It’s great to be back, and it’s even better to have so many great series to choose from. I can’t remember the last time I had to make tough decisions to narrow down my list of favorite series in a month, but it’s a wonderful feeling.
Top Five This Month:
- Ouran Host Club: Ender recommended it to me, and I finally sat down and watched all the episodes marathon style. I love the fun they poke at shoujo series, and Fujioka Haruhi is my favorite Haruhi of the season. Really a great series, even if it is a bit derivative.
- Ergo Proxy: Now that Vincent’s identity has been confirmed, what’s up with Real? This show continually exercises my brain cells with its deep mystery.
- Utawarerumono: The series is cooling off a little bit, but Utawarerumono still has my attention. Aruru and Mukuru are so incredibly cute that this show stays high on my list.
- School Rumble 2nd Semester: It’s amazing how new characters keep getting added to this cast, and yet they fit in perfectly. I am hoping for some more Imadori time, however, because I feel he’s the comedic lynchpin in some of the more signature jokes.
- Nana: The story’s still moving deliberately, but I’m getting a much better sense for the characters (and not just the Nanas). Do you really become friends with so many awesome people in art school? Between this and Hachimitsu to Clover, it’s like the shows are being sponsored by Japanese art colleges!
Rising:
- Simoun: I thought this would be some yuri-silliness, but it has a touch of Last Exile with some really dramatic growing-up-issues. It helps that the OP is fantastic. I also dig that the pilots fly in large CD repair kits.
Falling:
- The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya: Not a huge fall, but given the meteoric rise of this series, I didn’t expect for the plot order to be mangled like an anime Catch-22.
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16 Comments
I kidna rana way from simoun…everything is so serious but what with the sexlessness and the whole praying with ships… as well as one chick crying about growing a P0N0s O_o
and the fact I want the bad guys to win…
altho utawaremono has gotten better with it’s cheesiness.. just waiting for Hakuoro to get the courage to go to first base at least
In my opinion, School Rumble 2nd Semester is bit… bit off. It doesn’t seem to have central storyline that binds all the characters together.
For Ouran High Host Club, I don’t really mind its existance but the storyline is pretty linear compared to episode 1.
ARIA The NATURAL gets no love. :P
Just kidding, but I do feel sad that hardly anybody is blogging it in detail, if at all.
Cheers.
Perhaps you mean ‘Last Exile’ instead of ‘Lost Exile’?
I’ve stayed away from Simoun, most bloggers have been warning people against it. If it’s anything like Last Exile, maybe I should reconsider that..
Ah, my mistake… Yeah, so far it’s been ok, but not that many episodes have come out yet.
Aria is excellent. My son likes it, too.
>>
ARIA The NATURAL gets no love. :P
Just kidding, but I do feel sad that hardly anybody is blogging it in detail, if at all.
Cheers.
that’s because theres not reallym uch point in blogging a series where the plot is kind of pointless and the only progression is that the show actually continues … just watching it is enough…altho it gets sandbagged too much >.>
I gotta say I liked the first season better… too much emphasis on those damn cats in the 2nd>.>
Kabitzin’s list follows mine quite closely. After watching the latest Ergo Proxy (12), it skyrocketed in top position. A couple of disappointing episodes were filling me with fear&despair (oh no! Trainwreck!), but now it’s become really palatable.
I’ve had also a great comeback with School Rumble. I’ve watched the new eps in sequence, and I’ve fallen in love again with it. Marathon power, nonetheless.
Ouran never fails to entertain me, and it’s overall quality is a big ” ” in my book.
Nana is a show very well-done, but, just like I was watching REC, I was starting to feel .. a bit less “masculine”, if I may say. It’s shoujo to the core, albeit funny. The fact that Hachi-Nana is having a “gelato” in the end is nice. Italians do it better, you know.
Utawarerumono…ahh, lovin’ it. It has a “plain and simple” feeling, it’s refreshing. I’m still lukewarm about cat/dog/whatever ears&tails, but it I’m getting used to it.
I’m having a sort of psychological conflict with Harui. Sometimes I feel it’s pure genius, sometimes I feel it’s crap. Quality is great, and Bunny Girls DO have a hook on me, I must admit.
Ohh, and Fate/Stay Night is still going strong around here, the wrapping up is close, and even if it looks sometimes Dragon-Ball-ish with all those powah-ups, you can’t miss the remake of Ghost done in the last ep.
(BTW: Maybe it’s because June is starting, but don’t you feel this “lovu lovu” motif into anime? )
Show I’ve tried but discarded: Simoun, xxxHolic, Black Lagoon.
I’m strangely missing Magikano, and I’d really like a 2nd Suzuka.
Bleach fillers are ruining the show completely, imo, just like Naruto. These shows are completely nuked by those utter-crap stories, I suggest to wrap it up, close curtains, make something else.
*looks for Higurashi*
Neither of you?
I watched Higurashi’s first episode and didn’t really like the art. Does the story pick up or something?
The first episode of Higurashi is not representative of the show at all. Personally, I find the first episode kind of boring. However, the next three episodes are nothing short of awesome. So give the next few episodes a try and you may be surprise.
I would also like to mention that Saiunkoku Monogatari is another must watch show this season. It may not look like much but the show has a certain charm that makes it a fun show to watch. Give at least the first episode a try.
Black Lagoon is easily my favourite series momentarily. The OP alone begs to watched because it’s just plain awesome and it made me love Black Lagoon on first sight. I think the last time an OP convinced me as much was when I watched Texhnolyze. These OPs simply come out of the anime corner instead of using some well-known formula. I’d admit that the OP of Ergo Proxy qualifies as well but they decided to not show as an OP until episode 3 so there was no chantsu for first-sight lovu lovu.
Black Lagoon certainly isn’t deep or realistic and never pretends it. It’s just bad-ass action to the core. And when I write action, I mean action, not “Mikuru beam attack”. I’m no gun nut but it’s refreshing to see some real weapons and gun fights for a change. In other words, Madlax has become a woman. The voice actors are pretty good too. No squeeking mice to be found and some of the voice actors are even from the Monster cast.
Well, if you’ve seen the manga you should have noticed that Revy and the other women look much better compared to the anime version whereas the guys look exactly the same. That’s the only that bothers me a little so far.
I watched Higurashi’s first episode and didn’t really like the art. Does the story pick up or something?
Hahahaaa…thats putting it mildly.
Higurashi is totally unlike ANY other anime I’ve ever seen.
(yes the art is kinda…different, but hey, its better than the game’s art!)
Black Lagoon. Actually it seems that Ten and I have started to feel that this series has been a pleasant surprise. It’s looks like just guns and gals when taken at face value but quite a lot of it can be read more deeply without the whole thing descending into pretentiousness.
Higurashi. I really enjoyed the paranoia created by the first arc. My own entries are in Very Secret Diary form to keep me from cowering in fear from this series.
Ergo Proxy. Has. Been. Simply. Agonzing. I. Hate. Vincent. Well, up to Ep 9 anyway. Glad to know that things are finally looking up.
Ouran Host Club. Good fun though I’d much rather patronize the dodgy cafe in School Rumble Nigakki’s cultural festival arc. Miko-chiiiin plz!!!
If only they served D-cup curry…
I prefer to put my comment into spoiler tags, maybe unnecessary, but just in case.
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