Spring 2011 Anime

Nachtsider wrote:Considering the subject matter, that doesn't even look like it's being marketed as an adult title. It looks more like it's been made for general viewing.

Classier and classier.

If the show does have "adult content", I suppose there could be the censored version on the main channels and then the uncensored version on the subscription channels, as was done with Yasuga no Sora and I believe Freezing.

There is also Hen Zemi [Abnormal Physiology Seminar] - about "an innocent university girl participating in a sexual perversion seminar led by a deviant professor".

I've been hearing a lot about 30-sai no Koken Taiiku on Sankaku Complex lately, so I took a look and, well.....
Tell me this is not seriously intended for teaching 30-year old virgins to get laid. Because the amount of useful advice in that show seems rather small, if it exists at all.

Kiskaloo wrote:

There is also Hen Zemi [Abnormal Physiology Seminar] - about "an innocent university girl participating in a sexual perversion seminar led by a deviant professor".

Great, now there's something else for my morbid curiosity to drag me in watching!

Regarding some of the more out there titles, I'm often reluctant to judge shows too harshly based solely on summaries and such. I find the short English language summaries on these charts are often grossly deceptive (even when they're technically accurate they often fail miserably at giving an accurate representation of the big picture). That being said I do have to admit that I'm still inclined to stay the hell away from some of these titles. (And thanks to some people I know screening the second episode of the OVA at a screening, I can confirm that Kisk probably wants to stay the hell away from Hen Zemi. Definitely not on my to watch list.)

As for the show about advice for guys over thirty who haven't dated, I kind of want to see that just to see what it's like.

Kiskaloo wrote:

This picture is the best thing I've seen all day by far.

30-sai no Koken Taiiku: Uggh. So much for this show being a guide to dating for guys over thirty who haven't dated before. A good description of it is that it's what B Gata H Kei would be like if the bullshit claims a bunch of sensationalistic reviewers made about it weren't blatantly false. Basically it's super crude, not all that funny, and contained so much censorship one wonders why they bothered airing it on TV.

Piero wrote:Regarding some of the more out there titles, I'm often reluctant to judge shows too harshly based solely on summaries and such.

I generally use Wikipedia, ANN, Anime Suki forums and such to get a bit better feeling for the show before I decide to give it a shot, but there are some genres that just don't interest me (Zombies and Westerns, for example), so even if they do them exceptionally well, it's still not my cup of tea. So if the synopsis says the show is based in this genre, it's an automatic exclusion.

I also look to see what others think. I had no intention of watching Wandering Son until Ggultra2764 said the first episode was epic (and it became my favorite show of the past couple of years) nor did I plan to watch Madoka until a number of forum members said it was their favorite of the season.

Piero wrote:30-sai no Koken Taiiku: Uggh. So much for this show being a guide to dating for guys over thirty who haven't dated before.

Well let us remember this show is aimed at Japanese otaku over the age of 30. So while I'm over 40, I'm not Japanese and I'm not an otaku, so I would expect I wouldn't get it.

That being said, one of the fansub sites I frequent had a screencap of the censorship, and it is indeed LOLZ.

Have some more titles to provide my thoughts on so far:
-Sket Dance- Feels like I'm watching one of those old cheesy weekday afternoon specials teaching kids how to handle stuff like bullying and drug addiction. Only difference is the characters of the Sket-Dan are an eccentric bunch with hot-headed leader, a short-fused girl armed with a field hockey stick and the computer geek who knows enough on everyone in school and talks with a voice synthesizer. I'll press on with this series for now.
-Dororon Enma-kun Meeramera- The first episode of this was quite the watch mixing around manic and perverse humor without going too overboard thanks to the antics of Enma and his cohorts.
-A Channel- What do you know, a series with moe and based on a 4-koma that I think is a decent watch thus far? It's not going overboard with delivering the moe, there is a sense of linearity with how events flow in the episode instead of separating into separate blocks a la Minami-ke and Azumanga Daioh, there were moments where I had laughs and adored the characters and the scenery is surprisingly gorgeous for a slice-of-life title. Will stick with for now.

A gallery of Kyube anthropomorphisms from Sankaku Complex. Most are bishoujo or loli versions, but here are some other versions I found amusing: Source here. Source for car and fridge

The Kyube ATM:


Kyube, Dragonball Z style:


The Kyube hoodie:


Mewtwo Kyube:


The Kyube-mobile:


The Kyube fridge:


Kyube Wants You! (spoilers):

Spoiler:

Kiskaloo wrote:

Piero wrote:Regarding some of the more out there titles, I'm often reluctant to judge shows too harshly based solely on summaries and such.

I generally use Wikipedia, ANN, Anime Suki forums and such to get a bit better feeling for the show before I decide to give it a shot, but there are some genres that just don't interest me (Zombies and Westerns, for example), so even if they do them exceptionally well, it's still not my cup of tea. So if the synopsis says the show is based in this genre, it's an automatic exclusion.

I also look to see what others think. I had no intention of watching Wandering Son until Ggultra2764 said the first episode was epic (and it became my favorite show of the past couple of years) nor did I plan to watch Madoka until a number of forum members said it was their favorite of the season.

Piero wrote:30-sai no Koken Taiiku: Uggh. So much for this show being a guide to dating for guys over thirty who haven't dated before.

Well let us remember this show is aimed at Japanese otaku over the age of 30. So while I'm over 40, I'm not Japanese and I'm not an otaku, so I would expect I wouldn't get it.

That being said, one of the fansub sites I frequent had a screencap of the censorship, and it is indeed LOLZ.

Well the show is supposed to be based on a guide so I thought maybe it would include practical stuff. I just thought it might turn out to be an interesting oddity. Unfortunately it turned out to be rather different from what I expected.

As for other people's opinions... I have yet to find any source I consider reliable in determining what shows I will and will not like. I don't even trust my friends on that. Though that might have something to do with the fact that some of them seem to find making me watch shows they know I'll have a negative reaction to entertaining...

I have to admit I screen a lot of stuff based on descriptions even though I know those descriptions are inaccurate. But I'm still of the opinion that the only way you can actually know a show is to see it for yourself. Hence I try to be careful about judging things I haven't actually seen.

Nachtsider wrote:Considering the subject matter, that doesn't even look like it's being marketed as an adult title. It looks more like it's been made for general viewing.

Classier and classier.

If it was an adult title, they would have made it an OVA and not a TV series.

Kiskaloo wrote:
If the show does have "adult content", I suppose there could be the censored version on the main channels and then the uncensored version on the subscription channels, as was done with Yasuga no Sora and I believe Freezing.

I doubt that would be necessary. When I heard the premise and that it wasn't an OVA, I assumed that the premise was intended as refuge in audacity and the girl would never actually succeed at the task at hand - after all, most anime males in these kinds of shows wouldn't (intentionally) lay hands on a girl, loli or otherwise. I've heard nothing from manga readers to suggest that I'm wrong.

Kiskaloo wrote:
There is also Hen Zemi [Abnormal Physiology Seminar] - about "an innocent university girl participating in a sexual perversion seminar led by a deviant professor".

I'm hoping that this show improves as it goes - the two OVAs were way funnier than the TV series thus far. And not just because Piero's reaction to the OVAs was hilarious - the research projects were more "crosses that line twice", and some of the line delivery was a lot better too (ie more deadpan).
The first episode of the TV series wasn't nearly as funny as the two OVAs were, and I'm not just saying that because it was funny to watch Piero's reaction to the OVAs.

Speaking of Madoka-themed Refrigerators....



Also last two episodes on the 21st.

LOLZ at above. Sooooo bad taste; but soooo funny!

Hanasaku Iroha - 02 - Still impressing me. The animation style (especially the backgrounds) give me a Makoto Shinkai vibe.

Nichijou - 02 - It's not to the level of Azumanga Daioh or Ichigo Mashimaro, but's it's enjoyable enough to keep watching.

X-Men - 02 - The debut of the U-Men kicked serious ass.

0utf0xZer0 wrote:When I heard the premise (for Astarotte's Toy) and that it wasn't an OVA, I assumed that the premise was intended as refuge in audacity and the girl would never actually succeed at the task at hand - after all, most anime males in these kinds of shows wouldn't (intentionally) lay hands on a girl, loli or otherwise. I've heard nothing from manga readers to suggest that I'm wrong.

That does indeed seem to be the case, having just finished the first episode. The Princess hates men, so she agrees to create a harem of humans since none have been seen in a thousand years and the World Tree (Yggdrasil) won't allow access to the Human Realm.

Well, until Episode 01, that is.

Still, hearing a 10-year old girl so casually discuss oral sex is kinda

The show looks like it will play out as a silly comedy, probably with the "poor human boy" getting beaten to a pulp every episode. So effectively your standard harem trope anime (since it is filled with a shedload of girls) with a side order of silly comedy.

As an aside, the mythology is Norse, so it was kinda funny to see them invoke Urd, Skuld and Belldandy (the three Norse fates). And the Princess' guard is named Zelda (though she's a girl).

And the OP and ED are both solid.

Still, hearing a 10-year old girl so casually discuss oral sex is kinda

I got a good giggle out of one part in the manga, where Astarotte is attending a birthday party for the vampire princess (also ~10-11 yrs). They don't get along very well and she ends up bragging about her newfound sexual experience (of which she doesn't actually have any, mind you). Suspecting that she's lying, Miss vampire invites Astarotte and her party to spend the night, sticking her and Naoya in a room with only one bed. Realizing that she' being set up, Astarotte pretends to have sex with him, but then his daughter walks in and, thinking that they're playing, decides to "join in" as it were. All the while, Miss Vampire is watching and listening, and nearly has herself a heart attack.

Maria†Holic Alive! -- MMMM, SHAFT-goodness. Of course, the gratuitous use of Mucha-esque Art Nouveau seals the deal for me.

30-sai no Hoken Taiiku -- This show was so horribly censored as to be unwatchable. It's been a while since I've dropped something so fast.

A-Channel -- This show will probably be one of those "turn your brain off at the end of a long day" type of shows, but so far we've only gotten a good idea of two of the characters: the airhead and the creepy boob-loving stalker girl

Hen Zemi -- I am hoping that the TV version has a more cohesive story then the OVA. The concept is a good one, but the first episode is making me skeptical of a cohesive story arising. I'll give it at least a few more episodes.

Astarotte's Toy -- This reminds me of the movie "The Toy," except instead of Richard Pryor you have a young Japanese guy who's gob is to be "serviced" by a 10 year old... which honestly sounds better suited as the basis for a Law & Order: SVU episode...

Astarotte's Toy -- This reminds me of the movie "The Toy," except instead of Richard Pryor you have a young Japanese guy who's gob is to be "serviced" by a 10 year old... which honestly sounds better suited as the basis for a Law & Order: SVU episode...

Pick your poison: modern-day slavery or pedophilia?

Update (shows I hadn't reported on previously marked with a *).

Hanasaku Iroha (Episode 2): This show has been doing very well so far except that I'm not quite sure what I should be making of the end of Episode 2...
*Kampfer fur die Liebe (Episode 1): The original Kampfer was batshit insane enough to be entertaining during a season where there didn't seem to be all that much of note. Unfortunately this sequel seems to have traded the insanity for pushing the boundaries with fan service instead (not that the original wasn't pretty fan servicey, but...).
Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn OVA (Episode 3): This OVA series is still awesome. Even if my limited Gundam knowledge means I still have trouble following a lot of what's going on.
*Morita is Taciturn OVA (Episode 1): I don't think I finished this one. It wasn't very entertaining.
*Tiger & Bunny: Well it's certainly unique and it has an interesting style, but I'm not sold on it yet.
*X-Men (Episode 2): Much as I actually kind of liked Iron Man, I can see why people were disappointed with that show and Wolverine. This show however is totally freaking awesome. Even if reports that Storm is "moe" don't seem to hold water.

Piero wrote:*X-Men (Episode 2): Much as I actually kind of liked Iron Man, I can see why people were disappointed with that show and Wolverine. This show however is totally freaking awesome. Even if reports that Storm is "moe" don't seem to hold water.

I didn't think she was moe, but she was definitely more delicate and vulnerable than I remembered from my youth. I've only seen one episode, but that stuck out with me.

Hoshizora e Kakaru Hashi [Bridge to the Stars] - 01

Standard anime adaption of a dating sim game, but I'm a sucker for these so...

Steins;Gate - 02

This one is starting to scare me. The time travel is interesting, but the male lead is a delusional dumbshit (though so far he is thankfully not showing any hentai tendancies) and all the girls are kinda creepy or annoying (if all universally atrractive). I feel that if I stick with this, I'll end up not liking it and consider it wasted time, but I'll give it at least one more episode.

Dog Days - 02

This strikes me kinda like a kid's fighting anime (ala Dragonball Z or Pokemon) where it's just non-stop fighting, which I find very dull. So I'm dropping this one.

I think it's just the companies that're adapting the visual novels that aren't doing it well. Knowing Chaos;Head and its sequel, they're hard ones to adapt. If Saya no Uta ever gets animated (un-freaking-likely!) it would be even more difficult to make it work. Psychological horror doesn't work well when you aren't in one character's head.

Five_X wrote:I think it's just the companies that're adapting the visual novels that aren't doing it well.

That may very well be the case. Kara no Kyoukai was adapted quite well, for example.

When I look at the Anime folder on my Mac, I have hundreds of gigabytes of fansubs I downloaded and watched, but I have no real desire to watch them again. And I just really don't want to spend 40 hours a week at work and 40 hours a week watching American, British and Japanese television, so I'm starting to get to the point where a show has to really sink the hook in the first (or at most, second) episode or I am inclined to bail.

On the plus side, if a show I drop does turn out to be epic, I can always download the batch of the completed run or wait for the Blu-ray fansubs.

Kiskaloo wrote:

Five_X wrote:I think it's just the companies that're adapting the visual novels that aren't doing it well.

That may very well be the case. Kara no Kyoukai was adapted quite well, for example.

Uhh... Kisk, Kara no Kyoukai was a light novel series, not a visual novel.

It was still a solid adaption of a "psychological horror" story.

Kiskaloo wrote:It was still a solid adaption of a "psychological horror" story.

That it was. I misinterpreted and thought you meant a visual novel adaptation. Although I always thought of it as more of a "dark modern fantasy" (Modern fantasy referring to a fantasy story that takes place in the present day).

Tiger & Bunny (2) -- Solid. Not great or outstanding yet, but definitely worth watching more

Hanasaka Iroha (2) -- Still interesting two episodes in.

Nichijou (2) -- "Why do I have a roll cake in my arm?" This show is like "Pani Poni Dash" for those who don't like Shinbo

Seikon no Qwaser II -- Too much censoring...I'll wait for the uncensored version. I must say that the show took an interesting concept (absolute control over an element of the periodic table), and turning it into light comedy/breast fetish show.

Hidan no Aria 1: An anime about guns, schoolgirls, fanservice, gun-toting teenagers, tsunderes with M1911s, C4 charges strapped to a bike in a manner reminiscent of the movie Speed, and robotic Segways with Uzis attached. Not a whole lot of substance, seems, as Sankaku Complex pointed out, just bunch of tropes thrown into a blender. But I might keep watching to see if it gets any better.

Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai :

Really enjoyed it,I think odds are Kiskaloo is going to love the ED song.

Totoum wrote:Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai :

Really enjoyed it,I think odds are Kiskaloo is going to love the ED song.

I think I might have found the anime to fill the hole left by the end of Wandering Son. This was on my " List". Very different from what I was expecting, but honestly in a good way.

And yes, any anime that ends with a song from the greatest Japanese all-girl band ever has to be awarded special points. Though "Secret Base: Kimi ga Kureta Mono" is actually a solid choice for an ED for this anime.

SPARTAN 119 wrote:Hidan no Aria 1: An anime about guns, schoolgirls, fanservice, gun-toting teenagers, tsunderes with M1911s, C4 charges strapped to a bike in a manner reminiscent of the movie Speed, and robotic Segways with Uzis attached. Not a whole lot of substance, seems, as Sankaku Complex pointed out, just bunch of tropes thrown into a blender. But I might keep watching to see if it gets any better.

Guy meets flat chested, gunslinging tsundere played by Rie Kugamiya who wears a short skirt and thigh holsters. Shootouts ensue.

Seriously, this is pure "stupid but fun" win. I just hope that its consistently awesome rather than having a weak middle/end like many shows of this type.

Saw AnoHana too... first episode came across as a cross between Clannad and Fight Club. I'm looking forward to the rest of this series because it looks like its going to subvert moe genre conventions (theme of "moving on" rather than "nostalgia"), although I have to say that Menma is one seriously bland heroine thus far. Especially compared to HSI's Ohana.

Hana-Saku Iroha 3: They did a lulzy fanservice episode. In Hana-Saku Iroha. And somehow... it worked. I am in awe.

theprodigalson wrote:

Piero wrote:*X-Men (Episode 2): Much as I actually kind of liked Iron Man, I can see why people were disappointed with that show and Wolverine. This show however is totally freaking awesome. Even if reports that Storm is "moe" don't seem to hold water.

I didn't think she was moe, but she was definitely more delicate and vulnerable than I remembered from my youth. I've only seen one episode, but that stuck out with me.

Personally I just found the idea of Storm as moe funny (I find the mixing of anime cliches with American superhero franchises that has been going on in these projects amusing). It was one big reason why I declared that we had to watch the show when he mentioned that some online message board had deemed her as such. Anyhow I was a bit disappointed with the lack of Storm moe, but the fact that the show actually proved to be really good made up for the lack of that.

SPARTAN 119 wrote:Hidan no Aria 1: An anime about guns, schoolgirls, fanservice, gun-toting teenagers, tsunderes with M1911s, C4 charges strapped to a bike in a manner reminiscent of the movie Speed, and robotic Segways with Uzis attached. Not a whole lot of substance, seems, as Sankaku Complex pointed out, just bunch of tropes thrown into a blender. But I might keep watching to see if it gets any better.

You make it sound like all that's a bad thing. Personally, I found the show to be highly entertaining.

If you want something that really seems like it got put through a blender, watch the first two episode of Under the Innocent Sky. It takes incoherence to an art form.

Marathon Run tonight...

Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko - 01: Take everything that made Squid Girl awesome and lose it. Ok, kinda kidding, but it's a very weird show - but then it is animated by SHAFT and they only do weird shows. Actually, for SHAFT, the animation is decent. Shockingly so, really.

Hidan no Aria - 01: Another shocking anime - no pantsu shots, despite plenty of opportunities! As noted, this show is the result of putting a dozen tropes in a blender and pressing the puree button. The resultant concoction still tastes pretty darn good, however.

---

Nichijou - 03: Definitely in the spirit of Azumanga Daioh. Not as good, but still very enjoyable.

Hanasaku Iroha - 03: This one is a keeper.

X-Men - 03: Whoever said Storm is moe needs to stop hitting the crack pipe. This one is also a keeper.

Astarotte's Toy - 02: I feel a bit dirty watching this show, but it will likely stay harmless.

A Channel - 02: Second drop of the season (following Dog Days). I've just seen it done so much better in other shows that I can't get into it.

Kiskaloo wrote:
Hanasaku Iroha - 03: This one is a keeper.

It's like the took True Tears' sensibilities, but applied them to a drama that's chaotic in tone rather than melancholic. So good.

Also, I have to say I love the head waitress girl. Although the line about putting up with sexual harassment because he said he was famous makes me think she probably reads a lot of pulp romance novels.

It seems like this season is dominated by...let's say "addicting" (I don't like using the term moe) characters.

First off we have Nichijou, and at first I could only really get into the Professor's and Nano's arc, with the main cast seeming to be that whole average-girl-deals-with-dumb-girl-while-smart-girl-looks-on trope. But after a while they came to grow on me to some extent as well, though they still aren't as awesome as the other arcs. The scattershot nature of the storytelling does give us small doses of the characters, though, which makes characters that couldn't survive with their own anime be able to survive in smaller bites.

Then we have A Channel, which raises many more questions than it asks. Is Run just ditzy or does she actually have some kind of life-altering disorder? Is that why Tooru protects her? Why is she the only one with a purple uniform? Anyway, it's true, if you can't get into Tooru's personality (which is somewhere between tsundere and yandere, and possibly far away from both, it is unsure), this will be boring as watching paint dry. But for some reason, I can't get enough of it.

Speaking of mental disorders, we have Denpa Onna. I never fathomed a girl wrapped in a futon could be so cute, but Shaft proved me wrong. It's certainly a unique concept and anime, and strikes a balance between being nutty and crazy without being completely unrealistic/bombastic as Nichijou. It also has some pretty good looking character design, something you come to expect from Shaft.

The third episode of Hanasaku Iroha put me off a bit by the deficit of realism in what was a relatively realistic series, but it wasn't crazy enough to make me drop or dislike the series a lot. I came to hate the writer so much I was rather disappointed that he's sticking around, though.

I get the impression that the genesis of An Ordinary Life can be found in KyoAni's accountant checking the company bank account, doing a spittake and then shouting at the board, "Shit on a biscuit. Do any of you realise just how much money we made off of K-On!?"

...and now with all of that spare cash to spend, dropping a bit of sausage on the floor has become the most epic and explosive confrontation since the Battle of Jutland.

After watching Astarotte's Toy'2 first two eps, I am pleasantly surprised, despite the ecchi premise. I will be monitoring...

Robert Frazer wrote:I get the impression that the genesis of An Ordinary Life can be found in KyoAni's accountant checking the company bank account, doing a spittake and then shouting at the board, "Shit on a biscuit. Do any of you realise just how much money we made off of K-On!?"

...and now with all of that spare cash to spend, dropping a bit of sausage on the floor has become the most epic and explosive confrontation since the Battle of Jutland.

I doubt they'd use K-On!'s sales as a benchmark for what to expect from Nichijou. Granted, they were both little known manga before Kyoto got them (possibly part of the appeal, the amount of profit a studio or production committee makes can be heavily dependent on licensing agreements - that's what got Gonzo into trouble, apparently), but Nichijou's characters don't have the "2D idol" quality that made K-On! such a huge hit with otaku in Japan. Nor does it have the appeal to girls... I can't imagine Disney licensing Nichijou for their Japanese TV channel, but they gave K-On! a prime time slot. Seriously.

The sales seem to reflect this so far... while blurays of AnoHana, Tiger and Bunny, and Hana-Saku Iroha have broken into Amazon JP's top 20 bluray preorders at times (as have preorders for upcoming volumes of Ore no Imouto, Infinite Stratos, Madoka, and Gundam Unicorn, along with the Working Bluray set), from what I've heard Nichijou has only briefly breached the top 100. And even Aria the Scarlet Ammo has managed to get on the top 100 briefly.

Hana-Saku Iroha's preorders took a big spike after episode 3 - while they're back in the 20s now, they went as high as 14th place and 20s is still much higher than the series was getting previously.

Kiskaloo wrote:
X-Men - 03: Whoever said Storm is moe needs to stop hitting the crack pipe. This one is also a keeper.

Shucks, didn't phrase things quite right there... the story is one of my friends hangs out on 4chan and he said one of the boards there said Storm was moe. I found that idea amusing (since I find anime cliches and such working there way into these projects amusing) so I declared we had to watch it. Of course it didn't prove to have a lot of basis in reality, but the show proved to be genuinely good so I think I can tolerate it can get by without relying on the amusement factor of seeing anime cliches in a show based on an American superhero property.

Also I may have been a bit too generous when I said that Under the Innocent Sky takes incoherence to an art form. That's putting a bit too much of a positive spin on the fact that the show is a freaking incoherent mess. On the other hand... I'm also continuing to watch it because it's a such freaking incoherent mess. Seriously, you don't find a show that's this incoherent very often.

Anyway, thoughts on a few more shows:

Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko: I actually enjoyed the first episode of this a fair amount. However it remains to see whether it will run afoul of my limited SHAFT tolerance. It's not the most blatantly SHAFT show I've ever seen but it certainly has some of the hallmarks.
Hoshizora e Kakaru Hashi: A game adaptation about some teenager who accompanies his younger brother when said younger brother is sent to the countryside for health reasons. Naturally there are girls. Despite the cliche-ish plot and the fact that the girls seem kind of generic it's actually proved to be pretty entertaining in the two episodes I've seen.
Steins;Gate: I've found this one iinteresting enough to watch but it hasn't really hooked me in hard at this point either. I'm not really sure how I'm going to end up viewing it in the end. Also, am I the only one who had some trouble with Yukari Tamura's voicework for the girl who got hired to help at the shop the landlord runs? I like Yukari Tamura but the voice she's using seems wrong for a character who seems so clearly docile and not batshit crazy.

Two more shows culled from the herd:

Hoshizora e Kakaru Hashi - 02: Too moe and cute for me. I want hard drama and I'm pretty sure I won't find it, here.

Ore-tachi ni Tsubasa wa Nai - 02: No. Just...no. The opening was atrocious, though I believe they intended to dial the fan service to "11" as a joke. Still, I don't really engage with any of the characters and while cute girls normally are enough to keep me interested, they can't pull it off, here.

And one more trailing from the safety of the group:

Steins;Gate - 03: The premise is interesting, but the entire cast is mostly annoying, especially that fucktard Okarin. I expect they'll drive me away from it by the next episode.


Again, if any of them end up being surprise wonders, I'll just wait for the batch or the Blu-rays.

I'm not sure if I want to keep the Winter thread alive just for Madoka, but...

Spoiler:

New Hamtaro... Much watch the CUTE! O____O

Entropy wrote:I'm not sure if I want to keep the Winter thread alive just for Madoka, but...

I think I'd kind of prefer it if that one stayed in the appropriate thread. There could potentially be quite a few people commenting on it. Plus it's not like it's the only show from last season people could still comment on. I'd been thinking of commenting on my experience watching the final episode of Stardriver cold (and by that I mean I dropped the show before the halfway point, then my friend showed the finale at a screening. That was an interesting experience...).

The Money of Soul and Possibility Control: Anyone think this is the kind of show Kuroneko would watch? It seems kind of pretentious.

Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko - 02: This episode made me look forward to seeing more, so that's a positive sign.

Hidan no Aria - 02: This episode, on the other hand... Aria is a very annoying character, so unless I see a lot more action in Episode 03...

Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutach wa Mada Shiranai - 02: For whatever reason, I feel I should be liking this show more than I actually am...

Kiskaloo wrote:Hidan no Aria - 02: This episode, on the other hand... Aria is a very annoying character, so unless I see a lot more action in Episode 03...

Dude, she's a tsundere played by Rie Kugimiya. Of course she's going to be annoying!

Actually truth be told I didn't find her that bad, perhaps because it was being played for laughs (though I would have liked to have seen more scenes of the male lead's eye twitching in reaction to her behaviour). I think I actually consider her less annoying than Index.

Piero wrote:

Kiskaloo wrote:Hidan no Aria - 02: This episode, on the other hand... Aria is a very annoying character, so unless I see a lot more action in Episode 03...

Dude, she's a tsundere played by Rie Kugimiya. Of course she's going to be annoying!

Actually truth be told I didn't find her that bad, perhaps because it was being played for laughs (though I would have liked to have seen more scenes of the male lead's eye twitching in reaction to her behaviour). I think I actually consider her less annoying than Index.

Yes, but Index was a minor character in her own series. I expect we shall have no such luck with Aria.

There is new anime is called, Persona 4. Based on video game of same name. Persona 4 anime are created by AIC. I explain it later.[i]

Not really going to do a week-by-week update anymore, but with 3-4 episodes under the belt, these four shows have "made the cut" and I will be continuing on with them:

Hanasaku Iroha - This show may not be a sheet cake of victory, but is certainly a very large slice from said sheet cake.

Nichijou - Not as clever or as silly as Azumanga Daioh, but it is entertaining. Plus Mai screwing with Yūko in Episode 04 was great.

Astarotte's Toy - I am officially going to get a visit from Chris Hansen based on the revelations in Episode 03, but these are the conditions that prevail.

X-Men - Everything they learned with Iron Man and Wolverine has made this show awesome.

Maria†Holic Alive! (2) -- Same SHAFT goodness (with even more Mucha-esque goodness to boot). The OP and ED songs aren't as good as previous season though.

Tiger & BUnny (3-4) -- A good solid show that is starting to really flesh out some of the characters

A Channel (2-3) -- An OK show so far. Not great, but nice enough when one want to turn off their brain. The highlight so far is the creepy little stalker girl getting a stalker of her own.

Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko (1-2) -- Pleasent enough so far, and I'm interested in what they will make of the other potentially "odd" girls they've introduced to far.

Hanasaku Iroha (3-4) -- Decent drama without the moé, fanservice, or giant robots

Nichijou (3-4) -- Probably one of my favorites for the season. The surreal aspect makes it like a cross between AzuDai and Pani Poni Dash ... with lots of schrooms, man...lots of schrooms...

Hen Zemi (2) -- Big improvement over episode one. Definitly fits into the "so inappropriate its funny" genre of humor. Also...dat face ]Very NSFW]:[i]

Spoiler:

With 3-4 episodes under the belt, these three shows have not made the cut and are being dropped:

Steins;Gate - The premise could be interesting, but the entire cast just turns me off. Rintarō Okabe is a retard. Mayuri Shiina has a voice like nails on a chalkboard and her head is as empty as a vacuum chamber. Kurisu Makise has hope, but she's flawed, as well. I'll follow along on Wikipedia, since I do want to see how it turns out.

Hoshizora e Kakaru Hashi - As noted, I find all the girls to be way too moe and the theme is silly comedic. Neither is a fatal flaw, mind you, but I've just seen plenty of these types of show over the past couple of seasons and they never stick with me when they're done, so rather then spend six hours watching it just to delete it, I'll save myself the time now.

Ore-tachi ni Tsubasa wa Nai - This show makes no sense to me. I find myself zoning out time and time again.

Hanasaku - I was attracted first by the art, but the story proved to be quite good, the characters really have charisma. An overall good anime.

AnoHana - This will probably be the best this season, it's just my type, it remembers me of Kanon (in Summer), so far I like how the characters were introduced and can't wait to learn more about them. The only thing that makes me sad is that this will probably have a sad end... I mean,

Spoiler:

Kaiji Season 2 - IT'S KAIJI SECOND SEASON ZAWA ZAWA ZAWA!!! Really watch this if you haven't already, I don't know why but this show is just awesome.

KamiNomi 2 - The same thing from the first season, now with Haqua!

I've also watched the first episode of Nichijou and A Channel, but since I have some older stuff to watch I'll just delay them a little.

NeverSleep wrote:Kaiji Season 2 - IT'S KAIJI SECOND SEASON ZAWA ZAWA ZAWA!!! Really watch this if you haven't already, I don't know why but this show is just awesome.

The new zawas are scary as hell.

In the latest episode of Ore no Imouto



This isn't what it looks like

I liked the season of Ore no Imouto a lot, but I am absolutely loving the OVA's. Its probably because Kuroneko is so magnificent and got disappointingly little face time during the season.

theprodigalson wrote:I liked the season of Ore no Imouto a lot, but I am absolutely loving the OVA's. Its probably because Kuroneko is so magnificent and got disappointingly little face time during the season.

Today a spinoff Kuroneko manga was announced,I can only hope that an anime version of that will be anounced one day.

I didn't know they web-streamed two more Oreimo episodes, so downloading now.

Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutach wa Mada Shiranai - 03

Yes, this show is a winner.

Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko - 03

I arguably shouldn't like this show, but I do want to see how it turns out.

And that looks like my schedule for this season is set, with seven shows.