Season 1 first.

1) Michiko to Hatchin manglobe is hit-or-miss, unappealing character designs, looks like a Wild West Witchblade. 1-2 Episodes
2) Kurozuka Tetsuro Araki anda Masanori Shino?!? SOLD. Looks really good. All
3) Chaos;HEAd Interesting staff list, sounds okay for a plot. 3-4 Episodes
4) Mouryou no Hako The staff is nothing special, CLAMP is Eww, meh looking screenshots. 1-2 Episodes
5) Kuroshitsuzi Looks ... interesting. Very appealing designs all-around. I like the look of it. Nice staff too. 7-8 Episodes
6) Hakushaku to Yousei Looks rather interesting, but UGH Artland is animating. 1-2 Episodes
7) To Aru Majustsu no Index Looks like the next Shana, J.C. Staff animating, Mami Kawada singing the OP is a plus. 1-2 Episodes
8) Macademi Wasshoi! This looks very pedolicious. I don't know what to say beyond that. 1-2 Episodes
9) Yozakura Quartet Some staff from Red Garden, good. Nomad, good. I'm interested. All
10) Akane Iro ni Somaru Saka Ugh. I can already tell this something I'll hate. I'm tired of the adapations. I can only handle so many before it hits overload, like now. 1-2 Episodes
11) Casshern Sins Looking at the screencaps, who's involved, I'll give this shot. 3-4 Episodes
12) Kurogane no Linebarrel Excellent seiyuu cast, semi-decent Ali Project OP, LOL Gonzo. All
13) Shikabane Hime: Aka Gainax, some Gurren-Lagann staff, Angela OP, looks pretty cool. All
14) Tytania Space opera, Artland eww, no confidence inspiring CG, from some guy who did LOGH. 3-4 Episodes
5) Alive - Last Evolutionary Boy Meh. Shounen. I heard the manga is good, so I need my shounen fix for the season. 5-6 Episodes

something

10-01-2008, 07:11 PM

Going off the Random Curiosity list, with shows ranked from least to most anticipated, at least within each category:

Absolute givens, sequels to shows I loved:

CLANNAD After Story - FUCK YES BITCHES BOW TO YOUR MASTER! Could After Story be the thing to push Clannad ahead of Nanoha and become my #2 all time series? If it somehow manages to top the first season, then quite possibly. Odds are much lower if it only turns out to be one cour though.
ef - a tale of melodies - Clannad and ef head to head once again, I think I just came a thousand times. The promo video was so beautiful it brought tears to my eyes the first time I saw it.
Gundam 00 Second Season - Third most anticipated show of the season. Sunrise, I love you, never ever change. I can't wait to see what they follow Geass and Gundam up with next year.
Nodame Cantabile Paris - Thank god this got a second season. I absolutely loved Nodame S1. I just fear those creepy, jarring, ugly 3dcg hands.
Jigoku Shoujo Mitsuganae - I really liked the first two seasons, so of course I'm watching this.

Absolute givens, and very good odds I will watch it all:

To Aru Majutsu no Index - My most anticipated show outside the top category, all of which are sequels. The promo video looked great and I'm quite excited.
Toradora! - Kugimiya Rie, tsundere, instawatch.
CHAOS;HEAD - I have no concrete reasons why, but I'm very eager to see this one.
Hyakko - One of a number of shows I first learned the existence of when doing some research to tag characters/series for danbooru uploads. Looks like comedy with cute girls, thus it's a watch.
Akane Iro ni Somaru Saka - Same reasoning as above, except moe.imouto.org instead of danbooru. Visual novel adaptation = instawatch from me, but I don't know enough to put it in the top category.
Kannagi - Sensing a theme here... interest based entirely no fanart.

Know nothing about, will definitely try:

Shikabane Hime Aka - Just saying Gurren Lagann staff are involved makes it a must watch even if it's a completely different show. I saw a preview video that looked decent.
Kyou no 5 no 2 - Skipped the OVA because it was an OVA, but as a TV series I'll definitely try it out.
Yozakura Quartet - Just saying Rozen/sola staff are involved makes it [etc etc]
Mouryou no Hako - They had me at "CLAMP designs".
Macademi Wasshoi! - Checked out the website and the top page image sold me.
TYTANIA - I need some epic space opera. Hopefully this is it.
Michiko to Hatchin - Well, I'm intrigued. Not much else to say.
Skip Beat! - Premise sounds okay.
Kemeko-DX - Looks cute?

Know nothing about, will possibly try out, free time depending:

Kuroshitsuji - RC's writeup sounds interesting but this is the first I've heard of it.
GA-REI -zero- - Never heard of it, but the premise sounds potentially decent.
Tales of the Abyss - Based on a game [rpg I assume] = thumbs down. Sunrise = thumbs up. Mixed feelings. But oh shit it has Yukana. <3
Linebarrels of Iron - Not sure I can expect two good Gonzo shows in a row (Strike Witches is love) but maybe I'll give this one an ep or two.
Hakushaku to Yousei - Shoujo, but probably not the kinda shoujo I'm into.
Bihada Ichizoku - One ep just to see if it's as horrible as it sounds.

No plans to watch at the moment, mostly sequels/spinoffs of things I didn't watch:

KUROZUKA - No real interest, but who knows.
Vampire Knight Guilty - Sequel to something I didn't watch (though I kinda meant to).
Noramimi 2 - Sequel to something I didn't watch.
Casshern Sins - Reincarnation[?] of something I didn't watch.
Rosario + Vampire CAPU2 - Sequel to something I only could stand a few episodes of.
Hokuto no Ken Raoh Gaiden - Ten no Haoh - Spinoff[?] of something I didn't watch.
Junjou Romantica 2 - Sequel to something I didn't watch.
Tentai Senshi Sunred - ?
ONE OUTS - Baseball.

Splitter

10-01-2008, 07:59 PM

Two seasons of very little interesting shows, I feel like being a glutton this fall. This is going to be my final season of watching series as they come out in Japan. After which, only DVDs for me. Regardless, here we go

Starting Lineup
---
Hakushaku to Yousei: Victorian England with fairy tale themes. Two things that make me squeal like a little girl. And Nana Mizuki's leading so that just sweetens the deal.

Yozakura Quartet: The story sounds fun and the cast/staff is full of underappreciated awesomeness. Saki Fujita especially!

Clannad After Story: Like I can pass up KeyAni. Honestly.

Nodame Cantabile Pari-Hen: Once I watch the first season, which will be as soon as I'm done with Akazukin.

Michiko to Hatchin: It's not Watanabe, it's not manglobe. Just the look and feel of the artwork sets me off in just the right way. Sounds like a fun girls-on-the-run story and I feel in the mood for one right now.

Waiting for the jury
---
Toradora!: The word-of-mouth is good, but I'm more cautious on hype these days. And I'm especially cautious of any role where Rie Kugimiya is typecast.

To Aru Majutsu no Index: J.C. Staff is something to be wary of. Looks like it may be a little too gimicky, but we'll see.

Chaos;Head: Cute character designs, psychological horror setup. I should be on this like a dog in heat, but instinct tells me to lay off the killer moe. When a subgenre is born, there will be imitators that won't be as good.

Suwako Moriya

10-01-2008, 08:07 PM

Toradora!: The word-of-mouth is good, but I'm more cautious on hype these days. And I'm especially cautious of any role where Rie Kugimiya is typecast.

To be honest while typecasting has its issues there are times I wonder if it's best not to worry too much about it. Regardless I will confess that I more or less just finished watching the first episode of this Thus making it my first fall series. However I'll save thoughts on it for later. Since I'll have to do a required re-watch. At which point, I can either start a discussion thread or reply to an existing one if one comes up before hand. All I will say is I'll definitely give it a few more episodes at least and possibly more depending on how things go.

something

10-01-2008, 08:16 PM

Splitter

10-01-2008, 08:22 PM

To be honest while typecasting has its issues there are times I wonder if it's best not to worry too much about it.
And I see nothing wrong with typecasting when she's utterly amazing at it. Besides it's not like she hasn't done plenty of other roles.

"Utterly amazing" may be your opinion, but it's not mine. Shrill tsunderes who treat their love interests like servants don't really tickle my fancy.

something

10-01-2008, 08:24 PM

"Utterly amazing" may be your opinion
Well obviously.

Andrew Cunningham

10-01-2008, 08:28 PM

To Aru Majutsu no Index - Another manga I wasn't a fan of, so another to skip.

Not based on a manga, but a really fun series of light novels. Recommend giving it a shot, since media mix manga are usually worthless garbage.
Probably the only thing I'm looking forward to this season.

EmperorBrandon

10-01-2008, 08:29 PM

Yozakura Quartet: The story sounds fun and the cast/staff is full of underappreciated awesomeness. Saki Fujita especially!

I haven't heard much of Saki Fujita at all at this point, but I did hear a compilation of her roles on YouTube. She has a cute and interesting voice. Perhaps I should look forward to hearing her.

Toradora!: The word-of-mouth is good, but I'm more cautious on hype these days. And I'm especially cautious of any role where Rie Kugimiya is typecast.

Heh, better not criticize Rie Kugimiya and which roles she gets, or you will get a cold reception here. :P Ok, to be honest, I don't necessarily dislike her. I've enjoyed quite a few of her roles (I do remember liking her in Nanoha, at least). I guess my attitude mainly stems from her being really highly regarded. There just seems to be many other seiyuu that interest me more (pretty much have the same thoughts on another seiyuu who shares her given name)

I think one thing that interests me in checking out the Toradora anime most is that Tatsuyuki Nagai is directing. I haven't seen too much of his work (at all, really), but him being assistant director of Mahoraba (and involved with some episodes there I really like) is a pretty powerful motivator for me, and I liked H&C II as well. I do want to judge some more series he's been involved with out of curiosity.

Busaiku

10-01-2008, 08:29 PM

Kuroshitsuji: The PV looks like it could be interesting though I'm definitely not the target audience. I watch an episode or two and see if it has more going for it than bishounen.

You might want to give it 3 to get to the really good stuff.
Depends on how the pacing plays out (doesn't get really interesting until chapter 3).

The Adventurer

10-01-2008, 08:32 PM

I found this handy image online of (I think) everything coming out...

http://img352.imageshack.us/img352/7649/fall2008seriesev1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

there isn't really a lot I'm jonesing for (if Gundam 00 was out on DVD already I'm sure I'd be watching that) but from what there is...

Hokuto no Ken - Raou's Story (Fist of the North Star) - Giving this a shot because A)I like post-apoc and B)New Fist of the North Star is kinda... okay. I hope this isn't too continuity dependent.
Kurogane no Linebarrel - Potential mecha goodness?

...have interested me enough to give them a chance.

Splitter

10-01-2008, 09:04 PM

LordGeo

10-01-2008, 09:27 PM

Hokuto no Ken - Raou's Story (Fist of the North Star) - Giving this a shot because A)I like post-apoc and B)New Fist of the North Star is kinda... okay. I hope this isn't too continuity dependent.

Well, this should cover Raoh's rise from being one of Hokuto Shinken's to becoming the "Ken-Oh" he became known as. New Fist takes place after the end of the original manga, so think of this as more of a history lesson to learn about Kenshiro's brothers, who were just as badass as Ken was.

Shirachi

10-01-2008, 09:28 PM

Currently only Tales of the Abyss (big title for me, since it's my favorite of the franchise; God Generals getting animated!), Hakushaku to Yosei and Tytania.

Not going to overload myself like last season, I learned my lesson from that.

Sly05

10-01-2008, 09:43 PM

You might want to give it 3 to get to the really good stuff.
Depends on how the pacing plays out (doesn't get really interesting until chapter 3).
I'll keep that in mind.

William K

10-02-2008, 02:42 AM

Gundam 00 Second Season - Third most anticipated show of the season. Sunrise, I love you, never ever change. I can't wait to see what they follow Geass and Gundam up with next year.

A new season of My-Hime of course :)

Suwako Moriya

10-02-2008, 10:55 AM

A new season of My-Hime of course :)

If that ever happened, I wonder what it would end up involving. Still I'm sure we'll eventually get more My in some form.

something

10-02-2008, 11:06 AM

If that ever happened, I wonder what it would end up involving. Still I'm sure we'll eventually get more My in some form.
Well they already confirmed there's that one coming with the new Mao girl, but I don't remember if it was TV or OVA or if that's even been set yet.

Ashyukun

10-02-2008, 11:25 AM

After reading through some of the preview pages and watching a bunch of PVs, here's the shows I'll certainly be at least checking out.... bearing in mind that I can only really handle watching 5 series or so at a time these days and that Soul Eater is continuing and I'll be continuing on with it, I'll doubtless have to drop more of these than I'd like...

Jigoku Shoujo Mitsuganae- The third season of Jigoku Shoujo. Frankly, I have no idea how the hell (no pun intended) they're going to do it (shy of setting it back before the earlier series- and the PV was of no help here) after the ending of Futakomori, but I'll definitely be checking it out to see what they come up with.

Kannagi- Crazy Shrine Maidens- The title of this alone would be enough to get me to check it out, but I read the first chapter of the manga online, and after that and the PV this looks like it should be pretty good.

Clannad ~After Story~- No explanation needed. Kleenex... those will doubtless be in great demand.

Shikabane Hime: Aka- Sounds like a passable premise-the whole undead girl in a sailor fuku fighting demons with a pair of Uzi's could definitely be amusing. Will at least check the first few out.

Hyakko- I'm a big SoL fan, and the promo for this looked pretty good. Also- Hirano Aya.

Rosario to Vampire Capu2 (season 2)- After how badly the first season handled the manga IMO, I'm not so sure I want to bother with the second... but we'll see. The PV looks like it introduces another character that I never saw in the manga (and the first season covered less than half of what I had read).

Kemeko Deluxe- the written description for this didn't appeal to me at all- but then I saw the PV for it. The OMGWTF is strong with this one, so I'll have to at least check out the first ep. or so. Also: Chiwa Saito <3

To Aru Majutsu no Index- The PVs for this looked interesting, so I'll give it a shot.

Kurogane no Linebarrel- Another that the PV for piqued my interest. Here's to hoping that Gonzo will be putting this one up online like they did Strike Witches, Blassreiter, and Druaga so if it's good I can watch it legally.

Macademi Wasshoi!- This has the highest chance of being my 'guilty pleasure' watch of the new season. The PVs look completely insane and absurd with lots of fanservice, and it's by the company that made H2O. Plus, I'm probably going to need something to balance out Clannad...

And finally, frankly the written descriptions of Toradora! didn't sound all that appealing to me and there weren't any promo vids for it in the pack I grabbed... but the peer pressure here has me at least interested in giving it a shot.

Suwako Moriya

10-02-2008, 12:40 PM

Suwako Moriya

10-02-2008, 12:43 PM

Well they already confirmed there's that one coming with the new Mao girl, but I don't remember if it was TV or OVA or if that's even been set yet.

Ah nice to hear. Just a matter of waiting for more info on this new My series.

Steve_the_Talking_Pie

10-02-2008, 08:39 PM

Still making my way through Fancy Lala. Just finished episode 19 the other day. Honestly this show is starting to become one of my favorites. Its seriously on the cusp of breaking the top ten. Its such a mature magical girl show, but still cute and fun at the same time. The style as someone has mentioned was intentionally done like an 80's show in terms of animation. The creators have also grasped the spirit of some of those shows. So amazing, and the 26 episode count is perfect. I already have episodes I will be visiting in less than a year and I have yet to be bored with it.

Buster Blader 126

10-02-2008, 09:13 PM

I'll definitely be watching the three romantic drama titles of the season: ef - a tale of melodies, Clannad After Story, & Akane Iro ni Somaru Saka. I think those are the only ones this season, unless there are other ones (which there doesn't seem to be based on Random Curiosity's blog entry).

I'll also be making an attempt to watch Gundam 00 S2. S1 impressed me quite a bit, so I'll be tuning in, though it'll be somewhat of a lower priority than the romance titles.

pianocello

10-03-2008, 12:14 AM

Based on the preview list:
Hakusahku to Yousei - Not sure. A lot of shoujo anime hasn't been clicking for me lately so I'll wait and see if there are any positive opinions from male anime fans.
Toradora - Could be interesting. Why not?
Noramimi 2 - Never saw the first, so this isn't for me.
Casshern Sins - Hated the original, so I'll give this a miss unless someone convinces me otherwise.
Rosario+Vampire CAPU2 - Have seen the 1st season. Despite the weak male lead, I liked the female characters enough for me to want to continue.
Hyakko - Comparisons with Manabi Straight has strongly put this in a "must watch" category.
Shikabne Hime Aka - Could be interesting. Why not?
Black Butler - This looks like it could be too dark and serious for my taste so unless someone convinces me otherwise, I'll give this a miss.
Akane Iro ni Somaru Saka - The character designs look nice but I'm still on the fence with this.
Fist of the North Star Raoh Gaiden - Pass. I'm not a fan of the FotNS franchise.
Yozakura Quartet - No idea. Maybe.
Clannad After Story - Have seen the 1st season and thought it was so-so but I'm willing to continue this in the hopes that it will move me to tears.
Tales of the Abyss - Being based on a PS2 game doesn't excite me. Pass.
Tentai Senshi Sunred - Not a fan of the tokusatsu genre but with the staff of SnH on board, it might be funny. Maybe.
Linebarrels of Iron - Err sounds generic. Dunno.
Hell Girl Mitsugane - Will continue since I followed the 1st 2 seasons.
Kannagi - Could be fun. Will give this a try.
To Aru Majutsu no Index - Dunno. Sounds like a generic RPG game.
Kemeko-DX - (scratches head). Dunno.
Gundam 00 Second Season - Didn't see 1st season so pass.
Ga-Rei Zero - Doesn't sound like I will like this. Probably pass.
Macademi Wasshoi! - Could be fun. Maybe.
Today in Class 5-2 - Dunno.
Skip Beat! - Not crazy about shoujo so pass.
Vampire Knight Guilty - Too many males. Pass.
Bihada Ichizoku - Not interested in cosmetics myself. Pass.
ef -a tale of melodies- - 1st season was very average and the animation style was irritating. Will watch if this has TEH HOT SECKS.
Kurozuka - "Includes a good deal of sex and nudity". WILL watch. :devil:
One Outs - Err sounds boring. Pass.
Moryou no Hako - The pics are giving a shoujoai vibe. Maybe.
CHAOS;HEAD - It looks too bloody for me.Probably pass.
Tytania - No interest.
Nodame Cantabile Paris - Did not see 1st season. Pass.
Junjou Romantica 2 - Pass.
Michiko and Hatchin - Well since this is about two girls on the run, if they get a little "friendly" with each other, I might check this out.

pi8you

10-03-2008, 03:15 AM

Finished:
Birdy The Mighty: Decode - Fantastic stuff, gonna be itching for its return before too long, and definitely looking forward to a stateside release.

D.Gray-man - Got what I was waiting for, only to find out it came with the end of the show, ah well :( Guess I'll have to start following the manga now, with hope that it gets picked up again down the line in one form or another.

Gurren Lagann - Finished my rewatch, just as epic as before, and now I need to find room in the budget for more toys...

Carrying on:
Bounen no Xam'd(12)- Animation continues to impress, though it's not really doing anything that exciting beyond looking good and being extremely smooth, I'd love to see them truly play with the ginormous budget they must have. Still, I like the setup and the characters, and I'm going to continue to whine about the fact that Sony's not letting me actually BUY it on my magical Playstation 3.

DMC(6)- Wow, this just gets better and better with every episode, the spit fight would have had me laughing quite loudly had it not been 1am. As it was, I was giggling profusely. And as it goes on, I'm getting used to the animation style that 4C's been using, more interesting than an animated manga, but taking some cues from the medium that a more normal animation style might not have handled so well.

Kamen no Maid Guy(11)- Arrrgh, soo close to the finished column, and still waiting on word of more :( This has been an unexpectedly pleasant surprise, and hit all the right buttons along the way.

Soul Eater(25)- Everything about this show just continues to work really well, and I'm still really digging the visual aesthetic they've gone with, and some of the more interesting visual bits its allowed them(like Stein bisecting Medusa and getting a rain of arrow-snake-blood), bring on the second half!

You're Under Arrest: Full Throttle(18)- Still failing to live up to the original run, but there's enough there to keep me interested, mixed with an undying hope that it'll suddenly get a lot better.

New/Returning:
Nodame Cantabile Paris!- The Nodame awesomeness snuck up on me like ARIA and BECK, always glad for more.

Toradora- Just watched the first episode, enjoying the dysfunction present, and the lead seems like a decent change of pace. I'll stick with it for at least a few episodes I think.

Casshern Sins- Haven't watched any of the franchise, but I've no problems with ridiculous robot combat, so I'll be checking it out at the least.

Shikibane Hime Aka- This seems to be one of the ones to watch, more for the potential of the staff than the story though, as vampires really do nothing for me.

Yokazura Quartet- Again, looking at it more for the studio's capability than the story at this point, as sola was quite pretty to look at.

Kurogane no Linebarrels- Expecting Gonzo fail, but I've got to watch at least one episode to let the uber-mechafiend friend know if it doesn't totally suck or not as he's been deprived of ready broadband.

Kannagi- Okay, this sounds fairly goofy, worth a shot.

Kemeko-DX- What's better than robot boys? Robot girls! Granted, harem comedy tends to be really hit or miss with me, the designs look sharp, so I'll give it a fair shake.

Ga-Rei Zero- Grimdark monster fighting, whee. The fact that the lead female looks like a palatte-swapped Millia Rage doesn't influence my decision to watch this at all.... no... >_>

Kurozuka- The Death Note team back for more stuff? Sure, worth a shot, again, despite my general indifference towards vampires.

Chaos; Head- I can already see myself not liking this, but will check it out with everyone going gaga over it.

Tytania- Space Opera and goofy costumes, what's not to love? One episode at least, pacing will likely determine its fate.

Michiko to Hatchin- Story looks ridiculous, but manglobe's animation has been top notch, quite excited for this.

Garasharp K7

10-03-2008, 11:37 AM

I guess my attitude mainly stems from her being really highly regarded.

The problem with having an attitude based on how highly regarded someone or something is this. We're all guilty of having high regards for one thing or another. I'm a prime example of such guilt probably. It's just that sometimes things match and other times they clash.

Regardless when it comes to VAs being known for certain roles all one can really do is this. Either conclude the flow works for the specific role or conclude it doesn't.

Still when people complain about what they see as type casting it makes me wonder. Is it more they'd like to see the VA in question do a different type of role? Or rather they'd like to see the said role done by a different VA?

I usually don't pay attention to who does what, so when someone recommends a show based solely on the VAs, I either wonder if the actor's voice fits the character, or look for more info on the show itself.
It's like when someone here might ask why show X is so groin-grabbingly trancendent, and another poster will reply with "why? because...because Mamiko Noto, that's why!"
For someone who doesn't know Mamiko Noto from Adam, (like me a few months back) that's not much of a recommendation, really. (I mean, I loved Ai in Hell Girl, but I hated that little milksop Kouta in Kanokon. I wouldn't have gone for the latter show just because Noto played one of the leads) I'm just using Noto as an example here; nothing against her, or Rie Kugimiya for that matter. :)
I will say this - I can't stand Louise, and I'm not fond of Nagi either, from what little I've seen of 'em. Shana's pretty cool though.

musouka

10-03-2008, 01:08 PM

Hakushaku to Yousei: I'm sort of on the fence about this one. The first episode wasn't really anything to write home about, but I'll probably give it a few eps to settle int.

Toradora!: Watched this on a lark, found it surprisingly enjoyable. Taiga is pretty cute in her utterly psychotic way, and I like the lead a lot.

Noramimi 2: Didn't watch the first, probably won't watch the second.

Casshern Sins: Director of the Saint Seiya Hades OAVs, Furuya voicing the lead, and designs that could have been done by Araki himself? Uh, yeah, I don't care how pretentious the first ep came across, you couldn't drag me away from this series if you tried.

Rosario + Vampire CAPU2: Hahahahahahahahaha, no.

Hyakko: Pretty much no interest. If people come back raving, I might give it a shot, otherwise probably not.

Shikabane Hime Aka: Gainax has some pretty nice credibility built up with me considering Gurren Lagann, so I might give it a shot even though it doesn't seem like my type of thing.

Kuroshitsuji: Totally not my style of show, so why was I looking forward to it so much, and why did I enjoy the first ep so much? It is a mystery.

Akane Iro ni Somaru Saka: Zzzzzzzzzzzz...huh, what? Moving on.

Hokuto no Ken Raoh Gaiden - Ten no Haoh: Nope. This hulking slab of manmeat is all yours, lovers-of-hyper-masculine-old-stuff.

Yozakura Quartet: Eh, hasn't grabbed me, but I'll give it a shot. Characters are going to have to sell me, because the premise sure doesn't.

Clannad After Story: I couldn't even get through Kanon, never mind CLANNAD and its spin off.

Tales of the Abyss: Depends on the quality of the adaption.

Tentai Senshi Sunred: Nah.

Linebarrels of Iron: Looks generic and lame. Also I've gotten to the point where mechs have to stand out before I have even the most passing of interest in them.

Jigoku Shoujo Mitsuganae: No, I gave you a chance three seasons ago, Jigoku Shoujo!

Kannagi: Nope.

To Aru Majutsu no Index: I was ready to give this a go, but the setting is a real turn off. Might give it another chance if reviews are favorable.

Kemeko-DX: Uh, no.

Gundam 00 Second Season: Will be watching with friends. Can hardly wait to see more G--I mean, the mysterious masked man!

GA-REI -zero-: Probably not.

Macademi Wasshoi!: The previews alone made me want to stab my eardrums out, so, uh, no.

Kyou no 5 no 2: Not my thing.

Skip Beat!: Probably a few eps before I can no longer stand the terrible animation or watching something I've already seen play out from reading the manga. We'll see though.

Vampire Knight Guilty: musouka + vampires = no

Bihada Ichizoku: The character designs alone will get me to watch at least an ep.

ef - a tale of melodies: Haven't seen the first one. I'm mildly interested in the series, though, so maybe if I can get someone to sit through "memories" with me...

KUROZUKA: See: "Vampire Knight Guilty"

ONE OUTS: I'll definitely give it a shot!

Mouryou no Hako: A visit to the main page of this series made it an absolutely! Nice eye candy is nice. >_>

CHAOS;HEAD: Depends on how good it it. Top heavy female cast is a little meeeh, but I loved Higurashi. If they all have distinct personalities and the story is good, it could be a real winner.

TYTANIA: I have been looking for something to fill the Terra e-sized hole in my heart. This looks like it could fit the bill.

Nodame Cantabile Paris: No thank you. Would rather watch the live action version.

Junjou Romantica 2: Should probably finish season one first. Sakurai is really distracting.

Michiko to Hatchin: Probably not, but who knows.

Glamrgrl104

10-03-2008, 02:01 PM

Case closed 14th Target (yet another awesome movie with Jimmy Kudo!)

Case closed S1 very good can't wait to watch more./

Tsubasa vol 8
It was pretty good not as good as 7 though. But I have preordered 9 so can't wati to see that.
btw how many more dvd vols of Tsubasa are there?

EmperorBrandon

10-03-2008, 02:15 PM

I usually don't pay attention to who does what, so when someone recommends a show based solely on the VAs, I either wonder if the actor's voice fits the character, or look for more info on the show itself.
It's like when someone here might ask why show X is so groin-grabbingly trancendent, and another poster will reply with "why? because...because Mamiko Noto, that's why!"
For someone who doesn't know Mamiko Noto from Adam, (like me a few months back) that's not much of a recommendation, really. (I mean, I loved Ai in Hell Girl, but I hated that little milksop Kouta in Kanokon. I wouldn't have gone for the latter show just because Noto played one of the leads) I'm just using Noto as an example here; nothing against her, or Rie Kugimiya for that matter. :)

Oh, I certainly know what you mean there. I kind of got a little annoyed that kind of response was used so much for Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu (sure, Mamiko Noto's voice is great, but Haruka is awesome as a character on that top of that, and there's many other things to like about the show). To tell the truth, though I do have some favorite VA's, I hardly ever put a serious amount of emphasis on it when deciding shows to try out. Looking at the staff (director, writer, chief animators, etc.) usually is a much better indicator to me whether something will interest me. I've gone into a few shows that have very interesting casts (on either the Japanese or English side) and have come out pretty disappointed. If they don't have good material to work with, then even an awesome VA isn't going to mean much. :sweat:

Mafty Allegro

10-03-2008, 02:31 PM

Some really nice shows in the mix, most debuting this month. I'll try to look at as many I can, but that of course depends on time and shows from last season(s) in queue, and other matters. I wrote (http://harddoor.blogspot.com/2008/09/anime-harddoors-autumn-anime-preview-08.html) about a number of the titles set as this season's offerings on my blog, but here's a digest view of the ones that caught my eye. In no real order other than alphabetical...:

Bihada Ichizoku - Possibly an infomercial waiting to happen, and the plot sounds mighty vain, but the artwork at least looks nice (as it should...for a show revolved around beauty).

CASSHERN Sins - I'm looking forward to taking a peek at this, with its violent, slick, '70s-esque animation style, and see how one studio (Madhouse) handles another's classic (Tatsunoko Pro.'s). Sort of surprised the latter wasn't the one behind this one...

Hakushaku to Yousei [Count and Fairy] - Looks like a nice fantasy period piece set in 19th Century England, which I will definitely take a look at. And...it has a cat in a suit! :bigsmile: How could I deny it at least one little watch?

Kannagi: Crazy Shrine Maidens - Just might become a really enjoyable show, and is also one of the ones I'm looking forward to the most. Certainly visually pleasing based on the promo art, and the story seems fun, as well. Should also be interesting to see what Kyoto Animation pariah Yutaka Yamamoto and composer Satoru Kousaki (who supplied the very underrated score for The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya) come up with this time, alongside studio A-1 Pictures.

Kemeko Deluxe! (Kemeko-DX!) - Seems like a very, very weird show...and I tend to like very, very weird shows. Its artwork is reminiscent of Keroro Gunso/Sgt. Frog's Mine Yoshizaki, so that's also a plus.

KUROZUKA - The director and studio behind Death Note get together again, with that series' star also in tow. Not terribly interested in it outside of the re-collaboration and the alternate history take that reminds one, somewhat, of Hi no Tori/Phoenix. It also doesn't help that the anime scene has been crowded with immortal-centric stories for the past two seasons (hopefully this one doesn't turn into one revolving around killing a certain amount of evil people or spirits in order to be free to finally die...). It's a unique and interesting premise, but its freshness is already being tested with so many similarly-plotted stories coming out around the same time.

LINEBARRELS OF IRON - Definitely one of the series I'm anticipating this autumn. GONZO seems to be putting a lot into this show and its production (if the main trailer's any indication) and it sounds like one with a good deal of promise if done right. With all of the promotion going into it on the English side, I do hope they show this worldwide like they did with Tower of Druaga and Blassreiter (but not like Strike Witches and its 12-hour free viewing window). In spite of having an English site, preview showings at English-language conventions, and even creating an English-language trailer, the first episode has already aired in Japan with no such distribution news (even said trailer was available to those residents only). For something like this, it would be a mistake not to capitalize on what has come before, though a slight hint on the BOST TV forums may (or may not) yield something in the near future. [EDIT: Oops, GONZO just announced today that they are showing it via their usual digital distribution routes. Very good news!]

Mach Girl - Speed Racer...only retooled and girl-powered this time. Being a fan of the classic series, I'll be keeping an eye out for it. I guess this is what Tatsunoko Pro.'s working on, instead. ;)

Michiko to Hatchin - Certainly doesn't seem to be lack in possible excitement or fun, and its Latin influences, wonderful design work, "newbie" staff & cast, and Shinchiro Watanabe filling in as a music producer only enhance what could brought to the table. That being said, there is also something to be said about the racial context of the show and the dicey territory that is being traveled on. Still looking forward to see how everything comes together, ultimately.

Mobile Suit Gundam 00 2nd Season - The first season was a very fine one, and the most "un-Gundam" series since Turn A. It was also perhaps the first really serious entry since Gundam Wing (light-hearted moments and comic relief, while present in G00, weren't around too often and disappeared around the halfway point). The cliffhanger and surprise time-skip at the end and the trailers leading to the new season only pique my anticipation more.

Mouryou no Hako - Not all that interested in it, though a joint project between Sadayuki Murai (series composition, screenplay), CLAMP (original character designs), and Madhouse (animation production) is intriguing...

ONE OUTS－ワンナウツ－[ONE OUTS -Nobody wins,but I!-] - Only remotely interesting because the featured main character looks like a total jerk...

Quiz Magic Academy - Just one look at the trailer (and some of the names of the characters), as well as having the knowledge that it is related to a video game (one centered around trivia-based quizzes...at a magical academy), and the OVA just oozes of bad intentions. It's only one episode in length and though the animation looks rather nice, it also looks rather fanservice-y, too. This rarel--no, never-- adds up right, but it does sound like it could be "so bad, its good", so just maybe, it'll be worth that one episode watch...

Rosario + Vampire Capu2 - Uh, heck no.

Seto no Hanayome (OVA) - The TV series has been the funniest anime I've seen in a long while (if not ever, so far), so hopefully the OVA keeps it in the same spirit...whoever's doing it...

Shikabane Hime: Aka - My pick for the biggest hit of the season and one of the titles I'll certainly be watching out for. GAINAX struck it big with Gurren Lagann last year, and their co-production with feel (JINKI:EXTEND) looks great based on the trailer, with that classic GAINAX slickness and, well, feel (something akin to a darker Yoshiyuki Sadamoto look). Yeah, another "immortal must kill X amount of creeps in order to die" tale, but it might be one of the more standout ones around...

Tentai Senshi Sunred - Don't know how much attention this will get, but it's a bizarre one, for sure. The old-school and tokusatsu spoofing by the Seto no Hanayome staff sweetens the pot enough to warrant at least one watch...

Tytania - aka "The Noboru Ishiguro Reunion Show". A number of past collaborators are working with the Macross director once more for what's shaping up to be a classic example of space opera goodness. Worth a look, I suppose.

Yozakura Quartet - My pick for the sleeper hit of the season, and the show I'm anticipating the most to debut (Gundam 00 S2 notwithstanding...). There quite a bit I'm looking forward to, from its interesting plot and Kou Matsuo-direction, to its slice-of-life sensibilities and designs. It doesn't seem like conventional harem fodder (I hope not) and the superhero(ine) aspect with one normal person in the group sounds like a great concept if worked right. Luckily, Matsuo has shown himself to be up for the task in similar, previous work...

Definitely some fine shows set for this fall. Shikabane Hime: Aka, Kannagi, Kemeko Deluxe!, LINEBARRELS, Gundam 00 S2, Michiko to Hatchin, Yozakura Quartet, and perhaps CASSHERN Sins will probably be amongst the biggest works of the season, with all of those (including Quiz Magic Academy and possibly Hakushaku to Yousei, with the exception of Kemeko Deluxe!) as ones that I'll be watching at some time.

pianocello

10-04-2008, 12:02 AM

Currently watching (episodes watched up to in brackets):
Outstanding
Sekirei (finished)
Didn't expect much but this turned out to be very good once Tsukiumi showed up. Nice fanservice in ep 9.:shy:

Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu (2)
This has to be one of the biggest surprises. While both parties obviously have normal human flaws, the romance is one of the more believable ones I've seen in any anime. Only gripe is the character design - Haruka is suppose to be the school idol but she looks and acts more like the klutzy girl next door. Anyhow it's always good to hear Mamiko Noto's voice.

Macross Frontier (14)
While episode 14 was so-so, the rest of the series has been outstanding. Can't wait to see more.

Koihime Musou (9)
Yuri for the win! Anyhow I like this version of Kanu Unchou. The humor and the occasional drama also works well.

Very Good
Wagaya no Oinari-sama (finished)
There needs to be a 2nd season focusing on Misaki.

Strike Witches (4)
The lack of skirts or pants takes a while to get used to but I'm glad that the lead character isn't so stubbornly pacifist. Yuri jokes also make this worth watching.

Good
To Love Ru (1)
I usually root for male leads who are unlucky in love but for some reason this male lead is not clicking for me and this could make or break the show. Lala seems fun so far. Too early to tell if this could be a great romantic comedy or a massive failure but I'll continue for now.

Hitohira (1)
Despite the heavy yuri subtext in the air, the female lead is someone who could either make or break the show depending on how much character growth she has since I usually dislike character types like hers.

Code Geass R2 (17)
Too many unbelievable plot twists and awkward attempts at angst is starting to make this a little stale. Still good but I'm not sure how this will develop.

Average
Love Selection (1)
Rather average R2 hentai. Not my type.

Zero no Tsukaima season 3 (3)
Tiffania seems okay but I'm getting a little weary of this franchise. Louise - maybe you should just crawl under a rock and die; the whole show would be better without you.

pi8you

10-04-2008, 02:39 AM

Okay, the first episode of Hyakko was completely entertaining fluff, looks like it actually has a solid slot for now.

Casshern's feeling a bit too retro to me, I'm an 80s child, not a 70s child, but I'll give it a bit more to see how it develops.

ArcticMech

10-04-2008, 06:11 AM

Zero no Tsukaima season 3 (3)
Tiffania seems okay but I'm getting a little weary of this franchise. Louise - maybe you should just crawl under a rock and die; the whole show would be better without you.

I know Louise is not for everyone, but ouch that's harsh.

Westlo

10-04-2008, 08:21 AM

Meh lttp but meh.

Hakushaku to Yousei - Not particularly interested but if word of mouth is good and I can drag myself away from NBA 2K9 i might check this out in a few weeks.

Toradora! - I think I've gone past this type of show, at least ones of this quality.

Noramimi 2 - No interest in this or the first series

Casshern Sins - Same deal as "Hakushaku to Yousei".

Rosario + Vampire CAPU2 - The OP pretty much confirmed for me they aren't going to be doing the "good" manga chapters, so this gets a NO.

Hyakko - See "Hakushaku to Yousei".

Shikabane Hime Aka - Will be checking out a few episodes even if the first was underwhelming.

Kuroshitsuji - Sebastian = win and A1 Pictures = a studio on the rise.

Akane Iro ni Somaru Saka - I'll watch 1-2 episodes....

Hokuto no Ken Raoh Gaiden - Ten no Haoh - See "Hakushaku to Yousei".

Yozakura Quartet - I'll watch 1-2 episodes....

CLANNAD AFTER STORY - Definitely.

Tales of the Abyss - I watched this raw and i'm very happy with the adaption and animation quality.

Tentai Senshi Sunred - Went from a NO to being interested after reading a few blog posts.

Linebarrels of Iron - I heard the first ep is terrible but it looks like they are going back to the manga source for the rest of the series... will see what people think after 2-4 eps...

Jigoku Shoujo Mitsuganae - No interest in this or the first series or the second.

Kannagi - This airs within the hour, will be watching the raw, really looking forward to this. Will the OP be the next Haruhi ED/LS OP?

To Aru Majutsu no Index - Really looking forward to this.

Kemeko-DX - Waiting on word of mouth.

Gundam 00 Second Season - Yes. Where art thou Ali?

GA-REI -zero- - Will watch an ep or two...

Macademi Wasshoi! - I want to say no....

Kyou no 5 no 2 - Probably not..

Skip Beat! Yes, yes a thousand times Yes.

Vampire Knight Guilty - I'll be watching this *sighs*

Bihada Ichizoku - N.O

ef - a tale of melodies - My most anticipated sequel of the season by far.

KUROZUKA - Miyano and Paku Romi as the leads! And I liked the manga even though it had a lot of flaws...

ONE OUTS - If its not Ippo I don't watch sport anime/manga.

Mouryou no Hako - Waiting on word of mouth.

CHAOS;HEAD - Will be checking a few eps.

TYTANIA - I've been craving for more epic space opera.

Nodame Cantabile Paris GYABO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Junjou Romantica 2 - No

Michiko to Hatchin - The style alone gets me to watch a few eps.

Andrew Cunningham

10-04-2008, 12:51 PM

Linebarrels of Iron - I heard the first ep is terrible but it looks like they are going back to the manga source for the rest of the series... will see what people think after 2-4 eps...

I certainly couldn't get through it.
How did characters this utterly unappealing ever manage to become cliches?
People bitch about Shinji, but at least he was a character. Everyone else just copies all the spineless pathetic loser tropes and forgets to back them up with any fucking reason why we should be remotely interested.
And god damn, this show has the ugliest fucking designs in decades.
I won't be back.

Ashyukun

10-04-2008, 05:25 PM

I certainly couldn't get through it.
How did characters this utterly unappealing ever manage to become cliches?
People bitch about Shinji, but at least he was a character. Everyone else just copies all the spineless pathetic loser tropes and forgets to back them up with any fucking reason why we should be remotely interested.
And god damn, this show has the ugliest fucking designs in decades.
I won't be back.
Quite the counter to your thoughts on it, I rather liked the character designs... at least they're different. And thinking back and using your comparison to Shinji (which I'll admit also came to mind for me while watching Linebarrel), just how much of a character did he really come across as in just the first episode?

Andrew Cunningham

10-04-2008, 05:43 PM

How much of a character did he really come across as in just the first episode?

They introduce him as a cipher and fill in different aspects of the character; he reacts several times in ways we don't expect.
Linebarrel's lead produces only stock reactions we've seen a thousand times. As much as people make fun of it, "I mustn't run away" remains more interesting than a god damn nosebleed.

Fencedude

10-04-2008, 05:52 PM

Andrew Cunningham

10-04-2008, 06:31 PM

I haven't even watched the episode, but aren't you expecting a bit much from...one episode?

What else is a first episode supposed to do? Make us interested in the characters and give us a decent plot hook seems like the minimum we should expect.
And again, that's why I'm deliberately comparing it to first episodes that did this well.

Why don't we also compare this to an episode that introduced the characters poorly? Soul Eater, for instance - judging from the first episode, we certainly don't see anything about those two that is any different from any other shonen anime, and the comment threads reflected this. We even had a nosebleed moment. So why did people keep watching? Fucking kick ass action, obviously production values, a whole lots of style...take your pick.
Hell, even Eva hedged its bets by providing some really striking imagery and a massive sense of scale.

What did Linebarrel offer to make up for the aggressively unlikeable characters? What did it do to suggest I overlook the flaws and watch more of the series?

Fencedude

10-05-2008, 04:49 AM

What did Linebarrel offer to make up for the aggressively unlikeable characters? What did it do to suggest I overlook the flaws and watch more of the series?

I'm going to have to check this out earlier than planned, anything you and ANN hate THIS much can't be all bad.

Westlo

10-05-2008, 05:52 AM

Fencedude

10-05-2008, 05:54 AM

Dragonaut begs to differ.

Hey, I at least gave it a fair chance before declaring it sucks.

(and it did suck!)

ArcticMech

10-05-2008, 09:09 AM

Dragonaut begs to differ.

Hey, I at least gave it a fair chance before declaring it sucks.

(and it did suck!)

Having seen the first episode, the creators didn't do themselves any favors by making the lead character instantly dislikable and rather pathetic. A really stupid move IMHO. The character designs, especially the stretched out faces and boys school uniforms that resemble leisure suits, are not pleasant to look at. Still, the action sequences were good enough and the mystery behind the girl and the mecha interesting enough to make me feel that it wasn't a waste of time. I'll continue to follow this for at least a couple more episodes before deciding whether to continue.

Suwako Moriya

10-05-2008, 11:16 AM

Now that the Autumn season is apon us, the realization of how much I have left to wrap up becomes even more apparent. Let's see here at least four series from the Summer, at least four from Spring, and two from the past. Note that does include stuff like Zettai Karen Children which is far from wrapping up, DVD watches, re-watches, or series with let's just say major hurdles that make other hurdles seem minor in comparison. In any case go give an idea of the series in question....

Hidamari Sketch x 365 (Technical Speaking...)
Mission E
Natsume Yuujinchou
Sekirei
------------------------------------------------
Code Geass R2
Kyouran Kazoku Nikki
Nabari no Ou
Wagaya no Oinari-sama
---------------------------------------
Kono Aozora Ni Yakusoku
El Cazador de la Bruja

Note the stuff is divided by line. Summer, Spring and finally earlier stuff. My hope is to have Code Geass R2 and Natsume Yuujinchou wrapped up today. Granted that means watching multiple episodes of the former in a row and one of the latter. Hmm maybe I should have made this post after finishing those two series, but I wanted to give some evidence that I'm actually trying to progress a bit.

Regardless in terms of episodes just from what's mentioned here alone, that will leave me with 5 (Hidamari), 6 (Mission-E), 4 (Sekirei), 2 (Kyouran), 4 (Nabari), 1 (Wagaya), 8-9 (Kono Aozora ni Yakusoku), 14? (El Cazador de la Bruja), and thus that's 30+ episodes for me to concern myself with. And yet there's still evil people out there who are like "Try this out" and/or "Watch more of that".:sweat:

That being said I'm hoping that my next "Spring" and "Summer" updates will being the final ones. Which is good because the sooner I'm more or less wrapped up with Spring and Summer the easier it will be to get into Autumn itself. Stuff like Zettai Karen Children for example will end up being grouped up under "Before Autumn" instead to make things simpler.

On a side I know, I dropped Kono Aozora Ni Yakusoku, but I'm giving it another chance on the basis that since it's two episodes per girl I may find some girls to be better than others. So it's partially an experiment thing. I'll probably save comments on it for later. Regardless this is going to end up being a headache for me and I still need to decide when to make the very first Autumn update. So far I've checked out 4 different series, but I may want to try out a few more first. Whenever that will be.

Konoha

10-05-2008, 12:07 PM

I'm behind on srping season, and I haven't even gotten started on the summer season. But there are a few things this fall I'll get around to sooner rather than later:

Casshern - someone mentioned Furuya Tohru is the lead? SOLD.
Raoh Gaiden - hulking manmeat? SOLD.
Shugo Chara Doki! - liked first season, will continue

Depends on reviews/adaptations/time:

Skip Beat!
Hakushaku to Yousei

I'll wait for buzz on other things. Not in the mood for more school comedies at the moment, and there are a lot of those in the remaining shows.

Suwako Moriya

10-05-2008, 11:09 PM

All right now that I've checked out episode 1 of five different Autumn series, I feel it's time to comment on them. In part because I want to get my "Currently Autumn" subthread started. Note for the sake of simplicity all of these are only one episode.

Akane-iro Somaru Saka: All right this series has girls that are cute, pretty, lovely, sexy, and all kind of attractive. Your definite bishoujo look. Plus the voices are fun to hear. At the same time I have not truly absorbed the series. Thus I can't say if it's a keeper or not yet, but I'm convinced to watch a bit more to see which way it goes.

Clannad After Story: A pretty good start to the sequel of Clannad. One that's quite fitting for the series too. The cast is just as awesome as before. Kyo-Ani is already giving indication that they intend to make this a solid series once more.

Toradora: I'm partially biased because I read a bit of the manga. However I can say the anime is already off to a decent start. Taiga is still "awesome" even in this version. It will be interesting to see how I'll feel once anime passes the point of the manga chapters I read to get a feel for the series.

Kannagi ~Crazzy Shrine Maidens~: Like with Toradora, I have a bit of pre-bias for this. One that has the usual doubled edged sword. Regardless the first episode was good enough for me because Nagi was close enough if not completely what I hoped she'd be in anime form. Her personality and her voice are win. Now it's just a matter of seeing how the rest of the cast is handled.

Hyakko: I tried this out in part due to a random "Manabi Straight" comment and ok it has the whole "School Girls as a group" thing. In any case from start to finish, the first episode just totally won me over. It was just wow in a good way. I am so sticking this one.

All right then there are other Autumn shows, I do need to try out eventually like ef ~a tale of melodies~ and I'm sure there are some I'm over looking. However these five get me off a to a decent start. Especially when you take into account all the previous shows I'm trying to wrap up as well.

Finally if I was forced to pick which of the five series had the winning first episode for me, I'd actually have to give it to..... Hyakko. Don't get me wrong the other four were good in their own way. However something about Hyakko makes me want to pick it for now. Ignore the fact if I made this post a day later, I might change my mind.:P

EmperorBrandon

10-06-2008, 04:10 PM

I'm not usually one to sample a lot of shows, but for whatever reason I tried out quite a lot of ep. 1's for this season (more than usual for me), since there were more than a few that interested me in some way. I'll order them out based on my interest so far...

Clannad After Story - I obviously have really high expectations for this, and the fact that the first episode didn't disappoint me in the slightest seems to be a very good sign to me. Tops off everything else by far and is one I'll definitely be following the closest.

Kannagi - I had decent expectations given the staff involved, and I really quite liked the first episode. The characters are cute, the interaction is amusing, and I think this his a lot of potential to be something I enjoy.

To Aru Majutsu no Index - I really love the character designs in this one. The main two girls have established themselves as pretty interesting to me, too. I guess I will have to see on how the story goes, but it may be interesting to me too.

Akane-iro ni Somaru Saka - This is one I was sort of interested, but had quite a few reservations about. It doesn't defy the generic bishoujo game feel I was expecting, but it was decently enjoyable. The designs are decently good and the cast of characters may prove to be interesting. I think the seiyuu cast certainly doesn't disappoint either. I see this one as having the most potential to fail me later, but as of now I'm surprisingly interested.

Toradora - Got off to a nice start, and I decently enjoyed this one. I have some reservations about Taiga's personality as I got into it further. It's going to have prove itself more interesting as it goes alone (and more focus on characters other than Taiga, maybe) for me not to drop it.

Hyakko - For whatever reason, I wasn't really as enthused as others around here about this one - even though I still liked it to some extent. Perhaps it was really just the setup of the first episode, though. The characters themselves were pretty amusing to me. I think this one I'll give some more episodes too, but it's likely I will drop it if it doesn't keep my interest as much as the shows listed above.

Aside from Clannad After Story, I'm not really sure if anything exactly rivals my interest in the recently finished Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu or continued watching of Shugo Chara so far, though Kannagi seem to have potential. Given there's still a few more ep. 1's I'm going to attempt, it's likely I'll be dropping some stuff as I don't want to follow too many series. I definitely feel like watching to ep. 2 on all of the above, though, which seems impressive to me.

The Adventurer

10-06-2008, 04:27 PM

Casshern Sins has sky rocketed to the top of my "must watch" list. It blew all my expectations out of the water. I don't know who's calling this "retro" because outside the protagonists character design, it ain't retro at all. In fact I'd say the retro design of Casshern was choosen specifically to clash against the world he's in. Which is a breath of fresh air if I do say so myself.

Classical

10-06-2008, 06:56 PM

This is pretty much DVD watch update. I'm continuing to watch Full Metal Panic!

Full Metal Panic (Episodes 5-8): This show continues to be awesome. I love the characters and the comedy and action is great. I thought Kurz's Weber's English VA sounded familiar. He's voiced by Vic Mignogna who voiced Junpei in Persona 3. Episode 8 was especially hilarious. It was funny seeing Sousuke totally not get how women are supposed to be treated. I bursted out laughing when he said "I'm not a nerd, I'm a specialist." I really like the shows action sequences as well, especially the AS fights. The fight between Sousuke and that one guy who was still alive (his name escapes me right now) was awesome. I like Kaname. There are some times where she's a little overboard in the aggression, but when she's nice she's great.

LordGeo

10-06-2008, 07:57 PM

I finished the Kikaider 02 manga that CMX released, and that made me decide to finally finish off the Android Kikaider the Animation boxset I got when it came out (and is apparently rare and expensive to buy now). I saw the TV series a bit ago and I really enjoyed the dark story it told; it was fairly different from other shows of its type, and it's sometimes hard to imagine that it was actually aired on [adult swim]

Kikaider 01 The Animation is the 4-episode OVA sequel that does its own version of the final story arc of the Kikaider manga... Or maybe this is how the manga went, I can't tell.

Anyway, the first three episodes had a very different feel from the TV series; it felt more like a traditional tokusatsu show. I do like that change, though, since it made those episodes enjoyable and fun to watch. The last episode was a really cool one, though, in that in the second half it went back into the TV series' dark story about the very definition of good and evil and how human beings are when it comes to those ideas. Coming from reading MEIMU's version of the manga it was cool to see roughly the same neding in theory but have it done in a fairly different style and I must say that the OVA's ending was both a happy one but also a sad one, since Jiro finally became "human" but with that comes the struggle between doing good and evil. The last shot of Jiro crying really hit that idea home. I really hope Bandai does an Anime Legends release of Kikaider, because this is easily one of Ishinomori's best creations and it tells a great story along with having some nice action scenes.

Now this makes me really wish that Bandai licensed the last bit of Kikaider anime, but that was only released in the special edition boxset in Japan. But hey, they did Rescue Me Mave-chan so they could always do the Kikaider vs. Inazuman OVA...

something

10-06-2008, 09:30 PM

My prior 8/10/08 Summer update (http://www.mania.com/aodvb/showpost.php?p=1391464&postcount=11) and 8/10/08 Spring update (http://www.mania.com/aodvb/showpost.php?p=1391463&postcount=11)

This post will mostly be a wrap-up for the 2 cour Spring shows, and 1 cour Summer shows. It'll combine both since the summer shows have at least a cour under their belts. I'll do a separate post for my initial reaction to the 8 Fall ep 1's I've seen.

Note: this does not include Spring shows that ended a long time ago, like Kurenai or D.C. II S.S. It's just for ongoing and recently finished Spring/Summer shows.

The Top!

Code Geass R2 - [25 eps, DONE] - Sunrise did it again. I wasn't as iffy on the episodes leading up to the end as others, but I was thinking maybe it'd miss out on getting in my top 10. And then the ending came along, blew me away, and justified absolutely everything the show did from episode one of season one. In it went to my all time top 10 at #9, and concluded the epic story of Geass in a remarkably satisfying and conclusive way. A stunning show.

Hidamari Sketch x 365 - [8 eps, ending soon?] - This series is cursed. Seriously, what the hell? Id't been over a month since I've been able to watch an episode. Of all the shows for that to happen to, WHY HIDAMARI!? Why not To Love-Ru instead? :sd: This world we live in is so corrupt and unfair =P Regardless, even though I haven't been able to watch more, it stays in the #2 slot for Spring/Summer, and #1 for Summer. But raaaaaaaage, I should be done it by now. :relief:

Kyouran Kazoku Nikki - [24 eps, ending soon] - Almost done! Lots of eps have come out since I last commented, and the show has only gotten better and better and better. Hence it rockets up to #3, and deserves every bit of the honor that implies. It's the best single mix of spastic comedy and disturbing story elements I've ever seen, and few shows can touch Kyouran when it comes to the quality and characterization that goes into the myriad side characters (one-off or recurring) like Chloe and Oasis and Doji-devil and Kiriko and Shinigami and Raichou and the rest. The main family is completely out of their minds, and I mean that in the best way possible. They're all fleshed out so damn well, and the show seems to have unlimited reserves of energy. Everyone should be watching this show. Absolutely everyone.

The Almost Top!

Zettai Karen Children - [26 eps, ongoing into next season] - And to think, I was worried at one point if this would be 13 or 26 episodes... try more like 52 at this rate. Seems Synergy SP is doing another year long show, presumably with intent to pick Hayate back up for season two in Spring 2009. Well, so is my guess anyway. Maybe this will be 39 with a cour off for them to prep? Either way I'm in for the long haul and really, really liking what I'm seeing, especially after the revelations of 26 raising the stakes considerably.

Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu - [12 eps, DONE] - This is probably tied with Zettai, with the caveat that they're such different shows and not just in length. Nogizaka Haruka gets just about everything right. One of the best heterosexual couples ever. One of the best male leads in a romance ever. One of the best imoutos ever. One of the hottest main girls ever. A show that tiptoed around cliches and never lost its balance, only hesitating maybe once or twice. A real pleasure to watch, and I can only hope for more because this show has so much to offer and I never want to say goodbye to Yuuto or the Nogizaka household.

The Bulk!

Strike Witches - [12 eps, DONE] - Now we're getting into hard to rank territory. Honestly, you could make just about everything from here to Twenty Faces is almost interchangeable, and again from Shugo Chara to Sekirei. This show is absurdity refined to its essence and injected with epic panties. Bring on season two riiiight nooooow. At episode 10 I thought everything was going to fall apart, and then suddenly the show got right back on track and ended very nicely. Sheer uninhibited fun to an extreme.

Soul Eater - [26 eps, ongoing into next season] - This one has hit the halfway point and I'm utterly impressed at where it's gone and where it's going. Aside from a few slow early episodes, the pacing has been spot on, the production values have not faltered, and they managed to introduce two older characters (Stein and Medusa) that totally steal the show from the already really likable main kids. Also: Elka Frogg is THE MOST MOE THING EVAAAAR. Well, almost. Hard to say that in the same post where Midarezaki Yuuka's show is mentioned.

Natsume Yuujinchou - [13 eps, DONE] - The second season of this cannot come soon enough. This is a perfect complement to Aria, relaxing and beautiful and soothing and funny and fascinating and heartwrenching and so many other things. I was enormously impressed with this show in so many ways. My only complaint? Not anywhere near enough Reiko or Jun!

Daughter of Twenty Faces - [19 eps, ending soon] - While I do agree with those who say the show went in an unexpected direction and not necessarily for the better (though better/worse than what?), I still can't say anything bad about it. Chiko is still one of the best characters of the season, and while the plot is not the fun Detective Girls romp we were hoping for, I still think it's pretty solid. Three episodes left, and personally, I'm really really excited to find out what happens.

Shugo Chara - [50 eps, ending soon but with second season starting right away] - Vintage Fall '07 / ongoing - Kinda wish 51 were out so I could mark this done and get ready for Doki!, season two. It's fallen quite a number spots, but with long shows like this it's inevitable that you have bursts of awesome and then lulls for awhile. It really all depends who is getting the focus. Rima or Utau? Instant win. The show has been in something of a holding pattern since the last big climax. Another one is coming next ep, but I don't expect anything significant to come of it since we have probably another 52 episodes to go after this. :sd: So, as mentioned, if I were to rank this show as a complete entity it'd be quite a lot higher, but recent episodes would rank about here. Probably the only way to fairly rank it against short one cour shows.

Wagaya no Oinari-sama - [23 eps, ending soon] - 23 made me laugh so hard. I love how they set their priorities, and how that results in a next to last ep about... that! XD Misaki is utterly wonderful. And may I nominate Yukana's Kuu for one of the most enjoyable performances ever? Not just enjoyable to us, but clearly enjoyable to her too, because she utterly steals the show when she gets excited. I'm convinced she just tears the script up and starts going nuts on her own in the recording booth, knocking things over and hitting voice directors when they try to get her to stick to the directions in the script. Especially in the onsen 'detective' episode, she was a riot there and singlehandedly sold what would otherwise have been only so-so an ep at best. But the best character is still Misaki. Poor, poor silly Misaki. <3 As for the most underused, clearly Mubyou. ;_; This show needs a second season very very badly, but I really doubt it'll get one. 24 episodes isn't enough.

Koihime Musou - [12 eps, DONE] - Ah, you know those shows with a million awesome characters and no real plot to speak of that could go on for 52 episodes without getting even remotely boring, but wind up ending in one fleeting cour and leave you happy but wishing for more? ...Yeah. Also, mmm, yuri. And a surprisingly awesome ending!

Birdy the Mighty Decode - [13 eps, DONE] - Like a few above, this is more that the first half is done. This one surprised me big time, because I didn't really know what I was getting into, and then suddenly I found pretty damn good production values and a compelling story. Birdy is all sorts of ass kicking, and Arita Shion de arimasuuuu is hilarious. The last episode was a step or two down from the truly epic events that preceeded it, but it was a solid ending to the first season and I'm really excited to see where this show goes in January.

Zero no Tsukaima III ~ Princess no Rondo - [12 eps, DONE] - Holy shit, Zero no Tsukaima told a fairly decent plot! It even ENDED well! That's amazing. As usual, I love Louise and thus I liked this show. It's obvious a fourth season is coming, and I welcome it with open arms. Tsuntsundereeeeeee~

Sekirei - [12 eps, DONE] - Woah, I know this is far down but that's only because everything above it is awesome too. Great show, and one that totally exceeded my expectations in terms of plot and emotional impact. The twists and developments of the last ep or two were actually really darn good, and the show was very smart in only biting off as much as it could chew in one cour. They didn't even attempt to get into the real meat of the story. That can backfire if funding falls through and S2 doesn't get made, but for now I'm happy they did what they did.

The Rest!

MISSION-E - [6 eps, ending soon?] - Well, airing is over, but I won't be seeing the end for some time at this pace, I suppose. Maori is an very good addition to the cast though, and I just love the direction they took the series in. Mmm, sexy battle suits, and even sexier ED. Seriously, that ED is dangerous. <3

Nabari no Ou - [21 eps, ending soon] - Yeah it's ranked a lot lower than my positive comments about it would make you think, huh? I tend to have mood swings with this show. I stop caring and get multiple episodes behind, then I actually watch said episodes and enjoy myself greatly. I think right now I'm just waiting until it's done, at which time I'll marathon the last 5 episodes. I expect I'll like it a lot.

To Heart 2 Another Days - [2 eps, DONE] - Not really ranking this one, it's just two fluff OVAs spaced far apart. Was fun, and I look forward to TH2ad+ next year. Also, Yuuki is looooove.

CODE-E - [12 eps] - Vintage Summer '07 / DONE - A cute little show with a horribly flat romance. The best reason to watch this is so you can move on to the superior MISSION-E. That said, I liked it.

Slayers Revolution - [10 eps, ending soon] - I'm slightly shocked at how little I care about this show. I'm multiple episodes behind and that doesn't bother me. It's not bad, not at all, and it's so very much Slayers in every sense. But maybe my tastes have changed, and "just being Slayers" isn't a reason for major enthusiasm? I dunno... needs more Xelloss. I will certainly finish it, but it's totally on the backburner. Something's just not clicking like I thought it would. Maybe watching the last few of this season in a row will help.

Kamen no Maid Guy - [10 eps, ending soon?] - I've seen one more ep since my last update like 2 months ago. :sd: There's really nothing to say about this show, it just... is [amusing]. I'll wait to watch 11 until 12 is out and it's done.

>_>?

To Love-Ru - [26 eps, DONE] - I finished it... because I could, I guess. I can't honestly say it was worth it, but I still love a number of the girls (Haruna <3), so, meh, whatever. It's so obviously getting a second season, and if I know what's good for me I'll pass. :sd: This is the only show in this whole list so far I can honestly say wasn't at least "good". It had its moment but... let's just say I've seen few shows that wasted this much potential for greatness.

Dropped:

Allison and Lillia - Spring 2008
Amatsuki - Spring 2008
Antique Bakery - Summer 2008
Blade of the Immortal - Summer 2008
Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsuna Koto ~Natsu no Sora~ - Summer 2008
Special A - Spring 2008
Telepathy Shoujo Ran - Summer 2008
World Destruction - Summer 2008
Yakushiji Ryouko no Kaiki Jikenbo - Summer 2008

Suwako Moriya

10-06-2008, 10:07 PM

Since the number of Spring/Summer series I'm watching is starting to wind down a bit, I've decided to merge them together into one update. For the most part with a few exceptions, it will mainly be a case of giving "final thoughts" on the said Spring or Summer series as I finish them. The exception being cases where I either give a show a second chance or drop it. Eventually this will be phased out and the only updates I'll have is "Currently Autumn", "Before Autumn", and "DVD". In any case here goes the first step in the gradual wrap up of Spring and Summer.

Code Geass R2

A rather fast paced series that ended up being hectic and chaotic. Sadly this was both the main highlight and the main flaw of the series. It lead to some interesting plot twists, but it also felt sometimes like they were just randomly making things up. The final episode some what validates things and has me admitting it was a pretty decent series. However I will just say I find quite a few or rather I should say several series a lot better. Also truth be told, I doubt I'd bother to re-watch this. Hence this to me is akin to a solid B, but nowhere near an A.

Natsume Yuujinchou

Some episodes were better than others in part because it depended on who was being focused on. However as a whole I rather enjoyed the series. It had extremely pleasant feel to it. Natsume (Forgot his given name) makes for a decent male lead and so does his er cat:). Also some of the characters that get introduced through out the series are kind of nice as well. Truth be told this series could have easily remained under my radar, so I'm glad I became motivated to give it a random chance. One that's definitely paid off. Considering some of the other series I like, this just worked so well for me. I am so watching the second season.

Possible Second Chance?

One show I'm considering giving another chance is "Daughter of Twenty Faces". I've been told by a few to stick with it. I will say this much my main issue besides being no longer amazed by Chiko is the following. First was the fact that I found the white haired bitch to be a lame character that was just dragging the series down. Second is the fact I'm kind of worried about exactly what role Tome and Shunka are actually going to get. I hope it's more than just the "cheering" position some get reduced. I did check out two more episodes (12-13).

I'm not 100% convinced to stick with it, but it does seems there's a chance things may get better again soon. However I'm thinking I might want to wait until some are truly finished with the series. Especially due to some of the mixed comments given. To find out for certain if the series truly comes together in the end or if this will be a case of things suddenly falling apart. Ie another "Blue Drop" scenario.

Suwako Moriya

10-06-2008, 10:23 PM

Anything that started before Autumn and in some cases ended long ago goes here. I'll do a full list later, but I'm mainly going to focus on three shows right now.

Zettai Karen Children (25): The episodic feel is still there, but the plot is thickening. Although this worries me since either things are going to become awesome or things are going to fall apart. I'm just going to have to hope for the best. Either way some of the new characters introduced have been win. Also yeah I moved this here for obvious reasons. It's not going to wrap up any time soon.

El Cazador de la Bruja (12): Things are definitely starting to pick up with this series. Although I suspect I'll mainly being watching this on the side until I reach the point where I can truly just go full force and wrap this up. I think I'll just comment in the thread for it after I finish it rather than make individual episode posts.

Kono Aozora Ni Yakusoku (8): Originally I had dropped this back at episode 1, but decided after a long time to give it a second chance due to learning it's two episode arcs and thus I figured that maybe the second arc would be better. Giving this show a second chance was definitely worth it. With each new arc, it's become more interesting. One thing is clear is the story does not follow a linear time line, but rather each arc shows events important to the girl in question. Although since the arcs can reference each other it's clear there's a single time.

That should be it for now. Other shows I'm watching that will fall under this post that will be commented when I have a reason to are the follow ones. Right now I can't think of much to say about them. Still I want to give them a mention for reference purposes.

Futago Hime (19)
Mermaid Melody Pure (7)
Shugo Chara (48) (However this will likely end up becoming part of "Currently Autumn" instead)
Yes Pretty Cure 5 Go Go! (33)

Buster Blader 126

10-06-2008, 10:57 PM

Clannad Episode 1 was a nice way to get back into the series. Kyo & Tomoyo continue to be awesome.

Akane-Iro ni Somaru Saka Episode 1 was slightly odd at times, but it proved to be pretty enjoyable. I'm liking the girls, and the guys are holding their own, too.

Still waiting for ef and to watch Gundam 00.

10-07-2008, 12:01 AM

something

10-07-2008, 06:48 AM

I might be the only person still trying to finish Antique Bakery. Sure it has the ugliest "HD" animation the world has ever known, but there is something totally off-beat and sly about the humor in this show that really cracks me up.
I really wanted to watch it (it WAS funny) but I have to draw the line at perhaps the single ugliest show of the last decade. I think I'd rather watch Dragonaut than what Antique was inflicting upon us.

BluWacky

10-07-2008, 08:50 AM

I might be the only person still trying to finish Antique Bakery. Sure it has the ugliest "HD" animation the world has ever known, but there is something totally off-beat and sly about the humor in this show that really cracks me up. I was in tears laughing so hard through the episodes I've seen so far. I thought it would be an easy drop for me but I want to finish it for the laughs, I just need to find time.

Finished this off last week. I don't think it's an ugly show by any means - the animation's not bad, the character designs are consistent, the cakes look amazing, and the CG backgrounds aren't offensive or anything.

After the first episode I only found it mildly amusing as opposed to laugh-out-loud funny, and I think the occasional unexpected dips into melodrama don't work that well, but overall it was a fun if forgettable show.

Forgettable aside from one thing which drove me crazy throughout the first few episodes. Why are there so rarely any actual customers in Antique? Surely it wasn't very economical at the start of the show to rent out that massive space, do up the inside, and only appear to serve people through that window counter?

musouka

10-07-2008, 01:10 PM

So far, of all that I've seen, the only things that have really grabbed me are Toradora, Casshern, Kuroshitsuji and Tales of the Abyss. Skip Beat just didn't capture the sheer magic of Kyouko's meltdown, but I'll give it a few more eps.

I will, of course, be watching Gundam 00, but I obviously need to refresh myself on things, because all I got from the first ep was basically "familiar faces and things exploding!"

Kannagi is getting a lot of praise, so maybe I'll give it a chance. I think it'll be more based on the opening sequence than anything else, though.

Forgettable aside from one thing which drove me crazy throughout the first few episodes. Why are there so rarely any actual customers in Antique? Surely it wasn't very economical at the start of the show to rent out that massive space, do up the inside, and only appear to serve people through that window counter?

In the manga, the implication was--to me at least--that the inside was very very small, so adding a window probably actually maximized profits. Regardless, I think it works, because it's like asking if McDonalds would make more money if it just had a drive through window. Some people are getting cakes for special occasions, others want to sit down and eat.

Busaiku

10-07-2008, 02:46 PM

I finished Antique as well.
It was my favorite show of last season.
Originally, I did think that it was pretty ugly, but then I noticed that it was a style choice, and I actually came to appreciate the CG as well. It looked pretty nice.

I thought it maintained its humor throughout, and I thought the drama worked nicely as well.
I felt the last scene where Keiichiro and his kidnapper encountered each other, but didn't really do anything besides the show reminiscing on its own was somehow touching.

I really enjoyed it.

something

10-07-2008, 06:24 PM

Initial reactions. I've seen 8 so far, and all but one were great, and that one is worth at least another episode.

Clannad ~After Story~ - I expected, no, demanded excellence, and was amply rewarded. I've watched the OP probably 30 times, and the episode itself in full 3, and I think I might do so again tonight depending on when I finish Aria disc 3. Clannad is back, and off to an amazing start. If they can keep this up and pull off a great ending, I'll have a new #2 all time favorite show. Watch your back Nanoha, you're about to get Dango Breakered.

Mobile Suit Gundam 00 S2 - Man this was confusing but I think I pulled together the new allegiances and factions by the end of the episode. They made good use of the time skip to set up what will be a really intense and heartwrenching confrontation, and I appreciate the subtle work put into the character designs to indicate the change. Super excited for this show, and Sunrise is on a hell of roll, from Geass to Gundam to Geass and Gundam again. They've given me 76 great episodes of mecha in a row and I expect 24 more.

Toradora - it had Kugimiya Rie in a tsundere role, and thus I was required to watch it. I loved it every bit as much as I knew I would, and then some. I do think Taiga and Ryuuji's dynamic will be be one of the highlights of the whole fall season. Both are simply fantastic.

Hyakko - Possibly the biggest surprise of the season so far. I liked what I saw in fanart, but it turned out to be a hell of a show in more ways than the designs. Hirano Aya is delivering hard as Ayumi, and it's a great role for exhibiting her frequently underappreciated range as a seiyuu. She is more than Haruhi, guys! Hyakko ought to be my "cute girls doing nothing very humorously" show for the season. Just watching them wander around the school grounds for the whole first episode put a smile on my face. And Torako is a riot.

Kannagi - There's some great art going on behind this show. Nagi is every bit as great as I had hoped, and I can think of few premises better than a god of the land awakening from a long sleep and deciding to exorcise the land's impurities by becoming a magical girl... and an idol, maybe? The OP is absurdly well animated, even if the song itself isn't good enough to match the animation.

To Aru Majutsu no Index - Mikoto's hair static railgun has to go down as one of the coolest powers ever, and I'm really happy to see that Index is more than just a cute face. Ditzy as she might seem at first, there's some definitely intelligence behind those eyes. I'm rather liking the male lead as well, and the animation is again top notch.

Akane-iro ni Somaru Saka - Just like Hyakko shows off Hirano Aya's range, so too does Akane-iro do the same for Kugimiya Rie, who plays a decidedly non-stereotypical role in this first episode. Oh, and there's a Hirano Aya here too =P Actually, the whole show is just a clusterfuck of legendary seiyuu orgies, both with the girls and the guys. Ishida Akira and Hatano Wataru ftw.

Kyou no Go no Ni - The only show I've seen that I'm not super enthusiastic for. I absolutely hate the boys in the class, and while the girls are pretty awesome I don't know if they can carry the show in this format. I think the whole show should be about Aihara and her teeth.

That's it for now.

EmperorBrandon

10-07-2008, 07:14 PM

so too does Akane-iro do the same for Kugimiya Rie, who plays a decidedly non-stereotypical role in this first episode.

I did like hearing her in Akane-iro - non-stereotypical is good. :) Akane-iro is definitely a good show for my seiyuu fanboyism. Though whether the show will continue to interest me in other areas (which is still very important) I'm at least a little uncertain on.

pi8you

10-08-2008, 01:02 AM

Busy, busy weekend for me(wierd schedule, whee), what I've watched so far, quality/alphabetical:

Completely Awesome:

Ga-rei-Zero - W.T.F. It was all pretty, and totally awesome, and then... and then... ;_; Definitely has my attention, and I want more.

Hyakko - We need a better/shorter name for "cute girls doing nothing very humorously", because they've completely ensared me.

Macademei Wasshoi - Memes, memes, memes! They aaaaalmost did a direct Over 9000 even! Its completely wrong, but in a way that makes it oh so right. And I swear I've got some art of the lead's familiar somewhere in the depths of my hard drive that I've had forever.

Magical Index - Fantastic stuff, thought it was going to turn into something like Chrno Crusade that irritated me from the get go, but I was completely wrong.

Shikabane Hime - Well, that's promising, it looks like its NOT actually a vampire show(emphasized by the mirror!). Animation was solid, interesting characters, and a good mix of moments start things out on the right foot.

Quite worthwhile:

Kannagi - Despite the OP feeling overly-manufactured, this was really enjoyable, the magical girl bit has me slightly nervous though.

Kyou no Go no Ni - No prior experience with the earlier incarnations, found this to be completely adorable, and I love the reverse-SD moments.

Toradora - Very solid comedy with some excellent dysfunction to work with.

Prove to me that you're worth sticking around:

Akane-iro ni Somaru Saka - Looks nice enough, you seiyuu freaks(in the most loving way possible) are definitely getting your fill, but I'm finding it hard to care about anyone here.

Black Butler/Kuroshitsuji - This was a bit schizophrenic, to say the least. I'll give it a bit more to see if they can deliver on the action in the OP, but otherwise it looks like it might head to an early grave. I would love to see Sebastian vs Maid Guy though.

Casshern Sins - The earlier comment about Casshern being someone extremely retro in a non-retro world made me go back and skim the episode again, I can see where he's coming from, but maybe '70s meets '90s with After Effects, rather than '70s meets '00s. Still, it was strong enough to keep me interested for another episode or two.

And at the bottom of the barrel(hah!):

Linebarrels of Iron - Okay, not the worst of the Gonzo robot shows I've seen, but man, really do not like the lead, I'll just be collecting this one for a broadband-deprived friend and otherwise ignoring it.

Westlo

10-08-2008, 02:01 AM

Kannagi is getting a lot of praise, so maybe I'll give it a chance. I think it'll be more based on the opening sequence than anything else, though.

Knowing your tastes and having read a fair amount of manga for both series I'll be surprised if you don't like Kannagi more than Toradora when all is said and done. Also did you check out Index?

musouka

10-08-2008, 11:22 AM

Knowing your tastes and having read a fair amount of manga for both series I'll be surprised if you don't like Kannagi more than Toradora when all is said and done. Also did you check out Index?

Magical girlfriend shows are kind of a hit or a miss with me, but I'll trust you and give it a shot. :p

I'm still trying to muster up the drive to check out Index. I've heard nothing but expansive praise, but I don't think I've liked a "kids with powers" in a modern day setting since Getbackers, and even that wasn't particularly amazing.

Fencedude

10-08-2008, 11:24 AM

musouka

10-08-2008, 04:03 PM

I definitely think you'll appreciate Kannagi, Index might be more hit or miss with you though.

Jin! You are a thousand years too early to even consider hitting on Nagi, so just give up right now! She's so adorable~ I waaaaaant one~

Index was barely interesting enough for me to give it another ep. None of the characters really grabbed me at all, so the only thing that's mildly piquing my interest is the whole "magic VS science" aspect. At least no one actively annoys me--though Mikoto skirts dangerously close to the edge--so that's in its favor. And it's pretty, but if I want "pretty", I'll just rev up Casshern again. :p

HitokiriShadow

10-08-2008, 04:35 PM

First impressions for what I've seen so far:

Clannad After Story (1): It's the second half to one of my favorite series of all time. The first episode was mostly just some fun stuff, but it was a good way to get back into it.

Magical Index (1): My most anticipated Non-Sequel That I Knew Almost Nothing About for the season and it didn't disappoint. Currently the best new non-sequel series of the season. The dialogue was great, Index is adorable, Mikoto is amusing in that "I can beat up a gang of delinquents with my hair static" kind of way, and the male lead looks like will actually add something to the experience rather than just being "there".

Toradora! (1): The first bit of the episode was so-so but it quickly became very entertaining once the Palmtop Tiger showed up. She's such an adorable little nutcase.

Hyakko (1): More fun stuff. Torako is insane and I love her for it.

Gundam 00 S2 (1): I had a lot of issues with the first season, but hopefully this season will fare better. It will at least avoid some of the problems due to how things are starting off. Lowered expectations in regards to the plot should help too. The first episode is off to a solid start with a few characters in some interesting positions and situations.

Kannagi (1): The first episode was surprisingly low on shrine maidens as there were none, nor were any present in the OP (though it had a lot of idol singing). But that's beside the point, what matters was that it was pretty fun. Nagi is a fun character and probably the best entrance scene of the season. I'm looking forward to meeting the others.

Kuroshitsuji (1): One of the more unique offerings of the season. It has an interesting mix of humor and the macabre and it did it pretty well. I'm curious to see where the series will go and its good entertainment, so I'm in for a few more episodes, at least.

Akane-iro no Somaru Saka (1): The series has a decent cast (and a great voice cast) but its hard to say where they are going with this one. It good be good or it could end up being utterly unremarkable aside from the seiyuu.

Ga-Rei-Zero (1): Most of the episode just wasn't clicking for me, but it managed to snag my interest near the end. I'm curious to see what this series plans to do; it could be pretty interesting or it could be a complete waste of an interesting hook. We'll see.

Kyou no Go no Ni (1): It had a few good moments, but the bulk of the episode was either dull or painful to watch (the boys were mostly just obnoxious).

Shikabane Hime Aka (1): Didn't do much for me at all. It's entirely possible it gets better, but it didn't give me any reason to stick around and find out. I'd be willing to give it another shot if I hear good things about it, but I'm not willing to give it more chances just because it might get better. Because it usually doesn't.

Fencedude

10-08-2008, 04:50 PM

musouka

10-08-2008, 05:03 PM

See?

Yes, yes. :P I'm happy I gave it a try, though I'm not sure Nagi will be able to carry the entire show for me unless she actually becomes a cheesy idol singer. Jin's not bad, though, for a lead. Kinda cute.

I do hope Casshern manages to stop being so enamored with how gorgeous it is though.

Well, it needs to either go the route of the Tenkai Hen movie and become so fucking gorgeous that you eventually stop paying attention to the plot entirely and just gape at the amazing scenery, or, yes, it needs to step it up with the interesting side.

Pretty scenery holds a lot more sway over me than "ooo, that's nice hair movement", though, so...Index better step it up too.

pathos

10-08-2008, 05:14 PM

so many good shows out this season. if I had to rank them in order after 1 episode, though, it would go something like

Gundam 00 - Sort of automatic up there at the top. I suppose they could really hose up the show somewhere along the way, but I don't see it moving down any.

Magical Index - Definately made my top spot in the non gundam department.

Akane-iro Somaru Saka - Was number 1 till I watched Index, still wanting to see more of this one though.

Macademei Wasshoi - If I had to try and describe the character animation style of this one, I'd say its pita ten and disgaea's bastard low budget love child. I still have no idea how old the characters are supposed to be. But, the first episode had me rolling. This has the potential to either be the funniest, or crappiest show of the season. Hoping for the former.

Kannagi - I really don't know what to say about the show, other than a solid "like"

Hyakko - When I started watching it, didn't think i was going to like it. The first 2 girls, I thought, were completely forgettable. The 2nd two, however, I found awesome. For now, a good watch. Hopefully it doesn't drop down any

---------------

Lower tier

Clannad After Story - decent show. For whatever reason, I'm just not feeling as much as Clannad.

Toradora - On a wait and see for this one. Next 2 episodes will decide if its a pass or a watch, I suppose.

Casshern - Its a slick show. But, so far not alot of substance to go with it. It is only 1 episode, however, so still giving it a chance.

Kyou no Go no Ni - more than anything, I'm curious what the story will be like when they have to have original material. Can't say its really that good of a show otherwise. Watching until/if I can't stand to watch anymore.

-------------------

Kuroshitsuji - dropped after 10 minutes or so. it may or may not be the greatest show ever. Not my cup of tea, however.

-------------------

still have a couple more shows waiting to be watched, so there might be some movement

pi8you

10-08-2008, 08:56 PM

Macademei Wasshoi - If I had to try and describe the character animation style of this one, I'd say its pita ten and disgaea's bastard low budget love child. I still have no idea how old the characters are supposed to be. But, the first episode had me rolling. This has the potential to either be the funniest, or crappiest show of the season. Hoping for the former.
I really ought to get around to Pita-Ten, but yeah, once the Disgaea similarities caught my attention, it just clicked that that's the sort of thing it was going to be and my worries essentially disappeared. Bring on the claymation molestation!

Westlo

10-09-2008, 02:38 AM

musouka

10-09-2008, 02:48 AM

You might like at least one of the other main characters and maybe a side character or two. You checked out Kurozuka btw?

Kurozuka is automatically off my list because of vampires. I, as a general rule, absolutely can't stand them.

Suwako Moriya

10-09-2008, 03:03 AM

My official DVD update of this thread is dedicated to "Angelic Layer" and will be a modified version of what I said in the recently made discussion thread for it. AKa I remove the seriously spoilerish stuff.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Angelic Layer is the type of series that starts with a curious, but interesting premise that hints at much more. The end result is a powerful series where you're left feeling so much has happened and plenty has been accomplished during the course of events. Which is exactly how a series should be. It also helps that none of the episodes felt wasteful and all had a purpose.

The cast is definitely one of the strong points. Instead of just being generic cheerleaders or obstacles for Misaki to overcome, they're actual characters to interact with. Hence we get friends instead of cheerleaders. Contestants instead of obstacles. Which makes things better.

As for her deus, Misaki proves herself to be one of the best leads ever. A girl who is both strong and yet still weak. In other words unlike perfect mains or overly flawed mains, she's actually humanly balanced in the context of her age and the type of character she is. It's easy to see why she's a favorite of many and she's already pretty high up there for me. Although I'm not sure exactly what ranking I'd give, but that's also true of some of my other favorite girls and/or leads in anime. Kind of hard to decide where to rank Misaki, when I'm still deciding the same of several other characters.

There is a lot more I could say, but I'm having trouble putting my thoughts together. So for now I'll just say this much. Angelic Layer is over all an awesome series that I should have gotten sooner than I did. However what matters is it's now part of my collection and I'm glad I chose it as my next ADV purchase. Although hopefully it won't be the last one. Now the only question is what to get after Angelic Layer? Well that's a subject for another thread and I already have some ideas.

Ah yes so I've recently completed two Clamp series, Cardcaptor Sakura and Angelic Layer. Watching them back to back was certainly interesting and it has me almost tempted to watch Magic Knight Rayearth. The key word being almost of course.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
That ends the copy and paste. On a side note the most recent DVD I watched after finishing Angelic Layer was Aria the Animation. Make of that what you will.

Classical

10-09-2008, 04:59 PM

I'm continuing to watch Full Metal Panic! on DVD while following Gurren Lagann on Sci-Fi.

Gurren Lagann (17-18): I was just utterly amazed at the epicness of these two episode. Fast forward seven years and Simon and Nia are all grown up. Simon is leader of a city the humans built and their civilization has advanced very quickly. Simon proposes to Nia but she rejects in her Nia-ish way. But her friends knock some sense into her and she accepts Simon's proposal. It turns out Lordgenomes' prophecy was true. After the millionth person on the surface is born these anti-spiral things start attacking the city. Rossiu winds up doing things behind Simon's back and learns of what Lordgenome was talking about in the prophecy. It was some crazy good stuff. Nia turns evil. Simon is in despair. Rossiu betrays Simon and it ends in a cliffhanger. :cry:

Full Metal Panic! (9-12): Great set of episodes and lots of great action and drama. Some organization called AS21 (I think) was plotting revenge for incidents that occured in the past and they were using a child who could use the Lamda drive. They have him plot this monstrosity called Behemoth. Sousuke and friends manage to beat it. This was some really exciting stuff.

Garasharp K7

10-09-2008, 07:11 PM

Casshern Sins - The earlier comment about Casshern being someone extremely retro in a non-retro world made me go back and skim the episode again, I can see where he's coming from, but maybe '70s meets '90s with After Effects, rather than '70s meets '00s. Still, it was strong enough to keep me interested for another episode or two.

That's pretty much what I thought of it as well. Don't mean to split hairs, but I thought Casshern wasn't the only retro robot roaming about. Some of the ruined remnants of the Andro Army looked very similar to their '70s and '90s counterparts. As for the ep itself, I thought it was interesting. I'm hoping the series will have more in common with the '70s and '90s shows than that soul-shattering mind-job the live action movie was. That thing hurt my head.

Vandread - Rewatching this one, and it's just as addictive and infectious as it was when I first saw it. Not much else to say other than I loved it then, and I still love it now.

Shakugan no Shana - Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! :) Just started watching the show and I'm enjoying it a fair bit. I can tell I'm not going to be able to pace myself with this one.

Blue Gender (finished) - Very good show, and I was gripped all the way to the end. Though much like with Gasaraki a few weeks earlier, I thought the true origins and motivation behind the threat were a little contrived. The Blue were originally created as a means of specifically wiping out humanity by ol' mother Earth herself? I thought Gasaraki's revealing the force behind the Kugai took away a lot of the show's mystery, and with Blue Gender, having the monsters as a literal instrument of the Earth's will than just straightforward predators - like the creatures from the 'Alien' films or the bugs from 'Starship Troopers' - seemed pretty trippy and didn't fit with the rest of the show. Still enjoyed the series despite that little revelation anyway. The movie was pretty good too.

Suwako Moriya

10-09-2008, 07:56 PM

All right it's time for more episode 1 impressions.

Shikabanehime Aka: To be honest for the most part this was boringly average. Even the lead female doesn't do much for me. I'm not sure if I have any real motivation to watch past episode 1. Maybe I should just drop it, let others watch it and see if later they give any indication that it's worth bothering with. I'm just having trouble finding anything about episode 1 that says watch episode 2. Maybe I'm missing something here.

Today in Class 5: It might have potential, but it also has a lot of kinks to work out. Some decent moments, but also several annoying moments. The cast is a mixed bag and it certainly can't hide behind impressive animation. Perhaps I should give it one or two more episodes. Maybe I should have just watched the OVA? I don't know...

Yozakura Quartet: A pretty decent first episode that has me curious to watch a bit more. It's got the best mayor ever! What? Only downside it's the type of first episode that will either be a case of "It's only going to get better" or "Things are just going to go downhill now". So hopefully 2+ will be the latter and not the former.

To Aru Majutsu no Index: Ah yes now this was a pretty nice first episode. Index alone will probably give me enough motivation to keep watching this. She's all kinds of love. Plus other characters have potential to be decent if not better in a variety of ways.

ef ~a tale of melodies~: Ah yes a good reminder as to why I loved the previous season so much and a good indication that I'll love this one as well. Mizuki is already win and I'm so glad she's a lead this time.

All right then so that makes five more Autumn series that I tried out. I suppose I could give the victory to ef ~a tale of melodies, but it sort of cheats by being a second season. Beyond that it's a toss up between Yozakura Quartet and To Aru Majutsu no Index.

A quick recap of all ten Autumn series I've tried so far can be seen below.

ef ~a tale of melodies~
Hyakko
-------------------------
Kannagi ~Crazzy Shrine Maidens~
Toradora
Clannad After Story
----------------------
To Aru Majutsu no Index
Yozakura Quartet
Akane-iro Somaru Saka
----------------------
Shikabanehime Aka
Today in Class 5

Note the ------------- gives a rough idea of ranking. For example Clannad After Story shares the same position as Kannagi, but it's considered below Hyakko, and yet way above Shikabanehime Aka. If that makes any sense. In any case I wonder if I should bother trying out anymore Autumn series or leave at these ten for now. Or well less than two since one or two are in danger of being dropped. One more definite than the other.

LordGeo

10-11-2008, 07:13 PM

Well, I saw a few episode 1s, and two episode 2s, from this season so far, and with the exception of title feeling pretty generic I'm impressed with what I checked out so far.

Definitely Watching:
Casshern SINS: This anime had me interested from the start, with it's post-apocalyptic world, crazy fight scenes, and sleek look. This show definitely has a Saint Seiya feel to it sometimes, which makes me all the more happy. Two episodes in and I just want more!

Hokuto no Ken Raoh Gaiden: Ten no Haoh: A softsub track was released to go with an unsubbed release, so that's better than nothing. Anyway, being a Hokuto fan this show was definitely going to be watch no matter what. Yuko Osada's character designs give the Hokuto world a nice change of pace and it's just fun to see how Raoh handles problems in comparison to how Kenshiro would handle them. Now if only it can be fansubbed traditionally...

Kuroshitsuji: I mainly watched this because of the posistive remarks it got at ANN. After watching, I have to agree with them. This episode just got me interested in the whole show. Another definite watch.

Tales of the Abyss: I had planned on maybe playing the game one day, but after the anime was announced and planned to be 26 episodes I decided to watch this instead. I've heard that it's really accurate to the game, so it's nice to know that I'm getting the same story. Anyway, two episodes down and I'm enjoying it.

Most Likely Will Watch:
To Aru Matjutsu no Index: I wasn't planning on watching this myself, but I saw the first episode with some friends yesterday. I must say that it did surprise me so I'll probably watch this to see how it keeps on going.

Chaos;HEAd: Now I normally don't watch animes based off of eroge's, visual novels, and the sort; I will finish watching Air TV and SHUFFLE! one day, but I normally don't find an interest in them. Chaos;HEAd, though, has me really interested. There's murder, blood, a potentially dark story, and the main character is just barely one-step away form being a full-blow hikkikomori who analyzes everything as if it was a game... Takumi himself got me laughing a lot in this episode, and the rest of the show looked interesting enough.

On The Fence:
Yozakura Quartet: This show was the only one I've seen form this season that didn't really hook me in any way. This first episode was definitely average and I can't really sya much else about it. I might need another episode or two before I can decide whether or not to drop it.

Now if only there were subs for Kurozuka and One Outs...

Suwako Moriya

10-11-2008, 07:25 PM

This update is dedicated to finishing Aria the Animation on DVD. It's been awhile since I watched this. Thus a refresher course is good to have. As it will either make you wonder why you wanted to buy it in the first place or serve as a reminder of why the show was so worth getting. In the case of Aria it's the latter.

Sure sometimes the positive nature of the series can be a bit much if you're not in the right mood, but other than that the shows works for what it is. A relaxing series that strongly focuses on the everyday we take for granted. Plus it's kind of fun just watching them travel around Aqua.

While all the girls are nice in their own, my favorite still remains Aika. Such a wonderful girl. Speaking of girls, there needed to be more Ai. As if there can ever be enough.

Ah yes with Cardcaptor Sakura, Angelic Layer, and Aria completed I'll need to decide on my next DVD conquest. Well I guess there's wrapping up Kanon once I get volume 6, but I mean besides that.

As indicated in another thread I'm wavering on whether or not to consider giving Magic Knight Rayearth another go. Speaking of which I have access to the show in collection form and the packaging for season 1 scares me for some reason.

pianocello

10-11-2008, 10:02 PM

Currently watching (episodes watched up to in brackets):
Outstanding
Strike Witches (finished)
I love this. Yuri for the win. We need another season featuring Yoshika and Lynette getting married.

Kyouran Kazoku Nikki (14)
Bizarre mix of weirdness and sudden dark drama. Chika is hot though.

Koihime Musou (finished)
This turned out to be a very enjoyable show even though the direction and pacing were occasionally suspect. I like Kanu.

Very Good
Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu (finished)
An excellent male lead helps to elevate this show. The direction of the story stumbled a little in the last 4 episodes with unnecessary angst.

Birdy the Mighty Decode (3)
I considered the original OAVs one of the best OAVs of the 90s and I had always wished for a TV series so after a decade, it seems like my prayers are being answered. While Birdy makes this show awesome, some of my expectations are not exactly being met. Production values are meh - the coloring seems bland and the BGMs suck. And Tsutomu needs to stop his whining - it's getting annoying. Still, I'm sure they will give us some good character growth later.

Good
To Love Ru (3)
I'd like this better if the male lead wasn't such a wuss every time he sees boobs or panties.

Code Geass R2 (23)
This is beginning to seem like the scriptwriters are given a quota to put as many plot twists as possible in each episode no matter how ludicrous they are. In fact some of the plot twists are verging into the area of deus ex machina. Still, I'll give them some credit for making this entertaining.

Macross Frontier (finished)
Ultimately, this turned out to be one of the bigger disappointments of the year. While I would still rate this to be good, the lameness of Alto and the poor execution of the love triangle ruined this.

Average
Hitohira (2)
At this rate, this is starting to turn into a disappointment. I'm hoping that this will pick up.

Zero no Tsukaima season 3 (6)
Just when this show was going to sink into the abyss of mediocrity, along comes yuri to save the day. And episode 6 really proves that yuri can save a mediocre show. I'd still consider this average at most.

Classical

10-12-2008, 12:01 PM

As indicated in another thread I'm wavering on whether or not to consider giving Magic Knight Rayearth another go. Speaking of which I have access to the show in collection form and the packaging for season 1 scares me for some reason.

I really liked Magic Knight Rayearth. I may have not liked it as much as CCS or Angelic Layer but I thought it was still a good show. The problem may be getting over the hump that is season 1. I really did like season 1 but the show really gets better when it reaches season 2. The reason I say season 1 may be a problem is because there are differences between it and season 2 that may put people off from watching the show. Season 2 has, in my opinion, more character development, and a more interesting plot. As I've said, I liked season 1 as well, but not as much as 2. Season one still has a plot and character development, but the plot may not be as interesting to some people as season 2's. It is also done in a different style as well. Season 1 is more like an adventure story, kind of (this is probably a bad comparision) like One Piece. Both season have action as well, but season 2 isn't as "adventurey" as season 1, but it has more mecha action. I hope I didn't confuse you Koma-chan. :sweat:

Suwako Moriya

10-12-2008, 01:21 PM

I really did like season 1 but the show really gets better when it reaches season 2.

So, Magic Knigth Rayearth one of those series that at best starts off decently (not sure this word is weak or strong enough), but the good or at least better stuff will come later.

Both season have action as well, but season 2 isn't as "adventurey" as season 1, but it has more mecha action. I hope I didn't confuse you Koma-chan. :sweat:

In a sense you did slightly confuse me, but I'll translate it like this. Season 2 has a different feel than season 1. Thus because of that one might prefer season 2 to season 1. Also I would assume by default that since season 2 is to be watched after season 1. Well by the time you get started on season 2, you'll have grown used to the cast due to watching season 1. Well up to a point of course, as there's still development to be had of already introduced characters, and a second season often means new cast members.

In any case in terms of watching the series, if/when I do watch I'll definitely be starting from season 1. I don't believe in watching series out of (intended) order and I figure it's up to the earlier episodes to convince me to watch the later ones. Regardless, I'll see how things go soon enough.

Hmm, I wonder if maybe making a discussion thread would help motivation. Even if I end up dropping the show, the thread can always be taken over by others. Assuming it even inspires anyone else to watch the show. Be it their first attempt or perhaps yet another re-watch for the said person.

Classical

10-12-2008, 04:41 PM

In a sense you did slightly confuse me, but I'll translate it like this. Season 2 has a different feel than season 1. Thus because of that one might prefer season 2 to season 1.

Yeah, that's pretty much it. Season 2 has a different feel to season 1. I prefer season 2 over 1 but I still did like the first season.

Hmm, I wonder if maybe making a discussion thread would help motivation. Even if I end up dropping the show, the thread can always be taken over by others. Assuming it even inspires anyone else to watch the show. Be it their first attempt or perhaps yet another re-watch for the said person.

I would take part in a discussion thread though it has been awhile since I've seen the show. I don't know if I'll rewatch it any time soon though as I'm watching some other series at the moment and the show having 49 episodes makes it rather difficult for me to find the time to rewatch it.

Suwako Moriya

10-12-2008, 06:26 PM

I don't know if I'll rewatch it any time soon though as I'm watching some other series at the moment and the show having 49 episodes makes it rather difficult for me to find the time to rewatch it.

Ah yes the longer the show is the harder it can be to find the time to re-watch it. Then again there's probably someone out there who's re-watched a 100+ episode series at least ten times.:P And by that I mean full episodes not half episodes.

In any case if/when I do try to watch Magic Knight Rayearth, I'm going to have to decide how to proceed in terms of the language track. It was easy enough to choose the dub for Angelic Layer because I know I saw it years ago subbed. However in the case of MKR, it would be the first real watch. So I might end up doing the alternate track thing I did before. Ie sub one episode, dub the next, etc.

That being said even though in my case it would be a first time watch, I'd still have to find time to fit into the schedule as well. So many shows to watch from both the Autumn season and the past. Heck I'm currently wrapping up one of those said past shows right now.

Buster Blader 126

10-13-2008, 12:50 AM

Gundam 00 S2: A nice, action-packed episode to bring us back into the 00 world. Seems like quite a lot has happened, with several characters having undergone different changes. Quite possibly the only non-romance title I'll be watching this season, barring how Chaos;HEAd turns out (just decided to try it out today) and whether I can fit in enough time to watch Today in Class 5-2.

I haven't finished watching Ep. 1 of Chaos;HEAd yet, so I won't write about that just yet.

Episode 2 of both Clannad S2 and Akane-Iro ni Somaru Saka delivered in spades. Enough said.

Macross Frontier Episode 16: FINALLY started to watch Frontier again. I don't recall why I suddenly stopped watching it.

And the exploitation of Ranka Lee begins. What is the true purpose of those who have a hidden agenda up their sleeves? IIRC I've been hearing that things get pretty hectic beyond where I initially stopped (Ep. 15), so I'm on the lookout for that.

Naisho no Tsubomi Episode 3: This short yet sweet OVA series ends off on a relative happy note. A cute couple is realized, a new life is born, and the the identity of the mysterious Saya is revealed. This might be a series to show your young daughter to, as it can educate them about various things regarding girls (which was the original manga's main purpose).

The Adventurer

10-13-2008, 01:09 AM

Casshern SINS episode 2 pretty much rocked socks. Sleeper hit of the season, calling it.

I also just got the box set of Dai-Guard that I'm looking forward to diving into once I finish off Black Lagoon Second Barrage Vol.2

Raye

10-13-2008, 04:36 AM

Wow, guess I should check out the new Casshern. I've only seen the live action movie, and quite frankly, I thought it was terrible. I'll be sure to give this a chance as soon as I catch up with things.

I'm almost done with Code Geass (the first season). I dropped it a long time ago but decided to pick it up considering its hype. Still have R2 to watch afterwards.

As for the new series, I'm watching Clannad ~ After Story, Gundam 00 season two, Nodame Canatabile Paris, and Toaru Majutsu no Index. Not too much, since nothing else seemed to really interest me.

Glamrgrl104

10-13-2008, 11:18 AM

One more episode and finished with Case closed S2 very awesome so far!

Bleach vol 12! This was just wow! I love all the characters and the background stories of some of teh characters. Gin Ichimaru is one of the best villians on that show! A+
Also Renji teaming up with Ichigo is interesting.

Suwako Moriya

10-13-2008, 06:33 PM

First a side note, maybe I need a different subject title for these sub threads. One that's a bit shorter maybe? All right this update is dedicated to Shugo Chara and El Cazador de la Bruja. Both considered finished series with the former's second season becoming part of the fall line up. I'm not going to bother with updates on the rest to make things simpler.

Shugo Chara: Ah yes a series that sadly started off on the wrong foot. It gave the impression it would boil down to a monster of the week series and well let's just say Amu's early series personality wasn't exactly winning me over. Way too much It's not my character stuff. Thus around episode 7, I dropped it.

For whatever reason, I decided to give it another chance. By the time I did, I had several episodes to watch in a row. On one hand this was a daunting task, but on the other hand sometimes there are advantages to being able to control the gap between episodes. Regardless I was able to watch enough to notice something. No not the poster, but the fact the series was gradually getting better.

The plot became more interesting, the cast started to grow on me, and the problems I had with Amu herself were starting to go away. Slowly, but surely the series went from a meh thing to avoid to a pretty good series. Although I still let episodes build up on occasion.

Perhaps my favorite girl in the series might actually be Rima. She's quite pretty and made for a rather fun character. Plus she has this awesome outfit she wears on occasion that just has this unique flair to it. I'm sure people more familiar with the series know what I mean.

Regardless I look forward to Shugo Chara Season 2. Although I hope it's made with the intent of having an eventual conclusion. I'm not sure I'd want a case of dragging out the plot for several seasons. Especially when the first one was four cour and the second one looks like it will be four as well. I have to admit some of the final episodes of Season 1 have me a bit worried that they're going into "We can relax for a bit mode"

It's hard to decide how to rate this. On one hand it started off poorly and at the same time it ends a pretty weak note over all. It had plenty of pretty good episodes. Yet it also had episodes that didn't amount to much. So I guess I'd say over all decent?

El Cazador de la Bruja: As a whole this series was actually pretty good. The relationship between our two leads, Ellis and Nadie was done very well. You also had awesome supporting characters such as Lirio, Blue Eyes, Lirio, Ricardo, and Lirio. All including Lirio (who I forgot to mention) helped make the series even better. You even had some decent side characters too. Which helps the early episodes quite a bit since they serve the usual purpose of getting you used to the flow of the series.

In some ways El Cazador de la Bruja is a show I should have tried earlier. However bad experience with Noir and one episode of Madlax which left me thinking "Oh for the love of.... not again", I wasn't exactly motivated to try this. Thus it took awhile for me to finally get around to seeing this. Ultimately I'm glad I did because Nadie, Ellis, and Lirio are all kinds of love in their own ways.

I suppose there's a lesson to be learned here. However I can't check out every Y on the basis it might be good unlike X. Nor can I avoid every B over fears it may not live to A. All I can really do is decide when the Y is worth trying in spite of the X and to realize I shouldn't always watch B just because A exists.

Remaining Series in this category (Expect an update of one soon since it's only 12 or 13 episodes)
Zettai Karen Children (25):
Futago Hime (19):
Mermaid Melody Pure (9):
Yes Pretty Cure 5 Go Go! (33):
Kono Aozora Ni Yakusoku (8):

something

10-13-2008, 06:44 PM

I suppose there's a lesson to be learned here.
And that is, "Watch everything something tells you to watch." =D

Suwako Moriya

10-13-2008, 07:06 PM

I suppose there's a lesson to be learned here.And that is, "Watch everything something tells you to watch." =D

Perhaps, but there are always going to be series where even you are going to have trouble convincing me to try it or watch more of it. Regardless, right now I need to decide what I should be making you watch.:P

Classical

10-13-2008, 07:13 PM

That being said even though in my case it would be a first time watch, I'd still have to find time to fit into the schedule as well. So many shows to watch from both the Autumn season and the past. Heck I'm currently wrapping up one of those said past shows right now.

To be honest, I'm really struggling finding time to watch all the shows I'm following as it is. I don't think I've ever followed so many shows at once.

Classical

10-13-2008, 07:26 PM

I'm continuing to watch Full Metal Panic! on DVD while following Code Geass on Adult Swim.

Code Geass (22-23): I didn't watch 22 until today (I DVRed it) and I watched 23 right afterwards. My goodness, these were some of the most deliciously messed up, evil, epic, tragic, mind-numbing episodes yet. Lulu's geass goes out of control and he accidentally has Euphie kill a lot of people. They were going to make up too. :cry: As such, the Black Knights now have an excuse to fight Brittania again. In episode 23 Lulu shoots Euphie. That was depressing. Suzaku goes ballistic (understandably) and vows to kill Zero. Euphie dies and this new character, V2, is revealed. Lulu seems to lose all sense of sanity at this point. Awesome episodes.

Full Metal Panic! (13-17): I loved episode 13. The whole Tessa vs. Melissa thing was hilarious. 14 was pretty interesting to watch too. Episodes 15-17 were awesome. Sousuke goes back to his homeland to kill Gauron. The enviroment was amazing to look when it was night. These episodes just had something great about them.

HitokiriShadow

10-13-2008, 07:39 PM

I suppose there's a lesson to be learned here.
And that is, "Watch everything something tells you to watch." =D

A good lesson to learn. Now you need to convince him to watch Hellsing Ultimate. :p

Suwako Moriya

10-13-2008, 07:42 PM

A good lesson to learn. Now you need to convince him to watch Hellsing Ultimate. :p

Now there's a futile suggestion if I ever heard one.:sweat:

something

10-13-2008, 08:07 PM

A good lesson to learn. Now you need to convince him to watch Hellsing Ultimate. :p
I'd never be able to convince myself to watch anything Hellsing, though =P

HitokiriShadow

10-13-2008, 08:29 PM

A good lesson to learn. Now you need to convince him to watch Hellsing Ultimate. :p
I'd never be able to convince myself to watch anything Hellsing, though =P
I'm not seeing the problem here (I already knew that and its actually part of the idea; the idea of you convincing him to watch, say, Gundam 00 is almost realistic and thus less amusing). Now stop making excuses and get to it.

Fencedude

10-13-2008, 08:39 PM

Suwako Moriya

10-13-2008, 08:45 PM

(I already knew that and its actually part of the idea; the idea of you convincing him to watch, say, Gundam 00 is almost realistic and thus less amusing).

However in this case "almost" still isn't good enough as I gave up on Gundam after trying out Seed. You could give him an easier task for a change of pace. Ie have him convince me to watch <insert show I've already watched several times and praised about here>.

LordGeo

10-13-2008, 08:49 PM

Kurozuka Episode 1: This is definitely just an episode that gets things started... But it sure as hell has me interested. The look is nice and it definitely has a similar feel to Shigurui, animation-wise. This already looks to be another great title from Madhouse.

All I need now is a sub for One Outs, and I'll have checked out all the shows I wanted to check out this fall.

HitokiriShadow

10-14-2008, 01:11 AM

More first impressions:

ef - a tale of melodies (1)
The series is off to a great start. I forgot how awesome Mizuki was. How exactly it ends up comparing to the first series remains to be seen, but this looks like it will be a great watch regardless.

Chaos;Head (1)
Higurashi meets Welcome to the NHK with perhaps a dash of Mai HiME for good measure. The series is dark and creepy, just the way I like it. Even better, they went a less conventional route and made the leading man a delusional nutjob you clearly aren't supposed to like. This should be good stuff.

Kemeko DX (2)
This is insanity and weirdness that works. It has a fun cast of characters, particularly the perverted deadpan girl that gets off on violence.

Kurozuka (1)
The beginning didn't impress too much, but it slowly got better and ended on an interesting note. I'll have to see where it goes, but I'll probably be sticking with this one. Sadly, the OP is absolutely atrocious. It's quite possibly the worst OP I've ever had the displeasure of listening to.

Earl and Fairy (1)
It's okay, but its hard to say how things will go after this and I'm not expecting much. I have a feeling I won't be finishing this series.

Yozakura Quartet (1)
Eh, an amusing character or two, but the series really doesn't do anything very interesting. I'll give it a bit longer, but I expect to drop this fairly quickly.

Macademi Wasshoi (1)
Ugh, I want those 22 minutes of my life back. I try to finish at least the episode I start, but I really regret doing that here. It was utter boredom the entire time with a side of annoyance here and there. This is insanity and weirdness that does NOT work. Dropped, no chance at all of picking it up again.

You know, choices are great, but I think 6+ is more than enough for Tales of the Abyss (which I'm still unsure whether I want to watch right now purely because I think I want to finish the game first). Meanwhile, I'm still waiting on Skip Beat and Mouryou no Hako. :(

Suwako Moriya

10-14-2008, 01:27 AM

Chaos;Head (1)
Higurashi meets Welcome to the NHK with perhaps a dash of Mai HiME for good measure.

Such a description would leave me conflicted about checking this out. On one hand I enjoyed Higurashi and My-HiME. On the other hand being the heretic that I am, I disliked what I saw of NHK. Still two out of three isn't bad. Actually in general the more I read about it, the more conflicted I feel.

That being said your current list is a good reminder that there are a few series I have yet to try out their first episodes of. So I guess it's time to take a break from certain projects of mine and get to some more episode ones.

Kemeko DX (2)
This is insanity and weirdness that works.
-------------------------
Macademi Wasshoi (1)
This is insanity and weirdness that does NOT work.

Edited down to the relevant part here, but I have to say I just love the contrast here for some reason. Since it highlights just how important flow and execution is. Granted to be fair, I have yet to check out either of these series. Thus it's hard to say how I'd feel myself. Not sure if/when I will bother watching either series. Especially with so many other things to watch.

10-14-2008, 11:28 AM

Suwako Moriya

10-14-2008, 01:26 PM

He's not? He is...... aware of the existence of Ranka, yes?

He might be, but for now something is not worthy of her.:P

something

10-14-2008, 01:28 PM

He's not? He is...... aware of the existence of Ranka, yes?He might be, but for now something is not worthy of her.:P
Oh, I thought they were talking about you not watching Macross (which was a bit odd, since I swore you already were).

I'm well aware of Ranka (and Klan Klein!), but as Fence knows there's no way in hell I'm going to stand for such egregious overuse of 3dcg. I watched episode one and had to stop there.

Suwako Moriya

10-14-2008, 01:44 PM

Oh, I thought they were talking about you not watching Macross (which was a bit odd, since I swore you already were).

Truth be told I was confused at first, but then I realized Fencedude has to be referring to you rather than me. Since after all it's pretty obvious I watched and even finished the series. Heck I even consider it one of the better Spring 2008 series I watched.

I'm well aware of Ranka (and Klan Klein!), but as Fence knows there's no way in hell I'm going to stand for such egregious overuse of 3dcg. I watched episode one and had to stop there.

As for the whole CG issue of the series. I know CG isn't exactly perfect and I have problems with it myself. However it wouldn't be such a bad idea to become at least a little bit more tolerant of it. All I can say is after finishing Macross Frontier, I'm glad the CG didn't stop me from watching it.

something

10-14-2008, 01:49 PM

However it wouldn't be such a bad idea to become at least a little bit more tolerant of it.
I'm already, out of necessity, far more tolerant of it than I want to be. If I had a zero tolerance policy I'd be watching maybe one quarter the number of shows I am now, if that. But Macross F was light years beyond any tolerance threshold I can realistically imagine setting for myself.

Suwako Moriya

10-14-2008, 01:57 PM

But Macross F was light years beyond any tolerance threshold I can realistically imagine setting for myself.

Darn it, well I tried and failed. *Tries to think of something else to make something watch*

EmperorBrandon

10-14-2008, 05:09 PM

Well, I've watched through a few more ep. 2's, and I think the delineation between what I'm interested in, and what I'll likely be dropping out of insufficient interest has become much clearer. We'll go with three basic tiers here... (seen two eps of each with the exception of Yozakura Quartet, which is only one so far)

Clannad After Story
-----
Kannagi
To Aru Majutsu no Index
Toradora
-----
Akane-iro ni Somaru Saka
Hyakko
Yozakura Quartet
Kemeko DX

The big gain here is Toradora - the second episode definitely got me much more enthusiastic about it, particularly as the main character is showing some more likeable points finally. I'm pretty pleased about it's potential at this point, so I've cast away my thoughts of dropping it for the time being. Kannagi continues to be quite a charming show, though nothing in second episode that makes me much more excited about it than I was already. Index is still pretty beautiful and entertaining - I'm hoping for some good character focus to go along with the magic/psychic plot and setting, but that's my only reservation at this point. I'm thinking I might stick with Kannagi and both J.C. Staff shows regularly and all the way through the end.

Akane-iro really didn't get to entertaining me that much with the second episode. I'm tempted to go at least a little further out of curiosity but I'm thinking of dropping. Hyakko seems like a pretty interesting character-centered show, but it just isn't clicking with me for some reason. Yozakura Quartet really bored me for a good bit of the first episode though there were some good moments in it and possibly interesting characters. I'm kind of wondering if I should be patient with it given the staff behind it, but I don't really feel like following it further at the moment. And lastly, but not least, Kemeko DX... These fast-paced comedy series almost never seem to catch my interest. I mean, I get it's supposed to be a fun series, but for whatever reason I rarely got amused at shows that approach humor from this angle. The plus side of it is that it has cute female character designs (Sugimoto Isao, who did the designs for Sketchbook, so I guess that's to be expected), and Hayakawa was pretty awesome (though none of her in ep. 2 :( ).

The Adventurer

10-14-2008, 05:24 PM

As for the whole CG issue of the series. I know CG isn't exactly perfect and I have problems with it myself. However it wouldn't be such a bad idea to become at least a little bit more tolerant of it. All I can say is after finishing Macross Frontier, I'm glad the CG didn't stop me from watching it.
Plus, the CG in Mac F was pretty damn great.

You can't hate CG for the sake of hating CG. I mean, pretty much all shows are animated digitally these days, which makes even 2D animation "CG". It all depends on its integration. And Mac F made the 2D and the 3D mesh exceptionally well.

Suwako Moriya

10-14-2008, 05:35 PM

This time around I'm going to try my best to refrain from commenting after every episode since it just leads to me repeating myself too much. Instead I'll try for a system of comment on episode one in order to give an initial impression, and then after treat it as if I watching the series by way of a generic R1 singles release and update comments after watching enough episodes to reach the point of what would be the end of a particular volume. Or alternative if I decide to drop a series, I'll obviously make a final comment then and there.

That being said it's time for a few more episode 1 impressions. Two being new and one being a technical update, but you'll see why soon enough. Granted you can probably already guess what's about to happen here can't you?

Shikabanehime Aka: Try as I might I can't bring myself to care enough to watch anymore of this right now. Hence forth it's officially dropped. Maybe I'll give it another go after it's over, but that's only if I can be convinced there's actual pay off to be had. However if this series is just going to be exactly what the first episode indicates then I don't want to waste my time when there are much better series for me.

Earl and Fairy: An okay first episode that doesn't have me sold quite yet, but it has me curious. A lot of it will depend on how things progress in the next few episodes. I figure by episode three or four, I'll either be sticking with the series or writing it off as a loss. One character in particular has potential to make or break the series depending on how he is handled. Then again Lydia may be enough to keep me watching regardless.

Kemeko: All right then I decided to watch the first episode of this series. I was pondering whether or not to watch episode two for like five seconds, but then I just remembered. I don't hate myself and I have no desire to suffer. Hence forth I'm dropping this permanently. I'm sorry, but the first episode alternated between extremely boring and extremely annoying.

All right there you have it. Both Shikabanehime Aka and Kemeko are my first official drops of the "Autumn 2008" season. With of course Kemeko having the honor being the absolute worst Autumn 2008 series that I've tried so far. As of this post anyway. There's always a chance I might end up experiencing an even worse episode 1 later. However it won't change the fact that episode 1 of Kemeko was just that bad to me. I ended up having to watch the Koihime Musou Ending Animation multiple times just to begin the healing process.

All right then below is a quick overview of the Autumn series I'm still watching. The same deal applies as before. The shows are separated by lines into groups. Also I've added a number to give an idea as to how much I've watched of a given series. Still it should be noted that even series in the bottom category are still above those shows that convinced me to watch something else instead.

ef ~a tale of melodies~ (2)
Hyakko (2)
Kannagi ~Crazzy Shrine Maidens~ (2)
Toradora (2)
-------------------------
Clannad After Story(2)
To Aru Majutsu no Index (2)
Akane-iro Somaru Saka (2)
----------------------
Earl and Fairy (1)
Yozakura Quartet (1)
Today in Class 5 (1)

All right then that takes of that. It will interesting to see how I feel about these series around episode 4 or 5, assuming a given series doesn't get dropped before hand. Also I need to decide whether or not I should try out anything else now or save other shows for later. Assuming I don't drop anymore series, I'm going to have ten different Autumn series on my plate. So it's hard to say which is the best case scenario.

Suwako Moriya

10-14-2008, 05:39 PM

I mean, pretty much all shows are animated digitally these days, which makes even 2D animation "CG". It all depends on its integration. And Mac F made the 2D and the 3D mesh exceptionally well.

True, but according to something he always means "3D CG", whenever he says CG. I should know because this scenario has come up multiple times already. That being said a lot of time the key is how the show blends the 3D with the 2D. Heck in the case of some series, they actually use them as a way of showing contrast between things.

something

10-14-2008, 05:54 PM

You can't hate CG for the sake of hating CG. I mean, pretty much all shows are animated digitally these days, which makes even 2D animation "CG".
I explicitly specified 3dcg to avoid just this silly silly misunderstanding. =P Of course animation is largely digital nowadays - it's 2008, isn't it? That's fine. In fact, I genuinely think digitally colored animation is better than handpainted cels. I think character designs are better today. I think background art is better today. I think anime is better today, period. (Obviously there are numerous exceptions to these generalizations). But while I see cels to digital coloring as a natural evolution still along basic 2d lines, insertion of 3dcg is a fundamental shift in artistic mentality, in my eyes (the only eyes that matter when it comes to what I enjoy or don't). "Good" is not an adjective that can be applied to large scale 3dcg usage, merely "tolerable" or, the highest compliment I could possibly give 3dcg, "easily ignorable".

EmperorBrandon

10-14-2008, 08:26 PM

Kemeko: All right then I decided to watch the first episode of this series. I was pondering whether or not to watch episode two for like five seconds, but then I just remembered. I don't hate myself and I have no desire to suffer. Hence forth I'm dropping this permanently. I'm sorry, but the first episode alternated between extremely boring and extremely annoying

I guess I should have known, given that this had the director of Dokuro-chan on it (another series where the comedy mostly failed me and I managed to just get annoyed at several characters) and the comments around here at being weird beforehand.

Suwako Moriya

10-14-2008, 08:35 PM

I guess I should have known, given that this had the director of Dokuro-chan on it (another series where the comedy mostly failed me and I managed to just get annoyed at several characters) and the comments around here at being weird beforehand.

Let's just say after finding Guu to be meh over all, being completely turned off by the very concept of Dokuro-chan, and having been stupid enough to try Kemeko DX, I've hopefully learned my lesson. Next time there's a crude comedy series along these lines, I shouldn't even give the series a single glance.

10-15-2008, 12:59 AM

I'm well aware of Ranka (and Klan Klein!), but as Fence knows there's no way in hell I'm going to stand for such egregious overuse of 3dcg. I watched episode one and had to stop there.

Man, your hatred of CG is stealing much from you at this point my friend. ;) It's most certainly worth it. I'm not a fan of CG either, but I honestly thought it was quite good in Macross Frontier. Well done enough to be enjoyable and not a hindrance to the presentation at least. Well, that's just me though. Oh, and yes I was watching until my source of choice decided to stop working on it. I'll finish when they do. For personal reasons I wasn't really in any of the discussion threads last season for the most part.

Dagger

10-15-2008, 03:15 AM

Such a description would leave me conflicted about checking this out. On one hand I enjoyed Higurashi and My-HiME. On the other hand being the heretic that I am, I disliked what I saw of NHK. Still two out of three isn't bad. Actually in general the more I read about it, the more conflicted I feel.
Try it out! I can guarantee that you'll love Nanami and Kozu-pii. :P

something

10-15-2008, 06:45 AM

Man, your hatred of CG is stealing much from you at this point my friend. ;)
Can't think of many examples. And I have so many shows to watch that I've actually dropped some decent series for time, so I'm not really worried about "missing out" on anything.

I'm not a fan of CG either, but I honestly thought it was quite good in Macross Frontier.
I didn't.

Ashyukun

10-15-2008, 10:02 AM

I'm not a fan of CG either, but I honestly thought it was quite good in Macross Frontier.
I didn't.
I seem to remember them going a bit heavy and more obvious with it in ep. 1 than the rest of the show. They didn't, of course, eliminate it altogether- but at least to my memory I remember ep. 1 being more CG-ish than the rest.

Suwako Moriya

10-15-2008, 11:36 AM

Try it out! I can guarantee that you'll love Nanami and Kozu-pii. :P

I have no idea who they are (yet), but I'll think about it. Even if I don't get started on Chaos Head right away there's always later. Which is what some series will have to fall under due to the sheeer number of shows to watch. Both from the present and the stuff from the past that's slowly creeping up behind me.

10-15-2008, 02:09 PM

I didn't.

Fair enough. :)

LordGeo

10-15-2008, 03:34 PM

Giant Robo: The Animation -The Day the Earth Stood Still- Episodes 3-5: Only one thing can be said about this OVA so far: My god this is great!

There's really nothing I can say that's negative about this OVA. The music is great, the multitude of Yokoyama characters I am familiar with is great (and the ones I'm not familiar with are great too), the story is interesting, and Giant Robo itself is cool as hell. Hell, even the Eye of Vogler box I have is cool as hell, even if it's a little annoying to handle.

I myself hope that this title has always done well for Media Blasters, since I would love to see the Giant Robo 40th Anniversary OVA that was made; it's apparently accurate to the original manga and I'm just even more interested in it.

The Adventurer

10-15-2008, 03:49 PM

Giant Robo is a pretty great show. And I too wish GR - Giant Robo would get a domestic release.

Suwako Moriya

10-15-2008, 07:21 PM

All right there you have it. Both Shikabanehime Aka and Kemeko are my first official drops of the "Autumn 2008" season.

Actually thinking about it now, I have a third title to add to that list. The title in question is Earl and Fairy. It's not that there is anything wrong with the title per se. However with so much to watch right now, it's not exactly the type of series that screams "Keep up with me!" that well. Hence I'm trimming it up from the line up for now. I will either give it another go later after it's over or I will forever part ways with the show. It all depends on how I feel and what I read about later episodes.

I think in general with there still being a few Autumn series to try out, I need to start trimming the fat a bit. Perhaps things will become easier as I either finish and/or drop series from Summer or earlier. Still that makes a total of three dropped Autumn series. Hmm I really need to check out the second episodes of "Today in Class 5-2" and "Yozakura Quartet" soon to see if they have any staying power.

LordGeo

10-15-2008, 09:23 PM

Another DVD down today, and it's sad that I won't be able to continue this one.

Tattoon Master: A 2-episode OVA that ADV dubbed and released in their old VHS days that was then picked up by Media Blasters years later and released on DVD (ala Master of Mosquiton, another OVA I really liked). I saw this with a friend and we both enjoyed this OVA. It was an interesting take on the whole "mysteious woman 'marries' the main lead and helps drive his life a living hell" story. The whole tattoo aspect was cool and I just really enjoyed it.

Too bad the Ultra Jump manga it's based on was never licensed and isn't even available via scanlations either, since I would really love to read the original manga to this. It's OVAs like these that are always bittersweet for me; I really like them but can't continue on to enjoy them due to some reason.

musouka

10-15-2008, 11:14 PM

Top picks:

Casshern Sins: [two eps] I've become strangely obsessed with this show, and I'm not quite sure why. Yes, the direction is top notch, but I find myself randomly humming the OP as I go about my day and thinking about it often. I really want to pick it apart, which is the highest compliment I can pay to a show. Barring an absolutely terrible turn for the worst, I think I'm in this one for the long haul.

Mouryou no Hako: [two eps] Another dark, atmospheric pick. I guess the thing that draws me to both it and Casshern is the promise of something interesting and deep behind the atmosphere. I look forward to seeing how the murder mystery plays out.

Tytania: [one ep] Absolutely some of the most fun I've had watching a first episode in a long time. Deliciously over the top and entertaining, with a hint of more nuance to come--hopefully. Yeah, sure it might suffer a bit from the same "talking heads" syndrome that LOGH did, but I'm used to that by now. But I mean, come on, if you didn't crack at least a tiny "this shit is awesome" grin over the bubblegum or Tytania's sense for the melodramatic, I have to wonder about you...

Yeah, I'll Keep Watching:

Kuroshitsuji: [two eps] This show is entirely atmosphere and nothing else, unlike the other two shows I listed above. But Ciel and Sebastian are entertaining enough that I'll probably keep plugging along. I don't rush watch, but when I do, I have fun.

Earl and Fairy: [two eps] Is it the best series this season? Nope, but for some reason I sort of want it to be better than my initial impression of it. I also seem oddly protective of it for reasons I can't quite identify. Maybe it's just wanting more and more adaptions of girls' light novels. (I think the actual ending sequence might scare away the handful of people on this board watching, though :P )

Kyou Kara Maou: Third Series: [twenty one eps] Most people on the boards probably don't know that this show has reached a level of "TROLL" that can almost stand side by side with Macross F and Code Geass of last season. Is this a good series? Uh, no, probably not. But it has one of the strongest ensemble casts of any recent anime I can think of, and that'll keep me coming back every week. Even with Yuuri as the main, who has ended up as one of the most frustratingly moronic leads this decade because of this last arc.

Gundam 00: [two eps] As I've mentioned in the past, I'm watching this with friends. After last season, I've pretty much given up on watching this for the plot, and instead entertain myself with the characters, most of whom managed to finally become watchable two episodes before the finale of the last season. (Who on earth knew Tieria would end up my favorite character, though. WTF.)

Shape Up, Guys:

Toradora: [three eps] Wow, I don't think I've ever seen a single episode that has turned me off a character so quickly. The first two episodes were fine, the third made me want to feed Taiga into a meat grinder. Hey, go back to being endearing and watchable instead of an obnoxious bitch, huh? The only thing that got me through this ep was Ryuuji being so fucking moe I could dieeee.

Kannagi: [two eps] Thanks for wasting an entire episode spinning your wheels over nothing, guys. Let me get this straight, Jin. A girl comes to your house, eats your food, makes you buy shit for her, and then ruins your living room table--but the thing you flip out over is her perfectly valid refusal to answer personal questions right after you behaved like a douche and got a few kittens killed? And then, adding insult to injury, we get a tired replay of "Nagi can't even handle exorcising basic impurities lololololol". There's a line between making a girl need help and making her look like a fucking incompetent just to improve the standing of the male lead--who, again, acted like an asshole this ep.

Magical Index: [two eps] Hey, you know, before you start in on the fights you might, uh, want to make me care about these characters? Just a little bit? Just sayin.

LelouchLamperouge

10-15-2008, 11:47 PM

My first update in... awhile.

Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage (5-8) -
Awesome. Just awesome. Where do I begin? Something tells me that some serious stuff is going to go down in the final episodes of Season 2 and I just can't wait. Balalaika is AWESOME and very scary too. She just wins this series, moreso than Revy even. I can't wait to see how it ends. This series (as a whole, S1 and S2) is probably bound to take #1 or #2 in my Top 10.
A+++

Ghost Hunt (1-13) -
Wow. This series really surprised me. I didn't expect it to be this good. I skipped the OP/ED, not really interesting to me. Anyways, it has a nice blend of comedy, horror and suspense. It's like the perfect horror/paranormal/suspense series, sure Higurashi could be disputed as the best but that's more shock value horror than actual legit horror and goosepimples. Mai is luv <33. Naru is pretty awesome. I love paranormal/ghost stories. I eagerly await Set #2 and the infamous arc it will have. Ghost Hunt has attained #5 on my Top 10 list. I expect it to be in the Top 3 when I finish it next month.
A++

Tide-Line Blue (11-12, OVA) FINISHED -
That was quite an awesome finish. I cried at the end, if that's any indication. Very likable characters, even if Keehl was annoying as heck, he redeemed himself without fail. Nice music, very good story, submarines are one of my turn-ons(for the lack of a better word).
Series: A-
OVA: A-
Overall: A

Seirei no Moribito (5-6) -
Nice atmosphere and superb animation, awesome characters (lookin' at you Balsa and Tonda), the story is alright, it just feels like eyecandy right now. I'll continue watching, but right now I probably won't buy the DVDs as it really hasn't impressed me yet.
B+

Strait Jacket (1-3) FINISHED -
Awesome action, nice story with a bunch of crazy twists, VERY nice animation. Not very much to say beyond that. It was a cheap entertaining way to spend an hour, without a doubt.
B+

Marmalade Boy (67-72) -
Hmm. I'm just ready to finish this. 4 episodes left! YES. I smell salvation at last! I won't go into any details. I'll just say the series has grown on me just a little bit lately.
B

My-Hime (1-5) + Specials (1-5) -
Thanks to Anime Selects on Demand, I can watch this. The OST/BGM is really, really awesome. Otherwise, this series just seems meh. Most characters just seem boring or annoying. 5 episodes in, it hasn't made a great impression. I'm hoping that improves over the course of the series. The Specials are just useless.
Series: B
Specials: D+
Overall Impression: C

Psychic Wars (Movie) -
... What did I just watch? What happened? Who? What? Huh?
F

Glamrgrl104

10-16-2008, 11:07 AM

Lucky star vol 2! My first time seeing Lucky star I have to say awesome it is like Pani poni dash mixed with Azumanga daioh! Definitely buying this when they come out in a thin pack.

BTW which song was playing when they were driving and drifting? lol

Fencedude

10-16-2008, 11:37 AM

Magical Index: [two eps] Hey, you know, before you start in on the fights you might, uh, want to make me care about these characters? Just a little bit? Just sayin.

Err...why? Out of curiosity, I don't see whats wrong with the order they are doing things in. I think that while the majority of the episode was a "fight", it did a very good job of showing just what kind of person Touma is, I gained a lot of respect for him because of how he handled the situation.

Classical

10-16-2008, 11:44 AM

I'm continuing to watch Full Metal Panic! on DVD.

Full Metal Panic! (18-20): This was a nice set of episodes. There was a party in the sub Tessa commands. Sousuke almost won a kiss from Tessa. I actually thought he was going to win it. Melissa talks about how she met Kurz and Sousuke which was a very interesting story. Sousuke puts himself under a lot of pressure and he fails to use the lambda drive and Melissa winds up getting hurt during a mission. Gauron is still alive.

HitokiriShadow

10-16-2008, 01:16 PM

Earl and Fairy: (I think the actual ending sequence might scare away the handful of people on this board watching, though :P )

This actually makes me more interested in seeing episode 2. The first one didn't make much of an impression on me.

Kannagi: [two eps] Thanks for wasting an entire episode spinning your wheels over nothing, guys. Let me get this straight, Jin. A girl comes to your house, eats your food, makes you buy shit for her, and then ruins your living room table--but the thing you flip out over is her perfectly valid refusal to answer personal questions right after you behaved like a douche and got a few kittens killed?

You seem to be looking at his reaction to the question as being a reaction only to the question. But I saw the refusal to answer the question as the straw that broke the camel's back after he had already put up with quite a bit of trouble. After appearing out of nowhere, suddenly moving into Jin's house and cause some trouble, you'd think answering the question would be the least she could do.

Nagi may have had a perfectly valid reason to refuse to answer the question (though I'm not sure if its refusal or inability...), though we don't know if that's the case yet. It's not like Jin didn't feel bad for the kittens and his reasons for not wanting to deal with them are understandable: they supposedly had a mother and he was already dealing with enough other things. Then he saw something really strange and the girl he's been going through a lot of trouble to help refuses(?) to explain what happened. He may well have percieved her reaction as her way of getting back over the kittens (and we don't know that it wasn't at this point).

In short, if you look at it from his point of view, I find it difficult to accuse him of being a douche/asshole/whateveryouwanttocallhim. While you acknowledge that Nagi imposed upon and caused trouble for Jin, it seems like you are ignoring the net effect this would have on him and focusing on the question and reaction in isolation from everything else.

And then, adding insult to injury, we get a tired replay of "Nagi can't even handle exorcising basic impurities lololololol". There's a line between making a girl need help and making her look like a fucking incompetent just to improve the standing of the male lead

I'll agree with you on this much though. It wasn't as big a deal for me, but it was annoying.

Magical Index: [two eps] Hey, you know, before you start in on the fights you might, uh, want to make me care about these characters? Just a little bit? Just sayin.

I find this amusing given that you ranked Tytania a Top Pick, which jumped into big space battles in episode 1 while doing little more to establish the characters than tossing them on screen and naming them. Different strokes for different folks...

something

10-16-2008, 03:26 PM

Westlo

10-16-2008, 05:44 PM

Kannagi: [two eps] Thanks for wasting an entire episode spinning your wheels over nothing, guys. Let me get this straight, Jin. A girl comes to your house, eats your food, makes you buy shit for her, and then ruins your living room table--but the thing you flip out over is her perfectly valid refusal to answer personal questions right after you behaved like a douche and got a few kittens killed?

You seem to be looking at his reaction to the question as being a reaction only to the question. But I saw the refusal to answer the question as the straw that broke the camel's back after he had already put up with quite a bit of trouble.

Exactly, Jin asks a valid question and she talks down to him like he's an idiot. He mentions saving her, providing her with food, things she tosses back in his face and than...

"You've been doing whatever you wanted since yesterday, I don't care if you're god or not, I've had enough, I'm not going to put up with your bullshit any longer".

After appearing out of nowhere, suddenly moving into Jin's house and cause some trouble, you'd think answering the question would be the least she could do.

Nagi may have had a perfectly valid reason to refuse to answer the question (though I'm not sure if its refusal or inability...), though we don't know if that's the case yet.

I suspect the way she reacted to the questions and had a blank look on her face during the question it would be an inability.

EmperorBrandon

10-16-2008, 07:11 PM

Magical Index: [two eps] Hey, you know, before you start in on the fights you might, uh, want to make me care about these characters? Just a little bit? Just sayin.I find this amusing given that you ranked Tytania a Top Pick, which jumped into big space battles in episode 1 while doing little more to establish the characters than tossing them on screen and naming them. Different strokes for different folks...
Especially since it's through that fight that Touma became a male lead worth caring about. I have a lot more respect for him now (not that I disliked him in ep 1), and am a lot more interested in seeing what they do with him. We also see another side to Index, getting me further interested. And it really did a great job fleshing out the pros and cons of Touma's power. Seems like it did everything right by me.

I kind of get what musouka is saying since it pretty similar to my only reservation with the series so far (mentioned above). Launching into a long flashy battle in just one episode doesn't bother me that much, though, as long as they don't keep repeating such things constantly (which is more my worry). Touma hasn't really wowed me, but I did rather liked how he handled things too. There were at least a few other character-related things that had me curious too like Index's Nagato-ishness at times and the interesting contrasts with Komoe. So even with my reservations I wasn't really disappointed.

HitokiriShadow

10-16-2008, 07:30 PM

I can certainly understand where she's coming from, to a point, particularly since it seems like a series a bit outside her usual fare (or at least that's what it seems like) and the characters aren't designed to appeal to her tastes. I just found it amusing that she said that in light of what she rated Tytania, which has no character establishment or any reason to care about them before jumping into space battles and space opera shenanigans.

Suwako Moriya

10-16-2008, 08:57 PM

All right since I finished the first season of Magic Knight Rayearth this update is dedicated to it. (Also yeah I'm doing a bit of a format change). In any case a bit of copy, paste, and modification of what I said in the episode 20 thread to avoid spoilers.

I would say as a whole the first season of Magic Knight Rayearth was somewhat of a mixed bag over all. It has enough going for it to keep it from being bad, but certain issues keep it from being great. I'd say it's ultimately akin to a B grade series that just can't quite reach A grade level.

On the positive side, the three leads, Umi, Fuu, and Hikaru are all wonderful each in their own way. However ultimately my favorite girl ended up being Umi. Her blue hair, voice, attitude, and everything just worked perfectly for me. Fuu and Hikaru are in some ways tied, but both still decent in their own way and they share the bond of being less than Umi.

You also have plenty of fun moments with SD stuff and RPG references. Also it was kind of nice the way they dealt with some of the situations. The Rune Gods were decent looking and let's just say I like the look of the armor in the series. Plus near the end of the series we got some pretty powerful moments too.

The problem with the series through is certain aspects get a bit over played. Such as the (instant) friendship stuff, the will power stuff, and in some ways the destiny stuff. Also some of the story elements did feel a bit tacked on. It also didn't help that several characters felt like they were simply there to move the story along more than anything else. Also even I have to admit there was maybe too much of a pattern to the way the story played out.

Still even with its flaws and issues, MKR Season 1 is still an over all decent series that I don't regret checking out. However at the same time I can't say it's one I'd want to heavily re-watch (even if I had the time to). Also I'm not exactly sure if I want to jump straight into season 2 or give myself a break for a bit in order to catch up on other things. Season 1 gives enough motivation to watch Season 2 eventually, but not enough to start watching it right this second. Perhaps I should wait a day or two.

musouka

10-16-2008, 09:10 PM

HitokiriShadow

10-16-2008, 10:17 PM

As far as Kannagi goes, I did understand that it was supposed to be a culmination of a bunch of different things, but I think the "straw that broke the camel's back" was was incredibly flimsy in this case--especially after the kitten issue, where he was wrong. Kicking her out after wrecking his table and demanding sacrifices--totally understandable. Getting all pissy because she's unwilling or unable to explain the finer points of godhood in a situation that wouldn't even had happened if he hadn't taken douche pills that morning is another thing entirely.

Okay, I just rewatched the scene. I was wrong. Nagi's refusal to answer the question wasn't the straw that broke the camel's back; her attitude and additional commentary were a bunch of logs that crushed the camel.

Jin asked her the question and he was, understandably curious. But he also immediately followed this with his concern for Nagi and how she fell unconscious. Now, she had every right to refuse to answer that question. Perhaps even in the insulting manner she did, but you have to at least acknowledge that such a manner is only going to help piss Jin off. You can even argue that Jin was being nosy when he continued to press the question. But the conversation quickly moved beyond the question and on to Nagi basically telling Jin to screw off after he points out all he's done to help her. By the time he tells her to get out, the question has been forgotten. Yes, maybe Jin was a bit nosey, but Nagi was more than a bit pissy herself and I just don't see how you can blame Jin for almost all of it while essentially letting Nagi off the hook for what happened in that conversation.

As for the kittens, yes, it was his fault to an extent. He could have suggested they just bring some milk out to them. Or Nagi could have suggested it. If he had refused to do even that, then the douchebag comments might be valid. But Nagi just asked to keep them and he had perfectly valid reasons for refusing.

I don't really understand this at all. I explained why I liked Tytania--and it had nothing to do with the "characterization". It's not like I said "Tytania is a wellspring of brilliant characterization that anyone would be unfortunate to miss", I was more along the lines of "BAHAHAHA, CHEWING GUM AND TEA". If Magical Index had the same sense of over the top fun, I probably would have enjoyed it more.

But, you know, I did like the characters in Tytania better than the ones in Magical Index. In part, that's because we got enough glimpses into their personalities and interactions with one another and the world they live in that I'm interested in knowing more. All of Tytania came off snotty in totally different ways--that's pretty impressive when you think about it. :P

Whereas nothing about Magical Index really "surprises" me in terms of characterization. Unlike Casshern, I feel no inclination to dissect anything about it--the premise has piqued my interest, but the way they're going about it seems totally by the book in terms of characters. As I said last time, no one actively annoys me, but I don't particularly love anyone either.

Not only that, but the setting and background of Tytania is more interesting to me on a personal level than the one in Magical Index. Magical Index is technically well done in a lot of respects, but ultimately it feels "hollow" to me, in a similar way that Shana did.Please note that I never accused you of hypocrisy or really criticized your opinion of Magical Index, though I do think its perfectly fine for a series to jump into the action right away (and most series of this type wouldn't wait until the second episode to do it) and I'm certainly interested in the characters at this point. I understood that you liked it for different reasons, as your original comment about the bubblegum comment indicated. So please don't misunderstand, while I don't think its necessary to establish the characters before getting down to the fighting, I wasn't trying to say you were wrong for your opinion of the series or hypocritical for how you rated things.

It amused me because those criticisms could easily be leveled at Tytania. Indeed, I would do so because to me, the series has done very little to make me care, except to make me look forward to seeing the Tytania family fall if I stick around that long. This also goes back to what I said in that post you quoted; Magical Index's characters were not created to appeal to your tastes, just as Tytania's certainly weren't created to appeal to mine, save maybe Lydia and Justin(Juslan?)... once we see more of them as the series did nothing to make me care in the first episode. I'm certainly willing the give the characters more time to grow on me and for the series to make me care, but I wish they would spent more time doing that in the first episode.

In short, you found the character interactions in Tytania interesting when they did nothing for me. On the other hand, Magical Index's character interactions did a lot to make me like and care about the characters. I found the criticism you had for Magical Index, which I'm really enjoying, easily applicable to a series you really liked but I didn't. I was amused. I suppose I should have been a bit more clear from the outset, so I apologize for not doing so.

Fencedude

10-16-2008, 10:32 PM

Toradora: [three eps] Wow, I don't think I've ever seen a single episode that has turned me off a character so quickly. The first two episodes were fine, the third made me want to feed Taiga into a meat grinder. Hey, go back to being endearing and watchable instead of an obnoxious bitch, huh? The only thing that got me through this ep was Ryuuji being so fucking moe I could dieeee.

Taiga was a bitch, but I don't really see why this is surprising. She's got glaring personality flaws that aren't going to get fixed overnight. I think all things considered she was remarkarbly in control, most of hte time.

But more importantly, this was Minori's episode. Minori is definitely short a few screws, but they did a great job of showing why she impacts the two of them the way she does. Also why Taiga flips out over Ryuuji's interest in her, it threatens Taiga on two fronts.

musouka

10-16-2008, 10:43 PM

But the conversation quickly moved beyond the question and on to Nagi basically telling Jin to screw off after he points out all he's done to help her.

My issue is, she made it clear that this was something she didn't want to discuss, and then he turned around and tried to use the things he'd done for her as a reason for her to tell him. It also becomes frustrating because you would think that it'd probably be a good thing if Nagi did stop relying on him so much, but instead the lesson of the ep ended up being "yeah, Nagi, you are totally useless without Jin", which further left a bad taste in my mouth.

Going back to the argument, Nagi was acting childish, sure, but Jin spent most of this episode being remarkably insensitive to almost everything that came up. Not just the kittens, but not exactly being subtle about what a pain Nagi is to have around, trying to hide her from people, ect, ect. I understand that Nagi wouldn't be easy to be around--as I said, I wouldn't blame Jin if he got fed up with her much earlier, as much as I like her--but he kept poking her in a tender spot during the fight and wielding the hospitality he's extended as a weapon.

As for the kittens, yes, it was his fault to an extent. He could have suggested they just bring some milk out to them. Or Nagi could have suggested it. If he had refused to do even that, then the douchebag comments might be valid. But Nagi just asked to keep them and he had perfectly valid reasons for refusing.

No, go back and rewatch. Nagi asked to give them milk, Jin refused.

musouka

10-16-2008, 10:48 PM

Taiga was a bitch, but I don't really see why this is surprising. She's got glaring personality flaws that aren't going to get fixed overnight. I think all things considered she was remarkarbly in control, most of hte time.

It's not surprising. It's annoying and tiresome, but not surprising.

I love jealousy, especially when it's over my favorite character--who, in this case, would definitely be Ryuuji--but there's not an ounce cuteness in Taiga's. It's not even interesting. We know what causes it, so it's just another tsundere putting an innocent person through the paces because they can't acknowledge their own feelings.

Fencedude

10-16-2008, 10:53 PM

I love jealousy, especially when it's over my favorite character--who, in this case, would definitely be Ryuuji--but there's not an ounce cuteness in Taiga's. It's not even interesting. We know what causes it, so it's just another tsundere putting an innocent person through the paces because they can't acknowledge their own feelings.

I'd suggest that there is significantly more to it than that, if this were ZnT I'd accept that argument, but its very obvious that Taiga has severe emotional and attachment issues (I'd say she should be in therapy, but you know, anime...)

If you want to actually discuss this we should probably do it in the discussion thread, this really isn't the place.

Fencedude

10-16-2008, 10:55 PM

No, go back and rewatch. Nagi asked to give them milk, Jin refused.

(these discussions really should be in the discussion threads...)

He told her, rightly, that kittens should not eat cow milk (and they shouldn't). Granted he was kinda snippy about it, but I can't really blame him.

I personally think that Nagi should have taken the perogative later on and given them water at least, or if they really were that bad, given them the milk ANYWAY. I find it incredibly unlikely that Jin would have begrudged that, once he found out what happened to the mother. Its just as much Nagi's fault as Jin's, in the grand scheme of things.

Draneor

10-16-2008, 11:12 PM

[...][B]ut there's not an ounce cuteness in Taiga's. It's not even interesting. We know what causes it, so it's just another tsundere putting an innocent person through the paces because they can't acknowledge their own feelings.

But I like that. Also, I think Taiga is cute and her attitude makes her even cuter. And really, she's harmless. If she wasn't tsundere, we wouldn't have a show. It seems your main issue with the show is one of the main themes of the show.

musouka

10-16-2008, 11:23 PM

If she wasn't tsundere, we wouldn't have a show. It seems your main issue with the show is one of the main themes of the show.

I don't dislike tsundere--they're actually one of my favorite archetypes (though I lean more towards male versions). My issue is when their reactions become paint-by-numbers. Taiga was appealing the first two episodes because the moments when she was at her most tsun were also the moments when we saw the most of her vulnerable side. I liked her because of that. It made her unique.

Draneor

10-16-2008, 11:36 PM

Taiga was appealing the first two episodes because the moments when she was at her most tsun were also the moments when we saw the most of her vulnerable side. I liked her because of that. It made her unique.

I guess I would separate that from tsundere. Certainly, I like characters that cause me to cry. On the other hand, I also like characters that harmlessly swing wood swords (or a crop) at a specific someone for silly reasons. But they're separate emotions for me, I guess. To put it another way, I wouldn't want a tsundere Tsukimiya Ayu.^^U Archetypes are archetypes for a reason, I guess. One of the things I like about anime is that I know what to expect--it can be relaxing, I suppose. Although there needs to be differences too.

That's not to say characters can't do things that will cause me to dislike if not hate them. For me, one of the greatest evils a character can do is betray a friend, even in the name of love. I tend to idolize loyalty, I guess (also, why I generally follow the "first claim" rule).^^U For that reason, I don't want Taiga and Ryuuji to be anything more than just friends. Each to their own, I guess.

LordGeo

10-17-2008, 02:25 PM

Giant Robo the Animation -The Day the Earth Stood Still-: I literally just finished watching this, and I must say that this is easily one of the best animes I have seen.

Again, the story was excellent, the characters were great, the references to Yokoyama works were fun, the music was appropriately amazing, and the action was top-notch. In the end I think it was betetr that it took 6 years to finish this OVA, as it shows that they made sure to keep the quality up for this and not falter anywhere. It just pains me to know that Yasuhiro Imagawa has plans to do about 4 or 5 other chapters that take place before the OVA as well as one final chapter that truly finishes the overall story of this OVA (even though the OVA ends well enough), but after 10 years the most we've seen is an alternate universe manga that he is writing. They MUST get back to this story and truly finish it!

This is easily one of Media Blasters' crown jewels and should definitely be watched.

Isuzu Inugami

10-17-2008, 05:14 PM

Been a while since I did one of these, so....

This and That:

Sasami Magical Girl Club (6)
For a show that gets everything wrong, it's incredibly enjoyable. I mean, no Pixy Misa? No Pretty Sammy, much less Sasami being embarassed by Pretty Sammy? Misao isn't sweet on Sasami, and Sasami is mooning after a boy?!* This has disaster written all over it, but just start playing that theme song and I'll be grinning for the next 24 minutes. They get bonus points for using the word "mahoushounen" ("magical boy").

*No, I refuse to belive it! Ami-chan is a girl! Just look at that hair! Totally girl! And guys don't play harp! And Ami is a girl's name!**

**Okay, it's short for something that could be a guy's name. And I'm totally in denial. Oh, Sasami, where did you go wrong?

Shugo Chara (51)
Suddenly they had another 50 episodes to do, and the show lost all impulsion. The characters remain enjoyable, but please, let's go somewhere. I'm at risk of going all X-egg on this show... muri, muuuuriii!

Captain Harlock (1978 TV series) (14)
I keep expecting the Mazone to show some hint of humanity, or some room for discussion at least. It's kind of creepy that whenever I think the show is setting this up, nothing of the sort happens. At least they have a sexy evil laugh. I know I should be swept up by the UTTERLY MANLY MANLINESS of HARLOCK, so I feel kind of churlish to ask questions when the show notes Venus' sulphuric acid rain and hellish surface temperature (good job!) and then has a "woman who burns like paper" take a stroll on it.

Seen via Anime Club:

World Destruction Committee (6 or 7, I think)
Watching mostly because I like the opening, and find its ending rather alarming. Also, not that I'm into furries, but the Japanese can't draw them for shit. That walrus guy was ghastly.

Macross Frontier (6)
I'm in it for the music, and boy am I in it! I have fallen completely into the Sheryl camp. She's the greatest. The show has been relatively calm and relationship-oriented lately, but next episode looks to be action (and so I can see if I get horribly irritated with the cg.)

Eve no Jikan (1)
So, like all right-thinking people, I eagerly look forward to the day when sexaroids--err, I mean, servitor androids are common. This show does a nice job of showing some of the darker social reaction to it all, though. Really well done, and I need more!

Clear Out That Backlog!:

Oh My Goddess TV (23)
What is this, a plot? Who kidnapped my show and left this in its place? Anyway... hey, I recognize that skyline! Who'd have guessed armageddon starts in Yokohama (Minato Mirai, specifically!)

Gad Guard (18)
It probably gets more bad press than it deserves--it's not top rank stuff, but it better than the pure mediocrity it's usually described as. Honestly, I'm hooked on the jazz opening and ending themes.

Gall Force: Eternal Story
LOL, wut?

Suwako Moriya

10-17-2008, 11:24 PM

All right then it's time for an update on at least some of the series I'm watching that either started or in some cases ended well before the Autumn 2008 season. By some, I mean everything, the following two series. Kono Aozora Ni Yakusoku, I only have one episode left, and thus I'll save it for a finished post. Also there's the matter of Futagohime, which is sadly a rather slow re-watch...

Divergence Eve (4)

Just for the heck of it, I decided to give this series another try. Episodes 2-4 didn't feel as thrown together as episode 1 did, but even so the series has yet to truly grab me. I think I'm partially checking it out as way to test out ADV's player on occasion. Plus I'm curious to see if having watched some of Seikirei will make it easier to accept large doses of do I even need to say it? Who knows? Maybe I grow used to them over time and even...., but that's probably another story. Still due to the very nature of being a stream, I have to hope if/when I'm ready to watch each episode, it's working properly. Regardless it's hard to say if I'll even bother to finish this one.

Mermaid Melody Pure (14)

To be honest, I'm not sure what to think of the current direction the series is going in. The plot aspects involving Hanon and Rina have been decent so far, but Luchia's story has been kind of weak. Let's just say the current Kaito stuff reeks of forced plot extension. Also I'm bitter that the other Mermaids still seem to not be getting much screen time. Oh yes there's a severe lack of Yuri, which for the record is the name of a character in the series. So don't get any wrong ideas. Finally it doesn't help that technical aspects make the series a harder watch than it should be...

Yes Pretty Cure 5 Go Go! (35)

At this point, I'm just going to have to concede with the fact it's mainly going to be watch pretty magical girls beat up on the unlucky enemy of the week. Well at least until the final stretch of episodes probably. Still since one of those girls is Milky Rose, it's good enough for me. Yeah, I'm definitely shallow and I don't care.

Zettai Karen Children (25)

All right then, where do I start? I guess, perhaps at the beginning? Near the beginning of Spring, for whatever reason I tried out the series. The early episodes gave indication that the series would be one with a fun flair to it. In fact the same thing is true of many of the later episodes as well. Heck there was even a point where I had a strong desire to see the next episode as soon as possible. Clearly this series is or rather was shaping up to be a winner.

So what's the problem here? I'm losing my motivation to watch the series. I took a quick peek at both 26 and 27, but beyond that I have yet to seriously watch any episode past 25. It's hard to say exactly why without spoiling, but for some reason the later episodes have weakened my interest in the series. I guess the safest way to put is the current direction of the series isn't working that well for me.

There is also the issue of the partial episodic nature of the series. Now there's nothing wrong with being episodic per se. In fact some of the series I love can be considered at least partially or completely episodic. It's just that when a series is episodic in nature the question then becomes the following. How long will your motivation to watch more last? In the case of some series, you not only finish the series, but also want to re-watch random episodes. In the case of other series you start to grow tired of it even before finishing the show. Sadly, Zettai Karen Children is closer to the latter as I have not even finished the second cour and I'm already wavering.

However I think the most major issue is this. The magic of the series is starting to fade. In other words the wow factor is wearing off. Granted the wow factor wearing off happens to any show. So the key is how well a given series can survive the loss of the wow factor. Sadly for me, the fact of the matter is that Zettai Karen Children is having trouble surviving the loss of it.

To make a long story short, I'm at a crossroads with this series. Either I'm going to have to regain my motivation to watch the series or I'm going to have simply call it quits and drop the series completely. All I know is it's gone from a higher priority series that I had to watch as soon as possible to one where where I'm purposely delaying the watch of the next episode for well at this point anything else.

Heck come to think of it, with so many series on my plate it might not be such a bad idea to drop a few on occasion in order to lighten the load. However given how much time I've invested in the series, the decision to drop it can't be made light. However as of current I'm actually leaning towards dropping it.

Suwako Moriya

10-18-2008, 01:27 AM

Try it out! I can guarantee that you'll love Nanami and Kozu-pii. :P

After having finished episode 1 of Chaos Head, I'm forced to admit you're half right. I definitely love Nanami. As for Kozu-pii, let's just say it's kind of tough for me to form an opinion on her. *Does a quick check to find out what the character looks like* Apparently if her design is any indication, I'll be required by law to love her. So there's potential you'll be 100% right. I'll save more thoughts on Chaos Head for my next Autumn update. Whenever that will be.

pianocello

10-18-2008, 06:42 AM

Currently watching (episodes watched up to in brackets):
Outstanding
Daughter of 20 Faces (4)
Given my tastes in anime, this shouldn't be something that is top on my list. But this is just so engaging. And Chiko is shaping to be one of the greatest anime heroines of the season. The character designs here by the way remind me of Ishinomori (I really thought it was by him initially) with Big O's Roger Smith in the lead. One thing odd I've noticed - while it seems that almost every anime that comes out this year is followed by the usual H-doujinshi and fanart, a quick search seems to reveal that there is none (at least that I know of) of this show.

Very Good
Kyouran Kazoku Nikki (finished)
Perhaps I was expecting too much but the final episodes felt a little anti-climatic. Still, its been a fun ride.

Birdy the Mighty Decode (finished)
While overall entertaining, my gut feeling is that this would be better without Tsutomu and his endless whining. Can't wait for the 2nd season.

To Love Ru (6)
Amazing. This is starting to grow on me and I can't seem to stop humming the OP and ED. The jokes are starting to make me laugh out loud and the girls are awesome. The weak link in this show is Rito and his stupid constant freaking out at the sight of boobs.

Good
Code Geass R2 (finished)
I don't regret watching this but this went too far with too many absurd and illogical plot twists. Could have been much better.

Average
Hitohira (4)
I'm starting to get bored. This better pick up soon.

Zero no Tsukaima season 3 (8)
Not only do we have an immensely annoying female lead but now the storyline is gradually becoming rubbish with a "let's make this up as we go along". I think this has to rank with Vandread with the most illogical "let's bring back a character from the dead with stupid explainations for it".

Garasharp K7

10-18-2008, 04:57 PM

This week, I have been mostly watching....

Kemeko DX - My goodness, Guu really has let herself go, hasn't she? And she's dyed her hair too. Not to mention turned into some sort of powered combat suit, which isn't too odd for her since she turned into a giant robot once. :)
Well, it's nothing groundbreaking or anything - not that I've ever considered that to be a bad thing - but I thought Kemeko was delightfully batshit insane stuff. I'm not sure why, but I love the concept of a cute girl that runs around in a mechanized cabbage patch doll blasting all and sundry to smithereens. It's complete and utter nonsense, but I love it anyway. Way more fun than that other slightly odd show, Macademei Wasshoi, or whatever it's called. I can't get into that one at all.

Casshern Sins - I'm not a fan of grim and gritty shows, but I'm loving this. There's so much mystery and intrigue here. I'm sticking with this to see where the story goes. Plus the whole look of the show with its' desolate wastelands and oldschool robots is just fantastic.

Linebarrels of Iron - Kouichi Hayase, you think you're all that - but you're not. :)
I shouldn't like this show. I read the first volume of the manga ages back and didn't care for it all - too many unlikeable characters. But for some reason, I'm curious enough to stick with it for now. You often see characters like Kouichi pop up in shows from time to time - those guys with delusions of grandeur whose egos far exceed their actual abilities - and sometimes you might grow to like 'em. But not our Kouichi. The guy's such a prick that I'll keep watching to see when he gets some sort of wake-up call. Come on, Emi, Risako, Yajima, anyone - please give that guy a reality check. Or at least a good swift kick to the family jewels.
Oh yeah, there are the big stompy robots. I like those. I'll keep watching for them too.

Ultimate Girls - This was a fun little show with some very suggestive and just plain wrong moments, plus loads and loads of Ultraman references. The whole series is pretty much a love letter to the classic giant hero shows.
But those transformations! The less said about UFO Man's 'wand', the better...

As far as the dvd watching is concerned, I've finished Shakugan no Shana - which was awesome beyond measure, by the way* - along with Nurse Witch Komugi and I'm currently finishing up Sakura Wars TV, still making my way through Vandread, and I'm giving Hare + Guu another watch.
Next up: Misaki Chronicles, Gundam 0080 and if they turn up this week, Dokuro-chan, the original Casshern and maybe some School Rumble as well.

*especially the Shana-tan shorts, which were hilarious. Loved 'em.

Suwako Moriya

10-18-2008, 10:51 PM

All right a quick update since I just finished a certain series that I can hopefully get done before the day changes.

Kono Aozora Ni Yakusoku

The problem with the series is the way it started. In a very real sense you're throw into the story and not given time to care. Hence I decided to just pretend it didn't exist. However after finding out that the series was actually six "2" episode arcs and an epilogue, I decided to give it a second chance. In the hopes that maybe I'd like the arcs dedicated to the other girls better.

Indeed some arcs were better than others. Also I began to notice that the show wasn't in any real chronological order. It was more like each arc was dedicated to show moments in the time important to the girl in question. Thus that sort of elevated the series slight.

The end results is a series that still won't win any rewards and definitely has its issues. Such as the cast being way too emotional sometimes. However it's much better than I originally assumed it would be. It's going from an F series to just barely registering a very weak B- at best or a C+ at worst depending on how I feel. It may not be so bad for people to consider watching up to episode four and see if perhaps watching more than one arc will make a difference. Regardless it would be curious to see which arcs people end up liking the best and worst. I kind of like the Suzu one for some reason. Also the Umi one was interesting for spoilerish reasons.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
In any case that's all for this update, nothing else has really changed. I haven't moved forward on any of the series in this category and Zettai Karen Children is at best in limbo for now until I decide it's final fate. Still I suppose I could pretend it's dropped until I start watching it again. That's assuming I ever do...

Suwako Moriya

10-18-2008, 11:18 PM

The wrapping up of Spring/Summer continues and thus it's time to reveal the next batch of finished series to get out of the way.

Neo Angelique Abyss ~Second Age~

I think the best way to describe this series is the following. It's a decent show you'd watch on TV to pass the time. However it sort of lacks "staying" power to be honest. In other words if licensed it would be a much lower priority series. One that would be gotten only if cheap enough and I had nothing else to get. Still trying it out was an interesting experiment over all.

Seikirei

When the series first started I was unsure about it. I checked out two episodes and the concluded the best thing to do was save the series for later. That way I could watch it at my own pace. Eventually later came and I started up the series again. While she was not the only reason the series was awesome, it was ultimately Kusano that convinced me to stick with the series.

The end result was a series that ended being quite fun and enjoyable in spite of or maybe I should say because of itself. You also got a pretty strong cast of characters. Sure Kuu was the best, but well at the same time the other girls were awesome as well. I also love how they ended the first season. Without getting into spoilers, let's just say it was a very intelligent choice because they avoided what could have been a crap ending and instead gave a decent cut-off point. Now we just need a second season.

Nabari no Ou

The series definitely had its issues on occasion that would start to drag it down. Also to be honest I wish it had treated some of the characters better. I mean this in terms of their role in the story, the focus they were given, and the fact that well some characters could have been a bit stronger... I'd say more, but I'm trying to be vague here.

However as a whole the series was quite nice. I especially like the way they chose to end the series. Not so much in terms of the final battle if you can even call it that, but rather in terms of the fact we got a pretty strong epilogue/ending out of it. That alone helped solidify the series as pretty good over all.

Wagaya no Oinari-sama

The series took a few episodes to find itself, but once it did it became quite fun to watch. As it progressed introduced a variety of love aka females that are awesome. A primary example being Sakura Misaki. She deserves her own series. Still there are times it felt like the series had potential that it just didn't want to realize.

I guess a lot of it depends on how you look at it. If you treat Wagaya as a serious story with occasional slice of life moments then it's ultimately a failure. However if you view it as more of a slice of series with a touch of occasional err plot, then over all the series is an over all success. Honestly I can't think of a better way of putting it.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

All right then. So what's still remaining of my Spring/Summer line up? Let's see there's Mission E, Kyouran Kazoku Nikki, and Sunshine Sketch. Okay the third I technically finished, but I want to save the finished post for later after the much needed re-watch. Regardless that means just three more series in total. One from Spring and two from Summer.

Well I suppose "Daughter of Twenty Faces" could have been a fourth, but try as I might I can't bring myself to care enough to stick with the series. Even after figuratively forcing myself to give it two more episodes by watching 12-13, it's still not clicking with me anymore. Granted maybe the fact I had to force myself is part of the problem here. I know this makes me a heretic, but it seems I have to consider the series a complete loss for me.

Andrew Cunningham

10-19-2008, 01:15 PM

Mouryou no Hako, ep 2: Easing into the main thread of the story now. Man, this show is really nailing the novel's style. It's so nice to be treated like an adult.
Best anime this fall, bar none.

HitokiriShadow

10-20-2008, 01:30 AM

Here are my final first impressions for the season:

Mouryou no Hako (1)
Very interesting first episode. I don't really know where this series is going, but it is off to a great (and gorgeous looking) start. This is definitely a keeper.

Casshern Sins (1)
It was fairly interesting, and what I've heard about episode 2 makes me want to continue. But with everything else I have going this season, this one will be a low priority and in my When I Get Around To It pile.

Michiko and Hatchin (1)
It was okay, but the first episode spent most of the episode setting up a character's crappy situation and giving very little idea of what kind of series the remaining episodes will be. I may or may not give this one another chance.

Tytania (1)
Meh. Has the potential to be decently entertaining, but the first episode didn't grab me and I'm not exactly expecting great things out of this one. I could give this another chance depending on what I hear, but its dropped for now.

Skip Beat (1)
I knew what the story would be like, so no surprises there. It was just a question of how good of an adaptation it would be. Unfortunately, it was as I feared: sub-par, at best. The voices are fine, but the visuals are lacking and while seiyuu do a good job, the visual side isn't supporting them very well. Since I'm reading the manga, I don't see a need to stick with a poor adaptation. I plan to give it another episode or two to see if my opinion improves, but I will likely drop it after that.

xia

10-20-2008, 09:56 AM

Outstanding
Natsume Yuujinchou (6)
I dropped in on this show just recently and i'm so glad I did. I'm not even done with the show yet and already i'm looking forward to the second season!

Very Good
Tsubasa (5)
I bought this blindly because it had been on sale. I had never been a clamp fanatic; i've only seen Angelic Layer. Man is this show awesome! I burned through the first disk pretty much immediatly and am trying to pace myself for the second since I dont have any other volumes till payday.

Fruits Basket
Hey, it's a rewatch but non the less entertaining. I still love Kyo's antics.

School Rumble
I bought this just because I remembered that the few episodes I had seen on fansub were actually pretty decent. I'm really surprised at how much i'm really loving this show. It's great to pop in a disk after work to relax.

Good
One Piece (7)
Of what i've seen of the show, it's been pretty good.

Average
Kyo Kara Maoh (21)
It has it's moments where it's pretty entertaining, but I find myself utterly bored most of the time. I'm on the 5th disk so I dont see myself dropping it, but i'm waiting for the story to kick in.

Suwako Moriya

10-21-2008, 04:37 AM

Here are my final first impressions for the season:

Speaking of which, I'm currently debating about whether or not I should bother trying anything else out soon or if I should be of the mindset that "Anything else is best either completely ignored" or "Save for later when I can watch at my own pace and/or have less to wath".

Tales of the Abyss is a good example of something I plan to save for later. I have an interest in it because I like Tales, but based on what I know about the story from playing the game, I'm better off waiting.

10-21-2008, 11:38 AM

HitokiriShadow

10-21-2008, 12:22 PM

Speaking of which, I'm currently debating about whether or not I should bother trying anything else out soon or if I should be of the mindset that "Anything else is best either completely ignored" or "Save for later when I can watch at my own pace and/or have less to wath".

Yep, I'm having to do that for a few titles that I'm actually interested in continuing, or at least giving a second chance. This is a really strong season, so some titles that are decent or moderately interesting and I would normally continue on a weekly basis have to be put in the Maybe Later pile.

Tales of the Abyss is a good example of something I plan to save for later. I have an interest in it because I like Tales, but based on what I know about the story from playing the game, I'm better off waiting.

I actually watched about 5 minutes of the first episode of this, but stopped for reasons entirely unrelated to the quality. It looks like a good adaptation, but I decided I want to wait simply because I want to finish the game first. Which I intend to do after I finish Mana Khemia, and I have no idea when that's going to happen. I basically put console gaming on hold when I decided to start killing off my DVD backlog. And now this season is making it difficult to find time to finish off the remainder.

EmperorBrandon

10-21-2008, 12:42 PM

Suwako Moriya

10-21-2008, 02:37 PM

That seems to be the dilemma this season. Waaay too many great shows!

Actually to be honest in every season I reach the point of wondering if I've tried enough. It's not so much because of the number of great series. Yes, some of the ones I've tried have been rather nice. However it has more to do with the accumulative effect of things.

At first it's a simple case of having just another episode one to try. However after awhile one starts to think "Do I really want to add another series on top of everything else?" I get the feeling if I tried anything else I'd end up being extra critical just to make it easier to justify dropping things.

Regardless I believe I've tried a total of fourteen series and only dropped three of them. Thus leaving me with eleven series remaining. The number could change if I either drop another series or somehow I'm convinced another series is worth trying.

edit: oh, and btw you DO want to try Abyss. Once you see Anise you'll be on board. ;)

Anise is love, but actually my favorite in the game was Natalia. I hope they keep the idea of her Archer + Healer ways intact. Regardless I do plan to try Abyss. It's just that I want the gaps between episodes to be minimized and it's easy to save for later since I have played the game. At least that's the current plan, things could change later.

Regardless my main hope is to sooner or later wrap up the stuff from Summer, Spring, and the past. Although in the case of some series, let's just say they're going to be watched so slowly that they may as well be a none-issue. Plus let's face it there will always be certain series where even after finishing them I'll feel like re-watching an episode on occasion.

Suwako Moriya

10-21-2008, 02:51 PM

This is a really strong season, so some titles that are decent or moderately interesting and I would normally continue on a weekly basis have to be put in the Maybe Later pile.

Truth be told, I haven't really established my "Maybe Later" pile yet. Everything I've tried is either being continued for now or essentially dropped. So if I were to make a "Maybe Later" pile, it would consist of series I might be slightly curious about, but have yet to watch even one episode of.

It looks like a good adaptation, but I decided I want to wait simply because I want to finish the game first.

I can't argue with that choice sinces Tales of the Abyss was over all a pretty nice game. Obviously not perfect and it had some of the usual Tales issues, but it worked for what it was. Plus it has Anise and Natalia in it.

Suwako Moriya

10-21-2008, 03:10 PM

For whatever reason, I just don't really like to follow so many shows like some folks tend to do around here.

Truth be told I'm not sure what qualifies as many, and in my case I don't really have a set number. Rather it's more of a gut feeling that eventually comes along. One that tells me enough is enough. Such as being unable to decide on which new series to try next if any. That alone told me I tried enough for now.

10-21-2008, 04:10 PM

Regardless my main hope is to sooner or later wrap up the stuff from Summer, Spring, and the past.

That'd be nice but it never seems to work out that way. Especially last season.... all kinds of stuff hanging out there still and they're good shows too.

Suwako Moriya

10-21-2008, 04:24 PM

That'd be nice but it never seems to work out that way. Especially last season.... all kinds of stuff hanging out there still and they're good shows too.

Thankfully in my case I only have one Spring series and two Summer series remaining. And so long as I don't try anything from those two seasons or give certain shows another chance, that number will eventually lower. Which means all I have to do is ignore the voices saying "Give it another chance" and "You should have tried that".

Granted in the case of Sunshine Sketch X 365, it's hard to decide where to count it. I have technically finished watching it, but I'm still going through the informed watch of it. That and it's Sunshine Sketch even after I finish watching it, I'm likely to still randomly re-watch episodes on occasion. So whether or not I finish it is a moot point. Yeah I know re-watching stuff when I still have stuff to watch the first time is silly, but sometimes you want to relax with the familiar setting rather visit a new place.

something

10-21-2008, 04:34 PM

That'd be nice but it never seems to work out that way. Especially last season.... all kinds of stuff hanging out there still and they're good shows too.
I'm glad Wagaya finally finished up but the wait for the last two episodes of Kyouran is utterly brutal ;_; Would kind of like to finish Twenty Faces too...

Suwako Moriya

10-21-2008, 04:53 PM

I'm glad Wagaya finally finished up but the wait for the last two episodes of Kyouran is utterly brutal ;_; Would kind of like to finish Twenty Faces too...

It was nice to wrap up Wagaya even if it means parting with Sakura Misaki, Mubyou, and a few other nice characters. Some of which that needed more screentime badly. As for the other two series in question. I wonder if people should try to predict which one you'll be able to finish first.

Glamrgrl104

10-21-2008, 05:49 PM

Bleach Vol 12 ~ AWESOME this series just gets better and better!

Story Of Sainkoku Vol 1~ srry probably spelled it wrong.
A+ awesome plot, hilarious with the king and forgot her name she is the main character.
Gonna definitely buy this one!

10-21-2008, 10:25 PM

I'm glad Wagaya finally finished up but the wait for the last two episodes of Kyouran is utterly brutal ;_; Would kind of like to finish Twenty Faces too...

KKN was the first thing that came to mind when I was typing that actually. That and Hidamari. I suspect I'll be waiting on the last couple eps of the widescreen broadcast this time next year if the rate the first season was done is anything to go by. :relief: I'm also waiting on Macross F for "consistency" reasons, though my patience is reaching its limits on that one.

something

10-21-2008, 10:44 PM

Prede

10-21-2008, 11:04 PM

I don't watch fansubs, so I'm not watching what's airing in Japan right now, however I am watching a few series on DVD, VOD,and legal online streaming.

Ergo Proxy - I'm almost done with series now, and I just love it. Dai Sato owns :cool: ! I don't find this pretentious really. I really like how the show shifted from the whole "getting to Mosque " plotline to something more of a psychological. Both parts of the anime are great, and the shift just felt right. it's not like they threw out the plot either. If it keeps this up it can easily be on my top ten list. I only had a problem with the episode where Vince (Ergo Proxy) fights that other proxy in the building where it looks like the city is alive, but it's really destroyed. I disliked this entire episode, and I'm not really sure why.

Witch Hunter Robin - Well I only saw like 2 episodes when it played on Adult Swim, but I did like it. Been wanting to buy the DVD's for years, and finaly had to do it, sense I heard it's a lot like Ergo Proxy (for good reasons). Only just started this anime, but I really like where it's going. Could be a great series

Diamond Daydreams - Watching this on the Anime Network's streaming site. So far it's really emotional, and romantic and pulls of drama really well. I can't marathon this show, but in short bursts it's pretty good.

Utena - Well started off randomly in this anime(on VOD), part way throught it (episode 19 I think) and I understand why there are so many fans for the show. it's pretty good, but it does show it's age. I would defently buy it if it was re-released (so I could watch the entire thing). But I'm not really going to pay the crazy price for the OOP CPM DVD's. Yet another anime CPM has that's just begging for a re-release.

I'm also watching a bunch of other stuff, look in my siggy for those.

Suwako Moriya

10-21-2008, 11:20 PM

That and Hidamari. I suspect I'll be waiting on the last couple eps of the widescreen broadcast this time next year if the rate the first season was done is anything to go by. :relief:
I try not to think about that, it makes me go ;_;

Clearly both of you need Sunshine to cast away the gloomy darkness. On a side note, depending on how things go, I may be making my final first impressions post soon with the usual overview of everything else.

The key however is the following. Will I try anything new (for me) besides Shugo Chara Doki and Chaos Head? Will I want to watch a few more episodes of whatever before showing the current divide? Will I end up possibly dropping <insert series here>? Seriously let's just say there's at least one series I'm becoming conflicted on.

And finally should I consider giving a quick list of those series that are potentially in the "Maybe Try Later" category? Assuming there are any. Those are questions I ask myself that I must eventually answer.

Westlo

10-22-2008, 04:41 AM

I'm also waiting on Macross F for "consistency" reasons, though my patience is reaching its limits on that one.

At the rate they are going the group doing Blueray encodes will beat them lol

Suwako Moriya

10-22-2008, 12:38 PM

All right it's time for more first impressions of the "Currently Autumn" season, but in this case multiple episodes have been watched.

Chaos Head (2): All right the premise is interesting and the girls have potential in an odd way. The problem through is that the guy could easily get tiring. Plus the premise feels like one where the second you get used to it the magic will be lost. So I'm sort of uncertain on this one, now that I think about it. I might relegate it to lower priority and let it build up a few episodes before trying anymore. For now I'll leave it dormant.

Shugo Chara Doki (54/3): So yeah the first episode of Doki is listed as 52 hence why I have it labeled that way. In any case with recap-madness, Doki isn't exactly off to an impressive start. Although hopefully 54 is a sign that things will start moving forward finally. All I know is the last few episodes of the previous season left me worried in some ways.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All right then that takes care of what might my final set of "Currently Autumn" impressions. In any case a quick recap of everything I tried divided into categories.

The Divine: Hyakko (4), Toradora (4), Kannagi (3), ef ~a tale of melodies~ (3):

The Awesome: Clannad After Story (3), To Aru Majutsu no Index (3),

The Decent: Akane-iro Somaru Saka (3), Shugo Chara Doki (54/3), Yozakura Quartet (3)

The Uncertain: Chaos Head (2).

The Banished: Kemekko DX (1), Earl and Fairy (1), Shikabanehime Aka (1), Today in Class 5-2 (3).

Notice a clue here? That's right I have a quick update to do concerning a certain series that is now dropped! That series of course is.....

Today in Class 5-2 (3): Ah yes this series was quite educational. It taught me that I'm better of watching something else. I tried to give this series a serious chance because it seemed like it had potential so long as it could work out the kinks. However after three episodes I concluded I can no longer force myself to watch the series just on the off chance an average series might become good. Heck I even tried a bit of the OVA and couldn't get into that either.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All right then in terms of Autumn, I've tried fourteen different series and with four of them banished and dropped. Thus leaving me with ten series to watch for now. Granted I do have some I'm saving for later. Hard to say exactly which ones since some I may never get around to at all. so the only one I can mention is "Tales of the Abyss" which as indicated in other posts I'd rather wait until it's over before watching it, but I do want to try it eventually.

Perhaps once some of the one cour series I'm watching have wrapped up, I'll be able to more easily consider some of the series I passed on for now. Assuming there are any series remaining that are I'll eventually try.

Andrew Cunningham

10-22-2008, 08:23 PM

Anyone who hasn't at least tried Mouryou no Hako is cheating themselves.

leongsh

10-22-2008, 09:58 PM

Suwako Moriya

10-22-2008, 10:28 PM

Anyone who hasn't at least tried Mouryou no Hako is cheating themselves.

To be honest, I currently have that in the "Wait until it's over and watch it at my own pace" category. For some reason I have this gut feeling I'll enjoy it more that way. "More" being a vague term. Since there's a huge difference between B upgraded to A vs E upgraded to D. Obviously I can't say which will be the case for it yet.

So I'm not against watching it per se. I just want to low my current pile a bit more first. Granted then again, I did recently drop four series. Okay one of the four, I might still check out if for not other reason than to test how well Funimation handles a series that's currently airing. Obviously that series in question is "Shikabanehime Aka".

However in regards to the other three, they're either permanent drops or I'm going to have to read very and I do mean very convincing "after" comments from people who finished the series. Thus they're less likely to be started back up especially since they're still airing right now. So the "second chance" if there ever is one won't come for weeks. How many weeks depends on the number of cour and other such factors.

On a side note, I have to wonder if I might have been a bit premature on Casshern SINS. Granted I hated the old version because it felt thrown together. However if I remember right that was a movie or maybe it was a short OVA. Either way it could be the type of story that works better if given time to be told properly. However even then it would likely end up in the same category as Mouryou no Hako.

Still come think of it, with three shows that will remains dropped potentially forever, if I were to start up a few new series soon then I could look at it this way. Instead of adding to my plate, I'm just replacing some of the items on my plate. Although in reality things are obviously not that simple since there are definitely more than three Autumn series out there I have yet to try.

Yeah a long winded explanation that went off into random stuff, but regardless that's my position on the series. I suppose it's not the "I'll try it as soon as possible" answer some would hope for, but I figure it's still better than the "I'll never even consider it" answer. Either way past history shows that it's not impossible for me to start up a series later. So only time will tell with this one. Although I suppose some will consider my idea of saving it for later crazy, but ah that's a given. Since in general I have crazy ideas.

Suwako Moriya

10-22-2008, 11:28 PM

Anyone who hasn't at least tried Mouryou no Hako is cheating themselves.
You're wasting pixels trying to convince most of the people posting here to try the show :relief: It's just not the type of show that they want to watch.

I don't know why, but comments like these aren't exactly the type that make me see the light or anything like that.:sweat: That being said while multiple people may enjoy some of the same series, they are still going to vary both in terms of what else they will enjoy and even why they enjoy the shows they do.

Truth be told I prefer the idea of trying to find something in a given series that will appeal to the individual in question. Which in this case I suppose would be me since after all I'm the one Andrew responded to. Although I'm not sure if it's a case of he thinks it might appeal to me or a case of just general promotion of the series. Either way a suggestion is a suggestion and there's nothing wrong with that. So long as the suggestion is somewhat realistic.

ArcticMech

10-22-2008, 11:54 PM

Anyone who hasn't at least tried Mouryou no Hako is cheating themselves.
You're wasting pixels trying to convince most of the people posting here to try the show :relief: It's just not the type of show that they want to watch.

I wouldn't be so quick to make such blanket statements. I know nothing about the show save for the brief description on ANN, so I do appreciate it when others here say it's something worth watching.

Andrew Cunningham

10-23-2008, 12:36 AM

Anyone who hasn't at least tried Mouryou no Hako is cheating themselves.
You're wasting pixels trying to convince most of the people posting here to try the show :relief: It's just not the type of show that they want to watch.

There's a lot of people here who are more than willing to take a shot at a show that isn't the sort of thing they usually watch.
Even me.
And Mouryou no Hako is mainstream as hell; based on a best selling novel, CLAMP character designs, lush production design; not like I'm recommending Kaiba or something bat shit crazy here.

musouka

10-23-2008, 12:36 AM

I don't know why, but comments like these aren't exactly the type that make me see the light or anything like that.:sweat: That being said while multiple people may enjoy some of the same series, they are still going to vary both in terms of what else they will enjoy and even why they enjoy the shows they do.

I think, with Mouryou no Hako, there is more to appeal to a wider range of people than you might initially think. Even on a purely superficial level, the characters are attractive, their relationships to one another unique. If you think the literary tone comes off as pretentious, there is enough meat to the mystery that it's easy to ignore the "heads in boxes" and focus purely on the more grounded mysteries surrounding Kanako.

Aside from that, while Casshern isn't for everyone, it is probably the best (or possibly second best depending on how you rate Moryou no Hako) directed show of the season, and the attention paid to its setting makes it an absolute must-watch for me, even going beyond its sort of pretentious storytelling.

The two rank at the top of my list for the season, with Tytania a fun, close second. Kannagi, Toradora, Earl and Fairy, and the rest are an entertaining bunch, but not on the same level, in my opinion.

Suwako Moriya

10-23-2008, 01:22 AM

I think, with Mouryou no Hako, there is more to appeal to a wider range of people than you might initially think.

Having just finished the first two episodes, I think I can see what you mean in some ways. In my case I find the animation style to appealing and yeah the relationship between two of the characters was quite curious. If nothing else the two episodes left me with the impression that the people behind the series actually care about the series they're working on. At least so far anyway. My only worry is "Have they been given enough episodes to properly tell the story"? So long as they have then the series should turn out very well if 1-2 are any indication.

Aside from that, while Casshern isn't for everyone, it is probably the best (or possibly second best depending on how you rate Moryou no Hako) directed show of the season, and the attention paid to its setting makes it an absolute must-watch for me, even going beyond its sort of pretentious storytelling.

I guess it couldn't hurt to give it an episode or two. Actually I just finished the first episode. It hasn't exactly sold me on the serious yes. However it does show it has some potential. Perhaps it's because of the format change or maybe the staff working on this one is doing a better job.

Still in terms of Casshern, Mouryou no Hako, and anything else I might try, I'll save more thoughts for when I do the next update. If you include Ga-rei Zero, I'll have at least three series to mention. Possibly more if I try anything else. It's mainly a matter of deciding how much more to watch (in general) first.

something

10-23-2008, 06:37 AM

leongsh

10-23-2008, 07:11 AM

Anyone who hasn't at least tried Mouryou no Hako is cheating themselves.You're wasting pixels trying to convince most of the people posting here to try the show :relief: It's just not the type of show that they want to watch.I don't know why, but comments like these aren't exactly the type that make me see the light or anything like that.:sweat:
Seconded, hard. Comments like that smack of elitism and dismissiveness and if I hadn't already seen the show (great first ep) and were on the fence, it might damn near have pushed me off given how overloaded my anime watching schedule is already.
THAT comment is not one of elitism but one of resignation. How many here would truly have given Mouryou no Hako a chance? The comment I made may have pushed some to respond to look into it. While it is considered mainstream, the usual posters here seldom watch mainstream but more towards the otaku focused fare. Let's be realistic here. We can scroll back the posts in this thread and you can see the shows being talked about. Mouryou no Hako doesn't really register on the radar. Maybe at the outer edges, at best.

LordGeo

10-23-2008, 07:20 AM

Anyone who hasn't at least tried Mouryou no Hako is cheating themselves.

I'll consider giving it a try if One Outs gets subbed.

Is it a little selfish? Yes, but I have been anticipating One Outs since before this season began and no one seems to want to give it a chance.

Draneor

10-23-2008, 07:34 AM

Andrew Cunningham

10-23-2008, 07:46 AM

Anyone who hasn't at least tried Mouryou no Hako is cheating themselves.

"The story follows a series of bizzare murders of schoolgirls who have been dismembered and stuffed into boxes"

ANN Summary.

*Shivers*. I'll pass. Graphic violence makes me sick to my stomach.

There hasn't been any so far - it deals with violent ideas, but in a stylized fashion, more as striking imagery than gore.

Fencedude

10-23-2008, 10:31 AM

Draneor

10-23-2008, 11:04 AM

Oh I had forgotten about Quiz Magic Academy. I have only heard of it because of the figures they made from it (and the good reviews those figures received on the blog scene). I'll have to remember to check it out.

10-23-2008, 11:15 AM

Anyone who hasn't at least tried Mouryou no Hako is cheating themselves.

It was on my "to check out" list based purely on what sounded like an interesting premise. That, and for some reason I always end up passing on Clamp stuff and don't know why and sought to reverse that situation. I dropped it from consideration simply due to an overloaded schedule since it had the misfortune of being one of the last new shows to air, but after seeing your comments about it in the discussion thread I put it back on my list with the hope that I'll find time for it somehow.

musouka

10-23-2008, 11:16 AM

LordGeo

10-23-2008, 01:32 PM

Is it a little selfish? Yes, but I have been anticipating One Outs since before this season began and no one seems to want to give it a chance.

One Outs is okay. Sort of fun, but really predictable, from what I've seen. (I expected something a little better from the writer of Liar Game, but One Outs did come first) Either way, I don't see the point in "waiting" for it to be subbed before trying out a different show, especially since Mouryou isn't exactly drowning in subbers either.

Yeah, but it all comes down to the fact the Moryou HAS subs while One Outs doesn't, I have been anticipating One Outs while I just heard about Moryou recently, and the fact that there's already a good number of shows this season I'm following for the most part already. I'm actually behind on a number of them, so that doesn't help either.

Suwako Moriya

10-23-2008, 01:39 PM

Ok, I was expecting this to be stupid (and it was) and pointless (and oh god was it ever), it actually managed to be a roundly entertaining half hour. Well animated, with delicious (if slightly generic) character designs, and an UNGODLY AWESOME voice cast.

Darn it, my elaborate plan to make it so I was the only one on the entire forum that saw that has been ruined thanks to you.:P Heh, I was almost tempted to make a topic for it. Only problem was the whole required informed re-watch thing that and well I'm not sure a one episode makes for a thread.

Still from what I could gather I found it to be fun in the context of what it was. And yes, I found some of the girls to cute. Especially one of the Teachers. I wouldn't mind having a short series of this. However even if there was one, I'm not sure if I'd want it to go full force with the fun stuff or eventually develop a plot.

something

10-23-2008, 06:14 PM

Let's be realistic here. We can scroll back the posts in this thread and you can see the shows being talked about. Mouryou no Hako doesn't really register on the radar. Maybe at the outer edges, at best.
The problem is not one of lack of willingness as much as it is lack of awareness greatly exacerbated by lack of time in a season where some of us are trying well over 20 shows, I'd bet. I was aware of a lot of shows before they aired, but had not the slightest inkling of what Mouryou was until I just grabbed the ep and watched.

If you want to raise awareness you can either simply say "This show is good, people should watch it" (as Andrew did) and/or explain specifically why it's good (as musouka did). Not tell those who are trying to do those two things that they're wasting their time, because "people here totally aren't willing to broaden their horizons," or whatever the logic would be.

I know I've sold many a person on many a show, and have myself been sold on shows too. Personal example: I almost missed out on Baccano due to time constraints and it not being in my line of sight at first, but thankfully enough good comments kept it on my radar long enough for me to slip it into my viewing schedule when I had a chance. And it was fantastic.

Flies, honey, vinegar. Doesn't always work, but given the generally broad tastes of a lot of the regulars here on AOD it's totally worth a shot and better than the alternatives.

Suwako Moriya

10-23-2008, 07:49 PM

The problem is not one of lack of willingness as much as it is lack of awareness greatly exacerbated by lack of time in a season where some of us are trying well over 20 shows, I'd bet.

Well so far, I've only tried seventeen series myself.:sweat: Still that being said with so many shows in a given season, it can be hard to keep track of all them. That and I actually find that with some series, it's not the pre-air buzz that matters, rather it's the buzz generated while the show is airing.

In other words sometimes a vague description and picture are not enough. Sometimes comments made by people watching the actual series are more effective. Sure comments like "This show is awesome" don't tell you much about the actual series, but they can cause what to ask "Why is the show awesome?" which may ultimately lead to them trying the series. Whether or not they'll enjoy it is another story.

I know I've sold many a person on many a show, and have myself been sold on shows too.

I can think of a few series that were never really on my radar until people started talking about them. Natsume Yuujinchou for example, I didn't really notice until after people watching it started talking about it. Before it aired, I had little reason to pay attention. While not a perfect system, word of mouth will always have a purpose. However once it was indirectly brought to my attention I decided it was worth trying. It turned out to be one of the better series of the Summer 08 season.

That being said it's still pretty early in the Autumn 2008 season right? It takes time for each of us to decide what to try, what to keep watching, and what to drop. Trying everything at once would only serve to overwhelm me and thus make it hard to give each show a fair chance. Hence why all I can do is take it a few series at a time. It's part of the reason I like to save some shows for later. Later being a vague term. It can mean anything from letting a DVD worth of episodes build up to waiting until the series is over first.

Classical

10-24-2008, 12:38 PM

It's been a little while since I've done an update, but here it goes.

Full Metal Panic! (21-24 [End]): Awesome conclusion to the series. These episodes were just awesome. If there's one thing that I've learned about Gauron (aside from him being evil) is that he is a very, very dangerous adversary. Also, Tessa is love :beatingheart:. Sousuke is awesome. The final confrontation between Gauron and Sousuke had me on the edge of my seat. I also felt that the show ended well, but I know there's more to see. Must get FUMOFFU and The Second Raid. I love this show.

Fullmetal Alchemist (2-5): I've actually been following this show for a little while now on Adult Swim. It's kind of funny though. At first I had no interest in the show whatsoever. Then one Saturday, episode 2 was airing and I just decided to check it out. Suffice to say, I got hooked. I'm really enjoying the show so far. Not to mention the name "Fullmetal Alchemist" just sounds cool to say. :catgirl: I originally didn't care about there being a season 2 but I'm really excited about it now. I think this show will definitely be a future purchase somewhere down the line.

Incidentally, I just recently got Shakugan no Shana season one in the mail. I did a search and there doesn't seem to be a discussion thread for the first season (unless I missed it) and so I was wondering if anyone else was interested in participating in a discussion thread?

LordGeo

10-24-2008, 01:27 PM

Finally, all the shows I wanted to check out this fall have been subbbed! Here's what I just saw:

One Outs - Nobody wins, but I! (Episode 1): Now this is an interesting take on baseball. While the original manga is not a Fukumoto creation, the team behind the anime certainly put some of the style they used for Akakgi and Kaiji into this. All in all, it makes for an interesting show with a nice style to it. While I'm not expecting Akagi and Kaiji out of this, I will be watching it and see where it goes.

Casshern SINS (Episode 3): This show is so gloomy and apocalyptic, but at the same time is really cool to watch. It certainly says something when an episode pretty much involves nothing but walking and talking and yet is still completely abosrbing.

Tales of the Abyss (Episodes 3 & 4): This is certainly how studios should do animes based on RPGs. There are a number of moments which seem very RPG-ish, but at the same time the show has an interesting story as well as nice action, so I can't complain.

Inazuma Eleven (Episode 1): OK, just by seeing the opening sequence one can tell that this is the Japanese anime equivalent of Shaolin Soocer, but with kids instead of adults. I myself really enjoyed Shaolin Soccer, so this episode was just as fun to me as the movie was. Usually when a series invovles a kids manga, a kids anime, and a video game (for the DS in this case) something can go wrong with one of them. While I haven't played the game nor read the manga, the anime already has got me with its fun and exciting, not to mention "super-dimensional", take on soccer... Yes, the anime itself says that this is "super-dimensional" soccer.

So, overall, here's how my fall 2008 anime list looks:
Definitely watching:
One Outs
Casshern SINS
Inazuma Eleven
Tales of the Abyss

Will watch as more comes out:
Kuroshitsuji
Hokuto no Ken Raoh Gaiden Ten no Haoh
Kurozuka
Toaru Majutsuhi no Index
Chaos;HEAd

Probably not watching:
Yozakura Quartet

That's roughly it.

magicalgirlj

10-24-2008, 02:42 PM

I am watching, Vampire Knight Guilty, Chaos Head, and Clannad After Story.

ArcticMech

10-24-2008, 04:14 PM

Classical

10-24-2008, 05:32 PM

EmperorBrandon

10-24-2008, 09:27 PM

I decided to give the first episode Skip Beat a try. Wasn't really sure if I wanted to check out any more shows, but I actually got to be quite intrigued by it. Seems like the lead girl might be an interesting character. I was liking her so far anyway. The guy she liked at first was sure a total jerk, though. Given how freaking arrogant he was at first, it didn't seem like he cared much about her, and of course it turned out to be true near the end of the episode. I'm guessing that showbiz rival of his might end up being the other side of a love triangle, and I'm kind of curious how things go from here. The show has potential to disappoint no doubt, but this may be a good shoujo series to follow. I haven't really had anything shoujo aside from Shugo Chara in a long while.

something

10-24-2008, 09:41 PM

To make a long story short, I'm at a crossroads with this series. Either I'm going to have to regain my motivation to watch the series or I'm going to have simply call it quits and drop the series completely.
I don't know if it's too late, or if you still intended to keep reading the discussion thread, but you totally have to try to watch 28 before giving up for good.

Fujiko (note: just a name, and not a spoiler for you, though a slight one for someone who hasn't been watching the show probably) is... absolute love. With this episode they immediately became my favorite character or damn close. The horrible turn the animation took in 27 (die Gonzo, die, that was inexcusable) was clearly a one shot thing too. I'll be posting more about that in the thread in a few minutes.

If you're really not feeling the show one bit anymore, and this character's first full episode doesn't reignite the spark at all, then I won't bug you... but you really need to watch 28 before deciding, since you've made it this far anyway =P

Westlo

10-24-2008, 10:37 PM

Something short on what I've seen, haven't had a chance to watch everything I've wanted.

Kannagi (3) - Delightful show with wonderful animation and some really nice voice acting. 8.5/10
ChäoS;HEAd (2) - Intriguing show, interested in what direction it will take. 8/10
Ga-Rei -Zero- (2) - I liked the manga, was disappointed to see the new cast... but wow they just delivered... turning out to be one of my favs this season. 8/10
ef - a tale of melodies (1) - Stellar sequel to a stellar show. 8/10
Nodame Cantabile Paris Chapter (1) - The Paris arc starts off great, already read this but it still a joy to watch. 8/10
Kurozuka (1) - Madhouse went all out here, terrific vocal cast and some really slick action scenes. 7.5/10
To Aru Majutsu no Index (2) - This could go either way this series. 7.5/10
Tytania (1) - Nice start and this looks like being a keeper. 7.5/10
Tales of the Abyss (2) - Nice adaption but having played half the game (R.I.P PS2 laser) I'm in no rush to watch more until it gets to stuff that will be new to me. 7/10
Kuroshitsuji (1) - Enjoyed this, sadly it's not getting any subbing love which is surprising... 7/10
Casshern Sins (1) - Nice start, wondering where this will go 7/10
Yozakura Quartet (1) - Liked this more than I thought I would, still average fare. 6.5/10
Vampire Knight Guilty (1) - Started off better than I thought but the next couple eps being Kaname heavy.. well can't get motivated to watch more. 6.5/10
Skip Beat! (2) - Even though it's really budget, still enjoyed it. Going to skip everything from now to the commercial episodes though. 6.5/10
Akane-iro ni Somaru Saka (2) - Gave this a chance and it just did nothing for me, dropped. 5/10

Suwako Moriya

10-24-2008, 11:43 PM

I don't know if it's too late, or if you still intended to keep reading the discussion thread, but you totally have to try to watch 28 before giving up for good.

For the record at best the series can be considered on "hold". That being said I have been reading the thread on occasion including the recent posts regarding episode 28.

Fujiko (note: just a name, and not a spoiler for you, though a slight one for someone who hasn't been watching the show probably) is... absolute love. With this episode they immediately became my favorite character or damn close.

Ah one of those extremely strong first impressions I take it. Still regardless even if I end up liking the character in question, it's hard to say if that will be enough to make up for some of the issues I've been having lately.

If you're really not feeling the show one bit anymore, and this character's first full episode doesn't reignite the spark at all, then I won't bug you... but you really need to watch 28 before deciding, since you've made it this far anyway =P

All I can say right now is I'll think about it for a bit. It will mainly boil down to finding both the motivation and the time for the three episodes that I need to watch in order to complete 28. Still at least it's only three episodes and not a dozen. Which might make things easier in the long run.

Heck. Who knows? It could turn out that Zettai Karen Children might just be one of those series where I'm better off taking an occasional break, letting episodes build up, and then watching them in a set almost like watching a DVD. Maybe, but that remains to be seen.

Netstryke

10-25-2008, 05:27 AM

ef - a tale of melodies (Hell Yeah!)

CLANNAD:AFTER STORY - with fated breath!! (and possibly a box of Kleenex)

Hyakko - might test drive it for a few episodes

Toradora! - Everybody is saying that this will be the monster of the season and so far it's living up to the hype.

Rosario+Vampire: Capu2 - I had fun with the first season so here we go again!

Might check out Linebarrels of Iron

Suwako Moriya

10-25-2008, 11:41 AM

Yeah I know, another update already. However unexpectedly I ended up trying a few new series and I figured I may as well give a few more first impressions.

Mouryou no Hako (2)

All right I decided to go ahead and watch a bit of this earlier than planned to get a feel for the series. So far based on the first two episodes, it's definitely interesting and they indicate the series has potential. However at the same time, I still feel the series is best saved for later when I can watch at my own pace. In some ways the two episodes only helped to confirm that's the best case scenario for me. Thus the series is on hold for now and may be started up again after it's over. Maybe being the key here because who knows how I'll feel later and/or what the end series comments will be like.

Casshern SINS (3)

I have to admit the first three episodes were actually pretty good in the context of the type of story it is. However to be honest, I've never really been into The World is ******ed plot lines for whatever reason. Thus it's hard to say how much I'll actually watch of this before stopping all together. In the best case scenario I might watch episodes on the side when I'm in the proper mood for it.

Note that the following statement assumes the first three episodes are a good indication of the over all quality of the series in other words it never falls apart. If I ultimately were to drop the series then won't be a drop along the lines of finding the show to bleh, but more along the lines of deciding it's simply just not for me.

Since I get the feeling I'll just end up repeating what I just said above each time I update my feelings on the series this will likely be the last I say about it for now. If I do comment on the show again it will be after finishing the entire series. However I wanted to say something now both for the purpose of stating I gave the series a chance and admitting it's again good in the context of what it is. At least what I saw of it.

Ga-Rei Zero (3)

To be honest while the first two episodes had some interesting moments, but taken as a whole they left me kind of worried. Mainly in regards to the direction the series seemed to be going in. In short I was actually considering dropping it because I wasn't sure I wanted to watch however many cour of what the first two episodes indicated.

However episode three might have just saved the series for me. As it seems to promise a much more interesting direction for the series. Granted it's a direction that has its own set of risks. Risks you should be able to recognize if you watched the first three episodes of this and are familiar with certain types of stories.

Regardless, the point is episode three has me convinced that it might just be worth giving the show at least another episode or two. If four and up are more along the lines of episode three I might just stick with the series. Yet if episode three turns out to be a fluke then likely it will end up being dropped by me.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All right there you have it. Mouryou no Hako is under the category of maybe later depending on how I feel. If I end up watching Casshern SINS all the way through, I'll comment on it in a "finished" post, but other than that I won't like say much about it. Ga-Rei Zero has potential to be a new entry depending on how I feel about episode 4+

It won't be long before I do a full fledged "Currently Autumn Update" since I'm reaching episode 4 in enough series to warrant a full fledged update. I guess I could update on some of them now. However I'm tired and I'd rather wait just a little bit longer. Since after all there are still a few more fourth episodes for me to watch. Such as for example Kannagi's fourth episode.

EmperorBrandon

10-25-2008, 02:32 PM

I decided to give the first episode Skip Beat a try.

I just finished ep. 3 of Skip Beat, so two more episodes into it, and I think I'm hooked at this point. I'm liking the show more than expected. There was a good bit of fun with Kyouko's initial attempts to break into showbiz. I especially liked how things started out with Sawara, with her bugging the crap out him, to him being scared about her doing it again if she failed, then getting to point where it seemed he was starting to care about her. I'm not sure what to think of the Tsuruga Ren guy now that we finally see him interacting with Kyouko - seems like he's a bit of a jerk at the start too (the main guy "stars" certainly seem to have overinflated egos, at least at this point). Besides the many fun parts so far, there's was also some really good emotional stuff in ep. 3 - I ended up seeing that Satou Jun'ichi did the storyboards for that episode (I didn't even really remember this was a Hal Film Maker production at first - now I guess I remember one of the reasons I wanted to try it - not that they'll ever get me liking things like Dokuro-chan or Kemeko DX :P ) One last note of praise to Inoue Marina, who is just plan awesome. I've really been loving what I've heard of her voice previously when I've heard her and I think she's been great to listen to in this show so far. She's really great at injecting energy into her roles (makes me think of Minami Kana sometimes), but I liked her with the softer, emotional stuff too.

LelouchLamperouge

10-25-2008, 03:59 PM

Evangelion 1.01: You Are [Not] Alone (Movie) -
Oh god. I love the new animation, even though its mostly recap, it makes Evangelion look so good. I freaked out by the nice cameo of him at the end. It all started to make sense. What I felt was wrong with the TV series was fixed, so I gotta give it credit. Judging by the preview for 2.0, its going to be all kinds of awesome and original.
A

Claymore (1-5) -
Never read the manga, so I'm going in completely blind. It's a fun and entertaining ride so far, I'll judge the ending for myself when it gets there. I hope Raki becomes a little more bareable soon. Teresa is awesome so far, scary but awesome.
A-

My-Hime (6-8) + My-Hime Specials (6-8) -
Meh. Action, fanservice and WTF at episode 8. Holy crap, things got good at episode 8. Gimme moar nao, Anime Selects! I need more of this series. I still find the OST, OP/ED to be awesome.
B+

Marmalade Boy (73-74) -
Just 2 episodes left... almost there... must finish... *Lulu passes out in the middle of the thread*
C+

Great Teacher Onizuka (1-3) -
I'm not impressed. It's just so stupid. However, I need my weekly dose of stupid, so I'll continue watching it. Somehow I lost my sense of humor in the last couple of months. :/
D+

Garasharp K7

10-26-2008, 04:41 PM

Great Teacher Onizuka (1-3) -
I'm not impressed. It's just so stupid. However, I need my weekly dose of stupid, so I'll continue watching it. Somehow I lost my sense of humor in the last couple of months. :/
D+

Heh, what a coincidence. I'm watching GTO as well, and I sort of feel the same way. I was in the mood for some school comedies, so I figured I'd dig this out of the backlog and give it a whirl. It's been sitting there for over a year now with only a couple of episodes watched. It was great back when I started it, but it doesn't seem to be grabbing me now. I know there's some fun stuff coming up, so I may stick with it.

And now for a quick run-down on what I've been watching lately....

Strike Witches - I really don't know what to make of this one. On the one hand, you've got an interesting premise - alternate history, mysterious (if a little bland) invaders, and a bizarre concept in magical girls with jetpacks, But on the other hand, I can't get over the fact that none of the girls wear skirts at all. I'm sitting here watching what seems like a straightforwad sci-fi show, going "for god's sake, woman! Put a skirt on!" It's hard to take that tough-as-nails commander seriously when she looks like she forget to finish dressing herself.
Mind you, I didn't think you're supposed to take anything in this show seriously, but the whole panties-on-display thing is still pretty ridiculous anyway. Same goes for the dog ears and tails. Ah well, I may watch one more episode and see where it goes.

Hyakko - I'll just say this: Hyakko is wonderful. I love this show, and it's all thanks to Torako and Suzu. I haven't laughed so hard at a show since Cromartie Highschool. Suzu's antics with the basketball in the second episode had me near to tears, and the gang's attempts at the various club activities were great to watch. Oh, poor Tatsuki....
Nene was a hoot. And she was complaining about the dress code?

Ga-rei Zero - Wow. Din't expect this one to be all that great, but I'm sticking with it now. Ghosts, zombies, giant monsters, (yay!) and one mean girl with a sword. The first ep was a real shocker, the second ep was great as well. Third one was fun, and now I'm sticking with it to find out what made Yomi the way she is now.

Casshern Sins - it's still interesting, but all this angst and despair is starting to get to me. I'll stick with it for now.

Linebarrels of Iron - On to episode 4, and it looks like Kouchi got his wake-up call, or at least he's about to. As if an ass-kicking from Moritsugu and a dressing down from Emi wasn't enough, things have gotten worse for our so-called ally of justice... I'm really enjoying this so far, even if the protagonist is such an arse. Still diggin' the big stompy robots too.
And for some reason, the little girl scientist reminds me of Tamako from Kemeko DX. She looks quite like her...

I'm surprised that I'm actually watching any current or fairly recent shows along with my dvds. Seems to be a fair bit of cool things to watch right now.

LelouchLamperouge

10-26-2008, 04:52 PM

Kurozuka (1) -
I can do without the Max the Hormone OP, ugh. I stopped caring about it after the first 5 minutes. I don't like samurais and the sort as much as I used to, apparently. It was stylish, but it just didn't feel all that great. Something with it just failed to click with me.
D- - Dropped.

Kannagi (1) -
Just... boring. I guess I should've expected it. The OP/ED are just godawful. The animation is kinda mediocre, but the good kind of mediocre. Nagi (and most of the girls designs) were just very unappealing to me. Overall, not impressed at all. Truly sad, as I expected more from it. I guess I shouldn't put my expectations too high for stuff like this.
D- - Dropped.

Ga-Rei Zero (1) -
Boring ... until the last 5-6 minutes. Sorry, but 6 out of 22 minutes doesn't get you much and it seemed just really weak. Not even the last 6 minutes could save this from the Drophammer. The character designs were just... generic. Everything about the series was that way, it seemed like nothing more than shock value.
D - Dropped.

Chaos;Head (1) -
It's like Higurashi meets Welcome to the NHK. I really enjoyed this episode. Taku is pretty cool so far. The girls are fairly cute too. Nice, standard animation is always good. Cool opening song and ending song. Will watch more when I've begun to catch up on other stuff.
C

Kuroshitsuji (1) -
That was certainly interesting. I love A1 pictures animation, they are truly an excellent and solid studio. The OP/ED and OST are superb. Its got my interest for now, definately. Here I thought I couldn't enjoy another comedy, as its been fairly dead genre for me. I'll need to watch more obviously, but its a good start.
B-

Linebarrels of Iron (1) -
It's Gonzo and has the kind of CG that plain sucks. That aside, I thought it was pretty good. The story has potential. It has given off feelings of Code Geass. The character designs, I originally thought it would be typical Hirai/Gundam SEED, but pleasantly it wasn't. It has potential and I'll give it a few more episodes. Very fun and enjoyable though.
B+

Shikabane Hime: AKA (1) -
That was enjoyable. Animation was gorgeous. The OP/ED (even though not present on ep.1) have already won the season in terms of best OP/ED. It all clicks nicely. Makina is cute and awesome. A shame Hagino won't be the antagonist, but meh. He reminded me of Cytomander a bit. Anyways, another top-tier show. DVDs nao plz.
A-

Casshern Sins (1) -
Very entertaining episode. Lots of death and destruction. Pretty cool animation. Characters seem likable enough. OST, OP/ED are very cool. I like the feel of the series. Looks like it could get pretty serious(er) storywise later on. Can't wait to watch more. Ringo is quite cute. I'm impressed.
A-

Yozakura Quartet (1) -
Very fun and entertaining. Solid OST, catchy OP/ED. Interesting characters. I tend to like episodic series, so this has a good beginning for it. It has more qualities to it that I'd like to watch and see what happens. I can wait, but so far this is really good. It's so fun and different (in a sense) too. I can't help but think there is a trap in this, but meh.
A

Magical Index (1) -
OH GOD. The first episode was awesome. Index is awesome and cute. Something tells me I'm going to like this series. Everything clicks about it. It's definately in my Top 3 shows and perhaps Top 2. Poor Kamijyo has terrible luck. The teacer is a loli, oh my. Superb animation all-around too. OP/ED is extremely awesome, but its to be expected. Looking forward to more.
A+

Mouryou no Hako (1) -
WTF was that about? I'm liking this already in just a minute in. Nice animation, it just all clicks. Awesome Nightmare OP/EDs. Nice OST. It's like the one ~absolute~ must-see series of the season. It certainly tickles my fancy. I'll watch more of this series, definately. I get slight yuri vibes from ep.1, but ah well. I assume this is an episodic anime? If so, excellent. I like'em apparently. If its not, oh well, I'll still enjoy it. But man... that was pretty f'ed up.
A+

Top Tier:
1) Mouryou no Hako
2) Magical Index
Middle Tier:
1) Shikabane-hime Aka
2) Casshern Sins
3) Yozakura Quartet
4) Linebarrels of Iron
Bottom Tier:
1) Chaos;Head
2) Black Butler
-----
Dropped:
1) Kannagi
2) Ga-Rei Zero
3) Kurozuka

Fencedude

10-26-2008, 05:12 PM

Ga-Rei Zero (1) -
Boring ... until the last 5-6 minutes. Sorry, but 6 out of 22 minutes doesn't get you much and it seemed just really weak. Not even the last 6 minutes could save this from the Drophammer. The character designs were just... generic. Everything about the series was that way, it seemed like nothing more than shock value.
D - Dropped.

Watch episodes 2 and 3 before you make a decision like that.

Classical

10-26-2008, 05:52 PM

I'm continuing to follow Gurren Lagann and Fullmetal Alchemist.

Gurren Lagann (19-20): I had thought that Gurren Lagann had been a good show up until episode 17. At that point my view has changed and now I think the show has become epic. These two episodes were great. Everything is pretty much going downhill for the humans. My dislike for Rassu has only intensified. I'm loving this show now.

Fullmetal Alchemist (6): This series continues to be entertaining and very fun to watch. Ed was trying to study for and pass the state alchemy exam. Suffice to say, he managed to do it, and in a spectacular way to boot. It's great to see that Ed and Al get along together as brothers very well.

gnikdrazil

10-26-2008, 06:24 PM

Vandread (Disc 2 of 8) - I bought the series from the last Geneon Bountiful sale and finally getting around to watching it. I had caught a few random episodes a couple of years ago when it played on Encore. I enjoyed the episodes that I watched. It is a really fun scifi comedy series now that I watch it in the correct order. I'm laughing at the antics of the males and females that have been separated for generations and them trying to understand one another. I'm pretty urped at having to watch the series being cropped twice with my video setup. It still looks great for a nearly 8 year old series.

EmperorBrandon

10-26-2008, 06:25 PM

Ok, update time. I'm still pretty highly compelled to keep following Clannad AS, Kannagi, Index, Toradora, and Skip Beat. I'll probably stick with these, and anything else I tried a few eps. of so far is dropped (unless I ever get interested in watching more - I'm not really feeling like it now). Probably not going to add any other Fall shows right now either, though I'm interested in a few and so may give a whirl at some point (I did with Skip Beat and was quite happy with that, at least)

Instead of talking about fall series, though I'm going to talk about a few ancient shows I've gotten to checking out recently. Ancient in this case meaning from a few years ago :P (so yeah, a bit of hyperbole to embody the relation to most of the series being discussed right now in this thread...)

Mermaid Melody (1-4)
Well, with some talk about this again lately, I was curious to check out a little of this series that ADV had but had to give up on releasing. The series really wasn't catching my interest much from the start, though. It is cute (as I'd expect of a magical girl series) and had some few interesting moments, but for whatever reason it kind of fell flat on me. I did want to give it until at least the third main mermaid princess showed up, but once I was at that point, I still didn't feel much need to continue, so I dropped it.

Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora (1)
This is one I actually just got to checking on a whim. Didn't really know too much other than a few snippits I knew -that it was based off a light novel and a pretty short series. I think I kind of got the hospital setting too, and knew Takahashi Mikako voiced the lead girl (though it didn't come to mind toady until I heard her in the show :beatingheart: ). Either way, though, wasn't quite sure what to expect, but I really came away from this first episode very pleased. There was some nice comedy and I felt the emotional moments near the end of the ep. were handled pretty well (I got a bit teary-eyed even). I would think that the mood of the show would have me worried with Rika being in critical condition and all, but perhaps I'm just a little more comfortable than usual with it because there's been a few times lately when I've been in a morbid state of mind. The show seems to be making good use of its time and got me interested in the mains (particularly happy the lead girl isn't a meek one-dimensional stereotype, at least from what I see so far). I think I won't be too disappointed by its length, but I guess I'll have to see. Not sure if I should quickly marathon through or spread them out a little bit.

Anyway, I've thinking a bit about my success rate on previewing series lately. I think I can get to be really picky lately. There's really never too many that I feel like I would want to collect R1 DVD's for (and if it ever gets to that, with any series, that's why I feel like dropping them) and even less that I would give high priority. I think despite my pickiness, though, the ones I do like deliver well and really keep me interested in the hobby. Can't say I'm really anywhere close to feeling the "*grumble* There's not really any anime I like anymore" thing at this point. I suppose the only point on which I'm rather worried is the state of things in R1 land. I would really love to keep purchasing bilingual releases of the type of shows I want, but I do think it's a possibility they may be narrowed significantly next year as the Geneon rescues and a few other things I'm collecting start to come to a close. I really have to hope ADV pulls through as Clannad is one thing I am quite excited about next year. I guess I'll have to see...

something

10-26-2008, 06:42 PM

EmperorBrandon

10-26-2008, 07:55 PM

Not an ef fan? Surprising...

I've only watched a few eps. of the first series, but I did like it. I'll need to watch the whole first series if I want to get to be current with ef. I think I may just wait until it's finished and watch at my own pace, though. I was thinking of waiting it out seeing if it would be licensed at first, but I'll probably change my mind on that now that there's a second series.

something

10-26-2008, 09:53 PM

Now that I've seen a lot more shows (was 9, now 20, see here (http://www.mania.com/aodvb/showthread.php?p=1437574) for previous) and multiple episodes of many of them, it's time to do another update. This covers only the Fall 2008 season shows.

Top Tier
　　Clannad ~After Story~ - 4 eps - What were you expecting? The first story is expertly paced and ended incredibly well. The animation is still great, although seeing this cropped to 4:3 is just an artistic crime against humanity and whoever made the decision should be shot. The show's masterful mix of comedy and drama hasn't lost its punch at all. And I can't wait to see how this upcoming mini(presumably)arc is handled. This and one other and then presumably into the central After Story plot. God I can't wait. This show also unquestionably wins for best OP of the season - and year.
　　ef ~ a tale of melodies - 3 eps - The two titans clash yet again, although there's less ambiguity about who comes out on top this time. At one point in their season one runs, I actually had ef ahead, but Clannad had a much longer lasting impact, especially being twice as long. This season is doing a wonderful job focusing on two new couples, and Mizuki in particular fascinates me. It's also quite interesting how we're jumping around timelines. SHAFT seems to be pushing their trademark 'artsy' a bit harder than usual, and for the first time I feel like it's been too much - but only for mere seconds at a time. 98% of it is still captivating and brilliant.

Second Tier
　　Mobile Suit Gundam 00 S2 - 4 eps - It's Gundam 00. It's starting off in an explosive way and setting up some really interesting character dynamics. The mecha battles are also seriously top notch yet again, with Sunrise clearly sparing no expense to put together some of the slickest animation I've ever seen. I was, and remain, incredibly impressed with this series. Edit: I also feel compelled to mention that Gundam 00 has probably the "least irritating" 3dcg in anime history. Protip to all other studios: don't even try it unless you've got this kind of budget. It's best not to do it at all, but at least put some effort into it if you must do it.
　　Toradora! - 4 eps - I expected something fun from another JC Staff + Kugumiya Rie show, and I got far, far more than that. This is still the highest ranked show that isn't a sequel, and for good reason. Taiga and Ryuuji have this absolutely incredible dynamic going on, and Taiga is quite possibly my favorite Kugimiya Rie role ever. At the least she's giving Nagi a serious challenge.
　　Kannagi - 4 eps - A-1 Pictures may just become my third favorite studio if they keep this up. Birdy and Kuroshitsuji are both also well animated, but Kannagi is just on another level and the fluidity of the movements and expressiveness of the character designs floors me. The new character is also doing a great job shaking things up, and having her be voiced by Hanazawa Kana just cracks me up. But my true love goes to Tsugumi, the poor osananajimi who by definition doesn't have a chance in hell...
　　Mouryou no Hako - 3 eps - Man, I need more. Mouryou just tortures you with how it dangles answers and plot threads just out of reach, but you can't help but come to love it. Anyone who was scared off by the awful ANN summary - come back! It makes it sound like a slasher film, but I haven't seen a single bit of gore yet, nor do I expect to see much if any. It's all just very mental, without the sense of oppressive fear that makes me uneasy about some other shows. Instead of being scared, I'm intensely interested and engaged. Oh, and it's got the most intense and compelling yuri this season, although I have to say, sadly, it doesn't really have any competition. (Seriously, wtf is up with this season in that respect?)

Third Tier　　
　　To Aru Majutsu no Index - 3 eps - Wish I had time to watch episode 4 tonight but watching Clannad always becomes a multi-hour emotional investment, so it'll have to wait until tomorrow. Either way, this is JC Staff doing that other thing they do best, and I'm really impressed with where it's gone so far. Three episodes in and there are already so many things I want to see and know. They're doing a very good job getting me interested in the world they're created.
　　Hyakko - 3 eps - Episode three's Nene part was one of the funniest things I've seen all season, but the show's awful production values work hard against it. So far the comedy more than makes up for these deficiencies though. I just want more Ayumi, because Hirano Aya is so adorable as her.
　　Akane-iro ni Somaru Saka - 4 eps - Speaking of Hirano Aya, holy shit Minato. <3 My main problem with this show is that I thought it'd have a pretty cool lead male, but that hope has been thoroughly dashed over the past few episodes. But oh well, a likable lead male is a bonus - a good show can get by without that if it has to. And so far, Akane-iro is doing that. I'd finish it just for the seiyuu and hair alone if I had to!
　　Jigoku Shoujo Mitsuganae - 3 eps - It's Jigoku Shoujo. 55 episodes in and I'm still happy to come back for more. This season leaves us with more questions than we had before, and I'm eager to see how they handle explaining them. That will be what decides if this show becomes great, or just stays "good". And that yuri scene in episode one was so hot... ::coughs::
　　Ga-rei Zero - 3 eps - Talk about throwing your audience for a loop. Each of the three episodes so far has been a giant WTF when compared to the other two, and they've gotten me ridiculously interested in finding out just what the hell happened to the two main girls. This show is an exemplary example of why I prefer to watch anime as it airs rather than wait for DVDs and buy blind. Just look at what they did with the official website from episode one to episode three... I really don't think it's something you can adequately explain to people who choose not to watch their anime that way. It's just a completely different mindset about how anime is experienced and I can't say I regret leaving the old way behind.
　　Skip Beat - 3 eps - Watched the first three episodes last night and laughed my ass off so damn hard. Kyouko is shoujo-heroine spunky to the point of absurdity, and the comedy so far has been absolutely spot on. The way they handled the emotional bits was very nice as well, showing that this series will be able to handle itself admirably when it's time to turn off the laughs and get serious. Yeah, the animation is noticeably dated but not to the point where it detracts from my fun.

Fourth Tier
　　Nodame Cantabile Paris Chapter - 2 eps - I still enjoy this show a lot, but I'm setting my expectations low thanks to the pathetic 11 episode length. The awful, disorienting CG that infects the orchestra scenes also bothers me a lot. It's a horrible idea to start with but they really put no effort at all into making it look natural, so it literally ruins all the musical bits for me. I would have dropped this already if Nodame and Chiaki weren't so fantastic together, but even so it's walking on unfortunately thin ice. Such a shame...
　　Kuroshitsuji - 2 eps - I actually like this a lot more than the ranking suggests, but it's lacking something that makes me especially eager for more. I have every intention to continue and find Ciel and Sebastian's relationship more than just a little intriguing. Ditto on the juxtaposition of fluffy comedy and high body counts. It's just that there's something holding it back from greatness.
　　Kemeko DX - 2 eps - This would be a hell of a lot higher if not for, well, Kemeko. It especially hurts because MM herself is so ridiculously sexy. But the best characters by far are Tamako (oh god Tamako) and Hayakawa, who better get a lot of screentime. Super-curves Izumi would be appreciated too.

Haven't seen past ep 1 yet; in no particular order:
　　Chaos;HEAd - Not sure what, but something is holding me back from watching this. Maybe I'm just not in the mood for "creepy" often, and when I am, Jigoku Shoujo and Mouryou no Hako seem the superior choices.
　　Tytania - No real opinion.
　　Kyou no Go no Ni - Not dropped, but in no rush. Hate the boys in the class.
　　Macademi Wasshoi - More spastic than I'm usually in the mood for. That and I don't even know if ep 2 is "released" yet, and I haven't checked...
　　Yozakura Quartet - First ep was supremely uninspiring but I don't want to kill it off yet.

Basically, every show in the four ranked tiers is at least "good". They're all worth watching and almost all will likely get finished. Being "third" tier ot "fourth" tier isn't a bad thing, it's just that I'm being extra strict with my top two rankings this season so the other shows seem artificially downgraded.

I still have Michiko to Hatchin and Hakushaku to Yousei on my "to try" list but if I don't get to them soon I may never... I'm already taking on a huge number of shows here, plus there are unfinished Spring and Summer shows (arrrrgh, where is Kyouran? Only two eps left!! And why must Hidamari always suffer this fate? Why?), and then Soul Eater, Shugo Chara and Zettai Karen Children are actively ongoing multi-cour shows from earlier seasons.

Andrew Cunningham

10-27-2008, 01:26 AM

　　Mouryou no Hako - 3 eps - Man, I need more. Mouryou just tortures you with how it dangles answers and plot threads just out of reach, but you can't help but come to love it. Anyone who was scared off by the awful ANN summary - come back! It makes it sound like a slasher film, but I haven't seen a single bit of gore yet, nor do I expect to see much if any.

Want to draw a line under this - the novel it's based on is very deliberately a throwback to the 40s/50s time period the story takes place in, and the anime is taking that in stride, showing nothing more violent that films of the time would.

musouka

10-27-2008, 12:19 PM

Not a lot of changes:

Highest Priority:

Casshern Sins [4] - Again, I just...can't say enough in praise about this series. Normally its aesthetic isn't entirely to my taste--I prefer the "toppled skyscrapers" apocalyptic vision--but it's just beautiful to watch. It's not particularly difficult to understand, and the ground its treading is a worn path indeed, but it's just so nice to sit down and watch a series where I can get lost in the "mood" of the cinematography. It's also doing well in that its mysteries are interesting, but not so shrouded that you're doomed to disappointment when "all is revealed". Its mean weakness at this point is that it's become a little bit meandering. Sort of "Casshern emos out as he wanders around in search of the plot".

Mouryou no Hako [3] - A tried and true way to get me into a series is to do something where I can't roll my eyes and say "ah, I know how this will turn out". I don't find the series particularly horrifying so far, or even "creepy", but that might just be because my brain is treating it more as a logic puzzle at this point in time. It's taking its time, with a lot of the "OP cast" yet to be introduced, but that just makes me appreciate the care put into it. Kanako and Yoriko's relationship continues to fascinate.

Tytania [3] - Over the top enough to be fun, thoughtful enough to be nuanced. I didn't really expect this to be my third pick of the season, but despite middling production values, and a slow burning plot, it's one of the shows I look forward to the most, week after week. I like the way Tanaka has set up the conflict. (And Ariabart is kinda moe.)

Mid Priority:

Kannagi [3] - This is a show that needs to play off the strength of the characters. Too bad the only character that's really caught my affection is Nagi. Rather like Casshern, there is a sense that the show is kind of drifting along until we meander into the plot. While better than Magical Index in terms of characterization, some of the plot points seem to be taken by tossing a bunch of darts at a board and seeing which ones landed. While it's cute that Nagi drags her magical girl wand around to do exorcisms, I'm wondering with the idol thing looming on the horizon, exactly how that's still going to come into play. Or if it was just a cute joke that's outstayed its welcome. Regardless, the animation is pretty and Nagi is love, so I'll be here for a while yet.

Toradora [4] - Romantic comedies never manage to keep me for very long, but in this case, it helps that I love the leads so much. There's not really a lot to say about this show, though. I pray that it will manage to stay away from stereotypical tsundere antics, because nothing will turn me off faster. Also, amusingly, while I don't mind Jin/Nagi in Kannagi, I reaaaally hope Ryuuji and Taiga will remain "just friends". (Yeah, right.)

Tales of the Abyss [4] - Watching this with friends, so I'll probably stick with it until the end. The only notable thing I wanted to mention was that it's handling Tear/Luke miles better than the original game did. Other than that, a competent adaption. Seems strange not to hear the English voices, though. And I miss brat-Luke; the anime's toned him down waaaay too much.

Gundam 00 [4] - Another show I'm watching with friends. I think this season has started out stronger than the last. (Well, I mean, what season with MISTER BUSHIDO wouldn't be awesome?) Since it's taking more care to have the characters interact, I can't really fault it on that front any more, but Marina and Setsuna grate something fierce. They just don't have the background to make the scenes they're having together come across as anything but laughable.

Kyou Kara Maou - Third Series [22] - I'd hoped with the troll safely secluded in his own kingdom and having homoerotic healing sessions with his hot bodyguard, we could leave the "he smells so gooood" behind and get back to what the Kyou Kara Maou anime does best: amusing mediocrity. Instead, the ten noble families show up to give Yuuri a time out for putting their national security at risk, but everything is somehow resolved in the most terrible way possible. I'll leave it to your imagination, but it does involve a hymn that everyone spontaniously breaks out into to praise the glory of Yuuri the Maou! (I wish I were making this up) Also, stop comparing Yuuri to Julia! Julia had awesome taste in fiances, and wasn't the fucking ruler of the kingdom, so she can be as naive as she wants.

Low Priority

Earl and Fairy [3] - Barely interesting that I keep drifting back to it, I'm sort of bummed that Edgar isn't quite the murderous asshole he seemed. Ah well, I'll live. As an aside, the cutesy-cute fairies we've seen so far are kinda fail. Leave that shit to the Hallmark cards, please.

Magical Index [3] - How can something so pretty and so full of action be so dull? (Now I'm sure I'll get comments about my love of Casshern. :P ) Well, Index and Touma are shaping up to be slightly interesting, but other than that, I think this is pretty close to being dropped.

One Outs [2] - This show is slowly sapping the baseball good will that Oofuri built up. Even though it's over the top, it's not particularly fun, and most of the dialogue is just absolutely snooze-inducing. Kinda cool OP, though.

Dropped:

Nothing, yet.

Garasharp K7

10-27-2008, 06:15 PM

Alright, another quick update. Watched eps 1 to 4 of Toradora earlier. Every now and then I like checking out shows I mormally wouldn't bother with, and I really enjoyed this one. I could probably sum up Taiga in three words: nasty, brutish and short. Well, actually four words - she's cute as well. :)
The little mite's grown on me quite a bit, despite how she reminds me of Louise - and I couldn't stand her from what little of Zero I've seen - plus there's a fair bit of Shana in her too, which is probably why I like her now. (and yep, I know she's voiced by Rie Kugimiya, hence all the little nods to those other characters) Anyway, it's a fun little show and I like the rest of the cast too, especially the gung-ho Minori. Nothing seems to bother her at all, does it? Everything is a challenge to be overcome for that girl.
Well, that's another show to add to the list along with Casshern Sins, Kemeko DX, Hyakko, Ga-rei Zero, Shikabane Hime, Kannagi, and Linebarrels.
As for the dvds, I've finally started watching GitS 2nd Gig, (after leaving it in the backlog for over a year) the original Casshern and GTO. There's also the rest of GaoGaiGar to deal with as well, but I'm in no hurry to get back to it at the moment.

Suwako Moriya

10-27-2008, 07:08 PM

All right then I've tried out twenty-one different Autumn series in total. The amount of episodes watched for each series range from as little as one to as many as four. So with that in my mind, I've come to the conclusion that I've tried enough series for now. Anything else will have to wait until "later" and in fact that statement is true of some of the series I've tried as well anyway. In any case I'll give an overview of everything I tried in this post. Yeah I know, but if anime can recap then so can I!:P

In any case I'll start with the long version where I give a more detailed version of my feelings on each show. That will be followed by a "shorter" version that's more or less just showing where each show is ranked. In any case let's get the long version out of the way first.
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Akane-iro Somaru Saka (4)

So far the series is decent and has some pretty fun moments. Plus you have some rather nice looking girls, especially Minato. One only needs to watch episode 4 for the evidence of this. Heck some of the characters like Nagomi has potential to be interesting. It's just that the series feels like it's lacking in a certain regard. Not sure what that is exactly, but it's keeping it from reaching a higher level. Perhaps it's the type of series that truly takes off after the change in focus. That being said even though the series lacks that which is required to feel special, it does feel solid. Hence why I'm sticking with it.

Black Butler (1)

There was nothing wrong with the first episode per se and in fact there were a couple of decent moments. However to be brutally honest, something about the series feel off to me. I find myself unable to truly enjoy the show because of that. Hence why I'm going to consider this series "dropped" because I highly doubt I'll be watching anymore of it.

Casshern SINS (3)

To be honest this was an unexpected watch on my part given how much I hated a previous version. However I gave it a chance in part due to the thought process that perhaps the "rushed format" was to blame for the original being so bad. Thus perhaps if they had more time to tell the story and hopefully a better staff working on it, what ended up being terrible could actually turn out to be good. So far based on the first three episodes, I'm finding the series to be pretty nice in the context of what the story is supposed to be. The only issue is that I'm not exactly into the type of story it's trying to tell. Which is more of an issue with me than the series. The end result is it's hard to say if I'll finish it.

Chaos Head (3)

The series seems to be setting up an interesting story. Which by default also means it still feels like it's in the set up phase. It has potential to be a pretty good series over all depending on what the true flow is like. However there are a few issues right now. The girls are definitely curious, but they have yet to truly connect me to the story. The male lead is needed for the story to work, but certain aspects of him could get tired. Finally I'm kind of fearful that the more I get used to the story the less appeal the show will have. As strange as that may sound. Also this is probably the type of show I'll need to be in the right mood for.

Clannad After Story (4)

The second series of Clannad so far is pretty solid. I rather like the fact they used the first episode to ease us back into the story. Which is good given the gap between the two seasons. Speaking of which, so far based on the first four episodes of "After Story", it feels less like I'm watching a second season and more like I'm still watching the first season. Which is actually a good thing because of the way the first season ends. This is not to say Clannad's ending was bad, but rather to say that it was more of a cut-off point than ending. The type where a second season was clearly intentional. Hence why i say it's a good thing "After Story" feels the way it does. If the first four episodes are any indication then just like with the first season, the second season of Clannad is going to be one of the higher level series of its respective season. Note I said higher level not highest level because as much as I loved Clannad, there were still series I was enjoying more. I suspect the same might end up being true of this second season as well. Still only way to find out for certain is to keep watching it so long as it doesn't fall apart. Which I highly doubt it will.

ef ~a tale of melodies~ (3)

Just like with the previous season, perhaps there are times the artsy aspect can be a bit much. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Regardless of that, I'm quite loving this series. Mizuki alone makes the show all kinds of awesome. Yuuko at first was simply curious, but as of episode three, she's becoming quite interesting in her own right. I rather like how melodies continues what I love about ef which is the idea of separate and yet intertwined stories. This is definitely turning out to be one of my favorite series of the current Autumn series and I'm definitely looking forward to more of this series. Just like with the previous series, melodies contains love. Except this time love goes by the names of Mizuki and Yuuko.

Early and Fairy (1)

I tried out an episode of this and found that in retrospect it wasn't really doing anything for me. Not even the lead female is enough to keep my interest. So to keept it short and simple this time, nothing about the first episode gave me any motivation to watch anymore. Hence why I've dropped it so early.

Ga-Rei Zero (3)

The first two episodes left me worried about the direction the series seemed to be going in. Hence why I was leaning towards dropping it. However the third episode might have just saved the series. Mainly because it shows the series might potentially be going in a more interesting direction than the first two episodes indicated. Only problem is that direction is not without its own set of risks to deal with. Hence the key here will be how episode 4+ goes. They will either build on the potential or ruin it. So long as it's the former I'll stick with this one for a bit longer to see how things go.

Hyakko (4)

I'm rather enjoying this series. The main four are quite the fun group in their own right and watching them interact with each other is going to be enjoyable. In addition to the main four, you also have a supporting cast of characters. Each of which has potential to bring their own flair to the show. In point of fact episode 3 alone shows the potential the supporting cast will have for the show. Especially during the first half of the episode. This is one show I have to watch as soon as possible. Heck I even watched 2-4 as they aired. So yay for streaming! The fact I'm willing to do that each time I can says a lot. Definitely one of my favorites of the season.

Kannagi (4)

I'm rather enjoying this series so far. Nagi is all kinds of awesome, Tsugumi is fun, and Zange has potential to be interesting. It's definitely shaping up to be quite the series because of those three. I also like the feel of the show so far. That being said, it seems that the first four episodes are mainly establishing things. Thus there is the question of the following. What will things be like once things truly move forward for lack of a better term? Regardless right now, I'll enjoy quality time with Nagi and the others.

Kemekko (1)

After trying out one episode of this, I concluded the best thing to do was drop the series like rock. My reasoning being that I don't hate myself and I don't believe in self-torture. This is perhaps the worst experience I had of the season. It also helped confirm for me that I should avoid these type of shows for the most part. They're definitely not for me, especially if they're just going to be as bad as this turned out to be. Oh yes and just for the record the female character is a factor that definitely helped kill it for me. I'm sorry, but no just no.

Line Barrels of Iron (2)

All right I decided to randomly try this just for the heck of it. I've come to the conclusion that which ever person kills the lead male deserves a medal. Yeah his general attitude is already starting to frustrate me. Perhaps it will get better if/when he grows up, but I'm not sure I want to deal with his version of the "childish" phase right now. Hence I'll consider this series dropped, but I might give it another go depending on what the after show comments are like. Or alternatively, I'll just stick my own alternate version of the story, where the guy gets killed. Ah much better...

Mouryou no Hako (2)

The first two episodes were interesting and showed the series has potential. However I just don't feel like watching it right now. Also to be honest I feel it's the type of series I'm better off saving for later. As in after it's over and I can watch at my own pace. Then again I must just watch an episode on occasion on the side. It really depends on my current mood and if I feel I'm able to fit an episode or two into the schedule. Ie, I for whatever just feel like watching it.

Shikabanehime Aka (1)

The premise itself is kind of interesting. The problem though is the first episode doesn't do that good a job of selling the premise. Originally I had this series in the dropped category. However, I've decided to give it another go in part to test out how well Funimation handles streaming a more recent series. Granted it's hard to say how long this second try will actually last. I guess a lot of will depend on what direction they plan to take the story in and at what speed they plan to move in the said direction. The right direction at the right speed could help the series quite a bit.

Shugo Chara Doki (54/3)

The sad truth is Shugo Chara Doki is off to a rather weak start. The third episode shows some signs of hope. However that hope is limited due to the usual fears set by the first season. One of which is the worry that they may ultimately waste most of the episodes rather than make proper use of them. Still despite my worries, I plan to keep watching this for now. Perhaps due to how much time I invested in it already by way of the previous series, it sort of compels me to not be too hasty in regard second season. However if things truly go south then I'll have to write it off as a major loss. We'll see soon enough how things go.

Skip Beat (3)

Based on the first three episodes, this series has potential to be one of the fun series of the season. Which so far it is. Thanks in part to Kyoko being awesome. The only downside is while the premise for the story is partially responsible for the fun of the series, it will only be able to carry the show so far. Thus the hope is they'll be able to expand beyond it in order to both flesh out Kyoko and the show in general. Still I'm convinced that indeed more is worth watching.

Tales of the Abyss (4)

Yeah I decided to go ahead and start watching this earlier than planned. The story is moving along at a decent pace (Yay for no random battles) and so far the adaptation seems to be handled pretty well. Which means I can probably expect both frustrating moments and enjoyable moments in the series. So yeah I'm already familiar with the series which creates its own set of biases, but ah well. I suspect what I'll do is let a few episodes build up and watch them. Rinse and repeat until I either finish the series or drop it.

To Aru Majutsu no Index (4)

From the very first episode I found this series to be rather interesting. That and the fact that Index herself is "love" makes this so worth watching. Episode Four managed to greatly increase my love for the series. It's hard to explain why without spoiling, but it's goes without saying that it has do with the events of the episode when taken into context with the experience I've had with the previous. It just bring everything front and center. The series just gets better and better.

Today in Class 5 (3)

The first episode showed the series had some kinks to work out, but that there was a chance the show might have some potential. However by episode 3, I got tired of waiting for the potential to be realized. I did try out a bit of the OVA, but I didn't find it to be much better. So ultimately I learned my lesson and decided not to waste any more time on this series. Which is too bad because I was hoping to like it, but ah well....

Toradora (4)

Ah yes, yet another one of the series that... I'm loving quite a bit. Sure Taiga is a very flawed girl, but sometimes it's the flaws that help make a character interesting. Besides to help balance out and make up for what Taiga lacks, we have Minori. Who is awesome in her own way. A different way than Taiga, yes, but still awesome. Plus the interaction between Taiga and Ryuuji has been quite strong so far. Add to that a few other characters that show potential as well and the end result is a series that's definitely for me.

Yozakura Quartet (4)

The first episode left me with the conclusion that it was decent enough to give it another episode or two. After finishing episode four, my decision has been finalized. I am definitely sticking with the series. Yeah I know, it doesn't part water. However it does something much more important, it convinces me to watch more of it. Granted I will admit that my fondness for Hime is part of my motivation. Then again such motivations are par the course for me. Sure this may not be an amazing series, but it has potential to be solid. Finally if nothing else it's got an awesome opening.
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Long winded, yes I know, but is it my fault that I decided to be fair and try out a variety of series? At least I hope 21 is a decent amount because if it's not I'm going to snap and go back to re-watching Sketch episodes. In any case below are the shows grouped into categories.

Divine: ef ~a tale of melodies~, Hyakko, Kannagi, Toradora

Amazing: Clannad After Story, To Aru Majutsu no Index

Enjoyable: Akane-iro Somaru Saka, Skip Beat, Yozakura Quartet

Decent: Chaos Head, Ga-Rei Zero, Tales of the Abyss, Casshern SINS, Mouryou no Hako

Uncertain: Shikabanehime Aka, Shugo Chara Doki

Dropped: Black Butler, Early and Fairy, Kemekko, Line Barrels of Iron, Today in Class 5

Hopefully the categories are self-explanatory, but I will note this much. Also the rankings are a bit loose. Depending on my mood a show might fall one category lower than I say or one category higher. There's definitely plenty of time for my opinion of each show that I'm still watching to improve or worsen.

All right then that's enough of that, anything else I want to say is better off made in a separate post. If you're still alive after finishing reading this, you can make of my warped tastes what you will. However this the end result of weeks worth of checking out shows, including ones I wasn't going to try originally. Hopefully this will be the end of the testing period for awhile.