Yay, it's 2010! ^^ Whether you kicked off the new year with a jump-start on one of your resolutions, a hangover, a hatsumode, or all three, I hope everybody's having a good start to the new year/decade. Here's a list of my top 10 yuri anime of 2009, followed by a list of my top 10 yuri anime of the past decade. My Top 10 of 2009: 10) A tie between Ikki Tousen (Funi's re-release of the first season and Media Blasters' release of Dragon Destiny) and Nanoha (Funi's release)- Once I gave Ikki Tousen a shot, it turned out to be stupid fun (with yuri!). Nanoha season 1 (that's all that I've watched up to this point) deserves mention for how much it improved by the end, with some cute subtext to boot. 9) Saki (streaming on Crunchyroll)- What began as a boring high school comedy/drama quickly developed into a fun tournament-style title with a likeable, yuri-riffic cast of characters. My top couples are still Momo x Yumi, Nodoka x Saki, and Hisa x...uhh, Mako or Mihoko (whichever ^^;;). 8) Maria-sama ga Miteru Season 3 (RightStuf's release): I absolutely love Marimite. And RightStuf, for licensing it. :-) 7) Blue Drop- A very good, low-key sci-fi romantic drama that I didn't expect to see released in English on DVD. Go, go Sentai! 6) CANAAN: I know, I know. Besides Liang, the only yuri in this series is subtext/wishful thinking. But what yummy subtext it is. Plus, yay for having another good seinen action series revolving around an primarily female, non-school aged cast that doesn't moe-fy or "Queen's Blade"-out its characters. 5) Maria-sama ga Miteru Season 4- The fourth, possibly (imo, probably) final season for one of my all-time favorite shows. More wonderful subtext (and friendships) between wonderful characters in a wonderful story. 4) To Aru Kagaku no Railgun: For simply being a fun sci-fi action title with a canon yuri lead. (Although Saten's skirt-flipping ways and Uiharu's fascination with Tokiwadai have both pinged my gaydar as well.) 3) El Cazador de la Bruja (Funi's English DVD release): The final, most yuriful series in Bee Train's "girls-with-guns" trilogy, finally available in English! XD Yay, Nadie x Ellis! 2) Sasameki Koto (streaming on Crunchyroll): It didn't have the budget or, frankly, the same level of direction as Aoi Hana's adaptation, but it was a joy to see Sumi, Ushio, and the rest of the Joshibu finally animated, and it was simply a fun show. Plus, it was cool to not only see this series stream on AE, but also get picked up by other lesbian media sites. 1) Aoi Hana (streaming on Crunchyroll): Surprise. ^^; From the opening episode, I loved this series. The characters, the story, the art, the music, everything, pulled together by Kenichi Kasai's brilliant direction, with Ikuhara Kunihiko's beautiful OP as the cherry on top. I couldn't have been happier with this adaptation- aside from the fact that it needs a second season (like so many other shows on this list). Plus, it was very cool to see a yuri anime streamed on Afterellen for the first time. Honorable mention goes to Shin Koihime Musou (for the sheer number of yuri characters) and Kanamemo (for Yume and Yuuki, even if Haruka...well, everybody who reads this blog already knows how I feel about Haruka). My Top 10 of the Past Decade: 10) Yami to Boushi to Hon no Tabibito: This is a crappy title with a crappy, tear-your-heart-out-and-stomp-on-it ending (although I've heard that the manga and game both have yuri-friendly endings). But it was the earliest yuri-centric title to air during the past decade. For helping to get the yuri ball rolling, Yamibou deserves a spot here. (Plus, I like Hazuki. She deserves a better series.) 9) Magical Girl Lyrical  Nanoha- I've only seen the first season, but since I know that StrikerS features Nanoha and Fate living together as adults, sharing a bed (when they could easily sleep in separate beds), and raising a kid who calls them both "mama", I'm listing it. 8) Mai-Hime- For being a popular action title that gave rise to a popular yuri couple, among numerous other potential pairs. It spawned even more yuri in its spin-off, Mai-Otome, and in the two OVAs that branched from Mai-Otome. Not to mention Mai-Hime Destiny, Mao-Hime (I think that's what it's called...I haven't really bothered with reading it), and the upcoming Mai-Hime EXA. (I'm trying to forget the first Mai-Hime manga.) 7) Strawberry Panic- For further cementing Marimite's influence and the pervasive "all-girls' school" trope in yuri, for better or for worse. Plus, it's a fun show. 6) Simoun: An absolutely excellent fantasy title from beginning to end that any anime fan would do well to try. Plus, the plot is wrapped up very satisfyingly (but not too neatly or happily) within its 26(!) episode span. 5) Noir: Subtext only but worth listing for its influence on the subtext-rich "girl-with-guns" subgenre, including Madlax, El Cazador, and (probably) CANAAN, among other titles. 5) Sasameki Koto- Just an enjoyable yuri-centric title that gently pokes fun at (and at times, subverts) yuri tropes and stars a likeable cast. Mega-points for not taking place at an all-girls' school (and for pointing out that Ushio tried her darndest to get into one), and continuing the trend of featuring characters who aren't simply "in love with this particular, exceptional person who happens to be a girl." 3) Kannazuki no Miko- First anime title centered around a canon yuri couple with a happy ending. (At least, I see it as a happy ending.) I'll admit my bias- even though I'm not fond of the angsty moping that makes up a sizeable chunk of this series anymore, this was the first title that I recognized as "yuri", and I was head-over-heels in love with it for quite a while. Plus, thanks to the enduring popularity of Chimeko (and Kaishaku's perennial fondness for them), we can likely expect a new yuri action anime- an adaptation of Kaishaku's Zettai Shoujo Seiiki Amnesian- within the next few years. :-) 2) Aoi Hana- Simultaneously the best and most realistic title centered around a canon yuri protagonist in the past decade. 1) Maria-sama ga Miteru: Because no other yuri title that aired from 2000 through 2009 has been as influential or as heavily-referenced as Marimite. And that's it. ^^
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Spring held quite a big batch of anime that started up and I didn't get around to watching the majority of them till fall because I was quite busy with well... life. There were only three direct sequels to other anime and I was lucky to have watched two out of three. Sorry Hayate the [...] Related posts:Review of 2009 Anime Part 1 ~Winter~ Review of 2009 Anime Part 2 ~Summer~ Kanamemo
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To me, this has been an excellent year for anime. Here is a list of the shows I enjoyed most. I'm not saying these are the "best" shows of the year (whatever that means), just very good shows that are my favorites:Bakemonogatari -- Director Shinbou Akiyuki has said he doesn't feel he added much to this, that it all came from the novels by NisiOisiN. I disagree. The look and pacing of the show add a lot. And Saitou Chiwa is beyond excellent as Senjougahara. But I do appreciate NisiOisiN's humor a lot more than the humor in other Shinbou shows.Darker than Black 2 -- The first series was entertaining, but this one is emotionally deep. Hanazawa Kana gives her best performance ever, and raises herself a level in the seiyuu ranks, for me.Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~ -- Sharp, dark, moving. Great pace. Great seiyuu performances from Takagaki Ayahi and Sawashiro Miyuki, who is even able to foreshadow her character's development with subtle shadings of her voice. Seitokai no Ichizon -- This instantly becomes one of my two favorite comedy animes of all time, along with Ichigo Mashimaro. No surprise that both are by the same director, Satou Takuya, whose brand of humane absurdity is just what I like. A Japanese moe version of Monty Python. Hanada Jukki proves he can write. And the almost all-unknown cast is fantastic.Aoi Hana -- Delicate feelings delicately portrayed in front of delicate watercolor backgrounds. May be even better than Marimite. Actress/model Takabe Ai gives a strong, natural performance as the lead.Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 -- Like no other anime I've seen. Realistic, to a point, and emotionally moving when it goes beyond that point. Hanamura Satomi does an excellent job as peevish thirteen-year-old Mirai.Pandora Hearts -- Monsters turn me off, but they didn't in this show. Interesting world, good pacing, vivid characters, outstanding music by Kajiura Yuki. White Album -- Very unusual story-telling, always leaving us in the dark about the characters' true histories, feelings and motivations, but creating deep and mysterious resonances. It helps that I don't mind soap opera.Denpateki na Kanojo -- Came out of nowhere to give us two of the best anime episodes of the year. And Hirohashi Ryou as Ame gave one of the most memorable seiyuu performances.Eden of the East -- Did not entirely live up to early promise, but was still a fascinating experience every week.Marimite 4 -- This fourth Marimite series has not got a lot of love from anyone but me, but I thought it equaled the first two series, which were such landmarks of shoujo-ai. Yumi's development here was perfect.Genji Sennenki -- It helps that I think The Tale of Genji is one of the world's greatest novels. No eleven-episode anime could ever do it justice, but this came close, with its artistic look and pacing, and its powerful but allusive way of telling the stories it included. Hanasakeru Seishounen -- I had no intention of liking this show so much, but Endou Aya just captivated me with her portrayal of the compassionate, bold, innocent protagonist Kajika. And after the mid-point, this apparently simple reverse harem turned into a shoujo improvement on Code Geass, with adventure and royal intrigue.Yurumates -- Almost no-one saw this one-episode comedy OVA, but I thought it was hilarious, the best recent rooming-house comedy.Suzumiya Haruhi 2 -- The first new episode made me feel that the real Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu was back. But they frittered it away with Endless Eight, which should have lasted only two or three episodes. DVD sales, however, have Kadokawa laughing all the way to the bank.Winter Sonata is just getting going, although it already has me emotionally involved. Aoi Bungaku is good literature, but I'm not sure it's good anime. I have to see more of it than three episodes to really judge. Kanamemo was fun, but doesn't quite make my list. Toradora, Eve no Jikan, and Kara no Kyoukai were on last year's list.I know some people will find it strange that Cross Game isn't here, but I just don't enjoy its main characters and their development as much as other people seem to. Maybe it's all just too shounen for me. There are some nice moments, but the show seems glacially slow to me at every level. I don't even find the humor funny. But I have watched 26 episodes, anyway, lol, hoping to see what others praise so highly.
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Another mediocre shot. Sigh… Until now, I’m still trying to take a satisfying shot of Nagi. I thought these shots were “presentable” but they are by no means good. Hmm.. I think I’m actually starting to get demanding of myself. Good sign? Hope so… Lol. . . Zan Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei Nozomu Itoshiki is still the bizarre teacher of the [...]
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I picked this up not expecting anything special. Slice of life has never really caught my attention for new shows but I’m happy to say this one was worth the watch. It started off pretty slow and meh like but quickly started to make me giggle joke after joke after gag. There was one episode in [...] No related posts.
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 Minori Chihara, Aya Hirano, and Yuko Goto (with apologies to moyism) The fourth annual Seiyu Awards (their spelling, not mine) have opened up a new award this year: the Overseas Fans' Choice Award . It's open to anyone "who is not Japanese" (presumably meaning not a Japanese citizen, as opposed to not of Japanese descent), and you basically get to nominate a seiyuu, any seiyuu, and list the roles that they played. Unfortunately the Overseas Fans' Choice Award only exists in English at the moment, so fans in non-English-speaking countries are still more or less excluded unless they work out the English for themselves. Maybe next year they'll add more languages... The site also doesn't actually specify that it needs to be a Japanese seiyuu, but I'm guessing that's what they're going for. So I thought I'd throw out the names of some of the busiest seiyuu in 2009. Daisuke Namikawa (07-Ghost's Mikage, Hanasakeru Sheishounen's Rumaty, Hetalias North Italy and South Italy, Kimi ni Todoke's Shota Kazehaya Daisuke Ono (11eyes' Kakeru, Hanasakeru Seishounen's Eugene, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Second Season's Itsuki Koizumi, Minamike: Okaeri's Hosaka, Pandora Hearts' Jack, Sora Kake Girl's Shigure, Munto's titular Munto, Umineko no Naku Koro ni's Battler. Jun Fukuyama (Akikan!'s Kakeru, Viper's Creed's Haruki, Sora Kake Girl's Leopard, Valkyria Chronicles' Maximillian, Spice and Wolf II's Kraft Lawrence, Pandora Hearts' Vincent Nightray, 07-Ghost's Hakuren, Tegami Bachi's Gauche Suede, Saki's Kyoutarou Suga, Shangri-La's Sion Imaki) Mamiko Noto (Maria-sama ga Miteru 4th's Shimako Toudou, Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu's Haruka Nogizaka, Kimi ni Todoke's Sawako) Hiroshi Kamiya (Zoku Natsume Yuujin Chou's Takashi, One Piece's Trafalgar Law, Bakemonogatari's Koyomi Araragi, Zan Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei's Nozomu Itoshiki) Miyuki Sawashiro (CANAAN's Canaan, Tegami Bachi's Lag Seeing, Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom's Drei) Maaya Sakamoto (Kuroshitsuji's Ciel Phantomhive, Soul Eater's Crona, CANAAN's Alphard) Aya Hirano (Fairy Tail's Lucy, Kiddy Girl-and's Lumiere, Queen's Blade's Nanael, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Second Season's Haruhi Suzumiya, White Album's Yuki Morikawa) Rie Kugimiya (Fairy Tail's Happy, Basquash!'s Flora Skybloom, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood's Alphonse Elric, Hayate the Combat Butler!!'s Nagi Sanzenin, Kanamemo's Mika Kujiin, Maria-sama ga Miteru 4th's Toko Matsudaira, Saki's Yuuki Kataoka, Shakugan no Shana S's Shana) Romi Paku (Bleach's Hitsugaya, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood's Ed Elric, Hetalia's Switzerland, RideBack' Tamayo Kataoka, Spice and Wolf II's Abe) Yui Horie (Bakemonogatari's Tsubasa Hanekawa, Tower of Druaga's Fatina, Umineko no Naku Koro ni's Maria, Kampfer's Akane, Saki's Mihoko Fukuji) Nana Mizuki (White Album's Rina Ogata, RideBack's Rin Ogata, Darker than Black: Ryuusei no Gemini's Misaki Kihara, Shugo Chara!! Doki's Utau Hoshina) Minori Chihara (Minamike Okaeri's Chiaki Minami, Saki's Touka Ryuumonbuchi, Tower of Druaga's Coopa, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Second Season's Yuki) Yuuko Gotou (Tears to Tiara's Rhiannon, Queen's Blade's Menace, Zan Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei's Abiru Kobushi, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Second Season's Mikuru)   Marina Inoue (Minamike: Okaeri's Kana Minami, Maria Holic's Matsurika, Umineko no Naku Koro ni's Jessica, Valkyria Chronicles' Alicia, Kampfer's Natsuru) Of course, prolificness isn't necessarily the sign of a good seiyuu-- there was just no way I could list every seiyuu who had a lead this year, much less every seiyuu who had a role! Will you submit a nomination? If so, who will it be?   Personally, I think I'm going to submit Marina Inoue-- I think for sheer versatility of roles, she's done an amazing job.
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Darker than Black's second season, Ryuusei no Gemini ("meteor twins") is off to a good start, with intrigue, excellent backgrounds and animation, well-choreographed action, interesting characters, and a mix of star seiyuus, workmanlike seiyuus, and some little-known but interesting voices.Click here or on the image to go to the full table, which gives pics and info for sixteen voice actors in this show:Hei is played by Kiuchi Hidenobu, who became one of my favorite male voices with his role as Ren in NANA. He was also Dr. Tenma in Monster, and showed his versatility by doing an amazing job as Izumida, Ryouko's long-suffering sidekick in Ryouko's Case Files.Suou, amazingly, is played by Hanazawa Kana, who has the moe-est voice in anime, but uses a young but non-moe voice here. She is only 20 and keeps proving that she has the talent to grow.I hope we see more of Shion, since the voice goddess Kuwashima Houko (Shuurei in Saiunkoku) is her VA. Saiga Mitsuki, Mizuki Nana, Honda Takako -- there are some big names here. But there are also a couple of intriguing young seiyuu: the multi-talented actress/singer Ishikawa Yui plays Tanya, and complete unknown Moritani Satomi plays Elena.And we have two seiyuu who really make their living by dubbing foreign movies in Japanese. Honda Takako is the voice of Charlize Theron, Halle Berry, Angelina Jolie, Milla Jovovich, and Hilary Swank. Hori Katsunosuke has dubbed the movie voices of Michael Caine, Alain Delon, Kurt Russell, and Harrison Ford.The large number of lesser-known seiyuus made this a time-consuming page to create. I know few people pay as much attention to these pages as I do: I use them through each season, to keep the characters straight and learn more about the seiyuus.I have made quite a few of these pages over the past three or four years. The total is now up to 42. Here is the complete list:Sasameki Koto Kimi ni Todoke Seitokai no Ichizon Requiem for the Phantom Pandora Hearts Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 Kanamemo Princess Lover Canaan Sora no Manimani Aoi Hana Saki Yurumates Eden of The East Maria-sama ga Miteru White Album Koihime Musou Neo-Angelique Abyss Macross Frontier Vampire Knight Kurenai true tears Blue Drop Lucky Star Hitohira Touka Gettan Kyoushirou to Towa no Sora Hidamari Sketch Nodame Cantabile Manabi Straight Saiunkoku Monogatari La Corda D'Oro Soukou no Strain Code Geass Character Map Red Garden Negima!? Otome wa Boku ni Koi Shiteru Lovely Idol Mamoru-kun ni Megami no Shukufuku wo Saiunkoku Monogatari Simoun Characters and Seiyuus Links to these and other pages -- some which I have made and others which I think might be useful -- can be found on my home page, which is really a links page, I guess. It does explain the origin of the name of this blog, anyway.
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Dengeki's seasonal survey results are out. What anime did win the popularity contest among Dengeki readers? Well, it is not really surprising, though there are a few titles I didn't expect to see in the top 10.1. Bakemonogatari2. Saki3. Fullmetal Alchemist4. Canaan5. Umineko no Naku Koro ni6. Valkyria Chronicles7. GA Geijutsuka Art Design Class8. Dragonball KAI9. Tokyo Magnitude 8.010. Requiem for the PhantomBakemonogatari has won. I haven't seen it yet, but I really have to.Saki, another series I didn't watch. Is it worth it? I mean, is it really interesting?We can compare the results with the survey taken before the Summer season. What were the series that people were most expectant about?1. Spice and Wolf II2. Umineko no Naku Koro ni3. Zan Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei4. Bakemonogatari5. Canaan6. Taisho Yakyuu Musume7. GA Geijutsuka Art Design Class8. Kanamemo9. Tokyo Magnitude 8.010. UmimonogatariI don't get where Spice and Wolf II has disappeared to. Dengeki readers didn't like it, it seems. But I enjoyed each episode. Next is Umineko. I understand why it has dropped in the ranking. As a visual novel reader, I see the points where Studio DEEN failed. Background music is often wrong, it is quite hasty, and the animation is not much impressive. But I still like it ^^Zan Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei is another series I've had great times watching. But it criticized and attacked the Japanese society a bit, so it can be understood why it dropped out of the top 10.The last title I would like to comment is Umimonogatari. I had hopes that it might be something similar to ARIA, but there were no such fun moments, heartwarming scenes, or relaxing music combined with tranquil scenery. Nothing like that, so I dropped it after third episode.Dengeki readers also voted for the series they have highest hopes of in the Fall season. The results are as follows.1. To Aru Kagaku no Railgun2. Darker than Black: Ryuusei no Gemini3. Inuyasha Kanketsu-hen4. Fairy Tail5. Seitokai no Ichizon6. Tegami Bachi (Letter Bee)7. 11eyes8. Nyan Koi!9. The Sacred Blacksmith10. Kobato.From this list, I watch To Aru Kagaku no Railgun, Seitokai no Ichizon, and Kobato. And as for the first episodes, I enjoyed Seitokai no Ichizon the most.
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One week into a new season, here are quick impressions of most of the new shows. Nothing leaps out at me as being at the level of last season's Aoi Hana or Bakemonogatari, but I'm enjoying a number of shows. (mouseover images for captions, click to enlarge)My favorites so far? White Album 2, Kimi ni Todoke, Darker than Black 2, Sasameki Koto, Seitokai no Ichizon, Yumeiro Pâtissière, Tegami Bachi, and To Aru Kagaku no Railgun.Here are brief comments on all the new shows I've seen, in order of broadcast:Koishigure -- Beautiful and unique, but not really an anime. Love stories read by a young actress over illustrations by well-known artists. If you speak Japanese, give this a try.Queen's Blade: Gyokuza no Tsugumono -- It is what it is, boing boing. Wonderful ensemble voice-acting cast: Kawasumi Ayako, Hirano Aya, Noto Mamiko, Yuzuki Ryouka, Kugimiya Rie, Nabatame Hitomi, etc. They sound as if they're having fun.Asura Cryin' 2 -- Romance(s), people that seem to turn into mechas, a lovely ghost, superpowers. If you liked the first season, you'll like this. It sounds good, but didn't hook me. Maybe I just don't get the mecha part, or maybe the story didn't really hang together.Kämpfer -- Boy occasionally turns into girl and has to fight in a kind of war game with other girls, each with her own weapon. This is not getting much love in cyberspace, but I found it watchable, through one episode.Nyan Koi -- Boy who is allergic to cats will turn into a cat if he doesn't do good deeds for cats. I'm not that fond of the lead character, or of the cats, which don't seem much like real cats to me (I'm a cat lover). The humor pleases many people, but just didn't strike me -- although I did like it better on second viewing.Tatakau Shisho - The Book of Bantorra -- Interesting set-up: a mediaevalesque future world in which people's souls are stored as rock-like "books," defended by armed librarians. Episode one didn't do a lot with the set-up, but was a watchable introduction. Amazing cast: Paku Romi, Ogawa Toru, Sawashiro Miyuki, Tomatsu Haruka, Nakamura Yuuichi, Ishida Akira, Hirohashi Ryou, Irino Miyu, Kawasumi Ayako.To Aru Kagaku no Railgun -- Good yuri/moe fighting/comedy anime. Our heroines protect the academy city from harm with their super-powers. Spin-off from Index, but may be better, based on one episode.White Album part 2 -- I hadn't remembered how rich this show was. Still as difficult to follow as it was in its first season, but fascinating and rewarding. Our apparent protagonist still can't quite dare to get closer to his rising idol girlfriend, but keeps giving in to his urges with her manager. We can't even be sure what many characters' motivations are.Seitokai no Ichizon -- I loved episode one, but many people didn't. Is this a fresh, hilarious gem of self-referential moe humor? Or a tired and unfunny rehash of a genre that wasn't funny in the first place? Five lovable and humorous characters: dojikko (clumsy) moe, bishoujo moe, elder sister tsundere, cool tsundere, and a blithe devotee of ero-games who openly declares he will make them his harem, an idea in which none of them has any interest. Destroys the fourth wall within thirty seconds of opening. Young cast does well. My Kanamemo of the fall season, lol. No nastiness anywhere.Seiken no Blacksmith -- Good-looking mediaeval/monster fantasy. I liked the heroine, who is unrealistically determined to be a knight, following in her father's footsteps. This is not getting much love in cyberspace. Neither male nor female shounen fans like a girl who can't fight effectively. Romance and magic. Toyosaki Aki (Yui in K-on) plays an elf.Shugo Chara Party -- New structure, with live intros, two new girl-groups, a mini-anime starring the guardian characters, and the main episode reduced to 15 minutes. Buono! still does the ED -- very, very well.Tegami Bachi -- Well made and entertaining fantasy about a young boy who loses his home and becomes a messenger carrying letters through the wilds. Sawashiro Miyuki and Fukuyama Jun.Yumeiro Pâtissière -- I understand why most people may have little use for this show, but I adored episode one. I've watched it three times. Young-shoujo story of a girl who is determined to be a pâtissière (female pastry-maker). Complete absence of dramatic tension. Pure and talented young heroine is clumsy about anything other than baking, but has magically acute taste-buds. This is popular entertainment at its best, doing a great job of creating emotionally fulfilling versions of positive stereotypes. Brought tears to my eyes. Stars Yuuki Aoi, who was Murasaki in Kure-nai. She is uneven here, but excellent in places.Sora no Otoshimono -- Big positive reaction in cyberspace to this one. I am somewhat less enthusiastic. Harem comedy involving perverted guy and a buxom, soft-voiced "angeloid" who can fulfil his every whim. Some interesting science-fiction concepts to go with the ecchi humor. Good cast stars Hayami Saori, Houshi Souichirou, Takagaki Ayahi.Natsu no Arashi 2 -- Minority hit of the spring season returns. Shinbou, time-travel, good cast (Shiraishi Ryouko, Sanpei Yuuko, Nazuka Kaori, Nabatame Hitomi, et al.). Its fans consider this a higher class of anime. Maybe they're right, but somehow it just hasn't yet clicked with me. Until Bakemonogatari, I didn't really get Shinbou's humor.Miracle Train: Ooedo-sen e Youkoso -- Pure bishounen damsel-of-the-week, set on the Tokyo subway. Strange but intriguing fantasy premise: each bishounen represents a different station, and only a damsel in distress can board the "Miracle Train" they ride. Well directed by Kasai Kenichi (Aoi Hana, Honey & Clover). Surprisingly watchable. Kenn, Sugita Tomokazu, Okiayu Ryoutarou, Ono Daisuke, Miyata Kouki, Yoshino Hiroyuki -- and the return of Sakai Kanako (star of REC).Shin Koihime†Musou: Otome Ryouran Sangokushi Engi -- I liked the first season of this Three Kingdoms parody, in which all the heroes are portrayed as moe girls and fanservice abounds. But six episodes was about enough, and two seasons is four times too much, for me.Anyamaru Tantei Kiruminzuu -- Magical girls who transform into analogues of domestic animals to get their powers. The look was wonderful. But the show was slow and boring, for me.Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu: Purezza -- I defended season one of this moe romantic comedy, but once again, six episodes was about enough. If going to a hot spring in the first episode seems like a good idea, this is for you. Watch the unfogged version. Lovely romance between the leads, although it's frustrating that the guy lacks the confidence to realize how much Noto Mamiko's character loves him.Kobato -- Clamp strikes again. Clumsy heroine may be the cutest ever, beautifully drawn and with Hanazawa Kana's voice. She comes to Earth with her tough-talking animal sidekick/handler on a mission to heal people's scarred hearts and fill a magic bottle with the scars. Beautiful look. Well-made and enjoyable first episode.Kimi ni Todoke -- A great manga gets a good anime. Despite some minor reservations, this is one of my hits of the season so far. Real shoujo romance, with interesting characters and character development, and some actual comedy. Noto Mamiko, Namikawa Daisuke, Sawashiro Miyuki, Sanpei Yuuko. Good drawing and animation.11eyes -- Bloody fighting and the supernatural. Good characters. Good backgrounds and character design. Intriguing so far. From an ero-game.Sasameki Koto -- Takagaki Ayahi is outstanding as the heroine of this yuri school romance. Not as subtle, or as subtly directed, as Aoi Hana. The manga is funnier than Aoi Hana, but you wouldn't know it from episode one.Darker than Black 2 -- Great drawing and animation, intriguing story, good action, terrific backgrounds, especially good sound effects. And a cast featuring Kuwashima Houko, Hanazawa Kana, and Kiuchi Hidenobu. Outstanding first episode.
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Here's another series that I've been watching alongside my normal 'blogging viewing with a view to a review of the entire series - This time around the subject of my thoughts is slice of life comedy anime (or underage girl groped by an older woman anime, if you prefer) Kanamemo.You can click the link below for the series review in full.Kanamemo
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