Currently Watching (Spring 2010 Edition)

[Suwako Moriya]

It's time to spring forth a new edition of the "Currently Watching" thread. Well, close enough anyway. I'd rather it be started a day early than a day late. As you might have guess this is the Spring 2010 Thread.

The link to the Winter 2010 Edition (http://www.mania.com/aodvb/showpost.php?p=1700552&postcount=1)

Note
- change the title of your post to reflect the contents.
- do not use the Post Reply button; instead, click quote on the post you wish to reply to, or on this post if you're starting a new subthread.
- edit down the quoted section to the relevant bits, nobody needs to read someone's epic list of watched stuff twice.
- be nice to one another

Also, I'd like to add the following. The Currently Watching Thread is mainly meant for a general overview of how you're currently feeling about shows. It is not supposed to be a replacement for actual discussion threads. Try to keep heavier discussion (if possible) in the more specific discussion threads.

In addition, try to be careful of spoilers here. It's one thing if it's properly tagged and such. However, I don't want people to have to worry about someone randomly posting "Wow, X died in episode 17 of Y". Just a randomly made up example.

[LordGeo]

Well, I guess I'll start this one off with an older show from 2005:

Koi Koi 7 [2]: I just saw the first two episodes of this "half-way licensed" anime (Enoki has it, but no one has given it a DVD release) over at Anime Network's website, and I have to admit that I was surprisingly amused by this show already.

Yes, this show is pretty much what happens when you mix uber-fanservice with a harem comedy and give it an extreme case of ADD, but for some reason that ends up making the show kind of enjoyable instead crashing right from the start. I don't know why, but I actually found this silly but enjoyable. I might watch the rest sooner or later and if this was ever given a DVD release I would honestly consider getting it. Definitely a surprise for me.

[Glamrgrl104]

Death Note disc 5- I've been re-watching Death Note. It's just as awesome as I remember.

onto disc 6.

[Suwako Moriya]

Winter Update 3/27/10 (http://www.mania.com/aodvb/showpost.php?p=1748807&postcount=343)

All right this will be the final update that I do for Winter 2010.

(The following were finished)


Omamori Himari (12)

Sadly the only thing the series has going for it is Rinko and Shizuku. Ok, on occasion other girls provided some decent moments. However for the most part the series was quite meh. As it had many problems. The biggest one being that Rinko and Shizuku weren't the leads of the series as it were.

The first problem is that Yuuto was essentially annoying about 99% of the time. The second problem is that a lot of the fanservice was essentially forced. The third problem is Himari. She comes off as completely shallow for the most part. They do make attempts to make her deeper, but the attempts are pathetic. Also, the err music that plays during some of the fanservice scenes and the eyecatch is just a bit much. It only served to create a more negative impression of the series.


Ladies vs Butlers (12)

On the negative side, there occasional moments of fanservice that didn't work. Also, some of the characters were essentially wastes of space. Seriously, the annoying male friend should be considered illegal. However it managed to have some enjoyable fanservice. Selnia had plenty of awesome moments. Tomomi managed to get better near the end. Plus, it's hard to hate a series that gave us Pina. Oh, and for some reason, Pina made me grow fond of Mimina.


Baka Test (13)

I'll concede that the series is flawed. It lacks energy. It has perhaps a bit too much recycling. Yet, I still found myself wanting to watch it. It had a certain addictive quality to it. Also, in some ways I did like at least part of the cast. That and the series is in some ways an easy watch. Ie the type of show, you can just watch in the background without thinking too much about it. So it works for what it is. Even if it could have been much better.

In any case, I think perhaps my biggest complaint might be that I would have liked for certain characters to get more screen time. Such as Aiko, Yuuko, and Hazuki. Sure it would mean reducing the screen time for some people. However I figure it this way. Show gag X only fifty times instead of ninety times wouldn't be the end of the world.


Ookami Kakushi (12)

For awhile, I found myself hesitant to watch past the first episode. To make a long story short, I was worried that the show would turn out in such a way that any effort to watch it would have wasted my time. Once the series finally finished airing, I was able to convince myself to start it back up. As I didn't want it hanging in limbo forever.

After having finished it, I'm glad I started it back up again. It did take a few episodes to get going, but it did get more interesting near the end. Also if nothing else, I found myself having a liking for Isuzu, Kaname, and Nemeuru in the end. Some aspects of the plot were more interesting than others. I'll note I'm glad the final episode was the way it was.


Chu-Bra (12)

When I first heard of the series, I wasn't sure what to make of it. Other than thinking that "At least for once, the panties and bra scenes can actually be considered plot related". After watching it, I have a better idea what to think. In some ways, it does feel like "fanservice" is part of the intent of the series.

Yet the series managed to be more than just fanservice. It has a reasonable storyline. It was potentially educational. I have no idea how accurate the information in it actually is. That's why I say potentially. Just in case the show was making stuff up in the end. Either way, it ultimately proved itself worth watching.


Hanamaru Kindergarten (12)

We get cute children being awesome and adorable. We get adults being interesting and fun. In general, we get a cute and fun series that works quite well over all. Hiiragi and her costumes alone give enough reason to watch the series. Other aspects just provide additional reasons on top of that.


Nodame Cantabile - Finale (11)

It's been a long journey in more ways than one. However it's finally reached it's destination. I would have liked them to take a few steps further to a slightly better destination. Also, the pacing in some ways felt kind of rushed. Even so the series did turn out pretty well over all. Thanks mostly to how things developed between the leads. One to consider if it gets a respectable R1 release.



Sora no Woto (12)

From start to finish the series has been rather special. I rather like how they handled the story progression for this one. The core cast was pretty awesome. I especially love Kureha and Kanata. However Noel, Rio, and Filicia had their charm as well. The supporting cast such as Yumina also had their moments. Part of me does wish the series could have been longer, but it managed to get the job done in just 12 episodes. Plus there are two more episodes.


Hidamari Sketch X Hoshimittsu (12)

Just like with the first two seasons, the third season of this series was beyond wonderful. The core cast which has now essentially expanded interacts very well together. You also have quite the effective supporting cast. Plus there were some pretty surprising, but also very much welcome events in this season.

About the only flaw I can think of is the following. There's still manga that needs to be animated. There's still anime original material to be created. We need confirmation of bonus episodes. We need announcement of another season. Those count as flaws, right? Oh like I care about being objective.

My love for the series is quite strong and has only grown stronger now. If not the cost barrier involved, I'd be tempted to import the BDs. I'm not sure what I dislike more. The high cost of importing or the lack of confidence I have in the BD version getting an R1 release here. It's like the word hates me.

My favorite character in the series is still Yuno, but I like plenty of other casts members as well. Both Nori and Nazuna have proven themselves as worthy addition of the series. Speaking of which I love how they made sure to intergrate them into the cast propery. Both avoiding the "overshadowing" problem and the "pointless addition" problem that many series have suffered when trying to expand the cast.

Thus beings the waiting game for more female art student of the 4-Koma variety goodness. Sure, there's the GA: Geijutsuka Art Design Class OVA coming soon. However once I've watched that, I'll have to return to the waiting game again. This may explain why I'm so willing to re-watch stuff.



(The following can be considered dropped)

Dance in the Vampire Bund (3)

The premise of the series is somewhat interesting. Also, Mina definitely has potential. However the series simply rubs me the wrong way for some reason. Also, I was left feeling there was no real point in watching anymore of it due to the way the plot was progressing. Thus I ultimately gave up on it.


Seikon no Qwaser (1)

The premise which is nothing more than excuse for fanservice doesn't do much for me. The cast isn't that interesting. The male lead is extremely annoying and frustrating. Even the promise of that is not enough reason to watch it. At worst, it wouldn't live up to the promise. At best, I'd skip any scene not involving it. And honestly if a series has you skipping most of it, you may as well skip all of it.



(The following may continue on past Winter)


Durarara!! (11)

All, I will say is that the plot is picking up and things are getting a slight bit more interesting. I don't have much else to say beyond that right now. Mostly because while it's getting better, I'm still not exactly wowed by it.

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

All right that should do it for Winter. As for any two cour or higher winter series? I'll just throw them on to a Spring Update. Especially since the only two cour winter series that I might keep watching is Durarara!! The only other two cour winter series that I know of, I already dropped.

[Suwako Moriya]

Autumn 3/27/10 Update (http://www.mania.com/aodvb/showpost.php?p=1748788&postcount=342)

Yeah, two of the three remaining Autumn series is finished. The third remains stalled. Don't feel like waiting for me to get in the mood to watch it again, so here goes.

Kimi ni Todoke (25=Finished)

The series had a pretty nice core cast. It also started off quite well. However some aspects that were wonderful early on lost their magic as the series progressed. Then there's the matter of pacing. It's like you're taking a rid in a car for the first mile, but then have to walk the remaining 99 miles. For the most part the series ended well and makes for a good stopping point.


Inuyasha ~Final Act (26=Finished)

A long journey is finally over. Over all, I liked the way it ended. Also, it had some pretty nice moments through out the series. Of course we had to deal with several lame moments and having things dragged out. I guess it's the price you pay for a long series.

Kiddy Girl ~And~ (17)

I should really make progress in this, but I still don't feel like it right now to be honest.
------------------------------

Well, this leaves me with one Autumn series left. So I can either treat this as the final Autumn update and have Kiddy Girl be a stand alone post. Or I can do another Autumn update later. That's assuming I finish Kiddy Girl.

[bored@lazy]

I've started watching Nana and I can already tell from the first 4 episodes that this show will be a little different(and hopefully better) than most dramas. Looking forward to watching more.

[Glamrgrl104]

Death Note disc 5- I've been re-watching Death Note. It's just as awesome as I remember.

onto disc 6.

Death Note-Re-Watching-Disc 7- The last half of the anime is good too, but it lacks more character development. Anyways still an awesome show and look forward to watching more.

[gnikdrazil]

Eureka Seven: Good Night, Sleep Tight, Young Lovers - I bought the Blu-ray at release, but have been hesitant about watching it. I watched the TV series on Adult Swim, and I didn't like the movie interpretation. The reasons behind Gekkostate being rebels wasn't that interesting with them using the parallel of Peter Pan. I had grown the tolerate the Gekkostate cast in the TV series, but here they had no redeemable traits. Also, I didn't like them turning Nirvash into a marketable mascot. The visuals and music were impressive. I decided to watch the dub since I was familiar with them from watching the TV series, and I'm glad Renton wasn't as annoying. Overall, the movie didn't bring anything new or interesting and felt like a waste of time.

[Glamrgrl104]

Death Note disc 5- I've been re-watching Death Note. It's just as awesome as I remember.

onto disc 6.

Death Note-Re-Watching-Disc 7- The last half of the anime is good too, but it lacks more character development. Anyways still an awesome show and look forward to watching more.

Death Note-Re-Watching-Disc 8&9 End- Brilliant. This is still on my top ten series I've seen. It is because that you get so involved in it and is really interesting.

might watch some other series I haven't finished Durarara, Yumerio patisierre, and Kimi ni todoke.

[Suwako Moriya]

All right there will be at least one more round later given that I need to try K-ON!!, and perhaps others. However the first round of my Spring testing is ready.

Kiss X Sis TV (1) (Dropped)

On the positive side the twin sisters are nice looking looking. Also, a couple of other characters might have potential to be amusing. Then there's err uh well err uh.... give me a minute here.

Ok then. Awhile ago I tried out the OVA and felt meh about it. Yet I decided to give the TV series a chance anyway. The end result is I feel meh about the TV series as well.

Let's see here, some aspects of it come off as forced. The male lead is a frustrating whiner that needs to be smacked. He seems like he's going to cry any second now.

Sure, there's a chance that episode 2+ may be better. However I had enough trouble motivating myself to watch through episode 1. Thus until such time as I gain motivation to watch past episode 1, I'm going to treat the series as "dropped". Note whether or not such motivation will actually come is up in the air.


Ichiban Ushiro no Dai Mahou (1)

There's some potential for the story. If they actually care to develop. Also, I might find some of the other girls interesting if/when I get to properly know them.

Right now however I'm hesitant about the series. Some of the fanservice felt kind of forced. There were frustrating aspects to the first episode. Also, there's the inconsistent censorship.

I might check out another episode or two, but it's going to need to shape up if it wants me to watch past that. There's a fork in the road and it needs to take the right path.

Shin Koihime Musou Otome Tairan (1)

It's off to a decent start and if the first episode is any indication, we should have another fun season. Filled with yuri, jokes, references, parodies, and lots of characters. So long as it doesn't fall apart, I'll watch this season as well.

B Gata H Kei (1)

Rather amusing first episode. One that has definite potential to be a fun series to watch. I definitely like Yamada herself. Although I'm also interested in some of the other characters. So hopefully they'll get focus as well.


Kaichou Wa Maid-sama (1)

It's off to a pretty decent start so far. At the very least I have a liking for Misaki. Plus some of the other females are of interest as well. I do worry that it may develop certain frustrating plot threads, but hopefully those will be kept in check. Regardless I do have an interest in watching more.

Angel Beats (1)

Well, that's one way to start off a series. It had some strong serious moments and some fun comedy moments. Also, the premise of the series is quite interesting and a bit unexpected. So long as they properly pace the story, it should be a rather good series.

Also, I'm happy to say that this series has Yuri! Yes, there was plenty of Yuri in the first episode. I'm confident that we'll get more Yuri in additional episodes as well. I'm looking forward to it.


Working!! (1)

The first episode was quite enjoyable. Also, I love Popura. She's short for her age. She's cute. She's sexy. She's voiced by Asumi Kana. She's got an awesome pony tail. I highly approve.

Yeah, if the first episode is any indication then this will definitely be a series worth watching. Which is good because it was one of my most anticipated series. In fact the most anticipated if you eliminate shows like K-ON!! which had the advantage of a previous season.
----------------------------------------------------------------

Given that I've dropped it, I'd say Kiss X Sis TV is the weakest for me. Ichiban Ushiro no Dai Mahou is also pretty low on the list as well. Everything else is stronger than both of them.

The strongest for me would be a toss up between Working!! and Angel Beats. Although comparing them is probably a bit unfair I suppose.

Well, that takes care of round 1. Let's see how round 2 does later. I just need to decide whether or not certain shows are worth trying. Also of course wait for more stuff to air their initial episodes in the first place.

[Glamrgrl104]

Kimi ni todoke episode 25- Is this where the manga ended? Lovely series this would make such an awesome dub. Awww love I love it!

[pianocello]

Currently watching (episodes watched up to in brackets):
Outstanding
To Aru Kagaku no Railgun (finished)
Despite the uneven pacing, Kuroko and Ruiko made the show awesome. There better be a 2nd season.

Sora no Woto (10)
K-On + Strike Witches + Haibane Renmei with Yui, Mio and Sawako from K-on joining Sanya from Strike Witches and Nekane and Anya from Negima. Add a dash of yuri innuendo.

Very Good and below
None

[something]

Kimi ni todoke episode 25- Is this where the manga ended?
It continues beyond that. And is still ongoing, I believe.

[Buster Blader 126]

Hmmm, looks like I didn't watch those three eps of Bakemonogatari after all. A couple of people in my anime club have started playing Yu-Gi-Oh! again, so I brought my cards for nostalgia's sake. I ended up playing through not just Bakemono, but Macross Frontier and Ep. 12 of Natsume as well. All of them being finales.

Guess I'll have to watch those later, but in the meantime....

- Natsume Yujin-cho Ep. 13:

A nice conclusion to the first season. Pretty much every character of importance showed up, and seeing them interact with one another in some form or another was fun.

This was definitely the sleeper/unexpected hit of our anime club line-up. Most of it was due to Nyanko-sensei and his AWESOME face, but some of the stories were pretty endearing to some of us, especially myself. I found myself tearing up for two of the episodes.

Great stuff. Perhaps I'll pursue Season 2 on Crunchyroll myself. Gotta watch Ep. 12, though!

While I missed most of the scheduled showings, I didn't miss...

- Saki Ep. 23-25 [END]
Finally, FINALLY, I'm done with Saki.

Ever since I started watching it in October, I've had a love/hate relationship with the show. Not only did this get played over Toradora! (which I wanted to see more than Saki), the vast majority of my anime club disliked it. We have around 20-25 people show up on average, and by the end only 4-5 people (including myself) saw it to the end. It also didn't help that a decent chunk of the fanservice felt forced to me, some of the exaggerations irritated me somewhat and implied lesbianism just doesn't do it for me, which Saki had in droves.

Regardless, I enjoyed it enough to not hate it outright. Hisa, Mihoko Kaori and Wahaha- ...I mean Satomi were simply wonderful, and the Saki vs. Koromo match was intriguing to watch. Not to mention that it so nice to see Saki defeat that pretentious brat - I wasn't fond of Koromo at all.

I might just check out the manga though, as that arc looks to be very promising.

- Pokemon Diamond and Pearl Ep. 129-130:
The detective you meet in Pokemon Platinum finally makes his appearance in the show in Ep. 129, and a little bit of plot progression actually happens because of him. Thanks, Looker!

130 starts Ash and Paul's Lake Acuity battle, and things don't look good for Ash - While the kill count is equal at one apiece, the douche has has attacks planned specifically to take Ash down based on his tendencies, while Ash has no real battle plan.

...yeeeeah. I think he's going to lose this one.

- Pretty Cure Ep. 41-42:
Wow, they were supposed to be done like dinner, but Porun helps out in a different way this time around. Hmmm.

42 was a very good episode, as the Dark Zone minions actively exploited Pretty Cure's weakness.

- Dinosaur King S2 Ep. 18-19:
Now they're in Ancient Persia - neat.

Funny how this time the stone has been found almost immediately - but NOT by anybody in the show. XD

~

With any luck, I'm going to make an attempt to try out a couple of new shows for a change. I've been interested in Maid-sama for over a year now, so I'll probably check tha one out,

[Glamrgrl104]

Kimi ni todoke episode 25- Is this where the manga ended? Lovely series this would make such an awesome dub. Awww love I love it!

Yumerio patisierre-episode 25 & 26- Wonderful and sweet lol. I can't wait to see what happens next.

Next onto catching up on Durarara, continue watching Yakitate Japan, and or Gintama.

[EmperorBrandon]

Well, I guess there's time to make a few quick thoughts here now.

Completed from last season:

Sora no Woto (12)
I was a bit concerned how this might end, since the very beginning, but it turned out with a pretty good ending that fit well with the show in my opinion. I really love the cast of characters and setting they created for the series. I'm still hungry for me. Even if there's only going to be two more eps., though, it was a fun ride and a new high favorite of mine.

Hanamaru Kindergarten (12)
Hanamaru Kindergarten delighted me from the start, and it was no different all the way to the end. The second half introduced a lot of delightful new supporting characters. Really wish there will be more of this too at some point, and also a new high favorite.

Durarara!! (12)
12 eps here too, though in this case only half completed. It's been a pretty cool show, and I love the interesting twists in the last few eps. Looking forward to watching more.

Chu-bra!! (12)
This series has its ups and downs, but the up-parts are really enjoyable, particularly with this cast of characters. There's some good fanservice, but it's ultimately not the onlly point of the series as some who don't see the series seem to think.

Omamori Himari (12)
Ladies vesus Butlers (12)
Lots of 12's... These are the ones I wonder why I watched as long as I did, since I was thinking of dropping both close to halfway through. I think I mostly wasted time here. Omamori Himari had not much to redeem it besides Shizuku, and they didn't go anywhere interesting with her in the second half like I had hoped (in the fact, barely did anything at all, just a few fun fanservice bits and that's it...) LvB just seems to be mostly forgettable fanservice fun to me. I did like the Sernia-focused episode that happened later in the series. It was kind of disappointing after then, though, as I still care less about Tomomi and they did nothing to make me care about her.

Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu (8)
This is the only one I started from last season that I haven't finished yet, but I probably plan on getting to it decently soon. I do wonder if I'll just be wasting time like the previous two, though. Some gags in the series are really getting old, including a few I didn't find funny in the first place. There are some oddly interesting bits to it, though, to the point where I feel compelled to watch some more.

Starting this season:

Heroman (1)
Eh... don't think this will really be my kind of series. Has me curious to watch at least a little more, but I think I'll drop pretty soon.

Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou (1)
This series looks like it may be fun, but that's a big if right now. I'll see what I think as the rest of the mains are introduced and interact. Seems like I'll keep with it for now.

Angel Beats (1)
I didn't have high expectations of this one beforehand (despite Clannad being a favorite, the Key thing just isn't as big of a deal to me) and can't say I'm wowed so far. There are some really interesting directions they could go with the series, though, so it's definitely one I'm curious to watch more of.

There are a few already-aired shows that I'm interested in watching but I'm holding out on them for now. I want to see what Crunchyroll announces for the rest of its lineup.

Others:

Aria the Origination (9)
This is my first time watching the much-praised final series of Aria, and I'm definitely quite pleased so far.There are some episodes that are probably among the best I've seen of Aria with ep. 5 and 9, and quite enjoying some others, even though a few have their dull moments.

Yumeiro Patissiere (7)
Along with Sora no Otoshimono, this is another series I probably should have kept up with starting back in the Fall (though unlike Otoshimono, I can still catch up on this on Crunchyroll *shakes fist at Kadokawa*) It's really cute and sweet (literally!), and think I'm getting to quite enjoy the main cast. The two-ep arc I saw with the kindergarten recently ended pretty awesomely and had me teary-eyed. I had a feeling there was going to be some evil-bitch plots in this series, though it came later than expected (glad that the guys with Ichigo seem to be mostly nice - it was obvious even the seemingly mean one was really going to be nice :P ). The Sweets Spirits seem to be pretty amusing mascots and not annoying so far. Glad I'm getting to see the others besides Vanilla. Chocolat looks pretty awesome.

[Shirou Emiya]

Case Closed Movie 6: The Phantom of Baker Street.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Episode 8.
Hayate the Combat Butler! Episodes 17-28.
Sands of Destruction Episode 1.
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Episodes 1-14.

[something]

3/21/10 update! (http://www.mania.com/aodvb/showpost.php?p=1745667&postcount=24)

Just updating Winter again - this finalizes the first cour, except for one episode of Vampire Bund. I'm not going to wait for that since I'll be revisiting this again for Duarara!! anyway.

R2 Import Tier
(01) Hidamari Sketch x ☆☆☆ - ◄0► - 12 eps / complete - It's over. ;_; Such a shame, but hopefully we'll have bonus episodes coming, like every other season did. In addition to how perfectly Nazuna and Nori fit into Hidamari-sou, the highlights of this season were: 1 year before; Yuno sleeping around; and Arisawa-senpai. And the ED, absolutely the best ED of the season and probably the best of all the OP and EDs of the season or of any season of Hidamari. Yuno remains my favorite of the girls. Somehow, Nazuna is almost as cute as her, which is a hell fo a feat. And she shows that Omigawa Chiaki is clearly better at doing cute voices than anything else. As for Hiro, she's pretty much equaled Mikuru in being a defining Gotou Yuuko role for me. I also want to know what's in Nori's secret folder... [Import - Definite]
(02) So·Ra·No·Wo·To - ◄0► - 12 eps / complete - I didn't need to be worried. The ending was virtually perfect. It's amazing how much they wrapped up, and how well, in so short a time. Some of the most beautiful images of the series were in that episode. Sales aren't impressive so I don't think we'll ever see a second season, but thankfully we don't necessarily need one, story-wise. Yay for getting bonus episodes in a few months though! I still can't choose a favorite, because I like all the girls so closely. Kanata was obviously the best choice for lead, and she serves that purpose well. But there's lovely mechanic Noel racking up another great Yuuki Aoi role. Kureha being the one to keep everyone in line, even at the expense of her own happiness, her own desire to be right there with them. And Filicia was just god damn amazing in the final stretch. Rio is absent for some of it but puts her mark on the series quite firmly, so I love her too. Good secondary characters as well. And those renditions of Amazing Grace... chills~ [Import - Definite.]
(03) Durarara!! - ◄0► - 12 eps - No episode this week, boo. Only one episode since last time, but holy shit Izaya. And the fantastic revelation about someone else, so obvious a possibility that none of us thought of it ahead of time. Hah. It's almost impossible to come to terms with the fact that all the fantastic revelations so far have only set the stage. We've only hit the mid-series climax. Things are only going to get increasingly bizarre and awesome from here on out. [Import - Definite.]


Second Tier
(04) Dance in the Vampire Bund - ▲3 - 11 eps - After my disappointment at 7, we got improvement in 8, and then major improvement with 9, 10, and 11. All fantastic episodes, all making this second arc superior to the first for me. Some really loathsome (as intended) villains, great use of Meiren, and Mina being fucking awesome as usual (Yuki too!) all have me really excited for the last episode. Really annoying how there's suddenly censorship in the broadcast though.
(05) Katanagatari - ◄0► - 3 eps - N/A; Nothing has aired since last time. I think I'm going to move this into an OVA-type category and carry it into later seasons. The airing schedule is too out of sync with normal 1-2 cour shows to handle it normally.
(06) Hanamaru Kindergarten - ▼2 - 12 eps / complete - Really annoyed with one aspect of the ending, but highly recommended anyway. The focus on Anzu's crush never really bothered me. All I wanted was more Satsuki and Mayumi! And Mayumi [I]kinshi[I]-ing Nanako, damnit. But especially Satsuki, she was my favorite character and possessed abundant imouto power. This show gets points for a new ED every episode (even if some didn't work) and just being really enjoyable and creative, and always very very fun.
(07) Nodame Cantabile Finale - ▼1 - 11 eps / complete - A sweet, functional ending to the Nodame saga. It didn't go nearly as far as I would have liked, but they resolved the crises at hand and left no ambiguity about where the relationship would go. Thumbs up.


Third Tier
(08) Ladies versus Butlers! - ◄0► - 12 eps / complete - Tits! Lots of fun all around, and while there's a bit of disappointment that the lead male decided to turn completely ultra retardo-dense at the end, at least the entire cast bitches him out for it, almost in a parody of the genre. :sd: I definitely put this show down as having some of the best fanservice I've seen in the "shamelessly in your face" category. Also: I'm on team Selnia all the way~ Although Pina is the best.
(09) Chuu-Bra!! - ◄0► - 12 eps / complete - Good ending all in all, definitely a show that won't get the respect it deserves. I'd put it down as maybe the most misunderstood show since KnJ but it's not really well known enough, nor controversial enough, nor will it be remembered long enough to really warrant the comparison. It really is better than many people wanted to give it credit for though.
(10) Ookamikakushi - ◄0► - 12 eps / complete - I'm glad I took the time to marathon the second half of this, even if the writing was a bit weak and the sequence of events somewhat contrived. Lame villain is lame and the whole crisis was built on a fairly illogical foundation. Some aspects were simply never touched on in any meaningful way at all. But whatever, it was pretty cool. The best part, however, was episode 12. Complete comedic fluff, and so good at it. Nemuru-chan~! Kaname is by far the hottest though.


Fourth tier
...


Fifth tier
(11) Omamori Himari - ◄0► - 12 eps / complete - Meh whatever. Fail for not enough Rinko or Shizuku.


Ranking on hold
None


Dropped:
Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu - 4 eps.
Seikon no Qwaser - 1 ep. Might check it out again with DVD versions.


Still need to try:
None


(Blah blah disclaimer, the number on a tier is not at all indicative of a show's absolute quality, merely its quality relative to the other shows on the list).

Bund is back with a vengeance, reclaiming #4 on the strength of a truly awesome second story arc. I'm pretty sure it'll stay there; the final episode would have to be pretty bad to warrant it dropping a spot. Shaft would have to pull another Shaft, basically, and I'm guessing I would have heard by now if they did.

Only Durarara!! continues so I'm not sure how frequently I'll be updating Winter in the future. It's pretty locked into #3 I think, although it does have a chance of beating Sora no Woto. Maybe. It'll take a lot, though, and a spot on perfect ending.

And huh none of the 1 cour shows I finished was 13 episodes. All 11 or 12, ignoring DVD bonus episodes.

[Glamrgrl104]

Kimi ni todoke episode 25- Is this where the manga ended? Lovely series this would make such an awesome dub. Awww love I love it!

Yumerio patisierre-episode 25 & 26- Wonderful and sweet lol. I can't wait to see what happens next.

Next onto catching up on Durarara, continue watching Yakitate Japan, and or Gintama.

Durarara episode 11 & 12- AWESOME this series just gets better and better.

Case Closed captured in her eyes movie- Loved it even better the 2nd time watching it.

Axis Powers Hetalia World Series S3- episode 53- YAY more Hetalia! I hope after Funi is done with the first two seasons that they will dub this season too.

Well it's back to school tomorrow so I don't know how much anime series I will be watching, but probably will still watch streaming episodes. Might pick up SGT Frog S2 part 2 if it is out to rent.

[Glamrgrl104]

Kimi ni todoke episode 25- Is this where the manga ended? Lovely series this would make such an awesome dub. Awww love I love it!

Yumerio patisierre-episode 25 & 26- Wonderful and sweet lol. I can't wait to see what happens next.

Next onto catching up on Durarara, continue watching Yakitate Japan, and or Gintama.

Durarara episode 11 & 12- AWESOME this series just gets better and better.

Case Closed captured in her eyes movie- Loved it even better the 2nd time watching it.

Axis Powers Hetalia World Series S3- episode 53- YAY more Hetalia! I hope after Funi is done with the first two seasons that they will dub this season too.

Well it's back to school tomorrow so I don't know how much anime series I will be watching, but probably will still watch streaming episodes. Might pick up SGT Frog S2 part 2 if it is out to rent.

Non-anime

Ninja Assassin live action- It was a whole lot better than Kill Bill in my opinion. It was also better than Blood + live action movie. HMM I give it an 8 for the cool action sequences.

[Glamrgrl104]

Gintama episode 7- Love it! so hilarious. I am now for sure going to pick this series up. It is funny more than half my wish-list is for subbed anime go figure lol.

[Glamrgrl104]

Gintama episode 7- Love it! so hilarious. I am now for sure going to pick this series up. It is funny more than half my wish-list is for subbed anime go figure lol.

So far today have watched:

Case closed movie Countdown to Heaven- Very cool and an excellent re-watch. I also watched the trailer for the sixth movie and I really want to see it.

Monster disc 1- Brilliant very intriguing storyline. It has a kickass episode then it has one that is more mellow than it goes straight back into a very awesome episode. An awesome Psychological thriller and a cool re-watch.


Tomorrow who knows ;)

[something]

Here's an excerpt of the discussion that got started in the Aria the Origination thread after the final episode of that finished:

I'm getting to the point where I'm not sure how I'm going to even be able to rewatch a series without a discussion thread like this.
Haha, I know the feeling. Heck I'm not even sure if I'll ever dip into my ~500 DVD backlog anymore, without something like this. Some of those discs have gone unwatched for 4+ years now... Very few of them would support a worthwhile thread though, honestly. Too old or too niche, really. Timing isn't on their side.

On a related note, Maria-sama ga Miteru/Maria Watches Over Us season 4 comes out in July. I don't think anyone has done R1 discussion threads for any season of MariMite yet. I think you know what needs to be done starting in mid to late June.I was thinking the exact same thing. Should we do just season 4 or do we want to do it all?...
So I guess doing all four seasons would be the best bet. If people don't feel like re-watching the whole thing, they can always wait until season X to jump in to the discussion thread.
And I was also thinking the same, for some time now. Just didn't have a chance to jump into it.

Doing it all might be for the best, although that's quite an investment. Even at an episode a day (and it's usually not every day) that's well over a month, more like a month and a half or even two.

I think if we wait on season one until season four is out, we'll run into a lot of people being long finished season four by the time we get to it. Maybe begin in mid-May with season one?

Actually, maybe continue this discussion in the Currently Watching thread so others can see it. I think I'll post something there after I catch up here.

In any case, I have to think about my own time frame. I still have to wrap up Aria. I've got the re-watch of Azumanga Daioh. A re-watch of Lucky Star. Plus, I need to make time for games.
I haven't been able to keep up with Azu unfortunately (actually, the fact that I haven't felt super compelled to continue resulted in me downgrading it slightly from one of my 10/10 series to a 9/10) although I wanted to watch at least a few more eps. Finishing currently airing shows and doing this thread, plus Strike Witches, took so much of my tie.

But I really really really do want to rewatch Lucky Star. Might be good to get that in before we start Marimite. Again, I'll continue this in the Currently Watching thread.

I figured we should continue the line of discussion in this thread.

Marimite is a definite for me, has been for awhile, but we kinda missed the window of opportunity to watch the earlier seasons as they came out on DVD. I'd still prefer we do them all, though. Personally, I haven't had a chance to rewatch any of them since they first aired, so I'd want to revisit them before 4th anyway.

So as I mentioned in the quote, I'm thinking getting Marimite started with S1 in mid-May might be good. Maybe even moving through it a little more quick;y than usual because almost everyone's probably seen 1st through 3rd by now, or at least 1st and 2nd, since they've been on DVD for some time. 3rd shouldn't take long anyway because even though the runtime is almost a cour's worth, it's only actually 5 episodes.

As for Lucky Star, the timing isn't connected to any specific anchor (new R1 release, JP sequel, etc) but that one has been on my mind for quite some time. If Suika starts one whenever Azumanga finishes (mid-late April?) I'm definitely in. We'd be able to get through a lot of it before it gets to be Marimite time.

There are other things I'd like to rewatch of course, but the above keeps me pretty busy considering there are so many new Spring '10 shows I want to watch as well.

[Suwako Moriya]

As for Lucky Star, the timing isn't connected to any specific anchor (new R1 release, JP sequel, etc) but that one has been on my mind for quite some time. If Suika starts one whenever Azumanga finishes (mid-late April?) I'm definitely in. We'd be able to get through a lot of it before it gets to be Marimite time.

As of current the Azumanga Daioh thread is up to episode 14. In theory if I were to take the remaining episodes at a rate of one a day starting with today, I should be able to finish with it by the 19th.


After which, I can start on the Lucky Star thread. So say the 19th or 20th? Unless that's considered too soon or too early. Actually, I was originally thinking of starting up back when I first started the Azumanga thread, but decided to hold off for obvious reasons.

On a more general subject about re-watches, they can be kind of challenging. Since after all, you're trying to juggle stuff you've already seen on top of stuff that you have yet to watch.

Even so I still like to do them on occasion as sort of a way of reminding myself of the past. As well as seeing what a show is like when it no longer has the advantage of the wow factor.

What I'm trying to is keep the number of series that I re-watch at a time in check. Trying to re-watch X and Y at the same time might be too much, but doing X then Y might be plausible.

[HitokiriShadow]

Marimite is a definite for me, has been for awhile, but we kinda missed the window of opportunity to watch the earlier seasons as they came out on DVD. I'd still prefer we do them all, though. Personally, I haven't had a chance to rewatch any of them since they first aired, so I'd want to revisit them before 4th anyway.

So as I mentioned in the quote, I'm thinking getting Marimite started with S1 in mid-May might be good. Maybe even moving through it a little more quick;y than usual because almost everyone's probably seen 1st through 3rd by now, or at least 1st and 2nd, since they've been on DVD for some time. 3rd shouldn't take long anyway because even though the runtime is almost a cour's worth, it's only actually 5 episodes.

I also haven't rewatched any of MariMite since I saw it the first time, so I wanted to rewatch the whole thing.

I had been thinking we would start mid-June, but that was under the assumption we would be going through all of the seasons with no breaks, aside from one day off each week. However, a several day to one week break between each season would be a good idea considering the length. That would give people time to catch up between each season and they wouldn't start falling way for all of the seasons if they had a few days they couldn't watch.

Doing it all might be for the best, although that's quite an investment. Even at an episode a day (and it's usually not every day) that's well over a month, more like a month and a half or even two.It's 31 episodes (13+13+5) for the first three seasons, and we'll probably double up on a few of them. So I would guess that makes for about 28 days of viewing. If it goes like Aria thread did, we would go through about 6-7 a week. There was usually one day off, but we made up for that near the end by watching two episodes a day at times, and the same will likely happen with MariMite. So, before you add in the breaks between seasons, that's right about one month to watch all three seasons. Anything beyond that would be largely a result of how long the break between seasons is.

I was thinking it would probably be good to try to time it so that we finish the third season right about when 4th is released. Then we would have a bit of a break and people would have time to get ahold of their sets. I just don't want to have to wait 2-3 weeks between 3rd and 4th. Mid-May is a good time to start if we have 5-7 days between each season. But if its less than that, we might want to start a bit later. I just really don't want to finish the third season and then have to wait 2-3 weeks for the last one because we started way too early and went through it a lot faster than expected.

[something]

I had been thinking we would start mid-June, but that was under the assumption we would be going through all of the seasons with no breaks, aside from one day off each week.
I didn't actually look up when this thing even comes out... okay, July 6th.

How fast it goes will really depend a lot on who leads it. I would be glad to do it but certainly don't want to seem like I'm trying to monopolize discussion threads either, so I'm totally cool with anyone else handling it. Really, all I care about is a sane pace, properly arranged subthreads/subject lines, and an OP that actually enjoys what they're watching.

It was easier to double up and get a bit speedy with Origination because it was such an unusually active discussion thread with people staying really current. It also slid nicely into the relative calm between seasons so there was less competition. Sometimes threads that go too quickly wind up leaving a number of the participants behind, which can result in said people ceasing to actively comment.

I do think Marimite has enough interest to support a brisk pace, though. It's got a number of people who will be willing to rewatch (at least 4 of us just from those who commented in the Aria thread, and surely more than that besides) and seems to be well received generally so it should pick up a number of new people too.

I was thinking it would probably be good to try to time it so that we finish the third season right about when 4th is released.
...
I just really don't want to finish the third season and then have to wait 2-3 weeks for the last one because we started way too early and went through it a lot faster than expected.
Agreed, I guess I just estimated it would take a bit longer. If we say June 15, that's 3 weeks from release. Figure everyone (except me if past history is any indication =P - though as with Aria I can watch in other ways until it comes in) will have it by a week after release.

Yeah I guess mid-June should be fine. Heck, works better for me anyway, as Lucky Star will be done well before then, and seasons 3-4 will hit in the lull between Spring 1 cour and Summer. Though that's less of a lull than between Fall 1 cour and Spring, since more Spring shows carry over.

[HitokiriShadow]

It was easier to double up and get a bit speedy with Origination because it was such an unusually active discussion thread with people staying really current. It also slid nicely into the relative calm between seasons so there was less competition. Sometimes threads that go too quickly wind up leaving a number of the participants behind, which can result in said people ceasing to actively comment.

Which is why I think a few days between each season is a good idea. I'm pretty sure we'll have very active discussion and if we go straight through all 3-4 seasons, it would be very easy to fall way, way behind. I was thinking some of those two parters in the TV series, especially the end of season ones, would have a good chance of leading to doubling up. However, due to their nature being quite a bit different than what caused it in Origination, that might not be as much of an issue as I initially thought it would. I wouldn't make a huge impact on the viewing schedule either way, since it would at best shave off 2-3 days.

Agreed, I guess I just estimated it would take a bit longer. If we say June 15, that's 3 weeks from release. Figure everyone (except me if past history is any indication =P - though as with Aria I can watch in other ways until it comes in) will have it by a week after release.

Yeah I guess mid-June should be fine. Heck, works better for me anyway, as Lucky Star will be done well before then, and seasons 3-4 will hit in the lull between Spring 1 cour and Summer. Though that's less of a lull than between Fall 1 cour and Spring, since more Spring shows carry over.If we are going to take breaks between each season, even if only for a few days, I think the beginning of June, around the 5th, would be better. If we start on the 15th, we pretty much have to watch at least one episode every single day to finish it within a reasonable amount of time after season 4 is released. I like having one day off each week and a few days between each season (lets say 3 days, plus or minus one) also sounds like a good idea, and both of those give people plenty of time to catch up if they fall behind a bit. It would also give a bit of leeway if we start going too fast or too slow and need to try to fix the schedule a bit to better coincide with the 4th set's release.

[Glamrgrl104]

Gintama episode 7- Love it! so hilarious. I am now for sure going to pick this series up. It is funny more than half my wish-list is for subbed anime go figure lol.

So far today have watched:

Case closed movie Countdown to Heaven- Very cool and an excellent re-watch. I also watched the trailer for the sixth movie and I really want to see it.

Monster disc 1- Brilliant very intriguing storyline. It has a kickass episode then it has one that is more mellow than it goes straight back into a very awesome episode. An awesome Psychological thriller and a cool re-watch.


Tomorrow who knows ;)

Monster disc 2 & 3-Re-watch- Of course I can't start Monster without watching the rest lol. Come on Viz where is box set 2?! Probably have to wait until fall :( Oh well just have to pass the time with more anime XD

I might watch some more Emma, Gintama or Yumeiro patisierre. I know I need something happy after watching Ninja Assasin and then Monster lol.

Watching now:

Gintama episode 8- Hilarious.

Hetalia episode 53- Meow. lol

[Suwako Moriya]

Heck, works better for me anyway, as Lucky Star will be done well before then, and seasons 3-4 will hit in the lull between Spring 1 cour and Summer

As long as we're on the subject of re-watching Lucky Star, a decision needs to be made in terms of when to actually start up the discussion thread. As for the idea of "After Azumanga Daioh", that should be disregarded.

Mostly because while both series are 4-Koma, they're still separate series. Thus the start time of the Lucky Star thread shouldn't be dictated by how quickly or slowly I go through Azumanga Daioh.

I'm thinking of sometime between the 12th of April aka the upcoming Monday and the 16th of April aka next Friday. Not that I haven't been tempted to start earlier.

Also, we should keep in mind that Lucky Star is two cour. So at the same type of pacing, it will take twice as long as a one cour series.

Regardless, I figured that before I went to bed I'd pose this question get an idea as to what a good date would be. A question that perhaps will have answers by the time I'm next one.

[something]

As long as we're on the subject of re-watching Lucky Star, a decision needs to be made in terms of when to actually start up the discussion thread. As for the idea of "After Azumanga Daioh", that should be disregarded.
Mostly because while both series are 4-Koma, they're still separate series. Thus the start time of the Lucky Star thread shouldn't be dictated by how quickly or slowly I go through Azumanga Daioh.
I'm thinking of sometime between the 12th of April aka the upcoming Monday and the 16th of April aka next Friday. Not that I haven't been tempted to start earlier.
I just kinda figured you'd only want to be doing one at a time, but whenever works for me. I'll be done Aria completely (extras included) tomorrow, or Friday at the latest and don't have anything else on tap in terms of rewatch threads after that. No others are going on either besides Azumanga.

[Fencedude]

If we are going to take breaks between each season, even if only for a few days, I think the beginning of June, around the 5th, would be better. If we start on the 15th, we pretty much have to watch at least one episode every single day to finish it within a reasonable amount of time after season 4 is released. I like having one day off each week and a few days between each season (lets say 3 days, plus or minus one) also sounds like a good idea, and both of those give people plenty of time to catch up if they fall behind a bit. It would also give a bit of leeway if we start going too fast or too slow and need to try to fix the schedule a bit to better coincide with the 4th set's release.

I agree with Hitokiri, early June is probably the best bet, somewhere near the end of the first week.

As for who should run it, it doesn't really matter to me, I think we usually leave it to something because he's the most...uhh...thorough of us all, but I'd be willing to do it, though it was Hitokiri's idea originally (or at least he was the first to post about it)

So yeah, whatever.

[HitokiriShadow]

As for who should run it, it doesn't really matter to me, I think we usually leave it to something because he's the most...uhh...thorough of us all, but I'd be willing to do it, though it was Hitokiri's idea originally (or at least he was the first to post about it)

So yeah, whatever.

I was just concerned with making sure we get the timing hashed out so it lines up well with the 4th set's release. I wasn't planning on leading it myself unless no one else wanted to, so if you or something want to lead, by all means, please do.

[pianocello]

Currently watching (episodes watched up to in brackets):
Outstanding
Sora no Woto (finished)
Yuri harem for the win! I liked the characters and while the plot could have been fleshed out better, this was overall an entertaining show.

Very Good
Kiddy Girl ~ And (2)
A lot of people seem to hate these episodes. I found them entertaining. Then again, maybe I just happen to have my yuri radar on and am hoping that something develops between the two female leads soon.

Good
Hanamaru Kindergarten (2)
I was a little hesitant to watch initially thinking that this would be an even creepier version of Kodomo no Jikan and thankfully it's been a fun ride.

Chu-Bra (1)
This show gave me a WTF reaction with the face-breasts. Still too early to judge how this will go though.

Average
Kobato (1)
My viewing record with CLAMP has been spotty with me only liking Chobits and maybe Miyuki-chan in Wonderland. True enough, this was too fruity for my taste. Still, some people have said the ending is excellent so I'll stick around and see if it gets better.

Below Average
Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu (1)
A lot of people have been raving about how great this is and unfortunately my impression of this is an overbloated show that thinks it is very cool, hip and funny and unfortunately does not meet those expectations. Still, the episode preview of ep 2 promises that it will "get better" so I've see whether that's true or not.

[Ashyukun]

So, getting through a decent number of the first episodes this season (though I'm not watching the first episodes of everything like I used to- I don't have the time and there's a number of shows I can easily tell I won't have any interest in). For all the shows, I've just seen the first episode and I'm not sorting them into 'classes' just yet.

K-ON!!- We're right back into the thick of things, only in the third year. The show feels a lot like it could be tacked onto the end of the first season without any interruption- and this is not a bad thing at all. I'm a bit disappointed we seemingly won't be getting any new members, but that both could change and the chemistry with the existing cast works well no matter what. Kind of surprised that it look to be a full 2-cour instead of just one (though I'm certainly not complaining...).

Heroman (Crunchyroll)- The first episode was a good setup and introduction to the characters, 'origin story' for Heroman, and a first outing. I love the visual styling, and the characters (though some seiyuu need some work) work rather well. Props for the environment/setting- it really does an excellent job of placing the show in SoCal and not Japan.

Ichiban Ushiro no Daimao (Crunchyroll)- For all the looks of it will be a decent magical harem/HS comedy fanservice show. The male lead is better than average and his situation is interesting; the main female lead isn't bad but will likely be outshined by the other girls. The first ep had more action than I was expecting- and honestly a bit more fanservice than I expected as well. The show's biggest problem at the moment is not being able to decide on a level or method of censoring, which hopefully will have been worked out by the second episode.

Angel Beats- I'm not quite as drooling-over-it hot on Angel Beats as many seem to be, but it still had a solid and intriguing first episode. Though something about the designs/animation just feels a bit 'off' to me, it was still quite pretty and well done and I have little doubt that given its pedigree that the story will be well worth watching.

Arakawa under the bridge- One of the most bizarre first episodes I've seen in a while, though this comes as no real surprise given it's a SHAFT show. It's delightfully weird and unpredictable and I can't make heads or tails out of it so far: which means I'll definitely be watching more.

Mayoi Neko Overrun- Yes, most of the characters are so blatantly standard I'm kind of surprised they didn't get the cookie cutters in any of the shots. But a fairly impressive voice cast combined with the show seeming to completely understand the first point and simply running with it and having fun made for an enjoyable, silly romp. Also, slightly snarky maids FTW.

Kaichou wa Maid-sama- Really like the watercolor backgrounds. What characters have been introduced so far have been fun. In a lot of ways it reminds me of KareKano with some slighlty different circumstances- we'll see how far that comparison lasts though. It's hard to really put a finger on why, but I definitely enjoyed it and am looking forward to more.

[lesterf1025]

Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu (1)
A lot of people have been raving about how great this is and unfortunately my impression of this is an overbloated show that thinks it is very cool, hip and funny and unfortunately does not meet those expectations. Still, the episode preview of ep 2 promises that it will "get better" so I've see whether that's true or not.

I recommend dropping this. I love the show but all the characters are one note jokes (Okay some of them have two notes) and the show constantly reuses those jokes. This show is a lot like the Three Stooges. Either you get it or you don't and if you don't then watching more episodes wont help you figure out why other people like it.

[Glamrgrl104]

The girl who leapt through time- A brilliant movie. I haven't watched it once since I have bought it, but today I did. It is so artistic the traditional animation is almost lifelike. Just a good watch.

[Ashyukun]

Finishing off watching the first episodes of the series that looked interesting to me this season:

B Gata H Kei- Despite a number of things that should be working for it, this is the first (and by and large, only...) show that I think I will be dropping after the first episode and not continuing on with. It was just hard to watch, though putting a finger on exactly why is difficult.

Senko no Night Raid- While it really didn't grab me as being incredible or anything, it was solid and interesting and a nicely different style/feel than the bulk of the rest of what I'm watching. That it's Sora no Woto's successor makes it all the more appealing. Toward the lower end of my rankings of shows, but definitely will be watching more.

[William K]

Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu (1)
A lot of people have been raving about how great this is and unfortunately my impression of this is an overbloated show that thinks it is very cool, hip and funny and unfortunately does not meet those expectations. Still, the episode preview of ep 2 promises that it will "get better" so I've see whether that's true or not.

I recommend dropping this. I love the show but all the characters are one note jokes (Okay some of them have two notes) and the show constantly reuses those jokes. This show is a lot like the Three Stooges. Either you get it or you don't and if you don't then watching more episodes wont help you figure out why other people like it.

If you like parody, just watch Ep 8. It's by far the funniest of the episodes

[Glamrgrl104]

The girl who leapt through time- A brilliant movie. I haven't watched it once since I have bought it, but today I did. It is so artistic the traditional animation is almost lifelike. Just a good watch.

Bokura ga ita episodes 4-6- Really good. It is more of a drama than romantic comedy, but it is still good.

[Shirou Emiya]

Hayate the Combat Butler! Episodes 29-37.
Heroman Episode 1.

I also recently completed Eureka Seven the Movie: Good Night, Sleep Tight, Young Lovers, Origins: Spirits of the Past, and The Sky Crawlers.

All 3 Movies were great IMO. If I had to rank them, Origins would be first, then Eureka Seven Movie, and finally Sky Crawlers.

[Glamrgrl104]

The girl who leapt through time- A brilliant movie. I haven't watched it once since I have bought it, but today I did. It is so artistic the traditional animation is almost lifelike. Just a good watch.

Bokura ga ita episodes 4-6- Really good. It is more of a drama than romantic comedy, but it is still good.

Kaicho wa maid-sama- episode 1-I'll have to watch more of this to see if I really like it. It was pretty good, but hmm I don't know.

Senkoku no night raid-episode 1- Lots of action and pretty entertaining. I'll have to see what happens next.

[mrsparklenoodle]

Natsume Yujin-cho Ep. 13:

A nice conclusion to the first season. Pretty much every character of importance showed up, and seeing them interact with one another in some form or another was fun.

This was definitely the sleeper/unexpected hit of our anime club line-up. Most of it was due to Nyanko-sensei and his AWESOME face, but some of the stories were pretty endearing to some of us, especially myself. I found myself tearing up for two of the episodes.

Great stuff. Perhaps I'll pursue Season 2 on Crunchyroll myself. Gotta watch Ep. 12, though!

I LOVED Natsume Yuujin-Cho, I'm planning to watch Zoku when I start my next month's internet usage (trying to save what I have left over from this month for emails and other non music/video stuff). Nyanko-sensei absolutely does have an awesome face :)

I have been watching (Unless otherwise specified I have watched every episode of the series I'm watching up to the last one, in order):

Angel Beats (Episode 1 of 13) - While Yurippe is a bit Haruhi-ish, that's not really a problem (at least she doesn't molest people), the rest of the cast is entertaining and I'm liking the music and set-up of the show, it's bloody but not offputtingly so and the scene with the lunch vouchers falling from the sky at the end was beautiful, the concert looked impressive too.

Angelic Layer (Episodes 1-5 of 26) - I bought this on DVD because of the whole ADV thing, I'm really enjoying it due to the CLAMP goodness, bright, colourful visuals and smooth animation, it doesn't do for the fighting toys/cards shonen tournament the same thing that Cardcaptor Sakura did for magical girl (which is to turn it into an exquisite work of art), but it's still a quality show. "I'M WIGGLY ICCHAN!"

Arakawa Under the Bridge (Episode 1 of 13) - I watched this once with a substandard translation then again with a better one and that improved my opinion of it, it's got a nice FLCL dreaminess to it and I'm not too bothered by Akiyuki Shinbo's insistence on announcing the scene changes with a shot of the bridge accompanied by a dramatic musical flourish. My favourite bit was the guy who thinks he's a kappa getting his zipper stuck. I also like the two leads, there's a nice genuineness to their emotions.

Bakemonogatari (Episodes 1-4 of 15) - I loved the first episode, and then everything after that was uncomfortably misogynistic and violent for "humour" purposes (at least when she stapled his cheek in the first episode it was acknowledged as brutal and cruel). DROPPED.

CANAAN (Episode 1 of 13) - There's so much going on with the visuals that I felt a bit of a sensory overload, but I want to see more of this, the animation was amazing and it's nice to see a series that has girls with guns that isn't a pantyfest or something in the Koichi Mashimo-Beetrain mold.

Cardcaptor Sakura (Episodes 36-48 of 70) - Continues to be outstanding, with the true forms of certain characters revealed and Eriol introduced, the Yoko Kanno-Maaya Sakamoto third opening is very pretty and I look forward to seeing how Sakura deals with using her own magic and being exhausted by it.

Cromartie High School (Episode 1 of 26) - I've already read the first volume of the manga so this wasn't all new, it was still funny though, particularly the bit about getting a tough guy reputation which you have to do before you start at your new school.

D.N.Angel (Episode 1 of 26) - I liked this, I will watch more of it but I can't think of much to say about it, the first episode pretty much is covered by the blurb on the back of the DVDs.

Durarara!! (Episode 1 of 24) - Just excellent. The script is witty, building a world full of mysterious happenings, the animation really brings out the personalities of the characters and there was a Horo cameo.

Ef: A Tale of Memories (Episode 1 of 12) - Has a melancholy fairytale atmosphere and I like the girl with memory loss and the boy who might come to love her, I put off watching this for a while so I'm glad I got round to it, it's probably the best thing I'll find based on a dating sim other than Air.

Full Metal Panic! (Episodes 20-24 COMPLETE) - I've already said pretty much everything I have to say about this in the last currently watching thread, the ending was as good as everything leading up to it, with Kaname and Sousuke becoming closer and things being generally wrapped up while leaving room for further series.

Full Metal Panic: Fumoffu (Episodes 1-12 COMPLETE) - Not quite as good as the first series, but entertaining and very funny in places, with more of a focus on Kaname and Sousuke, though while it's something of a romance it never loses sight of Sousuke's somewhat disturbed mental state.

GA: Geijutsuka Art Design Class (Episode 1 of 12) - It's no Hidamari Sketch, I didn't hate it or anything, but I found it to be cutesy slice of life by the numbers and it felt a bit shallow, I do like that there's information about art, but I don't think I'll watch anymore of this.

Hanamaru Kindergarten (Episode 1 of 12) - Put a smile on my face, and I like that it attempts to address such things as fear of male teachers being paedophiles and children with crushes on grownups without being creepy. It looks almost like something JC Staff would put out, with the soft watercoloured look reminding me of Shichiro Kobayashi.

Heroman (Episode 1 of 26) - Awesome kids show, which has a likeable main character, a blonde cheerleader who's openly interested in him and not portrayed as an airhead and a super cool kid with crutches sporting the best anime afro since Spike Spiegel, it's hugely fun and BONES' animation is gorgeous, plus it has a surprisingly kickass soundtrack. Stan, you did good. My only issue is just how much american flag there is in the series, but so long as the series doesn't put any country on a pedestal of perfection I can deal.

Kaiba (Episode 1 of 12) - Utterly unique, quietly stunning visuals and direction with several worthwhile themes to explore, I don't know if this will ever get licensed, but I certainly hope so.

I'll post more later.

[something]

Bakemonogatari (Episodes 1-4 of 15) - I loved the first episode, and then everything after that was uncomfortably misogynistic and violent for "humour" purposes (at least when she stapled his cheek in the first episode it was acknowledged as brutal and cruel). DROPPED.
This is the absolute strangest reading of Bakemonogatari I have ever come across anywhere.

GA: Geijutsuka Art Design Class (Episode 1 of 12) - It's no Hidamari Sketch, I didn't hate it or anything, but I found it to be cutesy slice of life by the numbers and it felt a bit shallow, I do like that there's information about art, but I don't think I'll watch anymore of this.
Give it ep 2. Episode 1 was sort of a mess in terms of pacing, and I wasn't too fond of it myself either. From 2-3 and on they settle down a lot and focus more on the characters than spastic art lessons.

[strangefour]

Bakemonogatari (Episodes 1-4 of 15) - I loved the first episode, and then everything after that was uncomfortably misogynistic and violent for "humour" purposes (at least when she stapled his cheek in the first episode it was acknowledged as brutal and cruel). DROPPED.
This is the absolute strangest reading of Bakemonogatari I have ever come across anywhere.

What? Violent, yes. Humor, yes. Not usually mixed together. Mysogynistic? Are you sure you were watching the same Bakemonogatari as the rest of us?

GA: Geijutsuka Art Design Class (Episode 1 of 12) - It's no Hidamari Sketch, I didn't hate it or anything, but I found it to be cutesy slice of life by the numbers and it felt a bit shallow, I do like that there's information about art, but I don't think I'll watch anymore of this.
Give it ep 2. Episode 1 was sort of a mess in terms of pacing, and I wasn't too fond of it myself either. From 2-3 and on they settle down a lot and focus more on the characters than spastic art lessons.

I agreeingly disagree. Geijutsuka is the weakest of the Art Girl Shows I have seen. But it is worth watching more than the first odd episode. But I actually enjoyed the art lesson bits and did not like when they started adding more characters I did not care about. Then again I saw GA before Hidamari, and Hidamari is WAAAAY more fun. In a weird laid back way.

[strangefour]

Oh yeah what have I been watching. Uh less than last season, been catching up on some stuff.

Durarara!! - Best show of this and last season. Best show of the year! It's hard to wrap into words just how many little parts of this show put a big smile on my face. Sugoi! Sugoi! Sugoi!

Heroman - Boy with his pet robot super hero fun. It's nice to see Japan do an American setting that actually feels like America. The Gadguardian robot design and Stan Lee make it extra fun. Excelsior!

Aoi Hana - Oh actual lesbians. Not just mountains of undertones this time. Only four episodes in but it's sweet in a twisted character driven way so far.

Zeta Gundam - Only watched sixteen episodes so far. A show I probably should have watched a long time ago, back when I was the resident Mecha/SRW fan boy in college. An improvement over the original Gundam, but still feels rough in a nice old school way. But I hate the lack of the real original theme song.

[mrsparklenoodle]

Bakemonogatari (Episodes 1-4 of 15) - I loved the first episode, and then everything after that was uncomfortably misogynistic and violent for "humour" purposes (at least when she stapled his cheek in the first episode it was acknowledged as brutal and cruel). DROPPED.
This is the absolute strangest reading of Bakemonogatari I have ever come across anywhere.

What? Violent, yes. Humor, yes. Not usually mixed together. Mysogynistic? Are you sure you were watching the same Bakemonogatari as the rest of us?

Yes. It was the same one. Look, I don't find jokes about teenage boys groping young girls to be acceptable, and when even the character who's hasn't done anything else horrible in the series thus far thinks it's ok to spank kids I rapidly lose any real interest, I don't like jokes about how teenage girls are irresistably alluring, Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei which was also directed by Shinbo pissed me OFF with the girl who sued for sexual harrassment when she was an american and this was some kind of big joke, sexual harrassment is a huge fucking problem and some creepy series aimed at guys ranting about how those bitches won't just shut up and take it is about as funny as a puppy being nailed to a fence, I really don't have much tolerance for Shinbo when he directs anything with fanservice because it always comes off as at least a little horrible[/rant].

[Fencedude]

Yes. It was the same one. Look, I don't find jokes about teenage boys groping young girls to be acceptable, and when even the character who's hasn't done anything else horrible in the series thus far thinks it's ok to spank kids I rapidly lose any real interest, I don't like jokes about how teenage girls are irresistably alluring, Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei which was also directed by Shinbo pissed me OFF with the girl who sued for sexual harrassment when she was an american and this was some kind of big joke, sexual harrassment is a huge fucking problem and some creepy series aimed at guys ranting about how those bitches won't just shut up and take it is about as funny as a puppy being nailed to a fence, I really don't have much tolerance for Shinbo when he directs anything with fanservice because it always comes off as at least a little horrible[/rant].

Ah yes, thinking of the virtual children. How noble.

[something]

Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei which was also directed by Shinbo pissed me OFF with the girl who sued for sexual harrassment when she was an american and this was some kind of big joke, sexual harrassment is a huge fucking problem and some creepy series aimed at guys ranting about how those bitches won't just shut up and take it is about as funny as a puppy being nailed to a fence, I really don't have much tolerance for Shinbo when he directs anything with fanservice because it always comes off as at least a little horrible[/rant].
...lol.

You may want to avoid anime with any comedic elements. Or comedy in general, for that matter. You're treating absurdist fiction far too seriously.

[Draneor]

Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei which was also directed by Shinbo pissed me OFF with the girl who sued for sexual harrassment when she was an american and this was some kind of big joke

Well, the joke was more that she sues at the drop of the hat because she's American but....

Also, Shinbo had nothing to do with that. Kumeta Kouji made fun of Americans and other foreigners along with pretty much every aspect of Japanese culture in the original manga.

[mrsparklenoodle]

Yes. It was the same one. Look, I don't find jokes about teenage boys groping young girls to be acceptable, and when even the character who's hasn't done anything else horrible in the series thus far thinks it's ok to spank kids I rapidly lose any real interest, I don't like jokes about how teenage girls are irresistably alluring, Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei which was also directed by Shinbo pissed me OFF with the girl who sued for sexual harrassment when she was an american and this was some kind of big joke, sexual harrassment is a huge fucking problem and some creepy series aimed at guys ranting about how those bitches won't just shut up and take it is about as funny as a puppy being nailed to a fence, I really don't have much tolerance for Shinbo when he directs anything with fanservice because it always comes off as at least a little horrible[/rant].

Ah yes, thinking of the virtual children. How noble.

I'm against all those new laws attempting to make virtual child porn illegal because yes, they are drawings and not actual children, but that doesn't mean I have to like it, and don't pretend that what people put in the media they make is not often an expression of their actual attitudes and views on things, if somebody really thinks that women should stop complaining so much about guys who assault, rape or harrass them then that's a person I don't want to be anywhere near (note I am not saying that's necessarily how Akiyuki Shinbo thinks about this and I recognise he's a director and not a writer but if the attitude he holds is the one expressed by some of his shows...). And I don't like the way teenage girls are objectified in society, I didn't like it when I was a teenage girl and I don't like it now I'm an adult woman. I'm not even really absolutely against fanservice, there's just something I dislike about Shinbo's attitude.

[something]

if somebody really thinks that women should stop complaining so much about guys who assault, rape or harrass them then that's a person I don't want to be anywhere near (note I am not saying that's necessarily how Akiyuki Shinbo thinks about this and I recognise he's a director and not a writer but if the attitude he holds is the one expressed by some of his shows...). And I don't like the way teenage girls are objectified in society, I didn't like it when I was a teenage girl and I don't like it now I'm an adult woman. I'm not even really absolutely against fanservice, there's just something I dislike about Shinbo's attitude.
You know, Koyomi takes faaaaaaaaaaaaaar more abuse from women in Bake than he ever, ever gives out, and taking his scuffles with Mayoi as making a serious comment about sexual harassment is really more than just a bit much.

This is like the opposite end of the spectrum from people who rage about how anime is supposedly so full of misandry instead. Damned if you do and damned if you don't. I guess. Thankfully, I can enjoy it all for what it is, mere fiction.

[Shirou Emiya]

Heroman Episode 2.

I plan on finishing Hayate the Combat Butler! (Season 1) soon, maybe today will be the day hopefully :).

[something]

2/16/10 update! (http://www.mania.com/aodvb/showpost.php?p=1711422&postcount=37)

Now that I'm done Kiddy Girl-and, Fall 1 and 2 cour shows are finally, completely, finished!

R2 Import Tier
(01)　　To Aru Kagaku no TeleporterRailgun - ◄0► - 24 eps / complete - It's over! ;_; And it is, by far, no contest, the best show of the season. The second cour was even better than the first, and had far less Touma to boot. All the characters continued to develop in interesting ways and we covered a lot of the side characters in the process of building up the mysteries that came to a head in the final arc. Erii in particular is so, so lovely. The villain this cour was... ah, functional I guess. They certainly gave Kuroko and Mikoto and the rest ample opportunities to be awesome. And Awesome barely even begins to cover it. The final clash had some of the best animated, most epic scenes in a long time. JC Staff has really, really outdone themselves with this one. I think this has to go down as their best show not named Toradora!. It fell very slightly short of rating a 10/10 in my list, but only due to how strict that category is than any real failing of the series. [Import - Definite.]
(02)　　Sasameki Koto - ▲1 - 13 eps / complete - [Import - Definite.]


Second Tier
(03)　　Shin Koihime Musou - ▲1 - 12 eps / complete - Not related to the show but I watched the totally awesome Shin Koihime Musou Live Revolution, a "live concert" with Kanu, Chouhi, Chouun, Bachou, Koumei and Ryuubi. Shockingly well put together, actually! Very exciting to watch, with clearly much higher production values than the TV series.
(04)　　Seitokai no Ichizon - ▲1 - 12 eps / complete
(05)　　Kimi ni Todoke - ▼3 - 24 eps / complete - Big drop, which complicates my tier naming a bit. :sd: Top tier can't be R2 import tier if an imported show is in second tier... can it? Heh, well, the first 15 episodes rival Railgun and are easily import tier, and I ordered the first 5 volumes, which cover those episodes. But after Kurumi left an active role I couldn't connect with the show in the same way. Rather than rehash my feelings on the show I'll link my summary of it from a Recs forum thread: Link (http://www.mania.com/aodvb/showpost.php?p=1755904&postcount=5). In short, it developed great story elements... and then didn't change them up when the story needed changing up. What was cute in episode 2 was truly exasperating in episode 22. Still, even at its lower points it's a decent show and the quality of the first half can not be ignored. Part of me wishes I had chosen to import Koihime instead; however Todoke is so cheap and Kohime so expensive, that what I paid for 15 eps of Todoke would have netted me only 4 of Koihime. Ouch. [Import - Stopped at Vol. 5.]
(06)　　Darker than Black: Ryuusei no Gemini - ▲1 - 12 eps / complete - Ah crap, I need to remember to watch the second bonus episode. No rush though, 3-4 won't be out anytime soon.


Third tier
(07)　　Kiddy Girl-and - ▼1 - 24 eps / complete - Good ending aside from one glaring issue, and through to the end I absolutely love the main trio. What held the show back most was the relatively poor handling of the Shadow Workers and especially a main villain who went full-on cliche in the end. Eh. The comedic parts of this show (and the yuri) are still the best parts, while the serious stuff is hit or miss. For a nice streak through about 19 or 20 things were looking particularly good but the writing started to suffer after that. On the balance, I'd say I'm positive-but-not-wowed with the whole package, even if pieces of it here and there did wow me, sometimes a hell of a lot.
(08)　　Tatakau Shisho: The Book of Bantorra - ▲4 - 27 eps / complete - Bantorra continues soaring through the rankings, although it's over now so this is as high as it goes. It jumps another four slots, meaning it has gained ▲11 over the past 3 updates. I am fairly certain no show has ever increased quite so much from my early impressions of it. If nothing else, I love this show for being so different. I am totally cool with formulas and cliches. Many of my favorite series are basically masterful refinements and enhancements of well-trodden formulas, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. But sometimes a show that just comes out of nowhere with a highly unique atmosphere can really shake things up. While Bantorra is certainly not a favorite, it's something I'm glad I watched and would recommend that other people should watch. Although it needs to be watched with patience... a lot of the first half really is badly executed, no two ways about it. But it builds up a huge mythology and set of details about the world that really come together nicely in the end. Granted, the show never really gets all that coherent, "come together" is something of a relative term. My main reaction to the final arc was a whole lot of "lolwut" and "this certainly is... something" but it was so ridiculously awesome anyway that I couldn't help but get sucked in. Also, Hamyuts, I love you, you delicious psychopath.
(09)　　Fairy Tail - ▼1 - 24 eps / continuing to Spring list - The Phantom Arc has has been kinda fantastic. It's really raised the bar for the show in any number of ways, whether emotionally or for action or for getting a lot of the cast involved or whatever. I'm retiring the first two cour in this spot for the Fall list but will carry cour 3-4 over into spring. This is my new way of dealing with long shows, because I very very rarely watch anything that goes more than 2 consecutive cour. Winter's Katanagatari is another unusual one, but I'm going to handle it as an OVA from here on out and comment on but not rank it.
(10)　　Kobato. - ▼1 - 24 eps / complete - Through to the very, very end, I never warmed up to or was able to accept Fujimoto. I just do not like him at all, and that is exactly what holds this series back. Kobato herself makes up for it however, and the final arc presented us with some incredibly beautiful scenes. My favorite scene of the whole series is probably when time runs out. A lot of the Clampsturbation fell flat for me because I don't have a lot of exposure to their works (I've only seen CCS, Chobits, and Angelic Layer and read none of their manga) but it wasn't so heavily used as to hurt the show either. But the absolute best part of the whole show, without a doubt? CHIHO!! CHISE!! <3
(11)　　Asura Cryin' 2 - ▼1 - 13 eps / complete


Fourth Tier
(12)　　Sora no Otoshimono - ▼1 - 13 eps / complete
(13)　　Yumeiro Pâtissière - ▲2 - 26 eps / continuing to Spring list - Cake Grand Prix rolls on. I ended up really liking Youko's involvement in these recent episodes, and very much want to see the show continue with where it was taking her before the story stopped. Like Fairy Tail, I'm going to carry this onto my Spring list with a special "Cour 3-4" notation since I don't know how long they're going to go.
(14)　　Natsu no Arashi! Akinai-chuu - ▼1 - 13 eps / complete
(15)　　Seiken no Blacksmith - ▼1 - 12 eps / complete
(16)　　Nyan-Koi! - ◄0► - 12 eps / complete


Fifth Tier
(17)　　Tegami Bachi: Letter Bee - ▲3 - 25 eps / complete - I don't know if I can actually say "my patience was rewarded" by the pretty good final arc, but certainly I'm impressed enough by what this show can do when it actually fucking makes an effort that I'm on board for season two in the fall. I'm hoping that season two sees Lag grow up a bit, more involvement from Aria and Sylvette, and a much tighter plot. And of course more of Niche being awesome. I still feel like the story has potential but just doesn't put any heart or effort into it 90% of the time, and that's really a shame.
(18)　　11eyes - ▼1 - 12 eps / complete
(19)　　Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu: Purezza - ▼1 - 12 eps / complete
(20)　　Queen's Blade: Gyokuza wo Tsugumono - ▼1 - 12 eps / complete


Ranking on hold
None

Dropped:
Aoi Bungaku - 1 ep
Kämpfer - 7 eps

Still need to try:
None


(Blah blah disclaimer, the number on a tier is not at all indicative of a show's absolute quality, merely its quality relative to the other shows on the list).

Wow. That is a lot of movement for a final update. Partly because I haven't done one in two months, but also because final arcs have made an unusual amount of difference this season. Whether negative (Todoke, Kiddy Girl sorta) or positive (Bantorra, Tegami Bachi).

I'm carrying two long-running shows into spring and beyond (Fairy Tail, Yumeiro), which is lucky for Cunchyroll as they help make up for a really weak Spring lineup and convince me to not let my membership lapse.

Fall was very strong overall, and Railgun really, truly does reign supreme, no questions asked. Although it's kinda funny how Fall didn't generate any 10/10 series (Railgun was very close), while Winter generated two (Hidamari, Sora no Woto), and is very much on track for a third (Durarara!!). Not even Summer '09 with Haruhi and Bake registered 3 in one season (Spice & Wolf II was the closest but pretty firmly a 9 for me).

I hope to wrap Winter up very soon. Just need that last ep of Bund.

[pianocello]

Currently watching (episodes watched up to in brackets):
Outstanding
Kiddy Girl~And (8)
This show has been getting a lot of hate from many and yet from episode 1, I've been loving this immensely, even more so than the original series. It's hard for me to pinpoint why. Then again, maybe I just think that Ascouer and Q-Feuille make good yuri doujinshi fodder. :devil:

Very Good
Hanamaru Kindergarten (3)
Better than I expected but I'm not sure whether they're aiming to make this a slice-of-life story or to actually have some plot and direction.

Good
Chu-Bra (2)
I'm not sure what to make of this. For a sure that has even more underwear on display than Agent Aika, it's been rather unsexy but has instead been a very educational experience. Can't say I'm clicking with the characters but I do like the recurring yuri gags.

Kobato (finished)
This is a hard one for me to rate. On one hand, the ending was quite good and the second half somewhat improved. Yet on the other hand, this show has too many flaws. I have a problem with the two leads. Male tsunderes are not cute and granted, Fujimoto did somewhat improve in the last 2 episodes but he spends too much of the series acting like a sour dick for me to like him. While Kobato is a nice character, her airheadedness, which is suppose to make her cute didn't work for me to see her as a character with depth. Then there's the humor - CLAMP really has an awful sense of humor because I find their so-called humor to be stupid and dumb and unfunny. And jeez, don't we already have Tsubasa Reservoir if they wanted to play the game of spot the CLAMP character?
I would have rated this below average if not for the strong ending and so I honestly can only recommend this to CLAMP fans. Non-CLAMP fans can safely skip this.

Average
None

Below Average
None

Awful
Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu (finished)
Why on earth is this awful show so popular? The tone of this show is just so patronizing and irritating. It thinks it is hip, cool and unfunny but the show just sucks. With its one-note characters, it's just as bad as Sensei no Ojikan. This is a contender on my list for the worst anime of 2010.

[Fencedude]

Awful
Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu (finished)
Why on earth is this awful show so popular? The tone of this show is just so patronizing and irritating. It thinks it is hip, cool and unfunny but the show just sucks. With its one-note characters, it's just as bad as Sensei no Ojikan. This is a contender on my list for the worst anime of 2010.

I really don't get this either. Maybe its much better in novel form or something, but the entire thing was just so...hollow. I don't know. It was at its best when it was actually exploring the summoned beings aspect though. The comedy was just dreadful.

[something]

Kiddy Girl~And (8)
This show has been getting a lot of hate from many and yet from episode 1, I've been loving this immensely, even more so than the original series. It's hard for me to pinpoint why. Then again, maybe I just think that Ascouer and Q-Feuille make good yuri doujinshi fodder. :devil:
The first season is treated like deadly toxic waste by a lot of people too, so I wouldn't worry about it. The early episodes are definitely my favorite part of Kiddy Girl, because the comedy is just spot on. I cooled on the show a little by the end but it's still a lot of fun all in all.

[LelouchLamperouge]

Definite Tier
- Angel Beats! Episode 2 managed to save this from being dropped, very intriguing and glad to see it will remain dark and serious.
- Heroman Utterly rediculous and silly, yet beautifully animated. Nice that things are moving in a fast and forward pace.
- Ookiku Furikabutte Season 2 Oh how I've missed you Nishiura 9~ so glad to be able to watch this. Amazing stuff.
- Senkou no Night Raid I'll rewatch ep.1 at a later point in time, but it was totally a step-up from the last disaster of Anime no Chikara.

Uncertain Tier
- Arakawa Under The Bridge It has the kind of comedy I can watch and enjoy, not to mention Shaft is doing fairly good animation instead of a mess ... so far. Episode 2 will determine if its worthwhile.
- Giant Killing Really shows which DEEN show got the good budget. Superbly animated and a nice OP/ED. Not a big soccer/football fan, but it certainly does amuse me.
- Ichiban Ushiro no Daimao My patience for harem shows is pretty much zilch, but I'm strangely still attracted to IUD. Perhaps its because the lead male isn't a total idiot or butt.

Dropped Tier
- B Gata H Kei ... Nah.
- Hakuoki Here's the absolutely necessary bishonen anime. Here's the absolute necessary drop.
- Kaichou wa Maid-sama Generic shoujo romcom from JC Staff. K.
- K-ON!! Why did I bother?
- Mayoi Neko Overrun See above.
- working!! See K-ON!!

[Suwako Moriya]

Geijutsuka is the weakest of the Art Girl Shows I have seen. But it is worth watching more than the first odd episode. But I actually enjoyed the art lesson bits and did not like when they started adding more characters I did not care about. Then again I saw GA before Hidamari, and Hidamari is WAAAAY more fun. In a weird laid back way.

Hidamari Sketch is definitely stronger than either GA: Geijutsuka Art Design Class or Sketchbook ~full colors~ which are the two series that are closest in style to it.

Of course. Hidamari Sketch has the power of three seasons behind it and the strength of the character known as Yuno. Also, it was in a sense responsible for leading me into watching the other two in the first place.

So as much as I may love GA, the sheer weight behind Hidamari is hard to ignore. Which sort of creates a dilemma when deciding which series is the favorite.

As for the new characters? My favorite girl in GA is actually one of the secondary characters. The one known as Awara Chikako. I also like the fact the secondary group was actually treated as an established group and not just there to fill space.

[HitokiriShadow]

(08)　　Tatakau Shisho: The Book of Bantorra - ▲4 - 27 eps / complete

It's clear this show really picked up and I made a mistake dropping it when I did (about episode 6, the first episode of the second arc, when several characters were becoming a real chore to put up with). I'm probably going to finish this at some point, assuming it doesn't suddenly disappear from Crunchy Roll before I get around to it. I've been spoiled on a certain character death, but it sounds like it will still probably be worth my while to finish it.


(07)　　Kiddy Girl-and - ▼1 - 24 eps / complete Good ending aside from one glaring issue, and through to the end I absolutely love the main trio. What held the show back most was the relatively poor handling of the Shadow Workers and especially a main villain who went full-on cliche in the end. Eh. The comedic parts of this show (and the yuri) are still the best parts, while the serious stuff is hit or miss. For a nice streak through about 19 or 20 things were looking particularly good but the writing started to suffer after that. On the balance, I'd say I'm positive-but-not-wowed with the whole package, even if pieces of it here and there did wow me, sometimes a hell of a lot.

This, on the other hand, I basically dropped after episode 20. I fell behind on a lot of things in March, and I could just never muster the interest to come back to this one. The show had some really good comedy episodes early on, but I was never able to be very invested in the plot. Even when it started kicking into gear around episode 10, the serious stuff often struck me as poorly done (like the things I mentioned in the thread about that particular episode). I also really wasn't fond of what they were doing with Q-Fueille in terms of the story (there were a few good comedic bits, but not enough to make up for it). Kiddy Grade was disappointing in the final stretch, but Kiddy Girl-and simply failed to get me invested in it to being with. Since it apparently manages to get worse, it sounds like I didn't miss much by dropping it.


(09)　　Fairy Tail - ▼1 - 24 eps / continuing to Spring list
(17)　　Tegami Bachi: Letter Bee - ▲3 - 25 eps / complete

I'm still waffling back and forth on whether or not to come back to these. Fairy Tail has two big negatives: sheer length and the fact that I have to resort to non-Crunchy Roll means to catch up. On the other hand, Tegami Bachi has Lag and some incredibly boring episodes when its not advancing the plot. I'm not sure which has the bigger obstacles to overcome.

(13)　　Yumeiro Pâtissière - ▲2 - 26 eps / continuing to Spring list

I've been wanting to watch this for a while as it looks like a cute series, but I had too much else to watch in the Fall and its so far along now, that it catching up will require quite the time investment and its hard to find that time. How long is it supposed to be, anyway? I thought I heard 39 episodes somewhere. If so, having less than a cour remaining is a hit to my enthusiasm to catch up, because the series will be nearly over by the time I do.

[Suwako Moriya]

Awful
Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu (finished)
Why on earth is this awful show so popular? The tone of this show is just so patronizing and irritating. It thinks it is hip, cool and unfunny but the show just sucks. With its one-note characters, it's just as bad as Sensei no Ojikan. This is a contender on my list for the worst anime of 2010.

I really don't get this either. Maybe its much better in novel form or something, but the entire thing was just so...hollow. I don't know. It was at its best when it was actually exploring the summoned beings aspect though. The comedy was just dreadful.

I'm going to assume for a minute here that the "popularity" comment refers to a different place than here. Because here at AOD, it seemed like the vast majority of the people hated it. The fact some finished it instead of just giving up on it sort of amazed me. Then again I suppose finishing it is the only way to be 100% certain of whether or not it improves. Either way, I think for certain people know whether or not to avoid the second season.

Actually, even as a person that did not hate the show, I can't deny that the series is incredibly flawed. You have the repetitive nature of the comedy and the fact the series was essentially afraid to move things forward. Also, you could argue that most of the series was essentially "killing time" more than anything else.

In some ways, Minami represents what's wrong with the series. Early on, she was a contender for favorite character in my case. Sure, her character was at stage 1. However if she reached stage 5, she would have been awesome.

Yet, Minami never went past stage 1. She spent the entire series in that stage. Even Mizuki managed to at least get to stage 1.05. Thus over time Minami became frustrating.

[Suwako Moriya]

(07)　　Kiddy Girl-and - ▼1 - 24 eps / complete

This, on the other hand, I basically dropped after episode 20. I fell behind on a lot of things in March, and I could just never muster the interest to come back to this one.

You made it further than I did. I got up to episode 17 and just haven't had the motivation to continue. I like the lead trio and it had some fun moments. However something about the series just started to feel completely off to me. Thus I've been rather hesitant.


(13)　　Yumeiro Pâtissière - ▲2 - 26 eps / continuing to Spring list

I've been wanting to watch this for a while as it looks like a cute series, but I had too much else to watch in the Fall and its so far along now, that it catching up will require quite the time investment and its hard to find that time. How long is it supposed to be, anyway?

The series in question is supposed to run about 52 episodes. On the subject of catching up with shows, sometimes I take a more middle ground approach. Which is that I just watch episodes when I have the time and decide not to care if I'm behind or not.

[something]

(08)　　Tatakau Shisho: The Book of Bantorra - ▲4 - 27 eps / complete It's clear this show really picked up and I made a mistake dropping it when I did (about episode 6, the first episode of the second arc, when several characters were becoming a real chore to put up with). I'm probably going to finish this at some point, assuming it doesn't suddenly disappear from Crunchy Roll before I get around to it. I've been spoiled on a certain character death, but it sounds like it will still probably be worth my while to finish it.
Death is such a common thing in Bantorra (no death = no book after all) that it might be inconsequential. ...but I can probably guess who you mean. Even if it is who I think, get back to it anyway. Knowing who dies is far less important than finding out what the story they've left behind is, in this show. If you only got to six you might have a fair stretch of frustrating episodes ahead of you before you get to the awesome stuff. However, knowing it gets good (well, okay, knowing that I think it got good anyway) might help. It should also help to know that the seemingly pointless, or not immediately obviously meaningful, episodes in the meantime do matter, even if the execution of the plot points is questionable.

(09)　　Fairy Tail - ▼1 - 24 eps / continuing to Spring list
(17)　　Tegami Bachi: Letter Bee - ▲3 - 25 eps / complete
I'm still waffling back and forth on whether or not to come back to these. Fairy Tail has two big negatives: sheer length and the fact that I have to resort to non-Crunchy Roll means to catch up. On the other hand, Tegami Bachi has Lag and some incredibly boring episodes when its not advancing the plot. I'm not sure which has the bigger obstacles to overcome.
Fairy Tail is so much more worth your time than Tegami Bachi it isn't even funny. Tegami Bachi isn't terrible (though parts of it are) but Fairy Tail has been consistently highly enjoyable for me. If it stays at this level I see no reason why it wouldn't become my favorite long shounen fighting show, topping HxH. Lucy being the central (more or less) character is a huge advantage over the series that primarily follow males. And Natsu has remained well within my comfort zone for lead males so far. Plus Erza and Happy are both great.

(13)　　Yumeiro Pâtissière - ▲2 - 26 eps / continuing to Spring list I've been wanting to watch this for a while as it looks like a cute series, but I had too much else to watch in the Fall and its so far along now, that it catching up will require quite the time investment and its hard to find that time. How long is it supposed to be, anyway? I thought I heard 39 episodes somewhere. If so, having less than a cour remaining is a hit to my enthusiasm to catch up, because the series will be nearly over by the time I do.
I really think they plan to go as long as the show is profitable. It just feels, in every way, like one of those shows without an ending... which can be a bad thing in itself. They've spent a full cour already just on the preparations for and matches in (that they're not done btw) a tournament... that determines who will enter the real tournament. And er, there might be a level beyond that too, before they get to Paris, I can't remember. :sd:

I guess I'm not exactly making it sound appealing but it is fun, else I wouldn't still be watching it. And the point I was trying to make is that this could easily go on for a long time. I can't see the real Cake Grand Prix being over in less than ~15-20 episodes from now, and I'm sure once Team Ichigo inevitably gets to Paris there will be all sorts of contests and such there too. I suppose it's possible they could end the show with Ichigo reaching Paris though. I don't think so, though.

At any rate, the number one draw for me is definitely Yuuki Aoi. This role might not be quite as fantastic for her as Mina or Murasaki, because she doesn't get to act in quite as dizzying a variety of situations, but it's damn close at times. She's just kicking ass so hard as Ichigo. I could probably watch another four cour of this just to follow the progression of her voice and acting.

Edit: if Suika is right about 4 cour, I can see that happening. It doesn't seem too far-fetched for the grand prix to go on that much longer, though finishing it up in a little over a cour and having a cour in Paris could be much more interesting.

[HitokiriShadow]

Death is such a common thing in Bantorra (no death = no book after all) that it might be inconsequential. ...but I can probably guess who you mean.

It was a major character, so you're probably guessing right.

I really think they plan to go as long as the show is profitable. It just feels, in every way, like one of those shows without an ending... which can be a bad thing in itself. They've spent a full cour already just on the preparations for and matches in (that they're not done btw) a tournament... that determines who will enter the real tournament. And er, there might be a level beyond that too, before they get to Paris, I can't remember. :sd:Oh geez, yeah, that certainly doesn't sound like a show that's planning to end in another cour. Looks like I won't have to worry about catching up and only being current for the last few episodes of discussion. I'm hoping when they say it will run 52 episodes, it will be a Shugo Chara situation where it keeps going but suddenly it has a new subtitle. Missing 75+% of a show's discussion and only really being able to participate for the last few episodes really irks me, which was the issue and reason I wanted to know the length.

If it ends up being a 100+ episode show... well, I can always just drop it when it stops being entertaining enough to justify continuing. How much of a problem that kind of thing is really just depends on how good the writers are at making entertaining episodes to drag it out. Shugo Chara had major problems with that, but Yumeiro might not. And in its case, it sounds like its taking forever simply because the actual story is taking forever, as opposed to Shugo Chara doing it because its writers phoned in dozens of one off episodes that went nowhere, or the situations Shonen Jump shows get themselves into.

At any rate, the number one draw for me is definitely Yuuki Aoi. I had been interested in Yumeiro for a while, but I found out the main character's seiyuu was Yuuki Aoi about a week ago, and suddenly my interest in catching up increased a lot. I'm going to try to find the time to catch up on Yumeiro in the next few weeks.

[HitokiriShadow]

(07)　　Kiddy Girl-and - ▼1 - 24 eps / completeThis, on the other hand, I basically dropped after episode 20. I fell behind on a lot of things in March, and I could just never muster the interest to come back to this one.

You made it further than I did. I got up to episode 17 and just haven't had the motivation to continue. I like the lead trio and it had some fun moments. However something about the series just started to feel completely off to me. Thus I've been rather hesitant.

I think what was "off" is that it started to focus on a half-baked plot. It often seemed like the writers weren't quite sure what to do with it, like they included it just because the series needed one.



The series in question is supposed to run about 52 episodes.

Ah, thanks. Though if the plot is moving the way something describes, hopefully that just means that at around episode 52, it suddenly becomes "Yumeiro Pastierre: Paris". Because when you add a subtitle, it suddenly becomes a completely different series, and the one without the subtitle (or the outdated subtitle) "ended". Hence why Naruto "ended" at episode 200 (or whatever it was) even though its really still running in the high 300s.

[something]

If it ends up being a 100+ episode show... well, I can always just drop it when it stops being entertaining enough to justify continuing. How much of a problem that kind of thing is really just depends on how good the writers are at making entertaining episodes to drag it out. Shugo Chara had major problems with that, but Yumeiro might not. And in its case, it sounds like its taking forever simply because the actual story is taking forever, as opposed to Shugo Chara doing it because its writers phoned in dozens of one off episodes that went nowhere, or the situations Shonen Jump shows get themselves into.
Yumeiro definitely does have one-offs, but since most of the second cour is related to the tournament, they're not overwhelming like they are in Tegami Bachi. Some are actually quite good, others are entirely predictable. As you'd expect.

If anything could kill Yumeiro quickly for you, it'd be if you really disliked the Sweets Princes. I'm actually fond of Hanabusa, neutral toward Andou, and mixed on Kashino. Normally I would have said I dislike Kashino but he was really really awesome in episode 26, and I'm hoping that continues. I suppose hating the Sweets Spirits could be a problem too but they're shockingly agreeable for the most part. Caramel is very cute ~desu, Cafe... doesn't do much but doesn't offend at all either, Chocolate is an adorable tsundere and Vanilla is Taketatsu Ayana, Azunyan's seiyuu, lol. I have to say I don't really care about episodes focused specifically on them, but.. er I think there's only been one or two. 27 is a Sweets Kingdom episode, which is why I haven't rushed to watch it yet.

Yumeiro desperately needs more of three things to be even better: More Marie, more Rumi, more Youko. STAT. Could do with less Miya, but she doesn't appear that much.

As for missing the discussion, there hasn't actually been a whole lot. Some episodes got no replies, a number got only 1-2. Suika and I account for >50% of the posts. :sd: Talk does strike up occasionally though. I think keeping current is the main issue for most people. It's not the kind of show where you're left dying to see the next episode even if you're enjoying it.

[Suwako Moriya]

As for missing the discussion, there hasn't actually been a whole lot. Some episodes got no replies, a number got only 1-2. Suika and I account for >50% of the posts. :sd:

Speaking of which, I just checked and the last episode I watch was episode 22. I guess I should go ahead and catch up with Yumeiro Patisserie now or eventually. As I do have progress in some other shows to make like for example Azumanga Daioh and Lucky Star. Need to watch 18 and 3 respectively.

[Fencedude]

I don't really have anything to add about Yumeiro, other than this. (http://www.mania.com/aodvb/blog.php?b=2742)

[pianocello]

Awful
Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu (finished)
Why on earth is this awful show so popular? The tone of this show is just so patronizing and irritating. It thinks it is hip, cool and unfunny but the show just sucks. With its one-note characters, it's just as bad as Sensei no Ojikan. This is a contender on my list for the worst anime of 2010.

I really don't get this either. Maybe its much better in novel form or something, but the entire thing was just so...hollow. I don't know. It was at its best when it was actually exploring the summoned beings aspect though. The comedy was just dreadful.

I'm going to assume for a minute here that the "popularity" comment refers to a different place than here. Because here at AOD, it seemed like the vast majority of the people hated it. The fact some finished it instead of just giving up on it sort of amazed me. Then again I suppose finishing it is the only way to be 100% certain of whether or not it improves. Either way, I think for certain people know whether or not to avoid the second season.

Actually, even as a person that did not hate the show, I can't deny that the series is incredibly flawed. You have the repetitive nature of the comedy and the fact the series was essentially afraid to move things forward. Also, you could argue that most of the series was essentially "killing time" more than anything else.

In some ways, Minami represents what's wrong with the series. Early on, she was a contender for favorite character in my case. Sure, her character was at stage 1. However if she reached stage 5, she would have been awesome.

Yet, Minami never went past stage 1. She spent the entire series in that stage. Even Mizuki managed to at least get to stage 1.05. Thus over time Minami became frustrating.


Apparently Baka to Test is popular enough in Japan to get a 2nd season while Sora no Woto failed miserably in Japan. (rages hard) :angry:

[Suwako Moriya]

Apparently Baka to Test is popular enough in Japan to get a 2nd season while Sora no Woto failed miserably in Japan. (rages hard) :angry:

Given the fact volume 1 hasn't even come out in Japan yet. Given the timing of the announcement of the second season. I highly suspect that it's one of those auto-seasons. Along the lines of say for example White Album 2 or Asura Crying 2.

As for Sora no Woto failing miserably. If I remember right the Blu-Rays sold in the 3,000+. On one hand, that's not exactly good. On the other hand, I'm not sure I'd call it a failure either.

Then again, I guess it depends partially on how many units the show needed to move to be a success. Regardless I look at this way. The 5,000+ shows might be looking down it. However the under 1,000 shows are probably jealous.

[Fencedude]

Apparently Baka to Test is popular enough in Japan to get a 2nd season while Sora no Woto failed miserably in Japan. (rages hard) :angry:

Well, I wouldn't say Sora no Woto failed "miserably". Kurokami failed miserably, Sora no Woto just did kinda average.

[something]

Apparently Baka to Test is popular enough in Japan to get a 2nd season while Sora no Woto failed miserably in Japan. (rages hard) :angry:
BakaTest doesn't need to move a lot of DVDs. It needs to move more of the novels, which I believe it has. That's how it measures success. And being based on one of the biggest light novel series in Japan today, it won't be a surprise if it sells well. There's a huge built-in audience.

And Sora no Woto, as Fence notes, didn't fail miserably. It just didn't do anything especially impressive. Failing miserably is being under a thousand discs a volume, generally. SnW didn't have anywhere near the sales it deserved, or at least not enough to make a second season seem likely. However, the way the story ended there's no guarantee a second season would have happened anyway. It's pretty conclusive.

[Suwako Moriya]

Been awhile since I did one, but since I finished a few select series including one with teleporting twins, I figure another long term update is in order.


Miracle Girls (51=Finished)

So I've finished a refresher course on a series I haven't seen in a long time. It's good to have spent quality time with Tomomi and Mikage again. As the twins are awesome.

Sometimes the series did feel a bit unbalanced. It has trouble deciding if it wanted to be fun school life or serious super natural drama. Also, some of the plot near the end felt a bit forced. As if it was thrown in for the sake of creating an ending.

Even with the flaws, the series was still enjoyable overall. Thanks in part to some of the stronger episodes. As well as the characters of Mikage and Tomomi as previously mentioned.

Jewel Pet (52=Finished)

In the context of being a series clearly meant solely for the purpose of selling merchandise, it wasn't half-bad. It had some cute moments, and it was nice how they handled the Jewel Pet aspect.


Jewel Pet Tinkle (2)

A definite reboot, but it's off to a decent start. Not sure how I'll feel about it long term, but I'll probably check out a bit more to see what the others are like aside from the lead. The blond has potential.


Gokujou!! Mecha Mote Iinchou (Finished)

On the negative side, there was too much bad CG. Also, some of the episode were rather weak.

On the positive side the lead female could be awesome sometimes. Plus it did have its moments.

On the WTF side, it's getting a second year? Which has already started airing. Is this supposed to be an endless series?

Anyamal Tantei Kiruminzoo (2?)

To be honest I can't even remember where I left off except that it was in the 20s. Also, part of me wonders if maybe I should at the very least put the show on hold. Not much else to say.


Fairy Tail (23)

Before I even started the series, I already had a clear idea that I was getting into what was intended to be an endless series. Early on, I was essentially ignoring this fact.

However keeping up with the series is essentially taking its toll on me. The way I've been watching it hasn't helped either. Thus it becomes harder and harder to ignore what type of show this is.

It's not so much the number of episodes, but the structure. I'm able to handle a show like Pretty Cure just fine because there is a clear goal with each season. It may take a year to reach it, but it's still there.

I can't say that I'll 100% drop Fairy Tail. However I'm thinking of taking an attitude of not ****ing caring anymore if I end up missing some episodes. Although with that attitude I may eventually move on completely.

Shugo Chara [Party]

Party is essentially a series that should have been one cour, but was bloated into two cour by adding in content that ranged in quality. Some of the said content wasn't too bad. Ie select episodes of Puchi.

However a lot of the content was a waste of time. Such as for example the weaker episodes of Puchi. The various live action segments that did nothing for the show. Then of course, you had what may as well have been ads.

In fact, bloated may be the best way to describe Shugo Chara in general. Yes, there are several good episodes. Yes, there are some nice characters. However you have to deal with a lot of "fluff" in between. With the quality or in some cases lack of varying greatly.


Heart Catch Pretty Cure (9)

I'm definitely enjoying this season of Pretty Cure. Not that will surprise anyone. In any case, Cure Marine and Cure Blossom are both awesome. Love the dual transformation. Unless things fall apart, it looks like I'll continue to stick with this series.
------------------------------------------

The problem with updating long terms series is that I can never really decide when to do these updates in the first place. Thus the updates tend to be more random than the seasonal shows.

[lesterf1025]

Awful
Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu (finished)
Why on earth is this awful show so popular? The tone of this show is just so patronizing and irritating. It thinks it is hip, cool and unfunny but the show just sucks. With its one-note characters, it's just as bad as Sensei no Ojikan. This is a contender on my list for the worst anime of 2010.

I did warn you. Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu is a lot like the Three Stooges. Either you get it and think the show is hilarious or you don't and wonder what the hell were they thinking and remain baffled at its popularity. I repeat, if you don't like the first episode stop watching because that's the show. It's the same with the three stooges.

[Orihimes_Boyfriend]

Excelent

Clannad (8)
Been checking out the english dub version and so far its pretty good. The show itself is outstanding.


Rosario+Vampire (11)Great so far my only tiny gripe is I recently finished the manga and the way the anime is skipping around got a tad confusing at first and I thought they rushed tough some stuff in order to get to Mizore's intro but I still have found it a fun series.

Good

Tears to Tiara (10)
I have really enjoyed this so far. Although Arther seems somewhat of a pushover at the moment.

To Loveru
Typical shonen comedy but I have found it to be a fun show. Something about grabbing a girls boobs to purpose marriage to an alien hottie just feels so right and so wrong at the same time


Decent

The Skull Man (2)
For a show that came out in 2007 the animation has a really dated look. Story wise is not bad.

Bad - None

Dropped - None as of now.

[something]

4/04/10 update! (http://www.mania.com/aodvb/showpost.php?p=1753566&postcount=14)

Bund is back with a vengeance, reclaiming #4 on the strength of a truly awesome second story arc. I'm pretty sure it'll stay there; the final episode would have to be pretty bad to warrant it dropping a spot. Shaft would have to pull another Shaft, basically, and I'm guessing I would have heard by now if they did.
Only Durarara!! continues so I'm not sure how frequently I'll be updating Winter in the future. It's pretty locked into #3 I think, although it does have a chance of beating Sora no Woto. Maybe. It'll take a lot, though, and a spot on perfect ending.

To update just this, because everything else was already done except the two cour Durarara!!:

Second Tier
(04) Dance in the Vampire Bund - ◄0► - 12 eps / complete - Really good ending, better than I expected too. Mina is one of the best characters of the season, and now that I've finished the series I can say all the manufactured controversy over it is utterly, completely absurd and laughable. There's just no rational basis for it, for anyone who actually bothers to watch the show. Instead what we have, especially in the second half, is a really interesting story of love and politics. And while I have no particular interest in vampires or werewolves, the take on it here works well. I do wish the first half of the show had been a lot tighter but the production team settled in pretty nicely in the second half. The sales don't seem like they'd justify a second season, and the ending really is good enough that I'd be fine without one. But there's definitely more to tell, and the ending had at least two elements that strongly indicate at least desire to animate more. Here's hoping they can, if they want to.

So yeah, looks like this held 4th easily. Durarara!! being the only continuing show makes it tough to decide how to handle future updates. I'll probably just do something like I did here once in awhile, I guess. After all, there's no way it'll drop to 4th, but passing Sora no Woto for 2nd is uncertain. Not at all impossible, though. So I might not need to do it again until the end, when I make the judgment call on Drrr vs SnW.

[Shirou Emiya]

Hayate the Combat Butler Episode 41.

Why am I watching this so slowly? xD

I'm trying my best to speedily marathon it :S.

[EmperorBrandon]

I had been interested in Yumeiro for a while, but I found out the main character's seiyuu was Yuuki Aoi about a week ago, and suddenly my interest in catching up increased a lot. I'm going to try to find the time to catch up on Yumeiro in the next few weeks.

Yuuki Aoi just seems to sound so much unlike some of the other roles I've heard of her in this one. Her high-pitched genki voice is pretty awesome too, though.

I only just recently started catching up more on Yumeiro Patissiere (had seen 2 eps. a while back, but now I'm up to 9), and I must say I've really enjoyed it, particularly the last few episodes I've watched through. Looking forward to watching more, though I don't know if I'll catch up to the simulcast at my current rate.

[EmperorBrandon]

The series in question is supposed to run about 52 episodes. On the subject of catching up with shows, sometimes I take a more middle ground approach. Which is that I just watch episodes when I have the time and decide not to care if I'm behind or not.

For what it's worth, when I checked Japanese Wikipedia, it said 50 episodes planned, not that it's really much different (almost 4 cour regardless).

[something]

Well, caught up this weekend on pretty much everything I plan to watch from Spring that has aired so far.

Potential R2 Import Tier
(01)　　K-ON!! - ◄NEW► - 1 ep - Was there any doubt? Right back in the thick of things, jumping a bit to the third year. The fact that this is going to be two cour floors me. There are so many ways they could go that I can't even really guess. 1 cour did 2 years in season one, and now we have 2 cour for 1 remaining year? Go beyond high school! Do it! Also, ED Yui is ludicrously hot Yui. [Import - As definite as a pledge to spend $600 on a show I've seen one episode of can be, I guess.]
(02)　　Shin Koihime Musou Otome Tairan - ◄NEW► - 1 ep - Fantastic first impression of course. I didn't expect this to be ahead of Angel Beats!, but it's really close. I'm sure it won't last, though, and Koihime will move down to 3 in time. Just seeing everyone again made me so happy. And the ED is the cutest yet. [Import - Given the absurd price, I won't be able to decide until it's almost over. But I really want to, assuming it's as good as season two.]
(03)　　Angel Beats! - ◄NEW► - 2 eps - I'm glad I had two episodes available when I went to watch. This was my second most highly anticipated show of the season, and it wasn't until episode two that I really felt like it had clicked to the extent I was hoping. I am, however, not impressed by the visuals in quite the way I thought I'd be, and it's not just PA Works' trademark horrific CG crowds that leave me feeling conflicted. Though episode two seemed tighter than one, I have to say, and the scenery/background art is, for the most part, stunning. [Import - Decision pending, it's currently quite likely.]


Second Tier
(04)　　B Gata H Kei - ◄NEW► - 2 eps - Tamura Yukari's most vibrant role in some time, and she's always good. It is, of course, not nearly as smutty as some people were preemptively up in arms and ready for. In fact it's just an incredibly cute show where the naughty parts are all introduced in a way that reveals how absurdly impossible it is for Yamada to ever actually be as sexually promiscuous as she thinks she wants to be. And of course the guy she's found herself pursuing could never be anything of the sort either.
(05)　　Working!! - ◄NEW► - 1 ep - Caught the pre-airing like a month ago, thought it was fantastic. Very very excited to see more. Adorable little Poぷら-chan and her not so little rack.
(06)　　Kaichou wa Maid-sama - ◄NEW► - 2 ep - Misaki may, just may be the sexiest maid ever. Anyway, her male counterpart is being cast in the "asshole shoujo love interest" cliche but is clearly too good a guy underneath to wear it well. He and Misaki have already made a lot of progress and I feel like the show has put a good deal of the obligatory meh stuff behind it in just two episodes, leaving me quite impressed. This could be a really great show, hopefully joining Honey & Clover and Nodame Cantabile as top tier JC Staff shoujo anime.
(07)　　Fairy Tail (cour 3-4) - ◄NEW► - 0 eps (24 eps total) - Okay, this placement is meaningless at the moment. Take it as a rough estimate. Tomorrow's episode will count as the first episode of cours 3-4 for me since last week was skipped and this week matches up with early Spring.
(08)　　Arakawa Under the Bridge - ◄NEW► - 1 ep - I'd say it's one of the most bizarre first episodes I've seen but... wait, it is. This show is a bit out there even by Shinbou/Shaft standards. And I love it. Kamiya Hiroshi is, of course, perfect. He is most in his element when surrounded by utter absurdity, which must be why Shinbou loves him so much.


Third tier
(09)　　Mayoi Neko Overrun! - ◄NEW► - 1 ep - Zettai ryouiki.... zettai ryouiki... zettai ryouiki... zettai ryouiki... zettai ryouiki... also, so much seiyuu crossover with Railgun (8 roles).
(10)　　Yumeiro Patissiere (cour 3-4) - ◄NEW► - 0 eps (26 eps total) - Also meaningless ranking. I plan to count 27 as the start of cour 3-4, since it seems to be a short break in the story (Sweets Kingdom stuff) before the next match starts.
(11)　　Senko no Night Raid - ◄NEW► - 1 ep - Well, I didn't seriously expect it to be able to follow Sora no Woto as an equal in the Anime no Chikara slot, but it was decent enough. Very interesting setting, 1931 Shanghai and all. Only one female so far, unfortunately, but I like her and the guys seem fine.
(12)　　Kiss x Sis - ◄NEW► - 1 ep - I couldn't get interested in the OVA, but TV length should make this much more appealing. The first TV episode was already better than the OVA. And of course, the sisters are hot. This is important.
(13)　　Hakuouki: Shinsengumi Kitan - ◄NEW► - 1 ep - Of the three shows I tried just for shits and giggles, this has easily the most promise. Good animation, great male seiyuu cast, and a Shinsengumi setting isn't a turn-off for me at all. We'll see how it goes.


Fourth tier
(14)　　Uragiri wa Boku no Namae wo Shitteiru - ◄NEW► - 1 ep - I'm in this for the seiyuu, plain and simple. The cast is mindbogglingly good.
(15)　　Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou - ◄NEW► - 1 ep - Yawn. I hear ep 2 is better, though. Maybe I'll get around to it, if only to hear Yuuki Aoi and more of Toyosaki Aki's weird character.


Fifth tier
(16)　　Rainbow - Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin - ◄NEW► - 1 ep - I know I'm just kidding myself by saying this isn't dropped yet, but hey whatever, I'll at least give it until the second update before making it official.


OVAs, Specials, other oddities
Katanagatari - Moved to this group rather than put in the rankings due to once-monthly airing. No ep 3 yet, so no comments to add.


Ranking on hold
None


Dropped:
None


Still need/plan to try (may not have aired):
Yojou-Han Shinwa Taikei - noitaminA #1!
Sarai-ya Goyou - i.e. House of Five Leaves. noitaminA #2!
D.C. ~Da Capo~ Ext - whatever the heck this is going to be (last I heard was Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Sakura...). Assuming it actually comes out.
Yutori-chan - I want to try this when I get a chance, and will likely just lump it in the OVA etc section.


(Blah blah disclaimer, the number on a tier is not at all indicative of a show's absolute quality, merely its quality relative to the other shows on the list).

Let's see how hard it'll be to mix Fairy Tail and Yumeiro in here for the first few weeks. :sd:

There is, it seems, an unusual number of series this season that I have no desire to even try - and I will try quite a wide range of things, for damn sure. Even reaching a bit far to pull in Hakuouki, UraBoku and Rainbow, there are still a good number I'm not watching. Though part of that has to do with there being four series based on western sports, three of which are sequels. I guess if you account for that, there isn't much I'm not trying out. I have to keep in mind that three shows still haven't aired yet. And there's a fair number of kiddy series I wouldn't have watched regardless.

Well, I have enough shows to watch with the above, plus rewatches, plus Durarara!! and Katanagatari, so it's all good. Spring 2010 is one of the most diverse looking seasons in some time and that's a good thing.

And let's see, we have a maid cafe in Kaichou wa Maid-sama, a family restaurant in Working!!, a cake shop in Mayoi Neko Overrun, teatime in the music room in K-ON!!, and a patissiere school in Yumeiro. The theme of Spring 2010 is FOOD. Or food service anyway.

[Glamrgrl104]

Yumeiro patisierre-Episode27-Filled with sugary goodness :)

[Shirou Emiya]

Hayate the Combat Butler! Episodes 42-45.

I'm hoping to get in 4 or 5 more episodes before I go to sleep.

[Glamrgrl104]

Yumeiro patisierre-Episode27-Filled with sugary goodness :)

Uragiri wa Boku no Namae wo Shitteiru-episode 1- Very interesting I like the cool supernatural twist in it. Might watch the next episode whenever it comes out.

kaichou wa maid sama-episode 2- AWW cuteness I have come to really like this series.

Bokura ga ita-episodes 8-12- Funny and dramatic at the same time. A good series.

[Suwako Moriya]

All right then, enough testing (http://www.mania.com/aodvb/showpost.php?p=1753038&postcount=10). Let's get the real first update over with.


K-ON!! (2)

At last, we can once more worship the ground Tainaka Ritsu walks on. Oh, and spend quality time with the characters that are considered worthy of being in her presence. In all seriousness, K-ON!! is off to a wonderful start. The first two episodes do a good job of getting me back into the mood for the series. If they're any indication then K-ON!! stands a good chance of being the second favorite series of 2009.

Also, we're getting two cour of K-ON!! as opposed to only one. Not sure what use they'll make of the extra cour, but if they put it to good use then we'll get a season that's twice as awesome as before. Plus it gives more confidence in regards to certain chapters getting animated than ever before. That and I can expect plenty of original content. Which is fine because the original content in K-ON! was quite nice anyway.


Working!! (2)

Yeah, this is going to definitely be a fun series. I definitely like the cast so far. Part of me wants to be angry at Miharu, but it's hard to hate her for some reason. I like how the male lead is an actual character and not just a blank template there to react.

Regardless, the most important reason to watch remains Popura. Short girl with pony tail, that's stacked, and voiced by Asumi Kana. You just can't go wrong. Definitely one of the favorites of Spring.


Angel Beats (2)

The setting for the series is quite interesting and effective. I'm definitely anticipating learning more about the world. Also, there's matter of Yuri. Yuri is hot. Yuri is love. Yuri is awesome. Yuri is quite the effective lead. Tenshi, I like as well, but I need to get to know her better. It's too early for me to hand the series an imaginary reward. Since it's hard to say how the story will be long term. For now, I can say it's doing a fine job of making me feel my anticipation was not in vain.


Kaichou Wa Maid-sama (2)

The relationship between the two leads is already showing quite a bit of potential. Misaki makes for quite the class president. She even makes for a great maid. Usui's way of interacting with her is part of what makes the show. Some of the supporting cast is interesting. Satsuki, you're amusing. Definitely a keeper for now anyway.


Mayoi Neko Overrun (2)

The cast contains girls that are attractive and have potential to be amusing in various ways. Fumino, Chise, Otome, Nozomi, and the Maids. They and select others all have their appeal. I'm not expecting anything grand, but if they can keep some of the weaker elements of the genre in check then this should be a fun series.


B Gata H Kei (2)

Not that I disliked the first episode, but if the second episode is any indication then expanding the cast will help this series a lot. In any case, two episodes in and it's definitely fun so far. If they were to play their cards right, they could actually come up with a half-way decent story line. Note, I said half-way decent not amazing epic.


Yutori-chan (7+)

The episodes for this are definitely on the short side. It's essentially of the quick comedy variety. Don't go in expecting a high budget show and a heavy plot. In any case, in the context of what it's meant to be it's actually kind of fun so far.

It helps that Yutori-chan herself is quite cute. The main downside is that it does make me wonder what a more proper series for this would be like. Then again some could argue that may kill the intent of being quick jokes.


Shin Koihime Musou Otome Tairan (1)


Not much has changed since the testing round, but that might be because I haven't gotten around to episode 2 yet for various reasons....


Awakara Under the Bridge (2)

The first episode was err odd to say the least. I wasn't sure what to make of it. The second episode for whatever reason was a definite improvement over the first. The series does have some decent elements to it. However it feels like something is missing. Also, it feels like certain aspects could get old fast.


Ichiban Ushiro no Dai Mahou (2)

The second episode was a vast improvement over the first. Expanding the cast helped quite a bit. That being said the story structure still worries me and raises multiple red flags. I'm sort of conflicted on keeping up with this one. Not even the excuse of "I'll use it to do some testing of The Animenetwork" can only go so far.


Heroman (1)

I have to admit it is sort of interesting to see a "Saturday Morning Cartoon Style Super Hero" type series handled as an anime. Also given that the story is brand new, there's no previous version that I'm used to in this case. The first episode was for the most part a set up episode and not much to go by. Leaning towards giving it another episode or two to see how things flow.


Durarara (9) (Dropped)

As mentioned before, I am considering just having this as honorary Spring series rather than continuing to Winter updates for a single show. As all other Winter shows I tried were either finished or dropped.

However I have to accept the harsh truth. As objectively good as the show may be, I'm having trouble motivating myself to watch the episodes. My enjoyment outside select scenes has been limited.

Thus taking that into account, I think the best thing I can do for now is just drop the series and worry about it later. If I decide to give the series another try and actually finish it, I'll create a "final thoughts" type post.

Either way, I can't see much point in giving occasional updates on this anymore. I highly doubt the later episodes are going to change my view much.


Dropped: Kiss X Sis TV
------------------------------------------------------------------
That should more or less cover everything. There are series I have yet to try, but to be honest here, I'm not sure if I'm even going to bother with anything else. Well, I did try Jewel Pet Tinkle and Hime Chen! Otogi Chikku Idol Lilpri, but I'd put both of those under long term. The former is confirmed as four cour and err I'm assuming the latter will be as well.


Aside from those and the already mentioned series, no other Spring series convinced me to give it a try as it were. Sorry to say, but that's just the way things are.

[ilmaestro]

I could have waited to watch the first ep of House of Five Leaves, but since Suika started the ball rolling and somehow I am actually up to date on everything that I want to watch this season, with the exception of Oofuri season 2 (currently rewatching season 1 before I start that), Ring ni Kakero (which is airing on some PPV channel), and Yutori-chan (which I keep forgetting about), here we go:

New shows:

Sangoku Engi (2) - First "proper" Rot3K show I've watched, I think. Pretty decent given the scope of the thing it's trying to adapt, looks very nice at times but others look a little bit bootleg.

Giant Killing (2) - Really feeling this so far. I'm not usually as big on the idea of soccer over other sports when it comes to fiction, but this relatively unique approach is winning me over.

Working!! (2) - Ridiculously entertaining. Was maybe towards the bottom of my list before the season started, is right near the top now. I am quite in love with Mahiru.

UraBoku (1) - First ep was a lot more intriguing than I expected, and it's from J.C.Staff. Might just be enough to keep me watching it.

Arakawa Under the Bridge (2) - Still not entirely sure if it's just covering things up by being utterly insane, but atm it's a riot. Very funny, and with some surprisingly sweet moments.

Kiss x Sis (2) - Well... pretty much does what it says on the tin. ^^; And I can't ask for a lot more.

Senkou no Night Raid (2) - Great atmosphere, awesome setting, cool characters... I'm liking this show a lot, but hopefully they will have time to fully develop the story that seems to be running in the background.

Mayoi Neko Overrun! (2) - The main girls are all ace. Not quite sure what the show wants to do with them yet, though. Has potential, and if all else fails it has some of the best Thigh High Cam shots I've seen in a long time.

RAINBOW (2) - Yikes. Not exactly a show to pull its punches, but it's quite compelling all the same. Again, slightly worried whether they will be able to pull together a coherent direction for the show or not.

K-ON!! (2) - Knee jerk reaction, this is going to be even better than the first season. Yui is being especially amazing.

Heroman (2) - This is a whole load of fun. Heroman is a really nice design, and the production values are stupidly high. Joey might be a bit too attractive girly to carry the show, though.

B-gata H-kei (2) - Haven't stopped loling yet. Not sure why they decided to market the show around the premise they did, I know a few people who have been put off by it, and I'm sure they'd actually like the show if they tried it.

Kaichou wa Maid-sama! (2) - Absolutely love the character designs, and the two leads work brilliantly. Very funny, and with a little bit of a "bite", too.

Ikkitousen XX (3) - Massive return to form (if you agree that Ikkitousen can be "on form"). Love Mouki, and can't wait to meet Chuubou again next ep.

Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou (2) - This is just OK, so far. Might well pick up a bit now with Fujiko's appearance, and there is potential in some of the characters for something better.

Angel Beats! (2) - I was sold on the first episode alone, but the second was even more fantastic. Very intriguing, very beautiful. Along with K-ON!!, one of my two guaranteed imports at this stage.

SD Gundam Sangokuden BBW (2) - I kind of like the Gundam designs in this, maybe even enough to pick up a couple of model kits. I want to say there's more to it as Liu Bei seems to have a slightly different standing to usual 3K-based things, but I'm not sure it really warrants any deep analysis. ^^;

Hakuouki (2) - Love Shinsengumi stuff, and the second ep really delivered on that side of things. One or two cool characters, so I'll probably keep it on.

Continuing shows:

Fairy Tail (25) - Enjoying it enough now that it's pretty inevitable I will pick up the manga soon. Very pleased to add another awesome female to the cast in the shape of Juvia.

Durarara!! (13) - Oh heck, how have I avoided importing this? The show is just too damn good. It can't be fair to have this many great characters contained in the same series.

Seikon no Qwaser (13) - looooooool, this show is just too much jokes. Hits new highs every week. Actually going to be importing it, which is borderline ridiculous.

[pianocello]

Currently watching (episodes watched up to in brackets):
Outstanding
Kiddy Girl~And (finished)
ZOMG! Best anime of the year (at least until something better shows up in 2010). Ascoeur and Q-Feuille are one of the most amazing couples ever. Also, one of the best kisses ever.

2 x 2 Shinobuden (2)
Something that I missed when it first came out. The ED is one of the most epic ever.

Very Good
None

Good
Chu-Bra (4)
I think I've figured what doesn't click with me - the show has too much unwanted angst. They should just focus on the yuri and ecchi. Still, this show has been so education.

Hanamaru Kindergarten (4)
While I'm still giving this a thumbs-up, Nanako Yamamoto's cluelessness does have to potential to be very annoying if not kept in check.

Cobra (2)
I've seen the old TV series, movies, recent OAVs and now this. It's still okay but for an outdated show like this to work, it needs more cheesiness and nudity. :devil:


Average and below
None

[Glamrgrl104]

Yumeiro patisierre-Episode27-Filled with sugary goodness :)

Uragiri wa Boku no Namae wo Shitteiru-episode 1- Very interesting I like the cool supernatural twist in it. Might watch the next episode whenever it comes out.

kaichou wa maid sama-episode 2- AWW cuteness I have come to really like this series.

Bokura ga ita-episodes 8-12- Funny and dramatic at the same time. A good series.

Bokura ga ita 12-21- Kind of depressing, but hopefully everything turns out good.

[Mateo_home]

I'll one of these for the first time this season.

Angel Beats! (2)-Not fond of the idea of having to look into other sources of media to know the whole story, but it's not too bad so far. Yuri is awesome and is what Haruhi should've been. They've seem to be taking stabs at KyoAni. Like the 100 hits reminds me more of Tomoyo than a flashy fighting game. Got better in the second epsiode and I love the enter room title cards from a game. The CG doesn't bother me BTW.

Kaichou wa Maid-sama (2)-Misaki is also awesome. Still strong and defiant. Usui would be better if he was less perverted, but he's passable.

B Gata H Kei (2)-The first episode was dull, but somehow pulled a 180. I like Kosuda more than Yamada, but her perverted nature is what makes the show funny. Liking it more than I expected too. And it could be worse for her, she coulod be an A cup. I've always been confused with brest size cups. I'd figure F would be the lowest since that's one of the lowest ranks,a nd here it means bigger boobs. Wonder if S cup exist.

Working!! (1)-Popura is happily cute, the main lead would be better if he was less retarded, and I think I'm going to hate Mahiro. Still, the connection with the characters is working so far.

K-ON!! (1)-Confession time. I haven't finished the first season. Yui has really gotten into the light music club, though she just set her alarm too early. Gonna stick with it for a few more eps.

For DVD

Hidamari Sketch x365 (COMPLETE)-The animation is better. Noticable in the first episode with Yuno taking her entrance exam and Hiro and Sae fighting. I could argue how it's nit in chronilogical order, but makes it more fun in a way because you don't have to watch your favorite season cluncked together. The first OP was more memorable, but "washoi!" is amusing as the characters are launched out of a cannon or appears to be.

I dunno how Yuno can forget to ride a bike, because it's impossible to forget. But I loved how Hiro flattened the tires. Oh, I better be careful, she'll hold a petty grudge and might take a picture of me sleeping. Also it's great that this show thinks of it's international audiance. Because I didn't get the joke about Miyako riding home on bike until the eye catch pointed it out. On the subject, this anime all seasons combined have more eye catches than the Thousand Eye Sacrifice. Haven't seen Hoshimitsu yet, but I should check it out soon.

Yuno and Miyako still manage to be my favorite of the two. Yuno's wild imagination and Miyako being poor and saying whatever comes to mind. The Princibal and Yoshinoya-Sensei is great too, but are her feet made out of squeak toys? Similar to Yukari-Sensei, but I shouldn't be bringing up favorite anime teachers.

Great anime and I'm starting to notice Sentai's awkward translation choices.

[Glamrgrl104]

Bokura ga ita episodes 12- 26 END-Very dramatic to the end. I am just happy it wasn't like Five cm per second. I like the characters and the first half was very hilarious at some points, but mostly it was very much drama filled. Give it an 8.

Case Closed Phantom of Baker street- Very cool. I am glad I finally got to see this. I must say that the 4th movie at least I thought was better than this one, but I love all case closed movies so leave it at that.

Hetalia S3 episode 55- Love it!

Durarara episode 13,14- Hella awesome! This series just gets better and better.

[Shirou Emiya]

I haven't posted here in awhile, sorry :(.

Fairy Tail Episode 25.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Episode 9.
Hayate the Combat Butler! Episodes 46-52 (END).
Hayate the Combat Butler! OVA.
Hayate the Combat Butler!! Episodes 1-7.
Heroman Episode 3.

[Glamrgrl104]

Bokura ga ita episodes 12- 26 END-Very dramatic to the end. I am just happy it wasn't like Five cm per second. I like the characters and the first half was very hilarious at some points, but mostly it was very much drama filled. Give it an 8.

Case Closed Phantom of Baker street- Very cool. I am glad I finally got to see this. I must say that the 4th movie at least I thought was better than this one, but I love all case closed movies so leave it at that.

Hetalia S3 episode 55- Love it!

Durarara episode 13,14- Hella awesome! This series just gets better and better.

Emma:A victorian Romance-Episode 2 & 3- This series is just a feel good anime. I am definitely going to pick this title up soon.

[xia]

Outstanding:
B Gata H Kei (3)
I love how Yamada tries so hard but fails because of her inexperience.

Kaicho wa Maid-Sama (3)
This is my kind of show. Absolutely love Misa

Rainbow (1)
Gritty gritty gritty. Hope it doesnt disapoint me.

Arakawa Under the Bridge (2)
Very shafty and wonderful.

Skip Beat (3)
I started rereading the manga recently and it made me want to watch it all over again.



Good:




Decent:
Angel Beats (2)
So far, meh. Not awful, but not really grabbing my attention yet but i'll wait for subsequent episodes to see if I drop it or not.

Kimi ni todoke (6)
Loved the first episodes but man the last couple I watched were way to melodramatic for me.

[Westlo]

Apparently Baka to Test is popular enough in Japan to get a 2nd season while Sora no Woto failed miserably in Japan. (rages hard) :angry:
BakaTest doesn't need to move a lot of DVDs. It needs to move more of the novels, which I believe it has. That's how it measures success. And being based on one of the biggest light novel series in Japan today, it won't be a surprise if it sells well. There's a huge built-in audience.

Yeah, anime is generally a means to sell more light novels and/or manga volumes. FMA manga volumes went from like 60,000 a volume to like 600,000+ thanks to the first tv series.. it's now doing like 1.4 million a volume or something like that and is the second biggest shounen series atm only behind One Piece.

The anime has definately helped the sales for Baka to Test novels.

Weekly Light Novel Ranking for Mar 15 - 21
*1, 28,109 *28,109 Seitokai no Ichizon extra vol.3
*2, 26,036 137,471 Toaru Majutsu no Index vol.20
*3, 16,148 151,321 Durarara!! vol.1
*4, 13,871 115,154 Durarara!! vol.2
*5, 11,861 *97,379 Durarara!! vol.3
*6, 10,547 *84,448 Durarara!! vol.4
*7, 10,345 152,523 Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu vol.7,5
*8, *9,658 *40,776 Megu to Theron vol.5
*9, *9,528 **9,528 Kaze no Stigma Ignition vol.6
10, *8,951 **8,951 Highschool DxD vol.6
11, *8,841 *92,416 Durarara!! vol.5
12, *8,335 *14,334 Flesh & Blood vol.14

Though of course when you have a Durarara!! it's even better.. avg 20,000 copies ver volume on dvd and selling amazingly well in novel form. A second season for Durarara is pretty much a near certainty at this stage once enough novel material is out.

[Glamrgrl104]

Kaichou wa maid sama-Episode 3- So cute and hilarious.

Yumerio patisierre-episode 28- CAKE! what's not to like?

[Glamrgrl104]

Kaichou wa maid sama-Episode 3- So cute and hilarious.

Yumerio patisierre-episode 28- CAKE! what's not to like?


Emma:A victorian Romance-episode 3-5-- AW I am just loving this series.

[Glamrgrl104]

Kaichou wa maid sama-Episode 3- So cute and hilarious.

Yumerio patisierre-episode 28- CAKE! what's not to like?


Emma:A victorian Romance-episode 3-5-- AW I am just loving this series.

Special A Class Disc 1&2- Hilarious. Very good. Now I have to get the 2nd collection then my series will be complete :)

Hetalia world series-Episode 56- Hilarious poor Lithuania.

[Glamrgrl104]

Uragiri wa no shitteru-episode 2- Very awesome series. Can't wait to see what happens next.

[pianocello]

Currently watching (episodes watched up to in brackets):
Outstanding
Ninja Nonsense aka 2 x 2 Shinobuden (finished)
There needs to be more shows with crude "hit in the crotch" gags like this. Show needs more yuri though.

Ladies vs Butlers (5)
This show proves that Kanokon would be so awesome if it had a much better male lead that doesn't freak out at the slightest hint of nudity. Maybe it's just my wishful thinking but as of episode 5, I like to interpret this show as being a tale of two female leads who are trying to suppress their sapphic lust for each other and the male lead that is just there as a comic relief to push them closer together.

Very Good
Dance in the Vampire Bund (3)
I am getting tired of SHAFT's directional style but I must admit that this has been good so far and the plot twists have been quite impressive.

Good
Chu-Bra (finished)
Too much angst. Kiyono and the teacher is awesome though. The show needs more yuri though.

Hanamaru Kindergarten (5)
While still cute, I'm starting to worry that this show is going nowhere.

Cobra (4)
Very well-designed bodies but seriously, this show needs more cheese.

Average and below
None

[something]

Very Good
Dance in the Vampire Bund (3)
I am getting tired of SHAFT's directional style but I must admit that this has been good so far and the plot twists have been quite impressive.
First half was pretty good but the second half is definitely better. As for the style, they do overdo it here but it's also worth noting that this isn't a Shinbou show. I don't think Bund has quite the flair that his stuff does. It seems a bit cruder as it tries to imitate it. But again, it really does all come together nicely in the second half.

[Glamrgrl104]

Uragiri wa no shitteru-episode 2- Very awesome series. Can't wait to see what happens next.

Yakitate Japan episodes 12-14- Pretty funny still and entertaining.

Non-anime-
Avatar- Brilliant visuals and awesome plot.

[LelouchLamperouge]

Definite Tier
- Arakawa Under The Bridge (up to episode 3): I think this has become my favorite SHAFT work of all time, surpassing that of Bakemonogatari. Still too early to tell, but all signs are good. Nino is love and win. <3
- Heroman (up to episode 4): Wow. Things are certainly beginning to get interesting. It's so much fun and I continue to look forward to each episode every week.
- House of Five Leaves (up to episode 2): Very impressive so far. Things should start getting faster I think now. I'm loving the animation style. Manglobe has managed to return to top form and put out something spectacular.
- Ookiku Furikabutte Season 2 (no change, still episode 1): I'm falling behind on it for good reason. OoFuri is a show that I feel is best watched in marathons.
- The Tatami Galaxy (up to episode 1): Simply amazing. Fantastic. Superb. Tons of other words I could describe how awesome this was. Best of this season, without a doubt in my mind.

Uncertain Tier
- Senkou no Night Raid (no change, still episode 1): Not much change since first update.

Dropped Tier
- Angel Beats!: Episode 3 put it back in uncertain territory and episode 4 killed it. It's beautiful, but its too generic and gimmicky for me.
- Giant Killing: Showed promise, but I just don't have time for it.
- Ichiban Ushiro no Daimao: As I previously mentioned, harem can only go so far with me.

[gnikdrazil]

Mai-HIME (done) - This was an entertaining series. High school girls with super weapon and mechanical beasts fighting monsters. It was fun and had some energetic fight scenes. Before things became too stale, a big or little baddie was introduced midway. It gave the enemies a face and motivation with bringing in the "Golden Age" or whatever. It didn't last long with a complete 180 turn in character reasons. I did not see it coming with the event leading up to the Obsidian Prince. They laid on the drama quite thick, but it gave the heroines a good change of pace. It ended quite satisfying for me even if they did hit the reset button.

[Orihimes_Boyfriend]

Done

Air - While it was short I liked it. The ending was really depressing tho'. It's really one of those series I can only really watch once.

Nerima Daikon Brothers - I loved it! Very funny all the way though and the singing, while I'm not into musicals I found it to be outstanding. I found the ADV rewrites to be really well done.

[Buster Blader 126]

- Pokemon Diamond and Pearl Ep. 131-133:

A full 6-on-6 battle between Ash/Satoshi and his new rival Paul leads to our protagonist receiving an ass-kicking he won't forget for a long time. He mopes for half of the next episode.

Also: Brock sees Uxie!

- Pretty Cure Ep. 43-44:

Oh, Porun's in for it now! The legions of the Dark King definitely know about him now and are trying to kidnap him.

+ Nagisa/Natalie crush drama!

- Dinosaur King S2 Ep. 20:

*Cue the Aladdin-esque storyline*

I also saw a number of hentai titles over the past while - particular titles of interest include Cartagra (which mixes an interesting mystery with the sexy parts), Tony's Heroine Series (which is a fun watch with some actual plot), Oshiete Re: Maid (which was also a very fun watch) & Kansen: Inyoku no Rensa (which I enjoyed a lot despite the setting and dark elements of the show). Meanwhile, Triangle Blue was downright depressing. If I had known that netorare was its main element, I don't think I would've even started it.

[something]

4/11/10 update! (http://www.mania.com/aodvb/showpost.php?p=1757364&postcount=21)

Potential R2 Import Tier
(01)　　K-ON!! - ◄0► - 3 eps - It's so far and away the winer that I'm at a loss for what to say. :sd: Well, there are hints at more focus on Ritsu and Mugi lately, and I hope they deliver. Especially for Mugi. I still don't have any idea where the show plans to go with so many episodes, but whatever it choose, I'll surely love it. The more the better. I also find the "minor background character" phenomenon that's sweeping the net reagrding this show so be incredibly amusing. I love you, Girl Who Sits Next to Yui! And you too Eri and Akane, aka Girls Who Were Named Only By the Closed Captioning Subtitles. <3 [Import - Definite.]

(02)　　Angel Beats! - ▲1 - 4 eps - Alright, Angel Beats! is definitely what I was hoping for now. I still think the male character designs are really boring, but everything else is coming together nicely. I was a little hung up on one aspect of the climactic scene of episode three that stopped me from being as blown away by it as most, but it was still pretty beautiful. ::is listening to "My Song" while typing this:: I'm not at all surprised that it's generated the most posts of any Spring series so far, given that one of its great appeals is the carefully constructed mystery that everything and everyone is wrapped in. It really encourages a lot of fun speculation, and the show has already thrown us multiple serious curve balls. And it's also thrown us Yui, who is totally the best character. <3 <3 <3 Let's also not forget what a musical powerhouse this show is trying to be. Between this and K-ON!!, Spring 2010 is going to be an Anisong paradise! [Import - Vol. 1 already ordered, more or less definite.]

(03)　　Shin Koihime Musou Otome Tairan - ▼1 - 3 eps - Ryomou!! Episode three was great for an episode with no input from the Aisha brigade. Or just great in general - the Son group has a lot of potential. I didn't seriously think this show would stay on top of Angel Beats! but it's holding its own against some really strong runners-up. And the ED is still the cutest thing this season. [Import - Vol. 1 ordered, but I'm still open to replacing it with something else if I change my mind.]


Second Tier
(04)　　B Gata H Kei - ◄0► - 4 eps - Yamada is amazing, and Kosuda ain't bad himself. I'm surprised how quickly the relationship is progressing, and commend the show for it. Between this and Kiss x Sis, we might be getting past the indecisive protagonists a little bit... though the protagonist this time is female! Tamura Yukari is still great as Yamada, Horie Yui is lovely as Miharu. Mayu is a very stereotypically Hanazawa Kana role but hey, that's because she does it well. [Import - Contender for third spot.]

(05)　　Kaichou wa Maid-sama - ▲1 - 3 eps - Misaki and Usui are incredibly fun together (Draneor, you dropped this way too fast! Give him a chance) and the whole imouto cafe bit in episode three was gold, pure and utter gold. So is Black Honoka (maybe that'd be blackest coal?). Evil Asumi Kana is something I need soooo much more of. [Import - Contender for third spot.]

(06)　　Working!! - ▼1 - 3 eps - SOMEONE ONE ONE SOMEONE ONE ONE. What a stupidly enjoyable bunch of lunatics. I think Satou is the only sane one. And surprisingly, Popura is pretty well adjusted. Well, I guess it's all relative. :sd: This one took itself out of R2 consideration on account of being SD/DVD only, otherwise it would be in the running. Third import is basically between Koihime, B-Gata and Kaichou now, with Koihime having an advantage.

(07)　　Fairy Tail (cour 3-4) - ◄0► - 2 eps (26 eps total) - Phantom arc continues to deliver. This series has improved in pretty much every way recently, and it was good to begin with. Erza is just way, way too epic a character and these last few episodes drive that home big time.


Third tier
(08)　　Arakawa Under the Bridge - ◄0► - 3 eps - As some viewers were saying in the thread, it is the serious scenes that click the best in this show. I really like the comedy, don't get me wrong. Koyasu Takehito as Sister? Brilliant. The whole confessional scene in ep 3? Brilliant. Kamiya Hiroshi's signature "narrating through absurdity"? Brilliant. But what really grabbed me about episode three? Nino-san at the end. If the show keeps this balance up, I am going to be very happy.

(09)　　Sarai-ya Goyou - ◄NEW► - 2 eps - Episode one intrigued me. Episode two totally won me over. I love the atmosphere this show has. Yeah, the designs are weird and the faces weirder, but everything else is gorgeous. I love the lazy way in which lines are delivered, I love the mix of character personalities, I love the way they all interact. Of the two noitaminA shows this season, this looks like the clear winner.

(10)　　Hakuouki: Shinsengumi Kitan - ▲3 - 3 eps - I guess this is just a good season for samurai? Improbably, this may be the show I find myself most often thinking "Hmm, I wish there was a new episode of [x]" about this season. That by no means implies it's the best, but for some reason I'm almost always in the mood for it. Chizuru has come to fit in very well with our bishie shinsengumi boys, almost all of whom have proven to be very enjoyable characters in their own right.

(11)　　Yumeiro Patissiere (cour 3-4) - ▼1 - 3 eps (29 eps total) - You know, I'm not always big on cutesy mascot characters like the Sweets Spirits when they're the focus of the whole episode (same thing happened in Shugo Chara), like in episode 27. But episode 29? They were perfect there. Caramel-senseiii~ <3 More of that, please. But like anything else, consume sweets (spirits) in moderation!

(12)　　Mayoi Neko Overrun! - ▼3 - 3 eps - If I hadn't been told this show was switching directors every episode, I probably wouldn't have thought so much of it, but after seeing Hiraike Yoshimasa's take on episode three I think I would have at least looked into what was going on. And I do wonder if it'll cause the show to be too disjointed. Not a knock on Hiraike; his episode was the best yet, I felt. But it was a pretty different in tone from the other two, and I'm betting four will shift a lot too. There's a good character base in Chise, Nozomi and Fumino, though, so as long as they keep a coherent story (not the same as wanting a complex plot; that doesn't really matter) and give us lots and lots of Taketatsu nya!-ing, I'll be happy.

(13)　　Senko no Night Raid - ▼2 - 3 eps - The adjective that comes to mind first is "solid". Solid characters, solidly constructed plot, solid promises of potential. Nothing super exciting, but no reason whatsoever to think I'll stop enjoying it. I do enjoy the historical side of it, and like to look up additional information on the people and places mentioned in the show while and after watching. Points for creative use of superpowers in ep 3.

(14)　　Kiss x Sis - ▼2 - 3 eps - Haha... wow. That was only episode three. It's going to take some serious, serious cockblocking for someone not to get their brains fucked out by the time this ends. Also, I totally moe for Riko. Especially when she held up that little handmade ema, her attempt at encouraging Keita, and worried that it wouldn't stand up to Ako-nee's elaborate meals. Awww... Riko. <3


Fourth tier
(15)　　Uragiri wa Boku no Namae wo Shitteiru - ▼1 - 3 eps - Holding up surprisingly well. There's a lot it could do better, and it really needs to drop the ugly CG baddies, but I'm actually genuinely interested in seeing where they take this story now. And Inoue Marina's Tooko is loooove.

(16)　　Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou - ▼1 - 3 eps - Honestly, I still don't like Junko, but at least episodes 2-3 helped me realize that she was the real problem. Akuto himself showed us a very cool side in episode three (significantly more graphic violence than I ever expected in this show), but the real reason I'm sticking around is Yuuki Aoi's Korone and Toyosaki Aki's Keena. Both are lovely, especially Korone and her deadpan teasing. Yuuki Aoi, please never leave this industry.

(17)　　Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei - ◄NEW► - 1 ep - Not a lot to say until I see episode two and the show reveals its inner structure a bit more. Intriguing so far, but difficult to rank, so it sits at the bottom by default rather than by being demonstrably "the worst". Whether or not the show will work for me will depend largely on how much the quirky animation is used to complement the protagonist's own scattershot mental state, and how much it just goes overboard into masturbatory artsy fartsy for its own sake. It's kinda straddling the border, honestly. But if I had to choose, then I think it's leaning more towards complementary, for now.


OVAs, Specials, other oddities
Katanagatari - 4 eps - Episode four... epic beyond epic. If I were ranking this series normally, it'd be just short of import tier. And if it were way cheaper, it might even be import tier. However, I don't want to get too over-excited. There's no guarantee they'll be able to maintain the level episode 4 hit, especially given that it was a departure from the norm. I'd be a little surprised if that doesn't end up being the best episode of them all.
Yutori-chan - 10 eps - The episodes are only about 2 minutes when you cut out the ED, but they're two minutes well spent! Highly amusing look at part time office work at a toy company run by very silly people. And of course the reason I tried this was Yuuki Aoi + Hanazawa Kana. It paid off.

Ranking on hold
None

Dropped:
Rainbow - Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin - 1 ep

Still need/plan to try (may not have aired):
D.C. ~Da Capo~ Ext - I assume this is not actually happening this season. I'm really just expecting it to end up being an OVA.


(Blah blah disclaimer, the number on a tier is not at all indicative of a show's absolute quality, merely its quality relative to the other shows on the list).

Man, ranking is hard this season. The average quality of the shows is really very high, and there's so much variety that it's hard to compare apples to apples. and heh, I just noticed that in my 4/11 post I had three #13s. :sd: ::fixes numbering::

Tier 2 shows are all so close that, minus Fairy Tail due to its length, I'd just import all of them if I could. I think that the closeness among Kaichou, B Gata and Working is what will leave me just defaulting to Koihime for import 3, since it was the front runner before the season started.

And hmm, I can't decide if leaving a space between series makes it easier or harder to read.

[Suwako Moriya]

And hmm, I can't decide if leaving a space between series makes it easier or harder to read.

It could just be me, but I think the space definitely makes it easier to read. As for why, I'm not sure.

In any case, I think eventually I'll need to do another update myself since I tried out more series in spite of the fact I said I was done trying out series. It's just a matter of when.

[Glamrgrl104]

Kaichou wa maid sama- Episode 4- This series is just so funny and great.

[Glamrgrl104]

Kaichou wa maid sama- Episode 4- This series is just so funny and great.

Yumerio patisierre-episode 29- More sweet goodness lol.

Hetalia S3 world series-Episode 57-Great and hilarious as ever.

Uragiri wa boku no shitteru- Episode 3- WOW this series is awesome!

[Glamrgrl104]

Kaichou wa maid sama- Episode 4- This series is just so funny and great.

Yumerio patisierre-episode 29- More sweet goodness lol.

Hetalia S3 world series-Episode 57-Great and hilarious as ever.

Uragiri wa boku no shitteru- Episode 3- WOW this series is awesome!

Lupin the third First Contact- One of the better Lupin movies, but I like most of them. This one was subbed so it didn't get the dub, but I like both the sub/dub voices so thats okay.

[pianocello]

Currently watching (episodes watched up to in brackets):
Outstanding
Ladies vs Butlers (finished)
Great show but this is not supposed to be how it ends. Anyway, this show has been a good source of fanservice.

Negima!? Spring/Summer specials
These specials proves that the Negima franchise needs more fanservice. :devil:

Very Good
Dance in the Vampire Bund (finished)
Great but could have been better. The animation style drove me bonkers at times. Too bad we probably won't see a sequel.


Good
Cobra (7)
Has its moments. Still I doubt that I will rewatch this.

Average and below
Hanamaru Kindergarten (finished)
The romance aspect was so immensely frustrating that I wanted to smash my screen. Pity.

[Gildor]

Rideback (complete)
Despite a lot of negative comments on this show (I don't know of a single other person who liked it), I enjoyed it. I liked the "motorcycle mecha" aspect of it because it was something different, although the execution was a bit hokey. I liked the plot and the ending was about as good as it could get given it was only twelve episodes. For me, this was a good, but not great, show. If it had been 24 episodes instead of 12, the plot and character development could have improved dramatically, and moved this more into epic territory.

[Glamrgrl104]

Durarara episode15- This series just gets better and better.

[Glamrgrl104]

Durarara episode15- This series just gets better and better.

Senkou no night raid episodes 2-4- Pretty good. I love the OP and ED!

[Glamrgrl104]

Durarara episode15- This series just gets better and better.

Senkou no night raid episodes 2-4- Pretty good. I love the OP and ED!

Durarara episode 16- I've changed my mind I want this one my most wanted license list.

Kaichou wa maid sama episode 5- Cute.

[strangefour]

Durarara!! - 16 episodes
In inconcievable ways this show just some how keeps getting better. Keeps me laughing more and more each time too. For a character driven show with action and some mysteries, Durarara is funnier than some shows this season that claim to be comedies.

Aoi Hana - 11 episodes and done
Best romance show I can remember seeing. I wish there was more. But Fumi's character arc was so sweet and wonderful I can't say it disappointed in any way. The fact that is focused on adorable realist lesbians instead of being filled with vague fanservice hints was all icing.

Angel Beats! - 4 episodes
Wow. I did not expect this show to as much zany fun as it is. I'd call this my favorite new show of the season. I am surprised by that.

Heroman - 5 episodes
This show is fun. Maybe not as great as it could be. But it has potential and keeps me amused in a Saturday morning cartoon kind of way.

Working!! - 4 episodes
Uh yeah. I thought this would by my favorite new zany show of the season. Funny how that worked out. Wait I mean UNfunny how that turned out. Dear god Poplar is adorable though.

Zeta Gundam - 16 episodes
CRAP! I thought Crunchy roll had it until May. Oh well it was fun while it lasted.

Now what else should I be watching...

[Suwako Moriya]

Spring 4/14/10 (http://www.mania.com/aodvb/showpost.php?p=1758215&postcount=83)

House of Five Leaves (2)

The series has an interesting premise and atmosphere. I'll give it that much. However it left me feeling disconnected. Which lead to a lack of caring. Which leads to lack of motivation to watch anymore. Which leads to me making this my second dropped series of the season. Yeah, it may be a well made series, but it's clearly not for me.


The Tatami Galaxy (2)

The first episode of the series left me uncertain because I wasn't sure what I was getting into. However it at the same time showed some potential. Sadly the second episode didn't do much to capitalize on that potential. In fact, it actually weakened my motivation to watch more. It also doesn't help that I find Ozu's character to be quite annoying and I expect him to get the most screen time outside the lead. As such, I'm just going to drop the series for now.


Awakara Under the Bridge (2)

I'm not sure what to think of this series. Yes, the first two episodes had some amusing moments to it. At the same time however it feels like the series lacks something. I'm not yet ready to declare it officially dropped, but I'm also hesitant to watch anymore of it. Sooner or later, I am going to have to make a decision about this.


Heroman (3)

The series has just enough going for it for me to consider it decent. However it has yet to truly wow me. The design of the robot is interesting. Save for certain aspects that are a bit much. It's the type of show that I'll watch on the side.

Ichiban Ushiro no Dai Mahou (5)

After an uncertain start, the series has definitely found itself. It helps that Sai makes a for decent lead. Plus some of the girls are quite amusing. Currently I'm sort of leaning towards Keena because she's Keena and there's something about her that makes her special. Not exactly a grand series, but one of the better examples of its type.


Shin Koihime Musou Otome Tairan (3)

Just like with the previous two seasons, I'm confident that I'll be enjoying this third season as well. Especially if we get plenty of Shuri with an equal amount of Koumei. Yeah, it's no secret which girls appeals to me greatly. Not that they aren't other girls worthy of attention as well.

B Gata H Kei (5)

Yamada continues to provide quite a bit of amusement. Also, it seems like on occasion we get some decent serious moments mixed in. That being said part of me would like it if some of the supporting cast got a bit more focus on occasion. It feels like there's still a lot to learn. Yeah, I want my Chika focused episode. Why? Because she's Chika. That's why.


Yutori-chan (10)

The episodes continue to be short, but also quite amusing. Thanks in part to the primary characters, and the fact it knows what type of segments to do. After all, you want stuff that can work in a short format. Oh, and the theme song for the series which feels like an Opening, but plays an Ending is awesome. In some ways, this feels almost like a 4-Koma even though it's not.


Mayoi Neko Overrun (4)

The strategy of changing directors each episodes is an interesting one. It would also explain why there's been a different feel each episode. Especially if you compare say episode 1 to episode 3. In any case, the series is definitely growing on me. Chise is adorable in her own way.

Kaichou Wa Maid-sama (4)

So far this series has been maid of so much win that it deserves to be elected president. Seriously, the maids are awesome. Hard to decide on a favorite right now. Although in some ways I'm leaning towards Satsuki for some reason. I wonder what that could be.


Working!! (4)

Popura or if you prefer Poplar continues to be love. Miharu is in some ways growing on me. Although sometimes it's hard to accept certain features. Yachiyo is err she's a girl that carries a sword. I like her, but not sure what to say about her. In any case, the series is definitely quite fun to watch and an amusing way to pass the time.


Angel Beats (5)

Yui is love! Yui is cute! Yui is adorable! Yui is awesome! Yui is hot! Yui is lovely! *Hours later* Now to talk about something aside from Yui. I'm definitely enjoying the series so far. Amusing moments and interesting story at the same time. It's only real negative is it's the type of show where you worry as to whether or not it can give a satisfactory answer due to the type of question it sets up.


K-ON!! (4)


The only difference between the favorite series of Spring 2009 and the favorite series of Spring 2010 is the number of exclamation marks in the title. All four episodes so far are good reminder as to why this series is so awesome. Plus, I love how they've been handling the classmates. As in they have actual classmates, yay. K-ON!(!) is part of my favorite four for several good reasons. One of the most important being Tainaka Ritsu. You have other reasons like Mio, Yui, Tsumugi, Azusa, Ui, Jun, etc.


Current Dropped List: Kiss X Sis TV, House of Five Leaves, and The Tatami Galaxy.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
In spite of what I said earlier, I did end up trying out a couple more series. Sure neither of them worked out for me, but I still tried them. Which leads to three series dropped so far as you seen above.

Awakara Under the Bridge is currently on the fence right now. Heroman is one of those series that will likely remain a side watch at best.

Mayoi Neko Overrun, Shin Koihime Musou Otome Tairan, B Gata H Kei, Yutori-chan, and Kaichou Wa Maid-sama are all effective series.

Working!! and Angel Beats are both pretty strong for me.

The favorite of course is K-ON!!.

In any case, I need to be careful about how many series I'm juggling. As I need time for manga reading, game playing, music listening, avatar making, etc. Perhaps letting myself fall behind on occasion isn't such a bad idea after all.

[something]

Now what else should I be watching...
Koihime, of course. Go finish season one and get going on the rest!

[LelouchLamperouge]

Definite Tier
- Heroman (up to episode 5): The guilty pleasure this season, without a doubt. Still looking top quality, likable chracters, good campy fun is really all it comes down to.
- House of Five Leaves (up to episode 3): It seems to slowly be going places, but I can still remarkably handle it. House of Five Leaves is too slow, whereas Tatami is too fast. What a nice balance, but I can handle it.
- Ookiku Furikabutte Season 2 (no change, still episode 1): Waiting to marathon it. No changes or remarks.
- The Tatami Galaxy (up to episode 2): Still best of the season in all areas, going to be interesting to see how the rest of the series turns out and see if my suspicions about Ozu are right. I'm excited.

Uncertain Tier
- Arakawa Under The Bridge (up to episode 4): Well, that fell quite a bit from previous episodes. I can't freaking stand Stella or Maria. Looks like this series isn't as safe as it once was nor is it going to be my favorite SHAFT work for much longer. It's earned itself 2 more episodes to get back into good favor at least.

Dropped Tier
- Senkou no Night Raid: Well, 0-2 Anime no Chikara, 0-2.

[Orihimes_Boyfriend]

Finished:

Pani Poni Dash - Pretty good overall. The storylines was most of the time confusing as hell and they knew it. This was evident by the Evangelion parody in the last episode which I found really neat.

[pianocello]

Having seen basically all of the Winter 2010 January-March session and finishing the holdovers from the previous Fall 2009 October - December session(at least those that I thought I would be interest in), this is more or less my final summary of the shows I've seen in order from the best to the worst:

Outstanding
Kiddy Girl~And
Yes it has plot holes everywhere but I don't think anyone watches this franchise for award-winning story and direction. I was entertained and I think Q-Feuille and Ascouer are by far, the best couple of the season. Arguably one of the best kissing scenes in the history of anime. Hands down, the best show of the season.

Very Good
To Aru Kagaku no Railgun
Kuruko and Ruiko made the show awesome. Bonus points for a villain that makes Higurashi faces and is so over-the-top. While some of the middle episodes (15-18) were rather meh and Uihara sort of degenerated in the later episodes, Kuroko's perverted yuri antics makes this show a winner.

Sora no Woto
Great characters and slashable couples. Very nice atmosphere and an ending that is complete but leaves room for a sequel (that will probably never happen).

Ladies vs Butlers
Despite the meh ending, this show is how ecchi anime should be done. The spiritual successor to Girls Bravo and is a classic example of how Kanokon should have been done.

Good
Chu-bra!!
The yuri makes the show great but the show suffers from too much angst. It was still educational and I really learned a lot about underwear.

Dance in the Vampire Bund
Episodes 8-9 were definitely the highlight of the show. Unfortunately, the rest of the show does not really come close and some rather questionable animation and camera angles typical of SHAFT that really gave me a headache. Still, the show has some great female characters.

Cobra
Cheesy with good fanservice character designs. Lacks dramatic depth though and is more of something to watch while waiting for the next great show.

Average
Hanamaru Kindergarten
The Hiiragi moments and the various different EDs were definitely the show's high points but the show suffers from an excruciatingly painful attempt at romance that really annoyed me.

Kobato
An awesome ending can't hide the fact that the show has too much fruity unfunny humor and a completely irritating male lead with bad pacing.

Awful
Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu
A strong contender for the worst show of the entire year. Unfunny with irritating one-dimensional characters.

[Mateo_home]

Pokemon D/P (174)-So Dawn made it into the Grand Festival along with her rivals. Except for Kenny. Still an ice roller coaster for Cyndaquil to ride on with Buneary in suit was pretty cool.

Angel Beats (5)-Honestly, the first episode was the weakest. Ever since the one after that it's been great. Especially since Yui was introduced. And while I feel retarded asking, I have to. Is Yui wearing skin tight stockings all the way up or does it end at the leg band? Oh paint errors, why are you so common on women's legs? Guess it doesn't matter, but demoting Angel from class prez looks like a turn for the worse.

B Kata H Kei (4)-Fun show. Yamada is silly with her perverted thoughts and I like how Kosuda is naturally innocent. At least they got as far as going out to the park at night.

Working!! (3)-Love the ED theme more than the OP, but I should be liking this more, but I'm not. The characters aren't doing it for me. Not even Yachiro. I'll give it one more episode.

Kaichou-wa Maid-sama (5)-I love how Usui teases Misaka. I also love how Misaka can kick ass. I fear that she could throw a Dark Pulse at any given moment. If it keeps up this pace, it'll make it into my top 10. Now I just gotta read the manga.

K-ON!! (2)-Way behind on this, but I'll just say that the girls in the hardware department was hilairiously cute.

Yumerio Pastierre (29)-Team Ichigo visits a ranch to learn how to make a cheescake. The Sweets Spirits check out the cows. And Caramel is afraid of them. I don't mind these type of filler episodes that focus on the Sweet Spirits. And wait, didn't Ichigo's group already know she could tell the difference in the ingredients used?

ON DVD:

I decided what to watch. Galaxy Angel.

I want to get to the Sentai episode which is late in season 3, but I've wanted to watch this show in it's entirety for a long time. Since I don't have any unwatched discs in the backlog and nothing upcoming for a while, I figured now's the time. Going to start vol. 3 of the first season tonight. Also the first season was animated with cels, correct? Forgot how great the phony kidnapping episode was. Forgot it even existed.:sweat:

I also forgot this was the only season that Ranpha and Forte showed off their cleavage.:P

[Glamrgrl104]

Special A class-collection 2- Pretty good and just as hilarious as the first half. I love school comedies.

Next onto Gintama collection 1! My backlog is dwindling away lol.

[Spirit Of The Stage]

For once, I'm going pitch in - let's see what I've watched up to date combined with rankings...

Angels Beats - A Tier

Definitely a winner so far - a KyoAni piece of interesting. Afterlife where school is on guard against Angel (who is now my fave character after the last ep) but you wonder what happened in their previous lives - fantastic music and characterisation (TK, you need more screentime as much as Yui does) - Yuri's tale of suck really had me crying and you wonder what is up with Otonashi. Definitely both fun and intriguing.

B Gata H Kei - B Tier

As I've affectioned nicknamed it 'Nanohaisaslut' after Tamura's fantasic performance as Yamada, whilst not a huge favourite in terms of characterisation, it is a firm favourite in terms of hilarity. The ecchi jokes are not usually my cup of tea, but with the Noto in a very un-Noto role combined with Yamada being such a failed attempted at being a slut (and yes, the series is funnier when you imagine it's NANOHA basically speaking those words) it's definitely a guilty pleasure.

Baka To Test to Shokanju - A/B Tier

Speaking of guilty pleasures...seriously guys, am I the only one who really, REALLY liked this? Many of the complaints are that the jokes were too predictable - yes they were. But for me...they still made me laugh - which last time I checked was the whole point of a comedy series. The running gags of Shouko and Hideyoshi in particular (my two faves) made me laugh all the way through the episodes and for most of the earlier episodes I couldn't stop laughing. So yeah, I loved BakaTest - whether that makes me a hideous human being, I dunno. Ask Fudce. He'll know. :)

Dance In The Vampire Bund - dropped (prior, about C tier)

I simply couldn't get into this in the end - whilst Mina is an interesting character, it came to a point where it was a struggle to watch - of course it then got licenced...and I'd rather not open that can of worms...

Hanamaru Kindergarden - A tier

Oh god - crowning moments of heartwarming aplenty. From the first ep, you knew this was going to be one of those series where it's both hilarious, yet has a sense of morality to add to it's unending cuteness. Anzu is spunky, yet a child who doesn't understand the concept of 'love' hence her affection for Tsuchi. It doesn't help her mother eggs her on, and Tsuchi's crush on Yamamoto is definitely fun. Unfortunately, the obvious scene of yuri between Yamamoto and her sister didn't happen, which would have helped the series immensely. Or am I just bullshitting? Stuff happens. :P The denseness of Yamamoto is part of her charm, and the opening of a sequel means there's more potential. But in the end, as adorable as Koume and Hinagiku are, the real star of the show was little miss cosplay Hiiragi. Altogether now - PANDA, PANDA, PANDANEKO...

Hidamari Sketch *** - S Tier

The show of 2010 alongside Soranowoto for me at the moment - anything involving the Hidamari girls is bound to be dynamite, but they added Nori/Nazuna to the current cast, and then delved into flashback with characters like Misato and Arisawa, who were all unholy awesome. It's a simple series where you smile throughout, enjoy the characters and cast your worries away. Not since Aria has a series made me smile so much and the third season is top top love. STEW!!!

K-On!!! -A Tier pending

Only a few eps in, but it definitely has the feel of it's predecessor (and the crime of Azusa not included much in the opening finally rectified) - catchy ending and openings aside, it's the cast we know and love, and similar to Hidamari that it doesn't miss a beat. I'm firmly still in the Mio camp, though Mugi is beginning to challenge her, but really, every character is great for different reasons. And cute turtles are cute. Don't fight it. (And someone give Yui a sedative...or Ui. Whichever comes first.)

Kissxsis - E Tier - dropped

Urgh. Sorry, this was just bad from episode 1 - it's like what the below show would be except the characters have no sense of dymanic or interest - it's just the same shit without any of the fun of Baka To Test or Ladies x Butlers. Dropped after 3 episodes and not going back to it.

Ladies versus Butlers - B/C Tier

Normally this would be a series I hate - (see Kiss * Sis) - however the difference is there is at least some interesting characters. The over the top fanservice is not my cup of tea, and a lot of the background characters (mainly the males, but some of the girls like Ayse fall here) really are either annoying or dull - however, it's saved from D or below mainly because of Selnia. An over the top tsundere ojou-sama with the servant Akiharu relationship is very interesting and fun. Sadly, whilst Tomomi is hilariously evil, you don't get any sympathy for her in the love triangle hence why it's a bit of a weaker series. However, I do like Kaoru and I adore Pina and Mimima...she's fun to tease indeed.

Kaicho wa Maid-sama - A Tier pending

God this is definitely S tier contender if it keeps up the awesome. Never have I liked a pair so much in anime that works so well together since Konoka/Setsuna (Negima) or Nagisa/Tomoyo (Clannad) - however, unlike those two, their sparks are from a love/hate relationship, yet they still play off each other. Misaki and Usui have it - both interesting leads, definitely need to learn more of Usui's past (he's so perfect, yet you know there's something in that head of his...that, and he's definitely amusing) - Misaki however is the best maid since Emma and obviously a very different type of maid to her. I love how tough she is, yet she has to switch into that mode just for her family life. And whilst those two own the show, hats off to some cute and/or fun characters like the 30 year old moe-tastic Satsuki, the adorable Sakura, and our new favourite idiot trio...

Soranowoto - S Tier

K-ON with trumpets was what I heard first. It is so much more than that. Serious, yet light hearted, the characterisation of the 1121st platoon in a European setting, just how well Kanata grows into her role and her uber-sweet relationships with the cast - each of them with their own charm (Rio's no-nonsense approach yet caring compassion, Fillicia's giggly mother hen combined with hard army mentality, Kureha's tsundere mode combined with toughness, and Noel's Yuki Nagato esque beauty, charm - but when she breaks...god you wanna hug her) - it was simply too short, NEED MORE. DON'T MAKE ME CRY AS MUCH AS SOME OF THE SERIES DID MAKE ME CRY...

*

This doesn't include series which started last year (Kimi Ni Todoke would be S Tier for me as well if I did include it) and just started on the first eps of Working and Senkou No Night Raid so no reviews for them yet, but yeah - some great stuff. Only KimixSis was a downer for me (Haven't tried Duradura but that doesn't seem like my cup of tea either) so mostly good this spring.

[Fencedude]

Speaking of guilty pleasures...seriously guys, am I the only one who really, REALLY liked this?

Yes. The show is terrible.

[Spirit Of The Stage]

Speaking of guilty pleasures...seriously guys, am I the only one who really, REALLY liked this?

Yes. The show is terrible.

Strange - I thought that was Kiss x Sis...

[Fencedude]

Speaking of guilty pleasures...seriously guys, am I the only one who really, REALLY liked this?

Yes. The show is terrible.

Strange - I thought that was Kiss x Sis...

KissXSis is also terrible, but makes up for it with better service.

Bakatest couldn't even service properly.

[Spirit Of The Stage]

Speaking of guilty pleasures...seriously guys, am I the only one who really, REALLY liked this?

Yes. The show is terrible.

Strange - I thought that was Kiss x Sis...

KissXSis is also terrible, but makes up for it with better service.

Bakatest couldn't even service properly.

I've never been that bothered about it - then again, considering the main fanservice came from a guy I can see your point. But then again, I know why people hate it and I understand. Fortunately it's opinions in the end and unlike some other people that I won't mention (not you Fence) I won't moan about what you think about it - you hated it, I loved it - different reasons.

Oh, tried out Working episode 2...it's fun, but that girl whose violently afraid of men is already getting on my nerves...

[Fencedude]

Oh, tried out Working episode 2...it's fun, but that girl whose violently afraid of men is already getting on my nerves...

Mahiru's awesome.

[Spirit Of The Stage]

Oh, tried out Working episode 2...it's fun, but that girl whose violently afraid of men is already getting on my nerves...

Mahiru's awesome.

I need to get to know the names - she's funny, but sometimes...grr. I just hope she can snap out of it to remove some of her sociopathic tendancies. She seems to be setting up so she improves bit by bit though so definitely sticking with it. I do love Poplar to bits though...and Sota does deserve at least some of the abuse. (Though Kyoko rocks...)

[EmperorBrandon]

I need to get to know the names - she's funny, but sometimes...grr. I just hope she can snap out of it to remove some of her sociopathic tendancies. She seems to be setting up so she improves bit by bit though so definitely sticking with it.

I really was a bit annoyed with Mahiru at first too (just like you), but for a combination reasons I think her character is settling in to being less annoying. As far as her main gag is concerned, I don't think she'll "improve" overnight or maybe even much at all, but I think her character may develop somewhat interestingly.

[Classical]

Speaking of guilty pleasures...seriously guys, am I the only one who really, REALLY liked this?

Yes. The show is terrible.

Strange - I thought that was Kiss x Sis...

KissXSis is also terrible, but makes up for it with better service.

Bakatest couldn't even service properly.

I've never been that bothered about it - then again, considering the main fanservice came from a guy I can see your point. But then again, I know why people hate it and I understand. Fortunately it's opinions in the end and unlike some other people that I won't mention (not you Fence) I won't moan about what you think about it - you hated it, I loved it - different reasons.


I really, really need to finish BakaTest (I keep falling behind on my anime watching, but that's another story). That said, I love what I've seen of the 9 episodes I've watched. I too can see why some people don't like it (and it's fine if some people don't like it), but BakaTest just works wonderfully for me. I just simply love it, and I'm thrilled it's getting a second season.

[Glamrgrl104]

Special A class-collection 2- Pretty good and just as hilarious as the first half. I love school comedies.

Next onto Gintama collection 1! My backlog is dwindling away lol.

Uragiri wa boku shitteru-episode 4- This series is getting pretty good.

Hetalia World series-episode 58- Hilarious as always.

[LordGeo]

I open the door to something infamous this time... Here's hoping I come back alive.

Gundoh Musashi [2]: Yeah, I know... Musashi. What am I thinking?

Anyway, let me get the good out of the way... Yeah, there's good in this somewhere:
1. The music is pretty good... Not anything truly amazing, mind you, but it's at least not anywhere as bad as the animation. Also, the first ending theme by Kimeru is a nice song to listen to. The first opening theme, though, is definitely not only a bad match for the show, in terms of content, but it's also a bad song in general... Too bad it's a bad song that sticks in your head.

2. The characters aren't horrible... Yet. I have no idea if they become bad, per se, or annoying, but so far no one character is really making me roll my eyes. Yeah, even this version of Musashi Miyamoto is at least somewhat entertaining.

And that seems to be the only good so far. It's only two episodes in, so I won't judge the story yet, but it seems to be the usual "good vs. evil" one can get. But everything else is bad... And it really seems like the studio just didn't care that it was badly done.

a.Sound effects are oddly timed, oddly used, not used, and even fade out at one point with the music.
b.At a couple of times, I swear I saw images of real trees used instead of drawn trees.
c.There was a moment or two where you could see that the cels weren't filling the entire screen... This is not for a frame or two, mind you, but for a few seconds.
d.Stuttering animation... If you were to make a drinking game where you take a drink everytime the animation suttered, you would probably pass out before the first episode was half-way done.
e.Just overall awkwardness... For example, in episode 1, villian Yasha throws out sharp energy strings, which Musashi ducks under. You then hear trees falling and Musashi avoids them, but you never see any tress falling. Then there's just the silly "fights" in episode 2, where it looks like Musashi is either doing interpretive dance or is just looking utterly silly because of an awkwardly-drawn face.

Really, so far I can't call it the worst anime I've ever seen as there are good points to it already (I can't say that about the Panzer Dragoon OVA, for example), but I can call it the most awkwardly-done so far. Here's to hoping that the rest is either watchable or just so utterly hilarious to watch... Or both.

[Draneor]

Speaking of guilty pleasures...seriously guys, am I the only one who really, REALLY liked this?

No, I'm buying the R2s (also look at the response on the other forum). It was, by far, my favorite show for winter.

[pianocello]

Hanamaru Kindergarden - A tier

Unfortunately, the obvious scene of yuri between Yamamoto and her sister didn't happen, which would have helped the series immensely. Or am I just bullshitting? Stuff happens. :P


Huh? Did I miss something?

[populuxe]

Hanamaru Kindergarden - A tier

Unfortunately, the obvious scene of yuri between Yamamoto and her sister didn't happen, which would have helped the series immensely. Or am I just bullshitting? Stuff happens. :P


Huh? Did I miss something?

No. You took the bait.

[EmperorBrandon]

Well, just a few brief updates on my thoughts about various shows, mostly from this season, but I'll start out with a few I'm catching up on.

Yumeiro Patissiere (16)
I'm keeping up on this one, though it's mostly with short on-and-off marathons. I may get a more prolonged one in some point to catch up with where it's at right now. I'm still really liking the show, though. I was pretty pleased with how the first Cake Grand Prix match story turned out. It's always fun watching the very arrogant opponents get shown up by Ichigo and the Princes. It's similar in many regards to Ichigo's match against Miya much earlier in the series and completely predictable that they would win, but the interesting thing is finding out how they do it after the fact.

To Aru Kagaku no Railgun (3)
I kept forgetting to start out on this one (been wanting to, just haven't gotten around to it), but I finally got a few in last night. I'm pretty pleased with it so far. It seems like the main bunch is a lot of fun. I like Kuroko's moments in Index, and it's really nice to get a lot more of her here. She's so very amusing, and Arai's rather unique voice fits her nicely. Uiharu and Saten are great too, and Mikoto is as cool as ever.

Durarara!! (16)
It's still very cool and interesting. Always looking forward to where the story is going next on this one. It's quite unpredictable, but good.

K-ON!! (5)
I had very high expectations of more K-ON!, and I must say I'm not disappointed at all. This is really looking up so far, and is definitely my highest favorite out of the new season.

Angel Beats! (5)
I was unsure on this one at first, but I've started to warm up on it. I'm rather surprised by how fast things seem to be moving forward in the series, and the situation of the characters is very intriguing. I'm very curious to watch more.

Shin Koihime Musou: Otome Tairan (4)
I keep up with it as usual, but I'm getting a bit bored at it for some reason lately. The yuri fanservice and comedy, as well as curiosity on what they're going to do with the Three Kingdoms characters next, keeps me coming back on this one. I'm not feeling as interested as with its predecessor, for whatever reason, though. There's still more characters to introduce it seems, so maybe things will pick up.

Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou (5)
I think 2 and 3 were the high point for me (love Korone :beatingheart:) but the series continues to be pretty fun and I'm curious where it's going next. I don't know if I can expect much of the plot (maybe I'll be surprised there, but I'll have to see...), but I do hope for some more awesome moments with some of the characters.

Working!! (5)
This series has its misses with me sometimes, but for the most part it's very funny and like the cast of quirky characters here.

B Gata H Kei (5)
Ehh... kind of still just have above average interest in this. I think I'm more into this with the kind of unusual (for anime) romantic aspect here than with the fanservice and comedy (which haven't been that great in my opinion). It definitely has me curious, at least.

Kaichou wa Maid-sama (5)
This was one of my surprise highest favorites of the new season. Got me hooked from the start and has me laughing and smiling the whole way. The interaction between the two leads is golden, and a lot of the supporting characters are fun too. 4 was kind of OK compared to the rest (still very good), but then it picked back up a good bit with 5 for me. Really looking forward to more of this show.

Phew... I think I covered all I've been watching so far there. Only thing dropped so far is Heroman, as it wasn't particularly interesting for me. There are still a few other things I might try (I've been thinking about Mayoi Neko Overrun). I've got a good amount on my plate that I'm excited for already, though, so may not feel like squeezing much else in. That's good, though, since I guess it means anime is far from "dead" for me. :)

[Glamrgrl104]

Gintama disc 2 collection 1- I laughed so hard it was so hilarious! Can't wait for Collection #2.

[Glamrgrl104]

Gintama disc 2 collection 1- I laughed so hard it was so hilarious! Can't wait for Collection #2.

Kaichou wa maid sama-episode 6- This series just gets better.

[Suwako Moriya]

5/1/10 Update (http://www.mania.com/aodvb/showpost.php?p=1766331&postcount=115)

Yes, this would be another minor update. Which means this is going to be another one of those "I just decided to drop some series" update. Let's get to it now.


Heroman (3)

The series has its good points, but let's be honest here. I'm likely to keep playing the fall behind and catch up game with it way too much. As such I'm just going to drop it for now. Note, I may go back and revisit the series after it ends. Just depends on certain factors. Which should be obvious.


Awakara Under the Bridge(2)


Episode after episode passes and I show no motivation to progress any further. Thus like I said the show feels lacking. Thus to make a long story short because I don't have time, I'm just dropping it.


That should do for now. Five series dropped so far in Spring....

[LordGeo]

Gundoh Musashi [5]: OK, now I am convinced of a few of things after getting this many episodes into the show:

1. The story actually isn't half bad. Yeah, the last three episodes were mainly about fighting a spider ayakashi, but it did introduce one major thing: the Gun-Ki, a demon-posessed gun that Musashi gets after one of his old guns melted after firing off a brand new high-powered bullet due to the heat it produced.

2. Considering that there is both a "original version" DVD release for the show as well as an "uncut version" DVD release of the show, let alone that the DVDs contain extra footage for the first few episodes and were actually being released fairly quickly after the show statrted airing, I am convinced that the animation studio decided to pull a Hunter X Hunter on us... You know, like when Togashi gave Shueisha really bad sketches for Shonen Jump magazine and then heavily improved the chapters for the tankoubans; this studio must have done these episodes on the cheap for television and then had to have done a much better job for the "uncut" DVDs. At least that's my theory, as I have not seen footage from the uncut DVDs anywhere yet, but now I'm interested.

Anyway, the animation seems to stop being badly done and instead sticks to being just awkwardly done by the time episode 5 ends; the stuttering seems to have stopped as well, though the sound effect timing is still either off or just nonexistent at times. Hopefully the whole demon gun aspect of the Gun-Ki won't be a wasted story element, as it was a nice surprise to me. Again, it's certainly not the worst anime ever as most like to claim, as it does have actual good points to it... It's just the most awkwardly-done anime ever.

[Glamrgrl104]

Gintama disc 2 collection 1- I laughed so hard it was so hilarious! Can't wait for Collection #2.

Kaichou wa maid sama-episode 6- This series just gets better.

Dogs bullet and carnage OVA-1-4- Very gorey series, but it has funny moments too. It would have been an awesome series instead of just an OVA series.

Hetalia world series-episode 59- Italy and France XD

[Shirou Emiya]

I haven't posted here in awhile AGAIN, sorry :(.

Bakugan New Vestroia Episodes 29-34.
Bleach Episode 168.
Fairy Tail Episodes 26-29.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Episodes 10-13.
Gintama Episodes 25-34.
Hayate the Combat Butler!! Episodes 8-25.
Heroman Episodes 4-6.
One Piece Episodes 104 & 105.

I've still got a long ways to go on Gintama, sigh :(.

[Garasharp K7]

Methinks it's time to waffle on about what I've been watching recently...
I decided to give Kiddy GIRL-AND a go since I liked the first series. I'm not fond of sequels that either kill off the original characters or push 'em so far into the background they might as well not exist anyway, but I really enjoyed the series. Q-Feuille and Ascouer were likeable enough to make up for the lack of Eclair and Lumiere. Even the incredibly boring villain and yuri moments didn't ruin it for me. The seiyuu gags were mercifully brief too.
And Di-air! How could I forget her, adorable bundle of cuteness that she is? Loved her habit of repeating the last words in other peoples' senteences. She's sort of like Vince from 'Rex the Runt', only without the Random Pavarotti disease.
Anyway, fun show. There were a few episodes where it didn't feel like a proper sequel to Kiddy Grade, but then there were plenty of eps that felt like the old show. Glad I watched it.
The only other current shows I've been following are Angel Beats and Heroman, and I'm enjoying those too - not much else to say there. On the dvd side, I've been rewatching Gravion and Nadesico, finished the first Linebarrels set along with Eva 1.11 and I'm almost done with To Love-ru. I've still got Strike Witches to deal with, and I'm thinking of watching Best Student Council again since the bright green spine keeps catching my eye every time I look over at my dvd shelf. :)

[Glamrgrl104]

Code Geass-season 1 episode 1- Really awesome and interesting plot. I haven't liked a mecha anime since FMP, but this one is great.

[LordGeo]

Gundoh Musashi [8]: OK, now I am 100% definite on this: Musashi is a perfectly fine show... It's just horridly animated.

In fact, episode 6 was surprisingly well-done, animation-wise; only one or two actually noticeable errors, and since it was a semi-recap episode there even seemed to be fixes on some of the scenes that were recapped, like having sounds effects added in where the original episode was missing them.

Episodes 7 & 8, though, show that the studio was really trying to use as little money on this show as possible. Princess Kaguya decides to run away from her castle in Osaka, and pretty much any scene involving her at this point was done on the absolute cheap. Storywise, the show is starting to get into the real deal now, as Hidetata Tokugawa wants to hire Musashi to kill off his father, Ieyasu... Main villian Ryougen is actually revealed to be Ieyasu Tokugawa himself. The head Ayakashi Yasha reveals to Tokugawa that everyone is living in an alternate timeline caused by Toyotomi winning the Battle of Sekigahara instead of Tokugawa. This makes Tokugawa wants to destroy the Toyotomi Shogunate so that history can return to normal.

I must say, that spoilerish twist in the story is actually a bit of a surprising one and actually helps make the show worth watching seriously... Too bad the studio makes it a little hard to enjoy the show to its fullest due to at times painfully bad animation.

[Glamrgrl104]

Code Geass-season 1 episode 1- Really awesome and interesting plot. I haven't liked a mecha anime since FMP, but this one is great.

Code geass-season 1-episode 2-4- Very good. It has non-stop action, I think that's what I like about it, and that the dub cast is amazing.

[Glamrgrl104]

Code geass season 1-episodes 5-17- WOW this series just gets better with interesting twists and turns. I am definitely buying this series when I get some more money lol.

[EmperorBrandon]

Yumeiro Patissiere (26)
Woohoo.... making good progress here, and it seems I'm almost caught up. For some reason, I thought it was into the late 30's by now, but it's actually 32 from what I checked on Crunchyroll. It certainly helps that I've been continuing to enjoy it a lot as I watch through. The OP and ED are still incredibly addictive too... I want to pop into the discussion thread, but I'll wait until I've caught up. I may add my two cents on some of the old episodes where I feel.

I think Fall 2009 pretty much sticks out as the season where I put off following several of the shows I really liked (Yumeiro Patissiere, Sora no Otoshimono, Railgun) from the beginning and only got to them later. My most anticipated (Nogizaka Haruka) ended up being disappointing despite some high points (why wasn't there more Touka?) and the rest I followed as they aired that season ended up being more average fair. I guess with Yumeiro, it was already several episodes in when it started simulcasting and didn't put aside the time to catch up then even though I made up my mind to try it just before Crunchyroll announced it. With Railgun (which I'm at about 8 on now, still got much more to watch :) ), I still needed to watch the later half of Index, which was a good chunk of episodes and didn't get to it until around Christmas. Sora no Otoshimono was one I was genuinely very hesitant to try at first (the chained angel pet vibe I was getting really turned me off), but glad I'm got around to it in the end.

Anyway... I liked seeing a good bit of Miya in the more recent arc I watched. Ojousama characters can be hit or miss (I'm familiar with quite a few misses, even very recently), but I really have a lot of fun watching her. I think she even has a little bit of depth at times. I liked seeing her reaction to Kashino's plan at promoting Ayukawa's idea for the Cake Grand Prix. Anyway, Yahagi Sayuri sure does the ojousama laugh very well, too.

Speaking of Kashino, he also has the best Sweets Spirit partner. Chocolat is just so awesomely tsundere and very cute. The first thing I thought when she showed up was that it was cool that it seems, even though there's male spirits like Cafe-kun, that we get some female ones partnered with the guys too. Of course, I'm biased towards characters being cute girls in general, but that aside, it was still interesting. It works very nicely in Kashino's case.

Anyway, aside from Yumeiro, I've got To Aru Kagaku no Railgun. Decided to leave it off at a point where it looks like it's getting interesting while I caught up on the other series, but I'll definitely be happy to catch up on it too. I'm enjoying it a good bit. I guess it's no suprise with these great characters, and Nagai Tatsuyuki directing.

I think I may relegate B Gata H Kei to low priority for the time being. There's always been something that's annoyed me a good bit in the series so far (despite being reasonably interested in some things in it), but those annoyances really seem to have come to the front in the last episode I watched, and looking over the comments on the episode after it here, it doesn't seem to have gotten better. *sigh* I think I'll try and catch up later if I hear reasonably good things about the later episodes. Want to focus on the other new series that I like more and catching up on Railgun now, though.

[gnikdrazil]

Heroic Age (1-2) : This has a fun start. It seems to have a basic plot and characters. The English voice actors are doing a good job. The visuals are nice; some of the background art is amazing. The big selling point to me is the music. It has a Jerry Bruckheimer movie score all over the place.

[Glamrgrl104]

Code geass season 1-episodes 5-17- WOW this series just gets better with interesting twists and turns. I am definitely buying this series when I get some more money lol.

Hetalia world series-episode 60- Germany and Italy XD

Kaichou wa maid sama-episode 7- Everything is not always what it seems. Can't wait to see what happens next.

Uragiri wa boku shitteru-episode 6- A great series.

Durarara-episode 18- This series is awesome!

[Glamrgrl104]

Yumerio patisierre-episode 32- All different types of sweets makes me hungry XD

Code geass season 1-episode 20-
I love the action in this series. Such an addicting series.

[Fencedude]

Agreed, I guess I just estimated it would take a bit longer. If we say June 15, that's 3 weeks from release. Figure everyone (except me if past history is any indication =P - though as with Aria I can watch in other ways until it comes in) will have it by a week after release.

Yeah I guess mid-June should be fine. Heck, works better for me anyway, as Lucky Star will be done well before then, and seasons 3-4 will hit in the lull between Spring 1 cour and Summer. Though that's less of a lull than between Fall 1 cour and Spring, since more Spring shows carry over.

Bringing this back up, I was thinking about this a bit, and I think we may want to start a bit earlier than that, probably closer to the first week of June or so.

There are 31 episodes of the series, so if we start 4 weeks from release, that gives us ~28 days, plus an additional week or so for people to get the set. Aiming to start the 4th season approximately one week from when its released. So we'd shoot for 31 episodes in ~35 days. Which seems reasonable, and allows for some slippage/doubling up.

[Glamrgrl104]

Code Geass 2nd season-Disc 1- AWESOME! just as good as the 1st series. Can't wait to see what happens next.

[something]

Bringing this back up, I was thinking about this a bit, and I think we may want to start a bit earlier than that, probably closer to the first week of June or so.
There are 31 episodes of the series, so if we start 4 weeks from release, that gives us ~28 days, plus an additional week or so for people to get the set. Aiming to start the 4th season approximately one week from when its released. So we'd shoot for 31 episodes in ~35 days. Which seems reasonable, and allows for some slippage/doubling up.
Yeah, you and Hitokiri noted this earlier, and I agreed, but apparently didn't post saying so. So yeah, let's start early June. As for who posts, I'll go ahead and do it around then if nobody minds/cares.

And this subject line reminds me I need to watch the LS OVA since Suika got that post up. Maybe tomorrow night.

[Fencedude]

I was actually planning on doing it, since I have a glut of free time now.

Though if you want to do it yourself, I certainly won't object.

My thought was to start on Tuesday the 8th, aiming to begin the 4th season on Tuesday, July 13th

[something]

I was actually planning on doing it, since I have a glut of free time now.
Though if you want to do it yourself, I certainly won't object.
My thought was to start on Tuesday the 8th, aiming to begin the 4th season on Tuesday, July 13th
Nah, go ahead. I've been stuck at work later each day so I could easily wind up taking too many days to get through it.

[something]

So we did Lucky Star and have Marimite planned. But I realized Toradora! comes out the same day as Marimite 4th. Toradora is something I very, very much want to rewatch, and I'd totally be up for doing the Toradora! episode posts. Question is when?

I don't think NISA has solicited the second cour yet, so there's no particular rush. Should we wait until it's solicited before trying to plan this one?

Marimite will probably be done mid-late July, and if NISA follows the usual 2 months schedule cour two of Toradora! should be out early September. I wouldn't want there to be a big gap in the middle, but I also wouldn't want to keep going straight through if a bunch of people would be left hanging waiting for the second NISA set.

I know that some people won't want to wait for the second set before they begin watching, but as far as a thread goes I'm thinking we start it up about a week before the second set streets. Figure a week for most people to get set two in and that's two weeks to do the first cour. It'll take at least that long, maybe a few days longer.

This is probably all sorts of jumping the gun, but no harm in thinking ahead.

[Fencedude]

I know that some people won't want to wait for the second set before they begin watching, but as far as a thread goes I'm thinking we start it up about a week before the second set streets. Figure a week for most people to get set two in and that's two weeks to do the first cour. It'll take at least that long, maybe a few days longer.

This is probably all sorts of jumping the gun, but no harm in thinking ahead.

I was thinking about this as well, I actually just rewatched Toradora! (I was about 2/3 of the way through when NISA announced their license), but I'd be totally up for watching it again.

I'd definitely say that waiting till we have more news on the second set, and starting a week or so before it streets sounds like a good plan.

[HitokiriShadow]

I haven't rewatched Toradora since it finished airing in Japan, and I'd love to rewatch it, so a discussion thread for the R1 release sounds like a great idea to me.

And waiting until shortly before the second set is definitely preferable for me.

[Glamrgrl104]

Code Geass 2nd season-Disc 1- AWESOME! just as good as the 1st series. Can't wait to see what happens next.

Code Geass Season 2 disc 2-4- AMAZING half way point of the series, now I have to see P3 AND 4.

[Glamrgrl104]

Code Geass 2nd season-Disc 1- AWESOME! just as good as the 1st series. Can't wait to see what happens next.

Code Geass Season 2 disc 2-4- AMAZING half way point of the series, now I have to see P3 AND 4.

Kaichou wa maid sama-episode 8- Very good series. I can't wait for the next episode!

Senkou no night raid-episode 5- Its pretty good, but hard to watch with the dialogue switcing back and forth from English to Japanese to Chinese.

FMA Brotherhood: episode 1- This is as good if not better than the first series.

[Moe Moe Taiga]

First Tier

(01) Durarara!! [12 eps.] - Way behind on this, will be catching up over the next few days....

Second Tier

(02) Hidamari Sketch x ☆☆☆ [12 eps. - Complete] - Need fourth season NOW. This season surpassed both previous ones in so many ways.

(03) So・Ra・No・Wo・To [12 eps. - Complete] - I really enjoyed this, and I want more, but the ending is just too conclusive.

(04) Katanagatari [3 eps.] - Waiting for episode 5, for some reason I like to watch this series in twos...

Third Tier

(05) Ookami Kakushi [12 eps. - Complete] - :Shakes Head: Ryuukishi, what happened?

(06) Dance in the Vampire Bund [12 eps. - Complete] - A nice ending, but it's filler. It reminds me of the Gantz ending, nice, but you could tell they tacked it on.

(07) Hanamaru Kindergarten [12 eps. - Complete] - Needs another season.

(08) Baka to Test to Shokanju [13 eps. - Complete] - Exact opposite of above. I felt that the ending was suitable for this series, why wreck the train any harder?

Fourth Tier (No comments on anything in this tier, they're in here for a reason...)

(09) Ladies versus Butlers! 12 eps. - Complete]

(10) Omamori Himari [12 eps. - Complete]

(11) Chu-Bra!! [12 eps. - Complete]

Dropped

Cobra: Rokunin no Yuushi - Old School is not really my thing, usually.
Heartcatch Precure! - Far too much to catch up on.
Nodame Cantabile Finale - Might try later, a lot later, just couldn't get into it.
Seikon no Qwaser (1 ep.) - Not even Katja can save this.

Only Drrr!! and Katanagatari left, unless the latter pulls something crazy the ranking(s) will stay the same.

(TV series only; Kiddie/Fringe shows are automatically dropped)

[Suwako Moriya]

I don't think NISA has solicited the second cour yet, so there's no particular rush. Should we wait until it's solicited before trying to plan this one?

That would probably be for the best. Especially since we have yet to get an idea as to what type of gaps NISA will have between each cour of a multi-cour series.

It's been a long time since I've watched Toradora. I have yet to truly re-watch it. By that I mean in full and not just "Wow episode X which I just finished had a scene in that I need to see again".

That's not to say I had no intention of re-watching it. With a series like Toradora which tends to have strong story moments, timing is always the key. You need to be in the right mood to experience them again.

On a side note, I'm hoping this trend of re-watches will keep going. Be they series I want to re-watch or not. Speaking of which, it's too bad some of the series I'm thinking of doing re-watches of remain unlicensed...

[something]

4/25/10 update! (http://www.mania.com/aodvb/showpost.php?p=1764004&postcount=26)

Caught up, at least for the shows I think I'll be sticking with. And overdue for an update!


Potential R2 Import Tier
(01)　　K-ON!! - ◄0► - 7 eps - There is so much that is godly and perfect in the four episodes that aired since last update that even trying to skim the surface would be futile. The position speaks for itself: K-ON!(!) is destined to crack my Top 10 at this rate. Oh, one thing to mention: Pure Pure Heart was a nice surprise. Slip more songs in like that, please! Not that K-ON! has been stingy with songs. I'm still waiting for my Honey Sweet Tea Time, though! Muuuugiiiiiiiiiii! [Import - Definite.]

(02)　　Angel Beats! - ◄0► - 8 eps - Once again, no surprise at all it's the most active discussion thread of the season. This show isn't perfect, I'll say that. Episode one didn't grab me, and episode 6 really dropped the ball on a particular character, but they've really made up for it and then some with everything else. Like Yui. =D Of course the most important thing right now is a certain other character almost everyone rightly adores. I also realized today I'm buying six CDs for this show so far, and that's even with the OP/ED on one CD! Hah, music sales could bring in as much as DVD/BD sales for this show. Though it looks like it'll be a pretty big hit in the latter as well, if Amazon rankings are any indication. [Import - Definite.]

(03)　　Working!! - ▲3 - 7 eps - Holy crap, Aoi. Talk about shaking up a cast instantly and effortlessly. Wagnaria will never be the same. :sd: It's amazing how much I love this show considering how little its initial main attraction, Popura, gets. I put that down to Mahiru being incredibly beyond my wildest expectations. It's obvious that the character development is all going to her, and they're exploiting that in brilliant ways. (Even if Popura-sama is still best.) [Import - Really really really want to import this, but unfortunately I can't justify another SD/DVD only series at this point. So Koihime gets the nod. Also, Koihime needs the support more. But still... Grrrrrr. =/]

(04)　　Shin Koihime Musou Otome Tairan - ▼1 - 7 eps - Son family really needed some focus, and when they got it, it was awesome. Gotta love a show that introduces at least one (usually more) new character every single episode... :sd: [Import - Planned to drop after picking up Clannad/Kanon BD sets, but I think I'll stick with it. Still loving it after all. But we'll see.]


Second Tier
(05)　　Kaichou wa Maid-sama - ◄0► - 8 eps - I'm unsure if this whole Miyabigaoka arc will play out well, but so far it's not too bad. And the characters themselves haven't lost anything, even if the plot is one that kinda grates. But all the best stuff happens in Maid Latte, so I hope the show spends more time there.

(06)　　Fairy Tail (cour 3-4) - ▲1 - 6 eps (30 eps total) - Fantastic end to the Phantom Arc, and amusing start to the next bits. I'll be happy to stick with this show for the long haul if it can keep anywhere near this quality.

(07)　　Sarai-ya Goyou - ▲2 - 4 eps - New title: "Nothing Happens: And It's Awesome". I love this show, no matter how ridiculously slow it is. Even the kinda terrible character designs have really grown on me. I find the slow pace it's maintained fascinating and designs aside, the art remains very very pretty. There's this slow and steady approach to character development that really clicks with me.

(08)　　B Gata H Kei - ▼4 - 8 eps - Yamada... she's in a somewhat annoying phase right now. It's like "Tsundere: You're Doing It Wrong", which is hard because I adore almost all tsunderekko in almost all phases. Still, I think they've started hitting on some pretty good character development opportunities in the last episode, though, so I hope they go with it. It's all worth it if it's setting up some real development. Still, it does unfortunately feel like the show moved so fast at first that it doesn't quite know where to go next, and on went the brakes. Well, if the rank is any indication I still love it. I just hope it leaps the current hurdle soon.

(09)　　Yumeiro Patissiere (cour 3-4) - ▲2 - 7 eps (33 eps total) - Cake Grand Prix rolls on! And it's been really entertaining. I'm surprised at how well this series is staying together. In particular, how it is somehow keeping what feels like a brisk pace to the actual matches. A lot of them are over in half an episode. And there's not a lot of dilly-dallying between matches either. Everything feels a lot tighter than you'd expect a 4-cour minimum shoujo cooking-tournament show to be. Oh and obligatory Yuuki Aoi = Love. But the main thing I want to say, as I noted in the thread itself, is that anyone who wants to write Taketatsu A(n)yana off as a one-trick seiyuu-nyan should be required to watch this first. she has a pretty major role in Vanilla, and it's nothing like her other roles. Ako in KissSis is a bit different too, even if episode 6 went for an amazingly blatant seiyuu joke. But anyway, Yumeiro is targeting a completely different demographic than Taketatsu's other series so it's great to see her doing nicely in such a different situation.


Third tier
(10)　　Arakawa Under the Bridge - ▼2 - 3 eps - Still at its best when it's focusing on Nino, but hoooooly crap Sawashiro Miyuki as Maria is just inspired. The Maria OP may be the best thing in the show so far. 90 seconds of Sawashiro brutally verbally abusing Sister. <3

(11)　　Hakuouki: Shinsengumi Kitan - ▼1 - 5 eps - Eps are slow in coming. =/ Nonetheless, still good. Just hope to see more soon.

(12)　　Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou - ▲4 - 7 eps - Korone + Keena = AWESOME; the rest = eh. Lily/Riri has potential (and Hirohashi Ryou) but they haven't done much with it. Not much else worth mentioning. But Korone and Keene are so fantastic that I had to jump this up a bunch of spots.

(13)　　Kiss x Sis - ▲1 - 7 eps - This would be much higher if it weren't for episode five. Pee is not sexy, what the fuck guys. Ugh. I almost dropped it thanks to that but 6-7 were very good, giving me precisely what I hoped for from this show. Plus Ako and Riko in their swimsuits... <3 That saved the show for me. Here's hoping they keep it along those lines through to the end.

(14)　　Uragiri wa Boku no Namae wo Shitteiru - ▲1 - 7 eps - Really not bad at all. Tooko keeps being lovely and now that I know this is two cour I think we might get a pretty good plot. And I am sooo pumped to get more Ashley focus. Ueda Kana~~ Plus, Itou Kanae's character in some recent eps was incredibly adorable, though I guess she was just a two episode character?.


Fourth tier
(15)　　Mayoi Neko Overrun! - ▼3 - 7 eps - I don't mind shows that jump around a bit in tone and content between episodes, but I honestly feel more like I'm watching Pani Poni Dash or Zetsubou-sensei for all the continuity this show has between episodes. Actually scratch that, less. At least those are thematically coherent in some way, and the last of plot consistency is a feature, not a bug. This is just... eh. It's so much better when it's being at least semi-serious. Episodes 3 and 5 were by far the best. 4 tried to be really unique but fell flat. The most recent one, the super robot parody, was probably awesome if you're into those elements for their own sake, which is fine. I mean, I'd love a mahou shoujo parody even if it didn't accomplish much. My issue with the episode was not at all the robot parody but the fact that it made no effort to actually use the unique traits of the characters. There was much that was super robot about the episode but absolutely nothing that was Mayoi Neko Overrun. And you know, maybe that's the problem. Maybe this show has no idea what it is. I think episodes 3 and 5 show that some of the directors understand what this show could be but the rest don't really care and there's no central identity holding it all together. It's not a bad show, not by any means, it's just dramatically hit or miss because of lack of identity. And that's a bit of a shame, honestly. Nozomi, Fumino and especially Chise have so much potential. Wish Ieyasu would die though.

(16)　　Senko no Night Raid - ▼3 - 5 eps - Still waiting, so far in vain, for this show to do something. It's not bad, but it feels so unfocused. What is you goal, guys? Is there one?


OVAs, Specials, other oddities
Katanagatari - 5 eps - Finally another episode. And it's a great one as usual, although there was no way it could have beaten episode four. But we did meet Tomatsu Haruka's character, yay! Togame continues being hugely sexy. Onsen~
Yutori-chan - 10 eps - Boo, I hope this wasn't forgotten. No more eps since last time.

Ranking on hold
None

Dropped:
Rainbow - Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin - 1 ep
Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei - 1 ep - I guess at some point I dropped this? I dunno. Just kinda disappeared off my radar and I haven't felt like giving it another episode so I'll stick it here unless I suddenly change my mind.

Still need/plan to try (may not have aired):
None


(Blah blah disclaimer, the number on a tier is not at all indicative of a show's absolute quality, merely its quality relative to the other shows on the list).

Working!! realllllly pulled out of that clump with B Gata and Maid-sama. Daimaou made gains as well, almost despite itself. A nod to Saraiya and Yumeiro too.

There was some question on which show would become my third import, but with Working!! and Koihime pulling ahead of B Gata and Maid-sama, and Working!! being DVD only, it looks like that question may be answered now. ...Although Working!! would be a lot cheaper.

And the Lucky Star rewatch thread is over, awww. It was really great reliving that show, and confirming to myself why it's been in my Top 10 since it aired. Although I do think K-ON! has its number. Won't make that official for some time, though, since K-ON!! has quite a lot left.

[Glamrgrl104]

Yumerio Patisierre-episode 33- Brilliant. Hope to see more soon.

Uragiri wa boku shittieru-episode 7- This one had more talking than usual, my mom was like they all have angst lol. This episode had more humour, but lack of action, I did enjoy it very much all the same.

[EmperorBrandon]

(12)　　Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou - ▲4 - 7 eps - Korone + Keena = AWESOME; the rest = eh. Lily/Riri has potential (and Hirohashi Ryou) but they haven't done much with it. Not much else worth mentioning. But Korone and Keene are so fantastic that I had to jump this up a bunch of spots.

I really hope we get to see more of the whole student council bunch in general (her twintailed, caped, Ayanyan-voiced vice-president and the others). They look cute and amusing, but they've barely done anything. Lily was pretty cool in ep. 5 at least. Want to see them in action more.

[Suwako Moriya]

5/10/10 Update (http://www.mania.com/aodvb/showpost.php?p=1770327&postcount=139)

At last, it's time for a real update. Which should be easier with multiple dropped series. We'll get the remind list of them out of the way first.


Dropped List

Kiss X Sis TV (1): Annoying male lead and felt forced. House of Five Leaves (2): Felt disconnected and couldn't care while watching Tatami Galaxy (2): First episode showed potential. Second episode ruined it. Awakara Under the Bridge (2): The series wasn't doing much for me. Heroman (3): Decent for what it is, but not in the mood to watch it.



Ichiban Ushiro no Dai Mahou (6)

To be honest, I'm becoming uncertain about this series. It has some girls of definite interest. However I'm not sure if those girls are able to carry the show that well anymore. Also, I have to admit the random censorship is just getting ridiculous... Sure, it was amusing at first, but there's a limit to everything. Not ready to drop it yet, but it is one of the weaker series on my list.



Kaichou Wa Maid-sama (6)

Yes, I'm falling behind on this series. Perhaps, I'll try to catch up after episode 9 airs or so. In any case, while the president side has its benefits, the maid side of things has been the main appeal of the series. Mostly because with the maid side you get the one known as Satsuki. One that proves that the maid power can exist even in older girls. Helps that she has a young look too.



Yutori-chan (10)

Err, maybe later I'll have something new to say about the divine greatness that is Yutori-chan.


Mayoi Neko Overrun (7)

At this point, I'm just going to have to accept that this series is random comedy and that the serious moments were just a fluke. I'm enjoying the series for what it is and episode 7 was awesome. However one does have to wonder what could have been. Too bad a compromise of a "Serious" version and a "Silly" version isn't viable.


B Gata H Kei (8)


I'm happy that the series has expanded the focus to other members of the cast. We need more of Misato Mami. We need Yamada Chika to get a larger role. As for the other Yamada, she's in some ways becoming frustrating. I'm hoping that in the end she'll stand tall, but whether or not she will or even can depends on what the ultimate goal of the series is. Or perhaps I should say if the series has a goal in mind.


Shin Koihime Musou Otome Tairan (6)

I'm still amazed at how well this series handles such a large cast. I guess it's a mixture of making some reoccuring characters and others the character of the week. Plus, some of these girls have more impact in a single episode than others have in several. Of course, the quality of the girls varies a bit. Some are awesome and others are kind of forgettable such as whoever that girl was. One thing I am glad of is that Shuri is one of the major characters of the series. Her divineness is beyond divine.



Angel Beats (8)

Wow. The last few episodes of the series have been quite eventful. The story continues to good over all and I'm interested in the ultimate direction. I just hope one cour is enough and they don't pull one of those answers. The type that negates what made the series interesting. In any case, Tenshi's character has grown on me quite a bit. Yuri, I continue to be fond of. However for me, Yui dominates as my favorite. She's like awesome every time she appears.



Working!! (8)


Who knew a series about people working could work so well? It does when you have girls like Popura and Mahiru. Yachiyo and Kyouko have their appeal as well, but they sometimes feel more like a package deal. The males of the series are decent too. Heck the main male even comes with the four Sisters of awesome! With the best of the sisters clearly being Izumi. On occasion, you might even spot a Maya. A mysterious creature more elusive than Bigfoot.

However what's important is the series decided to up the ante. It did so by introducing a girl known as Yamada Aoi. A Yamada that is more powerful than the two Yamadas from another series put together. She's like awesome beyond awesome and has already leaped up above several girls in spite of appearing later.


K-ON!! (7)

Each episode confirms again and again why this series deserves to be my favorite of the Spring 2009 series. The core five continue to be wonderful. You have a nice supporting cast. Heck, they even have actual students in their class. They're drawn as individuals and not just abstact representations. To the point that seeing them interact with the main cast and others becomes part of the appeal of the series. Definitely a nice change of pace.

Pure Pure Heart was definitely a nice song. Speaking of which, the way the music aspect is handled continues to be a reason I love K-ON!(!). Music is a part of the series, but not the sole reason for the girl's existence. Songs are treated as events instead of obligations. None of this "activate the same exact insert song every single episode" stuff.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sadly, Spring has quite a few series in the dropped list. However the strength of some of the series I'm still watching makes up for that. K-ON!! is worth multiple series for me. If all of these got licensed by reasonable companies, I'd prioritize Angels Beats, Working!! and K-ON!!. Well, I'd hope that K-ON! would get licensed along with.


There are indeed series that I'd like to own on Blu-Ray which includes K-ON!!. Too bad, like the other series I'm interested in on Blu-Ray, the series remains unlicensed. It's tempting, but requires a lot of sacrifice. Which I remain too hesitant to do so. Plus, there are series I want more than K-ON!!.


On a final note, I half-considered trying out a few more Spring series, but honestly haven't felt like doing so or that any are worth bothering with. So I'm keeping my spring schedule to these for now.

[something]

On a final note, I half-considered trying out a few more Spring series, but honestly haven't felt like doing so or that any are worth bothering with.
What? No UraBoku? =D Shocking!

(As much as I like to joke about the fact that I'm watching it, it's actually not bad at all... Well not that I'm seriously suggesting you'd like it.)

[Suwako Moriya]

On a final note, I half-considered trying out a few more Spring series, but honestly haven't felt like doing so or that any are worth bothering with.
What? No UraBoku? =D Shocking!

(As much as I like to joke about the fact that I'm watching it, it's actually not bad at all... Well not that I'm seriously suggesting you'd like it.)

I get the feeling it's one of those shows I'd have a 50/50 chance of liking, but only if I have proper motivation to actually try it in the first place. Well, up until Giant Killing was added to the line up, it was the only CR Spring series that I haven't tried. Now I have two untried.

It would be kind of amusing if the series did turn out to be better than some of the series I've tried. Actually, given the fact that I've dropped some series for being meh, that may not be so hard after all.

[something]

I get the feeling it's one of those shows I'd have a 50/50 chance of liking, but only if I have proper motivation to actually try it in the first place.Heh, I see you did end up giving it a try, and even made it 4 eps in already. Maybe there will be a whole three of us posting in the thread now? :sd:

[Suwako Moriya]

I get the feeling it's one of those shows I'd have a 50/50 chance of liking, but only if I have proper motivation to actually try it in the first place.Heh, I see you did end up giving it a try, and even made it 4 eps in already. Maybe there will be a whole three of us posting in the thread now? :sd:

I think one thing that helped get me to try out the series is the timing. Ie I have fewer series on my plate now. Also, by the time I tried the series, multiple episodes had aired. Which meant I could give it another episode without having to wait for it.

Sure, if I keep progressing, I'll eventually reach the point of having to wait for the next episode. However I figure it this way. Right now, I can watch up to episode 6. By that point, one should have an idea what a show is like. At least I'd hope so.

My feelings on the series so far are simple. While not a higher level favorite, the series is quite decent so far. The story has potential and it has at least one girl of interest. So that kind of helps a bit.

So a classic case of not as good as some shows I tried, but better than others that I've tried. No prizes for guessing as to examples of the former and latter.

As for discussing it, I'll see how things go over time. I find that with some shows even if I'm watching them, I might not be able to get any thoughts together and actually have anything to say.

[Glamrgrl104]

Yumerio Patisierre-episode 33- Brilliant. Hope to see more soon.

Uragiri wa boku shittieru-episode 7- This one had more talking than usual, my mom was like they all have angst lol. This episode had more humour, but lack of action, I did enjoy it very much all the same.

Code geass S2-Disc 3&4- Hella awesome and unexpected twists and turns, I love this series.

Hetalia world series-episode 61- Hilarious as always. Whooo for Funi releasing Hetalia S1 soon! *dances.

[EmperorBrandon]

To Aru Kagaku no Railgun (12)
After getting caught up on Yumeiro Patissiere, the next thing up was continuing on with this series a little more, and got up to the halfway point now. I liked that the episodic plots in the earlier series weren't really isolated incidents, and things started to get connected a little more in the second half of the first cour. I really love the nice balance the series strikes between the great character-focused moments and the cool psychic powers/science story, as well as between comedy, action, and serious emotional stuff. Though I liked Index, it had its moments that bore me, and there's not much of that with Railgun at all. Finishing up on this first cour has been particularly awesome. I'm looking forward to the second cour. Hopefully it keeps it up.

Other than B Gata H Kei, which is dropped for now, I'm keeping up with the series I've been following along with for the new season and my opinions remain mostly the same now, which is to say, lots of very good stuff. :) Angel Beats! has had a little bit of a boost lately. I'm definitely really curious where things are headed there.

[Glamrgrl104]

Code geass S2-disc 5-episode 23- Like I said twist and turns. Very interesting that you can't stop watching, I relucantly had to go to work lol.

[Glamrgrl104]

Code geass S2-disc 5-episode 23- Like I said twist and turns. Very interesting that you can't stop watching, I relucantly had to go to work lol.

Code Geass-S2-disc 6-episode 24-END- WOW this series just blew me away, the action, the cat and mouse thrill of it. The ending was very well done totally unexpected. A must-re-watch sometime. Just epic.

Kaichou wa maid sama-episode 8- HILARIOUS!

[Glamrgrl104]

Code geass S2-disc 5-episode 23- Like I said twist and turns. Very interesting that you can't stop watching, I relucantly had to go to work lol.

Code Geass-S2-disc 6-episode 24-END- WOW this series just blew me away, the action, the cat and mouse thrill of it. The ending was very well done totally unexpected. A must-re-watch sometime. Just epic.

Kaichou wa maid sama-episode 8- HILARIOUS!

Soul Eater season 1 part 1 disc 1- I picked this up because people said it was good and FMA Brotherhood was out of stock for rent :( This series so far is Pretty good. Some of the characters are annoying like the one I distinctly remembered was Naruto's dub voice lol, but Black Star it works for his voice. More funny parts than drama which can be good or bad. In my case I think it is good, I'll keep on watching.

FMA Brotherhood-Episode 3- WOW its like reliving the first series, but with more in depth behind the scene story telling.

[strangefour]

Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou - 4 OVAs
Possibly the best example of pastoral moe ever created. I just wish there was more of it animated.

Katanagarari - 2 OVAs
Love the art style. Enjoy the fluid fight scenes. Not so hot on the excesses of talking. I don't mind the talking, it just needs to spice up the camera angles and animation tricks while huge walls of text come out of characters mouths occasionally filled with barely translatable funs.

Durarara!! - 20 episodes
Best. Show. Ever.

K-ON!! - 8 episodes
I wish they played more songs and were closer to Budoukan. Other wise cute and fun.

Angel Beats! - 9 episodes
Kanade is a sad little girl in the afterlife.

Heroman - 8 episodes
Moving too slow? Moving too fast? Can't tell. Still filled with potential.

Working!! - 8 episodes
Poplar is still unbelievably adorable. Yamada has started to improve this show. But we were teased with and then deprived of a proper onsen episode.

[strangefour]

Katanagarari - 2 OVAs
Love the art style. Enjoy the fluid fight scenes. Not so hot on the excesses of talking. I don't mind the talking, it just needs to spice up the camera angles and animation tricks while huge walls of text come out of characters mouths occasionally filled with barely translatable funs.


After two more episodes... HOLY CRAP! I mean god damn... It's great. It's just man wow. One sad episode and one scary episode.

[Glamrgrl104]

Soul eater P1-Disc 2- Overall a good series so far although probably nothing I'd want to buy, but I'll rent P2.

[Shirou Emiya]

Code Geass - Hangyaku no Lelouch: Kiseki no Birthday Picture Drama.
Dragon Ball Z Kai Episode 1 (Re-Watch).
Dragon Ball Z Kai Episode 2.
Fairy Tail Episodes 30 & 31.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Episodes 14-16.
Ghost Hunt Episodes 1-13.
Gintama Episode 35.
Heroman Episodes 7-9.
Kekkaishi Episode 1.
Kenichi the Mightiest Disciple Episode 1 (Re-Watch).
Madobe Nanami no Windows 7 de PC Jisaku Ouen Commercial!!.

[heyjean]

i just have faith in Death Note,LOL~!

[Shirou Emiya]

Fairy Tail Episode 32.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Episode 16.
Ghost Hunt Episodes 8-25 (End).
Heroman Episode 9.
Kekkaishi Episode 1.

Ghost Hunt was a really good anime series, I hope that the rest of the manga gets animated one day.

[Mateo_home]

K-ON! (1-13) COMPLETE-Funny how last year I thought this show was okay, and now I love it. Just seeing these girls interact in every way cracks me. Even if the bonus episode was a bit of a downer. Loved how in the last episode we finally see Ritsu getting. The off-screen "whacks" do amuse in it's own merits. Even if I think she's retarded, Yui is my favorite of of the Light music club. Could be main character powers, or I love how she nicknames her belongings. Looking back, I like this seasons OP and ED themes more than the second.

Really have to catch up with the second season.

[Glamrgrl104]

Soul eater P1-Disc 2- Overall a good series so far although probably nothing I'd want to buy, but I'll rent P2.

Rented FMA Brotherhood instead-disc 1&2- Pretty good. I like how the story goes faster.

Hey class President OVA- Cute and funny. It also has romance :)

Ai no Kusabi-episode 1&2- Gritty. Not much plot to it. I didn't quite understand the end, but it is definitely not a re-watch too much hardcore yaoi.


Yumerio patisierre- A new character! I want to learn how to make Monte blanc now lol.

Now for something lighter maybe Sukisho, Gauken heaven, perhaps one of the K-dramas I still have to finish BOF K-drama.

Hetalia world series- episode 62- Hilarious and the new ED is addicting haha.

[Classical]

It's been forever since I've posted in one of these threads. Anyway, I'm just posting my thoughts on one show that had me curious for a while.

Hidamari Sketch (1): First off...Yuno is so freaking adorable! *clears throat* Anyway, some people on these boards seem to talk about this show a lot, and I didn't know much about this show other than it's about art students. Being that the Anime Network was streaming the 1st episode online I decided to give it a watch. It's really cute, and it's nice and laid back. I seem to like slice-of-life stuff so I guess I wound up liking this first episode. Art direction and animation is really appealing too, it being done by SHAFT and all. There's some interesting personalities and heartwarming friendship connections, at least based on this first episode. I really liked what I saw, and this will most likely be a future purchase, probably after some older titles I need to get are acquired.

[Glamrgrl104]

Boys over Flowers K-drama-disc 1&2- Just as great as I remember. onto disc 3!

[gnikdrazil]

Heroic Age (1-2) : This has a fun start. It seems to have a basic plot and characters. The English voice actors are doing a good job. The visuals are nice; some of the background art is amazing. The big selling point to me is the music. It has a Jerry Bruckheimer movie score all over the place.

(3-26) Done : What beautiful scenery and music this series has and that's all I liked about it. Everything else was so average. Characters felt like they artificially changed and barely. Plot was pretty weak which focused on way too many space battles. Characters weren't given time to digest, and they had to immediately react to the next fight or crisis. The villains weren't that interesting. "Shiny people left so I want to exterminate the human race" is not good motivation for villains. English voice acting was fine but no one really stood out.

[Memphis]

Comcast finally added something free that's actually worth checking out.

Watching

Baccano (ep. 1) - There are 2 episodes on it right now, and I only checked out 1 so far. I plan to check out the other a little later. 1st impressions though... I don't know what to make of it. It jumped around so much and I don't really know what's suppose to be going on. ]But seeing people come back to life after being shot up definately caught my interest. The voice acting is also nice. No ringing on the ears and nothing dull.

Claymore (ep. 2) - Yeah, Raki's definately going to be the one I want to strangle in this series. I only saw the first 2 episodes, but the 2nd episode I wanted to kick him in the face. His voice didn't make it any better. (How old is he suppose to be anyway? I will not accept 16 year olds who don't go through puberty :) ) Anyway, Claire (?) is certainly different from other female characters with the starting role. One thing that bothers me a bit though when it comes to the action. Single flashes of light. I read in a review that a lot of the fights are like that and while it won't turn me away (hopefully), it will leave me feeling cheated.

That's all for comcast.

Peacemaker (ep. 7) - I pretty much caught up to where I last left off. Episode 7. I don't really care for Tetsunosuke, but I am looking forward to how everything turns out.

Hakuouki: Shinsengumi Kitan (ep. 8) - At first I was skeptical going into this because I'm iffy about Studio DEEN and their last samurai themed anime that I saw being Samurai Deeper Kyo. I did not like how it was animated at all. Fights lacked big time. Here, while the fights don't reach that intensity in Rurouni Kenshin/Trust and Betrayal, but they are still fairly decent to watch when there are fights. If I had to compare this to something it'd be Peacemaker Kurogane (I need to watch the rest of that). Both seem to have very few fights, but tell an interesting story (from what I've seen so far) about the Shinsengumi, and it looks to be more character driven. The artwork is great, although almost everyone of the guys in this series look like a bunch of pretty boys. It's been entertaining so far but I don't think this is for everyone.

[Glamrgrl104]

Boys over Flowers K-drama-disc 1&2- Just as great as I remember. onto disc 3!

Kaicho wa maid sama episode 10- I love this series.

Uragiri was boku shitteru-episode 9- great series! It is mostly dramatic, but thats what makes the characters even better with the character development.

Toradora episode 1- Very cute. I'll watch some more.

[Shirou Emiya]

Heroman Episode 10 (Sub).
One Piece Episodes 109-118 (FUNimation Dub).

I finally finished Season 2 Voyage 5 of One Piece and I am now on Sixth Voyage.

[gnikdrazil]

Strike Witches (1-8) - Why do I keep buying this dreck? Probably, it promises action and boobs. I had been tolerating the series until I saw episode 7. Everyone chasing each other to find the "pant" thief. The episode was not fun and felt like pulling teeth. There are too many characters so each one gets some shallow development. I'll finish the series, but I hope it tries to explore what the enemy is.

[something]

I'll finish the series, but I hope it tries to explore what the enemy is.
You are watching the wrong series.

(BTW, pants thief episode was epically awesome.)

[Westlo]

Strike Witches (1-8) - Why do I keep buying this dreck? Probably, it promises action and boobs.

FFS you miss the point, it's the cameltoe and ass service!

[Glamrgrl104]

Yumerio patisierre-episode 35- Pretty good.

Hetalia world series-episode 63- Hilarious as always.

Durarara episode 21- Pretty good.

[LelouchLamperouge]

...

I had to skip the thief episode, it was just too disgusting for my tastes.

It takes a lot for me to skip an episode of something, but SW managed it.

[something]

It takes a lot for me to skip an episode of something, but SW managed it.
Obviously not if a silly pants thief episode did you in. :sd: It was very goofy, but there was nothing remotely sick about it that I can think of at all. Hell it wasn't even some creepy stalker doing it, it was Lucchini in a big comical misunderstanding. Unless the idea of fictional characters wearing someone else's stockings totally freaks you out, I guess.

That said, knowing you, I'm not sure why you even watched Strike Witches in the first place. It's just "moe garbage", m i rite?

[Fencedude]

...

I had to skip the thief episode, it was just too disgusting for my tastes.

It takes a lot for me to skip an episode of something, but SW managed it.

Uhh...really?

Wow, thats...not very much, really. What was so disgusting about it?

[LelouchLamperouge]

Wow, thats...not very much, really. What was so disgusting about it?

Other than it being an oddly placed episode, too much under 16 ass. It was totally and completely unnecessary. Not like you or some people would understand.

[something]

Other than it being an oddly placed episode, too much under 16 ass.
If you have a real objection to fictional teenage butts, but were still watching Strike Witches anyway, you have absolutely no right to complain. This is like watching Gundam and complaining there are robots.

With all the hate you've given to any number of series over the years, one would think you'd eventually figure out which shows are or are not going to be of interest to you.

[Fencedude]

Wow, thats...not very much, really. What was so disgusting about it?

Other than it being an oddly placed episode, too much under 16 ass. It was totally and completely unnecessary. Not like you or some people would understand.

Out of curiosity, what difference does it make when one drawing of an ass has the number 12 next to it, while another has the number 16?

And if this bothers you so much, why in the world would you watch freaking Strike Witches!?

[LelouchLamperouge]

With all the hate you've given to any number of series over the years, one would think you'd eventually figure out which shows are or are not going to be of interest to you.

I like to give the benefit of the doubt to some series. From Spring 09' to Spring 10' (basically about a year), there's been ~10 shows that have interested me and less than that I'd be willing to support. That's really quite sad compared to the last couple years where there have been ~20-25 shows that had interested me a year and ~10-15 I'd support.

It's pretty stupid to try and change my tastes and what I like. Sadly, what I like and what my tastes are, aren't popular or being made in droves in Japan like they used to. Thus, my interest in anime is continually waning.

[Suwako Moriya]

5/24/10 Update (http://www.mania.com/aodvb/showpost.php?p=1776207&postcount=167)

See previous update for the dropped series.


Uragiri wa Boku no Namae o Shitteiru (8)

Originally I had no intention of trying this series, but I decided for the heck of it to try it. While not exactly a higher level favorite, the series is surprisingly decent. It also contains some amusing characters. Plus the previews have some interesting dialog. So for now so long as I can make time for it and it doesn't go downhill, I'll continue to watch it on the side.


Giant Killing (9)

Given that I tried out every other series in the Crunchyroll Spring 2010 list, I figured I may as well try this out. So I made sure to give it a fair shot. I was also watching another series at the same time. Yeah, go figure on that one. In any case, in spite of the fact it's not my type of show, I have to admit that so far it's actually a pretty decent series. Not sure if I'll actually finish it, but if I drop it, it won't be a negative drop. If that makes any sense.


Ichiban Ushiro no Dai Mahou (8)

Made some progress again by watching up to episode 8. The additional episodes haven't done much to improve my opinion on the series. The problem is the series continues to feel like it's lacking something. Or maybe I'm just bitter there hasn't been enough Lily. Regardless, I'm not sure what to think anymore.


Kaichou Wa Maid-sama (9)

To be honest the wow factor of the series is already starting to wear off. However some of the girls continue to be enjoyable. Not much else to say right now. I need to decide how to approach the rest of this. Since the series is getting legit streaming, but of the pay to watch variety. Plus, there's the idea of a potential DVD release. Well, Anime Network does do those free days on occasion.

Spellbound Magical Princess (10)

On the positive side, the mascots can sometimes be amusing. The girls in general are quite nice. The episodes have potential to be fun. On the negative side, it's clear there will be the occasional weaker episode. Plus, the CG OF PURE EVIL kind of err I don't know RUINS the appeal of the Idol part. Seriously, WTF were they thinking? Even worse, it's like they weren't even trying. Well, at least the outfits vary. I think this will be the type of show that I watch on the side to pass the time.



B Gata H Kei (10)


The series has had some frustrating moments, but for the most part it's been fun. Plus, the way it handles certain aspects has been a nice change pace. Even so what this series needs to truly be great is more focus on Misato Mami.


Mayoi Neko Overrun (10)

The series structure is definitely a bit chaotic, but over all I'm enjoying the series. Mostly because I like the main trio of girls. Although sometimes Fumino's character traits come off as too extreme to be honest. Which hurts her characters. Regardless, she does have a nice body and has some nice moments. Nozomi is well, I'm actually not sure what to say about her. Chise is clearly cute and needs a hug.


Shin Koihime Musou Otome Tairan (9)

Based on what has happened during this season, it's clear that Touka's character comes with many benefits. Two of them being her chest. The rest is essentially character related. Story is definitely not the series strong point, but then it was never meant to be. It's the type of show where any plot it may contain is just a method in which to get characters to interact with each other. In any case, Yuri + Chibi + Pretty Girls continues to be an effective formula for me.


Working!! (10)

Development wise, Mahiru continues to be the strongest of the girls. However in terms of fun factor, Aoi continuesto rise up the ranks. Over all the series continues to be enjoyable. Yet another 4-Koma series to consider if it ever gets a reasonable R1 release.


K-ON!! (10)

This series will either get you interested in music or cause you to gain weight eating cake. Wait, maybe you can burn off the calories gained by the latter with the former? In any case, having two cour to work with is definitely making a difference. Still hoping to see certain chapters adapted and certain characters get more focus. In any case, K-O!! remains the strong favorite of the season.


Angel Beats (11)


Yes, there series has its flaws. Some related to the fact it was only one cour. Even so the series has been quite good so far. I especially love how each episode has either provided foundation for later events or moved things forward. Episode 10 and 11 were both quite strong episodes, but for different reasons. There's still concern about the ending, but the recent episodes have me hopeful about things.
---------------------------------------------


That should more or less cover it. I tried to keep things short since I suspect another update in a couple weeks. Given that the one cour series that I'm watching are coming close to an end. So in theory I should have some final thoughts on them. So there wasn't much point getting too long winded. In any case, certain series are tempting me to update my most wanted list. Maybe if I'm luck another title on my list will get licensed and a free slot will open. Yes, "Angel Beats" is currently one series that I'm tempted to add soon.

[gnikdrazil]

Strike Witches (1-8) - Why do I keep buying this dreck? Probably, it promises action and boobs. I had been tolerating the series until I saw episode 7. Everyone chasing each other to find the "pant" thief. The episode was not fun and felt like pulling teeth. There are too many characters so each one gets some shallow development. I'll finish the series, but I hope it tries to explore what the enemy is.

Done. Another series that I felt was a waste of time. Cliched plot and characters. There were zero characters that I had vested interest. There wasn't any fun in the series for me, and it being "serious" was only cosmetic. I will give it props for coming up with an interesting form for the final enemy.

[Fencedude]

and it being "serious" was only cosmetic.

Well no shit! It wasn't supposed to be serious. Were you really expecting it to be?

[gnikdrazil]

Well no shit! It wasn't supposed to be serious. Were you really expecting it to be?

<sarcasm>
I expected an epic Lord of the Rings with panties!!!
</sarcasm>

What I meant was that other "panty" series have introduced drama qualities and have done a good job like Shuffle.

[Fencedude]

Well no shit! It wasn't supposed to be serious. Were you really expecting it to be?

<sarcasm>
I expected an epic Lord of the Rings with panties!!!
</sarcasm>

What I meant was that other "panty" series have introduced drama qualities and have done a good job like Shuffle.

You can't really compare Strike Witches and Shuffle, they aren't even remotely the same genre, have completely different origins, aren't intended to do the same thing, etc etc.

And why does a series have to do that anyway?

[Shirou Emiya]

Fairy Tail Episode 33 (Sub).
Fate/Stay Night Episodes 1-4 (Geneon Dub).
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Episodes 17 & 18 (FUNimation Dub).
Heroman Episode 11 (Sub).
Kekkaishi Episodes 2 & 3 (Viz Media Dub).
One Piece Episodes 119-130 (FUNimation Dub).

I'm finally done with Season Two: Sixth Voyage of One Piece, and I just finished watching Volume 1 of Fate/Stay Night.

Really good anime series so far.

[Glamrgrl104]

Yumerio patisierre-episode 35- Pretty good.

Hetalia world series-episode 63- Hilarious as always.

Durarara episode 21- Pretty good.


Will watch some more anime after finals. I am procrastinating right now XD

I've been watching K-dramas and they are too interesting to stop lol.

You're Beautiful K-drama-episode 1-8- Very touching, hilarious, and I guess there is some romance. A very good series.

BOF K-drama- Just saw the last episode and it was a fantastic ending to it. A definite re-watch in the future.

[Glamrgrl104]

You're Beautiful K-drama-episode 9-11- Getting even more interesting. This might be a title I plan to get.

[Suwako Moriya]

Yes, because I hate people I'm planning to re-watch through Sensei no Ojikan (Doki Doki School Hours) over time once more. Well, it's been a few years since the last serious watch. Given how negative many are towards the show, this shouldn't mess up anyone's schedule. :P


I've also thinking about re-watching Gauken Utopia Manabi Straight. Although it's kind of tricky and not just because of the whole "Would it hold up to a re-watch?" question that one must ask themselves.

Unlike with some other series, it has yet to get an R1 release. Perhaps maybe this will be the year and I should wait off a bit. Or maybe, I'll find that even if I wait seven more years, there will still be nothing. That even "Random Dude stares at a wall" will get licensed before it.

I suppose I could wait until at least after Anime Expo ends, but then again there may not be much point waiting. I'll have to think about that.

[something]

I've also thinking about re-watching Gauken Utopia Manabi Straight. Although it's kind of tricky and not just because of the whole "Would it hold up to a re-watch?" question that one must ask themselves.
Unlike with some other series, it has yet to get an R1 release. Perhaps maybe this will be the year and I should wait off a bit.
I'm sure it'll hold up incredibly well. Although it would be hard for me to join in before the Marimite thread ends. I'll definitely have time between that and Toradora! though. It would probably get a lot more replies after an R1 license. Not just from new viewers, but people who have already seen it would be more likely to join in if it were on their minds already from a recent release. Of course, as you note, one may not happen... it's been some years already. Well, your call of course.

As for DDSH, yeah I'll have to pass. I never could get into that show, so I don't have it on DVD nor do I have a readily available alternative.

[Shirou Emiya]

Fate/Stay Night Episodes 5-14 (Geneon USA English Dub).
Heroman Episode 12 (English Sub).

Fate/Stay Night has turned out to be an epic series, I wish I had started watching it earlier.

If all goes well, I will be finishing this anime tonight.

[Suwako Moriya]

I've also thinking about re-watching Gauken Utopia Manabi Straight. Although it's kind of tricky and not just because of the whole "Would it hold up to a re-watch?" question that one must ask themselves.
Unlike with some other series, it has yet to get an R1 release. Perhaps maybe this will be the year and I should wait off a bit.
I'm sure it'll hold up incredibly well. Although it would be hard for me to join in before the Marimite thread ends. I'll definitely have time between that and Toradora! though.

*Thinks for a minute here* If my assumptions are correct, Marimite should be wrapped up by August. And there's no telling yet how long before part 2 of Toradora will be out. So, yeah there will definitely be a gap.


It would probably get a lot more replies after an R1 license. Not just from new viewers, but people who have already seen it would be more likely to join in if it were on their minds already from a recent release. Of course, as you note, one may not happen... it's been some years already. Well, your call of course.

I'm currently giving it some thought. Sure, there's the idea of just rushing ahead and starting it now, but that might not be such a good idea. Not just because of the idea of taking others such as yourself into consideration.

I also have to keep in mind how many shows I'm juggling myself. If I go overboard with serious re-watches (ie not just watching a random scene yet again), it will be hard to juggle the newer stuff as well.

And as of current I'm both re-watching Marimite and of course I started up Doki Doki School Hours. Sure, I may be one of the few watching the latter, but the fact I'm watching it means time in my schedule will be devoted to it.

So perhaps I might want to finish Sensei no Ojikan first and then worry about what to do about Manabi Straight? it should take me some time to finish the series. Especially if I adopt the idea of "Spread out the episodes" as opposed to rush through them.

Either way, I'll need to give this some thought eventually.

[something]

*Thinks for a minute here* If my assumptions are correct, Marimite should be wrapped up by August. And there's no telling yet how long before part 2 of Toradora will be out. So, yeah there will definitely be a gap.
Yeah, I'd say Marimite will be done by July 21st, give or take a few days.

I'm currently giving it some thought. Sure, there's the idea of just rushing ahead and starting it now, but that might not be such a good idea. Not just because of the idea of taking others such as yourself into consideration. I also have to keep in mind how many shows I'm juggling myself. If I go overboard with serious re-watches (ie not just watching a random scene yet again), it will be hard to juggle the newer stuff as well.
I think my feeling about rewatches is that I have so many shows I'd like to rewatch, yet the time to watch so few that I prefer to only rewatch things that I think we'll get maximum discussion value from. Even if there are shows I might want to rewatch more. When I'm following on average 20 new ongoing shows at a time, I can only do 1, 2 max rewatches at a time anyway, which means maybe 10 a year, if that.

Not that I wouldn't rewatch Manabi, if a thread popped up. It'd be one of my priorities to keep up with it. But I guess my thought process is that "value of the discussion" trumps "value of the show" - within reason of course, and ideally one would have both. By no means whatsoever do you have to think the same way, obviously. This is just what I tend to weigh when thinking about starting or participating in rewatches.

[Fencedude]

BTW it looks like Toradora Part 2 will be out in late August.

[Suwako Moriya]

Not that I wouldn't rewatch Manabi, if a thread popped up. It'd be one of my priorities to keep up with it. But I guess my thought process is that "value of the discussion" trumps "value of the show" - within reason of course, and ideally one would have both. By no means whatsoever do you have to think the same way, obviously. This is just what I tend to weigh when thinking about starting or participating in rewatches.

Ah, I see then. For me, I tend to re-watch for one of three reasons. A sudden impulse to watch a show again like with Lucky Star. Influenced by recent R1 status like with Hidamari Sketch. Going with the flow like with Marimite for example.

All I know is be it ones I start myself or ones I join in, I plan to continue with occasionally re-watching shows from the past. For various reasons. Including the idea that if I want the past offered, I can always revisit it.

On a side note, you may want to fix one of your quotes since you're quoting what I said at what point, but have your name as the person being quoted.

[Suwako Moriya]

BTW it looks like Toradora Part 2 will be out in late August.

Which is much faster than I was expecting. Especially since I was leaning towards ordering part 1 in August at the earliest. Heh, maybe I should postpone certain plans after all.:sweat:

[pianocello]

I've also thinking about re-watching Gauken Utopia Manabi Straight. Although it's kind of tricky and not just because of the whole "Would it hold up to a re-watch?" question that one must ask themselves.



I've seen this 6 times. Great replay value.

[Glamrgrl104]

You're Beautiful K-drama-episode 9-11- Getting even more interesting. This might be a title I plan to get.

Kaichou wa maid sama-Episode 11- Fantastic. I can't wait to see more.

Hetalia world series episode 64- Pretty good and funny as always.

[Glamrgrl104]

Finished K-drama You're Beautiful- Very good and a great ending. I kind of wish there was more, but its an awesome series anyways.

K-drama Iris-Episode 1- Very action filled and has suspense, humour, and a little romance. A very good drama so far.

K-drama Goong S- episode 1-3- Pretty good. It has humor, some romance, and misunderstandings lol.

Hetalia world series episode 65- Pretty good.

Uragiri wa boku no shitteru-episode 10 & 11- Creepy lol. Pretty awesome!\

[Shirou Emiya]

Fairy Tail Episode 34 (English Sub).
Flame of Recca: Final Burning (English Sub).
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Episodes 19 & 20 (FUNimation Entertainment English Dub).
Heroman Episode 13 (English Sub).
Kekkaishi Episodes 4 & 5 (Viz Media English Dub).
Makai Senki Disgaea Trailer (Geneon Entertainment USA English Dub).
One Piece Episodes 131-143 (FUNimation Entertainment English Dub).

I'm finally caught up on the FUNimation Dub of One Piece (DVD Wise), now to just wait for Episodes 144-156 to be released to DVD in the U.S. on July 6, 2010.

[Glamrgrl104]

Finished K-drama You're Beautiful- Very good and a great ending. I kind of wish there was more, but its an awesome series anyways.

K-drama Iris-Episode 1- Very action filled and has suspense, humour, and a little romance. A very good drama so far.

K-drama Goong S- episode 1-3- Pretty good. It has humor, some romance, and misunderstandings lol.

Hetalia world series episode 65- Pretty good.

Uragiri wa boku no shitteru-episode 10 & 11- Creepy lol. Pretty awesome!\

K-drama Iris- Episodes 2-6- Very awesome!

Kaicho wa maid sama episode 12- A sports festival episode yay!

Durarara-episodes 22&23- This series just gets better and better.

Kaleido star- Episode 1-3- Very good and funny. It reminds me of Glass Mask if it were in a circus performance. I might pick this up later.

[Glamrgrl104]

Durarara final episode 24- WOW I think I liked this better than Baccano! I am happy this is coming to dvd soon.

[something]

4/11/10 update! (http://www.mania.com/aodvb/showpost.php?p=1757135&postcount=30)

And done. Not a lot to say but Winter is 100% complete and I felt like getting this up before I go back to working on my Spring update.

R2 Import Tier
(01) Hidamari Sketch x ☆☆☆ - ◄0► - 12 eps / complete - Bonus episodes where, Shaft!? Damnit, do this instead of a second season of Arakawa (not that AUtB is a bad show...) [Import - Definite.]
(02) Durarara!! - ▲1 - 24 eps / complete - Perfect all the way through to the end. One of the most pleasant surprises in years, and currently my #3 show of 2010. Can't wait for the second season - you so know it's coming! [Import - Definite, got 5 vols already but keeping an eye on Aniplex's R1 plans.]
(03) So·Ra·No·Wo·To - ▼1 - 12 eps / complete - While it loses #2 to Durarara!!, ever so slightly, that's nothing to be ashamed of. And god damn, episode 7.5 was absolutely hilarious. [Import - Definite.]

Second Tier
(04) Dance in the Vampire Bund - ◄0► - 12 eps / complete
(05) Katanagatari - ◄0► - 3 eps - Not "complete", but ranking outside the main group now due to release schedule. So this rank here doesn't really apply anymore.
(06) Hanamaru Kindergarten - ◄0► - 12 eps / complete
(07) Nodame Cantabile Finale - ◄0► - 11 eps / complete

Third Tier
(08) Ladies versus Butlers! - ◄0► - 12 eps / complete
(09) Chuu-Bra!! - ◄0► - 12 eps / complete
(10) Ookamikakushi - ◄0► - 12 eps / complete

Fourth tier
...

Fifth tier
(11) Omamori Himari - ◄0► - 12 eps / complete

Ranking on hold
None

Dropped:
Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu - 4 eps
Seikon no Qwaser - 1 ep

Still need to try:
None


(Blah blah disclaimer, the number on a tier is not at all indicative of a show's absolute quality, merely its quality relative to the other shows on the list).

I would need to do a pretty involved check to confirm this, but I do believe this is the only single season of anime that's had three 10/10 series to its name. And only one was a sequel, which is impressive considering that seven of the eleven 10/10 shows from the last nine seasons have been sequels of beloved franchises. And that it's an 'off' season at that, being Winter!

Here's the last couple years:

Spring '08: Geass R2 [1]
Summer '08: HidaSketch365 [1]
Fall '08: Clannad AS, Toradora! [2]
Winter '09: Maria-sama ga Miteru 4th [1]
Spring '09: K-ON! [1]
Summer '09: Haruhi 2k9 [1]
Fall '09: none [0]
Winter '10: HidaSketch***, Drrr!!, SoraWoto [3]
Spring '10: K-ON!! [1; unofficial until complete]

[Glamrgrl104]

Durarara final episode 24- WOW I think I liked this better than Baccano! I am happy this is coming to dvd soon.

Kaichou wa maid sama episode 13- Really funny even though this episode fell short of the romance catagory it is still a very great series.

[something]

5/23/10 update! (http://www.mania.com/aodvb/showpost.php?p=1775855&postcount=22)

I wasn't going to do an update until more shows finished, but it's been over a month already. Besides, there are three 2-cour Spring shows (K-ON!!, Maid-sama, UraBoku) and two multi-cour ongoing (Fairy, Yumeiro). Plus a new entrant I'm counting as spring, Heartcatch Precure. I'll do the same thing with that as I do with Fairy/Yume, and roll it over into my Fall list for its next two cour. I might change my mind and carry long ongoing shows into each season thread... I dunno. Still working out how to deal with those.


R2 Import Tier
(01)　　K-ON!! - ◄0► - 12 eps - Why yes, this is the best show of 2010. But that doesn't mean there's necessarily a lot to say. :sd: My love for these characters continues to grow unabated, and episode 12 was, hands down, one of the best episodes of either season. A perfect, perfect mix of everything that makes me love K-ON! so, so much.

(02)　　Working!! - ▲1 - 12 eps - Well this is interesting! Working!! didn't just overcome its 2nd tier competition, didn't just bypass Koihime, it's even topped Angel Beats! for me. Albeit by the slimmest of margins, and there is one episode of Working!! left still. Honestly, it's a bit hard to compare the two. Angel Beats!, at its best, trounces Working!! in emotional engagement and sheer beauty. But really, I'd hope so - Working!! is a comedy. What I can say, though, is that I am more consistently enjoying this show, and in the end that consistency pushes it over the top. A Popura-focused episode and amazing Mahiru episodes, plus the brilliant addition of Aoi makes this one of the best comedies I've ever seen. [Import - No. Absolutely good enough, but SD, DVD-only, blah blah. Aniplex USA, please release this!]

(03)　　Angel Beats! - ▼1 - 13 eps / complete - Sure, it gave up the #2 spot to Working!! in the end, but the four episodes I've watched since last update have been among the best. 11, 12 and 13 were phenomenal. I'll just paste in what I said in the thread [spoiler-free]: "For nearly its whole run, Angel Beats! was a show that I really, really liked but that seemed to makes its flaws far too obvious. The failings, the shortcuts, the inconsistencies were impossible to ignore, like a bratty kid standing behind you and poking you between the shoulders every 30 seconds while you're trying to watch a really good movie. Or like a couple badly placed dead pixels in an otherwise top of the line monitor. I didn't want to dwell on them because it's much more fulfilling to focus on all the stuff that worked, but as numerous posts I've made in this thread and elsewhere illustrate that the negatives weighed heavily on my mind and on my evaluation of the show.
These last three episodes were, fundamentally, not all that much different. The flaws were right on the surface. I should have felt the same way. But I didn't. The [i][removed] clicked with me on a pretty deep level, and even though it was as fraught with ridiculousness at times as the rest of the show I didn't think about that very much.
This [final] episode is, I'm sure, going to be extremely polarizing. But it worked, it got to me, it drove Angel Beats!' central message home. It cleared the hurdles the show faced - almost all of its own making - and made me feel good about watching this show. Really good." [Import - Definite.]

(04)　　Shin Koihime Musou Otome Tairan - ◄0► - 12 eps / complete - While not as mind-blowingly glorious as the second season's ending, good solid fun all around. Wavered between a strong '8' and a '9' but eventually gave it the '9'. I would, of course, be delighted to watch a fourth. I mean, there are surely many more characters to meet. =D [Import - Definite.]


Second Tier
(05)　　Fairy Tail (cour 3-4) - ▲1 - 10 eps (34 eps total) - Tower of Heaven time. The start has been quite promising, and we've moved pretty quickly so I wonder how long this will be. I can kinda see the first act of this arc ending in a few episodes before, presumably, things go BOOM. This also continues, somehow, to be one of the sexiest shows around. Still seriously digging the well-maintained gender balance too.

(06)　　B Gata H Kei - ▲2 - 12 eps / complete - And right back up near the top of 2nd tier this goes as the final episodes make up for any shortcomings. I'm really happy with how it ended, personally. It's a shame that people wrote this off as fanservice trash based on the premise alone: it actually addresses the awkwardness of sex and first love far more respectfully than just about anything out there, particularly for a comedy.

(07)　　Yumeiro Patissiere (cour 3-4) - ▲2 - 12 eps (38 eps total) - Ah as the episodes pile up it gets tougher to rank these against short 1-cour shows. But the entire Grand Prix has played out very well. Matches never dragged, characters didn't get annoying, there was enough variety in sweets and personalities to keep it going. As the show moves on to Paris, I'm really curious to see just how long it intends to be. Where it is now, it doesn't have to be one of those endless series, but I also don't believe it's only going to be four cour. That doesn't leave enough time.

(08)　　Heartcatch Precure - ◄NEW► - 18 eps - A challenger appears! It's a long mahou shoujo series so it's inevitable that the one-off characters are extremely hit-or-miss, and I still don't like the mascots. But Tsubomi and Erika are way. too. fun. to watch. It doesn't follow the usual anime seasons so it's sort of a half-cour off from other series, but it makes a lot more sense for me to count it in Spring than Winter.


Third tier
(09)　　Sarai-ya Goyou - ▼2 - 5 eps - Not a lot to say, only seen one episode since last time. Not that there would be a lot to say even if I'd seen more. =P

(10)　　Hakuouki: Shinsengumi Kitan - ▲1 - 12 eps / complete - Done, and honestly quite good. I'm particularly interested in seeing how season two turns out, as the remnants of the Shinsengumi move into the Meiji era.

(11)　　Uragiri wa Boku no Namae wo Shitteiru - ▲3 - 12 eps - You know, I rather like this show. Not "good for a bl show" or "good for a show aimed at females", I just think it's a pretty good show plain and simple. But needs more Tooko-chan!

(12)　　Mayoi Neko Overrun! - ▲3 - 12 eps - 13 appears to be a recap so this is basically complete. And holy crap what do you know, this show got pretty awesome in the final stretch! I've still docked it points for the intense inconsistency, but these final episodes really hunkered down and dabbled in the more emotional aspects of the character interactions, and really hit a home run. Nozomi! Sure, it's nothing special when all is said and done, but it really picked itself up and improved my opinion in the end.


Fourth tier
(13)　　Kaichou wa Maid-sama - ▼8 - 10 eps - I am two episodes behind, but I don't think they'll change what has been a growing ambivalence about this show. I love Misaki, absolutely adore her, but the plot of the show essentially boils down to Misaki meeting one group of assholes after another. If you're lucky, she'll kick their asses herself and it's all sorts of awesome to watch. Alternately, she'll get saved by Usui, which kinda grates. Not because he's bad; I actually rather like him. But when the "Misaki and friends get bullied" bits are so laborious to sit through, the least I'd like to see is Misaki resolving the situation herself. I need that payoff to make the rest tolerable. I dunno, I'm hoping the episode will drop the annoying external influences soon and get back to focusing on Misaki and Usui, not whatever douchebag they've run into this week. That should send the show shooting right back up the rankings. I wonder if dropping 8 ranks in one update is a record...

(14)　　Arakawa Under the Bridge - ▼4 - 7 eps - Meh... I guess my "source" has died, so I'll have to decide if I want to switch to one I don't like, or drop this. I do want to finish it eventually but I'm not in a rush. It just had a second season confirmed anyway. Kinda miffed Crunchyroll couldn't pick this up, at least then I know I'd be current.

(15)　　Kiss x Sis - ▼2 - 10 eps - Still likes to swing back and forth between "ehhh..." and "aww, that's sweet!". Hoping the final episodes focus more on the latter. Still love Ako and Riko.

(16)　　Senko no Night Raid - ◄0► - 6 eps - Well, episode six showed potentially interesting plot movement, but that doesn't mean much since I haven't been able to watch past that yet. Boo.


Fift(iet?)h tier
(17)　　Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou - ▼5 - 12 eps / complete - I'm filing a brief with the International Criminal Court, alleging that my poor Keena and Korone were forced to work in inhumane conditions. ;_; Oh Keena, you were the right character, in the very, very wrong show. Sigh. I literally skimmed through the last 3 episodes in ~20 minutes only watching Keena scenes.


OVAs, Specials, other oddities
Katanagatari - 6 eps - Things got incredibly interesting, and then the ending narration... ...as long as they're just throwing another curve ball, it could end up okay but who knows what the hell this show is thinking. Still, 99% of episode six was fantastic. Second best episode after 4. I guess I'd go 4 > 6 > 3 > 2 > 5 > 1.
Shakugan no Shana S - 2 eps - Forgot to include this in the list last time. Looks like ep 3 came out so I'll watch that eventually.
Yutori-chan - 10 eps - No more eps since last time. Maybe one day? ;_;

Ranking on hold
None

Dropped:
Hime Chen! Otogi Chikku Idol Lilpri - 1 ep - ridiculous CG and somewhat painfully inexperienced seiyuu.
Rainbow - Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin - 1 ep
Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei - 1 ep

Still need/plan to try (may not have aired):
None


(Blah blah disclaimer, the number on a tier is not at all indicative of a show's absolute quality, merely its quality relative to the other shows on the list).

A very strong start for Heartcatch Precure, as I catch up on all 18 available episodes. Continually strong showing for both long ongoing shows too, for that matter.

K-ON! continues to reign, B Gata and Mayoi Neko fully redeem themselves, Working!! launches a coup, UraBoku keeps gradually impressing, and Maid-sama needs to go sit in the corner and reflect for a little while.

Daimaou stakes a very solid claim to worst show (that I completed) of 2010 thus far. It's even managed to outdo Omamori Himari. By a huge margin, actually.

My top tier isn't too surprising, being filled with the awesome otaku shows of the season. But shoujo takes two impressive second tier spots along with a shounen fighting title, and fujoshi-fodder makes a really strong showing in third. Variety is a wonderful thing.

[Suwako Moriya]

I wasn't going to do an update until more shows finished, but it's been over a month already.

Yeah, definitely way too long. In my case, I need to do a one cour wrap up. However I kind of need to wait until I finish Shin Koihime Musou itself. That and I need to make sure I've finished everything of interest and didn't over look everything.

I might change my mind and carry long ongoing shows into each season thread... I dunno. Still working out how to deal with those.

I've been using the idea of making a separate entry for long term series. Which honestly doesn't get updated as often the entry for shows from the current season and the entry for continuations from the previous season.

It's sort of a conflict. Segmenting everything results in having to maintain more entries. You could in theory be updating entries with only a couple of shows remaining in it.

Consolidating has the potential problem of too many shows in a single entry. An entry that becomes bloated and hard to maintain. At least for me anyway.

I guess it also depends on how much you watching. If you're going into say Winter with just two Autumn shows and nothing else from the past, it's easy to throw them on. However if you four Autumn, three Summer, and two Spring...


(13)　　Kaichou wa Maid-sama - ▼8 - 10 eps - I am two episodes behind, but I don't think they'll change what has been a growing ambivalence about this show.

Actually, you'd be three episodes behind since thirteen episodes have aired. In my case, I've fallen behind as well to be honest. I'll decide later if/when to catch up on it.


I love Misaki, absolutely adore her, but the plot of the show essentially boils down to Misaki meeting one group of assholes after another.

I suppose they're doing that for the sake of creating tension and drama, but it's the type of thing that can easily come off as forced. Regardless it does kind of worry me.


Daimaou stakes a very solid claim to worst show (that I completed) of 2010 thus far. It's even managed to outdo Omamori Himari. By a huge margin, actually.

As bad as Himari was, it did try to keep the "plot" medicore as it may have been in check and didn't go into chaos mode. Or maybe I'm remembering things wrong. Regardless in terms of 2010 shows I completed, Daimaou is pretty far down. Sad because it could have ended as a for the fun of it series.

[EmperorBrandon]

As bad as Himari was, it did try to keep the "plot" medicore as it may have been in check and didn't go into chaos mode. Or maybe I'm remembering things wrong. Regardless in terms of 2010 shows I completed, Daimaou is pretty far down. Sad because it could have ended as a for the fun of it series.

Himari was just dull. I much prefer chaos over boredom. Not to say that Daimaou didn't end up being disappointing later on (I think it was after the swimsuit episode that it kind of lost itself), but I think Himari is infinitely more forgettable (the only memorable thing is Shizuku, when she actually had a chance to be awesome earlier in the series).

[Suwako Moriya]

As bad as Himari was, it did try to keep the "plot" medicore as it may have been in check and didn't go into chaos mode. Or maybe I'm remembering things wrong. Regardless in terms of 2010 shows I completed, Daimaou is pretty far down. Sad because it could have ended as a for the fun of it series.

Himari was just dull. I much prefer chaos over boredom. Not to say that Daimaou didn't end up being disappointing later on (I think it was after the swimsuit episode that it kind of lost itself), but I think Himari is infinitely more forgettable (the only memorable thing is Shizuku, when she actually had a chance to be awesome earlier in the series).

That's just it, by being more forgettable, Himari has less chance of remaining a painful memory. :P Still, I will concede that chaos has advantages over boredom. Especially since sometimes the chaos is of the good type and not the painful type. Too bad Daimaou was of the bad type.

[Glamrgrl104]

Durarara final episode 24- WOW I think I liked this better than Baccano! I am happy this is coming to dvd soon.

Kaichou wa maid sama episode 13- Really funny even though this episode fell short of the romance catagory it is still a very great series.

Yumeiro patisierre-episodes 36-38- Wonderful. Can't wait to see more.

Hetalia world series episode 66- hahah hilarious as always :)

Darker than black Gaiden- episode 1- AWESOME! I think I like this better than S2. The ED song is awesome as well.

[Suwako Moriya]

6/13/10 Update (http://www.mania.com/aodvb/showpost.php?p=1785904&postcount=202)

I plan to wait until after I finish watching the final episode of Shin Koihime Musou ~Otome Tairan~ before doing what will essentially be the "One Cour Wrap" up. Or maybe I'll do it earlier than that and add in that show later. However it will still be a separate post from this.


For this update, I shall focus on those series that had a cour during Spring and will have a cour in the Summer. To see how I feel about carrying them over.



Kaichou Wa Maid-sama (9) (on Hold)

I'm kind of falling behind on this one. Aside from the whole "streaming, but pay version only" thing going on, I just haven't felt that motivated for some reason or another.

I guess I'm getting worried that as the series goes into the second cour, it will become more and more focused on err drama. Some of it created by summoning forth the power of complete and utter jerks.

I guess I prefer the more fun side of things. Heck, I think I prefer the interaction with the maids over the school stuff. Save for when Misaki is interacting with say for example Sakura.

I might lean towards putting the series on hold or heck, I may as well consider it on hold for now until if/when I start it back up.


Giant Killing (12) (Side Watch)

The main appeal of the series has been watching the results of the work Tatsumi has been doing as coach. For a series I wouldn't normally watch, it does make a decent side and in some ways experimental watch. It also helps that it's on Crunchyroll. So I can also watch it casually.


Uragiri wa Boku no Namae o Shitteiru (11) (Watching)

Not much to say about it other than the fact it's been decent so far and some of the characters are interesting.


Jewel Pet Tinkle (10) (Fall Behind and Catch Up)

The mascot creatures of the series for the most part are decent. Which is probably a good thing since they're a major part of the series. Of course, clearly the cute girls are the main reason to watch the show. What?

So far I'm liking the format of this series better than the previous. Akari is way more attractive than Rinko and is just more interesting in general. Plus, the way they're handling Jewel Land is a bit more interesting.

It will continue to be one of those fall behind and catch up shows for me.


Anyamal Tantei Kiruminzoo (25) (On Hold)

I've essentially been falling behind on this series. Watching it that "way" is no longer that appealing. Also, I'm starting to think that four cour may be a bit much for me in the case of this series. I'm going to consider it on hold (or dropped) for now.


Spellbound Magical Princess (12) (Side Watch)

Save for the CG of pure evil designed for the purpose of torture and the dangers that come with formulas, the series isn't too bad. Although considering one aspect of the plot, they're going to need a change of focus eventually. Unless they plan to just ignore it... In any case, this will be one of those side watches.

Yumeiro Patissiere (34) (Fall Behind and Catch Up)

One of the sweetest series ever. Although I am starting to grow a bit jaded about the current focus of the series. As such, I don't feel as motivated to keep up with it as I did in the past. Still eventually, I'll catch up, maybe.


Heartcatch Pretty Cure (18) (It's Pretty Cure, you figure it out)

Heartcatch continues to prove itself worthy of the pretty cure name. Marine and Blossom make for an awesome duo. Some of the one shot characters are better than others, but it's all about watching Marine and Blossom do their thing. Love the dual transformation. Now if only this series and heck Pretty Cure in general would be picked up for legit streaming. People need to experience the majesty of this series.


K-ON!! (12) (Worshiping err I mean watching)

I love episode 12 for not only being awesome, but for also helping to put things in perspective. This continues to be one of my favorite series ever with only a few surpassing it. It helps that you have a cast that works quite well together. Plus, it's hard to resist the charm of a girl like Tainaka Ritsu. We should all drum up support for her divine greatness.

Oh, and the anime does a good job of adapting the source material and the original content added is the type meant to flow well and improve the series. Which is really the best way for an adaptation to be. At least for me anyway.

On a side note watching the commercials for this can be amusing. Watch them sing ________ during episode X. Watch as a commercial for the CD containing __________ comes up for the first time.

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

That should about cover it. Yes, some of these started before Spring, but I figured I'd include them anyway just to make things simpler on me.


For the record, the one cour series that will be in the upcoming one cour wrap up will be Working!!, Shin Koihime Musou ~Otome Tairan~, B Gata H Kei, Angel Beats, Ichiban Ushiro no Dai Mahou, and Mayoi Neko Overun.


The series I gave up on in regards to Spring are are Kiss X Sis, Tatami Galaxy, Heroman, Awakara Under the Bridge, and House of Five Leaves.

[William K]

Kaichou Wa Maid-sama (9) (on Hold)

I'm kind of falling behind on this one. Aside from the whole "streaming, but pay version only" thing going on, I just haven't felt that motivated for some reason or another.

I guess I'm getting worried that as the series goes into the second cour, it will become more and more focused on err drama. Some of it created by summoning forth the power of complete and utter jerks.

I guess I prefer the more fun side of things. Heck, I think I prefer the interaction with the maids over the school stuff. Save for when Misaki is interacting with say for example Sakura.

I might lean towards putting the series on hold or heck, I may as well consider it on hold for now until if/when I start it back up.


The last 2 aired episodes (12 and 13) were less serious. 12 was about the school sports festival and 13 featured the Baka Trio. There has been less focus on Maid Latte recently though.

[Suwako Moriya]

The last 2 aired episodes (12 and 13) were less serious. 12 was about the school sports festival and 13 featured the Baka Trio. There has been less focus on Maid Latte recently though.

Less serious is good. Less focus on Maid Latte is sad. I'll decide later in regards to catching up with Maid-Sama

[Suwako Moriya]

Durarara!! (23)

I originally dropped this back around episode 11 because I had mixed feelings on it. Since most of my one cour Spring shows are done, I'm caught up with X, I'm not in the mood to catch up with Y, and because I had time to kill....

I decided to give the series another try, watching it on the side while I took care of other things. Like uploading Sora no Woto 7.5 avatars. Decide for yourself the more important task.

In any case, the series has gotten better. The story has definite substance to it. It seems like quite a bit is happening. It's also got a strong cast of characters which helps a bit. Plus, I'll admit that Anri has amazing advantages that are almost hypnotic.

However while I can find the series good on an objective level, on a subjective level I find the series is still somewhat lacking for me and I think I might have figured out the reason why.

It has to do with the style factor. I'm not trying to claim the series has no substance because it clearly does have substance. However it feels like it's trying too hard to be stylish. And now that I've said that, I'm sure I'll find out I'm not talking about style and I mean something else....

Another reason is that while the stories of the characters are somewhat interesting, I find that most of the characters I don't really care much about. There are exceptions however, but that's another story.

Since I have just one more episode left, I might go ahead and finish the series. Beyond that I'm sort of hesitant about watching another season of this. Although I suppose I could always do what I did with this one and wait until all of it has aired first and then think about it.

Yes, I know I'm a strange one. Regardless, what matter is I gave the series another chance and hopefully it's been given enough of a chance. If 23 out of 24 is not enough then I don't know what is.....

[Glamrgrl104]

Durarara final episode 24- WOW I think I liked this better than Baccano! I am happy this is coming to dvd soon.

Kaichou wa maid sama episode 13- Really funny even though this episode fell short of the romance catagory it is still a very great series.

Yumeiro patisierre-episodes 36-38- Wonderful. Can't wait to see more.

Hetalia world series episode 66- hahah hilarious as always :)

Darker than black Gaiden- episode 1- AWESOME! I think I like this better than S2. The ED song is awesome as well.

Darker than black Gaiden episodes 2 & 3- This OVA was so good I watched the availiable episodes back to back.

K-drama IRIS-episode 8- Very interesting. Every episode brings a thrill.

Just finished Spirited Away- Miyazaki is a master at story telling, I felt like I was watching it for the first time. I wanted to see what it looks like on my flat screen lol.

[Gildor]

Durarara!! (23)

[...]

Yes, I know I'm a strange one. Regardless, what matter is I gave the series another chance and hopefully it's been given enough of a chance. If 23 out of 24 is not enough then I don't know what is.....
Yep. I agree that you should go ahead and watch the last episode since you don't out and out hate the show. But you are also correct in that if 23 episodes don't do it for you, the 24 will not either.

[Glamrgrl104]

non anime:

American dad s5 disc 1- This is hilarious, but really they make fun of everybody.


anime

Kaleido star-episode 4- A brilliant show. I can't wait until they re-release this.

[Draneor]

So I had an operation. Being forced to spend the next couple weeks in bed with none but my PS3 for company and internet access, I figured it would be a great time to watch all those dvds I've never gotten around to watching. And first up is...

True Tears (1-12)

Seriously, fuck you. I just added another anime to my hated list, all because of what happened in the last 5 minutes of the 12th episode. I actually was enjoying the series until then. I don't even want to watch the final episode because I'm so pissed off at how they discarded Hiromi at the last minute, when everything up to that point was leading to her. Fuck that stupid chicken. I don't even hate Noe, but that chicken needs to go splat. Meh. I'll watch something lighter to discard the taste from my mouth.

[Fencedude]

So I had an operation. Being forced to spend the next couple weeks in bed with none but my PS3 for company and internet access, I figured it would be a great time to watch all those dvds I've never gotten around to watching. And first up is...

True Tears (1-12)

Seriously, fuck you. I just added another anime to my hated list, all because of what happened in the last 5 minutes of the 12th episode. I actually was enjoying the series until then. I don't even want to watch the final episode because I'm so pissed off at how they discarded Hiromi at the last minute, when everything up to that point was leading to her. Fuck that stupid chicken. I don't even hate Noe, but that chicken needs to go splat. Meh. I'll watch something lighter to discard the taste from my mouth.

Uhh...

Hiromi wins

Seriously, finish the damn series before you jump to conclusions.

[Damius]

So I had an operation. Being forced to spend the next couple weeks in bed with none but my PS3 for company and internet access, I figured it would be a great time to watch all those dvds I've never gotten around to watching. And first up is...

True Tears (1-12)

Seriously, fuck you. I just added another anime to my hated list, all because of what happened in the last 5 minutes of the 12th episode. I actually was enjoying the series until then. I don't even want to watch the final episode because I'm so pissed off at how they discarded Hiromi at the last minute, when everything up to that point was leading to her. Fuck that stupid chicken. I don't even hate Noe, but that chicken needs to go splat. Meh. I'll watch something lighter to discard the taste from my mouth.

Uhh...

Hiromi wins

Seriously, finish the damn series before you jump to conclusions.

Seconded, you really really need to finish it.

[Westlo]

Oh god True Tears brings back the memories, think I'll rewatch the series on bluray and check out that epilogue.

So I had an operation. Being forced to spend the next couple weeks in bed with none but my PS3 for company and internet access, I figured it would be a great time to watch all those dvds I've never gotten around to watching. And first up is...

True Tears (1-12)

Seriously, fuck you. I just added another anime to my hated list, all because of what happened in the last 5 minutes of the 12th episode. I actually was enjoying the series until then. I don't even want to watch the final episode because I'm so pissed off at how they discarded Hiromi at the last minute, when everything up to that point was leading to her. Fuck that stupid chicken. I don't even hate Noe, but that chicken needs to go splat. Meh. I'll watch something lighter to discard the taste from my mouth.

HAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA

Surprised you liked Hiromi tbh, I would've put a lot of money on you being a Noe guy!

[Fencedude]

HAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA

Surprised you liked Hiromi tbh, I would expect you to be a Noe guy!

No kidding. I was going "WTF?" as I read what he wrote.

I was however reminded of the delicious, delicious tears of the Noe fanbase after episode 13. Vindication never tasted so sweet.

(yes, True Tears discussions were very cutthroat when it aired)

[Westlo]

HAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA

Surprised you liked Hiromi tbh, I would expect you to be a Noe guy!

No kidding. I was going "WTF?" as I read what he wrote.

I was however reminded of the delicious, delicious tears of the Noe fanbase after episode 13. Vindication never tasted so sweet.

(yes, True Tears discussions were very cutthroat when it aired)

Cutthroat indeed... I ah.. "encouraged" tun the translator for the group doing TT to add this comment in the confession clip from episode 13 that came out like a couple hours after airing.

http://i30.tinypic.com/21mrzpy.jpg

I got the script off him for 13 not to long after that.. (lol @ me actually pausing the vid to read the dialogue and than finding out all I had to do was rename the .ass file) man I was so into that shit.. lolshipping. True Tears really put me on the path of lolshipping.. which thankful Frontier pretty much ended with that limp dick ending.. fuck kawamori... redeem yourself with the second movie you bitch.

[pianocello]

Currently watching (episodes watched up to in brackets):
Outstanding
B Gata H Kei (finished)
The middle part sagged a bit but the fact that the characters actually went that far in the relationship made this one of the best anime of the season. Plus, it was actually funny.

Very Good
Angel Beats! (5)
My first impression was Haruhi Suzumiya with way too many males. It was only in ep 5 when Kanade Tachibana's moe meter shot through the roof that this show started to become really good.

Good
Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou (finished)
Last few episodes weren't too good but still it had a cast that made good doujinshi-fodder and lots of ecchi scenes so in the end, it wasn't too bad.

Average and below
None

[Fencedude]

Cutthroat indeed... I ah.. "encouraged" tun the translator for the group doing TT to add this comment in the confession clip from episode 13 that came out like a couple hours after airing.

http://i30.tinypic.com/21mrzpy.jpg

Ahhh...I remember that. And yeah, I'm usually not that into things, but True Tears seemed to prompt that reaction from people.

]

[Draneor]

True Tears 13
Against my better judgement, I watched the final episode. Although things looked pretty bleak at the end of 12 when Noe appeared in his eyes--bleaker than any anime since Shuffle--everything turned out fine. Overall, the art was very pretty as was the music. I really felt for the shitty situation Hiromi was placed in, which wasn't her fault. Living with Shinichiro's mother's abuse must have been hell. And then being told she was born as a result of an affair, all because that bitch was irrationally jealous... Consequently, I can't forgive her. There was no reason to treat her that way. Compound that with the social pressure of being a burden, I understood why Hiromi acted the way she did. If it was, at times frustrating.

On the other hand, Aikio, who was such a bitch to her great boyfriend early on, redeemed herself by the end. I was happy to see she learned to love him.

[Fencedude]

which thankful Frontier pretty much ended with that limp dick ending.. fuck kawamori... redeem yourself with the second movie you bitch.

Pft, who cares? Ranka can have Alto if she wants him. Sheryl is far to awesome to be tied down to someone lame like him.

[Draneor]

Surprised you liked Hiromi tbh, I would've put a lot of money on you being a Noe guy!

When have I ever not favored the osananajimi/imouto? Also, I always follow the first claim rule, since loyalty is a big deal to me. I should note I like Noe, but not as much as Hiromi.

[Fencedude]

Surprised you liked Hiromi tbh, I would've put a lot of money on you being a Noe guy!

When have I ever not favored the osananajimi/imouto? Also, I always follow the first claim rule, since loyalty is a big deal to me. I should note I like Noe, but not as much as Hiromi.

I actually liked Aiko the most of the three, but she'd lost before the show even started, so I rooted for Hiromi.

Also Hiromi is just devastatingly sexy

[Draneor]

The question is now what do I watch? I assume Strike Witches will have less drama. I'm not sure I can handle MariMite yet. Then there is Aria, for the opposite extreme...