“Behold the Edenic light of this paradise built atop the shoulders of science and the pursuit of progress. This is your homeland.”

(In reference to the utopian world of Avalon, home of the Galatic Alliance of Humankind)

We’re halfway through the spring season, and there have already been plenty of comparisons made between this anime and nomadic cultures.  The set up of the show is a classic start to any colonialist move, where one person of a “civilized” nation discovers the seemingly free and vast wild and is shocked to discover the people that already populate it are vastly different from his own.  They’re strange and barbaric with their customs, beliefs, and dress, yet somehow the adventurer forms bonds and starts to adapt as humans always do.  We’ve seen numerous renditions of this setting: Avatar, Dances with Wolves, Pocahontas, The New World, The Last Samurai, Shogun, and many others.  But there inevitably comes a moment when our adventurer must war with himself over the loyalties he has to his homeland and the affections he holds for the new world and its residents, who are no longer just barbarians, but people. That moment hasn’t yet come to Gargantia, but I’m betting it’s not too far off.

Opposing Settings
Ledo, or “Red” as some call him, hails from a technologically advanced group of humans who fled to outer space several centuries prior due to unknown reasons.  Through all their scientific advances and streamlined efficiency, they have become slaves to their war with another alien race.  Ledo’s almost programmed animosity for the Hideauze–despite the war in which he has lived his whole life–as well as the method in which the Galatic Alliance of Humankind has perfected the output and capabilities of not only its soldiers, but also all of the population, might be considered by many as backwards.  The laws of his nation demand a culling of the human race on merits of physical strength and war capability, disregarding any others on possession of the slightest weakness.

After he is thrown onto Earth by a failed attempt to dock with the rest of his units before warping, he discovers that not only is Earth still habitable, but that not all humans fled all those years ago–continuing instead to evolve to the changing planet, even thriving to the point that starvation and poverty are nowhere to be seen.  The world as we knew it has turned into a water planet whose occupants travel across by means of ships powered by electric currents.  While not all the humans Ledo meets are as peaceful as the residents of Gargantia, there is an underlying understanding that conflicts between groups of people will not lead to bloodshed, despite the weapons that are pointed and the verbal insults thrown.  For all their rusted equipment and and nomadic living, the Earthlings are much more rounded emotionally than their galactic relatives.

Romanticizing the Natives
The idea of the Noble Savage hails back far in literature and thought, and stems from a belief that humans are inherently good.  Even without the structure of religion or authority, most people begin with a natural desire to preserve life.  It’s outside influence and circumstance that molds our natures one way or another.  I can’t say that I wholeheartedly agree with this notion, but for the most part from my experience I find it to be true.  Amy’s people are peaceful and proponents of purpose found through work and community support.  What looks to be a naive approach to battles with the pirates and the ease with which Gargantia accepts Ledo and Chamber into its midst only serves to showcase just how idealistic these Earth humans are.  Even from the physical standpoint comparing Amy to Ledo, we have a stark contrast in color.  Amy’s few articles of clothing are brightly colored and patterned, and her dusky skin and firm body reveal all the time spent in the sun running with her packages and letters.  Ledo, in turn, dresses uniformly in dark colors that emphasize just how devoid of pigment his skin is.  From the few flashbacks of his that we’ve seen, as well as the brief time shown of him inside Chamber, it stands to reason that he would have no concern over his outward appearance.  Amy’s nature and the exuberant personalities of the rest of the crew come across as festively utopian.

And even though we’re six episodes into the season, there has yet to be a character from Earth who I find nonredeemable.  Pinion came across at the beginning as a meat head who seemed a bit too fond of killing Ledo, but after seeing their later interactions, I’m more inclined to think of him as a dog who’s all bark and no bite.  Then there are the pirates, who are the closest thing to an enemy that we’ve seen on Earth so far.  Waving their weapons and holding hostages, the pirates had the crew of Gargantia less concerned for their people than for the supplies that would be lost, knowing the unlikelihood of bloodshed.  Looking at the physical weaknesses, then, we have Bevel–a young boy with a sharp mind and positive outlook on life.  Through his discussions with both Amy and Ledo, Bevel is a clear pawn of sympathy for the audience’s benefit.  It’s disconcerting to consider how an advanced race like Ledo’s would eliminate a bright mind like Bevel’s, while another group of more primitive humans choose to actively incorporate him into everyday life.

The Winds that Blow and Further Speculation
I’ve had doubts for a while now about ever seeing another Hideauze after the pilot episode’s heart-racing start, but the last scene in the most recent seems to point to future encounters with the alien race, and most probably Ledo’s galactic counterparts.  But remembering the meal had amidst all the belly dancing and bickering, I’m inclined to think that Earth’s version of the alien is what Bellows so casually referred to as a whale squid.  What is it about space that has warped both humans and the Hideauze into the warring creatures that they are, and if the creature Chamber confirmed as the enemy is indeed what is claimed, then why are we seeing it now on Earth?

If we are about to shift into an arc less peaceful than the past episodes that we’ve experienced, I’m looking forward to a clash of persons and ideologies brought together by the Hideauze.  Will we get the Disney ending, where Ledo leaves on his own with a promise to return, or an end more true to history, where Amy packs up her belongings and travels to the Avalon of the Galactic Alliance of Humankind? I’m betting the former, but I’ve been wrong plenty of times before!

Now that we’re five weeks into the spring season, I’ve finally settled down on which shows I’ll be sticking with, and have enclosed my thoughts on the anime of my choice to date.  Favorites so far include Shingeki no Kyojin, Hataraku Maou-sama!, and RDG. As usual, if you don’t see a show here that you think I really should be watching, let me know!

It took me longer than expected to choose since quite a few were impulse additions to what used to be a short list:

• RDG: Red Data Girl
• Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai
• Sparrow’s Hotel
• Toaru Kagaku no Railgun S
• Devil Survivor 2 The Animation
• Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru
• Hataraku Maou-sama!
• Shingeki no Kyojin
• Valvrave the Liberator
• Arata Kangatari
• Suisei no Gargantia
• Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge 
• Karneval
• Hentai Ouji to Warawanai Neko.
• Aku no Hana

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RDG: Red Data Girl (Ep. 5)
Since this aired way ahead of the others on Niconico in March and is now at its 8th episode, I’m far behind due to my decision to wait for the higher quality releases that started airing in April.  Despite the torture of resisting to catch up, I’m happy that the first time I see each episode, the art style lives up to the quality of story.  Not many people are talking about RDG, which is a shame given how well it has moved up past its subpar opening episode.

I’m not sure if the light novel explains the title further of gives some information about how Izumiko was able to communicate with her father through the computer, but the technological aspect seems to jar with the ancient feel to her heritage as a godess vessel.  I can understand that her unnatural connection to the supernatural might disrupt manmade technology, but for it to allow her to visually see and speak with someone through a computer just doesn’t seem consistent.  Regardless, the rest of the show has a slow, yet steady, progression to Izumiko realizing who she is–which is important for her to heed Himegami’s warning so that the present day world isn’t wiped out and reset by the old order of nature.  I prefer the setting of Izumiko’s hometown since it removes us from the standard school environment, but the high school where she and Sagara transfer is able to keep a bit originality with its unofficial purpose being to nurture unnatural powers in its students.  I look forward to watching her grow from her hesitant self into a strong-willed young woman capable of holding her own against the gods.

Special Ingredient: The destined relationship between Sagara and Izumiko started out forced–forced meaning that his “duties” as a yamabushi, protector of the Himegami’s vessel, was one he did not choose nor wanted.  I appreciated RDG having the sensibility to show the youth as resistent and still weak.  Watching he and Izumiko grow closer through their shared secret and ordeal moving from Tamakura to Houjou High School in Tokyo has been a pleasurable experience in large part due to their believable character traits.

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Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai. (Ep. 5)
I honestly considered not even giving this second season a chance, since I held such disappointment and even disdain for the main characters.  There were some side cast members, though, who I did find interesting and even likable.  I also couldn’t stop my curiosity from seeing if Kirino could actually become a decent person and sibling in this next installment.  The strange thing about this premier, however, is that it seems unaffected by the possible endings from the first season–Kirino acts much the same as she did before she left, and there isn’t much progress for Kuroneko, either.  It’s almost like we’ve slid backward in time (only this time, we’re handed the scenario of Shironeko).

There are a few improvements that I’ve noticed already that have lightened my dislike for the show, namely the fact that Kirino is marginally more civil towards Kyousuke and that there’s been more focus on far more interesting side characters like Saori.  I found her back story far more intriguing than the whole sibling aspect of the show, although her complications stem from a sister as well.  Unfortunately for OreImo2, there really aren’t many other cast members who I want to learn about that will make Kirino’s lack of character development worth watching this show.

Surprise ingredient: The revelation behind Saori’s glasses was a nice touch to her character and growth as an otaku.  I’ve always seen those overly large, round glasses as a signature for old school otaku, so wasn’t too surprised that the ojou-sama would go to that extreme for donning the personality we all enjoy.

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Sparrow’s Hotel (Ep. 4)
Another one of the anime shorts that seem popular lately, Sparrow’s Hotel has the look and feel of an older show I might easily overlook, yet charms with its capable and cutesy hotel service agent.  There’s nothing supernatural about Sayuri’s great strength–it’s attributed vaguely as the product of her training and experience as an assassin.  She’s a great little package of physical strength and femininity, and she’s sure to attract a lot of fans with her ample assets and perky personality.  The show comes off as a comedic, but grown-up, slice-of-life about employees who work for a business hotel in the city.

Surprise ingredient: I’m not sure what it is about them, but I’ve always found throwing daggers incredibly cool.  That Sayuri has them wrapped around her upper thigh gives that image an even sexier appeal!

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Toaru Kagaku no Railgun S (Ep. 4)
Here we have the second anime sequel of the season, and one of a franchise for which I have mixed feelings.  The main story line, I believe, is carried by Toaru Majutsu no Index and its sequel–two series I found mediocre overall, and often boring.  Then there’s the first season of the side story Toaru Kagaku no Railgun, which was a significant improvement from Index.  Because of my preference for its characters and plot arcs, I tend to view Railgun as the main and Index as the accompaniment.  However, Railgun still suffers from some of Index’s issues of pacing and focus.

With only a few episodes of the second season to go off of, I’m relieved to say that reuniting with the whole crew was actually heartwarming, particularly that scene where Saten comes out of the alley sniffing for envelopes.  And while I usually find Kuroko’s personality annoying, hearing her voice and watching her zip through the air towing Misaka along with her was surprisingly comforting.  Misaka hasn’t changed much either, as she still runs head first into trouble against all advice and instruction.  The beginning also gives us a clear direction–follow through on the initial mystery about the clones and what it is to be a level 5 esper.

Surprise ingredient: I’ve never been drawn to a particular character in Railgun since the majority are insufferably good.  It’s the villains who really make this show interesting, and I’m likewise intrigued by the other Misaki, “The Queen” Shokuhou.  Her ability for mind control isn’t the most creative, but can be just as intimidating.

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Devil Survivor 2 The Animation (Ep. 4)
Reminiscent of Persona 4 The Animation, another game original, Devil Survivor 2 The Animation brings together human users and demon avatars summoned through a cell phone app. This show instead takes place in a world ender scenario and pits contracted demons against supernatural forces intent on destroying humanity. I’m intrigued by the whole app idea since I’ve just this past year started using a smart phone and discovered the versatility and addiction of apps. Sometimes I wonder how I could even live without them, so it’s not too far of a stretch to imagine them having much more power and influence in the future.

I do wonder about Japan’s fascination with young heroes who somehow always have the power necessary for disasters like this. Adults usually come off as either incredibly discriminatory and/or useless, or ready to leave the fate of the world in others’ youthful hands. That once again seems to be case here, with the summonses mostly being teens to young adults.

Surprise ingredient: I do applaud the show for not being afraid to kill off characters to show us the severity of the situation. It lacks the humor that Persona 4 did so well at, and I’m curious if it can pull it off to the end.

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Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru (Ep. 4)
Although I’m getting vibes of the recently ended OreShura, I have hopes that LoveCom will stay true to the path of our protagonist’s negative attitude towards human nature and society. He does make some astute observations of his schoolmates that ring true but also make it almost possible for him to find exceptions. So of course enters the stereotypical club setting that has the support of a very nosy and pushy teacher. Another warning flag is that our male lead is already surrounded by a couple females, but thankfully there are other male side characters. For now they may only be comic reliefs, but at least they provide some distraction from those awkward male versus harem scenarios.

I don’t actually know what the direction of this show is at the moment. It appears to be a high school comedy poking fun at youthful fantasies of popularity and romance, and I do have fun with the people the club assists.  There’s also something refreshingly frank about Hikigaya’s way of thinking and speaking–he voices the negative that viewers most likely have in mind (never mind that it’s probably unlikely for a boy of his age to already have the frame of mind that he does).

Surprise ingredient: Yukinon’s aloof yet kind nature makes for a very likable combination and I can’t help compare Haganai’s Yozora to her. While both have sharp tongues and avoid large groups of people, Yozora lacks Yukinon’s sensibility and maturity. She also usually bullies for no reason, even sometimes for pleasure, while Yukinon simply speaks her mind, and often to the benefit of the other.

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Hataraku Maou-sama! (Ep. 5)
I’ve always enjoyed cross-world stories, like characters who are thrust from a world much like ours into one that is full of magic.  And that’s the scenario we usually see, from non-magic to magic.  But here we have the reverse with the most extreme of fantastical characters–Demon King Satan, himself.  Instead of the fear of beasts that can breathe fire or knights who want to fight to the death, Maou learns the fear of making this week’s paycheck stretch for a month’s rent and food.  While it seems like a simple enough reversal, the anime is able to pull off stunts like these with irony and well-timed comedy.

Another interesting aspect of this show is its use of titles along with names.  We saw the extreme of this in the previous season with Mayouu Maou Yuusha.  I never quite got the feel in that show, however, that the titles worked for the audience in the short span of the anime series.  It probably would have benefited from using both names and titles like Maou-sama, since the combination relays both status and a memorable face.

Surprise ingredient: Probably my favorite human world activity that Maou has to undertake is struggling as a part-timer at McDonald’s to become a full-time employee–a necessity that he claims is only his first step to taking control of all of Earth.  It’s charming really, seeing this supposedly evil entity giving some of the best service I’ve ever seen in the food industry.  He is able to be both perceptive and seemingly caring, and earns in return people’s trust and liking.  If only this could work on Heroine Emilia!

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Shingeki no Kyojin (Ep. 5)
The first of my more serious picks of the spring season, Shingeki no Kyojin is a fantastical post-apocalyptic telling of the lives of two children, Eren and Mikasa.  Instead of the ever popular zombie epidemic, we have a somewhat similar idea of a race of giants, called Titans, who eat humans for pleasure–at least that’s how I interpret it with their permanent grins as they tear people to pieces like ripping wings off a rotisserie chicken.  It’s apparent right from the start that hell is about to break loose, as the residents of the highly walled city are apathetic toward the mythical beings outside their seemingly impenetrable security.  It isn’t until the return of a fragment of the Recon Corps that inhabitants start to acknowledge their very dangerous feelings of safety.  But by then it’s too late, and strange mutated Titans wreak havoc on the first layer of the three-tier city.  Eren and Mikasa lose their home and Eren’s mother in a scarring scene that guarantees his hatred and hunger for revenge on the Titans.

Kyojin also entertains disputes over social stratification during wartime, as clearly shown when refugees stream into the second tier of the city seeking food and shelter.  Even children like our protagonists suffer ridicule by the original occupants and so-called guards of the Rose Wall.  The natural tendency for self-preservation comes out in the ugliest ways, muddying the line between biding one’s time until a better opportunity and cowering away from conflict.  The current setting with Eren, Mikasa, and their friend Armin–aged approximately five years from the start–takes place after completing military training camp and undermines all the class prejudices and differences in motivation with another Titan attack.  This most recent episode reaffirms how I can expect absolutely none of my predictions to be true, since it yanks me by an arm an leg with its cruel treatment of Eren in his first real battle.

Surprise ingredients: So far I’m really liking the darker tone of atmosphere that pervades the episodes, and the glossy art style makes this show a pleasure to view.  As repelled as I am by the more primitive Titans, who stumble around heedless of their own nakedness and gorge themselves beyond satisfaction, I do find a strange kind of beauty to the more evolved versions, like the taller Titan with exposed muscles and tendons and the armored Titan.  There’s even a long, lean one that jumps with extraordinary swiftness and accuracy onto its human prey.

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Valvrave the Liberator (Ep. 4)
I admit that I have a bit of a weakness for space settings, particularly if they involve huge spheres able to house cities and all the pleasures of a fertile planet.  A utopia of sorts, the nation of Jior is actually a neutral party between the two factions that have formed for the rest of humanity.  This is where our characters enter in, as students living and attending school on Jior.  Predictably, it takes just a single episode to ruin the peace that their sphere has worked to attain.  It takes even shorter for lead Haruko to become the sole pilot to the experimental Valvrave unit just by being in the right (or wrong?) place at the right time.  And maybe it’s because I’m relatively new to the world of mecha, but the catch to becoming a pilot of Valvrave caught me off guard.  I even had expectations from the ending of the first episode that completely changed with further information in the second.  A vampire-creating mecha? No! A mecha that, through injection, gives its user abilities for regeneration and soul transference.  He just has to bite someone else on the flesh to temporarily take over his or her body.  Weird.  Really weird.  But also, kind of cool.

Once again we have a life and death situation whose end falls coincidentally into the hands of another juvenile male, and I was a bit amused at his self acknowledgment of his tendency to never try.  This is displayed in a silly manner right from the start when he pretty much lets his childhood friend/crush beat him in an eating contest.  I’m hoping with the shock he received from thinking her dead and his later horror at his own alienness will prevent his past dispassion from reoccurring.

Surprise ingredient: L-Elf as a villain is infinitely more interesting than Haruto.  I’m hoping they give us plenty of backstory for why he is so dispassionate in the act of killing, yet so passionate in loyalty for Dorssia.  His skills as a soldier are legendary and I’m assuming  culled through ruthless and traumatizing means, particularly given his still young age.

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Arata Kangatari (Ep. 4)
The blurb for Arata certainly did little to entice me into watching this anime, making it sound  like a fetishist display of high fantasy and swapped genders.  Thankfully, the show is more than that, and actually reminds me of some older fantasy/adventure shows, like Juuni Kokuki or Amatsuki.  Now don’t be too excited with me comparing Arata to Juuni Kokuki, as the former is still far from reaching Juuni’s waist when it comes to depth in story and character.  For now, it still resides around Amatsuki’s level of entertainment–clever, but not profound.

The first few episodes so far have focused more on Arata Hinohara and his leap from his bullied days in high school to a different world full of savagery and the supernatural.  Oddly enough, he manifests powers of his own that the original Arata did not possess.  He also couldn’t have jumped in at a worst time: “Arata” is wanted for murder of the highest degree and his defiance would mean annihilation of an innocent clan.  It doesn’t take long for our young hero to get caught and brought before a judging party disinterested in justice.  By the third episode we’ve already been introduced to a third setting, the ill-rumored prisoner island, Gatoya.  I almost find this new environment more intriguing than the other’s Arata’s still unrevealed move to Japan.

Surprise ingredient: Prisoner islands are nothing new, existing both in our world and in several forms of media.  Take the currently airing Hunter x Hunter for example: in it, Greed Island may be a means of money, training, and entertainment for some, but it also is a jail for convicts.  Gatoya interests me because of its warden, an abominably huge creature wrapped around the entire institution called Tsutsuga-sama that devours its inmates on a daily basis.  The revealed backstory on Tsutsuga and how he became the dark creature that he is also made for a nice pairing with Arata’s character.

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Suisei no Gargantia (Ep. 4)
One of the prettier shows of the spring season, Gargantia is a mixture of Battlestar Galactica and Waterworld (one of my favorite series and the other a fun movie).  We start the series with Ledo in a space battle fighting an alien species bent on exterminating humanity.  It’s immediately apparent that his society has advance greatly in technology, but has also reverted to a very Spartan way of culling its members.  Ledo is a child soldier of sorts, whose impassive face shows neither fear at possible death or joy at his upcoming relief from duty.  He isn’t sure how to feel about leaving the military and becoming a regular citizen.

Call it convenient timing or not, but it’s right after the news of his ‘freedom’ that Ledo is tossed across space–he wakes up several months later from hibernation on the planet Earth, a planet thought uninhabitable and lost forever.  Although the humans who still thrive  are several hundreds of years behind in technology, and the lack of land on a now all-water planet, this Earth has started to enchant me much as it has puzzled Ledo.  The people are able to find joy and purpose in their lives on board seemingly cramped tankers and carriers–remnants of a society long past.  They follow the currents and dodge attacks from pirates; we’ve been locked into one setting for the past few episodes, yet I feel like I’ve already traveled far on an adventure.

Surprise ingredient: Salvage ship Gargantia’s members are rightfully wary of Ledo and his coldly efficient way of thinking.  The culture clash is one that questions if progress is always a good thing, particularly if it weeds out bright minds like Bevel’s.  Ledo’s Galactic Alliance of Humanity is without weakness, but also is empty of music, childhood innocence, and family.

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Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge (Ep. 4)
I picked up this show on a whim, not too thrilled with its initial impression as an anime about a guy who gets off cutting hair–particularly with the promo image of a tiny girl with hair sprouting down to around her feet.  After the famous toothbrush and drool scenes from the previous year, I thought this, too, would be overly sexualized.  It is portrayed erotically with quickened breath, flushed cheeks, closer body stances–but understandably so.  Crime Edge sets up a convenient explanation with its Author/Instead system for why some Killing Goods’ owners keep in check while others go on a murdering rampage.  Kiri is the inheritor of an ancient pair of scissors, ones with an unnaturally clean and sharp edge.  He also harbors immensely strong urges for cutting hair.  His initial description is unsettling and obsessive.  His dreams are then given to him when he stumbles across a girl with Rapunzel-length hair.  Her hair resists all attempts at trimming, but strangely can be cut by Kiri’s scissors alone.

Known as the “Hair Queen”, she is both Kiri’s Instead and a target for murder.  Owners of Killing Goods, called Authors, can have any wish granted if they kill the Hair Queen.  Where Devil Survivor seems like a shounen Pokemon, I feel a big similarity between Crime Edge and C³ – Cube×Cursed×Curious–cursed tools or emotions are given magical form and those possessing them are bound to face pain and persecution.  And like C³, Crime Edge shares a strange color scheme that makes what would only be an “okay” show into one visually interesting to watch.  I do find Killing Goods to be more explicable of the two, and really enjoy the nod to crimes throughout history.

Surprise ingredient:There’s a scene where the daughter of a hair stylist, a girl who is also a hair model, remarks upon Iwai’s unusually “alive” hair.  Unlike the normal human, whose visible hair nothing more than a dead layer, Iwai’s has the luminescence and texture of a newborn’s.  Anyone who has held a baby can probably understand–the hair is feathery soft and has a characteristic smell of newness.  Think chick feathers, or puppy dog ears!

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Karneval (Ep. 4)
I may not have gotten on board with UtaPri2 or any other reverse harem this season, but Karneval is close enough! On the surface, this isn’t a reverse harem; we lack a female lead clad in her high school uniform who is suddenly surrounded by a delightful variety of male specimens.  Instead, our main characters are a couple of young men, boys really, who immediately give off a BL vibe.  The character design is pretty and sharply angled, while the colors pop with vibrant hues across the entire color spectrum.  Did I mention we have a bit of furry action going on?

The first reviews I read about this after the pilot episode made the series sound all over the place and representative of its namesake.  But I don’t actually find the story confusing or messy at all.  There are certainly some strange cast members and we have jumped around to a few different locations and events, but they all point to a central mystery that follows main character Nai.  This shota with his effeminate features acts like a newborn thrown into an older boy’s skin.  His ignorance for human emotions and acts of violence makes sense when we later discover that he isn’t really a human–he’s a miraculous blend of human and a cute, fuzzy creature called a niji.  It’s been a bit since I’ve seen a shota/animal comparison that I found genuinely well done (not since Inu x Boku SS’ Watanuki), but Nai’s wide eyes and purple-tipped white hair tufts make it hard not to want to cuddle him.

Surprise ingredient: As our main characters are both young boys still in their early to mid teens, I felt slightly relieved when Yogi’s bright, 21-year-old self jumped into the fray.  I always feel a bit odd watching reverse harems or casts with bishounen who physically look like adults but in actuality are still in high school, or even middle school.  Am I supposed to put myself into the heroine’s shoes and fall in love with one of these guys? Yogi, however, is already an adult with a young and energetic personality; I mean, who wouldn’t love a guy cool with donning a circus suit (like how I adore Sagara Sousuke as Bonta-kun)?

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Hentai Ouji to Warawanai Neko. (Ep. 3)
I’m not sure what it was that compelled me to give this show a chance, since looking back at the anime chart and the promo art, there’s nothing that I feel would have caught my interest.  It has one of the long titles that has turned me off ever since Ore no Imouto’s first season with a translation that is equally questionable.  A “hentai prince” standing together with a girl with all the appearance of a grade schooler just didn’t appeal.  But try it I did, and it turns out that Hentai Ouji really isn’t all that perverted as its title would suggest.

The main drive behind me sticking with this show to the end is seeing whether or not the characters will be able to live with and grow from the wishes that they’ve made, or if they’ll end up retrieving what they’ve lost.  The whole notion of a wish coming true because of some magical rock is an odd one, particularly since the rock in this question is a very fat cat whose facial expressions looks more like a feline inclined to self pleasures than the affairs of anyone else.  And it seems by the third episode that one of the character has already retrieved what was originally asked to be taken.  I’m assuming since we’re so early into the show that there will be some further twist with how these wishes work, especially with each scene featuring the stony cat we see the statue’s mouth getting wider and more up-curled   The damn thing is getting happy and fat over something.

Surprise ingredient: I know there’s been some discussion over the change in Tsukiko’s character, that being that her change has been for the worse.  I’m not so sure whether or not I agree, since we didn’t really get to see much of how expressive she was before her wish.  She may have a soft, almost monotone voice and very little change in facial expressions, but I hardly find her devoid of emotion.  She’s actually pretty easy to read and I like the almost deadpan way in which she deals with Youto’s antics.

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Aku no Hana (Ep. 4)
Young love and puberty! Really, that’s what this whole show is about, never mind Nakamura’s dark inclinations and Kasuga’s overly dramatic sonnets to a girl he hardly knows.  And then there’s the art style, which some viewers find too extreme in its lack of detail and, to put it bluntly, ugliness.  I have to agree that the art isn’t what usually catches my eye, but there’s a strange harmony when considering it along with the whole atmosphere of the show.

With the slew of other high school-set anime out there, Aku no Hana comes closer to mimicking the jumbled hormones and emotions that come along with puberty than any other that I’ve seen before.  Both guys and girls are obsessed with the opposite sex and create fantasies with people with whom they’ve hardly spoken two words.  While some students throw those roller coaster feelings into more productive outlets like clubs and sports, Kasuga takes the introverted approach.  He delves into literature and romanticizes his connection to the writers and their works.  It’s here that he takes what would otherwise be an ordinary crush on a fellow student and turns it into an unhealthy obsession, labeling her his “muse”.  His theft of Saeki’s gym clothes and brief moments smelling them already show the effect that Baudelaire has had on him at his still young age.  It’s horrifying and fascinating at the same time, and I can’t stop watching it.

Surprise ingredient: There’s been a lot of discussion, mainly complaints, about the rotoscoping in Aku no Hana, but I actually do not mind it at all.  While I don’t exactly like the style, I find it oddly suitable to the show–particularly the characters–at hand.  I can’t help but find rotoscoping, Nakamura’s twisted appetite, and Kasuga’s crises to be extremely ugly.

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Dropped:

• YUYUSHIKI

Ongoing:

• Chihayafuru 2
• Hunter x Hunter (2011)
• Saki: Achiga-Hen
• Uchuu Kyoudai

Yet another season ends, while another begins! Quite a few of the anime this season were late add-ins either because they were backlogged or because I overlooked them the first time around.  Many thanks to the people who convinced me to pick them up and catch up with everyone! So you see, I do take your recommendations into account any time through the year

While there isn’t really an order to the shows as I discuss them here, I do want to highlight Shirokuma Cafe, Minami-ke Tadaima, Shin Sekai Yori, and Girls and Panzer as being my personal favorites through these cold months.

Anime in the order that I discuss them:

• Boku no Imouto wa Osaka Okan
• Mondaijitachi ga Isekai kara Kuru Sou Desu yo?
• Psycho-Pass
• Tamako Market
• Love Live!
• Kotoura-san
• Shin Sekai Yori
• Girls und Panzer
• Bakuman 3
• Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai NEXT
• AMNESIA
• Zetsuen no Tempest
• Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo
• Magi
• Maoyuu Maou Yuusha
• Ore no Kanojo to Osananajimi ga Shuraba Sugiru
• Minami-ke Tadaima
• Shirokuma Cafe

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Boku no Imouto wa Osaka Okan
There haven’t been many shorts like these that I’ve found interesting enough to watch–in fact, I can only think of of a few off the top of my head: this one, Thermae Romae, and Poyopoyo Kansatsu Nikki. Osaka Okan is an interesting one since it, like TR, is flash-based. While I found flash complementary to TR, its use in this case was less appealing. I guess I could argue that the quirkiness fit Namika’s personality, but that would be stretching it.

And like I’ve mentioned several times in the past, I’ve started to really veer away from any show that includes “little sister” in the title, or has the idea in a prominent place in the first episode. BUT! Osaka Okan gets away with the premise by merging what is normally portrayed as the impressionable little girl with the stereotype of the average Osakan–loud, blunt, cheap, and always amusing. Each episode short features a clash of cultures between Namika and her brother, where usually two odd facts about Osaka and its people are taught to the viewers. I’m not sure how accurate they are, since some of the information seemed a bit too bizarre, but I started to enjoy how open Namika’s personality was when most other people would suck up their feelings to please others.

Secret ingredient: I’m not stranger to haggling, since my mother finds every occasion to do so no matter what the store or location, but what I’m not used to is someone as young as Namika being able to comfortably do so, even in her new home. I’ve always felt awkward attempting to haggle in the places where its socially acceptable, much less somewhere where the practice is not the norm.

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Mondaijitachi ga Isekai kara Kuru Sou Desu yo?
I think there’s only one other blogger I know who watched this show, much less blogged it, which is a shame given the pleasurable mesh of myth and folklore in this simple fantasy. Just take a look at the anime’s MAL page and you’ll see that the characters have next to nothing written about them. It really wasn’t at all what I expected given its premise and the fact that I had just stepped away from Sword Art Online the season before. I thought the whole game aspect of the world would be much more life-threatening to our main cast and that they’d be struggling to escape it. Instead, the show leans more towards the game ideas of Dog Days, where the “communities” of various world levels usually willingly compete in gift games for both honor and gifts geared towards bettering a community. I loved how the set up for these gift games brought individuals of each group together and gave them incentive to work towards improving themselves. But despite the game-like, fun image of the overall world, there is an underlying fear that a community may lose so much as to actually have its name stripped away like our “No Name” group. Betting is an integral part of each gift game, and sometimes communities are forced to bet everything they have–land, wealth, even friends and family members–to try and survive.

The show ended on my favorite arc, one that featured an old folktale I remember enjoying as a child: The Pied Piper of Hamelin. Previous games only briefly touched on mythical creatures like water dragons, vampires, even the Greek demi-god, Perseus. While I appreciated them well enough for their snapshots of cultural legends, they still felt shallow on the story end. The character-building in the episodes overtly took over the beginning to middle episodes, showcasing our cast’s unique abilities and the quick formation of their loyalties and friendships. I still have a difficult time believing Izayoi’s involvement with the No Names, even more so because of his anonymity. It’s made clear from the very beginning that his power is almost bottomless, but no back story or any explanation is given for why that is. A sequel could easily follow since we were never given a true ending to our characters’ journey to Little Garden.

Secret Ingredient: Kasukabe’s connection to living creatures through her father’s pendant reminded me a bit of Avatar and the Na’vi’s ability to communicate and form bonds with beasts. What made her gift even cooler was how she would share an ability of the befriended creature, like super strength, or flight.

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Psycho-Pass
Thank goodness I picked up this show when I did, because it turned into one of my more anticipated shows from week to week. I originally had it backlogged for the fall, but was compelled to start following somewhere in the teen episodes due to the praise given it by quite a number of bloggers. One gripe I have is that I kind of wish I had held off watching it until just before the last few episodes, because marathoning the fall section caught me up much too soon; it was agonizing suddenly halting for the many spring cliff hangers.

Psycho-Pass melds cyberpunk ideologies and culture with a more mature approach to concerns of authority, national security, stratification, and fundamental human desires and actions. The portrayal of these areas of conflicts was by no means perfect, but was always presented in an interesting manner brimming over with provocative thoughts for discussion. If I were the type to blog weekly by episode, this show is one I would have considered.

A large part of what drove this story forward was the cast. They weren’t the most complicated of characters, as most of them represented a particular sect of society, but they executed their individual roles well. The main trio of Akane-Kougami-Makishima played off each other nicely in large part because of the disturbing similarities they shared with one another. Small twists in one way of thinking from a common source of emotion created fascinating differences that made them worthwhile as separate and opposing characters.

Secret ingredient: As much as I hate open endings, I kind of like how P-P ended–not giving us a glorified end to the Sibyl System, nor redeeming Kougami and Ginoza. There’s a hint that a change may come, but no time frame is given, and Akane ends up training the next recruit in the exact same pattern as the first episode, with minor attitude changes that seem too small to be truly effective at the moment. I don’t know whether to be hopeful, or resigned–but I’m not in a rush to feel either way.

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Tamako Market
It’s really too bad this show had to end because of Dera’s demise. Then again, after eating all that mochi, he was asking for it.

Tamako Market ended almost exactly as I predicted it would, though I was pleasantly surprised at Tamako’s flustered response to the prince’s arrival, as well as her reaction to the unnaturally silent streets of Bunny Shopping District. All we’ve seen from her for the most part is one face of love and joy for her home and mochi–no anger, grief, or even minor annoyance and jealousy. For the first time, the final episodes revealed a human girl, with conflicting emotions and a very real passion for her place of birth. I wish I could have seen more of that girl, but I guess I can be somewhat satisfied with the awesome quirkiness of Kanna and her appetizing suggestions for cooking chicken-like birds.

As pleasurable as I found this anime, I have a bit of a hard time talking about it in detail due to its simplistic nature. If you’ve seen TARI TARI, you might have an idea of the rambling style of TM. Aside from Dera’s involvement and the mystery bride-search, there isn’t much preventing this anime from comprising of standalone episodes. I didn’t mind so much since that was pretty much what I expected from the start. I just wish many more types of mochi were featured instead of just the mame mochi (which I admit is one of my favorite kinds).

Secret ingredient: Kanna’s personality made up for a large part for Tamako’s one-dimensional cheer and Dera’s fade into the background. She’s mischievous, strange, and set on doing whatever it is that pops into her head. I can easily see myself befriending this daughter of carpenters with her deadpan face. Seiyuu Nagatsuma Juri also did a fantastic job voicing Kanna.

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Love Live!
For all the idol love among anime fans, I’m truly surprised at the lack of discussion on Love Live!, a show I find to be decently uplifting and enjoyable. Or maybe those are just the bloggers I tend to read, ones who turn their noses up to shows like this? Whatever the case, they missed out. Well, kind of. At least up until the last couple of episodes.

I think when I talked about this anime during my winter menu, I compared it to The iDOLM@STER and commended it for tackling the idol idea in a “safer” environment. Instead of all the public demands and media, these high school girls mostly motivate themselves to be the best they can be. That hard work reaps great benefits is a normal theme in high school dramas like these, but I have yet to get tired of them. I do, however, get tired of overly energetic, one-dimensional characters like Honoka, but I’d rather take that than her very bipolar turnaround at the end. For the majority of the show, Honoka is the picture of motivation, though there were plenty of hints that she wasn’t the most selfless of friends. She not only forced her two closest friends to form a club they weren’t even interested in doing, but she intruded on the privacy of most of the other girls to get what she wanted. But that was her character, and I had a modicum of respect for that determination. Yet suddenly at the end, all that drive and stubbornness vanished, and we were supposed to believe her friendships were the main fuel to her fire. For the first time in the show, I wanted to applaud Nico for her spot on reprimand of Honoka. And the whole retrieval of Kotori was certainly touching, but also ridiculously selfish.

I know I’m railing on the show, but that’s actually me taking out my frustration with the end on an otherwise solidly fun anime. The songs and visual sequences were catchy and I found myself wanting to dance along with them (maybe another AX dance workshop…), which I think speaks well for this show’s success as an idol series.

Secret ingredient: it was nice seeing how hard Honoka and her group would work for the sake of not only saving their school, but also for themselves and their enjoyment for dancing and singing. Waking up early and exercising may not seem like much, but I dare you to try to squeeze it into your schedule! I tried recently and was only able to make myself run a few times before I slid back to my normal dog walk.

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Kotoura-san
With what seemed like one of the most discussed premier episodes of the winter season, KS struggled in identity and tone throughout its short run. As many have pointed out in the past, the first episode and the rest of the series may well have been two completely different television series. The attempt at the very end to slap a bandaid on the wounds caused at the beginning as well as place an end cap to a shallow, though enjoyable, series was predictable and about as deep as a kiddy pool.

One major problem I had with KS was its lack of consequence for most of the cast. A character would do something horrendous worthy of immediate punishment, but get off with next to nothing at all. For Kotoura’s mother, Moritani, and even the President, their supposed justice comes after a too late review of their past actions and some subsequent waterworks. We can perhaps argue that her mother lived through her own punishment not seeing her daughter grow up and knowing that she was a failure as a mother and utterly without friends, but it’s not until the very end that that bone is thrown to us. I wish that the show had sprinkled a bit more of Kotoura’s familial ties throughout the other episodes for cohesion.

Secret ingredient: There’s a certain softness to the art style of the anime that I particularly liked, one that went well with the fluffier side to the show. I still miss that dark filter from the very start, but I guess we can’t have everything!

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My favorite character, both as a child and as an adult

Shin Sekai Yori
I feel lucky to have been able to see this show, because it’s so much more in terms of story, atmosphere, music, and artistic aesthetics than any of the other shows in recent memory. Like with Psycho-Pass, this was a show I had originally backlogged, but again I found myself unable to resist all the positive reviews I kept seeing for it from each week. SSY at first seemed like some kind of fantastical horror, amplified even more due to the child protagonist, but it quickly became apparent that the anime would be going many more places than the sheltered school, and meeting many more people than just Saki’s classmates. The kiddy horror turned into a post-apocalyptic tale of human definition and survival.

The setting of a post-apocalyptic future for a world supposedly our own isn’t so original, but the story and characters more than make up for it. Since we are able to watch these children grow up into adults, there’s this large sense of a space and time–kind of like how I felt when watching Kemono no Souja Erin. And even though we follow mainly one protagonist, we are able to trek across many different types of landscapes and encounter other beings of intelligent thought with ideas often foreign to that of Saki’s upbringing. Constantly throughout the episodes she, and us as well, are forced to question what is right and what is human. Though the revelation near the end is a long time coming and something I had guessed at several episodes prior, actually hearing it aloud still disturbed me greatly.

That discomfort reared its head repeatedly through the season with the clever use of atmosphere, music, and art. Even though the art style was nothing too unique, it was still characteristic enough to visually set this show apart from the others also airing in the winter. I particularly enjoyed the splashes of dark, yet vibrant, color during *SPOILER* Shun’s final moments. */SPOILER*

Secret ingredient: Komori Shigeo’s compositions also blended beautifully with Dvorak’s famous Symphony No. 9 in E minor, a.k.a. New World Symphony/From The New World. The soundtrack was haunting and filled with grief, though tinged with just the right amount of hope for new beginnings.

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Girls und Panzer
Many, many thanks to Inushinde for giving me the final push I needed to give this show a second chance. I had actually watched the first episode back when it started before promptly dropping it, but was shocked to hear continuous praise for the show throughout the winter months. It wasn’t that I hated the pilot; I just felt swamped with all the shows and moving, and so decided it wasn’t unique enough for me to keep around. It turns out, however, that Girls und Panzer was exactly the kind of light-hearted, tactical brilliance I needed to help make it through my long hours every day!

This show turned into my slice of laughter for each of my two, thirty-minute breaks I get every day at my full-time job. It’s not that I dislike my job at all, but a lot of the paperwork I handle deals with either some very boring cases or, on the opposite extreme, completely messed up people. I knew I could look forward to a couple episodes each work shift where I could just sit back and cheer on the girls of Ooarai. As a fan of Band of Brothers, numerous other war-time films, as well as the anime Valkyria Chronicles, I appreciated the techniques and strategies displayed for the various tanks presented in each episode. It did take a bit of suspension of disbelief to overlook the way the girls handled their tanks like sports cars, but that wasn’t much after being required to believe a world where countries actually encouraged the use of war machines by high school students.

I also commend GuP for the characters used in each tank group, as well as their individual motivations for taking up Tankery. The volley ball team, student council, and particularly the automotive and tank MMO groups, were so bizarre to watch but written in such a way that I absolutely believed their dedication to Tankery and winning.

Secret ingredient: Thank goodness that pink tank had a paint change, because I wouldn’t be able to stand looking at it for an entire season! I much preferred the use of animal logos for the various tank teams, such as the hippo, goosefish, and bunny teams. I actually believed goosefish were cute until I looked up the creepy swimmers *shudder*

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Bakuman 3
Three seasons in and we’ve finally reached the “end”! I only quote “end” because while this may be it for the anime, the closing does a great job of reminding us that Ashirogi’s success and Mashiro’s dream-come-true are really only the beginning to the rest of their lives. They are young and extraordinarily ahead in life and only have higher mountains to climb.

The resounding finish has been a long time coming, and one I wasn’t even sure we were really going to ever get. With a very slow first season, I think a lot of people dropped the franchise in preference for quicker-paced anime with more assured conclusions. When the second season aired, I noticed the marked improvement in pacing and direction, but was still disappointed that the two-cour show wouldn’t be the last of it. But now that I’ve seen the third and can look back on the entire journey as a whole, I take back all of my grumblings about slow plot development; Bakuman took just the right number of steps to insure the best possible climax. Much in line with the topic of the very last arc where Ashirogi fights for ending their manga as scheduled after a mere year, dragging the anime out any longer or cutting it off a season or two earlier would have vastly changed the positive feelings I hold for the show now.

Also for the naysayers to Miho and Mashiro’s relationship: their love story went exactly in line with who there were as characters and the dreams they shared for their careers and futures. As far-fetched as it may have been for two young people to make as little contact as these two did, I definitely do not think it impossible. If anything, I wish I could find a someone with whom I could share such a trusting bond, where neither one of us would even feel an inclination to look elsewhere. Though they may be fictional characters, I view Miho and Mashiro as a very real possibility, the type of which I shouldn’t expect anything less than for myself. Saying is a lot easier than doing, but if it took these two ten years to come together, than I really shouldn’t be that worried, should I?

Secret ingredient: Niizuma and Ashirogi Muto’s rivalry is really what drove this show forward and helped force the pace up several notches. I first heard the phrase “unconventional battle manga” in this anime, and that’s exactly what Bakuman is. We have the two opponents, mangaka, racing towards a goal that keeps resetting itself as the two continually trade leads. Their fervor for their art infects the viewer and I find myself cheering them both on instead of just supporting one.

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The only character who matters

Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai NEXT
Third season, anyone? Not that I want it myself; that’s just how the ending decided to leave us, with an obvious expectation for a follow up.

I watched the first season and thought I knew what to expect with the second, but I found myself shocked once again at the amount of vulgar humor and fan service. Maybe I just couldn’t remember the first season well enough, because other viewers assured me that the sexual blatancy was nothing new. Back then, I distinctly remembered taking a guilty pleasure in the atrocities brought up by Sena and the other girls, but this time around I found myself enjoying the jokes less. A good majority of the dialogue that entertained me the most came from the very, very few scenes featuring Rika and her constantly changing hair styles. In comparison, I quickly became bored with the never-ending triangle of angst of Kodaka-Yozora-Sena, even more so with the ridiculous ending of Kodaka’s douche-baggeryness.

Secret ingredient: Shiguma Rika may have got the short end of the stick this season, but what scenes she featured in she stole right away from the leads. On top of her smart mouth and clever ideas that we became accustomed to the first time around, this second season gave us the added pleasure of her many visual changes with hair styles, accessories, and clothing. I always looked forward to what new look she’d give us with each scene and episode change. The ending’s attempt into turning her into the “bad guy” who gives the mean, but necessary speech, just wasn’t enough to satisfy my desire for more Rika-ness.

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Her expression 99.99999999% of the time

Amnesia
Why oh why did I let myself be convinced to even give this a second chance? I even watched the first episode on my own, and had firmly decided to drop it into the never-to-be-opened-again bin of reverse harems, but SOMEONE, the exact identity alludes me, wrote a review interesting enough to make me want to give this anime a chance. I’m currently on a witch hunt through Anime Nano to figure out what evil person used his or her honey words to trick innocent me.

Anyways, yes, back to the monstrosity of blandness that is Amnesia. Time and time again I let myself get tricked into trying a reverse harem in the vain hopes that I’ll get a decent one reminiscent of La Corda d’Oro or even not so obvious Yumeiro Pâtissière. Instead, I keep getting served with atrocities like UtaPri, Amnesia, and blah-blah ones like Arcana Famiglia. Amnesia suffers from maaaaaany problems, namely with the female lead, her harem, and the show’s use of parallel dimensions. I can understand that someone suffering from amnesia will probably act very different from a person fully in possession of his or her memories, but Heroine (stupid decision to keep her nameless) has next to no emotions regardless of the circumstances. She also seems utterly devoid of speech, since the majority of her noises are one-word sounds of insecurity, or sentence fragments. As for her bevy of male choices, they really aren’t pulled from the cream of the crop. I’d really only pick one, Kent, who has intelligence, common sense, maturity, and a calm reaction to the truth that Heroine reveals only to him. Unfortunately for the viewer and for Heroine, he only gets one damn episode, while creeps like Toma and Ikki get multiple.

Then there’s the whole confusion with the reversals of time and changes in circumstance, which we later discover are really the Heroine being transferred between worlds to repeat the same dates until a certain requirement is met. Each arc also ends with her swift and untimely death. I may have found the mystery more intriguing if I felt an ounce of sympathy for the characters; the only one who managed to snag my brief attention was Kent.

Time to go killer, Yuno-style

Secret ingredient: This isn’t positive, but I had an empty laugh at Heroine’s confession of love even after all of Toma’s insane measure to keep her “safe.” I mean, really? You comfort someone who caged you and repeatedly tells you that he can barely control himself around you?

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Zetsuen no Tempest
Oh Tempest, my lovely, BL, Shakespeare wannabe. You rode in hard, assaulted us with pages upon pages of poetic dialogue, and kicked up a fuss at the end all in the hopes of seeming profound and memorable. While I was certainly entertained by your efforts from week to week, I was nonetheless underwhelmed by the overall package, particularly with giants like SSY and P-P blocking your path. It didn’t help that I also kept comparing you to No.6, another semi-eloquent staging of two male protagonists all too soft on one another.

The story for this mythical natural disaster scenario was drawn together from some very interesting sources, including Shakespeare’s works, namely The Tempest and Hamlet, variations on world tree mythologies, the Norse serpent Jörmungandr, and even more modern alien conspiracies. I think any storywriter would struggle to somehow incorporate all of these ideas and weave them together in a manner discernable to the viewers, and for the most part, ZnT succeeds. While some people might find the heavy dialogue and long soliloquies tiresome, I instead used language as a crutch for making sense out of the jumble of information thrown at us at the end of every episode. ZnT was desperate to impress and struggled with overreaching–a misconduct I much rather prefer to not trying at all (i.e. Amnesia).

Another drive besides the story and dialogue for this show is its characters, who take to the stage as eagerly as newcomers. It’s not like the voice acting is bad or the personalities ill-constructed, but I have a hard time pairing the ages and backgrounds of the leads with world-ending events like the Trees of Genesis and Exodus. High school students with absolutely zero hardships and experience, excepting the death of Aika, would most likely never survive through all the situations that they do. They are keen to have their vengeance, and come to decisions far more maturely and thought out than the majority of the people their age would make.

Secret ingredient: I quite liked Aika’s “terrible” personality and the chemistry she shared between Yoshino and Mahiro. I also really appreciated that last recording she made for them, one that perfectly displayed her all too mannish resolution to end her life and set in motion the events that would entangle the two young men. I only wish that Yoshino could have stayed true to his feelings for her a bit longer, since the wrap up of his reunion with Hakaze at the end felt out of place and too early.

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Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo
It’s been a bit of a roller coaster of emotions with this show, for both the characters and the viewers. At first, I viewed this as just another high school comedy, with Sorata’s struggle to escape the weird tenants of Sakurasou. Then with triangle of Sorata-Mashiro-Nanami, and the couples of Jin and Misaki and Ryuunosuke and Rita, I tagged romance along with the comedy. But midway through, the comedy turned to full blown drama. I was reminded of the tumult of feelings in AnoHana, which some people loved and others found too over the top. Lucky for Sakurasou, I love well done drama, and the anime did well enough to earn my respect for its attempt.

While I could care less about the high school aspect and romance, I was very much interested in the worries the characters shared as they transitioned into adulthood. Yet as serious as they all were about making in the adult world and in competitive industries like gaming, voice acting, anime, and manga, they were also extremely accomplished for their young ages. It was inspiring to see such dedication and passion, especially before too many set backs, disappointments, and age set in against them like they do for so many people. I have a reasonable amount of confidence in the characters after the time spent with them over these two cour to believe that they’ll continue to push past each difficulty and pursue their dreams. In that vein of thought, I kind of wish the show had thrown us more of a curve ball with Nanami’s situation as an aspiring voice actress. At heart, I of course didn’t want her to give up and go home; thinking about it though, her resignation would have been a more realistic representation of one of the choices many of us have to make. Predictably, Sakurasou couldn’t stick with the harsher ending and ended up softening the punch of Nanami’s failure by bringing her back in the end.

Secret ingredients: I already spoiled my favorite aspect of this show, which was Nanami. But, another character I had a lot of fun with was Misaki and her seemingly bottomless energy. Although I found her inspirational graduation speech over-the-top and an obvious move for saving the day, I still can’t help but smile along with her almost every time. Plus, her anime creations are just as spirited as she is.

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Magi
If you haven’t read Riyoga’s post about why this overlooked show is worth a look, then go read it now!

Magi was one of my few shounen shows of the season, with the other being the always impeccable Hunter x Hunter (2011), and while it was no where near the top of my list for episodes to immediately watch, I still enjoyed it for what it had to offer and will most likely try out the announced second season whenever it airs. Probably the biggest obstacle this anime had to face was overcoming the well known tales involving Aladdin, Ali Baba, and Sinbad, with their varied cultural influences and adaptations. This rendition that pits them all together may be geographically larger than Ali Baba’s original tale and involve more fantastical details than Aladdin’s story, but the unfinished status and rushed second half leaves Magi very much behind in story.

A lot of familiar names come into the fray that is Magi, though many of them have taken different roles than their source materials. Cassim may not be Ali Baba’s blood brother like in The Forty Thieves, but he still fills that older brother role. And Ja’far is still at a high position near the king, though he shed the popularized, evil sorcerer skin for a more true-to-original supporter. Aladdin did not impress as I thought he would, as he was an odd mixture of childish body and mentality, but acted like a rutting male at the sight of a woman’s breasts. I did like that instead of relying on his djinn throughout the entires series, he started to work on his own skills as a magi. Even Morgiana is familiar face, though she was formerly a slave to Cassim’s household. I’m not usually one to support longer-running anime, but I think in this case that Magi needed to continue running like other big name shounen to support its cast and setting. There were just too many characters and events to pack into the twenty-five episodes, and the second half showed a marked increase in pacing. I’m wondering why they even had to rush at all with a second season confirmed, but I guess closure on the big baddie of this first season was some kind of necessity.

Secret ingredient: Morgiana as a character was a fabulous addition to the cast and it was great watching her progress over the episodes as a fighter. I’m hoping she can learn from Masrur and become even more powerful so that if she eventually ever does go home, she can accomplish whatever it is that will help her get over her past.

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Maoyuu Maou Yuusha
I wanted to like this. I really, really did. And there were moments where I thought that I might start to get into the story and the characters–but I never fully made it to actually wanting to watch the episodes each week. I’m going to refrain from harping on what anime I wish this show had been like, but suffice it to say, MMY couldn’t decide on what it wanted to do, where it wanted to go, and who it wanted us to care about.

Probably one of the most contested aspects about this anime/manga is its lack of names, or put more accurately, its use of archetypes as names. The hero and protagonist is “Hero”, the anti-hero (is that right?) is the “Demon King”, the hero’s right-hand man is actually a woman called “Female Knight”, and so on and so forth. I find the idea of their names inspired, but also lacking effectiveness in this anime adaptation. For these characters to carry such titles, I feel like they would have had to be extremely detailed every where else to carry the audience’s attachment. It also didn’t help that there were quite a few characters to try and follow, and since the anime spent so much time flitting between them all I felt like I barely knew any of them, much less cared about any of them.

One area of the anime that I did very much enjoy and wish that there was more time spent on was the economic struggle between the various nations, including the Demon Realm. That was a large part of my initial draw to the show in the first place, and there wasn’t nearly enough to really satisfy my desires. But that’s probably a tough call to make, since I don’t think the majority of viewers would find it very interesting. Another area that fascinated me was the interaction between demon and human, both in Maou’s household and in the human-demon city at the entrance to the Demon Realm. Big Sister Maid’s famous speech touched on the topic greatly since I could easily see the cry for equality for the serfs a mere step away from an insistence for equality for demons as well. As there was hardly any closure to the multitude of story lines that this show started, I obviously didn’t get much gratification here either.

Secret ingredient: The Big Sister Maid was one of the more interesting characters in the show, and the only one I responded to on an emotional level. I didn’t care much for her little sister lolicon-magnet, though. The older sister had more purpose to her words and actions–unlike the other hero-like characters whose successes were told to the viewer at the very beginning with hardly any to show for it, Big Sister Maid gave us visible progress.

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Ore no Kanojo to Osananajimi ga Shuraba Sugiru
I tried quite a few times to blog about this show while it was airing, but felt every time I was forcing one minor thing that I liked about the show in the face of all the bad. Ignoring all the warning signs and promotional art, I took hope from the first couple of episodes and decided to stick with this anime for the season. And even when I realized all too soon what I had gotten myself into, I stuck with it in an insane hope that the show would somehow prove me wrong. It didn’t.

Let’s start out with the good, shall we? I was intrigued by the two main characters, Eita and Masuzu, whose views on love were surprisingly bitter considering their young age and inexperience. Maybe it was because of my place in life at the time and sour feelings on the subject, but I really wanted to see that stance against empty-headed passion through to the end. I predicted, however, that the show would cave and ruin it by having them fall in love, but crossed my fingers that I would be wrong. I even admired Masuzu for holding out as long as she did, as if her refusal to feel attachment somehow validated my own reasons for keeping aloof until whatever moment I deemed as right. I also loved the idea of Eita and Hime’s previous lives and wish they could have developed that a bit further. I was going to open my post on OreShura with a whole blurb about my own past life, which I’m still not sure after re-reading whether it sounded brilliant or godawful.

Eita quickly fizzled into generic and oblivious male lead A since his supposed pose on romance turned out a lot more hollow than the more admirable reason for focusing on Chiwa’s health. The anime kept jabbing at his ineffectiveness as a harem’s male throughout the middle to end, and it became tiring fast. The last episode, in particular, had me kicking myself for starting this anime up in the first place. THAT BAD ENDING.

Secret ingredient: I think it was at Sakura-Con where I chatted with some of the guys about Hime’s very strange hair style. While the front does look like a traditional hime cut with the blunt bangs across the forehead framed by equally blunt side bangs, the long hair that normally flows free was tied in the back. I couldn’t tell if it was supposed to be some shrine maiden imitation or what, but it seriously looked more like those hideous rat tail dos that were semi-popular int he early 90s. I couldn’t help but stare at her hair every time she came on the screen.

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Minami-ke Tadaima
Another glorious season with the Minami sisters ends, and thankfully no closure gives the hope that someday down the line we may have yet another! Minami-ke Tadaima delivered almost every week on the comedy front, and more variety of character sketches built up my list of favorite members. As usual, some of the best jokes included the sisters, Hosaka-senpai, the other Minami family, and the addition of Kana’s forever unfortunate classmate, Fujioka. I’m tempted to even say that I laughed more in this fourth edition than I did in any of the previous ones, even the acclaimed first season. The gags just seemed smoother transitioning from one to the next, and punched harder so that I couldn’t help but laugh loudly (to the confusion of my roommate).

While a good number of the classic jokes that started in the previous seasons reappeared here again, they were mostly presented in a fresh manner and resulted in a nice mixture of nostalgia and newness. One of my favorites circles on the sisters and swimming, like Chiaki’s inability to swim and Haruka’s inability to wear anything but a one-piece. Somehow they are both able to overcome those impossibilities to certain extents, despite their continuing discomfort. Another great gag features poor Fujioka and his failed romance with Kana-chan. Perhaps he really is just meant to end up with the younger Chiaki when they’re both older (blasphemy!), since I can’t imagine Kana accepting a relationship anytime soon…even before her mid-20s!

Secret ingredient: I don’t think anyone who watched this show will be able to forget the vegetable episode, complete with the promo veggie commercial, the resulting veggie-hypnosis, and Chiaki and Hosaka’s musical debut.  I don’t quite remember this curry god business that Chiaki referenced, but the image of them belting out their love for vegetables on stage had me gasping for breath from laughing so hard.  Now THAT’s a scene worth re-enacting that would kill me if I saw in live action or through some crazy group on YouTube.

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Shirokuma Cafe
And so my winter season ends with the gem that is Shirokuma Cafe, an event I kept pushing off for as long as possible due to my own wish for the show to continue forever.  I didn’t want to pull what I did with Eureka Seven, however, where I ended up not watching the last episode for almost half a year! And just as I expected, this final installment was goofy, bittersweet, and remarkable in every way.

To tell the truth, I wasn’t even going to watch this anime when it first aired since the promo art was vastly different than what I usually notice when glancing at the next season charts.  The art is also a turn-off for some people I know, who can’t get past the softer shades and designs that seem so unlike most mainstream anime.  But I finally found the light when a fellow blogger, I believe it may have been Riyoga, asked me how I–the blogger of Anime B&B–could not watch it.  How, indeed!? It took just the OP for me to realize that this was going to be a fabulous series for me.  I don’t even consider myself much of a gag comedy type of person; I don’t even like most stand-up comedy.  But there’s something magical that comes about with the combination of animals who live out their lives like human beings, the family-like cafe with its staff and frequent customers, and the puns…oh god, the puns.

One of my favorite aspects of this show is its attention to its characters and all the little habits and idiosyncrasies of which they’re made.  Almost every cast member has had great detail put into his or her personality where we’ve been able to get to know them through their daily rituals or mannerisms when communicating with others.  It’s close to impossible to even choose a favorite, but some of my more anticipated sketches involve Polar Bear, Grizzly, Masaki and his coffee beans, Handa and Sasako’s encounters with one another, and the easily overlooked Llama.  I really just want to locate this town and befriend all of them as well as include a daily coffee run to Shirokuma Cafe and night cap at Bar the Grizzly.

Secret ingredient: Shirokuma and Grizzly’s friendship is one of the strongest relationships in this show, and reminds me of some other great friendships, like Hunter x Hunter’s Killua and Gon.  The two are a volatile combination, particularly with Shirokuma’s naughty streak, but are also extremely comforting to each other.  There was a memorable episode where they seriously looked like the seemingly ill-matched duo from Sakagami no Apollon.  No matter how much time passes and how many hibernations are ruined, I have complete faith that these two will always be there for one another.

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18 shows.  EIGHTEEN.  It’s a wonder I was able to finish these despite my big move, new job, playing through Guild Wars 2‘s new living story installment, watching other anime and both TV series Once Upon a Time Season 2 and The Vampire Diaries Season 4, and the start-up of Game of Throne’s third season.  I promise you, I do get out.  And eat! I’m contemplating some future food blogs if I can get the ingredients and equipment.  Look forward to my Spring 2013 Set Menu and more

So here’s the thing.  I made up my mind the week before that I wouldn’t be able to make it to the convention since family obligations cropped up for that same Easter weekend.  That and my full-time job shot down a good majority of the activities I would have wanted to do on Friday.  BUT! As miracles and awesome bloggers would have it, I popped by after 5PM Day 1 to say hello to fellow bloggers and twitter folk, including Inushinde, Avvesione, ToastCrust, and Shinmaru, and (no naming names here) was bestowed a lovely opportunity to attend the rest of the convention.  While I missed out on some of the evening activities, I still had a blast getting to meet quite a few people and attending panels in the morning and early afternoon.

Day 1

My first day ended fairly quickly since the chance to attend came so suddenly and I wasn’t quite prepared.  I shared a quick hello, also including 8C, admired Inushinde’s Tanto Cuore deck, then jetted home like a good girl.

Day 2

Like the dork I am, I slept like absolute crap the night before, just like with last year’s AX, due to sheer excitement.  I started with the Exhibit Hall and Artist Alley when it opened at 10 AM, but was able to keep my wallet in check in memory of the money I want to spend later this July in LA.  Then it was over to the Psycho-Pass and Sakurasou NO pet NA Kanojo Director’s Panel with Q&A.

Even though I should have expected it due to what I saw at AX, the numbers for the director’s panel were shockingly low.  I’m betting that a majority of other attendees were at either the FUNimation or Bushiroad panels.  Maybe it’s a good thing there weren’t too many people, since it took the staff some time to figure out the video set-up and the panel started a bit late.  Guests present at the panel included Katsuyuki Motohiro, Naoyoshi Shiotani, Joji Wada, and Atsuko Ishizuka.  Their brief self-introductions were followed by trailers for both P-P and Sakurasou, which made for a bit of an odd pairing.  Despite the fact that most of the audience was familiar with both of the stories, they still gave us some descriptions about both story lines.  P-P was repeatedly compared to TV Sci-Fi films like Minority Report, Blade Runner, and Gattaca, comparisons which are certainly noteworthy, but I was hoping for a bit more discussion of the literary works actually named in the anime.  Sakurasou, in turn, started with the generic marker as a high school drama, but one that amplified all its emotions at the end.

The Q&A section would have been much more worthwhile had it been given more time and the questions better thought out.  As it was, a couple of questions along with paraphrased answers included:

Can you characterize/describe the environment of the studios?
Motohiro mentioned several times his background in live action and how different it is from anime. There’s much more of a give and take with live action, while anime is forced into a strict schedule and template-like preparation. The P-P staff also had to balance between the more violent manga and the anime, since they wanted the work to be presentable to a wider demographic, including young women.

For Sakurasou, Atsuko described the transition of art between the novel and the anime and their use of a rainbow gradient on the backgrounds to complement Mashiro’s personality. But in P-P, the environment came before the characters. They have to survive the world; not draw attention away from it.

With the recent trend away from moe in Japanese magazines, what kind of tactics did you use to employ that thought in P-P?
Simply put, Akane as the heroine kept her clothes on, while Mashiro just took hers off.  Psycho-Pass was actually intended to focus more on man-on-man action and tension, kind of like those found in shows like Gundam. This plan backfired with the huge support from Japanese young women, who popularized the show in BL circles.

The questions asked seemed more about general directing and animation, such as could be asked at any other director’s panel, and not as much about the details of the two promoted shows. The guests had to keep driving their answers towards the actual anime.

The closing comments hinted at possible additions to the P-P world, depending on its continuing popularity, like more of the same, or some side stories.

After the panel, I ran off to lunch (nom nom Blue Water Taco Grill) with ToastCrust, Inushinde, geassed, 8C, and HabeQuiddam, before running back for the follow up Psycho-Pass Panel with just Motohiro and Shiotani.  Now this panel was actually packed, which then suggested that people just didn’t know what a director’s panel was about.  Unlike the previous one, this P-P-only gathering had pre-gathered questions, so ones missed from before didn’t get a second chance to ask here.  One of the more interesting tidbits discovered during this session included the fact that the voice of the Sibyl System shared the same VA with the voice for a majority of Japan’s GPS systems.  ”Turn left in 3.5 miles….Setting Dominator to Eliminate Mode.”  I’m thinking that I would like that voice as my voicemail :p

Day 3

I was so exhausted from Day 2′s early start and finish with my cousins after the P-P panel, that I got started a lot later on Day 3 than I had originally planned.  I sadly missed the 10 AM Toshihiro Kawamoto Q&A, so wandered the Dealer’s Hall for the last time in a vain hope for a great deal.  I was able to snag yuumei’s artwork, “Connection,” along with her autograph.  It reminds me a lot of me and my pup, and also fuels my hype for the just aired third season of The Game of Thrones.  I also picked up a silly bday t-shirt for my roomie of BulbaFett, as well as my first bag of Konpeito.  Eating out of a bag doesn’t have quite the same appeal as walking around with Shipon’s glass jar, but it’ll have to do! The snack turned out to be pleasantly mild, not too sweet at all, and addicting.  I found I had eaten five in the span of a mere few seconds.

After bidding farewell to ToastCrust and Inushinde, I spent the rest of my Easter with my crazy Filipino family stuffing my mouth with delicious foods, hiding Easter eggs in ridiculous spots for the kids, and soaking in the rare sun.

All in all, I declare my first Sakura-Con experience a successful one, and will most likely go to next year’s.  But first, there’s Anime Expo 2013!

Other random pics:

I love the old dude at Monorail Espresso. I also loved this welcoming drink for con-goers!

I want everyone to start fighting, then all of you to buy me bags of this to fill my glass jar.

Just read the stickies.

There’ve been some mixed opinions on Tamako Market’s unique bird, Dera Mochimazui, but I don’t think anyone would argue that his weight gain makes him roughly equal in size to a small chicken.  Mixed with just the right ingredients, I think we’re well on our way to a dish worthy of any island prince or mochi princess.

For those of you unfamiliar, there’s a particular episode in the anime where Kana checks Dera’s overeating with an ominous list: “…soy sauce, mirin, garlic, a shake of ginger, marinate overnight.”  The Dera of the first episode and the Dera of all those after are like two completely different birds, and comically enough, his confidence in love hasn’t suffered one bit despite his heavy proportions.  I admire him for that, but at the same time drool a little while looking at him and remembering Kana’s cooking instructions.  Among the many foods I love, chicken must always be juicy, and tastes great with a crisp skin!

Chicken in Soy Sauce, Mirin, Garlic, and Ginger (Serves 3)
Source: Tamako Market ep. 8, “Can’t Call Me a Chicken Anymore”

Ingredients:

• 3 bone-in chicken thighs and legs with skin (or 4 breasts)
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 6 tablespoons mirin
• 1 teaspoon grated ginger
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• Vegetable oil

Equipment:

• Gallon-sized ziploc bag
• Cast-iron pan

Directions:

• Mix the soy sauce, mirin, ginger, and garlic in a ziploc bag and place in the chicken.
• Marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
• When ready to begin cooking, you can save the leftover marinade to make a sauce.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a large cast-iron skillet, heat enough vegetable oil to coat the pan over medium high heat.
• Place the chicken skin down in the pan and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the skin begins to crisp.
• Carefully gripping the handle with a mitt or towel, transfer the entire pan to the oven and bake for about 25 minutes, or until the meat is cooked through.
• While the chicken is baking, prep side dishes like veggies and/or rice.
• When ready, remove the pan and set the chicken aside onto a warming plate.
• For a sauce, keep the chicken drippings in the cast-iron pan and pour in the leftover marinade.  Cook over medium heat until the mixture reduces to the desired consistency.  The sauce is very strong and can be overly salty for some, so use a little at a time.
• Serve with the sides of your choosing and set up the next episode of Tamako Market!
  

  Ginger chicken with jasmine rice and brussel sprouts

And whatever you do, please remember: don’t feed the bird, or I just may come over and serve it right up!

Continuing on from the previous season, Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo follows the lives of a special group of high school liberal arts students and the pursuit of their dreams.  Most aspects of what make this show memorable are ones that give a slight twist to conventional high school anime.  Instead of an average high school, Suimei is dedicated to the liberal arts.  The focused disciplines and dorm setting feel more like college than high school.   Sakurasou also regularly pits talent against hard work, though the two often overlap.  I don’t usually see this addressed in anime with younger characters, though the argument is one that crosses all ages.  An even more discussion-worthy detail is the anime’s seeming promotion of careers over personal relationships.  Again, I don’t usually see this in high school shows other than the usual dedication to studying.  Watching relationships fall apart because of a job or passion seems like an experience more likely to be portrayed in some josei drama.  Cast with high school boys and girls, set in a high school environment, and teeming with juvenile emotions, Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo is, for all intents and purposes, an anime by adults for adults in the adult world.

Hard work versus talent is a topic brought up often in anime and other mediums, and the two are not always at odds.  However, in Sakurasou, opposition is exactly the name of the game; characters are set against one another all in the name of talent.  The show pairs up the cast all too conveniently: Mashiro and Sorata, Misaki and Jin, Akasaka and Rita.  The only odd one is Nanami, who adds a point to the “hardworking” faction.  While the pairing seems decided for the latter two “couples,” the Mashiro-Sorata-Nanami circle looks to be the battle ground for whether talent or hard work will win, and they are appropriately the focal point of the show.  Sorata must choose between the two girls (because, obviously, no choice is not an option) and between chasing and walking hand-in-hand.  Mashiro is the epitome of talent, although she also puts in more effort and passion than anyone else.  But as Sorata points out, their endeavors reap entirely different levels of rewards.  Whereas she is hailed as a genius, he struggles to get the bare minimum of recognition.  Nanami steps up as a girl who gives her all in everything she does–and she does a lot.  Juggling school with multiple part-time jobs and contributing to the housework in Sakura Hall, Nanami still has hopes for succeeding as a voice actress.  Like Sorata, she faces failure and denial and still continues to work and hope.  If he chooses Nanami, he can walk at her side.  Choosing Mashiro means constantly battling his feelings of inferiority.

Sorata’s dilemma ties in directly to another argument of careers over personal relationships and competition as a seed of separation.  I’ve already personally seen and even experienced relationships that have fallen apart due to 1) differing views on work, and 2) unhealthy competition.   Jin and Misaki have been a migraine of a head ache throughout the anime.  I simply could not understand Jin’s refusal to accept Misaki’s feelings despite reciprocating them.  It wasn’t until further elaboration of his dissatisfaction with his own writing skills compared to her vivid and imaginative creations did I comprehend his actions.  Like Sorata, Jin was constantly running behind Misaki and trying to catch up to her animations with his scripts–but the differences in quality were too noticeable.  While I may not agree with his decision to ignore her feelings for so long, I still admire him for striving to equal her and for not letting physical intimacies cloud his judgement.

Unlike Jin, it appears that Sorata is indeed allowing his insecurities over his own capabilities to block him from becoming closer with Mashiro.  He has not only prioritized work over their friendship, but has turned it into a competition.  I usually find competition to be an excellent means to self improvement and camaraderie, but it becomes unhealthy when instead of elevating everyone’s skills, it turns into one trying to bring down the other.  That’s not competition; that’s just fighting.  I couldn’t help but feel disgusted with Sorata’s complete lack of tact with refusing Mashiro’s attempts to comfort him.  His attitude was ugly and unbecoming of both a competitor and supposed friend.

From a personality point of view, I prefer Nanami’s earnest struggle and want her to succeed in both career and love.  Yet I can’t help but cheer for the notion of love overcoming differences in abilities and social ranking, and wish to see Sorata’s game turned into reality so he can get over being second fiddle to Mashiro.  Come hither, oh ending as climatic as Nyanpollon and emotionally touching as Jin and Misaki’s promise!

Or maybe everyone’s dreams should be shattered, since that’s what being an adult is all about.

Some girls just want to have fun, and some girls just want to make mochi.

Tamako Market has been airing for a little over a month now and has settled into a strange pattern of mixed genres. At some times it’s a young girl s’life detailing the every day occurrences of a shopping district. There are also inklings of romance, mainly between the lead and the boy across the way, but also include the many failed attempts of Dera Mochimazui, puppy love for the little sister, the impending arrival of the bride-hunting prince, and even a possible yuri pairing. The presence of Dera also casts a fantastical flavor. Yet none of the particular categories take the lead on defining the intentions of this show. As it stands now, I view TM as a thoroughly watered down romance, chock full of cockblocks. Despite all the love floating in the air, the show is determined to prevent any sort of satisfaction from being had by anyone.

The most ridiculous block is personified by the talking bird, Dera. Easiliy enamored and on a mission to locate a bride for his so far unmet master, Dera unfortunately stops himself from succeeding in love. His newfound addiction to mochi results in a flight-defying weight gain that makes it near impossible for him to conduct his duty in a timely manner. His notions of love also center solely on the customs of his fellow birds and he makes no distinctions for the differences of humans. This attitude makes for some of the better jokes in this show.

Somewhat similar to Dera, Mochizou has no one but himself to blame for his failure in love. His awkwardness around Tamako, combined with her denseness, makes it impossible for him to confess his feelings. It almost feels like KnT all over again, only this time I’m yelling at the guy to act. His confrontation with Tamako’s friend, Midori, made it all too clear that no progress will be made for the remainder of this season.

Most interesting of all the cockblocks is Tamako’s devotion to her mochi shop and the surrounding shopping district. There is nothing else that absorbs her attention but her dedication to advertising the family business, making and creating new mochi, and participating in the district’s community. Seeing such focus in a girl that young is both rare and awe-inspiring. Look no further than her mochi hair ties to understand the amount of love she holds for the family business. If it weren’t for her business mind, I’d peg her as your typical genki girl, so the spin this show took was a pleasant surprise.

All of these impediments not only block any romantic progress, but also promise additional frustrations. I hold no doubt that Dera’s prince will soon arrive and I have a feeling that he’ll set his sights on Tamako and give poor Mochizou another reason to fret. What this will bode for the harmony of the shopping district, though, is another thing entirely. Tamako may have to come to a decision about visiting a new land or staying with her beloved mochi. There’s also her career survey to consider–another outcome that seemingly has only one clear answer. Whether or not I’m right still remains to be seen, but I’m willing to bet that the puni confections will win the girl.

Happy early Valentine’s Day! I might be alone this year, but I plan on having a chocolate feast and watching sappy love anime <3

After at least seeing one episode each from a good majority of the winter season shows, I’ve finally narrowed down which ones I would like to follow.  Anime that I tried and did not make it include Sasami-san@Ganbarani, Cuticle Detective Inaba, Amnesia, Yama no Susume, Mangirl!, and Vividred Operation.  I’m also still waiting on the premier of Savanna Game, for which I have some hope.  There were a surprising number of dark horses this time around, so I may have a bit of trouble keeping up with them all from week to week! But because of the unexpected number of anime I’ll be watching, I’m looking forward to updating more often.  So as usual, take a look at what I’ve decided upon and let me know what you think and whether there are other shows you’d like me to consider! Bon appétit!

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Boku no Imouto wa Osaka Okan
There are plenty of these mini episodes airing this season, and I’m not sure if that’s a recent development or if shorter-length anime have always been around and I’ve just never noticed.  Kyousuke’s little sister from Osaka, Namika, has started living with his family and the five minutes are filled with jokes and tidbits about Osaka, ranging from differences in language and phrasing, food, and habits.  Normally, little sister anime are a red flag for me, but I decided to stick with this show since I am curious about how Osakan culture differs from general Japanese culture.  Another oddity to this show is its flash art style.  I’m not sure yet whether or not I like its use here, other than to emphasize the quick shot atmosphere.

Surprise ingredient(s): If there’s one thing I like about the art style, it’s Namika’s character design.  Her blue-haired pigtails, cat eyes and mouth, and colorful sweater make for an adorable look.  Unfortunately, her bangs are held back by an accessory that looks like a ridiculously large paper clip.  If I were to really own a hair clip of that size and pushed it into my bangs, I promise you that it would not lay flat like it seems to on Namika, but the top end would stick out like an antenna.

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Boku no Tomodachi ga Sukunai NEXT
“Haganai” is such an odd choice for me with its sometimes brilliant, sometimes toxic combination of humor, mean-spiritedness, and fan service.  There are plenty of times where I genuinely can’t stop laughing, but also moments where I just sit there cringing from the vicious trolling and in-your-face screenshots of various body parts, both male and female.  You can’t rest easy with this show; it constantly has you on the edge of your chair teetering between hot and cold. And that’s probably its main charm for me, that ability to constantly entertain.  I actually couldn’t remember if the first season was quite at this level, but other viewers reassure me that it was.

Something odd about this series that I just realized watching this opening episode of the second series is that I don’t very much like most of the cast.  Yet I’m compelled to watch them clash against one another and try to figure out how to fit in as high school students.  Again, that impulse may just be another indicator of the quality of writing for this show, that it’s able to sustain my interest despite its unlikable characters.  I would very much like to see some softening in Yozora’s character.  There are times where I like her, like when she’s having a one-on-one with Kodaka.  Some of her more mild pranks on Sena do make me laugh.  But she also has an incredible mean streak whose source I just can’t place.  While I can understand the urge to tease someone as gullible and receptive as Sena, outright bullying is unacceptable.  Kodaka, in turn, needs to step up and fulfill exactly what he claimed he would do to Sena’s father: protect Sena.  I’m not talking about the chivalrous white knight sort of hero, but the “I’m a friend to both of you so play nice” type of guy.  Rebuke Yozora when she goes over the line, and inform Sena when she’s being exploited.

Secret ingredient(s): As usual, I hope for more screen time of the mad scientist, Rika! I prefer her more when she’s in pervert mode rather than when she teams up with Yozora to bully Sena.

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Chihayafuru 2
My most anticipated series finally  aired and I’m more than ready for more karuta and hopeful romantic progress! As much as I loved the first season, I was extremely disappointed in not getting to see Chihaya through to her dream to be Queen, nor see Taichi finally progress to Class A.  In hindsight, however, the slower progress worked better for the overall quality and cohesion of the series.  But now that the second season, a 2-cour, has begun, and the high school karuta is fully formed and capable, I’m looking forward to an action-packed show.  It still makes me laugh how this softly drawn and colored anime can induce me to such cheering fervor, but the karuta games truly are nail-biting.

Greedy Chihaya insures that this show will have plenty of material to cover.  There’s the high school Nationals, the individual Queen and King tournament, and the high school Karuta Club to consider.  Refusing to prioritize any of them over the other means she and the other team members will have to give 110% if they’re to succeed at all.  This opening arc seems like it’ll focus on the club and the start of a new semester.  That means new students and possibly new club members.  Unfortunately, it appears that a good majority of those interested in joining are only curious about good looking Taichi and Chihaya instead of about the game.  And there’s certainly two candidates that I’m betting will make it into the main cast before the next couple of episodes are up.

Surprise ingredient(s):  Newcomer Sumire has her sights dead on Taichi.  The scene where she appraises her competition in Chihaya and Kana is simply hilarious:
“She’s definitely an enemy.  Pretty, clueless, and dumb.  She’s every girl’s enemy!” (referencing Chihaya, Commie fansubs)
“Small figure and huge boobs! Enemy!” (referencing Kana)

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Kotoura-san
I had no plans of picking up this show at the start of the season, but after Akira’s positive comments about it on Twitter, I felt obligated to try it.  And wow, did it surprise me! From the vague blurb about it on the anime chart, I had expected it to be fluffy from the start, and fairly generic.  I knew that it had a bit of a fantastical element since the main character has ESP, but again, I expected more of a positive, comical inclusion of that ability.  Instead, her ability to read others’ thoughts brings her nothing but pain, first from her friends, then her teacher, and sadly finally from her parents.  I’ve never been the victim of bullying, nor was there much of it in the sheltered schools where I grew up, but I am aware of children’s ability for cruelty (Ender’s Game, anyone?).  What starts as Kotoura’s innocent wins at rock-paper-scissors escalates into her spouting out the thoughts of her friends and family, even their deepest secrets.  While I can understand her maybe replying to their thoughts on accident, some of the instances felt forced.  Even in late elementary school, I think I had the tact to not tell my friend’s crush that she liked him.  The confusion of those around her turns to anger, then eventually to hate.  I found it incredibly sad that even her teachers felt nothing but relief when she had to transfer.  But the most heartbreaking moment of all came when her once seemingly perfect home life fell apart and her parents abandoned her to the care of her grandfather.  Of all people, it’s family that should be the ones to stand by your side when the world seems to be against you.

There’s a gorgeous moment where the original, dark filter cracks across the screen, then shatters into the brighter colors I had expected at the start.  Kotoura’s eyes, which had turned dull in response to all the negative emotions around her, snapped into focus.  It took just one person to make her realize that not everyone is the same, and that she doesn’t have to punish herself for the comfort of others.  I can only hope Manabe can also help her realize her own worth.

Surprise ingredient(s): I found it kind of priceless how Kotoura would impulsively reply to the thoughts of those speaking to her out of obligation.  Of course I would be annoyed if I knew that my classmates were pretending interest in me, but I think the natural reaction is to force politeness in turn.  Her lack of care in response quickly pushes them away, but also cuts off any chance of finding possible friendship despite first impressions.

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Love Live! School Idol Project
I feel like I’m really stepping out on a line with this show since it isn’t what usually attracts me, but I’ve got a past with The iDOLM@STER anime and the convincing reactions from fellow bloggers backing my decision.  But stick with this show, I will, because I’m honestly interested in seeing whether Honoka’s ridiculous idea is actually insane enough to help the school and prevent it from closing.  It seems strange to me that a school would even allow something like an idol program since it opens up a whole new area of student privilege and more than possible reasons for the involved students to miss school.  There are already cliques enough in high school, even middle school, but to actually have one condoned by the school seems rather doubtful to me.  I’m on the side of the student council of barring the club from being formed, but given the spoilers in the OP, they’re obviously going to have a change of mind.

These misgivings of mine will hopefully make an appearance in the show as trials for the girls to overcome, as drama for them to pass through to truly blossom as idols.  Part of me also wants them succeed.  I do have a weakness for makeovers and constantly envision what I or other women around me would look like with completely new wardrobes and attention to hair and makeup.  If there’s any time for the girls to revel in their youth and energy, it’s now.

Surprise ingredient(s): I think it was Scamp who commented on how musicals make everything better.  And I’m inclined to agree.  One of my favorite episodes in Kurenai was where they all burst into song and dance.  To this day, I can’t help but sing along to Buffy’s “Once More, With Feeling” (I would have loved it if Firefly included one). How the end of the episode melded into the ED fit this idea perfectly.

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Maoyuu Maou Yuusha
After reading the blah excerpt about the show, I really did not expect much from this anime.  But, like I am wont to do, I gave it a try and was pleasantly surprised with its art and war economy background.  Forgive the unforgivable, but it’s a bit of Sword Art Online mixed with Spice and Wolf.  The fantastical setting of human versus demon sounds like the inspiration for many a video game and manga, but the interesting spin of beneficial war economics saves the opening episode from mediocrity.  I just wish there had been less boobs and boring male and more creative touches like the memory lamp.  That object worked beautifully both for visual and for presenting backstory.  When considered hand-in-hand with the darkly patterned backgrounds, I get a vibe very similar to the one from Dantalian no Shoka.  If only the detail had wormed its way into the characters’ personalities, particularly Yuusha’s.

Yuusha’s lack of memorable characteristics forces Maou to completely carry the burden of catching the audience’s appeal.  While her initial impression through personality alone–curious and bubbly–was a good one, I was also turned off by how often her boobs were shoved in my face.  That type of humor just seems odd in consideration of the otherwise tasteful background art.  I don’t know if the show plans on switching out her clothes into something more travel conscious, but I for one would appreciate a change to both her wardrobe and to Yuusha’s entire bland disposition.

Surprise ingredient(s): While the sexual humor fell mostly flat for me, I did laugh a good bit at the big reveal about Maou’s devil horns.  Like Yuusha, my jaw dropped the moment she pulled off her horn headband like I weary king taking of his weighty crown.

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Minami-ke Tadaima
Probably one of the most anticipated sequels of the season, and perhaps the several past seasons, Minami-ke enters the scene at a perfect time.  The lack of my type of humor from the winter had started to wear on me, and I was really missing Nichijou and Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou (Shirokuma Cafe is still running, but doesn’t always hit the funny spot).  I have been a fan of this anime franchise from the first season, and so of course have some worries due to the many changes the show has undergone through each new addition.  The original is hailed by most, including myself, to be the best, while the immediate sequel is pinned for its abrupt change in art style and humor.  The third season took a step back towards the roots, but didn’t completely succeed in overshadowing the first.  And now that the fourth is here, it looks like what originally made everyone love the Minami sisters is back to party.

Despite its slice-of-life school set up, there’s just something comical about the characters and gags in Minami-ke.  Attribute it to timing, dialogue, or whatever else, but all I know is that I am very excited about the coming weeks.  Now truth be told, I did find a surprising number of the jokes were more miss than hit, and I’m not sure if that’s due to a change in humor or if that’s just how Minami-ke has always been for me.

Surprise ingredient(s): The segment where Kana realizes that while she may not have the emotional pull to get what she wants but that she can use others who do, like Chiaki or Miyuki-chan.  It cracked me up that Kana knew she lacked sincerity and had absolutely no qualms about twisting someone else’s needs for her own.

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Mondaijitachi ga Isekai Kara Kuru Sou Desu yo
I tend to scan through the episodes that I download before sitting down to really watch them so I can check for quality and subs.  And I admit, when I first skipped through Mondaijitachi I was a bit concerned after seeing the bunny gir, “Black Rabbit”.  I had forgotten the blurb about this show but figured it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try; however, seeing her I assumed that, 1. this would be a fanservice-y, wish fulfillment type of fantasy, and 2. she was nothing but a mascot-type character.  They are both correct to a certain degree, but after really watching the episode, I have a bit of faith that the anime may have some of what I was looking for from Sword Art Online.  Getting yanked into a fantastical world isn’t anything new, but the premise that this world is particularly for those from several worlds gifted with extraordinary powers to use for games and gambling sounds entertaining.

The art style is nothing special, and follows a bright color scheme fitting with the positive and imaginative world.  I do wish more thought had been put into our characters’ designs, since they are generic and could be found in numerous other shows.  They personalities, too, are fairly stereotypical: a princess-type character, a shy/quiet girl, and an overly strong boy with a chip on his shoulder.  I’d like to see them show more to themselves than what I’ve seen so far.

Surprise ingredient(s): At first, Black Rabbit was everything I was worried she would be: flighty, squishy, and easy to bully.  But her later transformation into hyper speed bunny was actually pretty cool.  If only she had the salty background of the hares from Brian Jacques’ books…

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Ore no Kanojo to Osananajimi ga Shuraba Sugiru
With the exception of AnoHana, lately whenever I see a long title, I figure I should steer clear of it.  There have been a whole slew of little sister and harem genre shows with longwinded titles coming out these past few years.  And at first glance, this particular anime isn’t all that different from the crowd.  Yes, there is a little sister figure, and yes, there’s another love interest ensuring a small harem for our unremarkable protagonist.  But there are a few key differences that have snagged my interest:

• The main character is so far neither dim-witted nor perverted.  His studies consume his time, as does a goal of acceptance into a public university for medical students.
• He has a firm resolution against any sort of high school romance.
• The “it” girl who has received 58 confessions in 60 days holds zero interest for the attentions of her peers; her classroom declaration of love for Kidou is nothing but a ploy to make herself unavailable.
• Her dirt on Kidou is both hilarious and believable.  I know I would probably get a bit violent if one of my old diaries was uncovered and passed around.

It is refreshing to have a male whose mind doesn’t jump immediately to the female physical assets.  The moment when he realizes that his much hoped for peace for studying has been shattered by a simple seating arrangement has just the right amount of comedy.  Unfortunately, even with the unique details of the characters the direction of this show seems predictable.  I think it inevitable that one of the two will fall in love with the other.  If that is the way that the story goes, I can only hope that the development is also cleverly crafted.

Surprise ingredient(s): Again, I’m pleased that Kidou is not a passive character.  He immediately confronts Natsukawa for her suspicious actions, both in the classroom then later on the walk home.  I think many other males in other anime would have accepted her confession without question, thinking themselves the luckiest guys in the world.

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Saki: Achiga-hen–Episode of Side-A Specials
While this “series’ season” may be a very, very short one, as its purpose is to only wrap up where the previous could not, I’m still looking forward to these three episodes bringing closure to the long journey that has been Saki.  And if there isn’t closure, I sure as hell will not be following this anime once again for subsequent seasons.  I’ve got a lot of built-up frustration over the circles the main part of Achiga-hen has made us jump, from a completely new cast, to horrible pacing jumping too quickly into the Nationals, and overly drawn out matches.  I understand that the over-the-top mahjong moves and character backgrounds are almost all of what makes Saki what it is, but Achiga-hen crossed the line long ago for keeping its audience’s attention and ultimately failed to satisfy.  Whether or not these last three episodes can finish what was started will soon be seen.  There’s something sad about me wading through Achiga’s matches just in hopes of seeing more of the Kiyosumi team.

Surprise ingredient(s): It was a great relief to finally witness a member from the Achiga team actually play competently.  Yuu’s adaptability to her opponents’ skills and calm demeanor during matches actually make her interesting to watch; heck, I even cheer for her! Plus, I do love her character design.  I have a weakness for cute winter gear like mittens and scarves!

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Tamako Market
In what might otherwise be a typical slice-of-life moe-fest, a talking bird has made the opening episode a positive and memorable one.  That one fantastical insert did a fabulous job of introducing the various characters.  I am concerned that once the novelty of the bird wears off, though, that there will be less discussion from others about this show.  I, for one, would still watch Tamako Market even if Mochimazzui (the bird) wasn’t present, since the shopping district setting, particularly the mochi store, still interest me.  But since he’s in it, I can’t help but vaguely see this show as Ikoku Meiro no Croisee crossed with Ano Natsu de Matteru.  We have an absurdly sweet and innocent girl in a shopping district beset upon by a strange creature from another land.  This alien talking bird arrives with a mission, but is sidetracked by Tamako’s family and their heavenly mochi.

The color palette and art style of Tamako Market are superb, and K-ON!‘s character designer Horiguchi Yukiko fits in perfectly with Tamako’s personality and the absurd premise of the bird.

Secret ingredient(s): I became ridiculously excited at the end of the episode when Tamako implied that future episodes would be introducing different types of mochi.  Watch out! After I move my kitchen may just become a mochi restaurant!

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Also, new banner for the Winter 2013 season! ^_^

Continuing from fall season:

• Bakuman 3
• Hunter x Hunter
• Magi
• Polar Bear Cafe
• Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo
• Space Brothers
• Zetsuen no Tempest

Backlog:

• Psycho-Pass
• Robotics;Notes
• Shin Sekai Yori

These past few months have been a whirlwind of some really great and really bad anime moments, even more so than any other of the 2012 seasons that I can remember.  I also ended up backlogging a few intriguing shows that I simply could not fit into my schedule, including Shin Sekai Yori, Robotics;Notes, and Psycho-Pass.  I have heard enough positive feedback about them from others that I’m probably going to end up marathoning them near the end of the next winter season.

You’ll also notice that I cut my former use of ratings from my season wrap.  Though I feel obligated to assign numbers to these same shows when I “complete” them on MAL, I have a more difficult time justifying my scores here.  Sometimes a show that quality-wise would probably score around a 5, I’d personally feel like giving an 8 because of the enjoyment factor.  So until I convince and artist friend or commission one to draw me some food or home-themed rating images, I’ll cut scores for now! Read on, my dear readers, and let me know what you thought of the season or even past year as a whole!

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Poyopoyo Kansatsu Nikki
Come one, come all, and celebrate the life of a truly magnificent cat, Satou Poyo!

The sad truth to my experience is that Poyopoyo easily became some of the best three minutes of anime each week.  And when the end came in the 52nd episode, I was completely unprepared and bewildered that it was finished.  Although the episodes consisted solely of  short stories aknd life snapshots, the simple charm of the characters and art made it a worthwhile and memorable addition to my anime for 2012.  After watching it, I felt like a world of roundness influenced by Poyo could only be a good thing!

Secret ingredient(s): Protector Poyo always made sure his family, as well as any other person or creature being bullied around him, were safe.  A lot of people could take a lesson or two from him!

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Hidamari Sketch x Honeycomb
I spoke a couple of times about this show while it aired, one including a recipe for karaage and the other contemplating the effects of time on relationships.  Although this show held much of the same charm as its previous seasons, there was an added sense of impending change that increased my nostalgia for the characters and setting.  The girls went about their every day lives as usual between the Hidamari Apartments and Yamabuku Arts High School, finding joy in the little things while also improving even more on their individual skills.

Since this season marks the ending of Yuno’s second year, she, as well as her friends, are starting to look forward to the changes they’ll have to undertake.  Hiro and Sae are third years and so have begun applying to universities, and Yuno begins worrying both about being a better senpai for first years Nazuna and Nori as well as keeping in touch with her friends who will soon be leaving Hidamari Apartments.  A huge support for this show, as usual, is its art style–which is perfectly befitting of a show placed in and around an art school.  Shaft’s usual attention to symbols and color palettes are spot on, though I never felt distracted from the story as I sometimes am with them.  Although this fourth season marks only the second year for lead Yuno, I feel no sense of urgency for a sequel.  My love for this show is influenced in large part by the core four of Hiro, Sae, Yuno, and Miyako.  While I enjoyed the inclusion of Nazuna and Nori in Hoshimittsu, I can’t really imagine another year without my favorite cook and blossoming mangaka.

Secret ingredient(s): Miyako has always been my favorite character in the Hidamari Sketch series, but I came to appreciate her in a different way in Honeycomb.  Yes, she’s large in both appetite and humor, but I also realized that she’s extremely talented and will most likely succeed as an Artist.  She has the passion and creativity to enwrap others in her vision.  She’s energy on canvas!

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Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse
It surprises me even now that I kept along with this anime, since it includes a lot of things I usually despise: male chauvinism, one-dimensional villains, unimaginative mecha/fights, and boob shapes that defy reality! Another annoyance was the inconstant quality in art and animation; some weeks I could only stare in horror at the visual travesty in front of me.  I would have initially passed on this anime if it weren’t for the all hype about it when I was at AX 2012, and even though I missed the pilot viewing, I heard a lot of positive feedback about it from other attendees.  I then kept up with the show because my now ex was interested in it based on the sci-fi setting…as well as the bodysuit’s reputation.  Bah, me, and my silly desire to watch whatever he wanted to watch.

Awful story direction and character development aside, there was one positive about Muv-Luv that grabbed me from the start.  I honestly liked the majority of the pilot episode; the build up of Yui’s friendships and teamwork and their subsequent demise successfully had me hating the BETA and wanting to see the humans succeed in fighting them off.  I’m not one for senseless and glorified violence, but I did approve of the annihilation that effectively turned me into a Yui supporter.  Unfortunately, much that followed, Yuuya Bridges’ character and the Scarlet Twins in particular, almost lost me.  The shows closing arc was its saving grace, with the coup and BETA attack ensuring a clear storyline that also helped to fulfill my desires from the very beginning.

Secret ingredient(s): Yui’s character design was nicely put together, from her high school days to her present Lieutenant standing.  Straight brown hair isn’t usually stunning when compared to the variety of colors and hair styles that anime provides, but she truly lives up to her nickname of “Princess Yui”.

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Eureka Seven AO
When this show first started airing in the spring, I had to hold off on it because I felt obligated to first watch the parent story, Eureka Seven.  Perhaps I shouldn’t have done that, because the genius behind the prequel’s craft and execution only served to inflate my expectations for AO.  Let me say this clearly: I do not think AO is a bad show.  It’s actually a very good show, and every episode has layer upon layer of available interpretation.  Unfortunately, what the anime lacked was a compelling cast; there was never a point where I felt affection for any one character.  Instead of appreciating Ao on his own as a young boy, I kept looking at him through the lens of Eureka and Renton’s parenthood–he was nothing more than the product of a pair who had made me laugh and cry a full season before.  And when the duo did appear, they were hardly as I remembered.

Even though one of the greatest motivations, characters, for the original never blossomed in the sequel, I could still feel a lot of love from the creators for the story and all its possibilities.  I really enjoyed thinking about the “truth” of Ao’s world.  Guardian Enzo episodic reviews were a godsend, so if you’re willing to give this show a try, check out his thoughts!

Secret ingredient(s): I’m always such a sucker for mascot-type animals in anime, and Noah was no exception.  I mean, it’s a SLOTH.  A sloth with uncanny human mannerisms and speed as necessary!

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Kokoro Connect: Michi Random
Kokoro Connect is an exercise in youth and its perpetual search for identity.  Our five characters are perfect examples of that coming-of-age period where one searches for definition and purpose–a phase that some people struggle with all their lives.  And they just might have drowned in their individual issues if left alone; however, supernatural forces intervene in the form of “Heartseed”, a being of unknown origin and motive, aside for curiosity.  Heartseed and its ability to manipulate the lives of Taichi, Iori, Inaba, Yui, and Aoki is a compelling device for driving the plot forward and forcing the characters to adapt to survive, but it is also a huge weakness.  Almost nothing about Heartseed is explained, except its desire for interesting results.  Who or what it is is left unknown even at the end.  No matter what sort of positive changes the protagonists have gone through over the course of the show, I can’t help but feel much of it is for naught with the instigator of the phenomena still a mystery.

Another major issue I had with this series was its on and off again relationship with its characters.  For the most part, the males were sacks of potatoes for our girls to sometimes run to for protection and at other times to use as punching bags.  I actually wouldn’t have noticed much of a difference if Aoki’s character was wholly cut from the series, given his lack of action and significance to the others.  In an almost opposite extreme, Iori is given far too much attention, with her fear of identity being magnified to ridiculous proportions to encompass a good majority of the main series and the OVAs.  All the characters suffer from identity issues, as is normal for people of their age group, but Iori’s fears were overly dramatic for my tastes.  I couldn’t help but feel relieved when Inaba became the it girl for Taichi, since I found her to be both the least useless and dramatic of the others, but also the most believable.

Secret ingredient(s): While I never forgot that the characters were all members of the Cultural Research Club, I don’t think I ever really understood what that meant since none of the previous episodes showed them doing club activities.  BUT! The OVA thankfully pulled in their club duties when they were forced to compete with the Jazz Band Club for their mutual moderator.

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Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun: Full thoughts here.

Secret ingredient(s): Two characters jumped out at me, and they weren’t our romantic leads.  I always liked Natsume and her bubbly personality, and I appreciated our mutual interests in blogging and other social media.  I could also understand her growing fear near the end of the series when she began to worry about losing her friends to each other.  Having been in a couple of long-term, serious relationships myself, I know all too well the ease of slipping into the routine of just you and him; hanging out with friends becomes less of a priority.  It wasn’t too much of a surprise to me when she fastened her affections to someone older and seemingly more permanent.

Another character I liked from the get-go and who I wished had received more screen time was Yamaken.  Perhaps there’s more to him than shown in the manga, but I’m hoping on a second season to fulfill those wishes.  His cool and laid back demeanor are right up my alley, though I do wish some of his friends’ silliness would rub off on him now and then–if he could just laugh a bit more, he’d be a perfect fit for Shizuku.

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Sword Art Online: Full thoughts here.

Secret ingredient(s): Although my full thoughts cover in large part the crafting and setting that were my favorite aspects of the show, I guess I should specify something else here.  Another game mechanic that I really liked was how SAO implemented weapon repair.  A weapon like a sword or bow can be upgraded to better stats and repaired if damaged, but the number of upgrades is limited.  There will come a time when a replacement is necessary, no matter what affections the user has placed on it.  A weapon’s cost and durability  should also help caution a player in battle.

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Sukitte Ii na yo
At the start, I felt like this show was a tad similar to Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun, given its socially-inept female lead and quick romantic turn of events.  Then I thought it might take a more serious turn into discussing high school relationships and sex–if it had, I probably would have found the show more unique and grounded in reality.  Unfortunately, Sukitte Ii na yo drew back from its daring foray, leaving the naughty business to its side characters, and ended up following a generic shoujo route, complete with love rivals, jealousy, bullying, miscommunication, and little sisters.  And I still enjoyed the anime, despite the disappointments I faced midway through.

Along with my usual taste for shoujo romance, I also tend to prefer the love rival to the main duo, and that preference rang true even here.  I’m not sure what it is with Japanese high school romances and weak, even unlikable, male leads, but they seem to be the ones who always get the girls.  Boyfriend Yamato is supposedly the high school hunk, with his perfect looks and charming personality, but I found him not at all to my liking.  Due to Mei’s timidness and naivety, I wanted her to find someone of strong character and maturity, a person very much like Kai.  Normally I can bear with the knowledge that the nice rival will most likely never get the girl, but here it was extremely frustrating.  The one thing I liked about Yamato was his unswerving affections for Mai, even if he didn’t always know how to properly express those emotions to her.

Secret ingredient(s): Besides sharing hair styles with two of the girls in the show (straight like Mai’s and wavy like Megu), I had some fun with Kai’s character.  I liked how he was portrayed as more on the brawny side, since it’s pretty normal for these shows to follow the more fashionable route of thinner, more delicate-looking males.  I honestly am not usually attracted to slender men, so I appreciate Kai representing my tastes.  I also admired his character in general, particularly after his reason for revenge was blown out, since he was often the voice of reason and a pillar of strength that characters like Mei, Yamato, and Megu could look up to.  You keep up that healthy appetite and full head of hair! <3

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Jormungand 2
What is with all the delay on this particular anime from fansubbers? The main reason why my fall thoughts came so late was in large part because I kept waiting around for a particular subber to release the last two episodes.  I became impatient and picked up 11 from a different provider, but even then, the final was delayed from both of them.  I don’t see how anyone could wait on the cliffhanger like that.

Overall, Jormungand 2 fulfilled my expectations for more of what I loved from before and continuing backgrounds of its side characters.  It also improved on some of the issues that I had with its prequel.  A major complaint that I had was how immortal some of Koko’s crew seemed to be, no matter the gravity of any given situation.  *SPOILER* Renato’s (“R”) arc was one of the most memorable and moving scenes of them all.  Even though he was a spy for Bookman, he still fell in love with the people and atmosphere of Koko and her crew.  It wasn’t until that point that I really found myself going along with Koko’s crazy personality and schemes; R was that good of a persuasion. Another great execution of plot and characters was the set up for Operation Jormungand.  Like pieces on a chessboard, each of the people that Koko either recruits or abducts are given their own mini arcs and prove their significance to her master plan.  That trio of women scientists had me grinning every time!

Secret ingredient(s): I used to enjoy Valmet’s character the most, but ended up preferring Chiquita through the second series.  Her very cool, slick personality makes for a great combination with both Caspar and Lehm.  If there is anyone I’d want to cosplay from this series, it would be her.  I just need to hit the gym and practice that cat-like grin!

While I found the soundtrack to the prequel enjoyable enough while watching the episodes, it wasn’t until this season that I found myself admiring how the music complemented each scene.  I also found it unique from the majority of other anime music out there.

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Kamisama Kiss
And so ends my charming time at Mikage Shrine! Yet another show with romance in the air, Kamisama Kiss takes the supernatural spin with a shrine setting and a lead girl who is thrust into the world of gods and spirits.  In my season preview a few months ago, I likend this series to the 2001 Fruits Basket.  Both take a normal human, high school girl and surrounds her with gods and other mythology.  Where FB is inspired by the Chinese zodiac, Kamisama Kiss instead follows Japanese Shintoism.  And unlike the earlier 2012 anime Inu x Boku SS, which also included creatures from Japanese myth, this show faithfully portrays its characters in their home setting while still melding them into the modern world.  Despite the silliness of a tengu disguised as a human popstar and going to high school like any normal teenage guy, it really fits the overall appeal of this anime: old world mentalities adjusting to the quickness of the 21st century.

Keep in mind that this besides its clever meld of Shintoism, every day high school life, and romance, this anime is simple in presentation.  The art style and animation are nothing special, but the light color palette well suits Nanami’s innocence.  The music, in particular the OP, perfectly represents her sweetness and desire to grow up into a capable young woman and land god.  Although there’s nothing spectacular about the art, music, or story, they’re all handled with extreme care and relay their allure to the audience.  I would be more than happy to pick up a second season if it were to air.

Secret ingredient(s): *SPOILER* Despite its predictability, I really enjoyed the kagura dance at the very end that Nanami performed to cleanse the shrine.  All her hard work and love for her home come together beautifully in the face of true danger.  I found it very interesting  how the original land god was unable to completely exorcise the spider demon (tsuchigumo) and had to instead seal it away, but a human girl turned god succeeded. */SPOILER* Perhaps it’s only through the union of the old world and the new that both can survive.

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Nekomonogatari: Kuro
While I’ve seen Bakemonogatari, I ended up stalemating on its sequel, Nisemonogatari.  Nekomonogatari comes before both, and tells the tale of Hanekawa Tsubasa, one that was referenced in the latter part of Bakemonogatari, and I believe once again in Nise.  I don’t think it’s too much of a spoiler, considering the title, to say that Hanekawa was at one time possessed by a meddlecat–or perhaps possessing one herself.  I’m not sure if I’m just not remembering it clearly or if this is the first time that it’s mentioned, but I was surprised at the gravity of Hanekawa’s home situation, as well as her own strangely dispassionate obedience and subjugation to others.  I also don’t know if it was the intention of these four specials, but I found myself greatly disliking her by the end of them, when I once thought her to be my 2nd favorite girl of the cast.

Although I can sympathize with her about her loveless home, I also disapprove of her inability to empathize with those around her.  I can’t blame her guardians for their discomfort with a insufferably perfect child (of course her “father’s” violence is inexcusable).  But they’re both in the wrong.  Furthermore, I found it fascinating how what is typically a quick possession on the meddlecat’s part twists itself into something much more extreme and dangerous enough to rival a vampire’s level.  While I may not like her, I cannot deny Black Hanekawa’s entrancing sexuality.  SnippetTee wrote an intriguing piece on the ballet-inspired forms that Hanekawa displays that I highly recommend anyone interested to read.

Secret ingredient(s):  The lighting and framing in these episodes are superb, in the usual SHAFT style.  There are several instances while watching where I would pause and backtrack to admire a particular scene.

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Coming soon: my Winter 2013 choices!

Ah, high school–that time of turbulent emotions, assignment deadlines, and lots and lots of free time.  In a way, I was once a lot like Mizutani Shizuku, the protagonist for Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun.  I cared mostly for grades and my student resume. I had my eyes set on the future, and I wanted my student life to appear full and inviting to college recruiters.  Unlike Shizuku, I had my fair share of crushes through my four years of high school; I was just too awkward to pursue anyone, many of whom I had known since kindergarten.  Past perceptions had me pegged as some kind of man-hater, that little girl who liked to kick boys in the shins.  Although my former dislike was a far cry from Shizuku’s indifference, we still shared a growing desire to connect with others.  And while she certainly comes a good distance in forming friendships and acknowledging her attractions to Haru, thirteen episodes and the multitude of see-sawing emotions made any sort of closure impossible.

The heart of what makes and breaks this show is its fickle attitude.  Not only do the characters sway between hate, love, and disinterest, so, too, does the entire focus of this show.  Main lead Shizuku and Haru are hot and cold, and never at the same time.  And while this may be somewhat truthful to how young people really are, the lack of forward movement in their relationship makes the wait extremely uncomfortable for an audience. Kimi ni Todoke may have shared a similarly drawn out romance, but at least the two always held their feelings for one another as a priority.  As long as that is the case, a future successful relationship is possible.  I hold no such illusions for Shizuku and Haru with college looming on the horizon.  The one saving grace they may have is Haru’s probable ease in entering the same university as Shizuku, if he decides to pursue her that far.

While the back and forth feelings did nothing for romance, it did well enough in the realm of comedy.  Haru on his own was amusing to watch, and I could understand why Yamaken found it worth his while to hang out with the people he does.  Unfortunately, none of my questions about Haru were answered, and as such I had a hard time supporting him and Shizuku as a couple.  It didn’t help that his explosive temper sometimes made him lash out at the people he should have been protecting.  I’m not sure if the anime wanted the physical violence to be humorous, but I didn’t find it funny in the slightest.

It’s the nature of high school rom-coms like these to flit between different characters, and Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun isn’t an exception.  A good amount of time is spent on friend Natsume’s character, a pretty, sweet girl with the social exuberance of a puppy.  Her bubbly personality does her well in winning the affections of males and, in turn, the jealousy and dislike of females.  In hunger for closer connections with others, she has created an online personality for herself through a blog and various websites.  She finds relative joy both in her new found friendships with Shizuku, Haru, and Sasayan, and in her online persona.  Yet the disconnect between the two worlds makes what’s missing all the more painful.  What she wants more than anything else is someone guaranteed to stay by her side; it’s no surprise that she looks to the older (by four years) “Mitty”, Haru’s father-like cousin.

Natsume’s more colorful personality and familiar young worries about identity and place were so relatable and enjoyable to follow that her story, which was amped up at the end, became more interesting than Shizuku and Haru’s.  While I do think development in side characters is always a good thing, there’s a certain extant that a series should take when considering the episode count.  Thirteen episodes was not enough to stalemate on the main couple and suddenly switch over to a new one and feel like a complete story.

What this anime needs more than anything else to redeem it’s sorry excuse for an ending is a sequel, or at the very least, a few extra episodes to both create some agreement between Shizuka and Haru as well as finish what was started in Natsume’s storyline.  Does Mi-chan/Mitty return her affections, do the clamorers get their wish granted for her and Sasayan, or does she go full love-love for Mizutani? I’m not sure how much will be revealed in the upcoming OVA (to air in January of 2013), but unless it’s the length of a movie, just the one addition won’t be enough to finish what was started.