I’ve made minimal progress in clearing out the massive backlog, and I still haven’t checked out many of the semi-new series that I’ve been eyeing for the past few months. Playing Super Robot Taisen Original Generations hasn’t really helped either; I’ve been glued to its addictive blend of mecha anime homage and stat-fiddling goodness. The mecha designs are quite awesome too, with the exception of the SRX – that monstrosity is quite possibly the most idiotic looking robot ever, mostly due to the goofy headpiece. Gotta love the Tenjou Tenge Nendou Bakusai Ken though. Variable Formation!
This Month’s Chart Toppers:
- Saiunkoku Monogatari: Gets the top spot since I’ve been marathoning it recently. I went into this one with fairly low expectations – inverse harem cliche was the order of the day. The first couple of episodes weren’t too promising, as I was reminded of those fairly lame Chinese period piece dramas that are chock full of fancy costumes and goofy melodramatic acting. For some reason though, I stuck with it, mostly because of the slice-of-life vibe that was making its way to the forefront. Eventually, the show’s feel-good message and occasional flashes of quirky humor won me over. The incredibly clean presentation and all-star cast certainly helped, and the lack of animation isn’t much of an issue since there aren’t many actions scenes (truth be known, it’s mostly a lot of talking…). Though often cheesy and lacking the depth of a period piece like Twelve Kingdoms, Saiunkoku Monogatari is proving to be an enjoyable and breezy show.
- Welcome to the NHK!: In spite of the inconsistent animation, I’m still lovin’ it. This most unusual show takes priority whenever a new episode is released. Is it just me, or does that kidult thing look like a Dr. Seuss character that was rejected for drug abuse?
- Utawarerumono: We’re finally making progress and discovering the truth about the Hak-meister! The mecha bunny suits didn’t actually bother me much – after all, how can I complain about something like that when I’ve sat through 50 episodes of Gundam Seed Destiny? What really bothers me is that the hero characters never seem in danger of being permanently offed. This made all the war episodes somewhat boring, as I knew Karura would kick everyone’s asses or Benawi would surely prevent the downfall of the kingdom. As the story draws to a close, I only hope that the ending is handled better than that of Scrapped Princess.
- Nana: Seriously, I know everyone’s been raggin’ on this show, and I can totally understand. Nothing really ever happens. Why do I still like it? I have no clue, but I’m sure that Jeff could explain it better than I could. Methinks it has something to do with the slice-of-life bug.
- Zero no Tsukaima: I still can’t believe this show actually turned out well. Before the season had started, I had already written this one off as “garbage bin material”, along with Tsuyokiss. Ah well, one out of two ain’t bad…uh, relatively speaking.
Rising Stars:
- xxxHolic: I WANT MY OWN PIPE FOX!! Ahem… as for the show itself, the animation is sketchy as usual (har har) but after watching an entire season of Suzuka, I think I’m almost desensitized to it. A few wrinkles definitely need to be ironed out though; the Yuuko fanservice is a bit much at times, and the writers are overusing the vestal sprite. Pretty soon she’ll be in every episode or something ridiculous like that. Also, is it just me or is Himawari-chan extremely creepy? She looks like she’s in SEED mode all the time. Frankly, I can’t see why Watanuki is infatuated with her. I’m in favor of a Watanuki x Mokona pairing instead =D
- The Third: Saw five episodes, and the plot was starting to pick up. I’m rather fond of the post-apoc style setting, and the mystery surrounding Honoka will undoubtedly keep me coming back for more. Now if only she could take down her arch enemy “Suzuka”…
One Shot Wonders:
- Higurashi no Naku Koro ni: OK, so it was interesting the first couple of times, but the shock factor has already worn off, and the story isn’t quite as compelling. The show’s innovative format was brilliant, but it’s starting to overstay its welcome.
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Haha, great to see you hooked on Kokumono. It’s not exactly on par with the brilliance of 12K but it’s damn too engrossing. Plus, there’s the shojou sap that’s hard to resist.
I really should try to watch Utawarerumono. I’ve been hearing it all over the community, especially with the weird twist that I shouldn’t have read. Thing is, one look at the character designs and I’m sent running in the opposite direction.
I’m surprised there’s no Hachikuro II on your list or are you waiting until the series is complete before marathoning it?
Glad to see that more people are starting to notice The Third, xxxHolic and Saiunkoku Monogatari. Three brilliant series, in my opinion. The current arc of Higurashi indeed was garbage, but I’m expecting a lot from the sixth arc. It’s supposed to have Rena, being placed in Keiichi’s situation in the first arc. That should prove to be better than Shion and her endless whining.
Ten: Utawarerumono is basically a harem-war-fantasy anime. It’s got some good points, though the plot doesn’t really make any sense.
Yea, the third seems to be really promising, even though I never had a chance to watch it yet. Saiunkoku Monogatari really needs more love. When I first started blogging about it, I noticed that other than Hopeless and a few others who simply wrote episode summaries, it is really underground, with not much people watching it. The fact that there are only chinese fansubs on it meant that it was close to impossible to watch it if you did not understand chinese.
However, the intrinsic character development and the nice twists (usually twists turn out lame, but not here in Saiunkoku Monogatari) makes this a really nice watch. I just can’t wait for ep 17 to finally show (i know it did, but not subbed yet) and watch the development.
However, I think that Aria the Natural is also moving gear upwards. =/ Maybe an anime is interesting, even though i should get myself started on UTawarerumono. I hear so much about it but never had the heart to watch it yet.
Watanuki is an idiot, the Yuuko fanservice is, like you said, too much and the character designs totally put me off. I should hate xxxHolic but I don’t! I’d say it makes the top5 of what I’m currently watching, and even if I did hate it I would still watch it just for the second ED. It’s just rockin’!
Saiunkoku Monogatari: Wait until Shuurei gets accused of worse things than merely being a recipient of favorable treatment.
Char Azunable still rules. ( See latest Z Gundam movie )
Saiunkoku Monogatari definitely has that shoujo-mojo. In the words of Conan O’Brien, “I could easily see two or three seasons of will-they-won’t-they sexual tension that ultimately leads nowhere”
I’m definitely looking forward to seeing how Shuurei deal with more hardship…lately she’s been cruising due to the help of all her powerful friends!
Utawarerumono’s story definitely isn’t its high point – most definitely stay away if you don’t like harem anime. The art style is certainly not something that would jive with everyone’s taste. The female character designs tend to be top-heavy, and the faces lean towards an almost old-school bug-eyed style (not so much with Karura though).
Garten>> I am storing up HCII for marathoning, along with other series like Bokura ga Ita, Rescue Wings, and Innocent Venus. I forgot to mention these dormant series in the listing!
Utawarerumono’s story isn’t bad; it just that I felt it could have been better.