Anime Scribblings #2
I guess I plan to do one of these every season just to show what I’m enjoying watching at the moment.
Saki 1-3
I mean it when I say I’m watching Saki for the mahjong, even if I don’t understand a single bit of it. The boobs and (unwanted) yuri are just a side distraction – I mean really, all those ewwww blushing scenes between Haramura & Saki made me gag. Damnit I want yuri with hot, mature onee-sans, not pink-haired lolis with a boob-job gone wrong.
Higepiyo 1-2
It’s only 5 minutes long, and I prefer cute(?) talking moustached chicks to cats (ie Chi’s Sweet Home) so I’m seriously considering making Higepiyo my stress-reliever of Spring 2009. It’s a no-brain anime! Perfect for somebody with no brain like me… I’m considering making Paku Romi my pick for the Seiyuu Awards 2010 (they need a ‘best animal-voicing seiyuu’ category).
Shangri-la 1-3
I could see myself watching this to the end if:
1.they featured more of the trannies (er… Momoko anyway) and less of the military
2.they cut out all that weird carbon shit that I can’t understand a word of
3.they kill off at least one of the sadistic lolis before episode 7
There’s some intriguing stuff going on with all the factions & ringing swords, but I don’t know how much longer I can put up with all the political crap. Or those three uber-bitches (Ryoko, Mikuni & Karin)… plus Kuniko’s ‘WTF big house!’ crap at the end of ep 3 was annoying – I hope she’s not going to turn into a whiny bitch at the end of it all.
Basquash 1-3
Well Basquash didn’t turn out to be as stupid as I expected, since mecha and basketball are two of my least favourite things in the universe. Tbh the only reason I bothered with this initially was because of Nakajima Megumi & Tomatsu Haruka (also Hayami Saori’s) supposed supergroup Eclipse… but of course, I got distracted by all the lolwut sexual innuendo (can i have your genes?) and overdone fanservice, not to mention one of the dumbest character names in history (hello Iceman Hottie). I’m not a huge fan of the exaggerated designs that make Dan look like a rooster/peacock hybrid either, but there’s been some decent action so far and the songs are pretty good so I’ll keep on truckin’ til things start to get really ridiculous.
Higashi no Eden 1-2
Scoring plaudits left and right, and it’s easy to see why – high production values and a nicely-paced script with (gasp!) real English voice acting are just some of the highlights. Saki as a character seems to be missing a few screws (naked guy = prince, huh) but is otherwise pleasantly bland. Naked guy/Akira is much love though, he’s like a smarter, more good-looking Morita (HachiKuro). And of course all that Selecao & Juiz stuff intrigues me. I’m totally on board the Eden train for this season!
Hatsukoi Limited. 1-2
It’s cute, sweet, funny and makes me feel all warm inside… probably something to do with my current state of mind as well. There’s a nice mix of guys and girls in here – and it’s the only type of romance anime I can stand, one that doesn’t revolve around a central character and his/her potential harem. Also, ugly male characters = win. Hatsukoi evokes sweet memories of Kita e, I can totally see myself watching this to the end.
K-ON! 1-3
I guess you’d be hard pressed to find someone not watching K-ON!. Yes it’s full of moeblobs and unnecessarily moe-service shit, but at its core is a decent slice-of-life anime that happens to sort of focus on music (which happens to be the love of my life). Episode 3 was personally amusing – although I’m not as thick as Yui, her studying methods resembled mine when I was in college: do half of three silly maths equations, roll around a bit, then noodle around with my electric guitar and fall asleep.
Fullmetal Alchemist 1-3
This is already in my dropped pile, not because it’s bad but just ‘cos I’m not prepared to sit through a whole year of partly-recycled stories, even if they stick closely to the manga. Still don’t like Takamoto Megumi’s Winry at all.
Cross Game 1
I’m sort of undecided on whether to proceed with Cross Game or not – it had one of the strongest opening episodes of the season, but I haven’t got a great track record with Adachi Mitsuru anime. So it’s fate more or less depends on how much more Shangri-la and Basquash I can put up with before my brain explodes and I long for baseball-related cheese.
The 1 episode recycle bin pile
No seriously, I know people keep harping on about giving shows a chance, at least more than one measly episode but after close to a decade following anime by seasons – you just know shit when you see it. You don’t need second helpings shoved up your nostrils and down your throat to make sure.
Valkyria
Sent me to sleep. Marina in a hot soldier outfit wielding a gun is not enough to save it.
Ristorante Paradiso
I’m gonna copy/paste what I said right after I watched episode 1: “EWWWWWWW RISTORANTE PARADISOOOO KIMMOOIII OYAJII RABURABU YUCK. ok dropped”. I have neither glasses nor old men fetish (though actually I could fall in both categories myself), I don’t care for chivalry (I’m masochistic after all) and no, I’m not into mature love stories (cos I’m immature I guess). Also the preview for episode 2 was the most puke-inducing 30 seconds of my 2009 so far.
PandoraHearts
Generic shonen shit #9823475235
Slap-Up Party -Arad Senki-
Ace opening song (by Nogawa Sakura), sadly everything else is not so ace.
Queen’s Blade
Inflatable water balloons, mmmm. Also, worst ending theme of the 21st century so far.
Natsu no Arashi
I’ve never been so bored in my life. And the designs are Fugly. With a capital F.
Asura Cryin’
I dunno if Asura was cryin’ but I sure was. Cryin’ at the 23 minutes of life I wasted on this.
Polyphonica Crimson S
Can’t be worse than Season 1 right? …… erm wrong. It was at least refreshing to hear Tomatsu Haruka’s haughty Corti voice again, which was the reason I started loving her in the first place, otherwise there’s really not a lot that appeals here.
From seasons past:
Rideback (completed)
Ummmm. It all started going downhill once the political stuff nudged the actual Rideback action out of the limelight. There was plenty of potential in the premise and likeable cast of characters, but the constraints of a 1-cour timeframe resulted in less-than-satisfactory plot and character development. There were some nice patches throughout – episode 4’s rescue mission was easily the high point of the series, while the somewhat surprising twist at the end of episode 10 served as a welcome jolt of life back into the flagging storyline (which was then undone by a laughable ending) but at the end of it all, Rideback’s just one of those series useful for passing the time but nothing more. I certainly won’t remember a thing about it 6 months from now…
Marimite 4 (completed)
I think it’s pretty much the same old story for me regarding Marimite productions – I start off all enthusiastic at the start of the season before reaching a lull mid-way through, then by the end I’ve forgotten why I liked it in the first place. I think I might’ve appreciated it more if I marathoned the whole season instead of watching it at a weekly pace, which made it seem really tedious and drawn-out. Obviously I was a little disappointed that most of the side-stories and fluff got cut out in the end, but that was understandable given that the season was meant to focus specifically on the Yumi-Touko relationship. And of course, you know they were always gonna milk at least another set of OVAs before the true conclusion.
Minami-ke: Okaeri (completed)
I fell asleep halfway through most episodes, and only the Curry Fairy remains fresh in my mind. All the other jokes got lost in a sea of badly drawn and badly animated body parts.
SoraKake (up to ep 14)
The colony names are getting funkier and the plot/script weirder, but my eyes are glued to the screen, it’s like Mai-HiME all over again! Also the cast of characters is now so large I can’t remember their names and am still going by traits (ie the lesbo bakappuru, big hair, emo-potato, talking box etc) instead. Oh also thank god I’m a seiyuu fan so I can identify also by voice (like, how many Nakahara Mai-voiced characters are there?). Also, I love you Kuribayashi Minami. Miracle Fly is not your best song by any stretch of the imagination but it is stil 100000000000x better than retarded AliPro.
Zoku Natsume Yujincho (completed)
It’s weird that it took me so long to complete watching an anime series that I love so much, but Yujincho isn’t exactly one of those intense, 23-minute action packed brainbusting shows. Watching Nyanko-sensei antics at your own pace is the perfect way to enjoy proceedings. However, I do think Season 2 somewhat paled in comparison to the first – there weren’t as many standout episodes, and I was bored with emo-Natsume and his ‘I need to protect X,Y,Z’ mantra. The increased presence of Natori + Hiiragi was most welcome, however.
Kara no Kyokai movies 1-5
I could’ve kicked myself for putting off watching the first 5 movies for so long, but on the plus side I did get to marathon them all within a week and didn’t have to put up with the agonising wait in between episodes. The first movie was a little confusing, but once the ball got rolling with the fantastic Satsujin Kousatsu (part 1) I was hooked. Having given each movie at least two goes, I can’t really decide which one’s my favourite but I’m leaning towards Garan no Dou with its vulnerable Shiki hotness (helped along by a lovely Sakamoto Maaya performance). And yes, I have the hots for Touko too – smokin’ onee-san right there. Oh and of course – heavenly animation, brilliant storywriting and pacing. That’s what normal people watch anime for, right?
Ahhh I really like Hatsukoi Limited too, and you’re right, ugly guys ftw. XD Misao is my stalker hero!
Kara no Kyoukai… hehehe… we can share both Shiki and Touko. XD Her “dying” was pretty unpredictable, but it all turned out well. ^^
And LOL! I had the same thoughts going through my head when I heard “Then… No more holding back, ok?” XD And wtf is with Nodoka blushing all the time? =_= “When you hold back, it’s no fun for me. Please let me have fun as well!” *accompanied with a flushed face* eroge indeed.
I totally agree with the last comment you made about Ristorante Paradiso… the ep 2 preview sent shivers up my spine… I’m ok w/ maybe a 5-10 year difference (even that’s pushing it…) but zomg that man is old enough to be her father =_=
P.S. MIO IS MY WAIFU!
Agreed on almost all counts
especially the Higepiyo/Higashi no Eden bit… and Mio is having a hot affair with me 
OP/ED of Hatsukoi isnt boring. Well maybe the ED but the OP is really catchy.
@ veester
YOU WISH!!! MIO IS FAITHFUL TO ME!
MIO IS OBVIOUSLY INTO GIRLS, SO THIS IS WHERE PEOPLE LIKE J1M0NE AND I STEP IN.
But she can have her. I want the spoilerspoilerspoiler girl who has a Mustang that people keep mixing up for Mio. Twin tails and dark hair? <3I think the weirdest thing about Eden of the East, besides the whole naked prince thing has to be how Akira got those pants off that guy. How do you do that? I mean, I’d totally offer my pants to a cute girl/guy if they asked and if I were in a good mood to not see them suffer, but….
Rajion! is the hardest thing I’ve ever tried to listen to. The only redeeming bit is those two or three times they managed to play together and not sound like complete bull plop. I can only really identify Toyosaki and Kotobuki half the time, depending on how close to the freaking microphone they are. -w-;
…. Oh, and I’ll be your bass playing toyboy! You’re probably better at guitar than I am. Bass somehow broke one of my nails that I really need when I play on my classical and I completely fail at using a pick when I’m not strumming. D:
PS – Minorin in a cowboy hat must get that Pick-up voice volume and get a few more copies and brain melting down from Minorin cowboy hat sgxlosingfafndfunctionsfalsdfa -passes out just thinking about it-
=/ somehow i don’t enjoy animes as much as i did in the past, is it that my expectations went too high, or the current animes just do not have any unique and interesting points that hook me on..?
D anyway just watching FMA and basquash, FMA for the ED and basquash for the no brainer 
DD
>> OMFG Kusuda’s ‘lame gag’ attack in ep 2 killed all my brain cells.
Hahahahha. I guess it does work.
What’s up with all these girls reading/watching Hatsukoi Limited? I must get to the bottom of it!
Garan no Dou has the best pacing ever. Many people hate the ’slow’ pacing, but it’s the build-up that counts. The constant change in time line might make one dizzy at first, but when you have it at another go, it’s really gripping.
And that’s about the end of the ‘first arc’. The next 2 movies will probably wrap things up.
I LOL’ed at QB’s description.
Sorakake continues to be entertaining, and so does Sengoku Basara, its male almost-equivalent of the spring season. Maybe you should give that a try. Then again, despite the big names, that one has “lulz” written all over it as well.
And why can people not understand there are others who actually watch Saki for mahjong, dammit.
There’s a better way to sum up QB: Exploding Acid Titties.
That aside, I’m going to watch FMA on a skipwatch basis(basically me pushing the right arrow a -lot- on my keyboard while in MPC), until something not from the last season comes…
I do agree with the K-ON bit, all the seiyuu seriously sound the same to the point I just gave up on the radio show. As I commented last time…it’s like, 10 minutes show, first 6 minutes of squeeing and cake, and 2 minutes of randomness + 2 minutes of perhaps band jamming. Though, Mio is uber _>;;
Kara no Kyoukai is just…too, too awesome. Actually, although it’ll never happen…I had a funny thought while I was reading this post. You know all the action scenes that happened in the movie? Just imagine those get put on PS3 as an action game or something…I’d kinna like it. That fast pace action with that kind of atmosphere.
Oh god, I meant to leave a comment and I typed up a whole whack of things. Sorry!
I agree about natsu’s character design, however, i found it to be far from boring, ha. First episode was pretty crazy and fun. Valkyria and Cross game are shaping up pretty nicely as well, I guess those are the only ones that I disagree with your opinion.
PS. Yeah, mio is indeed the best character on K-On :p
Marble singing the Hatsukoi ED = boring??? Madness! Hatsukoi Limited is probably my favourite anisong of this season. Only thing annoying about that show is Ise Mariya, her voice grates on me for some reason.
Saki is awsome, I hope ur being sarcastic about the yuri :p
I can’t get enough of that show and the introduction of all those top seiyuu only makes the show better.
Other than that I pretty much agree with everything! Nice writeup as usual.
Saki
I think Nodoka’s oversized boobs and the fanservice shots got me a little annoyed, but overall, I did like the mahjong sequence because I’m a big fan of the game.
Basquash
It lived up to my expectations that it would be annoying. I don’t like basketball and mecha either, and every single one of the characters so far, besides Dan’s lizard, has managed to annoy me to no end. Having Dan and Iceman scream for most of episode 3 wrecked my ears…I wonder how long I can stand this one before I get bored of the music and the beautiful backgrounds…
Heh, reading this made me go back and rewatch Queen’s Blade’s ED (I skipped them the firs time) and I don’t see what’s so bad about it, in fact I think it sounds quite epic.
Then I rewatched episode 2’s ending when Noto Mamiko started to sing………… >_>
Hatsukoi OP is THIS. I also agree that ugly male protagonists are win…however, that is negated by stupid shota bishi mamoru. AND HIS NAME IS MAMORU, JESUS MAMORU.
I can empathize with the sentiment on Natsume. I have been watching Mushishi for almost a year now and still haven’t finished. I love the show and I know I can pick it up whenever and it will still be good. I like to watch it when I can’t sleep cause it just mellows me right out.
Lol Mio seems to be much loved…
Re: Yuri in Saki
Actually I don’t like it at all. I mean, who wants to watch Saki make out with a pink-haired loli… though if it was the Kaicho instead I’d be giving it a thumbs up ^^
@ r
I’m a girl too (as is OtaAgg, coincidentally (according to the poll lol)… so I think I’m safe with Mio XD And you can have this… mustang girl… XD Cuz she’s not uber shy like Mio, i’m thinking… lol Barnacles. lol fanclub.
I’m starting to questions Mugi-chan’s real motives for joining the club… she’s all Yuri-yuri… like us. I’m totally like Tsumugi, omg… Piano + Yuri Goggles (+ Eyebrows XD)
@OtaAgg
Considering Mio is everyone’s Waifu, i think she’s a polygamist, so one hot affair wouldn’t hurt lol. (You’re lucky, She looks good in a bikini
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[...] gorgeous girls featured in it in stark contrast to the middle-aged men of Paradiso (j1m0ne’s EWWWWWW wrt the latter takes the cake in my book). Nonetheless kudoes, in particular, to Shounen A and [...]