So far, Kurenai is the only show that I think might equal my top shows of the past year (true tears, ef, Blue Drop, Hitohira, Lucky Star), but this is a very broad season, with many good shows, several of which could develop into something great. I covered 24 shows in a previous post. Here are ten more that have debuted since then.Nijuu-mensou no Musume -- Hirano Aya is at her best, acting and singing the ED in this promising retro anime telling the story of a girl who willingly joins a famous thief, in order to get away from the hell she is enduring with her step-parents. Full review.Real Drive -- Strong Production IG animation and a complex and interesting Shirow Masamune (Ghost in the Shell) plot make this a promising show. Directed by Furuhashi Kazuhiro (Chevalier D'Eon). The cast includes Fujiwara Keiji and Kawasumi Ayako. The character design features strikingly large-hipped women, and we see the same man at 25 and at 80. The look has great clarity and the plot doesn't.Toshokan Sensou -- More wonderful animation from Production IG in a promising story of a girl joining the para-military organization that defends freedom of publication from an opposing pro-censorship organization. The strong outlines used in some of the charcter dsign are fascinating. Echoes of Planetes in the relationship between the leads. Inoue Marina (Yoko in Gurren-Laggan) shows why she got 20 roles last year.Net Ghost Pipopa -- Kimura Shinichirou (Karin, Mahoraba) directs this surprisingly entertaining kids' show about a boy who fears the Internet and three "Net ghosts" who become his companions. Fine cast includes Satou Rina (Negi Springfield), Shiraishi Ryouko (Hayate), Arai Satomi (Kozue in Mahoraba), and Yahagi Sayuri (Karin). oHagi (Yahagi's nickname) is one of my favorites, and shows her stuff in ep1. What a voice.Golgo 13 -- Could have been made in 1985. Static animation well used to tell the story of a sniper hired to shoot a hijacker. Brutality, blood, and expressionless super-male faces -- but I enjoyed it.Junjo Romantika -- Want yaoi? You got it. The dominant male forces the brother of the man he loves to accept being mastur*ated. And that's in the first five minutes. Later, they both regret the brother's becoming engaged. Yes, there is a story in there somewhere. Directed by Kon Chiaki (Higurashi), with a great cast including Sakurai Takahiro, Canna Nobutoshi, Itou Kentarou, Kishio Daisuke, and others.Kyouran Kazoku Nikki -- Madly funny story of a guy who is dragooned into being the "dad" of a "family" made up of dangerous alien descendants who need to be socialized to humans in order to stop them destroying the world. Top cast includes Fujimura Ayumi, Kondou Takayuki, Hirohashi Ryou, Tomatsu Haruka, Hanazawa Kana, Satou Rina. Fujimura-san shows why she is becoming a favorite of directors. Hanazawa-san has one of the two or three most moe voices in anime (she and Sasaki Nozomi are at the top of my list).Kaiba -- Wonderful, surreal animation from Yuasa Masaaki and Madhouse. Here's a selection of words from posts on AnimeSuki: existentialist, Dali-esque, theatre of the absurd, stream of consciousness. The words all attracted me, but I ended up bored when I actually watched the show. Too much for me, but if your taste is good enough, you may be as thrilled as some other people are.Uchi no San Shimai -- Slipping in under the radar is this animated version of a popular blog on child-rearing, showing the amusing parental travails of a family with three girls under ten. I'll need a sub to really understand the dialogue, and I can't even find a Chinese sub yet. Simple animation, but cute and interesting.Himitsu - Top Secret -- A secret technology allows police to read the minds of murder victims and find the killer. With Seki Tomokazu, Namikawa Daisuke, and Nonaka Ai. This would be a show to watch, if there weren't so many other good shows already.
(Read the rest of this entry) (Entry meta)

Frenzy? More like pure batshit insanity, o-Kyouka-sama. I picked this up solely on the strong recommendation from j1mone (one of the bloggers whom I actually check on a daily basis) and also because SS-Eclipse actually subbed it. Honestly, I was kinda surprised and a bit disappointed at them for picking up Geass R2 (considering the [...]
(Read the rest of this entry) (Entry meta)

I’m not entirely sure what I just watched. Let that be a warning to you all.
(Read the rest of this entry) (Entry meta)

(Read the rest of this entry) (Entry meta)

OP Theme: Chosai Kendo Sengen by MOSAIC.WAV [Youtube] - I had already seen this from the preview on the main site however seeing a high quality version of it was definitely much more rewarding. It is 110% gold! Graphics are very nice in it and it does have a very catchy theme. ED Theme: Kyoran Senki [...]
(Read the rest of this entry) (Entry meta)

All right, as time is of the essence here, I have done up just a quick summary of the two series. They are very short due to the fact that my interest in the two shows are not that great after viewing them. Nijuu Menzou Musume is of a girl named Chico and the first [...]
(Read the rest of this entry) (Entry meta)

Golgo 13 Well, this turned out better than expected, but that may also be because I expected nothing from this series anyway. Golgo may have a laughable name, but it does have a certain style. The soundtrack is effective, though I feel that the manga-chapters don’t really fit the 24-episode formats. In this episode, the only [...]
(Read the rest of this entry) (Entry meta)

OP Theme: 「Prisoner of Love」 by Utada Hikaru - AVI version (22.3MB) | PSP version (10.7MB) | YouTube version I was going to write about Kyouran Kazoku Nikki after this but because I had to go to a party, I can only write the summary for this drama. I'll try to cover it after the next batch of 2nd episodes that will come soon. Anyway, as I promised, here's the review for Last Friends, the new J-drama that airs on Fuji TV. This drama turns out to be much better than what I had imagined. While there's nothing new or extraordinary about it, it tells the story well and the actors are very capable performers. It's a bit shocking to see Ueno Juri playing a character with a completely different personality from Nodame but this series show that she has a good acting range. What impresses me the most, however, is Utada Hikaru's OP theme, Prisoner of Love. As one might expect, the song is a constant presence throughout the series. The producers even shot a specific opening for the series where the actors get to look around in confusion while red ribbons fly all over the place. Having said that, I'm still not sure if I'd continue watching this. I find the theme a bit too depressing and I still haven't finalized my Spring 2008 viewing schedule.
(Read the rest of this entry) (Entry meta)

(Read the rest of this entry) (Entry meta)

(Read the rest of this entry) (Entry meta)