The list comes early this month because it’s February! Genshiken and Uta~Kata finished up recently, and loads of Beck have been dropped into our laps. Being rather busy lately, I haven’t gotten to check out as much of the new series as I would have liked (Mahoraba and Air especially), but there has been a lot to watch lately.

Top Five This Month:

1. Samurai Champloo: We’re really starting to heat up now, and episodes 20-21 were absolutely amazing. There’s even been plot development! The new art style is a bit ugly, though…
2. School Rumble: When the focus shifted away from Tenma and onto Harima and his potential love connections, this series went from being a funny but predictable comedy into an uber-dramedy (or is it uber-comama). Ganbatte, Eri!
3. Mai Hime: Hmm, back when Mai Hime started, I said: “The OP also seems to suggest that the cast will be large and probably largely forgettable.” Talk about eating your words! Please eliminate Yukariko, Tate, Shiho, and Mikoto next =D. No forgiveness, Mai!
4. Beck: It’s such a simple story, but I love this series! Someone please explain to me how Jim Walsh is an awesome genius. That movie’s narration was SO BAD. And how many more beatings can Ryuusuke take?
5. Uta~Kata: Another series that has me calling for a sequel (but with different characters, more costumes, and even more useless Djinns). So deep and mysterious, I went out and grabbed Kiddy Grade. Surely it’s just as intellectual, right?!

Rising:

• Gallery Fake: I almost wanted to hate this series with its drab art and confusing stories, but I can’t help loving the mystery of it all. I imagine this is why Shinku, Jun, and Hina Ichigo love Detective Kun-Kun so much.
• Yakitate: Actually, it’s been consistently good, but I just thought it would be funny to put a series about bread in the “Rising” section ^^. I need more CG melons!

Falling:

• My ability to tolerate Hideyoshi’s voice: Buzzer Beater is exceeding my (very) low expectations, but my goodness I hate Hideyoshi’s voice. This is one of the few times when I thought to myself “Self, his voice might actually sound better in a dub.” I guess it doesn’t help that Hideyoshi annoys me too.

Series I am Suddenly Eagerly Anticipating:

Tsubasa: Reservior Chronicle: I never really paid any attention to this development until last weekend when I was in a bookstore waiting for my laundry (in the laundromat across the street) to finish. I picked up the first volume, and was completely blown away by the story. Now, just to preface, although I am not a rabid fan or anything, I have watched enough CLAMP stuff to know probably 60% or so of the characters re-introduced in Tsubasa. I gotta say that the way they tied everything together was like a gloriously well-thought-out fanfic given life. The costumes were gorgeous (of course) and all the new roles made perfect sense. Even the usual CLAMP-isms that you see over and over again fit in perfectly with the large cast. When I saw Sora in the alternate dimension with Arashi, I wanted to give a huuuuge thumbs up! These are the sort of things you always wished would happen, but never did (until now) . Hurray for perfectly executed fan-wanking! As a sidenote, I thought Del Ray did a very nice job with the manga translations.

In some ways, it reminds me of Kingdom Hearts, except that I care about the characters that the three adventurers meet on their journey. Think about it, the similarities are eerie…

Related posts:

1. Kabitzin’s June 2005 List
2. Kabitzin’s August 2005 List
3. Kabitzin’s April 2005 List