After one episode, Kurenai, Macross Frontier, and Vampire Knight are at the top of my list. In fact, there are lots of watchable shows, but unless Kurenai steps up, there is nothing really in my drama sweet spot. Here are some reactions to first episodes (which can be misleading).Kure-nai -- the director of Red Garden serves up one of the few apparently serious dramas we have going for us this season. Great VA performances from young actress Yuuki Aoi as the tsundere nine-year-old, and from Sawashiro Miyuki as her (male) protector.Macross Frontier -- So what if it's "mecha"? It has characters and relationships, as well as the fighting, and I enjoyed it.Vampire Knight -- Excellent look and intriguing story, with wonderful character design and great voices (Horie Yui, Miyano Mamoru, Kishio Daisuke).Wagaya no O-Inari-sama -- Promising little show featuring a double-gendered fox god/dess played by Nakamura Yuuichi and Yukana. Young Hayami Saori is excellent as a miko, and godly doing the ED.Allison & Lillia -- I enjoyed the first episode, which developed at a leisurely pace, but had a bit of a feel of Last Exile about it.The Tower of Druaga: Aegis of Uruk -- Not my thing, but this deserves to be popular. Clear homages to Gurren-Laggan.SA - Special A -- Gotou Yuuko and Fukuyama Jun star in this school comedy, which has echoes of Ouran HS Host Club in its atmosphere and look. It all depends on whether the next episodes develop the characters further than their quirks.Monochrome Factor -- Whew, this one snuck up on me. Excellent voice work, especially from Suwabe Junichi and Ono Daisuke. Snappy direction by Kou Yuu (Loveless). Yaoi factor.Kanokon -- Erotic fantasy featuring a fox girl and the shouta she loves. The first episode worked for me.To Love-ru -- Good quality ecchi from an entertaining manga.Neo-Angelique: Abyss -- Seems like a good version of the franchise. Some of the staff from Corda D'Oro give it a nice look and feel, the men look good, and Endou Aya makes a good Angie.DC2SS -- I was so frustrated with the lead guy during the first season of DC2, but I watched episode 1 of the new season, and the relaxed magic of the DaCapo atmosphere took hold. I'm back to see if Takagaki Ayahi can get the guy.Soul Eater -- Wonderful art direction. Great fight animation. Within the limitations of a formula, the characters are interesting and a bit unique. The wooden-voiced heroine puts some people off.Code Geass R2 -- I'm not a fan, but the first episode of the new season at least made sense to me. King Lulu? CC's homeworld?Zettai Karen Children -- The director of Hayate brings Hirano Aya on board for a new show in Hayate's timeslot. Three ten-year-olds with superpowers and bad attitudes is a good premise. Aya's high-tension Haruhi-as-Konata version of the main girl takes some getting used to, however.Crystal Blaze -- A mystery involving women who seem to be made of crystal. Shows promise. Miki Shinichirou in fine voice. Directed and animated by the team that did Saikano.Real Drive -- A slow and beautiful Production IG start. Story by Shirow Masamune (Ghost in the Shell).Blassreiter -- Starts well, with good racing and fighting scenes and an intriguing plot. But some people fear the Gonzo decline.Itazura na Kiss -- I'm not sure whether it's because I've already seen the Taiwan drama based on the same manga, but this dragged for me. There's a lot of story to come, however.Amatsuki -- Fukuyama Jun suddenly finds himself back in Edo times with Paku Romi. A good, if slow, start that feels as if it might go somewhere.Kyou kara Mao 3 -- I started watching episode 1, but quit partway though. Nishimura Junji (Simoun, true tears) is directing it, but it felt bland to me.Nabari no Ou -- Stylish character design in a story involving ninja fighting. Not my thing, but may be others'.xxxHOLIC: Tsugi -- I was enjoying its strengths until I realized I had no desire to spend one more second with Fukuyama Jun's wimpy male protagonist.Kamen no Maid Guy -- I got through about ten minutes before quitting. I didn't really get it.
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  Oh boy is this ever a lowlight. Attention XEBEC, normal people don’t like Shouta!   Girls: if your this much taller than your bf - its means he hasn’t gone thru puberty yet.   As you probably know, here at Koibito Anime we don’t review a series unless it’s complete or a full season has wrapped up.  We do [...]
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Anime Preview: Stepo Tu From Code Geass to Itazura na Kiss Code Geass Re 2: Lelouch of the rebellion. Hell No, I ain’t stopped watching this. With respect to the enduring quality of this show, they could’ve shown 23 minutes of Ash licking Pikachu’s balls and I’d still be watching just in case Lelouch shows [...]
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As has been mentioned numerous times already elsewhere, the first episode of the second season of Code Geass mirrors the very first episode perfectly, just with a lot more mysteries. Why does Lelouch have amnesia? Why is Rollo so gay? Why does Villeta need to degrade herself by becoming a gym teacher? How the hell [...]
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I’m actually watching a couple of first episodes this season, mainly because I need a way to procrastinate doing all the stuff I’ve got due this week. I think Kanokon was one of the first anime out with subs so here goes:
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1) Kanokon was atrocious. It was even worse than To Love-Ru. I at least thought that To Love-Ru might’ve been funny if I were half my age. 2) Zettai Karen Children could’ve been awesome, but then Aya Hirano opened her mouth. 3) Code Geass was just what I expected. Now I want to know [...]
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OP Theme: PHOSPHOR by Ui Miyazaki - Quite well done, the graphics in it were fairly good and the song suited the genre of the anime. Much better than the Ending Theme. ED Theme: Koi no Honoo by Yui Sakakibara - This song wasn’t really in my genre and the animation [...]
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If I were to be uncharitable towards viewpoints I deem alien to my own, I would make a comment that for some reason, being a gentleman is frowned upon among many anime watchers. For example, I remember the comments about Kyon’s reactions in the first chronological episode of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya: Haruhi gropes Mikuru [...]
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Nyan nyan, nyan nyan, ni hao nyan When I initially wrote this opening paragraph I filled it to the brim with praise for Kanokon, framing it as a lighthearted ecchi series with school comedy elements and the potential for an engaging plot by putting its fantasy undertones to use. But then, crap, I remembered that I [...]
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The show where Ayako Kawasumi puts the moves on Noto Mamiko. God, I can’t get rid of the mental image. Looks like they moved stuff around, as the series first starts with Kouta getting his daily glomp from Chizuru, presumably after they’ve known each other for a while, and only then they flash back to [...]
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